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What did your medical team advise? While there are similarities in our experiences we are also different & I’m not just referring to the surgery we have. We lose at different rates. We need different amounts of food to function & lose.... And there are many different medical plans out there even for the same surgeries. It can get really confusing. The important thing is to stick to the plan your team has recommended as closely as possible. If you feel you require more specific information about calories & macros recommendations contact your nutritionalist. They should help you to design a diet that fits your lifestyle. Honestly, I was never given a caloric goal at any stage just 60g of protein & low carb. But I was told about serving sizes. A quarter of a cup to begin increasing to a third over the first couple of months from puréed stage onwards. I never precisely counted calories every day but was conscious of the calorie content of the food I ate. I found once I got my protein in I couldn’t eat much else. I was consuming less than 500 calories for ages. Even less before I was on solid food. I wasn’t hungry & not really interested in eating. I can’t even imagine eating 1000 calories in those first 2 or 3 months even 6 months. I only eat about 1200 now but that’s me. I also never had another protein shake once I got to the purée stage. I got most of my protein from yoghurt. (30g in my drinking yogurt & it contributed to my fluid goals - double win!) I don’t think you’re losing slowly at all either. At 5 weeks I’d lost about 12 kg (about 26lbs) so not that different really. Congratulations on having your surgery & your loss so far. Good luck.

Weight gain is a really common side effect of depakote! Let your prescribing doctor know that you are working towards weight loss surgery, and ask them to prescribe a medication with less likelihood of weight gain-there are definitely other options. I’m a psych nurse, we use depakote sometimes for a mood stabilizer and it also used to treat seizure disorders. Either way, there are other options that your doctor should be willing to prescribe.

Hi! I have had one ulcer and it was a few years after my surgery. I had an h.pylori infection that was identified and the cause of my ulcer. While they can heal themselves I also suffered from pain and blood loss. Peptic ulcers can lead to a need for a transfusion of iron or blood depending on the size and the location. I became very anemic, unable to eat and dizzy along with the abdominal pain was why I went to the doctor in the first place. My doctor treated me with antibiotics, probiotics, and Prilosec. I take probiotics on a regular basis now because probiotics help with the healthy flora in the stomach. If untreated, h.pylori can cause many, many problems. NSAID's are very common to cause peptic ulcers as well. I was told by my Surgeon that anyone with WLS especially should never take anything containing NSAIDs or NSAID medication. There are foods that are beneficial to eat such as berries, spinach, broccoli, and other natural probiotic foods that I try to incorporate into my diet. If you have an ulcer acidic foods are not recommended. I do know someone (my cousin) that it did not heal and needed to have surgery to heal it correctly. I hope you can get it figured out as everyone's experience is a little different!

I was reading an old posts regarding calorie requirements after gastric bypass. I am five weeks post op and can eat 800 calories a day. I get 100 grams of protein and all my water in. My carbs are staying at 20 or less. My weight loss feels slow although overall I’m not really sure it is. Maybe my expectations are right. I started at 257 day of surgery and five weeks out i have lost 22 lbs. I haven’t always followed the diet above. Early on I ate much more carbs but last week upped my protein and cut my carbs. Fats also increased of course and this caused some increase in calories. The past post I read were encouraging people to eat more calories and even to get up to 1000 as soon as possible and stay low carb and weight would come off. People also encouraged it bc it helps your metabolism they said which helps with the weight loss. But I am still afraid my calories are too high and feel weird bc I can eat much more than the two tablespoons my nurse told me I should be eating at means. But if I ate like she said I’d definitely take in way less that 800 calories a day. also thought 320 of my calories are still from protein shakes. So like around 500 calories is food. What are thoughts around this?

I had the sleeve in 2017, and revised to bypass in December 2020 due to GERD and weight regain. Since the bypass in December I have lost 25kg (55 lbs). - current weight 187 lb. Weight loss for me now seems to be slower then the first time around, however I am ok with that. Since my revision I also have had NO more symptoms of GERD. Am so happy I was able to ge this revision, weight is steadily coming off. Hope this helps a bit

This is helpful. I was sleeved in 2018 and never had adequate weight loss no matter what I did. My insurance approved my revision after having 6 nutrition visits and my Dr stating it was medically necessary. My revision is scheduled for this upcoming Monday

There is also a surgeon in Tampa who is doing the procedure: Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty | Weight Loss | Trinity, FL (bariatricendoscopytampabay.com). I am not sure how many surgeries he has done or know anything about him but it seems there are more and more doctors that are starting to do this type of surgery.

