BigSue

It’s your body, so you can decide what your goal is! Why don’t you start with a goal of losing 30 pounds — which you seem to be confident you can do — and when you get there, see how you feel? Maybe you’ll be happy with that, or maybe you’ll feel motivated to lose 30 more pounds from there. But please don’t fall into the trap of thinking it will be a failure if you “only” lose 30 pounds and not 60.

I love the MyFitnessPal app, but a lot of people use Baritastic. They are pretty similar and really easy to use. You can search for a food or, if it has a barcode, just scan the barcode and it will automatically calculate the nutrition information for the serving size you enter.

Yes, I do cardio workouts every day and strength (resistance bands) 2-3x per week.

Well, I don't think this is the answer you want, but my legs are in no shape for showing off. Now, I lost a lot more than 100 pounds (I'm 160 pounds down from my highest weight), but my thighs were the first place I started noticing loose skin. The skin sort of hangs down like a loose pair of pants. My knees look pretty bad because there's sort of a crease where the loose skin hangs down over the top of the knee. Only long skirts for me, I'm afraid.

You're doing great! I actually weighed more at my 1-week followup appointment than I did the day of surgery. As @WishMeSmaller said, it's because they pumped you full of IV fluids while you were in the hospital. Your body is recovering from a major surgery, and I know it's easier said than done, but it's too soon to be looking at your weight loss right now. Your priorities should be getting your fluids and protein, and if you stick with your surgeon's plan, you WILL see results. The number on the scale is virtually meaningless right now, so please don't stress about it.

I first started looking into WLS about 15 years ago, and my family talked me out of it because of the potential for horrible complications. Since then, I reconsidered it periodically, but kept deciding that I couldn't do it. I thought about everything I would have to give up -- all of my favorite things, like diet soda (my one guiltless pleasure), pizza, ice cream, fried foods, pasta -- and I couldn't stand the thought of it. I hated the idea of having to completely change my diet and take vitamins for the rest of my life. What made me finally go through with it was the realization of everything I was giving up to continue living as an obese person. I didn't have any major health problems yet, but I had been diagnosed with hypertension and diabetes and I was going to have to start taking medication if I didn't get them under control. My mobility was going downhill and I was missing out on so much in life because of the physical and social limitations of my weight. My advice is that you make your decision by carefully considering what you have to lose vs. what you have to gain. Studies show that we humans are naturally averse to the risk of loss and tend to overvalue what we have to lose and undervalue what we have to gain. When I really thought about everything I was already giving up and losing by continuing to live with obesity, the tradeoffs of having WLS didn't seem like so much of a sacrifice in comparison. Yes, it is a big lifestyle change and it is really hard, but the improvements to my health and quality of life are incredible. Like so many people, I wish that I had gone through with it sooner before I missed out on so many things in life. There were so many times that I wished and dreamed about how my life would be if I wasn't cursed with obesity, and here I am now, 160 pounds down from my highest weight -- something I used to think was impossible. As for the recovery, it's actually not bad for most people. I only spent one night in the hospital and I had surprisingly little pain. I never even had to take any pain medication after I left the hospital. I only took a week off from work. There are risks to any surgery, but the rate of complications for WLS is very low. The liquid and pureed diet is rough, but it's only a few weeks. You didn't say how old your kids are, but if they're very young, you may need to get someone to help with them for a while. You won't be able to lift them for several weeks after surgery. If they're teenagers, they're probably self-sufficient enough to pitch in while you're recovering.

I'm 6 months out and I usually get 500-600 calories per day. The nutritionist wanted me to go to 800-1000 at 6 weeks, which I don't even think would have been possible then. I probably could get 800-1000 now, but I am trying to stick with my new eating habits. There are conflicting opinions about whether eating too little can hurt in the long run, so I'm not sure what I should do. My results have been great so far, so my surgeon just said to keep on doing what I'm doing. The patient manual doesn't give any guidelines for calories, just protein and carbs.

I find that warm beverages are easier to drink than cold. I love protein hot chocolate (much better than cold protein shakes, IMO). I also like hot tea (I've never been much of a tea drinker, but I do like apple cinnamon tea with sugar-free caramel syrup -- reminds me of hot cider). My new favorite drink is Crio Bru, which is brewed cacao beans. It is marketed as an alternative to coffee (which I don't like). 6 ounces Crio Bru + 2 ounces almond milk + sugar-free syrup = fantastic cup of 23-calorie hot chocolate. I also sometimes add 1/2 scoop of protein powder or use 2 ounces of ready-to-drink protein shake instead of almond milk. So many flavor combinations are possible! I love chocolate coconut protein powder + sugar-free caramel syrup.

