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Hello Everyone!

I had my vsg on November 29. I will be 2 weeks on tomorrow. At my first first appointment post opp a week and 2 days I lost 22 pounds. I’m here to help motivate other’s as well on this journey!

Don't worry, it'll have worked. Lots of people can be slow to lose immediately after surgery. I am almost 4 weeks out and I have lost 15lbs in total from the day of my surgery and only 7 of those were since I got back home over 3 weeks ago! 13lbs in 16 days on ANY diet is amazing and that's only the start for you. 👍

Hi TJ! I'm three and a half weeks out and pretty much back to normal other than a little residual pain behind my big scar. Come share on the November buddies thread - we're all pretty much at the same stage as you. Your loss is brilliant - I know we shouldn't compare ourselves but it's way better than mine! 💪

I remember the incision where they took my stomach out of hurt really bad for a little over a week. I had to have help showering. But, that was only getting up, sitting down, or laying down. Once I was down, I was pretty much okay and I didn't take any pain killers other then Tylenol after the first five or six days so the pain does get bearable before it disappears completely. I'm sorry you're struggling! I'd ask the doctors for some more pain killers if you feel like you need them. The gas also caused quite a bit of discomfort and pain, but walking helped get rid of it. It did stick around for a few days though...

Immediately! I haven't taken a PPI or antacid since the day of surgery, plus I've lost 20 lbs. Surerty was the day after Thanksgiving. Barely two weeks ago.

Before surgery, I had been obese since the age of 8. I was 54 when I had the sleeve done. In all those intervening years (decades), I was never able to lose significant weight and keep it off for more than a year (usually 6 months). After surgery, I lost 130 pounds and reached a normal BMI for the first time since I was a little girl. I'm coming up on 3 years since my sleeve and my weight is within 4 pounds of my lowest weight. I had 45 years of trying to lose weight and maintain the loss. If I could have done it on my own, I would have. To a certain extent, you're right. No surgery will allow you to eat unhealthy food on a regular basis and maintain the weight loss. The part you are missing is that for some of us, the surgery alters our appetite and reduces cravings. That makes it much easier to stick to a desired eating plan. Prior to surgery, my appetite beat me up like it was Mike Tyson. Now, it's more like a toddler. It can make a lot of noise, but it doesn't overpower me anymore. I'm not consistently relying on raw will-power, where I'm constantly struggling not to eat. That wouldn't be at all sustainable (as my 45 years of diets demonstrated). Sure, sometimes I want something bad and I have to tell myself "Not right now". But it's a heck of a lot easier to do that now than it was before surgery. It's really unfortunate that you were told you would be able to eat as you did pre-surgery. I honestly don't know ANYONE who completely went back to their old diet and maintained their weight loss. Now that I am in maintenance, I'm not as strict as I was during the weight loss phase. I eat more carbs (in the form of fruit mostly) and I allow myself a treat now and then (Thanksgiving, Christmas, my birthday, Passover, etc.) But day to day, I eat a maintenance diet that is very different from how I ate pre-surgery. Your surgeon is simply wrong. 2 years and 9 months after surgery, I still have significant restriction and my appetite is still about two-thirds of what it was before. The restriction is not as intense as it was in the early days/weeks/months after surgery, but it's there. I am satisfied with a fraction of the food I used to eat at one meal. It will always be possible to "eat around your sleeve" by eating unhealthy food in small portions, but all day long. No surgery can stop you if you are really determined to over-eat. That's why it's important to get to the root of the psychological reasons you depend on food to help you cope. Because surgery doesn't eliminate those issues. It's very unfortunate that your bariatric team didn't prepare you for that aspect of things. Different people have different experiences of what post-surgical life is like. Not everyone gets the long-term appetite reduction that I enjoy. I'm aware that it may not last forever. But almost 3 years later, the sleeve is still helping me maintain my weight loss, WITHOUT a constant will-power battle. It takes commitment sure - I can't eat everything that comes to mind, whenever I want. But for the first time ever, I feel like on any given day, I can CHOOSE how and what I eat, rather than being a prisoner of my appetite.

Hello Everyone! I had my vsg on November 29. I will be 2 weeks on tomorrow. At my first first appointment post opp a week and 2 days I lost 22 pounds. I’m here to help motivate other’s as well on this journey!

