Search the Community

soda water..... Oh, and you asked a very open ended question 😋 The soda thing varies from Dr to Dr. I am 10 months out and dink it on occasion with no complications. But, everyone's body is different, I would not drink it until you are a few months out in order to let your body heal.

I am thinking about staying right here at the 185 mark for a while. For me, maintaining my weight, and knowing how to do that is important. So yes, I am still considered obese. My BMI is 34 unless you look at the age BMI and I get to be 33 BMI - I have lost and regained and then re lost weight. Started the journey at 320. Lost over 140 pounds Gained back 40 in 10 years Lost 35 in the past year. Just bought myself clothing in a size 16 petite. Not plus size anything. If I had wanted to hem pants, I could have bought size 14s. Not hemming pants. I walked into Kohls knowing I couldn't try on clothes. I bought 4 pr of capris and 2 pr of slacks all for work. mix and match with 10 tops and 2 light weight jackets. ALL on major sale - all guessing on sizing - needed to return 3 things that didn't look right for me. I am good for now. Will learn to maintain this weight within a few pounds either way. And feel like it is a huge success. I feel good. I am eating well. Lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, good proteins, some carbs, and a treat or two .... Using my tool 10 years out.

Thank you all for responding. It us encouraging hearing your stories. I also have fibro so WAS taking 60 mg for that, so added tylenol arthritis extra strength for that. I have weaned myself to 10 mg a day on that. It makes me sweat soooooooo bad. It also helped my nerves though.

Rainy Day Vanity 10 months out Aug 2019 - June 2020 267lbs - 173 lbs

I had my sleeve done 10/7/19 and just found out I might be getting a bypass done. Acid reflux has been horrible, my hilated hernia came back even worse than before and i have severve esophagitis.

Y’all I finally got there this morning!!! Exactly 199.0 pounds. I have not been here in over 10 pounds! I’m so happy, excited, and looking forward to the rest of the way. However, I wonder if I’m the only one who also kind of gets this feeling of horror. Like I’ve already lost 77.6 pounds since surgery 4 months ago and I feel like that’s a lot of weight but I’m just getting to onederland????! I weighed a lot! Of course I knew that but it just kind of confirms it I guess in my mind. I don’t know how to explain it. People will ask me how much weight I’ve lost and when I tell them they’re like omg that’s a lot!!! And then I’m thinking but I still have a long way to go!! but anyways, all that aside, thank all of y’all for your encouragement, advice, listening ears (eyes). This community is awesome!

Yeah, not eating much at all. I lost the first 10 pounds on my 2-week pre-op diet, and the last 10 pounds in just the week since my surgery. It does not feel good. Fast weight loss is the goal, but I feel like I'm dying. My post-op diet is 2 weeks of full liquid. I'm supposed to aim for 48-64 ounces of water a day, and 70g of protein. I'm lucky if I can get halfway on the protein. I wish I could eat cottage cheese, or scrambled eggs, or SOMETHING, but it's liquids only. So I basically make a protein shake in the morning and drink half of it for breakfast, and the other half for lunch. I supplement with jello or sometimes a sugar-free popsicle as snacks. I also drink water with Nectar protein powder in it, as much as I can stand. For dinner I have broth or miso soup. I just checked my log and I've had 260 calories today, 34 grams of protein, and about 40 oz of water. I could not eat another thing, I'm not hungry. And I'm not dehydrated yet. However, I'm exhausted, and feel light-headed and awful if I try to do more than walk to the mailbox and back. I guess theoretically I should try to force myself to sip on a protein shake during the day, but I can barely get down the one I drink now. I have a follow-up appointment tomorrow and I'll surely be discussing this with them. I also ordered some high-protein soup mixes to try. It just sucks when you're stuck on liquids only. I mean there's only so many things you can consume.

Welcome! I also debated this surgery for years before pulling the trigger and I definitely regret not doing it sooner. My stats: 40 yo F, 5’3” SW 205. CW 144, sleeved 8/27/19, so I am almost 10 months out. I lost most of my weight in the first 6 months, around 50 lbs, then my weight loss slowed. I am currently at 144 lbs and feel great, but I am still pushing to lose another 10-15 lbs. While this forum can be very informative and a great source of support and motivation, I do recommend trying not to compare your weight loss with others. We all lose at different rates and may have stalls at different times, but if you stick to your program you will be successful! Best of luck with your journey!!!!

yes. I gained 10 lbs between last summer and the end of the year (after the holidays). So far I have taken off five of it, but it has been an absolute BEAR. I have no idea if I'll be able to take off the remaining five. I look fine as I am and don't really need to lose it, but it's a mental thing with me. But to answer your question, yes - pretty much universally, it's WAY harder to lose weight the second time around (or third...or fourth...). I've vowed just to never let myself gain weight again - it's way too hard to get it off!

