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I needed every minute of the 6 month diet to do the work of understanding my eating habits and what I was in for....and I still could have used more time to prepare. I understand being excited and impatient to move forward...but the six month diet is important. Without learning to control your eating habits, you're going to be in trouble. This surgery is a tool, and it's a tool that fails...a lot...when people are not prepared for the lifetime changes they need to make. And I don't mean just adjusting to your new anatomy...that's relatively easy. What I mean is...the fact that you will STILL have to count calories, record everything you eat, fight temptation and cravings, and especially... find other outlets for emotional eating, identify your triggers, cope with the things that drove you to eat. Most of the people who make noise on the boards fall into two catagories. The people who have experienced some degree of success working very very hard. And the people who have experienced some degree of success by the good fortune of an excellent physiological reaction to the surgery regardless of their habits (luck). Who we DON'T tend to hear from, or see posts from....are the majority of people who have these surgeries.... who never lose more than 50% of their excess weight. When people get unhappy or feel unsuccessful...they don't post about it. Half of people who have this surgery will fall in this category. You can eat around an altered stomach and gain it all back. It's not even hard to do. The surgery changes one anatomical element to give you an advantage....not a fix. Your head is the place that needs the real fix. Six months...is a great investment in working to fix your head before you have to deal with your new digestive system. Are bariatric surgeries a terrific tool? Yes. The new anatomy helps a lot. Another terrific tool...one that is arguably just as helpful and arguably more important to your longterm success......a bariatric therapist. Make sure you have access to one. Best wishes to all!

Best advice I've heard came from a bariatric surgeon: "You/we don't know your goal weight yet; you won't choose your goal weight- it will choose you and you'll know it when you find it. " I'm 183 today & have more to lose but I literally could not be the 119 I was in high school now. At this weight I'm a size 12, sometimes a 10 & a L legging, sometimes a medium. I'd look sickly at 119 today. Everyone needs to live in their bodies, not just display them so what society says "looks good" & what's healthy are not the same thing. Lots of love and empowering vibes to everyone 💜

So I was a companion on 3/18-21 to my best friend (38f) while she had her sleeve thru Baja medical with Dr. A (Dr A's Iron Sleevers group is a great resource on FB) I've been considering the surgery myself but am still actively losing weight & maintaining my loss (we both had lost 50lbs since October of 2020) and I'm not quite ready to commit to the sleeve just yet. So here's what I'd tell future Tijuana (or any) bariatric patients. Buy a good variety of broth packets & cubes as well as electrolyte packets because what tasted good before may not after surgery. I cannot stress this enough- do not ALLOW yourself to get medically dehydrated. They kind of skimp on the IV fluids so it won't take long after surgery to become dehydrated & once that dry heaving begins it's a short trip to kidney strain and needing the hospital. Two girls (different surgeons than our group but same hospital) ended up needing IV fluids after being discharged. Bring an extension cord & heating pad- that heating pad was my friends favorite thing while down there. Take the preop diet very seriously, including caffeine, it will ensure you're body is burning fat stores before you have surgery which you'll be grateful for when you're only getting 150-300 calories a day the first few days home. Try to learn a few Spanish phrases or bring a decent translation dictionary because the service industry down there caters mostly to other Mexican tourists and don't speak much English- this is super helpful for uber, ordering food or even just going to sbux. Bring a small thermos that you can take anywhere. 10 oz is ideal and you won't be drinking even that much in a sitting before coming home. Buy Miralax & use it the day you get home (surgeon said this was fine) because the constipation struggle IS REAL after general anesthesia & you DO NOT want to be straining your abdominal muscles after surgery! Buy everything you need for bariatric smoothies & soups before you go- you won't want to be hunting down ingredients two days after getting home. Chobani now makes a bottled yogurt drink with 25g protein, chicory root fiber & monk fruit with no chunks- very post OP friendly & you'll be SUPER sick of protein shakes by the 1 week mark. Most importantly- be your own advocate; if your nurse is overly busy & blows you off (hospital is crazy busy down there right now b/c stimulus + tax returns) then ask to speak to your dr. and make yourself heard. Lastly, if you have a hotel day try & visit Avenida Revolucion (10 minute Uber from the hotels)- we went with some other sleevers & it was an awesome distraction, great place to walk & the Hotel Caesar (birthplace of the caesar salad!) makes a French onion soup that if you as for "just jus'" or "suave', liquido colado (strained liquid) they'll give you a crock of just the rich broth! Be safe everyone, my friend is 6 days post OP & getting stronger each day!

