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I was a week past op yesterday. Still another week of liquids. Goo#for you exercising. I'm walking, which is about it, but a major accomplishment for me.

Good luck today @Kakinse ! Hope everyone post op is doing well! One week post op for me today and I'm back to work as of this morning. I am just working from my home office today but I'll be commuting into Seattle tomorrow. Still have the remnants of gas pain at the top of a deep breath but it's manageable. No pain meds except Tylenol for the past 2 days, and I removed my JP drain tube (under nurse instruction) myself on Monday. That was the weirdest experience! Full liquids until Saturday, then pureed food for a week for me. I'm looking forward to chewing something but that's more mental than hunger. Seems I've been fortunate with the (lack of) hunger hormone. I have my post op appointment via telemed this afternoon and I'm hoping to be able to get on the Peloton for a few minutes at a time starting today. Cay

All - Thanks for the great responses. It gives me faith in this forum that I can ask a question and get real answers, without worrying about the negative crap and the shaming you might get in a Facebook group or other forums I have been in. Today is my last day of my "Week 1 Clear Liquid" stage so I wait till tomorrow to choose a few items from my "Week 2 Full Liquid" stage. I'm still a week away from oatmeal and bananas. The clear liquid week, as sucky as it has been, did allow me to lose 10 lbs so far. So I'll call it a win.

Everyone is 100% right! You are doing great! I just came out of my first stall so I can totally empathize with feeling like you're failing. Like everyone said, stay the course- this will end and you'll get back to losing weight. You're body just needs to restart. Stay as far away from the scale as you can for the next week or 2.

Things are still going good. My diet is open to all foods. The biggest challenge this week was my water. I need to limit my water 30 minutes before and after I eat. Very challenging. It has impacted my overall water intake. My goal is 120oz per day. I have very few food limitations at this time but still limit my red meat intake. I’ve had a few once’s of steak but that’s about it. I’ve been eating a lot of seafood. Pre Surgery Weight = 336 Surgery weight = 330 Current Weight 304.2 The weight loss has certainly slowed up but I still haven’t been completely stalled. My goal this week is to increase my water intake. Good luck everyone. If you’re on the fence about different procedures, I recommend you look at ESG. IMO a very easy procedure.

AGREED! My dietician is the exact same. He made and posted a video in our support group a few weeks ago about this exact thing. No one is going to successfully live off of chicken and broccoli forever. The point is to learn moderation. He went on to talk about a patient that is 4 years post op and has maintained her weightloss and eats a regular ice cream sandwich every weekend for a treat. Because she does it once a week and has 1 rather than every day or having multiples. I still have the occasional treat but on a drastically lessor scale than before surgery. I don't use sugar free condiments because I barely use them anyway. You have to find what works for you, and the chicken and broccoli diet does not work for me. I have lost 100+ lbs multiple times this way, always gaining it back. I am committed to a normal healthy diet which includes everything and some things in moderation. Learning and maintaining portion sizes and continuing success. Good luck to us all!

The pre-op diet is absolutely the worst bit. No one enjoys it, but it's thankfully brief, even though it doesn't feel like it in that first week! Bear in mind that you're likely going through some manner of food withdrawal, which always hits the emotions. Anxiety is also normal before any surgery, even when it's not your first time - but as Catwoman said, you'll be fine! This is a safe surgery and you'll be in good hands. There's a whole team in the theatre with you dedicated to keeping you safe. Echoing Arabesque's recommendation of getting a bariatric therapist to talk to. Managing this now will help you post surgery. The first couple of months can also be challenging, especially for folks with emotional attachments to food.

re: the fear of dying = banish that thought. You're not going to die. Weight loss surgeries years ago were dangerous, but they just aren't anymore. Techniques have vastly improved, and these have become very common, routine surgeries. They're really no more risky than any other abdominal surgery. The mortality rate on gastric bypass is 0.3 %. It's even lower for sleeve. So you have at least a 99.7% chance of not dying. Those are excellent odds. Better odds than hip replacement surgeries, and they do those all the time. Honestly, you're more like to experience complications and death by remaining obese than you will be having the surgery. the pre-op diet is tough - and the first few weeks post-op can be tough, too (although in many cases, the pre-op part is worse). But you'll be through this before you know it. I would have this surgery again in a heart beat. No regrets whatsoever.

