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To be honest, my meal plan has been a bit sporadic... I've struggled with the infamous foamies on and off, so there was a period of almost 2 weeks where I maybe had one meal every 2 days and spent the rest of my time drinking as much as I could. I drink a 12oz Powerade every day and also keep a water bottle near me at all times. I have a 40oz bottle and usually get through 2-2.5 fills a day. 2 weeks ago, as detailed in a previous post, I got really bad and for about 4 days or so was barely able to drink half a bottle a day... I ended up in the ER with 2 bags of straight saline and a banana bag. Since then, I've been doing really good and in all honesty, been eating small quantities of just about anything I wanted. This past Sunday, I had a bunless hotdog for the first time since surgery; Wednesday I caved to a deep craving and hit up Taco Bell. I ate just over half of a beef burrito (should have stopped sooner but it was so good I lost control... not going to do that again). Today I had 3 raviolis with a little bit of shredded cheese and pasta sauce (that was my third time having ravioli since being approved to try anything). I don't drink protein shakes anymore, honestly, I haven't had one since surgery, I couldn't stomach them at all. Also, obviously those were not my only meals through the week, just the only ones that might not necessarily be bariatric approved. I guess it hasn't effected me much on the scale, I weigh in twice a week, Mondays and Thursdays... Monday I was 236.2, Thursday I was 231.4. So I guess the Taco Bell didn't kick my ass as bad as it could have.

I've collected some electronic binders throughout my research. I posted in another thread, but figured there are probably many more people that could use things. It's awful that some surgeons/programs aren't providing their patients with such a valuable research. So click on the links below to get your own binder. _Gastric Sleeve Binder.pdf bariatric-patient-binder.pdf Gastric Bypass Binder.pdf Gastric Sleeve Handbook 2.pdf

First, I love this thread. SO many great ideas. I haven't purchased anything yet, but my Amazon cart is filling up like crazy. My dietitian gave me samples of the Bariatric Advantage Multi-Vitamin and Calcium chews. They were both yummy so I'll be buying those for sure. I love water, but have heard others say after surgery there is only so much plain water they can drink before getting sick of it. So I'll be buying some sugar free flavorings and I've also found several flavors of PowerAde Zero that I love. Second and most importantly, I've collected several binders from my surgeon and some prospective surgeons. I'm attaching it here for any one interested. _Gastric Sleeve Binder.pdf Gastric Bypass Binder.pdf Gastric Sleeve Handbook 2.pdf

My gall bladder and I parted company 34 years agom FYI I was going to be tested for malabsorption because i was passing fatty floaty stools then someonevremembered I DON T HAVE a gall bladder. Eureka! Stop with the high-fat meals Frustr8 and you'll be all better! Besides if you are heading to Bariatric Surgery why are you stuffing that down your risy red tube anyway? Oops THEY CAUGHT ME! A slap on the hand👋to ME!

tHey fellow weight loss peeps, thought I'd come visit for a minute, nothing shaking over on the RnY side where I belong. Just watching the prelims for the Megan-Price Harry wedding. Got a question for all of you. Now that,you are in the final days of presurgery, do you find yourself looking at people in the crowd around you? I do and say to myself "hmm I wonder if they know about bariatric? " mind you I haven't said anything out loud because I might have resented someone getting in my face and preaching about it, now looking back I wish someone who lived me had and saved me the rapid arthritic breakdown and sorrow. My own family rationalized I was a lost cause, so just let her die 5he way she is. But them maybe my mindset was different than 5he woman or man on the street. Let me know what you all think!😙

