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Best of luck!!! You'll do great! I think what made it easier for me is that I'm a teacher, and there's NO EATING in my class (cuz middle schoolers started taking "special" gummies to school and teachers thought it was regular candy). My class periods are 49 minutes long with a 4-minute passing period. We need to stand in the hallways while kids go to their next classes. There's really no time to be snacking and eating and stuff. At home, however, is was a whole different story. That's why I left my actual solid meal for dinner. As an example, I'd eat a homemade cheeseburger sans the bread, or rotisserie chicken, or pork chops. I didn't hold back on beef, chicken, pork, or CHEESE! I 🧡cheese. 😁 When I was craving sweets, I'd just drink another protein shake.

What helped me pre-op was I started detoxing and dieting a whole month before my surgery. I started with a semi-liquid diet on May 11th. Protein Shake for breakfast and lunch and a healthy, no carb dinner. I stopped drinking alcohol and upped my water to 6 or 7 bottles a day. Then 10 days (because they had a cancellation and asked if I wanted it sooner than scheduled) before surgery, I started on all liquids. In the first 24 days before surgery, I lost 23 lbs. That really, really motivated me and made me feel so good both physically and emotionally. It also helped the surgeon with a successful surgery because of the liver shrinkage. Y'all have some awesome ideas!

Well, I'm 14 months out from my sleeve and 2 weeks out from my sleeve to bypass revision (had horrendous gerd, esophagitis, gastritis, and a ton of pre-cancerous polyps). With my sleeve (and also what I will be doing with my bypass) I was at 90g protein per day, 30 carbs or less per day, 900-1000 calories per day when not working out and 1200-1300 calories per day when working out (I was going beast mode, tho), and 50g or less of fat per day. I did different work outs each day. 2 days I would do cardio, 2 days core and strength training, 2 days weight training, and 1 rest day. I would alternate what exercises I did when so my body never got used to what I was doing. If I noticed I was in a stall for 3 weeks or more, I would change up the intensity and actual exercises I did to confuse my body and break the stall. My fluid intake was always 64-76oz per day (zero sugar gatorade and/or flavored propel along with water on work out days, flavored water on non work out days). I lost 116 pounds in 10 months before everything went stupid and I had my complications and ended up needed my revision.

I’m 13 months out from sleeve. The first six weeks are the toughest part, learning to drink often, learning or relearning how to eat and what you can tolerate. You will lose then stop losing and think you’re doing it wrong. You’ll feel regret and frustration and pain and exhaustion. The diet progression sucks. It’s just tough. So, be kind to yourself, try to hit your water and protein goals and move as often as you comfortably can. Even if it’s a sad little shuffle around the room. Everyday it will get better and around six weeks the steady weight loss begins. Understand the changes in your hormones will make you feel emotional and anxious. But the good stuff is right around the corner. You made it this far, just keep moving forward and pay strict attention to measuring your food until you can feel your restriction. The signals from your new tummy won’t be noticeable right away and it’s very important you don’t eat too much or the wrong kind of stuff. Later, you’ll be able to enjoy all kinds of stuff but now is the time to pay attention to the guidelines. And as soon as you’re cleared, start an exercise routine even if it’s just walking at first. It makes a huge difference in how you feel and how quickly you lose. Good luck!

I'm wondering how long any of your stalls have lasted. I'm 25 days out of surgery (sleeve to bypass revision), and I'm still at the same weight from July 3rd. Literally, not a single decimal point down. Here's what my nutrition looks like: Calories-500, Protein-60g, Carbs-<40. I'm having an issue with fiber and constipation (1 bowel movement every other day), but yesterday I started using Benefiber packets. I also ordered some protein shakes that have 4g fiber and some that have 10g fiber. Since I start work August 8th, I won't have time to eat an actual breakfast, so I'm planning on using the protein shakes in place of my coffee in the mornings. Ideas? Suggestions? Advice?

