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You will only get help and kindness here but we are not surgeons or dieticians. We can only help so much. We always recommend a visit with your team if possible. If you are not eating well and not getting enough liquids in then your body is holding every little calorie it can because you are in starvation mode. You will not loose weight, your body is in charge of this. If you can not get water down and you could a while back then you have a narrowing/ swelling in your new tummy and it needs a little easy tweak to stretch it back out. Its called a stricture. If this is something you have had from the beginning then you are forcing too much food and or drink in at once. Small sips of drinks, they can be hot, cold or frozen see which might work . Once you have mastered drinking, then pare down the foods to really soft, protein based ones again. Chew well and add sauces, it helps. Soft eggs, protein yogurt, soft cheese etc. Only eat a small amount, say 1 - 2 ounces and see if you can keep the foamies at bay. Foamies happen when your stomach rejects the food or drink it does not want that day. It may have been ok the day before but.... today, oh no you are not putting any more of that in me ... I haven't exercised as such, I was too decrepit too start with and I lack motivation now so I walk a few miles a week. Exercise doesn't really count for much weight loss unless its marathon running or such.

This is so awful, I am beyond sorry that you have had to go through this. I know most of us can completely empathise with how hard the waiting game is at the best of times, let alone with the added stress of the NHS and how badly run it seems to be with WLS! I had initially considered just staying on the NHS waiting list (I am currently on the Tier 3 Weight Management programme), but after hearing awful experiences like yours, and from reading about waiting times, I decided to look into going private with Spire. I think it may be worth just getting a second opinion in regards to what you were told before by a private surgeon! My surgeon, Simon Monkhouse, was amazing in the initial consultation. I have PCOS too, and an underactive thyroid, and he recommended a bypass and was transparent about it all. You can get a free consultation with him quite quickly, maybe this would be an option for you! simonmonkhouse.com I have everything crossed for you that you will get the surgery soon, and everything will work out. I'd definitely pursue putting in a complaint, too. Sending love and hugs x

Almost 5 years & yes, I do. There are certain foods that simply are too heavy in my tummy. Breads, pasta, rice I’m looking at you. I try a bite of bread every now & again just to see but nope not for me. (Don’t really miss them at all & I used to eat them often). I also have times when something I’m eating unexpectedly sits too heavily. Unexpected because I’ve eaten it before without an issue & I’ll eat it again easily. Though it is nice to know my restriction is still active. And yes I still have bouts of the foamies. I think I’ve a more sensitive tummy & esophagus but I had a sensitive tummy before surgery so nothing really new just a little different. I’ve accepted them & think of these as things that are just quirky to me: makes me more special than I already am - LOL! Doesn’t really restrict or limit me in any way. Can be a little annoying at times of course but easily manageable. And much like @The Greater Fool, some days I eat all of my meal & another I may not. Doesn’t matter. I love left overs. They mean I may only be reheating my dinner tonight not cooking from scratch. I’ll be snacking on my left over rolled oats breakfast later this afternoon. I also focus on protein & vegetables too & honestly after that I couldn’t eat anything else. Oh yes, also female, though late 50s, 5’3” & not active,& have maintained (apart from a 2kg medication glitch 2.5yrs ago but I lost that when we sorted it). Congratulations on maintaining too. Who hoo!

There's a reason when I describe my eating plan it is "3 meals of 3-4oz protein, 1oz veggies, or when I am full, whichever comes first." Typically, I probably complete 1 meal of 5 or 6, and a couple bites in 1 meal of 5 or 6, then the others are somewhere between. This is very normal for me, even all these years later. Good luck, Tek

Hi there! I just had my surgery last Monday on February 19th! I am on day 8, and honestly, im starting to feel almost back to normal! Struggling with the fact that I can't eat anything other than soup and pudding despite being so so hungry. Everything has been going down really good. I have had no issues getting in protein. I have 3 premier protein shakes a day, which equals to 90g of protein. I just wish I could eat soft foods like mashed potato and eggs. But my nurse practitioner wants me to stay on the liquid diet for another 3 weeks. YEAH RIGHT, hahah im going to be introducing some foods next week I think. I can't wait any longer. I am so hungry! I hope you have a speedy recovery from surgery! If you need any advice or have any questions, I am always here for you! Heaviest Weight: 376 - April 2023 Weight on day of surgery: 291 - February 2024 Total lbs lost before surgery: 85 lbs Current weight (1 week after surgery): 280 Total lbs lost since April: 96 lbs Im so close to meeting my 100 lbs down goal!!

