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Hard agree. One cracker will mean nothing unless it's right before surgery. But more than that will. I hope you can stick to the pre-op diet from here on. I was meant to have 2 weeks on liquids pre-op but that turned into 6 for various reasons. It is by far the worst 6 weeks I've had to experience in the almost 3 years since I signed up for this surgery. It's really really hard not to have SOMETHING with texture in your mouth. Please do know that it will not be long until you can again.

Hi! I'm new to this forum but definitely not new to this journey! I'm a mum of three adult kids from Newcastle region in NSW Australia. I'm an RN and have gone back to University for more torture (learning lol) I was sleeved in August 2021 and was successful in losing weight for 6 months before I plateaued and then stopped. After extensive investigations from my surgeon and other surgeries, I was booked for a revision and underwent my mini bypass with single anastomosis on 19th August 2024. I'm recovering well and would love to provide support (but not medical advice) to others who are considering undertaking any kind of weight loss or bariatric type surgery.

I am so glad you had a lovely week! What did you have for your anniversary dinner? 😍 The weather at the moment is awful isn't it 🤣 Literally we are just predicted heavy rain & thunderstorms in the South East! Not particularly keen given that I have 0 clothes that fit so I am severely underprepared 😂 I am so happy to hear about your clothes fitting & how happy that made you - genuinely put a smile on my face! You are doing so well ❤️ I still haven't been to the gym but my excuse this time is that my boyfriend is having to use my car for work and therefore I can't get there in the mornings until I get it back tomorrow haha. But, hopefully, I'll have someone coming with me so we shall see! Have a good rest of the week ❤️

New Week New Wins! Ladies and Gents look forward to seeing your weeks Wins!

Oh, that’s so awesome and really great that you were able to get someone else to pay for it!! Im so excited for you. It Definitely feels like me time plus I think I’ve mentioned before but after I’m done exercising and I get home I really do not want to put any garbage into my body. It makes me want to eat healthy and it just gives me energy and improves my mood. Hopefully it does the same for you well, I got the all clear from my surgeon at the support group meeting last night to start my yoga class so probably Tuesday I will be starting that and one of the girls that’s further along in my support group had asked me if I wanted to walk with her at our meeting last month and I never reached out to her, but I told her last night I was trying to work my way up to where I wouldn’t slow her down too much but we’re going to start walking together like once a week just for different scenery and a chance to chat. I figured that once a week is enough to be on a super strict schedule. I will still do my walking in between, but I don’t do it at the same time every day and my schedule fluctuates so much. It’s hard to think of that with another person’s schedule. But between the yoga class and walking with her once a week and if I do the group fitness class that will be five days a week right there and then I still do my walking by myself in between that’s a lot actually. I’m just starting with the yoga, though the group fitness says in the description that it’s cardio and I don’t know if I’m ready for an hour of cardio quite yet

I was supposed to have my surgery Dec 28 last year. I had the option of taking a last-minute cancelation the Monday of Thanksgiving week, but when I told my mom (whose help I needed with my kids), she was totally against it. Said I would ruin everyone's holidays if I had a terrible recovery and kinda made it all about everyone else. So I gave up the date, even though it pained me to do it, because I didn't want to be selfish. A couple weeks later, my hospital discontinued their surgical program and canceled my date. I was devastated. I had to rebook with a different program, which was still affiliated with the parent organization of my hospital, but unfamiliar to me. I didn't end up getting my surgery until February. It was very stressful and I was pretty angry with myself for not choosing what I wanted instead of what other people wanted me to do. Having said that, it did all work out for the best in some ways. Apparently, the November surgery date would have been right after the doctors at my old program were told the center was closing, so maybe that would have meant the surgeon wasn't as focused going into my surgery, which could have been dangerous for me. And I would have had to do all my follow up with a different program, which would've been awkward. And I appreciate that I knocked out my deductible in February so have had full coverage of all my tests and appointments all year. I actually have a biopsy I have to get done next month (not related to bariatric surgery) and that won't have any out of pocket costs, so yay for that. On the other hand, my recovery was pretty much text book, so all my mom's worries over me ruining the holidays with a terrible recovery were baseless. I was pretty self sufficient and back to about 80% functioning by the end of the first week. And 8 months post-surgery, the holidays are rolling around again and guess what? I still can't eat more than a tiny plate of turkey breast, a few green beans, and a bite of pumpkin pie. I still won't be baking a million cookies or drinking a pint of egg nog. So, whether it happens this year or next, your family will have to figure out how to navigate around your new normal. If it were me, I would decide based on what makes financial sense (your deductible, etc.), what works for you with time off work, and would probably avoid the two weeks right before Christmas just because you will need some time to recover in peace without holidays adding to your stress. In retrospect, waiting until February wasn't such a big deal, though, so if you do have to wait, it will be okay. Just make sure you do it for yourself and not for everyone else.