Congratulations on your weight loss and journey to becoming a healthier YOU! I think you should reevaluate your definition of “friend” because the people you described in your post are anything but that! Keep working towards the person YOU want to be. I attend weekly therapy sessions and we discuss a lot of coping skills so maybe some ongoing therapy with someone who is experienced with bariatric patients will help some. 💕 **sorry I read through the comments and realized everyone has already said similar things about your “friends” and counseling! Hang in there! You got this 💪🏾 

Your story is very similar to mine. I had "only" about 100 pounds to lose and initially exceeded that amount, getting down to 132--then bounced right back up to 142. That's where I've stayed through my two-year anniversary earlier this month. And frankly, it's a much better weight for me than a rather skeletal 132 (although I thought I looked pretty fabulous at the time, in spite of everyone telling me I was way too thin). i also had bladder cancer back in 2017--but then again, I am an old man. I actually lost about 50 pounds after cancer surgery and treatment, and everyone told me how great I looked. I told them I wouldn't recommend the cancer weight loss program. Naturally, I gained it all back once I regained my health and strength. While I haven't broken anything, I injured both my groin muscle and knee while lifting heavy boxes during a move last October and had to stop exercising completely. I'm still doing physiotherapy and was only recently cleared by my therapist to walk about 1/2 mile at a time. I made very sure to cut back my calorie intake to compensate for my lack of exercise, and I'm happy to say that I've managed to maintain my weight. Thank you so much for sharing your struggles--especially with such good humor! It's important for all of us to hear that life does indeed happen and that we will continue to face challenges along this journey. And we can overcome them, as we have before!

