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6 month is tomorrow, here are my before/afters so far. I have the workout aspect down pat (5-6 days at Crossfit each week), but need to dial in the diet a bit over the next 6 months.

My surgeon does not require the 2 week preop diet! Can anyone tell me what the diet is supposed to be the day before the surgery?

Here's an example of what I'm talking about. Yesterday I went out for lunch with my partner. I got some items people might frown at, but they fit in with my overall DS macros and I didn't eat as much as I felt like I did. And it didn't have as many calories or carbs as I thought it might. A tablespoon of this, a tablespoon of that adds up, but there are still ways to keep it balanced so in the end it doesn't set you off track. I wouldn't eat this every day, but it was a nice treat this week and being able to eat out normally really cheered me up!

just wanted to check in and see how everyone is doing had my one year followup this week and the doctor said Ive lost 94% of excess weight!

yes - a majority of people do have a 10-20 lb rebound gain, usually in year 3. It's not inevitable, but it does seem to happen to most of us. maintenance wasn't too hard for a year or so - but since then, it's been a challenge. I hate that I constantly have to watch everything I eat and log every morsel, but for me anyway, if I quit doing that for too long, my weight starts heading north. Everyone is going to have a range of normal (as opposed to one specific number), since weight can fluctuate up or down by a couple of lbs any given day. So give yourself an acceptable range - maybe a 5 lb range. Once you hit the top of that range (or go over It - eek!), it's all hands on deck until you get back down comfortably within range again. so a struggle, yes, but then, a lot of my never-been-obese women friends have to do the same thing. I know it's easy to think that some people can eat anything and not gain weight, but I think that's an extreme minority. I think another thing that's an adjustment is the idea of weight maintenance itself. I've spent a huge chunk of my life either gaining weight or trying to lose weight. Maintaining within a certain range was a foreign concept for me...

Hi Carrielee - welcome! I had VSG surgery just about a week before my 40th birthday this past November. I had sworn in the years leading up to it that I would NEVER have any kind of WLS, but here I am! If I could have done it on my own, I would have - I needed help to improve my life, because nothing I tried on my own was working, and I tried it all. I had sleep apnea, insulin resistance, and bp that bounced back and forth between hypertensive and high-normal. I felt like I was going to die after climbing up a flight of stairs, and I was passing up good opportunities at my job because I didn't want to walk 5-10 minutes to another building and get all sweaty. I had never had surgery of any kind before (other than getting my wisdom teeth out, but it's not like I was intubated for that), so the thought of getting put under and having my innards poked at was rather intimidating. I would do it over again in a heartbeat. Like @catwoman7 said, I'd do it every year if I had to! I never needed to use my prescription pain meds post-op. I actually take the "long way" to my car at the end of my workdays now. My husband and I routinely walk to the front of our neighborhood and back, whereas previously, I hated just walking the 0.10 mile to our mailbox. My blood pressure has actually been almost LOW ever since waking up from surgery, my IBS-D has essentially disappeared (and I had days where I couldn't be too far from a restroom before), and I'm a little less sweaty. My knees feel INFINITELY better, and they're a little less noisy when I bend down. Now, you do have some health conditions that could make any surgery a little more risky (fatty liver, history of PE especially), but your doctor will review your history and will probably have you do quite a few tests and things to make sure it's safe for you to have surgery. I had some weird, random heart palpitations for darn near 20 years that were dismissed as "nothing major", but my doctor insisted that I do a 48-hour Holter monitor just to be sure. When that didn't show anything, they had me do a monitor for a whole month! They actually figured out the cause (occasional premature atrial contractions, or PACs, which apparently darn near everybody has at some point - some of us just feel them more than others), and cleared me for surgery. Ask your surgeon all the questions you can think of. I watched YouTube videos for months leading up to my surgery just to see what others' experiences were. I crawled through this forum extensively. I read the binder my program gave me over and over and over. I started following tons of WLS accounts on Insta. Do whatever you need to do to ease your mind a bit, and know that there is a large community to back you up! Trust your gut and go with what you know you need to do, be that surgery or something else. No matter what you choose, we'll be here for you.

I had mine on the 1st. Stayed one night and have been home since the night of the 2nd. Today is day 9 and I’m walking 1 mile 3 times a day and I’m feeling better each day. I also started puréed foods yesterday. Thankfully so far so good. Best of luck to the rest of my November friends 💜

I agree with Arabesque, you need to follow your plan. You were given that plan for a reason. You may feel like you've healed, but nerves were cut during the surgery and it takes them awhile to regenerate. You could be doing damage if you progress in your diet too quickly. we've all had to move through a specific progression, about or exactly the same as the one you've been given. Yes it can be frustrating and seem agonizingly slow, but it's temporary and we've all survived it! You'll be able to eat more "normal" foods soon enough. and yes - you can thin your shakes out if they're too thick (I remember not liking the thickness, either). Just add some water to them. good luck and stick to it - the first few weeks can be tough, but again, they're just temporary.

