Search the Community

Congrats! I feel what you're saying. Before my surgery my diet for the 11 days prior consisted of 4 protein shakes a day and 4, 1 cup serving of non starchy vegetables. NO MEAT! Then after surgery my diet was 2 weeks FULL LIQUIDS, followed by 1 week PUREE, and 2 weeks SOFT FOODS, then finally normal foods. So yeah, between the 11 days pre-op and two weeks post of of liquid, that was almost 4 weeks of nothing but liquids (but for the veggies in the pre-op stage). The protein came mostly from the shakes in those stages. It seems almost impossible but it works. I was so happy when the puree stage came. LOL And YES, protein is VERY important!! Not only to keep you losing weight but also to help you not lose so much hair or at least to shorten to hair loss phase. I recently, and inadvertently, put myself in a month and a half long stall because I was so inconstant with protein and ingesting LESS than the recommenced amounts of it (plus a few other things I was doing wrong as far as my macros goes). So again, YES, protein IS important for many reasons.

I love cruises but shore excursions have always been difficult for me due my weight. I took a cane and a rollator on my last cruise (to Alaska), but I still had to sit out some outings. My first bucket list item is already booked: a solo 6-week-long trip four months after surgery. The trip includes two trans-Atlantic crossings by ship and two weeks touring England. Bucket list 2: I want to be as fit as possible so that I can WALK on the excursions. I'm already building endurance by swimming up to 1/2 mile 2-3 times a week. I'm hopeful that the weight loss will enable me to walk a mile or two without pain or shortness of breath. My third bucket list item will be to buy a new wardrobe that will fit my new body. The fourth thing on my bucket list to figure out how to pay for all this!

I think this is the standard nowadays, and a lot of studies show it gives great weight loss while reducing malnutrition issues, so that sounds perfect Thanks for the well wishes. If the stupid rash would just leave so I could start counting down to getting out. I miss the gym (yeah, me, missing the gym. I also don't know who the h*ll I am ).

Okay, I had my sleeve done on Wednesday the 15th and I still feel like crap. I had my pre-op tests done on the 13th (full body scan, blood test, and routing checkup with the surgeon) and went into op around 8am that Wednesday. I know the time frame is weird, but considering the fact that the surgeon does 2 to 3 bariatrics surgeries a day (popular guy), I felt pretty comfortable doing it. I wanna start off by saying, I'm quite amused at the level of "attention" and pre-reqs that is required in the U.S. It is super unnecessary, a sleeve is probably one of the easiest major surgeries that can be performed. I actually felt sad for the people that had to undergo years of testing and check ups and even liver operations just to be able to do it. Don't waste your money and time on that and just find a reputable surgeon abroad who will most likely do it at 1/10th of the cost while being much more experienced with it (I was treated like a client/customer whenever I conuslted a doctor in the U.S. rather than a patient). Now that I got all the negativity towards the American healthcare system, I want to ask a few things about my current diet. For the most part, most post-op diets are similar but I don't understand how some people go hard on protein during the 1st phase when my diet doesn't involve any protein until the 5th week. First 14 days is clear liquids, and the nutritionist/surgeon literally just advised me to drink white grape or apple juice (peeled,strained, added water, no added sugars), broth water (no fat, no seasonings, bleh), and herbal drinks (no caffeine). How the heck is my body supposed to stay alive on what I suppose is basically nutrient weak foods? I'm still alive obviously, but I don't see how I won't be turned into a skeletal frame by the end of the 2nd week on this diet? I asked my doc "am I gonna be alive to even enjoy solid foods in a couple of months if I stick to this diet?", to which he replied "don't worry buddy, trust the process".(okay he didn't actually say that, but it was something among the lines of it'll be okay if you stick to it). I mean I trust the process, but I don't really trust the science behind it. Why do some people have the luxury of being allowed to eat SF Jello, ice pops, protein shakes, puddings, etc. just a few days after surgery when my diet is so harsh? How is not having any protein over 2 weeks a good thing? I had a natural weight loss journey before (300 to 185) and it involved a LOT of protein and little to no carbs/sugar + high fat for muscle building, so this just sounds so alien to me. Not sure if this helps, but I'm a 28 y/o male, current weight 258 ideal 170. I was prescribed anti-heartburn meds, pain meds, and blood thinners as well as a weekly dose of B-12. Sent from my SM-N970U using BariatricPal mobile app

