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if you're following your diet, then it's either hormones, water retention, and/or full intestines. With any of those, your weight will go back down within a couple of days. Those are all very normal fluctuations. If they're playing with your head, just cut back on how often you're weighing yourself - maybe just do it once a week.

I just got home from my appointment and am happy to say that I'm now scheduled for surgery on February 21. I was able to meet with the dietician right after my appointment with the surgeon and she went over the differences between my old program and their protocols, which are similar with the exception that I will need to do the 2-week liquid diet (my old place only did 2 days). I head to the hospital tomorrow for pretests and then just have to wait the 7 weeks until surgery. Time to get back to my good eating habits after the holidays! I thought everyone was very nice and I got a lot of sympathy for what I'd gone through with the center closing. I was told one patient who is now at the new practice actually arrived at the hospital the day of her surgery and only then found out it had been cancelled. No one even called her. I don't even know what I would have done had that happened.

I'm only four months post-op and have lost 65lbs as of this morning. I've been trying to maintain 900-1000 calories per day with a minimum 70g protein and trying to limit carbs to 50g or less and fat to 35g or less. At my three month post-op consult with my bariatric nutritionist, she was satisfied with those numbers and was happy with my weight loss progress to that point, which was 48lbs. I'm currently riding a plateau and have only lost 3lbs over the past couple of weeks, but it's my second one since surgery and while frustrating, I know it'll pass.

Yes! Happy to share! It's this one: https://www.wholesomeyum.com/keto-banana-muffins-recipe/ I doubled the banana flavoring emulsion (I got mine from Amazon) and I added vanilla. None of the box mixes were low carb enough for me and I used to be a chef so I have a bias towards homemade things. 😂 I can empathize with the carb cravings. When I eat carbs I crave them intensely for days afterwards. There are a lot of people who make judgments about those of us who use artificial sweeteners, and though I prefer the real thing, I simply cannot have it. My body HATES carbs, it just doesn't know what to do with them and whether it's a piece of cake or a bagel, it will bloat me and I'll want 3 times as much the next meal. It is just not worth it. And now with the surgery and my designer insides, it isn't worth the gas and such either... The only exception I seem to be able to make is a small amount of very dark chocolate. I think the reason it doesn't cause the carb cravings is because my craving for the minerals in it is stronger. LOL And even with that I can't have it two days in a row without cravings kicking in stronger... I think it is perfectly reasonable to ask those close to you to support you with limitations around what they offer you. I asked the same thing of those close to me and they were happy to do so because it gave them a tangible way to help me with my goal. We don't gain weight in isolation. Food is a social thing. We ask our social circle for support around other goals like going to school or raising our children, we should be able to ask for support with this too. It increases our chances of success!! The head game will do you in every time. Having people close to you wise to that helps tremendously in my experience... As long as they don't turn into food police. 😂

I just recovered from my first dumping syndrome reaction and hooo boy, for a while there I was seriously regretting having the surgery. I'm just over 9 weeks PO, and yes, I've had serious pain (and some vomiting or bad nausea) every time I stupidly re-try chicken breast. I thought that was bad enough. I. Was. Not. Prepared. So I had half a wrap yesterday for lunch. My boss bought our team lunch and he went out of his way to get me a plain wrap, no fatty sauces, with just chicken and lettuce. He bought me s gravy to dip it in so it'd be moist! I was so... touched and thankful that he'd thought so much about my restrictions that I decided to give the white meat one more try. I did NOT take into consideration the wrap (not whole wheat). I ate a little less than half of it yesterday. It went down fine, no issues. Dunked in gravy and delicious. Welllll today for lunch I ate the leftovers. Within 20 minutes of the last bite, I was forced to nap. (Looking back, felt just like an over-carbed/sugared diabetic nap.) Woke up an hour later to pre-period cramping. No big deal. Except by the time I got to the bathroom, the cramps became excruciating and I started vomiting bile. Then came the seemingly endless liquid diarrhea, fever and sweating so much I soaked my clothes like I'd been in the pouring rain. I wanted to die to make it stop. For a while, I thought maybe I was dying and this pain was a PO complication or my entire intestine rupturing, etc. (Yeah, I blame fever delerium for that). My mother tested my blood sugar while I was half out of it, and it wasn't crazy high but still much higher than my PO normal. I hope to ALL the gods that I learn my lesson from this and can avoid it ever ever ever happening again. I logically know that more mistakes are bound to happen on this journey, but oooof that hit hard.

