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I’m hoping to be getting my surgery date in a couple weeks. I’m hoping it will be in May,2022. I’m so ready to get rid of this fat and it stay off.

Hi NeedtoLoseWeight Yay! Same date as me! I don't have a liquid diet prior to surgery mine is 2weeks of 1000 calories a day. I'm apprehensive about the post op 4 week liquid diet though!. Has your surgeon team given you an idea of what you can have liquid wise that will still fill you up? xx

I used patches right after the surgery when I didn't feel great about taking capsules. My blood work turned out fine at my 3 month checkup, but as others have said, vitamin deficiencies can take a while to manifest. I still keep some patches around for times when taking capsules is very inconvenient (like traveling overnight). I view them as "Not as good as capsules, but better than nothing."

At the moment speaking to the receptionist at our doctors is a rare treat so no I never got any bloods done before yesterday. Since last June. I have a phone consult with a doctor next week about my results of yesterdays blood tests. My BP is so good maybe I can come off some tablets. I expect they will schedule bloods and results before the jab in future.

I had a 3 week veg diet and it was 3 weeks too long IMO but I gritted my teeth and got through it. It taught me some big lessons like I could exist with out takeaway. At 62 years old I expected the operation pain to be brutal but I had no pain and no painkillers. I could jump in and out of the hospital bed, which was a blessing as I had the worst tummy upset. My last veg meal was a curried concoction that would have caused it and I should have known better. I was told not to shower till the stitches came out, 3 weeks ! Eeuw thats nasty, so I wrapped my middle in Cling wrap and managed { I dont know what you call cling wrap in the US } I bought gummy vitamins, soluble calcium, soups, broths and low calorie popsicles and a few different kinds of protein drinks. Dont over buy anything your taste buds will change. If you have time on your hands read back pages of the forum, I did and found it so useful. Good luck and keep us posted on your recovery and ask away, there is always somebody on the forum at any time of the day

Are you on anti nausea meds ? I have been told we may need them for a year. In the early weeks lots of us have buyers remorse a few weeks in and then as soon as we can begin eating more normally things improve. Being tearful is normal, we think we have ruined our life for a while. Hang in there, give yourself a big hug, we promise you that soon things will improve. I used to nibble on tiny slivers of cheese and these helped with the queasiness and it tasted heavenly. I had such a filthy taste in my mouth all the time. No amount of tooth brushing helped. Just do what you have to so you get through this healing stage

Pretty worried about the 2 weeks liquid diet prior to surgery. I guess it’s good practice? And ideas on food/drinks to have? Any good tips?

I’m booked in for gastric sleeve in a couple of months. Is it true that you have to go on a liquid diet 2 weeks before? I have a function a few days before surgery and will find this hard

Hi there, congratulations on your successful surgery and welcome to our bariatric community. You'll find lots of answers to all types of situations you might encounter along your WLS journey here in the forums and threads, so feel free to browse around. I remember feeling "full" pretty fast, and actually I still do, thank God, 3 years later the sleeve is still working for me.

The standard recommendation by medical professionals for all adult humans is 150 minutes/week. That's how they come up with 30 minutes a day 5x/week or 10,000 steps a day on average. It's just a benchmark. You can do lots of things with resistance bands and non-impact exercises like yoga or stretching that shouldn't aggravate your pre-existing injuries. What about water fitness exercises in the pool at a local gym or the YMCA?

I’m 3 weeks post op and so depressed. I’m craving a double cheeseburger from McDonald’s. But can’t even eat because I get so nauseous. This sucks. How can I control my mind from wanting all these bad things?!!😭😭😭 I’m so mad and just want to cry. What did I do to myself.

The advice you are getting seems bizarre because I don't know why a psychiatrist has any business telling you what exercise is appropriate for you. That's the job of a PT and/or a doctor. If your team is insisting that you MUST exercise in this manner then something is wrong. In addition, exercise is only a small part of this and the majority of the work is diet related. You shouldn't be doing ANY exercise that is causing you pain. Stop doing what you're doing immediately and here are your options: 1. Consult a physiotherapist who can help you learn how to exercise without hurting yourself. Even if you have to pay money for this it's worth it. 2. Get in the pool. Swimming or water aerobics are a great workout and excellent for people with injuries. When I was 17 I dislocated each of my hips in separate snowboarding crashes. I did pool workouts to recover and it's still a great workout without straining your body. I still do them now. 3. Stay out of the gym and go for a walk. Really there is no reason we have to work out in gyms, especially if it causes you stress. I find a treadmill torture but going for a walk outside is the highlight of my day. If you don't like it, you don't have to do it.

