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Double check with your team before incorporating any weights. My team said no intense exercise till 6 weeks and 8’weeks for any weights. I am a month out and called today and asked if it was okay to go up to an hour walking around the neighborhood (which I actually did last night but then read about waiting until six weeks and got scared). She said one hour collectively is fine but she would rather see me break that into two or three shorter walks so today I did 15 minutes in the morning and planned to do 30 tonight but I judged it wrong and it was 45. It’s a leisurely walk though. Not at all fast so I think it’s fine. in terms of the drinking an eating, some peoples pouches are more inflamed and it takes a little longer for the swelling to go down. You will be able to drink and eat bigger sips and bites eventually. Never the same as before but bigger. It can feel like a bit of a full time job to get In all the vitamins, protein and fluids for a while but it gets easier. As long as you are not drinking or eating past when you feel full, it sounds like you are doing fine!! And tell your husband he is awesome too for walking with you!! Mine encourages me, and like tonight he made my Salmon on the grill while I was gone but he never offered to actually go with me.

I have tons of respect and empathy for those that have went through WLS and had complications. I am not one of them. My procedure, recovery, and stages were textbook. I was very lucky. That doesn't mean that every day was rainbows and puppy dogs, but it was typical. I was sore for days post-surgery, but back to work one week after the procedure. I immediately began to force myself to walk after the surgery. Short distances, then adding more as I started to feel better. March of 2023 my steps were 48299. August of 2024 my steps were 206084. Not going to break any records, but a nice improvement for me. To this point being active with life has been my only real exercise, so it is definitely an opportunity for me in the future to develop a better gym routine. I struggled with fluids and protein for months. Slowly, focusing on it and sticking to the plan I eventually got there. I never let it worry me, and just let me body adjust. I am not a scale watcher, so that was never a problem for me. At checkups I got weight updates, so I was never stressed about the scale. Now I weigh weekly, to make sure than I not gaining. I have had all the NSV that many have seen and shared. Less pain in my knees is my personal favorite NSV. I have arthritic knees, so they will never be great, but the less weight has helped a lot. Honestly, some of my NSV's also came along with some shame, that I had let myself get so big that these were NSV's, if that makes any sense. My worst times since the procedure were dealing with constipation (for the first time in my life). Took me several painful months to figure out a system for me. It is different for everyone, but I encourage everyone be aggressive with your plan to deal with it. For me, I take MiraLAX every third day and stool softener every other day. I am now better equipped if I notice I am not as regular, then I adjust the timing. The other problem I have now is seeing a big spread of food and wanting it all! It's just not possible now! Always protein first, but I try to have a few bites of everything I want, then cut it off. I eat healthier than I ever have. Staying focused on lean protein and vegetables. Working in fruits to help with my sweet tooth and provide some variety. In general, I am low carb, but I am not no carb. No more fast food for lunch or on the ride home from work. We meal plan, but nothing overboard, but I always pack healthy for work. Last week was salad week, so I had a salad with fat free dressing every day for lunch. Today, I had boneless skinless chicken breast, peanuts, blueberry, apple with peanut butter, and my protein shake spread out from 6a to 2p. I have also got down 48-ounces of water with a plan to get another 32-ounces of water in by the end of the day. Carbonated drinks bother me slightly, which is one of the few things. When I overdo it, my new overfilled feeling isn't in my stomach, it much higher, almost like in my throat. Not comfortable, and a good reminder to slow down, chew more, smaller bites, and stop eating! I hope this long overshare is helpful to someone and gives everyone a better idea of how my journey has been. Lastly, I have mention how great my wife and kids have been over the last few years. By my side the whole way and always supportive.

I had a gastric bypass about 6 years old. Fast forward to today. I was recently hospitalized with severe anemia (hemoglobin 5.2). I had to have emergency blood transfusions. I'm still receiving weekly IV-iron infusions (8 weeks). I am also deficient in several nutrients despite taking my bariatric vitamins. My bariatric surgeon figured out the reason for the anemia. Two ulcers detected by an EGD (upper scope). I was slowly bleeding out. At one point, my family thought I was falling asleep... when I was really passing out. Anemia hurts. Your whole body aches. Recovery is slow... the fatigue is unreal but I'll get there.

