fourmonthspreop

Amazing! The joy on your face says it all. Get well soon xx

I bought a skirt and dress from Goodwill today. I used to not enjoy thrifting because nothing ever fit me that was fashionable/nice as I was a size 4X/24+. Now as a M/L, I can actually find some stylish and vintage pieces, try endless things on, and walk out with something. I hated buying plus size clothes because they were few and far between and so expensive. It's nice to be able to thrift. I found a really cute 90's romantic black skirt, def vintage and I love it.

Hey everyone! I'm 2.7 years post op. I've maintained about a 140 lb weight loss. I have a lot of loose skin and I honestly feel like I can't fully enjoy my body until I get some of this skin off.

The problem is I can't afford it. I spent everything on the surgery (insurance didn't cover) and I'm not making much money right now because I decided to go back to school.

I am currently living in Texas. I would love to know how some of you paid for your plastics. Was it hard to make payments? What options are there usually?

I'd like to get my belly skin, breasts and arms lifted. I am just looking at arms right now and just that alone is $14000. I just need any ideas or out-of-the-box suggestions. The weight loss surgery and weight loss/maintenance was one thing, but making this next step happen feels impossible sometimes.

I don't post too much on here anymore because I'm 2 years and 3 months post of from bypass. Life has pretty much normalized and I've reached my goal weight. I would like to get down to maybe 195 lbs but I'm not sweating it too much because I feel the best I've ever been since starting this whole process. I am six feet tall and sit around 198/199 at the moment. I started this journey at around 340 lbs. I lost 30 lbs before my surgery. I have lots of loose skin on my belly, my thighs, and my arms. Unfortunately, I can't afford skin removal but I'm saving to do my arms next summer.

After a while, sometimes you have days where you no longer connect to your old obese self. I have days where I feel huge and ugly still. It's easy to forget where you came from or how far you've come. What helps me is now and then I check my old photos and make comparisons so I can see my progress. The body dysmorphia is so real and something I know most of you if not all can and will relate to.

Losing the weight did not fix my body image but it's different for everyone. Some things IT DID improve however:

-Improve my joint health (daily knee pain gone).

-Took up running. Avid runner now. Have done races and run regularly outside.

-Lowered my blood pressure.

-Lowered my heart rate.

-No longer profusely sweat or turn red from basic activities.

-No longer use alcohol and food to cope with anxiety.

-So much energy to move and do chores/tasks.

-Healed my obsession with food.

I love seeing everyone's progress and reading your stories. Getting the surgery is not a fix-all. We have to do the work to eat the right foods in the right portions and get exercise regularly. It's easier the first year but I can tell you it gets harder and harder. Every day is a battle when you're trying to escape obesity. That's not a bad thing. It's rewarding and you learn so much and become a more resilient and deep person. So keep remembering why you did this, where you came from, and how much better life is getting for you!

I suppose this isn't really weird, but since my surgery and losing the weight I started running again. Around 220 lbs I was cleared to run regularly without damage to my joints as long as I did my physical rehab exercises for my knees and quads. I started amping up my running and started my mile at 15 min pace, today I have it down to 9 min pace for a 5k. I am doing my first 5k this weekend and I'm not nervous, scared, or worried I'll be out of place or injured. I've always wanted to participate in a race but couldn't because of my size which also affected my mental health...so I'm very excited about this and feel proud of myself.

Everyone looks amazing and is doing amazing. Congrats to all! xxxx

Hey there.

I had surgery in 2022. Here's what I experienced:

• Brain fog: definitely lasts at first from the anesthesia but tbh you're so exhausted from the surgery and diet that you just sleep it off the first couple nights. Brain fog comes when you're in like the 3d or 4th week post op when you've just been on liquids. I believe it's just from not eating solid foods for so long. It tires you out. I had tachycardia and fatigue all throughout my liquid, puree, and most of my soft food stages but as I started introducing soft foods, the brain fog subsided a little bit. It was more the physical exhaustion of the extreme diet and rapid weight loss that I remember. I also had brain fog from low Iron.
• Walking: I walked a lot, even in the early stages and it was hard because of my tachycardia. It probably took me four months to be able to walk 2 miles. Before surgery I was walking 5-6 miles a day with no issue and would walk 12 miles on the weekend for pre op weight loss. So yeah, it gets the better of you but it doesn't last.
• I'm now over a year post op and can walk a long time. I do find that I dehydrate much easier so I need to both make sure I'm very hydrated AND bring Water with me if I'm going on walks longer than 4 miles.
• Don't let any of this scare you. It's so worth it. Once you're healed you'll be amazed at what you're capable of. Best of luck and enjoy the journey.