I lost 34 lbs the first 30 days, 27 lbs the next 30, for a total of 61 lbs in 60 days. It's a great sign as early weight loss - with the MGB at least - does seem to indicate a great long-term result.

Had my mini gastric bypass on Nov 19th. As of today I am down 29 lbs. Is that average? Almost seems excessive. A pound a day…

Don't freak out. Seriously, it will be okay. If you look up "three week stall" on BariatricPal, you will find almost 20,000 posts about it. It happens a LOT. And it's nothing you're doing wrong—it is literally your body rebalancing itself (particularly fluids) after a traumatic surgery. It will break. Mine did—it came late and lasted about a week and a half and suddenly WHOOOOOSH went the scale. I had all the same worries and made a post here and everything. It WILL break. You will continue to lose weight! And once you're fully on solid foods you'll feel the restriction.

Thank you all for talking to me. I have been getting my water in and mostly all the protein. I have not lost anymore weight in 5 days. Actually it says I gained a pound. I'm trying not to be depressed. I feel like I'm doing everything wrong now Sent from my SM-A716U using BariatricPal mobile app

probably not a physical issue (like a stricture) since you're not having a problem digesting. I know for the first five months or so, I was never hungry and had pretty much zero interest in food. Eating became a chore. Could it be something like that? I actually liked being that way and wished it would have gone on longer since it was so easy to lose weight when I really didn't like food and had no interest in eating. however, if you're concerned, contact your clinic - esp if you think there's something going on other than loss of interest in food (which isn't uncommon when you're early out from surgery)

Zoe don’t be too hard on yourself. In a month I have managed to eat every single thing they have told me to avoid. I just do not eat much of it. While I used to destroy a carton of ice cream, I was completely fine with a few bites. One slice of pizza at my favorite restaurant doesn’t kill me. I am full and feel like I deserve the reward after a long week. I don’t look at these things as failing. I look at them as adjusting to my new life. It is not realistic to think that I am going to live the rest of my life avoiding everything on the very large naughty list. The naughty list is things that I eat less of. No longer an entire large pizza. Now a slice. No longer an entire box of Chips Ahoy. Now three with some skim fairlife milk. And I am still losing my 2 to 3 pounds a week which my doctor says is healthy weight loss. Some days I don’t get enough protein. Other days I get extra. There is nothing magic that happens at midnight that resets your nutritional needs. If I average out enough protein a week I am happy. There is a support group here in Miami which is helpful because you get to hear first hand from people a year and later post op how they eventually fell into a routine and now most people seem to not think of their surgery as a burden like I feel it is now. I keep reminding myself that this is a lifetime lifestyle surgery and not a quick fix. Losing 100 pounds in 2 months would be very satisfying but is not healthy for your organs or your healing. I do get jealous of the people who can eat whatever they want. Some of my favorite foods do not sit well at all with me. Eggs are still a no for me. Shrimp is death. My favorite chips and the spicy salsa at my Mexican restaurant had my drenched in sweat on the curb trying not to vomit in the gutter while my friends frantically went for the car. We never even got to order the meal. My surgeon for my 30 day follow up said that with time I will be able to enjoy small amounts of all these things again and to just continue to proceed cautiously. He is pleased with my weight loss and my healing and that is all you can ask for.

Rather than going back to your surgeon maybe try a dietian. 800 cal is way to low. Try my fitness pal app i was like you didnt want to track etc but its easy with this app. Maybe get your surgeon to look for underlying causes for your lack of weight loss. Blood tests etc.