Just that it's going to hit you FAST. It goes right into your bloodstream. So just keep that in mind (it leaves my system quicker than it did before surgery, too..). And in general, be careful with alcohol as some people have trouble with it after surgery - cross-addiction is real! I limit myself to a glass or two of wine a couple of times a month. Between the surgery and the fact alcoholism runs in my family (two uncles), I don't want to take chances.

I am in a similar boat as @ms.sss and @Lilia_90 I still enjoy all the foods, desserts, Mexican food, Chinese, ice cream. Everything in moderation for sure, and I stay very active, I do track all my food and stay within my macros during the week for the most part. But I do eat ice cream every night LOL mostly my protein ice cream made with my ninja creami but sometimes I will eat off my hubbys Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream. My relationship with food has changed and I worked/ am working really hard to not abuse food like I have before. In my mind this is a life long journey and my life long journey does not look like salads and chicken till I die LOL I am in the same bought with how food brought me and hubs together, getting fast food after the kids went to bed and stuffing ourselves while watching a movie, he is slightly jaded by that and make comments "well you cant eat that anyways, or your going to have bite and waste it" But we have our own thing going on since I have lost all this weight. Anywho! yea! it doesn't have to be so strict forever, but slider foods are a thing and making sure to stay active is important I think.

Starting small really helps!!! walking on your lunch break no matter how fast or slow but not stopping for a 20-30min, you build up from there, I was the same until I started seeing results then I became obsessed with the results! Then I got really into it

Happy puree stage! It's so much nicer hahaha. I also over bought stuff but they are still surviving in my fridge. I wish I could advice u on the qty but I also read that 1/2 cup is right for now. If u guys read arabic, I would've shown what mine said and we would have a pretty good laugh as it basically says nothing informative teehee but I am surviving and losing the weight!! I wanna fast forward to 6 months

My best advice is to be prepared to put yourself first for around a month. It didn’t take that long for the pain to get better but it does take a little while to get your stamina back and get into a groove with all the vitamins, protein and water and then each of the stages are a little adjustment. Take your time and allow your body the rest that it needs and prioritize yourself and your recovery for the time you need. The good news is that you should also see a pretty big drop on the scale as in your measurements. Which leads to my second suggestion which is to take photos and measurements as well as recording your weight beginning preop. They will help keep you motivated later down The road when the scale stalls. The third thing I would suggest is to check out an App that allows you to record your progress. The Baritastic App lets you record everything from food and water to vitamins, exercise, measurements, weight, and even your bowel movements which will become something that you think about more than ever post surgery haha 😆 and it is fairly easy to figure out. I wish I had started before my preop or my surgery. Also, make sure that you have whatever stool softeners, laxatives or soluble fiber your team suggests on hand and begin whatever preventative measures they set for you immediately post op. When you are in the hospital don’t hesitate to tell them if you are in pain. And Walk ALOT. Especially if you are in pain. It doesn’t matter how fast you go, it’s just the movement. I promise you that passing gas is your biggest goal in terms of relieving pain and the walking helps with that.

Got my new Walking Shoes today and they are really cute and Super comfy. I’m pretty excited that I did my first big walk tonight. I was a little nervous about how I’m going to look all sweaty and gross walking around the neighborhood but I’ve decided that’s something I’m just going to have to get past somehow and I did it. This is for me not anyone else. I only went 30 minutes and it wasn’t super fast. According to my watch it was 1.26 miles but so far I’m not hurting!! I haven’t walked around the neighborhood in so many years so this is a pretty huge thing for me. When I had my sleeve I did the treadmill and that got boring so it didn’t stick. I’m hoping that this is something that I will keep up and maybe it can lead to biking or something else eventually.

Yes! So I would use disposable 2 ounce cups to help me and I also have baby spoons. But I find that it’s easy to eat fast purée. And next thing you know you’re at your limit. 100% understand

Got my HOKA shoes today. Pretty fast shipping from the manufacturer site. They shipped the next day and arrived two days later. They look just like they did in the picture and they fit perfectly. I have walked around the house for like an hour and so far they are really comfy. LOTS of padding on the bottom compared to my everyday Sketchers. Almost put a Spring into my step. Guess I won’t really know for absolute certain until I wear them for an actual walk but so far so good. 😊

Ahhh is anyone eating too fast during pureed phase and then suffer right after 🥲🥲🥲 because it's so easy to eat so I just swallow then it punishes me EVERY TIME. Do I even lear

Wow you have progressed so quickly. I know each plan is different but holy cow that's so fast! "General food time" for me isn't until 6 months post-op. Congrats to you! Definitely listening to your body is the important thing going forward. I'm in the puree stage, but I'm sticking more to the liquids at this point because I'm nervous about the fact that I'm still not getting full signals. So I really don't want to push myself too much.

