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What vitamins are yall taking? I bought the bariatric advantage multi ea chewables but they smell horrible. I hope they taste better than they smell.

Thank you and Congratulations to you! I’m so glad we have a quality Bariatric clinic here on the Peninsula. I attended one of the online group meetings and plan to attend more. I just scheduled my surgery date yesterday for October 10🙌🏼.

Celebrating my 11th year anniversary of my RNY. Age 78, height 5/8, 299 lbs. Lowest weight was 165 (ideal) but the COVID "home bound" situation has caused some gain that I need to work on . Age now is almost 84 and some health issues are adding to water retention that has add to my weight. My story is that I gained weight after having 2 sons, starting two businesses created stress and a lot of responsibility fell to me. Diabetes became a big issue and while I reached 299 lbs.... diabetes was a big concern. My decision to have Bariatric surgery was guided by the fear of how diabetes was not under control. I was very fortunate to live near Indiana University Med Center which we use on a regular basis. IU has a great weight loss center with excellent nutritional department, and surgeons that operate in the best hospitals. At my age, the cost was taken care of by my Medicare benefit. The Dr that was assigned to me was the director of the IU Bariatric Dept. The Center gives out excellent information for the rules and reasons to prepare for surgery. My April start was to be the start to lose 35 lbs in 3 months but due to summer vacations, etc. it was 5 months to surgery. In that time I lost 55 lbs and had the option to continue on my own. I seriously considered that but since I had, initially, needed help with my diabetes, I elected to have the surgery. I'm very happy that I did. The increase of energy was unexpected. The diabetes meds and insulin was eliminated and hasn't returned, largely due to the fact that I no longer like the rich cream and sugar loaded junk. The small quantities that I can eat are a constant reminder that I need to fill up on good nutritional choices. Calories naturally come up to Breakfast: approx. 350 and consists of a tortilla with one mushroom, one small egg, diced onion, 1/2 slice of crisp bacon, and a sprinkle of cheese. Lunch (2 pm) is veggie soup or salad, dinner is served about 8 pm and is a minimum amount of food. Portion limits are always followed as are the eating rules....small bites!. A big help is that we no longer have a pantry full of bad snacks. Sugared drinks and juice is no longer in the house. Another help is we are the only two in the house now. It is much easier if you don't have to prepare additional meals for extra family members. Keeping busy is a key to not thinking so much about food. I'm a designer and building a line of paper and textile designs for personal use and interior decor. It is a business that I've had for 50 years and thought I was through but I guess not.

Nice to meet you! I felt surprisingly mild/good after surgery! I was in quite a bit of pain when I went home - especially that leftmost incision. 😱 I'm a week out from surgery tomorrow and I'm feeling a lot better. 😊 I think I made the right decision to have rny bariatric surgery!

You're going to be really mad that I was wrong and the jalapenos were $0.50/lb 😂 SoCal is lucky to have the most competitive grocers in the country. But if you have an Aldi in your area, they're always the lowest priced in any market. Prices vary regionally for meat/produce/eggs/milk, but everything else is the same price nationally. But yeah, the cost gap between home made food and fast food is much greater when it's a family to feed and not just one person with bariatric portions. In my example it's a $.30 gap between my pulled pork meal and a Taco Bell taco. But it would be multiple times that for a family with normal size stomachs. I just did the spreadsheet and was annoyed that I saved so little for inveting so much time. 😂 So today I decided to save my labor and get a sandwich 😋

Wow, lots of new folks joining us this week. Welcome all! I'm finishing up my first week of my pre-surgery diet today. I'm on 3-4 protein drinks and 64 oz fluid per day. No meals. Honestly, it hasn't been a big deal at all. I think what's helping me is lots of variety and just staying busy to keep my thoughts off things I'm not supposed to eat. Plus, I wasn't really eating all that much before this, so the transition wasn't too drastic. My Protein sources: Premier Protein Caramel - I drink this as creamer in 2 very large cups of decaf coffee Fairlife Nutrition Plan Chocolate Homemade Bone Broth Bariatric Pal Hot Chocolate, Cream soup Variety Pack & Variety Pack Pudding Mix My Fluid Sources: Coffee Herbal Iced Tea Store Bought low-sodium Broth Millie's Sippin' Broth (these are a nice change of pace) Other: I'm allowed 1 cucumber or pickle a day (it's nice to have something to crunch) Sugar Free Jello (I don't really count this toward my fluid intake, though I could.

