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Have you tried the savory shake flavors? Unjury brand has a chicken soup and a southwest flavor. I personally did not like the chicken soup and didn't try the others but I see a lot of other people talking about liking them so it might be worth giving it a try. I know with Unjury you can go to their website and by single serving samples before jumping into a full bucket. Also, a little "hack" I found to break it up was to get creative. Mix flavor packets with shakes to change the flavor, for example a vanilla shake mixed with a little orange flavor could be like an orange creamsicle? Another option is to add more liquid to it to thin them out. For example one of my all time favorites is to take about 10-12 OZ of sugar free lemonade and mix it with strawberry protein powder and it is a delicious strawberry lemonade and thinner like a regular fruit drink because of the extra fluids. It is like having a drink rather than a thick shake. I still drink a shake every day for breakfast, I even did a lot of times before surgery. I am just not a morning eater so the shakes are easier for me. I am currently on a coffee shake kick, I take a caramel shake mixed with 6oz of black coffee and pour over ice. Also, thins it out because of the coffee so it is like having a coffee drink instead of a thick shake. I have tried adding the sugar free creamers but they didn't do enough for me to bother with it or to add the extra calories. Good luck! It gets easier, and you will find ways to change it up and make it less monotonous!

Volunteered to be my 12yr olds rec softball coach and can actually stand for the entire practoce and game not to mention can roll model running for the girls. Last night we did a drill inwhich the team had to field line drives and make the play to home plate to get the third base runner out. I was the runner, when they made it I did 10 junping jacks when they missed they did 10 jumping jacks. It was amazing! Never in my wildest imagination did I think I would play any sport ever, let alone run drills with the team or COACH! 2 years in and its a new life completely !

So about a week ago i uploaded a post about how nauseous i felt and was unable to drink water and had on going nausea. 2 days ago i rushed to the emergency room. I had just seen my surgeon this day and was feeling great. before this i was in bed for weeks feeling the obvious very unwell. I was slowly starting to recover and i felt good enough to go to his office which is about an hour away from where i live. I went to my appointment all was well and he said i was doing great. That same day i went to visit my cousins and i was driving i felt a little discomfort on the sides of my stomach but that feeling went away. When i got home i felt an instant stabbing sensation on my lower left back that felt like a sharp/ blade or knife literally stabbing me over and over again i was on the floor rolling in pain and severe agony for 2 hours until the feeling that was in my back traveled to my stomach and the pain was so unbearable i could no longer take it. I rushed to the emergency and i got there at about 12am in the morning i waited till 10:30am the next day until i was seen so i was in 10+ hours of pain. I took endone and many other pain killers literally nothing took the pain away. and at this point due to the aggressive pain i was in i was extremely dehydrated and only received a iv fluid at 7am and i felt extremely upset as i told them i had just done a bariatric surgery and needed fluids. anyways. i had blood, test ct scans and urine tests. Blood was found in my urine and the excruciating pain was KIDNEY STONES. I did end up passing them through the toilet but this was the worst pain i’ve ever endured in my whole LIFE. Worse than waking up from THE vsg worse than anything i’ve experience id rather go through vsg first day then kidney stones. Anyone had the same problem as me. i’d love to hear. Thankfully i’m doing a little better now. but the nausea at the hospital was unreal i was unable to down tablet pills or anything and i was gagging every second it was horrendous. I also have super bad constipation. i feel so heavy. i’ve tried an enema but it didn’t work so hopefully i’m gonna try something else but other than constipation im doing okay now. Babe you had a similar situation is kidney stones very high after Bariatric surgery. the nurses and doctors told me it is because of the less water and food intake.

