Search the Community

I have not had lap band but I have had two prior bariatric surgeries that failed. I am now going to have RNY Gastric Bypass revision at age 73. I have learned a lot since I started on this path 6 months ago. Good for you for moving forward toward a healthy weight. However, I'm concerned that you have not learned how to eat differently yet. Consider the possibility that you are a sugar/food addict. If you are, Keto is not the answer for you. You need to change your habits entirely. I strongly recommend some reading for you. Choose at least one book from each of these groups. Finally, conclude with Success Habits of Weight Loss Patients. Get started now. Apparently you have already had the surgery, so there is no time to be lost.

I'm one month out. I'm not someone who can follow a "meal plan". I don't want to decide at the beginning of the day what I'll be eating at each meal; I need to have a choice or life feels deadly dull. That being said, I will cook something a few times a week (right now it's some sort of ground meat or bean-based dish with a spicy sauce eaten with fat free greek yogurt) and then alternate among the ones I've cooked. I portion them out into 5-6 or more servings in small plastic containers and freeze some so I don't get sick of what I've made or it doesn't go bad too soon. I'll eat them three times a day, breakfast lunch and dinner, except I will occasionally make egg product with cheese for breakfast. I would say at most I spent about 40 minutes a day on all three meals, and many days it's less than 10 minutes. Of course, I live alone and don't have to feed anyone else. I do spend some time looking at recipes, but I'll usually do this when as a form of inspiration, mostly it's things I can't have. Most people's ideas of what a post-surgery patient can have seems very bland to me and I wouldn't eat it, so I don't look at bariatric meal ideas - I go to real cooking sites and figure out how to adapt "normal" recipes. My job involves a lot of traveling so my next task will be to figure out how to eat better on the road.

My original surgeon was with kaiser, and he wouldn't give me a revision surgery. I changed to PPO and found a surgeon who said he would give me the surgery but didn't think it would help. I eventually found the bariatric institute in Utah, and Dr. Medlin gave me my yes. Getting approved was a BREEZEEEEEE. I guess it depends on your insurance.

I think a lot of bariatric programs adopt a "one-size-fits-all" strategy because, frankly, it's easier than tailoring it to each individual patient. They go with something conservative and simple that should be fine for everyone, even if not ideal for all patients. To be clear, I don't think there's anything wrong with your asking these questions, and you're probably better off for looking at it this way and trying to optimize your own nutrition. But I can also see how this kind of discussion can be confusing for some patients. Hang out on this site for a while and you'll see a lot of posts from people who have alarmingly little knowledge about what they're supposed to be eating post-op (although I suspect some of these are trolls). Some patients basically need to be micromanaged and told exactly what to eat and drink at every stage. Plus, the surgeon might be afraid that if he tells you that a different shake is ok, other patients will either hear what they want to hear ("If Unjury shakes are ok, I guess that means I can drink any shakes I want, and I like McDonalds shakes!") or start bombarding him with questions about other specific products. That could explain why he is more reasonable when you meet with him one-on-one as opposed to in a support group setting with other patients. Anyway, I'm with you about real food vs. shakes. For the first several months, I relied on protein shakes and other protein-fortified products a lot, but I'm 15 months out now and I can easily get enough protein from real food, so I don't want to waste my calories on protein shakes that I don't even enjoy! I would much rather have a grilled chicken salad or a Mr. Tortilla turkey wrap or a broccoli slaw omelet than drink a protein shake.

A lot of surgeons (of all stripes, not just bariatric) have God complexes, and a lot of patients want to follow a rigid set of rules to feel they're doing things "correctly." I'm in the my-body-my-choices group, myself. If someone can give me a reasonable explanation why they feel I shouldn't make a particular choice, I'll listen and then decide.

4 lbs a week after the first month is pretty extreme, unless you're the size of someone on "My 600 lb Life". Does this dietitian have any experience with bariatric patients? Doesn't sound like it. most "normal" WLS patients lose about 15-25 lbs the first month after surgery, and then it slows down to about 10 lbs (give or take) a month for the next several months - and then it drops even further. Of course you will find people who lose more or less than that, but they're outliers. So you are fine - that dietitian is very misinformed.