it's usually the insurance company that requires the six-month supervised diet rather than the bariatric clinic - or at least that seems to be the case most of the time. People who don't have insurance coverage and self pay don't usually have to do it. Most surgeons do require some kind of pre-surgery diet, but that's usually just a week or two before the surgery (it's usually clear liquids and protein shakes - or some surgeons do allow you to have one meal a day - like a Lean Cuisine or meat & non-starchy veggies. It varies. Mine, unfortunately, wanted two weeks of liquids only, including protein shakes. That seems to be the most common). But that six-month thing is more often a requirement of the insurance company. They want to see if you're capable of following a program long-term, I think...

most insurance policies that cover bariatric surgery require a BMI of 40 if you have no comorbidities, and a BMI of 35 if you have two or more co-morbidities. So you should qualify - you have both. I don't know what they mean by "fast track" - that must be something specific to your insurance company. From what I can tell from hanging out here for the last six years, most of us do have to do the six-month supervised diet, regardless of BMI. Even though at first I though it was a stupid hoop that we had to jump through, I'm glad it was required. I think it really prepared me for how life was going to be after weight loss surgery. Otherwise, the change would have been REALLY drastic...(all the changes are drastic enough as it is - but at least you spend six months gradually changing your eating habits so you kind of know the drill beforehand...)

That is brilliant! I wish more doctors would take this approach. One of my biggest regrets in life is all of the years I spent yo-yo dieting. The first time I went on a diet as a pre-teen, I wasn't even that fat, but I got stuck in a cycle of dieting and gaining it all back plus more. I honestly think that if I had known then about how harmful yo-yo dieting is, I never would have ended up so big that I needed weight loss surgery. Maybe if I had a doctor or dietitian who had told me all of this, I could have found my "best weight" instead of striving for something that I couldn't sustain. I am still trying to figure out what this looks like for my post-surgery self. I have been doing everything right since my surgery -- eating the right foods and quantities, drinking plenty of water, working out every day -- but it is exhausting and I often wonder how long I will be able to keep it up. For me, I think working out will be the sticking point because I hate it. I found something that I can put up with (Leslie Sansone videos on YouTube -- I've tried other ones but they all seem to fall short of Leslie's), but I still dread it. I get up early so I can get it out of the way before work, but I hate getting up so early, too. I am actually pretty good with the food because I have found so many delicious bariatric-friendly recipes that I truly enjoy eating, although I still feel sad sometimes when I see other people enjoying food that I can't eat.

I spent the last two weeks cooking for friends but nothing really bariatric friendly. I'll usually take like two bites of whatever I make and always make sure I have some kind of app or side dish that I can eat that way no one notices that I'm not eating what I made them. All pics are the fiancés plate or a friends plate. Featured dishes: Tallarin Verde (Creamy basil & spinach pasta dish) Kimchi fried rice w/ pork Tallarin saltado tipo chifa (Peruvian/Chinese veggie lo mein) Arroz chaufa de mariscos (Peruvian seafood fried rice) Green enchiladas General tso tofu Veggie and pork stir fry The veggie and pork stir fry is an example of what I make for myself while everyone is eating the "regular" dish I made. I usually just alter it in some way or craze on something else I prepared. I still find joy in cooking and watching everyone else eat :)

Hello everyone. I’m Marissa and I had gastric bypass in October of 2020. I’m roughly 5.5 months post op from having the surgery at Baptist Bariatrics. With my surgeon being Dr H. I’m writing to introduce myself. HW 292 SW 273 CW 207 GW 150. I’m doing my best to reach Onederland so any advise is welcome.

I dont love my dietician either. She is nice and all but I don't find anything she says particularly beneficial. When I ask her about certain bariatric snacks and recipes I see online, she doesn't really know what I'm talking about. She keeps telling me to email her my questions but then takes days to respond. All she does is reiterate things that were in my wls workbook. I'm post op and have to see her everytime I see the doctor (quarterly for the first year). I just smile and nod in her session and thank her for nothing... A friend of mine loves her though... to each their own...

I was given the little medicine cups at the hospital to use every 15 minutes.. - I'd keep 3 medicine cups beside me at all times - one for water, one for protein shakes, one for hot broth. - I'd keep a to go mug of hot broth beside me and a bottle of water at all times. - in the beginning I'd set an alarm to make sure I drank every 15 minutes, but after a while resetting that got real annoying, so I'd take sips every little bit, not letting my stomach get overly full. One thing I noticed VERY early on, I had significant pain that would wake me up in the middle of the night, and could only be fixed by having a protein shake. Water and broth did nothing to dissuade the pain. My doctor could not explain it, as he'd never heard of such a thing, but it would wake me silently screaming in the middle of the night until I finally got up and grabbed my bariatric protein shakes. This lasted for quite some time for me, and I ended up buying the little protein shakes they carry in the pharmacy section at walmart... keeping them beside my bed so if I woke in the middle of the night I could immediately grab one. It finally stopped about 3 weeks after surgery and I no longer needed it at night, but I don't want to scare you, as since my doctor had never heard of such a thing, you might not even have that issue but in case you do, Ensure was a savior for me.

