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Keep in mind that most nutritionists, it's their job to tell you to stay within certain limits that were decided by prior care teams who-knows how many years ago, based on individuals who could be much different than you. Those limits may be absolute BS, but they have to cover their own ass and give you these 'healthy guidelines'. In my care team, I have three different nutritionists I've seen so far. One of them seems very open, very with it, and all her advice so far has been really helpful. The other two have been absolutely useless. (Ironically, one is constantly looking at my food logs and saying things like "and where do you see that you could have added more protein here" even though I'm usually already in the 80-100g range -- and I DO NOT work out) For what it's worth, I think you're doing exceedingly well. Every time I see you post around here, I pay attention because you really seem to be in tune with your own body. If you're not having any protein over-consumption symptoms and your labs are good, I would take what's useful from the NUT and throw the rest away. (Are they sending you for bloodwork routinely, or has that fallen through the cracks too?)

Yea. He said it’s definitely a more aggressive option than the bypass for revision with a few more risks but better weight loss for most people. I read somewhere that when you eat the wrong foods that it causes gas pain and bathroom issues which if that’s true I think as much as it would not be fun it may be just what I need to remind me to keep making the right choices. Also If I understood correctly it does more to reduce the hunger hormone which was definitely my biggest issue. From day one with the sleeve I was able to eat more than expected at every given stage. I just chose not to and that was easy while the hunger was gone but when it came back it came roaring back so I lost most of my weight and then gained it all back like a yo yo. In the beginning I was still eating all the right foods but I was starving so I ate more than I should have. I am really hoping that this procedure the hunger hormone remains less intense for good.

I only got to about 600 calories at 6 months. Took me another year to get to 1300. Yes some programs, encourage people to consume around 1000 calories at about the 3 month mark. But you can only eat what you can physically eat. I even had that conversation with my surgeon at the 8 month mark when I had pushed up to about 900. He understood my position and was happy I was working at increasing my calories even though it was a slow process. I eat about 1500 calories now which according to those BMR calculators is about what I would need to consume for my age, height, activity level & to maintain my weight. It’s plenty of food. I don’t feel hungry. Some will say you need to get your calories up or your body will go into starvation mode & you’ll stop losing. Didn’t affect me like that. Didn’t slow my losing more than what is expected to happen. Didn’t stop me reaching my goal or exceeding it. But we are all different so your experience and needs may be totally different. If they do say increase your calories, don’t tie yourself up in knots about it. Just slowly increase your intake as you’re able. It naturally increases as you progress anyway. Those recommendations are based on averages too. Remember the recommended calorie intake for a woman is 2000 calories. I’d be as large as I was if I ate that much. lol!

I think in the last 2 years I talked to my nutritionist 3 times. And that was because I had to. It was included with the surgeries and she worked in my surgeon's office. She's nice and helped me come up with some cool recipes, but that's really it. I stayed mostly within the surgeon's dietary recommendations, but as time went on, I learned what my body likes and dislikes. For example, I'm extremely sensitive to carbs but not at all to sugar. I still stay away from sugar for the most part, but I'm not afraid of it like I was. I won't turn something away if it has sugar, but I typically go sugar free as much as I can. As for carbs, I use to do keto, so I was ok with low carb meals (I would have maybe 60-80 carbs per day). Now, though, I can't have more than 25 without feeling sick. On heavy workout days, I tend to go higher (45-50) but I pay for it because, again, I'm SUPER sensitive to them now. I respond well to high protein, moderate healthy fats, and high fiber foods. I'd say just do what you're doing, ignore the nutritionist, and keep kicking ass and taking names. You're doing AWESOME, so don't worry about the rest of it.

I talked to the nurse the other day about some vomiting issues I had been experiencing, about 5 times in total over the past 2 weeks. While the first time was almost certainly due to overcooked/dry food, there was concern over the other times, especially a few days ago when I was sick twice in a day with quite a bit of pain and multiple times of fairly aggressive vomiting. I had a longer, more complicated surgery than usual (6 hours) due to some scarring and issues with my intestine, so my doctor decided I should go back to the liquid phase until I see him on April 2. Not gonna lie, 11 days of protein shakes and yogurt is not what I was hoping for. I thought they would say just avoid the foods that were making me sick. But I guess the doctor feels my systems need more time to heal. I can have some simple creamed soups, though, and plan to supplement those with unflavored protein because I can't stand the shakes and protein waters. At least I'm having no issues with hydration.