Day 5 1/2 now... 2 clear liquid days done... 2 full liquid days done... and just finishing up my first "pureed" day that I decided to mix up a little since I can lol. Started the day with a protein shake. Sugar free pudding for an AM snack. Then took my kids to cracker barrel which is when I had to decide... stick to puree? Or just move on to soft diet foods. Well... I found a meal that was the best of both worlds. Mashed potatoes (pureed), Cooked baby carrots (cooked so tender that when they get to your mouth they mush very fast lol... so I can almost count them as pureed), and the meatloaf (soft diet). (And of course skipping Corn Bread/Biscuit) I ordered the lunch portion. Plate arrived and I immediately requested a togo box. Put over 3/4ths of each item plus the Corn Bread/Biscuit in the box (hubby gets those). For my afternoon snack I had a greek yogurt. And for dinner... I had another small portion of my meal from lunch. How did it go???? Apparently just 5 1/2 days of the "Pouch Reset" - or what I view more as a "resting my pouch" diet WORKS FOR ME! I got my "getting full" hiccups after 8 ounces over 20 minutes of protein shake. Got all of the pudding in. For lunch, I got my "getting full" hiccups as I was taking my last bite or two of my tiny meal. And then afterwards I felt full for a couple hours. Got my "getting full" hiccups after eating about 75% of my yogurt. Then I got them again after my tiny dinner. Plus the need to burp a couple times lol So what have I learned? At least for me... this pouch reset DID WORK! And I didn't even need to "finish" the pouch reset diet to feel the benefits. I am getting the benefits NOW. On day 5! Did it actually "shrink" my pouch? Who knows... but it certainly feels like it did in the months after surgery. AND... I am already well on track to eating my normal scheduled diet of 3 meals and 2-3 snacks every 2-3 hours (got the 3rd snack in the last several days but will probably skip tonight since it is getting late and I am still full. Obviously I have to work to keep this up... but I am doing great so far. And my portions are DEFINITELY much smaller. Probably to wear they were about 5 months post op... though I can't be sure. I just know they haven't been THIS SMALL in quite a while. And I am NOT hungry in between meals. And with the two tiny puree/soft diet meals... I got my warning hiccups followed by my signals that I really should stop eating right away. And with the second actual meal I ate probably 2 extra bites and not only did the hiccups last a little longer, I got that need to burp. Yep... when I get 1 hiccup... it is time to stop. Now I have to figure out how to stop before that first hiccup. And if I had gone to cracker barrel just before starting this... I probably would have eaten nearly half right away and then continue to graze for a while until it was gone. And today... I not only didn't do it... but my body wasn't going to let me do it. Did my belly shrink? I dunno. I will never really have that answer since there haven't been any before/after scans lol. But did I get my "getting full" signals back? Heck yeah! And I was VERY satisfied with the tiny portions on my plate. I think over the next few days I will continue the mix of full liquid/puree/soft diet similar to what I did today. But will gradually transition away from the liquids - then purees and then stick with the soft diet. Anyhow... I knew before I posted this tread that there are a TON of people on this board who think this is a hocus pocus scam crash diet.... but I think I am a believer. Should everyone do it? Absolutely not. I knew I had my nutritionist's blessing and I followed stage plans she previously outlined for me. And I monitored my health and I advanced when I knew I needed to in order to prevent too much weight loss which would simply cause me to rebound. I also feel I went into it with realistic expectations. It was something I wanted to try to reteach myself the steps I took before to get to the lifestyle maintenance diet I had in the past. And to hopefully start recognizing those full signals again. THAT was my goal. And losing my little bit of gained wait was a nice side effect. Will it work for everyone? Maybe, maybe not! I think one key is if you are going to do this you must 1) consult your nutritionist at some point before doing it and 2) it should be done before you are fully back into very bad habits and before you have gained a significant amount of weight. I think it worked for me because I am doing it before I totally lose control. I may have not have been eating right... but I knew I was still able to regain control if I simply did what I needed to do. While it wasn't so hard for me to regain control. And I also haven't forgotten what I am supposed to be doing (well... except I forgot my macro guidelines... that post is in another thread lol)... but I know how to eat a healthy maintenance diet and I did well before and I knew I could do well again. Going forward will be interesting.... to see how my body continues to respond. But I am glad to be able to recognize my stomach signals again! And that they are the same signals as before lol

I see your words and a weight loss journey that is very comparable to what I need to do, I just don't believe it right now. I'll take your words as hope for my own future, though.

Thanks everyone. 🙂 Have to admit I felt a bit rock chick in the outfit hence my slightly wild hair. I’m a real in-person shopper. I love trying the clothes on, feeling the textures of the fabric, trying different styles, etc. I bought everything here in Brisbane. The pants are made from cactus. Yep cactus. So they’re a natural fibre & breathe. No getting over heated as with synthetic leathers. They actually do feel a bit like synthetic leather though. I’m always putting stress on my credit card @ms.sss. Told myself I wasn’t buying anything for a month then I saw the shoes. Sigh. Okay, my month starts now.

I’m also pre-op, but similar in height and weight to you and also without many medical issues. I started the process at the end of December and surgery is this Monday, March 22. The only reason I considered weight loss surgery initially is because I found out it’s possible to do an endoscopic sleeve and I was too scared to do laparoscopic surgery. Endoscopic is not covered by insurance, but very little recovery time. After attending intro sessions for different bariatric practices, I decided on gastric bypass laparoscopically. My surgeon said he could do the endoscopic procedure and has taught people how to do it, but it’s not as precise and not worth the out of pocket cost. Weight loss is also less. Next I was leaning towards sleeve laparoscopically, but I’ve had Gerd which made me a better candidate for bypass. An endoscopy revealed the Gerd is from a hiatal hernia which they’ll fix during my weight loss surgery. Also, if I’m going to brave surgery, I want the surgery that will give me the best results, which is bypass. I got a second opinion from another practice, and they agreed bypass is my best option. I was hesitant because of the required vitamins, but I’m convinced now that it’s worth it. I am 5 ft 1/2 inch and was 226 in December. In January I started a pre-op low calorie diet and I’m about 12 days into the dreaded liquid diet now. Today my weight was 193.5. I think sleeve and bypass are both good options and whatever you decide will be a good choice. It doesn’t hurt to get a second opinion either. I totally trust my surgeon and selected him over everybody else. Still I wanted a second opinion to be sure. Good luck!

yea - some people do experience "stair step" weight loss (which sounds like you're experiencing). Luckily I only had stalls every two or three months, because I know they're aggravating. At 1000 calories/day, I wouldn't worry about it. You'll start losing again. Maybe just try weighing yourself once or twice a week? (I know that's hard for a lot of people, though...)