Welcome! First of all, great job on your weight loss. Even after the regain, you’re still down 130 pounds from where you started, which is a major accomplishment. Secondly, I’m appalled that your bariatric surgeon’s solution was a 10-day liquid diet, as if that’s a realistic long-term weight loss strategy. I do think you’re on the right track to go to a PCP and get your thyroid and vitamin deficiencies corrected. Are you tracking your eating at all? I use MyFitnessPal, but there are other apps like Baritastic that have similar features, and I think tracking your eating can really help you see where you can improve. At least for me, there’s something about seeing the numbers that makes it clear what is or isn’t worth eating.

Do you still have your gallbladder? I know that the GB can be an issue for a lot of people after bariatric surgery.

Hi J The struggle is real, I should have gone with the chocolate protein powder instead of the plain. I'm not getting in no protein, I feel pretty bad no energy. I'm going to order something from the Bariatric store.

I don't know how open you are to traveling but there's a place in San Antonio, TX that advertises the sleeve for $9,990. It's Sage Bariatric. https://www.sagebariatric.com/sleeve-surgey-9400/ They have a ton of accolades and awards and John Pilcher has some really great YouTube content. Their office was one of my top choices. The only reason I didn't choose them is because I didn't want to travel after surgery and found a wonderful surgeon closer to home.

Keto is HIGH fat, low carbs and moderate protein. Bariatric is HIGH protein, and from there depends on the surgery team. Some are low carb/sugar low fat. Others are a BALANCED low fat/low sugar diet. Mine is VERY balanced, I have never heard anyone on my team tell us we can't have carbs. Through all the classes, appointments and Nutritionists follow ups. They all say the same thing, balanced diet while making sure we get our protein first and then veggies, if you want or have "room" then have the carb. Understand this is only my opinion: I do not think it is realistic to think someone is going to stay "keto" or "extremely low carb" for the rest of their life. Isn't that how we all YO-YO? By doing extreme diets that we realistically cannot maintain long term? I have lost 100+ lbs 4 different times. (I know, ridiculous) The last time I even had skin removal surgery and still gained it back because eating chicken and broccoli every single day was not realistic! This is what convinced me to finally have WLS. I went through the classes for pre-op still hesitant to have WLS and just figured what do I have to loose by learning more about it in a formal manor. I learned that while some things we might not be able to eat, there was really not the restriction of foods like I heard by travel of words. Even on my worst days, I haven't been even able to eat more than 1200 calories. it really is the restriction of capacity that makes the HUGE difference from a diet to WLS. Eating healthy (most of the time) was never a problem for me. My problem was ALWAYS being hungry, eating 3 servings of chicken rather than 1. Eating 3/4 slices of pizza rather than a half a of slice without eating the outside crust. Again, my opinion and what works for me may not work for you or the next person. I think we all have to figure out what works for us and go from there. Everyone is so different and every bariatric team/center is just as different. I had this surgery so I can eat like a normal person and not like a 400 lb person. I am almost 6 months post op and when I eat around people, rarely does anyone notice my diet being different than their own. I think maybe 3 times someone (who doesn't know I had WLS) has commented about what I was eating. You do you girl, work with your team. Find out what works best for you and run with it! Modify it as you go if needed. We are all on the a different version of the same journey. We got this!! (Sorry for my long post, I got carried away)

The BariatricPal Store carries a huge selection of Bariatric-friendly Protein drinks at https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/protein-powders. Here are some popular options: BariatricPal Protein ONE: MultiVitamin, Calcium, Iron, Fiber & Meal Replacement from https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/protein-powders/brand_bariatricpal Syntrax Nectar Protein Powder Sampler Variety Bag - All 17 Flavors! from https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/protein-powders/products/syntrax-nectar-protein-powder-sampler-variety-bag-all-17-flavors GENEPRO Medical Grade Unflavored Protein Powder - 3rd Generation! from https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/genepro/products/genepro-medical-grade-unflavored-protein-powder-3rd-generation Bariatric Advantage HPMR High Protein Meal Replacement - Available in 8 Flavors! from https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/protein-powders/products/bariatric-advantage-high-protein-meal-replacement Protein tubs from https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/protein-powder-tubs Protein Smoothies from https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/smoothies Hot Protein Drinks & Soups are great alternatives to protein shakes: Hot Protein Drinks: https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/hot-protein-drinks Hot Protein Soups: https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/soups-bouillons-broths

I am new here, scheduled for September 19th! Started my pre-op Bariatric Advantage diet on Friday, so close!

