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Hi! I totally forgot about this thread, I used to post on it regularly, thx for reviving it! Anyone have ideas for greater calories per ounce, without resorting to junk food, until I can accommodate more volume? When I reached goal, I stressed about stopping weight loss...it was a bit of a challenge (both mental and physical) to change modes to get more calories in. I didn't want to up my carbs, nor eat "junk food". And my restriction didn't really allow more volume. So I resorted to avocados, nuts & nut butters, full-fat everything, olive oil. I also ate alot of chicharron (i.e., pork rinds/cracklings), yeah, its not the "healthiest" and is really high in fat, but its relatively high in protein, was sorta a slider for me, and I wasn't worried about my fat macros (I never really was). It took me about 3 months to figure out what my maintenance cals were, and I lost a further 10+ lbs in the process. What are you maintainers' macro mix? I'm currently about 40% carb, 25% protein, 35% fat. At 1900 calories, that's 190g carbs, 119g protein, 74g fat. Or do you not track macros so closely in maintenance? During weight loss phase I did ultra-low carb (i.e., less than 25g NET carbs a day), 60g protein, and let the fat fall where it may so long as I was below my calorie goal. In the very beginning maintenance, I still aimed for 60g protein, and allowed myself 50g NET carbs. Now at 2+ years out, my carbophobia has greatly decreased, and I only care about total calories. I do try to reach 60g of protein, but I only probably reach it 60-70% of the time. Any thoughts from those more experienced than me would be appreciated. Ok, the following is just my opinion/experience, and may not be for everyone, but it is what it is: I don't consider myself a vet yet, as i'm only a little over 2 years out, so this may bite me in the ass later, but so for it works for me. YMMV. I've come to the realization that the ingestion of carbohydrates makes little difference in weight (for ME). What it does do is make a difference in how I look. When I am low carb-ing, I look leaner. This is good for my body cuz I can see more muscle definition, but bad for my face, as I look skeletor-ish. In terms of weight, all that matters (for ME) is total calories. Regardless of what my diet consists of, so long as I stay around 1800 calories (given my current activity level). I will not gain nor lose weight. Of course, If I eat 1800 cals of butter tarts all day, I may not gain weight, but I'm sure I would be doing some sort of damage to my overall health. With that said, i do eat "junk". Not in such large amounts as pre-surgery, but junk nonetheless (I also eat "healthy" stuff of course), but I prefer to keep my cals at 1800-ish no matter what I'm eating. My restriction is still alive and kicking (as is my dumping response) so I don't really eat a lot at a time. BUT I can definitely pack more in than I did when I had just reached goal (which was VERY little). I've been maintaining my current weight (give or take 5 lbs) for about 1.5 years. P.S. my latest labs (taken in November last year) came back satisfactorily, so I must be doing something right. 🤷🏽‍♀️ P.P.S. sorry this was so long

All, I'm 6 months out and getting so frustrated. After being stuck/bouncing between 180-186 for several months, I finally (and very suddenly) dropped to 174. No idea what I did differently to make that happen. I hit 174 about 3 weeks ago and it lasted a few days, but have since regained a few pounds and am now been bouncing between 176-179. Again, no idea what I'm doing wrong or differently. I've kept to nearly the same diet/same types of foods for months. High protein, low carbs, low sodium, low/zero sugar, lots of water, etc. Any suggestions on how to kickstart the weight loss again? I'm down about 70lbs and about 40lbs from my goal weight, but I'm starting to lose faith. 😞

I didn't even tell my husband until about 3 weeks before surgery. I had told 1 friend because she has also been considering it and she was the only one who knew up until I got my surgery date. Then I told my husband, my boss and 1 person at work who had the surgery last year. My kids found out about a week before and my in-laws 2 days before. I still haven't told my parents and I am 2 weeks PO. Once my weight loss is obvious, if people ask, I will tell them. I am not ashamed of it. I just didn't want to jinx anything. I literally wasn't approved until 60 hours before I had to be at the hospital for the surgery.

