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I am about to have my own ESG surgery later this month, and I am currently on my pre-op diet. I have spoken with the mayo-clinic as well as the clinic I am having my procedure. You still absorb the nutrients in your food. My husband and I can even have another baby in about a year or so- because there isn't any lacking in nutrients to keep baby healthy. As far as timeline for normal eating... it is MORE STRICT than the VSG. Because there are internal sutures (aka the stitches are in your stomach where your food is) you have to remain on a liquid diet longer than a VSG. My plan is as follows post-op (from my nutrition guide at my clinic): My doctor said that if I FOLLOW DIRECTIONS I will not have a problem with failure or leakage. He said when you try new things too soon is when there are issues. Post Op Diet transitions after surgery 3 days of a Clear Liquid Diet 8/26 to 8/29 11 days of a Full Liquid Diet 8/30 to 9/10 14 days of a Pureed Diet 9/11 to 9/25 14 days of a Mechanical Soft Diet 9/26 to 10/10 And advance as tolerated to a Regular Diet (10/11 and beyond) I hope this helps! Feel free to follow my ESG instagram: @kirsten.esg I am planning to post updates throughout my experience.

I am ten years out. And had gained 40 pounds in the last 6 years.... Initially had lost 140 pounds. A year ago I decided to lose weight - the truth - there were no more family members to bury, no more closets to clean out and cry over - I decided to see if I could lose 10 pounds in a year. I lost 10 in about 3 months, then another 10 .... and in 13 months now, 41 pounds. It was not until we had to go back to the offices to work that I realized my work clothes FELL off my BUTT. I had to guess sizing, as try on rooms were closed. I put clothing on over my clothes in the store. I had, in the year gone from a 2x to a 16 petite in regular sizes (or 14, if I wanted to hem pants - I don't!) Once I wore clothing that fit.... people noticed. But they commented on odd things: You changed your hair style.... something's different... Just laugh !!! You have accomplished something huge in your life. It will make a difference in your life ! Rejoice your accomplishment and buy some new clothing.

I am almost at 6 months out and down 80lbs. At 10 weeks out, I was down 33 lbs. It will continue to drop, you just have to be patient. I know that comment isn’t super helpful, but it’s true. Don’t give up. Maybe add in some more walking. I’ve had weeks with 5 lb weight loss and weeks with no loss at all. But on average, I’m losing about 2.2 lbs per week, which is healthy. I have gone through the same things you are feeling. Even right now! I’m walking an average of about 14000 steps a day and am on week 3 of beach body’s 21 day fix. According to the scale, I haven’t lost a single pound in that time. However, I am noticing more muscle and toning, better sleep and energy levels. So I’ve decided not to look at the scale for a couple weeks. I know change is happening, the scale just doesn’t reflect it (yet).

My Nutritionist encouraged 10 hour fasting and she mixed up the calories, At 600 calories a day you are going to break free of this stall and shred the weight. One thing mix up your diet a little try different foods, My go to was seeds and nuts Low calories and kept. There is no doubt the first 6 months are a b***h. But it will work and there is all the proof in the images here.

My VSG was December 17, 2019 as of today I’ve lost 49lbs. That’s in 8 months. So yes, it is frustrating to know you’re doing everything you were told and not getting where you think you should be.

....As I am with how slowly the weight is coming off? I have been discouraged, but now I’m just getting downright disgusted. I am 10 1/2 weeks postop and have only lost 30 pounds. No, I do not think that is a lot. My surgeon told me that he expected me to be down 100 pounds by Thanksgiving. That is never going to happen. I have a coworker on weight watchers and she is losing weight faster than I am. I am doing everything right, so I know that is not the problem. I really don’t want to hear the speeches about how losing slower is better. This is just too slow. 😟 I would just like to hear from the folks that are also losing weight slowly and how you kept it going.

I went to King’s Fish House twice while there back in May. It was so good. I actually had my final before surgery dinner there too! It’s in the Green Valley Ranch shopping complex that is about 10-15 mins Uber ride from the hotel (I’m assuming you’ll be at the Hampton or the Hilton Garden). I would definitely go there if you get a chance!