Does anyone else feel like they’re failing at this? I can’t seem to get enough fluids or protein. Nothing seems to be bothering me diet-wise (just started phase 3), but still can’t seem to get the hang of it. Then, tonight I had like a 1/5th piece of veggie pizza. Of course I feel super guilty and like I’ve ruined myself or something, which I doubt is the case, but still. I have eaten what feels like nothing but lunch meat and protein shakes, a few little bits of grilled chicken. Had a few little broccoli florets and nothing is kicking back. I keep waiting for some sort of recourse, and I guess I’m lucky??? But trying to make just healthier choices, chewing super well, etc. I think unflavored protein powder may have to become my new best friend over these next few weeks, maybe longer. I can’t eat very much at all, unsurprisingly, and that makes it difficult to get adequate protein. I actually don’t even know where I’m going with this. I just feel like I’m doing it wrong and ruining everything. First week post op I lost an obscene amount of weight, but I don’t feel like I look any different. I want to keep momentum and keep losing, but also do things sustainably so that I can stick with it. is anyone else struggling to find a good rhythm? I can’t be alone in this, right?

Several people have mentioned that at this point 800 cal/day is too low, your body is probably in starvation mode. Try to increase to 1000 cal/day, same type of food but slightly larger portions. This will help you feel fuller while hopefully kickstarting your metabolism again. Drink a LOT between meals to fill up your stomach too (but wait at least 30 minutes after eating before drinking anything). I personally hate drinking water so I drink lots and lots of crystal light lemonade. It has almost no calories and is still 99.99% water. Try supplementing your breakfast with a protein shake. That will help you reach your protein goals while also filling you up. I drink one Premier Protein every single morning after breakfast (Chocolate flavor!) It feels like I'm treating myself and I'm adding 30 grams of protein every day. That usually keeps me satisfied until lunch. You said you're logging now - are you also weighing your foods? If not, you are likely grossly underestimating your portion sizes. My wife made a chicken stir-fry for dinner tonight and I decided to have some - I weighed out 4.5 oz into a bowl and it looked like a VERY small portion - she was shocked when I told her how much it was, it was actually a little more than I've been eating lately (3-4 oz per meal). It was actually really filling though, but if I just eyeballed it I almost definitely would have eaten too much and not even realized it. The "surgery is a tool" can mean several things. For some (most?) it provides an automatic restriction so that you physically can't eat as much as you used to without getting sick. For those who had gastric bypass, it also provides an incentive for what you're eating to be healthy in order to avoid dumping syndrome. Bypass patients also get the benefit of malabsorption. For others, it's the knowledge that you underwent major permanent surgery as a last ditch effort to get healthy and that can help change your mindset about eating. I'm in the position to have gone through both major weight loss surgeries. I had the sleeve in December 2016 and lost about 120 pounds in about six months. I was a regular on the forums here, I tracked every single bite (my personal recommendation is My Fitness Pal - I also weighed myself every morning (which is not always recommended) and took a full body photo with the app once a week to see my progress), Then I had some personal/profession issues which screwed up my schedule and my mindset and slowly began to gain weight back. I stopped tracking, stopped eating healthy, and all of a sudden a few years later I realized I had regained almost all of the pre-surgery weight. I was depressed, upset, embarrassed, ashamed, but I decided to do something about it and I went back to my doctor (I had stopped going to appointments too) and he said I was a good candidate for revision surgery to gastric bypass. It's been just over 4 weeks since that surgery and I'm down 36 pounds so far - not losing as quickly as the first surgery, but still losing. I still track religiously, and follow the meal plan exactly the way it was given to me (first month, soft high-protein foods with no fruits and veggies, no sugar, no bread, pasta, etc.), just starting my second month by adding some veggies to every meal. I had a couple of brief stalls but I kept with the program and they went away. I've been slowly increasing my daily calories and that has helped as well (still below 1000 most days but I've gone as high as 1200). In order to feel like I'm not depriving myself of sweets, I have one or sometimes two containers of sugar-free chocolate and vanilla swirl Jello every day. Last time after a few months I added a small portion of Halo Top ice cream as a daily dessert - very low calories, low or no carbs, and delicious. It's important not to feel that you're depriving yourself. Another thing to look at is your sleep - are you getting enough sleep? When I get a good night's sleep I lose about a pound over night. The times when I don't get enough sleep are the days I notice a stall or even a slight increase in weight. Given your starting weight is there a chance you have sleep apnea? I was diagnosed with sleep apnea several years ago and started using a CPAP, my sleeping improved dramatically. Ultimately, the surgery is not a magic bullet, although when things are going well it can seem like magic, but that happens when you put in the work. It's not bullshit, or useless, it has helped many many people who have tried everything else (myself included). You said you lost 30 lbs so far, that's great! That's 30 lbs you probably wouldn't have lost without the surgery. Now you have to figure out how to kickstart the rest of your journey. To summarize, here's what I would do if I were in your place: 1 - Increase your calories - same healthy foods for larger portions 2 - Increase your protein - add a protein shake after breakfast if necessary (wait 30 minutes after eating first) 3 - Increase your liquid intake - drink water if you enjoy it, or mix up some crystal light lemonade or something similar, drink ALL THE TIME 4 - Get a good night's sleep 5 - Keep tracking everything - make sure you WEIGH everything you eat, never eyeball. You can get a basic food scale for 10 bucks 6 - Don't give up! I know it's frustrating but based on your posts you're in a tough headspace right now. If you keep going on about how the surgery is bullshit, useless, etc. it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Good luck!

