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First I want to say thank you to so many of the veteran posters on here. I hope you gals and guys know how much your experiences and feedback have helped me and I suspect many others. There's just such a fantastic mix of people and experiences - It's great knowing you aren't alone in this journey. The first few months after surgery were easy. The weight was simply falling off, there wasn't anything I couldn't eat or drink - And better yet, I couldn't overeat because of the restriction. I felt fantastic most of the time, had all sorts of NSV's and loved my new life. From August until January I lost almost 50lbs - I was so close to Wonderland I could taste it. THEN reality struck - Suddenly I was one of those "slow losers" - It took almost 2 months to lose 13lbs. UGH, I WAS going to be one of those slow losers. OK, fine, I'm 52 and it is what it is, right? From January until May, I "only" lost 33lbs. Again, every week/month I told myself that I would lose the weight, I was just in some sort of a stall and things would magically pick up. Well, they didn't, I would lose 2-3 lbs and then I would gain 2-3 lbs. Again, "it's normal" I told myself. Fast forward to a week ago - I jumped on here for some motivation (reading stories, etc.) and I took a hard look at what I was doing. Basically, I was being lazy - I was eating whatever I wanted and justifying it by saying "I only eat small portions" - Well, yeah, that was true...BUT I was grazing, I was drinking too much alcohol, and I wasn't tracking. I honetly have no idea how many calories I was consuming (especially on weekends with family and friends). I played mind games with myself and said "As long as I'm not gaining, I'm doing things right." - Well, that was a giant load of (@*$. This past Tuesday (after a weekend of Mimosa's, Crown Royal, and some really great BBQ), I woke up to a 5lb gain (BTW, yes I realize some of that was water retention). WAKE UP CALL. 5lbs? Seriously - Time to go back to basics before that's a 10lb gain. For the first time in MONTHS, I tracked every thing I tracked everything that went into my mouth (water, food, etc) - I did 3 days of liquid - In two days, those 5lbs were off. Rather than what I've done in the past, I didn't stop there - I continued tracking, I continued being cognizant of what and when I was eating. I said "no" to many things that I thought I wanted. I lost 6.8lbs from Tuesday to Sunday. What? I'm NOT a slow loser - I'm a LAZY loser. Folks, for many of us, it's EASY in the first few months, it's EASY to convince ourselves that we're doing OK, it's EASY to compare ourselves to others, it's EASY to ignore signs that you're falling into bad habits, and it's EASY to get lazy. In reality, it's HARD to stick to your plan when you're feeling fantastic and patting yourself on the back for losing so much weight. I'm choosing to be thankful that this happened now rather than 2-3 years into it. I'm glad that reality smacked me in the face and forced me to face the fact that i wasn't doing what I needed to do. Right now it was EASY to get back on track before I let it get out of control. For those of you experiencing the same - Buckle up buttercup, start tracking, weigh yourself often if you need to, and take a good look and when and why you're losing weight and when and why you aren't. Again, a very special thank you to you old timers for always keeping things real and giving out such fantastic advice.

I have anxiety issues anyway, and take supplements (ashwagandha and an L-theanine/GABA combo) for it. But you might want to make an appointment with a psychiatrist, because they're dab hands at fixing anxiety and dissociation, rather than relying on hospital tests. The last two years have been insanely hard on everyone so it's no surprise that mental health care is becoming more urgent. Just take care of yourself.

Does anyone know a good bariatric therapist anywhere in florida who may be willing to do telehealth appointments? I found one person so far and after two appointments I don’t feel like she is the right fit for me. Apparently they are few and far between in my area but I’m thinking post COVID maybe telehealth will work (someone said they have to be in the same state to bill insurance).

My surgery program says to wait until day 30 post-op so I have been but I am right there with you I so miss my daily coffee. Excited to try out "profee" which I have seen a lot of the people in the bariatric community make.

You are really taking care of yourself and it shows!

You look great!

The idea behind the caffeine restrictions is that it irritates the lining of the stomach. Coffee is an especially bad offender because it is so acidic. If you are truly needing a fix, I would recommend Grinds coffee pouches (sold at truck stops and on Amazon). They are marketed for people trying to quit chewing tobacco who want to have something in their mouth that mimics the feel of tobacco. They are small pouches filled with ground coffee that you keep in your cheek/lip. It will give you the flavor of coffee in your mouth and allow you to absorb the caffeine into the bloodstream directly rather than the stomach.

One thing that's helped me a lot post-surgery (especially at the early stage of recovery) was making a list of substitute very low calorie foods that tasted great and then keeping them stocked in my kitchen so that when I had cravings or just wanted to nibble on something, I could eat a cherry tomato or a few grapes or a cooked veggie, etc. Over time, you'll be able to create your own list of go-to very low calorie foods so if you find yourself struggling, you can at least have a healthy treat. And as others have mentioned, there are lots of substitute activities you can do to calm your mind and take your thoughts away from food. For me, I like to do online jigsaw puzzles and brain training games which keep my mind very occupied.

I am 55, op was 30.9.21. SW 112 kilo ,

Hello, just found out last week. Surgery date is 10/19. I'm super excited