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Hey everyone, I’m new here but I was wondering if anyone else experienced a weight plateau so early on. I’m only 2 weeks out of surgery but have been stuck at 213 for a few days now and it just feels so discouraging.

Hey Ron! I had my BP on the 6th. I’m doing pretty good as well. I don’t start vitamins until Tuesday a full two weeks after surgery. I guess they want to make sure I’m eating something to protect me from getting nausea. I saw my nutritionist yesterday and he said I can ease into soft foods with yogurt and cottage cheese. Luckily I love both! I was able to have about 1/2 a cup without feeling uncomfortable. I just stopped eating and I wasn’t hungry or wanting more. A few hours later same thing with a Greek yogurt. I’m so ready for eggs, tuna, cheese etc. I also was told to wear my binder for 4 weeks. It definitely makes me feel more secure. My glue is still on my incisions. I guess they put a super deluxe hospital grade glue on me. I’m not scrubbing it off or peeling it off until it comes off naturally. I’m too scared to open something up. So, good luck my friend. And everyone else hang in there with your liquid diets. It’s definitely worth it. It will make your surgery go smoother and recovery easier. 💖💖💖

First time posting on these forums, so hello everyone. Glad to have found this space to talk about my experience as I find it very hard to communicate with everyone else in my regular day to day life. I'm exactly 15 days post op (Gastric Sleeve) as I type this. And honestly, after reading many replies on here, I almost feel survivors guilt, but I do feel blessed as I thankfully did not experience many issues whatsoever. 24 hours after surgery I walked out of the hospital on my own, sore, but proud. I guess my biggest issue has been sleeping as I move around a lot while I sleep and at the beginning it would wake me up from pain for twisting and turning while I slept, and even then, that's no longer an issue. But, I never had nausea, or vomit, did not take any pain medication past the first 48 hours, I'm not trying to brag, just feeling fortunate after reading some stories on here. Everyone has their own stories and journeys, for me I was obese my whole life. This was ok through my 20s as I felt invincible, and eventually those checks I was writing on my body came back to collect. Back pain and diabetes were first. But it wasn't until a week before the world shut down that things went really off the wall. A long term relationship ended, and as the world closed, it kept me from my support groups, and led me down a dark path of basically eating and drinking myself almost to death with nowhere to go. At my absolute heaviest I thought I would die at a staggering 407 pounds. Poetic as that's the area code for my city lol. Knowing I had to make a change or I would not make it to 40 I went to a doctor, which led to a cancer scare. At that moment my life changed, and I knew change needed to happen now. I began diet and working out and made it down to about 375-380 where I had been hovering for over two years. Bariatric surgery is what I knew I needed to help me, and after fighting with insurance for two years, I finally got a new job last November, and the insurance there covered the surgery 100%! So I began the process in January. And on May 30th, 2024, at 10AM, I went in for surgery. To say that life has changed, for the better, is an understatement. In two weeks I have dropped almost 30 pounds. I'm feeling amazing as far as my stomach (kinda weirds me out to say pouch lol) is concerned post surgery. Still in the liquid diet though looking forward to chewing something this weekend, as I'm absolutely sick of Jello. I am still not hungry, and almost feels like a miracle. My blood sugar is stabilizing without medication. My blood pressure is improving almost daily. Walking a mile a day does not leave me searching for oxygen, and I can't wait to start the gym on June 30th and really kick this into high gear. TL/DR: This is a second change at life, and I will not waste it. Look forward to learning more from others through this process. Onwards and upwards.

You are 6 days post op?? You should be getting the bulk of your protein from things like protein shakes, protein waters, fairlife milk, and other things like that. Your tummy is way too small and way too raw to be getting your protein from actual food yet. I know every surgeon varies and some do purees early, so I won't comment on that, but even then, you can't possibly get enough in on food alone to hit your protein goals. Some soft things to try on the puree and soft food stages: very softly scrambled or poached egg, cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, greek yogurt, sugar free pudding, sugar free jello (you can even get protein jello), some even include bean purees though I found those VERY hard on my stomach. You can also puree proteins into a soup base. I did a lot of cream soups and strained soups. I was on strict liquids the first two weeks. In soft foods you can also try things like egg salad, chicken salad made with chicken thighs because they are more moist, and tuna salad, but don't add things like onion and pickle to it yet. Too rough. ETA: Generally patients are encouraged to focus on their hydration goals for the first two weeks. This is because dehydration is the number 1 complication of bariatric surgery. Our bodies have protein stores that will last us the first few weeks after surgery. So focus on those 64 oz of water and if that is going well, then you can think about getting some protein in as a bonus!

