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I had mine removed 2017 and it gave me relief because I had GERD. I was so much more comfortable and could eat without throwing up eventually. There’s still changes that have stayed like burping after meals and sometimes foods like rice and bread still feel harder to pass without liquid to help it down. But I’m happy I got mine removed because there’s no more Extreme GERD.

Yeah, I got a pack of these freezer safe glass 4 oz baby food jars on Amazon and they've been really helpful with portioning!! At first I could only eat about half of one, so about 1/4 cup total. A bit less if it was solid protein in meat form other than fish (beef, chicken, and pork sit heavier). That was it for about two months. In this third month my portion size suddenly increased to about 1/2 cup in total now! As far as meat and veggies are concerned at least. I have always been able to eat a little more of soft things like yogurt and pudding... But my PA told me that increase at 3 months is perfectly normal, and I could expect it to increase in stages throughout the first year or two, to not panic over it, hunger is natural and mine never went away from surgery, so I've really had to cultivate a healthy relationship with it. Because those stomach nerves are still healing, I watched my portion size carefully and really paid attention to discovering new fullness cues. For me those are a runny nose, hiccups, burping, and aggressive sneezing fits! Plus this building pressure or weight in the center of my stomach. These are all normal signals for bariatric patients, but we all get our own unique combination so be on the lookout for discovering yours! I think 2-3 shakes a day paired with things like yogurt and soft cereals seems really normal. It is great you are progressing so well! The problem with forums and support groups is we get used to seeing people post with problems and then we expect to have a slew of problems ourselves! And sometimes we do. But often times we don't... The majority of bariatric patients have no complications, progress their diets easily, and worry about eating too much and if their surgeon even did their surgery. 🤣 Your metabolism has been reset, it will handle calories a bit differently now. Just stay on the conservative end with simple carbs, as they can slow weight loss sometimes. Focus on that hydration and protein, and later on when cleared for all foods, on adding complex carbs like veggies, beans, and some fruit. Protein will help with the hunger, as does healthy fat and the fiber once it is safe for you to digest. My dietician told us to think more about macros than calories. So, to make sure things had less than 10 grams of sugar per serving, more than 20 grams of protein per shake, less than 10 grams of fat per serving, and keeping our total carbohydrates for the day under 50 grams in the early months...and that was their advice for all surgeries, with varying protein goals for each different one. Baritastic app has been really helpful with the tracking!

Yeah, I would just keep an eye on portion size to avoid overdoing it early on. I have a couple of favorite cookbooks out of all of the ones that I've bought (because I always overdo everything). They are: The Bariatric Diet Guide and Cookbook by Dr. Matthew Weiner (a bariatric surgeon), and Bariatric Meal Prep Made Easy by Kristin Willard (a registered dietician who specializes in bariatric nutrition). I would 100% recommend both of them and you can get them on Amazon. I like Dr. Weiner's book because he gives you what serving size to expect at different stages post-op. For instance, there's a chickpea curry with riced cauliflower. If you're at 1-3 months post op, your suggested serving is 2 tbsp curry and 2 tbsp cauli (which is 1/4 cup total). If you are 3 months to 2 years, it's 1/4 cup of each. If you are 2 years or more, it's 1 cup curry and 1/2 cup cauli. What I like is that it normalizes the reality that you start with really small portions and naturally eat more over time. I see so many people getting so nervous because they are hungrier at 1 year than they were at 1 month, and it's like yes, that's what is supposed to happen! I wish this book had the nutrition facts spelled out for all three portion sizes, not just the largest, because my math sucks with fraction. And I wish it had more photos, although the ones it does have are very nice and the overall quality of the book is high. What I like about Kristin Willard's book is it gives you 6 full-week meal plans and is meant for doing prep ahead, grab-and- go types of meals that you portion out in advance. Also, it is gorgeously illustrated with full-color photos for every single recipe. There is one weekly menu for purees, one for soft foods, and 4 for normal diet. They even include a shopping list for each weekly plan. In my opinion, (comparing to my surgeon's plan and what I see in Dr. Weiner's book) the suggested portion sizes are geared toward a patient who is 1-2 years post-op, so bear that in mind. You would probably get twice as many servings out of each recipe in the first year, and up to 4x the servings in the first few months. And of course both books are likely to have specific foods at a stage that your own program disagrees with, so you have to adjust accordingly. I'm also going to give an honorable mention to The Easy 5-ingredient Bariatric Cookbook by Megan Wolf, a registered dietician and bariatric specialist. The book loses marks for the lack of photos but gains marks for its stage specific portion size suggestions and for all the recipes being really easy to pull-off without buying out your entire supermarket for ingredients. The author is based in Manhattan, and these are definitely recipes you could accomplish with a tiny NYC kitchen and limited cooking skills. Honestly, if I had a friend going through WLS, I would probably give all three of these as a gift, along with a set of small (4 oz and 8-12oz) freezer safe food storage containers. Hope that helps!

