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You didn’t go into weight loss surgery blindly, but there are sure to be quite a few surprises along the way. Stalls can be among the most discouraging, but you are sure to notice plenty of other things that your surgeon may not have warned you about before you got your surgery. Here are a few of them. Stalls Happen Your surgeon will probably tell you about your likely weight loss. You might hear numbers such as 70 to 100 lb. in the first year, or up to 10 to 20 lb. in the first couple of months. Those might be realistic and turn out to be accurate for you, but what might also be true, that your doctor did not tell you, is that weight loss may not be steady. You might lose 75 lb. in a year, which is an average 1.5 lb. per week, but you are not going to lose 1.5 lb. every week for a year straight. You may lose 5 lb. in one week, 3 lb. in another, 0 lb. in another, and, some weeks, even gain weight. You are almost sure to encounter stalls, or plateaus, or periods of weeks or even a month when you do not lose weight, even if you are eating right. Your doctor may not tell you about stalls ahead of time, but you can handle them better if you are prepared right out of the gate. Your Metabolism May Plummet As you lose weight, you need fewer calories to sustain your basic body functions. Furthermore, when you exercise at a lower body weight, you burn fewer calories doing the same workout at the same intensity than you did when you were heavier. On top of that, your body may go into starvation mode and use even fewer calories as it becomes more efficient at using what you give it. While there is little that you can do to prevent a slower metabolism, you can at least be aware of it. Also, you can take heart knowing that you are likely to be able to exercise longer and at a higher intensity to offset some of the reduced body weight. It’s Freezing! Brrr…! Remember the days when you were the hottest one in the room, and all you wanted was to stop sweating? Those may be in the past. Part of the slowed metabolism can be due to your body’s new mechanism to save energy, which means turning down the thermostat. Another possibly surprising side effect of weight loss is that having less cushioning (body fat), so sitting in chairs or lying in bed can be less comfortable. People Can Still Hurt You You probably know that Weight Loss Surgery does not change who you are, but your doctor may forget to tell you that it does not change other people, either. You may no longer get flack for being overweight, but people can still be hurtful. They can tell you… You took the easy way out with Weight Loss Surgery. You have not lost much weight. Clearly, Weight Loss Surgery did not work. You lost so much weight that you look sick. All you care about now is your diet and exercise plan. Your Social Life May Change Some friends will stick by you. Others may desert you. If some of your friends have just been “eating buddies,” or people you go out with to the bar or restaurants, you may need to exercise self-control at the bar or restaurant, find new activities to do with those friends or find new friends. You stand to gain wonderful new friends who share your new interests, such as walking, going to the gym, or cooking healthy fun foods. The Skin Stays Losing body fat will not give you a movie star’s appearance. It may not even be all that you need to lose. You may have loose skin that flaps, chafes, and interferes. There is a chance that you will want to get skin removal surgery for cosmetic, comfort, or medical reasons. Beware Replacement Addictions You may have been addicted to food. It may have provided comfort, entertainment, and companionship. Give it up, and you are likely to find something to replace it. Alcohol is a common replacement addiction, but you can do better! Stay aware of your emotional and physical needs, and you can be mindful of what replaces food in your life. Exercise, within reason, is a common choice; another healthy option is to make some great friends who are supportive and make you feel good. Your doctor will tell you a lot about what to expect after weight loss surgery, but she may leave out several important items. Go in with open eyes, and you can prepare better and come out farther ahead.