Hi there! I just had my surgery last Monday on February 19th! I am on day 8, and honestly, im starting to feel almost back to normal! Struggling with the fact that I can't eat anything other than soup and pudding despite being so so hungry. Everything has been going down really good. I have had no issues getting in protein. I have 3 premier protein shakes a day, which equals to 90g of protein. I just wish I could eat soft foods like mashed potato and eggs. But my nurse practitioner wants me to stay on the liquid diet for another 3 weeks. YEAH RIGHT, hahah im going to be introducing some foods next week I think. I can't wait any longer. I am so hungry! I hope you have a speedy recovery from surgery! If you need any advice or have any questions, I am always here for you!

Hey there, I'm 6 days out from gastric bypass too and the only things I'm having right now are protein shakes, water, broth, and little bit of zero sugar yogurt or unsweetened kefir. Focus on fluids first, protein shakes second, and anything else only when your goals are met for hydration and protein. I'm finding hot tea (decaf) and broth go down much better than cold stuff, so you could give that a try and see if you are the same.

I spoke with the nurse last night and tomorrow I get to begin the soft proteins phase, which will be one week post-op. I'm going to the grocery store tonight. I will have to start separating food and liquids, waiting 30 minutes after drinking to eat and then 30-60 minutes after eating to drink. This is going to be a challenge because it takes me forever to drink anything. Part of the problem is I am developing an aversion to my protein shakes and anything sweet or artificially flavored. I think it's time to start making use of my unflavored protein and Greek yogurt to make my own shakes because the commercial stuff is just tasting terrible. Soft proteins include cottage cheese, string cheese, ricotta, flaky white fish, ground poultry, refried beans, tuna salad, eggs, yogurt, and tofu. My eating schedule when I begin soft proteins will be: Breakfast soft protein 16-20oz fluid plus a protein shake between breakfast and lunch Lunch soft protein 16-20 oz fluid plus a protein shake between lunch and dinner Dinner soft protein 16-20 oz fluid plus a protein shake after dinner/before bed

I want to thank everyone for the kind words and provide an update. I had my one-year post op doctor appointment yesterday. It went well and they were happy with the results. I still need to get blood work done, which I will do tomorrow. The blood work is probably the most important part of the visit, so I am hopeful that everything is right with it. I have had the 'normal' hurdles over the last 16-months that everyone has to deal with, and I am very thankful for little to no complications. I feel for those that have had more challenging journals, since I have been so lucky. Again, I want to stress that I am not special or unique. I hope someone out there might read this and it helps them in some way. It is hard work to lose weight no matter how you do it. It requires mentally reprograming how you have lived your entire life and making physical choices to match, but it can be done. Tons of success stories in this group are proof. Stay positive and go day by day with it. Stay off the scale and celebrate the non-scale victories. My wife and two kids have been so supportive: everything from education to food prep to walking with me to listening and talking about the process. Not an easy process, but because of their support it has been much easier. I am so grateful for the changes they made to support me. I will probably never be able to express that to them at the level it deserves it. I have never been happier. My wife attended the appointment with me yesterday and the update went as follows. I started in 9/2022 at 514-lbs. I had my surgery in 2/2023 at 488-lbs. My weight yesterday was 254-lbs. Its official I am truly half the man I was compared to the start of this program. Weight loss is different for all, especially someone that started as big as me, but it was great seeing those results. My 'ideal weight" connected to my 'normal' BMI would require me to loss another 80-lbs. I told my doctor from the beginning that I never cared about being skinny or normal and that has not changed. I wanted to improve my quality of life by being less huge. I wanted to be able to participate in activities with my family. I am happy to say I have achieved that goal! I am not done yet! This is not a diet -- it is a lifetime change! I do not care if I ever become 'normal,' but slowly losing and not gaining is the only plan. The future holds unlimited possibilities for me and my family. Future goals for me are to increase my exercise plan by adding strength training as priority number one. My second goal is to continue to try new 'healthy' foods that I may or may not like but expanding my options for more variety and balance helps me stay on plan. I will finish by saying if anyone has questions or thoughts, especially those big boys out there, feel free to ask and I will provide more detail about my experience. I am no expert, and we all have different programs, so I can only share my experience, if that can be of help to anyone. Good luck to all with your own personal journeys.