I had a revision in October 2020 for GERD. Unfortunately, I'm one of the people who "dumps". It's like clockwork - I eat something with high sugar (cake, cookies, candy) and 2-3 hours later I'm bloated, very gassy and the diarrhea starts. I've never experienced any dumping with artificial sweeteners. The good news is, I know what causes it, and it's all my fault! I shouldn't eat that stuff as it has no nutritional value. My surgeon told me that I should learn from my mistakes! Classic conditioning sort of thing...… you eat the wrong stuff, you end up dumping. I'm almost 4 months post op, and I'm trying to change my relationship with sweets so I can maintain my weight loss. The great news is that the GERD is GONE!!!!! I can actually sleep through the night, don't have to suck on a cough drop and eat handfuls of antacids every night and I feel wonderful.

My doctor told me that the "cold" is because of the rapid weight loss. Our layer of fat (insulation) just below the skin has disappeared due to weight loss, thus feeling cold. I live in Florida and even 70 degree days require a sweater when I go outside! Socks are a must. Gloves and a hat if its windy or below 60. Crazy, but I love it! Sure beats being hot and fat!

So I have been in this situation before where I have decided that I do want the surgery then backed out. So I have been for a consultation this past Monday. I am 5'10", 220lbs so my bmi is 32ish. I take medicine for diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. I would have to be self pay even with the comorbidities. Its $10,000 @ Alabama Weight Loss which is near where I live. I have been reading where some people dont feel the restriction after surgery and its easy to eat anything. Should I save the 10 grand and maybe try the preop diet to jump start weight loss then do a high protein low to zero carb diet? So on the fence about this. I was sure my mind was made up this time.

lots of people have revised, so some may chime in here. It usually does resolve GERD (although not always -- tracyringo, who's on here, hasn't seen any improvement yet, unfortunately) - but for most people, yes - it stops it. most RNY'ers don't dump (the statistic that gets thrown around a lot is 30% of us dump, although I don't know if there's any hardcore medical research behind that number. However, I've been on bariatric boards for the last six years, and I know a lot of us don't dump - so that number doesn't surprise me. And no - you don't dump on Splenda or other artificial sweeteners. Just sugar - and for some people, fats (although I should add that some artificial sweeteners, esp sugar alcohols, give some people G/I distress - but that's true of normal people, too - not just WLS patients). weight loss supposedly isn't as fast or easy with revisions as it is with virgin surgeries, but some people do manage to make their goal.