Used to love burgers, milkshakes, fried tofu, and coconut milk curries. Now they're much too rich and can't stand them. They started tasting bad but I think it's cause I associate them with feeling nauseous. I also can't eat butter, biscuits (American ones), and honey. Bananas too I have a post op aversion to. Also can't eat raw bell peppers. Idk why something about them being sweet and watery now is a no go.

Weirdly got a taste for Beans after surgery too.

Here's a weird one. I often heard after getting WLS, that alcohol can be this really slippery slope and transfer addiction is real. It's funny because I was simultaneously worried and not worried at the same time because alcoholism runs in my family and I've seen it ugly, up close and personal which has made me incredibly reflective on my alcohol use, always checking it and monitoring to make sure it wasn't something I was doing out of habit and only in moderation.

Basically, I've never been really into alcohol but don't get me wrong, I had my party days in college and I remember being able to drink soooooo much for a long time when I was partying with friends.

Fast forward to today, I'm a year and like 5 months post op from bypass and I've found a couple things with alcohol and want to know if anyone is having the same experience:

• Getting drunk now is horrible, a surefire way straight to my head in the toilet, and not because I'm too drunk but because alcohol makes me incredibly nauseous if I have more than 2 drinks. I also don't drink sugary drinks either - I do usually a hard liquor like vodka and soda Water.
• I find now though that I don't even feel drunk like I used to. I'm incredibly cognizant of everything, don't feel "silly" or "loose" like I used to, then I just get sleepy, and then I just hit a wall and get really nauseous and want to puke.
• If I have a drink then I eat later, like I've been in a situation where I am going to a dinner, have a cocktail like a couple hours before my meal, then I eat and the food makes me so nauseous and almost dumping.

It could be that I'm just older now and drinking is different but I barely drink now since getting my bypass because it just makes me feel like crap. I don't miss it, I think drinking is really bad but I will admit it has taken a toll on my social life (but ultimately it's good to know who wants to actually be friends and who just wants a drinking buddy)

But I've always heard that drinking can be a problem after, but now that I have had WLS, drinking is not fun like it used to be and I just don't want to do it at all. Anyone else experiences this? I think it's an interesting topic.

I'm well over a year post op and still feel nauseous some days. I suggest the following to really take control of the situation:

• Stay hydrated
• Chew your food until it's a paste, take tiny bites of food too
• Wait more than 30 min to drink after eating if you ate anything that was particularly rough be it texture or quantity
• Get a prescription for zofran or some sort of anti-nausea med to have on hand
• Make sure your bathroom times are regular as I deal with Constipation still and when it's bad, it can make me feel incredibly nauseous

Another NSV, I recently got the opportunity to travel through Europe. I could find clothes everywhere. Old me would've been worried about finding clothes. I got to go dress shopping in Europe and could buy and try on normal sizes. I am now sitting between a L/M dress size, coming from an XXXXL. I bought myself a summer dress as a little reward for the weight loss.

Weird NSV. I know I've slimmed down a lot but I still feel like my heaviest self some days, especially in social situations. I have my days. I was at a work conference meeting a bunch of new people and I was having some appetizers with a new coworker.

We were talking about food and I was telling her how I was super hungry because I hadn't eaten much that day. She laughed and said "Are you one of those people that eats like crazy amounts of food but still stays skinny???"

I was so taken back by the comment I didn't even know how to respond in the moment. I still see myself as a big person but then stuff like that happens and I need to take a second and enjoy how far I've come. Coming from being super morbidly obese I was shocked to hear that.

I kind of laughed when I got myself together and said no, and that I watched what I ate because I had recently lost a lot of weight.

Hi all! A couple nonscale victories more than a year out I wanted to share:

• My boyfriend picked me up (no guy has ever done that or attempted to) I proceeded to freak out and say don't do that again because I was so scared it was too much and he laughed and said it wasn't bad and I'm being crazy
• Airplane seatbelts in coach have so much room on them. I remember not being able to buckle my seatbelt on southwest airlines...so embarrassing. I still find it fascinating.
• Being the one that gets shoved in the back in a packed car because I'm no longer the biggest in the group (weird one I know but it's a thing)
• Being able to sit on fallen treen branches without snapping them (I spend a lot of time outside/hiking/by the Water and it's nice to sit on them now)
• Strangers coming up to my friends in bars to ask if I'm single, a weird one, being the big yet invisible friend my whole life.
• Just fitting in any seat and not having to worry about it anymore
• Being able to thrift clothes
• Having small boobs relative to the rest of my body (I hated having big boobs)

Anyone else experience these ones?

