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It sounds like your going to be very busy so maybe you wont be so focused on food. A part of my success is attributed to meal prepping- I meal prep every single week. Sometimes I meal prep meals for grab or go or I will meal prep items for those tempting nights at home where I want to eat cereal or something that is not so great instead of cooking. you will get quicker at meal prep too, I used to take 2+ hours now I can whip up my meal prep in 1hour. I also learned to not complicate it. Easy meals can be just as delicious! I bulk prep chicken breast, and ground beef, hard boiled eggs, wash and cut up veggies/fruits, make sure to have Greek yogurt and cottage cheese on hand, It does make life easier when your prepared! Also having better choice snacks stocked up in the fridge/pantry helps too! Cheese sticks, jerky, flavor packets for water (if you like that) protein shakes, protein powder, protein bars (recommend Built bar or fulfil bar), unsweetened almond milk. skinny syrups for coffee...theres more its just off the top of my head these things lol

It does stop sucking. The post op stuff is a beast.....a couple weeks removed from that and most everyone feels much better. First couple of days I distinctly remember the gasses causing some serious shoulder pains and other discomfort.

I had two strictures - at 4 weeks out and again at 8 weeks out. But I was told that they almost always occur during the first three months after surgery, so it's not very likely that that's what's going on with you. If it is, though, it's a super easy fix. Both times I felt like I had acid reflux. The first time I was puzzled since bypass usually cures that. After a couple of days of that, I suddenly couldn't keep food down, so I called my surgeon's office and they told me it was probably a stricture and they set up an appt, but they said if it got to the point where I couldn't even keep fluids down, to go to the ER (it never got to that point). The second time I knew what was going on because I had that acid reflux feeling again, so I made an appt to have the stricture "fixed". I never had any pain either time, though. It was an acid reflux feeling (which progressed to not being able to keep food down when I had the first stricture)

Sorry you are in so much pain. I have a B12 deficiency (pernicious anemia) and a some of your symptoms are what I suffered from before my diagnosis and now when my level starts to drop, though I was diagnosed about 12 years ago so way before my WLS. My anaemia cannot be managed through oral supplements or food (as my body does not break down the B12 sufficiently) but the bariatric multivitamin I take daily and dairy products do help maintain my levels in addition to regular B12 injections (every four to six weeks). I think getting a B12 supplement and multivitamins should be top of your list, if you don't already take them but obviously that is not going to solve all the issues you are having with hernia and such. Make sure you get an appointment with the bariatric team to discuss everything with them and request full bloodwork and then also keep the appointment for the ultrasound etc. Hopefully you will get some answers soon that result in a course of action that will treat the cause and end the pain.

I haven't had any issues with my sleeve. Out of the blue about a month ago I had what I thought was the flu, didn't throw up but had bad nausea and intestinal pain. Then I went to urgent care and they said I was dehydrated and gave me Zofran. I thought I was doing better. I was at work and had excruciating pain in the top right of my abdomen. And then it stopped. The next day I was so tired. Had brain fog. Could only eat soft bland food, lots of intestinal pain. I went to the ER 8 days ago and they said that I had a hiatal hernia and gave me more Zofran and bentl. And they just said to follow up with the gastroenterology department. They did a CT and found a teratoma on my ovary and my main dr said that that is what is making me so sick. I went to the gyn yesterday and he said no way this thing is making you so sick and said I should get a vaginal ultrasound which I can't get for three weeks. I had to apply for short term disability which isn't going to pay the bills. My main dr said to get in with the GI department and they sent in a referral. I don't live in the same city where I had my surgery. I'm wondering if anyone has had symptoms like this so far after surgery? If I eat or drink anything that is spicy or acidic or has a lot of fat or fiber it hurts so bad. My whole abdomen feels swollen. Even when I eat soft foods it hurts my whole abdomen. I'm fatigued, I have brain fog, I have a headache every day, it hurts to bend over to pick something up. I cry almost every day because I can't do anything and there are no answers. Maybe I should try to get into a bariatric practice here?