I was 47 with a 35 BMI, the minimum my insurance would cover. Looking back, I would have had the surgery at a lower BMI to avoid the negative feelings I had about myself as my weight continued to grow and dieting continued to fail me. After a certain age, which is different for all of us, our metabolism slows making weight loss much more difficult. This surgery is the absolute BEST thing I've ever done for myself physically. Prior to the surgery, I shared many of the concerns others share on this site. While I never suffered from eating disorders or food obsessions, I certainly loved to eat and eat well. I cooked frequently for myself and large groups of friends, and my lifestyle is social -- most of my social activities revolve around eating and drinking. So what has changed? Nothing, and everything. I still love to eat, and I still love what I eat. Other than pre-surgery and the first 2 months or so after, I haven't counted calories, haven't tracked macros, etc. The pre-surgery diet, although it felt brutal at the time, was extremely beneficial in getting my mind used to smaller portions. Knowing that I could do it, even with my whole stomach intact, was empowering. The post-surgery diet, which included counting calories for ~2 months, and more importantly accurately portioning my food (½ cup, ¾ cup, etc.), allowed me to gauge what a "sleeve" meal should consist of and look like. My social gatherings still revolve around food and drinks. I still cook for large groups. I still eat whatever I want. Pizza, pasta, French fries, etc. In that respect nothing has changed. I didn't drink alcohol for almost a year, but now I have a glass or two of wine almost every day, plus the occasional vodka (Deep Eddy Ruby Red vodka with water -- in Austin, TX they call it "pink crack). What has changed is that I mostly only WANT to eat things that are high in protein and otherwise healthy. Rather than wake up and drink 2-3 Diet Cokes, I drink water all day, every day. And not only do I not miss the soda, I crave the water. I carry it with me everywhere. If I've portioned correctly, I stop eating when my plate is empty. If I happen to add more to my plate than the recommended amount, my stomach tells me I've eaten enough before my plate is empty. I have more energy, I feel stronger physically, and I don't hate the mirror or the camera. FOOD: I eat every 3-4 hours. Breakfast is typically either: 2 eggs + 2 strips bacon, or a bowl of Kashi Go Lean high protein cereal with Fairlife (higher in protein) milk. Sometimes I go wild and use Fairlife chocolate milk on the cereal - LOL! Lunch: if not leftovers of last night's dinner, usually it's 6 Triscuits with lunchmeat and cheese, or 6 saltines with chicken or tuna salad. Not sure why, but 6 seems to be my magic number when it comes to crackers. If I want a sandwich, I eat a sandwich, but I buy those little party rye loaves with the tiny pieces of bread and I always toast them -- like a grilled cheese sandwich, but with meat and cheese. I will add horseradish to roast beef, or chipotle mayo, spinach leaves, tomato slices, or whatever. You'd be surprised how flavorful and satisfying you can make a tiny little sandwich. And I savor every bite. Dinner: Salmon, chicken, steak, shrimp, fish -- I have at least one of those every night for dinner, broiled, grilled, sautéed, stir-fry, or occasionally fried in coconut oil. Sides include a green veggie and a starch -- rice, pasta, potato. Those are mostly for my husband. I eat the protein, plus a very small portion of the sides. The fourth meal, either between lunch and dinner, or after dinner depending on what time we eat, is the same as what I described for lunch. I don't prioritize fruits or veggies, but I eat them when I want or when my body tells me it needs them. I get random cravings for oranges or salad, which I think is my body's way of telling me I need them. Also, I eat every meal now on a salad plate rather than a dinner plate. It's a small thing, but helps with portion control and to combat the visual impact of a nearly empty plate. THE DOWN SIDE: For me, months 3-9 were the most challenging, and mostly with social environments. I'm one of the people who didn't share my journey with my friends. After the third month, the weight loss was drastic. Month after month I dropped size after size. A good thing, right? Of course. But trying to maintain the secret, sit at a dinner table filled with food and friends, and eat at most a cup of food with no wine or cocktail? Sheesh, that was hard. The worst part was having overweight acquaintances ask me about the secret to my success. I wanted to share this amazing gift with everyone, but I chose not to trade the privacy of my personal health journey to become an ambassador for bariatric surgery. Now the questions have died down and I'm just normal me. I weigh myself 4-5 days a week. I hit goal about 8 months after surgery, and since then (21 months) I've gone +/- 3 pounds. If I eat pizza or fries, it's a small portion and not on a regular basis. Same with dessert. I'm actually satisfied with one Hershey kiss. Bizarre. It's like everything our doctors told us -- eat less, move more, eat healthier, use moderation. What seemed impossible to accomplish on a regular-sized stomach became simple with a tiny one. Sorry for this long post. I read everything I could find on this site pre-surgery and it really helped to have so many different perspectives from so many people. Our journeys are all different, and what works for some may not work for others. It's normal to feel nervous. But if you were to tally the regrets on this site, they would mostly be that we didn't take this step sooner.

It's pretty common after weight loss surgery. I'm also much colder than I used to be, wearing heavier clothes and using more heat in the house. My feet are especially cold and I sleep with an extra blanket just over my feet only. I'm not sure if it will go away or not, time will tell I guess, LOL.