I'm doing my surgery at one hospital, which requires bloodwork, endoscopy, psych assessment, nutritionist visits, and six months of visits. Because it's not super-convenient for me to get to, I decided to do my endoscopy with a doctor that is in the hospital's network, but closer to where I live. She was really surprised that I didn't need a sleep study, pulmonologist clearance, stress test, and cardiology clearance (and, oddly, repeatedly asked ME why all of this wasn't required, even though I am definitely not the one deciding on what the program's requirements are or knowing what their rationale is?). I imagine, they'll do whatever clearance they need at the pre-op testing once the surgery date is set, like I've had done for other surgeries. But I'm curious if others have had to do sleep studies, go see a pulmonologist, and a cardiologist, prior to the hospital's regular pre-op testing? She did tell me, after questioning why I was having the surgery because my BMI is borderine (I have other health issues) that I would have to have the endoscopy at the hospital (a different one from where I'm having the surgery) instead of as an outpatient because I'm "pre-bariatric," though someone else I know who saw a different doctor with similar BMI within the same network who was not "pre-bariatric" was able to get it done in the their outpatient center. She told me it was a liability issue. Have others found the same?

I think dieticians for bariatric clinics should have had a period of obesity in their lives. I know this couldn't really be a job requirement...lol...but it's awfully nice when the dietician really understands what you're up against.

I feel a little sheepish about the response this has gotten. Didn't mean to be an attention wh*re, and I'm afraid that's how it reads. I just wanted to blow steam. I think this board does a better job than most...of extending value and tolerance for each other's perspectives. One bad experience doesn't ruin the whole batch, and I'm sorry if I gave the impression that it's a big problem here.....it's not. You all are terrific. I think most of my post was based on history and a composite of experiences at many bariatric boards.....and one recent trigger here... that, in retrospect, I might have been smarter to let go than talk about....but it irked me and I started typing...and...now I feel sheepish. I think we've all got great stuff to add. I think this is a great group. The folks whose goal is just to achieve better health. The folks who just want to be under 200 pounds. The folks who just want to improve. The folks who are satisfied with an average weight (like me). And the folks who lose like crazy and get super fit and work hard for that low BMI. Everyone has good stuff to offer and I sure didn't mean to imply there are any villians. All perspectives are valuable. One perspective that doesn't fit for one person...might be a perfect fit for another. At the end of the day, we're all figuring this thing out. We're all working hard to understand how to beat an unhealthy relationship with food. Every one of us. I sound fatalistic sometimes and I apologize. You guys really are lovely. And the rare exception....I think i'd be ahead to just ignore.

Well... can't help with being a January surgery buddy... but just know there are lots of us here who are willing to help with what we can! Hang in there! And if things don't improve, please consider perhaps talking with a bariatric mental health professional...

Hi Everyone, I'm new here too . I was looking for an online support community, and this looks like a great place to be. My surgery date is 4/13. So far I have the Protein 2o drinks.. 15g of protein. I also got some bariatric vitamins on the recommendation of a friend. My doc only requires a 3 day pre op liquid diet.. but I was thinking about starting early and making it a 5 day.

