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honestly, there are more people who never make it all the way to their goal than there are those who lose too much, but that said, you can always increase your calories to either stop your weight loss or gain a few pounds if you think you're getting too thin. So I wouldn't worry about that at all. I lost 100% of my excess weight and yes, for a time I was "too thin", but I was also aware that a majority of us have a 10-20 lb rebound weight gain during year 3. And I did. In addition, even before the rebound gain, things (fat, I guess?) tends to re-distribute itself after a big loss, so even though I weighed the same for awhile, I started looking a lot better. My face filled out, etc - even before that gain. as far as it being hard - the first year, it wasn't too bad - esp before my hunger and appetite came back at month 5. For those first few months, for the first time in my life, I wasn't thinking about food at all the time. In fact, I didn't think about it much at all - and at times didn't even want any. Even though it was weird not to ever be hungry and to not give a flip about food, I found it very liberating! But things changed at month 5 when suddenly my hunger came back (and it does for most of us sometime during the first year). Then you're dealing with the hunger beast again, although it's not as strong as it was before surgery. But I wanted more than anything to lose this weight once and for all, so I really stuck to my program and lost it all (weight loss didn't stop until I was almost two years out, though - I had A LOT to lose!) it does get harder after the first year because diet fatigue sets in, as well as some old habits. You really, really have to watch yourself. And eight years out, I have to continue to watch myself. It's so easy to slip into old habits. But I have a "drop dead weight" limit - I weigh myself once a week now, and if I hit that limit - or come close to it - I cut back until my weight is safely within the limit again. But this really isn't any different from most of my never-been-obese friends. So many of us have to monitor our weight and to cut back when it starts getting too high. anyway, yes, it can be hard - esp when your hunger comes back and your motivation starts to wane, but unlike before, your effort actually pays off. You put in the work, and the weight comes off (or stays off). Before, the most I could ever lose is about 50 lbs (and even that was rare - most of my dieting ended up with a 10 or 20 lb loss). And inevitably, it will all come back. Happened every time. BUt this time, it worked!

at over eight years out, no one would be able to tell I had bypass surgery by looking at what I ate. At most they'd think I'm a "light eater". I'll usually order a salad - or an appetizer - or else an entree and have them box up half of it to take home. Same as most of my female friends who've never had a weight issue. I do, however, order "bariatric friendly" meals - entrees with protein and vegetables. I very rarely order things like pasta or dishes that feature heavy cheese or cream sauces (well, pretty much never). Although again, that's what my non-obese friends typically order, too. Like summerseeker, I check out online menus (most places have them) and decide what I'll order before I go. the first few weeks you'll be eating microscopic amounts, but that doesn't last forever.

I drink a ton of water - and have been able to for a long time. It's really just the first few weeks that it can be an issue.

a couple of corrections and comments on bypass. Strictures only happen to about 5% of bypass patients and they're very easy to fix (I had two of them). If they happen, it'll be during the first three months after surgery. They almost never occur after that. there are no food restrictions with bypass after about the first six months. Zero. Fruit with seeds and/or skins, dry meat, etc - all fine. Those are only restricted during the first few weeks or months after surgery.

My revision is scheduled for August 28th, I'm still waiting for insurance approval, supposed to be finished tomorrow sometime lol, taking over a week, as soon as i get it I'll start preparing

