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I think I will definitely have some tunnel vision when I have paid for my surgery (I plan to do that next week) as then it will feel extra real and I will need to get into my game face haha. It is interesting to see your perspective of it all, I completely get the whole wanting to prove it to yourself bit - I feel that the challenge is always there when it comes to wanting to prove it to ourselves that we are capable! I think I am just saying goodbye to my fave foods for now, temporarily, and definitely in the quantity I have been eating them! Then when I get to eat them again, I will hopefully have more control! Thank you for sharing your experience! ❤️

Okay here we go. 1: Pre op stats 91kg BMI 35 2: Surgery Gastric sleeve 3: Lowest weight post surgery 48.5kg BMI 18.7 at about 18 months. 4: Maintenance weight 48.5kg. Stayed there for about 18 months when I suddenly increased to about 51kg. Realised I wasn’t absorbing my HRT med after my gall removal. Changed my meds and my weight slowly settled at around 49kg after another 18 months. The last 6 months has seen me back to 48.5 again though I was 48.2 this morning. Strange is I actually eat about 300 calories more now (last 2+ yrs) than I did when I initially stabilised. 5: Fluctuation Initially my fluctuation was exactly 1kg so 48.5 - 49.5. Weird I know. It’s been more 700 - 800g the last 18months so very narrow. 6: Methods to maintain & what worked or didn’t work. Work out a sustainable way of eating which doesn’t restrict or limit what you want to do & how you want to live your life. (I know I say this a lot but it’s worked for me.) Still be flexible with your eating style. Don’t be afraid to make changes: different foods or food types, frequency, etc. If it works & you can still maintain great. If it doesn’t drop it & try something else. I don’t enjoy traditional exercising. No gym for me, running miles or getting sweaty. Around 18 months ago I started my exercise snacking (stretches & using resistance bands) habit. Not to burn calories but to regain flexibility & to support my back. Muscle toning has been a bonus. I enjoy it, it’s easy and I do it or a variation every day. 7: How my life has changed It’s just easier in a whole lot of little ways & other things are much sweeter. Yes, I work at maintaining. I’m more aware of what I put in my mouth, its nutrient value & how much I eat but a lot of this is second nature/habit now so not as much ‘hard’ work anymore. Generally I feel more confident though I wouldn’t say I was lacking confidence before. I’m honest enough to say I’ve become more vain though I was always conscious of how I presented myself to others. It’s just a lot more. Just ask my cosmetic physican - LOL! 8: Cautionary tales & words of wisdom Always advocate for yourself. Not happy with an answer ask more questions, for more testing &/or a second opinion. Do your own research & go back with more questions. Be honest. Ask for help. Be flexible. Make the best decisions you can in the situation. Don’t compare yourself to others. Don’t beat yourself up if things don’t go the way you thought. Things/life happens. It’s how you pick yourself up & move forward again that matters. Find what works for you in regards to how & what you eat, what activity you do & so on. Research, cherry pick across many strategies & plans, test them out & adopt those which work for you. There is no one right way just what’s right for you. This journey isn’t a straight, flat road in one direction. There’ll be hills and valleys, rugged mountains & deep, wide rivers. There’ll be blind corners & round-abouts. You’ll face detours, delays & road works. Your destination may not be where you initially planned but it will be a wonderful, amazing & far better place to be than where you were before you started. And there will be many other fabulous destinations ahead of you.

I'm the same way, one little off step for me is a slippery mountain. Knowing this I am very regimented, I have a schedule/routine for taking my vitamins etc., it becomes muscle memory for me that way. One "just this time" and I start sliding full clip. Unfortunately, it IS a full time job, but as the saying goes the best for your future is to be your own boss - you never get rich working for others. Work towards your health and future. This is how I put myself on a routine: 1. Purchased a "Hidrate Spark" (water bottle that lights up to remind me to drink with an app to track and also remind me) annoying but it helps. 2. Purchased a 4 times a day 7 days a week vitamin container that I have set up with reminders on my phone I put right next to my coffeemaker. I used Velcro to attach it to my phone case. Its always with me. 3. A picture of myself on my frig/cabinets at my heaviest to remind me why. 4. Remove ALL temptations from the house. My husband wants junk food he goes out. Lastly, I hate hate working out so I purchased a weight vest and weight gloves which I wear all the time as I'm cleaning, walking etc. I also, IF I want a "treat" (Yasso Greek yogurt ice cream bar) or a no sugar fudgcicle I do some squats, leg lifts before I treat myself etc.. Just remember its baby steps, if I deny myself all at once I become resentful and angry. So, start with one improvement and do it consistently until you no longer have to remind yourself or you do it regularly then add the next health improvement to your routine. If I can do it, YOU can do it. I come from an entire family of smackers and grazers who are all thin - I recognize its a battle, unfortunately now its a lifetime battle and I finally decided being thin is soooooooo much better than being fat so I strap on my warrior armor and do what I have to do. Ask yourself what YOU want out of life and win the battle - period!