This is absolutely accurate for my experience as well. I had my surgery on March 11th and after a week I was able to drink more. I transition from drinking more to wanting to eat and learning how not to eat or drink too fast or too much. I am still learning to be careful about not eating too much or too fast because you will feel it in your throat and have a nauseous feeling. And perhaps, you may throw up to relieve yourself. The important lesson here is to measure your food at the prescribed portion by your physician and other instructions given.

Ah ok so yeah i see the difference in what you were initially intending to get across and my initial response. It is disappointing when your family is unsupportive and/or uncreative. Do they ever at least ask what you'd like to do? Do you have another support system around? They might just need a nudge. I typically spend my time with my friends over family, though my family is overall supportive, I am beyond the age of birthdays with them. Long before my surgery, my immediate family stopped with the typical cake celebration. Now it's usually a text or phone call and a card with some cash lol. I think in your case you'd have to guide your family to do something different if that's what you'd prefer. It's such an ingrained thing that celebrations equals food for a lot of us and they may need some help breaking that pattern at least every once in a while.

So what I eat is ALWAYS on my mind. I meal prep every single week and have my weeks very calculated already pre-tracked and I stay within my calories. I workout 6days a week. But I am about 5 months post op and this weekend, hubs and I took the kids to Dave's Hot chicken, I ate the kale slaw and half a tender 4-5 fries. I felt so guilty! But at the same time it felt so good to eat with my family and it not be chicken and veggies while going out. I ate very small amount because I did not want to eat to restriction, but I was able to hang out with my family and not worry about food. Then that night we got Ice cream and I had 4 bites of hubbies delicious Cold Stone Chocolate Ice cream, those 4 bites I was satisfied and didn't feel like crap. I still woke up drank my protein coffee, did my work out and continued my normal diet. In a way, I am happy that it didn't turn into a binge like it would normally when I would previously diet, then again I feel like I halted my progress. Thanks for reading

1-2 pounds per week is actually a healthy rate of weight loss. That's where doctors and nutritionists want to see a person at. But if you want to change things up, try changing your workouts, giving yourself variety in what you eat, weigh and track your food so you know where empty calories and carbs are coming from, Typically, the first 6 months after surgery is the time when we lose the most. After that, weight loss slows way down (you can still lose, but not at the rate that you were). We can definitely still lose weight, but it slows SIGNIFICANTLY and we end up "fighting" to lose more weight. I'm still losing, but it's slooooow going. Slow and stead wins this race.

Thank you @ShoppGirl @Bypass2Freedom and @JennyBeez for you lovely, thoughtful words. I really do appreciate your comments. The clothes came - the shift dress that I thought would be OK is massive and the jumpsuit that I thought would be too tight fits perfectly so go figure 🤷‍♀️ Annoying though when you buy the same size from the same brand and there are massive discrepancies. So, dress is going back and I’ve ordered a couple of things from the sale at Roman for less than half the price of the dress I’m sending back 🙂 @ShoppGirl I have to say that my hubby is being fully supportive. There are obviously times when I want to smother him with a pillow but not over this. He is onboard with what I am trying to do so no complaints from me over that. He just wants me to feel good about myself and get some confidence back I think. I did take your advice and ordered some new, dressy shoes (backless so if my feet do shrink again, it won’t matter!) I hope that the metabolic changes from the op really do kick in and work in tandem with the other changes we make. I know the op is a positive thing that we’re doing both for our physical and emotional wellbeing. @Bypass2Freedom Definitely seek food to ‘soothe’ when in meltdown mode. It is difficult to lose weight and keep if off. I hate, with a passion, those that patronisingly say “oh, you just have to eat less and move more”…OH REALLY?? 🤬🤬🤬 Well tell my metabolism that you arsehole. Continually dieting just screws your metabolism up, I’m sure of it. I’m hoping that the op acts as an internal reset button so my body stops acting against me and works with me for a while. I do know I need to stop being so harsh on myself…old habits and all that 🙃 @JennyBeez Yes, to camouflage, yes to self-sabotage. I know what started my weight issues and disordered eating. Food was used as a punishment when I was growing up (amongst other things) I won’t go in to detail as I don’t want to trigger anyone but I have undergone counselling etc. I did lose approx 100lbs around 12 years ago and then immediately started with Rheumatoid Arthritis which threw a massive spanner in to my works! My focus went from weight and gym visits to meds, hospital visits, X-rays pain and tests. Weight went back on, Osteoarthritis decided to join the party and then recently Fibromyalgia because why not?? Did I choose any of that? NO! Looking at it all dispassionately, I can see that I was angry with my body - I’d done the major weight loss, I was at the gym 5 days a week because I loved it, I was happy with myself and then I felt that I was kicked in the teeth without rhyme or reason. I know that WLS won’t make everything go away but hopefully it will make things easier to handle and get me moving once again. I miss the gym like you wouldn’t believe and I’m just hoping that I can get going to it once again for my physical and mental health. Working on my mindset is definitely a work in progress.

