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Alcohol ended up becoming a major obstacle to my loss. My social life involved regular beer drinking. After getting sleeved I knew I was not supposed to drink carbonated beverages, however my desire to hang out with my friends caused me to learn how to overcome that obstacle and drink beer. I think this is the major reason I never hit my weight loss goal and then gained some back. What worked for me recently was to use a time restricted feeding program along with a Keto based diet. I ate mostly Keto and only had two meals, lunch at Noon and dinner around 5-6pm. This came from, the insulin control diet programs recommended by Dr. Jason Fung. Given that my sleeve kept me from feeling really hungry it worked well and I dropped the 20 pounds I gained during the pandemic restrictions. Now I have major issues with hiatal hernia and GERD, so a revision to RNY is scheduled for tomorrow. I've decided since I have been given a second chance I am going to make the most of it. I have determined that alcohol no longer has a place in my life, and neither do snacks and slider foods.

It's hard to tell with the weight loss if they directly contribute to it. There are days when I don't lose much while having them and days I still lose while having them. Weight loss for me as others out here is a cycle of plateau and then lose and so on and so forth.

If you stop loosing weight cut them out but if they aren't effecting your weight loss have them

Yes! You made the right decision! Everyone has this exact moment you are experiencing now! You will be able to eat again. You will enjoy food. I'm 5 years post and I eat anything I want. It will take time. Focus on the positives and the end game! This feeling of regret only last a few weeks and then your focus will shift to introducing new food, portion sizes and most important your weight loss. Get creative with your protein. Make it a large part of your life. It's an extremely important part of your success. I'm 5 years post surgery and still drink my protein. If you are a coffee drinker.. and some Vanilla ensure or the like to your coffee. It will bring you comfort and fill you up. For me, I focused less on what I wasn't able to eat and more on what I could eat that gave me the most satisfaction. You can sip on coffee for hours. you can only eat a few bites of eggs. Soups were another big thing for me in the beginning. Why? Bc I could get down more and didn't feel deprived. If I felt like I wanted something sweet. I'd suck on an orange wedge. Try different things to take your mind off the negatives.. they will pass. You will be able to eat and enjoy food again! Start weight was 355 and I'm 140 now.

We all recover at our own rate & have our own experiences regardless of the surgery we have. Some seem to breeze through it while others struggle. But it is temporary. While I struggled with fatigue & low energy post sleeve, I had no gas pain & manageable surgical pain (nothing by day 4). With my gall removal I experienced more gas & surgical pain & general discomfort for much longer but my energy levels were fine. While a permanent regime of taking vitamins is required with bypass it is only a long term requirement with sleeve if they are needed. Malabsorption is not as much of an issue with a sleeve. I had a sleeve & I haven’t taken a vitamin since 8 months post surgery. I was in maintenance & my blood work showed I wasn’t lacking in anything & still aren't. ( I do struggle with protein absorption but that occurred after my gall was removed last June. Before then it was good.) Dumping can be an issue with bypass but is pretty uncommon with sleeve but it can be controlled via good choices (avoid high sugar or highly processed simple carbs). If you have reflux or GERD, a sleeve should be avoided. Did your surgeon recommend one surgery over the other. I mean they’re supposed to be the experts & should be able to advise which would best give you the results you’re seeking based on your medical history, test results, weight loss history, etc. Unless, of course, they said either would benefit you. If you’re worried about a possible food addiction, ask fir a referral to a good therapist to support you work through this addiction & any other cravings, habits or issues that may drive you to eat. Lots of people swear by the help their therapist has given to manage the issues which could sabotage their weight loss.

When those old habits are strong it can be very hard to stop them controlling your choices. You’re not alone. Managing cravings & changing old habits is one of the most difficult thing to work through post surgery. For many of us, they never leave us & are always there. We just find ways to take control of them. First get any junk food out of your house, delete the home delivery apps, delete the takeout phone numbers, & throw out any take out menus. Second, get in touch with a good therapist who specialises in eating disorders. (Did you see someone as part of your approval process? If not your medical team can recommend someone.) The therapist will support you to work through what’s driving you to eat & find strategies to manage those cravings & old habits. It’s pretty darn difficult to stretch your tummy but these glory days of weight loss don’t last. Your real hunger comes back, the weight loss slows, you’ll be able to eat larger, more recommended portion sizes. You need to grasp all the opportunities the surgery initially gives with two hands. All the best.