Congratulations on your decision. Unfortunately I don’t have that insurance but do you usually need a referral to see a specialist? I suppose If you were to call a surgeons office and ask to schedule they would let you know if you really need to wait until you see your primary. Then again if your appointment is soon it may make sense to just wait anyways so they can give you a recommendation for a surgeon if you don’t have one in mind For me, it was the surgeons office that let me know what all the requirements were. I have seen them vary slightly from one person to the next. It depends on insirance but also varies by the program as well as your medical history. For my Sleeve the requirements were a 6 month medically supervised weight loss attempt, psyc eval and a nutritionist appointment. Ooh and you will need medical clearance for surgery which depending on your health may be just routine lab work or it may be additional appointments like a cardiologist checkup. They may also require you to sort out the sleep apnea thing and make sure that the cpap is working to treat your sleep apnea sufficiently if you do have it but i’m not 100% certain on that (just seems like I heard something about that). I am currently pending a revision and this time he required an ekg that he didn’t ask for last time. I guess maybe since I’m a little older. They wanted the labs to be drawn within a month or less of my surgery date so I scheduled them and the ekg at my primary doctor at two weeks out from my surgery. Listing it out it seems like a lot but you will have a While to get it all done and they should walk you through it step by step.

I have the worst luck, of course I'd be part of the 5% lol. I just had my post-op appt so it'll be a bit before I get my labs done. But if the pain and nausea usually go away after week 4, I guess I'll do my best to stick it out. Thank you!

I sympathize. I had to drink liquids for 2 weeks. Now I'm nearly a week into the puree stage. 3 more to go. I started detesting anything sweet. Why in the world do all shakes taste like some sort of cake, powder or premades. Even the flavorless powders aren't truly flavorless. Puree stage is difficult too because I don't enjoy most foods the consistency of babyfood, but its only a season.

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.

Hello, I want to preface saying I have not had my surgery yet but I have been losing weight in the pre-op stages as per my dietitian and doctors request and this includes me going to the gym and getting my protein/calorie goals in for the day. The important thing to know is plateauing is inevitable as your body gets used to the things you do on a daily basis. So since you know that already you going to the gym is a beneficial first step in the right direction of losing more weight. That being said weight training is an amazing cardio/full body workout and for women you actually don’t have to worry about getting “bulky” my doctor said it’s just not what our bodies do to get stacked like that (he didn’t say it in those words of course but I’m paraphrasing). Which it’s true generally unless you’re a bodybuilder you won’t get bulked up like crazy (even then it’s usually the addition of hormones that add to bulking) so go ahead and lift girl! Cardio exercises like running, swimming etc. are also great to get into your routine which I see you have and it’s important to also not forget about aerobic exercises like yoga/pilates this will also minimize your chance of getting “bulky”. Overall, I would say if you have set days of the week you work out like MWF do that for 2 weeks then switch up the days, intensity of workouts and type of exercises you do on each day to give your body that “restart” it needs in order to start losing weight. It is also so incredibly important to eat enough calories! Yes sounds weird but you actually might not be eating enough for you to lose weight and this is what my doctor told me. If you don’t eat enough your body goes into “survival” mode because it’s not being given enough food in order to carry out your bodily functions to its fullest potential. Yes you can be taking supplements and be healthy on paper but if you’re trying to lose weight and exercising and eating well and still unable to lose the weight then it’s time to evaluate if you’re eating enough during the day. I would highly recommend reaching out to your doctor and/or dietitian about adequate dietary input your should have because there are all kinds of info and pamphlets on lines telling us to be between so and so calories at this point in time or to not exceed x amount but in reality everyone is different and all bodies are different. I hope this helps sorry for the book/lecture.

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 was fine after the sleeve as far as the surgical glue goes. But after my revision from the sleeve to bypass due to a lot of complications, I developed a major allergy to the glue. So when I had my hernia surgery, they had to do a lot of internal stitches, which was A LOT more painful. But overall, even though the first week or so after your revision has been rough, I promise you it WILL get better.

I was told two weeks. I'm surprised they didn't give you a specific date to start it. I'm just glad it's not on my birthday

Thought I'd update this post because I just had the chance to attend a live Q&A session with Dr. Matthew Weiner. I talked to him about my weight loss so far and concerns about how slow my progress has felt post-op. He asked me about pre-op weight loss and what my highest weight had been, and explained that even though I was 223 going into surgery, I had started at 251 and lost 12 lbs from nutrition changes over 6 months, plus 16 lbs from the pre-op diet, so that all factors into the final weight loss expectations. He suggested in terms of what my final weight loss from the surgery might be that using the 251 starting weight could be more accurate, and that the pre-op diet weight loss would definitely help explain the slower weight loss post-op. Bottom line, I feel so much relief hearing this explanation from him and really appreciated him taking the time to ask so many questions to get to the answer! My surgeon really hasn't given me an estimate of what I should expect to lose, although I plan to ask at my 3-month appointment next week so I can compare.

