Search the Community

hmmm...you could always try it, and, if it doesn't work for you say, after 3-4 weeks, then just go back to what DOES work? or, if it's causing you too much angst, and your current M.O. is not causing you any issues (which sounds like it isn't), why fix what ain't broke? there is no one-size fits all prescription...find out what works for you and go with that. good luck! ❤️

I can't speak to somee of the other things you mentioned, but as far as BM's go, it's pretty common for it to take a week for your first one post-surgery. Not much in there...

I had the sleeve surgery on Monday April 8th. I was kept in ICU for 3 extra days due to heart rate dropping and oxygen dropping. I haven't had a bowel movement since last Saturday even with laxatives. And immediately after surgery I couldn't breathe and was on oxygen. When I left the hospital it was at 91%. My chest hurts bad and I'm using my spirometer and my nebulizer treatments. The surgeon moved my post op appt to Monday but don't seem to concerned. But the cough makes the pain worse and I can't lay down because I can't breathe. Any tips or help please?

Surgery twin! I found a lot of soft/pureed recipes on Pinterest and TikTok. My surgeon had me on a clear liquid diet post op for 3 days and then I was able to start soft/pureed. Soups and jello were my go to initially. You got this! I’d say to wait a few minutes after your first bite to see how you handle it

This situation is a catch 22 because no one knows exactly what the insurance requirements are and no one will tell us. The dieticians job is to help you lose weight, period. Whether that’s in your best interest or not is where it gets tricky. On one hand If you are in a supervised weight loss program (the six month requirement by a lot of insurances) they are trying to see if you can lose the weight on your own before they approve it. So in theory if you lose too much they could deem you not a good candidate for surgery. On the other hand, every pound you lose the heathy way should make you that much more fit for the operation (not if you malnourished though). Plus, if you really can lose it without surgery obviously not putting your body through surgery would be ideal. if the dieticians way is something you have never tried before and when you try it you feel like you can do it, losing weight without surgery is obviously preferred. BUT, just because the insurance company sees progress and decides that you should be able to lose it based on the trend doesn’t mean they are right (they are not doctors and should not be making these decisions IMO). I know myself I have probably lost 1000 pounds in my life but that’s because I have always lost a few and gained them back but never got near a healthy weight. Whether you have tried everything, including the dieticians way, only you know. I had sleeve three years ago and my high weight was 235 and I’m taller than you. So I was lower BMI as well. On surgery day I was 220ish and I was fine but I did not start losing until my pre op diet began. During my 6 month supervised diet I did follow the diet they set out for me to the best of my ability BUT the cheat days basically offset my progress so I didn’t really lose anything. Now I am considering revision and there is not any weight requirements as far as I know but I started at like 245 this time anyways so I’m not as afraid to lose a little. I asked him what I should do and he said to keep my Carbs below 40 for now (I am most likely having the SADI so carbs are gonna be most important post surgery). Well I am losing but less than a pound a week so no one is raising any eyebrows at my loss. Anyways If I was in your position I would reduce my calories by like 100 at a time and see how I felt after a week adjusting to that. (Mayne you can get to 1200 with the dieticians help and maybe you decide that you want to try it once the dieticians way before you decide). On days like you four hour swim I would ask the doctor their opinion because 1200 calories does not seem enough for that level of activity. I think if it was me, I would stick to eating healthy choices for now. Try out new, healthy recipes and get used to the food you will need to eat post surgery. I would try to get to the 1200 because they are the dietician but portion wise I would cut my calories slowly to get there and see how my body reacted at each stage. (Just be honest with yourself about whether you really need or just want the calories) if I was really losing more than ever before and it seemed like something I could sustain, I would then re-evaluate whether I should be jumping into major surgery just yet. But if I decided that i couldn’t do it on my own and for sure wanted surgery i would talk to my doctor about how much they would like to see me lose to be fit for surgery.

If you don't eat, your body will think it's starving and it will hold on to every little calorie, every bit of fat, everything to protect you. That will be what causes you to gain weight, or at the very least, not lose. You have to learn to walk that fine line between eating enough to stay healthy but not too much to cause weight gain. It's a learning curve, and takes a while to figure out. But you'll get there. Just make sure you get your protein in first, then carbs (from veggies and fruits), HEALTHY fats, and enough calories. The first 2 weeks, I never had more than 600 calories per day. Weeks 3 and 4 it went up to between 800 - 900 per day. Weeks 5 and 6 I was around 1000 per day. Once I was completely cleared for all exercise, I went up to 1100 - 1200 per day on non work out days and between 1300 - 1400 per day on work out days, depending on what work out I was doing that day. You absolutely HAVE to give your body the fuel it needs to survive and thrive. The point of the surgery isn't to starve yourself into being skinny. It's a tool to teach us to make better, healthier choices and stick with them.

