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Thank you, longhaul68! I read about hair loss and was hoping it was a rare side effect. It sounds like it does get better when nutrition picks up?? Did you tell everybody you had weight loss surgery? My friends know, as they are my support system. I have not told anyone at work. I told my boss I'm having surgery. I told my families (I work with kids) that I'm going to be out for 2 weeks (BTW is 2 weeks enough??). It's not that I'm ashamed of the surgery, I don't think. I'm not sure why I haven't told everyone in my life. They'll think I'm sick when I start the weight loss! What have others said to people?

I have been in other support groups and people say that a slow or even a stall is normal in the first couple months because your body is adjusting. When you start eating healthy foods and more intake your body will start burning again. The weight will start again. The slower weight loss is actually better for your recover is my understanding. I am 10 days out and down 15 pounds. I’m not in any hurry and as long as I’m still losing I will just follow my plan and keep going. keep us posted!

Could you find the motivation to even start with a few small steps, like finding a way to get your protein up even by way of including it in water and that way two steps covered in one? Your body needs the protein and if you are not getting enough it could be contributing to your mood/fog. So what if you haven't gone to the gym, I don't go, but I have made an effort to find a couple of fitness things I like to do. I know I could do more but hey I am doing more than I did pre-op so its a win win as far as I am concerned. I am not going to put unrealistic pressure on myself as I know I will fail, maybe that is the same for you? For the alcohol you don't say how much or often you have a drink but if you can't go cold turkey could you even cut back or opt for a lighter drink? I have a drink (or three) when out with friends, its not the end of the world but I am realistic that it will probably impact the weight loss for a few days and I restrict myself to only when out, certainly not at home as that is a bad habit that I am trying to make sure I don't bring back. Could you start writing a daily positivity list/journal of all the positives you are finding from the loss you have had so far? I started to do it to help me with the PTSD I am suffering from my surgery, I note just random things such as; was able to jog to catch bus and not be mortified / was able to get through turnstile without turning sideways / so and so told me I was looking great / sun is shining and I feel energised / had to tighten jeans belt again Small steps could help you out of the funk and get you on track as there was a reason you would have had the surgery and you don't want to get back there. It takes work but you have already made good progress but it will get harder to loose the lbs and you could end up with other health problems if you continue as you are. Does your doctor have a support team that you can reach out to? I think an honest conversation with them is needed and will help you, they can hopefully provide tools to get you in the mindset needed to continue. Don't feel ashamed to talk to them as I am sure you are not the only one how feels like you do.

Yes, I was one of the few 0.01% unlucky ones who suffered post-op complications. 4 months spent in hospital and even though I am 11 months post-op it really only feels like a few months as I didn't start to feel well until Feb/March so about 9 months post-op. I couldn't fly home to see family until December (6 months post op) and work couldn't pay me most of my annual bonus as I was out sick for 6 months, instead of my expected two weeks!

I'm going to say this as gently as I can: stop feeling guilty. You are not on a diet. You are living a new post surgery life. A life that sometimes has room for half a tuna sandwich. And even some chips. They didn't make you sick, so that's great news. You got lots of good protein. You enjoyed them. You've lost 43 pounds. Stalls happen. Weight fluctuates. Follow the guidelines as best you can and embrace a life where you can make sensible choices (like half a tuna sandwich, I mean, it wasn't a triple cheeseburger and extra large fries) and not have to feel scared about it. I would bet the head hunger and the guilt are all connected somewhere deep in your psyche. (They usually are for me, anyway). Maybe spend some time reflecting on why you are craving what you are, and why at that exact moment, and what might make you feel the urge to self-sabotage by making choices you believe you will regret. Those would be good questions to get to the bottom of. But when you do make a choice you don't like, just chalk it up to experience and try to do better with the next choice. It'll be okay! Remember, this is a life journey, not a crash diet.

Oof, I'm still on cardio and working in light resistance training with bands (no weights yet). I keep re-straining my abdomen just doing simple things like twisting slightly when bending to get something out of a drawer at my desk, so my team has cautioned me not to start any actual weights until that pain leaves and stays gone for at least a week. :S My Monday is doing pretty good, but my weekend was awful (hormones, heightened body dysmorphia, heightened reaction to thinning patches of hair). This morning though, I found one of my matte eyeshadows is just the right colour to hide the most noticeable thin patch at my temple; I lost more weight this week than last even while fighting menstrual hormones and emotions; and several regular customers have complimented me this morning about both my hair and weightloss so even if I can't look at myself in the mirror without anguish, at least I'm getting some external confirmation that a lot of it is in my head. (@Bypass2Freedom I hope you're keeping an eye on your blood pressure too! After losing as much weight as you have already, it's not abnormal for blood pressure to lower even if it wasn't an active problem for you pre-op. Just make sure you stand up / raise your torso & head slowly after you've been exercising for a while)

How frustrating when you're already doing so much! All I can offer is my experience with my pre-op liquid diet. For the weeks, I had 3 protein shakes per day, sugar-free jello, broth, and the occasional sugar-free popsicle. Averaged around 600 calories per day and around 20 carbs or less per day. It was effective, if not pleasant. I lost about 6.8 kg in 2 weeks.