Thank you. I had my surgery July 9th & was trying to figure out what was wrong with me. My doctor said to really take advantage of the first few months & that people averaged 30 pounds in the first month. I've only lost 10 lbs since surgery with stalls in week 2 until yesterday. I finally lost 1.4 pounds this morning. I was getting so discouraged. Sent from my SM-G975U using BariatricPal mobile app

I had a lapband and had a pretty similar experience. I lost 145 lbs and was doing great - except I'd wake up choking on acid and throwing up/sliming was an almost daily experience. I tried various fill levels and any amount caused this. So eventually I was unfilled entirely and put back on all my weight. After a few years I finally decided to do surgery and I decided on gastric bypass because my surgeon shared that many people who heartburn/reflux before will have it worse with Sleeve. I had RNY 12/31/19 and have had a really great experience - better than even the early days with the band. I've had just a little bit of heartburn even with RNY, but Dr has me taking some meds and thinks it will resolve (technically still healing). I'm only a little over 7 months out but so far no regrets. Oh! And I have dumped exactly 3 times. I can have fruit and even 2 glasses of red wine and I'm fine. I even had a bite or two of a sweet and I was fine. But, I tried a margarita and had less than 1/3 of it - dumped. And I had a piece of birthday cake and dumped (2 times --- sometimes I take a bit to learn). To me that's a good thing. Dumping is very unpleasant, and as a result my desire to eat sweets is really dampened which is good!

I just had shoulder surgery, Dr. went in to repair 2 tears and look at a third. Well, the third wound up being a completely detached bicep tendon!! So unexpected! Dr. was talking about it for a few days afterwards. Complete surprise, and a full arm cast later.... Since I was unable to see a Dr. for a few months due to Covid-19, my shoulder froze as well. So I had the 2 tears repaired, Bicep tendon reattached with a screw, a few Bone spurs ground off, arthritis removed and the frozen shoulder worked on. PT has been rough, but need to do it and deal as I don't want to have to go under again to undo frozen shoulder. Sent from my SM-G960U using BariatricPal mobile app

I had the Loop DS and mine was done all at once. Some surgeons do them separate and I was warned that my surgeon 90% of the time ends up having to do them separate because peoples livers haven't shrunk enough, but he said my liver was in great shape and he was able to do mine all in one... My surgeon never focused much when it came to calories, but starting off with 1000 calories is too high. Try lowering your calories between 600-800. Also, you've hit the three week mark and that stall will happen. My stalls bounce me between two or three pounds (for example my last stall was between 237-239 and lasted two weeks and I just got out of that stall a few days ago and after weighing in today I'm still 236). As for carbs... how many are you eating? This week for example I eat oatmeal in the morning which is 21 carbs, but my lunch has been only about 15-18 carbs and dinner is also usually 15-18 with my snacks being usually under 10 (1-9) carbs unless it's fruit. Also you may need to mix it up week to week like I do when I hit stalls. I'll have lower carb weeks and some weeks where I up my carbs slightly to try and get the weight loss in motion again.

Hello All, I've been out of touch as I hurt my shoulder back in Feb. Have been continuing Physical therapy for my broken patella (broke in 1/2 last year June) Finally able to see Dr. about my shoulder in May, had to schedule surgery 7/9. Today is 4 weeks post op on shoulder and 7 months 1 week post op for sleeve surgery. I'm now in a full arm cast for the past 4 weeks....2 more weeks to go(hopefully, Dr. said may need 8 weeks). I've lost 41 lbs. to date. Been a bit rough with stalls I've had and junk eating during height of covid-19. My biggest problem is getting my veggies in. I average 40-50g protein and 40-48 ounces water a day. Had bloodwork done, my Cholesterol went up!! I've never had high cholesterol! Good news blood sugar went down. Dr. took me off metformin. Soooo happy about that. Since I had my shoulder surgery, had to cancel 6 month post op with stomach Dr. I'm trying to work on getting Cholesterol down before I see him. Does anybody have any suggestions? Also, congratulations [emoji322][emoji324][emoji322][emoji324][emoji322] to everyone who's doing so well. I've read all the posts a b d seems like its going good for all. Sent from my SM-G960U using BariatricPal mobile app