There's also silent reflux that causes little or no symptoms. I'm not sure if it occurs in WLS patients tho. I would say if there's a possibility that you do have gerd, you should get a hard confirmation before you do have weight loss surgery, as it may have an impact on your sleeve surgery in the future.

It’s your call; you know what will be best for you! I didn’t tell anyone but my husband. It’s no one’s business. However, I also didn’t want the added pressure or judgment. If I lost weight, people would think I took the easy way out. If I didn’t lose weight, people would think that I am so pathetic that even weight loss surgery didn’t work for me. I didn’t need all that!

While you are in the weight loss phase you will want to watch WHAT you eat of course because you can put away quite a bit of calories in a small volume if you don’t but the way I understood it pretty much everyone goes back to around a serving size eventually. Some it may take longer than others but eventually they want you to be able to eat enough to get all your nutrients in from food. I heard that a lot of those Facebook groups are pretty unhealthy. My therapist suggested bariatric pal and so far I have found nothing but support here.

Hi guys. I'm in the process of getting my checklist complete before receiving my surgery date. I am unsure of which procedure I want to get. I am 34 years old, 5'4 @ 225lbs. My BMI is 38.6 and I carry alot of my weight in my abdomen. I have type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and PCOS. I aspire to get pregnant again, but am currently suffering from infertility due to the PCOS. I had my consultation last week and am trying to make my mind up about which surgery is best for me. My doctor is basically letting me chose. Bypass helps eliminate the diabetes, but I'm not fond of the idea of having to take vitamins forever. I am a sweets eater. I love my sweets (cookies/candy)... I'm also feeling a little apprehensive. Hear me out. I want weight loss to happen. I need to lose weight! I’m tired of being the size that I am and how my clothes look on me. I yearn to look cute in the summer and wear the cute crop tops and not have a belly that looks pregnant. I want to look nice in a swimsuit. I want to feel cute in lingerie again. I’m so self conscious of how I look at the weight I am now. But what’s making me so apprehensive is the recovery stage. My buddy from nursing school just had a sleeve done 2 weeks ago and is telling me how rough the recovery period is going for her. I've also read how other peoples recovery processes have gone. It's tough but I know it's doable. I think I may be a little addicted to food. I ate sooooo good yesterday and ENJOYED it so much! I'll be eating good again today with the super bowl menu my husband has prepared. I'm so scared to have to give it up and I’m thinking/doubting if I can stay away once I get surgery. I need to hear a voice of reasoning to slap me out of this feeling I'm feeling. I'd appreciate it.

Thanks for the catchup summerseeker! Sounds like you've hit your stride after a bit of a rocky period - here's to big losses for everyone over the next few months.

Hello every one, I hope the world of wonderful weight loss is great for everybody and all stalls have broken. I have just come out of a 4 week stall and am overjoyed. My calorie intake was just too small to let my body loose anything. Now that I can eat fish and seafood my protein intake is going up to about 50 grams a day. I have no problems drinking anymore and am feeling the health benefits of that. Its been a bit of a struggle but I am getting there a little slower than lots of you but I dont mind being a straggler. My dietician said to begin exercising so I am going to begin walking. The weather is horrid here and I am going to have to force myself out of the door. I have started leaving clothes on the too big to clean up in pile. Instead of skirts sliding up my belly to my bra, now they slide off if I dont catch them quick enough . Not good when the postman comes. Have a good week everyone

@WhispersOfAngel! You don’t no me and I am not being condescending! When I said No one, I was speaking about her medical team. I can read and saw the support given. Irony really? I wish you well in your journey. And yes emails, text messages and post. Can all have negative tones, when you don’t know the person. But lesson learned. Be safe and happy weight loss journey

I know and perhaps that's the cause of your fear, but know this: being obese is the number one leading cause of long term health issues and feeling severely ill, weight loss surgery is the number one cure.

