CharlotteKat

Update - I have lost 3lbs. since my post last week. The 2 biggest things that have helped me get back on track is observing the 15 minutes before/30 minutes after meal rule for liquids and tracking all of my food on MyFitnessPal. Exercise is next on my to do list now that I've gotten the food situation under control.

Pandemonium - Excellent Step! It needs to be 7 easy steps...

I had posted this on the WLS Veterans forum, but thought it would be a good idea to post this on this forum as well. I had gastric bypass surgery 5 years ago. I was incredibly determined and managed to lose 180 lbs. in a year's time. I'm 5' 9.5" and I went from a size 28 to a size 10. Now, I've regained a lot of weight and I'm starting over. I thought it might be helpful to list the steps that caused my weight gain. My goal is to tackle these 6 and starting moving in the right direction. Does anyone else have additional things that contributed to regaining weight? Stop weighing yourself Stop tracking your food intake Stop exercising Drink liquids with meals and ignore the 15 minutes before/30 minutes after rule Start eating your old favorite foods Stop visiting Bariatric Pal forums

I had gastric bypass surgery 5 years ago. I was incredibly determined and managed to lose 180 lbs. in a year's time. I'm 5' 9.5" and I went from a size 28 to a size 10. Now, I've regained a lot of weight and I'm starting over. I thought it might be helpful to list the steps that caused my weight gain. My goal is to tackle these 6 and starting moving in the right direction. Does anyone else have additional things that contributed to regaining weight? Stop weighing yourself Stop tracking your food intake Stop exercising Drink liquids with meals and ignore the 15 minutes before/30 minutes after rule Start eating your old favorite foods Stop visiting Bariatric Pal forums

I'm 5 years out from surgery and I have to say the hair loss was distressing. I lost at least 1/3 of my hair. After I reached goal it took about a year to have a full head of hair again. This is because I was no longer on a super low calorie diet. The good thing is that your hair really will grow back.

I'm 5 years out from my surgery and dumping triggers change over time. I had a terrible time with breads and anything with more than 12g of sugar per serving initially. Now I can tolerate most breads and a bit more sugar. There's still a cut off for the amount of sugar I can consume before it makes me sick (Publix's Key Lime pie 🤢). I'm not sure why this changes over time, but it does get better. I still have issues with greasy fried foods, but that is probably a good thing since I automatically avoid them now.

It took about 3 months after surgery to start losing a good deal of hair. I lost almost 1/2 of my hair before I reached my goal weight. It is kind of disturbing while it is happening. I had to keep reminding myself that the hair would return. The good news is that your hair does grow back. Things started looking a lot better after 1 year. I'm 3 years out and I have my full head of hair back. A bit of advice - don't waste money on products that claim to grow hair. No product can fix hair loss while you are on a very low calorie diet. I see posts recommending shampoos and supplements. I took biotin after surgery and it didn't have any effect on my hair loss.

It's been 3 years since my gastric bypass. There has been one thing that has been on my mind and I'd like some feedback. Prior to surgery, I LOVED olives. I always had them in the house and often made olive tapenade. Since my bypass, I have zero desire to eat them. I bought a jar recently and ate just one olive. It just didn't taste good to me anymore. I suspect that the surgery changed my food preferences. Has anyone else found themselves disinterested in their old favorite foods after surgery?

The medical term for losing your hair is called Telogen Effluvium. The low calorie diet for months and months after surgery causes the hair loss. TE happens when there is a change in the number of hair follicles growing hair. If the number of hair follicles producing hair drops significantly for any reason during the resting, or telogen phase, there will be a significant increase in dormant, telogen stage hair follicles. The result is shedding, or TE hair loss. Sadly, there is no vitamin or hair care product that stops this. The only thing that does work is returning to a higher calorie diet for an extended amount of time. I lost 1/3 of my hair during my weight loss. When I reached goal weight and started to increase my calories, the shedding stopped. It has taken a full year for my hair to grow back. I finally have a full head of hair now. My best advice is to expect the hair loss and know that your hair will grow back again. Save your money for the new smaller clothes that you will be buying instead of wasting it on hair care products.

I've tried so many protein bars over the past few years. My top 2 favorites are Quest White chocolate Raspberry and Oh Yeah! Almond Bliss. Both are low sugar.

I have experience with this. I was referred to a hematologist and ended up getting an iron infusion. Iron pills and supplements do nothing after a gastric bypass because the part of your digestive tract that absorbs iron, the duodenum and proximal small intestine, are completely bypassed. I've ended up having 2 iron infusions, 1 each year. This will continue for the rest of my life. I do the day long infusion which is about 6 hours. I take things to read and watch on my phone. There are no side effects of any kind. The upside is that after about a month my energy level is greatly improved. The downside is the cost if you haven't met your deductible for the year. It costs me $1100 each time.

Iron supplements are a waste of time and money if you had gastric bypass. Most of the iron from foods such as meats, legumes, and iron-fortified grains is absorbed in the first part of your small intestine (duodenum). But after a gastric bypass procedure, food bypasses the duodenum. This means that it is IMPOSSIBLE to absorb iron supplements because they will NEVER pass through the your duodenum. It is shocking how many patients are not warned about this in advance. I found out about this because I developed a serious iron deficiency about a year after surgery. Now I have to see a hematologist and receive an iron infusion at least once a year. The infusion is expensive - about $1100 with insurance before meeting a deductible.

It really depends on how old you are when you have the surgery. I had the surgery right before I turned 50. Up to that point I looked younger than I was because the fat filled in my face so well. Now with all of that padding gone, I'm being offered the senior citizen discount everywhere I go. It's nice getting the discount, but a little depressing to look old enough to get it ahead of time.

Your loss sounds fine. I looked back and I had lost 76 lbs. in the same amount of time.

WannabeH, Please don't tell people that Iron supplements work when their ferritin is low. It is irresponsible and science does not support this. Please tell everyone what your ferritin levels were and NOT what your iron level was when you started your supplements. These 2 things are not the same thing. You can have a good iron level and poor ferritin level at the same time.