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DISCLAIMER: The following is what *I* did based on my own research and trial end error on how things affected *MY* body. I am NOT advocating to NOT listen to your team without educating yourself. With that said: Edited to add: I didn't realize this post would be so long, sorry! My program was to consume pre-defined "portions": each meal was supposed to consist of 25% protein, 25% starch and 50% non-starchy vegetables, and to work my way up to 1200 calories per day total with a min 60-70g protein. They also said to avoid added sugar. The didn't specifically mention to go low fat, but I mean if I followed the guidelines listed above, it would naturally be low-ish fat. Needless to say, I didn't do that. First, I couldn't get that amount of food in, Second, I tried it out, saw a swoosh in weight, and figured that going low-carb was very effective in weight loss for ME. I kept losing weight, so I just kept doing it. Why fix what ain't broke, right? More on this later... So for the majority of my weight loss phase I went ultra-low carb...was averaging less than 20 NET g of carbohydrates per day (i don't count fibre nor sugar alcohols), aimed to reach 60g protein per day, and let the fat fall where it may. My cals were about 300-400 in the first couple months, and by the time I reached goal, I was at about 800 (yes, I know this is on the low end compared to most, but it worked for ME). P.S. I feel the need to add that my nutritionist was made aware of what I was doing. And while she tut-tutted me about it, she didn't overly object. Also, all my labs came back satisfactorily during this period (and still does), and my surgeon was pleased. ***WARNING, MATH TIME...*** Given the total calories I was achieving, I wasn't truly doing KETO proper, as my fat consumption did not reach the levels required for my protein intake. True KETO is 70-80% fat, 10-20% protein & 5-10% carbs. Since I was doing 60g of protein, I would have needed to do ~75g of fat, which would have put me in the 1100 cal range...and I wasn't even coming close to that level. **** So really, I was probably doing more a version of Atkins Phase 1 (ultra-low carb). Now that I'm 3 years out, I am no longer so strict about my macros. I still *kinda* limit carbs, but not really. I eat bread on occasion, and sugar pretty regularly (in small amounts)...but i very rarely eat pasta or rice. I think its just habit now? Looking back, here is my take/opinion on going this route: TRUE Keto is very difficult to achieve in weight loss phase while keeping cals low. There is a relatively big drop in weight in the beginning of each period of going low carb. There is a bunch of science to explain this, you can google it. Going low carb makes a difference in how my face and body looks. While it looks good on my body, cuz you can see more muscle definition, its not so great on my face cuz I look gaunt. I've come to the conclusion that FOR ME, in terms of weight loss/maintenance ONLY, the ingestion of carbs has much, much less impact (if any) than calories consumed. It doesn't seem to matter if 1000 calories is made up 5% carbs or 50% carbs, I'll lose weight on it either way. Good Luck! ❤️

I was told to wait primarily because during the weight loss phase your liver is having to work like crazy to get rid of the toxins that your fat cells are releasing, and if you add alcohol to that could be very damaging.. and of course also the increased risk of alcoholism. Glad I wasn’t much of a drinker before (like.. 10 drinks a year maybe?) because dealing with food habits and changing those for the better is already a LOT! So much respect for all of you who are dealing with missing alcohol on top of everything else 🌸

Was sleeved 10/13. Live in Ohio. Anyone else on puréed? Just got moved and looking for food ideas 😉 Doing sugar free pudding, yogurt & mashed potatoes. Heard ricotta bake is good so might try making that?? looking for friends to share the journey with ❤️ Hard sometimes seeing friends & family eat regular food

I also live in Ohio and had my sleeve on 10/13!! We need to be friends 😉 Not asking specifics but what area of Ohio do you live in? How are you feeling? What stage diet are you in? Puréed for me. Struggling to find things to eat

I'm going in today to a new doctor -- haven't had any follow up in 10 years, have gained 50 pounds back (about 10 pounds a year) after losing 150. Have been having some issues on and off that include a tremendous amount of mucus, throwing up, and difficulty eating when sitting down. A Lot of changes in my life these past 5 years and emotionally haven't been handling them well -- feel like issue is more emotional than physical, but figured I'd start with something tangible that i can see -- have the band looked at and adjusted if needed. Any advice and thoughts would be welcome.... TIA