I can't say for certain why my doctor said no Miralax (even though the handbook HE wrote specifically talks about it for constipation), but I suspect it was about hydration and avoiding laxatives that require you to drink even more fluids. His post-op instructions are very strict and strenuous. Right now, I am still supposed to be only sipping 1 ounce of fluid every 15 minutes. For the 10 or so days, I have been gradually increasing the pace just to get more fluids in me because with that rate, I was maxing out at 54 ounces of fluid in a day. I'm now hitting 64-68 ounces, with no discomfort or ill effect. Thus why I feel a little better about starting in on some Miralax for a little while to hopefully help out. Granted, I can feel myself dehydrated today, so I've been sipping away at Pedialyte today (I suspect the MoM yesterday is the primary culprit for the dehydration). The handbook specifically mentions fiber chewables or Benefiber for constipation. Given that I am still on liquids (again...doctor's orders and his strict regimen), I opted for the Benefiber powder to mix into my protein shakes. Today's the first day of adding that in and so far no irritation or anything. We'll see if it helps. On the plus side, I did have a BM a couple of hours ago. It still hurt, but that's because of persistent inflammation from yesterday, but was small and loose, which was a VERY welcome change of pace. Now if I can just keep them that way.

I read a few of these when I was considering surgery and I promised myself that I would do the same thing once I was post-op so that maybe I could help anyone who may need to know the details (like me), or anyone sitting on the fence at the time (like me), or just looking for signs that this was the right thing to do (me again). I discussed the sleeve surgery with my doctor over 2 years ago after countless weight losses and re-gains. That's basically been the story of my life forever. I was a chubby kid, I've never been thin. I probably starting yo-yo dieting when I was 15 and I had my 1st boyfriend. I've done all the diets. Starvation, jenny craig, weight watchers, nutri-system, herbalife, keto, low carb, optivia, ideal protein, bars and shakes, etc... the list could go on and on. I'd lose the weight (sometimes), I even got down to a size 6 when I was about 38. But eventually, overeating called my name and I'd be back to where I started plus 10. Relatable huh? It's not even that I eat poorly, to be honest. Yes I love bad and delicious food, fast food, desserts, etc... but 80% of the time, I am eating a home-cooked meal with veggies and protein (and likely a starch), I just eat too much. My appetite is monstrous. I'm 4'11 and I can eat the same size plate as my husband who works out every day. I come from the 'clean plate club' and always finish my meal. In discussing the sleeve with my doctor he agreed it was going to be the solution I was looking for. Then I told him I wanted to go to Mexico and he agreed that travel tourism can be wonderful (he sends patients to Brazil for plastics) and that he wanted to be part of the decision making process for the doctor. So I took my list of 25 candidates that Facebook told me were awesome, and I narrowed them down to 3 choices: Dr Alvarez, Dr Elias Ortiz and Dr Illan. I presented them each to my primary care physician in the states with their resumes and credentials, we got on a zoom call to discuss the 3 of them and he told me that Dr Illan was his 1st choice, hands down. He chose Dr Illan because he is a board certified master surgeon, his anesthesiologist is also board certified specifically for bariatric surgery, his hospital is private and has an ICU, his hospital has been given awards of excellence, and he only performs 3 surgeries per day. So I called, paid my $500 deposit to get my date, and promptly pooped my pants from nerves. The 10-day pre-op came quickly and was not that bad. I was too excited to be annoyed by it. I got headaches and was hungry, but all in all it wasn't terrible. Before I knew it, my flight from Florida to San Diego was the next morning - I couldn't believe it! My bestie and I arrived in San Diego the day before my surgery (arrived Friday, surgery was Saturday) and we were met at the airport by Carlos; along with one of my surgery sisters that I had already met on Facebook. Get you a surgery sister (or brother) - find out who's having surgery the same day as you and you will become friends! We hung out a lot post-op and I've made friends for life. The drive to the border was quick and easy, before I knew it we were at the hospital dropping off the other person b/c her surgery was bright and early the next day. Carlos whisked us off to Hotel Real Inn, only about 10-15 minutes from the hospital. Mexico treats covid more seriously than we do in the US; so feet wiping, temp taking and hand sanitizing is a requirement literally every single place you go. Carlos pointed out that to the right of our hotel was a open-air shopping plaza and to the left was a grocery store. So after we got settled in, we went to explore and had such a great afternoon in Tijuana! I bought a size small goal outfit for $7 at one of the little boutiques and little knick nacks to bring home to my family. I love that my friend and I had that time to settle in and do some safe exploring. I didn't feel unsafe even for a second, its a very populated area with lots of folks shopping and walking around. That night I ordered my bariatric meal (best popsicle ever!) and my friend ordered authentic mexican street tacos from Uber for like $7. The next morning, we were picked up at 9am to head over to the hospital and get ready for surgery <insert panic>. When you get there, more sanitizing and temp checking and then you head off to get your blood drawn after filling out paperwork. Next comes, chest x-ray, EKG and just a general check up from a doctor to clear you for surgery. So I'll tell you that this part is likely the part that doesn't leave me with the best feeling. The doctor that looked at my EKG seemed to glance at it for about 2 seconds. The cardiologist is probably an awesome cardiologist, but lacked that bedside manner that we see in doctors in the states too. He cleared me for surgery and I said "so my heart looks good?" and he replied "yeah its ok" and then left the room. My bestie reminded me that that not all doctors gush all over you and that he was probably just one of those. Suddenly, Dr Illan and the anesthesiologist were in my room and it was almost go time. Dr. Illan explained the procedure and had a lovely chat with us, I didn't feel rushed or like I was asking too many questions. He explained the OR and that the surgical team in the OR were all also bariatric surgeons (not general surgeons). He told me that I was