I've lost count of how many EGD's I've had done (probably close to 10 now) because I have EOS (eosinophilic esophagitis) so I usually get 1-3 of those a year (I'm overdue for my next one and, oh joy, I will have to get my throat stretched the next time I have one -_-"). The EGD's don't hurt. They give you something to put you out and the next thing you know, you're waking up in recovery and 10 minutes later they let you go home. You'll probably be a little dizzy from the meds they used to put you under so my advice is don't watch your feet lol. Also, depending on the meds, you might be nauseous afterward as well...

What an Amazing Victory! 100 lbs in 10 months is incredible! 🎉 Congratulations and Enjoy the New You! 💃

Hi All! I'm a long-time lurker and decided to join the club since this has been my #1 visited site for many months now. Due to COVID, my surgery was postponed to 6/18 so I am 5 days post-op. The day of surgery and the following 3 days were the most painful days of my life, and I almost regretted even going through with all of this. It was somewhat surprising since a lot of people on here seem to not have much pan post-op. I had trouble getting in any fluids, even water, and didn't even think about protein until the 2nd day after surgery. I was discharged from the hospital the next day and spent the next couple of days at my parents' house which was tough because I had to watch them eat all this good food and I couldn't touch anything. It was mostly head hunger, but due to my extremely low energy levels and the fact that I hadn't eaten for a few days, I definitely felt like I wanted to eat something. I got off the pain meds as soon as I could so I could drive back to my own house where I had everything I needed and no distractions or temptations. From reading this site, every doctor seems to have a different recovery plan, mostly the timing. My doctor said clear liquids for the first week after surgery, and at Day 5 post-op I am aiming to finally get the recommended 64oz of fluids and 64g of protein which has eluded me the past few days. My pre-op journey started in early November 2019. I lost about 20lbs prior to surgery. I am already down 10lbs post-op. I am hoping that once I can move to a full liquid diet, my energy levels will increase and I can resume some form of exercise and really get as much weight off as I can during this honeymoon period. Right now, I am pretty sedentary and just fighting to stay awake for an entire day and walk around a little. Before surgery, I was walking or hiking for about an hour a day, 5-7 days/week, but I think it is going to be a slow road getting back to that.

I'm regularly told I'm skinny, by family and now I'm getting it from colleagues. Objectively I can see my ribs, and collarbones, and my arms are just muscle and bone (and loose skin!). BUT my size 10 Aus pants fall off my hips and are tight on my calves 😭. I look at my legs and think they are huge, but have no butt anymore, just loose skin. I don't feel like I look in proportion. Body dysmporphia is real and hard to move past. Plus I'm only 0.6 of a kg from from my goal weight of 60kg. But my weightloss disordered eating brain says "we'll, why not get to 59? Why stop there, get to 58?". So maintenance and deciding when is enough is going to be hard for me. At my last surgeon visit the exercise physiologist told me I should stop losing weight as my body fat was getting low. I've lost another 8.5kg since then. And it still falls off pretty easily nearly 9 months out from vsg.