Made it to day 2 post op! Not so much in pain, but get some very uncomfortable stomach feelings or cramps. They prescribed oxy and liquid Tylenol which I’ve been taking pretty much every 3-4 hours (woke up every three hours the first night following the procedure). Otherwise I’ve been up and walking in between napping - very tired! I had my procedure Thursday and was planning to go back into my office on Tuesday. Based on how tired I am, I will probably work from home the whole week following the procedure. My dietary guidelines are as follows: Day 1 (procedure day) & Day 2: Clear liquids, supposed to have 64 oz of Gatorade or a diluted fruit juice but I haven’t been able to drink that much at all. They said the first two days are the worst as your stomach heals, so hoping tomorrow is better. 4 weeks: Full liquid diet 2 weeks: Blended/pureed foods 4 weeks: Soft foods Regular food I feel ready but am a little nervous for the amount of drinking I’ll be doing at the office!

While I was losing I didn’t cheat. In saying that as I got close to my goal & then when trying to maintain, I stated developing a way of eating that would allow me to enjoy the foods I wanted to, enjoy my life & how I wanted to live it, and still maintain my weight. Actually I don’t like the word ‘cheating’ in regards to eating. Too negative much like the word ‘diet’. To me they mean failure, weakness & punishment. However or whatever you chose to eat now or in the future must be sustainable. It must complement your lifestyle and support your weight loss & long term maintenance. If you choose to eat in a restrictive way that means you can’t participate in social activities or makes you feel you’re missing out, it’s destined to fail. Especially if you are defining any diversions off that path as cheating. But if you adopt a way of eating that is flexible, means you can have pizza with your family or friends, or have birthday cake, or whatever & you accept this as just how you eat in your life, it will be sustainable and lead to long term success. You’ll have to consider portion size, frequency, alternative ingredients or cooking styles but it certainly isn’t cheating in my thinking. Well that’s what I believe.

In people with an intestinal component to their surgery (like gastric bypass, SADI, and DS) sometimes GI symptoms can happen like chronic gas. You might consider exploring a FODMAP diet to see if you can find the foods that are triggering the gas. Odds are something you are eating is causing this... You could also try adding a probiotic, sometimes the gut microbiome can get off kilter. And a reduction in the simple carbs you are eating might help too if you eat a lot of carbs as opposed to a protein heavy diet. As for the burping, it sounds like for some reason you are swallowing a lot of air. You might try drinking fluids a bit differently. If you drink from a bottle or a straw a lot, you might switch to a wide mouthed cup. My dietician said a lot of water bottles and narrow shaped cups (as well as straws) can cause you to swallow a lot more air than normal, causing burping and sometimes nausea. I'm sorry food doesn't feel good right now. I feel the movement of food in my esophagus and stomach a lot, as well as when I drink. Small sips and small bites help. Small is smaller than you think. I hear it gets better as time goes on... Sometimes I can eat relatively normally, other times (like this week) my restriction is super high and I can only eat half of what I normally do, or less. There is an ebb and flow to this. So on my high restriction days I eat less and drink more protein supplements. On my low restriction days I get more veggies in and a hefty dose of meat based proteins. I figure it all averages out in the end! I agree though, a talk with your doctor is in order. You shouldn't be experiencing pain at this point. On rare occasions bypass patients can develop strictures which could cause some of the symptoms you list.

I am now on soft food, I meal prepped some lunches but getting my protein seems way tougher than just drinking shakes. I have the isopure lime mango mix in for 20g. I want to be able to eat food since it’s going to be more sustainable but how did you guys get it all in?

