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My energy level has finally increased some. Nothing too great but I’m not totally wiped anymore. Eating has improved the last few days or maybe I’ve accepted defeat on the chicken lol. I did mess up terrible Friday after we went to the zoo and I had raw onion on my sandwich. I can not even begin to explain the pain I caused myself. I thought I would die. Cooked onions are not an issue for me but I swear as long as I live I will never eat another raw onion. I have not felt this kind of pain since I had a Nissan wrap years ago and ate the wrong thing. I have settled in now to an egg for breakfast, more applesauce than I ever thought I would eat in this lifetime. I have no desire to eat any bread so I just don’t. I have some protein shots that are only an oz so they’re a good go to if I'm running short for the day. Variety is not so much a part of eating anymore but I’m good with just finding things I’m comfortable eating. So many things made me nauseated trying to eat them the last couple months so I’ll gladly take what I have now. Yesterday when I weighed I was down 33lbs. My post op appt is in 5 days. I hope it goes well and after my surgeon sees my progress I still walk away feeling like I’m doing a decent job. It has not been an easy two months.

If you don't already have some bariatric cookbooks, I can highly recommend these three of the several I bought: Bariatric Meal Prep Made Easy by Kristin Willard The Bariatric Diet Guide and Cookbook by Dr. Matthew Weiner The Easy 5 Ingredient Bariatric Cookbook by Megan Wolf All three have sound nutritional advice as they are written by bariatric experts, as well as some really nice recipes. They talk about portion sizes and what to aim for nutritionally as you go through the honeymoon period and into maintenance, and even give you different portions for different phases. None of the books give specific calorie goals, but that's rather standard with many programs. The focus is often for you to discover what works for you and not get sucked into a dieting mindset by counting everything so closely you drive yourself crazy. But the basics are generally to fill one half of your (small, child or luncheon sized) plate with a 3-4oz portion of lean protein and no more than a 1/2 cup serving of starch/grain, and the other half with non-starchy veg. Consume 60-80g protein. Drink at least 64 oz water. (Apologies for not having the metric measurements). Using a small plate is a really great visual cue. Check out the Portion Perfection plates, which are 8-inch melamine and printed with exactly how much of each food goes where. If you need to retrain yourself, this is an easy tool to use. They have bowls, too. (All the books and the plates can be found on Amazon in the US). Going back to liquids is extreme. I would think it would be sufficient to go back to three meals per day as described above, and either no snacks or only fruit and veg or a protein shake as a snack if truly hungry, and make sure you weigh your portions and get all your water in every day. The other thing is to look for processed foods that have crept back into your diet and get them out of your house. You can't be tempted by what isn't there. Good luck to you!

Not gonna lie, it's been a rough month so far. I was doing okay heading into May. On May 1, I reached 203lbs, which officially was the lowest I have been since my 20s. The next day it bounced up, but then I lost steadily, down to 201.6. And then yesterday morning, when I was heading to my 3-month check in with the dietician, I was back up to 203lbs overnight! What the heck?!? Nine days into the month and all progress erased! And then my dietician said everything I'm doing nutritionally is good, but I've only lost 19 lbs since surgery according to their office scale. I go back on the 21st to see the nurse practitioner and am going to ask what can be done if it hasn't improved by then. My loss of momentum tracks almost exactly to when I started taking my doctor's advice to get regular exercise. It was supposed to speed up my progress, according to the surgeon. Instead, in the past 3 weeks I have lost a total of 1.4 lbs. Color me unimpressed. Finally, my dietician said I should try to reduce my reliance on protein powder, which I have in my morning smoothie and at night before bed. She wants me eating more "real" food (though, in my defense, I do not rely on soft foods and have chicken and vegetables and such every day). So I had scrambled eggs and fruit this morning and it all made me really sick. What a start to the day. Smoothies made me feel good and I'm seeing little reason to give them up. I had smoothies all the time pre-op. I'm hoping they'll run some blood tests at the next appointment to see what's up. Like @RonHall908, I have also been exhausted lately and can't concentrate.

