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Nope you didn't ruin anything. Your journey will be all ups and downs and it is really best to get used to it. Throw in lots of stalls and you will be worrying like crazy if you don't believe your teams advice. You should be in a calorie deficit. Once you are on real whole foods as against puree your restriction will kick in big time. Then you will be on reduced calories again because you just can not eat much. You could have gained three pounds because of a few reasons. Have you been eating salty foods, Having a really stressful time, Have a full bowel or is it just the time of the month.

I had surgery on March 21 making me almost two weeks out. I am eating every few hours, dropping weight like crazy. My scale says I'm down 29lbs from when I left the hospital. I'm eating some soft foods now, when I do eat though I get like an empty feeling after a couple bites. I feel like that's my "full" Feeling because if I do try to eat any more, I'm hurting. Anyone else get different cues that you're full?

The purpose of this diet is to shrink your liver. The liver is in the path of surgery. Following the diet will use up the glycogen that is stored in your liver. Glycogen is the storage form of carbohydrates. Depleting your liver’s glycogen stores shrinks the liver, which can decrease complications during and after surgery That being said, 4 weeks of nothing but meal replacement shakes is a tough row to hoe. I agree with the broth suggestion. You may also want to ask your doctor if you can have non-starch veggies - at least for the first two weeks. I had to do 2 weeks of a full liquid diet; it does get easier the closer you get to surgery - because you are ALMOST there! And as you get closer to the date and you are losing weight and your clothes are getting looser and you feel better, it is even more incentive. Hang in there!

Hi everyone, Booked my surgery a few weeks ago, for 3rd March 2023 (I wanted sooner, but my sister is also having done and to satisfy the downers in my family we are having it done together and she needs to save a little more) Anyone else in the March 2023 club? Look forward to hearing from some of you

Hi everyone, I had gastric bypass on February 27 of this year and I am down 53 pounds. My goal is to lose 100-120 pounds. While I am happy with the weight loss, I am losing muscle just as fast. I started going to the gym and hitting the weights this week. Of course I’m not as strong as I was before (I used to lift weights 10 years ago). I’m concerned that I won’t be able to get the nutrition/protein I need daily to start growing muscle again. Anybody on here bodybuilding months or years after surgery? Any tips or suggestions? Thanks

I didn't have much pain when I woke up from my sleeve surgery. The pain came after i got home. It was a ROUGH 2 week recovery. HOWEVER....when I had my revision from sleeve to bypass, no pain. I was literally up and moving and walking and doing well while still in the hospital. The recovery was night and day compared to the sleeve. My only regret is that I didn't just do the bypass to begin with. I think you'll be fine. Just breathe through the nerves, remember why you're doing it, and take the leap. I promise, once you're on the other side of the surgery, you'll be so glad you did it.

Hi Everyone, I am a March 2024 Bariatric By-pass patient. I am only into my 3rd week post op and I am down 50 lbs and counting. I am still learning the ins and outs of how to eat again. Drinking too fast or too much triggers consequences. Also, with eating too fast or too much will trigger throwing up. However, by eating the ways that are prescribed will render the proper results. I am very impressed with the results I have seen thus far.

Everyone recovers differently. One friend was back after a week, another was three weeks while I was four. Is it possible to extend your leave if you need, or return part time or with reduced daily hours? Can you work partly at home? Better to have a plan in place your employers are happy with just in case you need it. All the best with your surgery.

ugh. the constipation blues. i didn't poop for 13 DAYS after surgery. omg. i developed an M.O. to battle constipation over the next several weeks: 1) every day, i would add 2 tsp Benefibre to my morning protein shakes. 2) if i didn't poop after 2-3 days, i would take a Miralax 3) if I didn't poop 2 days after that, i would take Milk of Magnesia. 4) if i didn't poop 2 days after that i would insert a glycerin suppository. 5) if i did'nt poop 6 hours after that, i would insert another one. LUCKILY, i didn't need to figure out what to do if the second suppository didn't work. omg. i did this for about a year. after a year i got more "regular" and didn't even need the daily Benefibre anymore. And when I say "regular" i mean i poop maybe every 2-3 days. which is a huge departure to pre-op when i used to poop MULTIPLE times in a single day (sorry TMI). i think so long you aren't super uncomfortable, you are good. but if you are starting to feel pain and/or discomfort, then you probably need to come up with a plan to combat it, whatever M.O. it may be.

