ResaRoo

Hello fellow Feb. 2020 weight loss peeps. Since it’s now March and we’ve all had our surgeries, I thought it would be nice to start a post-op thread. 😊

I’ve also been stuck in a stall. Only down 3 lbs since the beginning of November, and they were hard to lose. I’m eating around 1000 cals a day now, but also exercising every day. Some days Hiit, some days strength training. So I assume I’m gaining muscle and that’s why the scale hasn’t gone down. I’ve lost almost 110 now, but still have 50 to go to reach my first goal (175). I’d like to get down to 145ish, but I haven’t been that weight since I was 14/15, so I’m not sure how realistic that goal is. Glad to hear everyone is still doing well!

I’ve been feeling a bit down lately. I’m almost 8 months post op and so close to 100 lbs down. This past week I gained 4 lbs and it’s really getting to me. Despite losing so much, I still have 100 to go, and I don’t really see where the 100 lbs has come from. I feel so much better physically, but I feel like I look so weird. I’ve gone down only 3 pant sizes and only lost 1 inch around my calves, which seems crazy for a 100 (almost) lb loss. And I have huge calves to start with. (24 inches!!) I don’t know if it’s hormones, stress from work, or if this is a typical feeling at this point in the journey. Any advice or suggestions?

I’m 6 months post op mini bypass. I’ve noticed in the last month or so that I feel restriction still in the mornings and can eat very little (ex. 1/2 cup yogurt and some berries). But in the evenings, I can easily eat 2-3 times as much as in the morning before I feel the restriction. Is this common? Is it because I haven’t eaten at night so my stomach is less “stretched” in the morning? It just seems very odd. I find that if I’m not portioning out my meal properly in the evening, it can be easy to over eat, or at least eat more than I plan to eat.

I had an MGB (mini gastric bypass). My surgeon recommended it because i had a high BMI (close to 60), though no real comorbidities. In his practice it had a higher long term success rate than sleeve patients. Much harder to stretch out the stomach, and some malabsorption of calories (and nutrients, hence the need for vitamins every day). I’d recommend talking it over with your surgeon and asking his recommendation for you personally. However, I know someone who was told to the sleeve would be better for her and it turned out not to have been the case. Apparently her insurance wouldn’t cover the bypass, only the sleeve (cheaper), but her dr didn’t tell her this until after the surgery when she started having problems. Had she known, she would have fought for the bypass and even asked to pay the difference if it came down to that.

I’m from BC but got it done in Toronto in February. (Self pay. I thought I had been on the wait list here for nearly 2 years. The surgeons offices ask you not to call, and that they will call you when your closer down the wait list. Turns out my dr. missed sending something, they sent a fax to let him know something they needed was missing, my dr. office apparently never got this fax. And I didn’t find out until I had my doctor look into it late last fall because I was worried about how long the wait was. So rather than start the possible 3-5 year wait all over again, I opted to use my line of credit to pay for the surgery. Very expensive, but better than slowly dying...)

It’s just one day. You can start over tomorrow. It won’t undo your progress. Keep in mind that you might start hitting stalls soon. It happens to virtually everyone and it will break. Definitely give your nutritionist a call and ask for some advice re: overeating concerns. They may have some suggestions more tailored to your needs.

Try drinking some water (as much as you can handle) every time you feel hungry instead of reaching for a snack, and then go for a short walk or find something to keep yourself busy. It will help keep your mind off of it. I feel the same way sometimes, and it typically isn’t real hunger but head hunger.

Not really a helpful comment, is it? One would assume that she and her doctor discussed the surgeries and made the best choice for her situation. Just because she isn’t starving herself, only consuming protein drinks, and dropping weight quickly does not mean she has the wrong surgery. Your case isn’t the norm, especially amongst women. Some thoughts you should either keep in your head or type out if you must and then don’t hit “send”.

I am almost at 6 months out and down 80lbs. At 10 weeks out, I was down 33 lbs. It will continue to drop, you just have to be patient. I know that comment isn’t super helpful, but it’s true. Don’t give up. Maybe add in some more walking. I’ve had weeks with 5 lb weight loss and weeks with no loss at all. But on average, I’m losing about 2.2 lbs per week, which is healthy. I have gone through the same things you are feeling. Even right now! I’m walking an average of about 14000 steps a day and am on week 3 of beach body’s 21 day fix. According to the scale, I haven’t lost a single pound in that time. However, I am noticing more muscle and toning, better sleep and energy levels. So I’ve decided not to look at the scale for a couple weeks. I know change is happening, the scale just doesn’t reflect it (yet).

It’s great to hear from everyone! And I can totally relate to the stall, Lisa. I’m in one right now, too. Down almost 80lbs since pre-op (65ish since surgery). I’m eating between 850 and 1000 cals, getting in all my water and protein. I’m walking between 12,000 and 15,000 steps a day and am on week 3 of Beach Body’s 21 day fix. I haven’t lost a single pound yet, but I can feel some more muscle and toning happening, so that’s great. I still have about 100 lbs to lose to be at a healthy weight. Is anyone else finding that they get hungry in the evenings? Not sure if it’s real hunger of head hunger. I ignore it and drink water most of the time.