Around the 4th month. I started with small toasts types to dip in hummus. Some breads are easier to eat than others. For example, sourdough is very easy for me versus other types. Maybe cause it's fermented. As @Arabesque said, it does fill you up fast though & can give you a heavy feeling.

You are not a failure, obesity is a complex disease. It often requires many tools to tame. There’s no shame in that. As a person who has had both VSG and RNY, I can tell you first hand that If you are relying on further restrictions to help you *may* not get that. Almost always the pylorus is bypassed so no there will sphincter holding food in your sleeve creating that classic VSG full sensation. However there are a lot of behind the scenes biological changes that *may* happen but you won’t know how you will respond until after surgery. The new class of obesity med may help immediately (if you can afford them). They are spectacular. In the time it will take you to go through referrals, appointments, testing and waiting for a date, you may lose the weight. They work that fast. Of course there are risks, some who cannot tolerate them or are very slow responders but the beauty is you can decide week by week if it’s worth it. If not, nothing permanent has been done. That’s the other issue. These are permanent use meds just like HRT or TRT. Maintenance doses are still being fiddled with by individuals so what permanent use looks like may not be weekly. Do a ton of research and ask your Bari/weight management team (if you still have one) what they think. Good Luck!

Really starting to feel like I am in a groove getting in all of my fluids, protein and vitamins. It’s no longer a huge struggle I have to constantly think about. I take my calcium with my morning proffee that I drink first thing that gives me a really good start at 20oz fluid, 30g protein and one vitamin down. (Just take the vitamin with the last sip as opposed to the first if your vitamin has a lot of iron) and I mix in a spoon of soluable fiber so I get that over with as well. While I’m drinking it I get out my three calcium’s for the day, take my stool softener and take my daily rx meds. The rest of the day is pretty easy. I don’t get up at a set time so I just make sure to wait at least two hours to take my calcium’s and just fit in all three like an hour before I plan to go to bed at which time I take my second stool softener and the magnesium she added for muscle cramps. If i am going to be out for the day I will set alarms for the calcium’s and put them in my purse during my proffee. . A long time ago I created alarms for every half hour of the day so that it’s super simple to just toggle on whichever alarms I may need in the morning and when it goes off I just have to figure out what I’m forgetting 😆 You may have to turn off the ”everyday” function so when you turn it off it’s really off but doing that has helped me with everything I have to remember since I get distracted pretty easily. This would be way easier if you get up at a set time because you could turn on that everyday function and set the alarm once and it’s done from then on. At this point I’m only reminded of the pain a handful of times throughout the day. The only thing that is still not easy for me is the 30 minute rule. I know that I was supposed to do that forever after my sleeve but around the time I gave up hope on that I started back with drinking while eating and it’s a really hard habit to break. I do find that if I brush after meals and swish water around and spit it out it helps some. Next step is soft foods I am so looking forward to this stage and at the same time anxious I will overdo it too fast. I believe I mentioned before I am a rule follower and prefer more structure “soft food” is a bit vague for me. I survived it last time, though so I’m sure it will be okay I really hope everyone else is recovering well if early out and starting to get in their groove as well if they are a little further out. Any tips that you guys have worked out to remember it all?

Hi, on LRD and wanted to check that it’s ok to have slim fast for breakfast and lunch and a low carb high protein meal in the evening? still counting calories etc. also, supplements and vitamins what and when I should start taking them? thanks

Try G. Huges...2 or none I can't remember carbs, no added sugars ..5 calories. I use it for marinating.. Or just to add flavor. I haven't had a sauce from this brand I don't like. My favorites are the teriyaki and the chili Thai dipping sauce! You can find them at Walmart...but you have to be quick they sell out fast! I add them to everything for flavor. They make: Teriyaki Bbq sauces Shrimp sauce Ketchup Thai Dipping sauce Yum yum sauce (chick filet sauce) and a lot more!