Strong caution re drinking alcohol post sleeve surgery: the newest research is showing high vulnerability to alcoholism after a sleeve or bypass, because the stomach is so small that much more of the alcohol reaches the small intestine and is absorbed quickly into the system. Two drinks for the average person equal five drinks for someone with the sleeve. In addition, the peak impact of the alcohol is much faster - between 5 and 9 minutes, instead of over 20 minutes with someone with a regular stomach. And the weird thing that they don't understand yet is that risk of increased alcohol dependency continues for several years after having the sleeve/bypass done. Much of this is fairly new research, which they didn't know about even two years ago. I had my sleeve done in August 2016, and the last 4 months have really started having trouble with drinking; never had this before in my life, and had no idea how bad the withdrawals can be when you try to stop drinking. This is one of the better articles I've found about this problem - the statistics about alcohol absorption are about halfway through the article: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171120133922.htm. A doctor I saw last week told me that, because of having the gastric sleeve, taking a shot of tequila is now about equivalent to taking a hit of crack cocaine (which I've never done), because of how intense and fast the high is. And for this reason, we sleevers are much more vulnerable to addiction. Before having the sleeve, I could easily have one or two drinks a night, or not have any alcohol, without a problem. Frankly, I think that given the recent evidence, our doctors need to be informing potential sleeve/bypass patients that those who never had a drinking problem before are at much higher risk of becoming alcoholics if they continue to consume alcohol after surgery, because that's what the new research is showing. And as far as they know at this point, that risk does *not* reduce over time. Sorry to be a bummer. I used to really enjoy the occasional Corona or margarita, but looks like complete abstinence is likely in my future, because of the sleeve. That is, as soon as I find a recovery facility that accepts Medicare.

My go to stress reliever for the past MANY years has been alcohol. Did the gym thing when I was younger but it was always kicking back with my boys throwing some back that always took the edge off. Well look at me now. More than 200 pounds over weight and a full fledged alcoholic. The past 3+ years have been the worse as I started having back issues which led me to not be able to work anymore and not provide an income for my family. More weight gain more pain and more drinking. This is the 1st year since I can remember that i'm not getting wasted every night. Not sure what finally flipped the switch but I don't want to die anymore. I still drink but I've come along way from what I was doing. Will completely stop soon, who knows maybe last week was my last. But know for sure if I do get approved for this surgery It is over. Hope to bring the gym back into my life and other activities that can be the new stress reliever.

hey guys just an update: had an appointment tuesday with the nutritionist and the surgeon. i lost 5.2 lbs which they were happy with. they had hoped for more, but knew i didn’t cut out alcohol or smoking, so were happy with the overall outcome. i felt little bit better after speaking with the surgeon more about my “pot usage” which i hate having to talk about because it’s legal and feels so pretentious, but hey. so i had told them i was vaping, thinking i was saving myself some lectures on smoking. turns out i just confused them all (meaning my team of doctors) because they were under the impression that i was investing nicotine, when i just meant that the method i was using to take in the pot was vaping. still dry herb, not tobacco or e-juice or nicotine, but the term vaping confused them. so we discussed that and clarified and came to an agreement about no smoking 2 weeks before surgery and 2 months after which i find reasonable and so does she. then we discussed my date more, and if i’m committed to cutting out alc this month then she thinks i could potentially lose 10lbs and maybe get my surgery in july (which i’m hoping for. i don’t think the weight loss matters for the date at this point it will just still determine whether or not i do shots) discussed what’s medications im on that i need to stop but i’m gonna check out other threads for that info. sorry this is long but just wanted to update without starting a new thread!

The alcohol is a much bigger deal than the burger, as that goes straight to the liver, which is what they are trying to improve prior to surgery (for those surgeons who care about such things and impose these diets.) Bigger concern is whether this is an indicator that one can stay away from the alcohol long enough to get through the weight loss period without damaging the liver more than the rapid weight loss is already doing, or doing the addiction transfer thing and dropping into full blown alcoholism.

I don't know what surgery you are having, I had a sleeve, but we only had a two day clear diet, so I imagine you will be fine. Some doctors are just overly cautious, different protocols. Just don't cheat again--not just for the liver but alcohol thins your blood.

So the alcohol and fatty meats aren't a great thing if you've got a fatty liver, but, more than likely you didn't cause enough damage/increase in those 2 occasions to cause any real issues with surgery. Most certainly stick to your liquids for the next 3 days and I'm sure things will be just fine. Just remember, afterwards for the best outcome, you should try to find other, non-food/alcohol methods for stress relief. Just stay focused, You got this!