Hi everyone, kinda new here but I figure I should share my personal experiment in the guys room since it involves "strange" elements. I’ve noticed my cut stalls whenever the late-night dopamine loop hits: doom-scroll, snack, repeat. Decided to run a one-week reset to see if trimming *stimulation calories* can help actual calories. **Reset checklist** □ 8 p.m. screen cap: phone goes in desk drawer, watchface only. □ 90 % whole-food rule (any “fun food” must fit before 2 p.m.). □ 3-min cold rinse after workouts. □ Picked up a silicone cage to keep wandering hands + browser tabs in check. (if you're wondering where it goes, the cage is from a funny shop called lockthecock so I'll let you figure that out) □ Lights-out meditation playlist, then bed. **Tracking** • Target intake: 1,950 kcal • Steps: >10 k daily • Sleep (Oura): aiming +45 min average • Craving score (1–5) each night **Starting numbers (Day 0)** Weight: 164 lb Waist: 31.8″ Sleep: 6 h 05 m avg Cravings after 9 p.m.: 4/5 I’ll loop back on Day 4 with a quick note (good, bad, ugly), then final results on Day 7. Anyone tried something similar—phone jail, NoFap streaks, cold therapy—to rein in nighttime nibbling? Drop tips! Cheers

I differ from what SpartanMaker says, I wouldn't try any more of the options that are out there. Obviously you first need to recognize that obesity is a disease and it never goes away. You tried to starve yourself to death and the body will automatically save every morsel you put into your body and store it as fat, especially on a 300 calorie diet. Increasing the calories is not necessarily the fix either, you need to look at the foods you are eating. Is it protein heavy or are you still eating salads, which are carbs by the way? Are you thinking that a baked potato is a veggie, it is not it is a carbohydrate, then add all the stuff you put on the potato. Diet wise, you may be choosing the wrong foods. And certainly the amount. You passed out probably because your glucose levels went into the basement with such a low calorie intake. I agree with SpartanMaker, and seek out a Bariatric center that has a whole host of options. Surgery is a tool that the obese person uses and it is a life long commitment to make lifestyle changes. You may need to see a therapist and nutrition expert both to help you, and maybe they have other options other than going straight to surgery, but for certain I feel you need better education on what is an appropriate "diet", and not all "diets" are really diets but ways to spend more money that is just wasted. You obviously have the willpower and stamina to take hold of a new life, it won't hurt to inquire. I would also urge you to watch some of the YouTube videos from BariNation, they have Podcasts with bariatric physicians and other healthcare providers every week and most recently there was discussion about Obesity being a disease and using something other than weight or BMI (Body Mass Index) to determine if someone is obese. My plan has always been to go the cautious or conservative route first. In my case I jumped right in and happy for it. I had an excellent surgeon and team that all worked together to ensure I had a good experience and did. Never had any pain with my surgery, and have had good results so far and today is Post op week 3, day 1. I wish you the best in your journey to seek out further information and a good bariatric group!!

I got several boxes that are for Bariatric patients that have 3 compartments, one for the big protein and then the other two for veggies/fruits and carbs. I go to work with one for each meal every day I go to work and I have what I am allowed to eat and that's it. When it is gone, it is gone. If I get hungry later, I may have a snack and that snack is a Protein shake. I like Premier Protein, and through Amazon you can get the variety pack and they have "sweet" ones that curb the urge to go to any vending machine or reaching for the chocolate on your bosses desk. Or mine. I prep for the whole week on Saturday and Sundays. I will bake chicken and then weigh out the appropriate amount of chicken and put it in the box, then the veggies and then the carb. I have them stacked in the fridge so when I pack my lunch, I just grab one or two and 2 Protein Shakes and I'm set for my long day. Hope that helps!

Yes, I already have my food plan for my 2 week post-op period as well as the 6 week period after. My bigger worry is the full Bariatric diet while I go back to work and making sure I can stick to something tenable.