So I hit a milestone this week of 50kg lost. Which is around 110lbs. I can't believe I've lost so much and I feel so much better thanks to this surgery 😊 I am about 75% to my goal now and even though the weight loss is slowing down, I never thought I would be this weight by February! 😁

Surgery is coming on Monday, Feb 14th. I'm getting gastric bypass. I'm in a really dark mental space. I'm so scared I'm going to have complications. I don't know what I'd do with myself if I willingly make myself sickly with surgery when I feel great and healthy right now as I'm slowly but surely losing weight without it. I know I need to and want to lose all my excess weight but I'm so scared that I'll be sick after. I've never dealt with long term health issues or feeling severely ill. What if it happens to me? I read about all kinds of terrible things and I panic. I'm really trying to focus on the positives but as it gets closer, I don't know... it's like I want to scream to the sky. I'm on the verge of having a panic attack and I think it might happen when I'm in the hospital. I have a hard time expressing my emotions but something is seriously bubbling under the surface. There's no way of knowing anything I guess yet. It's just so frightening. I feel like I'm alone and I feel sad and scared. I'm not even upset about food or eating. I'm scared of becoming sick, needing emergency surgeries or having chronic nausea or vomiting. I couldn't forgive myself if that ended up happening. I sound like a broken record but I need to get it all out. Part of my weight loss journey has been learning how to express my emotions instead of numb them. I feel terrible and I'm a day away. How do you deal with this stress and panic? Sent from my SM-G975U using BariatricPal mobile app

I'm so sorry for your great loss. I lost a pet a couple of years ago, and I still cry about it. I miss her so much. Hugs.

I am prone to anxiety without WLS so I had to come up with some things to alleviate presurgery anxiety! I did many things to get ready for recovery, but if all the things I did, I found setting up a journal and meal planner to be cathartic. I bought this journal https://www.amazon.com/Clever-Fox-Weekly-Meal-Planner/dp/B088LSB6BC/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=37FN1JATNE23H&keywords=clever+fox+planner+2022+meal&qid=1644708875&sprefix=clever+fox+planner+2022+meal%2Caps%2C99&sr=8-3. I set up pages to track weight loss, goals, milestones, etc. I bought beautiful markers for the journal. I worked on it several times leading up to the surgery. It was relaxing and helped me visualize the journey.

Would you be willing to share your stats Esi? What was your starting weight and how much have you lost? I have no idea whether there's any definite line between the weight loss phase and maintenance phase OTHER than one ends and the other starts when you stop losing weight. Sounds like you see it looking backwards after a couple of months and sounds like you might be there. I am sure that if you change things about a bit you COULD lose more weight, but as you say, if this is your new set weight then you'd just have picked a battle you could never win - one most of us have been fighting all our lives. On the other hand this could be a final very gradual loss where you really do only lose like a pound a month or less, and again you may only recognise that looking backwards in another six months! Anyway, you have done brilliantly to get within 10-15lbs of a BMI of 25. Lots of folks would be super pleased with that. I think you sound as if you have a totally sensible approach to it.

Hi everyone, I'm having the sleeve surgery on Feb 23rd. I'm real excited about the new phase of my life and the weight loss journey. One thing that has me concerned is the NO CAFFIENE for 6 months. I don't drink coffee, but normally have a cup of tea and 1 diet soda in the morning, occasionally I'll have one in the afternoon. I've been slowly reducing the amount of caffeine so I don't go into withdrawals, although I've stopped drinking it before without problems. What are people doing without caffeine? Maybe after losing enough weight we will all have enough energy that caffeine won't be needed, but in the meantime, any suggestions? I do take tyrosine sometimes and it does help with energy, but not like a diet soda or a cuppa!