Hello Everyone, I am new here and am pre-op. I have been working with my bariatric team for about a yr or so no give or take and looking forward to getting the hopeful green light for surgery. It has been a wild and crazy journey to say the least but I am so excited to be on it. My whole thing is trying to figure out what is the best to staying motivated working out. So, a little back story on this. I have had a few injuries over the yrs. I had and ACL injury in my 20s and a neck injury in my early teens. I have been able to go to the gym for a max time of an hr lately (which is about 1x a week or 2x a week). Sadly I feel like I have lost motivation because despite feeling goo while at the gym and so proud of myself I ended up getting the worst migraine and neck pain of my life since I had worked on my shoulders and back muscles that day. Needless to say this has made me a little unsure about going back due to the pain and a reward for the hydro beds at the end. But if I don't my team is worried I cant maintain it when surgery is over. I feel so stuck. I also feel stuck because PT therapy walking was ok as long as it was 30 minute min. a day but my psychologist wanted more like 150 minutes a week and weights then recanted. (ugh sorry I am rambling and all over. Please be patient with me it is 1:30 am here) I guess long story short here I am wondering: 1) What were you recommended from your teams? 2) What work outs work for you? 3) What keeps you motivated? 4) and if you have an injury, disability or pain what do you do to overcome fears at the gym with it? Thank you. Have a good one, Destiny

If it wasn't for protein water, I would have struggled to get my 60g daily protein in the first weeks and months post surgery. I couldn't handle the protein shakes beyond the first two weeks. The protein water I swear by has 28g of protein per serve and adds to my daily water intake, making things SO much easier.

Check with your dietician/nutritionalist & surgeon for calorie & macro guidelines. You will still be on their plans while you are losing. There are a lot of different plans out there & one person’s plan may not be what your medical team recommends. For example, mine want very prescriptive. I wasn’t given calorie or macros goals just protein & fluid goals & portion size recommendations. I was also given lists of foods I could eat or had to avoid. It was low carb, low fat, low sugar but no specific numbers. I saw my dietician every week for the first months who reviewed my diet each time & together we worked out what else I might need or could try. Your dietician may also make specific suggestions according to your needs: activity levels, allergies, eating preferences (vegan, vegetarian, etc.). & so on. Even your age & gender could influence your plan. Do you cook? It’s much easier to control the ingredients, how the food is prepped & cooked & therefore the calories & macros if you make it yourself. A lot of prepared food even so called diet food is calorie heavy for our needs & ‘low fat’ foods can be higher in sugar & vice versa. For example a single lean cuisine meal would exceeded the calories I was eating in a whole day the first couple of months, plus include ingredients on my avoid list. PS - congrats on your surgery.

some people say they've worked for them and others have said they haven't. I think the jury might still be out on these. And like the person above said, sometimes it can take months or even years for deficiencies to start showing up. I never tried them because I figured I'd be one of the people they didn't work for. Plus some people's surgeons and dietitians are telling them not to use them since it's not clear that they work. They haven't been around long enough for much long-term research. I've considered getting some for when I'm traveling overseas, though, so I don't have to lug two or three weeks' worth of vitamins with me, but for regular use, I stick to regular vitamins.

Oh ! Makes me realise how darn slow everything happens in NZ! I spoke to my GP last August, it took him 2 weeks to even write the referral letter (I had to get referred even though I am self funding). I waited until December to see the surgeon, then i had to have two psych appointments and a dietician appointment, then they all got together yesterday and agreed I can have the surgery 😁 I have another final appointment with the surgeon beginning of March where he will schedule the actual date…..am elated and terrified at the same time! So it will be near 9 months. Though I did actually talk to another GP in the practice about surgery over a year ago, she was negative and told me that keto might work…it did but I have since put nearly all the weight back on again.

