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I am keeping junk food out of the house as much as possible but I did buy some Quest protein chips and some Slim Fast Keto Fat Bombs. Just a few chips or 1 fat bomb will keep my sweet or salty craving at bay. I'm trying to be realistic and substitute bad food for less bad alternatives.... It's just not realistic for me to NEVER have a piece of chocolate or a handful of chips.

I did my surgery on 9/7 also and I’m having a great recovery also. I’m so thankful I have no pain and I walked so fast I forget I had it sometimes. But I need to take it slow especially with three kids. I do have a hard time with food loss and learning how to eat but it’s a new change and I try to stay positive. I have three growing boys and fiancé and it’s hard when they buy junk food or things I should t eat. I don’t eat it but I do wanna say this is a big change and it’s hard any advice on how to control cravings?

I had my surgery March 17, 2021 and I am down 89 lbs from surgery. (107 total) I had a 4 week stall in August. My surgeon said I wasn't losing fast enough because he thought I was eating too much, so I kicked it into high gear and I'm dropping again. It's been a time! My hunger is back and I can eat 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of food at a time.

My team unfortunately knows very little about cases like mine as I also have Ehlers Danlos syndrome. I’ve already run into several occasions where they gave me dietary suggestions that work for most people that didn’t work for me because of the various comorbid orthostatic conditions associated with my EDS. I’ve only found 4 or 5 people online who’ve ever had GB with EDS. And the issue is even faster than dumping syndrome levels of fast. Like 1 bite of mashed avocado (which is on my post op diet) and it was happening - I think it’s just EDS stuff at this point. Any level of digestion pulls blood away from the rest of your body and that is, I think, what my body is reacting to. Sigh.

Will you feel like you did before surgery? No. You won’t feel the same as you did because you’ve had pretty major surgery, changed your digestive system & you’re losing weight so every week you’ll experience new things you couldn’t do before. For a few weeks you’ll experience post surgical issues like rumbling, spasms, changes in your taste buds, nausea, discomfort, etc. but these pass as you heal & recover so you will feel better from that perspective. You may experience low energy, low blood pressure, foamies, dumping, hormonal fluctuations, etc. Some will pass after a couple of months, others once your weight stabilises. You’ll also discover how your new tummy works & identify how long to wait between eating & drinking, what doesn’t sit well, gives you the foamies, etc. I still gurgle but I usually know why like eating dairy often causes it for me. It’s an individual thing. During surgery, they pump you full of air & fluids so many people come out of hospital weighing more than they were the day they were admitted. You will lose at your own rate. There is not a single right amount to lose each week. There are average rates but some are naturally slow losers & some are fast losers. Losing 4lbs in your first week is pretty darn good. Remember, it’s not a competition. You’ve never experienced anything like this before so feeling unlike yourself & anxious about things is not uncommon. It will be ok. Give yourself time to heal & recover & to work out your new eating plan, your tummy’s likes & dislikes, etc.

For years people would Comment on my weight...as a teen, when athletic, I was told I looked too masculine, or my grandmother would tell me (while underweight) that I needed to diet or I would end up overweight and over 300 lbs like my dad's mom....which, eventually, I got there. As an obese adult, strangers made rude comments in stores, restaurants, where ever. Their kids picked fun as they did too. And it only got worse the heavier I got and didn't matter if my kids were with me or if I was solo. Fast forward and now I get from strangers questions like "do you have cancer", "are you sick", and on 2 occasions the automatic store door wouldn't open and I was told if I ate more I wouldn't have that issue. Or one man said "let me show you where the cookies are, you need to eat those and not that rabbit food"... Recently I was hospitalized for 3 days incase of emergency surgery for bowel obstruction. My intestines had flipped, but flipped back on their own. I used to have chronic IBS-D now it's IBS-C. So after discharge I was prescribed an rx and 4 OTC meds to help me with keeping regular and avoiding bowel obstruction and surgery. While picking up the OTC meds, a rather large woman and her 18-22 y.o. daughter were on the same aisle...of course, observing my purchases and out loud the mother told the daughter "the reason why she's that thin is because she buys all that stuff to sh!t herself to death...she is anorexic ..don't let me ever catch you doing that. That woman is mentally ill." They walked away. I was left standing there in awe that , that even happened. My husband was like wtf? Well Saturday we had my daughter's 18th birthday. It was just us 4 and my dad. He hasn't seen me in like 2 months. And in front of my kids, he says "you do not look good. You look sick. You have taken this weight loss thing too far and you have got to stop. You're face and eyes are sunk in, your bones are sticking out and you need to gain about 50 pounds". I am 148 now. My HW 325. SW 311 3/9/20. I do not think nor does my bariatric surgeon feel that I've lost too much weight. Heck, his GW for me is 136. I am 5'6". I don't know what people are seeing but my point of this post, as long winded as it is, is that the negative comments just never seem to end. I thought for sure that I would lose weight, get healthy (point of surgery...healthy and save my life, not skinny) and feel great about myself. But it seems no matter what size you are, someone, somewhere always has something negative to say about one's appearance. Does it ever end? People suck. That's why I'm a cat person.

