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I've maintained almost 4 years at goal by eating a TON of carbs. So...there are a lot of ways up this mountain dietarily. I eat high fiber, keep my calories under 1600 a day, and eat very little refined sugar or white flour. (I keep my refined treats under 200 calories once or twice a week) Stuff I eat a TON of: Oats, Fruit, Veggies, Beans, Chickpeas, Lowfat/Nonfat Diary, Potatoes, VERY lean meats, whole grain breads. Lots and lots of fruit and veggies. (and it shows...my cholesterol and all labs are excellent...and this matters as we get older) Stuff I don't eat: Anything with animal fat. Fried stuff. (I do stir fry with a little olive oil) I don't eat Refined sugar. I don't eat White flour. Substitutions I make a lot: Plant protein instead of animal. Olive Oil instead of butter. High fiber...I try to get 25g a day or more. Oatmeal in food processor in place of white flour in recipes. Best advice I can give.....three of them actually: 1. See a bariatric therapist. The causes behind disordered eating are not addressed by your surgery. 2. Get active! Increasing your activity, even if it's just adding a couple hundred more steps to your routine every day...it will keep your metabolism singing. 3. Count calories. It sucks, but it's necessary. Wishing you the very best!

I'm in the beginning process of my bariatric journey, had my information session a few weeks ago and my big appointment with the surgeon, nurse, nutritionist, etc. is coming up in 3 weeks. So excited! I've been thinking about this health and wellness renewal with bariatric surgery for several years now. I've also been on a journey with my mental health (anxiety & depression) for about 4 years and have made some wonderful progress. I have a good support system of doctors but lately my therapist is making me scratch my head. For those of you on your journey - or that have experience - tell me about your journey with your mental health along with the bariatric surgery process. What I mean by my therapist is making me scratch my head.....so, for the past several years, my therapist has helped me get to a place where I can work on myself and my relationship with my parents (suffered mental/emotional as well as some physical abuse from parents). I made so much progress in 2 years with this...true healing, feeling so much more confident and content with myself. This progress finally led me to go forward with realizing that I was ready to commit to wanting to help myself and begin my bariatric weight loss journey. So, when I brought this up to my therapist, her reaction was not exactly what I expected. (I've read about people's different reactions so I'm of course trying not to let this bother me and feel like I probably need to either move on or realize that's her opinion, not mine). Anyway, when I try to discuss my wants/needs regarding my request for help when it comes to emotional eating/overeating/breaking that psychological connection, she's not really wanting to go there with me. She gives me very little help and keeps saying, "maybe you just won't have this surgery"...and suggests calling local weight loss places that focus on holistic methods of weight loss, etc. that cost $$$. She keeps telling me I need to read all of these books on "miracle weight loss", "medicine is bad", etc. ...ok, so....I know if someone is offering you some "magic unrealistic" guarantee if you "buy their program" they will promise you guaranteed weight loss for life....Ok, that's not for me. I've been there, done that, time and time again. You know the story...the diets we've all tried, the books we've all read, the shakes, you name it. I'm pushing 50 years old...been around the block with weight loss, like all of us here and I'm just not buying it. But, I did try to hear her out. What I'm disappointed in is that I feel that this relationship with this therapist is not helpful. I think I probably need to find another avenue of therapy. I know my hospital offers some group therapy, which I plan on doing. I'm grateful for this website and forum for help and support. If anyone has any advice - therapy suggestions, books/podcasts, etc. to work on my mental health with the emotional eating connection - I would be so grateful. I am working hard already at trying to change these things for myself now so I can be successful. Thank you again for your help!!

Thats great Bariatric boy. Ive gone back to gym for last 1 week and getting stronger each week starting to feel normal most days.

I lost 30 pounds and four inches off my waist in 4 months (before even thinking about WLS) doing CrossFit, which is basically HIIT plus strength training. I can't speak for post-op progress since my surgery is this coming Tuesday, but honestly, I love the strength I feel from HIIT and strength training. And it will speed your body recomp. Make sure you're taking measurements and not just using the scale as a guide—muscle does weigh more than fat and so the weight loss might "stall" but the fat loss is still going.