You mention that you're struggling financially to buy healthy groceries, so apply for food stamps if you can. With that said, bc your stomach is smaller and you're eating less calories, you can make more expensive nutrient dense foods last longer/more meals. It says you live in CA, so try Food 4 Less, the 99 cent stores, Aldi's and Trader Joe's, they all have good prices. You don't mention your age or height or level of activity or the amount of fluids you're drinking, but here's my experience: I'm 5'4 (female) and 35 years old. I had surgery on 1/11/23. started at 252 and I'm now 211.... 42 lbs down and down 6 inches on my waist. Fluids: at LEAST 32oz + 12oz protein shake, so 44... I try so hard to drink more water but cold & room temp liquids make me super nauseous since the surgery. Activity: Since and including the day after surgery I've strived to walk a MINIMUM of 5,000 steps a day. I live in a tiny apartment, and for the first 3 weeks after surgery I was still able to hit this goal simply by walking back and forth in my small apt for 5-10 minutes every hour. For the past 3-4 weeks, I've made it a priority to go to the gym and do cardio for 30-60 minutes 3-4/week. Some days I don't have time but will still force myself to do at least 10 minutes of incline walking on the treadmill. If you can't afford a gym, go walking, preferably somewhere with hills or stairs. (Walking flat is great but it doesn't get your heart rate up high enough). If you can't find/drive to hills, throw a backpack on and load it up with books (or weights) to add weight to your flat walks. Diet: 800-1300 calories (the 1300 end is if I workout really hard and my body needs to refuel) .. I am LAZY (I like cooking but hate dishes), but also a busy non-traditional college student with lots to do. So simple, quick, easy foods have been essential to my success thus far. I'm still basically eating the same as I was when I was on the soft foods diet but now I eat chicken and beef here and there. My go to food staples are: Cottage cheese 1%, OWYN - elite pro 32g protein shake, Simple Mills Almond flour crackers, soft/hard boiled eggs, small omelet, whole grain toast with avocado on it, refried beans, homemade turkey chili with beans, shrimp, turkey bacon, Sargento reduced fat string cheese (it had the lowest fat compared to the other string cheeses in my store). Example of my day: Every morning I have either 1-2 eggs, or 1/2 cup-1 cup of cottage cheese, then mid-morning/lunch I have the protein shake, then lunch/mid-afternoon I have 2-3 string cheese sticks, then for mid-afternoon/dinner I either have cottage cheese again, or 1 slice toast with tuna or chicken salad (I use either mayo or avocado mashed up), or shrimp and avocado slices, or rotisserie chicken and carrots/brussels/string beans. After dinner if I'm still hungry I have crackers. If I'm hitting my protein and still hungry, then I know I need more dense carbs and I'll have 1/4 cup-1/2 cup of sweet potatoes/mashed potatoes, etc. I don't SNACK anymore. I eat if I'm hungry. If I'm not hungry then I don't eat just to eat and have a snack bc I want to, that's what got me fat in the first place. If you're not physically hungry-don't eat. If you haven't already, learning the difference between physical hunger, thirst, and mental hunger/boredom/filling a void is essential to success. On Easter I had like 8 snack-sized kit-kat bars as a meal lol... I'm not advising it, but I've still lost weight since then. Don't beat yourself up over 1 day or 1 meal, it's not gonna completely kill your progress. Just make sure it's not every day or even every week. A lot of this journey is learning what YOUR body needs, not just what is written on a diet plan.

Welcome Rhys and uniVee! Welcome Su Zy! Best of luck with that approval. 1 May - LindsayT, SleeveMeAlone23 2 May - lunababe75, k.e.white, Morenalove 3 May - matt917, LittleRouxenyhood, la.nena, skeefe 4 May - Laryssa 5 May - Sheri 9 May - travelgal, Ana83 10 May - CarolineLittle, Jason Jacobson, IAMPERFECTION2 11 May - ElizabethMW, Rhys 16 May - turkaffe 17 May - Teamme2023_, Su Zy 22 May - Srxpadillaa, Vacs77 24 May - Shemleylodge 25 May - uniVee

Welcome Su Zy! Best of luck with that approval. 1 May - LindsayT, SleeveMeAlone23 2 May - lunababe75, k.e.white, Morenalove 3 May - matt917, LittleRouxenyhood, la.nena, skeefe 4 May - Laryssa 5 May - Sheri 9 May - travelgal, Ana83 10 May - CarolineLittle, Jason Jacobson, IAMPERFECTION2 11 May - ElizabethMW 16 May - turkaffe 17 May - Teamme2023_, Su Zy 22 May - Srxpadillaa, Vacs77 24 May - Shemleylodge