It's so frustrating to have something that you have eaten successfully in the past suddenly "revolt." Ironically, I had a similar experience yesterday. I ate a meal I have had multiple times in the past weeks. I did not eat too much, too fast or any of the other usual culprits. I woke up about 5 hours later and I could have sworn the monster from "Alien" was trying to escape my stomach. Like yours, the pain was in the middle of my abdomen. My stomach was gurgling horribly and I felt both nauseated and as if I needed to use the bathroom. I was not successful on either end. The pain lasted about an hour and then I was able to go back to sleep. I feel fine today but have limited eating to a few fresh berries, a shake and yogurt. I had no more pain, but there was more noises.

Oh I hear you. I used to say my tummy is like a contrary 2yr old who throws random tantrums. Most annoying is when you tentatively try to eat the food your tummy revolted against two days later & it’s fine. WTF??? I’ve found it can be little things that set off the tantrum. Food a little too dry, too oily, too fatty. Ate a little too fast. Drank a little too close to eating or sometimes seemingly just for the hell of it. Thank gracious it’s the exception not the norm now.

Had my surgery June 10th. Down 82 pounds as of today. It’s gone fast, and it’s exciting. It’s also amazing how I feel so much smaller and successful until I put on the next size down of appropriately sized clothes. In those smaller clothes, I’m still fat and want it to go FASTER. 🤦🏼‍♀️

You’re right, I’m being impatient. My breast scars are nearly invisible, and my tummy tuck scar is fading fast. It’s just the arm scars that are dark pink. And of course, these are the ones most likely to be seen. I’ll be patient and wait awhile longer before doing anything!

I started out far, far heavier than most. My 12 week mark is tomorrow and today I'm at 58 pounds lost since surgery and 79 pounds lost since prep diet in June. And still, there are people out there losing faster than me and I get all upset that I'm not losing as fast as some. It really can mess with your head. I'm slowly coming to grips with not being fast "enough" for my start weight. But comparing ourselves is a big problem in my opinion.

Certainly not trying to diminish what you’re experiencing. Just offering some suggestions, things to think about or discuss with your medical team. Head hunger encompasses more than just cravings it’s just the most obvious one that most relate to. But it’s also eating for emotional reasons: to sooth in response to anger, sadness, depression, anxiety, stress, etc. Head hunger is also habit driven eating. Like always eating when you go to the movies, watching tv, before you go to bed or eating very regularly (every hour or less). Also eating because you’re drinking alcohol & socialising. Plus perceptions of what is ‘enough’ food as I mentioned before. Because, if we’re honest when we’re obese, our body has plenty of stored energy in our fat it can burn if our body needs more calories than we’re currently consuming to function. It’s what we need to happen if we are to lose weight. Major surgery is stressful & doesn’t matter how ready you were for this surgery it still is an emotional roller coaster of various degrees. So that could be contributing. Is your esomeprazole prescription or over the counter? You may be producing too much stomach acid so you may need a higher dose - 20 or 40mg. The acid will make you think you’re hungry though you’re not. You eat & your tummy uses the acid to digest that food & the pain/pangs go so you think yes, I was hungry. Once you get onto solid foods this should reduce - more acid is needed to digest the denser food than just liquids & purées so you’ll use more of what you are producing. Hunger pains/pangs do not necessarily occur only when your hungry. They are the result of many triggers. Not the best article about the causes of hunger pangs but it may be a little helpful. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321725#symptoms. My tummy gurgles, groans, squelches, often (it’s doing it now 😆) but is not related to me needing to eat. (Remember how when our tummy would gurgle people would say you must be hungry? Not necessarily true.) It can be from what I ate (dairy causes it sometimes), drinking too fast or having too big a swallow, or even resting my iPad on my chest when I read at night. Can be a bit embarrassing but it seems to be how my tummy works now. I hope you can find a way to manage & help what you’re experiencing. And I hope your medical team returns your call soon. So frustrating when they don’t follow through with support. All the best.

