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Hi Tina! I've never had an issue with sugar free gelatins or liquids. Those are staples of my diet and have been for years. What I was suspecting was causing this was all the almond milk and all the yogurt. I normally don't eat that. And I LOVE cottage cheese and eat it regularly even before this diet, but just last week my GI doctor said he suspected I may be somewhat allergic to cottage cheese, milks and yogurts. So I'm torn between following this pre-op diet that is sooo limited but some of the little liquids I'm allowed to have may be causing issues...but I'm not a surgeon and I can't just dictate what's best for me in order to undergo this surgery. I actually just got imodium per my GI's recommendation. I should take that right now! Thank you for the idea, I hadn't thought of it. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with me.

I had VSG in February and haven't really lost that much weight. I started at 192 the day of surgery, and am at 172 today. I have been 172 for 3 weeks now and have not seen any change I wonder if I'm not getting enough calories. I only eat about 1000 calories a day. I struggle to get my fluids in as well.

4 oz water mixed with 1 scoop of Muscle Milk powder 3x per day for 2 weeks. Foods like yogurt and oatmeal get introduced in week 3, but I'll continue drinking 2-3 protein shakes per day depending on how well I tolerate the actual food. No more protein shakes from the start of week 4 onward.

Hey everyone, Hope you're all doing well! So, I kind of just need to vent for a bit. I know everyone's experience is different and only my Doctor and Surgeon can give medical insight, but I'm hoping someone may have been in a similar situation as I am. So, before I could schedule a surgery date I had to do all the tests. The last step (which I now wish was the first step), was my blood panel. All results came back good, except the blood panel. The results returned showing that my Vitamin D, B12 and folic acid are all low. Easy enough to fix with a supplement. It also showed the my cholesterol was low, so my Doctor said to make sure I am eating healthy fats (avocados, nuts, fish, etc). *Possible TMI --> She also wants me to get an intravaginal ultrasound as she found heightened testosterone levels and yeast in my urine. Ultimately, she wants to rule out PCOS (which was ruled out in my teens, but that was roughly 20 years ago) But then she went on to explain that my A1C test (blood sugar test that shows my average over 3 months) was at a 10, while normal is 5.6 or less. With this number, it constitutes as Type 2 Diabetes. Because I have never had issues with this before, she is requesting that I wear a glucose monitoring device (in arm) for 2 weeks and begin a weekly injection called Trulicity. Apparently Trulicity will help lower my blood sugar levels, but also could bring on weight loss as it decreases overall appetite. She is hoping to see improvements in the next 3 months, but until then will not issue the clearance. I understand it is important for me to be healthy as my body will need all it can to heal post-surgery, but I am truly discouraged. 1. I'm angry at myself that I let things get this bad. 2. I'm worried that all my other tests will become null and void, since I'm fairly certain they are only valid for 6 months. Most were done in March and with having to wait at least 3 months - it's really cutting it close. 3. Has anyone been in a similar situation? If my numbers don't come down, does that mean surgery is out of the question? I appreciate the listening ears and any input or advice! Thank you and hope everyone has a wonderful Easter weekend.

https://www.withings.com/us/en/sleep I have this sleep mat and had it before surgery. It was actually how I learned I had severe apnea before surgery ... and I never got round to a CPAP before I didn't need it (which was super fast after surgery, crazy enough. Like 1-2 weeks and the apnea was down to mild or gone).

I was told to wait a year - and I waited three (years). I got pretty buzzed on just one drink - no way I could have handled two mixed drinks. Plus transfer addiction is a problem for some WLS patients - some end up with alcoholism if they're not careful. I was never a big drinker even before WLS. I'd often just order a coke or something when I was at a bar with friends. No one cared. And if they had - well, too bad. I was perfectly happy with my coke (or whatever non-alcoholic thing I happened to be drinking).

usually 1-3 weeks - although I've heard of them lasting longer. If you follow your program to a "T", the weight loss will start up again. I'm guessing you're near the end of this stall.

I am on the same liquid diet with protein shakes for one week. I foolishly had it wrong in my head. I had chicken broth yesterday and it felt like a waste of time. Not satisfying at all. Same with Jello. So today I’m rotating and drinking 5 oz of a protein shake and then later 5 oz of protein water. The protein water is disgusting. What is your daily rotation of drinking like?

