Any March Surgeries?

[Butterflyeffect 122]

Hi everyone, would love to hear how you’re all tracking now that it’s been anywhere from 2 and a half to 1 and a half months out from all of our surgeries.

What have you found really works for you and is your go to food?

I find eggs and tuna super filling but then find veggies and mince go down way too easily.

I have found changing my food and macros every few days seems to shake things up and keep the scales moving.

I would love to hear your stories and about your journey so far!!

[njlimmer 343]

10 weeks out from RNY on 3/3 and huge success to share!! Went to the endocrinologist today for the first time since surgery. A1C in October was 6.8 making me a diabetic. It's what really sparked my WLS. (6-6.4 is pre-diabetic and anything over 6.5 is diabetic) Today, I'm at 4.6!! I am officially cured of my diabetes!! WOOT!!! Also, in 2019, my cholesterol was 218 - today it's 104!!

For the scale victory, I'm down 37.8lbs from surgery and 83.8lbs from October!!

[Mike Long 52]

1 hour ago, njlimmer said:

10 weeks out from RNY on 3/3 and huge success to share!! Went to the endocrinologist today for the first time since surgery. A1C in October was 6.8 making me a diabetic. It's what really sparked my WLS. (6-6.4 is pre-diabetic and anything over 6.5 is diabetic) Today, I'm at 4.6!! I am officially cured of my diabetes!! WOOT!!! Also, in 2019, my cholesterol was 218 - today it's 104!!

For the scale victory, I'm down 37.8lbs from surgery and 83.8lbs from October!!

Congrats! Truly amazing stuff. The cholesterol number is stunning. And the A1C is incredible. Kudos and keep it going!

[HeatherE 201]

5 hours ago, Mike Long said:

Congrats! Truly amazing stuff. The cholesterol number is stunning. And the A1C is incredible. Kudos and keep it going!

7 hours ago, njlimmer said:

10 weeks out from RNY on 3/3 and huge success to share!! Went to the endocrinologist today for the first time since surgery. A1C in October was 6.8 making me a diabetic. It's what really sparked my WLS. (6-6.4 is pre-diabetic and anything over 6.5 is diabetic) Today, I'm at 4.6!! I am officially cured of my diabetes!! WOOT!!! Also, in 2019, my cholesterol was 218 - today it's 104!!

For the scale victory, I'm down 37.8lbs from surgery and 83.8lbs from October!!

Congratulations! Amazing results after not such a long period after surgery, Keep up the good work!!!

[kbrookings 0]

I KNOW the everyone is different, but...

Before surgery I could eat healthy and strict and lose very quickly (like 5 lbs a week); so why after this surgery am I not losing more than maybe 2 lbs a week? It is so frustrating knowing I could be losing more WITHOUT the surgery. Am I not taking in enough calories? My dietitian says to keep my calories closer to the 300 mark which isn't helping, plus I already HAVE been. Weight loss has been off and on, but now like 1 lb a week.

I know it is not going to "melt off" for everyone, but all of the doctors, nutritionists, etc told me this was the "honeymoon phase" where I would REALLY be losing.

PLEASE TELL ME WHAT WORKS FOR THOSE WHO ARE 6-7 WEEKS POST SURGERY!!! As in, what is your calorie intake / activity. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

[canadianpopcycle 77]

19 hours ago, kbrookings said:

I KNOW the everyone is different, but...

Before surgery I could eat healthy and strict and lose very quickly (like 5 lbs a week); so why after this surgery am I not losing more than maybe 2 lbs a week? It is so frustrating knowing I could be losing more WITHOUT the surgery. Am I not taking in enough calories? My dietitian says to keep my calories closer to the 300 mark which isn't helping, plus I already HAVE been. Weight loss has been off and on, but now like 1 lb a week.

I know it is not going to "melt off" for everyone, but all of the doctors, nutritionists, etc told me this was the "honeymoon phase" where I would REALLY be losing.