Meal prepping for my work week- chocolate almond powder chia seed pudding for breakfasts with a protein shake in my coffee, sausage with peppers, onions, and mushrooms for lunch, and then these no bake brownies for desserts when I get home. (Dinner will be either chicken or tuna salad probably).

i know everyone’s experience may be different but my surgeon said to start the diet they have (liquid- purée-soft foods) for a reason to make sure your stomach can get used to working and digesting food progressively. you still drink protein shakes while doing this

I experienced the weight stall and constipation. However, the weight that I have lost took a big load off my back, and I’m not in as much pain from that. I actually ended up in the ER because I was so constipated. I had tried to get it out the natural way, but it got stuck, and I was in so much pain and didn’t know what to do (this was the first time I had ever been constipated), so I called 911. Now it’s something I have to watch out for. I have Miralax and Lactulose on hand if it gets really bad. Try the Miralax first. Get incontinence pads, like Tena, and place them in pairs in the usual place and behind those (you’re going to leak). Also get disposable incontinence Chuks for wherever you sleep, because you’ll leak there, too. Have disposable gloves on hand and be prepared to glove up and get it out manually when it gets stuck, and you can’t push it out without feeling like you’re going to split in half. I know it’s gross, but I lost 6 pounds in about 5 days. I spoke with my surgeon, and she told me that stalls and constipation are to be expected with revision surgery. Talk to your surgeon about your concerns, and ask if there are other options that you can do. I learned that the Argon Coagulation surgery I had was only the first of several to expect.

Hey all, back from my 2+ week vacation and wanted to give an update: First, you look awesome Lindsay! Second, the update (2 weeks traveling around Germany and Italy): Protein was VERY hard to hit. The "on the go" protein mixes that I brought got real tiresome real quick. I wasn't able to do them everyday. Thankfully, I got approved to have protein bars the day before I left, so I made use of those pretty heavily. Water was also VERY hard to hit. I wasn't keeping exact track, but based on the color of my urine, I wasn't doing great. I was also sweating a substantial amount too, so I needed even more water. The 30m no-drink after eating restriction was a killer. We would stop for some food, I would grab a nice cold bottled water, then have to wait 30m for it to warm up to 80 degrees before I could drink it (I never realized how spoiled I was with cold water) Exercise was easy. Nothing specific, but we averaged 15000 steps a day so I counted that There was a significant amount of cheating: I would usually order a meat based meal, but then try a bunch of different pastas from my family (tiny bites, but 3 or 4 different ones usually). I also occasionally had a bite or two of bread, and ate a piece or two of pizza. I drank wine...quite a bit. We had a couple of wine tastings booked, but I would also do wine before dinner with all my family. I had a grand total of 3 bites of gelato (which I am pretty proud of). The kids got gelato pretty much every night, and I only stole 3 bites as I wanted to try the flavors (coconut, stratiacello, and milk???) In addition to wine, I did have a glass+ of champagne (so double dip of alcohol and carbonation) I had unapproved meats. I didn't always have good options for meat, so there was a couple of nights I shared steak with somebody, or had some other non-approved meat. That being said, I only ever had one stomach issue on the whole trip. I ordered a plate of various meats (ribs, bacon, sausage). I am not sure what the problem was, if I ate too fast, didn't chew enough, or it was too fatty, but I had a pretty quick reaction and didn't feel good at all. There was pain in my stomach area for about 15 minutes. After getting up, walking around, and burping a WHOLE lot, the pain passed. Overall, I was very happy with how it all went. While I have a decent list of cheats above, other than the wine, I really only had a bite or two of non approved stuff each meal. My stomach felt great 98% of the time, and....I lost 9 pounds!!!