I hate to say it but I messed up on my pre-op last Saturday by drinking some alcohol. My surgery is Friday and I'm a little scared that my liver will not be shrunk up enough. Is it possible to just drink liquids for 3 days and have my liver small enough to do the surgery?

You'll be fine. I cheated a bit on my pre-op. Plus, not all pre-ops are the same. There are lots of generic pre-ops, and those tuned to the patient. Mine was super generic, like, the nurse didn't even bother to check anything other than my BMI before prescribing me my pre-op diet. Just do your absolute best to stick to the diet and make sure those slip ups happen as little as possible. Avoid fats and alcohols and you should be doing just fine. Good Luck!

I’m a female military veteran who has been struggling with obesity for 10+ years. Over a year ago, i began seeing a weight management doctor through the vA. I started making healthier eating decisions with the help of my doctor and attending nutrition classes. I even began seeing a physical trainer through the VA. I still wasn’t losing weight. I was 211 lbs at just 5’0”. I finally decided that I wanted to consider weight loss surgery. I was given a checklist, which I completed over the span of 10 months. All that was left for my surgery was my psych evaluation. I even exceeded the weight I was supposed to lose to meet the pre-op requirement. I’m down to 190 lbs. I’m still considered obese, just not morbidly so. Upon my psych evaluation, I was told by the psychologist that she had a moral obligation to my child(I’m a single parent) to do what was in my child’s best interest as well and that there are some instances where bariatric surgery patients become suicidal. The psychologist stated that he didn’t want to see my daughter in a few years, coming into her office, asking how she could clear me for surgery, leaving her without a mother. The psychologist also stated that she’s sure my daughter would rather have me overweight than not have me at all. She went on to decide that she recommended I continue trying to lose weight with diet and exercise, and did not clear me for surgery. I was devastated. I do have PTSD, but have not been suicidal, nor have drug or alcohol habits/issues. I want a second opinion but prefer one by a non-VA provider. I do feel that her opinion was biased and for some reason, personal. Even in her clinical notes, she’s very vague with providing supporting evidence of her conclusion. She also never consulted with my actual therapist, whom I’ve been in therapy with for a year. Does anyone have any insight or words of advice? I feel so defeated...because of all the work I put in this past year to meet the requirements.

"Let's get excited"? Sorry, that's just not me. I'm quite serene. I'm the calm in the eye of the storm. My wife is more worked up about this than I am. I didn't even sweat when I started teaching my daughter how to drive a few weeks ago. I saw the surgical coordinator today and we confirmed my June 5th date and arrival time. He told me that despite the paperwork I'd been given by the hospital's nutritionist, my doctor only requires a day and a half of liquid diet before the surgery, so I'll get to have a Sunday brunch as my food funeral. No alcohol though He hold me I can have a drink tonight if I want, but that's it. He made it clear that the doctor expects my post-op regimen to be two weeks of liquids, two weeks of puree and two weeks of soft foods. I'm prepared for that, I guess. As for vitamins, he gave me a few samples of Bariatric Fusion Pink Lemonade Stick Packs, then I ordered a box of 60 from Amazon when I got home. I'll also have to grind up my regular pills (Lipitor, etc.) and add the powder to that as well. If the taste is horrible I'll add half a stick of Wyler's Lemonade Singles to Go. I also learned that my doctor recommends being off work for 4 to 6 weeks after surgery. I'm glad I've got a very good disability policy through my company.

@brashleyy alcohol, this is one of the many questions your doc needs to answer. I've heard 6 weeks, months, or even a year. as with any/all questions - different docs will give different responses. At the end of the day listen to only YOUR doc/NUT (and me too of course!) Recovery, Listen to your body as it will tell you as you are feeling better. You will have a few months under your belt - slow, and steady, Prague, here you come! You should do well. one final comment /suggestion - take a nice, cute, smart, witty THIN grammy to help you What time should I be ready? anxiously waiting to hear from you!! Have a great surgery, trip, school too. good luck your future tour guide kathy

My kiddo sprained her ankle at college and found one of those wheeled book bags really helped. LL Bean makes a sturdy one. Maybe something like that would help in early days after surgery? When traveling, plan for medical complications. It's rare, particularly in someone young and healthy, but strictures happen...margin leaks happen...obstructions happen. Have a plan in place, find a bariatric doctor where you're going to at least have a phone number, and traveler's health insurance for emergencies. I would be extremely careful with alcohol and run the experiment at home first to know how you react.