I had to start to keep a list of what I wanted to discuss with my GP & what scripts I needed on my phone because I always forgot something. Love the notes app. Took three appointments to remember to ask for a referral to a dermatologist until I started writing a list. Ugh! Damn menopause mind tricks & general aging. 😁

I did keto a lot before surgery, it was vogue as we’ve all done a million diets in our lives... It works, but cravings. The preop and post diet are similar. Just way more liquids. For the fatigue and headaches, broth was the key. You would dehydrate rapidly and would suffer without the salt. The sugar detox is real, often once it passes you are a ton less Hungery. For those like me, and sugar can start the cravings. 100% agree with others who posted. It takes me about a full week for those to stop. Distractions help, exercise helps, just going to bed helps. I am always less hungry after mild exercise, mostly sweaty and thirsty. It helped stopped the food focus more than plain distractions. Heavy exercise increased the hunger the next day. This might sound crazy, but I had to constantly know when my next meal was. Lunch done, wait 2 hours then sugar free jello, then 1 hour and sugar free popsicle, then start to prep dinner, etc. knowing I was eating something in 1-2 hours helped. I tend to panic eat. Food was scarce as a kid and I tend to stuff myself if it’s not readily at hand and I’m hungry… my next meal is 3 bananas as fast a I can shove them in and I remain food panic triggered and have to talk myself down. I’m working through my hunger panic. I’m 100% not super thin now, I’m huge and need help… it’s why we are all here. :). To give and get support. And trying to not be a clean your plate club, eat any meal you are offered, all meals need a dessert, eat till you have pain and call that “full” kinda gal. I’d also make sure I got all of my sleep. I’m a 10 hour person. Plan a small exercise before you know your mega Hunger hits (I’m lunch). A 15 min walk helps divert my blood to my limbs and gets me craving fluids. Call your food what it is. A popsicle is a dessert. A pudding is a dessert. Sometimes reframing these help, ok in 2 hours I’m having protein pudding as a dessert, followed in 2 hours by a dessert popsicle. We are all different, so need different things. If after dinner I have a popsicle every night before bed, I call it dessert and I always know it’s coming and I will be getting more food… and I’m ok not being as full at dinner. This.. might have been too personal, but… helps me.

I'm only two weeks post op and it doesn't hurt to eat unless you eat too much. I've learned pretty quickly what "too much" is so it's not painful to eat. Just eat slowly and your restriction will stop you from.being in pain. My mother had bypass in 2008 back whe it was standard to do an open procedure. She was able to eat almost anything and she wasn't in pain when she ate 15 years later. If they are 3+ years post op and still in pain when eating, they are probably either not eating correctly or they should speak to their surgical team.

I did keto a lot before surgery, it was vogue as we’ve all done a million diets in our lives... It works, but cravings. The preop and post diet are similar. Just way more liquids. For the fatigue and headaches, broth was the key. You would dehydrate rapidly and would suffer without the salt. The sugar detox is real, often once it passes you are a ton less Hungery. For those like me, and sugar can start the cravings. 100% agree with others who posted. It takes me about a full week for those to stop. Distractions help, exercise helps, just going to bed helps. I am always less hungry after mild exercise, mostly sweaty and thirsty. It helped stopped the food focus more than plain distractions. Heavy exercise increased the hunger the next day. This might sound crazy, but I had to constantly know when my next meal was. Lunch done, wait 2 hours then sugar free jello, then 1 hour and sugar free popsicle, then start to prep dinner, etc. knowing I was eating something in 1-2 hours helped. I tend to panic eat. Food was scarce as a kid and I tend to stuff myself if it’s not readily at hand and I’m hungry… my next meal is 3 bananas as fast a I can shove them in and I remain food panic triggered and have to talk myself down. I’m working through my hunger panic. I’m 100% not super thin now, I’m huge and need help… it’s why we are all here. :). To give and get support. And trying to not be a clean your plate club, eat any meal you are offered, all meals need a dessert, eat till you have pain and call that “full” kinda gal. I’d also make sure I got all of my sleep. I’m a 10 hour person. Plan a small exercise before you know your mega Hunger hits (I’m lunch). A 15 min walk helps divert my blood to my limbs and gets me craving fluids. Call your food what it is. A popsicle is a dessert. A pudding is a dessert. Sometimes reframing these help, ok in 2 hours I’m having protein pudding as a dessert, followed in 2 hours by a dessert popsicle. We are all different, so need different things. If after dinner I have a popsicle every night before bed, I call it dessert and I always know it’s coming and I will be getting more food… and I’m ok not being as full at dinner. This.. might have been too personal, but… helps me.