Sorry you're having these problems. I'm glad you posted your story here because I think it's important for people to go into this surgery with their eyes wide open, knowing the potential pros and cons. Before my surgery, I looked for people who regretted it because I wanted to be fully aware of the worst-case scenario. I had a lot of trouble finding people who regretted it -- even most people who had horrible complications said they would do it all over again! I think this is partly because the people who are glad they had the surgery are the ones who post about it and make videos about it (and of course the fact that the vast majority of people who have the surgery are happy with it). I hope that your problems improve. I've read that a lot of WLS patients have menstrual changes because estrogen and other hormones are stored in fat, and fast weight loss results in the release of these hormones into the bloodstream. I'm not a doctor, of course, but I would guess there's a good chance that this problem will go away eventually. I definitely think it's worth talking to your OB/GYN if you haven't already. As for the preoccupation with your weight and eating, I think that's something that will lessen over time as you get used to your new body and your new life, but if not, maybe you could look into counseling. I'll be interested to see how you feel a year from now. I certainly hope it gets better and you come to be happy with your decision to get the surgery.

I'm an amateur baker, too. I haven't done much baking since I started losing weight, largely because of the pandemic (not many occasions for baked goods, plus prohibitions on shared food at work), but I always bake a lot of Christmas cookies. I'm kind of known for my Christmas cookies -- I bring them to work, neighbors, family gatherings, and I even mail them to long-distance relatives -- so I didn't feel that I could skip them this year. Let me tell you, it was a challenge. I was 5 months out from surgery and I had literally hundreds of cookies in my house (which smelled freaking amazing), and I am very proud of myself that I didn't eat a single one. Not even a bite. Not even a crumb. There was a moment when a tiny piece broke off of one of the cookies and I contemplated eating it, thinking, "This tiny bit won't hurt," but then I slapped it out of my own hand and asked myself, "Is it worth it, Sue? IS IT?!" I went back and forth on that one crumb probably a dozen times before I finally threw it away. Normally, I taste my baked goods -- you know, for quality control. I know that just sounds like an excuse to eat cookies, but I do take great pride in what I bake and I want to make sure it's delicious before I feed it to family and friends. The Christmas cookies were tried and true recipes that I make every year, so I just had to trust that they tasted as good as always. I always have a few rejects that aren't up to my standards for serving to other people, and the rejects normally go in my belly. Not this year. I almost cried, but I threw some perfectly good but not pretty enough cookies in the trash can. One kind of Christmas cookies I make is a bar cookie, and I normally cut off the edges before I slice them so they look more uniform. Those edges (which are actually the tastiest part) normally go -- you guessed it -- in my belly. Not this year. I left the edges alone and some of the slices just had to be edge/corner pieces. I made the decision not to eat any cookies because they do not fit into my plan and I am strict about not eating snacks. I don't know if I get dumping syndrome because I haven't eaten anything since surgery that I'm not supposed to, so I was also concerned that even one cookie could be enough to cause it. But I think maybe I don't need to go that far, and maybe next year there is room to taste, say, half a cookie (which shouldn't have enough sugar or fat to cause any problems) after a high-protein, low-carb meal. But I would still account for it in MyFitnessPal. I don't know, maybe it's easier to just say no. Maybe if I eat half a cookie and feel fine, it will be a slippery slope to a whole cookie and then multiple cookies.

Welcome back! Don't beat yourself up -- this has been a rough year for everyone and A LOT of people have had weight gain during the pandemic. It's not too late to get back on track. There are a lot of options for working out at home. I have no desire to go to a gym (plus, I live in a rural area and it would be a long drive to get to a gym), so I would rather work out at home. I do a YouTube video for cardio every day. There are so many free workout videos available (my favorite is Leslie Sansone). And you can do strength training with an inexpensive set of resistance bands. Maybe you could try cutting out snacks completely. For me, snacking was a big part of my weight problems in the first place, so I am now sticking to three meals per day and not snacking at all between meals, other than protein drinks (and the occasional sugar-free hard candy). I'm only 6 months out from surgery, so I'm sure it's easier for me than it is for you, but I find that a warm beverage fills me up for a while. I think tracking your food intake is really important. I love MyFitnessPal, and something that helps me is to enter my food BEFORE I eat it. If you're not up to that detailed tracking, you could try an app like Ate Food Diary. All you have to do with that is take a picture of what you eat and say whether it's on path or off path.