I am a person who always wants to know the "why" behind a rule (unfortunately!). So, as I've slowly been progressing through my surgeon's plan (still on pureeds for two more weeks, and I'm 7 weeks out), I've started wondering if we will always have to drink protein shakes. I hate them, they taste gross, and the ingredients list is like 5 paragraphs long full of things I can't even say - besides that, they're full of carbs and often high calorie. And if we do have to always drink them, why? Why can't we meet our protein goals through eating real food? For example, an egg and a morningstar breakfast sausage patty is 16 grams of protein and 150 calories. The protein shake I drink is almost 300 calories (bariatric advantage with PB2 over a plant based milk). Also, bone broth, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, tuna are all high protein, low calorie options that taste way better than protein shakes. If a person is able to meet protein goals and still stay around 600 calories a day during weight loss phase, why the shakes? (I don't know if that's feasible, I haven't tried it - I am still drinking the nasty protein). So, I posted the question to the online support group my surgeon keeps on Facebook. I asked if a person can meet their daily protein goal through real food, are protein shakes still required. Man! You would have thought I asked if I could eat a full meat lovers pizza from Papa John's! People launched on me, accused me of eating too much food, told me if I wanted to lose weight and maintain it I HAD to drink protein shakes for life. Then the surgeon came on and publicly shamed me, said I was way off track and wasn't following the plan. What bomb did I set off??? And nobody ever explained WHY the shakes are required??? The previous time before this when I asked a question, almost the same thing happened. I asked if I could drink the Unjury ready made shakes instead of the powder because they taste so much better. People berated me, and told me the ready made shakes were not good for me. Then the surgeon chimed in and said the ready made were not as good because they are protein caseinate instead of whey isolate. Um, the packaging clearly says the Unjury brand is whey protein isolate. So now why are they bad for me? The next day, my surgeon posted a long post about people having this surgery and not taking it seriously. I can't help but think it was in response to my question about protein shakes. I didn't even have Facebook, I deleted it in 2016 when things started to get so nasty online. I only started using it again to join my surgeon's group. I cancelled following the page. I was really ticked off at the responses. I'm so angry I don't even want to continue with my surgeon's office. AND, by the way, I am not way off track, I've lost 41 lbs. in these last 7 weeks, and I'm really happy with that. Started at 235, now 194 (and have been losing about 1 lb a day for the last few days). I know I'm being a baby, I think I just needed to vent. I do like my surgeon when we meet one on one for appointments. Facebook is evil. Sent from my SM-N976V using BariatricPal mobile app

The BariatricPal Store carries a huge selection of bariatric friendly protein bars at https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/protein-bars ! Here are some of the awesome protein bar brands they carry: - BariatricPal - Built Bar - Convenient Nutrition - Dive Bar Nutrition - Epic - HealthSmart Foods - IQBar - Keto Wise - Kirkland - Muscle Cheff - Power Crunch - Proti Diet - Quest Nutrition

I had gastric sleeve surgery almost a month ago and I am on soft bariatric foods. The biggest struggle I’ve had is learning to eat slowly! I started working on before surgery but I feel like I am still eating too fast, by the time I feel full it’s already too late and I’ve taken a bite or two too many because I ate too fast and didn’t let my body signal that I was full. Any advice on slowing down when I eat?

I've posted on here a few times about how frustrated I've been at being CONSTANTLY hungry since my sleeve a month ago. Well, on Sunday I was out and it was cold and I was hungry because I didn't eat much breakfast because I had been eating too fast in my rush to get out the door so it got stuck in my chest, so I stopped after a few bites. Anyway, I was out at a festival and waiting to meet my friend and got hot tea with skim milk and splenda. I was fine for HOURS. Last night I had sugar free hot cocoa with protein milk, and today I had bariatric pal Chai Tea with protein (don't recommend it - very clumpy). Each time I actually felt like I had eaten enough that I was no longer hungry, which I haven't felt with any of the foods that I've tried. Should I just be eating soup?

While I generally agree with @The Greater Fool, I've been told at least 64 oz post-bariatric surgery as you are losing weight because when the body is breaking down fat it uses water, so we need to drink more. Also, sometimes after surgery people don't drink enough because it's hard to swallow. I don't know how far out you are from surgery or if you actually have not had surgery yet, as your profile suggests. Some people find that drinking more curbs their hunger. This doesn't work for me, maybe it does for you. Some people will drink absolute gallons of water in a day; that can actually be dangerous as it throws your electrolytes out of whack. If you're not being extreme in either direction, not drinking a lot of alcohol, not running in today's Boston Marathon, not thirsty, you're probably gonna live.

That's amazing. I'm just 4 weeks out from surgery. I've had a bit of a struggle with being hungry all the time, but I'm hoping I will still be successful. I've lost 18lbs in the last 4 weeks since surgery, so I'm happy about that. I'm also feeling a bit irritable but our bariatric therapist can't see me until November, so I'm just seeing my regular therapist tomorrow. Congrats on your success!

