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I chose to go with the bypass due to the risk of GERD that I just hate. I have had no issues and I'm only 2 weeks out, never had any pain and just a bit tired following surgery but able to walk with no problems from the beginning of my new life. I must agree, I wish I did it long ago and not wait until now to have done it. I was on the verge of cancelling, but post op I have no hunger and the pounds are leaving quickly. I'm the lightest I have been in years and years and already feel better and I'm off all my diabetes medications. If you need extra support in your journey, I would recommending looking up some YouTube videos by BariNation, they have experts and experienced people with bariatiric patients and the mental part of decision making, it might be helpful. Wishing you well.

I was on liquids for 2 weeks, then small smooshie foods for 2 weeks (like hummus, avocado, cottage cheese), then steamed foods like steamed veggies for 2 weeks. THEN I went on regular foods. But in extremely small portions. Before 6 weeks, your stomach is still swollen, still healing, and can't handle regular food. I would go back to liquids for a few days, then mushie foods for a week and steamed foods for a week. THEN I would try to eat regular foods again. Your stomach should be healed enough by then.

The shortage is here in Australia. Much lIke the one you had with HRT in the States in 2023. For us it is only the combined transdermal patch which is the one I use. Our therapeutical goods association is saying we could be looking at another 12 months. It’s already been almost a year. I got two lots in February last year but then there was none available. My pharmacy received a small order in October but hasn’t had any at all since. It’s staring to happen with the creons I take too. P Oh I know. Clothing is starting to get firm and couldn’t do up a pair of jeans last week. Waah! Never a good sign.

yep. mine still talks to (sometimes screams at) me, and im 6+ years out! often times i can FEEL the noises as well. though lately in the past few weeks, ive started to feel the rumbling not just in my abdomen, but also in my back! weird. we theorize its because i’ve got so thin lately that the rumbling can be felt everywhere as there is less mass to “travel” through or buffer the gastro “tremors”…*shrug*

I just love seeing people's stats. I wish I had done mine to help me through the stalls. Absolutely amazing loss 😍

Offer to be the designated driver. Nurse one glass for hours (did that a lot & still do it but for an hour or so now). Say you’re not really in the mood to drink. Or you have been fighting a headache all day & you don’t want it to come back. Or if you’ve realised you’ve been drinking a bit lately & decided to have a dry couple of weeks. They will notice your weight loss soon if not now so you could be semi truthful and say you’re making a few changes and trying to lose some weight. Whatever you decide to say add you’re glad to see them and to spend time with them & make sure they know you’re okay with them drinking or eating whatever they want.

Creating a new thread because the other one has gotten really long. So, here are my before and currents to keep the topic moving. Current as of last week:

Okay, so I had reached a BMI of 40 when I got the referral to the surgical team. But with 6 months of nutrition counseling and the 2 week liquid diet, the day of surgery I had a BMI of 36.3. I chose the bypass and I am very happy with it. My weight loss has not been the dramatic numbers you see with larger patients, but it's been stunning to me. I am almost a year out and am currently within 9 pounds of a normal BMI. I have not been this weight in 30 years and I firmly believe no amount of diet and exercise alone would have gotten me here. I would do it again in a heartbeat and wish I had done it earlier. With regards to the bypass itself, I am very pleased with it. I chose it over the sleeve because of GERD concerns and because my brother, who had the sleeve 15 years ago, has had a lot of regain that I think the bypass will help me avoid to some degree. I had some issues with vomiting for the first several months when I didn't eat very slowly or had something that was not the "right" texture for my picky insides. But other than that, I've been great. At this point, I can eat about a third to a half of a typical portion of most meals so I don't feel like I get funny looks or anything from people who don't know my situation. I do not experience dumping, which is sad because it means I can eat sweets if I want them without getting sick. And yes, I do want them, so managing cravings is my biggest challenge. I no longer care much for bread or pasta and I also don't eat rice. I do like a few roasted potatoes sometimes and I will steal a couple fries from someone else's plate but I won't order them for myself. I mostly prefer protein, veg, and fruit. And, yeah, sweets... My labs have all looked good so far (have to go get blood drawn next week ahead of my 1-year follow up). I feel fantastic. My one concern had been not being able to take ibuprofen because I was taking it a few times a week for pain. Well, within weeks of the surgery, even when my weight was still fairly high, my pain went away. I have had one time in the past year when I had a headache and wished I could take ibuprofen (and actually, I could have if I had really needed to because a single ibuprofen, or even one a week, is not a high enough risk to worry about).