I ended up with a hiatal hernia (I’m prone to hernias) a few months after my surgery that was most of my sleeve. It caused gerd so bad that I had esophagitis and hiccups. Hiccups every waking moment for several months. I was on 20mg of protonix twice a day along with 40mg of Pepcid and sometimes 10 tums a day until I had a revision to RNY. The nausea and feeling sick all the time was much better after revision and I wasn’t as anxious anymore about the heartburn. I’m 14 months out from revision now and if I wanted to chug a water or something else I totally could. I eat what I feel like having in that moment and I feel so much more “normal” now. Maybe see if your doctor (or a different one) will send you for imaging to see if there’s something that’s causing the heartburn that can be fixed. Hoping things get better for you soon.

I use my highest weight. I lost 24 during COVID on my own, then regained 10 before I started with the bariatric clinic. That high figure represents the beginning of my journey, not the weight when I started at the clinic.

I use the weight I was when I decided to pursue WLS because that's when I started my weight loss journey. My highest recorded weight was actually in 2017, but I didn't start my weight loss journey until 2019 so I use the weight I was in 2019 rather than 2017 (i.e I use 389 instead of 392) because I had too much stuff going on in 2017 and wasn't focusing on weight loss at all (I had brain surgery in 2017 and my sister also had a really traumatic miscarriage when she was at 19 weeks).

Wow! That's really low calorie. By 6 months out I was expected to hit 1000-1200 per day. These days a "high day" is 1300 cal and a low day is 1000. I find if you eat too little, your body stalls faster too because it thinks you are starving. I try to vary each day by at least 100 calories when I am paying attention and actually loosing. So glad to hear you are going down again this week. That's wonderful! And yes, I agree. On a longer stall, I have totally slipped into the mindset of "Oh well, guess that's it for weight loss. At least I weigh less than I have since I was 19!" I mean, I wouldn't even mind stopping loosing weight at 180. At my height that's still way too much but 102lbs down would be such an amazing thing regardless.

Had our final preop appointment today. Our preop diet starts October 29th with only 4 protein shakes per day and water or gaterade zero to drink. GOing to be a LONG 10 days!

Gastric bypass on Monday morning. Returned home Wednesday afternoon. Thursday morning, stepped on scale and weighed 5 pounds more than I did Monday morning. Wasn't until Saturday that I was below my Monday morning weight. I felt tender/swollen for about 10-14 days after surgery. Knowing what I know now, I wouldn't step on a scale until 7 days after surgery (and I do best when I check the scale daily -- I need the daily feedback).

When I had my VSG I was 278.2 the week before surgery, 271 when discharged, and 258.3 at my post-op appointment 10 days later. I had very minimal bruising or swelling that time. When I had my revision (8 months later due to gerd), I was 222 a week before surgery, left the hospital at 234.4 (was there 4 days due to needing iron), and was 215.7lbs at my one week post-op appointment. I had loads of bruising this time around. The picture is from a week post-op and I still had visible bruising at 20 days post-op (second picture) though it never hurt.

Hi do not worry. I was one of those people who binged like crazy and gained 10 lbs during the liver shrinking phase. I had the surgery on October 21 and all went well. The night before I was scared dr would go in see my Fatty liver and close up. That did not happen. Now if I can gain 10 lbs in liver shrinking phase from not following diet & comeout fine then you have Nothing to worry about with a few slip ups. God luck on your surgery & can’t wait to hear how your post ops going.