you are fine. Most people seem to lose somewhere in the 7 - 11 kg (or 15-25 lb) during the first MONTH, and you've lost 10 kg in six weeks, so you're absolutely in the normal range. I lost 16 lbs (7 kg) the first month, so I was probably exactly where you are at six weeks out. I went on to lose over 90 kg (200 lbs). (you will always find people who lose less or more than the range I stated, but they're either outliers, or they started out at MUCH higher BMI's than most of us have - such as the people on shows like "My 600 lb Life"). Your nurse and doctor are fools. I had a resident tell me the same thing when I was a few weeks out, and I wish that jerk could see me now!! I'm sure I lost much more weight than most, if not all, of the people who went through the program when I did! rule #1 with this is; don't compare yourself to others! Your rate of weight loss depends on so many things, only a couple of which you have much control over. Age, gender, metabolic rate, what percentage of your body weight is muscle, genetics, starting BMI, whether or not you lost a lot of weight before surgery, diet, and activity rate are all factors. How much you're eating and how active you are are really the only things you have control over. Do well with those, and the weight will come off, whether fast or slow. But don't forget - 10 kg is six weeks is completely normal. Just carry on and don't listen to foolish crap like this. EDITED to add: I lost weight for 20 lbs. Yes the first month tends to produce more loss than following months, but just like with regular diets, that's because some of it is water weight. One kg a week is pretty normal after the first month - but that'll gradually drop as you approach a normal BMI.

22 pounds in 6 weeks is awesome!! How many times have you lost almost 4 pounds (1.8kg) a week on any diet in your life or been able to stick with it for six weeks? Seriously, you really have to work just as hard at the mental part as you do at the physical. The mental meaning stay away from the scale as much as possible, and don’t compare yourself to other people because their situation is entirely unique like others have mentioned even if someone had the same starting weight as you you don’t know their age their activity levels, there medical history, all of that plays a role in it. I have seen people on here who have continued to lose beyond 18 months even. Like any other obstacle in life keep your focus on the aspects that you actually have control over and try not to worry about things you don’t.. Congrats on joining the gym, big step. I really hope adding more movement makes you feel as amazing as it has for me. I am still concerned about the weight part obviously but I’m telling you that feeling as good as I do, I’m not focused on it nearly as much.

I’m 6 weeks post op and I eat faster then the 30 min I have tried slowing down but I can’t do it any tips that will help I am worried I’m gonna stretch my stomach

Well today was round 4 of my chemo and immunotherapy and steroids, etc. Messing with my tastes a bit on certain stuff Things don’t taste gross just not good. I came home and i did chicken breast with a little ceaser side salad and a tiny bit of spinach tortolini. I know that last one was not ideal but it made the meal go down easier if that makes any sense. I guess it’s a balance for now to get the rest of what I need in nutrition wise and it was cheese filled so still protein. 🤷‍♀️ I am about to go eat some mixed fruit now for my snack. I also did five miles walking and tomorrow morning I have yoga. I think that getting my nutrition and exercise is really helping my body deal with all of this because I did the stringer one up front so it’s been two months and i don’t have alot of side effects yet. The doctors are pretty amazed. Knock on wood I am able To keep it up because I had to do that BRAT diet for a week and I could feel myself getting weaker and my sleep was off and I wasn’t wanting to exercise. I am REALLY trying to keep to my habits as best as I can. I hope everyone else is doing well with juggling their bariatric journey with “life” as well.

2kg according to google is 4.7 pounds. That’s a lot for a week for most people at this point. Unless they have a higher starting weight. I mean of course some people do lose that fast but I don’t think it’s the norm just like some people lose it really slow. We will all get there though. As much as our bodies want to fight to hang onto it, it really just can’t with how little/healthy we are eating. Congrats on your loss. It feels amazing, doesn’t it.