Okay, I made a mistake. The clear liquid stage is only for one week. I totally read it wrong in my disillusioned state of recovery. What a relief! I still have five days to go, which feels like eternity.

This isn't advice in any way but I had a half a glass of dry vermouth 3 weeks after surgery. It hit me like 2 glasses of vermouth but that isn't all that hard. My surgeon was fine with it. If there are actual reasons why a small drink at 3 weeks is bad, I'd be really interested. I also haven't heard wine can cause dumping either but I'm interested in any information about that too.

Hello i had my surgery 3/2/2022 i was wondering if anybody can help . I started at 381 and 2 weeks after my surgery i went to my follow up and weighed 356 , i bought a scale finally and i weighed myself and it’s weighing 354 so i haven’t really lost anything . I know stalls are common but for how long ? My follow up was the 3/14/2022 and it’s now 4/16/2022 and i weigh the same . Can somebody please help ?

Yea what i am saying is if you do the revision, They can repair it then. But loosing weight is eating right and exercising. Find something that you like. I started going for a walk for about an hour a day at night (Its too hot here in Florida for the day lol) if you have a gym in your area they probably have classes for water aerobics and other ones. my mom goes to those types of classes a couple times a week.

Wow, so many reasons that you shouldn't. I haven't, 12 weeks post op. First, you don't know how your new tummy will react. Do you really want to have a dumping "event," or be sick as a dog? I have heard that liquor has a greater effect after, so you could end up face first in the punch bowl-God forbid all three. I wouldn't. If they know about your surgery, and they are your friends, they will be supportive. Also, social pressure should not figure into this. Just saying.

Hi I'm going to a big wedding and really want to have a drink there. I am 3 and half weeks post op. Also my social gathering amount all my friends I've had for over 20 years all gather for drinks on weekends and I'm being to feel left out of my social group. Would I harm myself by having just 2 gin and orange every Saturday at this stage? In 2 days it will be 4 weeks post op.

My surgery is on the May 9th and I have been asked to start the diet on the 25th of this month. I think I have gone overboard with the shakes, Soups and Bars by Optifast. I Have also bought items for the week afterward. Sugar free jellies and purees and sugar free popsicles. I have also invested in Tasteless protein powder to ad to drink and foods. My spare room looks like a shop. 😃 I figure that I can continue to use these products after the surgery. I am like you. I am worried about the two weeks liquid diet more than the surgery. I am going to makes sure that I take advantage of what I have bought. I suppose our focus is on the OP at the moment rather than the journey afterwards. Good Luck to us Diva.

I think we waited at least 4 weeks for the full deed, but we were still intimate in other ways. My sex drive skyrocketed, so I doubt we waited more than 6 weeks. And I'll just leave it at that! 😈

My surgeon has me on three 4 oz low sugar protein shakes every day for two weeks (I use Muscle Milk, which has 140 calories and roughly 30g protein per 4 oz serving) and broth/sugar-free Jell-O as I want it more or less. Unless you're having sugary drinks or Jell-O (which obviously aren't good), then idk how the guy expects someone to go two weeks essentially eating nothing. I'm obviously not going to tell you to begin drinking protein shakes if your doctor doesn't want you to, but your regimen makes no sense to me.