Hiya, I'm Denise. I live in Royal Oak and had surgery August 3. I had the bypass at McLaren Macomb. How about you? Sent from my SM-N950U using BariatricPal mobile app

I did not get a very detailed plan, and my program advances quickly so that in theory you can have no restrictions at 4 weeks. For me, that has been way too fast. I have found the Bariatric Diet Guide and Cookbook by Dr. Matthew Weiner very helpful. Now that my own program says I can have anything, I'm appreciating his stages (which vary from the typical phases you see in most programs).

10 days post op today and i feel sooooo much better. Those first few days were tough ! I was kind of panicking because i wasn’t keeping things down well but the past 3 days have been a breath of fresh air. I moved to purees, and was able to eat scrambled eggs with a little low fat cream cheese, mashed veggies and white fish puréed together and i have finally found the one protein shake that does not make me throw up haha Every day is getting easier - i think i’ve finally mastered the quantity i can eat after the first 3 days of purees where i systematically threw up after eating too much … I realised that no matter what my eating plan says i need to adapt size of the meal to what i can actually manage. I can finally also manage water comfortably and that is such a relief !!

Your plan should list the foods you are able to eat & those you need to avoid at each stage. It should also say how long you stay on each stage. If it doesn’t, contact your team & ask for more specific information. Your tummy lets you know pretty quickly if you’re not ready. It may be discomfort on eating, a feeling of heaviness, you may regurgitate what you’ve eaten. It’s a lot of trial & error honestly. For example, most plans tend to advise 2 weeks on each stage. Some people stay a little longer on a stage or go back a stage simply because we heal differently & their tummy just isn’t ready for the foods (texture & density) on the next stage. Some foods are on the avoid list because they can be hard to digest by your healing tummy (bread, pasta, rice, seeds, fruit & vegetable skins, etc.). Other foods are off the list because of their nutrient content & calories (many plans are no starchy vegetables for e.g..). There may be foods on your list your tummy can’t tolerate (chicken breast, eggs often are a struggle few a while). Your tummy can be fussy while healing & the temporary change to our taste buds &/or sense of smell can make foods extra sweet, extra salty or just plain disgusting. Textures can be off putting too at this time. Many of us ate the same meals or rotated through a small selection especially in the first couple of months. One because we eat such small portions there’s lots of left overs. Two, because our fussy tummy & you can’t tolerate a wide variety of foods. Three it means you don’t have to think to much about food & what your going to eat & you know how much protein & other nutrients you’re getting with each meal. I still eat a lot to routine & often have the same meals & I’m almost 5 years out. It’s not that I can’t eat a variety of foods it’s just easier sometimes (or maybe I’m lazy LOL!). I struggled in purées to find foods that tasted good because the taste or texture was awful. Thank goodness for runny scrambled eggs, milky rolled oats, yoghurt & soups. In soft foods I ate a lot of minced meat dishes - savoury mince, meatballs (rissoles in Australia), bolognese (no pasta), etc., slow cooked stews, thick meat & vegetable soups, omelettes. Try some savoury egg muffins (add cheese, mushrooms, onions & other pre cooked vegetables you like) & a lot of people swear by ricotta bake (someone will have a recipe they’ll happily share).

The 1st few days are rough. Consentrat on protein and liquids right now. The protein shakes can be counted as liquid. The first few weeks I only got between 700 and 900 calories day. Just don’t go on a binge. I need a bunch of crap and you will be fine.

How has everyone gone for goal setting? They say you have to set SMART goals Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant Time-Bound And they also say not to focus on scale victories. That's a challenge for me! Numbers make such an obvious target. So I've chosen some targets like Do 20 minutes on the stationary bike, twice a week by May 19. Drop 10 kg by June 19. Do 1 pullup by July 19. And do a DXA sscanand reward myself with $100 per bf% dropped. Turn down the CPAP by August 19. By February 19 I want to fit into size 36 jeans. Has anyone got some good targets sorted out?

Hi everyone My surgery date is 4/30 so close enough to join the May group 🤣 1. I am excited to start this journey! I do have anxiety as well because I had a procedure done years ago that didn't work well. I had a lap band done back in 2005 with NO SUCCESS. The band was nothing but a problem. It flipped twice and the port moved so all of the saline was removed, and it's just been hanging out with me ever since. 2. For my hospital bag, I plan on wearing the same comfy clothes home that I wore in. I'm bring my crocs, chapstick, a long phone charger, a couple protein shakes because I was told by my surgeon that their options were not the greatest, and a heating pad. 3. I am excited to finally get some of this weight off of me!! I have lost the 60lbs (and gained the same 60lbs) since 5th grade, I swear. My son is 14 and I'm excited to be able to finally ride amusement park rides with him. We got this!!

Congrats!! week 1 is behind you now Do you have another week of liquids or are you moving on to pureed foods?