Hi ! I’m 7 days post op and have been home for 4 days. i had the same feeling that i suspect was brought on by a mix of adapting to being home and my « new normal » but also the fatigue from the surgery. I almost cried the first two days, and was asking myself why i’d done this to myself … but then i realised this is just the beginning, and the « strictest » of restrictions but in only a few weeks i’ll be able to eat more varied things. I also read through my eating plan and phases to make sure i’m well versed on what to eat and when and how to manage the next weeks. Being prepared kinda helps me mentally realise there is better to come. I think it’s normal to feel this way after such a major change but stay strong, i’ve been feeling better and better every day and it’s important to celebrate that to keep spirits up ! I realised if i want to be able to get to the point where i can eat real food i just need to work and concentrate on how i’m’feeling: eating slowly and concentrating on how i feel so that i’ll learn to recognise being full, when to stop etc That’s my main priority for this second week! If you need to talk don’t hesitate :)

Hopped on the scale today excited to see how much I’ve lost (4weeks post op) to discover the scale reads the same as last week. I’m taking in less than 500 calories per day & meeting protein requirements. Was thankful to read from others that this plateau is common around 3weeks. Trying to stay positive but this was 🥲

Yes that's common. Many of us won't get a full feeling for many weeks after surgery because nerve endings get cut and take a while to grow back. We need to stick to the stages and volumes of our programme until we do get those signals back. From about 3 months post op I got a runny nose and/or sneezed when I ate too much. Had this no later than today when I was eating a lovely lunch and decided I needed just another few forkfuls...

One of the hardest things that I am trying to teach myself that is is not a diet! this is a lifestyle. In life we eat right 90%-95% of the time and work out 3-4x a week, and the whole purpose of this was for me to be healthy. It is scary to think of being 297lbs again because of how unhealthy and how much pain I was in. I have to reflect on my "Why". Thank you as always for your words of wisdom! ❤️

surgeons do vary. At my clinic, both sleeve and bypass people were on the same plan. They had us on purees as soon as we left the hospital, but they changed that (I had my surgery nine years ago) and now they have to do a week (or maybe two?) of liquids before moving to purees.

Three bits of advice if you can manage it: 1. Curbside pickup for groceries 2. Takeout instead of eating in for your restaurant meals 3. Hotel close to your hospital for the night before if poor weather is at all a possibility. For many reasons, my mom and I are staying in a hotel the night before my surgery, and Mom will stay the next night while I'm in the hospital. Traffic, early call time for surgery, snow. I live about an hour from the hospital and there is a nice Courtyard Marriott about 1 mile from the hospital on a very busy road that is sure to get plowed 24/7. Plus my mom hates night driving, especially to and from areas she doesn't know well, and she wanted to be sure she could come see me in recovery and feel safe driving by herself.

omg lol if you think 2 times takeout in 2 weeks is alot, you may be shocked at how often we eat out and/or take out, ha! well over ½ our meals are prepared "outside" !

Sounds like you're doing well! I'm only down about 20lbs since surgery (but 35lbs if you count the 2 week liquid diet), so I hope they're pleased with your progress. And I completely agree it has not been easy! It's really been a struggle and never knowing what will be okay and what won't from day to day is very difficult.

I havent been eating bad things like my husband made a 16 hour smoked pork roast i had three pinches of the meat, I have been doing yogurt and soup i did oatmeal mixed with my protein shake once also. I cant do more than 2/3 onces of food at a time… mostly im doing soup and yogurt now though. Its not really unhealthy food but I had gotten confused with the diet and started the soft foods one week earlier the doctor didnt seemed worried though. It just was messing up my head thinking im off track. Im down 16 lbs so that’s got to be okay. Thank you for the peanut butter advice i love fit pb I’ll probably go buy powder protein shakes and start making them instead also I dont do dairy so maybe that’s another factor.

My win for today is being able to work from home the last 2 days while sick (I'm a clinical medical assistant). I've been returning calls that come in on the MA line that we normally can't get to right away, doing prescription refills, authorizing controlled medications, working on prior authorizations, doing referrals, scheduling infusion treatments, sending in lab orders, and generally getting all 3 of us MAs in the office all caught up with our admin stuff that we have to do on top of all of the clinical stuff we do all day. Needless to say, they were quite grateful to be caught up lol They asked if we could each take turned working from home 1 day per week to do just admin stuff, but sadly, the powers that be don't like that idea. But it's a win for us that I at least got us all caught up now!!!