@draikaina8503 - It sounds like the struggle has been super real for you, and I hate to hear that you've had such a tough time. I didn't have a drainage tube because of the type of surgery I had (as far as I know, unless it was only used DURING the surgery itself). The staples are a pain; and bending or stretching too much causing pain is 100% something I empathize with you in regards to. I was really nervous about showering with them in as well, but honestly the warm water from the shower set to a gentle pressure did feel really nice. I also used the special soap they gave me when I washed my staple area lightly with a washcloth. I was afraid of using a loofah thinking it might snag or something. I also feel where you (and others) are coming from on the fluids and dry mouth - I still find myself super relieved when I can finally have a drink 30 mins after a 'meal'. I will say that as long as I keep my intake moist (super soupy purees or broths) that it isn't TOO bad - and I definitely have to watch how many ounces I intake for my meals. I eat slowly, but when the food tastes good and I'm eyeballing my protein goal it's HARD not to want to try to 'finish' my serving. I learned my lesson with my oatmeal this morning, though. It sat more heavily on/in my stomach after I ate than I expected and I struggled to have a few burps that relieved the weight and pressure I felt in my chest. Your mention of letting ice chips dissolve in your mouth helped me today - the cold really did slow my intake and provide relief. I hope you're starting to feel better now! I created a sort of 'routine' for my mornings that I think is working pretty well, though. I try to only have a sip of water when I first wake up and them immediately prepare my breakfast. With purees that are thick to the consistency of yogurt there's a trick where you basically just swallow your meds a couple at a time (if they are small) with a spoonful of yogurt/cottage cheese/medium thick puree. That's what I do to get down my morning meds, and as long as I don't overeat I go to have a brief warm shower afterward. The movements of me showering and standing help get my body to produce a burp or two, and putting my arms over my head when I wash my hair (yes, still some pulling especially on the left side so I have to go easy with THAT arm) does expand my torso and help my food settle. This also take sup some of the time gap I have to leave after eating before I can drink. Usually by the time I'm done with my shower, done drying, and have caught my breath it's almost time for me to be able to sip fluids again. @Pepper_No_Salt I'm still shocked that they sent you home from the hospital on the same day. Whew. I'm glad to see you're been feeling better each day, Moving on to strained soups was a biggie for me and I certainly can appreciate that having been one of your first planned stops! I did the same thing after I got my staples out. Today I am going to try to return to some broth for lunch and wish I had gotten more cans of chicken noodle when I went to the store. Maybe I'll try to season some of the 'cream of' soups I've got sitting around. My first try with them wasn't good, but then again they were room temperature then. Hopefully they taste better next time around! @ShoppGirl @Onemealplan @Greekmom4 @AndreaJD- Thank you all for the recipes and information! I tried my oatmeal yesterday with the whey protein powder a friend had given me and honestly - it was gritty, and I was disappointed. This morning I used part of a vanilla ensure and I used a potato peeler to slice off the exterior of three strawberries I mixed in with it and it was 100x better. I actually ate about 5oz of it super slowly and regretted that as it either expanded or wouldn't quite settle. I wasn't sick, but I was very uncomfortable for a while and had to shower and move around, then stand and take a couple of sips of cold water to initiate a couple of burps that provided some relief. Once I started to feel better I realized that the icy cold beverage helped me, and so I went ahead and had a sugar free popsicle. I took my time with it and found that the cold spreading across the inside of my chest felt very good and now I'm feeling much better. Has anyone had good luck finding an unflavored protein powder that doesn't feel gritty when mixed? Just curious - and if someone already answered this I'm sorry; trying to get caught up but not sit for too long! @CrazyDog&CatLady - Good luck to you on your revision and thank you for sending us all positive vibes for preparation and healing! Also, welcome to the thread! @ShoppGirl - I second what you said a thousand percent about using ALL the coping strategies you can to get through this. I'm having to completely re-learn my body, and in fact learning things about myself I never realized or understood before. The feeling of 'full' does echo my feelings of 'anxiety' and I've found that I'm extra sensitive due to that in the hour after I have a meal. I've also found that just like with the walking to get the gas worked out I also need to walk around a little bit after my meal to get my food to sit properly. Additionally, I'm learning the importance of remaining UPRIGHT until my stomach has settled past a meal. It's not even 'going to sleep too soon after eating, it's being at too little of an incline. I've woken up two nights in a row with heartburn in the wee hours that I can only attribute to drinking something maybe too fast before going to bed, or sipping at an incline rather than sitting up completely to deal with my dry mouth during the night. I do space my calcium out to later in the day and have been taking my multi w/Iron and ADEK about an hour after my breakfast. That seems to so far be working to stave off any nausea I would get from taking them on an empty stomach. Thank you for explaining about the B12 injections and congratulations on overcoming your anxiety giving them to yourself! Sorry if I missed anyone - I've hit my cap for sitting for the moment. Best wishes to all and encouragement to those who have surgery in the coming days! If I recall we have two having surgery tomorrow, yes? Another set of 8/21 surgery buddies? I'll try to recap and review later!