Simple answer is no to the peanut butter. I didn’t like the shakes either after surgery. I would have just one a day (diluted to try to help with the flavour) & then had soup (cream, bone broths, consumes) for the rest of the day. If you like milk you could make up your own shakes by adding a little Greek yoghurt & a little protein powder. Just keep it very thin. You could get some powdered flavours to add too like a peanut butter one. Only a week to go to purées which is when I never touched another shake again.

Oof, I'm 3 months post op and my hair just started coming out in clumps I really hope it stops falling out/grows back soon.

I was scheduled two weeks after my final meeting with the dietician, I was able to choose the ballpark dates for my surgery. If you have a date range you'd like, mention it to the doctor, I can't see it being an issue.

I hope so! I’m so close to asking if I can just do a week of liquids LOL I think it’s a texture thing for me. Good luck to you!! We will get through this. And yes it will be worth it in the end!!! keep us posted🩷

Girl! I could've written this myself!!!! My life is insane, I work full time, am in school full time, and have 3 children. I am 266lbs and 5'9 now. When I started my journey I was 297 and my highest weight was 325 at one point in my life. I have always been told the same, that I look good, I don't need to lose the weight or I can do it myself. I do not have any health issues but you know who does? My mom, brother who is only 27, my grandma. All high blood pressure, diabetes, unable to have the surgeries they need because they need to lose weight. I refuse to allow myself get to that point. I have been doing Weight Watchers on and off since I was 12yrs old, I have gotten down to 210 and I looked and felt amazing. All of your fears are the ones I fear as well, but the outcome? being a HEALTHIER me for myself, children and husband. We deserve the best version of me! I have thought about how I will most likely get treated differently being thinner, I even confessed to my psych that I know being smaller will help me find a job easier once I graduate. He actually agreed. Its so unfortunate in our society but life is just easier for those who are thinner. I hate saying that out loud but its true. So choose your hard- WLS and losing the weight once and for all? OR stay on the path of yo yo dieting, and just hope you don't get those health issues? I chose my hard- WLS and lose my weight so I can be healthier and active for me and my family! I am having surgery on Jan 24th! Day after my birthday!

Hey y’all, I had the sleeve surgery 2 years ago - lost 110 pounds (had lost 125 at my lowest weight). I got a few consultations last week for PS in Miami and felt the most confident is the surgeon who sounds like a perfectionist and is doing a lower body lift plus muscle repair, lipo, breast lift. I’m feeling like I want to be at my lowest again (~165 pounds) so that everything can be as tight as possible so I’m probably going to cut carbs for the next month and a half. Is that silly since he’s doing lipo? Does lipo end up actually impacting the scales? A few pounds of fat can be voluminous so I’m not expecting much. Also for people who traveled to Miami, I’ll take recovery house recommendations. and any other wisdom :)

I hope so! I’m so close to asking if I can just do a week of liquids LOL I think it’s a texture thing for me. Good luck to you!! We will get through this. And yes it will be worth it in the end!!! keep us posted🩷

Agreed with what the others said. Be careful lifting weight, including the grandkids, before you are ready. It just takes overdoing it once to cause a hernia, requiring additional surgery. Other than that, the movement is a good thing, but listen to when your body says its tired. Balancing exercise and rest is very important the first month or two. Would you rather have a little more rest now periodically through the day while still getting somethings done, or overdo it and force yourself into a situation where you have to have repair surgery and risk several weeks on bed rest getting nothing done in the future? To prevent overdoing it, look into the Pomodoro Technique. Basically set a timer to do a task for "x" number of minutes, and then rest for "y" number of minutes. Early on, you may want 10-15 minutes of activity followed by 30-45 minutes of rest. Then as you progress, shift more time into activity and reduce the rest time, but its most effective keeping the entire cycle under 1 hour total. As far as the internal pain goes, its likely its still gas trapped and built up. Take Gas-X, and when you're walking around, do exercises with your arms lifted or over your head. I'm not sure exactly, but it has something to do with the blood flow being distributed to all of your limbs and helping breakdown and expel the gas quicker. I would have it go from my lower left side to up in my shoulders, and it was just a discomfort I couldn't shake. That movement and the medicine helped to break it up and would give me a few hours of relief.

