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I'm not in your area but I have lost 80+ previously with Kayla Itsines 12 week body guide you can look up on Pinterest and easy-to-alter workouts to your needs. It was all at home and with very little equipment. She also has a sweat app (a $20 monthly subscription). I never used the meal guide just restricted my calories and I was in the best shape of my adult life I had ever been in. Most people feel like you have to join a gym to get the results you want. My ex-husband tried doing my workouts with me (initially laughed and was trying to get me to join his gym) and couldn't keep up. After he took back all the unkind words he had to say prior. I'm not saying gym memberships & trainers are a waste but sometimes they just aren't in the budget.

I got the Realize band back in 2010 found out was pregnant 2 weeks later! I have reflux worse now than before surgery. That is my only issue until the past 3 weeks. I have had a pain that seems to be where my band is...mine holds 10 CC's and I have been in my sweet spot for the past 3 years (I think I have 7.5/8cc's in) My husband says I am cranky, can't sleep well so I am finally going to take some fluid out Aug 3rd. I still have trouble eating slow, chewing alot, drink with all my meals. and still sometimes eat to soon before bed time! With that being said I have a stabbing/every few minute headache as we speak from coughing ALL night....does anyone ever experience this problem????

Hi! Thanks for the check-in. I'm doing great, too, Starting weight was 277 and current weight is 205. I have been this 205 number (give or take) for a couple weeks now but I feel great. I'm a rock star in the gym and I'm really seeing my body whip into a nice shape. I am struggling with water, too, and my hunger has come back more than it had been previously. I am getting about 64 oz of water most days but I know it should still be more than that. My hair has been falling out, so there's that. It sucks but thankfully I had a lot to start. When I work out hard the scale doesn't move but I know my body composition is changing and that means my clothes fit and look great on my body. I had been 160lbs and extremely fit in 2019 - so this is a snap back for me. I have had no issues - smooth sailing so far! Cheers

I am a little over 3 years post op now. The past year I put no effort in to maintain or monitor and only this week got back on the scale for the first time and the results are what you would expect. I gained back 40lbs. The biggest difference in year 2 vs year 3 is the return of hunger. The sleeve prevents me from overeating at meals but it will not stop grazing and if you eat calorie dense highly processed foods you will not get restriction. This is a frustrating setback and I have no one to blame but myself. The honeymoon doesnt last forever and when it does wear off you will have a battle if you did not form good habits.

I made it. My dietician said that if I needed to, I could eat plain vegetables. And that is what saved me during week 2 of the prep-op diet. I ate A LOT of steamed broccoli with salt and spinach with the lightest Italian dressing I could find. It saved me. I lost 10 pounds over the two weeks and I’ve lost another 10 since surgery. My surgery went great. You can do it!!!!!

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

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

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

I only take Bariatric Choice Once Daily Bariatric Multivitamin Capsule with 45 mg of Iron and Spring Valley Calcium Citrate Dietary Supplement, 600 mg. So far so good but I have only had my 3 month blood work and only 4 months post op.

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

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

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

If you’re using unflavored protein powder to add to soup then what you’ll want to do is mix it with the milk first before heating. It helps to disperse it instead of trying to add it after. Look into the protein broths that bariatricpal sells. I drank the beef and chicken ones daily for about 3 months. They also have a tomato soup. Steer clear of the mushroom and broccoli and onion ones until you are eating things with chunks though.

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

As everyone has said it is to support the healing of your tummy & not to stress & strain it. Remember all those sutures & staples holding your tummy together. Think how you would protect a large wound & sutures on your arm or leg & how long that would take to heal. Purées are thicker which is why they are the stage after liquids. They should still be runny but not watery like the liquid stage. With soft foods think slow cooked, fall of the bone tender, minced meats, braised, etc. Foods that needs some chewing but not a lot. Think how much work your tummy has to do to digest thicker & then more solid denser foods. Plans differ but they also have a lot of similarities too. Some surgeons, like mine, tailor the pre & post diets to their patient. Some have specific requirements based upon their experiences. The best advice is always to follow the one you were given. But of course you can ask your surgeon & dietician why your plan is as it is & you may be able to negotiate slight adjustments based upon your recovery & needs. Yes, some plans recommend avoiding certain foods & liquids to not aggravate your healing. After surgery, we tend to produce extra stomach acid, hence why many are prescribed PPIs for a period after surgery. Carbonated drinks, caffeine, etc. can stir up the acid in your tummy causing discomfort & reflux symptoms. We’re told to avoid foods like rice, pasta & bread because they tend to swell in your tummy, filling you quickly. Remember your focus is on getting in your protein & that can be challenging enough in the post surgical stages. These foods also have little nutritional value. Consuming nutritionally dense food is important while you can eat so little to ensure you’re getting in the vitamins, minerals, etc. your body needs. While losing many of us are advised to follow the rule to eat your protein first, then vegetables as you can, then high fibre carbs only if you are able. If you can only eat 1/4 - 1/3 cup of purée & soft food to begin like I was, why eat food that fills you without giving you the nutrients your body needs. It also gets you starting to think about your food choices & the quality of the food you are eating. I still follow a lot of this: protein first, nutritionally dense foods, etc. Foods like peas & potatoes are considered higher in sugar & in starch (which converts more quickly to sugar). They’re not included in keto diets. Not saying you’re on a keto diet but you’ll notice influences from lots of different diets & eating styles on your food recommendations while losing. The reason why we’re advised to avoid dried fruit is you tend to eat more dried fruit than you would eat them as fresh. We can easily eat several pieces of dried fruits but remember 2 dried apricots is 1 apricot, a prune is a plum. Their sweetness is concentrated too in their dried form so you are continuing to feed your desire for sugar. Same with juice. Honey is just another firm of sugar. This is an opportunity to break some of your food dependencies & cravings. For many of us lots of foods become super sweet & quite awful to eat too during these first months when our tastebuds become extra sensitive. Many are able to go back to eating small amounts of restricted foods while losing or in maintenance. Personally I still don’t eat potatoes, rice, bread or pasta. I find them too heavy & I feel blah on the odd occasion I’ve tried them since I lost my weight. But that’s me. The first months are the most challenging because the food you likely depended upon to comfort, soothe & make you happy has been taken away from you. So you think about & crave them more. But food doesn’t actually comfort you or make you happy you just think they do. Realising & understanding this is part of the head work we all have to do. This whole process is about breaking poor eating habits, poor food choices & establishing new habits, introducing new foods, etc. & discovering what works best for you. The most restrictive aspects of the diet are only for a short period of time & are to benefit your immediate health & recovery. The long term changes you will choose to make are to enable you to maintain a lower weight & live a happier, more active & healthier life long term. Sorry for the 10 000 word response.

My plan allows anything after 3 months in moderation.. I'm 2 years post op and I occasionally have cake, ice cream, or whatever. I don't really like pizza but it's something I will eat if everyone wants it so I have had that too.. I make healthy choices 95% of the time, and allow myself a treat now and then. I think in order for this to be a lifelong lifestyle change it needs to be that way, at least for me. Sent from my Pixel 5a using BariatricPal mobile app

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

Exactly the same! I was worried about this initially - especially on reading so many accounts of people 3 months post-op only being able to eat 700 to 800 calories a day. But my surgeon put my mind at rest on this. And so did this guy on YouTube

I know the feeling. My surgeons office told me it’s at least 3 months after I get every thing completed before I’ll have surgery. I’m just hoping I have it before my birthday next year. I’m using the time to improve me.

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

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

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

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

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

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