So I just had this revision, and I can tell you that the weight loss will not be like it was with the sleeve. I had it because I developed GERD, esophagitis, gastritis, and a TON of pre-cancerous polyps all through my stomach. So I also didn't have a choice. I was on 80mg daily of Nexium and still had break through GERD. With the sleeve, I lost 30 pounds in the first 2 weeks. With the revision, I lost 14. I also wasn't interested in doing it for weight loss, since I was chugging along and doing well until it all went stupid. My goal was to get back to living my life, get back to my beast mode work outs, get back to feeling good and not having pain. And that's what the surgery is doing for me. Losing additional weight is inevitable, but eating the stuff you're eating right now is not the way to add additional weight. The sugar and heavy carbs are a no no, especially once you have the bypass. Keep in mind, the more weight you add on now, the more you'll lose. If you really feel the need to try and pad your weight a little, do it by adding additional protein, add in an additional meal or 2 snacks (but don't make them junk). Increase your calories, not your carbs and sugar. Again, I'm not saying this is what you should be doing, but if you're determined to add weight on before the surgery, at least do it in a healthier way than what you're doing now. I can also say, the recovery from the bypass has been SO SO much better than with the sleeve. I honestly wish I had just done the bypass to begin with. So much less pain, I was up and around faster, able to do things better, could handle my pills and supplements (had to crush or completely eliminate them with the sleeve for the first 4-5 weeks), able to handle cold liquids (couldn't with the sleeve), able to get my fluids in so much easier (I drank a 20oz of water in the hospital the day after my surgery and could barely handle 3-4oz with the sleeve). So all in all, I'm exceptionally happy I did the revision. No more GERD, no more PPI, no more pain, much easier recovery, and while the weight is still coming off, it's doing so at a slower and more manageable pace. I wish you all the luck, and I promise you'll feel so much better after the revision.

I had my surgery on March 13th, exactly four months ago. At this point, I’ve only lost 32lbs (25 since surgery), which I am totally bummed about. Unlike others, my hunger returned almost immediately. But I have a ton of energy and am able to do so many things I couldn’t do easily before. My clothes fit and I feel more like myself. The down side… My weight loss seems to be dependent on everything being perfect each day (right amount of water, zero sugar, low carb, high protein, high fiber, can’t be sick or injured), which is not easy to do. Even at a calorie deficit, I’m not losing like I should be. Thankfully, of the weight I’ve lost, 19lbs was pure fat. I’ve only lost 2.5lbs of muscle. This is great news and has helped me transition back to the gym over the last few weeks. My heartburn didn’t go away. I actually need to be on omeprezole daily (sometimes twice per day), which is more of an annoyance than a problem. Two weeks ago, right on schedule, my hair started falling out. It’s been traumatic even though I knew it was very likely to happen. When your hair falls out but your weight loss is at a halt, it feels awful. Like what am I doing this for? I know the answer but in my “feel sorry for myself” moments, that’s the question I hear in my head. My body has been changing, and I can see where my skin was stretched out now in the strangest places. This and the hair loss has led to a spike in emotional eating. I’m sure that’s why I’ve been stalled the last 2-3 weeks. Sigh. I feel like a bit of a failure. At the end of the day, I wouldn’t change my decision. I just feel like the first six months are critical and I can’t seem to take advantage of them like I want to. Has this happened to you? Did you still make it to your goal? Any thoughts welcome 🙏

I'm half way through my 5th week. Graduated from puree to minced chicken. I make a high protein mac salad with a little bit of cut up pasta, a little Shredded cheese, minced chicken, hard boiled egg and low fat mayo. After puree, if tastes like a gourmet meal. I also was craving veggies. I made a summer squash, zucchini, mushroom saute today.

Second day out of surgery. Sheesh! Had the surgery Wednesday about 11am. Woke up with terrible lower back pain in my bed in my own private room, so lucky! I’m in Australia btw, so it’s winter here and I had lots of nice blankets. The nurses were angels. I was quite zonked on the anaesthetic and they were so lovely & kind. I feel asleep and kept waking up as they did obs, and let my paracetamol topped up. My tummy as very tender, and it was a bit painful to get a comfortable position with my back being sore, but it calmed down and I was ok physically. Mentally I was having lots of daydreams and dreams about things and possibly hallucinating! I wish I could remember what they were about but I do remember laughing out loud a few times! At about 6pm I was with it enough to properly open my eyes and be conscious enough to go to the toilet with the help of the nurse. She had to unplug my arms and legs from the wrap around things that massaged them to encourage blood flow (I kept thinking that my dog had jumped up and was snuggling up against me!). I rolled up into a sitting position with a bit of pain and rolled the IV pole to the toilet and she left the room for some privacy. Managed to pee ok and make it back to bed. She came back and plugged me back into my machines. I went to pee a few more times and it was just pee. I managed to text my friends and family and start taking sips of water from a straw. I just dozed in and out of consciousness quite pleasantly. Wasn’t in much discomfort or anything. Was happy that it was over and I had a nice bed to be looked after in. My surgeon popped in around 6am to check in on me and tell me how wonderfully it all went. He also said that my liver was quite fatty, so we did this just in time, which was a bit scary but great to know that I’ve done the right thing! Around daybreak I had some endone for the tummy pain, and kept napping. At about 10am I had some clear chicken broth, some hot tea with rice milk and some chocolate protein milk for breakfast, not too much but I did my duty! The feeing of anything going down is very strange, and not too pleasant if it’s more than I sip, so that took a while. I got my final paperwork and directions and popped on my comfy clothes and went downstairs to get my Uber home at midday. I felt a bit woozy and a touch nauseous in the car but made it ok! Last night I was doing ok but then I woke up with the dreaded shoulder pain! So sad, I was hoping I’d skip that! Anyway, I’ve embraced the endone (was not wanting to take much, as I hate it, but it really is necessary for this pain) and keep swapping out ice packs. Keeping up the shakes and the protein powder water ok so far. Have absolutely no hunger but I’m a good patient and I don’t want to get dehydrated or lose my hair! I’ll just do the best I can. I did get quite grumpy and a bit sad for myself, but I reflected on my situation, and all the drugs my body is on, plus the stress it’s been subjected to and I talk myself to calmness. Managed to keep up my pooing which is great, but BOY OH BOY it’s not something I’ve ever smelt before! Prepare yourself! I’ll let you know how I go.