I am 8 months out and up until the last month or so, I usually needed protein powder to reach my goal of 60 grams of protein per day. It varies from one person to the next (and your surgeon may recommend a different protein goal than mine), but it could be a while before you can eat enough to get all of your protein from food. That doesn't necessarily mean you need to drink protein shakes every day (I know we all get sick of those); you can mix protein powder into other foods or beverages (a lot of people like to use caramel protein shake as a coffee creamer). My go-to breakfast for a long time was half a scoop of protein powder mixed with half a container of triple zero Greek yogurt, for a total of 19 grams of protein (my favorite combo is birthday cake protein powder plus vanilla yogurt, topped with raspberries). Another good one is protein oatmeal. The BariatricPal store sells some with 15 grams of protein per serving, and you can add some more protein powder to that. There are a lot of protein pancake mixes on the market (and you can even buy frozen protein pancakes and waffles). Eggs, chicken sausage, and turkey bacon are always good high-protein options for breakfast. For lunch and dinner, I usually have about 2 ounces of meat and 2 ounces of veggies, like a salad with chicken, or BBQ chicken (with sugar-free BBQ sauce) and air-fried veggies (green beans, asparagus, carrots, or broccoli), or lettuce wraps (like PF Chang's). Another favorite is Mexican-seasoned chicken with cauliflower rice, salsa, black beans, cheese, and nonfat Greek yogurt. And taco bites, with Quest chili lime protein chips topped with Mexican-seasoned chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, and nonfat Greek yogurt. You can't eat much at this point, so you have to keep it simple and focus on protein. I love my air fryer and Instant Pot and I make a lot of recipes with them, but if you don't have those, you can find similar recipes that use other cooking methods. Here are some great recipes that I've made recently: Chicken Divan with cauliflower cream sauce (the cauliflower cream sauce is fantastic and can be used as a white sauce in a lot of recipes) Instant Pot Carnitas Instant Pot Mexican Chicken Instant Pot Lemon Garlic Chicken Garlic Parmesan Carrot Fries Buffalo Cauliflower (I make it in the air fryer) Turkey Ragu (excellent with Shelly's Ricotta Bake, roasted spaghetti squash, or shirataki noodles) Instant Pot Egg Bites Instant Pot BBQ chicken White Chicken Chili I have a freezer full of bariatric portioned meals and Pinterest boards full of more recipes that I'm dying to try! If you don't already use Pinterest, you definitely should -- it's a gold mine.

Hi. I'm just 4 weeks post op, and still finding recipes that work for me. But a friend of mine bought be a couple of cookbooks before surgery that have been amazing. They are written by Sarah Kent, and my favorite is "The Gastric Sleeve" bariatric cookbook. She has recipes for all stages of the diet, full liquid, pureed, soft and general. They are all high protein.

Thanks Jaelzion! And I totally understand... pre-op diet does make a lot of people miserable. It wasn't so bad for me... I didn't love it... but I didn't struggle either. That could have a lot to do with the fact that my nutritionist wanted me to lose minimum weight pre-op. Even then she would give group nutrition classes (in addition to private sessions) and give everyone instructions... then come quietly to me and tell me to do an abbreviated version of what she had everyone else doing. Normally I do allow myself an occasional treat and don't think too much about it. Treats are good in moderation. The only ones I truly avoid ALL the time are sodas... which are my "slippery slope item (plus they are carbonated). And yes... I have definitely have a plan as I transition back. Really at this point.... the only thing I am doing is a soft version of my prescribed diet for life plan. I am just being much more careful about portion sizes and calories. And I am NOT trying to lose weight. I already lost the few pounds I put on and am holding in the 126-129 range which is only barely higher than my lowest post-bariatric weight. And there are so many delicious soft foods to chose from, I don't feel I am missing on anything. Just doing cooked veggies instead of raw veggies. Ground beef instead of steak. And really... whatever works to get that mindset back on track... that is what I am doing!

Did not plan on taking the surgical route but given just how much weight i need to lose (5’4”, 290 lbs) it seems like the way to go. I went to a local bariatric center and met with the dietitian for the first appointment. I do not like her at all. She’s young, unprofessional and I don’t feel comfortable with her. Unfortunately it’s the only dietitian they have. I don’t know any of the other staff yet, however and my next appt is supposed to be with her again and the NP. My only alternative is to go to a wls clinic an hour away. But I have to wait until May to get in unless a waitlist spot opens. Is that worth it? Is the dietitian going to play a major role here besides explaining the food pyramid and explaining the preop diet when it comes time for that?

This is not a requirement for me because I had a BMI over 40 at the start of my bariatric journey. However, as a respiratory therapist that has worked in the CPAP business, I can offer some info. For bariatric patients with a BMI of 35-40, most insurances require that the person have other weight-related issues prior to approving surgery, and sleep apnea (you periodically stop breathing when you sleep) is often at least partially weight-related. Most people who lose significant weight can have their CPAP pressure reduced and some even no longer need CPAP. (These things would be determined by your sleep specialist after your weight loss.) Even for people who are NOT contemplating bariatric surgery, insurances require proof of "compliance" within the first three months in order for them to keep paying the rental fee. (As of 2017, I know that insurances would pay a monthly rental fee for 13 months, and then the unit was considered "paid off" and owned by the patient.) "Compliance" is generally considered to be a minimum of 4 hours of use per night for a minimum of 75% of the nights during a 30-day period within the first 90 days of having the unit. Therefore, many doctors tell a patient to shoot for 80% usage, just to be on the safe side. In general, for bariatric patients, most insurances want to see some sort of progress in the months leading up to surgery, prior to approving payment for that surgery. There should be some weight loss, as well as compliance with medical guidance on other weight-related issues (ie: sleep apnea), in order for them to consider the patient a good "risk" for spending the money on bariatric surgery. All that said, if you have sleep apnea, DO do your best to use your CPAP! Without it, your body's sleep habits are actually unsafe. Without it, your body is under stress EVERY NIGHT, which has negative effects on your heart. Though rare, some people HAVE died from sleep apnea and non-CPAP use. With regular use, you should feel more awake and more energetic during the day, whether or not you lose weight. There are many styles and brands of masks on the market, browse them on the internet. If your current one is very uncomfortable, call your CPAP provider for another. Try to use it for two weeks before moving on to a different type. The company I used to work for would provide free mask refits as often as necessary within the first three months (after that, it could only be done every six months due to the insurance schedule for payment on new supplies). It's quite an adjustment but keep trying! 🙂