I made silky edamame soup today, but added chicken breast for extra protein. It was like one of the fancy restaurant soup! If you are interested, Google the name of the soup and try it out. I didn’t have much ingredients at home, I only used sesame oil, edamame, shallots, chicken broth, chicken breast and sour cream. Turn out great. I have the small bowl in the pictures, the bigger one is for my family. They enjoyed it also. Some of the restaurants I been to add bacon bite on the bottom of the soup. And maybe I will do that for my family next time.

I'm on my second week post op, in my puree stage right now. It's just that I,m buying groceries and I'M trying to keep an eye on the calories, proteins, sugar and fat but i'm not about the limits. I'm kind of confused at this point. Also, i'm not really counting my macros, i just want to be able to have an idea about what I eat while learning to eat healthy and in a balanced way again.

I had the sleeve and had to do a week as well. I was also allowed one small meal a day except the last day. I was only allowed protein drinks and decaf/sugar free liquids, but no fruit juice.

Even though I was cleared of any eating disorders by the psychiatrist prior to my sleeve surgery I am fairly confident that I meet the criteria for NES. According to my research the treatments are antidepressants which I am already on and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. I asked my therapist who uses a different therapy approach what that means and she said CBT is about changing behaviors and she suggested that when I wake up wanting to eat that I crochet instead (replacing an undesired behavior with a healthier one). Well the other day I had to fast for blood work and I usually put a towel or something through the handles on the fridge to remind me not to eat or drink anything other than water and I thought to myself if this works for fasting why couldn’t I just do it every night. So I made sure to eat a high protein yogurt before bed so I know it’s not actual hunger then combined the visual reminder with the alternate behavior and I made it through the last two nights without eating any snacks but it wasn’t easy. I woke up and walked to the fridge several times and had a number of arguments with myself and even tried to rationalize that it was okay to just have one snack because it’s still less than normal. My husband said the good voice triumphed over evil for now. 😂 Anyways, I am curious to know if it’s that “simple” of a fix for lack of better word. Has anyone else had experience with NES? I am curious to know if this substitute behavior thing really works and if so how long it will take until the alternate behavior becomes my new habit. (How many more late night arguments am I going to have with myself)?

I had the SADI-S on June 14, 2024. Tomorrow (Aug 2) is my 7 week post op day. I was 278 when I started my liquid diet. I was 268 on surgery day. I was 275 directly after the surgery. Last week I was 238 and I had a combined inches lost of 31. I have been experiencing a stall for a few weeks. I’ll lose some and gain some but it’s the same 3 pounds. As such I’ve been trying to get more movement into my life. I’m eating, at the advice of my surgeon, in a trial and error way. He wants me to be able to eat normal foods as it is easier to get to your protein goals. I haven’t eaten bread, sugar, pasta, or potatoes. I probably won’t go back to those foods. The pain feels like you went hard on Abs day. It was pretty much gone after 3 weeks. Eating too much (even by a single bite) or drinking too soon after a meal hurts worse than after the surgery. If you feel full and you think it’s too soon, take a break then pick it back up. You’ll be able to get it down eventually. Your anastomosis will be swollen (the link between your stomach and intestines) so there’s a bit of backing up before it goes down. I found shaking my stomach helps the food/liquid go down. Get good with your food being cold. Even if it’s hot when you start eating, you can’t eat it fast enough for it to stay warm. This has been the worst change for me besides the smell of my 💩. Work on finding low fat/non fat substitutes for cheese, dairy, etc. Sugar free substitutes for drinks can help get water in. I like G Zero and the added electrolytes are helpful. Track your food in an app. Weight/measure everything. Avoid “eating out” even if you can find reasonable foods to eat, it’s impossible to know your macros when you’re only eating small bits of meals and maybe removing bread etc. I only have been out once and that was two days ago. I ate a few bites off my husband’s plate. I kept looking at everyone’s full plates and thinking about how I would have eaten all of that and still been hungry. You will be exhausted from lack of food and energy. However force yourself to at least walk laps around your home. Only weigh once a week. I had my husband hide my scale. It was pissing me off that my weight was fluctuating. You will see more movement in measurements than you see on the scale. Try not to fixate on the numbers and remember not to compare yourself to others. People with more to lose will be losing faster than you. Some will not follow a good diet and lose very slowly. Let your doctor guide you on follow ups. Trust the process. Im new to this message board but feel free to reach out to me if you want. I’m on instagram as @BariatricBunnyBabe and TikTok as @Bariatric.Bunny and when I find things that work I post about them. I also share my wins and my weight loss stats. SADI-S can 100% feel lonely but we’re out here doing the thing!