See, what you all are saying makes sense, but my nutritionist said I will be eating the bariatric diet for the rest of my life. That's why I was so shocked that she said keto is a fad diet but the bariatric diet is ok. I love keto. My body responds well to it. I have friends that have been on it for years and are doing really well. I lost 100 pounds on it. But I couldn't keep it off no matter how strict I was with it. With the bariatric diet, I was really struggling because my body doesn't do well with low fat. Higher fat with low carbs and high protein seems to work wonders for me. I tend to stay around 70-80 fats per day, 25-35 carbs per day, 70-90g of protein per day, and 1050 - 1200 calories per day (1200 if I work out that day, less if I don't). I may need to call my nutritionist again, because if keto and the bariatric diet both aren't meant to be followed for life, I need to see why she said it would and what I'm supposed to do once I hit my maintenance weight (nowhere near that yet).

Exactly as @SpartanMaker & @i bypassedmyphatass said. Diets are for the short term not the long term. The bariatric diet is devised for a specific short term purpose. While it is restrictive in the first weeks to support your healing, it does encourage you to slowly add more nutritional sources as you progress. One of the things you’ll do as you near maintenance is work out how you want to eat for the long term. Not a ‘diet’ but a sustainable way of eating that works for you & meets the needs of your body. I find it amusing when people consider our bariatric post surgery diet is high protein. It really is just focussed on protein first. Most of us are advised to consume 60g of protein while losing. In actuality, this is less than the daily recommended amount - 1g of protein per 0.8kg for our weight at that time. (Though I was told by my dietician as a woman in her 50s I should be having 1g per 1kg of weight.) So at my surgery, when I was about 85kg I should have been eating 68g - 85g of protein. Don’t know about you but before I started this process I never ate any where near the recommended amount of protein I needed. Remember if there was a single diet that worked for everyone, no one would be obese & we’d all eat exactly the same way. Diets are too restrictive to be be sustainable. That’s why we could lose weight on a diet but could never keep it off. I don’t follow a ‘diet’ at all now. I worked out what foods provide the nutrition I need, enable me to maintain without restricting my life & keep my body happy. Like, I aim to eat 70g of protein because of my absorption issue & I avoid bread, pasta, rice & potato because they sit heavily in my tummy. You’ll work out a way of eating that works for you too. Do your own research about nutrition. Start now so as you add new foods back into your diet you are making healthier choices & to see how your body responds to them. Remember any pro diet sites (keto, Atkins, etc.) will only give you biased information about how great & wonderful that diet is. Just ensure you’re eating a range of foods to satisfy your nutritional needs. In the meantime, follow your plan & the advice of your dietician & surgeon & listen to your body.

Could be many reason why they lose their teeth. Genetics, how well someone takes care of their Teeth, keeping up with regular dentist appointments. Are they taking the right vitamins for bariatric surgery. The only east way out I ever see is not doing nothing.