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!!

I spoke to my doctor yesterday about this, after my magnesium was checked and an EKG she said she thinks its not more blood needing to be used for digestion, otherwise you would have always felt the increase in heart beats especially so with a larger stomach having needed more blood and it beginning with onset after surgery. She's recommending a week long heart monitor, but thinks its directly related to bariatric surgery. She stated it could be due to the change in digestive tract possibly changing the stomachs location relative to the vagus nerves location coming into direct contact, but she's not positive hence the heart monitor. Let and me know if you're interested in the results and final DX. She did say she's never heard of a faster heart rate after eating unless a food sensitivity/allergy has started up after bariatric surgery.

The food guidelines for WLS have acidic foods which isn’t good for a GERD patient. The guidelines for GERD patients the food is bland. I can’t always do GERD eating since I need my protein and consuming yogurt, cottage cheese with other nutrients sometimes triggers my reflux. I don’t think it’s the combination of the two that’s stoping my weight loss. I may have built more muscle especially in my legs and arms but the belly muscle I’m still trying to build up.

I have random bouts of the foamies vomiting too. Sometimes I can’t work out why. It’s usually something that is a little coarse or fibrous or too dry. The last bout was because of some string left on a sugar snap pea pod - didn’t do a great job trimming it. Sometimes it’s the floret part of broccolini. Or chicken breast. Or something that’s just sitting more heavily than expected. Or … And yes it’s often food I’ve eaten easily before & will again after. Sometimes, I can bring up the offending bite & a few minutes later finish the meal. Weird. I just say I have a sensitive esophagus & tummy & some days they say No! PS - Congrats on your loss so far. Whoo!

I agree it seems absolutely absurd to me. I feel very frustrated and almost alone in this (I know I’m not) but it’s just such a huge change. Some of the hospital paperwork I got at discharge said I should be eating 1/4-1/2 cup portions which I absolutely cannot get down but when I talked to her today she had said that I need to be eating 2 tablespoons a day and that’s it of the soft foods like plain Greek yogurt or applesauce or protein pudding. That’s about what I can stomach anyways but I did eat two of the protein pudding cups yesterday which were about 2.5 total for both. I just feel like I’m already failing. I am going to go back to the basics, and if I don’t go to he bathroom by tomorrow afternoon I’m going to try an enema.

I am 9 days post op . this morning I poured myself 4 ounces of a premier protein shake out of the refrigerator. I sipped it I didn’t think very quickly. I literally took one sip, had a pain in my stomach and I immediately needed to use the bathroom. I noticed since the last day or so, this has been happening, Whether or not my food is cold or room temp. I’m also experiencing at that same time stomach cramps. Is this dumping syndrome? I don’t think I did anything out of the ordinary I’m not having any added sugar that wasn’t already in the protein shake. Has anybody else experienced this, or has any idea?

I'm glad you are feeling better!! Learning to eat slow is definitely a challenge. I still catch myself sometimes. I get food bored too so I try to eat a variety of things. I don't usually weigh out my food, but I do portion it out/estimate the portion and log it to make sure my macros are on target. It is crucial for DS patients to get enough protein in and if you aren't tracking it you might not be getting enough. It'll eventually show in your labs, but once your protein level drops in labs it is a huge pain to get back up. So it is best to just track it... You don't have to be as exact as weighing, but a good estimation is worthwhile and will also teach you how to understand what correct bariatric portions are for you. My surgeon likes his patients to stay in ketosis for a while so I aim for 120 grams of protein, less than 50 total carbs (usually less than 40 total carbs for me to be safe), and I aim for about 100 grams of fat for good brain health. I don't eat at specific times. That's too much planning. LOL I drink a protein shake as soon as I wake up, then eat a meal about an hour later, and eat every 3 hours after that until I go to bed! I usually end up eating about 5 times a day. I ascribe to the "eat less more often" method and so does my surgeon. I discovered soon after surgery that I need to eat within 3 hours, anything past that and I start to feel exhausted and have no energy and get moody. I feel my best if I eat within 3 hours of my last meal throughout the day... Sometimes eating is a protein snack like a bag of protein chips and a few pickles. Sometimes eating is more meal-like like keto chicken tenders with steamed asparagus. But I always eat by that mark or I pay for it. I also pay for it if I don't get enough fluids in a day, so I watch that. Monitoring your food and water can feel triggering for some people due to past diet attempts. But it is important to reframe it as a caretaking behavior as much as possible, especially for DS patients because our dietary needs are so important to be on target with.