Thanks everyone for your feedback - I REALLY appreciate it! I was trying to think ahead because I have the two busiest months at work right before my surgery AND I just got called for jury duty in February. When it rains, it pours! 😄 Maybe I’ll just wait and spend some time while I’m off for recovery doing some intensive online shopping, or at least narrowing down some options. Again, thanks for sharing your experiences!

That does sound like the basis for the diet I'm on. They told me to work on getting 64oz of water per day as top priority, then around 60-80g of protein next. Next it was to prioritize some unsaturated fats (fish, poultry, and lower carb veggie protein options). From there, they told me to keep carbs under 10g per serving, and under 55g total for the day (not quite as low as keto). Then try to keep saturated fats low where possible. I'm a 6'1" male, so they had me try to target 800-1000 calories per day during the weight loss phase, and work toward 1200 after about 6 months. You may want to check with your doctor or nutritionist to see if they have a recommended range to target. I learned the hard way while I was sick with Covid over the holidays that its really easy for excess calories to be hiding in small things. But overall, just keep up with what you are doing. There will be a stall within the first couple months, and a second stall a couple months after that, so just mentally prepare for it. Both will last 2-4 weeks and will likely have a slight regain in the middle of it. It doesn't take much fluid retention to make the number on the scale go back up. Remember that a 16oz bottle of water is literally 1lb. It's not fat, so it doesn't count. if you're drinking a half gallon / 2L of water a day, that's 4 lbs sitting there, but it doesn't count as "fat weight". It is jarring to see a 4lb fluctuation on the scale, but you're not losing progress, it's just water that your body isn't done processing yet. Think of the weight loss more like stair steps rather than a straight line. You can push through it!

i had an arm lift (and breast lift, and tummy tuck...all in one shot in Dec 2019). i always disliked my upper arms. when i was thin (and thought i was fat) i was self conscious of what i thought was the size of them and rarely wore sleeveless tops. then when i actually got fat i NEVER wore them. if i had to go to an event the warranted (an arm-baring) dress, i always wore a shawl. fast forward to the weight loss and i was left with some saggy jiggly upper arms. while they looked okay when my arms were at my sides, i really did not like the look of them flapping in the wind when i raised them, lol. and i raise them alot, ha...i'm one of those raise-your-arms-in-the-air-and-wave-them-like-you-just-don't-care kinda gals, lolololzzz. so i had them done about a year post op (6-ish months after i reached goal). LOVE EM. while i did wear sleeveless again after the weight loss, i feel a lot less self-conscious about them after the arm lift. and really, it makes all the difference :).. now i do have very prominent scars on my arms (i scar very badly, and knew this going in), but for some reason the scars dont bother me as much as the flapping did. Go figure. recovery is no joke though, i'll be honest. had i not done too much too soon, i would probably have been good to go by 6 weeks...but i didn't, so my recovery was more like 3+ months. that was over 5 years ago now, and i've been wearing tank tops and other sleeveless tops all year round since, hahaha. it really all boils down to what YOU are comfortable with...i was told by countless of people that i didn't need to/shouldn't get it done. but i got it anyway, because the only person who can say i need it is ME. if you have the means and the desire, the option is yours. Good luck! ❤️ some pics: 1st link: 6 months BEFORE the arm lift 2nd link: Day before VS 3 weeks after arm lift 3rd link: 6 months AFTER the arm lift

Have you tried the sugar free water flavorings? I absolutely cannot stand plain water, but if it's flavored than I can definitely drink more than what I'm required. As for exercising, start small. Try water exercises, chair, or floor exercises. Can you maybe go back to basics and do protein shakes and broth, then mushy foods, then soft foods? Supplement with the shakes until you can tolerate more food. Also, definitely talk to your nutritionist and surgeon about this, as you should be able to eat food and get fluids in at 6 months out with little to no problems. For me, I ate 3 meals and 2 snacks for MONTHS. Now I am down to 1 snack on non work out days and 2 snacks on work out days.