I had been part time following the pre ops diet and cutting down on my food sizes a few weeks before I got news of my operation date : may 26, the same date 5 years ago I knew I was going to gain weight because of pregnancy complications. So the first two and the half weeks I just did more pre- ops eating (modifast in 4 different flavors) . They are quite tolerable. I usually had a normal (small sizemeal) in the evening with the kids. Now starting last Sunday, (18 may) I am on a full water fast for 5 days. Meaning my fast ends today at 19:20. I have my modifast oatmeal ready should I really need to eat something at that hour. Tomorrow Saturday I shall be on liquid pre ops meals as prescribed. Sunday will be another day on liquid only in preparation for my operation on Monday. I tell you what this is my body and I am determined to get it back. The operation is not a magic pill. It is just a tool in my toolbox. The way I think about food and how and why and when I ingest it- that to me is the magic. I am focusing very much in discovering my cues and knowing what triggers my eating habits. I am learning to say no all together when I am invited to that snack moment at work to eat what so ever what when I truly know I do not need it. - I am learning to say ’No’ and knowing it will be okay. I take it a minute at a time. We shall get through this and we will not turn back. I want to be able to jump into every photo without cringing I want to feel good and run about with my kids without feeling pain, exhausted and above all guilty. I am doing this for my boys and then for myself. We will be alright guys. We got this.

Just a bit of a follow up to this it seems it's is perfectly normal and to be expected. A friend who had the surgery last year sent me this when I was telling her I haven't lost for a week. Sorry I don't know the Author, or which site it is from. It did make me relieved to see its not that my surgery didn't work! Phew!

Yes I'm very glad I did it. I can fit in chairs, get up from the floor, I even went sleighing a few weeks ago. I am no longer consumed with the thought of eating. I dont feel ashamed when I walk in a room. I wish I had done it years ago. My husband stopped me. I left him,so that ended that problem.

totally me this week! I am just having a week where I feel like puffy, slow, tired, just unmotivated to work out. I am still doing my workouts because I know its a slump but I am just there this week.

you will loveeeeee them once you get them done! even thought I am mentally struggling with not being able to work out- my boobies are worth it lol The internal bra has been amazing, the first week I was so swollen and in such pain but I am much much better now.

I’m pretty sure dry skin can also be from l not enough protein I’m using my phone so I’m not sure which surgery you had but if it’s bypass and increasing, your fluids, doesn’t work consider whether you just need more protein than the average bypass or if your activity is high, talk to your team, but they told me I needed to increase my protein because of my level of activity. Also, if your activity is really high, you may actually need to increase your carbohydrates. I would definitely talk to your team about your activity and your food intake. I know that increasing carbs sounds scary and counterproductive, but I’ve been on here for about four years now and a lot of people found that when they exercise level was high their body thought it was starving and was hanging onto everything until they increased their calories and then it started dropping so I would definitely ask if that could be an issue. Daughter it’s just the three weeks stop which isn’t exactly at three weeks, but it does happen to pretty much everyone.

I got several boxes that are for Bariatric patients that have 3 compartments, one for the big protein and then the other two for veggies/fruits and carbs. I go to work with one for each meal every day I go to work and I have what I am allowed to eat and that's it. When it is gone, it is gone. If I get hungry later, I may have a snack and that snack is a Protein shake. I like Premier Protein, and through Amazon you can get the variety pack and they have "sweet" ones that curb the urge to go to any vending machine or reaching for the chocolate on your bosses desk. Or mine. I prep for the whole week on Saturday and Sundays. I will bake chicken and then weigh out the appropriate amount of chicken and put it in the box, then the veggies and then the carb. I have them stacked in the fridge so when I pack my lunch, I just grab one or two and 2 Protein Shakes and I'm set for my long day. Hope that helps!

I mainly rely on shakes because it's much easier, I work 2 jobs and I'm up and out by 6:40am, getting home by 10:30pm/11pm, its just easier to grab a shake while I'm driving to my jobs, I do have a more stable meals during the weekends and if I can, meal prep so I can have some food for my lunch break, I know that I need to eat more but some night I get home so exhausted, I only have enough energy to drag myself to bed, with my budget I can prepare for about 6 days, but those are usually for the work week Maybe not the best explanation, and maybe I could make an effort to cook more but I have 2 jobs for a reason, I'm broke and I budget out all my expenses to the cent

I can't really comment as I'm literally only a week out of surgery but so far my lack of appetite has surprised me. I just don't feel hungry or like eating at all. It's kinda nice. I'm assuming that won't last long though Another surprise is just how little I eat and feel like I've had enough. I'm still on the fluids portion of recovery but I only have like 1/4 a cup of soup per meal and that's enough. I have to keep getting told I need to eat

This makes the most sense to me. I will eat whatever is in the refrigerator already prepared. If it requires me to “put it together” after a stressful whatever that day, I am less likely to make the correct choice. It’s weird to say but I can eat the same thing over and over and over and over again. It’s easier to just eat leftover leftovers than to have to make another decision. I’ve been trying to meal prep on Sundays for hubby so he can have healthy lunches for work but his food plan and mine don’t always mesh. I did make a plan for this week and so far it has been easy to follow because most everything is cooked for breakfast and lunches and he sometimes cooks the dinner, especially if it is something that I can’t tolerate(tuna, anything spicy, bbq anything, Asian & Mexican are all hard for me. I love it but it doesn’t love me right now). I guess I just never equated making my meal plan at the beginning of the week can also be my tracker. I thought I had to do both and I was failing miserably in my mind… I am at least following my meal plan 75-80% of what I had originally wrote down. I don’t work tomorrow, so I think I will plan out the weekend and next week… then cook and put it in my single serving containers.

