Greensleevie

So I’m curious, what is going to happen after November? Are you going to find another form of exercise in order to maintain your weight? Studies show people who don’t exercise during maintenance are at a higher risk for regain. I would ditch whatever cardio you’re doing now and find an activity that you actually enjoy somewhat in order to keep you active in order to maintain the weight you lose.

There are far too many variables to give you a solid answer. These are the things that determine how fast someone loses: How much weight they need to lose: The heavier the person, the quicker and larger the losses. Gender: Men lose much faster and more efficiently than women. Damn them! Age: The older you are, the slower your metabolism is. Medical Issues: Does the person have outlying medical issues that require medication that can cause slower losses or are they restricted from regular exercise? Compliance to the program: Not meaning whether you’re following your new lifestyle absolutely perfectly, but whether you’ve honed in on what ultimately is working perfectly for YOU. If you stall out or aren’t losing as quickly as you feel you should be, don’t be afraid to change things up! Know your macros; how much protein, calories, carbs, etc do you need to be losing weight consistently. Adjust when needed ( and it will be needed periodically). Some people ditch most carbs, some people keep a certain amount of healthy carbs in their diet. Whatever works for them. Comparison is the thief of joy. If you understand the reasons why some lose faster and more efficiently than others, you’ll be less apt to beat yourself up about it.

I’ve always wondered where people got their unrealistic expectations of weight loss after surgery? I’m a life long dieter, and if I’d have lost the amount of weight in the time most people complain about before I had surgery I would have been in disbelief of my success! I mean, sure we all lose relatively quickly at first, but then the losses seem to even out to more average amounts after the initial large losses. Our bodies can only do so much, even with surgery. I also assumed people knew that the more you weigh, the larger the losses. If you’re starting in the low to mid 200’s, you’re not going to lose at the same pace someone starting in the 300’s or 400’s will. Anyhoo, the expectation thing has always perplexed me.

Ironically, complications from obesity related diseases and the possibility of dying from them is much higher statistically than the complications of the surgery itself, which is about 1%. That being said, it’s completely normal to fear the unknown. I think each and every one of us had the same thoughts and fears. But in the end, you have to weigh the risks vs benefits, and the benefits far outweigh the risks. At least for me it did! If you keep a positive attitude, strive for change in your lifestyle, manage your expectations and have a grateful heart, you’ll be thrilled you did it .

As someone who is much farther out from surgery than most are here, I can safely say you have absolutely nothing to worry about as far as “being too thin”. I’ve yet to see someone starve to death from weight loss surgery. As a matter of fact, in another couple of years statistically you will probably gain 5-10% of your body weight back. What I have seen? Dangerous vitamin deficiencies from not taking your vitamins and eating the correct amount of protein. Take those vitamins and make sure you’re getting at least 80 grams of protein, missy! I’m thinking it will make you feel and look so much better if you can get some bloodwork done and get on the correct vitamins. Good luck!

This is one of the wonderful temporary effects of the surgery that allow us to lose weight. Keeping it 💯, it won't last. Take advantage of this magical time to cement good habits in order to lose all your excess weight and more importantly, keep it off. Protip: The longer you stay away from sugar and the less you eat of it, the less you will crave it.

Take it from someone with experience, this can become dangerous territory of you let it. I lost and maintained my weight farily easily by mostly eating clean, non processed food for years. I say mostly because I followed an 80/20 rule. Straight and narrow 80% of the time, other splurges 20% of the time. Only when I allowed those splurges more often, which happened to include crap like Cheez Its, did I start to gain. It's no coincidence. It's also no coincidence my splurges turned into binges. After all, why would WLS change my disordered eating? If I could moderate to begin with, why did I need surgery at all? Don't waste your precious tummy real estate on processed crap. Find fresh, more nutritious snacks (LOVE the parmesan chip idea!) and you pretty much can't go wrong. We didn't get fat eating fruit, nuts, veggies and parmesan chips. Most of us got fat eating stuff like Cheez Its, too much bread, processed sugar and fast food. IF you are one of the lucky ones who is over *5 years post op who CAN moderate that stuff, good on you! I'm jelly, because I can't 😁. * I say over 5 years post op because let's be honest, moderating is easier the first few years post op with the good restriction and decreased hunger. Those things are only temporary.

Try eating clean for a week. No/low sugar, no wheat/oat based carbs. Protein, veggies, maybe a little dairy as in cheese. VERY little. Get at least 90 grams of protein, under 50 carbs, and under 25 of sugar. If you are exercising like you say you are, bump your calories up to 1200. You say you are tracking but if you knew what to look for, you would see you are eating far too much sugar with the oatmeal and far too many carbs with that melba toast. I'm sure there is more, but that is just one example of things that aren't helping. I too am 4 years post op, and unfortunately our metabolisms change as time goes by. Gone are the days of easy weight loss with just cutting calories. Weight loss becomes much more complicated, and macros become even more important. Half assing or guessing what macros your ingesting every day won't work. You have to measure where you are to get where you want to be. Follow my advice for a week. I guarantee you'll lose weight.

Give it another few years, you'll be wishing you were 144 again. Believe me. Most regain a certain amount of weight statistically.

Yes, it's puzzling to me that people fear dying from the surgery more than the terrible, life threatening diseases caused by being morbidly obese. My dad died at 56. My mom was 67. My blood pressure without meds was as high as 170/98. I was certainly more terrified of dropping dead of a stroke or a heart attack than I was having the surgery.

IV fluids, gas, water retention, hormone dump from surgery, etc.. Patience, Grasshopper. It's not going to happen overnight. Now is the time to hide the scale and concentrate on fluids, protein and healing. The weight loss will follow.