I’m Australian so our English heritage meant I understood them perfectly. We use whinging a lot but take the Mickey not as often. 😁😁 That’s damn ridiculous @MrsFitz. All of it: the inconsistent dispensing & contradictory stockpiling justifying for it, the system they use not coping with a brand name change, poor delivery of vital medications, etc. You have every right to complain about the situation. Hopefully they can sort it out quickly & you’ll have your meds soon. PS - Reminds me of when I had my gall removed & my medication (new boxes bought from home), which were locked away, were not returned to me when I was discharged. They organised a service to deliver them to me but of course they never arrived. The service claimed they tried but I wasn’t home. I didn’t leave my house for two weeks. Asked for them to be taken to my surgeon’s rooms at the hospital so I could collect them at my follow up appointment. Of course they didn’t. I had to walk what felt like 20 miles up & down floors, building to building, wing to wing to get to the ward I’d been in & then they couldn’t find them at first. There was about $150 worth of meds so I was not letting it go. Oh & then I had to walk back to get to my car to leave. And I was made to feel like I was inconveniencing them.

I'm scheduled for sleeve surgery in three days, and I'm experiencing serious cold feet. I'm a 44-year-old male, 5'9" tall, weighing 270 pounds. I've struggled with yo-yo dieting for over 21 years, with my highest weight being 280 pounds and my lowest 198 pounds. I've had success with intermittent fasting and restricted calorie intake, but I've regained the weight. I suffer from mild sleep apnea, which causes heavy snoring and comes with its challenges. Thankfully, I don't have any other health problems, and I take medication that contributes to weight gain, though I doubt they'd make me fatter the 270 pounds than I am now; they just make it harder to lose weight. I'm feeling uncertain about the necessity of the surgery since I'm not extremely heavy and overall healthy. I'm also worried about only being able to eat small quantities in one sitting, and the idea of changing my body scares me. Yet Im also excited to get this option available

1-2 pounds per week is actually a healthy rate of weight loss. That's where doctors and nutritionists want to see a person at. But if you want to change things up, try changing your workouts, giving yourself variety in what you eat, weigh and track your food so you know where empty calories and carbs are coming from, Typically, the first 6 months after surgery is the time when we lose the most. After that, weight loss slows way down (you can still lose, but not at the rate that you were). We can definitely still lose weight, but it slows SIGNIFICANTLY and we end up "fighting" to lose more weight. I'm still losing, but it's slooooow going. Slow and stead wins this race.

Ugh, I'm so sorry to hear this! I have been nauseous for about a week and a half now. It's horrible. I haven't thrown up, but I constantly feel like I need to. It's making it very difficult to eat or drink. They wanted to send me to the hospital for hydration, but both local hospitals were full. I'm trying to do it on my own. Between that and low bp right now, I'm feeling so weak. I really hope this works for you and that you feel better soon!

This is absolutely accurate for my experience as well. I had my surgery on March 11th and after a week I was able to drink more. I transition from drinking more to wanting to eat and learning how not to eat or drink too fast or too much. I am still learning to be careful about not eating too much or too fast because you will feel it in your throat and have a nauseous feeling. And perhaps, you may throw up to relieve yourself. The important lesson here is to measure your food at the prescribed portion by your physician and other instructions given.

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?

Life just throws it all at you some times & I’m sorry you’ve been through a lot. Unfortunately the pouch reset is a fairy story/old wives’ tale. What needs to be reset is not your tummy but your head. Remember all that head work we had to do in the beginning? The stress, emotions & changes you’ve been experiencing has likely meant those old bad habits have snuck in again & you’ve been turning to food to comfort yourself. It’s easy to become complacent too. All completely understandable. Don’t know if you were a food tracker or not, but tracking even for a couple of weeks like @Spinoza suggested will help you identify what you may need to adjust - food choices, protein & fluid goals, portion sizes, nutrition. Then start by making one or two changes & another one or two a couple of weeks later. Small changes are easier to adopt & adapt to. Probably aim to get back to about where you were when your weight stabilised & how you initially maintained. Maybe contact your nut/dietician to help you get back in the right mindset. Therapy may help you manage & better cope with the stress you’ve been experiencing too so you don’t turn to food. You’ve been successful for ten years. You can do it again. All the best.

Yes, because of the nerves that are cut during the surgery, messages about being full or having had enough, either don’t get through in the same way or are distorted. It takes about 8 weeks for hi to fully heal & therefore the messages to start getting through accurately. Also, liquids & purées go through your tummy more quickly & before you might feel full. Add in the small potions & sipping & eating slowly & you won’t feel full. It’s why it’s so important to stick to the portion size recommendations we are given. Once you start to eat a little more in regards to portion size and solid foods & you are more healed, you’ll start to feel when you’ve had enough and start to feel your restriction. PS - It takes at least 20 minutes for the full signal to get from your tummy to your head so by the time you register you are full, it’s easy to have eaten more than you actually need. Some of us take even longer to register we are full. Aim, not to feel full but to recognise when you’ve had enough. I still often ask myself do I need the next bite or just want it. Congrats on your surgery.