I would suggest eating exactly what you would eat if you were at home while on the trip, or as close to it as possible. Bring your usual foods, pre-portioned in small containers, in a cooler with lots of ice. Or if you have the budget for it, you can get a small fridge/freezer for your trunk that runs on your car's lighter plug. You can find ones on Amazon that are under $200 and can get to -4F in temperature. They also are great for grocery shopping trips in the heat of summer, so not a bad investment to consider. Bring protein supplements if you're still taking them along with a shaker bottle or one of those small portable blenders with a USB charger if you use powder. Don't forget some big jugs of water so you don't have to rely on overpriced small bottles at the convenience stores. Bring hot food in a thermal food container for the first day and plan to heat meals in the microwave at your hotel in the mornings if you have one. They even make electric lunchboxes that can plug into your car's lighter that will warm your food and keep it the right temp for hours. If you don't eat snacks at home as part of your regular program, don't eat them just because you're on the road! Driving can be boring and lead to head hunger, so consider getting some audio books to keep you occupied.

My plan doesn’t talk about calories in the beginning the booklet they gave us was 60-80g of protein and 64oz of water min. Then they gave us examples of what foods to eat. My dietician told me stricked liquids for 3days and then starting to today modified but if I got sick or threw up back to clear liquids. I feel good but I feel like I shouldn’t lol! I should be struggling? Obviously I’m not eating what I used to. And my calories are way lower than before this program.

I was consuming something other than water every 2-3 hours as per my dietician's instructions.... I didn't really think about calories, I focused on my protein goals, water goals, and "eating" frequently. I still eat every 2-3 hours, so about 5-6 times a day. It sounds like you are progressing nicely!! Lucky you! I was on strict liquids for 2 weeks post op. Sounds like you get more things. I suggest broth or tea when that head hunger kicks in. Or a sugar free popsicle. I'd check with the guidelines your dietician gave you, often they want hydration focused on the most for the first few weeks, with protein goals a close second. Calories usually come in (if they come in at all) once you are on soft foods. But every practice is different!

Good luck with your surgery!! I was on liquids for 2 weeks post op and didn't tolerate protein shakes, so I drank mostly water with sugar free flavoring packets in them (plain water made me gag), broths, strained soups, Fairlife milk, and after about 2 weeks I could finally get in a protein water. My surgeon cleared me to eat fish and soft eggs at 2 weeks (much to the annoyance of their dietician), which interestingly was easier for me to digest than the protein shakes. I couldn't tolerate jello either. In the pureed phase I tried pudding and yogurt but they sat too heavy, so I mostly ate fish and soft eggs and all the liquid things. Plus I was able to tolerate cream soups. In the soft stage I ate anything that could be cut easily with a plastic fork, mostly fish, yogurt, and cheese. By a month out I was finally able to handle the feeling of a protein shake... My tummy was just really sensitive. Be aware you may have issues with lactose early on, so I recommend a lactose free milk like Fairlife if you are in the US. I spent a lot of money on protein stuff it turned out my stomach didn't like or my tastebuds found offensive. I HIGHLY recommend sticking with sample packets of things. Those will easily get you through a few weeks. BariatricPal has a good number of them, I liked Syntrax Nectars best. Seeq has a sample pack available and I really loved their watermelon flavor of protein water. You can get samples from Unjury too, they have some protein broth flavors some people like. I also spent a lot of time pinning recipes on Pinterest for the stages, but I never used any of them because my tastebuds preferred really simple things. I couldn't tolerate anything with cooked tomatoes/tomato sauce for at least 2 months and I wasn't allowed to add raw fruits or veggies to shakes or smoothies, but every surgeon's guidelines are different.

I went on a road trip for the holidays at 2 months out. I took a giant lunchbox with me filled with protein shakes and ice packs, cheese and some other cold snacks (I can recommend a fantastic lunchbox on Amazon if you are interested). Then I filled the top of it with some Powercrunch protein bars, Quest sweet chili protein chips, Paleovalley meat sticks (they weren't too dry) and water flavoring packets (I like sugar free lemonade and the Jolly Rancher sugar free ones because I love sour things). I stopped every 2 hours to walk around and use the bathroom to ensure I was hydrating properly. And we stopped for 2-3 meals a day in addition to my shakes and snacks. It worked really well!! I didn't feel deprived at all. In fact, I felt better than I did on road trips before surgery because I stopped more often and hydrated better! Plus I was making wiser food choices.

