The following article was written by a reader who wanted to share his experiences with weight loss surgery and the post-gastric bypass diet. For privacy reasons, his name is not included.
“Man, the first few weeks on the gastric bypass diet were hell…”
The surgery went off without a hitch and recovery was quicker than the docs had expected, but getting used to the lifestyle change was hard. There’s a difference between sitting in a doctors office and having him patiently explain what the consequences of gastric bypass surgery are and actually living them.
As I was leaving the hospital the doc told me I was set to eat whatever I want. The evil grin should have told me that “whatever I want” wasn’t quite going to jive with what I actually could fit down.
My first few weeks on the gastric bypass diet
I became a bit obsessed at first with the food I was eating, what and when and how much. I felt like I had to have a way to comfort myself that I was actually eating, because my brain was incessantly insisting I was starving to death. The gastric bypass diet was hugely different from what I had been used to before.
Three days in I got cranky at everyone and my wife suggested I start a journal with the foods and times and how much. I bought a scale so I could weigh my food before and after I ate so I could keep track of the calories.
The first week on the gastric bypass diet I kept the journal, I found I was eating an average of 700 calories a day, peaking at around 1200 calories. Thats not much when you weigh almost 500 lbs. The second week I felt more relaxed with the process and found I was eating between 1200 to 1500 calories a day.
Since I had the surgery a few months ago, Ive settled into a routine of the gastric bypass diet. I no longer feel the need to track every bit of food, and the weight has started to come off in great whacking chunks (down almost 60 lbs so far). I’ve figured out how much my stomach will hold (food thats about half the size of my fist fills me up completely) and I won’t take more than I can eat, though I still feel like I’m eating all the time. The hunger is still there, but I’ve learned to deal with the sensation, even accept that I won’t be able to sate it completely.
I have to admit that getting used to the gastric bypass diet has been hard, but I have not experienced any of the common complications of the weight loss surgery and I’ve lost a great deal of weight, so the “suffering” has been worth it.
, about her personal experiences with sugar addiction.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
thank you because I had surgery a month ago and am at the stage where I have to blend my food and my system wouldn’t hold it down and I had to be hospitalized for a week. I look at it as that it has to get better. The surgery went well but thank you for saying the suffering was worth it.
I am 3 years post gastric bypass and in all reality, now is where the challenge really sets in. I am in that 3-5 year window in which I am gaining weight back. I became too comfortable in the fact that I could eat a small amount throughout the day, exercise has not been consistent, yet over the first 3 years, I lost 100 lbs. Now, I am 15 lbs. over my goal weight and it’s time to get serious. I am engaging a dietician to help me build a healthy eating lifestyle, figuring out an exercise program that will fit into my busy schedule (I travel for work), and being conscience of the fact that over time, my stomach has stretched and can hold more calories.
Gastric bypass was one of the best decisions I ever made. I have no regrets what so ever. We all know that nothing worth while is free or easy. It takes work and I want to be sure that I don’t end up where I started. It’s time to get back on the horse and refocus my energy in ensuring that I maintain this weight that I suffered and struggled to achieve from the surgery and the mental and physical changes. My life has been so much happier, healthier and more fun since losing the weight. Now I am at the point in the process where it is up to me, and only me, to keep my weight in check!
Good luck to all of you that are starting your journey. My only suggestion is to leverage the support of your family and build a network that includes a dietician, exercise and, if needed, a councilor. There is a reason for the way we eat and why we make the choices we do, it’s just not always obvious.
See you on the thin side! :0)
Hi – I am in the works to have gastric bypass this Feb or March. I have been reading people’s stories and it looks like everyone agrees that the first couple months are simply awful. It sounds reallllly intimidating. What can a person do to prepare for that time of your body changing and your diet being turned to almost nil? I’ve been talking to an RN and a dietician for the past five months and I have read material and I”ve been on the computer reading about everything I can. Has anyone wished they never had the bypass? df
Hi Deb. You might get a lot more responses if you copy your comment onto this page. Most of the people who have experienced complications and problems after their surgery land on that page. However, remember that people who have been happy with their surgery won’t leave comments there, so the answers you get will not be representative of patients as a whole.
Deb,
I know the surgery is scary, my sister had it 10+ years ago and I had it 4 years ago. It helps to have someone to talk to, keeping in mind everyone is different. Feel free to email me and I will answer your questions, based on my personal experience. For me, it changed my life and it was worth it!
Elizabeth.nugent@ymail.com