I juuuust squeaked into March. I got approved yesterday for the 31st. I had to lose 10% of by total weight before my insurance would approve so I've been doing the weight loss program since July of last year. I am READY!

I had my first couple sips of wine 3 weeks post op. I had maybe 5-6 drinks the entire time I was in weight loss phase (and not even close to a full serving each time). Note: my weight loss phase was 7 months total. I took an NSAID a few times in the first month, but none since. Also, I think you are correct about the diff in surgeries. One of the reasons I chose sleeve was because I wanted to continue with NSAIDs with no issue (but jokes on me, I didn't need them anymore). Pot: I tried to smoke a joint in the first week after surgery cuz I didn't want to take pain meds (gives me constipation), and after 1 drag, I had an unbearable coughing fit that felt like I was busting my stitches, so that was the end of that. Didn't have any until almost 2 years later. Nicotine: I was smoke free for over 10 years until 2019 (1 year post-op) when I started again on vacation. Kinda regret that, but obviously not enough because I'm still smoking today.

I never lost any hair. I did switch to a shampoo though that supposedly helps with hair growth because I have very thin hair... and while there isn't a HUGE difference, my hair doesn't look so scraggly when I grow it a little longer than a short bob lol. My daughter swears it looks thicker. I probably didn't start the shampoo until 4-6 months post-op though. Just make sure you follow your diet... and when you are able to... get in as much protein as you can and try to meet your goals. It will be hard at first, but you will get there.

Day 2 of full liquids complete. Still feel great. I got more than my required water in again. My kidneys and bladder are thanking me. I have huge scarring and atrophy of 1 of my kidneys, so chronic dehydration from the days that I can't get enough water in really aren't good for it. I often wish I could just schedule and appointment for an IV bag... but my doctor doesn't do that. Because I have just done 2 days clear and 2 days full liquids I feel I am much better hydrated and it feels like I just did a kidney cleans. Maybe I should do this more often LOL (No... I am not serious... but it does feel good!) Like I said in earlier posts... I usually get my 64 ounces in.... but on the days I don't it really puts me behind hydration wise so I do my best to avoid it... but heaven forbid I am at work and step away from my desk and kept away longer than I intended... by the time I get back I am feeling it! Same with if I go into a store to grab just a couple things... if I forget my water in the car... or heaven forbid run out.... I feel it. And when I do I have a hard time making up for the missed fluids. I swear I can feel myself dehydrating when I am not actively sipping fluids. I also got more than my required protein in. My goal is 60 Grams and I got 102 grams in. That almost never happens... but I had protein shakes for my 3 meals plus a greek yogurt for one of my snacks. Again... this helped me feel good all day. (And again... my nutritionist adds the yogurt to full liquids so patients get more nutrients in). Today's weight is 127.1... so again, back to within my normal maintenance fluctuation range of 124-128. I am happy here. Upping my calories yesterday helped so I didn't drop too much. And today I advance my diet. Next stage is supposed to be pureed. I will include protein shakes and greek yogurt, as that is what my nutritionist builds my pre-soft food diets around. But I will add some other puree style foods to the list. But since my weight is already so low... I might be shortening and/or modifying this stage. Haven't completely decided how I want to handle it. I would definitely like a little more time to rest my pouch.... but I have to be mindful that I don't also keep losing weight. The max I am willing to lose is 3 pounds more... but I don't NEED to lose 3 pounds more. My challenge today? I am driving to see my son who is away at college. With that... my daughter will probably eat some sort of fast food in the car on the way there. She is always hungry during the car ride. And it will probably be something that smells really good. LOL And add to that... I promised to take both of them out to dinner. And of course, I don't want to just sit there and watch them eat.... so I need to be strategic with where we go so I can eat something too. This might be one of the times I have to "modify" my puree diet stage. If I can't find something of a good puree consistency... I might go for something in the soft diet range. Of course, I can do this because I am not recovering from surgery. But I also don't want to have left overs, and I certainly can't overeat.... so this will be a challenge. Next stage is soft foods... so really I will be eating a normal diet but picking foods of a soft consistency. So, will I do 1 or 3 days (3 days is suggested) of pureed first? I don't know! Again... if I am shortening stages a bit.... pureed is the one to shorten. Soft foods allow me to have a nice balanced diet, so there really is no advantage to shortening that stage. I like a lot of nutritious foods in the soft diet. And I can get my maintenance calorie requirement in with soft foods. But pureed is less of a balanced diet.... so if I am going to shorten stages to prevent too much weight loss, that is the stage I am going to shorten. And remember... I did an extra day of clear... so if I do 1 less day of pureed My diet progression is about the same number of days, and if I shorten by 2 days, I am only shortening the true "stomach rest days" by 1 day. Not bad. I think it will have the same effects.