Try isopure unflavored no carb. I purchased it at Harris teeter grocery store. It doesn’t add a flavor. 25g protein a scoop.

Try isopure unflavored no carb. I purchased it at Harris teeter grocery store. It doesn’t add a flavor. 25g protein a scoop.

@Kmgaustin I also wonder the same thing. But, if you cant take it with water... have you ever tried with a small amount of pudding or yogurt to take your medicine? I used to have to do that because I couldn't swallow pills. Seems like it might help if you needed to take them with a meal and it gets the pills down. I wonder since I take Abilify and it helps to absorb Abilify when taken with food and fat. So Yogurt or protein pudding might help take it. Just a thought. I'll be looking for updates on this topic.

Hey!! You are a little over 2 weeks post op. Burping and feeling bloated are quite normal. As the internal swelling goes down these will ease (unless you chug water, then you'll feel bloated for sure! LOL). It isn't unusual to feel like things are creeping up your esophagus, right now everything is very swollen in there and that leads to a pressurized feeling. It can feel like water and food take forever to go down, or that they go down a bit and then start trying to crawl back up, before going down again. I had all these issues. I also had this thing where every time I drank something I could feel the fluid displacing air in my digestive tract, causing burping and then this trickling, gurgling feeling AND sound as the fluid tracked down into my stomach. It sounded like liquid going down a drain you just unclogged. It was weird as hell. LOL It lasted for the first month until the swelling went down enough inside to make more space. Fluids for another week are not going to hurt you. When you say fluids do you mean strict liquids only like milk and water? Or are you including shakes, pudding, yogurt, and so on? I was on strict fluids only for 2 weeks, no yogurt or puddings and I wasn't even able to stomach a real protein shake for the first month. I was not able to get any protein down the first two weeks without intense stomach spasms. The surgeon said that was not unusual at all. After the first two weeks we were supposed to introduce thin purees for the third week, and he told me I could have really soft fish and soft eggs. I hated purees. Yogurt sat too heavy. I still couldn't do jello. Sugar free pudding was a no too. I could do protein water, milk, a little bit of soft pureed egg, and weirdly enough, a little soft fish chewed well. At the 4th week we were told to progress to soft solids, but it took me another week before I was able to consistently. I had to be very gradual about my food progression. My team said that was perfectly fine, everyone's pace is a little different, just be sure to keep them posted on your progress as you go and follow their advice, but without forcing yourself to eat things your tummy doesn't feel ready for. You sound like you are right on schedule. ❤️

I had stomach spasms post op for several weeks and couldn't tolerate anything heavier than a thin shake or protein water, not even jello... Spasms are one of the rarer side effects of surgery but they normally regulate on their own in time. Still, it is good to talk to your surgeon about it. There is a medication that occasionally works for stomach spasms (it didn't work for me) but I'm not sure if there is one for esophageal spasms. Since you had the bypass, there is also a small but distinct possibility that you may need the connection between your esophagus and stomach stretched a little or you may have a stricture somewhere. These are all very treatable things, usually done with just an endoscopy! ❤️

Yeah, I either had to have drinks very cold and icy, or very warm...nothing in between. It was interesting and I was super grateful for my thermal cups. I got in a lot of decaf tea, broth, and iced flavored water. I couldn't stomach any protein other than milk for the first two weeks, but after that, the first protein I was able to get in was a clear protein water. I went with MyProtein Sour Watermelon clear whey mix because it is cheaper than SEEQ but tastes very similar. MUCH better than the bottled protein waters I tried! And I was able to water it down so the taste wasn't so strong. They sell sample packs on their site, never buy their tubs at full price, you can usually get them 40% off! Anything sweet for me had to have a sour component or I couldn't get it down. It took almost a month before I could drink a regular protein shake, and even then it sat heavy and was best thinned with milk. I couldn't get down the Unjury protein broths. I still have containers of them in my pantry!

I am enjoying the chicken soup flavored shake from Bariatric Fusion, which is funny because when I tried it pre-op, I thought it was terrible and nearly threw it out. Now, it's great. Celebrate and Unjury also make protein shake soups. I was also able to mix the unflavored Syntrax Nectar into a cup of organic tomato soup and it blended really well.