At what point did you stop losing? I’m almost at a year, and have gone up/down the same 2 pounds for 2 months. I am happy at this weight (would love to lose another 10-15 pounds to be at a “normal” BMI), but am wondering if this is typically the end of weight loss. I’m feeling pretty good about continuing the daily maintenance it would take to stay this way long term. I’m not willing to do much else to lose weight because mentally, I feel I’d start obsessing, which would backfire eventually. I want to be at peace and not gain. 😊

I began my WLS journey in 2015 with gastric sleeve surgery in September. My starting weight was 301, which I had managed to diet down to 285 by the time I was approved for surgery. Surgery weight was 277. Surgery was uneventful and I was back at my normal activities within a couple days. My goal weight was 185, but I only managed to lose down to 210. I believe this was because I made the mistake of continuing to drink alcohol after surgery (although less than before) and still ate too many snacks and slider type foods. Over the next several years my weight gradually increased until it settled in at about 230-235. Then the pandemic occurred and that added 20 pounds, so I was back to 255. This is when I learned what I felt was a good method to handle regain - I combined time restricted feeding with keto dieting... I only ate between Noon and 6pm, and strictly limited carbs. Doing this for a couple of months I was able to drop from 255 back to 235. I had issues with reflux before the surgery, and they continued after. They seemed to worsen as time passed. I learned not to eat at least 3 hours before bedtime, and still sometimes I'd end up sleeping in the recliner for several hours when the reflux was particularly bad. I also had developed a hiatal hernia (which a CT report said was small). Then in January of this year something changed. I started having issues where I could only eat a couple ounces of food without feeling severely overstuffed. This plus some bouts with chest pain prompted a couple of ER visits for cardiac workups. Finding no cardiac issues my doctors determined the pain was likely the hernia that had expanded. I also started experiencing symptoms that seem to be consistent with "silent reflux", such as throat, ear tube and sinus issues. I scheduled an EGD with my bariatric surgeon who found a 3cm hiatal hernia. He is going to repair it this coming Tuesday, and to prevent recurrence of the hernia as well as to resolve the GERD issues is doing a revision to RNY. I'm not happy about having to start over with the healing process, but am excited to finally lose the excess weight, correct the hernia and GERD, and get a chance to do things right the second time. So, here are some lessons learned along the way. If they can help someone else then this post is worth making: 1. Listen to your surgeon. If they recommend one procedure over another, there is a reason why. I probably should have done the RNY in the beginning but opted for the sleeve even though I had existing reflux issues. 2. Follow the dietary guidelines. They are there to assure the most successful weight loss. Unfortunately I 'taught myself' how to overcome the carbonation in beer and continued to drink it after recovery, which is a large part of the reason for lack of loss and regain. I wasn't addicted to either, but both were present in my social environment. I have now determined that alcohol and junk food are poison to my system and have resolved to be diligent in avoiding them. 3. If you do experience regain, get on it quickly. I found that time restricted feeding along with a keto eating plan worked wonders for me. I was essentially following the insulin control program established by Dr. Jason Fung. I quickly dropped close to 20 lbs using my sleeve along with this plan. 4. The sleeve, or bypass, is a tool that is given to you for life. You have a great window of opportunity the first year to lose weight and correct health problems. Make the most of it. Even though the tool is still there in later years, it becomes more difficult to lose weight after your system is fully healed and settled into normal life. It's possible, but harder. Make the most of the "one year honeymoon" window!

So sorry for your loss Lisa. Be extra kind to yourself during this difficult time and let yourself grieve for as long as you need. 🌸

I think both of you are trying things way to early, take it slow it's not good for your healing tummy to be forcing these types of foods in this early. Wait until the 6 month mark at least and really even then they are sometimes foods if at all. I loved hot chips and sandwiches too but they are now sometimes foods. Mmmmm nothing better than a fresh bakery bread butter and hot chip sandwich ..........aahhhh 🥪 I still haven't attempted to eat one yet. It's won't benefit your weight loss either to return to your old eating habits and yes it is hard I still struggle with what to eat but we will all get there.

Gigi I am almost exactly 3 months post op and I have lost 33lbs. I'm sure you know that SO many things affect the rate at which we lose weight - starting weight, age, hormones, fitness level, exercise level - not just calorie intake. I already see my loss slowing down but I am in this for the long haul. People who hit a long stall will try to increase protein, increase calories, try a different exercise regime - maybe upper body only for you - or even resistance bands to try to build a bit of muscle? In any case you shouldn't be bummed - you've lost a significant amount of weight, you're already way healthier, and if you stick to your programme you're likely to lose even more.