@Dub That was an incredibly moving story. One thing I have learned is that therapy is important and community is therapy. To deal with being mindful and keeping the focus, I attend groups several times a week through BariNation. It has my people, like this forum does but with medical/psychological experts and meet ups with others. Just being and sharing helps keep from the regain as well. I spend less on food now, so I use that for my membership. My health has improved, I feel better mentally and emotionally, and feel useful again as I get treatment, and am helpful with my fellow Bari Friends at BariNation. I have yet to get what I get from BariNation anywhere else, and believe me I have searched and today I am calm and happy because as I said, community is therapy, and once you find your people, you know you are where you belong. This forum is good, but it isn't live. There is so many life lessons we will deal with as we live our lives and we need the capacity to handle those that come our way. Have some love for yourself and just try it. Be mindful and help to minimize stress through compassion and fun through BariNation.MN.CO

Did you have any psychological input during your Tier 3? (I don’t know if you had to go through Tier 3?) I had about 4 sessions with an NHS bariatric psychologist, but I believe I’ll still be having a Tier 4 psychological consultation to sign me off 🤞 for the MDT. Also, two weeks post-approval for the LRD! That is AWESOME! I think my trust tends to do the two-week milk diet. Even though I currently eat fairly low calorie keto, I think the milk diet would help lose a bit of pre-surgery weight at least. 💗

Hi, NeonRaven! Thank you so much for your reply and sharing your experience! I find it so helpful to hear how other NHsers have experienced the process since it seems so much more elongated from the U.S. process. And you make such a good point about the London privilege - now it makes more sense why I’ve seen more internet presence and response from London NHSers. (And quite a few from the far north of England as well!) About three or four years ago during my annual diabetic review, my nurse had suggested bariatric surgery and that gave me a lot of hope - she was able to refer me for Tier 3. I had my dietitian appointment yesterday and it went really well! It was about 30 minutes and went over the Tier 3 lifestyle changes, continued lifestyle changes (balanced meals, regular exercise, blood sugar monitoring, weight maintenance, etc), medications, and then any questions I might have. She was very positive and said she would be recommending me to go forward for surgery when the MDT meeting happens 🥲 (once I meet with the next consultants - psychologist, anaesthetist, bariatric nurse, and surgeon - how soon? No one knows.) Needless to say, I am so relieved, so happy, and so excited to be moving forward even if it’s one step. I’ve found out that my hospital trust now does their “one-stop” clinic as separate virtual appointments, rather than in-person. (So, perhaps it will be quite some time before that MDT meeting?) And then the endoscopy and ECG will be done at the pre-op assessment once a surgery date is confirmed. I am so glad to hear your NHS experience has been so good and positive. I am so sorry to hear about your mother's complication and her passing, but it is so hopeful to hear she was able to put her diabetes into remission (that’s one of my big hopes!) Congratulations on your weight loss and wishing all the health and success! 💕 PS - funny enough, I have not had any group sessions whatsoever in this process. I am wondering if I’ll have a group session with the bariatric nurse?

Nope tea wont make you loose an ounce. A bit off topic, I have never drunk tea, the one cup I remember drinking was after giving birth. It was sweet and wet and I was drained. I saw as a child what tea did to my parents cups, yuck, no thanks. I drank the only other thing available, corporation pop. 1950's english slang for water. Them days, coffee came in liquid form called Camp Coffee. It was made from chickory. One time mother was ill and dad made a meal and used this as gravy browning. {we like brown gravy here} We ate it because it was this or nowt. It was a week till mother worked out what we actually ate. So, after my rambling, I come to the point. Here I am sat in Greece drinking Iced Peach tea like it was going out of fashion. How my tastebuds have changed. This will defo not make me loose weight as it comes with a lump of baklava at this bakery. It would be rude not to.

Still looking for ways to use up all the smoked chicken! Last night it was a Southwest-style salad with some of the smoked chicken. Tonight I'm planning on loaded baked potatoes with BBQ smoked chicken. I also made some Jambalaya style soup and added smoked chicken to that. I froze most of it, but perhaps weirdly, I like soup as a post-workout recovery meal, so I suspect I'll be eating a lot of that most weeks!