😊 Hello! New to this site. Had a VSG on 11/29. Hoping to get back to work this week! Currently at my 2nd post op visit waiting for the NP, and saw a flyer about this group. I don’t know what I’m doing 🤣

Surgery scheduled for 1/23. I am on day 5 and I am struggling with the two week diet. 5 shakes a day is too much. I feel so bloated and am having acid reflux. I’m trying to schedule the shakes so I’m not having one too late ( at least two hours before I go to bed) but it is difficult. I’m feeling like I need to get up at o-dark-thirty to get a shake in so I can go to bed at a decent hour without the acid reflux. Help! 

i have one too! (i think). tldr; ** warning this is long: skip to last paragraph if u short on time or bore easily lololozzzz ** mine pops out about 3 inches to the right (my right) of my belly button (about the size of a walnut)...always when im doing some fold over bend (like nose to knees), or bending the opposite way (like bridges), or some sort of sustained abdominal crunch (like boats). it would hurt, but ive always been able to push it back in EXECEPT once when it stayed out for about 36 hours. i booked appt with doc to check it out , but by the time my appt came around, it popped back in. then of course, their examination of me was inconclusive (couldn't find evidence of one). he told me if it happens again, take a picture, mark it with pen and come in. this was in january this year. and of course it hasn't happened since. which is both annoying and a relief since it used to happen pretty regularly...at least once a month or so for about 5 years. anyway, i did some reading and i have long SUSPECTED, based on its location and the timeline of its appearance, its an Incisional Hernia (yes i self-diagnosed myself ha). the location is about where one of the laparoscopic scars would have been had i not had a tummy tuck (my skin was yanked down so the skin scar is lower than before) AND i started getting it when my exercise efforts got more intense. i never concerned myself with it very much cuz it always popped back in. until that day it didn't. it was pretty painful. i had to keep pressure on it and bend over to provide some relief. i was so glad when it popped back in, but then upset i couldn't prove it was there, arg! doc says hernias don't get better, they just get worse over time, so eventually ill likely need surgery if indeed i have one...which we can't prove cuz that sucker is staying out of sight these days. but if/when it makes an appearance, the idea of keeping it "out" the entire time just to show my doctor sounds very unappealing to me! **shudder** p.s. on a side note, Mr. theorizes that the reason my hernia has been hiding for so long (its been 5 months since ive had one...my longest stretch of not having one since it began) is because of my increased core exercise work. i've developed some abdominal muscle and strength the past several months, and he thinks that when engaged, my core is strong enough to keep the hernia in when i do those particular exercises. so he thinks if i really want to pop it out, i should do a fold over and not engage my abdominals closed, but actually use my strength to push it out! and im like NOPE! not doing that. tldr; so...if u aren't squeamish like me, maybe you could try to push it out also so u can show ur doc? do you notice what things u are doing when it comes out? u could just keep doing those things...

I noticed a lot of people (on tiktok etc) posting about their bariatric experiences were able to move onto puree stage after 7 days? Most were from the USA or UK but the company I’m with is only liquids for 2 weeks, do you know why is that?

I noticed a lot of people (on tiktok etc) posting about their bariatric experiences were able to move onto puree stage after 7 days? Most were from the USA or UK but the company I’m with is only liquids for 2 weeks, do you know why is that?

Do you have a surgery date? I'm not starting a liquid diet until I get my surgery date, then I'll be on it for two weeks. A liquid diet would be nothing but liquid no solids. I guess I'm confused when you mention chicken & veggies unless you mean some kind of broth or soup. I've been on a diet with guidelines set by a dietician that I've been on since October. I should be getting a surgery date in January where I'll take a class on a liquid diet, then I'll get on nothing but liquids for two weeks leading up to the surgery date.