I think this was the foamies not nausea. It likely was from eating too much soup (being full & heavy) & then lying down so the soup was lying in your tummy. The foamies causes excess saliva (often thick & gloopy) & then you can bring up what you ate. It will occur if you eat something that is too dry or coarse or eat too much or too quickly. The food gets stuck (hence the saliva to try to ease the stuck food down) or literally overflows back up. The zofran won’t help with that. But you’ll feel better after bringing up what you ate.

If its a specific food you crave then its head hunger and you need to ignore this as much as possible. You will see it written time and again on here that just because you can eat it does not mean that you should. You have to remember the fragility of your internal stitch line. The rules are - follow your doctors orders. So just keep drinking. Once you hit 6 weeks out and you are eating regular [ish] foods again and your new stomach has almost healed. You will find a restriction kicks in in a big way.

You can take my advice with a grain of salt since I've never been in the position of losing too much weight and am only 4 weeks post-op, but I think at this point your best bet is to ignore calories and just listen to your body. Eat if you're hungry, don't eat if you're not, and focus on nutritious food. Your body will stop losing weight when it feels like it. I agree with @Spinoza that I think the surgery gives you a new set point. It's best to just see what that is and only worry about it if it's so low that it's unhealthy. More than likely, it'll bounce back up on its own if it's too low for you to maintain. But better you bounce up to where your goal was initially than put the brakes on now and then bounce up 10 lbs higher than you wanted in a year.

Yeah, it's only slowly changing here so that we can find larger sizes in regular shops. I have been a bit bigger since my mid-20s, which is when I developed a thyroid issue. So when I was working in a finance office in downtown Boston years ago, I was always one of the biggest women at a size US 16/18. I was going to a wedding and went to all the department stores in downtown on my lunch breaks, but none of them had over a size 14 in the dress departments, and when I went to the (cramped, disorganized, shoved in the very back by the hot, smelly bathrooms) "plus size" department, they had no dresses! It was like oh no, fat girls don't go to parties and only need stretchy-waist track suits and sweatshirts with rhinestone-encrusted cats on them. I was prepared to spend a pretty penny on something new, and I ended up wearing the one dress I already had in my closet. And as I got larger, I stopped caring about what my clothing looked like as long as it wasn't tight. If I found one top I liked, I would just buy it in every color and be done. Funny thing, though. Today, I put on a pair of US 16 trousers (which were tight a few weeks ago but perfect today!) and I realized I am back to the size I was in my mid-20s. But I am no longer the largest woman in the room, or even close. Our whole population is getting so much bigger. Now the department stores carry 16s, and even 18s sometimes, on the main floor, but even that tends to exclude a lot of customers. Portion sizes in restaurants are so large, and food ingredients and additives are not to be trusted even in the grocery stores. I think we have an environment that is destined to make most people overweight and unhealthy. And yet, we still discriminate against obese people.

Differences in size never cease to amaze me. I am almost exactly the same weight as you but 3 inches taller and I am a US size 8-10. No idea how that happens. OP I am a firm believer in the concept of a new set weight after bariatric surgery. I would have been happy 15 or 20 pounds heavier than where I settled. That was my goal actually. After I got into that ballpark I didn't try to lose any more, but it just happened. And then, eating very much the same stuff, my loss then stopped. And I've maintained thereabouts for a year or more with very little effort. If you can keep eating healthy and nutritious foods then could you just see where that gets you to? There are lots of healthy people with a BMI of 25+ and lots with a BMI of 19-. You'll find yourself somewhere in the middle eventually I suspect.

@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.

