catwoman7

P.S. wanted to add that after the first month, this IS a lot like Weight Watchers. Unless you're the size of someone on "My 600 lb Life", you're not going to drop 30 or 40 lbs a month (or whatever). People typically have a big drop the first month, because that's mostly water weight - and then you'll settle in to about 10 lbs a month, give or take, for several months - and then, as you approach your goal, it will really slow down. the difference this time is that you have a tool that makes your efforts pay off. It actually works as long as you stick to your plan. The most I could ever lose before surgery was about 50 lbs - and then it would gradually come back on. No way I could have EVER lost the 200+ lbs I did - and keep most of it off (I did have a 20 lb rebound after hitting bottom - which is very common). The surgery was the only thing that made that possible.

I agree with everything liveaboard15 said. Plus you may have started your three-week stall a little early. I did as well - mine was weeks 2 & 3 (most of us have our first major stall sometime during the first month of surgery. We call it the "three-week stall" because it's usually the third week, but not always). Just stick to your plan and stay off the scale for a few days....

LOL! Same here. I was never so glad to be rolled into an operating room as I was that morning. That damn pre-op diet was OVER!!!!

dumping is when you eat too much sugar (or for some people, fat) at one sitting, and your intestines go into overdrive trying to deal with it. It involves sweating and/or chills, dizziness, rapid heart beat, and diarrhea, usually. Some people get nauseated, too - but that's supposedly not as common. you said it happened after you drank a protein shake. Did the protein shake have sugar in it? If not, it could have been the lactose or whatever artificial sweetener they use. Those typically don't cause dumping, but some people are very intolerant of them and that can also cause the symptoms you mentioned. or it just could have been your stomach rebelling against...something. I had that kind of thing happen occasionally the first couple of months out. I'd eat something one day and be fine - and then eat it another day and my pouch would rebel. Just keep monitoring it and see if some kind of pattern emerges. If yes, it could be dumping or it could be a reaction to lactose or some artificial sweetener (and you'll figure out what's setting it off sooner or later). If there's no pattern, it may have just been some random thing that may or may not happen again. Your pouch may have just been unhappy for some reason...

my center has them but I'm a few years out so most of the topics aren't of interest anymore - although occasionally there is one. So when there is - yes, I login and listen if I can. Unjury also has online support groups on Tuesday nights for pre-ops and under one year post-ops - and on Wednesday nights for people who are at least a year out. (although anyone is welcome to go to either). A lot of the Wednesday night ones aren't of particular interest, either, but if I know ahead of time what the topic is and if it's interesting, then I'll tune in.

welcome to the club. Chronic constipation is pretty common after WLS - or at least sleeve and bypass. It's due to the high protein diet plus some of the supplements (namely, calcium and iron). A lot of us take a capful of Miralax every day. I've been doing it since I had surgery (almost) seven years ago.

if you're in a lot of pain, I'd go to the hospital.

it's pretty common. And it'll all grow back. I had loss from months 5-9. the best thing to do is just keep on top of your protein and vitamins so it won't get any worse than it will otherwise...

yep - I had my husband take pictures of my from all four sides on the 3rd of every month (because my surgery was on June 3rd) until I hit maintenance 20 months later. I love having my journey documented - and also, while I was losing, it was a great way to see my progress!

the extra fat pushes the muscles out after awhile. You don't HAVE to get this done, but if you want a fairly (or very) flat stomach, then muscle tightening and lipo will usually get the job done...

I'd wait and see. Some people have no hair loss at all - and for those of us who do, often it's light enough that we're the only ones who notice it.

I hardly had any. I noticed more hairs than usual in my comb and brush, but when I looked at my hair in a mirror, no - not noticeable. some people have no hair loss at all. it's kind of unusual to have it fall out in chunks and have bald patches. It happens to some, but that's very uncommon. Usually you just have some light to heavy "shedding" (mine was super light). Others may not even notice it unless it's really heavy. Some people who have heavier shedding get their hair cut short or wear hats or scarves. honestly, in the grand scheme of things, the hair loss seems pretty minor. For a lot of us, no one notices it but us - and in any event, it's temporary.