Good luck! I was pretty miserable when I first woke up, but once I got to sip some water and walk around, I was ok. I had surprisingly little pain and didn't need to take any pain medication, even Tylenol. When I first woke up, I did have the feeling of, "What have I done?! Why did I do this to myself?" and I think that is pretty common in the beginning, but for most of us, that goes away and we end up being very happy that we went through with it. I hope that doesn't make you more nervous or anything; my point is just that it is a big adjustment, but remember that you had very good reasons for getting this surgery, and don't get discouraged if it's hard at first.

Most of my preparations for life after surgery were about the pre-surgery diet and the first couple of months post-op (liquids, purees, and soft foods). For the pre-surgery diet and post-op liquid diet, I purchased a bunch of samples of protein powders (different flavors and brands) because I never used protein powders before and wasn't sure what I would like. I also got ready-to-drink protein shakes, protein water, bone broth, protein soup mixes, unflavored protein powder, sugar-free popsicles, and sugar-free Jello. For the pureed stage, I bought unsweetened applesauce, sugar-free pudding, protein oatmeal, fat free refried beans, Laughing Cow cheese, and yogurt. I made some pureed black bean soup and froze it in individual portions. I bought way too much food for the pureed stage because it was only a week (actually, I stuck to purees for an extra couple of weeks before I worked up the nerve to move on to soft foods) and I was only eating a couple of ounces at a time (half of an individual pudding or applesauce). I still have quite a bit of this stuff 6 months later! I don't really do a lot of hardcore "meal prep," but since I live alone and eat tiny portions, any time I cook a regular-sized recipe, it is a lot of portions, so I freeze it in individual servings. I made a turkey meat sauce recipe the other day (https://www.panningtheglobe.com/quick-turkey-ragu/) that came out to 28 portions, which I froze in disposable 2-ounce cups. I also have a lot of 4-ounce glass containers that I use to freeze individual portions. I didn't really work out before surgery. I started after surgery, doing Leslie Sansone Walk at Home videos (available on YouTube). I started with 15-minute videos and worked my way up to 30-50 minutes per day. I try to get at least 10,000 steps per day. I do strength training with resistance bands 2-3 times per week. I also use 3-pound weights when I do the walk at home videos.

I tried shirataki pasta (found at Walmart) for the first time this week, and I like it! It has a bad smell in the bag, but I prepared it like this and there was no taste or smell: https://ketodietapp.com/Blog/lchf/how-to-cook-and-like-shirataki-noodles I ate 1/4 cup of it with some delicious turkey meat sauce (https://www.panningtheglobe.com/quick-turkey-ragu/) and it was a decent imitation of spaghetti. I prefer this to zucchini or butternut squash noodles because I don't like squash. I'm a big fan of cauliflower rice. It's weird because I hate cauliflower, but I don't mind cauliflower rice. With sauce and mix-ins, I can almost fool myself into thinking I'm eating actual rice. I mostly buy the plain kind, but this fried rice style makes a good lazy 3-ingredient meal: fried cauliflower rice + frozen pulled chicken + Huy Fong chili garlic sauce. The nutrition info is for the entire bag, but I only eat 1/5 of the bag (2 ounces). This frozen pulled chicken is awesome. It is so convenient to keep in the freezer. I think it's better than the grilled chicken strips. It's great for salads, mixing with cauliflower rice, covering with sugar-free BBQ sauce, etc. -- basically any time I don't feel like cooking my own chicken.

Bath and Body Works -- they have so many amazing scents. Candles, wallflowers, car scents, lotions, hand soaps, body washes...

I stumbled across a YouTuber called Frankenbelly who had her gastric bypass reversed due to terrible complications. She also has a blog about it: https://inthelifeofmyfrankenbelly.wordpress.com/ Keep in mind that her gastric bypass surgery was 14 years ago, and complication rates have decreased a lot since then. Reversal surgery is very rare and I would imagine that most surgeons wouldn't even consider it unless there were very compelling medical reasons.