When I had my initial sleeve surgery, my kids were 24 and 15 and my granddaughter was 1. None of them had ever seen me thin. I was 240 pounds when I had my son and his first real memories are from when he was 2 and I weighed 270. When I had my daughter, I was 315 pounds and her memories are from around 3 years old and I weighed 340. My highest weight, when I had my initial consultation, was 421 pounds. I lost 33 pounds pre-surgery and I was 388 on surgery day. I knew I had to be open with them, so I just came out and told them the truth. I went over my goals for health, getting off medications, increased mobility, weight loss, etc... They were both surprised but really happy for me and supportive. Now my kids are just so proud and impressed with not only my weight loss, but the improvements I've made with my health, my overall fitness (one of my son's favorite things to do with me is go on hikes now). My granddaughter only knew me as 421 pounds. She's 3 now, so it's taken her a little bit to get use to me being thinner (she lives in Arizona and I'm in Colorado, so she doesn't se me a lot, so the changes are more dramatic for her). I'm glad I was open with my kids, because it taught them about the real struggles with morbid obesity, the tools available, and they saw first hand the changes that have to be made, the relationship with food that has to improve, and the work that has to be put in. My son said he always looked at the surgery as a way for someone fat to be lazy and take the easy way out. Now that he's seen what it REALLY takes, his whole opinion changed.

Yes! Happy to share! It's this one: https://www.wholesomeyum.com/keto-banana-muffins-recipe/ I doubled the banana flavoring emulsion (I got mine from Amazon) and I added vanilla. None of the box mixes were low carb enough for me and I used to be a chef so I have a bias towards homemade things. 😂 I can empathize with the carb cravings. When I eat carbs I crave them intensely for days afterwards. There are a lot of people who make judgments about those of us who use artificial sweeteners, and though I prefer the real thing, I simply cannot have it. My body HATES carbs, it just doesn't know what to do with them and whether it's a piece of cake or a bagel, it will bloat me and I'll want 3 times as much the next meal. It is just not worth it. And now with the surgery and my designer insides, it isn't worth the gas and such either... The only exception I seem to be able to make is a small amount of very dark chocolate. I think the reason it doesn't cause the carb cravings is because my craving for the minerals in it is stronger. LOL And even with that I can't have it two days in a row without cravings kicking in stronger... I think it is perfectly reasonable to ask those close to you to support you with limitations around what they offer you. I asked the same thing of those close to me and they were happy to do so because it gave them a tangible way to help me with my goal. We don't gain weight in isolation. Food is a social thing. We ask our social circle for support around other goals like going to school or raising our children, we should be able to ask for support with this too. It increases our chances of success!! The head game will do you in every time. Having people close to you wise to that helps tremendously in my experience... As long as they don't turn into food police. 😂

the smaller you get, the slower the weight comes off. you don't need as much calories to move your 160-pound body as you did to move your previous 240-pound body. At 700 cals a day you are still below maintenance cals for your height and current weight. so if you just keep going, you will drop pounds. It may drop at a slower rate, but slower weight loss is still weight loss. also: RE: increasing calories with limited stomach real estate...swap out one of your veggie portions for 1/2 an avocado (200 cals). add olive oil to your food (119 calories per tbsp). add cream to your coffee (50 cals per tbsp). spread almond butter on a cracker (100 cals per tbsp).

There are some good dieticians & there are some … well… lousy ones. Is there any way you could find another dietician? Telling you to go to back to shakes is a bad suggestion like @summerseeker said. They should have gone through what you’ve been eating & make suggestions from there. The goal is to be eating real food not highly processed synthesised shakes loaded with artificial sweeteners & such. Stalls are frustrating. No way aground that but they are an important part of your weight loss when your body takes stock of your new needs & adjusts digestive hormones, etc. Best advice is to stick to your plan. Don’t make changes & stress your body more. The stall will break when your body is ready. Good advice from @summerseeker too about going back to the basics of protein first, then vegetables & then low processed complex multi/ whole grain carbs if you can eat more. Make cause you’re hitting your protein & fluid goals. Calories are a bit of a touchy issue at the moment in the medical world. Some are anti some are pro. A lot is around a calorie is a calorie regardless of what the food source is versus nutrient value. Plus, caloric needs differs so much person to person - age, gender, activity, metabolism, general health, hormones, etc. all affect how many you need. Personally I think if you are eating nutrient dense food, having an idea of calories can help you stay on track & guide you if you’re sliding.

Hello Everyone, I am a little past, 3 weeks post op and I am currently on Soft Food Phase. For dinner, I ate a couple of meatballs, broccoli and cauliflower rice. The total weighed 5 ounces on the scale. I didn't finish the meal though. For some reason, today I thought 5 oz was okay; but when I looked at my notes my md wanted me to eat 3-4 oz per meal. I made a mistake and am scared my pouch may stretch or I might sabotage my weight loss! Moving forward I plan to follow the guidelines, but my question is , is there a possibility that I stretched my pouch? Will this sabotage my weight loss? Should I contact my md?