Feb 14th for me. I decided to "love myself" by picking this date. I have my preop visit next week so I'll find out my pre-surgery diet then. I feel like I've been having a lot of "last meals". My greatest goal out of all this is not just the loss of weight but rather re-jump starting my approach to food. I guess it will begin next week.

Hi Tanith, I too am in a similar situation. I have lost about 60 pounds since my Oct 3rd surgery. I can eat some solid food, but I have to be very careful. Most of the time after eating, I feel like I've swallowed a rock that is just sitting in my stomach (or what's left of it rather). I do get nauseous very easily and have gotten sick many times after eating. I also get heartburn very easy. I've been living on Tums lately. I told my Dr about this and he said just to eat smaller portions and very slow to eat. I wish it worked that easy. I'll be following to see what others say. Wishing you all the best.

Day 14 - Flight home The flight home was unremarkable. I asked for assistance on Southwest's app and when I got to the airport I told someone I had asked for a wheelchair and He got one and pushed me to my gate. First one on, last one off because the wheelchairs weren't there yet when we arrived, but they were by the time the non-wheelchair passengers got off. He pushed me to the next gate and I sat and waited. First one on, First one off, but I had to ask another passenger to get my backpack down and carry it for me because they didn't come in to get me this time. He wheeled me to the street (no checked baggage) and hubby picked me up. I suggest you either check your bag or get a carryon with wheels. I used a backpack because I thought I'd be able to come back with less than 10 pounds and fit it under the seat. It was 12 pounds without my tablet and food for the trip, which I put in another bag. It was also stuffed so I couldn't put it under the seat. Half of the volume was my regular meds since I brought all the prescription bottles, plus my dad had purchased gauze and non-stick pads for me which are bulky. I'd read reviews that mentioned tearing stitches flying home from medical tourism, so I was determined not to lift more than I was allowed, so having that backpack meant I had to stay put and couldn't go buy water. I could have put the backpack in my wheelchair and pushed it to the store, but then I'd look like I didn't need the wheelchair and just wanted to get seated first. In retrospect, I should have known not to use a backpack. When I got home, I showered and took the tape off my incision, which had been peeling, but I wanted to leave it on for the extra protection during the flight. The incisions are dry and look pretty good except for one spot that looks kind of ugly, but isn't particularly painful. Hubby took a picture of it and I've sent it to my surgeon to ask if that was normal. It's good to be home.

Hi all, had surgery on 30th October and have lost 70lbs since then (a little extreme) although in general I feel very good….except for one thing. I still cannot eat solid foods. No matter how small a spoonful, how moist the food is, how long I chew and how long I take over a meal, I feel bad almost immediately. Uncomfortable and unpleasant. Drinking fluids is no problem and am basically living on protein yoghurts, protein shakes, soups, protein cheese and boiled eggs etc. not exactly very balanced despite all the vitamin and mineral supplements. Has anyone else experienced anything similar ?

I bought protein shake in powdered form & bought yoghurt drinks when I discovered them. (Be careful some have a lot of sugar/sweeteners & are actually low protein.) I didn’t realise I could make them myself so easily. LOL. I bought some supposedly flavourless pea protein to make my own smoothies but it was awful. All I could taste was peas (& I love peas but pea protein powder blah!). Some good tips I use when eating with others is not to eat while others are speaking. It slows you right down. And it means you give your full attention to others. Plus I put my cutlery down & lean back in my chair between bites even when eating alone. My last tip is to cut your food into small bite size pieces before sitting at the table. Of course you can’t do this when you’re out. I still do this at home. It’s like I’m prepping a meal for a toddler. lol! Use a small plate like a side plate for your meals (still do) to keep your portions small. I also used small ramekins. And I used a teaspoon initially & then a cocktail fork or spork instead of full sized adult cutlery to keep bites small. Some use children’s cutlery.

PPI are proton pump inhibitors which reduce the amount of stomach acid like Esomeprole (Nexium), Omeprazole (Prilosec), etc. I think you need a prescription in the States too for 20+mg doses. Over the counter ones of less than that usually aren’t strong enough. In most cases your stomach growling or hunger pangs are actually just your digestive system doing what it’s supposed to digest food. The PPI will help with that because at the moment your body is still producing enough acid to digest the amount of food you used to eat. Your head can mess with you bad at this time. It makes you want the food you can’t have at the moment even more Plus so many of us used food as a comfort & you can’t have it at the moment so aren’t able to comfort or soothe yourself like you usually would in a time of stress & emotional turbulence. Give yourself time to heal & recover from what is a pretty major surgery. It takes a good 8 weeks to fully heal & feel more like yourself. Be gentle on yourself.