Hi Summermoose. I had gastrc sleeve on 20/8 and 3 weeks post op. I had IBS too - i thinks its gone as it flared with large amounts of carbs and food. I was also very constipated first week but its tough tryna get water done when ur not eating much either. Try senna tablets or movicol. Xx

Hey everyone I’m on day three of my liver shrinking diet.

you're not going to feel much (if any) restriction until you move to solid foods - also, you've had some nerves cut in your stomach, and it takes awhile for them to regenerate - so your stomach isn't really talking to your brain at this point. So you really have to just follow the guidelines your clinic gave you since you can't rely on hunger/full cues at this point. soup and yogurt go right through you - so you won't feel "full" on those even after your nerves are back again. also, for some of us, full cues aren't the same as they were before surgery. I really never feel full now, the way I did before surgery. Now I start feeling what can best be described as an uncomfortable pressure in my chest. I know when I get to that point I need to stop, or I'm going to be sorry. Other people have had kind of weird things like runny noses or sneezing as their new "full" cue. You may feel a normal "full" feeling at some point (some people do), but probably not for a few weeks yet when you're eating solids, your stomach is fully healed, and your nerves have started to grow back.

Good carbs with lots of fiber keep my gut microbiota in balance, and are a hell of a lot healthier for my kidneys than ketosis. I eat good fats, good carbs, high plant protien, moderate animal protien, high fiber. Sustained goal weight for over 3 and a half years eating a metric feckton of a carbs:) I'm extra careful with my refined carbs, though. Very little processed sugar or white flour in my diet now (huge change from before). Almost all my carbs are from whole grains, whole fruit, beans, potatoes, other whole veggies now....but I do eat a lot of them. The occasional treat of refined stuff, but not too often. Maybe 200 calories worth once or twice a week. Carbs are not the enemy

What soft foods did you first add to your diet at 6 week PO? Which vegetables did you start with that were cooked down?

Hi everyone! I had surgery 8/30 so I’m almost two weeks post-op. I am currently in PMSing, but for lunch I was able to get down 3 oz of soup and a 4 oz Two Good yogurt before I decided to stop eating. Is this normal? I’ve been so hungry lately but am trying to stick to my soft foods phase and make good choices, but I don’t feel “full” very fast on soup/yogurt. Am I eating too much?

I lost around 70 pre-surgery (and I didn’t follow a specific program - was just trying to lose weight on my own - lost 50 before I even met with the surgeon). I was around 227 the day of surgery and by month 7 had lost all of my excess weight. It’s definitely slowed down in the last couple of months but I am below my initial goal weight (which was in the “normal” BMI range). I’m now hoping to get down to 135 but it’s really slow now and getting these “mini-stalls” where I stay around the same weight for 2-3 weeks then have a couple of weeks where I lose 1-2 lbs, rinse and repeat. I’m exercising a lot though so that may be part of it - incorporated weights after about 10 weeks post-op. I do take my measurements once a month so I can see progress there even though it’s slowing on the scale. Good luck with your surgery - you got this!

This. SO MUCH THIS. My surgery is 48 hours from now and I am going through ALL of the emotions REAL fast. I calmed myself down a bit by sitting and typing out my meds list (my doctors colluded to make this super complex for the first week) and what I'm allowed to eat for each of the phases, even though I have a perfectly cromulent pre-typed list from my centre.

The first few days when you start replacing meals with shakes are pretty rough. Just tough it out. But it's funny how quickly your stomach will get used to less food... I had to go to a breakfast meeting and had to order something to not look weird, ate three bites of scrambled egg, and was full—and this is pre-op.

Hello everyone. I am new to this forum. I had my Weight loss consultation on August 31, 2021. I am super excited and ready for this new journey. I’ve been overweight most of my adult life and now it’s time to regain control over my life. I’ve been given some guidelines to start implementing vitamins And at least three proteins shakes a day. I’ve been monitoring what I eat, making sure I get my steps in, and being mindful of my feelings and relationship the food. I was told I needed to lose 15 to 20 pounds prior to surgery. This is kind of stressful Being that I’ve been trying to lose 15 to 20 pounds for the past year and I’ve been unsuccessful. However, I’m going to continue to do my best, roll with the punches, And trust the process. Good advice is welcomed 🤗

I had surgery 8/12. I've been eating sugar free peppermints to help with the bad taste and breath issues. I still haven't been able to start exercising. I don't have energy and I take mutlivitamins, sublingal B12 everyday. My diet is getting slightly better. I had a situation where I drank too soon after eating last week and it was terrible. Horrible pain and everything came back up. I won't do that again.