As a general rule, the effects of supplementation of any kind on weight loss will be extremely minimal. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say for most people, 90-95% of weight loss is calorie intake alone. Other factors like exercise might make up a few percent, and supplements would be down at the bottom of the list probably only making 1% or less of the impact. Since 1% might mean something like 20 calories a day, you can see how it would be really easy to overcome that effect just by eating a tiny bit more. Keep in mind there is no overcoming basic physics. If you want to lose weight, you have to consume fewer calories than you burn. Things people worry wat too much about in my opinion instead of placing the focus where it matters on calories: Types of diets: Things like keto, low fat, low carb, intermittent fasting, etc. may help with compliance, but otherwise make no appreciable difference in weight loss. Bottom line, eat the way you want as long as you meet your nutrient goals and eat less than you burn in a day. Exercise: Exercise is critical for overall health and fitness, but as a general rule, you are not going to lose much if any weight from exercising. The reason is that your body is really good at stabilizing your overall calories burned in a day/week/month. What I mean is that studies show that for the most part, your body will slow down other processes to "make-up" for the exercise calories you burned, so whether or not you exercised won't actually mean you burn more calories per day. Exercise CAN help in weight loss for some people, but as a general rule, you'd probably need to be doing something that burned more than 400 calories a day, every day for you to see any impact at all. One place where exercise really comes into its own is in weight maintenance post-weight loss. Here the data is super clear. Those that exercise at least 1 hour per day were significantly more likely to maintain their weight loss than those that don't exercise. Supplements: As I pointed out above, at best, supplements might have a very small impact on on weight loss and this impact is really easy to negate by simply eating more. Typically weight loss supplements fall into two categories: Thermogenics (things that increase metabolism), and Appetite Suppressants. Some claim to have both effects. Without going into too much detail, the vast majority of thermogenics work simply because they are stimulants. Caffeine is the most well known and well studied (and frankly probably the most effective), but since you already are a coffee drinker, you're pretty unlikely to get any additional benefit from switching to another source such as green tea. Appetite suppressants are really a mixed bag. These sometimes work for some people, but again, the effects are really small. This is a little old, but I still think worth taking a gander: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8406948/#:~:text=A total of 1945 participants,morbidity%2C costs or patient satisfaction. It's a meta-analysis of the impact of green tea on weight loss. The conclusion they came to after looking at 15 different studies: "Green tea preparations appear to induce a small, statistically non‐significant weight loss in overweight or obese adults. Because the amount of weight loss is small, it is not likely to be clinically important." Best of luck.