I wasn’t given a caloric goal at any stage either only portion size: 1/4 cup to 1/3 to 1/2 etc. as I was able & protein & fluid goals. I did random calorie checks for my own information. I was eating less than 300 calories in that first month & about 900 by my 6 months & goal & eating about a cup of food but it did depend on what I was eating (like about a cup of protein & vegetables but only one egg). Honestly I couldn’t eat anymore than I did & I was fortunate I wasn’t ever really hungry for more than a than a year. I eat about 1300 to maintain at my weight now but I’m not very active, not very tall, have a smaller frame & am in my mid 50s so my caloric needs were & are different. You’re not tall either so that may influence your caloric recommendations. Worth asking your dietician about factors like these that may influence your caloric needs. They may not even suggest a caloric goal until you’re much further out.

Do you see a psychiatrist for your antidepressant medication? Finding the right medication is a trial and error process. Since you are still depressed (sad), the one you are on may not be the best one for you, especially if it is interfering with your desired weight loss. Psychiatrists know far more about psychotropic medication than general practitioners. Here is the food plan that I have been on pre-surgery. I'm just three days away from my scheduled revision surgery. When I can eat regular food again I intend to go back on it. It's been very successful for me. Part of the success has been my recognition of trigger foods. I have cut out all sugar, flour, rice, potatoes, and processed foods and have lost 67 lbs to date. If I indulge in these things, I have to go through withdrawal all over again. Then, if I avoid my trigger foods, I do not have cravings. A Pound of Cure by Matthew Weiner, MD, a bariatric surgeon. He's written two other books, has a website and YouTube videos.

Unfortunately, this is the way a lot of medical systems deal with obese people, and it's heavily internalized in the obese themselves. Just browse around these pages for a bit. Based on what we know about the causes for a high weight set point, childhood trauma is always #1 on the list. It's not very surprising a stressed body does what it can to survive, including driving you to stock up for worse times. Unfortunately, we don't lack access to calories at almost any stage in our lives, so this mechanism will lead to obesity. You probably never had a chance. This surgery could be that one chance to correct something that is not your fault in the least bit. Then why are you being met with this kind of punishing attitude? Ignorance. Really, that's it. There's still a lot of people who see obesity as some sort of moral defect. Those people should pipe down real fast, trust me the future won't be kind to them (think blackface). Take pity in them, step back and look at getting to the surgery as merely a way to further your healing. That's a healing that cannot come from surgery, as you know. It'll come from therapy while you get another chance at a body that isn't clinging on to every calorie for dear life. Oh, and beware: for every malabsorptive surgery patient here, there's 15 sleevers who think we all have the same surgery.

