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You add something to your diary in order to get over 1k calories (the minimum) and finish your log, then go in and edit it to remove the calories so you get an accurate count. Not completing the diary doesn't affect your streak of logging or anything though. I did 1 year 3 months straight last time and I'm on 117 days since I entered the bariatric program and started logging again, and I've only completed it a few times. I always forget by the end of the day.

I found some good recipes off this site https://www.bariatricfoodie.com/category/bariatric-recipes/purees/

I realize this was a whole back but... That is more normal, ink blots are part of what a psychoanalyst does for therapy - you likely had an mmpi-2 (300+ items but takes just 45 min) since insurance companies want to see objective data with the report and that is the one recommended by the committee that sets the standards for Bariatric evaluations. 😀

AJ that's a slippery slope attitude. I know you're prob just meeting this challenge with your tongue in cheek humor, but it quickly turns around! I really hope you will seek out a trainer/nutritionist who understands bariatrics and lean gains. Cuz it isn't just a matter of going back to Fatty McFatterson food choices. Right? Add calories strategically. If you are getting the amount of protein you need to build muscle, and have enough carbs in your life to lend energy (if you're a carb burner), then add calories through adding healthy fats). Organize your meal events even if you aren't hungry. Cuz bottom line, to stop loss with a semi healthy metabolism, it will take very little extra calories (if you're not an endurance athlete or involved in lifting to gain strength). @BigViffer @BlueCrush@Healthy_life2 are all athletes and have figured out how to build muscle and stop weight loss! Maybe they'll hop in here with advice for you. Mine just "magically" stopped by adding in a day or two of higher cal eating (1200-1500cals), 2 days a week.

I actually was shocked with the insurance, it’s not through our regular health plan, its like an add-on that my husbands company has. Every procedure they cover is based on The Dr’s recommendation and not insurance guidelines. The only requirement is our deductible has to be met. It’s really a nice benefit. I was supposed to see Dr. Gorjala but he only sees patients on certain days. I was nervous about Dr. Lytle but ended up completely at ease. A little back story, I did not want the surgery, but all of my local doctors said I needed it. My BMI was only 32 I weighed 188 and am 5’0” and had been on weight watchers after a botched hysterectomy. I had gotten up to 201. I developed a large incisional hernia and no one would fix it until I was down to my ideal weight and weight watchers and gym was not doing it fast enough. My regular insurance would not cover it because my BMI was to low, I was only borderline diabetic, and no cardiac issues or high blood pressure. I was going to file a complaint with the health insurance and our insurance advocate told me about the program. Dr. Lytle reviewed my medical records and had to convince me that my local Drs were right and that I needed to have this surgery to get the hernia fixed. I just met with a local surgeon for the hernia, through the same program and found out how bad things really are, but because I had the surgery I can be fixed. All of my large and small intestines are outside of where they are supposed to be and I have no stomach wall so they need to rebuild it. I will lose my belly button. I live in Central Florida half way between Daytona and Orlando. My next surgery will be in Orlando at ORMC. Atlanta is huge and I do not miss driving around there. Thankfully we were staying in Sandy Springs around the corner from the hospital. We did travel to Centennial Park when we were there for consult. The traffic is horrible there so I can understand your concern. Lol. I want to wish you luck with everything. It sounds like you have been through a lot yourself. I know everyone at Bariatric Innovations will take great care of you! The trip was well worth it. I wanted Dr. Lytle to fix my hernia also and he agreed to do it, but I needed to consult with a local surgeon first. If it wasn’t so far I would have gone with Dr Lytle but because of the seriousness of the hernia I decided to go with a local surgeon to avoid all the traveling.

It's a process and journey. We all have to work at building new skills in this area. We are different people with new anatomies. So the old ways will not work, but changing the habits of a lifetime doesn't happen magically or overnight. But, I can reassure you that for most of us, this phase passes. You will still "have those days." But that's also why you should embrace this time and use it to your advantage to practice and develop new healthy habits. I call them Bari Healthy Life habits. You will never again have an opportunity as prime as your virgin WLS voyage where the restriction will be as strong as now, and your food aversions as high. Practice: 1. Pre-cut all your food into pencil eraser size pieces. 2. Use a small fork or baby spoon to eat. (I use an old shrimp cocktail fork when we're home eating. It's tiny!) 3. Only eat one pencil eraser size bite at a time. 4. Put your fork down and tuck your hands under your thighs. (Glance at a timer.) 5. Count your chews. Chew to a paste consistency. 6. Swallow. Wait 2-3 minutes. 7. Rinse and repeat. 8. Stop when you STOP feeling HUNGRY--not when you're full. Don't chase the full feeling. Eat ONLY the portion volume appropriate for your stage as provided by your doctor and RD. Don't exceed 1 cup of food volume on your BFD (Bariatric Forever Diet). *It's always better to try to do this at a dining table so you can really focus on how your food tastes, how it feels in your mouth, how full you are as you eat...it helps you develop mindfulness prompts. It also gives your body time to get the message to your brain, "Hey, dummeh, you've had enough."