Good morning! This week I had my 6 month check-up with the oncologist, a 6 month repeat echocardiogram to check on the status of the fluid around my heart and the fibrous growth on it, and my 3 month visit with my lovely bariatric surgeon! Yeehaw! Talk about killing multiple birds with one stone!!! All appointments went great! My onc was tickled pink at the progress and thought I looked fabulous. He was so happy--I've seriously never seen him so happy and smiling so much! And he does truly love the idea of me getting down to stay between 140-145lbs. He said, "Don't regain!!!! Cuz that can mean TERRIBLE things for recurrence." So yes, there is that. LOL. My surgeon was so happy and all smiles. She's very pleased with the progress and the amount I've lost and told me to keep kickin' it and add weights as soon as possible. I won't know about the echo until my f/u at the end of May if there was an improvement in the ejection fraction or change in the fluid. So then, I developed a UTI and started taking Macrobid for the first time. Started it Wednesday. Holy CRAP! Can you say debilitating nausea? It's got so bad yesterday that I could only force down 43g of protein and 375 cals. And 30g of that was from a Premier shake. Hoooo doggey, this stuff is mean. I couldn't make myself take the second dose last night. NO vitamins yesterday either. I just couldn't even think of doing it. I also developed an itchy hivey patch on my arm yesterday--so I'm thinking it's not a good option for me. Called the doc's office this morning and am waiting for a call back on medication change. I'm betting he'll bring the Cipro which I'm not too pleased about either. OK, MORE medicine issues. Ran out of my calcium citrate capsules (doc says I can take them even though they are a blend of calcium citrate, calcium malate, and calcium carbonate with 85% of 1500mg coming from calcium citrate) from Solaray (Vitacost). They are so easy to swallow, and I take 6 per day for 1500mg total/daily. So I subbed the store generic of Caltrate (calcium citrate) Petites--but holy smokes, even those are huge and cause some scratching on the way down! Yuk! Big yuk! So I remember somewhere reading that you can dissolve your calcium honkers in liquid and take em as a shot. Elegant solution for a crappy problem! I think it's thanks to @James Marusek for this sage advice? Cudos James! So I did it and voila!!! Instant dissolve! I've had my first 2 today in my morning protein latte. They dissolve well, and are only slightly gritty but do-able to not have to swallow those horse pills! I have to take 8 per day to get my 1500mg (plus a little) as opposed to 6 per day of the Solaray combos. The petites are about .05 more per day. We'll see. She's doing labs so we'll see how I'm doing. All-in-all, good things! Oh, I forgot to post my 12 week dinner pic. Made grilled chicken for me and ribeye (on sale) for Mr. F. I tried a bite of steak again. I was able to tolerate it, tasted great, but it wasn't my favorite. Felt pretty heavy in Iron Will. So I will wait 2weeks or a month and see what happens then. 12 Weeks - Grilled Chicken, Grilled Ribeye, Steamed Broccoli w/WF Sesame Ginger Dressing, Avo & Tomato Salad 2 1/2oz protein, 1/4tsp EVOO, 1/4c cooked veg, 1/4c salad (avo/tom) Nutritionals: 217 cals; 25g protein; 9g fat; 8g carbs; 2g fiber; 6g net carbs; 2g nat. sugar

I'm scheduled for June 4th as well! My doctor is allowing me to do 10 days preop liquid diet instead of 14 so I'm happy about that! I'm stocking up on proteins and bariatric goodies!

Hello again all! It’s been a few weeks since I posted. Things have gotten somewhat better, as I learn to live with my new stomach. Your encouragement was a great help! However, I’m now 6 weeks & 1 day out from sleeve surgery & can only fit about 25g (1oz?) (1 Tbs) of food at each meal. Though this does depend on what it is I’m eating (yogurt I can fit in about 60g). I’ve stopped trying to eat chicken & tuna at this point (as it was sitting really heavy in my stomach) & I am sticking to soft cheese, yogurt, egg etc. for 2 - 3 meals, along with my protein Coffee concoction & a protein shake/soup per day. I plan to try again in a week or two, thinking it might be due to swelling still? Is it normal to be this far out & not be able to eat anymore than a Tablespoon of food? I use a bariatric meal timer & chew extremely well. My plan says I should be ‘aiming for about 1/2 a cup’ Per meal, but that is impossible! TIA!

Hi everyone I started my journey back in November. Saw a nutritionist who referred me to my surgeon. I’ve done three visits with a dietician, a psychiatric evaluation, a sleep study, two surgery seminars (two-hour long orientations that go into every detail about lifestyle changes and surgery options), and i finally got a surgery date!! Surgery June 13, pre ops June 5th (one with the surgeon, one with a bariatric nutritionist, and one with the hospital). I guess they want you to be REALLY prepared. I’ve been overweight my whole life but really let myself go in the last five years. Im 5’2” and my highest weight was 260. I’ve lost 40 lbs since then. I took the phentermine prescribed by my nutritionist for a few months, but didn’t like how it made me feel so stopped. It did help me lose about 20 lbs. Ive made huge changes to my diet and started going on 30 minute walks every day during my lunch hour. I recently added ankle weights to help build muscle. I’m tracking caloric intake carefully, as well as closely monitoring my protein, fat and carb intake. I have been trying to sip water to prepare for after surgery but am finding it challenging. Another thing I HATE is chewing my food thirty times. I don’t know why but that’s been a tough adjustment. I’ve started taking hair skin and nail gummies to prevent hair loss post op, and I’ve purchased some bariatric chew vitamins for after surgery as well. I only need to be on clear liquids for two days before surgery and I get two weeks off work. Anyway, good luck to everyone on this journey! I’m sure we are all nervous and excited and ready to feel good about ourselves again.

