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So, I haven't really told many people about my surgery. A few close friends know, my mom, and my sister. I tell my mom everything so she knows, but out of my few close friends, only one was really supportive--everyone else was a bit hesitant. They all struggle with their weight, including my sister. So I don't like sharing my victories as they all start feeling bad about themselves. But today was huge and I want to share with someone other than my amazing and supportive mom. I laid down today to do sit-ups and I could actually see and feel my ribs starting to show through. I thought it was too good to be true so I videoed myself and lo and behold, I could see them quite prominently. I haven't seen them since 2015/2016. I am so excited! I can't see them standing up, obviously, but man was it a surprise laying down. Just really happy! I also tried on a shirt that was too tight before and now it is baggy. Anyway, that was my NSV. Thanks for listening!

Help, I am beginning to gain weight. I originally weighed 223lbs when I went for the initial appointment. Right before the surgery I weighed 215lbs and when I came home from the hospital, 3 days later, I went back up 221lb. Next day I was 216lb. In the next 8 days, I went down to 204lbs. The follow-up doctor told me start my puree diet on the Jan 31st, which I did. (I don't know where the confusion was but my Nutritionist wanted me to start the puree diet on Feb 4th). In the past 9 days, I gained 4lbs. I been checking everyday since I was home but now I am back to work, ill check weekly but I am so afraid it will continue to rise. Is this normal? Is it the puree diet weight? Water weight? Should I limit what i am eating? I am now able to drink 5 glasses of water where as I had to force down 2 glasses.

I realize everyone is different and I should not compare, but I am curious how much you are able to eat at one time 1.5-2 years post vsg. How many oz/ meal? How many calories to for you personally to maintain? How many calories for you personally to lose? Thanks!

So, I just had my blood tests and MRSA swabs in advance of surgery next week (1st March) and decided that I would detail my journey here. Partly because I want to remember to come back on here when things get tough and I need a reminder of why I am doing this, and partly because I want to have a record of what I’m doing anyway, and I figure that having one that others can read, contribute to and, maybe, learn from (if I ever get to the point of having any lessons to teach) is as good a way as any. So, my background… I’m 29, living in London. I’ve always been overweight, ever since I was a kid, but my weight has fluctuated a lot. Generally, when I move to a new place, it falls, until I discover all the good places to eat, when it rises again. About five years ago I managed to get down to about 200lbs, but since then have crept steadily up and now I am about 290lbs. I think as I get a bit older, I’m realising a bit more the impact my weight is having on me. Over the last couple of years – walking has become more of a chore, for the first time, tying a seatbelt on an airplane has become a problem, I feel less and less energy and more strain on my joints. And I simply don’t want that to get worse. I haven’t felt any motivation to lose weight since that last time in 2009, and I had to admit to myself that I never will be able to do this on my own. So I have a choice. Continue to put on weight. Face into my thirtieth birthday at nearly 300lbs, maybe my 35th at 400lbs – who knows. And continue to see my body become more and more unable to cope. Or I stop. I take action, accept that I’m not going to be able to do it alone and take measures that will force me into a position of being healthier. It’s also driven by the fact that I want to have kids. As I’m gay, the most likely way for that is to adopt, but I’m pretty sure that I wouldn’t be approved as an adopter at my current weight. And even if I was, I don’t think I could be a good dad as I just wouldn’t have the energy to be rolling around playing with a kid and giving them the attention they deserve. I decided to self-fund for the operation. I have been diagnosed with sleep Apnoea (in December) through the NHS, and since that’s technically a comorbidity, my GP did say that I could be put on the NHS waiting list. But faced with a wait of two years or more, I decided it would be better to just get it done privately. So I met with my surgeon, Ameet Patel, before Christmas. I had hoped to have it done before Christmas, but I was due to start a new job on the 12th, and he said that if I had the operation on the 3rd or 4th January, he wouldn’t recommend me going to work on the 12th. So I decided to wait until Easter when I could take some time off work. As it turned out, there were no available dates at Easter, and leaving it later brings me too close to a trip I have planned at the end of May. So I ended up plumping for 1st March. I’ve had no pre-op diet to follow, so I’ve probably been a bit naughty in what I’ve been eating since I found out my date. I know I shouldn’t but I have been seeing these last weeks as an opportunity for one last hurrah with food. Biggest Fears I was sent my consent form in the post, and seeing the risks in black and white terrified me – especially where it just bluntly lists ‘Death’ as a risk. Even though I’ve talked them through with Dr Patel, and even though I know the risks are very low, they feel very real now. I’ve started to think about things I need to do in case the worst happens, and again, I know it’s a very low risk, but my family live in a different country, so I’m making sure my partner has their number in case he needs to call them etc. The reality of that is kinda scary. I’m also scared of complications – and not knowing whether pain is normal or a sign of something more serious. But my biggest fear is that I just won’t be able to be happy when I can’t eat what I want to. I keep telling myself that being able to go shopping for clothes or go for a run or exercise without wanting to collapse will all make up for any feeling of deprivation – and that I won’t feel that deprived because I just won’t have the same appetite that I have now. But it is probably my biggest fear that I will spend the rest of my life regretting what I’ve done. To combat that I just keep reminding myself that the price of having that total freedom to eat what I want is looking and feeling like I do now – I plan to keep a photo diary of my journey to remind myself that however much I regret not being able to eat what I want when I want, it will be nothing compared to the regret I would have if I had the opportunity to get healthy but turned it down. My Hopes This is the bit that keeps me going. My main hope – what I desperately hope – is that the tales I’ve heard of your tastes changing are true. I would dearly love to wake up from the operation and be revolted by the foods I used to love and suddenly find love for the foods I used to hate. If only I could like vegetables and low fat foods more! My biggest hope is that my tastes will change, so that when I can’t pig out on chips it won’t matter to me because I don’t want to pig out on chips. The same applies – big time – to Diet Coke. I’ve never been one for full fat soft drinks, I find them syrupy. But I love diet coke, and I am really dreading not being able to have it. If I could wake up and not desire it, that would be super. I’m not claiming these hopes are realistic. More generally – like everyone – I hope this works. My thirtieth birthday is in October and I have a vision of how I will look and feel for it. I hope that vision becomes a reality. I also hope that my relationship withstands the change. My partner has been incredibly supportive. I think one of the reasons I put on weight is that he loved me and found me attractive when we first met and I was overweight (but still, I was only about 200lbs) – I think my mind went ‘yay, you found someone who’s attracted to you even when you’re fat…eat away’. But my weight gain has made me feel less attractive and so has impacted on our relationship. As I say, he’s been really supportive and I just hope that the changes don’t result in any changes to how either of us feels about the other. So, having rattled on for too long, let the journey begin…