I am three weeks postop and a few days. I am only taking one small blood pressure medicine, besides the anti-acid postop med. The nurse for my surgeon just informed me that I need to crush meds for up to a year. This seems like a ridiculously long time. Crushed blood pressure med taste disgusting no matter what I put it in. And no my weight loss will most likely not rid me of the high blood pressure ☹️ Even when I was skinny I had no blood pressure issues until I had a near death experience with the pregnancy of my daughter. Hospitalize multiple times, HELLP syndrome, the works. She is 17.5 years old...And I’ve never been able to come off the blood pressure meds since.

Hi! I went through a period of reeeeaaaaalllly thin hair starting around 3 months post op. I'm 2.5 years out and its all back. YMMV.

I just started losing mine and I'm almost 4 months out. I have to say, It freaks me out A LOT!!! Just hoping it stops soon. I'm trying to wear my hair down as much as possible and taking biotin twice a day.

I was freaked out about the loss also. I started losing around 3-6 months. Now I am almost 7 months, and I am not losing hardly any, and it looks like it is starting to grow back a little bit. I know people who never grew back., but they were older. That could have something to do with your mom, and grandma.

what they went through is pretty uncommon. For most of us, the hair does grow back - and also, most people don't lose enough for others to notice (YOU'LL notice - but again, for most of us, it's not enough for others to notice). Some lucky folks don't lose any hair at all. I Just want to say that most pre-ops (and early post-ops) are super concerned about hair loss (and loose skin, too), but I think I can speak on behalf of the vast majority of "vets" when I say that in retrospect, both of those are a small price to pay in exchange for finally getting rid of excess weight. I would take temporary hair loss and loose skin any day over weighing over 300 lbs again. ANY DAY!!!

Surgery helps, but you still have to follow a diet and be accountable. I was incredibly hungry after my surgery. Within a few days, I wanted to gnaw my leg off, I was starving. Luckily, we progressed to reasonable calorie levels rapidly. At about 1200 calories a day, I didn't feel like I was starving to death anymore. LOL. Getting there helped. Stayed there during all of loss phase and it wasn't too uncomfortable. For maintenance, I eat more. You will eventually have less casual hunger due to reduction of hunger hormones....it will be easier than before the surgery. But right now, with SUPER restricted calories, you might feel weak and hungry AF for a while. It gets better. You can eat more of "slider" foods....stuff that zips right through...like the shakes. More solid food will slow you down a lot.

Hi I'm currently going through the process of getting my surgery date and I am so worried about hair loss. My mom and grandma has had the bypass over 10 years ago and everyone says there hair grows back but my mom's only grew back a little and my grandmas never really grew back. I also know someone who has had it over 10 years ago and she says her hair is still thin. I have long hair and lost some hair on a extreme diet i did once before so I'm worried I don't have much to lose this time. My hair only stopped falling out when I ate a lot of calories and was gaining weight:( I'm just really confused [emoji53] Sent from my SM-N986U using BariatricPal mobile app