important and my safety was his #1 priority. He was so wonderful. Them standing there suddenly made me very nervous and I started to cry because I was scared. Dr Illan came to the side of my bed and rested his hand on my leg to comfort me and promised it was going to be ok, told me not to cry. It seemed to upset him to see me upset! In the meantime the anesthesiologist called for some anti-anxiety meds in my IV and I was calm again. Before I knew it, I was in the OR being asked to scoot onto the table and the nurse was signaling to me that it was time to go to sleep. I think some of the nurses in the OR don't speak English, but I speak Spanish so I told her I was ready and before I knew it - I was awake and in recovery. Coming out of being under is funny, as I'm sure many of you know. You're there, but you can't quite open your eyes. I was listening for alarm beeps of monitors or conversations on Spanish that something was wrong, but I was ok. I also had no gas pain. Everyone warns you about that gas pain and I had zero. I was in the recovery room for maybe an hour? My BP was a little high so they gave me something sublingually to lower it, but I don't remember much else. Wheeled back to my room, I spent the rest of the day hearing movies played in the background by my friend and dozing in and out of sleep. I don't actually think I slept much though. I was so groggy I could hardly stand. The nurses came to check on me often, they were giving me lots of drugs in the IV (antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, etc) and a chewable gas pill. Here's something no one told me - you do not get to drink anything until the day AFTER your surgery and you've had your leak test. All you can have is an ice cube to put in your mouth and you have to spit it back out. That's it. I had a sore throat from being intubated and I badly wanted a drink of water - but I didn't get one until the next morning. I really only got up to pee once and felt woozy. I didn't do all the walking they said you're supposed to, I definitely physically couldn't have! I was groggy to the extreme. Getting up to pee was hard enough. I didn't have any gas pain though, thank god for small miracles. My hospital stay was uneventful medically. I had low pulse ox, so had some oxygen for awhile (over 24 hours) and my BP went up a little sometimes but was controlled by the meds they gave me. The 2nd day I had my leak test in the AM and was cleared to have some fluid and had the best tasting water of my life! I sipped slowly and that 1st liquid to hit my new belly felt weird. Our instinct is to chug and you definitely can't do that. I did have some internal soreness and they gave me toradol for that and I felt fine afterwards. Sunday morning I was out in the loser's bench area with my surgery sisters hanging out. That day, we had a valet named Julio. He was AMAZING. It was my bestie's birthday and he helped me order a delicious cake to be delivered from Uber and even went to find a sign for it. We gathered our new friends and Julio gathered some staff and we all surprised her by singing happy birthday and another yummy mexican meal. It was awesome! We hung out with my surgery sisters (we met a 3rd) and their companions in the hallway and all got to know each other, it was great. Monday morning came quickly and then we met Bill and Stacy. Dr Illan came back to my room to check on me and we had another lovely chat. He told me that my stomach was big! lol I knew it was. He got a picture of it for me, which of course blew my mind. He had us take a picture together and he wished me all the luck and told me he couldn't wait to hear about my success story. We left the hospital, hit up a pharmacy, and then Miguel drove us back to the Hotel Real Inn around 10am and then we had a whole other day in Tijuana! I felt perfect so we ventured out again, hit a few shops, and went to the grocery store to bring home Mexican goodies for my family. (I had to go and buy a duffel bag for all the fun stuff I got). I ordered my bariatric meal again and took a nice shower and went to bed, ready to travel back to Florida on Tuesday. Julian picked us up at 7:45 for our 12:15pm flight (you never know what can delay you at the border) and we had an awesome drive with him. Some roads were blocked, so we were delayed but still had gobs of time. Julian lived in NYC for a long time, so he's pretty American - we loved him. We laughed and joked around the entire ride and he told us about life living in Mexico. We got on a jet plane and we came home! I've been home 3 days now and I continue to feel awesome. I'm sore and my belly is bruised (where they took my huge stomach out), but I work from home - so rest is all it I need. I haven't been nauseous once or vomited. Day 5 post op and I'm down 13.6 lbs already - since pre-op. So this sounds like a dream huh? Because it was. It was like going on vacation where I also happened to have an organ removed lol. I will tell you that I would give one piece of feedback for the ultimate experience, the only thing I thought was lacking or could've been done differently. I wish I could've met Dr Illan before I got to Mexico. It's pretty standard to have a conversation with a doctor prior to surgery and you don't get that until you're there. I wish he had emailed me personally, or had a phone call or a video chat. He could've even made me a personal 1-minute video and emailed it to me - just so I knew that he knew I existed and was going to be a patient. That would've calmed me even before I got there. I realize that a lot of people consider surgery and probably don't go through with it, so it could be a waste of time - but that's the cost of doing business. I am a business owner and have consultations with people that never hire me either. It's built into my business model and daily schedule. Not meeting Dr Illan ahead of time obviously didn't stop me from choosing him, but it almost did. The other doctors I considered contacted me directly (one with a personal video and one with a whatsapp video call). If you are thinking about doing this surgery, let my testimony help you decide that it is going to be ok. That chances are, it will go amazingly, There is this new life waiting for us that maybe we don't believe is real or we don't believe we deserve. But it is real and we do deserve it! Give yourself the gift of this weightloss to take your life back. I'm so glad I did and I can't wait to see this weight melt off me and stay off me. Having my surgery with Dr Illan was the best medical experience of my life. I felt cared for, safe, attended to, and healthy the whole time I was there. The hospital is like a resort, very modern and very clean. The nurses and valets were insanely attentive. Now go leave your stomach in Mexico!