Lots of nerves were cut during your surgery, so messages either don’t get through or are not like you know. It takes a good 8 weeks to heal from the surgery so this period of not understanding your cues will persist for a little while longer. It’s why it’s even more important to keep to the portion size recommendations you were given. (Mine was 1/4 - 1/3 cup from purée maximum). You don’t want to risk straining your poor tummy & all those sutures & staples holding it together or hindering your recovery. But if you feel discomfort or pain stop eating regardless of how much you’ve eaten. You can always have a little more of your portion later. Remember to ensure you’re taking small bites (I’d dip my teaspoon in so maybe a half teaspoon) and eat slowly (leave a couple of minutes between bites - aim for 20 minutes or so). Congrats on your surgery.

Agreed, also had gastric bypass, 2 week liquid diet was awful, I felt hungry and it was difficult but did get better after day 4. Since surgery, I've felt hungry a couple of times, not in the usual way at all. I feel an overall need to refuel, usually when I've been extremely active. I've also felt hungry as in my stomach is empty, maybe two times. It didn't have the same effect, it was just a feeling, I realized I hadn't eaten as usual and should be hungry, set my timer to stop liquid, ate, and it was gone and I was left feeling satisfied. It's all just so much calmer, if that makes sense.

Yes I am mostly sipping. Sometimes I may be drinking too quickly. Maybe it is the cold. But I so get it even with sipping. This is new too...it was not happening in the first two weeks. Oh also not always alot of time between sips. I'm a thirsty girl. 😅

I think you need to take a deep breath and try to calm down a little. You've lost 9 lbs in a week. Your liver will be okay. It's good to take the rules seriously, but it's also good to be realistic about how much damage can be done by any particular action and not overcompensate by doing things that seem healthy (water) but might not be (making yourself sick). Two scoops of ice cream is not the same thing as a gallon of ice cream The better question to be asking yourself right now might be why you decided to have the ice cream, and why two scoops instead of one. Understanding behaviors, especially self-sabotaging ones, will be important for long term success. It can also help you find good alternatives. If you absolutely love ice cream on a hot day, consider getting the Yasso frozen yogurt bars with 5g protein for a summer treat when you're able to have them again after surgery. Or if it was because you thought you'd never have ice cream again, I suggest evaluating the rules you plan to follow in the future and make sure they aren't unnecessarily restrictive, as that can cause failure. Or if you just wanted something cold and sweet, stock up on no-sugar added popsicles, which are great for getting in your liquid. Point being, make this a learning experience to do better next time, not a reason to punish yourself or get worked up before your big day.

Lots of us struggle with drinking. Its the easiest thing in the world to do pre surgery but we have to almost relearn how to sip. I assure you, you will get there but it does take a monumental effort on your part. Then you will feel so much better. I think it took me 6 weeks to master. One day soon you will gulp a drink by mistake and it will not hurt. Never put your drink down, its so easy to forget if you do. Some use little ounce cups and set timers but that was way too regimented for the lazy side of me. Take a drink to bed with you, having Fibromyalgia has me always on the move, so if I turn over, I still drink.

I was pretty lethargic most of the time prior to surgery, but I started to have a little more about 4 weeks after surgery. I was able to walk 2 miles at a time pretty easily, and not get really tired until I was around 5 or 6 miles total for the day. However, I caught covid and had a rough time with it for about 2 weeks, and I feel more tired than I did before surgery. I can't do a half mile without having to sit down, and walking up a flight of stairs makes me dizzy. I have an appointment with my doctor on Friday to see if I need some different vitamins or see if I developed long covid. If the fatigue persists, check with your doctor, and see if there are some other factors that may be causing the issue. With the restricted diet, it could be that you're not getting the vitamins and minerals you need as well. Also, work on your sleep schedule! Even getting 1 more hour than you're accustomed to routinely can make a big difference. It takes about 3-4 weeks on a new sleep schedule to see results though, so be patient.