I've been eating this on my low carb diet for years. I'm not sure if the Eden brand black soy beans are available everywhere , but I thought I'd share the recipe anyway .All amounts and ingredients can be changed to your liking. 2 cans of Eden Black soy beans , drained & rinsed ( half a cup = 11 grams of protein ! ) 1/2 c. sugar free Ketchup 2 TBsp. Yellow Mustard 4 TBsp. sugar free maple syrup 1 # hamburger , fried and drained ( 3 oz. = 20 grams protein ) Bacon strips ( 3 grams protein per slice ) 1/2 cup chopped onions 1/2 cup chopped green peppers salt & pepper Brown hamburger,drain. Saute onions and green peppers.Combine all ingredients in a casserole dish. Lay bacon strips on top. Bake at 400 degrees till bubbly & bacon is crisp.

I was sleeved in Mexico in 2009, and two years later I lost my gall bladder because all I did was focus on protein and nothing else. I wish I had known that we CAN overdo protein. I wish I'd known that too much protein will kill your gall bladder, your kidneys, and your liver. I wish I'd exercised from the get-go instead of waiting 3 years to finally start getting on that elliptical. It would have given me more muscle tone and less hanging skin. I wish I'd stuck to my exercise instead of letting myself get overwhelmed with all the tragedies I experienced from 2014-2020. I wish I'd gotten therapy instead of looking to Xanax, Ambien, and alcohol to distract me. I'm 23 days out of a revision from a sleeve to a bypass due to weight gain. This journey is going to be much harder than my sleeve. Treasure your sleeve, work with it, respect it. *Edit: You're goal right now should be to hydrate and keep walking. Even just the shuffling around the house is good. It helps prevent blood clots and helps flush out the anesthesia and water retention from the IV fluids. Shuffle around the house 3 or 4 times a day. Count 500 or 600 steps each time. It gets easier. Don't be bending over to grab stuff from the floor. Ask someone to help or get a $10 extended arm grabber thingy. That helped me a lot when I would drop my sock or my vitamin on the floor. 😊

This is just cottage cheese and protein... so it's got all the things we need and nothing bad in it. It tastes good enough to eat with out adding chips, and there's a lot of yogurts that are worse for you.

I agree with Arabesque. You need to go back. Ask for blood work and make sure they check your kidneys. Too much protein is also bad. I had my sleeve done 14 years ago in Mexico. He sent me home with nothing but a regular multivitamin once a day. Two years later, though, I lost my gallbladder due to the fact that all I was consuming was protein. My sleeve was tiny and I lost a lot of weight really fast, but my diet was nowhere near balanced because all they tell you is to concentrate on "protein first." Consequently, I didn't care about fiber (or anything else) and I put a horrible strain on my gallbladder, liver, and kidneys. It's a really tough balancing act when it comes to nutrition. * Edit: Maybe because you already don't have a gallbladder, you're straining your kidneys?