Awww no girl soft foods as in yogurt 😂 I have to wait another 2 weeks for all that goodness of food girl 😂

Speedy recovery! I am so excited for us. You are lucky girl. I wish if my doctor would let me eat soft foods he said not until week 4 😩 I am 9 days post op & I want scrambled eggs and tuna 😢 eat for me sis, eat for me lol

Had my surgery Jan 24th, yesterday I was able to get 32oz of water and 20g of protein down. Tomorrow is day 3 and I am on stage 2 modified soft foods. I’m down 10lbs already but I did have a bowel movement yesterday. The gas sucks! But I was able to walk a block yesterday slowly and got a lot out…then took a 2hour nap afterwards. Today I feel better just sore

Sorry im not familiar with the term ppi lol i think i may try the gas x though it is truly annoying having to belch every single time I swallow anything other than water. Also i was not prepared for the feeling of starvation i experienced yesterday i know im not following the diet exactly im not getting enough protein shake in there. But i felt truly hungry like seriously and it wasnt head hunger either my stomach actually growled. I didnt even feel that during the pre op liquid diet so it really caught me off guard. I also may be repeating myself i am im sorry these days are starting to blend. Today was a low day though i was depressed half the day i honestly wanted to just lay down and do nothing all day but of course thats not possible for me i have 3 young ones. My boyfriend helps out as much as possible but id feel bad leaving everything to him if i did that. I really truly cannot wait until this liquid portion stage is done and i am healed enough to eat FOOD i am going to devour some eggs and broccoli and spinach and i miss my fish oi im dying lol.

Congratulations on your loss. Whoo hoo! Might be worth checking your calorie intake & what your body actually needs to maintain your current weight & activity level. What portion size are you actually eating? I eat pretty much what is considered an appropriate serving size in maintenance e.g. 3-4ozs protein & a cup of vegetables. Took me to about 18 +/- months to be able to physically be able to eat that. I had been snacking a lot in between to try to stop my continued weight loss until I got to that portion size. I actually still do have to snack just not as frequently. Might be worth a conversation with your dietician to see if there’s something you’re missing & what you could add to your every day eating to help. Also, a growling tummy is more often than not your digestive system doing what it’s supposed to - digest food. Mine is noisiest during & after I eat for up to a couple of hours. Remember you can’t be really be hungry as you’ve just/recently eaten. Your cup of tea is a great idea when this happens. PS - I snacked on combinations of cheese, multigrain crackers & hummus, protein bar, fruit, peanut paste, nuts, yogurt, chia pudding, etc. about 5x a day. Yes I felt I was eating all day long. Now I snack 3 x a day on basically the same things & also occasionally beef jerky & baked fava beans/chick peas.

I’m planning on a cross country road trip. Pre surgery, when I did those just had my trusty cheeze-its and whatever fast food was near me when I need to stop and charge. If anyone has any tips on what I should bring to keep me full or tips on some good munchies let’s hear them! Obviously fast food is out (for the most part) this time. I won’t be leaving until mid February when I’m 3 months post op TIA

Also, as long as you aren't using oils and sauces or dips on them, you can always eat more vegetables with your meals. The fiber will fill you up nicely without adding a lot of extra calories. Speaking only for myself and my own psychology, I would avoid adding regular snack times or anything that looks like snack food, even "healthier" versions of snack foods. Personally I fear I would find it triggering, and it would be too easy to go from healthy snacks to not so healthy ones, "just this once" which of course turns into more than once so easily...

My sugery was 11/29.. as of this morning I am 32lbs down.. I started back into the gym on Monday, 8 weeks post op. I have not really had a weight stall yet, I am noticing that my hair loss has picked up so I am getting it cut on Tuesday. I am off all my food restrictions so I am excited about trying out all kinds of food. Going clothes shopping this weekend to pick up a few things as my clothes are falling off me.. This has been a fun, stressful and frustrating journey but I am here for it...

Don't over think this stage. My taste buds were telling me that lots of my go to food was blahhh. I had an awful taste in my mouth which didn't help. I just ate protein yogurt, ice pops, strained soups and the tiniest morsels of hard cheese left to dissolve on my tongue. I was allowed coffee so had latte's and home made milk shakes, milk, banana and peanut butter blitzed. My doc was against protein shakes

Here's to a smooth surgery and recovery!! There are some soft food recipes on the Baritastic app (if you use it). Check with your nutritionist as well. My nutritionist gave me some recipes compiled by my bariatric program- I didn't use any. I must admit that I was not adventurous with food in the first few phases. I stuck to the basics - shakes, yogurt, soup, etc. During the pureed stages, I added tuna and other soft fish.

This ricotta bake is great during the pureed stage. Definitely gives pizza ish vibes. https://bariatricbits.com/single-serve-baked-ricotta/