Thank you for the advice! It's weird, a day or 2 after I last replied, the random nausea and intense abdominal pain practically disappeared on its own. Of course now I've been fighting with trying not to eat so fast I make myself sick and getting tired of eating the same thing over and over. Do you actually weigh out your food? I'm avoiding that because it reminds me of all the failed attempts at dieting. I doubt I'm hitting my protein and water goals still, but it's been an improvement from the past 6 weeks. You have to stay positive right? Do you actually eat 3 meals or at specific times? I'm still trying to recognize my body cues on that.

we started out at about the same weight on the day of surgery. I just checked, and I'd lost 63 lbs at the fie month mark, but then, I had RNY - weight loss is usually a bit faster with that than it is with VSG (although you usually end up at the same place in the end). Two lbs a week isn't unusual once you get out that far. Honestly, I still drink a protein shake every day because I'm supposed to average 100 grams of protein a day (we discovered early on that I malabsorb it - so the usual 60-80 grams/day wasn't doing it for me). I could probably get that high from food alone, but I don't like to obsess all day about whether or not I'm going to meet my protein goal. I know I WILL meet it if I have a protein shake for my mid-morning snack. I know some dietitians and surgeons don't like people to stay on protein shakes for long, but I know a few people who hate eating breakfast whose dietitians told them to just have a protein shake for breakfast, then (so they're OK with it in some situations) - but opinions seem to vary among dietitians.

Hi Everyone! I am suppose to be taking a pre opt multi vitamin with minerals 2 weeks before surgery. Then it says on same sheet at bottom stop taking vitamin E. Well everything has freaking vitamin E in it. I’m going crazy and my surgery is suppose to be on 21st. I may have to postpone because of this. I’m still taking my multi vitamin that has E in it. Just doesn’t make sense. Can anyone share what pre opt brand of multi vitamin they took before gastric bypass? Thanks so much!

Some of you may already know that I am 3.5 years post sleeve and have been pending a revision surgery for a while now. I have spent the past several months doing research and several tests to decide which surgery will be most appropriate for me and we have finally decided to go through with the SADI surgery and I have a date in early August. I am a bundle of emotions. I am a great deal more nervous this time around. I think it’s partially because this is a riskier procedure witb more serious side effects but I think it’s also because I am taking this a lot more seriously this time. I am really afraid of failure. I feel like I already failed once so what if I go through all of this only to not lose or lose and gain it all back again like last time. The surgeon said that the sleeve is a good fit for a lot of people but obesity is really complex and some just need a more aggressive surgery with greater metabolic change to be successful. He said his patients have had good results with the SADI-S and the sleeve to SADI revision. So i am also really hopeful and excited that it will be different for me this time. I don’t think I have totally wrapped my mind around it yet though because I am not counting down the days and wanting it to get here sooner like I was last time. I’m kinda glad to have a few weeks to get there mentally.

Hello @Bypass2Freedom I used the Spire group too. I had wonderful care and was totally happy with my team. I stayed in hospital 4 days because of a few minor issues I was having and then a 5th day because of a power cut in my town. They said I couldn't go home to a cold house. No extra charges were levied either. I had zero pain. The head nurse and the dietician gave me their personal phone numbers in case I had any problems or questions along the way. My pre op was 3 weeks of milk and veg basically but your surgeon may want different. They asked me to take dressing gown, nightwear and slippers to the hospital. No need for a long telephone charger cable in our hospitals. Take some lip balm. My surgeon was against protein shakes so after my op I had milky coffee, home made shakes and Bovril or broth to drink. Puree was not for me, I had either tinned or home made soups sieved or mashed any lumps. When I came home I bought a bed wedge because I got reflux. I needed a thermos cup because my hot drinks were always going cold. It takes a long time to drink anything in the first few weeks. With Amazon having next day delivery, if you need something its so quick, its pointless stock piling stuff you may not need in advance. The hormonal changes are something that I had. I was very tearful and had full on PMT. I was 60+ so it came as a shock to me. There have been a few people on here who have become pregnant very quick after the surgery. If that's a problem then a chat with your GP might help.

I have not had any limits on alcohol drinking or coffee or drinking with straws etc. I think patients in Europe have slacker rules than you American cousins. I tried my first drink at 6 weeks, I had a weak Bloody Mary and it was yummy. I was born and raised in a pub, had pubs myself and drunk a lot over these years. I could hold my alcohol well. Now one glass of wine has me smashed for about 20 minutes. Last Christmas I went out with a friend and it got a little silly, I had at least 3 glasses and for the first time in my life, I don't remember going home. That scared me. I felt as if I had been spiked. Wine and cider give me awful GERD, Baileys gives me get the foamies. Something and lots of soda seems to work best for me. My husband calls me his cheap date, Cheap means different here.