I appreciate everyone’s input. I do seek my doctors and nutritionists advice and input. However I am not someone who just only considers and follows what my doctor says. I also look up videos, read books, blogs, YouTube, Ted talks, research articles, and yes personal experiences. While my doctor and nutritionist may consider themselves experts on bariatric surgery they are not actually experts on me. I am the only expert on me. So if I come on to ask a question it is to gather additional information, insights, experiences, etc to add to the already existing information I have. And to use it to make the best overall decisions for my health and my life. I have seen people following diets their doctor gave them even though it made them throw up daily and they couldn’t even eat. They wouldn’t consider any other information and the doctor didn’t recommend a plan change or further follow up. There is room within reason to think for oneself. Again I literally appreciate every single person that would even take the time to respond to my question. But if your main point is I should be asking my doctor and no one else well I already asked my doctor and am now asking others lol.

Cancer sucks and it's so stressing. So glad you're on the mend! Talk to your doctor and your dietician about good strategies to improve your fitness while continuing to support your body's healing. 1. Support your continued health and healing. 2. Lose the extra weight. In that order. Talking to a bariatric therapist would be a really great idea, too, if you're open to it. Lots of people a few years post surgery can get into trouble when stressors push the limits of their coping mechanisms and those bad food habits come back. Talking this over with the bariatric therapist can give you some better options, and better ways to identify the self sabotage before it gets out of control.

I would suggest scheduling an appointment with a bariatric nutritionist to create a plan for you based on your specific circumstances. You probably need to get back to the basics. Start measuring and recording your food again. See what you are doing well on, see what you are not doing so well on. Eat on a schedule. Get back to 6 small meals a day... 3 meals and 3 small snacks. But MEASURE AND COUNT! For me, I went all the way back to the beginning and am currently retraining myself to eat the way my nutritionist taught me to eat. It I am on day 7 of getting back on track and doing well. I have almost all of my pre and post op notes available to me. Anyhow... YOU CAN DO IT! Just know, you aren't alone in the struggle... And so glad you got some good news!

Your doctor sounds like the exception and not the rule based on conversations I have had with many others. In the first couple months post-op, most don't even give a calorie goal simply because your body need time to heal and getting 1200 calories in a day in the first couple months is hard and not necessarily good for a stomach that has just been sutured together. Docs don't want you to push your body to eat 1200 calories when your stomach can only tolerate 600-900 calories. That said... the longer goal is usually around 1200 calories a day. 1200 calories a day was a pre-op and an eventual goal for many months out post op recommendation for me and those I know who have had bariatric surgery. But for most people, it seems to be a slow build to get to that 1200 calories a day goal. And that is OK post op. You aren't rushing the weight loss, you are allowing your body to heal while it just so happens that you are losing weight. And as long as you are getting your protein and water in, that is all that really matters in the first few months. My nutritionist never even batted an eye when I said all I was getting in was 800 calories a day, because she expected that. She DID worry about when I said I wasn't getting my protein and water in. Anyhow... this is exactly an example of why any post op patient should be seeking guidance first and foremost from their own surgical team. And not from others who's medical plans are individualized. BTW... I had bariatric surgery and I NEVER ate 2800 or more calories a day Maybe in a rare occasion... but not often.

I am preparing to have the loop duodenal switch surgery.My doctor advised this for me. The sleeve didn't early work for me. Anyhow I have gone through the things I had to do like the dietician, the trainer and the psyche evaluation. Just waiting now to revisit my doctor now. I don't know what is expected of me now. But I will find out. I've been trying to follow the bariatric eating and getting in protein. Any advice that anyone can give me..I'm a little anxious about it..Surgery doesn't scare me, its the unknown I suppose, the expectations of after. Thanks to anyone...Donna in Maine