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So since posting I’ve not been very active and my issue with weight regain has gotten worse. I am now sitting at 270 pounds. That’s 100 total pounds regained. I am miserable. I am going to start a protein shake diet thing for a week starting tomorrow and really try to get active again, but as I mentioned before I am still on night shift and a student as well. My fitness pal seems to cost money these days and im absolutely not paying 20$ a month for that, I wish it was still free. Any tips is awesome, motivations, and even pen pals, I find not having anyone to hold my accountable is really a big problem for me as I tend to convince myself to do as I please (I get it, I need to hold myself accountable, but it’s nice to have a helping hand) thanks for all the comments

Well, it was a liter and a half of fluid and I started the day before. I had to get down 3/4 of it that day and evening. Save a 1/4 of it for the next morning and drink the rest. I had to get up at 4 am in order to finish that 1/4 of it since my procedure was at 9 am. I had to stop drinking fluids by 6 am. I've not had any issues with liquids, so I'm not a good gauge on that. I typically get 96 ounces or more a day. So, I really didn't have any issues. Though, the taste was odd but they had a lime powder pack i could add. Which didn't help much. The last time I had colonoscopy I was given a choice between having to drink more liquid and it being cheaper in cost, or I could take the 32 oz stuff that cost A lot more but not as much to drink. However the other drawback is that it was super charged how fast and violent everything moved. But this time I didn't have that option.

Ooh, that actually sounds pretty good! You just reminded me that I have a nice NSA barbecue sauce (from whatever Guy Fieri's brand is, lol) in my fridge. I used to love bbq chicken pizza, I wonder what kind of bariatric-monstrosity I could come up with. I know I have some protein wraps from FlatOut in my freezer that I haven't worked up to trying yet.

I hope so! I feel like a zombie over the most menial tasks. I feel like I’m barely doing anything, and not tired in the moment, but my tank is completely wiped. I have been making sure to have my protein drink, plus 2 oz of yogurt for breakfast, but I’m not noticing any increase in energy.

I have been the SAME way! I’m also 7 days post-op. I’ve heard once we can have purées and get some protein in, it shifts and we will have more energy.

I found a stock cube in water with some protein powder had a bit of a salty flavouring to it. I am more savoury than sweet for my taste buds so I know how you are feeling. The thing that got me through was knowing I was able to swallow very little of the liquids and it was only for a couple of weeks.

Thanks! I'm definitely focusing on protein! I'm going to see how it goes until my follow up appointment in two weeks and discuss with the doctor.

My main concern is, with you being active and on liquids only for 3 months, at some point your body may think it's starving and hold on to everything. If you're active, you actually need more calories to lose weight. Make sure you're having things like protein shakes, bone broth, etc so at least your body is getting some of what it needs. Protein is REALLY important, so prioritize that. I absolutely wish you well!!

Okay so tonight I had cauliflower crust pizza. I didn’t make the crust. It was frozen. Not the absolute greatest but not terrible either. I made it with ricotta, mozz, chicken and onions so I got my protein at least. I have a battle between my brain and my stomach trying not to eat too terrible in these next couple of weeks Before I start my preop.

Thankfully I had only a couple dumping episodes over the course of a year. Both involved sugar. A small piece of birthday cake. It tasted wonderful but I paid the price with stomach cramping and spent the entire night running to the bathroom. I never had heart palps or nausea with it. I think we all have varying degrees of symptoms. It was miserable enough not to test it again. I can eat a piece of cake now on special occasions if I forego the frosting or make a sugar free cake/frosting. Nausea was more of a problem for me post-op. It wasn't from eating stuff not allowed or eating or drinking too fast. For me it was a texture thing. When I got to the whole food phase my tummy wasn't having it. Meat and raw veggies were the worst for me sadly enough. I was craving a cold crisp salad so badly by that point. But just because I could now have it, didn't mean that I was going to eat it. I backed off and waited by drinking and eating my softer foods for awhile longer, then reintroduced the denser foods later on. Ground beef, beans and protein drinks became my go to for a long time. I guess my tummy just needed more healing time. I still struggle with certain meats and veggies. But over time it's gotten easier to consume without the nausea and happens way less often. I still keep a supply of barf bags with me wherever I go though. Just in case. 🤢

On your plate. The fruit and veggies section is more protein. Need balance. I think i would go back to basics for a week.. 1 cup breakfast lunch dinner. Replace one meal with a protein shake. Reboot your mind and follow the post op plan for a guide.