Lipman, you are killing it! Great job! Lindsay, under 200 is incredible and you're not that far-off your goal. Amazing! I'm still consistently losing weekly and haven't had a stall since the dreaded 2 week PO one. This week I lost 1.5 kilos (3.3 pounds), I had a similar loss the week before too. Usually they're less so it's been nice! So I'm 28.7 kilograms (63 pounds) down since the pre op diet. I've lost 18.5% of my total weight. They estimate you lose around 30% on average the first year, I'm well on the way there at 14 weeks PO. I'm eating really well and had been getting over 70 grams of protein a day consistently but that's dropped the past week. Some of it was due to little hunger and feeling more restriction. Need to make sure my main meals are a bit higher in protein. I really need to do better with fluids, it's always been an issue. And exercise needs to become a habit, I bought an exercise bike so no excuses now! Overall though I'm doing great. A bit low energy this week and for some reason I've thrown up my dinner 2 nights in a row? Eating too fast perhaps or my tummy rejected potato that was airfried? First time I'd been sick since surgery. Lindsay I highly recommend the Ninja Creami if you love your ice cream as you can make your own healthier versions. I've had mine about a month and love it. I have a bowl every day of homemade frozen yoghurt. Last night was vanilla sprinkled with raspberry and coconut granola, 20 grams protein. I made a strawberry one earlier this week using strawberry yogurt and fresh strawberries that was soooo good, hubby and 19yo loved it too, definitely making it again. I hope everyone here is doing well, especially @Synlee.

I didn’t like the texture either. But one interesting thing is that it has no issues being reheated like some other ramen when eaten without the broth (which is how I liked eating instant - boiled, drained and with a bit of flavor packet). I added additional sauce to mask the texture though. Feels grainy, like the texture of grits or sand or something. The store I went to only had two of the three flavors available. I only tried the garlic chicken and I tasted more garlic than chicken. The garlic overpowered everything until I added the sauce that was being used to mask the texture 🤣 Shrimp is tonight so we’ll see how that goes!

Hello all,. I am a male, 37 years old….Living in Atlanta, GA. I’m having my first appointment tomorrow. I am about 5’8 in a half and I weigh 246. My BMI is about 37.4 … I am obese but do not LOOK obese. I have tried to get the weight down on my own. I have gained upward to 255 pounds in my life. I in my most recent trial to do it on my own have gotten down to 235 which took about 8 weeks to do so starting at 250 pounds. I have no gained 11 pounds back and back up there which has led me here to finally considering gastric sleeve. If I start the nutrition plan and lose 15 pounds before surgery, I will be at 230 and then my BMI will be at exactly 35. People will then look at me, maybe even the doctor who i have no met yet and say, “oh you look good, you dont need surgery”, I am afraid to start the process and have any kind of hiccups… I know how to “look slender” in certain clothes but to be honest, i need to be back to my 180 size. It’s better for my blood pressure and sleep apnea. At 230 pounds if I get there on my own, i still have BP issues. 5 years ago, i was able to get down to 218, but no lower than that. And now im back up to 246 again.I just dont know if this is right for me. I have a very physically demanding job which requires me to drink water very often to hydrate. My concern is that I wont be able to hydrate properly after my surgery because i can only sip water. I need to be able to drink at least 1 liter of water per day on my demanding job. (One liter is 2 regular bottles of water)…. How did you all who are water drinkers overcome your water intake and hydration issues for those who must drink water as a necessity because of their physical demanding job? Also, did anyone who is my height 5’8 - 5’9 get surgery around 230- 240 pounds? What was your results? What did doc say?

Hello all,. I am a male, 37 years old….Living in Atlanta, GA. I’m having my first appointment tomorrow. I am about 5’8 in a half and I weigh 246. My BMI is about 37.4 … I am obese but do not LOOK obese. I have tried to get the weight down on my own. I have gained upward to 255 pounds in my life. I in my most recent trial to do it on my own have gotten down to 235 which took about 8 weeks to do so starting at 250 pounds. I have no gained 11 pounds back and back up there which has led me here to finally considering gastric sleeve. If I start the nutrition plan and lose 15 pounds before surgery, I will be at 230 and then my BMI will be at exactly 35. People will then look at me, maybe even the doctor who i have no met yet and say, “oh you look good, you dont need surgery”, I am afraid to start the process and have any kind of hiccups… I know how to “look slender” in certain clothes but to be honest, i need to be back to my 180 size. It’s better for my blood pressure and sleep apnea. At 230 pounds if I get there on my own, i still have BP issues. 5 years ago, i was able to get down to 218, but no lower than that. And now im back up to 246 again.I just dont know if this is right for me. I have a very physically demanding job which requires me to drink water very often to hydrate. My concern is that I wont be able to hydrate properly after my surgery because i can only sip water. I need to be able to drink at least 1 liter of water per day on my demanding job. (One liter is 2 regular bottles of water)…. How did you all who are water drinkers overcome your water intake and hydration issues for those who must drink water as a necessity because of their physical demanding job? Also, did anyone who is my height 5’8 - 5’9 get surgery around 230- 240 pounds? What was your results? What did doc say?