It’s not particularly common but it does happen. I actually “eat” every three hours. Something small And I have seen others on here who eat every two hours but they are much further out from surgery than you and me. Also, this is something small and it’s all protein high protein food so if you log all of the calories and macros you can eat more often but still stay on plan. Maybe run this by your team. My nutritionist that I talked to you before my surgery did not think it was a good idea but the nurse practitioner said it was actually fine so long as I wasn’t eating more portion wise than I was supposed to while everything healed. I think the problem with it would be in the future as portions grow a bit if you’re eating five meals a day then you are eating five bits more instead of three bits that adds up faster. as long as you know that you’re able to control the portions and the quality of the food that you’re consuming your team may be on board. In the meantime, check in with yourself to make sure that it’s not what we call head hunger. Are you tired, lonely angry or bored or anything like that when you’re feeling hungry? If so, then talk to your team about that and maybe try journaling to get your feelings out or an alternative behavior such as working on a puzzle or craft or something like that. If that’s not it, there was a lady on here years ago that struggled with hunger that never went away, and she tried everything to get to the bottom of it. In terms of it being head hunger, and it didn’t seem to be she finally said that one thing that helped was warm liquid such as soup, broth, or tea or warm coffee. Another thing is there is not a whole lot of protein in one egg. I know your pouch is small and you can’t consume a lot food wise at this point, so maybe you need to supplement that protein with a little bit of a protein shake in between. I actually have what I call proffee for breakfast for that very reason. I am able to consume an entire protein shake over time with added chilled coffee and that keeps me full until lunch. Of course, don’t go against your teams plan without discussing these ideas with them, but hopefully something here helps. You have to remember that they give you a cookie cutter plan when you start out. But you are very individual and it’s possible that what they gave you just doesn’t work for you so make an appointment to talk to them sooner or email through your patient portal and tell them what’s going on. My suggestion would be to log what you’re eating and your activity and show them so they can have a better idea of what’s going on. I used a Fitness watch that is connected to an app on my phone for my activity and the Baritastic food app, which is free on the phone, but there are others as well. Also, pay attention to your mood or feelings because a lot of of us are emotional eaters. I know that I turned into food a lot of times out of just boredom. But also stress and anxiety. Basically, I realize this by sitting there with my hungry feelings for a few minutes and thinking about what had happened that day and whether it was particularly stressful or how I was feeling about it. If you really take inventory and it doesn’t coincide with emotions, though it is possible for the hunger to come back sooner, it has happened again just very uncommon. It will be easier to explain to your team if you have done a feelings inventory and tried a journal or really thought about if you were, I can’t remember there’s an acronym, but I think it’s stressed, lonely bored or tired. Something like that. After reading the comment above, it reminded me when I was early out. I did not eat food, solid food that often I had shakes in between. Also, yes, it is possible that it’s stomach acid too so ask about a PPI if you aren’t on that already. And please don’t just adjust anything without talking to your team because I don’t even know what surgery you had and everybody’s situation is different but you could run those ideas by them.

I'm about 4 weeks post op so I don't have a lot of smaller clothes. I'm trying to go as long as I can without buy new clothes because I don't know what size I will settle at. But I really like these jeans because they are skinny cargo jeans. I might just buy these in 2 different sizes just in case. I also find leggings not being tight annoying. My problem has always been that I'm too short for standard leggings so I would need a size 22 leggings but they would be too long. Now they are baggy and too long. But I've always been able to wear legging a size smaller than jeans or trousers because of the stretch.

Yea I’m just now 8 weeks out and my back is already starting to hurt too. Part of it for me is the extra activity but I know that part of it is also my body trying to readjust to being smaller. I actually told my hubby that I’m going to ask the NP if she reccomends chiro or massage or anything else. I feel like I need to do something.

You’re not going to feel the restriction until you are much further along in your healing (takes around 6-8 weeks) & eating solid foods. A lot of nerves are cut or damaged during the surgery so messages simply aren’t getting through or are distorted if they do. The staged return to eating is to protect your recovery and to ensure you don’t damage your healing digestive system (think of all those sutures and staples holding your tummy together- I believe it’s around 12inches of sutures+staples with a sleeve. You should only progress your stages if your surgeon advises you to. It’s also one of the reasons why we’re advised to eat slowly and are given portion sizes we should stick to. Also remember that liquids go through the tummy much more quickly than solid food so you don’t really get full in the same way as you know sipping your shakes slowly. Purées go through a little more quickly but nothing like solid foods.