I got my local Vietnamese restaurant to sell me a container of pho broth without any noodles, it was fantastic. Bouillon, or bone-broth (for the protein!) can satisfy that salt-craving. If you like creamy soups, cream of mushroom (with all the bits strained out). And honestly, all my life I avoided cream-of 'meat' soups but post-op, cream of chicken and cream of bacon were surprisingly good. Sometimes too, the abundance of post-op protein shakes and their super-strong sweeteners is just overwhelming. If you haven't tried it yet, try some unflavored & unsweetened protein powder with milk, and just add a dash of cinnamon or a drop of almond extract to get some non-sweet flavors hitting your tastebuds.

I haven’t tried contrave but I’m pretty sure that is one of the meds that my doctors considered for me when I started to regain as well. I wasn’t able to take it because of my other meds in on, unfortunately. I do have a friend that took it within the last year. She said Her dr wrote the rx for the two meds that it’s made from separately because it was quite a bit cheaper that way. I guess it wasn’t the right med for her, though, because she is now trying Wegovy. They started her at a really low dose and she said it will take until month five or six for her to be on the therapeutic dose of the Wegovy. I’m kinda surprised if you had side effects right away if they started you low as well. If so, that’s for sure not the one for you. Anyways, there is a reason that all those meds continue to be sold and prescribed. What works For one person may not work for another. It’s the same as antidepressants. There are a zillion of them because it really does vary from one person to the next. I’m my opinion it’s definitely worth a try. I did take phentermine when I was younger if they offer that option at some point. It worked during the day but of course as a stimulant was designed to run out at night. I did lose a little but not what I had hoped. I’m all fairness I tend to do the majority of my eating at night anyways. I can see where it could work for someone who does not have that terrible habit.

I agree with @Arabesque I was on 200 Cals at 2 months, Didn't manage to get to 800 until about 9 months. Nine months later I was on less than 1000 Cals. My team only bothered about protein and liquids. They advised me to try 6 tiny meals a day. Full fat products helped me. As in cheese, nuts, milk and yogurts. I never had protein drinks. My surgeon was against them. I had milk shakes but made my own but M&S do some, a strawberry shake per 250 mls = 180 Cals and 8 grams of protein. Don't stress over this period, just do your best every day. We are not all the same

August 7th isn't too far away! You're close to the preop diet. I started mine a few days ago and it's testing me, but I knew it would. If I were a smaller person, I don't think it would be such an issue. If I weren't having appetite issues even before the diet, things would be easier, too. What's helped has been sipping on broth or slurping on sugar free Jell-O all day. I go slow with those so it feels like I'm eating/taking in more than I am. I'm only nervous about one thing: the gas pains immediately after surgery. I've never had surgery before, so I am not sure what to expect. I want to have a realistic expectation of pain before experiencing it. I know I will handle it better that way. Luckily, I have a few family members who have had laparoscopic procedures before and we willing to be honest about the experience. I've been avoiding stories online of others' experiences of that moment, because we all have different pain thresholds and it's too easy to go down the rabbit hole of scary stories. Especially with AI/algorithms thinking we want to see the worst of the worst. I want to share why I made my decision to have the SADI-S vs a sleeve or bypass. While I cannot speak to what things will be like after surgery, I am confident I'm making the correct decision for myself. I'm in my 30s with no kids, but would like some. I have been struggling with my weight ballooning up and down for the last 20 years. At my heaviest, I was over 320 pounds. I hit that as I made the decision for surgery. I didn't know what surgery I wanted, so I started doing research into the best bariatric surgeons in my state. I read through their websites and looked at reviews for the surgeons through my insurance provider, google, yelp, and other such websites. Then I asked a few friends in the medical field which doctors they would want doing surgery on them. All of that narrowed my list down significantly. I ultimately went on gut instinct and don't regret it at all. My surgeon is amazing. Her teams is extremely supportive. Here's some information she gave me on my options: -- Gastric Bypass: She does not recommend the procedure to any patient. It has more points for potential surgery complications and, in her medical opinion, the highest chance for weight regain. -- Sleeve: potential to lose 70% of excess weight. Less than 1% chance for complications. -- SIPS/SADI-S: potential to lose 80% of excess weight. Less than 1% chance of surgical complications. I want to have children, and she advised that the SIPS/SADI-S (there really needs to be a better name for this) is the best choice to allow me to get pregnant a year or so post-op (depending on how I'm doing) and reenter weight loss when appropriate post-birth. I will have to work very closely with my weight loss team throughout the entire pregnancy, but it really feels like a bonus to have more support. My surgeon's office also recommends patients to very talented specialists for all surgery clearances. They all treated me like they were part of a huge team dedicated to helping me get through surgery clearance. It was amazing. I was given a packet with all the possible issues I might encounter post-op, what can be done if they happen, and how to avoid them in the first place. When I read through it spelled out in black and white, it's easy to see what my life would need to be to avoid a horrible experience. The most embarrassing ones are noted as being most common with gastric bypass than sleeve or DS. Most of these complications can be avoided by chewing well, not drinking during meals, and not overeating. One of my doctors said I am going back to being a baby again, digestively. I will need to reteach my body how to process what I eat and not be afraid to push back milestones if I'm not ready to start the next leg of the journey. I'm definitely anxious. The unknown is always scary. I'm confident at the same time because of the team I'm working with. And because of the support I have at home. I know I'm extremely lucky to have the surgeon and support I do. It's definitely a burden to afford this surgery right now, but I don't believe I will feel that way in 5 or 10 years.