I'm on day 5 post-op and hot decaf tea and bone broth are by far the winners. I struggled all day yesterday with water and felt bloated the whole time, but got 16oz of hot bone broth down with little trouble. Today, I filled a 32oz thermal cup with hot tea and a dash of milk and finished it off in three hours without even noticing. It only got harder to drink at the last few ounces when it had cooled to lukewarm. I opted for warm chicken soup protein "shakes" today too because the sweet, cold ones sounded awful. I did have some luck with the Celebrate brand CLR protein water (pink lemonade flavor), although the taste is kind of intense and the price is shocking. But I bought 8 of them with the hope they might help in this early stage, and they do.

Try the Bariatric Fusion soft chews. They come in multi, iron, and calcium. They are all the texture of a Starburst candy. I was given samples by my dietician and they were wonderful. I would have opted for them if they weren't the most expensive option. I went for just the calcium as a soft chew and did the chewable, chalky type instead for the multi and the iron to save money, but if you need a really palatable option, these are the way to go.

I can tell you what I was told. My dietitian came to visit and she said to try and get into protein shakes a day over the next seven days. She said if I can only get one that’s OK but two is definitely preferred. And then it’s very important to get minimum of 48 ounces of water a day. That’s where I’m struggling with the water. I am not allowed to have anything tea or citrus flavored. Before the way I got my water in was with a mixture of decaf tea crystal light and lemonade crystal light. I have some other flavors of crystal light and I’m trying to like them, along with just plain water. In the hospital they had me on the second day doing, 1 ounce of water every 15 minutes before graduating me to a shake and Jell-O. But basically for this week the crucial things were a minimum of 48 ounces of water and two shakes a day. Jell-O, putting, Popsicles, watered down cream of wheat, and yogurt are all OK I have also according to my doctor.

yep. i was notorious for barely eating anything. i just didn't want to honestly. and i want to be the type of person to force my self to eat if i didn't want to (personally i think that is just as an unwanted eating habit as eating out of boredom). i did also lose more that i wanted to after reaching goal (at 7 months), but it all leveled out eventually (by 1 year). and no, i did not waste away, i did not become malnourished, i did not starve to death. while i did look pretty gaunt for a few months, that too went away despite not re-gaining any substantial amount of weight. i did have to re-learn how to eat higher calorie foods (abstaining from them during weight loss phase got ingrained into me, so it took me a few months to be mentally ok eating it again, you know?) i'm 5+ years out and there are still days when i just don't want to eat, or just forget to eat altogether. i don't worry about it too much because i know there will be a day when i just wanna eat. so long as my weight stays within my acceptable range, my pants fit, my doc is not concerned and i feel great, then i'm all good. honestly i just accept that i didn't reach my goals that particular day...so long as i reach them at least like 60-70% of the time, then i consider it a success. but i'm a bit far out now...during early weight loss phase i did try a little harder by drinking protein shakes (which i don't anymore), also i never tried to forcefully increase calories during weight loss phase though, no matter what i was eating. but during maintenance i was concerned about increasing calories...see my go-to's below: stuff i ate to increase calories in the early days of maintenance when stomach real estate was on ongoing issue: - avocaods - nuts and nuts butter - full fat dairy and cheese - beef jerky - olive oil drizzled on whatever - chicharron / pork rinds --> yeah this one would raise eyebrows cuz the crazy fat content, but i loved/love it! plus it had the added bonus of being very high in protein, ha. and it really helped to bump up my calorie intake. finally, i am also a grazer...since i can't really eat alot in one sitting, i eat a little bit every hour or so. this was really an issue for me in the early years, but now my food intake capacity has increased so it doesn't feel so much like a chore as it used to. In sum, just do your best, keep up with your labs and doc appt to make sure you medically ok, and eventually the stuff that you are worrying about now will be just that thing you used to worry about. good luck! ❤️

Thank you everyone for sharing your experience. I am 57, do not take HRT. I track Macros (protein, carb, fat) which totals 1000 calories a day. I would consider myself fairly active (just got done with mowing/weed eating a large backyard but not someone who exercises daily but try to get on my walking pad 15 minutes a day. Since 12/27 to date I have lost between 35-40 lbs. On the edge of 3 month post op I am noticing a few more hairs on my sink when styling. I think, well here we go on the next part of this journey. Lucky I have always wore my hair short and sassy and like mentioned when wet you can see my scalp but after drying scalp is not visible. I’m don’t wish time away but wish I could get a glimpse of a year from now. lol For those monitoring macros/calories what is your average daily calories?