3mo post op update. Getting back into Crossfit after 28 days of vacation in a 6 week span. Energy levels have gotten a little better (adding in more carbs before workout) but is still noticeable. I have dropped about 40-50% of all of my strength moves. And today was the first day that I thought "Hey, that movement was easier than before" and it was on burpees over the bar. 3 sets of 10 that I wouldn't have been able to do before where now just another part of the workout.

3 month update! 5/4/23 - Start Pre-surgery diet - 324 5/15/23 - Surgery - 307.6 8/15/23 - 3 month - 242.4 Had my 3 month visit with the dietician and have blown past all of the targets (both the 3m and 6m ones). The year target is down 100 pounds (from the 324), and I am only 18 pounds away from that one. Should be able to hit it by 6 months. Have had very little in the way of side effects. I have thrown up twice when I over ate and had 20-30m of pain after eating some pork that I apparently didn't do right (not sure if I didn't chew it enough or what). I have been pretty low energy only when working out (but that is getting a little better), but have been fine the rest of the day. I have occassionally had an alcoholic drink (started on vacation and has crept back into one or two drinks a week), but I am trying to be a little more strict about that. Currently reading a book called Wheat Belly that talks about how evil Wheat is. Pretty interesting stuff, but heavy on the science behind it all. In the past week I have averaged: 975 calories per day, 78g of protein, 64 oz of water. Given that I workout in the Texas heat (Crossfit gym), I need to be drinking more fluids, otherwise I am really happy with where I am at. I don't feel like there is anything that I want to eat that I can't (or haven't been) eating already. I cheat a little bit with tortilla chips, but that is really the only thing. Honestly, I feel like this whole process has been as painless as possible. I feel incredibly lucky, especially after hearing Synlee's story (I hope you are doing better!)

I had my consult sometime in the middle of March 2023, I had to do 2 dietician appointments that couldnt be in the same month so one in April and the other in May, had to wait 2 months for a spot to open for my psychiatrist appointment, that was in June 2023. I had scheduled my EGD appointment in the beginning of April but couldn't get in until July since they were booked up, I will tell you to schedule the EGD as quickly as you can since it can take a while to get in. Waited for results from EGD for a week and waited another week after that for my psychiatrist to submit paperwork. Two weeks later I got the email/message in the MyChart saying I got approved for surgery and I'm currently waiting for my surgeon's office to call to schedule the surgery with my surgeon which should be today. So my start was March 15th 2023-Aug 14th 2023 for my date of approval. I also had to do bloodwork but that could be done whenever I wanted at Ohio health and I had to get an abdominal ultrasound but that also didn't take much time, maybe a week but I wouldn't take my time scheduling that if I were you cuz it can take some time if where you're going is busy. For reference I have Cigna Insurance.

Hi there! Tomorrow I’m five weeks post op, and after an initial loss of 9kgs two weeks after the surgery, my weight loss became very slow. I worried too, but I spoke with my nutritionalist and my Dr & they both assured me that it was normal. I’m not a Dr, but I think it’s important to get your stomach used to foods at the rate you’re being advised on. I know the urge is to get to the weight loss NOW, but there’s more at stake here at this point. I urge you to just do exactly what your health care team have advised. It’s important for your body to acclimatise to foods again. You WILL lose weight, but don’t risk any complications by rushing. Apparently, it’s preferable to lose it more slowly rather than fast, for many reasons. I found it helpful to only weigh myself weekly, and to concentrate on walking and making the yummiest possible tablespoons of mush I possibly could! Get wild! 😉

Hello everyone. I am new here. I got my surgery on 7/24/2023 in Seoul, South Korea. I've been living in Korea for around 4 years now and decided to take the jump. Got my consultation on 6/13 and then did my pre-op tests on 7/1! It's been around 3 weeks post-op, and I'm currently on the pureed phase of the diet. However, my weight is already stalling at 91-92kg 😰 Question is, should I go back to my first week post-op diet or try to keep going with the current diet?