Hey Bariatric family!! I’m four weeks post op and the thought of food makes me sick. Protein and water are my best friend. I have had some puréed stuff and a tiny piece of white fish. Once I eat something and put it up for “later” the thought of it disgust me. Will this go away?? Any food ideals?? Besides chili and fish?? The thought of chicken makes me want to pass out. I’m feeling good and everything is going well , just scared that this will not go away. Thanks in advance for all replies . These forums have gotten me through some of the hardest times of my life after vsg surgery.

Thank you for sharing your experience, it really helps seeing that other people are being honest but still fighting through the preop diet! Yes, my partner eats away from me, we don't discuss food other than me venting about my diet, and I have nothing in my PC room other than shakes and glasses of squash etc. It's helping a lot more but still sucks being able to smell the food in the house or on my partners clothes. Sounds silly I know! Hahaha! That's so interesting how you sat and watched most of it before realising! The things we do eh? I am avoiding all food/drink related media too, scrolling as soon as I see something or switching channels etc. Thank you for the wonderful suggestions, I'll look into them and see what I can do. Thank you! x

Yes, because of the nerves that are cut during the surgery, messages about being full or having had enough, either don’t get through in the same way or are distorted. It takes about 8 weeks for hi to fully heal & therefore the messages to start getting through accurately. Also, liquids & purées go through your tummy more quickly & before you might feel full. Add in the small potions & sipping & eating slowly & you won’t feel full. It’s why it’s so important to stick to the portion size recommendations we are given. Once you start to eat a little more in regards to portion size and solid foods & you are more healed, you’ll start to feel when you’ve had enough and start to feel your restriction. PS - It takes at least 20 minutes for the full signal to get from your tummy to your head so by the time you register you are full, it’s easy to have eaten more than you actually need. Some of us take even longer to register we are full. Aim, not to feel full but to recognise when you’ve had enough. I still often ask myself do I need the next bite or just want it. Congrats on your surgery.

@BlueParis Frustrating as it is, I think it takes most people about a year to reach their lowest weight. Those lucky few who drop the weight really fast are unusual. I know it's hard! But you're a healthy weight and looking great, so it's worth being proud of how much you've accomplished, especially with such a difficult travel schedule. At least your stall has broken! As for scars, mine are similarly dark purple. This is not a surprise to me as I get very dark scars, even from spider bites. Those pajama pictures reminded me that I had to get rid of an old favorite pair of pajamas as they were much too large. I look forward to buying a cozy new pair when the cold weather rolls around! I honestly don't know how anyone stays on track while traveling, especially on vacation. It is so hard when eating at restaurants non-stop, not to mention being surrounded by snack foods and temptations like ice cream and candy, which are much too easy to eat. I dread what my weight will be at the end of the week when I get home from my family trip. This will be the most days in a row I've missed weighing myself since surgery. But now that I've had a day of indulging in some treats, and realizing that eating junk isn't as appealing as I remember and kind of makes me feel blah, I'm hoping I'll be better about limiting myself to the healthiest options I can find.

Thank you so much for your tips @JennyBeez👍 I did wonder if things could be diluted but wasn’t sure if it would alter the composition of it or not? Will definitely try adding a dash of lemon or lime juice though, that sounds great. Hubby has the job of mixing powders as he has used them previously so has ‘the knack’! I lack patience at times and would just drink it, lumps included… I’ve found some frozen beef bone broth discs at M&S which sounded ideal as you can just use one disc at a time. I haven’t bought any yet as I’d thought I’d leave it until I tried making some soups in the colder weather…actually that could really be now as it’s stupidly cold in the north of England 🥶 I’m trying to get organised as I can get overwhelmed with things sometimes (many thanks menopause anxiety 😡) so trying to avoid that if I can. I’m also trying to work on the mental gymnastics that my mind can go through when it comes to weight, diet, food blah, blah, blah. I want to eventually draw a line and just have a somewhat reasonable relationship with myself, before it gets too late!

This is 100% true. I have never had better fish and chips anywhere than in the UK. We have nothing even close in the States. In fact, despite its dodgy culinary reputation, I have had nothing but delightful food in the UK. Even your prepackaged sandwiches are amazing, and as much as I love American diner breakfast, nothing beats a full English.

nine years later, and I still track my food every day.