Anyone who has ever flown commercial has seen the safety briefing, right ? "In the case of cabin pressure drop....an air mask will lower itself in front of each passenger.....put your own in place before helping those beside you" Took me quite a while to realize that our own personal health condition is no different. The WLS provided a wild ride for about three years. Surgery yield excellent weight loss results. Faster than I was ready for. I didn't make the best of decisions and never missed the opportunity to go have fun. One day....I woke up from the hubris and took inventory. My marriage had somehow survived...as it had survived tough times well prior. I was a dad to an insanely gifted son. I had a good job surrounded by great people. Mostly, though....my wife was there at my side and patiently waiting for me to get my head extracted from my arse. I did. We then had what can only be described as the best years of our marriage....like we were dating again. I was blessed and the first to acknowledge such. She had some health issues arise and we discovered it was worse than we were expecting. Diagnosis was cancer....treatment began right away but it was a terminal diagnosis. She fought hard...superhuman efforts. Her pain tolerance was simply beyond my compression. Cancer took her in April of 2021. I maintained my promise to her to keep on with the sobriety. I failed in most other ways. I had zero desire to cook as it was too painful. Anytime I'd try the sense of loss would be overpowering. We had so many fun times in and around the kitchen....I'd cook and she'd help me clean up my mess. Music always on....every day together was alike a date night. I remain so very grateful to have been given those recent great years together....but I chickened out when it involved anything we'd once do together. No cooking of anything other than maybe a quick breakfast.....no music....no movies or shows we once enjoyed, no gym, no maintaining of friendships......just went to work each day and came home....existing off fast food and vending machine garbage at work. Three and a half years went on like that. As the fourth anniversary of her death loomed, I once again took inventory. What I acknowledged was ugly. The mirror sucked, the way most of my clothes fit sucked, my annual checkups with our primary care doc sucked....and I owned every single bit of it. I owned all that suck. I also knew that she would kick my ass for letting myself give up like I had. I've never quit anything in my life....yet there I was....quitting on pretty much everything. I pissed myself off so badly. I made the decision to crawl outa that hole and do what she would have me do if she was here to push & pull on me to get my shyt together. She fought so hard to live....and there I was... giving up...no fight, no attempt, just giving up like a punk. So things began to improve greatly when I started jumping on what I could gain control of. My health was a perfect place to start..... And so it has been going the last few months. Daily macros are improving more each day. Essentially keto but am supplementing with fish oil, fiber, turmeric, powdered greens, multi-vitamins.....trying to shore up every aspect of daily good stuff taken in. I flipped the collective bird to all the fast food restaurants and their drive thru windows. Screw 'em all. Found the stereo again....whether in the truck or at the house. There is music. Took over the yardwork....and there is a pile of it needed. Joined a gym. Bought some new ear buds and gym clothes....and a heap more new music. In short.....I acknowledged that throwing my own health away was what had been selfish......taking control of it was imperative. The loss is still there....but my response to it is now different. Now I am doing much more to honor her by living as she wanted me to. She wanted me to live....all aspects of living. Health first, foremost and always.......and the other aspects of living are becoming more clear each day. Life is a gift. Squandering that gift is a crime. Longwinded answer.

I'm a London, UK based NHS patient. I've only just found your post, but I've added some hopefully helpful waffle to your original post. I don't have experience of Portsmouth hospitals (only their seaside touristy spots) but in general, I've had only good experiences with the NHS treatment I got. The psychologist visit is usually just a formality because I don't think a ten minute phone call is a really good gauge of someone's preparedness for a life altering surgery. If they NHS has already gotten you past the referral stage, I would imagine, you'll just need to wait until they can find a surgery slot. I was approved in July of 2024 and told that "unless the moons and planets all align, you will likely get your surgery Spring 2025" I guess the moons aligned because two weeks later, they called to tell me it was time to start the 12 week milk pre-op diet and I was scheduled for October 2024. You will probably not have a 12 week pre-op diet. I was told this was a test group trial for University College London Hospital and because I had NAFLD. Don't be too nervous (easier said than done, I'm sure) and congratulations! You've made it this far! You can do this! We're all here to support you!

This is such a great perspective, I'm gonna try to reframe it as an opportunity during those long weeks. And to remember that I will feel very differently about food post-op than I am right now during liquid diet. Thanks for the advice & words of encouragement!

Routinely knock out 60hr weeks. I think I took three weeks off after the sleeve and that was largely due to a massive abdominal hernia that was repaired at the time of the sleeve surgery. It was my 3rd such repair...and has held up great these last 9 years. You may be able to flip the script......and make those 80hr weeks your best weight loss weeks. There is going to be a time when the protein shakes are the ticket...then maybe those small foil packs of tuna and salmon. Food won't be an issue that occupies your thoughts. You'll laugh at the vending machines and shoot 'em the bird. Make sure you buy all your necessary supplements & shakes and tuna packs and load up your desk or locker. Having those on hand will be one more way to keep food off your mind. You'll not be wondering what you are going to have for lunch every day. You'll have that covered. 8 weeks will be a great amount of time to recover and acclimate. You'll lose a pile of weight in those 8 weeks, too. Those 80hr weeks are going to feel much, much shorter from this point forward. Congrats. Go kick some ass. You got this.