I love these ideas everyone. Thanks for the input. I got a new list of food to try for week 4 along with foods to avoid. Spinach is a go. But no fruit with seeds or skin. I will look into a good juicer but it may be more cost efficient for me to buy it organic no sugar at this time and just add a creamy or clear protein. I will update everyone soon.

Surgery is two weeks from today. Had my pre-op admission appointment this morning and also started my two week OptiFast liquid diet today. As I type this, over the course of the day I've now had three shakes, two cups of vegetable broth and a couple of sugar free popcicles and haven't felt any genuine hunger to speak of.

After surgery, I was EXHAUSTED for several weeks. If you can get through being tired 24/7, I would say you could go back after a week as long as your job doest require lifting, a lot of physical activity, and you're off the pain medication. You also need to be able to drink your fluids ALL DAY. It really comes down to your specific job and required work. Maybe speak to your management about what work you can do if your job is more physically demanding With that said, to specifically answer your questions. I take care of my home and children, so I don't actually have a paying job, but the work is just as demanding. I couldn't lift anything over 15lbs per my surgical team until 6 weeks post op. I started to feel more like myself around week 3-4.

Yay! Just 2 days away. I’m excited for you. I was out of work for about 3 weeks. Surgery was 4/11, first day back to work was 5/1. I am an admin assistant just doing clerical work so the actual physical part of work wasn’t so much an issue, but the commuting was more the concern. (NYC subway stairs and a mile walk from subway to office plus w laptop and all hydration/protein essentials). When I did return to work, I did so remotely for another couple weeks and then slowly went back to commuting in 1 day, 2 days, then ultimately back to my 3 days in office. I think if I drove to work, then the 3 weeks would have been pretty sufficient time off as it was. I already work hybrid, but I was grateful to have the remote work option available for that extended time.