They found H. Pylori and I can’t stop thinking about how the heck would I have ever gotten treatment for it had I not been trying to get surgery because I felt perfectly fine. On another note there’s nothing to worry about even if they do find anything like an ulcer a hernia an infection or whatever it won’t delay your surgery they’ll treat it or fix it while they do your Bariatric surgery. You’ll be ok [emoji108] Yo-Yo Girl from New York City

What a small world my mother's maiden was Hubbell, our ancestors came from Ribsford Parish in Worchester, if you have any ties to there we are indeed distant cousins, the branch who at the time of the American Revolution and became United Empire Loyalists(known in the US as Tories) and moved to Ontario Canada, spell theirs Hubble and are the family the Hubble Telescope are named after, Curious, when doing further research we found out my father's ancestors came from Lancaster so both branches came from within 60 miles of each other. My paternal greatgrandmother, Mary Scott, came from Edinburgh, and from her came probably the Celtic red-gold hair if not the Malones in Northern Ireland , on my maternal side. In my youth I stood just under 6 feet tall, taller than either parent, now my bariatric surgeon says I'm 5ft8in so my spine must shortened down or my weight drug me down. I currently am at 320 or so, down from 355, a nice weight if I were hurling a caber at the Highland Games but more than a mite too heavy for day to day life. Still I have lasted for 72 years and with surgerys help I pray to last a little longer on this earth. I will talk on most any subject, if you have any more questions about bariatric surgery I'll do my best to help. I have trying to receive it since August 2015, quite a story there,but have had plenty time to do research. May not know it all😝 but I do know a fair amount! And in the meantime⏰ I am chief cook,🍳 bottlewasher 🍼and cheerleader📣 for everyone else. If you want to chat I'm always in reach of my smartphone📞And I too will be having RnY bypass--- within a month or 6 weeks in Columbus Ohio. Until later!

I know. She's leaving June 1st. That said, Jessica seemed nice, but she really just quietly observed and didn't really interact with me after introductions. She looks like she is still in college (maybe she is graduating this month). So she probably doesn't have a lot of experience with bariatric patients. Hopefully we can still learn a lot from her!

I think everyone goes through this. But at the end of the day....Sadly, what it comes down to....is being more afraid of parting ways with your life, your health, your mobility, your ability to participate in the lives of the people you love. I get thinking that it's not that bad yet... And I totally understand the idea of....I did this well with diet, why have the surgery? Look at statistics. Research this question: What percentage of people keep weight off with diet and exercise alone compared to bariatric surgery? It's not a magic bullet. You can still regain. You might not make goal. But statistically? You will lose more weight, and you will keep more off permanently....with weight loss surgery. It's your best hope. It gives you the best odds. It's a safe surgery. You can do this.

Hello Gents, Really appreciate this is a guys only forum and will not be contributing to posts and won't post again other than to respond to replies. I am here purely as a researcher. Please see a snippet of my original post below. I was wondering of any of you would be willing to speak or communicate with me on this? I have so far had all ladies responding to my general post and I think you might have a different angle which I am really keen to capture. Would really be a shame to miss out such an important view point. Takes only about half an hour via call, mail or Skype - at my cost and is fully anonymous. You can pm me on here or reply to the post and I'll be in touch. Really appreciate your help, thanks Rachel. "I was banded 10 years ago and have been a member here since then. I am still maintaining my weight despite having the band removed which I know is unusual. As a result I have developed a real interest in what happens to people's identity following all types of bariatric surgery, so much so that I am formally researching this issue as a Masters level student pre PhD in Psychology. I experienced some really interesting changes as a result of my surgery and have seen many people have struggles and succeed over the years. I think understanding that process better may help others - including support services, to navigate their journeys, through what can be an exciting but equally as tough time personally and that's why I am doing this. Our very kind forum founder Alex Brecher has given his approval for me to carry out my research on the forum".

It's great but after surgery I hated the taste. Going to start using it again this upcoming month. It's 48$ for the women's complete bariatric. It don't taste bad it was just my taste buds being off the wall after surgery and the thought of more liquid I couldn't handle.

Practicing eating mindfully and making small changes to start was really helpful to me. I found the book by Michelle May, Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat for Binge Eating, to be very useful. There is a companion workbook for people having Bariatric surgery.