Hey! I haven't logged on in so long and was also curious how everyone is doing too. Here's an update on my life over a year post op. Here is a photo of me way before my bypass, I think I wasn't at my heaviest yet but definitely pushing 320 lbs vs me last month while on vacation. I've lost about 130 lbs so far and am working on losing the last 9-10 lbs. I am finding this is when things are getting real. The honeymoon phase everyone talked about it over and I didn't even realize it until it was gone haha! It's not a bad thing, it just means that you can never give up, even after weight loss. Half of the battle is over, now it's a new battle and I think it will last for the rest of my life because I have to work hard every day to fight my obesity. I can eat pretty normally now. I aim for 1600-1700 cals a day but some days I might even get 1900 depending on how calorie dense my food is, then I tend to eat less calories the next day if that does happen. I walk 3-4 miles most days, gym 1-2 times a week and try to do some kind of outdoor activity on the weekend, usually hiking. I have been going slowly but I'm not unhappy with my progress. I'm just trying to watch my weight and enjoy how far I've come because I feel like a completely different person I can't even explain it... I am also able to eat more than 60 grams of protein a day now which is great because I lost a lot of muscle mass while losing all the weight after surgery. I eat 80-100 grams of protein a day. I am working on building my muscles back up, especially the muscles around my knees to help with my mobility (my being 340 lbs wrecked my knees). I am in physical therapy for my knees and do strength training with my boyfriend twice a week now. The thing I struggle with the most is tracking water but now that the summer is coming, I think it'll be easier to get in enough fluids since it's so hot where I live. I don't get food stuck anymore, very rarely if I've eaten too fast or food that is too hot will get stuck. I can still eat naughty foods in moderation too, too much sugar and fat makes me dump. Dumping for me means rapid heartbeat, dizzy, frequent urination, yawning, and nausea. I have been out of therapy for a while and would like to go back, especially as my ability to eat larger portions returns. I still actively have to think and fight using food as a coping mechanism but I am pretty hopeful and just keep reminding myself not to give up. How is everyone's vitamin levels and blood work? Anyone deficient in anything/have advice on what to get checked? I have gotten colds way more frequently but it's only been in the last 3 months, could just be the seasons but historically I rarely got sick.

I just got approved from my surgery for 08/10! Any tips for someone starting out? Must haves? Any thing you have learned since having your surgery? Sent from my SM-N970U1 using BariatricPal mobile app

Welcome aboard new May buddies! 1 May - LindsayT, SleeveMeAlone23 2 May - lunababe75, k.e.white, Morenalove 3 May - matt917, LittleRouxenyhood, la.nena, skeefe 4 May - Laryssa 5 May - Sheri 9 May - travelgal, Ana83 10 May - CarolineLittle, Jason Jacobson, IAMPERFECTION2 11 May - ElizabethMW 16 May - turkaffe 17 May - Teamme2023_ 22 May - Srxpadillaa, Vacs77 24 May - Shemleylodge

I did a desk job in the summer and asked for the same breaks the smokers get. Every 2 hours I went outside to walk around for 10 minutes. On weekends when I need to do more computer work, I graze on fresh berries that I leave in the kitchen so I have to walk to go have some. I promise myself a new song to listen to or a manicure to get through difficult days. I text a friend or family member if I feel “snacky .”

Very normal… That is why most people lose about 10 pounds on the pre-diet. Enjoy!

Mine is a 10-day liquid diet…basically 3 shakes a day, SF jello or popsicles, reduced sodium broth, and all the water I want. 😂 I’m jealous of those of you that get to have food that you chew during your pre-op. But I’m thankful it’s only 10 days!

Welcome aboard la.nena! 1 May - LindsayT, SleeveMeAlone23 2 May - lunababe75, k.e.white, Morenalove 3 May - matt917, LittleRouxenyhood, la.nena 4 May - Laryssa 5 May - Sheri 9 May - travelgal 10 May - CarolineLittle, Jason Jacobson 11 May - ElizabethMW 16 May - turkaffe 17 May - Teamme2023_ 22 May - Srxpadillaa 24 May - Shemleylodge la.nena, I totally get that. I'm pretty much the same. I want to succeed so badly. As long as we do all the right things we should all succeed in our goals.

Welcome aboard LittleRouxenyhood! 1 May - LindsayT, SleeveMeAlone23 2 May - lunababe75, k.e.white, Morenalove 3 May - matt917, LittleRouxenyhood 4 May - Laryssa 5 May - Sheri 9 May - travelgal 10 May - CarolineLittle, Jason Jacobson 11 May - ElizabethMW 16 May - turkaffe 17 May - Teamme2023_ 22 May - Srxpadillaa 24 May - Shemleylodge Lindsay your preop diet looks good and quite reasonable, I'd love some protein LittleRouxenyhood, good luck on your liquid diet! I think liquid only would be hard, but it's only temporary thankfully.