the closer you get to a normal BMI, the slower it goes. Those last 20 lbs were a BEAR for me to get off. Took forever. We're talking like 2 lbs a month the last three or four months. But I hung in there and finally made it. The reason being, your calorie requirements at that weight are MUCH lower than they were when you started. It takes about 1600 calories for me to maintain my current weight. I would have lost weight like CRAZY if I ate 1600 calories when I weighed over 300 lbs. For me to lose 2 lbs a week (which I could have done NO PROBLEM when I weighed 300 + lbs), I would have to eat 7000 fewer calories that week (well, I would have when I weighed 300+ lbs, too). That's 1000 fewer calories a day. When I was scarfing up 3500 kcal/day, that means I would have had to cut back to 2500 kcal/day. Now I would have to cut back to 600 per day. Ah...no. I could do that the first couple months out of surgery, but 600 calories a day at seven years out? No way. Plus it wouldn't have even been healthy. So I basically lose a couple lbs a month when I'm trying to lose weight. 8-10 oz portions - would depend on what it is. Greek yogurt, yes. Steak - no. Stretching your stomach - probably not. You'd have to really overeat, day after day, every day, to do that. you are hungry because physical hunger does come back for the vast majority of us sometime during the first year. And that's when things get a lot harder. I've never counted fats. And I wasn't on an ultra-low carb plan (mine was balanced), but the first few months, I rarely ate over 80 carbs a day since I had to get in so much protein. There wasn't room for more than about 80 carbs. Now i probably get double that - but I limit the "bad" ones. Mine mostly come from whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. exercise isn't that effective in helping you lose a bunch of weight unless you're talking swimming mega laps or running marathons. But it's great for your overall health, and you should do it regularly if you can. It CAN help you maintain once you get to goal, though.

In the early days of the surgery the scale has no relation to your body's reality. My advice - ignore it for a bit. While you are on liquids and basically minimal calories, you are losing weight. Nothing more you can do. For reasons I cant explain (and it seems no one else really can either) weight loss is not linear at all. Days will pass where the scale doesnt move - then one day three pounds disappear. We all go through the same anxiety from time to time (I am in the midst of another stall now). Other than having this group tell you its all going to be alright, there is nothing to do but be patient, and know that its just a matter of time. Wishing you good luck!

Disclaimer: Always listen to your doctor - or at least not me 🙂 When you read about the liquid stage pre surgery, its sounds nearly impossible. Actually, the hardest part is consuming the liquid. You wont be hungry. I found the protein broths were the most tolerable. Hated the fat free cream of something soups. My doc (may be different from yours) basically said for the first few days worry about not being dehydrated - to do your best on protein. Then it was protein based liquids - check out the protein waters, they aren't "heavy." Pretty soon thereafter, shakes, puddings, jello, yogurt. That's only about a week-10 days out. at that point protein isn't too hard. In the early stages, I agree with Queen - warm was much easier than cold. I thought this one was pretty tolerable: Protein Broth Wish you all the best for surgery. If its at all encouraging - I think it was the best decision I have made!

Hi everyone, I had my sleeve done on 1/28/22. This is my first post, but I have been lurking for a few weeks. Right now I’m on stage 3 of the diet — I’ve starting eating puréed veggies, ricotta cheese, etc (can’t bring myself to purée any meats 🤢). I also made a big batch of roasted tomato soup and I’ve been eating that for dinner. I’m not hungry ever, which I know is typical. But I also don’t really notice ever feeling very full, like so many people tend to. It’s making me nervous, because I know eventually the hunger comes back, and that feeling of quick fullness was what I was banking on. I stop myself at what I think are appropriate portions (like for breakfast I had 1/4 cup of ricotta cheese, felt fine, but stopped eating because I didn’t want to overdo it). I called the nutritionist at my surgeon’s office when I was still on stage 2; she told me that because I was still basically on liquids that I wouldn’t start to feel the fullness until more solids were introduced. I thought maybe getting to stage 3 I would start to feel that, but still haven’t. Has anyone else experienced that? I’m about 3 weeks out and I’m already nervous that this is all eventually going to be for nothing. I seem to be losing at an OK pace; I thought it would be quicker but I guess it’s on track, since my surgery I’ve lost 11 lbs, and 38 lbs in total since I started trying pre-op. Anyway, thanks for reading, any input would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!!