On 11/14/2022 at 11:28 AM, Ka8T said:

Hi everyone, I hope you are doing well! Can you believe that it’s been around 9 months since the surgery? How is everyone getting along? Good results? And I am curious to know how many calories everyone is eating these days. I am around 1,000-1200. I have lost around 60 kgs. Still the best decision I ever made! Sending good thoughts to you all!

Hey! I haven't logged on in so long and was also curious how everyone is doing too. Here's an update on my life over a year post op.

Here is a photo of me way before my bypass, I think I wasn't at my heaviest yet but definitely pushing 320 lbs vs me last month while on vacation. I've lost about 130 lbs so far and am working on losing the last 9-10 lbs.

 

I am finding this is when things are getting real. The honeymoon phase everyone talked about it over and I didn't even realize it until it was gone haha! It's not a bad thing, it just means that you can never give up, even after weight loss. Half of the battle is over, now it's a new battle and I think it will last for the rest of my life because I have to work hard every day to fight my obesity.

I can eat pretty normally now. I aim for 1600-1700 cals a day but some days I might even get 1900 depending on how calorie dense my food is, then I tend to eat less calories the next day if that does happen. I walk 3-4 miles most days, gym 1-2 times a week and try to do some kind of outdoor activity on the weekend, usually hiking. I have been going slowly but I'm not unhappy with my progress. I'm just trying to watch my weight and enjoy how far I've come because I feel like a completely different person I can't even explain it...

I am also able to eat more than 60 grams of Protein a day now which is great because I lost a lot of muscle mass while losing all the weight after surgery. I eat 80-100 grams of protein a day. I am working on building my muscles back up, especially the muscles around my knees to help with my mobility (my being 340 lbs wrecked my knees). I am in physical therapy for my knees and do strength training with my boyfriend twice a week now.

The thing I struggle with the most is tracking Water but now that the summer is coming, I think it'll be easier to get in enough fluids since it's so hot where I live. I don't get food stuck anymore, very rarely if I've eaten too fast or food that is too hot will get stuck. I can still eat naughty foods in moderation too, too much sugar and fat makes me dump. Dumping for me means rapid heartbeat, dizzy, frequent urination, yawning, and nausea.

I have been out of therapy for a while and would like to go back, especially as my ability to eat larger portions returns. I still actively have to think and fight using food as a coping mechanism but I am pretty hopeful and just keep reminding myself not to give up.

How is everyone's Vitamin levels and blood work? Anyone deficient in anything/have advice on what to get checked? I have gotten colds way more frequently but it's only been in the last 3 months, could just be the seasons but historically I rarely got sick.

I know it's easier said than done but if you're doing the right things, eating below your BMR, then you're going to be okay and you're going to keep losing weight. I stalled a lot on my journey, especially around the 5th-month mark. Your body is going through a lot but keep doing what your treatment team advises and the weight will go down, I swear!

Thank you all. Very wise words. We are officially together but I am still scared to tell him. I think I know he wouldn't care but I believe he might have his stigmas on WLS. He's kind of an al natural guy and that's what I fear the most. I know eventually it's going to have to come out. My scars are super faint. He's seen my lower belly and hasn't said anything about them but he could also just be polite lol. I think though if there's anything I've learned from getting a gastric bypass, it's that people do not understand how it works and won't take your word for it either when you try to educate them. I guess I'm also scared about that. I don't know. He's lived a pretty crazy life I'm sure he's seen it all. I will come around one day. Might just be too soon for me. Beyond being a private person, I am still crazy insecure talking about my body journey. That conversation would be hard for more than one reason. But I always love the words of wisdom here.

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I haven't posted in a minute - life is feeling very normal now that I'm almost a full year post op so I haven't been perusing the forums too much. I've finally reached my first goal weight which is great. I've lost 120 lbs. I still have restrictions on my eating. I don't get food stuck as much but if I take that "one bite too many" I can get nauseous for solid 1 to 2 hours but dating is feeling pretty easy in terms of eating. I know what works and what doesn't when planning meals with my partner.

I have recently started seeing this guy and it's getting pretty serious with that. He's super into fitness and is a martial arts athlete. I am recently starting to train for a marathon so we've been able to bond a bit over training and stretching properly but as someone who was recently super morbidly obese, I feel super awkward still talking about exercise and nutrition with him which is a big part of his life. I told him I recently dropped a lot of weight and he's super encouraging and is always telling me I should be proud of myself because I can be quiet about it around him and others. I am terrified to tell him that I got weight loss surgery because I don't know what he thinks about it and I feel like some fitness people stigmatize it a lot.