I still occasionally have dreams in which I'm smoking - and I quit smoking 27 years ago! I think addictions can be like that - whether food, cigarettes, alcohol, etc - they can remain part of your self-identity even years after you quit (or in the case of food, after you tackle your bad eating habits).

incisions are smaller because they don't have to remove anything like they do with sleeve

same here - some programs (including mine) are pretty balanced (as opposed to ultra-low carb)

you're fine. First of all, you're at a lower weight than a lot of us are, so you're not going to see the huge drops that someone over 300 or 400 lbs is going to see. that said, I was over 300 lbs - and I'd lost 28 lbs when I was eight weeks out, so it wasn't much more than you - and I started out WAY heavier...

my diet was all liquid plus four protein shakes a day, so first of all, consider yourself lucky that you can have a meal! secondly, since your eating very few carbs, your body is likely in ketosis. It usually happens after three or four days of ultra-low carb eating. It was that way with the all-liquid diet, too - after about four days, it got easier because I wasn't so ravishingly hungry.

yes - this is true. There's no way at that time I could have done the treadmill (well, even now, since I have arthritis). But back at almost 400 lbs, well, no..

I'm definitely hungrier when I've been doing intense exercise - and Crossfit is intense! Your body is burning up a ton of calories with that - so you'll have to find the balance where your body is getting what it needs - and you continue to lose weight. I agree with the person who suggested you have a chat with your dietitian. I don't think 1600-1700/cal a day for someone doing CrossFit 4x a week is too much, though. Are you still losing weight? If so, this may not be a problem. But talk with your dietitian.

I'll be seven years out in June. Lost 235 lbs, have gained back about 20...but I'm oK with that..

I had to have one (my clinic required it for everyone over age 50 (which I was..), or under 50 if they'd had a history of heart issues) it's not bad - part of it just feels weird. They put you in a machine that looks kind of like an MRI only it's not as long (really just covers your chest) and the opening is a lot bigger -so you won't get that claustrophobic feeling that some people get in an MRI machine. Then you just lie there and they take a bunch of measurements of your heart. Then they'll take you out of the machine and give you an injection of something that mimics the feeling you get when you exercise REALLY intensely. That is the weird part because you can feel your heart racing - it's just kind of bizarre since you did nothing to get that way - it's just that shot. It feels a little freaky. Then they stick you back in the machine and take all the same measurements again. They're just trying to measure how your heart reacts to stress - and how quickly it recovers. it's pretty easy and painless - it's just that racing heart drug feels weird.

you'll probably have some, but you're at a lower starting weight than a lot of us so it may not be too bad. I had a ton - but then, I started out MUCH heavier than you.

I know everyone's calorie intake can vary, but at seven years out, I'd gain weight if I ate 1800 every day (I eat that much sometimes, but if I did it consistently, my weight would start heading north pretty quickly). at a year out, I was eating about 1000-1200 calories/day. You may want to try lowering your calories a bit to see if it kickstarts your weight loss again. You may have inadvertently put yourself into maintenance, and it sounds like you want to continue to lose.

LOL! My husband works at a university and was working with two exchange students from northern Sweden one year. We were having a really cold winter here that year, so I asked them if the weather reminded them home. They said no - it was hot here! (and I live in frigid Wisconsin! But they were from up above the Arctic circle, so....)

I had my plastic surgeries (body ones, anyway - I had my face done later) three and four years ago. Things change as time goes on - my breasts, especially, look different than they did right after surgery. They dropped and look a lot more natural now. I was shocked after surgery - but now they look great and I'm so glad I did this. you need to give it a lot more time because they're going to look a lot different six months from now than they do now. If you're still unhappy with them at that point, they can do implants. But you may be surprised and turn out to be really happy with them... (P.S. of course, your thighs won't change since there was no surgery on them. I never had mine done because mine were never that bad, but still, they have a little hanging skin on them whereas I don't have that anywhere else - so I suppose it looks weird - but I'm in my 60s so my mini skirt and short shorts days are long behind me. If it mattered, I'd have those done, too.