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Hey All I've been having a time as stated in another post. I would have updated in the same post but couldn't find it. I haven't been able to proceed to soft foods due to vomiting. Yesterday was my 6 week check up. As far as weight loss I was informed I am on target with 35% of excess weight gone which means I have 21 pounds to go for the doctor's office my personal goal is 33lbs BUT getting the 21lbs off will be great with me. I was also informed "Yesterday" due to the radiology report and the fact I was unable to eat, the doc wanted to do the baloon dialation next morning which was today. All went well and they saw that the opening was narrow & Initially, the scope could not pass through. The balloon was used to stretch the opening to 10 mm. I am now to progress through today liquids, puree, by dinner soft foods then in a few days to move into more dense (soft) foods etc. I feel good just sleepy! The meds should be out of my system by tomorrow. Now the work continues to get into a healthy BMI. No gerd as of now and that is truly a relief!

im 5 years post. at this point i eat what i feel for, when i feel for it. i don't avoid anything except large amounts of sugar in one sitting (or on an empty stomach cuz im a dumper) everything else is fair game. yes i eat chips and chocolate and hot dogs (with buns!) and all sorts of deep fried stuff and drink alcohol along with my salads and roasted veggies and sashimi and grilled chicken breasts. normally (not right now cuz im super sick), i eat about 1800-ish cals a day without gaining or losing any unintended weight, and can consume roughly 1 cup-ish of food "material" in volume in one sitting. more if its salad, less if its dense meat or fluffy bread. give me a couple hours and i can down another cup of food. so long as my cals stay around 1800 a day, it doesn't matter whats its made up of...at least from a weight gain/loss perspective. from a health-wise perspective, well that is likely another story...cuz im sure 1800 cals of chicken breast is better for my body than 1800 cals of buttered popcorn. so far so good as my last labs (this time last year) were a-ok. we'll see what this years labs say when i get them done at end of month. i realize i haven't really answered either of ur questions. for the latter, i can't really comment, but for the former, below is a screenshot of what i ate when i was 8 months post op (trusty ol MFP!) note i had already reached goal and was in the process of upping my calories to settle into maintenance at this time. it took me another 2-3 months and another 10+ lbs lost before i figured out what my maintenance calories were. (sorry this was so long!)

Hi All! My name is Jill and I had my VSG on Oct. 2, 2023. My surgeon was Dr. Bilof at Garden State Bariatrics in Millburn, NJ. The doctor and office staff are wonderful. I felt taken care of every step of the way since my initial consult in April, 2023. I am back to work and doing very well. My main issue was my emetophobia (fear f being sick). I have not felt nauseous or gotten sick. I took anti-emetics a few times when my stomach felt sensitive. I also did not have much pain. I took Percocet for a few nights to ensure a good night's rest. Otherwise, Tylenol worked fine. I had a headache for a few days, but I am also prone to them. I also had about two days where I was not well mentally as I already suffer from anxiety and depression; this after-effect is something that is not talked about enough, in my opinion. Know that "this too shall pass" and you will be A-OK soon enough. I started at 215 lbs. and was down to 199 lbs. by Oct. 10 (8 days out). Like I said, I am doing well and nothing has been too hard for me to get used to. I would recommend following your diet instructions, take time to eat and drink, and trust your body. I had felt like the post-op journey was so hard and my life will never be the same. On the contrary, I already feel like a healthier and better version of me! Good luck to everyone! 💖

Just to clarify the Bariatric program at the hospital you are going to does not require a sleep apnea screening? But your insurance wants you to have a sleep apnea/sleep study done? I can tell you a lot of insurance's require a sleep apnea check and if you meet the requirements the sleep study as well. I myself had to do a sleep study as part of an insurance requirement, and I scored a 10 (I was told this was the lowest score) however this meant my insurance now wanted me to be CPAP compliant in order to pay for my bariatric surgery. I know that having deeper better sleep will aid in the healing process, so that is a positive. For me, I feel no different wearing the CPAP versus not wearing it. But a good friend of mine was also diagnosed with sleep apnea around the same time as me, and he told me it is a night and day difference for him and that he feels so much better now. In the end, if your insurance wants something done and you want them to cover the cost of your surgery, then you are just going to have to do it. You might find out everything your insurance is going to require and go ahead and get appointments scheduled before they ask you to do it. You can always cancel those appointments if you do not need to do them. Pre-scheduling what you can will guarantee you are in line and not waiting longer.