Hopefully you will be joining us Marchers - if not, I am sure you will be in early April.

Congratulations. We love a NSV here. So share all you want. NSVs always made me want to do a celebratory dance. So fabulous.

I had the sleeve BUT I say take the farting and the pooping because the constipation is HORRIBLE if you get that. Pooping is embarrassing but a natural thing I mean lets be real, we all fart and poop. If you think gas pain is bad holy moly! I have a incredible pain tolerance and I have prayed to God to just take me at more times than I care to admit at a few points in this journey until I got the constipation under control. Before I got to eating enough calories and getting the whole exercise and fiber thing right I was bound tight and ended up in the ER thinking I was going to die. Only to find out I was not dying, just FOS, a nice medical term, FULL OF ****! LOL After two days of liquids, miralax and finally an enema (that is embarrassing) I was better, and that hasn't happened since. So take the pooing in the meantime you will appreciate this post at some point I promise This too shall pass

Yeah, I’d fire this loser ASAP. Not only is he being an asshole, his views aren’t even supported by evidence, and that is a huge concern from a medical professional standpoint.

Hi folks. So it's been more than four years since I posted on this thread. Thought it was worth updating my story. So last time I posted, I was struggling with some modest (c5 lbs) regain after reaching 177lbs - which was a weight I was happy with but it will still about 12 lbs above my goal weight. Over the next four years, I gained more - getting up to 200lbs last January. Then the pandemic hit. I was working from home all day, getting no real exercise (bar a few half hearted runs in the park) and eating a lot out of boredom - with the result that I gained another 20lbs by this January. Of course there's lots of regret about allowing myself to regain 43lbs, especially as I never even got to my goal weight in the first place. But regrets don't change anything. I'm back on it now, aiming to lose c2lbs a week. I'm limiting my calories to 1750 a day, and aiming to burn between 2750 and 3000. Most days I come in under my 1750, but I allow myself one day a week where I can 'use up' any leftover calories to bring my daily calories up to a max of 2500. A few basic rules: (a) nothing is off the table - that sort of diet doesn't work for me, and I know I will fall off that particular wagon quickly; (b) back to no drinking half hour either side of a meal; (c) if I want a snack, I have to drink 500ml water first, to see if that changes whether I want it or not; (d) I measure and track everything I eat with MyFitnessPal - and my calories are built around my meals, which I pre-log so I know what I have to play around with for snacks etc; (e) no fizzy drinks during the week, only water or sugar-free cordial. There are a few tactics I've used to avoid boredom snacking. As noted above, I drink before snacking and always when I feel 'hunger' try to get in tune with whether my body is actually hungry. Where I control my virtual meetings at work (from home) I try to schedule them at peak snacking-risk times (usually the two hours before lunch, and the two hours before I finish up for the day) to make sure I have something to do that means I can't snack. I have also been doing some longish walks to avoid snacking (usually taking the dog and no money so I'm not tempted into a shop...) There was a point - maybe two years ago when I tried a pouch reset diet. I lasted about 2 days. This time around I tried Keto for two days. I've realised that the only thing that works for me is bog standard Calories In < Calories Out. Everything else will fail for me. So now I'm two and a half weeks in. I'm down from 220 to 211 and pretty happy with the results. Starting to see some very slight changes in my belly and my shoulders. Weirdly, even though the initial lockdown caused me to gain, this lockdown is helping me to lose: being at home all day gives me total freedom to make good choices, to measure everything I eat and track it. If I can get down to roughly 175lbs I'll be happy. But would ideally get down to about 165lbs.