So it's supposed to be at least 2 hours between iron and calcium and I think the same for calcium and calcium as your body can only absorb about 500 mg at a time. I take my multivitamin in the morning. Not quite first thing, as I take my probiotic/prebiotic first on an empty stomach, then usually have a proffee or reg coffee depending on the day. I am currently on 2 calcium chews a day, so I split that between midday and nighttime. I was first taking a bariatric multivitamin w/iron and 3 calcium chews a day. At my 8th month post-op checkup, my vitamin D levels were on the higher end of normal so my dietician wanted me to cut back. So I had to switch to a regular multivitamin (bariatric has 3000iu of Vit D) and cut back on the calcium chews since they also have about 800 iu each of vitamin d. Even though in my diet I get in quite a bit of calcium rich foods, I was advised to continue with the 2 chews a day as unfortunately a blood test doesn't give a clear picture of what is happening in the body calcium wise. If you are deficient in calcium, your body will pull it from your bones. The blood work will look good as it is getting calcium, but slowly your bones are getting weaker. It's usually not until it's too late that you may be aware with teeth, bone and other body issues.

Thanks for responding. I'm not craving a particular food, or even necessarily "food" at all. In fact, I don't even really have an appetite just yet. I just have plain old hunger pangs and growling. I am plenty hydrated and feel I can maybe get more grams of protein in with some yogurt or pudding with added protein powder...both allowed per my doctors, so I'm not breaking any rules. It's just hard to get it all in 1 ounce at a time! I totally was not expecting to feel hungry and I'm curious if others have had the same thing happen.

Hi guys, my name is Anna and I'm really glad I found this site. I received approval from my insurance earlier this week, there's just one x-ray needed and then I will be scheduled. My mom had the same procedure over 2 years ago, but she's more of a cautionary tale of what not to do. I have friends who have had it done as well. The hardest part of this process for me has been giving up cigarettes, and trying to lose weight on my own. I started my umpteenth weight loss journey November of 2022, and finally went back to see my moms doctor in January of this year, after chickening out a couple times before. No matter what I've done I have no been able to get below 300 since 2016. My highest weight was 374. The smallest I've been is 230 in my 20s after losing 70 lbs and keeping it off 2 years. Right now I'm chilling at around 340, have been for almost 2 years. I love the gym, I love swimming, I love being active. But I have a lot of chronic pain from back and neck issues, as well as arthritis and between that and depression, it can be hard to get out of bed some days. Last time this year I had just finished a 16 week fitness challenge at a local CrossFit center, where I learned to do a real push up, deadlifts and other strength and endurance building exercises. It was great, and I got down to 315. Then the program ended and about 25 lbs reappeared out of thin air (psych, I know lol). I am hoping that this tool is the missing puzzle piece I've needed. I know how to track, how to measure, how to diet basically. And I know how to exercise. What I've struggled with more than anything is portion and hunger. It's hard to stay in a deficit when your stomach feels like it's gonna eat itself if you don't put enough food in it- That being said I do know I want to focus on protein and fiber for fullness, and I'm working on eating smaller and more frequent throughout the day which is helping some. I guess I'm as ready as I will ever be. Am I the only one who has struggled with being a bit depressed about it all? Like I am mourning the loss of so much, including my stomach and the ability to indulge in a meal. I understand I still can, but it's not gonna be the same having a jr popcorn at the movies, when i had a good portion of a large gone before credits were over- ya know? Like people who don't struggle with their weight take a lot for granted. My whole life I've been big, and it has always felt like a punishment I didn't do anything to bring about. And society punishes you for being overweight/obese/plus size. Part of me feels like cutting out a part of my organs is another punishment I must endure because I am fat. I hope this makes sense, and these are just fleeting thoughts and feelings, mind you. I have a wonderful counselor I see weekly, and we have talked about this, among other things. But I wanted to bring it up here because I am wondering if anyone has struggled with this line of thinking? And if so what are some good things about the process to focus on? I know the outcome of the weight being gone and my appetite under control, and I want those things very much. But it's the actual surgery and the discomfort I know is coming after that trips me up. Thank you all for taking the time to read this, and I wish you all well ❤️

I too have dealt with stalls….and struggled with water and protein intake. the struggle is real! And so odd right? For me it was going from eating everything in sight to sharing a plate with the hubs when we go out to eat. one thing I did because I was so sick of protein shakes and bars…. I even went through a phase when I ate baby food every so often just to switch it up! i started experimenting with unflavored flavored protein….soups, sugar free jello, pancakes/muffins ect tons of recipes on this site. once you start eating regularly and getting out and about, you will feel so much better….trust the process (as they say!) also make sure you are taking the vitamins/meds recommended by your doc good luck 😊