48yr male, 6' 3", HW 382, SW 309, CW 213, VSG 5/18/20 I have read this thread through twice now, and can so relate to many of the issues raised. Eating constantly when not hungry, understanding that movement on the scale is no longer the motivator, upping your intake and playing with macro distribution. I hit my original final goal (225) about 6.5 months after surgery, and am now 12 more pounds down from that on the way to a moon shot goal of 210. My NUT and surgeon don't want me under 210. I've increased my calories from 1200 to 1900 over the past 3 months while staying away from sugar. Im also trying to eat real foods and minimize processed stuff too. The challenge now is to slow/stop the loss without resorting to junk food. With my restriction in full force ~9 months post-op, I find myself looking at calorie density. I can eat 9-12oz of food in one sitting and find myself doing so 5 times/day to get my calories in. I have added natural peanut butter, homemade trail mix (no candy/chocolate), and granola to increase calorie density. I have tried some protein bars to get more calories down too. Animal fats aren't tolerated well, but I have done ok with full fat cheeses. My RD says I will likely need to get to 2100 calories to maintain. Anyone have ideas for greater calories per ounce, without resorting to junk food, until I can accommodate more volume? What are you maintainers' macro mix? I'm currently about 40% carb, 25% protein, 35% fat. At 1900 calories, that's 190g carbs, 119g protein, 74g fat. Or do you not track macros so closely in maintenance? Any thoughts from those more experienced than me would be appreciated. This thread has helped me significantly.

My answer would be no alcohol. Not worth the calories - 90 calories for a glass of white wine, 120 - 160 for a martini. That’s a lot of the calories you’re allowed at this stage. The pre surgery diet is the beginning of your weight loss journey & the start of removing food dependencies like sugar & refined carbs from your diet. (Yes, I know, spirits have very few carbs but the mixers often do.) Many programs say no alcohol at all because of the calories, the risk of addiction switching - food to alcohol - & that it has no nutritional value. Nutritionally dense foods should be your focus at all time. Honestly, I had a drink at about month 2 or 3. I nursed that g&t for 3+ hours. I only have a drink about once a month or even less frequently. Not worth the calories & I don’t enjoy it as much. Don’t really miss it either. But it is your choice.

Wow all of these losses are amazing, and give me hope. Congratulations! It's a catch-22 because now I wish I did it earlier, but you're right we are still young!

This is a reply I gave someone about the food loss portion of their post I think it might help you with the being depressed over food. I was a 36 BMI so I’m considered not part of the high club and most people would say I shouldn’t have gotten it which is why only about 5 people know about it and I won’t tell anyone else. I don’t need the Criticism while I recover. “ I’m only one week post op but I can tell you this if you are reading this. The food restrictions how we overthink them aren’t really all that I know we think we will never eat certain foods but there are so many options for those of those that love food. Health is number one but if you google, Pinterest or even just ask there are so many good recipes and substitutes for meals that you can still enjoy the same. Yes we are eating less and not binge eating but it shouldn’t be like that regardless first week has been hard for me but I have spent the time I have no work planning out and researching basically a lifetime of changes. I follow people on social media that have been 1,2,3,4 even 10 years post op and they have their journeys up and what they eat and how they feel and it made me feel great. Even BariatricPal has items that resemble the real thing but are tailored to us. I know it’s not the post you all want to see it is more tailored to the part in your post were you might think you will suffer over food. Honestly I love penne vodka and Pasta and I know I can’t eat a whole plate how I used to but I found ways to replicate good recipes with low carb Keto or no sugar items.”

I first looked into weight loss surgery more than 15 years ago, and my family talked me out of it because of the potential complications. I continued to consider it off and on over the years, but I kept deciding not to do it because I couldn’t stand the thought of giving up everything I loved. Eating was really my main pleasure in life, and I didn’t think I could handle giving up everything I loved — pizza, ice cream, French fries, cookies, even diet soda (my one guiltless pleasure). Eventually, though, I got to the point where my weight was destroying my health and my life. Last year, I was diagnosed with hypertension and diabetes. My mobility was going downhill quickly and I felt so limited in everything, like my career and traveling, because of my weight. I came to the realization that I was giving up a lot to continue living as a super morbidly obese person, and I had to make a choice between turning my life around or continuing to eat myself into an early grave. I decided to have weight loss surgery because I realized that it was worth giving up the food to get back my health and my life. That is a decision that each individual has to make, and the trade off is different for everyone. It took me a long time to get to the point where I thought it was worth it. I encourage everyone to take a hard look at the pros and cons, what they would gain and what they would lose, what they are willing to risk for the potential rewards, and go into it with their eyes wide open. I have now lost half of my starting weight, and I’ve completely turned my health around. My blood pressure and blood sugar are on the low end of normal. I can easily walk a mile and go up and down stairs without getting out of breath or sweaty. I can wear mainstream brands of clothing and fit in an airplane seat with no seatbelt extender (or I could if I were traveling). Giving up the food is a small price to pay. And although I had to give up a lot of my old favorites, I still find pleasure in eating. I cook more now and I enjoy finding new, healthy recipes. I’m not going to lie — I sometimes feel sad when I think about my old favorites that I can no longer eat — but to me, it was worth it. Like many, many WLS patients, my biggest regret is that I waited so long to do it and missed out on so many good years of my life by being morbidly obese.