Oh that BMR calculator made me laugh... It estimates around 2,000 calories at my current weight and about 1,600 at my goal weight! Both are actually higher than my norm. I average around 1,200 to 1,400 calories a day (yes, tracking EVERYTHING, even drinks and junk). I've averaged that for the last 10+ years and still managed to gain about 100 lbs. But medications and health conditions helped with that gain... Still, if I actually end up at around 1,600 a day with no exercise and no gains I'll be one happy bunny! I guess it really is a matter of perspective and what we are used to. I've always thought the 2,000 calories a day thing was a load of garbage. Caloric needs vary widely depending on body composition, activity level, health issues, etc... I'd hate to see what weight I'd be at if I was actually eating those 2,000 calories it thinks I need right now.

What about adding a higher calorie shake like the Ensure Complete Nutrition, which has 350 calories in a 10 oz serving? It's generally considered too high in calories for using if you're trying to lose weight, but if you had three of those per day, you'd be getting 1050 calories and 90g protein right there before even having soft foods. You should be able to manage that amount capacity-wise with no problem. They have 8g fat and 15g added sugar, which might cause some risk of dumping, but I would think it would be worth a try. It seems like you'll need to hit about 1400 calories per day minimum to stop losing weight, whereas in the early days the guidelines you get from the doctor that are intended for weight loss may put you well under 1000.

Tomorrow is my big day. I have to report to the hospital at 8 for a 10 a.m. surgery. I have had a lot of surgeries, so I'm not particularly worried about going under or anything. I worry about pain management and the 6 weeks after surgery and sticking to it. I have to remind myself that this is a tool for me to use and that I need to very conscious of what I'm eating. Good luck to everyone else having surgery this week.

(Also my status update, btw) It's finally here!! My last day with a "normal" digestive system. Tomorrow morning I go in at 10:15am to check in, go through all the pre-flight checks (IV, vitals, sign consents, talk to anesthesia and my surgeon, etc), then into the OR I go! This process has taken what seems like forever. Way back in April of 2022, I saw a general surgeon to have a Nissen Fundoplication to deal with my (horrible!!) reflux and repair my hiatal hernia. Problem was....my weight made it so there would be a high risk of both failure after a couple years and potential complications. He then suggested I see a bariatric surgeon (which was the first time anyone had ever made that suggestion. So off I went to see bariatrics. From the first appointment, Dr. Beekley was nothing but supportive. He never once belittled me over my weight, or made me feel like I was making excuses for my health. The entire team has been awesome. They keep up with me in myChart, letting me know what Pre-op clearances I needed, or if anything extra was needed from other providers (which, given all my health issues, there was always something extra that was needed lol). But all that hoop jumping was worth it. Now I'm packing my bag and getting ready to have my life completely changed for the better. While I may be increasingly nervous the closer I get to that OR, I'm also excited beyond belief. I've been stuck in this messed up body for entirely too long, and I can't wait to start leaving it behind and meet the woman I know is inside.

I just had my pre-op labs, EKG, UGI, and CXR yesterday. I met with my dietician as well. I start my pre-op diet on 10/9. It actually feels good to not be journeying alone. Good luck to everyone.

Good morning, I am a 51 yr old woman and had my RNY on 3/9/2016 I am 5 ft and was 210 but 190 at surgery. I was on the smaller end,but I had a lot of comobidities that justified having it. Everything was normal for a while. I got down to about 118 at about 9 months and slowly creeped back up to about 135 where I sat at this weight for a while. Then fast forward to the end of 2019 and I started seeing the pounds come off rapidly for no reason. Now fast forward to today and I am 97 lbs and can't keep weight on,no matter how many calories,carbs, fat I eat. I have seen multiple health care professionals that up until very recently have all told me that this is my new normal. I have had an ultrasound that reviled a fatty liver, however I had a fatty liver before surgery? Has anyone else experienced weight loss like this? I am scared that I will never stop loosing.

Great ideas and sounds delicious, but what about for those who: 1. Are extremely busy to "cook from scratch" and 2. Really really despise cooking? I am one of these ppl 😖🙄 I think that's why there is the requests for snacks/recipes/ideas the OP asked about. The easiest for me is a version of Starbucks egg bites, I can make up 10 of them quickly using low fat healthy substitutes and adding whey protein in about 15 mins! There are numerous recipes out there for them which allows for different combos so they don't become tedious. They're quick, portable and full of protein and heat up nicely wherever you find a microwave!

I haven't lost anywhere near that much but I was so happy to fit into my 1x clothes then into some 1x and XL clothes at the mall yesterday and even bought a sexy lingerie outfit that husb. loved. I keep finding things in closets and drawers that now fit that did not before (many new with tags) and I've got about the equivalent of 3 or 4 large closets of clothes I'm trying to figure out how to start selling to hopefully recoup some of my money back to buy a new wardrobe. I almost sent them in to an online consignment store but read bad reviews and changed my mind. It's a shame we couldn't have regional clothes swaps for bariatric pals! I've heard of women who do this in larger cities where they gather and bring in 10-30 pieces of nice, gently used clothes and swap pieces with others. I may look up the specifics and see if I can get something together if I can't find a way to sell.