I had a total abdominal hysterectomy on May 7th. I was in the hospital for 3 days and 2 nights. The initial surgery took 3 hours because not only did they remove my uterus, cervix, fallopian tubes, and ovaries, but they also had to call in general surgery to detach my intestines from my uterus (was attached with lesions in 3 places). My heart actually did really well and there were no complications.....with that. But it wouldn't be me if there wasn't something wrong somewhere. Ok, so I get back to recovery and seem to be doing well. Blood pressure is a little low, but all in all, not too bad. About an hour into my recovery, the nurse notices a lot of blood. She checks me and apparently I was hemorrhaging blood and clots. I went through 3 big pads in 25 minutes. Just as I came to, I was told I would have to go back into surgery on an emergency basis. My surgeon was with me and actually held my hand the whole way back to the OR and while I was being prepped. The 2nd surgery took almost 2 hours but they got the 2 places that popped internal stitches on the vaginal cuff re-stitched. I was in recovery again for another 2 hours and then was FINALLY allowed to go to my room. My husband was extremely panicked and white as a ghost. He made all the necessary calls and told me he was scared. I felt awful for him. I had to get 2 units of blood because I lost so much. I'm normally on the low side of normal because I'm chronically anemic. My blood pressure was also extremely low for over a day. They gave me a 1/2 liter saline bolus while I was getting the blood transfusion because my blood pressure was staying around 82/39 and thereabouts. It was around 4pm on day 3 that my blood pressure stabilized enough to go home (it stayed around about 93/55 for 4-5 hours). Since I've been home, I sleep a lot, I walk 3-5 times per day, I just finally got off my pain meds and can get by with tylenol. I'm not cleared to drive or exercise, but I walk the apartment complex a couple times a day and that seems to do well. Still have some pain at the incision (it's about 6-7 inches long at the bikini line) and the muscles and nerves under the incision ache sometimes. I can only sit at the computer for about 15 minutes at a time, so this is the first chance I've had to type this out. I had to go to my doctor yesterday because 2 stitches on the right side of my incision popped and I had to be re-stitched. That really sucked, but it is what it is. I'm on leave from work for 6 weeks (well, 5 now). I normally heal well, but this one is really slow going. I'm already on estrogen patches (Climera) but I was told it takes anywhere from a couple of weeks to 2 months for the estrogen to fully kick in and get my hormones regulated. Lemme tell ya, I've been riding the crazy train, complete with night sweats, hot flashes and flushes, and insane mood swings. Can't wait to feel normal. Initially, I gained 13 pounds of water weight in the hospital, but it's slowly working it's way off. Once all the water is gone, I can't wait to see how much weight has actually dropped since my lady parts were removed (everything together, including the huge fibroids, weighed 3 pounds) so I'll start weighing myself again in about a week. That's about it!! So glad to finally be done with everything. Once I'm fully healed and on the other side of this, WATCH OUT!!! lol

i also was not a fan of pureed stage to the point that i skipped it altogether. on the first day of pureed stage i blitzed some beef in my food processor, looked at it, took a whiff, then dry heaved as i dumped it all in the trash. decided i would just extend my full liquids food stage for an extra week and then go to straight to soft foods once done. worked for me (and also for my NUT who i told what i what i decided to do...she was fine with it). though pureed stage was around 1 month post of for me, and i was barely eating much anyway (like 300-400 cals a day i think), so it probably made no difference for me? *shrug*.

I was the same, first week was 3kg Ive been told by a physician who I work with that no more than 2kg a week is good moving forward is a great goal as it means your body won’t go into the natural starvation mode and try to hold onto the weight. Plus your body is doing it slowly which is good re rapid weight loss problems also. I also felt sad about how slow it is going but we will get there I’m 3 weeks post op and I’ve only been loosing 1.3kg a week roughly.