PLEASE TELL ME WHAT WORKS FOR THOSE WHO ARE 6-7 WEEKS POST SURGERY!!! As in, what is your calorie intake / activity. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

Honestly...I don't understand why there is no standardization with this surgery. Between calorie 'limits' to Keto, some/no carbs, etc etc its really ridiculous.

Not sure if this helps you:

My surgery was March 29...so I just started my 8th week since surgery. My 'program' after surgery: 2 weeks of Full Fluids, 3rd week puree and soft foods and 4th week everything else. There are no calorie 'goals', as they want you to get as much nutrition as you can in..but they don't want you to be restricting food. My Protein goal is 80 - 107g.

During the full fluids phase I was getting about 550 calories a day. Puree I was getting about 900 calories. Regular foods until now are between 950 and 1100 ish depending what I am eating. I walk everyday (weather permitting) about 25 min. I'd like to get to the gym, but those are closed currently here.

My weigh ins are:

Surgery Day March 29: 315.6

April 5: 308.8 (-6.8)

April 12: 302.6 (-6.2)

April 19: 301.8 (-0.8)

April 26: 299.2 (-2.6)

May 3: 296.6 (-2.6)

May 10: 294.0 (-2.6)

May 17: 290.8 (-3.2)

Total since surgery: 24.8 lbs

[Mike Long 52]

1 hour ago, canadianpopcycle said:

Honestly...I don't understand why there is no standardization with this surgery. Between calorie 'limits' to Keto, some/no carbs, etc etc its really ridiculous.

Not sure if this helps you:

My surgery was March 29...so I just started my 8th week since surgery. My 'program' after surgery: 2 weeks of Full Fluids, 3rd week puree and soft foods and 4th week everything else. There are no calorie 'goals', as they want you to get as much nutrition as you can in..but they don't want you to be restricting food. My Protein goal is 80 - 107g.

During the full fluids phase I was getting about 550 calories a day. Puree I was getting about 900 calories. Regular foods until now are between 950 and 1100 ish depending what I am eating. I walk everyday (weather permitting) about 25 min. I'd like to get to the gym, but those are closed currently here.

My weigh ins are:

Surgery Day March 29: 315.6

April 5: 308.8 (-6.8)

April 12: 302.6 (-6.2)

April 19: 301.8 (-0.8)

April 26: 299.2 (-2.6)

May 3: 296.6 (-2.6)

May 10: 294.0 (-2.6)

May 17: 290.8 (-3.2)

Total since surgery: 24.8 lbs

My surgery was 3/25 and what I’ve been told & the program has been virtually identical. My dietician told me not to worry about calories and only count Protein. They don’t seem to be concerned about much else (at least at this point). Because I never had any pains or discomfort, after the 3rd week post op they graduated me to stage 5 or whatever I wanted to eat. That didn’t matter much for me because even to this day I have zero hunger, no desire to eat, nothing sounds appealing. I don’t Have any aversions (I had the sleeve) but I’m simply not hungry and have to force myself to eat. I’m barely eating and I’m not getting in the recommended daily protein amounts. I feel fine and have been able to cut out one of my blood pressure meds completely and all my labs are in really good, healthy ranges. I don’t know when my hunger will come back but I’ve lost 80+ lbs since 3/11 (2 week pre op diet) and 55+ lbs since surgery day. I started near 500 so it’s all relative. I stated walking 30 mins daily just recently and I’m probably only taking in 500-750 Calories/day. I guess I should be happy that I’m losing weight and feeling ok while having good labs. I know the hunger will come back. Good luck!

[VSGJen 8]

On 5/18/2021 at 11:27 AM, kbrookings said:

I KNOW the everyone is different, but...

Before surgery I could eat healthy and strict and lose very quickly (like 5 lbs a week); so why after this surgery am I not losing more than maybe 2 lbs a week? It is so frustrating knowing I could be losing more WITHOUT the surgery. Am I not taking in enough calories? My dietitian says to keep my calories closer to the 300 mark which isn't helping, plus I already HAVE been. Weight loss has been off and on, but now like 1 lb a week.

