catwoman7

it's super common. It takes a long time for your brain's perceptions of your body and what your body actually looks like to align (I had this issue pre-surgery, too - I was always shocked when I saw a picture of myself (the few that there were, that is - I HATED having my picture taken back then!). I think in my head I weighed in the 200-250 range, not 373! And after I got down as low as the 130's, I *still* saw myself in the 200-250 range for quite awhile (I've gained about 20 lbs since hitting bottom (which is also super common) - between that and the fact I'm several years post-op, I think I'm finally in alignment!!

I still track my food intake at 7.5 years out. I make healthy choices - although I don't beat myself over the head if I happen to have a splurge day (esp on a holiday). I just get right back to it. I also exercise most days of the week.

the above people are correct - a) you had nerves cut and it takes awhile for them to regenerate and b) liquids go right through you (so even after nerves are healed, you won't feel a restriction from liquids). You should start feeling the restriction once you move to solid foods. also, I never had issues, either. I'm not a dumper - haven't dumped once in the 7.5 years since I had surgery (and 70% of us are NOT dumpers). I did throw up once in awhile during the first few weeks post surgery as I was learning what - and how much - my pouch would tolerate. Almost never vomit any more.

I lost 16 lbs the first *month* and started at almost 400 lbs - so you are doing fine! I think a lot of people's expectations come from shows like "My 600 lb Life", but you have to keep in mind those people have starting weights of 600-900 lbs - so they are MUCH heavier than the average WLS patient. And starting weight is a big factor in how fast the weight is going to come off (or at least at first). The closer you are to a normal BMI, the slower it goes, unfortunately...(and at a starting weight of 250 - you're much closer to a normal BMI than I was - let alone a contestant on "My 600 lb Life"!) anyway, hang in there. If you follow your program to a "T", the weight will come off. Your level of compliance is a MUCH greater indicator of your ultimate success than your rate of weight loss is.

constipation is a very common issue with WLS patients (both bypass and sleeve). A lot of us take something like Miralax, stool softeners, or magnesium tablets every day to keep on top of it. I've been taking a capful of Miralax every day for years. I still get backed up maybe once a month now, but a night or two of milk of magnesia solves that.

I didn't find the arm lift or breast lift that painful (the lower body lift, on the other hand, ugh - way worse than WLS). Although you can't do any heavy lifting or reach up to get things for awhile. Luckily, I'm married, so my husband took over pet feeding. If you put things at a level where you don't have to reach up and in containers that aren't very heavy you may be OK, though (I didn't have a thigh lift, so I can't speak to that...)

I've had a lower body lift, an arm lift, a breast lift, and a face/neck lift. And yes - I'm very happy with the results. many surgeons will recommend you wait a year once you reach goal to make sure your weight is stable before having plastic surgery. Reason being is that a significant gain can affect your results.

some relationships change, yes. Some for the better; some for the worse. Mine is better mostly because I can now actually do things with my husband, like ride bikes, hike, etc. He loves doing stuff like that and I wasn't able to do much of it with him when I weighed almost 400 lbs. I don't blame you for feeling like a prisoner - the controlling thing would be intolerable for me.

I don't really have a typical day, either, although I'm still tracking at 7.5 years out. I've been eating in the 1600-1800 calorie range for quite awhile (I do exercise most days of the week), but I'm trying to lose a few lbs now so I'm trying to keep it at or under 1600.

I think the majority of the people on here are fairly new - it's just us oldsters are pretty vocal (!)

I would have just said "thanks" and gone back to my business.

as Arabesque said, the morbidity rate on weight loss surgeries is really low....lower than many other common surgeries such as hip replacement surgery. I think some people's perceptions come from the way things were 40 or 50 years ago, but the surgeries they do today aren't the same and are MUCH safer. You'd be more at risk by staying obese. which country the surgeon practices in makes no difference at all. There are good and not-so-good surgeons in any given country. If you've researched your surgeon and things look good, you should be fine.