Oh my, I never in my dreams would have thought I would say that I have officially lost ONE HUNDRED POUNDS! But today, that is exactly what I have done! Starting weight 226.8. Today's weight 126.8, and I feel great! Solidly in a size 4. Love wearing tight fitting clothes and DRESSES! I haven't loved wearing dresses since I was in HS (despite the fact that I weighed under 135 until I was 23). Still need to lose some "calf" and still need to flatten my belly and tone my upper arms. But I love this weight. Wondering if I will be able to stay here, or will I put on the infamous 10 pounds. Only negative is my husband actually told me I look "sickly" a couple weeks ago. I never thought I went through that phase. Then this week he commented I look "skeletal". And I KNOW I don't. I have even asked a friend to be honest and tell me if I do look sickly or skeletal at all (since I am obviously not impartial). She says I look great, which made me feel better. When I let my husband know that his comments upset me, he does backpedal... but I cannot unhear those words. I really think he doesn't mean to be hurtful, but he does say things like that without thinking and it does hurt. Anyway... I officially stopped trying to lose weight a couple months ago. I hit my goal back in April and was happy there. It surprises me when I do drop pounds again. I guess I need to up my calories some more. I don't totally follow my diet anymore. I do eat limited sweets to satisfy cravings. But outside of that, I am not eating "bad". I haven't had anything to drink since July other than water, vitamin water zero, and occasional gatorade zero or decaf and unsweetened herbal teas. I don't count my calories (have always been bad at that), but I do eat small portions and not too frequently. Most of the time I avoid any carbs. I mix my protein source with veggies. I do best with my eating if the two are actually mixed together (for example, I cook ground beef with cabbage, onions, peppers, and tomatoes - my stomach loves things like that). I guess I just have to figure out what to add in, without developing bad habits again! When I DO add carbs, it is most often a little potato in whatever I cooked, or beans (which is also protein so that one is usually pretty good). I "LOVE" pizza... so I do sometimes eat that, although most of the time I get one with a cauliflower crust. If I eat a real pizza, it has a very thin crust.

When I had Anthem they required 6 months. My job switched insurances to bcbstx they didn't require a medically supervised diet but my company required me to complete 10 weeks of Naturally Slim.

I agree. A soft melted cheese could be digested if you can eat string cheese. I did a liquid diet 10 days then added string cheese and eggs for the puree diet. I double checked all my nutritional guidelines and cheeses (other than cottage cheese) are not mentioned amongst the recommended long term diet. Eggs are OK occasionally, but not daily. In other words, string cheese may get you through the restrictive diet but remember there are better ways to get protein once you are allowed to eat meat.

I can only speak about sleeve, but it was normal. I had mad cravings for the first 10 days'ish & I'd "think" I was hungry when I really wasn't. I read somewhere that it is just your brain not correlating to your new stomach yet. Your mind and body has to adjust. Your brain still thinks you can eat whatever you want. Yes, it DEFINITELY goes away with time. Don't worry!

Sure you can ask. I had to have it reversed as I would not stop developing ulcers even though I was on three different medications and long story short would not stop losing weight, I lost 200 lbs in a year and a half and another 10 before they could schedule the surgery and reverse. I have quickly gained back 100 and that is good and bad as I lost 50lbs below where I was supposed to have stopped. I was throwing up blood and was just a sick lady. Unfortunately, now I have developed a severe case of GERD and some of the other health issues have came back. My doctor is a wonderful surgeon and thinks that the MDS will help the GERD as you should not be able to have it nor ulcers from this surgery, I hope he is right as every time I eat I get to my stomach and the neds don't seem to be assisting at all.

