Search the Community

Hi guys, I’m very new to this and maybe in the wrong area, or maybe not!! You decide? I am part of the July intake but I already had my sleeve surgery on 1st July 2021. I too have trapped air, I’m 5 days in and trying my best to get to the desired levels of liquid but it’s very difficult 😥 I’m wondering if using slimfast is the best idea, as there is 325ml and 15 protein in there. I feel my stomach sore when I drink too fast but am also feeling quite stressed today and don’t know why!

I go to fine dining restaurants often & I only order an entree (your starter). I also study the menu before I go so I know what I can order in advance. I’ve avoided degustation menus since my surgery almost 26 months ago because it’s just too much food. Even though each course tends to be between an appetiser & entree (your starter) in size the amount of food adds up quickly. Plus the plates tend to come out quickly pushing you to eat too fast. Since COVID a lot of restaurants in Australia only offer set menus which does restrict where I can dine unfortunately - I’m not paying $100+ for 2 or 3 courses when I can only eat one. Look for a restaurant offering an a la carte menu for your anniversary - don’t delay your celebration.

I had a friend who’d had a sleeve & I picked her brain plus I did a lot of research. Originally I had thought I’d just do the band because it was reversible but after the research I was leaning towards a sleeve. I had 31kg I wanted to lose, was almost 54 yrs. Most of my weight was gained when I reached menopause when I put on most of that weight in a year & couldn't shift it. Prior to that I bounced around 60-75kg most of my adult life. My metabolism was really slow too. I killed it from years of skipping meals. (I did that 500 calorie diet for 6 weeks the year before my surgery & barely lost 3kgs.) I had some reflux but had managed it quite successfully for years with dietary changes & only very occasionally needed medication. I enjoyed real food too. Wasn’t a fast food person, not one for pre prepared mass produced meals, only occasionally had a takeaway (no creamy sauces, no deep fried, steamed, grilled, lots of vegetables). My portion sizes were ok - way less than a lot of my friends who often finished my meal. Sure I enjoyed something sweet at night but it would be a couple of sweet biscuits or a cup cake. My biggest battle seemed to be a slow metabolism & then damn hormonal changes. After questioning me about my eating habits, weight gain/loss history & my lifestyle, my surgeon went through each of the surgeries with me, identifying their pros & cons & how they might impact my life. He also wanted to know what I was thinking. He agreed with my choice of the sleeve because I had been managing my reflux with diet already, my lifestyle & history. I’m happy with my sleeve. It was the right choice for me. Good luck with your decision.

First congrats on your surgery. Second, congrats on recognising some of your triggers. Now you know these you can start working out strategies to manage them like how to avoid food commercials. (I record, download or stream most of what I watch so I can fast forward the ads or not get any at all.) It does get easier especially after you pass through these post surgery phases. Once you’re on purée foods and soft foods, try to cook meals that are soft or can be purred but the family can eat too. Freeze left overs in appropriate portion sizes so you can just reheat your meal (reducing how often you have to make separate meals) & still eat with your family. There are always ways to still participate in social events. I had a combined 60th birthday for two of my dearest friends 10 days after my surgery. I took some hydralyte to sip but I could have taken a small thermos of soup or a shake. I only stayed two hours but I was there. I made a zucchini slice I could eat for a pot lunch work reunion two months post surgery. Good luck.

Good luck by his grace, we all will recover/heal fast and well..

Sometimes it’s trial & error to find foods that work. I still can’t eat much of an egg, and pork is too dense for me at nearly 2 years post op. Go back to soft foods like refried beans, yogurt, soft fish, and cottage cheese. Eat the things you can, supplement with protein shakes, and keep up with taking your vitamins. Every couple weeks try something new, and go back occasionally to foods you couldn’t previously tolerate. Something I had to learn the hard way was to SLOW DOWN! I was always a really fast eater. I get sick and vomit when I eat too fast now. It’s a process, hang in there!

Can you switch nutritionist? Find a new one? If not can you email your nutritionist so she has to see the questions (clearly written) and respond appropriately? This is helpful if someone speaks too fast, speaks too soft, overtalks others, speaks with an accent, tends to speak in “stream of consciousness style”, etc. Good Luck ❤️

That's a good reminder about the broth! I am going to need something to keep me on track between meals. I just found out today that I am approved for my July 13th surgery! I was very surprised because I thought my dr's office had missed the cutoff deadline for this cycle and I was going to have to do it two weeks later. But they did submit it (missing the one piece of info they were waiting on from my PCP), and I guess I got a nice person who reviewed mine. So today was the first day of my pre-op diet, and I wasn't prepared because I'm on vacation. I bought a few Slim Fast Advance and I had a turkey sandwich for dinner. Thankfully I am going home tomorrow so I can do Day 2 better than Day 2. I'm on 3 shakes a day and 6 small snacks. This is all happening really fast! I thought the pre-op nutrition class would be boring, but it was actually very interesting and well done. I think I just have my physical now. Does anyone keep waiting for something to go wrong? I am guessing those people who have already been rescheduled probably feel that way a lot! Hopefully we all have smooth sailing.