Hi I am going to ring dietician again tomorrow, but spoke with 111 who think it is withdrawal, I'm on week 3 of 6,so goes to show what crap I was putting in my body.Thank you for your response,good luck on your Journey x

Hi Mel, I am in the UK too, Every surgeon is so different. I have read thousands of these post on here and there is no rhyme or reason for most. Like someone else stated - they need to do some research and not stick a pin in the list to find the pre op diet. It does seem brutal to make you do 6 weeks of 800 cals but I figure we will go through any hoop to get the surgery at this stage. Speak to the dietician at the hospital. We are paying loads of money to get this done, you dont need to be nauseous. Is the foods you are eating now very different to before - You might be having withdrawal symptoms. I have read they are bad. I hope you get sorted. Hugs

Hi all, I got surgery on 8/9/21 and for the last couple of weeks everything has left super heavy on my stomach. I have been vomiting a lot and can’t seem to keep anything down fully. It feels like the food is getting stuck in my throat almost. I should be on the soft food diet, but can’t really seem to even get through puréed. Did anyone else struggle like this at first? I’m having trouble getting enough nutrients and water and these dang vitamin chews are disgusting! Please help lol. Thank you!!

I have Sunshine Health medicaid and I have had to have a few tests done that they require, and am still in the process. An endoscopy, a chest X-ray, EKG, sleep study, that nasty swallow test, a stress test, and I have to see a hematologist because I have a bleeding disorder in my family so they want to make sure that the blood thinner won't make me bleed to death and that I also won't get blood clots. They have to figure out exactly how much they can or can't give me when it's time. I've had quite a few surgeries already and have been fine, but this one you get blood thinners after it. I already have the history of dieting, pills and exercise. I'm 53 and have gone from 350 to 245-250 on my own over the years. I also have to see the nutritionist two or three times so I can learn how to eat properly. I don't think my surgeon requires the liquid diet, but I do have to be on a portion control diet with high protein. I can lose weight but I'm stuck at this weight so I need a bit of help. I have already changed my way of eating. No fast food, no fried food, way less sugar, but no sweet treats at all. I mostly eat the way I'm supposed to, but I have cheated a bit with a few sodas. After surgery I'm never going to drink them again. Nobody needs that stuff in their body anyway. My surgeon said if all of my testing is finished and ok that I can have my surgery in November. I've already done some of the tests and Monday I will get my appointments for the rest of them. I'm so excited to be getting the testing overwith and getting started on a new journey. I'm 5'3 I am 250 approximately. Highest weight was 350 Type 2 diabetic but A1C is 5.8 down from 7.2 High blood pressure High cholesterol (should be lowered by now) I used to have sleep apnea but had my tonsils and uvula removed (when I was 50..talk about the pain) I have figured out that one of my new exercises is going to be hunting for pokemons or whatever they are called..lol I just started playing that darn game and now I'm addicted. I'll be going to the gym too of course.:)

I just started back up working at the school and three of my coworkers mentioned that I had looked slimmer!

weight loss is never as fast with a revision as it is with a "virgin" surgery. I think 22 lbs in seven weeks is pretty good, actually. you say you're watching carbs - are you watching overall calories as well? When I'm trying to lose, I weigh and measure everything - or most things, anyway. I also track my intake - although I've done that every day since my surgery 6+ years ago, regardless of whether or not I'm trying to lose. if you're already doing everything you're supposed to be doing, then it's probably just a long stall. I don't know if they're more frequent or longer for revisions - but I know mine became longer and more frequent when I got close to my goal.

do you mean before we have it? yes - I'm sure that's pretty common when going into it. Or do you mean do we have second thoughts after we've already had it? The first couple of weeks post-op, yes. Buyer's remorse is pretty common. But after that, no. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. One of the best decisions I've ever made!

I got the vax the second it was available. Not just for my own sake being obese, but for everyone else. I have a 90+ year old mother, a 90+ year old aunt with diabetes, and my eldest brother has ulcerative colitis and prostate cancer. All three would not survive getting covid, like so many others out there with compromised immunity. Also wear a mask everywhere - I have quite the stylish collection now!

Thank you for responding. Now I know I'm not alone either hehe. I had surgery the day after yours so we are in the same boat. 😁I think as long as we don't get disheartened, it will break. Maybe our infamous 3 week stall is a couple weeks late. lol. It is definitely confusing when the CNP and nutritionist say opposing things. Either way I think we're still in good shape and staying on track with checking in, and connecting with others. Cheers!

Workout Regimen?? Hey all! I am 3 months post op (35F, HW: 280, SW: 250, CW:210) and have been consistently walking, doing yoga, and some strength training for over 2 months. I would like to incorporate more strength-based workouts so tried a HIIT class yesterday which I really enjoyed (super sore today 🤣). I keep reading that doing heavy cardio can stall weight loss so I am hesitant to go frequently even though I am more interested in the strength days. Anyone have a similar experience? Did intensifying your workouts slow your progress at all?