How does “the sleeve around her stomach” come loose? I can only assume this is either a made up story or you clearly have no idea about what a gastric sleeve is. It’s not a literal sleeve put around a stomach. It cannot “come loose”. I pray you get what’s coming to you. Karma is, indeed, a bitch.

How does everyone seem to have so much free time at work? I might have chosen the wrong profession...

If you think your surgery will be scheduled soon, it might make for an easy transition into the liquid diet (and into the first few weeks/months post op) to start by having 1 protein shake a day to replace a meal. This is what I did and it made my 3 week pre-op liquid diet (I was allowed 1-2 cups of certain veggies a day as well) much more manageable. And it helped me narrow down which protein drinks I liked and disliked. However, I will say that after surgery, a couple of the drinks started to taste much too sweet, so your tastes may change along the way.

A vast majority of those having complications with GB as compared to the sleeve had to do with health and weight beforehand. GB is predominantly recommended for the morbidly obese as it is far more likely for them to have lasting success. However, since they are morbidly obese and many have multiple comorbidity’s, their risk of complication is higher.

Thanks for the helpful tips! I’ll definitely look into using an exercise bike as soon as our gyms open. I do have a great body brush, but haven’t started using it yet. (I forgot about it!) so I’ll start on that this week.

I’m down over 75lbs now. Almost all of it from my waist and up. I look like a melting snowman. 😬 Seriously. I’ve only lost 2 inches from my thighs (12ish inches from waist) and gained a inch on my calves. My legs are HUGE. I feel like I look awful. Like one of those Russian nesting dolls with a smaller top half and the biggest possible bottom half. I wish there was a way to target the lower half. Walking, a little jogging, leg strengthening exercises, etc. haven’t helped target fat loss in my legs at all. I can only hope that it will start soon.

ms.sss, Do you mind sharing which plastic surgeon you went to? I am in Canada also, and your results are amazing! I’d like to make an appointment for a consultation this fall/winter and hope for surgery next summer. It’s stressful and a bit scary trying to find a surgeon. I keep searching online and it’s all a bit overwhelming. I just want to look normal in the end, and not like Mrs. Frankenstein. 🥺

How are you doing with weight loss now? I just wanted to give you some encouragement. I had a MGB in February, and have lost 45 from the day of surgery (I have lost a little more, but only if you include the 2 week pre-op diet). It’s been slow, but pretty steady with only a few stalls. So I’m averaging 10 lbs a month while only eating around 800 cals a day and getting in at least 10,000 steps a day. It can be frustrating when you read about others who aren’t exercising, are ingesting more, weigh less than you do, and are losing faster. I just have to assume that my metabolism is a bit messed up. But I’m determined to continue to lose weight.

What has your diet and exercise been like? We have the same surgery date! Since day of surgery, I’ve “only” lost 45lbs. I’m not at (roughly) 270. I’ve been eating around 700-800 cals and getting in at least 10,000 steps a day every day for the past month and started some strength training videos several times per week. But it doesn’t seem to be speeding anything up at all. Still only losing 2 lbs a week.

I’m only 4 months out, so I still have a long way to go. Started at 333 and am now at 270.8 as of this morning. I walk at least 10k steps a day and am doing some strength training and hiit videos from YouTube. But I’m only doing short ones that are 5-15 minutes in length. That way I’m still getting a bit of a work out and training myself into making it a habit. I’ll eventually start longer workouts. (At least that’s the plan). I find walking can be very boring, so I listen to audiobooks while I walk. One morning I walked for over an hour because I wanted to hear more of the story. Find something that will work for you.

If you are on your phone, click on the expand icon in the black response box. Once enlarged, there is a paper clip icon that will allow you to upload photos.

I had a MGB. I’ve experienced it a few times now. Once with too much fat in a meal (I hadn’t realized how much fat was in the meal at the time). That one resulted in diarrhea about half an hour later. And twice with too much sugar ((once from fruit, once from me being naughty with sweets...). My symptoms were: extreme nausea, to the point that I wanted to throw up and tried to on one occasion. Pointless, though, because the food was no longer in my stomach. Cramping and abdominal discomfort, chills and cold sweats, some dizziness and headache. I went to bed and slept after each episode and that helped tremendously. I’m much more cautious about what I’m eating now. It’s not a pleasant experience. And in my case, I don’t want to end up with diarrhea if I’m out in a restaurant with friends or family. So I’m extra mindful of what I order.

With the sleeve, she felt the restriction when eating right away. Not as much now with the bypass. I had a mini gastric bypass and I feel the restriction, but it’s also the only weight loss surgery I’ve had, so that may play into it. Also, I love sweets and savoury, cheesy goods. But they played a major role in my weight gain over the years. Along with little exercise, they helped make me fat and unhealthy. Yet I still miss them. Where’s the logic in that?

Well, I added nearly 1 litre of extra water intake a day since Tuesday, and that seems to have gotten things moving again. I’ve lost 3 lbs since then! So excited after about a month long stall!