I can tell you what I was told. My dietitian came to visit and she said to try and get into protein shakes a day over the next seven days. She said if I can only get one that’s OK but two is definitely preferred. And then it’s very important to get minimum of 48 ounces of water a day. That’s where I’m struggling with the water. I am not allowed to have anything tea or citrus flavored. Before the way I got my water in was with a mixture of decaf tea crystal light and lemonade crystal light. I have some other flavors of crystal light and I’m trying to like them, along with just plain water. In the hospital they had me on the second day doing, 1 ounce of water every 15 minutes before graduating me to a shake and Jell-O. But basically for this week the crucial things were a minimum of 48 ounces of water and two shakes a day. Jell-O, putting, Popsicles, watered down cream of wheat, and yogurt are all OK I have also according to my doctor.

December 14th for me. it’s now the 18th and I’m still on pain meds and my abdomen is super tender like an 8 on pain scale. I feel wimpy as I read others journeys but I also know that everyone has different experiences and healing times. Sipping 1 to 2 ounces at a time took me 2 days to finish a Gatorade. Finally able to chew my calcium not 3 a day but got up to 2 daily. I hope I’m not alone and it would be great to see others progress as well.

OMG, ok here's what happened. So last night, for the first time in a year and a half, I was finally in the mood for some ham (lost my liking of pork for a long time). So hubby made a hickory smoked, spiral cut ham. OMG it was AMAZING. I took a tentative bite and it was like a FLAVOR EXPLOSION in my mouth. So delicious!!! I was so excited to actually like it again that I scarfed it down. Like, I ate all 3 ounces of ham in under a minute. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT do that. Ever. Once you have your surgery (especially if it's the bypass) DO NOT EVER EVER EVER scarf your food. Even if you want to. Even if it's the greatest food in the history of all food ever. Do NOT eat it quickly. Go slow and chew it. Pretend you're a train and CHEW CHEW it. About 5 minutes after I finished eating, I was in hell. OMG. The pain, the stuck feeling, the "omg my stomach is gonna burst" feeling, the nausea, the praying to ALL the deities and making bargains and deals and swearing to never do it again...it all started. I was MISERABLE all night. And I DO mean all night. So learn from me, people. NOTHING tastes good enough to make that TERRIBLE behavior even remotely worth it. Be very mindful about what you eat, how fast you eat it, and how much of it you eat. This concludes my TED talk.

Hey guys, So today I got my surgery date 12/27 . Can you guys please comment your favorite whey protein isolate ? Or whatever protein shakes & clear liquids you did for the two week pre op liquid. I know everyone’s tastebuds are different, but which ones would you highly recommend?

I have a choice of 2 breakfasts, either 150 grams full fat Greek yoghurt with berries 170 cals and a homemade latte, 100 cals and all this adds to about 25 grams of protein or a 27 gram sachet of porridge oats with milk and added ginger jam to sweeten it and a latte. I love ginger jam. This adds up to 25 grams of protein and 280 calories Lunch is either home made soup with lentils and bacon/ chicken added for protein or a 2 egg cheese omelette, scrambled eggs or fried eggs. Around 250 calories and up to 20 grams of protein. Snack, Milky coffee, a piece of fruit and some blue cheese 200 cals and 8 grams of protein Evening meal, Homemade family meal minus the carbs or a salad with fish or meat. About 250 cals and 15 grams of protein. Snacks of either fruit and cheese, fruit lolly or a almond magnum, packet of low fat crisps and a homemade cheese dip. I aim for 60 grams of protein and 1500 calories for maintenance. Once a week I may go over on a hungry day and one day I will forget to eat and be miles under so it all balances out. I realise I eat a lot of dairy but my cholesterol is ok at the moment.

I only had that machine attached until that night because it broke, then I just rotated my legs/ ankles and moved my toes. i still was wearing the compression socks though but the following day after surgery I took them off. i work with doctors and I went in 6 days post op and he looked at my incisions etc and felt ny legs to make sure everything was okay and it was so unless you had any health issues that they recommended you to continue using them I have no idea why 2 weeks post op? they want you up and moving for that purpose as well

Hi Gracie!! I got VSG surgery at 20 years old. I started my pre-op diet two weeks before surgery at 19. (My birthday is on January 2nd) I’m also a college student and I will not lie to you, getting weight loss surgery and coming back on campus was the hardest thing I ever had to do. My dining hall on campus didn’t cater to my needs during the post-op stage. To be honest, I was going home every other weekend because I knew I would get what I needed from home. I live about an hour and a half away from campus so it was pretty pricey to do so. I’m down approximately 40 pounds since January and I don’t think I have loose skin but I definitely lost my booty lol. It’s not really a big deal for me but I do plan on going to the gym more often. If you have any other concerns or want to know more about my experience, please reach out!! I don’t know much young people that have gotten weight loss surgery but I’m excited for us as we are turning our life around!! I hope everything goes well!!