I know it is not going to "melt off" for everyone, but all of the doctors, nutritionists, etc told me this was the "honeymoon phase" where I would REALLY be losing.

PLEASE TELL ME WHAT WORKS FOR THOSE WHO ARE 6-7 WEEKS POST SURGERY!!! As in, what is your calorie intake / activity. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

Hey, so I looked at your info on your profile and we are virtually identical when it comes to the stats. I had my surgery 3/31 and am down 45 pounds as of yesterday. Started at 260 at 5'6", lost 25 pre-surgery, and 20 pounds after. The reason it's interesting to me is that our journey to those very similar loss numbers sounds very different. I had a 3-4 week stall after losing 13 pounds the week after surgery, then nothing for 3.5-4 weeks. It sounds like that stall was just as frustrating as your 2 pound loss a week. I think it just goes to show that our bodies all process loss differently, but we kind of end up in the same place. I think your body is just a 'low and steady' situation whereas I will have those 'melt off phases' but they certainly don't last forever and I have long periods of stalls. It doesn't sound like you are doing anything wrong, it's just not what you thought it would be pre-surgery which I DEFINITELY went through. It took me a long time, and I'm still working on it, to be ok with how things were going because ultimately it's not something that I can force.

The thing that worked for me was tracking macros (fat, carbs, and Protein specifically) and total calories. It just helps ground me and remind me that I'm doing what I need, and things will be on track.

Hope this helps and hang in there! ❤️

[ThanaK 15]

7 hours ago, canadianpopcycle said:

Honestly...I don't understand why there is no standardization with this surgery. Between calorie 'limits' to Keto, some/no carbs, etc etc its really ridiculous.

Not sure if this helps you:

My surgery was March 29...so I just started my 8th week since surgery. My 'program' after surgery: 2 weeks of Full Fluids, 3rd week puree and soft foods and 4th week everything else. There are no calorie 'goals', as they want you to get as much nutrition as you can in..but they don't want you to be restricting food. My Protein goal is 80 - 107g.

During the full fluids phase I was getting about 550 calories a day. Puree I was getting about 900 calories. Regular foods until now are between 950 and 1100 ish depending what I am eating. I walk everyday (weather permitting) about 25 min. I'd like to get to the gym, but those are closed currently here.

My weigh ins are:

Surgery Day March 29: 315.6

April 5: 308.8 (-6.8)

April 12: 302.6 (-6.2)

April 19: 301.8 (-0.8)

April 26: 299.2 (-2.6)

May 3: 296.6 (-2.6)

May 10: 294.0 (-2.6)

May 17: 290.8 (-3.2)

Total since surgery: 24.8 lbs

My experience is very similar. I even had the same Surgery date...Mar 29. I echo the same sentiments. There seems to be varying degrees of guidance post op. I had my surgery in Canada, and by your forum name my guess is you did as well?
I’m grateful that I have had lots of support pre and post op from the medical team. This is week 8 for me as well. I’m in between soft food stage and “rest of your life” stage. I’m slowly adding more and more things to foods I can now tolerate list. Like you, the focus has been on high quality Protein and not calories per se.
I try getting in 60 to 80 grams of protein a day splitting it up in 3 meals and 1 to 2 Snacks, never going over more than 1 cup of food total along with choice of grain and fruit/veg at each meal.
Good luck with the rest of your weight loss journey.

[Butterflyeffect 122]

On 5/19/2021 at 3:57 AM, kbrookings said:

I KNOW the everyone is different, but...

Before surgery I could eat healthy and strict and lose very quickly (like 5 lbs a week); so why after this surgery am I not losing more than maybe 2 lbs a week? It is so frustrating knowing I could be losing more WITHOUT the surgery. Am I not taking in enough calories? My dietitian says to keep my calories closer to the 300 mark which isn't helping, plus I already HAVE been. Weight loss has been off and on, but now like 1 lb a week.