I can eat popcorn. I have to watch it, though, because it's easy to scarf away A LOT of it (it's mostly air so it shrinks down to nothing in your stomach). I rarely indulge because of that, because I often end up eating a lot more of it than I intended to.

I wonder if he'd even notice the incision scars. Mine were so tiny I really didn't notice them (I think they're gone now - since I had a lower body lift - but if they're still there, I sure haven't noticed them). You're far enough out from surgery that he probably assumes you're just a light eater. Nothing unusual about that - a lot of my women friends who've never been obese eat lightly - they'll either order an appetizer or, if they get an entree, they'll eat half of it and put the other half in a to-go box. I do that, too, now. I'm sure no one suspects I've had WLS at this point. Also, you're not the only person who doesn't care for sweets or doesn't tolerate ibuprofen. I'd say whether or not you tell him is up to you. You already told him you'd lost a lot of weight, hence, the skin issue - as far as the rest, I'd be a little surprised if he put two and two together. I wasn't in the same situation since I was married when I had surgery (still am), but if not, I personally probably wouldn't have mentioned it unless the other person brought it up in conversation (and then I'm not sure how I'd respond - I guess it would depend on how serious I was about the relationship). But then, I'm me and you're you. I was always pretty private about my surgery - very few people know.

I changed mine a few times. When I first started the program, I told them 200 lbs. I was so shocked when they said that was entirely possible, since weighing 200 lbs was a pipe dream for me at the time. When I got down to about 220, I told the dietitian I wanted to shoot for about 170. She said if I worked really hard at it, I might be able to make it. When I got down there, I said now I wanted to shoot for 150. They told me that was pretty unrealistic, because only about 10-15% of their patients get to a normal BMI (150 is in the normal BMI range for my height). Not only did I hit that, but I kept going until I hit 138 (I've since gained back about 20 lbs - but I was more-or-less expecting that since I know most people do have a 10-20 lb rebound after hitting bottom)

I started at 373, was 313 the morning of surgery, hit 138 lbs at 20 months out and yes, your weight loss slows down the further out post-op you are. After year 1, it was often an excruciating 2-3 lbs a month. p.s. since we were around the same weight on our surgery dates, I thought I'd check to see what I was exactly one year out. I weighed 187 lbs on that day.

I was the same. It took about eight weeks before I fully back to normal energy-wise.

I still have my high-capacity Escali scale that I bought when I weighed almost 400 lbs. I considered buying a new one and "gifting" my Escali to a morbidly obese friend, since it's hard to find scales that go above 300 lbs, but the thing is so accurate and ended up keeping it.

I didn't have any of those issues, but I had bypass and love it. I'd make the same choice if I had to choose today. Bypass is typically a bit better at improving some of those things you mentioned - like insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes.

happens to a lot of women. Estrogen is stored in fat cells, and you're going to be burning through fat pretty quickly the first few months. It releases those hormones - which can cause irregular cycles and mood swings for some. It'll stabilize after awhile.

I didn't puree any meats. I had a lot of hummus, fat free refried beans, Greek yogurt, pureed cottage cheese - I forget what else. The thought of pureed meat kinda grossed me out.

27 lbs down in five weeks is better than I did in that time. If you stick to your plan, the weight will come off, whether fast or slow.

I was in the same boat - but I put on 20 lbs in year 3 with no effort on my part. Most of us do experience a 10-20 lb rebound after hitting our lowest weight, so you might want to wait awhile before trying to intentionally put on weight. I thought it would never happen to me, but it did...

if it's all liquid, then no. If the soup has chunks of things in it (like meat and/or vegetables), then I eat the liquid part first, then the solids. And after that, I wait 30 minutes before drinking anything.

dumping can sometimes involve nausea - but it's usually chills or sweating, heart palpitations, dizziness, and diarrhea that, as I recall, can last a couple of hours. It happens when you eat too much sugar or fat at one sitting. It's more common with bypass than sleeve, but only about 30% of bypassers dump. I never have - although I kind of wish I WAS a dumper since that would definitely cut down on any sugar binges!! You may just be overeating - I've also vomited at times when I've overeaten.