I've read through all your posts and the comments. From everything you've said, I get the feeling you're just trolling on here and judging those who have had the surgery. You repeatedly say "just diet and exercise, then you'll lose weight" and "why can't you do all this without the surgery." But then say you can't lose weight? Something doesn't add up. Maybe I'm wrong. I hope so. In any case, if you're not just being a judgmental troll, you need to eat more. At 800 calories your body is in starvation mode. No one should be eating 800 calories at 5 months out. Good luck to you.

Never thought I would see this number. 195 is the top number for “healthy bmi” so I am almost there. That was my goal…. But I think I can go lower than 195 because I still have pockets of body fat to loose. I hit this number 9 months post surgery. Highest weight: 330 pounds surgery weight: 297 pounds Goal weight: adjusted… was 195 but maybe 180? i don’t know. We will see. height reference: I’m six feet two inches tall. So super tall for a woman. 😅 I have not been this weight since junior high school. (7th/8th grade)

You might need more than 800 calories. I was supposed to get a minimum of 1200 as soon as possible after surgery. I've found that hard to get to sometimes and when I can't get there my weight loss stalls. It's entirely possible you are eating too little and that is sabotaging your efforts.

Now that you are logging your intake, can you post a sample of what you eat in a day? Between all of the folks here, there are decades of experience with post-bariatric weight loss. Maybe someone will be able to spot something that could be derailing your progress.

How frustrating and disheartened you must feel. I ask this with all respect, what are you doing differently to cope with the triggers that make you want to eat? I’m just now realizing that I’m a bona fide addict, and that I have a very distorted relationship with food. Somehow it became my friend instead of fuel for my body. Although I am still losing weight at this point, I know I won’t be able to keep it off if I don’t resolve that. To answer your question “a tool for what” - for me it’s a tool to physically restrict my intake while I do the mental work. Please don’t give up.

Yes, I would do it again. My husband was not in favor (although he supported what I decided). A family member who is a doctor cautioned me that some of his patients had gained back all the weight. However, three of my doctors at teaching hospitals recommended it, and showed me the research. It’s been such a blessing, as finally I am able to lose so much excess weight (I thought I would go to my grave obese). And I feel that as long as I follow the eating guidelines, it will stay off. This is my answer, even though from what I gather, I had a much harder recovery than most people on this forum. I vomited multiple times a day for two months before it stopped. I did have regrets at first, but my surgeon said it would stop. Once the nausea subsided, it has been sunny skies.

Well I’ve been logging my meals since I originally posted this and following the doctors advice to the T and I still haven't lost a single pound. Every visit he acts like he doesn’t believe me when I say I’m staying at 800 calories a day. So I’ve been told a million times by my doctor and people on this forum that the surgery is just a tool. I get that. But a tool for what? How do you use the tool? I don’t ever feel full, I’m always hungry, I’m not losing weight…. What a useless tool.

Had this stupid surgery 5 months ago and I’m still not losing any weight. I’ve been logging my meals and sticking to 800 calories a day like the doctor told me to. And every time I see him he repeats the same thing (It’s obvious he doesn’t believe I’m keeping my calories on target) and he schedules another appointment. Every time I weight exactly the same. I still don’t understand what the surgery is supposed to do for me if I’m required to stick to a low calorie diet long term. Yeah, yeah… “the surgery is just a tool”…. A tool for what? What benefit is the surgery providing? None as far as I can tell.

On week 5 of liquid diet - thank goodness surgery is the 22nd because I am having such a hard time the past week sticking to this liquid diet and I have cheated a few times. I am starving still - have been the entire 5 weeks. My stomach is constantly growling and everyone in my family can hear it all day and all night. I am so excited to get this done and not feeling the hunger pains anymore lol I can’t wait to see us all start loosing the weight and being healthy!