I told everyone the reason I wasn't leaving my house during the two weeks of my liquid diet was so I wouldn't risk catching Covid, but I think a close second is to not accidentally run into the local Girl Scouts and their addictive boxes of delight. Thankfully, I no longer personally know someone I need to order from. But given that I've had nothing but protein shakes and jello for going on a week, I might seriously consider selling my soul for Thin Mint right now. Or a carrot. Seriously, anything crunchy right now would do.

You and I have similar starting numbers, HW was 297 and when I started my journey I was 270 and am 5'9. What was your original weight loss goal? I am shooting for 190 but the way that I am losing weight I think I am going to surpass that. What was your typical day in your weight loss phase? How long did it take to get there? Right now I am eating about 1000 calories, 100g of protein, 50g of carbs, 25g of fat. I am not sure if I am eating too much, the scale says I am not but I also do not want to stretch out my stomach. When did you start HIIT? I miss it so much but right now I just walk 35-55min a day (I know odd it just depends how long I can squeeze time outta my lunch break lol) Sorry for all the questions LOL

Thank you for commenting! I thought I was doing something wrong or stretched out my stomach already! lol! guess its part of the process! Water has always been a struggle for me even pre-op so I am trying to just focus on water and protein and make sure I hit those goals. We got this!!

@Tazrok you will get lots of different advice here due to the plain fact the we ALL were given different advice as well. there is no one right way to eat really. but since you came in here asking if you are possibly missing something, ill dip in first a couple questions: 1) how long have you been eating this way? days? years? months? based on your descriptions and pictures, im guessing you are probably taking in about 1100-1200 cals a day (so long as there is nothing else u are eating or drinking?)...this leads me to my next question... 2) how tall are you? 3) are u insulin resistant? suffer from hypothyroidism? have PCOS? depending on your answers the responses to your post may change. as an aside, for most of my loss phase, i barely had any veggies myself. i had very little stomach real estate and chose to eat protein forward, up to about 5-6 months post op. (though this changed near the end of weight loss phase when i became a salad junkie ha). while the make up of your intake doesn't matter as much as the amount, the make up (i.e., nutritional value) is important for overall health and well being. same goes for exercise. p.s. i am also a lifetime grazer. it became necessary after surgery because i just could NOT eat alot at once and it has just become the way i eat now (i am 5+ years post op...and yep i have managed to stay below goal weight this entire time).

I had my surgery on the 16th of Feb - so 20 days ago. I'm still on purées and am mainly having Myprotein clear protein shakes ( 3 a day) and ricotta mixed with different spices/herbs/salts and peanut butter powder for the purées. I've been having pretty loose and watery stools though so I'm very tired. I stared at 91.1kg for 1m67 and now I'm at 82.9kg so I'm loosing at a decent rate but I'm exhausted... pre surgery I was a very big walker and I'm struggling to get to 10k steps a day. I'm eating as much as I can but it takes ages as after 2/3 teaspoons I get a blocked sensation at the top of my throat and a painful feeling in my tummy and have to wait half an hour or so before I can try again. I know this will get better, but it's hard at the moment. What have been the best (easiest) purées you folks have found ? Thanks

I travel for work and I always bring a cooler with an ice pack. Usually bring protein shakes, bottled waters and some easy to transport snacks (cheese, boiled egg, nuts, etc). Sometimes I make a grown-up version of lunchables in plastic divided containers. Just put some cheese, deli meat, veggies, fruit, etc in them. The cooler also comes in handy when I eat at a restaurant because my portions are so small that I always have leftovers!

Curious to hear what people who had surgery in December 2023 are eating or what you ate when you were 5 weeks out? Sticking to protein and veggies?What is your general calorie consumption?

The gas is probably from the carbs. Especially simple carbs, though complex carbs can cause it too. DS/SADI patients have altered small intestines and those shorter lengths digest carbs differently than the full length did pre-op. Things with sugars in them, like carbs, can cause gas to build up as part of the digestion process. In addition to this, some people are sensitive to FODMAPS. That can happen with or without surgery. Onions are a huge FODMAP trigger food! Your gut may be reacting to these foods. You can try an elimination diet to see if it helps. But really, cut the carbs if you want peace. DS/SADI patients need about 90-120 grams of protein (120 grams is ideal, or whatever it takes to keep your protein levels at 7 or above) about 100-150 grams of fat depending on the surgery, and ideally we keep carbs below 50 grams during active weight loss, some go below 30 grams. But even in maintenance, we need to watch the carbs if we want to avoid gas and other digestive issues.