@AmberFL today's the day 😁😁 I know all will go well and I hope the hubby takes care of you in the next few days while you recover, he'll get the benefit in a few weeks 🤣

As of this morning, I reached the goal weight I had set for myself last April when my husband and I committed to our new lifestyle! I am back down to the weight I was at when we first got together, which was 8 years ago last week. I am setting a new stretch goal for myself to lose 15 more pounds, but I plan to take that very slowly. As long as I keep trending slowly down, I will be content.

And how have you done this week? Still better than before I hope. One day at a time, as with any journey. We've all done it with WLS.

Many team will just start you out on the vitamins that people tend to become low on to try and get ahead of it, but you should be getting labs every three months for a while and then at least once a year once you are on track. Your team should tell you what to change based on your labs.

I can’t wait to see all of the dishes being made this week!

Well, January Buddies, sounds like we all have our individual struggles. I'm just over 2 weeks post-op and I'm trying really hard to get all that liquid in too 😵‍💫 What helps me is to remember that this is a marathon - not a sprint. We're in it for the long haul. And I just keep working to overcome the struggles, and have discovered that doing that strengthens my resolve to keep working at it! Kind of like a mind game. Hope this help you too.

Hello everyone!! I know I did a bit of a vanishing act, but I have things to report in. First of all - I hit a really frustrating plateau that lasted about 3.5 weeks from around weeks 7-10. That had me feeling pretty bummed, as it was post-two month check in and I had been feeling great about my progress before switching from purees to solids. I had last posted about hearing somewhat contradicting information from the nurse and Nutritionist. I had been told that I didn't need to really worry about staying on keto because I wasn't eating much as long as I hit my protein goal and by the nurse to try to stay Keto because eventually I'd get this great burst of energy from going into ketosis. WELL -- After doing some research I found out that the thing your brain tells you would be the worst thing to do - EAT MORE - was actually the solution. I started bringing in more vegetables and an occasional grains while sticking to mostly lean meats, plus using a protein shake for breakfast to keep me on track with my protein goals. I was already using Genepro; and I since picked up one of the Whey protein powders in a chocolate plus some of the PB2. That did the trick! I have started allowing myself an occasional 'cheat' type meal on days that I'm locked in on my protein, and find myself often meeting my protein goal and then some - more like 70g of protein per day rather than the minimum of 60g/day. The result of spreading my meals out - breakfast, three hours later lunch, three hours later 'dinner' and three hours later 'protein snack' if I'm still hungry - DID IT. My energy is up now that I've been walking more and giving my body more fuel. I am seeing the weight loss finally, and even when the scale doesn't show it right away I'm seeing my measurements shift and the way my clothing fits feeling different. I had purchased a cute pair of jeans about a week before my surgery and a button down short sleeve gingham shirt. At the time I couldn't get the jeans all the way up over my thigh; and now they fit loosely. My bras don't fit properly and I already had to buy one in a smaller size. I'm turning down plus sizes clothes I like that I find at the thrift store for pretty much the first time because - they're too big. I'm borrowing shirts from my Mom that I handed down to her previously and other friends handed down to her rather than me because she was a 2x/3x for a long time (mostly due to her chest) and I was a 4x+. I can feel where my arms have gotten smaller in the way shirts don't feel snug in the arms, shoulder, and chest area. I've gone down 2.5 ring sizes! All in all, I've found that portion control is still a big deal, but so is listening to your body and remembering that if it sends you a message about hunger, there is a reason. I DO have to focus on making sure I drink enough water, but the Baritastic app has helped me keep my sugar low. Even if I do hit over 30g of carbs in a day it's rare and because of something like beans, rice, or vegetables. I'm feeling more comfortable loosening the reins a bit on how strictly I adhere to my diet - although I still don't do anything carbonated, do minimal caffeine, and keep sugar very low. The idea to bring your own tupperware to restaurants along with a cooler is really smart. I'm not in an organized group exercise of any kind yet but I do have personal goals like trying to get in over 10k steps three times per week. I'm working my way up and have gotten to an average of around 5k steps each day, which I'm very proud of. My calorie deficit is usually 800+ calories less taken in than what I'm burning via exercise per day, and this week I have lost almost 6 lbs due to exercise and losing the bloat from my first period post surgery. I wanted to mention that - I did miss my first month's period and my second month's was late. As to exercise - I feel the activity in my back and as a low ache across my lower abdomen mainly, which I think is a result of using those core muscles and the way my figure is redistributing the weight on my joints. I'm shopping Marketplace to add weights to my exercise and still use my exercise bike when the weather isn't nice enough to walk. OH! And Old Navy has an amazing 50% off sale on their website right now and I just finally ordered myself some pants in two sizes below my pre-surgery size! I'm so excited for them to get here. Best wishes all, keep up the amazing work and be kind to yourselves!