Hello dear, I hope you are well. I have been hitting stall after stall. I have lost 28 pounds since my surgery on 22/4. A little disheartened. I will be ok 🤍 sending you all big hugs

I'm at 1100 to 1200, as well. The weight loss has slowed down to about 1 lb. a week, but anything less than 1100 calories and I am ravenously hungry now.

I'm sorry that you weren't feeling well. The first week or 2 are the worst. Tomorrow will be a month from my surgery date and I am feeling great . The first 2 weeks were hard. i could barely take in 24 oz of water a day. I do get heartburn now which is strange to me because I have never in my life had heartburn before now. I get it a minimum of twice a day now. Luckily I am prescribed an acid reducer and that usually seems to help. Things are so much better now. I am still on the puree phase of the diet, which is a little infuriating when I am cooking for the family and cant have any and I am still struggling trying to get my fluids in as well. But I do get the importance of treating my healing body better and, like everyone, I am doing my best.

Hey... I had my VSG on 4th April, 2022 (so nearly 4 months ago) For the last month, I've been eating around 1100 to 1200 calories a day. The weight is still coming off at approximately 1lb to 3lbs each week. Including my 2 week pre-op diet I've lost 66lb so far... I've got another 45lb to go.

For me I am only supposed to take in 400-600 calories until I hit stage 4 after 3 months. Then it’s 600-800 calories til 6 months, then 800-1000 from 6-12 months. After that I should be 1000 - 1200 calories for life. I’ve seen others go up to 1000 this early so it could have to do with starting weight, amount to loose, etc. but I’d double check that. Aside from that, there is a well known stall around week 4 (some have it at week 2 or 4). Stick with the program your surgeon gave you and you’ll be fine.

Keep telling yourself! I know it’s the hardest thing but if you can stay off the scale it might help. I find it so hard not to be jumping on every 5 minutes but when I stay off for a week I am so much more healthy mentally! I lost 4lb on pre-op diet but I was not full liquids - mine was low carb diet, only stopped eating actual food at 6pm day prior to surgery. My surgeon sent me home with a photo of my healthy liver (kinda weird seeing your own insides) so I guess I did something right. I don’t know how much I’ve lost since but I’ll hop on the scale tomorrow as I have a post op appointment. When is your surgery? Three days’ time? Best of luck with it! cay

This is really true. It depends the food, what surgery you had, how it was done, how tight your esophagus is etc. I find that I can eat one serving of most foods at a time too. Usually like 1 egg and I feel full. I can however resume eating within 1-2 hours pretty easily but you have to be careful not to eat too much throughout the whole day if you need to take a break in the middle of your meal. Sometimes I need a break after two bites because it feels so tight in my throat. But yeah then there are foods I can eat more of like salad, cheese, and bread. I can also eat more than the recommended serving size of chips or crackers but that tends to make me very nauseous so I avoid it. Pureed foods like refried beans, light soups, and yogurt I can eat in large amounts but again I don't because it makes me nauseous. For example today, I had a protein shake for breakfast and felt fine for 4 hours. Then made lunch as i started feeling low energy. made a sandwich for lunch with some protein chips. I use low calorie low carb small slices of bread (45 calorie slice) 45 calorie slice of cheese and 40 calories worth of plant based lunch meat. I got through a bit over half of the sandwich and three chips from a 160 calorie serving bag. Won't finish it, feel satisfied and know if I went back for more I'd start feeling nauseous. Sent from my SM-G975U using BariatricPal mobile app

Omg SAME. I had compacted stool within 3 weeks post op and almost went to the ER. Dealt with it myself saved myself a fortune in ER bills and my pride. It's still bad but not as bad as it was 1-2 months post op. I still have stomach pains, bowel pain, feel sluggish and nauseous from how backed up I get. Sent from my SM-G975U using BariatricPal mobile app

I am working from home the week or so after, I am hoping that part doesn't hit me too hard.

The primary functions are 1) to allow time for your surgical wounds to heal (this was MAJOR surgery, you don't want to push it) 2) to slowly integrate foods to prevent sickness/overeating 3) to allow time for you to learn your new body and adjust to your new eating habits. That being said. every surgeon has their own pre- and post- op diet requirements and there is no use comparing one to another. The ASMBS does not have hard and fast recommendations on the food plans, so surgeons are left to devise their own and they can vary wildly. Mine were both extremely restrictive, with the pre-op lasting 2 weeks and post-op being 8 weeks. Regarding the WHY of what you can/can't eat and when, reach out to your nutritionist and see if they can provide some insight on what they recommend what they do. We could all speculate, but ultimately, that guidance is coming from your team an thus the justification should as well.