So is it just me or does this really change ur relationship! Ive been married for over 10 years and ever since I got the surgery and I’ve lost so much weight it’s like wow my husband is all over me , wants sex all the time , I can really tell he likes the new me or more like my new body. The thing is he’s changing , very controlling and basically doesn’t let me go out not even to family events like I’m feeling like a prisoner ! It’s just getting worst

I find it so interesting how different doctors have different pre-op procedures, pre-op diets, weight loss requirements etc. It's cool to hear about other people's programs and compare notes. My program didn't have any specific weight percentage that I had to lose. But there was the ongoing expectation that I always be losing weight. My surgeon is very firm that from the day of your first appointment with him and your first weigh-in you are never allowed to gain weight at any subsequent appointments. That said though I don't have any specific pre-op diet. I had to get psych clearance and nutritionist clearance and zoom attended 2 informational seminars but the expectation is just to make healthy choices in the lead up to the surgery and to fast after the midnight of surgery day. My surgery will be 10/20. I don't even have another pre-op appointment between now and then. I've only had 2 appointments with my surgeon the one where I started the program, then 2 months later the one wear I got approved because I had finished everything on the checklist given at the first appointment. It's possible that this may be due to my insurance not covering the surgery I suppose. Maybe some of the other hurdles are required by insurance?

I have several piercings and tattoos. I guess I just like needles haha. Nose, ears, daith, and nipples are the only thing I ever wear jewelry in. Once in a bluemoon I put something in my eyebrow just to see if it's closed yet...it hasn't. Right now I have plastic in all of mine still, except for my nose, from surgery since you'll have to take out any metal piercings for procedures and MRIs. My piercer doesn't charge for retainer pieces as long as she is the one that does the jewelry change. Most piercers will charge a nominal fee for a jewelry change (Most I've ever paid is $10 and that was because they had to use a taper on my daith) Once they're all fully healed jewelry changes yourself aren't too bad. Nostril takes between 6-12 months to fully heal, cartilage piercings. I have entirely too many holes in my ear to count and some keloids from trying to save a piercing I wasn't meant for.

btw - I mentioned above that the old rule of thumb was that it takes about 10 X your weight in pounds to maintain your weight (although again, that varies according to several factors listed in my above comment). That's for women. For men, it was 12 x your weight in pounds (again, old rule of thumb that varies between people - although I do think it gives a good starting point - you can experiment with that and then go up or down depending on what your weight is doing)

I'm going to try and keep this from being too long, but there's so much to say!!! First I'll start with my newest NSVs. I'm officially in a size 18 clothes (from my original size 30), size 10 shoes (from my original size 11), size 6 1/2 ring (from my original size 10), 18" chain on a necklace (from my original 24" chain), and 2x jacket (from my original 4-5x). I can now comfortably fit on a massage table without fear of it creaking or breaking. I can now ride a bike because I'm within the weight limit. I now am able to hit my favorite thrift stores and walk out with seriously cute clothes that look nice, sit well on me, and actually fit comfortably!! My asthma is almost completely gone (I only have it when I get super sick now instead of all the time). My blood work came back and my hormone levels are almost in the normal range (I have PCOS) and my cysts that completely COVERED both ovaries are totally gone (without having taken any meds or done any hormone therapies!!) I did a 6 mile hike this past weekend with my son. I am completely pain free and am able to go full on beast mode with my workouts again. I can go up 5 flights of stairs before I need to stop and rest. Now for my new chapter in life and old dreams becoming new again. So years ago, I wanted to become a nurse. I completed all of the academics with a 4.0, aced all the labs, but couldn't do any of the clinicals because I couldn't do all the walking, I was 400 pounds, and my health/joints/back were way too bad. So I gave up on it. Then about 2 years later, I thought "well, maybe I can be a medical assistant. Surely THAT'S not as hard" and once again, I couldn't do the externship because I couldn't do the physical stuff. So I went into other areas for work, ballooned up to 421 pounds, worked remotely, and made good money. I loved what i did, but there was always a part of me that regretted not being able to go into the medical field. That was my heart's desire. So fast forward to now. I'm between jobs and miserable. I had to stop working because of all my complications from my first surgery. Now that I've been cleared, I can't get hired anywhere. So I decided that now is a great time to go back to my dream of working in the medical field. So on Sept 5th, I start school to become a certified pediatric oncology medical assistant. Most of my previous credits transfer over, so I only have about 6 months of academics to do and then the externship. Then I sit for my certification exam and then I get to finally FINALLY do what I've always wanted to do. By my 46th birthday next June, I should be right where I want to be, doing what I want to do, and hopefully at my goal weight. I'm sitting here in tears as I type this, because I thought this was something I would never see happen. I resigned myself to being morbidly obese, extremely unhealthy, and needing a cane to get around. I may not be at my goal weight (the weight comes off a lot slower with a revision, and also as your bmi gets smaller and you get closer to your goal) but I believe eventually I'll get there. But the things this surgery is giving to me, the dreams I can live out, the health and wellness and years of my life I'm getting back..... it was all worth it. The complications, the uncertainty, the pain and healing and stalls.... all completely worth it. We all start this journey wanting the numbers on the scale to go down. But there's SO MUCH MORE this surgery gives you. I will never, ever regret my decision. Never.