You explained very well what my problem is: I chew forever but am way too fast between bites.

For many people, a runny nose or hiccups is a sign that you have already eaten too much. I also get a gurgle in my stomach. I went through a stage similar to what you are describing. I THOUGHT I was eating slowly enough and chewing thoroughly enough. When I examined closely what I was actually doing, it turns out I was chewing very well but I was still eating too fast and therefore, eating too much before I realized it. I had to make a very conscious effort to pay attention while I was eating and eat less than I thought I wanted or needed. Chicken was involved more than once even though I had successfully eaten it often before. Another mistake I was making was not waiting long enough to drink after I ate. Drinking before meal time does not seem to have an effect for me. But drinking too soon afterwards seemed to contribute to my problem. And my immediate reaction when I start to feel uncomfortable, was to drink something to "wash it down." Big mistake, that only makes it worse.

I’m getting gastric bypass . My doctor just filled out my clearance form and turned it in today. My insurance is Cigna and from my research they’re pretty fast 😬 so I’m thinking August

Not sure if this approach will work for you, as it depends in your temperament and nature, but here goes: What helps/helped me was understanding/accepting that nothing is forever, and implementing a sort of MO of Delayed Gratification. While I didn’t really want to eat “fast foods”during weight loss phase, I did start to want desserts near the end of it. So I was all, Yeah, that cookie has 300 cals in it, so it’s probably not a good choice NOW, but maybe I can have it LATER. In maintenance, I still do this. And in maintenance I eat a much wider variety of food than before (including dessert!) If I want to eat something when Im not actually hungry, OR if I want to eat something that is ridiculously high in calories when I am, I wait 30-60 mins or so and see if i still want it, and if I still do, then i eat it! The majority of the times I end up not eating it (or just have a couple bites)…it also helps ME that I track everything I eat/drink. When faced with that 300 cal cookie, a quick peek at MFP will likely determine if i goes in my mouth or not. On another note, sometimes if I know I’m going to be eating alot of cals at some event or other, i’ll lower my cal intake either before or after…it all evens out in the end. so this is my long-winded response to say that in my opinion only, fast food/desserts/whatever is not bad or the devil or anything. Its the impulse-control/regulation that needs tending. The easier-said-than-done-trick is to take a PAUSE. Which sounds to me is exactly that the OP did in her drive-by of McD’s (the store being busy notwithstanding, lol) Consider that a win! No need to shame oneself for wanting it, nor demonize the thing you want. Faced with a dilemma, you chose wisely for your given situation . That deserves a pat on the back ❤️

I don't know that that ever completely goes away. I largely avoided fast food when I was in weight loss phase, although on road trips I'd sometimes have Wendy's chili - or Panera's turkey chili or some of their soups. In maintenance, I still do the chili - and/or sometimes a half salad at Panera. At McDonald's (which is rare - and only on road trips) I'll get an Egg McMuffin since they have them available all day now. They're 300 calories and have lots of protein, so they're fine for a maintenance program. I can't do fries or fatty things - and I haven't eaten ground beef in probably 20 years. Highly fatty meals don't sit well with me AT ALL. I could probably handle a grilled chicken sandwich - or half a one, anyway.

there are so many factors that influence people's rate of weight loss that they have little to no control over (e.g., age, gender, genetics, metabolic rate, starting BMI, etc). The two factors that you DO have a lot of control over are your activity level and how closely you stick to your food plan. If you do well with those two, you WILL lose the weight, whether fast or slow. I was a slow loser. I was reminded of that by a very insensitive resident who was doing the follow-ups at my clinic one day - he said I was behind the rest of my co-hort. Well, I was super committed and almost never went off plan that first year, and I ended up losing every molecule of my excess weight, over 200 lbs (took me 20 months). So I pretty much blew everyone else in my "co-hort" out of the water. And I know I am not alone. my point is, us slow losers can also be very successful. In the end, your success is due how committed you are - NOT your rate of weight loss.

There are a few maxims you can depend upon on this journey. There’s no right or wrong rate of weight loss. Some people are fast losers & some are slow losers. The more you have to lose the faster you’ll lose at the beginning. Muscle weighs more than fat. The closer to goal, the slower you’ll lose. You may stall multiple times as you’re losing. It’s not a race. I lost 31kg in 6 months - that’s 68lbs - sound familiar. And I wouldn’t be considered a slow loser. Of course, I don’t know where you started but I think you need to reassess how well you’re really doing. You are doing the right things. It will happen. Remember, every pound you lose is a win. Celebrate each one’s passing.