I am set to have my gastric sleeve next week (hooray!), and it has me thinking about my post op diet. I’m currently working a very demanding job, where every other month I’m working 80 hour work weeks for a month at a time. In the next few months I will also be starting night shifts as well (anticipate 3 months of night shifts per year). In preparation for the surgery, I’ve taken two weeks off pre op, and am taking 8 weeks off post op, but my biggest worry is the time after that. Last year my worst food months by far were the long hours working, where I felt I had very little time to do anything, much less prep food. Does anyone have experience with working long hours and how they kept up with their post op diet?

I went away for a long time, got diagnosed with ADHD (suddenly my life makes so much sense...), and over the last five months I began to lose my grip on my diet and regain. My lowest was 65kg, my "happy place" was 67kg, and I regained back into the 70s at 73kg. The culprit? I allowed sugar back into my life. Never let sugar back in! It has no manners, touches your stuff and doesn't want to leave. Problem is, thanks in great part to my ADHD, I get addicted easily and tend to eat the same thing every day. When that thing is chocolate, I have a problem. I also have impulse control problems and when the food noise is raging, that's bad news. Solution: GLP1s or Contrave. I have a great GP who understands me and didn't reject my request for help to get back to my "happy place" 67kg. We decided against GLP1s and went with Contave instead, which works on countering addiction. The food noise that was driving me crazy has stopped, I quit sugar week 1 and am back in control. I'm nearing the end of month 2 (of 4) and am just over 1kg away from being back to where I need to be. I've stopped being hard on myself for needing help, because even if I could control my impulses there's nothing wrong with medication that's designed to help. Oh and the other thing that's been a game-changer for me: my partner got me a Fitbit. I realise I'm so behind on this it's like screaming "cars have computers?!?!" at a dealership, but being able to track my calories and see the deficit has made a huge difference. So if you're neurodivergent and regaining, hopefully my experience with Contrave can help a little.

A couple small wins yesterday. Small, but I take note of them and small wins encourage the behaviors that lead to bigger wins, right ? So...this 'un is a two parter. Several months ago, a few weeks before I had taken action to burn off the regains and dig my way back.... I was goofing around on the web... looking through a certain company's website. They make gear that is hobby related. I happened to notice that they also had some logo T-shirts that looked cool. So I ordered two....but ordered them for two sizes smaller than I was wearing then. They arrived and were stashed away with some other clothing, all smaller sizes, that I'd been ordering. The stash had made it's way upstairs to be put away. Soon afterwards... I started putting in the work....burning off the regain and get in better overall health. Kitchen discipline being the first step. Fast forward to yesterday.....laundry day at the hacienda. Grabbed a shower and started getting dressed so I could go knock out some errands. Almost dressed but remembered my normal day off work stuff was on the drying rack. Damn. I spied the stack of smaller sized stuff still in shopping bags....sitting there. Hmmm. Screw it...let's find out, dude...either it'll fit or it won't. Grabbed one of the new cool guy t-shirts and some new flat fronted cargo pants. Cut off tags & peeled off stickers and began to.....WTH !!! This shyt if fitting. Bamsucka. Got dressed and strutted around the room like a bantam rooster....chest poked out....big grin. Small Win Numba One Achieved. While running errands I wheeled into a parking space in front of one of the local gyms I'd been considering. Took my bantam rooster arse up in there and looked around. It was clean, plenty of open treadmills and recumbent bikes...just what I need for pre-habbing my knees. Gonna build up the muscle tissue before getting those suckers replaced over the next couple years. I joined. Small Win Numba Two Achieved. I plan on never having to eat an elephant (although I used to look like I could)......but....but if I did....I'd eat that thang one bite at a time. Thankfully getting healthy may prove to be easier than elephant eating. 🤣

My win for the week is that I’m finally getting back to the fitness level I was at before my 7-week break. I’m almost lifting as heavy as I was, my endurance is better, and overall I’m feeling really good about my progress. I’m trying not to focus too much on the number on the scale (still being mindful) but paying more attention to how my clothes fit, how I look, and how I feel health-wise.