I feel your pain...the water consumption along with the waiting before and after eating makes it a chore trying to get the large amount of liquids in..especially because I'm not thirsty. I keep waiting for the intolerance to foods, the feeling of full (yes, I'm aware it takes months for the nerves to regenerate to fill "full") something that would keep me from wanting to eat other than I didn't go through all this to not lose weight. Add on top of that I've not lost any weight for 10 days - I've about had enough! Yes, I'm getting my protein in, no I'm not over eating (1/4 cup max each meal 2 meals with one high protein shake) its just stuck! I know I'm supposed to let the program work..but hey!! I'm doing my part..when does it do its part? 😋 So, yeah I feel your pain!

You might find this paper interesting: https://asmbs.org/app/uploads/2021/10/PIIS1550728921004238.pdf I went to the Mayo, which has a stop smoking facility (Betty Ford for cigarettes). They got me on nicotine replacement, which allowed me to quit. Some of the medications, like Wellbutrin, made me feel crazy. I stopped smoking years ago, without pain. Unfortunately the medical group who wrote the above article is an outlier. AFAiK, Medicare doesn't want any nicotine, even pharmaceutical. Fact is, the Pharma version is pricey in the extreme, although the patent expired. I loved smoking. I only stopped b/c I was told I would stroke out. Drooling in a wheelchair was not my idea of a good future. Otherwise, I'd still be smoking -- unfiltered ciggies, cigars from a small island off the Florida coast and roll 'em ups, using Turkish, Dutch shag, and other things-- Virginia tobacco, which I used to buy in a can, was really good. Stop if you can. Not preaching, sympathetic, beoyotch of an addictive substance, many of which were easier to quit than tobacco. It's insidious.

Down to 152 and actually I can’t believe it. Never did I think I would get this small especially after 10 years. I am sticking to my intermittent fasting and the pounds just keep coming off.

P.S. The old rule of thumb used to be your weight times 10 is about how many calories you should eat to maintain that weight. However, that doesn't take into account your activity level, musculature, etc, so that's just a rough estimate and can vary between people. You have your goal weight set at 140, so that means (at least according to the old rule of thumb) it'll take around 1400 kcal to maintain that. But again, that doesn't take into account how active you are - and there ARE variances among people - so I wouldn't consider that a hard and fast number. You sort of have to experiment to see what your maintenance level is. It's mostly trial and error.

I'm almost 15 months out from my original surgery and 3 months out from my revision. These numbers are where I was at when I hit around 10 months out and I've pretty much stayed here because I'm used to it. I was told I could go up if I want, and I may go up to 1200 on non work out days and 1400 on workouts since I'm doing heavier and longer workouts now. But with the smaller stomachs that we have, and the frequency we're supposed to eat, and the kinds of things we're supposed to eat, it is actually a lot easier to stay at the lower calorie amounts. You definitely shouldn't be anywhere near 2000 per day.

I've heard this from more than a couple of dietitians (and in a graduate-level nutrition/dietetics course I audited last semester on obesity and weight loss, too) - if you have been obese and lose down to a normal (or not far above normal) level, you will have to eat fewer calories to maintain that weight than someone who's the same height, age, gender, activity level, etc who's never been obese. About 10-20% fewer, if I remember correctly. So that means if someone of your height, age, activity level, etc maintains on 2000 kcal, then that means you'd have to eat 1600-1800 to maintain the same weight. that said, your calorie level does depend on several factors - how active you are, how muscular you are, your metabolic rate, etc. We have women on here who can maintain on 2000, and others who can only eat 1200. I'm the same height as you (don't know how we compare otherwise, though), and it takes about 1600 kcal to maintain my weight. I can go a bit higher on heavy exercise days. Although that does give me incentive to exercise regularly, though....