Hello, I had Slimband put in on 2012. However it gives me SOMUCH difficulty, an no weight loss. How do I join the class action lawsuit. Please advise. Thank you Jill

I don't think anything can really help with the hair loss. Those follicles are already dormant. I've heard various things can help with regrowth, though (not sure about flaxseed oil - I haven't read anything about it with respect to hair regrowth).

I have acid reflux due to the Gastric Bypass weight loss surgery and Sent from my U693CL using BariatricPal mobile app

You have to keep your eye on the prize, and remember why you had surgery. Forget everything else. For now anyway. Concentrate on following your plan and doing what they tell you to do. As hard as it is right now, it is a very valuable time for your weight loss. It will never be as easy to lose weight as it will be for the next 6 months. And remember that recovery is temporary. You'll feel better soon. Follow that plan. Good luck.

Has anyone heard of flaxseed for hair loss/growth? My nutritionist recommend it for me. I have been on it now for over a month but not seeing any changes.

I can only speak from personal experience, obviously, but I wish I had been in the right mindset to do this sooner. I think a lot of people will agree on that. A great way for me to prepare was intensively working on separating food from emotions. That's tough. We use food for all kinds of social rewards, self-comfort, to express love etc. If that's what you're really worried about, that's a good place to start. In terms of 'loss of food', talk to some veterans. Especially sleevers, if that's the way you want to go. I don't think they feel they lost a lot of food, they're just eating a lot less of it.

I am 3 weeks out VSG. The surgery and recovery for me has been much easier than Id feared! I felt worse a few years back after I had my gallbladder removed . I know I am goinig to miss being able to eat what I like when I like but the health risks for me continuinig as I was were too great for me. I had to loose weight and just as importantly KEEP IT OFF or be prepared to suffer the consequences; after years of yo yo dieting I knew weight loss surgery was my best option. Three things which I think have helped me cope with the new way of eating so fare are: Since I had a year delay waiting for surgery (COVID!!) and during that time I did drastically cut back on my then large serving sizes and eat slowly (I always ate on the go!) and only drink at the start of a meal not at the end feel free to contact me if you want to its a big decision you need to be ready

Hi, I’m in the process of getting surgery work up for a sleeve and I have to confirm by next week if I’m going ahead. I’ve been researching the operation and I am overwhelmed with varying opinions, and having difficulty making up my mind. Clearly, I love food, it’s a passion, but my size has always made me unhappy and limited my life. I cannot decide if having surgery will transform my life in a positive way or if I will mourn the loss of food. Can any post op people give me their overall opinion of surgery, if it was the right decision, to help me guide my decision making process? 🙏