It's even as crazy as me keeping my shirt on during seggsy time or turning the lights off completely because of my incision scars and I'm also super self conscious about my loose skin which I've already told him about and he says he loves my soft tummy which is nice but it makes me kind of want to die (metaphorically lol) because I hate my body so much. But he's super kind and just wants me to be comfortable really but I am so scared to tell him about surgery and I get so awkward talking about fitness because I still feel like I'm 340 lbs.

Anyone have to deal with a situation like this? I mean at some point or I guess at what point will it become obvious? How long can I really keep the lie up? I told him I lost the weight with calorie restriction. I told him I have an ibuprofen allergy and that I hate sweets (really though because of dumping lol). I feel like a horrible person though because I am really starting to care about him. I would appreciate any advice. My family says that I owe no one an explanation and there's no obligation or moral reason to tell people that I had the surgery. I kind of agree with that but there are moment where it's like - is she just being really shy around me? Why is she eating like half of a serving of food? Or getting nauseous or taking all my horse pill supplements and dealing with some Vitamin deficiencies every now and then? Idk. Not sure how this usually goes for people.

Thanks!

Sorry I'm going to rant LOL I need to vent. I'm so glad I found this topic - the post weight loss treatment is REAL and it honestly is rough. I personally grapple with the idea that to society often makes me feel that I deserve less kindness when I inhabit a bigger body. I've lost a good amount of weight but in no means am I "small" and I'll never be "small", like "petit" because at the end of the day I am broad and a 6 foot tall female who often looks taller given my shoe choices.

I find though that the more I slim out, the more "acceptable" society makes me feel for being a tall woman. I started this journey at 340 lbs, 6 feet, female, you best believe I come from feeling like an absolute monster but that's internalized self hatred from bullying. The only thing that should be is unhealthy, not undeserving.

I'm at a place now where I look pretty average. I still have a deflated apron belly and loose cellulite on my thighs - I could stand to lose a couple more pounds and I plan to, however I now look pretty "normal". My clavicle, sternum and ribs are visible. I have a jaw line again. My upper arms are flabby but I usually cover them. My forearms and wrists are pretty slimmed out. You can feel my hip bones and see them ever so slightly from my deflated belly. The unique thing about me now is just that I am a tall girl.

I was called a lot of names up until recent. I'm sure some people would still have some choice words for me lol but overall people are treating me much differently. I am in a place where I am seeing a lot of the same people I spent a lot of time with in a professional setting while I was 340 lbs. The same guys that used to talk to me about weight loss are asking me to hang out and trying to always catch a chat, but not about weight, just about me as a person and I absolutely hate it. Where was that decency a year ago?

I find that as a 20 something year old female, the treatment from males has made a complete 180 turn. I'm not asking for their respect, but they're more likely and willing to give it to me with this new body. I have nightmares about men in my life (from family to flings) that I care about telling me they only like the parts of me that look thin but can't accept me because of my loose skin apron belly. This body bullshit is so engrained in my psyche, it gets deafening at times. I cannot have a healthy long term relationship because I'm constantly afraid of being rejected for being too big. I am working on it with a therapist but it still sucks.

But yeah, people are just nicer and if they're not chatting me up or offering me free things or trying to invite me somewhere they're not gawking at me (which is a good baseline). I like that I feel I have more freedom with dating. I ditched the BBW apps and that was honestly an NSV for me because of all the fetishists on there, but I am still hurt by the folks who see me as a person now, and never did before all of this.

Look, I know I made myself morbidly obese and I chose to get the surgery to fix my mistakes and learn a better way... but I struggle immensely with feeling like I deserve kindness given that most my life I was morbidly obese and bullied by everyone for it, friends, family, relationships etc.

I know in reality it's a good thing to be treated better, but it does get to me that the shitty treatment exists in the first place. You can call me a snowflake or a p***y or whatever (scuse my French) but this is a real thing.

Sorry rant oveerrr mic drop

It must be the fiber thing. I know I've had fake sweeteners before my surgery and got really sick but didn't feel nauseous, mainly just lower GI stuff. But this time around nausea followed by diarrhea. I still have a lot of residual gas. Just assume it's the fiber. Wow I bought three of them to eat for thr weekend but unfortunately they're going in the bin. So much for a good tasting Protein bar.

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I was at work and walked to the corner store on my lunch break to pick up some food. I got a vegan Protein Bar by the name of "misfits" because it fit my nutritionists macros for Protein Bars (15 grams of Protein, 1 gram of sugar). I ate my protein bar on the walk back and was amazed at how good it tasted. About 15 minutes after that, I started feeling incredibly hot and dizzy, then the nausea set in. I was sitting at work trying to hold it together but went to the bathroom and realized I felt like I needed to puke so I went back to my coworkers, said I am feeling really sick and ill finish the day from home.