Not the same but i backpacked Europe 4 months post op. You may be too new for alcohol but ask your surgeon. I would focus more on cooking your own meals, carrying as little as possible, avoiding getting hit im the abdomen at the club and testing new foods out privately near a bathroom. Enjoy Prague!

I wish i could tell you but there is such a huge range of recovery times. Some people are up same day as surgery and dont look back. others are laid up for days and take several weeks to get back into more normal routine. You have your youth on your side and i would hope you will be in the up and going gang busters group. All you have to know about "How it all works" is you need to eat very small meals and consume alot of protein while drinking water all the time. Dehydration is your enemy. as to the alcohol - just remember that it will hit you much much harder than before. I recently read a study that showed a huge increase in blood alcohol level from the same amount of alcohol given to sleeved vs. non sleeved test subjects. So exercise caution and make sure your safe. good luck and enjoy your time abroad

Hello! I officially started this whole journey back in early January, although my clinic says that my first meeting with the surgeon didn't count so my last appointment will be on August 9th (I'm going to call my insurance tomorrow to clarify - if there's any chance I can get it done sooner, it would help so much!) so I still have a bit to go. I will be entering my junior year of college on August 20, so with my last appointment being on the 9th, I will definitely end up having the surgery during school. I WOULD wait and schedule it for winter break to have ample time to recover, but I am studying abroad in Prague for the Spring semester and want to be well adjusted by then. So, I will be communicating with my professors to have a week off during the semester whenever my surgery ends up being scheduled. My main questions are: Do you think a week is a long enough time for me to head back to class after the surgery? I only have classes MWF from 1-4 p.m. and will likely be working at my job as a desk assistant (literally sitting and watching Netflix the whole time) about 12-16 hours a week. I will have to carry a backpack that's about 7-15 pounds. I would love your guys' input on how realistic this plan sounds! Do you think I should be worried about how adjusted I will be by the time I go to Prague? Even if I were to have the surgery as late as November and then leave mid-January, is that enough time for me to become used to how it all works? Alsoooooo how long did you guys wait/recommend waiting to drink alcohol? I'm thinking when I'm in Prague it will be tempting to go to the clubs which would include drinking HOWEVER it is not a priority or necessity so if you've had awful experiences I am happy to avoid!

I am new to this site and started my journey January 13th with Cigna Open Access in NJ. I was told not to gain a single pound as well. Today was my last nutrition appointment and my 90th day. I have now gained 3 pounds. The nurses are giving me till Tuesday (The day after Memorial weekend by the way) to lose the 3 pounds. If I don’t lose the 3 pounds they are saying Cigna will deny the claim. Does anyone know of this is true? Not only that, if they do approve the claim and I have gained any weight since my first visit, my surgeon will cancel it. I am totally freaking out. I worked hard the 4 months and now my 50th Birthday is approaching.... I would hate to have it cancelled now. I am doing everything I can to lose the weight and I don’t plan to enjoy my birthday (6/7) with any favorite foods or alcohol any more. 😪

You need to change ur protein drink I have IBD (inflammatory bowl disease) and u are having a reaction to the protein shake. I shop at GNC it’s a 30 day guarantee. If it dose not work my stomach I return it. I have to stay away from sugar alcohols (which is a lot of artificial sweetener) and anything lactose. I find I handle the vegan protein much better. I don’t have surgery tell Tuesday but I been trying out tons of protein shakes to figure out which works and dose not. I am trying isopure next they are sugar free gluten free and lactose free and 50 grams of protein a serving. Vegan ones are so expensive. But if I have to stick to it I will. I can’t help u with the hunger except when u get hungry get up and move. Serotonin helps hunger cravings and u get that natural release when u exercise

Three or four months, probably. I had a vodka and lemonade that was mostly vodka and it went straight to my head. Then we went on our babymoon two weekends ago and I had several alcoholic beverages, and it went fine. Had two beers (a porter) last weekend and that went fine too.

