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So, I feel funny writing about this, but...has anyone else ever experienced a negative change in their social life post-op? I had my surgery back in January. Although my physical health has made drastic improvements, I'm afraid my mental health has taken a toll. I noticed people have been treating me very differently since having the surgery. I've been getting so many rude comments, I can't keep up. They think I "took the easy way out (not realizing it was actually quite the opposite: the last resort)," and/or are freaked out by all my new eating habits and restrictions or are saying cruel things like "oh, you'll just gain it back like so-and-so did anyway, you watch." A lot of them have also proceeded to claim my changed appearance "weirds them out." Some of my now ex-friends have even gone so far to complain that I "betrayed the body positivity movement by giving into society's expectations of what women should look like." What the actual heck? Even dating, something I thought would get better as I lost weight, is just as bad as it was before. Since I can't drink alcohol anymore or eat a lot of foods, guys have been pretty hostile. Although I've been private about my surgery while dating (simply stating I have a strict diet I need to follow), that hasn't stopped guys from being mean or rude. Bottom line here is I've lost a lot of friends this past year and my love life is no better than it was. I'm extremely lonely and depressed. Has anyone else ever encountered this? What can I do to change it? Why is there so much social stigma towards this surgery?

here is to 2021!!! I live in a very small town and I am not much on social media. I have kept my WLS on the down low, not because I am ashamed but because I am not looking for support or BS from anyone. My husband we into town today to the local cafe (gossip central) to pick up eggs that I forgot to get on my regular grocery run and the old gal who runs the place announced to the whole joint, during the morning coffee run, how sorry she was to hear about my illness. My husband said "she is feeling good but I will tell her your thinking of her" she carried on to ask him how many rounds I would need. He replied " I believe this will do it". The word is I am going though chemo, LOL. I am not telling them any different......let them talk. Chemo or weight loss surgery regardless, I am getting thin!!!! LOL

My dietician shared this app with me. It's called Ate. I'm not the best at tracking all the macros consistently, but this is a quick way to visually track what you've eaten. You just snap a picture, choose whether it is "on path" or "off path" - whatever that looks like for you. If you want to get more detailed, you can click on the picture and add notes and diary-type info like why did you eat, how did it make you feel, etc... There isn't a way to list all the macros, but for those of us who have trouble tracking consistently, this might be a nice alternative for you. It's also got a social component in that you can have "friends" who can see what you've posted and you can chat in the app. If you want to be friends on Ate, my invite code is FY21-TFRP

Good to know about other options out there. I've used MyFitnessPal for years.

Welcome to the groups. I am excited too. My surgery is scheduled for Jan 12th. I am on my fun pre-op diet. I am on my 3rd day and it hasn't been fun. However, It is all going to be worth it in the end, which is actually only the beginning of our brand new journey of eating and living.. congrats

I did a quick google, and you can reset your sizing preferences in your profile. You can also delete cookies on your browser for good measure

I had a distinct drop in energy about 3 months out. Just so damn tired. Almost fell asleep walking on my treadmill! I don’t have any answers unfortunately. Some say it’s the lack of carbs in our diets. Some say it’s just our body getting used to the reduced calories & increasing activity. It could be your iron levels as you suspect. My iron levels were very good & I ate rolled oats a couple of times a week, so .... It eventually passed. Mind you I slept really well at night & I’d been a bad sleeper for years.

Thats awesome. Hoping for the same! Sent from my SM-G986U using BariatricPal mobile app

Yes it definitely scares people. Thank you for the kind words and recommendation. Unfortunately, my surgeon's office no longer offers a support group. They did but cancelled it with Covid and only made the online option available to pre-ops.

There is still a difference between "hiding" and "advertising". Nobody wants patients to wear an "I had WLS. Kiss me!" shirt. But losing weight and giving people the "just diet and exercise, man" schlock is something that feeds into the lack of acceptance of WLS. There is always the middle ground. --- However, there will always be discussion about this issue and I think I have made my opinion on this clear more than one time in the past. In the end I won't change anyone's mind on this anyway. If people want to hide their surgery, they will hide it as best as they can. Some will be able to hide it, some will be outed and some will be talked about behind their back because people are not as naive as some seem to think they are.