Welcome, and congrats on getting your surgery! 20 pounds in two weeks is awesome. The first few weeks are the hardest because you are very limited in what you can eat but you're not seeing all the rewards from the weight loss yet. The good news is that it gets easier! At two weeks out, you're probably either on purees or soft foods, right? It won't be too long before you can start eating real food (it may feel like an eternity, though). I've discovered some great new bariatric-friendly recipes on Pinterest that I really like. There are times when I miss being able to eat like I did before surgery, but at 6 months out, I'm getting used to my new eating habits and I'm loving my results. I, too, have had to work on slowing down my eating. I bought a set of tiny forks and spoons (they are listed as cocktail forks/spoons if you want metal rather than plastic baby forks/spoons), which helps for taking smaller bites. I set a timer to go off every 30 seconds, and I try to chew for the first 30 seconds and then wait another 30 seconds to take the next bite (so 1 minute between bites).

Exactly! I have 10 more pounds to go to get to half my highest weight, but I know if I tell people that, they will guess my current weight and use that to calculate my highest weight, and I don't want anybody thinking about that!

OMG, it is so rude for people to ask this. Two different people came up to me at work last week and asked me how much weight I've lost. I am kind of shocked that anyone would think this is appropriate to ask someone AT WORK (or, honestly, anywhere, but especially at work). My answer is to say jokingly, "Oh, you know a lady never tells."

You've lost 18 pounds in 3 weeks? That is very good and well within the range of what you should expect. Most people lose 15-25 pounds in the first month, and you are already there. Keep up the good work and be patient! Are you taking Miralax or anything else for the constipation? You definitely want to head that off ASAP. Increasing your water intake should also help. Are you not allowed to eat salsa, avocado, or tomato sauce ever, or just for a certain period of time in the beginning? There are plenty of foods you can still eat, though. You should be able to eat eggs, cottage cheese, ground meats, canned tuna or chicken (Starkist makes a variety of flavored ones), canned or boiled fruits and vegetables, hummus, beans, Laughing Cow cheese... You also still have your purees: yogurt, sugar-free pudding, unsweetened applesauce, soups, protein oatmeal, etc.

Have you tried protein powders that you mix yourself? They have a little bit different texture than the ready-to-drink shakes, so you might like them better. You can also get clear protein powders that are more like juice than shakes (e.g., Syntrax Nectar). I also highly recommend protein hot cocoa. I think it goes down easier than cold shakes. The BariatricPal brand is delicious, but the ProtiDiet brand that you can get on Amazon is almost as good and costs less. If you make it with Fairlife milk instead of water, it has as much protein as a shake.

I love Dr. Weiner's videos! He seems like he genuinely cares about WLS patients.

You may find this web site useful: https://mbsc.arbormetrix.com/Registry/public/calculator/uiCalculator/7?menuId=1013 This site has a database of WLS patients and a detailed calculator where you can enter your info and see the average weight loss at 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years for patients like you. Once you enter your info, click the submit icon (it looks like a disk/save icon) on the top right of the screen to get your results. This calculator shows averages, so some people will lose more and other will lose less, but it can be a good start for a ballpark goal. Like catwoman7, I was asked my goal at my psychological evaluation, and I said 180 pounds, which was based on what the above web site said given my weight at the time. Well, I'm there now and still losing, so I know I can do better than that. I'm still in the obesity range for BMI, and I definitely want to get out of that. I discussed it with my surgeon at my 6-month follow-up visit and he thinks I can get to 150 pounds. But really, I am not that focused on the number on the scale. What I really cared about was getting my health under control, and I have had a 180-degree turnaround from where I was a year ago. My blood pressure went from hypertension range to low side of normal. My A1C went from 8.1 to 4.5. My cholesterol and triglycerides are good. I am exercising every day and I can walk a mile or climb a few flights of stairs without getting out of breath or sweaty. My quality of life has improved so much now that I'm not carrying around a whole extra person's worth of weight. I went from size 26/28 to 14/16. I no longer have to worry about whether I will fit in a chair or exceed the weight limit on a ladder. All of these things matter SO MUCH MORE than the number on the scale. I'm all for having specific, measurable goals, but I would recommend you set some non-scale goals. I would also recommend that you not get caught up in the rate of weight loss or let anyone tell you how quickly you should be losing weight. Everyone is different, and if you compare yourself to someone else, or even how quickly you think you should be losing, you'll set yourself up for disappointment. For at least the first 6 months, all you need to do is stick to your guidelines and you WILL lose weight. Focus on setting good habits that you will be able to keep once your restriction is no longer as strong. As long as you are losing weight, you're doing fine. That's not to say you should panic over a 1-pound gain (your weight can fluctuate by a couple of pounds even in the same day), but if your weight is decreasing from one week to the next, you're on track. I know that's probably not the answer you're looking for. I'm an engineer, and very numbers-oriented, myself, so I know how it is to like data and graphs and want to track expected vs. actual progress, but WLS has too many variables to be able to do it that way.