I don't think keto is any more a fad diet than is the diet recommended to post surgical bariatric patients. They both have specific purposes and are (or were) very effective for their original purposes. The keto diet was originally developed a long time ago as a specific treatment for severe epilepsy. At the time, before antiepileptic drugs, it worked very well in controlling symptoms. The problem is that it became popular for weight loss and it's probably not the healthiest way to eat long term. That said, I think the same thing is true for the post-surgical bariatric diet. It's a diet developed for a specific purpose and it works well for that, but it's not really a healthy way to eat for the general population. The reason we eat a protein forward diet is for a few reasons: Protein helps preserve as much muscle as possible while eating a low calorie or very low calorie diet. This helps keep your metabolism as high as possible so you burn more calories at rest. A carb forward diet (or even a more balanced diet), would cause your body to burn less fat at any given time because carbs are easily burned for energy, whereas protein is not. Protein (actually the amino acids in protein), are essential to your bodies proper functioning, whereas consumption of fat or carbs is not nearly as important. Protein is even more important when healing, thus it's critical post-surgery. The reason the medical community focuses on protein for bariatric surgery patients is due to the above. It's not because protein is actually "healthier". It's just because we are so restricted in what we can eat, thus tradeoffs must be made. I think most doctors would agree that once a bariatric surgery patient can eat more, they should not eat more protein, but instead should work to add healthy fats and carbs ASAP in the form of more whole foods. The general consensus in the medical community is that the healthiest diet is one that starts with lots of fruits and vegetables, has very little processed food, and a lot less meat than what most American or Western Europeans eat.

Why is keto considered a fad diet but the bariatric diet is considered appropriate to follow? For example, my surgeon said to get 60-80g of protein per day, less than 50 carbs per day, and less than 50 fats per day. Keto is high protein, low carb, and higher healthy fats (think mct oil, avocado, not necessarily eggs and bacon). Both are also low/no sugar and require you to eat at a calorie deficit (they just specify how much since calories are not the main concern for either one). Both also require some exercise, based on your ability. The ONLY difference is the fat content. They are virtually the same otherwise, yet one is considered a fad and the other is acceptable. Why? If one can stick to the bariatric diet, why is it assumed they couldn't stick to keto?

I was just having this conversation with my sister the other day. I find it really interesting when it comes to ideas about bariatric surgery and birth control. I had the Paragard IUD when I had my RNY in September 2013. I started experiencing horrible hormonal acne three years later, and was prescribed Yaz. I had my IUD removed because the bleeding was terrible. I had never had heavy periods prior to the Paragard and when it was removed, the heavy bleeding stopped. Yaz has kept my skin blemish free for 6 years. Even as a RNY patient, it has been completely effective against pregnancy. So, for some women, there may be an increased risk of malabsorption of the BCP, but that has not been my experience. My GYN knows my surgical history and told me years ago it’s totally fine for me and my husband to continue using as our primary method of BC.

If you are staying hungry I would definitely suggest trying an actual meal replacement shake like the Bariatric advantage. I am only allowed 3 of those per day and clear liquids. Monday is surgery day and I have not cried or died yet so it is definitely something to look into.

What kind of shakes are you drinking. I am having to do the Bariatric meal replacement shakes. They are expensive but keep you full longer!

I’m booked for gastric sleeve in Tijuana with Be Slim Bariatrics Dr. Paillia he’s the medical director

Oh no! sorry to hear that. I'm kind of expecting the same thing, so I laid in a supply of bone broth and unflavored protein powder, as well as bariatric pal soups and hot chocolate. Hopefully the variety will keep me going. 2 weeks on a liquid diet is a long time.

Hi Everyone! i’m brand-new here I’m so glad to find a support group. I’m very excited that I will be getting my gastric sleeve surgery on September 19. Has anybody else gone to Tijuana for their procedure? Be slim bariatrics Is the medical group. I’m looking forward to joining conversations with everyone. I wish you all well in your journeys ☺️

Could be dumping syndrome, especially because you ate something you know you shouldn't have. Everyone reacts differently and the foods that trigger it can vary. The other option may be orthostatic hypotension. This is really common in bariatric surgery patients. It happens because you used to have a massive blood volume to carry blood to all that fat. As you lost weight, your overall blood volume also went down because you didn't need that much any more. The problem is that your veins and arteries don't shrink as quickly as the blood volume dropped, so now you have less blood, in a still large container. That equals lower blood pressure in general, but it's especially bad when standing from a sitting position. Your blood can rush to your legs and that causes a corresponding loss of blood in your head. That can cause dizziness and fainting. For most people, this will go away in time as your veins and arteries shrink, but it could take a few months. In the interim, some strategies you can use would be increasing your salt intake and the use of compression stockings. As always, don't take the work of some rando on the internet (me). Talk to your surgical team and get it checked out.