Hello surgery buddies! Revision from VSG to RNY! Just got my date yesterday. November 5th for me! I was surprised at how fast the process moved this time!

Hello! I'd opt for surgery..either through the province or privately. My personal belief is that fasting, along with a host of other 'diets' are fads that don't have long term success. I had my surgery in Calgary, Alberta, Canada through a bariatric program, and was covered by healthcare. If you have specific questions, let me know and I'd be happy to answer what I can

Hello surgery buddies! Revision from VSG to RNY! Just got my date yesterday. November 5th for me! I was surprised at how fast the process moved this time!

Planning, Planning and more Planning. First off, thank you for your service. When you make your trip you will need to keep the mind set that you will have enough to eat. Do not worry about eating you have a restriction from surgery. You will not want to eat too much. Get it out of your head that you will be starving. Many here have said that you should bring along protein shakes, great idea. At the time of your travels you should be (unless your Dr has a different plan) on soft foods. Baby foods are a good travel option for you as well. Make sure that you have plenty of water. That will be the key, it will hydrate you and also give you a feeling of fullness. Herbal tea, if you can get it on the road is another great option. As for truck stop food or fast food, STAY AWAY!!! After weight Loss Surgery (WLS) you should stay away from processed foods. Processed foods will only accelerate you gaining weight over time. You will not feel much hunger but in your mind you will THINK that you you will need to eat. It's our conditioning over the years to make us think that way. WLS has given you a powerful new tool a restriction. Don't eat around it, don't over feed it and most of all don't ignore it. It is your best friend. It will let you nourish yourself but not allow you to take in unnecessary amounts of food. You will be surprised as to how easy it will be to take care of your hunger as it will dissipate quite fast with little nourishment. I hate to use this phrase but I'll make an exception here, You've Got It. Just Plan, Plan Plan.

I was like you. I started with a BMI just barely over 35, had tried keto, crossfit 6x a week, intermittent fasting. I dropped weight, but it was impossible for me to stay consistent. I am a month out from sleeve surgery and have lost a little over 30 lbs. Even in this month alone, there would have been several times when I would have fallen off a diet due to "life" but the sleeve has kept me on track. I'm slowly but surely detoxing from food, and eating for nutrition rather than comfort. It's proving to be a very useful tool. Sent from my SM-N976V using BariatricPal mobile app

My first reaction to the fasting option was sustainability. Can you sustain such an eating plan for the rest of your life? Because losing weight & keeping it off is a lifetime behavioural change. Personally, I fasted for most of my high school years. No breakfast, no lunch, 4 multi grain crackers for afternoon tea & a healthy dinner nothing else all to try to maintain my weight. Did it work? No! I put on almost a stone every year & I was way more active then too. All it did was kill my metabolism. The sustainability aspect was the game changer for me. I can follow any restrictive diet for a few weeks or months & did many, many times. But as soon as I reached the weight loss goal I gave myself or when the diet became too hard to continue, I’d just go back to eating how I did before & start gaining again. As some posters above have said weight loss surgery is a tool. If you use it, take advantage of the benefits it affords & make changes to how you eat, what you eat & understand why you eat you can be successful in losing weight & maintaining. The time before surgery & after while you are losing are the time to work through the answers to the what, why & how you eat & to begin establishing new behaviours. Don’t be afraid to seek help from a therapist & a dietician. Just make sure the changes you make are sustainable & will complement your lifestyle & how you want to live your life. It’s something you will have to do forever. I am biased though, the surgery has been a successful experience for me. From deciding to have surgery to actually having the surgery was a very short period - less than two months from GP referral to theatre (much easier process here in Australia though). Don’t know if I would have gone through with it if I had to undergo 1-4 years of pre requisite steps & approval processes. I’d choose the shortest & quickest path forward. Though you know yourself best & know how much support you will need. But it is your decision. Good luck whatever you choose to do.

I understand that low ebb feeling. I have lost all motivation to restart a new diet program because I know in the end it's the same things I was doing before and it just didn't work. I also tried really strict keto and exercised a ton, like ran 4K every day, biked to work, lifted super heavy weights for a woman. I also did fasting and actually enjoyed it but it just didn't stick when life got mixed up with my routine. I just can't go through it again with that fear of failure. I need something much more permanent and long-term. A tool I could fall back on when life gets too stressful. Maybe the sleeve will be like a hard stop to overeating and provide a real-time reminder that overeating does not feel good. I hope your appointment with the surgeon goes well! I also have a consultation on October 19th. I'm not sure yet if it will be me trying to convince her or her trying to convince me lol I have a lot of concerns about reflux and want to avoid any revision surgeries. Do you have a set of questions to ask the surgeon?