Yea. I checked and I don’t have any coverage for them either so to get the real deal I would be looking at a considerable amount out of pocket like you. I didn’t mind the suggestion though, some insurance companies are actually covering them for weight loss now and when they do they are much more affordable. I have a friend who just got on Wegovy for weight loss and her copay is only $25 a month!!! If I had that coverage I would for sure be asking more questions. A lot of companies are also making compounded ones that are like $2-300 but it’s not really clear if they are as effective and/or safe quite yet. . My primary provider said they were working on getting the compounded ones in their office so I assume those would be safe but still I question the effectiveness and they are only beginning to work on it now so who knows when it will actually happen. My primary said if it was her she wouldn’t wait for that option to become affordable since my numbers are creeping up. Anyways, your surgery is getting really close. Are you excited? Nervous? I am already a little of both. Mine is Aug 7. I keep on questioning if I am crazy to go with the newest option just because there isn’t as much help out there for me post op. At least I haven’t found it yet. I already spoke with two nutritionists and both of them claimed to know beforehand about the procedure then both of them pushed the same information on me as they would for a bypass. Total waste of money. I have an appt soon with the NP at my office, though. I’m hoping to get some answers about the regular diet and the supplements that are specific to the SADI. Have you started your pre op diet yet??

I don’t think at the two month mark I was Consuming anywhere close to 1000 calories either but 300 may be a bit low. Are you getting all of your protein? That seemed to be all my nutritionist was concerned with at that point. If not, I would definitely be adding in shakes. Otherwise, listen to your team because everyone’s goals are differnt depending on a number of factors. Your goal will most likely not be the same as your friend.

So, I am almost 2 months post-op, and I am due to have my 8 week check-in with a bariatric nurse. My friend also had the same surgery as me, just the day prior, and she has had this check-in already. She was told that at the current stage we are in post-op, we should be eating 900-1000 calories a day!! 🫠🤯 I genuinely don't think my body is capable! I think I eat around 400-500 on a good day, and I mean a REALLY good day (which is rare), and around 300 on a normal day. Maybe I need to have more protein shakes? I don't know. The prospect of eating that much seems so daunting, and I really get full on what I am already eating!

I never had reflux or gerd so I was a fantastic candidate for the sleeve. And after the sleeve, the gerd was so bad I was on 80mg of Nexium TWICE per day PLUS pepcid for break through and TUMS if really needed (and I was always doing all of it, sometimes still with no real relief). I developed so many polyps from the incredibly high amounts of PPI over a long period of time that I needed 4 endoscopies to remove them. I also developed gastritis and esophagitis. I was told I had no choice but to have the revision to bypass. So 13 months after my sleeve, I was back in the hospital having the bypass. The recovery was SO much faster and easier, the gerd was cured almost immediately, getting my fluids down was so much easier, my only real regret is that I had the sleeve at all. I just wish I had gone straight to the bypass to begin with. If you already have gerd, I STRONGLY advise at least thinking about the bypass instead of the sleeve. The bariatric surgeon may not even give you the sleeve as an option, so maybe start considering the bypass as a viable choice.

Don't overthink it. We tend to want to over-prepare, pack too much, stock up way too much, read every single thing we see online and then obsess about any negative thing we see. You're ready. You've finished all the hurdles, you've been approved, you have the date. There's not a lot you can do 2 months before your surgery. Maybe start looking at different food tracking apps to see which feels the most user friendly to you. Look through youtube to find some good GENTLE workouts for the first 6 weeks post op and save them to a private playlist for yourself. Make sure you have some loose clothing for after surgery. I bought one of those big, cure jugs that is 64fl oz so it would be easy to measure how much water and fluids I was taking in (admittedly, at first I was barely getting in 3-4oz at a time, but I quickly worked my way up and was glad I had that because it was cute and convenient). Make sure you have plenty of Miralax on hand and possibly, if things are really plugged up, a laxative/stool softener combo. And I made sure when I was drinking broth, it was bone broth because it has more protein. That's really it.