Hi, Hope you are all well, I had surgery just over 4 years ago (October 17?) I was a low BMI (34ish) patient years ago, and have regained about 15lbs and have been losing and regaining the same 5lbs for the last month at least. I decided to get on here, maybe for accountability, maybe for some dear diary and maybe just to vent, i think ill use this as a mini accountability system, Anyway its 11:20pm here, so lol diet restarts in 40mins. Ill be doing 60g of protein, and running at least 3 miles 4 times a week, i run regularly. when i lost the weight i ran a marathon, ill be here tomo. see yaa

Your doctor may suspect that you are a sugar addict. If so, that's why he's barring sugar and carbohydrates. Of course, there are carbs in starchy vegetables (like sweet potatoes) and fruit, but your body processes them differently than bread and sweets. I've been on a high protein/low carb diet pre-surgery, and have eliminated sugar, flour, potatoes, rice, and processed foods. It's been very successful. I've learned a lot reading about sugar/food addiction and have come to the conclusion that I have this addiction. Once I've broken through the withdrawal period I don't crave these things. I have gone off the rails a few times and paid the price. It takes me about two weeks to get through withdrawal all over again. I've been working on this food plan, A Pound of Cure by Matthew Weiner, a bariatric surgeon. I intend to follow it post-surgery, possibly for life. To find out more about sugar/food addiction, all of these books are helpful.

If you have difficulty exercising due to Ehlers Danios, here is a mobility device that can get you back running again. I got one because bad knees and my weight prevented me from doing any serious walking. Another woman in my area has one too. Neither of us are actually disabled, just limited by pain. I can walk and run easily with no stress on my joints or back. We always draw a lot of curious attention wherever we ride.This past week my friend rode hers on the track at the local YMCA, and will use it to attend a dog show out of state. She is flying and will gate-check it. I won't kid you, it is expensive ($2500 US) and there is a learning curve but it's worth both the expense and the effort. There are users who run races with it. There are also crowdfunding and rent-to-own programs. It's called an Alinker, a three-wheeled walking bike. See alinker.com for videos and more information.

I think it will be a piece of cake compared to my 1990 RNY. It was open surgery. I have a scar from below my sternum to my belly button. I was in ICU 2-3 days and in hospital for a week, then off work for another 4 weeks. I was given no nutritional advice or counseling. I saw the surgeon once before surgery, on the day of surgery, and two weeks later for him to check the stitches and remove the drain tubes (3 weeks of drain tubes!). In ICU I had a nasal gastric tube and IVs--nothing by mouth. On returning to a regular room I got clear liquids for a couple of days, pureed/soft for a couple of days and, get this: I was given solid food within 7 days of surgery. I was given a one-page low calorie diet and told "don't throw up". No wonder I blamed myself for the failure of the procedure. For 30 years I assumed that I ruined the RNY because I had thrown up too often. It was not until I had an EGD that I learned that the staples dividing the pouch from the stomach gave way due to peristalsis of the stomach. My surgeon told me that around 75% of the bypasses done back then failed for this very reason. He specialized in bariatric revisions during his residency and 1/3 of his current surgery is for revisions. He's reassured me that the new laparoscopic incisions and robotic assisted protocols are far superior, that the possibility of staple failure and leaks are minimal and would be found quickly. Because of my age (73). I'll stay two nights in the hospital instead of the usual 1 night. I think I'll be in good hands and make a rapid recovery. I have every intention of driving to my 2-week follow up visit.

Thanks, I remember that I lost nothing for a full week after my original surgery, so I’m good.

Before my surgery, I used to eat pizza, candy, chips, ice cream, and basically all of the junk foods. Eating indulgent food was basically my only pleasure in life. I ate a frozen pizza every Friday, and I looked forward to it all week long. But my tastes have changed after surgery. At first, I tried to make a bariatric-friendly version of pizza, with a Mr. Tortilla tortilla as the crust, sugar-free marinara, low-fat mozzarella, and turkey pepperoni. I also tried a chicken crust pizza. These are fine, and somewhat satisfy a pizza craving, but I don't even really want pizza anymore. There are so many things I'd rather eat that it's not even worth it to me to eat chicken crust pizza. I don't really desire chocolate anymore, either. I used to eat a whole bag of fun-sized Snickers in 3 or 4 days, but now, when coworkers bring candy to work, I have little to no desire to eat any of it. Part of that is because I discovered Built Bars, which I think are even better than actual candy bars. The things I look forward to eating now include fish fajitas (BTW, I hated fish before surgery and now I love it) and turkey wraps with low-carb tortillas, grilled chicken with sugar-free BBQ sauce (I love G. Hughes BBQ sauces and I think they're just as good as the sugar-laden ones), mashed cauliflower, riced cauliflower (cauliflower is another thing I used to hate but now I eat it almost every day), salad, and other healthy foods. I have found things to satisfy my sweet tooth (e.g., protein mug cake instead of cake/cupcakes; protein bars instead of candy bars), but for the most part, I don't even have much of a desire to eat junk food anymore.

Don't stress D&S you'll see movement again soon. I had more than 2 weeks post op where I lost virtually nothing and even now, 26 days out, I have lost only 7lbs since I got home from hospital. I'm taking that though! I think I will change to weekly weighing now so I don't get too knocked by all the ups and downs - they come with the territory. We all know that because we've all dieted soooooo much before. Hope your stall ends really soon. Your calories sound spot on, and so does your protein 👌

Same here. 1200 for women, 1400 for men, regardless of surgery, immediately if possible. I drank chocolate milk 3 times a day the first week, lol. They were pretty adamant about it. 100g protein - 1400 cals. Those are the only musts.