We understand your concern. Most of us have the same problem. Don't box yourself into a corner thinking that you've got to have everything figured out before surgery. This is an on-going process of learning and behavior modification. In some ways, our new "tool" is the teacher, i.e. dumping or foamies UGH! In addition, find local support groups. Mine has a speaker every month and lots of people with whom to discuss the ins and outs of life after surgery. Start going to those meetings now. Take advantage of every learning opportunity provided by your doctor's office. You never know when an "aha!" moment might hit! Most of all, if your insurance covers it, try going to a counselor that specializes in eating disorders. It's even better if you can find one with bariatric experience. I plan on seeing a counselor to work through my food issues, because, like you said, that's how I got here.

Hi Debbie! I am also from the Boston area, and MGH is an amazing establishment. I did not have bypass, but I did have the sleeve 2 days ago that also consisted of a hernia repair (although she said mine was small). Truthfully? You are going to be fine. It really is going to make a HUGE difference. The gallstone thing, that is a possibility. I would discuss it with your surgeon. I actually had my gallbladder removed several years ago due to acute attacks and they are NOT pleasant. They may decide to remove your gallbladder alltogether. But recovery is what you make of it. If you don't follow the guide book from your surgeons, then recovery CAN be difficult. But if you do, it can also be amazing. A few rough days followed by living a new life. This tool can and will open so many doors and windows for your life that you never knew existed. Again, MGH is amazing. If it hadn't been a PITA for me to drive into Boston for each appointment, I may have gone there. I had Dr. Julie Kim who is the cheif of Bariatric Surgery at Tufts and Mount Auburn and she was AMAZING.

Did anyone have gastric bypass and at the same time fix a hiatal and umbilical hernia. I have been fighting like crazy to avoid surgery and I know in my heart this is the surgery that will probably be the best thing in the world for me. FEAR has led me to believe it will be me who gets a stricture or me who has gallstones or me who has nausea and vomiting everyday or any other random negative thing. I suffer from anxiety and panic disorder and this is probably the 3rd time I have been in a Weight Center and every time the topic of bariatric surgery comes up, I fly right out the door. I was told today I have a small hiatal hernia and I feel like I have been given the final sign that it's time for me to "Grow Up" and realize it's what is best for me to do and have the surgery. I developed high blood pressure and chocked it up to "ok a pill will help," developed being pre-diabetic and put on metformin which does a job on my stomach and said "ok, this will prevent me from being diabetic(full blown). Now after being in the ER Monday night for a kidney stone, I was shown on the CT-Scan, a small hiatal hernia along with an umbilical hernia I developed a year ago. Sorry for the novel but I am at my lowest point and I needed someone to tell me "you can do this and come out ok". I know recovery is a tough road and it will require everything I have to not scare myself to death but I truly don't want to live this way anymore. I'm from Boston and will be at Mass General with some of the best doctors in the world yet the fear doesn't leave me, I'm sorry to vent and write a novel but I needed to write down what I'm feeling

I'm doing the Bariatric Choice all in one chewable 4x per day, along with a B1 pill in the morning, and B12 every 5 days. The chewable is about $22 per month and is quite reasonable. I had my 6 month checkup last month and all levels were where they needed to be.

Thanks for the encouragement everyone. I have to start the vitamins next week. Any suggestions. My doctor has the bariatric advantage chewable that he sells in his office. They are pricey though. Any suggestions on how to get quality ones but cut some corners with price? VSG Surgery: 5/14/17

Not me! Im June 4th too - and I tell everybody I’m having bariatric surgery. Ive shared with Family and friends and coworkers and in my other circles. I don’t announce to strangers lol but I’ve been very open. I’m excited about it, looking forward to sharing my experience and results, and don’t care what anyone thinks!

I am 72 years old probably,last time I had BMI of proper level? 12 years old 110lb--5ft7in Bariatric Surgeon's,Goal weight 135-135lb. My Dream Goal Weight 175lb Acceptable Goal Weight

Hello my fellow bariatric bro’s. I was sleeved Monday the 14th. I did the 3 month pre-op diet and the week of clear liquids. I must say I’m proud to have come this far. I debated weight loss surgery for about a year. This sipping on liquids is taking some time to get used to but it’s still early on. Just went on an 8 minute walk. Here’s to hoping my belly doesn’t get loose and hang like an apron [emoji23]🤣 Looking forward to sharing experiences with everyone. I started out at about 329. Highest weight ever. Surgery weight was 292.

Welcome! My suggestion is to contact your insurance company and ask them to send you your policy for bariatric surgery. Then add a month to that for approval and scheduling. :-)