I am at the beginning of the journey, still pre-op so I appreciate the advice about exercising and starting early, I am a kinesiologist so exercise is my thing and I have really worked hard to get myself into a spot pre-op that would allow me to be active post-op.

I wanted to jump in on this discussion because it is such an important one and I am really curious about what the vets will say about eating 2,3,4, years post-op. We all know that weight regain does happen if we fall back into old habits, and in the world we live in, virtually everything tries to push us back into that pattern. Any tips or experiences would be very valuable.

As for food in general, my occupation requires that I have a good working knowledge of food (which is kind of ironic because I also have many issues with food despite being very informed). Now I don't have the post-op experience so this may not be applicable but some things to consider, # 1 would be to plan meals and shop to that plan, I personally find when I plan my food, I eat very clean and am never hungry or crave food, it is when I don't have a meal planned that my mind and stomach think of all the worldly possibilities. #2 you said upping protein is causing gas issues, you could also try upping fiber content, lots of raw veggies etc to snack on. I always have cut veggies pre-cut in the fridge, grab a handful and go. With your morning shake you could try upping the volume of the shake, if you add yogurt when blending it makes it thicker and I find it much more filling, just be careful of added calories and pick your yogurt carefully. You could also add a handful of oats to the shake to provide a bit more substance.

What is your support system like? do you have family? kids? that are regularly eating with you or that you are responsible for food for

I am 3 years out from Gastric Sleeve, so a different surgery. My suggestion is to go back to what you were doing in the beginning. Again, I had a different surgery so this might not apply but for me it would be: plan your day's meals ahead, take your calorie and protein goals and divide into 6 small meals for your day, make sure to drink all your water (sometimes what we think is hunger is thirst), and do some form of exercise at least 6 days a week. I find when I want to eat constantly all day, if I eat 1/2 my meal at meal time and wait a couple of hours to eat the other 1/2 (breaking 3 meals down into 6), I'm not feeling hungry or having cravings because I'm feeding my body so often during the day. Add 64 ounces of water and really, I can't put anything more into my stomach.

I know it;s hard and scary, but you do have the knowledge and tools to get the last 50 off and maintain. You can do this!

Pat

I think you'll be better off getting rid of the shakes and eating dense protein. You are hungry more often because the shakes go right though, and you don't have any feeling of satiety. Eat some dense protein and you can go longer between eating.

I had sleeve surgery in January of 2014, I started slowing down in August to about 4 pounds a month of weight loss, but by then I was at about 80% of my total excess body fat lost so I expected a slow down. In Sept I rejoined Weight Watchers. It added that accountability that I needed before in the past. I lost 6 pounds that first month and the meetings are helpful. I had gone before surgery as well and I liked it, just couldn't maintain it. I went in with full intentions of sharing the fact that I was a weight loss surgery patient, until it came up in the meeting and it was such a negative thing. Funny thing is that I used to be one of those people who thought that surgery was the easy way out, or cheating but then I had a friend who had the surgery and I saw how wrong that was. I changed my mind about sharing that fact with the group and now looking back I think that might have been my opportunity to educate them instead of shying away but I didn't want to feel shut out because I needed to be there for me and to help myself stay on track. I love the meetings and the information is helpful to me.