My story has been a journey and has a lot of ups and downs. Hopefully I can convey all that I can remember. When I was young I was always large. The youngest that I remember my weight was when I was in 8th grade and was 4'8" and 180lbs. In 10th grade I was 5'6" and 220 lbs and that was might high weight then. I went on medication for ADHD shortly after this time and I dropped down to 175lb and graduated high school smaller than when I went in. Throughout the years following I fluctuated considerably and went between 220 and 175 until I met my wife. Shortly after marriage I had a construction job and dropped to 145lbs. That is the lowest that I have been in my adult life. I have struggled quite a bit with Binge eating and it has affected my relationship with food. In the 14 years since I was 145lb I gained every year and grew to 280lbs. Of course there were times that I dieted and lost weight and times where I was able to maintain my weight but it has been a constant struggle since childhood. My entire family is obese and I have never seen my mother at a healthy weight. Her health issues are one of the reasons why I choose to have bariatric surgery. In fact, my older brother had bariatric surgery about 14 months ago. With all of the health issues that my family has faced, I had to change my mindset of how I ate. Over the recent last few years I have fluctuated between 280 down to 240 and then back again. When I was at my highest weight I lost a job and that affected me mentally quite a bit. I went into quite the depression and finally sought help. This psychologist has changed my life in a way I was never able to achieve. She was able to help diagnose the Binge eating disorder and re-diagnosed me with ADHD. This was the start of my change in my relationship with food. Along with the binge eating, I also never had a sense of fullness or hunger. If I chose I could go without food all day long. Most days though I would eat all day and never calculated how many calories that I ate. At night I would also go back and eat and then shortly after would go and eat more. This was a bad cycle that I have been working on breaking and the diagnosis has helped me with this. 12 months ago I weighed in at 280. After the diagnosis and medication to help, I started to lose weight. I was able to get down and maintain between 250 and 260lbs, just by removing the extra snacking that I was doing during the day. Last June, my wife and I started to have some health issues and we sought treatment for them. I had a hand injury and started to go to therapy for this and my wife had swollen joints and started to get tests to figure out what was going on. My wife and I have both been large and have sibling who are also obese. By August we were able to get a diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis for my wife. After the therapy sessions, I was not getting better and by September I had surgery to resolve my hand issues. At the time of my surgery my wife and I had determined that we should look into and pursue Bariatric surgery if we could as we were told this may help with her symptoms. We found a surgeon and proceeded with getting approved. Since we had done medically supervised diets already, we were able to take this previous diets and apply them to our application for insurance approval. By October, only one month after meeting the surgeon we had our endoscopy and were finalizing the requirements. We were able to submit to insurance shortly after this and were approved within 1 week. On November 11th, 2020 my wife and I both had the gastric sleeve surgery. It has been quite the journey so far. During the Pre-op diet we both lost over 16 lbs. After surgery we have both been about on pace with each other with weight loss. In the previous year, I am closing 100lbs of weight loss since I lost ~20 lbs before I had the surgery. My wife and I are at weights that we have not seen in over 10 years now and are working toward keeping it off. My wife still has quite a bit more to go and I am approaching maintenance weight very quickly and could be at my maintenance weight in the next month or so if the weight loss continues at the rate it is going. The good news is that the health of my wife has improved significantly since surgery and we have both been able to do more physically than we were able to do in a very long time. We are ready for what the future holds for us and are working together to make this lifestyle a success.

Wow 66 is awesome! Your losses are a great reminder that we lose at different rates and not to compare to others. Great work!

Sorry this is kindof long, I’m at a loss and need some advice/encouragement. Hi all, Im a newb! Was just sleeved on 2/10/21 and have had a horrible recovery. I was in the hospital for 4 days and threw up for 72 hours. That was fun /: I’m finally home and I am struggling majorly with getting fluids to go down. It sits under my sternum and eventually ends up behind my molars trying to come back up. I first thought it was my sip size. But I have resorted to a very very small dropper where I’m literally dropping less than 10 mls of liquid down the back of my throat and letting it go down. It took me 3 hours to drink 8 oz today. I was wondering if this has happened to anyone else? It feels like the passage way for the water/broth to go down is the size of a human hair and it just pools in my chest. Leaving me sitting straight up, hardly breathing for 30-45 min because I can’t inflate my lungs from the “fullness.” I’m worried because I’m only getting 30-40 oz of fluid max, and my calories are less than 50/day. I’m not so much worried about protein at the moment, as I am staying functional. I have already lost almost 12 lbs since the morning of sx. Any advice is so very appreciated! And Happy Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday from the Bayou State! (First time in 28 years I didn’t have a single piece of king cake )