The fasting coach will probably not be a good stand alone tool. I've gained some weight and struggle to take it off. I'm fours years out. One of my tools is to fast. I fast 12 hours a day. I'm trying for the 36hrs 2x a week but that's a tall order. The point is, you will need to combine tools and not just depend on one. The surgery option is a good one combined (later on ) with the fasting option. As you've stated before you have achieved great success only to digress back to your starting weight. Weight Loss Surgery(WLS) is a great tool to "jump start" your weight loss but it is no means a stand alone tool. After 8-12 months we begin to revert back to , as I say being mere mortals again. No longer are we able to lose weight while sleeping or just by being alive. Our weight loss superpowers are gone. It now, takes a mindful and consistent maintenance program. This is where fasting, exercise, being conscience of what we eat and how we really changed our lifestyle during the first 8- 12 months. WLS is a great tool but it is not the golden bullet to lifelong weight lose and health stability. I'd say, go with the WLS, get that big jump start, start a mindful maintenance program consisting of many tools. Good luck to you and I wish you the best of health.

I would also choose option 2 or 3 (depending on your finances and how long you're willing to wait). Fasting isn't a sustainable method - most (if not all) people end up gaining it all back.

I wouldn’t pay one percent of that fee for a “fasting coach”. How ridiculous. You have a fourth option, which is bariatric surgery in one of the border cities in Mexico; most are in Tijuana. You fly to San Diego (now that it’s allowed), then it’s 20 minutes to the border and your clinic picks you up on the Mexican side. It’s much cheaper than self pay in either Canada or the US, and the doctors tend to be US-certified as well as obviously qualified in Mexico. You’d want to talk to your PCP in Canada before going this route to make sure she’s comfortable with ordering labs (for iron, vitamins, liver function, lipids, metabolic panel, etc.) afterwards. I am two and a half weeks out and having the sleeve has already given me so much of my life back. Between pre-op and post-op loss I am only 5 kg from the halfway point of my journey.

I'm a 34 year old woman with a current weight of 260 height is 5'6. I have lost and gained over 60lbs at least 3 times. I was never able to maintain the weightloss for longer than 6-8 months at a time. I have done strict Keto, Fasting, and intense exercise routines multiple times in my life. I was successful in losing weight every time so it wasn't that I couldn't commit myself or apply weightloss techniques that work for me. I would just simply go back to overeating every time. I really don't know if fasting will work for me longterm if I add coaching. I certainly want it to work but I have small children and a husband who likes to eat big hearty meals so cooking and shopping for food are part of my regular daily activities. I find when I'm fasting it is really difficult to cook a hot delicious meal that I simply cannot even taste. So I end up cooking a quick meal for my family which is not the healthiest. I will keep exploring the surgery option. I really appreciate all of the feedback so far. The new ideas like searching for my own bariatric therapist and using my family doctor to do my bloodwork after surgery has given me some hope that I can do this. 😊

I don't believe what you experienced was dumping. Dumping is usually caused by too much sugar and/or fat. It sounds like you ate too much, too fast.

I am almost seven months out and knowing what I know now the first thing I would do would be to start seeing a bariatric therapist. I didn’t realize until AFTER I had the surgery that I struggle with emotional and boredom eating and no special diet, fasting coach or even surgery was going to help me lose weight and keep it off without the help of a bariatric therapist. And personally I wouldn’t have benefited from a fasting coach. I would have lost the weight and then gained it back like everything else I have tried and failed. That being said the two surgical options are both good it just depends on which one is right for you. Personally I could not have paid that much out of pocket so I would have had not choice but to go with the second option but only you know if you can afford to do it self pay. I wouldn’t base it on the follow up though, because you can seek out help from a nutritionist or dietician on your own and hopefully you will already have been working with a bariatric therapist if you need one and you can just continue to see them As needed. That’s basically what the continued care consists of. That and follow up visits with the surgery center to check labs for vitamin deficiencies and check in with how you are doing. You can always call and ask up Front but I’m sure if you are willing to pay you can see all those people as often as you want. All that being said I wouldn’t have wanted to wait years for surgery but if you are committed you should be able to start losing weight while you wait and it’s just less to have to lose later.