Hi! Not sure if this will help you or not....my program doesn't cut out food groups, and encourages getting to 1200 calories as soon as you can. I have been at 1200 calories since week 5 or so...and I eat carbs. I made this one change years ago with Pizza. Before surgery we would get pizza maybe twice a month, and it was always overdone. Large greasy pizzas, with fries and dips etc etc and of course I would get sick from the overindulgence every.single.time lol. I take a whole wheat pita, add some tomato sauce, pepperoni from the deli, and low fat cheese. Cook at 400 in the oven for about 15 min and it's amazing! Crispy but also gooey. Depending on what actual products you use....comes out to about 320 calories, 15g of fat, 36g of carbs, 19g of protein. Before surgery, I used to eat 3...now it is just one for dinner. And of course, you can out whatever toppings you want. It's also great for kids too because they can make the kind of pizza they want....without the price tag and all the added full fat and oil and doughy crust. I think there are many ways to get around certain kinds of food by making modifications to your favourites! The internet has non stop recipes that can help with alternatives regardless of the kind of program you are on.

Those of you who were last week - how has your recovery been? My surgery is tomorrow and I’m hoping to go back to work Monday the 20th.

Completely. My RNY surgery was 12/1 I had a really rough time in the PACU (post-surgery recovery); my blood pressure kept spiking and O2 levels kept dropping. I was there for 6 hours and it was like a terrible fever dream. Meanwhile, I think I kind of underestimated how much pain would be involved. I do tend to bounce back quickly from surgery, but the past week has been really grueling. And while I'm *very* fortunate not to have much trouble with nausea or swallowing liquids, I miss food terribly. On Friday night, after picking out a Christmas tree, my family got Mexican take-out. Just smelling the food in the car caused me to burst into tears, knowing tonight would be another f'in protein shake and jell-o for me. My husband — who usually is pretty understanding and supportive — told me I needed to just get over it. That was a *special moment.* 😑 But I identify with your emotions right now. I just don't care about anything. Nothing sounds fun; everything feels like more effort than it's worth. I am desperately hoping this turns around soon.

Hahaha... My surgeon/clinic says none At all for 6 months! It's insane how different every office is. I would have such an improved quality of life with a cup or two of decaf... I am 10 days post op maybe I will try it next week.

the first year I did not, but since I hit maintenance, yes. I can eat 1-2 slices of pizza now (different from pre-op when I could down 1/2 a large pizza in one sitting). I also eat chocolate occasionally. There's really nothing I can't eat now other than highly fatty meals. My husband and I used to go out for Friday night fish fries when I was pre-op, but I couldn't do that anymore. They consisted of two or three deep-fried filets, tartar sauce, French fries, cole slaw made with mayo, and a roll with butter. My stomach rebels at that much fat now (although I could probably have one fish filet if everything that came with it wasn't fat-laden). other than that - yep - there's nothing I can't eat, although I eat it less frequently and in much smaller quantities than I did before. But then, that's true of a lot never-been-obese people, too.

You might also be one of the 20% of patients who don't lose their hunger after surgery. That's where I am. I have to eat 6 times a day most days, but my surgery center is fine with that. I'm 3 months out, but I've been hungry from the first week. Don't assume that your hunger is reflux or head hunger, like everyone on this board will tell you. As far as food suggestions will go, I would recommend refried beans, tuna with mayo well mashed, high protein milk, nut butters, soft cheeses, etc.

Give yourself some time You just had major major surgery. It's easy for us to think that whatever we are feeling today is how we will feel forever. Maybe make a deal with yourself just to take it one day at a time, and not think about 'is this how I will feel forever?' until you're on solid foods again - in 4-6 weeks' time?

I’m two days shy of being 15 weeks po and I’ve lost 70 pounds (32 kg) I am so proud of myself 😃🥺 I can hardly believe it! I can almost taste the 99 kg mark, if I keep losing at this rate I’ll reach it mid January!

Thanks for the replies on this, I am currently taking a chewable bariatric multivitamin that has the calcium citrate in it. It's a one stop shop until my tummy can deal with swallowing tablets. The downside is I have to take three of them daily and they're fairly hefty - but since I've been taking them in the evening thanks to the advice here, life has been much easier!

Hi! Just got the Rouen xy gastric bypass on December 7th last week. Got home on Friday the 10th and doing great. I am off pain meds for 2 days now. I do have a pain that comes and goes under my left breast. But it's manageable and only for an hour or so a day. Hardest part is I can't eat what I want it's make me so sad. But I did this beacuse my blood pressure before was regularly 175/115 Have a wife and 4 kids so I want to be around. For them!! SW -358 CW after 5 days -344 Goal weight 200 pounds. I'm 6 feet tall.