Total Scale Victory and Random Observations: I now have lost more than I weigh. I have lost 190 lbs. from my highest weight of 374. The first 50 was using Victoza for Type 2 diabetes. My bariatric program has my starting weight as 343. SW=325. CW=185. My program doesn’t give goal weights. For my own satisfaction, 174 would give me a normal BMI. I’d like to end about 170 knowing that some gain/loss is possible as things settle. I’m 5’10”. I have gone from a size 30/32 to a 14. I haven’t been this size since early high school. I look forward to doing things rather than dreading them. I’ve been off all diabetes meds since surgery. I am still using my CPAP although I’ve had the pressure lowered twice. I see the sleep program in December and we will re-evaluate then. I suspect I will still have a need for it. My cholesterol medication will be re-evaluated in December as well. My doctor thinks it likely I will remain on that med due to family history. That is the only medication I take other than my vitamins and supplements. I track in LoseIt. I track every bite, every day. It keeps me accountable to myself and I foresee it as something I will need to do forever. Today is the first time I ever exported my progress to a spreadsheet. On other groups, I see so many questions that ask how much someone has lost at a given point. I honestly never knew what I did. These are my totals lost from first to current month: 16, 19, 17, 15, 15, 18, 4, 9, 17, 10. I exceed my liquid goals every day and never tracked that after the first week. I’ve never had any trouble with liquids and I know roughly what I drink each day as I know what my mug holds. I also ran my macros for the first time. Since surgery, I’ve kept protein to 40-50% of my diet with fat and carbs 25-30%. I’m still at 800-1000 calories per day. My program has said that is relatively low at this point but as long as I am losing and not feeling hungry, it was fine. My hunger has not returned. I am grateful for that. I’ve tried to build successful habits that will serve me for the long haul. I’ve been walking since coming home from the hospital. I started at 5-10 minutes per day. Now, I try to walk 45-60 per day at a moderate pace. I use 5 lb. weights and do toning exercises for 10-15 min. most days. I’ve started seeing virtually a therapist recommended by my program. I don’t have a history of trauma or eating disorders but I didn’t get to my weight by having a healthy relationship with food. Plus, I was very moody and short-tempered following surgery. I feel great and have more energy than I have in years. But This. Is. Work. I’m ok with that and try to keep my focus on progress and health. I follow what my program suggests and make my own decisions within that framework. There is no short cut to this. There’s no pouch reset, fasting, diet pills and how soon can I eat at McDonalds. I ranted on here one time about hating the word “pouch.” I still do. I hate pouch reset even more. 🙄😫 I don’t believe in it. We don’t need to reset. We need to make the best decisions and choices we can without needing to be perfect. Sure, you lose weight with it, but it’s simply because you are going back to not taking in many calories….and most of us have been down that road before. I continue to absorb the wisdom I get here from those who have gone down this road before me or are on it now. I still hate shopping even though it is not as difficult as it once was. I’m still not sure who I see in the mirror and am uncomfortable with focus on my weight loss. I could eventually benefit from plastic surgery, but I don’t know if that will be in the cards. Enough for now……thanks for reading.

If you have a food sensitivity that went unnoticed before, it may be made worse with bariatric surgery. As other posters stated, it’s normal to have pretty major taste and smell changes post op that can take months or more to go away.

If you READ the postings properly then would know that your own member TOMO stated that the UCLA med center recommends GENEPRO to ALL their bariatric patients and they also posted the link to UCLA backing their claim! I didnt state that fact...TOMO did. Again, If you READ the postings then you would know that i have never used GENEPRO protein nor do i know anybody affiliated with the company, but i do know two people that have used this product with with great success and have read about dozens more on this very website. My initial posting was about all the false garbage and plain false statements being made about the product. I did read up on the company and the entire lawsuit and the courts findings as well so i do know what true and whats not. Again, If you read the postings you would know i dont bully but i wont BE bullied either and the truth hurts sometimes! Im taking care of business and im helping people all the time to get healthy and fit with zero kick back to me other then Im always happy to see people achieve happiness in their lives and being PHYSICALLY FIT always, always helps people to be happy! Piss and moan all you want...insult all you want and tell us all about how you know everything about everything when it comes to nutrition and health because YOU HAVE BEEN A NURSE FOR 20 YEARS, yet you have your own health issues? You should slow down your negativity yourself and go for a walk to work off some of that...negativity. Soon to be fit??? Your are a nurse so you of all people should know that when it comes to getting fit, waiting around for magic beans wont do you any good at all...get after it and put the work in. Hope all goes well for you and i hope you are able to get rid of all that... negative and hostile anxiety. As far as trolling goes...you are the one spouting nonsense and misinformation, not me. God Bless!