The whole reason is to let your new stomach heal. You just had major surgery and your stomach was basically cut up and stapled. It needs time to heal from all the cuts and inflammation. Eating solids right away after surgery stresses your stomach out and you can potentially cause a perforation. But every surgeon is different in regards to pre op and post op diet... For me it was 2 weeks of liquids only after surgery which i did to the letter. after that i moved onto small foods on week 3 which was scrambled eggs and canned tuna. and i ate very small amounts at a time. Some cant handle soft foods yet so soon. I am currently 3 months post op and i can eat anything i want without issue. Let that stomach heal properly and you shall be rewarded lol

I wasn’t prepared for how my body was gonna feel first two weeks post op when you are completely malnourished.(I had very strict diet) I never expected to feel so bad…wiped out…drained..no tolerance for daily activity.

I'd like to know the reasons/purposes of the post-op diet and the different stages. I am following my instructions exactly. I think. I hope I'm doing it right. Now, likely all y'all know that a clear liquid diet sucks. The guide I was given says I have to be on the clear liquid stage for week 1 and I have 2 days left. But I have heard others only having clear liquids for 1-3 days. I'm doing well and I'd like to try a few things that are on my list for week 2 if it isn't going to hurt me. Which leads me to the question. What is the purpose of the clear liquid diet? Am I on a clear liquid diet to allow my new sleeve stomach to heal or is it so I won't have issues with reflux, heartburn, nausea or gas? If I knew, maybe I'd try a little of the food from the next stage. Or at the very least, not worry as much when I try to decide if my soup is as clear as it's supposed to be. In two days I graduate to a week 2 full liquid diet. The guide doesn't use the word puree', just full liquid. Is this the same thing or no? According to the guide I can add cream soups (strained). premade Protein shakes, sugar free pudding, V8 Tomato juice, low fat yogurt and Fat free milk. This is much better than week 1, but by the end of week 2, I know I'm going to start looking ahead to week 3 and want to try something from it. Week 3 is really not much different. Just adding bananas and oatmeal. But I can add unsweetened fruit to my smoothies. And, then I see this. NO GRITS & NO POTATOES. Really? Don't just say I can't have it without telling me why. What harm is going to come from potatoes, other than carbs/calories? In week 4, I am finally allowed to have cottage cheese. Not that cottage cheese is something I have to have, but I would love some right now with my clear liquids. I can also finally have well cooked beans and veggies, as well as 2% milk. Then I see, NO RICE & NO GREEN PEAS. Why? Again, I assume its starches and carbs from the rice, but tell me why... Week 5 I can finally have a scrambled egg.. Finally I can have an egg? In week 6 I can finally baked fish. Why not week 5? And then they say, NO HONEY & NO DRIED FRUIT. Why? Again, this is mostly my curiosity. But it frustrates me that they did not give me much (any) background information. I will continue following the guidance they gave me, I mean I'm dropping weight daily so it's working. But when I go to my follow-up appointment next Tuesday, I'm going to bring up some of these specific questions. I know this was a long post, but if any of you can shed some light on any of the questions I have, please feel free.

Ive only got 3 weeks left but wish I could keep it forever. I’ve lost 3 stone in 13 weeks - the sickness was awful for the First month and the heartburn has been crippling. That said the more weight I lost the easier the heartburn became and now I’m worried that I will go back to my old ways - I really hope not.. good luck to you and let us know how you get on

Let the angels sing hallelujah, my surgeon said I can have a cup or two of black coffee in the mornings during my pre-op diet the next two weeks and post-op (if tolerated ok) - I can give up a lot, but coffee was going to hurt 🙂

Congrats on your smooth recovery so far! PS: Those Bariatric Advantage chews are disgusting. Actually, i tried muleiple brands. They are are unbearable, for me anyway. I know some people like the Bariatric fusion brand. They were the best of the worse for me. I still couldn't stomach them daily. Luckily I was cleared for pills and large capsules at 2 weeks. Good luck, I hope you find something you like.

I have not started iron yet. I think the bleed stopped because a week ago my hemoglobin was only at 6 and now it is at 8! Whew!