Here's the thing, you may not want to drink! I'm in a line of work where drinking is big part of the job. Honestly, I like drinking, I was a big social drinker. I had no intention of giving up drinking. But since surgery it's just not appealing. When I drank, it was just blah. I have drank two times since that week I talked about above. One time I was at a work dinner on my birthday and a very expensive bottle of wine was ordered in my honor, so my arm was twisted into having a glass, it was fine, but still blah. The only time I really wanted and enjoyed alcohol was at a chic little french bar hanging out and eating charcuterie, and the amazing wine by the glass list tempted me. I savored a glass all night and enjoyed it, but had no desire for the 3 or 4 glasses I would have had presurgery. So in my totally non medical opinion, I say if you want a drink go for it. But be prepared it may not appeal to you like it did before. Also, if you drink consistently during your time in NOLA, you could be sabotaging you weight loss for that time, even if overall your calories are low.

I drank at 3 weeks post op. I was at a week long work event that was very social, and had a heavy emphasis on drinking. I had no desire to drink and did only to try not to attract attention to my WLS. Despite only consuming on average 700 cals per day (including alcohol), at the end of the week I had gained 2 lbs. Quite honestly that pissed me off, and made me swear off alcohol for the most part.

So I’ll be 6 weeks post op next week. I’m going to New Orleans and I know I’ll want to have at least one drink. I feel like I have and Angel on my left side saying don’t do it and the Devil on the right saying one would be ok. So now long did you guys wait?

