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I had gastric bypass on 8/3/23 and I am down 60lbs! I feel absolutely incredible. But I do agree with a few of you that it’s SO hard to get protein and water in a day. It always seems to be one or the other. But I am just truckin along trying to get it all in everyday and I started exercising regularly as well. My kids couldn’t be more proud of their momma and that alone makes all this so worth it!!!

Here's my Instagram, if anyone wants to find me on there. If you're comfortable, put yours here so I can find you, too!!! https://www.instagram.com/natalie_m_anderson/

I signed up on here awhile back and waited to post anything until now and hope I can give some of my experience. March 1st of this year I had my gastric sleeve. I went in with a weight of 363 pounds and am 6’1. As of today posting this I am 225 pounds. Definitely was one of the smartest decisions I ever made for myself. Everyone’s journey is different. I was met with immediate energy following my procedure, like waking up everyday and ready to take on the world. And it’s still like that. For whatever reason for me, my eating habits and likes and dislikes immediately changed. I hated fish my whole life and now find myself craving it. Once loved ranch dressing, not it makes my stomach feel yuck. You hit these plateaus where your weight doesn’t change, sometimes for a couple weeks at a time, it’s easy to get discouraged but trust me, stay the course, don’t go back to bad habits and then bam! Next thing you know, you’re dropping a pound or two a day, followed by another plateau. This will happen repeatedly. For me I’ve noticed that walking 4 or 5 miles a day and being as active as possible REALLY makes it come off even quicker and maintaining a diet with no sugar for me has seriously helped. I treat myself to a little bit of carbs daily but mainly all proteins and it has worked great for me. Again, these are just the things that have worked in my journey and no two are the same. I’m fortunate that my job is pretty active so I keep track of my steps climbed and steps to get my exercise minutes in while I work. I also find a reason to be active when I’m not working. I wish everyone luck that is or has had this procedure done. And like I said, it’s the best thing I ever did for ME.

Hi everyone! I'm 13 days post op today. I had my gallbladder taken out at the same time because I had gallstones. My surgeon also removed a cyst from my belly button so I expected this surgery to be a difficult recovery but it hasn't been. I stayed only 1 night in hospital, had no trouble with getting myself in and out of bed or using the bathroom, I could drink fluids, I was walking laps, and I had no trouble swallowing pills, so they released me before noon the day after surgery. At home my pain was 6/10 for 2 days then 4/10 for 3 days. The pain was mostly attributed to the spot where the liver retractor was, probably inflammation too. I didn't need to take prescription pain medicine, I only needed Tylenol for the first 5 days. I've been pain free since day 6, and I've been doing great with staying hydrated at home thankfully. I had my first post op checkup on Monday (2 days ago) and everything looks great. They cleared me to start stage 2 Soft foods which has been going well too. I can resume playing sports and start lifting weights in approximately 3-4 weeks. I can't explain why it how my recovery has been so quick and easy. Before surgery I suffered for years with chronic fatigue, GERD, and insulin resistance. Which seem to be resolved as of now. I stopped my metformin a week before surgery, and my blood glucose is now in the normal range! My next goal is to ditch my CPAP machine. I have so much energy and feel better than I have in years. This is why I wanted the surgery, to fix my health issues. Weight loss is just a bonus!

Got my surgery date for December 27th. Very excited but also very scared as I never had a procedure done before but it's time for this momma to start caring of herself. Currently 212 doctor thinks I'll loose about 80lbs so I am excited to see. Also about 5'1 so pretty short. Anyone needs an accountability / super partner I am here!!

Could be a hypoglycaemic episode. I get lightheaded, cold sweats, weak tummy too. I have them randomly but usually with exercise though I can have them doing nothing remotely strenuous. (Had one on Sunday just standing & chatting 🤷🏻‍♀️.) I had them before so nothing new for me. Yes, an electrolyte drink can help. If doing something quite active I’ll pop a hydralite tablet in my water bottle. If I’m running to the shop before breakfast for milk or something I’ll eat a couple of blueberries. Certainly worth a conversation with your doctor. Try little bursts of activity a few times across the day - called exercise snacking. They all add up. Say you do 3 sessions of 10 minutes that’s 30 mins total. It’s what I do. I also use resistance bands to build & tone muscle. It works - my arms look great & my thighs & calves are larger. (I know cause my pant legs have got tighter which I’m not really happy about 😆.) Also try adding to your usual day to day activity. Going to the shops park further away. Walk/jog up travelators, escalators & stairs. Carry your groceries in do multiple trips instead of carrying all the bags in one or two trips.

No I’m not on blood pressure tablets, my tests come back positive. I carry a drink just in case, the dizziness comes a long with the exercise. Thinking about getting my head checked out, my mother had a brain tumour, could be worth getting it checked out

I woke up in recovery hungry, genuinely hungry. I would have eaten seafood if they'd offered it and I hate seafood. I'm one of that minority that didn't lose my hunger, in fact, I wasn't hungry before, it came back after surgery! Not fair! LOL I find hydration is important for controlling hunger. I had to have a stern talk with my body about how shakes are nourishment and head hunger was complicating the picture because I just wanted to chew on something. Sugar free popsicles helped. I was on liquids for 2 weeks post surgery, strict liquids, no cream of wheat or yogurt or pudding. I agree with Arabesque, distraction is your friend. As is drinking your shakes on a schedule and hydrating all throughout the day... I saved my popsicles for the evening, when I'm most used to eating a meal. Your doctor is mistaken if they assume being hydrated or having shakes takes care of hunger. It doesn't for everyone. Each body is different. Just remind yourself this is a finite period of time. Try warm broths to alternate between the cold, sweet shakes.

Not in the least. I'm trying not to buy much at all lol. I have a box of smaller clothes when I lost over 100 lbs about 10 years ago (like size 13, 15, 19 juniors). I've bought a few pairs of my fav underwear in one size down from where I am now as the 3 pair I bought originally are already to large (guess thats a good thing). Other than that the only other things I've bought have been two pair of cute boots in a smaller size (where I was when I lost all my weight last time) and a workout set to aspire to. I figure the thrift shops will be my go to in between.

Yay! Here's mine for all the weight/health related stuff. https://instagram.com/shrinkingmytiara My other account is pretty much solid cat photos. 😂