Now im home and I tried puking, lots of violent dry heaves but nothing is coming out. Now I am having incredibly bad diarrhea and cramping.

I dont see how this is dumping if the bar had decent macros. I've eaten worse foods higher in fat and sugar and felt fine. This is all I've eaten today besides a profee (protein coffee) and a bunch of Water.

I've never had this much stomach pain. I was reading the reviews foe the bar and a select few said they made them very sick and hurt their stomachs. Sometimes this happens with these products that are high Fiber low sugar.

Anyone else dump on a food like this before? I feel like I'm going to pass out oh my godddd.

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Can’t really help on the vegetarian meal suggestions except for Beans, lentils & barley dusges. I often throw lentils, barley or Beans into Soups for extra Protein. What about faux meat products? I know some are fine with them but others won’t eat them.
I understand the dislike of sweet things (I eat very little sweet foods) but I don’t find rolled oats sweet at all - wouldn’t eat them if they were. I use traditional oats with a spoon of seeds, make them on milk & add some blueberries before eating - 15g of Protein (which is more than 2 eggs). I don’t add natural or artificial sweeteners. The natural sugar in the milk & the berries is plenty for me. And this is usually the only fruit I eat in a day & one of my two serves of multi/whole grain carbs.

I want to try doing more with lentils for sure! Thats a good idea. Do you have a fave lentils recipe? I can't remember if it was you or someone else but I got a pretty good lentil recipe over this forum in the past. I feel like they can be really versatile though.

It's more the mushy texture of oatmeal I can't do. What kind of seeds do you add to it? How is it 15 grams of protein? Is there a specific oat or ingredient you use/portion size?

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I'm a food hoarder as well.
IMO I need it to create an "abundance mindset" which prevents a feeling of deprivation for me and I doubt that will ever change. The decades of (mental) restriction in the past haven't stopped taking their toll and I've accepted that.

I am the same way. I hoard food and don't eat it now that im post op because I felt like I couldn't have it around in the past/grew up with caretakers locking food away from me and hiding it on a daily basis. Definitely a result of that for me. It feels good to open my pantry and see everything and get to pick and not feel like I have to hide or its the only chance I'll get to eat something. I would like to stop food hoarding because things go to waste.

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Hey!

I'm getting sick of my usual and looking for some new meal idea and Snacks. I'm dealing a lot with craving carbohydrates and salt.

I'd like to only eat whole foods and complex carbohydrates if I decide to eat them but stick mostly to Protein and veggies.

I'm a vegetarian but feel free to share with my your meaty meals because I can always modify them and make them veg with tofu and other plant based Proteins.

I usually eat eggs or a Protein Shake for Breakfast, salads, cheese, crackers and soy products like tofu or Tempeh for dinners and lunch. I ate a lot of chips and barely drank any Water this week because of my environment (which I'm about to leave thank god) but in general dont feel that great after eating things like that.

I tried having oatmeal for breakfast the other day and found it really gross. I don't like sweet things or fruit but I feel like eating a half serving of fruit will help manage my carbohydrate cravings. And when I say carbs I mean like breads and chips.

So i'm curious if you want to just drop your typical meal plan in the replies. I'd love to steal some ideas! I'm eating about 1200-1300 calories a day at the moment and aim for 60 grams of protein.

A pretty good day for me looks like a protein shake, a snack, and a meal. Hbu?

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I have some, first I wanted to post a before and after.

From a 4x/3x to a L/M
I cant believe I don't need plus sizes anymore. Honestly it's so weird to me still that I can find something in most stores now that work with my body. I've been plus sized for the past 12 years and when I was a kid (girls plus). I know it's not a weird NSV but it's weird to me because I've been plus sized my whole life.

Another NSV, I was able to hike in bad shoes without getting out of breath or falling. Pic from the hike.

Another NSV. I am a musician. I had a show last night and I was scared to step up on stage because there was no step. Old me would have had a lot of trouble and felt embarrassed. I got up with my instrument in hand and had no issues at all. I am still scared though to do things like that because I'm not used to my new body. I hope I'll become more comfortable soon. Pic of stage!

  

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As of today, I am 4 1/2 months post op and I have lost 76 pounds. I work out 5 days per week, I eat Keto, I had gastric sleeve, and I am VERY strict with what goes into my body. My Iron, blood sugar, and blood pressure are all normal and I'm no longer on any meds for them. Here's a pre surgery pic and a pic my hubby just now took of me. Notice a difference? LOL

Great job! You're looking fantastic and it's awesome you're feeling even better without the meds!

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