How are you now? Was anything found or done? I’m concerned about the pain and the blood. I did have intermittent pain on one side like that and it was a small intestine hernia. Lying on my back felt more comfortable and I fasted from solid food while in pain. I only got an operation when it reached full blockage and was vomiting “coffee grounds.” I never had the “coffee grounds“ knowingly come out the backside. I’m still very concerned for you. I would ask for a blood test to rule out cancer.

Okay that milk of magnesia works miracles. I thought it was still going to be a strain but it wasn’t bad at all and it worked so fast. Like two hours or three maybe and I started with the lower dose. I am so relieved because my anxiety had me half believing that I had an obstruction. Thank goodness that is over for now. My NP said if I want to cut back from 2 stool Softeners a day I should do 2 then 1 Back and forth for little while before I go to Just one. But she expects based on what I have explained I probably need two until I am able to eat some fiber and more fluids.

It’s intermittent most days i can manage 42 oz comfortably but 64 is a stretch my surgeon left the prog so waiting for sb else - Kaiser sucks with replacements

It's really hard to deal with some of the changes. I remember a really rough night. In waves a snapple peach tea. I was like 1 month out so o I drive to store and all I can find is diet snapped lemon. I bought that and like one other diet tea and brought them home. Remember this was about 22 years ago now. I opened the Snapple (glass bottle) took a sip, hated it and just lost it. I was outside my apartment building and threw the bottle out of frustration. It hit the building, shattered and I started crying so hard, over an iced tea I could have made at home if i had thought about it really. But I was so upset it was after me hating so many sugar-free items. I was just so frustrated. Fast forward to today and I found things I like and have adapted slowly!

Thanks. I had my one week post op today and the pathology came back and I did in fact have gall stones. My surgeon did not discuss the channel length with me. Nor did he give me the option to resize my sleeve. He believes that the risks are too great for the difference it would make for me but he did also do several tests to get a good picture of my sleeve before we landed on the SADI as opposed to the bypass. Perhaps if my sleeve was larger he would have steered me towards the bypass. My surgery was robotic this time my sleeve was just laparoscopic I’m curious now what my channel length is. Not that I really know what would better one way or another. So it turns out that my pain was almost entirely from gas because I was in a great deal of it until the morning of day when I finally passed a lot of gas and with each time I felt more and more relief. I did walk quite a bit but in retrospect I would’ve walked even more if I had known how much better that toot was going to make me feel. I walked everytime I got up anyways, like to pee brush my teeth or when they woke me up in the middle of the night even. I finally pressed the issue that they switch out my IV pole machine thing. Mine had a very weak battery and even being unhooked that short time while I walked it depleted it so much that it set off alarms they had to come shut off. It was super annoying for them as well and I felt like they were acting annoyed with me as if it was my fault for calling them rather than just accepting that beeping going on all day and night. I am a super light sleeper and it went off other times too so I finally said don’t you have other patients that don’t have to unhook it so many times a day that you could switch with mine. They did and we were all happier for it. Anyways, grab that iv pile and walk walk walk. It doesn’t matter how fast you go, just that you do it. And if you have to toot or belch do not hold it in no matter what. I don’t care who is on the room. Get it out and explain later. Although the doctors and nurses should understand anyways. That was really tough for me but after the relief the first one brought I didn’t care anymore. 😆 I forget. Do you have your date Yet??

The only reason I suggested the stages is to give yourself time mentally to adjust to the changes little by little. It won't do anything for your pouch, but trying to change everything all at once, or even too fast, can set you up for failure. Yes, it's on you now. But really, it's always been. You just didn't know it. We rely on the restriction and the small size of our pouches to tell us when to stop eating, or what not to eat, or how often we can eat. But the food choices are still on us. Slider foods, foods high in carbs and unhealthy fats, high in salt and sugar...that's still on us. Slider foods, alcohol, sodas...that's still on us. So if you want to skip the stages, that's fine. But get yourself ready mentally to make the changes you need to make. You still have your tool. You just have to relearn how to properly use it.