I am 10 weeks postop and mine has finally started to subside some. I still get gas bubbles, even when I drink water. It is totally annoying.

With battling weight most of my life 10 years ago I got a lap band put in. I am now 57 years old, 15 years ago I was diagnosed with type two diabetes At the time my Lap Band was put in my weight was 230 pounds. That might not sound like a lot of weight but for a male 5’8 it was a lot for me. In addition to having type two diabetes I have also had two neck surgeries and three back surgeries over the years. The Lap Band gave me significant weight loss. I got down from 230 to 160-165. I also lowered my Metformin from 1000 mg to 500 mg. I lost approximately 70 pounds of weight and maintained this weight for about nine years. To say that it was an easy road for me would be lying, I was constantly having the band loosened tightened loose and tightened like being on a roller coaster. I had problems with the Lap Band being so tight that I was having major acid reflux problems. In addition to that I had some small ulcers around my esophagus next to my Lap Band. Last year I decided I had enough of this and had a lot of fluid taken out of my band. The major acid reflex went away immediately however, I still have some ongoing minor constant heartburn and a small cough because the Lap Band is still in place but a lot of the fluid has been taken out. Because of that removal of fluid I have gained back for the first time in 10 years 35 pounds. Now I am back up to taking the same amount of diabetic medicine Metformin 1000 mg because of the 35 pound weight gain. The bariatric center in Los Angeles is recommending that I conceivably switch to a Bypass Surgery and not a Sleeve. This decision is not completely final yet, and the decision towards leaning towards a Bypass Surgery rather than a Sleeve because of the acid reflex problems I’ve had for so many years which only really developed soon after getting the Lap Band 10 years ago. My next surgery would be involved removing the Lap Band and switching to a Bypass Surgery all at the same time in one surgery. As in all surgeries there are risk concerns for changing the body anatomy, however regarding the Bypass Surgery my new understanding is the body does not absorb as many vitamins and nutrients as it would from a Sleeve Surgery and there is a potential for hair loss and dumping and other potential complications? Any advice or opinions from anyone that has been down this same kind of road would be much appreciated. Thank you for your time and concern. Hopefully one day I can help someone else.