And it will still be considered bogus and bs. Trolling a bariatric forum with your posts isn’t going to “help” the company you’re trying to “promote” FYI, I’ve been a nurse for over 20 years. Claiming I don’t know what I’m talking about when it comes to nutritional information and your UCLA claim is silly at best. But go ahead and keep insulting members here with your horrific grammar and obvious juvenile anger issues, it doesn’t do anything for your case.

Hello Ladies, I was approved for gastric sleeve surgery late last month. I have to see my nutritionist once a month for 6 months consecutively, I have to have bariatric counciling report done that takes 3 sessions before surgery and one after, they did a ton of blood work, I have a upper GI and a echo cardiagram scheduled this week and I have to see my cardiologist to get approval to go off my blood thinners before they will scheduled my surgery date. I'm at my heaviest weight now 471 lbs. I don't know what my goal weight should be, I just want to lose enough to have my knees replaced as there bone on bone and I'm in a lot of pain everyday. I'm 49 and this is me now with a couple of my granddaughters sitting in my wheelchair.

Not a shill at all and thats a promise on all 5 of my grandchildren! I just got tired of hearing all the misinfo being spread around and look at what your respected member "TOMO" replied in this posting and TOMO has been around here and is in no way a "shill". TOMO said replied: "Genepro is endorsed and recommended by many medical facilities, including UCLA School of Medicine to all their bariatric patients. The science is sound but people believe whatever they want to believe. http://surgery.ucla.edu/workfiles/bariatrics/healthy-eating/UCLA-Post-Op-Diet-Updated-2021.pdf"

You're so obviously a shill for this stuff. You come and you register an account just so you can post this. You contribute literally nothing else to the site. And for what it's worth, I started in the bariatric program at UCLA and have never heard anyone suggest GENEPRO. Protein is protein. What your body doesn't need, it gets rid of by pooping it out. "WhY wOuLd YoU pUt YoUr BoDy ThRu ThAt" lol, literally everyone poops, there was a whole children's book about it.

Straws can bring air into your stomach which can cause gas like pains. Some people don't have problems other do. I imagine if someone was going to have problems it would be in the first six to 12 weeks, while the stomach is healing and is still tender and they are getting use to restrictions etc. I am not one to typically use a straw, so didn't have a need to use one or test it out. I think using straws is one of those variable things about weight loss surgery - depends on your surgeon and/or what you may read. Some were told never to use a straw again, others maybe in time, others were not told anything. These two links were just the first two I found, I've linked them for no other reason. https://www.obesityhelp.com/articles/drinking-through-a-straw-after-wls/ https://mexicobariatriccenter.com/bariatric-surgery-myths/

Genepro is endorsed and recommended by many medical facilities, including UCLA School of Medicine to all their bariatric patients. The science is sound but people believe whatever they want to believe. http://surgery.ucla.edu/workfiles/bariatrics/healthy-eating/UCLA-Post-Op-Diet-Updated-2021.pdf

If it’s anxiety around eating because you’re worried about decreased appetite then just know you can eat smaller meals and always go back for something else if you’re still hungry. The types of food you’re adding in may also be the culprit. I know I couldn’t eat or stomach much eggs, chicken breast or dry cooked meats for a while after surgery. So maybe try something different than you were before. Same with the protein shakes, some don’t sit as well after surgery as others and drinking the same ones repeatedly can make us feel nauseated at the thought of having another. If the problem continues after trying some of the suggestions a call to your bariatric team might be in order to rule out anything else that may be going on or give you peace of mind. Hopefully it’s better soon!

Do people get dehydrated quick from the Bariatric weight loss Sent from my octopus using BariatricPal mobile app

I'm sorry you're going through this. It sounds like your surgical team definitely failed you. The surgery does change your relationship with food forever. While your surgeon may have overstated things by saying the effects of the surgery only last 18 months, it is true that over time your sleeve will be less intrusive. The restriction eases somewhat and you get to the point where you can eat a small but regular-sized meal with no problem. I'm 2 and 1/2 years out from surgery and I don't have to take tiny bites or sips anymore. As far as eating "normally", that's not something most bariatric patients aspire to because that's what got us obese in the first place. If you really did go back to eating exactly how you did before, you'd simply gain all the weight back. My program had so many educational requirements that it got irritating, but I can see from your story why they are necessary. I hope you find some peace, particularly as time passes and your sleeve matures. God bless!

I agree with lizonaplane, some depression and anxiety is common post surgery but your sounds clinical. I would seek out a therapist, bariatric if possible, but if the waiting list is like it is near me I would see a regular therapist in the mean time.