I'm a bit envious of your ability to purge your pantry! I share a home with my fella and my Mom, who I'm taking care of, so I just have to soldier through and think of what negative consequences would come from me eating the wrong thing. It has been interesting this week seeing them 'figure out meals' without my participation. I still cooked twice for them, the first time I made a big platter of stuffed peppers which wasn't TOO difficult to smell on day one but man, as the week went on smelling it be reheated was rough. The second time I cooked them salmon, broccoli, and rice. I DID break down and eat like two tiny bites of the salmon. I think my body will be forgiving of that tiny lapse - it was after all lean protein. I almost wish I'd done two weeks of this diet to make extra sure I was ready enough for the surgeon but I AM following the diet as I was told to. Granted, the last several months I didn't *exactly* eat the greatest but I did stay on track with my allotted calories for the day, which they had set at 1600. I admit that I did eat more fried food than I was 'supposed to'. It's been hard, honestly, losing my ability to turn to food for comfort, not turning to cigarettes for anxiety / comfort, bouncing around emotionally while I adjusted to taking the Chantix, and also - hadn't mentioned this previously, but I WAS drinking far more alcohol than I should have been up until about 4 months ago. That's another reason I took the extra month's delay when I shifted surgery types gracefully. You seem to REALLY have your stuff in order! Oh - the nail polish - Honestly, the nurse in my closing seminar seemed to be very 'no-polish' strict but when I went to my pre-surgery check-in at the hospital I asked about it and they glanced at my short nails and said they were fine. I was nervous about that, because I keep mine maintained due to my anxiety issues - I used to have trouble not scratching at wounds, biting my nails, etc - but they said as long as my nails were short enough to get the finger monitor on and I didn't have any gems or super dark colors it would be fine. I just went and got my nails done on Thursday and chose super light, neutral colors so you really have to look closely to notice that they have a little shimmer to them and had them done very short. I appreciate that they worry about risk of infection; I've always been super neurotic about looking under my nails for dirt, scrubbing them, etc so I think they will be fine. If I say that often enough everything WILL be fine, right? Lol -- I can't wait to get past Monday!

Actually, I found I can tolerate it better lol I never liked the taste of it, but I dealt with it. Now it doesn't bother me at all. Not gonna say it's yummy, but there's no aversion to it. And as for my stomach, no issues with it here. Maybe you just have a bad tummy week? Idk. I hope it gets better....otherwise just have a spit rag with you when you do the dirty 😂

I’m starting my pre-op diet in one week! I’ve been planning this for so long, it’s kind-of hard to believe I’m getting close. My preop diet includes two protein shakes, two snacks, and a healthy dinner daily for two weeks. There are some adjustments in the days before surgery like dropping one snack and adding in a special protein drink. I have my pre-op appointments next week and have a long list of questions, tho I really thought I’d asked them all. 😄

I only stayed because I live alone and did not have anyone to come stay with me. I am at 3 weeks tomorrow and doing great.

From my understanding from all I have seen from others post op Weightloss is slow at first. You have gas weight from the anesthesia they pump into ya. The pre op is to reduce your liver out of the dr way so he has more room in there. My understanding is that you are feeling normal with the “WTH did I do “ feeling. Also once the weight does start coming off you might hit a stall. This too from my understanding is normal. Just keep moving forward. It will all come into place just slowly. you might even hit a point you gain a little. Don’t be scared or discouraged just stay on plan and give the number on the scale a break. Just record it and you will see it start to move in the right direction. The best thing to do is weigh your self the same day every week. Starting with today. Then wait and see how you are next week. Go by your scale and don’t sweat the dr scale they are always higher. (You have to remember you have on clothes, the time of day matters and other variables). That is why I track my scale, butt naked same day and time every week. That is how you will see the best effects (up or down).

I am about 6m out and I feel the same! I know I am not hungry but I want to eat. Its the act of eating that we are used to so being mindful is important. Drink water, a decaf iced coffee with a little Fat Free Fairlife milk, Jordan's skinny syrup, ice and decaf cold brew (I did this the other day) and it really helped with my sweet tooth without all the added calories or bad stuff. I have lots of tips and tricks LOL!! I am super close to my goal weight and for some reason my mindset this last week has been trash where I'm letting myself "snack" or graze. So I am working on it too.

I also had this fear. 1% chance is world wide and I’m guessing you had your surgery in a western country and good hospital so chances are closer to 1 in 500 chance. Moreover 70% of the time they happen in the first week. So your odds are very very slim. Just follow food instructions and you will be fine best of luck

Hi all. I had my gastric sleeve on 28th March, and very quickly realised something was wrong. I couldn't tolerate water at all, and a few days after I developed tonsillitis. It was severe and believed to be Quincy's, which thankfully after a transfer to another hospital to check for this, it wasn't. However I became really really ill - my temperature was at sepsis level, I was completely dehydrated and on an IV for everything. Tried antibiotics but that didn't really work, which then led the doctors and surgeons to believe it would either be a very nasty viral infection, or I'm being followed up to check for an auto-immune disease. I spent 4 weeks in hospital, and now that I'm home, my symptoms are (whilst better from the pain I had a couple of weeks ago) still very uncomfortable. I have a very angry and inflamed liver which is causing me pain, as well as the incisions of the port site resulting in a very large haematoma, again causing discomfort and pain. The most frustrating thing for me is, whatever caused this, has completely wiped my energy and strength. I can't open a bottle, and I struggle to walk for more than 10-15 minutes without feeling tired and fatigued. I have lost 19lbs since surgery (5 during the month in hospital, and another 14 this week), but a part of me is wondering whether it was even worth it given the ordeal it caused. I just feel very alone in terms of my procedure not being straight forward, and it would be good to hear other stories too. x