I have been creeping around here for months and finally decided to create an account and share. First though, I have to give great credit to my wife and family. My wife has been so supportive and flexible through the whole process. She has always been by my side, but during this process she read and learned about the changes, as much or more than I did. She has gone above and beyond with her support and care for me, all while still running a busy household. My kids are a constant reminder of why I did this -- so that I would be around for a long time. I wanted to be able to participate in life with my family. I also have to thank my surgical team and the care they provide. It has been great and truly lifesaving. I weighed 514-lbs on 9/12/22. I was a big boy to say the least. Shockingly, I was not in horrible medical condition. I did not take any medicine. Did not have diabetes or high blood pressure. I did have swelling in my legs, constantly sore/bad knees, and was very quick to be out of breath. I lived a very sedimentary live and limited my physical activity. I wanted to be able to be more active and be around with my family for a long time. I finally got up the nerve to discuss with my wife and she immediately got on board. I went through the program without an issue. Checked all boxes and completed all steps. Surgery was on 2/28/23 and it went well. I was up and moving that night, because that was one of the biggest hurdles to clear in order to leave. I was able to sip and keep liquid down. Discharged after one night! Incisions were sore, as expected. Gas was the worst, and not the good kind of gas that can clear the room when expelled (yeah, I am a guy), but the awful painful surgical gas, which took almost a week to fully go away. I was basically fully cleared by the doctor and back to work (in a nonphysical job) one week after surgery. My process was textbook, none of the complications that many have experienced, and I am lucky for it! This process has not been easy but has not been impossible. I have followed my plan, with the support at home, and it is working. I feel physically so much better. I am so much more mobile and active. I have never been happier. I have made changes to my daily life to support the process. My diet has changed but not radically. I eat a lot less and that is the biggest driver of my weight loss. I walk and am active in live, but I do not have a detailed exercise plan. I am still learning exactly what works for me, but most importantly I want others to know there are many routes to get to the same place. I try to get the big stuff right and not sweat the tiniest of details. My blood work at my six-month checkup was solid. Protein was on the low end in the range, but still acceptable. I was encouraged to keep on keeping on (shout out to Joe Dirt). They were comfortable enough to set my next follow up appointment out to one year. I was scared and nervous. I have had good days and bad days (constipation is AWFUL)! Most importantly, I wanted to share my story and I hope it can help others in some way. I never wanted to be skinny. I could care less what my BMI is. I wanted to feel better. I wanted to be able to participate in life with my family. And I am! I am no expert and I still have a long way to go, but I am happy and glad I had this surgery. As I have seen here, over and over again, we are all different, so what works for me may not for others, but I still wanted to share, and I hope it might be of some benefit to someone else. The non-scale wins are just the best! When I started this process, I was so huge that home scales couldn't hold me, so I would go months without weighing, but I knew good things were happening because of all the non-scale wins. Cherish those! This is a long (probably too long) post, so I will wrap. I recently weighed on my home scale (yeah, that's right, it now holds me) and I was at 288-lbs. If anyone has questions or wants more details about my journey, please let me know. I would be happy to share more.

I am hesitant to say that I have a weight target, because I really want more than that. I want to be able to run and move and wear the clothes I want to wear. I want to have a low resting heart rate. I want to be able to play sports with my son. There's so much more than a number on a scale. I have probably spent 15,000 hours at the gym. I have a lot of skeletal muscle, but it's not really visible. I always felt too humble to want big muscles, but why? I've done the work. Why shouldn't I enjoy and take pride in it? I have been walking. Not a lot, between 6 and 10 thousand steps a day. I have some chronic shoulder injuries, but I can't wait to get back to lifting. I love lifting weights. I am thinking another two weeks off. In the meantime, I want to get back to stationary bike and a lot of stretching!

Hey! So I had my surgery back in May - how are you feeling about your upcoming surgery? My first week was interesting for sure. I did feel overwhelmed at first trying to work out what I could and could not "eat" (I use that term loosely as it was the liquid stage 🤣), and I was over-thinking everything. I was trying to take all my vitamins, drink all the water I needed to, and also drink the "food" I could have. Plus just adjusting to how my body FELT whilst I was just doing all of these things. I'd never had surgery before, so it really did feel a bit surreal, but honestly it was not as bad as I thought it would be. My pain was very minimal, and I did quickly settle into a routine of things. Constipation post-op was a bit of an issue, so I'd advise maybe picking up some stuff to help alleviate this before you have surgery, just so you are prepared if it is an issue! But other than this, I haven't actually had any issues. My advice would be to not do what I did, and don't try to do it all at once. Focus on one little thing at a time. If you need rest, then rest, and drink when you can so that you are keeping your body hydrated. I was genuinely surprised at how quickly everything felt normal. Just take this time to slow down, and be mindful of how your body feels, and new sensations you may come across in terms of how eating/drinking feels etc. You'll be absolutely fine though! And this site is amazing for advice, and just to talk, so always reach out & good luck! I look forward to following your journey!

I never had a leak but a relative did. The stomach takes 6 weeks to heal and she split open her sutures by not following plan. She ate solids way too early.

@BlueParis We're going back and forth here in Massachusetts, with one day beautiful and sunny, followed by 3 days of rain. It's the time of year when you need to have every single type of clothing in your closet and you might wear them all on one day. But I'm so happy to get outside for walks any day when it isn't actively raining. @Briss72 I hope your leg infection clears up soon. That sounds so painful. It's funny, between last night and tonight cooking dinner, I already have enough little containers for the rest of the week for myself. I guess the next few nights I can make the stuff my kids like that I can't really eat since I'm all set. I have to say, the frozen squash "noodles" with marinara and turkey meatball (yes, just managed one) was so good tonight that I don't know why I ever ate it with spaghetti before.