I'm 3 weeks in now after my bariatric sleeve omg do I feel rough specially on mornings I'm bringing a lot of spit up I can't even take water EVERYTHING makes me feel sick its horrible really getting me down

Hey everyone! Congrats to all of you for making it this far!! I just got my surgery date: 29 Apr! I finished my insurance company's mandatory six month bariatric program on 12 Feb, received approval for surgery a few days later, and finally met with my surgeon today. When I picked up the NINE pre-/post-op prescriptions, it started to feel very real! But I'm so excited! Like all of you, this has been a long time coming. I've been struggling with my weight since 4th grade and have lost and gained the same 100lbs. at least five times. I'm so ready to start this new chapter of my life! A few details: Started Kaiser's six month bariatric program: 3 Sep 2019 Hospital: Holy Cross Hospital, Silver Springs, MD Surgery : VSG What are you worried about the most right now? For me, I think I'm dreading the two week pre-op liquid diet more than anything else!

I have the same fears! I had really good results from HCG, but the moment you stopped it (it was super expensive) I started gaining 1lb a day. Now I at my largest in my whole life. After the HCG it seem to be stubborn fat that wouldn't budge, when in the past I used to lose and gain super fast. I have been on the 7day liquid diet and have lost 8lbs on day 6... So i have renewed hope!

It sounds like a reflux of bile is what is causing the ulcer, not common but it does happen. I had my gallbladder removed during my gastric bypass surgery due to chronic inflammation. But I also had frequent ulcers in my stomach and small intestine. it is extremely common for bariatric patients to need a cholecystectomy after dramatic weight loss. you might want to consider adding digestive enzymes with meals afterward. Some doctors also recommend bile salts.

these guidelines from the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery are from 2016, but still current. Scroll down a few pages to see the vitamin requirements for each type of surgery (including DS). Just make sure your vitamins of choice meet the requirements: https://asmbs.org/app/uploads/2017/06/ASMBS-Nutritional-Guidelines-2016-Update.pdf

Yes I also went through that stage. Idk what eating plan ur currently in or on lol but I looked up Bariatric meals in line. My favorite one during soft food or even purée was the shellys ricotta bake!!! It is so delicious!! I freeze little portions and take them with me for lunches. But there are tons of ideas! I also did like zucchini boats. Stuffed eggplant. Stuffed mushrooms. Turkey bacon wrapped Brussels sprouts. Grilled or baked asparagus. Salads. Cucumber tomato and avocado salsa. Chickpea salad. There are tons of options.

Thanks for the advice, everyone! My insurance requires my medically supervised diet to be outside of the bariatric group. I do have to meet with a nutritionist in the bariatric group, but that's a few weeks from now and I get the impression that it's a one-time thing. I also have to take an online nutrition class and a pre-op surgery prep class. I switched from regular soda to diet several years ago, and I was kind of proud of that because it was hard (I loved regular soda and hated the taste of diet, but I gradually made myself switch and now I prefer the taste of diet, and even unsweetened flavored seltzer). I have a personal rule of no snacking at work, but that's not so easy at home, although the intermittent fasting has helped. I've been entering my food in MyFitnessPal, which is required in my bariatric program for the week before meeting with the nutritionist, but I went ahead and started early, so that is helping me to choose lower-calorie foods, but I am having scary flashbacks to my years of yo-yo dieting because I always do well at the beginning but I can never keep it up for the long term.

I am wondering if there could be a market for before and after portraits of bariatric patients. I know overweight people generally do not like their photos taken. However, having been a former patient, I might be able to find a niche market for my area as future patients might be more comfortable with a former patient who could definitely see their future selves I would take photographs at local "outdoor scenes" so that they can be followed up at the same place in the future by anyone. Photography is more of a professional hobby for me, but I have never got into the "portrait" arena. This might be a fun venture. I have never seen a good before, or even good after pictures. I think the before pictures are all just horrible. Even in doctors offices, they are so bad, my center stopped taking posting them on walls. I would even hang out with them for some activities for candids, because many patients change what and how they do things afterwards. So instead of having horrible pictures to show people, they'll have something; nice. Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using BariatricPal mobile app