All the information you need is here on this forum. You may not know many people in real life who have been through this surgery, but everybody here is in some stage of the process of weight loss surgery. If you haven't already, I would strongly recommend that you spend some time looking through the archives of this forum -- it's a gold mine! YouTube is also a great resource -- there are quite a few YouTubers who make videos about their WLS experience. I was pretty well prepared for surgery because I spent months reading this forum and watching YouTube videos about WLS. It seems like the most common questions that come up include: Stalls - Almost everyone has a weight loss stall within the first two months after surgery (commonly called the "three week stall" but it can happen earlier or later). Do not be alarmed. You didn't do anything wrong. The surgery didn't fail. Stick to your plan and you will start losing again. Weight gain from surgery - Many people weigh more when they come home from the hospital after surgery than they did before surgery. That's temporary and it's because they pump you full of IV fluids in the hospital. You're better off not even weighing yourself for the first couple of weeks after surgery because it is honestly meaningless. Fluid & protein goals - It's almost impossible to meet your fluid and protein goals in the first couple of weeks. Most surgeons tell you to get at least 60 ounces of fluids and 60 grams of protein per day. It sounds easy but it's not at the beginning. Do your best and don't worry if you can't quite get there. Dehydration is a serious thing that can land you back in the hospital, so you do need to sip as much as you can, but it's not the end of the world if you can't get 60 ounces. Pro tip: try warm fluids (tea, broth, protein hot cocoa) if cold drinks are difficult. Hair loss - Most people start losing hair around 3 months after surgery (it's a phenomenon called telogen effluvium), and there's not a whole lot you can do to avoid it. Protein and iron deficiencies can contribute to hair loss, and some people say that biotin can help to prevent hair loss, but you will almost certainly have some hair loss no matter what you do. It will grow back. Vitamins - Your surgeon should have given you a list of vitamins that you will need to take. This varies a bit from one surgeon to the next, but most say to take a bariatric multivitamin (or a double dose of a drugstore vitamin), iron (which can be included in the multivitamin), calcium citrate (most drugstore calcium supplements are calcium carbonate, so make sure to check the ingredients and buy calcium citrate), and B-12 (sublingual, injection, or nasal spray). You'll have to take chewable vitamins for at least the first month or two. Vitamins come in different forms (chewable, melt-in-your-mouth, capsules, liquid, patches), so if you have issues with one form, try something else. The BariatricPal store has a great selection of vitamins and they frequently have sales. I purchase most of my vitamins from there (BariatricPal brand). Constipation - Nobody likes to talk about toilet stuff, but constipation is no joke. A lot of surgeons recommend taking Miralax daily (note: Amazon has a generic brand that is much cheaper). Don't wait until you get constipated to take something. Prevention is easier than treatment. Other than that, the one thing you should do today if you haven't already is take your "before" pictures and measurements! Most of us have very few "before" pictures because we didn't like the way we looked before weight loss and avoided being in photos. You will want to have some pictures for comparison when you reach your goal weight. You will want to have your starting measurements so you can see how far you've come. Good luck! Stick around and let us know how it goes!

I have not eaten rice since my surgery. It is strongly discouraged, and I’ve seen a lot of people say that it’s painful to eat post-op because it absorbs water and swells in the stomach. I eat a lot of cauliflower rice. I hate cauliflower, but magically, I don’t mind cauliflower rice! I’m too lazy to make my own, so I buy it frozen. I wouldn’t eat it plain, but with sauce and mix-ins (like meat and other veggies), it is not a bad imitation of actual rice. It’s kind of an awesome food hack because not only is it avoiding carbs, it’s also sneaking in veggies. One of my go-to meals is cauliflower rice mixed with chicken, black beans, and salsa, topped with a little shredded cheese and fat free Greek yogurt.