I think one of the reasons I really felt I had to take control of fast food....were the conversations I had with my therapist about how I used fast food in the past. It was a huge reward/comfort/coping mechanism (read binge trigger...disordered eating symptom). If I was having a challenging morning, I'd promise myself to make it easier with a Mc Big Breakfast on the way to whatever difficult day awaited me. 766 calories of what felt like self nurturing, but was really self sabotage.....particularly when paired with the rest of the day's stress eating. If I had that day when I had a million errands and the dreaded task of buying groceries.....I rewarded myself, justifying that after carrying in groceries and putting everything away, woe is me Cinderella....I DESERVED to have the monster bucket of KFC with all the sides for dinner....because it was self nurturing to let someone else make dinner. (self nurturing turned into 850 calories of chicken meal, plus ice cream...oye) Anytime I had to do something unpleasant...I'd build in the silver lining. A doctor's appointment isn't so bad if you get fries and a fancy coffee afterward. Even after seeing the veterinarian, I had to stop to get the dog a plain burger as a reward for being good....and of course, something for me for undertaking such a task. You can justify fast food with hospitality and generosity. Oh, I knew Suzy hadn't eaten, so I stopped for her. If you're being considerate to others it's a perfect excuse to reward (sabotage) yourself. Hey, I'm being a good doobie, good for me, I deserve fries, too. Sometimes the fast food was an enhancement to happy times. How many times have I celebrated a little good news with fast food or a donut? Take the kids to the zoo, everyone's tired, let's get a burger and make it an extra fun afternoon. And of course you get fast food nonstop while traveling or on vacation to bring a little of home with you. Oye. Fast food was a huge emotional reward. It represented medicating stress, it represented enhancing pleasure. It represented nurturing that I needed and wasn't getting. And it represented a metric feck ton of over budget calories and addiction behavior. So yeah...fast food is complicated. There's a reason we crave it and it's not all about it tasting good. Sometimes after surgery we feel tired and overwhelmed and want that comfort habit, that celebration, that medication for stress. And that is NOT the way to eat any food if you want to break the cycle of disordered eating. Promise yourself other ways of nurturing yourself. Try to avoid food rewards/coping....but at the very least, if you do a food reward...make sure the calories and nutrition can be balanced. Make part of nurturing giving yourself a nutritional win. Also...if you nurture yourself with food, learn to ask for help with nurturing instead. At my house...whoever does the grocery shopping now is exempt from cooking that night. Someone else has to cook...which makes the grocery buyer feel appreciated and cared for....and keeps her from bringing home junkfood. Do other stuff that makes you feel good. Have yourself a deep bath, order a good movie or book, schedule a massage....do something nice for yourself that gives you a similar warm fuzzy feeling without the colossal calories. At the end of the day.....fast food isn't the problem. It can be consumed sensibly if we're ready and understand why it's dangerous. Lots of places are offering some healthier options. The real problem is unmet need, stress that needs soothing, celebratory traditions that are ingrained but unhealthy. I did a lot of talking about fast food and modifying fast food traditions with my therapist. It genuinely helped.

You gotta just keep driving. Some days it is much harder though. Unfortunately, the cravings do remain you just learn better ways to manage them or discover healthier alternatives. During the losing phase, you can reduce their power too. There’s a absolutely delicious patisserie where I shop. Every time I was there to buy groceries I had to tell myself to just keep walking. The desire to go in is no where near as strong now & it’s pretty easy to ignore it & walk past. Maybe in the future when you’re in maintenance you can include the odd treat from a fast food place like @Creekimp13 does. You’ll work out what you can eat & what is better for you to avoid. There’s no right or wrong as long as it works for you. Good luck.

You are definitely not alone. Every time I am alone in my car it wants to steer directly to a fast food place. Doesn't matter which one but I steer my brain to the end game instead. It is definitely tempting.

I eat fast food all the time. But I make better choices. At McD's I'll eat an egg mcmuffin and a coffee with cream and splenda. At Wendy's, I love their grilled chicken strawberry salad and eat about 2/3 of it. At KFC, I've been known to eat two chicken legs, original, no sides...and an ice tea. At Burger King, I'll eat half an Impossible Whopper. For some people....stopping at fast food is too triggering and leads to free for all binging melt downs. For me, I've found that I need to face my triggers to feel in control of my eating habits. I purposefully go to fast food places for lunches (not always, but regularly when working) and order sensibly. I know exactly the number of calories I'm eating and make sure the rest of my day fits. I read the nutrition information before I order, make a plan, and stick to it. Fast food places don't bother me anymore. I don't feel threatened with feeling out of control anymore. I feel like I can eat there and still eat responsibly. I like fast food. In moderation. With my eyes wide open. I like feeling like I've slayed that dragon and it holds no control over me anymore.