Hey all - So like many of you, I am still trying to figure out what normal means, six months post surgery. First off, I am so happy I did the VSG - no complaints, I feel great, surgeon was fantastic, their office is responsive and follows up and I am down from an all-time high of 305, 261 on Surgery Day, and 195 Today. Hoping to get to 185. That's where my difficulty is: In the past 10 weeks, I have lost maybe 5 pounds. I find my weight fluctuates daily +/- 5 pounds, so I only track the lows as benchmarks. (IDK: water retention, lack of BM, salt...). My low was 194, today 196, the other day 200 (which is a number I hate!). I think I am spoiled by the rapidity of weight loss early on and feeling a little discouraged now that things are slower. More than that though, my fear is that my portion size is starting to feel almost normal person normal... not my pre VSG by any stretch, but not terribly restricted. I also am getting hungry again... and craving things like sweets again. After a filling dinner at 6, by 9 I think about dessert - and sometimes succumb. Thus far, I havent done anything too terrible, but the idea of making a batch of chocolate chip cookies has been on my mind for weeks. I feel like I could fall off the wagon at any time. And now that I can eat almost normal amounts again, its not like the little cheats along the way that didnt matter due to space restrictions - I COULD DO DAMAGE! (BTW- still dont understand the "2nd stomach" when it comes to dessert. If I think about having another piece of grilled chicken, I know I am full, but a bowl of iced cream, suddenly I am starving!) With slow weight loss, which I understand is normal as I am getting close to goal weight, and growing portions (8-10 oz at a time), cravings for sweets, and inter-meal hunger, I am terrified that I am a few months from seeing an uptick on the scale. Ten pounds from the finish line - which I might hit, but for how long? So, for my version of the "is this normal" questions: 1. 5 lbs in 10 weeks? 2. 8-10 oz portions 6 months out? 3. How long till 8-10oz becomes, 12, 14... 4. Is this in my control (am I stretching), or is this healing and normal? 5. Why am I hungry - is it psychological bad habits or physical healing and ok? 6. I have no problem getting enough protein, but are carbs still the enemy, or calories, or fat? 7. Macros, Keto, Calorie counting - academically I understand them all. I cant reconcile the conflicting info. Even my Doc and my nutritionist seems to differ (though they obfuscate to be respectful of one another). Anyone in a similar phase of this process with insight on this part? And tips: 1. Least harmful desserts that have worked for you? Mathing things our has been getting me a little crazy. I have gotten back to espresso/lattes lately, which I find to be a filling snack, but even with skim milk: 100 calories x 2/day x 7 days per week = 1400 calories = almost half a pound a week. Same with the 100 calorie dessert. Thus, if the I'm doing the math right: I am basically eating a neutral calorie amount at this point - evidenced by lack of meaningful weight loss. Avg 1/2 a pound a week for the past 10 = 1750 calorie deficit per week = 250 calorie deficit per day. Does that mean I am a skim milk latte and an apple a way from not losing weight. Then any excess is gain!?!? I think all I have left in my arsenal is more exercise, which frankly, doesnt seem that probable. If I liked the treadmill, I would be on this forum now would I? Welcome thoughts & feedback! Thanks all!

Hey - I had a similar issue. Here's what worked for me: 1. Fairlife Protein Shakes - 42g version. So much better (for me) than the chemically ones. Though still dairy. 2. Non Diary protein powder + SF Jello/pudding mix. I hate Jello! I used sugar free almond milk + protein powder + SF pudding. Huge amount of protein, no dairy. Jello is just as good, but not my thing... 3. Are you allowed any solids yet? Soft scrambled eggs worked pretty well. 4. When you're allowed seeds (docs differ on this), consider some non-dairy chia puddings. Can add protein powder, non-dairy yogurt, cocoa powder/vanilla - very flexible way to get protein and fiber. Variants of this have become my go to breakfast even 6 months out since you can make a batch and grab to eat on-the-go. Hope that helps - I promise it gets easier every day... until, believe it or not, you look back fondly on the days when food was repulsive 🙂 Good luck!

Hi, I just added this app. My surgery is for next week 02/23/2022! Im excited and nervous all at the same time. Anyone have any suggestions or advice for post op? Thanks

I'm 2 days after you. I'm doing the fast track "safe sleeve" with Blossom Bariatrics. I've been looking into it for quite some time. I'll be doing all the pre op testing when I get there. Literally, I fly in on Monday, meet them in person on Tuesday, testing Tuesday and Wednesday. Surgery on Thursday. Should be a whirlwind of emotion. Do you have to "shrink" your liver? That 2 week diet is going to be hard for me. I'll be here for moral support.