2 weeks post op today. I am seeing that I am VERY fortunate to not have to have dealt with a bunch of crazy crap from my insurer. I had a LapBand in 2009. Went to surgeon to have removed/replaced discussion, he ordered and did an endoscope, said all clear. His office sent request and a couple hours later literally my insurer called me, 2 days later, I had an approval letter to remove band and do a gastric bypass. Since I paid cash for my initial LapBand surgery, I didn't have to go through it all with the 6 mos trials and psychologists, etc. and there weren't any requirements. Had scope in July and Aug 1 did bypass. I had a 10 day low carb pre-op diet only and 24 hours liquid preop diet. I've been on liquids for two weeks now and he wants me to do a third week! urgghhh.... I cannot imagine doing a 10-14 day preop liquid followed by a 2-4 week post op liquid. This 2 weeks diet has been brutal. Let me say this as well, and it isn't meant to scare you but rather to prepare you: IT HURTS! IT IS VERY PAINFUL. Never had kids but I'd put the pain up against a Cesarean. Don't let anyone try to convince you it doesn't hurt or that it is "mild" because it isn't. The hospital was less than stellar. I was ordered morphene which doesn't work for me. Then switched to Dilautin, which only works about an hour then wears off. Since I have major back injuries (part of why I'm overweight to begin with) I take pain meds for chronic pain. Hospital finally said they would give me my pain pill every 6 hours along with the Dilautin shot every 3 hours. IF you take pain meds, bring them to the hospital. Yeah, I know they say don't but give them to a friend/family member because I PROMISE YOU that you don't want to be begging/waiting for someone to bring you something and honestly, I'd strongly advise you to buy some liquid Acetamenaphen to have in your bag as well. I actually had one old crotchety nurse who thought she would hold my pain meds over me as an inducement to get me up and moving. I told her pretty much that I'd move when I had my shot and was out of pain (otherwise a few obscenities were about to fly but hubby said she could give me my shot now and I'm so very grateful he was there) and other craziness. I rotated my own pain pills in with their meds, some may not agree with this but I don't think I could have stood it otherwise. Given the prescription my dr gave me to come home with, it was exactly it, a pain pill every 3-4 hours. I'm not a lightweight I assure you and I've had several surgeries (tubal, gall bladder, appendix,stents, etc) but this one DOES HURT so I'm saying BE PREPARED FOR IT! IF at all humanly possible, HAVE SOMEONE STAY WITH YOU FOR AT LEAST THE FIRST NIGHT OR AS LATE INTO THE NIGHT AS YOU CAN GET THEM TO STAY WITH YOU! Again, most hospitals are understaffed and I nearly pissed myself one night trying to get out of bed after my sister had left and when I couldn't get a nurse to come help me get up (they remove the catheter after 24 hours or so). Even little stuff is very hard to do when you're in pain. Bring and charge a phone and zip tie it to your hand if need be because I nearly called my husband to come get me. And when I got no answers about when I was expected to get my barium xray, I called to radiology over & over. No phone in the room (ICU) to call out. Yes, I'd do it again in spite of the awful pain but I think I'd have gone to a bigger city. I also was never told that I would come out of surgery and have to wait until the next DAY to get a barium xray before I'd be allowed anything to drink. I thought I would die of thirst so avoid a first thing am appointment if you can bc if you're in a room at 4 pm you have a lot less time to go thirsty. I'm down 23 lbs since my July dr visit. I'm pleased with that. But it hasn't been easy. I do enjoy the support here in this forum. Good luck.

I had my 12 year old lap band removed last week. I was in the hospital overnight and took pain meds the evening I got home. Took no more pain meds after. Wishing you an easy recovery!

It really depends of provinces. For me, in Quebec, I waited about 5 years from referal to surgery date.... which I cancelled... which took me off the list... So now that I'm ready, but not ready to wait another 5 years, I'm going self-paid. 5 weeks. What a difference money makes! (insert rolling eyes)

Was this self-paid?? You really did dodge a bullet there! Imagine the (non-existent) after care, and lack of compasion during the whole process... If it was self-paid, I'm sure you can find better, just a matter of ""shopping"" around for the best fit. I'm self-paid. I had an appointment with the (at the time) #1 surgeon and did not feel a connection or geniune care despite all the good reviews and credentials. When I expressed my doubts (voiced in the fact that I felt anxious and would prefer postponing), I was told I would need to provide a psych evaluation if I ever changed my mind. Okaaayyyy.... If me being anxious over making a life changing decision is a problem for you, then I guess we are not meant to be! Now, 5 years later, I am finally ready and found the (now) #1 surgeon to do it. This one I felt comfortable with right away (on the phone) and will meet in person this week. Good luck!

My last appt for surgery clearance was June 26th. The surgeon’s office called July 6th to pick a surgery date (booked until September) to submit to insurance. My insurance company approved surgery within two weeks. Fingers crossed that you will get a September date as well 🙂

I'm 51 and just got my surgery date last week - Sept 11th. I've lost just at 30 pounds pre-surgery so far. Getting excited that it is coming up, also a little nervous - feeling like I need to make sure I get a few last "solids" I like in before the months of liquid and puree. I feel like I am stagnating right before my surgery, I'm hoping that is not the case, as I have been having very little trouble motivating myself, so far. I think it's more nerves than anything. So far, I have chosen not to tell anyone outside of my household. I am planning to tell my in-laws in the next week. Not sure if I'll talk to anyone else about it before it's done.

Three weeks to go til Surgery. I'll tell you the one thing that is tripping me up BIG TIME!!! I am really struggling with this no drinking while eating... That one is going to be some work back when I'm eating normally for sure