Yes, I had extremely painful esophageal spasms in the first few days. They were worse with swallowing too much liquid, too fast, too cold, and terrible from pills. It was like a knot mid-chest that radiated across my chest. Took 20 minutes to resolve each time. I crushed or chewed pills for a week, or asked for liquid meds. The spasms eventually subsided, after a week, but were replaced by nausea and vomiting for weeks. It has now stopped at two months. Surgeon said my pouch was just very sensitive, and the surgery itself can irritate the esophagus. Hang in there!

Sounds very similar to me (I’m in Magnolia btw). The only difference is I was allowed to swallow pills whole from day one. And that started with a monster antibiotic pill right after surgery. I couldn’t walk much because of back pain (unrelated to the surgery), felt like I wasn’t eating enough calories or drinking enough. I’m one year out and I still don’t drink enough, am constipated but I’ve developed a pattern of laxatives to fix it once a week (I eat so little still it rarely bothers me to not go). Really for me once the one month hit things really took off. I was cleared for any food I wanted, with portion size being the main point of concern. I had no food problems other than if I ate too fast just like you. I’ve only done that twice now (you’d think I’d learn after the first time but no). If I ate over 500 cals a day for the first six months I’d be surprised. I just never thought about food much, lived off a couple protein shakes a day and a super small dinner like tomato and mozzarella or just raw cucumber with some salt. Maybe be ready for some weird reactions when you look at yourself now or “before” photos. I don’t really recognize myself in either situation, but I love the new me. I just don’t always have that instinctive “that’s me” reaction in the mirror, and I’m mortified at how fat I was in the before pics even though at the time I really just thought of myself as a big guy. Another strange feeling I’ve never talked about, at 6’4” 330lbs I felt like no one would ever mess with me (not that it’s a realistic worry) like walking to my car or whatever. I’ve definitely lost that sense of security (again, it’s unrealistic to worry about this)… I didn’t expect that psychological effect but it’s there. Strange feelings like that are things I never considered in the early days. None are bad or debilitating or even negative, honestly…. Just present… if that makes sense. Anyway I’m rambling but ask any more questions you can think of and I’ll do my best. Enjoy the ride, it’s really pretty awesome and I hope you have the best results.

Just doing a quick check in. I'm almost 3 weeks out of surgery. I went from 265 down to 251 and then hit a stall which I've had for nearly a week and a half. Hoping it's breaking as my weight finally went down by .4lbs today instead of just being the same freaking thing. I started using the Baritastic app at the recommendation of a friend and am loving it so far. Have also been trying to be better at eating at least 3 meals a day instead of just two and protein shakes. I'm trying to focus on getting my calories up a bit while hitting my protein and water goals. I will say that with the buffer time (30 minutes before and after) for drinking, paired with how slow I'm eating, it feels like I'm constantly eating. That being said, I'm still only getting in around 800 calories a day max. So that's a really surreal thing for me, to feel like I'm eating all the time, but still only be eating around 800 calories. I did have one instance where I ate too fast and threw up as a result. Throwing up was also a really interesting sensation. There was no stomach acid, so what came up was basically what went down plus some saliva. Not pleasant but not as bad as pre-surgery. Hopefully everyone is doing well and recovering without much issue!

Hi there regarding those shots. I self administered but I'm a nurse so not a big deal. I will tell you something most aren't told. Go slow when pushing med. It is very thick. If you go too fast you will get heavy bruising. Hope this helps

I am in shock. Up to about 900 calories a day, still getting all of my protein in water in daily. Today is exactly 4 months post op… down 70 POUNDS! 😲 284 surgery day, today 214. This is insane. I knew I would lose weight having this done for my reflux, but I never imagined losing it this fast ! I wish I could eat a cheeseburger to slow it down LOL WHEW!!!

I kept losing until I was 20 months out. Yes - it's easiest the first six months, but that doesn't mean you'll stop losing then as long as you're sticking to your plan. at six months out I'd lost 75 lbs (about 5.3 stone), but I may have started at a much higher BMI than you did, which makes a difference. Plus there are a lot of other factors that influence your rate of loss - age, gender, genetics, metabolic rate, your percentage of muscle, etc. If you do a good job of controlling the factors you do have control over (i.e., sticking to your food plan and your activity level), then you WILL lose the weight, either fast or slow.