Checking in with the March 2023 crew. How y’all doin?? My surgery was 3/28. Things have been going relatively smoothly for me. My toughest time was my overnight in the hospital—the night nurse was a bit extreme and wouldn’t let us sleep. She wanted us drinking two ounces of water every hour from 10pm to 4am with the threat that we wouldn’t go home if we didn’t complete it. Needless to say, I did not go home at 5am lol. I definitely told my surgeon at my 1wk check-in. The first few days, it was painful trying to get up out of bed and if I sneezed, but I never needed to take the heavy duty pain meds they gave me. I did need to start adding Miralax to my water every few days and I use Benefiber daily. Other than that, it’s been really smooth for me so far. Getting all my water is sometimes tough, but I try to start drinking it earlier and can handle it far better than I could right when I got home post-op. I can’t wait for coffee! Hope you’re all recovering smoothly!!

I’m wondering how many different foods i should be trying at each food stage. I’ve been eating the same meals for a couple of days (white fish and veggies pureed together) purely because one filet of fish cooked ended up making 5 of my tiny meals. But i wonder if i should be varying meals more ? As in intentionally trying new foods ? I’m moving to soft foods next week so i was looking for meal ideas… Also, how do you you know you’re actually ready to move up a food stage ? I’m scared of soft foods then regular food :O

I have Fibromyalgia and it has not changed because of weight loss. The surgeon told me this. I had zero pain when I woke up from the surgery but was a little tender in my stomach area. I take 8 Co-codamol a day when the pain is fierce and a 10mg Amitriptyline every night to help me relax. My new tiny stomach was very swollen and I couldn't take the pills for about 4 weeks. I had some morphine patches from my doctor but it wasn't severe enough to be an issue after week 1. I take 2 tablets for GERD a day, These have to be taken separately from my pain meds because of absorption issues.

i started using soda water with my vodka and/or gin when i found out that tonic water had as much (if not more!) calories than a regular coke. as for bubbly, i started drinking it (i.e., perrier) instead of plain water to meet my water goals around 3-4 months post op. the literature i received told me i shouldn't drink carbonated beverages, but i did anyway and when i told my NUT what i was doing she didn't have any objections since i experienced no adverse effects. personally i like how carbonated drinks make me burp, cuz sometimes i need a little help to release some gas. but that's just me. ymmv.

Welcome! I'm about 7 weeks post-op gastric bypass and no regrets. Good luck on your journey!

I haven’t had any blood work since surgery to say they’re working but all my bloodwork was off a couple months beforehand and I started them about a month and a half before surgery. My pre surgery bloodwork didn’t show any deficiencies in any vitamins or minerals then. I figured if the surgeon had them on her list of approved multivitamins then they must work but occasionally I do wonder how lol. My appt is next week on the 25th so I will let you know. Im one of those people that struggles with my levels on a good day so during this post op diet I’m sure I’ve been challenged. Amazing job on the weight loss and walking despite the knee pain. I often stay down because of pain or exhaustion and I need to get up and moving. I hope your knee surgery is in the near future!

I'm glad to hear this, most chairs I sit in now are painful, I've started carrying a pillow to sit on sometimes when I know it will be too painful otherwise. I'm just over 3 months post op.

My surgeon told me at my 6 week appointment that I needed to start doing more exercise. This week, I'm happy to say I've gotten out my little walking pad treadmill twice in the evenings and have been walking while watching TV. I've gone from a daily average of about 3k steps to more than 5k this week, and I'll be working toward 10k steps each day for the coming month. I can hardly wait as the weather improves to allow for more outside walking. I'm really hoping the additional activity will give the scale an added nudge in the right direction. Once I can hit 10k most days, I will start looking at ways to add resistance bands to build muscle, but if I'm honest, I have been almost completely sedentary for several years and need to pace myself for it to be sustainable. Today, I am less than 4 lbs away from the lowest weight I've recorded on my app in the past 7 years (which was 203.8 after doing the nutrition program at my old weight loss center). 203 lbs is the next milestone I have my eye on, followed by making it to 199 lbs, and then hitting 185 lbs to officially no longer be obese. I chose my weight goal of 155 lbs somewhat arbitrarily, though it's the lower end of the estimates I saw for how much I could lose on various calculators. But when it feels impossibly far away, it helps to have some smaller goals to focus on. Oh, and it's almost time to swap out my winter clothing for spring stuff, which means I will have a lot of items to take to the donation bin. Many of my long-sleeve tops are swimming on me and several pairs of jeans are hopelessly baggy. Purging my closet will be an awesome feeling!

Mine is April 23rd. I started my pre-op diet on Tuesday this week. It was a rough 2 days, but I'm getting the hang of it now. I know I am not going to want to eat certain foods for a bit - cottage cheese, being one of them. Pickles have been helpful. Good luck to everyone! I'm ready for it to be here.

Surgery 12/14/23 RNY. I turned 51 ten days later. I will be 4 months post op 4/14. Doing well, had a stall and now my hair is thinning in spots. I’ve been exercising since I came home. Only issue is some constipation.. 🤷🏼‍♀️

1- F/51/5’1 2- 12 lb 3- 230 4- 1 month post 212 5- 3 month post 180