Could you get down from 390 to 200, or even lighter, and then keep it off? Yes, absolutely. Anyone can, with or without surgery. However, there's a difference between can and will. Obviously, I don't know your physiological intangibles such as your muscle profile, body type, genetics, ability to stick to goals, follow a bariatric diet, etc. BMI doesn't account for these things. Because of this, we can crunch some statistics, and assuming you're average when it comes to the intangibles, we can begin to get an idea of the odds for you. Based on the BMI chart, every pound over 154 pounds is excess for your height, which leaves you with 235 pounds of excess weight. Now with sleeve statistics, the average person loses between 60 and 70 percent of their excess weight. Obviously, some lose 100 percent or more of their excess weight, and some lose much less than the 60 to 70 percent average, but again, let's assume you have an average surgery experience and lose 60 to 70 percent (we can call it 65 percent as an even marker). 65 percent of 235 pounds of excess weight is 152.75 pounds. 390-152.75=237.25. So, by math alone, 237.25 would be your most likely outcome, which is obviously 37.25 pounds over your goal. To meet your goal, you would have to exceed statistical expectations when it comes to average amount of excess weight lost for sleeves. Instead of losing 65 percent of your excess weight, you would have to lose approximately 81 percent to hit 200. I'd certainly say this is doable, albeit not easy. Now the unfortunate thing about losing weight is that your body fights you on it, and it has various forms of ammunition. Cravings, plateaus, and different types of phantom hunger are all in its arsenal. Bariatric surgery depletes our bodies' weapon stock to an extent and limits the damage should we fall into one of its traps. It's something we can lean on. It won't do the job on its own, but we've essentially enlisted reinforcements that swing the odds of success in our favor. However, the one thing that bariatric surgery won't change as we get closer to our goal weights is adaptability, and this is probably why your weight loss has stalled in the past. Our bodies learn our tricks. They adapt to low carb and low calorie diets, and thus, the weight loss stalls until we give up. So what do we do? If a plateau occurs, we have to change our tactics (even slightly) to catch our bodies off guard again. Change the diet and eating patterns slightly. Try a little intermittent fasting, or maybe switch out your carbs for fat for a bit. Same thing with exercise. If you're exercising (let's say running for example), switch things up and go to HIIT training or swimming for a while. Once your body adjusts to that, then go back to running. It's a little weird to be "at war" with ourselves, but the reality is that we are. Got to be smart and merciless when it comes to confronting the weight monster.

I know surgeons and dieticians/nutritionists have a variety of pre -op and post-op diets, but two weeks on a clear liquid diet after a sleeve for someone at your start weight seems extreme. I certainly wouldn't have survived two weeks on a clear liquid diet post-op.

Winky, I know how you feel. I am on day 3 after sleeve surgery and my food cravings are strong. My stomach feels so empty and is alway making noises. The food commercials on TV are driving me mad. I couldn’t take it anymore and put a tiny smear of peanut butter on my finger and sucked on my finger. Good grief, what kind of crazy person have I become? All I think about is food. How am I going to survive two weeks of a clear liquid diet? This is torture for me.

stalls tend to last longer the closer you get to goal weight. I remember so many times during year 2 thinking "well, this must be it...", and then the scale would drop again. It finally stopped for good at 20 months out.

So I had a stall. An eight-week-long stall. And I'm pretty close to my goal weight, so I figured maybe this was it... they say N% of your excess body weight, and I'm way past that N%, so this must be it, right? I know it seems early (seven months out), but maybe my body's reached its new set point. Yay, no more meds, yay, normal sized clothing from the middle of the size range, not the top end and oh please God let it fit. So I bought a bunch of new clothes. I've been wearing hand-me-downs and Goodwill thrifting specials for months now, and I wanted some new clothes. I had some belts made, too. Finally I can start to look like an adult! Ha. Ha ha ha ha ha. My body decided, over the last week and a half, to lose NINE POUNDS. The clothes I bought are too big. Fortunately some of them still have the tags so I can exchange them. But I guess I needed to do this in order to get things moving again. LOL.

My packet will be submitted to CIGNA next week. I have Open Access Plan, and my surgeon’s practice is a Cigna Center For Excellence. Has anyone been denied despite meeting every criteria/co-morbidities articulated by the insurer? Just curious. Thanks.

You have infinite patience imho. I’m trying to remain positive, and so far so good. My surgeon’s admin is waiting on one document…the CPAP machine receipt when I pick it up next week…and my packet is ready to be submitted. today I had a visit with my PCP to begin ‘documentation of weight Loss failure.’ I figure if I’m looking at mid June for surgery, I can use this time to jump through the only Cigna hoop that remains unaddressed. 🤷🏻‍♀️

@ vikingbeast......wow! Only 1 day clear fluids.....😲 amazing how differently things can be doctor to doctor. I have a high BMI and I was told I have to have 2 full weeks of clear liquids before surgery. Now I know thats to help shrink the liver (plus to aid in further weight loss) but shocked yours was only 1 day lol....Im jealous 😜