This weeks win: I am a diabetic but since loosing over 100 lbs my A1C is within Normal range and I take no more diabetes medicine. A lot of people don't know that most diabetics of color have dark rings around the neck called acanthosis that is a first sign indicator of insulin resistance. I was cleaning my neck with some witch hazel and noticed damn I do not see that black ring anymore. Major Win 🏆 .

Yes its a scary journey but we did it. Its doable if you keep your nerve. Join us. After the first few tough weeks you will be more than happy you did it. You have worked so hard already, harder than a lot of us. Good luck

Hurray! We’re off to London this week 🤩 The past couple of weeks have been a little stressful but I managed to get last weeks 2.5lb gain off plus almost a lb more so I’m happy. I just want this to be a ‘normal’ week - no hospital appointments, worries or stressing over weight. I know my weight will go up but so what? We’re having a mini-break in a posh hotel, just the 2 of us. It can give us some badly needed time together where we’re just us, no work stresses (hubby) or health concerns etc. I think sometimes we lose sight of ourselves as an actual person and not a collection of ailments and anxieties over different things. Clothes are out and ready to be packed. I’ve tried to go outside my comfort zone a little and not just take the fat woman’s uniform of leggings and tops! I’m not taking dresses or skirts, purely because I haven’t managed to perfect getting on and off my scooter in a semi-ladylike way without flashing my wares to unsuspecting passers-by 😜 I have tried for a more dressier wardrobe so we will see. Nails to paint this afternoon and then hairdressers tomorrow. It’s nice to have that bit of a pamper (which we all deserve) I did manage toenails yesterday without making a complete hash of it so I will take that as a NSV as I was actually able to reach them, for once! Have a thoroughly wonderful week everyone. Onwards & Downwards!!

I would be confused too. How a dietician could say that anything over 800 calories will make you gain weight is just ridiculous. Here in the UK it is guided at 2000 calories a day for an active woman and 500 calories more for a active male per day. For information - To maintain my weight I need to eat around 1600 calories a day. Anything less and I drop weight. I don't exercise, just walk and apart from one day a week where I volunteer, I am retired. I still have a fair restriction on my sleeve. So my advice to you would be go back to the dietician, check the facts, ask for a diet sheet and if they want you on 800 calories it must be so you can drop quickly. It does not sound sustainable if you are active. I could do this diet for a short time because I cook from scratch, log everything religiously and can cook and plan ahead. So this is what my 800 calories would look like - Breakfast, 2 eggs scrambled in 1 calorie spray oil [ PAM ] and 200mls of full skim milk for my coffee Lunch, 2 cups of Vegetable soup made without starchy vegetables, so no potatoes Evening meal, 1 x 6 ounce chicken breast, side salad with calorie free dressing and a 7 ounce jacket potato I hope this helps

I am asking for your help/advice. I am a physical therapist and I underwent my own bariatric surgery in 2022. I am looking to develop a unique bariatric program that provides exercise programs and support to people undergoing rapid weight loss whether from surgery or from medication. If you guys could answer a few questions for me it would be greatly appreciated and would help me build my practice! 1. Did you exercise before surgery? And what was your biggest challenge? 2. Would you have benefited from a preop physical therapy appointment to develop a customize strength training program that took into consideration your current limitations and orthopedic issues. 3. how were you educated on post operative activity and physical restrictions? Would you have liked a week by week guide on what activities you can return to and when? 4. Were you educated on exercises to maintain muscle mass through your first year postoperatively? 5. What kind of exercises did you do postoperatively in the first year? Did you hire a personal trainer? Join the gym? Search online? 6. Did you develop any new or worsening musculoskeletal pain as you were more mobile and your body composition changed? 7. Let me know if you have any other ideas on how having a physical therapist on your bariatric team would have benefited you both before and after surgery. Thanks so much everyone. I may be piloting this program with a few patients. Email me if you’re interested (I’m licensed to treat in N.C.) contact@localpointpt.com

I never stopped taking stool softeners twice a day since surgery and I'm over a year out. I was concerned to continue as I didn't want my body to become reliant on them but I was told softeners were not like a laxative and only brings more water into the intestines to keep things moving regularly and avoid constipation. With a laxative your body becomes dependent on them. Big difference. The last thing I want is to get constipated and have a weight stall because of it. I haven't had one day of constipation so there is no need to stop taking them. It will not harm you to do so.