Do you know how many calories/protein/carbs you need to be eating to lose? If so, are you tracking your food daily? Drinking 64 Oz of water or low calorie fluids? Moving more? Cutting out as much sugar as possible and eating mainly protein and veggies? Go back to your surgeon or nutritionist for guidance. They should be able to get you back on track. If you can't figure out the reasons you can't get on track, see someone who can help you figure out why. Don't be mad and disappointed in yourself. Turn those negative emotions into positive actions!

If your practitioner is pressuring you to lose a certain amount of weight by a specific deadline, they are being highly unprofessional and unrealistic. Its great to give you goals, but not at the expense of making you feel like a complete failure because you didn't live up to their expectations. It's ridiculous. They should be thrilled with any and all progress you are making. I'm trying to understand what is so time sensitive about your health without prying? Are you awaiting an organ transplant or medical procedure you have to lose a certain amount of weight for? If so, I definitely understand the concern, but if you are doing everything you can possibly do, you're going to lose at the rate your body wants to lose. Why stress yourself out about it? And your surgeons or doctors certainly shouldn't be stressing you out about it, either.

I often wonder how many people that get WLS have dieted and lost weight before? Me? I've lost and gained 50, 60, 70 pounds 3 or 4 times. Sure, the losses with WLS can be quicker, especially in the beginning. But after the initial large losses, the amount of weight lost for most seems to be on par with normal dieting, which if done in a healthy way should be 2-5 pounds a week. I honestly don't know where everyone gets their unrealistic expectations?

ANY amount of weight lost will be improving your health. Studies show even 5% of excess weight lost can show significant improvement with many weight related problems. I was taken off my high blood pressure medication 3 weeks post op.

What's the rush? I took the opportunity to learn about nutrition and exercise along the way in order to actually KEEP the weight I lost off, which over 50% of us will fail to do. That is far more important than how quickly it comes off. Perspective is important.

Some skin gets so stretched out the only way to fix it is with surgery. Otherwise, exercise should help with the less severely stretched skin.

How about soup? Most places offer some sort of soup. I don't think anyone should advance without asking their surgeon first.

I never had a pre op diet. Just clear liquids the day before. My surgeon told me he saw at a seminar that the liver shrinking is so minimal, it makes no difference with the surgery, so he doesn't require a pre op diet. Lucky me, because it looks like it would be a living hell, lol.

I wouldn't get into the habit of drinking your calories. If it gets you by in the early stages when trying to get all your fluids in, great. But take it from a veteran, it's the absolute fastest way to gain weight back. The poster above is right, try to stick to no calorie fluids as much as possible. After all, we have very limited real estate in our tummies. Why fill it with unhealthy, empty calories?

I keep it fairly simple. Anything "white" like bread, rice, pasta, potatoes etc I tend to stay away from. I'm 4+ years out and in maintenance, so I will eat whole grain breads, crackers, and rice occasionally. I get most of my daily carbs from dairy, fruits and veggies these days.

What does your surgeon recommend?

How far are you from goal weight? And how much of that do you think is actually skin? Honestly, in my particular case, my boobs and tummy were the last to go. And I've still got skin o plenty on my tummy and inner thighs

It's science: A "stall" a few weeks after surgery is not uncommon, and here's why. Our bodies use glycogen for short term energy storage. Glycogen is not very soluble, but it is stored in our muscles for quick energy -- one pound of glycogen requires 4 lbs. of water to keep it soluble, and the average glycogen storage capacity is about 2 lbs. So, when a patient is not getting in enough food, the body turns first to stored glycogen, which is easy to break down for energy. Then when 2 lbs. of glycogen is used a patient will also lose 8 lbs. of water that was used to store it -- voila -- the "easy" 10 lbs. that most people lose in the first week of a diet. However, when the body stays in a caloric deficit state the body starts to realize that this is not a short-term problem. Then the body starts mobilizing fat from adipose tissue and burning fat for energy. But the body also realizes that fat can't be used for short bursts of energy. So, it starts converting some of the fat into glycogen, and rebuilding the glycogen stores. As it puts back the 2 lbs. of glycogen into the muscle, 8 lbs. of water has to be stored with it to keep it soluble. So, even though the patient might still be losing energy content to their body, the weight will not go down or it might even gain for a while as the retention of water dissolves the glycogen that is being reformed and stored.

Here comes the science: A "stall" a few weeks after surgery is not uncommon, and here's why. Our bodies use glycogen for short term energy storage. Glycogen is not very soluble, but it is stored in our muscles for quick energy -- one pound of glycogen requires 4 lbs. of water to keep it soluble, and the average glycogen storage capacity is about 2 lbs. So, when a patient is not getting in enough food, the body turns first to stored glycogen, which is easy to break down for energy. Then when 2 lbs. of glycogen is used a patient will also lose 8 lbs. of water that was used to store it -- voila -- the "easy" 10 lbs. that most people lose in the first week of a diet. However, when the body stays in a caloric deficit state the body starts to realize that this is not a short-term problem. Then the body starts mobilizing fat from adipose tissue and burning fat for energy. But the body also realizes that fat can't be used for short bursts of energy. So, it starts converting some of the fat into glycogen, and rebuilding the glycogen stores. As it puts back the 2 lbs. of glycogen into the muscle, 8 lbs. of water has to be stored with it to keep it soluble. So, even though the patient might still be losing energy content to their body, the weight will not go down or it might even gain for a while as the retention of water dissolves the glycogen that is being reformed and stored.