Hey All! I'm a newbie here, but I've finally decided to start the process and get information about VSG. I feel mentally ready for it and that it's time, as I've been going round and round with the decision for years. I go back to my new PCP on 3/10 of this month to discuss it more and get bloodwork. I gave her a head's up at my initial consult that this was something I wanted, and she said let's see if you are a candidate at your next appointment. I already made my appointment with the weight loss center for the information center on 3/25. They advised they do not need a referral from my PCP, but to have my most recent labs sent over. When I called the weight loss center, I was advised that after the information session, you will be contacted within a week for the actual consult with the surgeon. I've been doing a ton of research so far, and I see a lot of folks have a 6-12 month supervised diet mandate with the insurance. After contacting my insurance company, they sent me the policy and advised that they have lifted their 6 month restriction. My policy states the following is needed for approval. BMI 40 and over or BMI of 35-39 with co-morbidity. Individuals should have documented to respond to conservative measures for weight reduction prior to the consideration of bariatric surgery and these attempts should be reviewed by the practitioner prior to seeking approval for the surgical procedure. HOWEVER, following that statement, it says "As a Result, some centers require active participation in a formal weight reduction program that includes frequent documentation of weight, dietary regimen, and exercise. However there is a lack of evidence on the optimal timing, intensity and duration of non-surgical attempts at weight loss, and whether a medical weight loss program immediately preceding surgery improves outcomes." HELP- what does this mean? Psych consult I'm pretty clear on the other first and last requirement, but the 2nd one has me spinning my wheels slightly. When I called my insurance to ask for clarification, I was advised that a letter of support from my PCP would likely suffice. My only hesitancy is that I just started with a new PCP, and I'm wondering if she will approve me off my BMI alone, or want to try conservative measures first since I am new patient there. If she doesn't provide letter of support, will the nutrition classes that the surgeon will inevitable require satisfy the letter requirement, can he be the one that writes it or does this text indicate that it needs to come from my PCP? I plan on calling the center during their business hours to ask if they've encountered this insurance wise tomorrow, as they were closed today. Any one run into this issue with their insurance policy? Any insight or perspective offered would be awesome.

What on earth are you doing back to work 1 week post-op? My bariatric team would not even consider anything less than 4 weeks out. The reason? Not only the physical healing (you have just had a MAJOR change to your internal structure) but also for the very reason you are now faced with--mental preparedness. Whatever you do, do not give in to the temptation of eating solid food. You will seriously endanger your health with a risk of leakage along the staple line, not to mention the discomfort caused by a tummy not yet ready to deal with the stresses of solid food. Is there any way for you to take another week or two off? Disability? FMLA? You really need more time to heal, mentally and physically.

Still undecided which one. thoughts please?

Hi BigSue and congrats on your journey! My insurance requires a 3 month program of supervised diet (but no set weight loss; I do hope to be close to 20 pounds down by surgery time). My bariatric center actually had a pre-op nutrition class and basically we were told to concentrate on getting your proteins in and lowering carbs. Just based on my experience so far, upping the protein and lowering the carbs is most successful, along with getting the water in. You should ask if your program includes meeting with a nutritionist to discuss specifics with you.

Momof3_angels pretty much broke it down, and I agree with all comments here. I did find a NHS study that discusses body reset points after bariatric surgery, but after reading many comments here, if you put in the post-op work, you will lose a lot of weight.

you do have to be disciplined. The first few months weren't too, too hard because my hunger disappeared for about five months, but it does eventually come back for most of us, and things get more challenging after that. I have to be very disciplined now in maintenance, too. I can maintain my weight by averaging about 1700 kcal/day. I can definitely go higher than that occasionally, but if I do it too often (like more than two or three times a month), it'll start showing up on the scale. I was in India for the month of October and although I wasn't making a pig of myself, I wasn't closely monitoring what I was eating. I was probably eating 2000 kcal a day. And then I came back a couple weeks before the holiday season started - more eating. I put on eight pounds from the beginning to October to New Year's. Still working on getting that off. So yea - it takes discipline for sure to keep the weight off. I can't answer your question about resetting metabolism, other than you'll see that claim pretty much everywhere. Also, the association of bariatric surgeons is called the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, so there does seem to be some metabolic aspect to this.

Request to see a bariatric nurtitionist. Mine gave me handouts that layed out exactly what my diet should be during each phase of my diet (both pre-op and post-op). I followed it almost all the time, and I had great success.