Hi Blessed, My RNY was also on 3/29. I've definitely had my struggles and still do! I started on Pureed foods a few days ago. The first few days were rough! I think I was so excited to start on them that I overdid it a couple times. Pretty sick after that. Felt faint-ish, weak, racing heart, VERY nauseous. Luckily both times were around bed time, so I laid down and after a while subsided and I finally slept. I have given up the protein shakes as even to LOOK at them makes me feel like vomiting. VERY strong aversion to them now. I bought the Vital Proteins Collagen Peptide powder someone on here (sorry I can't remember who!) that has 18 grams of protein in 2 tbsp and luckily blends really well, especially in hot things like my coffee, so I start with that every morning. I have no appetite and have to go by when I start feeling weak to make myself eat. I'm sensitive to almost all artificial sweeteners so haven't been able to tolerate sugar free things. How about you? Went shopping with the hubby yesterday and bought most of the things recommended by the fabulous people on here to puree. Great ideas. I'll try the white fish (we bought cod) tonight with thinned mashed potatoes. I was feeling nauseated yesterday after eating egg salad, so a couple hours later I was naughty and ate 3 saltine crackers very slowly which really seemed to help. I don't know about anyone else, but after I eat something, the thought of eating it again makes me ill. Did anyone else have trouble with that? Going back to work has been tough. 10-11 hour days. I work in a very busy vet clinic, so trying to get in "snacks" has been difficult and I end up feeling crappy, weak, brain fog until I get to lunch. The last couple days getting in my water while I'm there has been tough too. Everyone I work with is awesome and would allow me the chance to get a snack, but it takes so long to eat it that I feel guilty for having to step away for a bit to do that, especially since we've been short-handed. I just need to do it, though. Next thing here is totally TMI, so skip if you don't wanna know. I've had a b/m almost daily, but never a complete one. They are very pasty and don't seem to want to evacuate my body well (LOL). I did start eating Activia with protein powder in it to see if that will help. Miralax and Dulcolax does NADA for me. Any other recommendations? My left side still has some pain- almost gas-like. I've taken the chewable Gas-x which doesn't do much either. I definitely don't like my bra sitting on top of where my stomach is, so off it goes at all times when I'm at home! Weird thing is that my hot flashes have seemed to return with a vengeance which a year before surgery had finally stopped. Bummer. Anyone else struggling with this? I've been working with my shrink regarding my meds. We've had to adjust things a couple times already. I can't take Gabapentin at bed time anymore- makes me so dizzy. Also switching from Zoloft to Lamotrigine. I used to take all my meds at once in one big swallow. Can't do THAT anymore, so slowly it goes, which frustrates me a bit. The good thing is that overall I'm doing pretty good. I'm only weighing myself once a week, so Wed. I'll reweigh myself. My body is totally changing tho! I still don't have a lot of energy, but hopefully that will improve over time. Some days are better than others. I did take some "before" pictures (but can't figure out how to edit out my boobs so will be for my eyes only!), just to help me see my progress if the scales don't show a loss. Clothes are much looser already tho! Ok, sorry to ramble so long. I threw a lot out there, but that's kinda how I am. It soooo helps to know if others are going or have gone thru these same things! I look forward to and love the feedback. I hope you and everyone else are doing well!

Hi guys! Yesterday was the beginning of month 8 for me. I’ve been doing a lot of reflection. I am hoping to reach 100 lbs by year 1. Which will be on 8/22/23. I’m about 20 lbs away…give or take. I have to keep reminding myself of a few things along the way: 1. My surgery is a revision because my lapband slipped and eroded. I was warned weight loss would be slower than the first time…and it is. (No comparison shopping for me! Lol) 2. I’m older than I was when I first had surgery. That also makes a really big difference. 3. I have to make sure I am keeping myself aware of the difference between stalling out because my body is adjusting and stalling out because I am making the wrong choices in terms of eating and movement…that last has been happening more than not. 4. Beating myself up has never helped me. It doesn’t motivate me, it doesn’t make me make better choices, it doesn’t guarantee that I’ll do what needs doing. It just makes me feel bad. 5. Giving myself grace doesn’t mean allowing myself to eat anything and not move my body. It means I will acknowledge when I’ve gone off path, where I need to improve, and taking those next steps to do that WITHOUT first making myself feel like s**t. My stats so far: Total loss from pre-surgery to now 81. Loss needed to meet my year 1 goal, 19. Loss needed to reach my ultimate goal, 36. I’ve lost a total of 50 inches all around! which is great. Thats all for me. And its a lot. Lol. Thanks for reading if you got through it all. I hope you all have/have had a great month eight! (Hey that rhymes!)

Welcome aboard new May Buddies! 1 May - LindsayT, SleeveMeAlone23 2 May - lunababe75, k.e.white, Morenalove 3 May - matt917 4 May - Laryssa 5 May - Sheri 9 May - travelgal 10 May - CarolineLittle, Jason Jacobson 11 May - ElizabethMW 16 May - turkaffe 17 May - Teamme2023_ 22 May - Srxpadillaa 24 May - Shemleylodge

I’m scheduled for May 1st…going into Day 3 of my 10 day pre-op diet hell. So excited to get passed this phase!!!