I’m here. Tad crazy. Left Tijuana 2:30am to cross the border to the San Diego airport and had a layover in Atlanta when we arrived in Florida the sun was setting. Got home is was so late ... I didn’t sleep at all before we departed aside from passing out briefly from my last massage at 1pm and a shower. ❤️ Thank you. The flight was a challenge. I’m resting a bit so I’ll try to make this quick. Thank goodness the bathroom stalls had doors with no gaps. It was a challenge to pee and empty my drain and record output for the doctor. I had a light shopping bag with a few necessities and borrowed my mom’s walker to get around the airport if I needed to walk a little. Honestly my knees were already crazy swollen. And my piggy feet. But the flight wasn’t helping so I tried to move when I could. In Atlanta I made the mistake of walking a little too far. Had a bathroom Issue but made sure to keep my incisions dry. had help with a wheelchair For most of it except waiting for the plane if I needed the restroom or wanted to look at a shop. There is no real food traveling because of Covid so much is closed. well not to post tmi but we got home and all of a sudden I had to rush (Which I can’t) into my bedroom shut the door (my bathroom is in there) and figure out how to get the Faja off at least down fast enough 🤣 lets just say ten days worth of something finally said ok I’m gettin outa here ... Ready or not. I could see the difference right away. What a relief. My right leg is still more swollen than my left but that’s always been a size difference. My left leg incision was dripping fluids last night so I changed the gauze. Made sure everything was dry and pulled up the Faja the best I could, threw on my nightgown and accidentally went to bed without emptying the drain first. Kind of fell into a weird sleep where I’m thinking things that make no sense so I’m asleep but not enough. Woke up and 1:30am maybe and realized the thing was full and I was in a weird position on the bed and got up to fix things ... its hard trying to get into routine at home and not clash with my mom over things. I set up my bed with prop up pillows the best I could. Oh fudge I’m probably writing tmi. I have my own challenges with my chronic illness and disability. I try to set simple routine. I planned my meals for the week and will add basic medical notes. I ordered some things from amazon a shower seat, gauze, paper tape, wound care spray, some pads to protect the bed in case any incision leaks ... gauze wash cloths for the shower for the sensitive areas. ordered protein bars I buy Built Bars I love them a lot of flavors are 110 calories (mint brownie is soooo good) but right now they have 50% off everything and then even more of limited flavors. Use my link you get $10 extra off. http://i.refs.cc/cz4s4C3c?smile_ref=eyJzbWlsZV9zb3VyY2UiOiJzbWlsZV91aSIsInNtaWxlX21lZGl1bSI6IiIsInNtaWxlX2NhbXBhaWduIjoicmVmZXJyYWxfcHJvZ3JhbSIsInNtaWxlX2N1c3RvbWVyX2lkIjo0MTA4MjMzMDd9 of course now I’m totally broke, literally. ah well. where was I havent weighed myself yet ... Not brave enough and still swollen. edit: I think my incisions are doing surprisingly well. My surgeon thought so too at my last visit before leaving. Of course is main concern is that 2-3 week mark. I think I’m standing a little straighter. Albeit now I’m trying to sort out my new normal. Separating my chronic issues from my recovery. And trying not to push too hard.

I had my surgery five years ago, lost 235 lbs, have gained back 20. Since most people do gain about 10% of their lost weight back the second or third year post-op (and unfortunately, some gain much more than that), I was expecting that. But I can tell you it is a CONSTANT battle to keep from gaining more. It's all a head game. I can maintain my weight as long as I stay at or under 1700 calories/day. But I can definitely eat MUCH more than that at this point. As I said, it's a constant, daily battle. The surgery only gives you a strong tail wind as well as a much better chance of taking - and keeping - the weight off (I'm sure you've heard that without surgery, fewer than 5% of people can lose a significant amount of weight and keep it off. The odds are much higher for those of us who've had surgery, but not 100%). But you still have to work at it every day for the rest of your life. Ugh - but - that's the way it is, it seems. I still weigh/measure and track my food. If I don't monitor it closely most of the time, my weight starts heading north again really fast.

That was me, too. I always saw myself as overweight, but not really obese. Now when I look at old photos I am mortified at how fat I really was. Now it is hard to envision myself as anything but large. I went from a 24 jeans to a 10, and am very comfortable with that. I did save some old jeans and it is really pretty horrifying to think that I could now fit TWO of me into that pair! What has helped reframe my new size is looking at other people at work who wear the same sized scrubs as I do. I used to wear 2XX and now wear small. It has helped to see other people who wear smalls, also, to realize that my size is the same as theirs. It still seems surreal at times, but the small scrubs don't lie. I really am that size. This daily reinforcement has been a positive reality check for me.

I'm a month out and have developed gastritis. Went to the hospital 2 nights ago because the pain is UNBEARABLE. After 10 hours and a CAT scan later. They came up with gastritis. Scan showed everything internally healing as it should, no leaks...sleeve is perfect. I woke up last night and snatched my mask off because I could FEEL. A gigantic gas bubble develop in my chest. For the past few nights I've only worn my CPAP about 3-4 hours because it feels like I'm suffocating after a year of having it. Anyone else experienced or heard of this? It's MY time!

I’m on my liquid diet , I stared on June 16 and just yesterday June 19 I stated to get super constipated like it’s there right but It won’t come out because it’s super solid 🙈🥺 it hurts .. did any one have constipation issues if so how did you do it.

Hi there ! That’s great ! I’m 10 months post op . Hw-272 Sw-260 Cw-203 Gw-140-150 I’m 5’3” It’s been a hard road and I feel like I’ve lost a very slow rate . I had to incorporate Exercise - cardio and weights also I’ve been trying to do a green smoothie in the morning and a big salad for lunch , dinner is balanced meal . Good luck keep on keeping on !!!