With battling weight most of my life 10 years ago I got a lap band put in. I am now 57 years old, 15 years ago I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes At the time my Lap Band was put in my weight was 230 pounds. That might not sound like a lot of weight but for a male 5’8 it was a lot for me. In addition to having type 2 diabetes I have also had two neck surgeries and three back surgeries over the years. The Lap Band gave me significant weight loss. I got down from 230 to 160-165. I also lowered my Metformin from 1000 mg to 500 mg. I lost approximately 70 pounds of weight and maintained this weight for about nine years. To say that it was an easy road for me would be lying, I was constantly having the band loosened tightened loose and tightened like being on a roller coaster. I had problems with the Lap Band being so tight that I was having major acid reflux problems. In addition to that I had some small ulcers around my esophagus next to my Lap Band. Last year I decided I had enough of this and had a lot of fluid taken out of my band. The major acid reflex went away immediately however, I still have some ongoing minor constant heartburn and a small cough because the Lap Band is still in place but a lot of the fluid has been taken out. Because of that removal of fluid I have gained back for the first time in 10 years 35 pounds. Now I am back up to taking the same amount of diabetic medicine Metformin 1000 mg because of the 35 pound weight gain. The bariatric center in Los Angeles is recommending that I conceivably switch to a Bypass Surgery and not a Sleeve. This decision is not completely final yet, and the decision towards leaning towards a Bypass Surgery rather than a Sleeve because of the acid reflex problems I’ve had for so many years which only really developed soon after getting the Lap Band 10 years ago. My next surgery would be involved removing the Lap Band and switching to a Bypass Surgery all at the same time in one surgery. As in all surgeries there are risk concerns for changing the body anatomy, however regarding the Bypass Surgery my new understanding is the body does not absorb as many vitamins and nutrients as it would from a Sleeve Surgery and there is a potential for hair loss and dumping and other potential complications? Any advice or opinions from anyone that has been down this same kind of road would be much appreciated. Thank you for your time and concern. Hopefully one day I can help someone else.

Congratulations! I myself had a little setback. I tore my rotator cuff and had surgery 2 weeks ago. For whatever reason, I have a lot of swelling. I did pick up a few pounds prior to the surgery. Stress eating and worrying. I am getting back on track this week and pray that those 3-4 pounds come off this week. It may just be swelling from the surgery itself. I have begun walking again, but I cant do my regular workout for 3 months. Can't run just yet, another 4 weeks for that. I had gotten down to 187.6. I was 10 pounds away from first goal!! I don't know why I thought that this weight loss would be easy with the surgery. It is still a lot of work! My goal is to get there before October. I have a problem with my protein too. I just started adding unflavored protein powder to many of my meals. I have not had any negative effects from over eating. I don't know if I am just not over eating or what. I weigh in on Fridays.