Hi, I am 6 days PO (02.19.24). Other than drinking water I have a protein shake in the morning, sip on a yeti cup of tomato soup throughout the day, and then a protein shake in the evening, starting on day 3 PO....I have yet to have a bowel movement. I am passing gas but no bm yet. I am not in any discomfort. Just curious if anyone else went through the same thing.

I had zero interest in food, If I am honest, apart from my breakfast yogurt and fruit, I could easily go without food. I have little appetite. Early on I had serious nausea issues. I cooked and discarded so much food in the early days. I gave pureed foods a wide berth. Pureed meat just was not for me. My team were sympathetic and said to just do my best. At this time I found protein yogurts and they helped me along. Eggs took me 18 months to accept. Chicken took over two years for me to manage a small piece. Pasta and potatoes are still off my menu. I have just begun to eat homemade bread again and I can manage about a Tbsp of rice. Cooked salmon is seriously off my menu. Its made me ill so many times since surgery that I have a phobia. I force myself to eat meat, Cheese is a huge favourite, especially paired with fruit. TBH, My weight is stable and my labs keep coming back ok, so I am skinny and happy. You will figure it out for yourself. Don't feel pressured by others who you think are doing 'better' than you.

Hi Lark, I was in the same position. Returning to a highly demanding job, 12hr shifts, encompassing both sitting a a computer, walking/moving and high stress, I was exhausted. I had many fears, would I manage, would I be able to eat and drink? I decided to go back after 4wks as I needed to get over that hurdle. it was tough, I work nights and days, so going back for 3nights after a month of sleeping 9hrs per night was daunting. I managed, pre-planning involved making up a box of protein drinks, 25-50g tubs of snacks, and high protein non perishables and putting it in my locker. My fluid intake was planned out, 3 x500ml bottles of water, 1x protein shake. A couple protein balls in my pocket, lentil soup for my 1am break. I think I did around 12k steps that night. So yeah come morning I was shattered. since that block of nights, I’ve also been on days, which I always struggle with anyway. There was an added problem this time, of slight reflux in the morning, which was new to me. I found a few dry crackers (10g) in my pocket helped. I can drink when sitting at my computer and if o have to run to my locker for a 5min time out and a snack I can do so. the swap from days to nights and vice versa is not easy. I am considering asking for only days for the time being, which has financial implications but might be better for my health. Do what’s right for you. I wanted returning to work over with, so I’d not worry about it. This process has been one of trial and error for me. Good luck. I wish you well o your road to health. X

I did. Perimenopause & then menopause saw me gain 30kgs (15kg above my usual high weight of my fluctuation range). Tired to lose it for about 4 years but couldn't. No co morbidities. Was almost 54 & on HRT when I had my surgery. Reached goal at 6 months (a 23 BMI & my usual low weight of my range) & then lost another 11kgs over the next 11/12 months. So I lost about 135% of the weight I was hoping to lose. Haven’t weighed this since I was about 12 years old. And I have pretty much maintained my weight at almost 5 years post surgery. My rate of weight loss seemed pretty average. Didn’t exercise (don’t like it). Was a low calorie eater in comparison to many others. My hunger didn’t return for about 12 months. All my menopause symptoms disappeared while losing (still had some breakthrough symptoms though on HRT). Thank you that oestrogen hormonal flush that occurs while losing. They came back after I lost most of my weight though. Sigh! Almost 59 now, still menopausal, still on HRT. No real issues with the surgery or after. My tendency to have low blood pressure drops occasionally before occurs every day now. Had my gall bladder out at the two years mark which left me with a protein malabsorption issue. Blood work otherwise always good. Haven’t taken vitamins since 8 months out (except Vit D in winter). Have reflux but had it before surgery too just mild then. Tummy can be a little sensitive but it was before surgery too. I have episodes of the foamies but I think my oesophagus is more sensitive too. So really just some quirks that are special to me. LOL!