catwoman7

I was afraid they'd do a sleeve instead of an RNY (I had surgery in the US). Afterward, I was afraid they hadn't given me any surgery *at all*, because I had no pain and couldn't feel restriction for awhile (until I started eating solid food)

most people don't lose enough for anyone else to notice, and some people don't lose any at all (I didn't lose any). Plus, it grows back.

I don't know that there's much you can do. But it *will* stop eventually

I never liked Premiere shakes - I could taste the Protein in them. I liked unjury and Syntrax nectar products.

I was approved for three weeks and took it - but I probably could have gone back in 10 days to two weeks. Two weeks is a good amount.

no - they knock you completely out and you'll have a breathing tube. So it'll be very different.

people lose at all different rates for a whole hosts of reasons (age, gender, metabolism, starting weight, etc). It's sort of pointless to compare yourself to others, because the only control you really have is sticking to your plan (or not...). Just so you know, I was a slow loser - and I've lost 227 lbs. Hard work and commitment to your plan make a huge difference - not how fast (or slow) it comes off.

I still struggle with it at almost two years out - a lot of us do. It's certainly better now that I can eat more Fiber, but I still have to keep on top of it all the time.

p.s. Plus, you are what we call a "lightweight". Lightweights almost always lose their weight more slowly than someone who starts off at 400 lbs. And the closer you get to your goal, the slower it comes off, too. there are so many factors that can affect your rate of loss. 47 lbs in 3/4 months for a "lightweight" is actually pretty good!

the only control you really have is sticking to your program. If you stick to your program, the weight *will* come off. The rate varies so much between people that you can't really compare yourself to others. I was a slow loser from the get-go, but I have lost 227 lbs. It's your hard work and commitment to the program that get you to your goal, not your rate of weight loss. If you're not following all the rules, then start following them again. If you're not weighing or measuring and tracking your food, then go back to that (many people experience "portion creep" over time if they're not doing that - or at least spot-checking it). If you're already doing all that, then you're fine. You *will* lose the weight.

mine was that way until I started taking iron. Then it was really dark. Now it's pretty normal. I think that light color is due to malabsorption, and you ARE malabsorbing a lot the first few weeks.

P.S. they use that drug that causes "twilight sleep" when they do EGD's since you're under for such a short time

they don't put you all the way under with an EGD - but they knock you out cold when you're having surgery. So no worries. I did wake up once during at EGD, but they put me right back under.

yep. Almost everyone (except DS'ers) deals with chronic constipation. Figure out what works for you - or what combo of things works for you - and keep on top of it. You don't want to end up in the ER totally backed up...

yes - I set off the scanner every time. Someone on another board said it's the excess skin.

we were never told that. We were just told to get 60-80 grams of protein per day.

most people don't need to, but some do. I malabsorb protein. My prealbumin level tanks if I don't average around 100 grams a day, so I will probably need to supplement with a protein shake every day because it's hard for me to consistently get that much through food alone. Too much protein is hard on your kidneys, though, so you don't want to go crazy with it. Most of us need to get 60-80 grams a day, so if you're getting more than that (unless you're like me and malabsorb it), then it's probably overkill.

I lost 20lbs preop Sent from my SM-G935T using the BariatricPal App that's a factor as well. I also lost a bunch pre-op. People who lose weight pre-op tend not to have big initial drops, because part of that drop the first month is Water weight. If you lost a lot of weight pre-op, then that "water weight" is long gone. I was the same.

everyone loses at different rates due to many different factors. As long as she's sticking to her plan, she's good.

47NHeaven - I've learned through all this that no one should compare themselves to others, because we all lose at different rates depending on a lot of factors (age, gender, starting weight, metabolism rate, whether or not you lost a lot of weight pre-op, etc). But just so you know, when I was five weeks out, I had lost 16 lbs. And I started out *way* heavier than you (almost 400 lbs). So don't worry about that at all. Again, if you stick to the program, the weight *will* come off. I was behind the curve for at least the first six months ,and I ended up blowing everyone else I went through classes with out of the Water. It's commitment to the program that makes the difference - not the rate of your weight loss. I was highly committed from day one.

you're what we in the bariatric community call a "lightweight" (I don't know what the actual weight requirements are to be considered a "lightweight", but I'd say under 250 lbs). Lightweights lose slower than us heavier folks because they have a lot less to lose. I know you read about people losing 30 lbs the first month, but those folks are few and far between and usually weigh over 300 lbs. Your body's going to lose at the rate it wants to lose. The only control you have is to stick to your program. I was a "slow loser", and I have lost 227 lbs. It'll come off, whether fast or slow, if you stick to your program.

I had almost no pain at all, but people are all over the board with this. It should start getting a lot better soon, though.

books, magazines, binging on "My 600 lb life", looking for new bariatric-friendly recipes, logging into this site and Obesity Help several times a day (and spending lots of time on them), exercising - that sort of thing. It's probably the central focus in my life (although not the only, of course)

I will admit, I'm pretty obsessed, even at 19 months out. Not to the exclusion of all other things, but I'm very focused on my eating/health. But then, I wanted to get down to a normal BMI. Since I started out as super morbidly obese, I knew it wouldn't be easy. I got down to 200 or so lbs pretty easily, and it probably would have been fairly easy for me to maintain, but that wasn't good enough for me, so I had to work. So that means I'm a bit obsessed...

Fleur-de-lis tummy tucks are pretty common in patients who have lost a LOT of weight. I'm strongly considering one. At almost 60 years old, I'm never going to wear a bikini again, so I'm not sure I care about the vertical scar. They can get your waist much smaller with the fleur-de-lis cut.