Its really hard not to be in full regret mode at night. Im 2 weeks out and during the day I'm fine no pain or anything. However, when I go to bed I get about 2 hours sleep and then wake up in excruciating pain under left ribs that goes around to my back. I have been to the ER and they checked my heart and lungs, they checked my sleeve for leaks, they checked me for clots, and nothing. This pain is really unbearable. All I'm eating is thinned out greek yogurt, drinking protein drinks, Jello, drinking gatorade zero, water, and gatorlyte zero, and broth. I'm taking a ppi, gasx, stool softener, and laxative. I dont have a gallbladder, Im sleeping sitting up. I don't know what Im doing wrong. I am really trying to stay positive but this pain is making it hard and making me feeling like I ruined my life. Really praying someone on here has some experience with this and can give me some insight.

My Solgar Vitamin B12 Sublingual and vitamin C were 20-33% off for my preop! Solgar Biotin and vital Proteins Collagen powder both at 36% off usual price for my skin/hair/nails. Premier protein shakes cake batter and chocolate peanut butter were 30% off. Definetely stocked up! You're welcome for the reminder! It's temping not to buy more things 🤣🤣

I have just hit maintenance but my long term plan is to allow a 5lb gain without freaking out (because of water weight and other factors) and then if I exceed that to go right back to basics - protein first, veg and fruit second, carbs a very last third - until I'm back to my previous weight. I have no idea yet whether or not this will help me maintain but I just thought I should share. Best of luck to you x

61 days until my surgery and I'm already having buyers remorse. I know it's all in my head. I have an amazingly supportive husband in all of it and he's had to hear the gambit of my emotions from elation to utter defeat surrounding this surgery, so much so that he honestly doesn't know what to think sometimes. But he's on board 100% even if it does mean he will have to do most of the cooking for himself and our kids for a while so that I can adjust to turning down the "head hunger". I ordered a few different protein powders and shot (an assortment box) so that I could start the prep work. I have been so bad lately about "well I can't have it after surgery, so I'm gonna stuff my face with it now" ice cream, cookies, I think I had 5 normal sized cupcakes on 4th of July. At this point sometimes I'm eating just to eat because I still have issues to address with my eating. I have psych appointments lined up with the bariatrics team at Mayo as well as my usual psych and shrink. I want to get a hold on my relationship with food before the surgery and with so little time left I'm worried that I can't do it. I'm petrified that I am going to mess myself up worse having the surgery than if I just kept going without it. Weightloss isn't the #1 reason I'm having the surgery, just a big bonus. I have to have the surgery because of another surgery I had almost 20 years ago starting to come undone and causing issues and more damage. I'm so scared right now that I'm going to end up hating myself for putting myself through the misery. But it's time to "Embrace the Suck" and move forward. We are all in various places, but it's so great seeing everyone be so supportive from every walk. I'm happy to have found this site.

I'm only looking for vanilla purely because I just like to get my protein in with my coffee. I'm not a fan of fruity cereals so I'm sure I wouldn't care to much for that flavor. I have a bunch of bottles of Strawberry Banana Core Power because the fruity creamy flavor is just not for me. I appreciate the suggestion though!

I am a coffee addict, I literally drink coffee all day, everyday, so this was something I had to have in life...lol My drink at Starbucks right now is Venti Toasted Vanilla Shaken Espresso, only 3 pumps syrup and 2 extra shots. At home, I keep Stok cold brew on hand and will mix with my protein powder in the AM and then I use sugar free syrups or creamers. Coffeemate has a few good ones, like the sugar free Twix. But I really like the Silk Oatmeal Cookie Oat Milk Creamer, it's just not sugar free.

Moon Cheese Panino Roll Ups - I like the peperoni the best P3 Protein Snacks Two Good Yogurt Smoothies Chicken Jerky Meat Sticks

Hey guys, I just wanted to let everyone know that doesn't that today is the last day of Prime Day on Amazon for all Amazon subscribers! Yesterday, I was able to score amazing deals on some vitamins and Premier protein shakes! We all know these things are expensive so im very greatful to save some money! Not everything is on sale so look for the Prime Day Tag and price compare, but this was a blessing to get 30%+ off of some items I need for the big day! 🙏 Happy shopping 😊