Yep, I'm 9 months post-op and may or may not just be coming out of about a 3-week stall. It's very normal and expected to start slowing down, stalling, and having small weight gains at this point. I hit a low of 170.2 toward the end of October, immediately bounced up a pound, and didn't drop below that low point until 3 days ago. Personally, I find that whenever I hit a new low after a little bit of a stall, especially if it involves a large one-day drop (I went from 170.8 to 169.0 in a day), I'll usually bounce around a little before seeing any steady declines. Most people continue losing weight until at least 12 months, and sometimes a little bit more until 18 or 24 months. But with a lot more stalls, especially the closer you get to a "normal" BMI. (I'm about 14 pounds away from not being considered overweight by the medical charts). The important thing is to develop a healthy eating and exercise routine that is sustainable no matter what the scale says. If you're doing what is reasonable and recommended, keep doing it. There's no need to change what isn't broken. On the other hand, if you know you've been straying from your good habits, focus on getting back to where you know you should be. Eating healthy foods in the correct portions on a regular schedule, moving your body throughout the week, getting the right amount of protein, taking vitamins, and drinking water are all things you will be doing for the rest of your life, even though at some point the scale will stop going down. The advice I am giving myself these days is to try to separate those good things I am doing from the number on the scale. Because for me, if I start seeing weight loss as a "reward" for "being good", it makes it harder to continue the good lifelong habits when that "reward" inevitably goes away. It also won't do you any favors in the long run if you try to introduce a bunch of things you know you will never be able to maintain just to get the scale moving faster. I might be able to drop a few pounds really fast if I went back to 500 calories per day or re-did my 2 week liquid diet, but I can't live like that forever, so it's a false victory. I think we all have to find the right balance of habits we can maintain fairly steadily for a lifetime and a healthy weight we can maintain without torturing ourselves. And remember that just because you hit the 12-month mark doesn't mean the game is over. You can always introduce improvements to your nutrition or your exercise that will result in slow and steady changes over time. You don't have to workout 5 days a week for 2 hours a day if that isn't your thing, but if you add some resistance training a few times per week or an extra walk after dinner, you will see those results down the road.

Well first - have a fantastic time! I've also done theme parks before and after surgery and the difference is absolutely night and day. You'll have a ball. So yes - days in the parks are long and the food choices in there are all really unhealthy. I'm gonna say something different to Amber above and that's that you might want to be using your immediate post-op period to retrain your brain to tell it that processed foods aren't good, lack nutrients, aren't worth the space in your stomach, and are what got you here in the first place. But I know we're all different - that is the joy of this forum for me! Salads with grilled chicken or fish might be your friends for this trip if you can tolerate them. If not, as summerseeker says, a small cold pack with cheese and deli meat. A few nuts and seeds go a long way - again if you can eat them this early.

I take an extended release ADHD med. Before I had surgery I discussed this with my prescribing psychiatrist and he was not concerned about absorption with gastric sleeve. However every med is different so I would recommend having this conversation with your doctor. I MUST have something to eat with my adhd med or I get nauseated. I have meds I have to take on an empty stomach and meds I have to take with food so timing is a bit of an issue for me. I cannot take my meds as early as I used to so they kick in a bit later and i have had to adjust to that.

Hey! So I had my surgery back in May - how are you feeling about your upcoming surgery? My first week was interesting for sure. I did feel overwhelmed at first trying to work out what I could and could not "eat" (I use that term loosely as it was the liquid stage 🤣), and I was over-thinking everything. I was trying to take all my vitamins, drink all the water I needed to, and also drink the "food" I could have. Plus just adjusting to how my body FELT whilst I was just doing all of these things. I'd never had surgery before, so it really did feel a bit surreal, but honestly it was not as bad as I thought it would be. My pain was very minimal, and I did quickly settle into a routine of things. Constipation post-op was a bit of an issue, so I'd advise maybe picking up some stuff to help alleviate this before you have surgery, just so you are prepared if it is an issue! But other than this, I haven't actually had any issues. My advice would be to not do what I did, and don't try to do it all at once. Focus on one little thing at a time. If you need rest, then rest, and drink when you can so that you are keeping your body hydrated. I was genuinely surprised at how quickly everything felt normal. Just take this time to slow down, and be mindful of how your body feels, and new sensations you may come across in terms of how eating/drinking feels etc. You'll be absolutely fine though! And this site is amazing for advice, and just to talk, so always reach out & good luck! I look forward to following your journey!