Thanks so much. This has been absolutely miserable. This pain is worse than the pain immediately after bariatric surgery. And the pain meds kinda take the edge off for 2 or 3 hours, but then it wears off and I'm miserable until I can take it again (every 6 hours).

You may not feel full or feel full accurately for a while. You have to wait for your tummy & the nerves that were cut to be healed (around 8 weeks). It’s why sticking to the portions you were given vey important at this time & also the eat slowly. It takes at least 20 minutes for the full signal to get through (this is everyone not just us) so if you eat quickly you will have eaten way too much by the time the signal gets through. You may feel some pressure or at worst the foamies if you eat too much now. Later you may develop the runny nose, hiccup, etc. signals. It will be a little while until you feel your restriction which is really the stop, stop, too much warning. I only feel pressure if I’m full or something is sitting too heavily in my tummy. I also ask myself if I need the next bite or just want it because we should stop before we feel full. I also discovered my full signal can be really slow, up to an hour, so I usually take 30-45 mins to eat.

It will get better. The first 6 weeks are really difficult. It's a lot. Once you settle into normal foods and a bit of a food routine you'll feel a lot better physically, mentally and emotionally. I found that the normal food stage allowed me to rediscover food in an enjoyable way. If pain continues get it checked out though, pain when eating isn't normal.

yesterday's snack and dinner. SNACK: nuts and hershey's kisses (i blame the kisses on the poster who mentioned them last week...couldn't get them out of my mind so had to buy them of course!). Ate it all: 366 calories DINNER: Mr. grilled me up a big ol ribeye at my request! kinda anti-climactic for the actual portion i ate, but still. it was effing delicious...plus there is still leftover i can eat today! 309 calories for my plate, ate it all. including the steak in its entirety below (second pic)

This is terrible. What sort of aftercare is that. Send an email directly to the surgeon if you can listing the questions you have & didn’t receive answers about or didn’t have a chance to ask because you were pushed out the door. I had good follow up which is why I’m very surprised & disappointed for you at your after care. I saw my surgeon at week 2, 1 month & then the 3rd month. A colleague then took up my follow up appointments. I saw them every three months until my third year. I still see this doctor every 6 months. I don’t know for how much longer though. I guess my next appointment at my 5 year mark will tell.

Oh my gosh!! The foamies! One of my friends thought I was crazy when k said I was foaming then started vomiting. My starting weight was 210lbs and my b/p was out of control. As of now I’m still on b/p meds but when I went in last week it was lower than it had been in over a year. I had the pre-op diet and dropped down 10lbs. When I came out of surgery I was puffy and weighed 203 again. Right now I am at 189lbs which has been the lowest number I’ve seen in years. I was told to get 64oz of water and 90 grams of protein a day yes 90! I’m struggling with it. The water intake I’ve done well except one day and nausea hit me soooooo fast. The protein has been hard for me. Sweets nauseate me and it seems most protein shakes and stuff are sweet. It is so nice to have someone experiencing the same things so I don’t feel so alone. I would love to hear where you’re finding the easiest protein sources? I think at most I hit 60-70 grams and that’s not every day. It’s a work in progress and definitely hit and miss.

I think it's partially the ingredients. The amount of added sugar has skyrocketed. Also portion sizes have become so large, and what we get in restaurants influences how much we serve ourselves at home. I found this great article that shows the USDA illustrated guidelines starting from the early 1900s. In 1956, people were told 2 servings milk, 2 servings meat/egg/beans, 4 servings of veg and fruit, and 4 servings of bread/cereal. I can picture those amounts in my head and it feels reasonable. By 1992, we were being told a minimum of 6 bread and 5 veg/fruit, with upper limits provided that would make it "okay" to have 11 bread, 9 veg/fruit, 3 milk, and 3 meat/bean. If you assume 3 meals per day and take the upper limits, just imagine having 3-4 bread/grains, plus 3 veg/fruits, plus 1 meat, and 1 milk for every meal, every single day! And the government experts are telling you that's a great idea!