I know it is not going to "melt off" for everyone, but all of the doctors, nutritionists, etc told me this was the "honeymoon phase" where I would REALLY be losing.

PLEASE TELL ME WHAT WORKS FOR THOSE WHO ARE 6-7 WEEKS POST SURGERY!!! As in, what is your calorie intake / activity. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

Hi @kbrookings, I certainly don’t know better than your dietician and so I can only share my own experience. I was eating around 500 to 600 calories at around week 6/7 and to be honest have only really had my lost loss kick up a gear since getting around 700 calories. I think my body went into starvation mode prior to that and I also kept feeling dizzy and tired, plus my weight loss was quite slow after the initial t2 weeks post surgery. Now, I eat anywhere between 650 and 720 calories and I feel so much more energetic, healthy and am losing more weight and inches than had I been when consuming less calories. I don’t even know how you could get 60 to 80 grams on Protein in 300 calories. That seems crazy low to me.

Good luck and hope it all works out soon for you.

[ShoppGirl 4,785]

This may sound insane and could even be completely unrelated but has anyone else had back pain in the morning like they need a new mattress since losing weight? It’s not terrible but I have been waking up a little stiff and thought it may be since the mattress doesn’t form to my body quite the same?

[njlimmer 343]

1 hour ago, ShoppGirl said:

This may sound insane and could even be completely unrelated but has anyone else had back pain in the morning like they need a new mattress since losing weight? It’s not terrible but I have been waking up a little stiff and thought it may be since the mattress doesn’t form to my body quite the same?

SAME!! But as soon as I got to the bathroom, it goes away.

[ShoppGirl 4,785]

How much is everyone eating? I find that I am able to eat more at this stage (match 9 surgery) than the 4-5 oz that the nutritionist said I should be able to. I need to make the transition to three meals a day and no Snacks since I am eating more now and I’m not sure why but mentally that’s hard. I try skipping snack time and I feel hungry. I know it’s head hunger but it feels so real. Anyone have any suggestions for this.

Edited June 4, 2021 by ShoppGirl

[Mike Long 52]

11 minutes ago, ShoppGirl said:

How much is everyone eating? I find that I am able to eat more at this stage (match 9 surgery) than the 4-5 oz that the nutritionist said I should be able to. I need to make the transition to three meals a day and no Snacks since I am eating more now and I’m not sure why but mentally that’s hard. I try skipping snack time and I feel hungry. I know it’s head hunger but it feels so real. Anyone have any suggestions for this.

I wish I had suggestions but sadly I don’t. I’m 10 weeks post op and I have zero hunger and zero desire to eat. I’m eating very little. I often wonder if my surgeon removed 99% of my stomach instead of the 75-80% LOL. If I approach 2-3 oz of food at a sitting, I can feel it in my chest and stomach. So I simply stop eating. I’m not getting in the Protein that they recommend so I’m trying to work on that. Of the many things I’ve learned throughout this entire process, the one that sticks out the most is that everybody’s journey and situation is unique. My only suggestion is simply Just try your best to stick to the plan. I know you’ve heard that a million times but I think it’s the best course of action. Good luck!

[ShoppGirl 4,785]

5 hours ago, Mike Long said:

I wish I had suggestions but sadly I don’t. I’m 10 weeks post op and I have zero hunger and zero desire to eat. I’m eating very little. I often wonder if my surgeon removed 99% of my stomach instead of the 75-80% LOL. If I approach 2-3 oz of food at a sitting, I can feel it in my chest and stomach. So I simply stop eating. I’m not getting in the Protein that they recommend so I’m trying to work on that. Of the many things I’ve learned throughout this entire process, the one that sticks out the most is that everybody’s journey and situation is unique. My only suggestion is simply Just try your best to stick to the plan. I know you’ve heard that a million times but I think it’s the best course of action. Good luck!

Thank you for that.