Yeah, you are going to want to set reminders on your phone to eat. Whether that is when to drink a shake (every 3-4 hours if you are on a pure liquid diet), or when to eat a meal or snack, if you are on a modified food diet. Forgetting to eat will lead to hunger and irritability. Make sure you hydrate too! Start practicing getting those 64 oz in now and it'll be easier to remember post surgery. You can't delay until evening once you've had the surgery, sipping and eating frequently will be a new way of life. I have issues with it because my ADHD makes me hyper focus and I lose time and forget to eat or drink, but setting timers and goals throughout the day will help break that habit. Good luck!

0/10 here, I know I might just have been lucky but I managed to roll/lever myself out of bed in the weeks after surgery without a major issue - painful but not a deal breaker.

Thank you everyone!!! I'm actually excited to get these last 2 surgeries because my stomach will no longer be the size of a 16 week pregnant person, free boob job (kidding...kinda lol ), no more monthly enemy, no more PCOS issues, no more cancer concerns, and NO MORE HEALTH ISSUES!!! I'm speaking that into existence, because after these last 2 surgeries, I will have had 9 surgeries in 2 years. That's just too much. My body will practically be brand new by the time I'm done LOL

that part of my brain is remembering which bars/restaurants offer buck-a-shuck oysters each day of the week. oh, and when which bars/restaurants have karaoke nights during the week... 😂😂😂😂

Mine would if it wasn't so saggy now! "Has the Dr given any explanation? Any advice? My dietitian keeps telling me we are losing inches not necessarily pounds. I call BS. All I know is I have 17 more pounds to lose to get new knees. After that I hope to lose another 60 so my hubby can buy me a face lift (he doesn't know it yet) SURPRISE DEAR LOL" I see my doctor next month for my 6 month check in and in two weeks my blood tests. It will be with the dietician, to be honest she's seemed kinda pointless. Just says you're eating as you should...perhaps add some fruit, to which I explained again when I eat carbs my heart races and fruit is high in fructose soooo. Then she'll suggest something like those nasty palm heart noodles, boy those were a mistake..again texture issues. It was like eating a bowl of slimy rubber bands. She gave me a G7 to monitor my blood sugars after the fruit discussion oh joy! I agree with the inches vs. pounds being BS. Last time I checked fat or "inches" weigh something. You can't lose inches without weight - unless I'm packing on muscle (weighs 7 times more than fat) but I assure you that's NOT it! Lolol "surprise dear" face lift, I love it! 😆😂😆 17 lbs should go quick for you and you'll have new knees soon enough! Thank you for the laugh, at this point it is well appreciated!

Christmas drinks cooking yesterday. This time Brie bites. Easy to make & yummy. Quarter teaspoon grain mustard, piece of Brie, 1/2 teaspoon cranberry sauce in puff pastry, bake then sprinkle with some pieces of grilled prosciutto. Went to what is supposed to be this excellent restaurant last week. Been wanting to go for a while but thought they only had a degustation menu & recently discovered they did have a la carte. Chose John Dory fillet with beurre blanc sauce split with wasabi leaf oil & asparagus. Started off okay but am still looking for the asparagus - extremely finely diced & barely a teaspoon. Then the third slice of the fillet was super salty & couldn’t eat it. So disappointed. My friends enjoyed their meals so at least there was that. Oh & it cost $58 (about $39 US). Crazy prices here now. Last year it would have been 10-15 Aust $ less.

Have you tried something like the unflavored protein from Genepro? You can add it to anything you are eating or drinking and it will boost your protein count, so you can alternate between protein and non-protein drinks. 3 weeks of liquids post op?? And I thought my 3 week pre-op diet sucked. LOL Good luck to you, I will have 2 weeks of liquids which is pretty standard for the more progressive bariatric practices. I bet that extra week of liquids will help your suture lines heal suuuper strong!! Are they letting you have sugar free popsicles and sugar free jello? That helps break up the all liquids a bit.

Hello my fellow October surgery buddies, I hope everyone is doing well. I had my sleeve surgery on October 3rd and two weeks ago I was cleared for regular diet. I'm wondering if anyone is having a similar problem as me... here lately it seems no matter what I eat I am getting nauseous and throwing up. I spoke to my doctor about this a couple of days ago and he said that I just have to eat slower and smaller portions. Last night I had one Ladle of homemade vegetable beef soup and got sick shortly after. I'm wondering if any of you have experienced anything like this and how you have managed to overcome it?

I was told if I had to have ibuprofen , just take it once in a while and take a Prilosec before taking it. I'm 5 months out from gastric sleeve and have taken it about 3 times already with no problem. I also have some pains that Tylenol just won't help.