Anxiety is awful. I used to stress out majorly due to my career, but even having been retired for ten years, I still have problems sleeping. I work out like an animal, now that I've lost most of my excess weight, and keep myself mentally engaged in a lot of things, but I still suffer from insomnia. My one doc, who I've used since the mid-90's, still has me on diazapam (addictive, but at some point for me, it just doesn't work so I stop and clean out) and Mirtazapine, which definitely puts me down most of the time. Only problem with the latter is that I don't wake up til 11am. Not good if I'm attempting to live a normal life. But, he's against sleeping pills and I get it. The other things, like Melatonin, just make me woozy. I'm in way better health as a result of the surgery and working out constantly. I'm consuming lots of protein through drinks plus food. I feel good. The lack of sleep can definitely ruin your day. I don't know what the current thinking is in the medical community. I trust my guy but still, it kinda sucks to have to medicate to get sleep. I'm real big on integrative medicine. Maybe there's an answer there. Dunno. Nice to see you folks!!!!

I never lost my hunger. Not with the sleeve and not with the revision to bypass. I just have more of a hard stop now that can't be ignored. My big thing has always been training my head. It's HARD, but very necessary. I always made sure I had 3 meals and 2 snack and a TON of fluids. And by a ton, I do mean A TON. My head told me I needed to eat, even when I knew I didn't. And that can manifest into physical hunger. I put myself on a schedule. Breakfast between this time and this time, snack here, lunch around this time, snack here, dinner between this time and this time. And then DRINK, DRINK, DRINK. Eventually my head and stomach learned when it's time to eat and when it's not. I only really run into trouble if I miss those times by a lot. THEN I'm in a minefield. Focus on protein as your #1 with food and snacks. That fills you up and keeps you full longer. Veggies are 2nd. Then carbs and HEALTHY fats. Sometimes at night, I'll have a sugar free popsicle if I really can't ignore the 3rd snack craving. I don't do it often, but the tropical ones are my favorite and they hit the spot. Make sure you're getting enough calories. Don't starve yourself, but also don't over eat. It's all about balance and training your brain. It takes a lot of time, patience, and effort. But I promise it's worth it.

You had surgery almost 50 days ago, and your worst "transgression" is one instance of drinking tea with your food and consuming 2 fries and half a small onion ring? I have a feeling if past you could see this, she would not see much resemblance to herself. If eating those things felt triggering, like you're afraid it will be a slippery slope to undoing all the changes you're making, that's definitely something to work through, either on your own or with a therapist. I totally get that fear. But the hardest mindset shift, I think, is to realize we're not on a diet. This is life. Carb counts and protein goals and fat limits and daily calories are helpful guidelines to be mindful of, but they aren't laws that must be followed 100% of the time or else. Instead of beating yourself up, congratulate yourself on being more than halfway to your weight goal! And next time you have an event, decide ahead of time how to handle it if there's nothing there you can eat so you can go in feeling confident you won't have a slip.

A couple of questions about recovery before a family wedding. I am scheduled for VSG on March 6. Yes, far out due to work commitments. I have a big family wedding two months later and am wondering (overthinking) how this will all work? 1) I am not in the wedding party but do have a role and need to get a new dress. At this point, I am planning to get a dress that fits me now and assume it may be a bit roomy two months following my surgery, but will still work. Does that seem reasonable, in others experience? 2) Is it likely I’ll be able to eat any of the wedding food two months out? I absolutely realize my experience may be different from others, just wondering what events have been like at two months for others going through the surgery. I also understand my options will be limited (plain protein?) but wondering if I’ll have to pack food/snacks. I’ve read all kinds recovery eating schedules but don’t have the proscribed one for my program yet. Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences and advice!

Thank you for your reply , yes I do have a dietcian but she seems to think I’m doing just fine and when I told her about my weight over the last month she’s telling me to go back to liquids which I don’t want to do as I find it to extreme . I need to go back to my protein first and watch that I’m not grazing all day which I’ve noticed I’m doing more of . It’s so hard sometimes isn’t it . I was a binge eater before my op and I need work on all this