As @AmberFL suggested, I’d start tracking your food intake. You don’t have to do it religiously to begin but just to start the routine & also get an idea of what you’re eating (nutritional value, calories & portion sizes). Then you could make small changes over the next few months like adjust your portion sizes, swap out some cooking styles or ingredients to healthier ones, try new recipes, drop a snack, etc. Also an opportunity to start to reflect on your relationship with food. Do you eat to comfort or sooth yourself (when you’re sad, stressed, anxious, angry, etc.)? Do you crave certain foods when you’re bored? Are you an hormonal carb or sweet? Do you have any eating habits like always snack at the movies or watching tv or have to have cake or a muffin with your coffee, etc. And so on. And, yes, start incorporating some activity into your week. Good opportunity to try some different things to see what you enjoy. You don’t have to embrace everything all at once. Simple small changes are always easier to adopt & adapt to than jumping in the deep end. You have time before your surgery. Second the advice not to buy up big in protein shakes. A temporary change in your taste buds is very common after the surgery and many find a flavour or brand of shake they enjoyed before the surgery in the pre surgery diet is disgusting after. Things can become too sweet &/or salty, the texture can be off putting and for some it’s the smell of certain foods. It can last upwards of around 6 or so weeks. I’m in Australia so none of the prolonged wait you have to go through. My surgery was not quite 4 weeks after I first met with the surgeon so I didn’t really have time to do anything - lol!

Don’t stock up too much on protein drinks if you can help it. Your tastes may change a little post up and tastes for sweets is a common change. I suggest going to a convenience store to get a variety of flavors in singles serves or the four packs they have at Walmart. Enough to get you through a week would probably be safe. Then you can place a grocery order for pickup on your way home from your post op appt for the ones you actually do like or order them from Amazon. (Make certain they have your brand ahead of time of course). If you do get some that are too sweet post surgery don’t toss Them right away though. Once you can have caffeine they may not be so bad mixed with coffee. Either a little as creamer in a hot coffee or more mixed with iced coffee for a “proffee” If you don’t have anyone that can get them for you if your recovery takes longer Maybe buy ahead just in case but save your receipt You may also want to be sure you have something on hand for constipation if your team didn’t tell you to already.

Great advice! A home-deep-clean is definitely on the horizon. And I'm definitely going to try the protein shakes to see which one works the best for me. Thank you!

Not wish but glad that I did. I stopped caffeine about a month or so before surgery, I tracked all my food so I got in the habit, I went for walks to build up stamina, only 3x a week until surgery, I had different kind of protein shakes, one of each kind that tickled my fancy so after surgery I had options. Some I liked and got more, some I had one drink then gave to my hubs. I would wait for the liquid diet until they tell you to start because it sucks! I only had to do 1day and I complained the entire day LOL, some people do a food funeral where they eat all the foods they want since that will be on hold for a bit. I actually deep cleaned my house the week before surgery (I am super Type A LOL) but made me feel good that I didn't have to worry about house keeping for a minute. I do wish I would cleaned out my pantry better, I had junk food in my house and even though I didn't give into temptation, it was there. Also my mindset with food. I'm 6months post op and it still messes with me, like wanting to eat huge burrito because I'm upset but knowing I physically cant. Its like breaking up with someone. @SleeveToBypass2023 said it really well, breaking in a very toxic relationship, you know its not good for you but you still go back. If you can mentally prepare yourself for it. Its a mindf*%^ .

If you have a local Chinese or Korean restaurant, they most likely have a few tofu based dishes. One thing about tofu is that there are different firmnesses (soft, firm, extra firm) which really change the texture a lot. When you're new to cooking with it, just buying the wrong kind for what you plan to do with it can make your dish unpleasant. (Or not knowing how to treat it! I love stir fried tofu in restaurants but couldn't get mine to brown up nicely because for the longest time I didn't realize I needed to press the excess water out for a fair bit beforehand) The other thing is that tofu has a very mild flavour. It mostly just is a great protein with some nice texture variants which picks up other flavors. If you have a vegan friend, you might be best off just asking them if they can give you an easy recipe to try -- or see if you can wriggle a tofu-dinner invite from them one day so you can try it out 'properly'. One of my favorite new ways to eat tofu post-OP is in dips! It does kind of mask the tofu though, so I don't know if you'd get a 'tofu experience' out of it. I've done this one a few times with different variants of herbs: https://www.walderwellness.com/herbed-tofu-dip/ (I tend to skip the parsley and replace with fresh basil, and usually omit the vinegar entirely)