So I'm 4 weeks out from surgery as of yesterday. I lost about 13 lbs my first two weeks and now, I'm only down ~7 more lbs. At my 2 week follow up, my docs wanted me to double that, by the time of my 6 week follow up (from 304 to 278). I've been hovering around 298-297 since my 2 week follow up and I can't understand why. I honestly don't eat (never hungry/get full quickly) and walk at least 30 mins a day w/my doggo. I've built my stamina up from being able to walk only 10-15 a day. My clothes fit better, and I'm losing inches, but the lbs aren't going away. Would anybody have an idea why this might be happening? I stick to my diet, and don't eat anything I shouldn't and try to get my water intake in. I admit, I struggle with my protein intake because I just cannot stand protein shakes and I can only manage to eat 1x a day. If anyone has any advice/information, I'd love to hear it. I'm slowly adapting to this new lifestyle and I don't have a lot of people to talk to about this. Thanks!

Hi Everyone, I'm having my surgery on 8/19. I am on a two week liquid diet and today is the first day. It's been tough.

I’m 10 weeks out from my sleeve and haven’t been able to drink the protein shakes for the past 9 weeks. I get extremely nauseated and almost throw up if I just drink a few sips. I drank them just fine during preop and just can’t gag them since. I try to get my protein from food, but don’t always succeed due to not being able to hold anymore for or liquids. It’s very frustrating!

I had pretty big boobs for my frame all my life. I popped out one kid, and I didn’t even breastfeed (I pumped for 4 weeks only). And it wreaked havoc on the state of my boobs. I had a breast reduction a year or so later, and they were good for a while (still big enough, but at least not droopy any more...i was wearing a 34C for a while after the reduction). Then I gained alot of weight the the next 10+ years and got up to a 40DD/DDD. Losing the weight deflated them, and re-droopified them. Not as droppy as after the kid, but enough to make me want the breast lift. Age, number of times there was weight gain& loss, speed of weight gain/loss, genes, and overall amount of fat lost will determine the sagginess of your boobs in the end. While muscle training may increase the size of the pectoral mucsles behind your boobs and give your chest a bit of lift, no amount if exercise will fill the sacs of deflated boobs. That’s just science. Depending on how much it bothers you, you can still easily look fabulous with a really good bra, no matter what the state you boobs are in. Good Luck ! ❤️

@velise, I'm also having RNY for same reason, heartburn. I'm so relieved to have made my decision after thinking about it for 10 years! But I'm also rather anxious. I don't know anyone who has had the operation so this forum is really helpful.

There are two things that helped me tremendously: 1.) At my initial surgical consultation, the surgeon told me that after you gain 50 or more pounds, your body won't let you successfully lose weight without resetting your hormones. So all those times I lost weight, I was guaranteed to gain it all back and then some. Years of yo-yo dieting since I was in 7th grade added up and it wasn't because I didn't have any willpower or I needed to exercise more (I was constantly walking to train for the SGK 3 Day 60 mile events). When I heard this, I began to sob with relief from the weight being lifted off my shoulders. 2.) When I went my therapist and told her about my Mom and the constant diets I was on since middle school (even though I was the smallest girl on my volleyball team), she made me look at things differently. She said that my Mom had horrible diet advice but I needed to remember that the advice was coming from a place of love. My Mom had seen how hard it was for my Aunt growing up and she didn't want me going through that. While it was difficult to hear this, it allowed me to forgive my Mom & myself and move forward. It has allowed me to quiet that inner voice and stop beating myself up for every little thing that I perceive that isn't perfect. Losing the weight is easy, I have done it at least 10 times. Keeping it off was the hard part. By doing the "head work" I am able to identify my triggers for comfort food and do something different like walk the dog, knit to keep my hands occupied while watching a movie with the hubby and chose healthier versions like cukes when I want something crunchy. Also I allow myself to eat a craving if I really want it. 4 Doves milk chocolate squares have a certain melt in your mouth texture that I love. Other brands of chocolate aren't the same. Every day, every meal, every bite is a choice you make. They all won't be the healthiest but I make sure if I am going to waste valuable stomach space on a food, that it is worth it. My husband laughs when I spit something into a napkin because to me it isn't flavorful enough or it doesn't have the right mouthfeel - this was when I was craving vanilla bean ice cream and nothing was right. When I talk to my surgeon, he told me to have the real stuff - just limit how much. Sure enough it only took one small scoop and then I didn't touch it again. Sorry for the rambling but I hope this helps

Hope all went well! It's my turn on Monday, 8/10..definitely feeling nervous!! Keep us posted on your progress and congrats