Had an appointment at my weight loss clinic today for my 30'ish day check up and decided to post an update. This is a summary of the past 30 days and will include.... THE GOOD, THE BAD, and THE UGLY..... wahhha..wah. wha.. wha (okay as close as I think the good, the bad, and the ugly theme would sound like in print) The Good: I have lost 40lbs post op (I weighed in at 271 lbs, my surgery weight was 311) I do not include my total weight weight loss from start of the program, just from the surgery date (I weighed 329 at my heaviest). I am getting my energy back, slowly, but I feel it coming back. I am able to go to the gym and use the treadmills with my wife and son, walk farther, go up stairs without feeling my hips and knees grind, and I can mow the lawn and do yard work again. This next one may sound silly, but to me it meant a lot. I was able to take a bath. Normally for the past several years I have showered daily, but there have been days I would have loved a good hot bath to just soak for a bit. For years I was afraid of lowering myself and slipping and falling, and even the last time I did take a bath I displaced so much water into the run off drain it was basically just me laying in about 2 gallons of water. Our tub is a normal size garden tub. I was surprised to not only be able to bathe but actually see space between me and the edge of the tub. My family has been very supportive. My kids think it's great i am looking out for my health, and my wife...well some days she is like a Marine Drill Instructor while going over my food choices and if I took my vitamins or not. I may need to buy some new clothes soon. I normally wear XXXL T-shirts and XXL pants but have noticed my shirts hanging on me a lot lower. Before I did not have to tuck them in because my gut would hold them out like a circus tent, now I feel like I am wearing a mini skirt with the shirt bottom hanging so low. My friends and family say they can see the weight loss but I think a lot of us have body dysmorphia and just can't see any improvement, so all i have to go on is my clothing feeling loose an dthe fact I don't have to turn sideways in supermarket aisles to let others pass. I do not feel hunger. Do I think of food I can't or shouldn't eat? Hell yes I do!, but it's more like food memories of what i used to eat for comfort, and I know that's what they are. Not feeling hunger is a double edged sword because I do have to remind myself to eat and it is very easy for me to go an entire day and realize I have not eaten anything. THE BAD: This is where I confess all the things I should not have done, but did anyway, and the consequences. The first, I have to come clean to upfront. I was a smoker for 30 years before I quit for the surgery. I felt I had quit the habit for good by the time of my surgery but during a stressful time I stupidly bought a pack of cigarettes and spent the next 4 days smoking that pack. (Now I can hear the boo's and hisses coming through the internet and the comments of "But you had quit! why did you start again stupid!"). I am not going to explain it or give any excuses or ask for any forgiveness except from my wife. Here we come to the main reason I mention this at all. I developed the worst case of GERD's, acid reflux, heartburn, etc I have ever had. I am still trying to clear it up. Stupidly I kept asking myself what was causing it. The food I was eating was the same, my liquid intake was normal, what could it possibly be I would ponder as I took another drag off of my cigarette. Yes I am a slow learner (Just ask my wife) but the correlation to smoking and immediately afterwards having a severe GERDS flare up finally dawned on me. What chantix could not do, severe burning hellfire in my esophagus was able to do. I put the smokes down for good. I have experimented with some foods I probably should not have. I figured I eat chicken salad and softened chicken...I should be able to eat a chicken nugget right? I do not know if it was the breading, that fat it was cooked in or what, but I was throwing up (Dry heaving really) for about 20 minutes. There have been other experiments, and I do forsee more as my food choices increase. I do not go out and try to eat a double cheeseburger in one setting, but I may tear a piece of meat off the side and nibble on it (and then dry heave for 20 minutes, make a mental note not to do that again and foolishly go and find something else I shouldn't eat and nibble on a bit of it) I did mention I am a slow learner right? During a phase of nausea I had my wife go out and get me a bottle of diet ginger beer. This is non alcoholic and is basically ginger ale except 10 times stronger in the amount of ginger in it. I opened the bottle, poured a shot glass worth and let it sit for an hour until most of the carbonation had worn off. Drank it and it did really settle my stomach. We since that worked a week later after working in the yard I got a can of ice cold soda..yes plain old sweetened soda. First mistake is I gulped it (I go more into liquids below), second mistake I did not allow the fizz to dissipate, third mistake well was drinking the damn thing at all. This time I threw up for real..kinda..just the soda coming right back up and even up and out my nose. sigh....Now I know you may not have heard this...but I am a slow learner THE UGLY: This is where I mention things that are kinda sucking that I actually did not cause to myself. At least i think so..maybe. Drinking, no not booze (not yet as least) I mean just normal drinking of water, fluids, etc. Before surgery I used to love to just guzzle a soda, or water, or even the first cup of coffee of the day. (Aha! I can all ready hear you all out there wagging your fingers saying "sip, sip, sip") Well as many of you post ops know, that doesn't quite work for many of us now. Even an ice cold glass of almond milk can be an enemy if I drink to fast. The other issue I have is not drinking with meals, or before, or after etc. It is an ingrained habit that I will admit I am still struggling with (easy fix is just not having liquids around me during meal times). Hypoglycemic events. I have had two and they scared the bejeesus out of me. I don't know if it was from lack of food, from eating/drinking something I shouldn't have or what but as soon as I start sweating and shaking, feeling sleepy and weak i check my blood sugar and normally I run 100 and to see it down in the 60's or 70's is scary. and as promised really shameless before and after pics.....not for the weak of heart

I was really nervous telling my husband...he is on the other side of the planet right now...his ex wife had bypass years ago and she failed terribly and it enhanced her already changing personality (not in a good way) and she is now a bad alcoholic (she already had an unhealthy relationship with food and needed help prior to surgery and she replaced it with drinking) so needless to say he was not excited lol. When I told him it was dr’s recommendation and reminded him that I have medical issues that require drastic attention he was better. I made him admit (feelings not hurt at all bc it’s what I want as well), as he said he loves me the way I am (

Shouldn't it be Live-It instead of Diet? Maybe I'm being narrower in my outlook, but I think Eternal Vigilence against Devious Snackland is in order. I want to do Well, but like an Alcoholic with alcohol I'm going to have to be careful these bad things don't sneak into my life again. 😣