You are going through withdrawals. Sugar addiction cold turkey is a miserable thing (emotional and physical) but it's mercifully short. You'll feel better in a week or so. Just keep repeating to yourself "this isn't forever". 10 days is nothing. Over in the blink of an eye. The pre-op diet is the worst bit. It's legendary in its awfulness. No fun, but essential to shrink that liver so your surgery is as safe as it can be. Distract yourself however you can with games, walks with podcasts/audio books, cleaning, aspirational wishlisting from clothing sites you've always wanted to shop from, focusing on the goal. Grit your teeth and soldier on. I had my pre-surgery nerves kick in on week 2, which actually helped because I couldn't sit still.

Omg! I’m only on Day 2 of my 10 day pre-op diet and I’m struggling. Lots of tears and doubts today. I’ve been sad. I actually feel grief. I’ve heard about people “breaking up” with food and feeling the same symptoms of a relationship break up, but I had no idea how real it was. Plus, the headache both yesterday and today has been miserable. Why do I feel like what believe going through withdrawal feels? I’m not even feeling like I’m starving so much as I just feel alone and scared. I’ve journaled, I’ve talk to my surgery buddy that’s having her sleeve 2 weeks after me, I’ve watched Tic Toks for inspiration and motivation. But I’m still struggling. Anyone have any words to help me through this? I know (hope) this is going to pass in a couple days, but I wasn’t prepared for these intense feelings.

Hi y'all! My name is Ashley and I am almost 4 weeks out from my surgery date. I had RNY and Hernia repair done on March 28th. I'm so glad i have not had any issues and only gotten sick once. I did have to make myself through up do to the pain of eating little to much. So I was wondering, how soon did you see a difference or any changes in your PCOS symptoms. I just started my first cycle yesterday and beforehand I went almost a year without one. I do plan on going on birth control Monday. Also I want to try again in a year to get pregnant since we haven't been successful in trying for 10 years. So another question is has anybody been able to get pregnant after surgery and trying for years?

My revision surgery was April 19, 2023 and I also have BCBS. my original sleeve date was 11/2016 and I lost 100 lbs the first year and half. My lowest weight was 135 and I’ve maintained that for the last five years. Around my second year post sleeve I developed acid reflux and heartburn daily. When I would eat, shortly after I’d need to either throw up the acid trying to come up or I’d have to sit and tolerate the acid burning until it subsided. Daily omeprazole and tums did very little to counteract the symptoms. If I ate, it was happening. 2020 I had another EGD performed that showed Barrett’s esophagus had begun to form in my esophagus and there was a hernia. The surgeon wanted to move forward with a bypass revision but because I didn’t want to lose any weight or have another major surgery I asked for other medications to try before we went straight to surgery. 2023 in March I had another EGD performed that showed three ulcers, the hernia and worsening Barrett’s. Nothing had worked so far and my quality of life just wasn’t good. Considering I love to cook and eat, I knew I couldn’t just live with this much longer. I agreed to do the surgery. The doctor sent over an EGD result, CT scan and upper GI to BCBS who approved the revision surgery. (My plan has Bariatric benefits) if your plan doesn’t have Bariatric benefits I would check with your insurance coordinator to see if there is another option. I am now three days post revision- no heartburn or acid reflux at all. Painful, but on the mend.

I lost no where NEAR 50% of my excess weight in three months. That is bizarre - I imagine very few of us have lost that quickly. I'm not sure I understand your chart, but most of us lose somewhere in the 15-25 lb range the first month, then 10 lbs (give or take) for a few months, and then it drops...and drops...and drops. By the end (I finally stopped losing weight in month 20), I was losing like 2 lbs a month. EDIT - never mind - I get it now. So you've lost about 30 lbs in two months? That's absolutely normal. I started out heavier than you, and I'd lost 29 lbs by then. Just stick to your plan and the weight will come off. I ended up losing over 200 lbs.

My excess weight distribution is mainly on my trunk from the neck down and only radiating down a few inches on my upper arms and legs. My shoulders had become heavily padded including the dreaded "buffalo hump". Although I only lost 6.5# during the one week pre-op and an additional 18# since surgery on 3/3/23, I have noticed substantial changes. I have lost (don't want to find it) the buffalo hump and my neck has gotten longer (optically). I have started losing the "football pads" off my shoulders, revealing the promise of regaining my former graceful neck which has been encased in shoulder fat for 10 years.

May 2nd here. On day 4 of optifast and water and having a really hard time stomaching it because of the metallic taste in my mouth after I drink it. Not really having the "hunger" feelings like days 1-3 but do have an "empty" feeling. Hard to explain. 10 pounds down and the only place I can tell is in my fingers... HaHa