You really should have a long talk with a bariatric surgeon and nutritionist. But let me see if I can help. I will use gastric sleeve for explanations, since that is the surgery I have. This can also be applied to gastric bypass, but please know there is a lot more involved with a bypass than sleeve. I personally don't recommend lap band. Before you get weight loss surgery, you need to consult a physician and a nutritionist. You usually have a requirement of 6 months of nutrition counseling. During this time, the nutritionist prepares you for your post op diet. They start off giving you education on what you need to eat NOW. What you need to eat in your pre-surgery phase. And what to eat post op. A good program will have you continue nutrition counseling for AT LEAST a year post op, in which they will coach you through the stages of your post-op diet through until you reach maintenance stage where you are just maintaining your weight. During the pre-op period, you are also seeing specialists and getting testing for any problems that they may need to know about before your surgery. This includes a psych evaluation usually. And if you do have psych related issues driving you to eat too much, you should take this opportunity to deal with them. Many bariatric patients need counseling. Some need medications like anti-depressants or other psych medications. And some like me gained weight for other reasons (physical barriers). You will likely at least get an EKG if not a complete cardiac workup. You may need a sleep study to determine if you have sleep apnea like so many obese people do. If so, you will get treated for it. They will look for how you swallow, do you have a hernia in the stomach, and other issues affecting your surgery. Once you have jumped through the hoops and are treated for anything you need to be treated for... then you will be cleared for surgery (and no... ongoing counseling does not mean surgery will be delayed). With gastric sleeve, they remove 80% of your stomach, therefore for it immediately restricts how much food you eat. It also resets your metabolism and your hunger/full hormones. In the short term, yes your calories will be VERY restricted. But because you are seeing a nutritionist, they will help you know what to eat during each stage for optimal health. Water and protein first. Then healthy veggies. And you will learn to either not eat unhealthy carbs or eat very limited unhealthy carbs. It will be up to you to follow the recommended diet and stick with it. If you do follow directions, you will learn to eat frequent small but healthy meals every day. And over time, once you are closer to maintenance, you will start to eat larger portions, but sticking to healthy meals. Your nutritionist will guide you to ensure you do not go into starvation mode and that you eat a healthy amount of calories to maintain your weight. Most people do lose a little more than they need to early on... but then gain 20 pounds back and then maintain your weight there. The key is to stick to the recommended diet so that you don't KEEP gaining. You will also get blood work done every 3 months or so and have follow up appointments with your surgeon's office for at least a year. So, with the surgeon and nutritionist, you will be closely monitored. They will make sure you don't end up with vitamin deficiencies or other problems related to rapid weight loss. You will take daily vitamins and calcium as recommended. Your diet will be high in protein and low in carbs and fats. (So not really Keto... but many do keto post op). The carbs and fats you eat will be healthy carbs and fats if you stick to your diet. But this isn't a "diet" per-say... it is a lifestyle change. You are re-learning how to eat healthy. You are re-learning how to eat small to normal portions. And if you stick with it under nutritionist supervision, you will NOT go into starvation mode and you will not gain the weight back. Problem with all the fad diets is that there is no long term (psych) counseling, nutritional counseling, medical follow up. Most people eventually go back to their old ways. And gain everything back. If you are following the program with the bariatric team, they will help you prevent going back to your old ways. But seriously... only you can decide how successful you will be, based on your willingness to follow through. Again... if you need to, get counseling. See your surgeon and nutritionist regularly and follow their guidance. If you need CPAP for sleep apnea, wear it. If you need other medications, take them. Etc. I am 2 days shy of 6 months. I am at a NORMAL body weight. I am 6 pounds from my personal ideal body weight. I am following the recommendations of my team. And I can now eat double what I could 3 months post op and still maintain my weight and I am still losing a pound here and there. Again...talk to your bariatric team for better information, but bariatric surgery is a TOOL for weight loss. It is only successful if you follow your program. But it is also the best tool out there to reach your goals if you have dieted and failed in the past. But if you follow your program, they will give you additional tools to make you successful (nutrition and psych counseling are two of your best weapons... use them!)

I've been on bariatric internet forums for around 5+ years. SOME bariatric patients consume less than 1000 calories a day to maintain, but (and this is just based on postings I've read), this is the exception. I can maintain on 1700 calories a day. I've read of people maintaining on 2000 (I, unfortunately, would gain on that). I would say - and again just based on my own observation), that most women maintain on somewhere between 1200-1600 a day. A lot of that will depend on age, activity level, etc. and no, oddly, metabolism doesn't seem to be ruined (unlike that of people on the Biggest Loser). I do know that bariatric surgery "resets" metabolism, so that may have something to do with it (?)

I am 1 yr post OP from having my gallbladder removed and the severe sepsis that i endured and almost ended my life all because of the poison that happened from my gallbladder going rouge. My 51 year old brother's wife just died from sepsis! That is serious! If you do not feel well and have pain do not ignore it! I thought it was just a complication from my ByPass surgery but it was so much more. It has taken a year to feel better and I still have a lot of days that I do not feel very good, but much better than when I was admitted to UPMC hospital last year. Thank GOD for UPMC they saved my life twice. Once with my Bariatric operation which cured my kidney disease and then with curing my sepsis.