I had mine on 10/21 and the pain won't ease up. It's the incision where my stomach would most likely be. Anyone in this boat too? Sent from my SM-G998U using BariatricPal mobile app

It’s been 4 days by which time the nurse told me i should see results but I’ve also read it can take 7-10 days. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I can see some difference but will probably need the little top up next week to get the missed spots. Also thinking about getting some PDO threads around the mouth area to take in the chin & nasal labia folds. These are the collagen threads not the barbed lifting threads. Apparently the neutraliser produces the same reaction in the body as bee & wasp stings not that it includes the actual venom. The concern is because our bodies overreact we may go to into anaphylaxis. So not worth the risk she said. I hope your family is more aware of your allergy than mine. We were all in our mum’s garden a few years back & I did this big dash away saying bees. My brothers laughed & teased me as only brothers can for being afraid of bees. I’m allergic I tell them & they look at me with disbelief & as if I was joking until Mum confirmed it. How did you find out about yours? Not by having an anaphylactic reaction I hope. Oh & congrats on your 3 year anniversary too @ms.sss. Whoo hoo! I so love that colour on you, @Sophie7713. You look fabulous. And I think that’s such a clever idea to tuck the legs in your shoes - like matching socks. I still think we should be eligible for a rebate on all the excess fabric we have to cut off to make clothes the right length. I think those velvet pants look amazing on you @WishMeSmaller. Legs for days, girl. Saw this yesterday. Finally payback!! 😆😆😆

I think you look perfect! What's left is just loose skin. btw - it's VERY common to regain about 10% of your lost weight during year 2 or 3, so I would not worry about being too thin right now. I think you look great! I purposely went a little below my goal because I knew the rebound was really common - and yep, it happened to me!! (lost 235 lbs - gained 20 lbs in year 3)

Vsg 10/14. 7 days post op I was down 7 lbs. I still think I’m a little bloated.

Hi my surgery is tomorrow abs I’m terrified my liver hasn’t shrunk. I started the 1/10/21 for the 20th but my date got cancelled so I went of the diet fir one day. I also had a few slips ups before. They gave me a new date the 25th and I’ve been on the diet as strict as possible although I did have another slip up. Since starting the diet I have gone from 117kg to 109/110kg and I’ve been eating according to the diet recently but I’m still terrified it’s not shrunk. What shall I do

This was me for the first week - to a T. I ended up improving a lot.... I am now 19 days post op and feeling awesome. The 2nd week is when I really started to improve honestly. Just do what you can and rest!

Surgery date was 10/18! I’m currently 6days post op. Can y’all give me some helpful ideas and tips on how to get thru the rest of my liquid phase! Y’all I’m struggling. Thanks

20 lbs a month is A LOT for five months out. You usually only see those kinds of drops the first month or two. After the first month, a lot of us only lose about 10 lbs a month, give or take. At about six months out, I dropped down to 5-8 lbs a month.

Hi Sunny blue, I had rny surgery 2008 was 300 lb lost 175 lb after about a year took kept it off for 10 years about 2 years ago started gaining weight back to 200 trying to figure out what I can do to help myself I would like to know your story if you please thank you

Hi I'm 65 and had bariatric surgery in 2008. Was 300 lb lost $175 lb took about a year I guess. Kept weight off for a good 10 years 2 years ago started gaining weight now I'm up to 200. Not sure what changed did have an ulcer had to have balloons surgery twice to help repair it. Also in the last 2 years I have stretched out my pouch definitely and my hormones are all messed up because I have cravings which I never had before and overeating which I never could do before wish me luck I'm trying to change it all around again

Didn’t have enough to worry about that when I wire them back then 😂. But I had a a dress & a jumpsuit with shirred bodices about 15yrs ago when I was an Aust size 10/12 & wore size 12E bras & I’d go bra less when I’d wear them. The shirring was firm & offered enough support. Oh the joy of being braless. Bliss! You look gorgeous in the newest dress & all eyes will be on you.

Hi! I’m 52, just had my gastric sleeve a few days ago on 10/20/21. I had uterine cancer at the beginning on 2021 and had a hysterectomy in March that cured that but did put me into sudden menopause. Currently I’m just dealing with the pain and trying to ingest enough water and protein, much harder that I thought. Also put on a few pounds with the surgery so I’m waiting to see the numbers on the scale start to go down.