SleeveToBypass2023

So in the very beginning, I drank ready made protein shakes, bone broth, protein gatorade zero, and other fluids. You do your best to get close to your protein goals, but the first 2-4 weeks it's gonna be hard and you likely won't get there. And that's ok. By weeks 6, 7, 8 and so on is really where you want to be hitting your protein goals. And it gets easier because more foods are available to you. You can always add in a shake if you really need to. But in the very beginning, fluids are the most important. If you can combine fluids and protein with the bone broth, ready made protein shakes, and protein fluids (like the gatorade I mentioned) you're well on your way.

WOW, going back and reading this thread again, we've come a long way. I'm really proud of us!!!!

For the sleeve, I was told 6 weeks and I was cleared for everything except weight lifting. I was cleared for that at 8 weeks. For the revision to bypass, I was told since that's a longer and more involved surgery, I was cleared for everything at 6 weeks except weight lifting, which was 10 weeks. And nothing full contact until 12 weeks, although I don't do that anyway. Swelling for the sleeve was gone by 6-7 weeks. For the revision, about 8 weeks.

I think sometimes our bodies kind of freak out when lots of changes are happening at once. As you lose weight, things redistribute, move around, the chemical make up of your insides change, hormones change, glucose, cholesterol, and blood pressure all change. So even when the scale isn't moving, so many things are happening within our bodies that it likely needs time to catch up and get use to the new and ongoing changes before the weight can start to come off again. I know how frustrating it is, believe me. The amazing people on here had to talk me off the ledge a few times when I hit stall after stall. And I'm one that gains a few pounds whenever I hit a stall, so THAT was always fun lol But then I would drop like 6 pounds in 1 shot and then I knew the stall was over. I know this is so frustrating, but it'll pass. And you'll get to where you want to be. It took me 2 years to get where I am now. And I still feel that was fast. It took me almost 30 years to put the weight on, so getting it off in 2 years is HUGE. Give yourself some grace, feel your feelings, and just focus on all the good parts of this journey. You'll be ok and you'll get there

I had to sip for a good 6-8 weeks when I had my sleeve. I really struggled with the sleeve, and ended up with a revision to bypass a year later because of complications. I didn't have to sip at all when I had the bypass. I finished an entire 20oz bottle of water the day I had the revision in 2 hours in the hospital. When they saw that, they unhooked me from the IV because they saw I was getting enough fluids lol

Do you mean in the very beginning or as time goes on?

Before I had my hysterectomy, I noticed my PCOS sort of regulated a bit. Didn't do a whole lot for my hormonal imbalance, skin tags, insulin resistance, and it really made losing weight slower and more difficult, but it straightened out my periods a lot. I would go 2 or 3 months without one, then bleed like niagra falls for 2 weeks straight, then get a light one the next month, then start over. After I dropped my first 70ish pounds, I noticed they were coming in more regularly, and after my first 100ish pounds lost, they were proper length, proper frequency. And it stayed that way until about 4 months before my hysterectomy. Then they started getting wonky again. Skipped 2 months, needed progesterone to get it started the next month which caused HEEAAVY bleeding, then nothing the next month, then hysterectomy and I didn't care lol

By about 12 weeks out (3 months) you should have a much easier time hitting your fluid goals. You're doing pretty well. Try getting some nausea meds, drink ginger tea, if needed add a ready made protein shake to your normal diet to not only boost your protein intake but also your fluids (it's a 2 for 1 deal with those).

It's pretty common. Happened to me after my sleeve and again after my revision to bypass. I was told it would likely be temporary, but so far, nothing has gone back to how it was before. Super weird. Things smell differently to me, too. And taste differently. Hate foods I use to love, actually like stuff I use to dislike. Very weird lol

The first step is to admit it, which you're doing. We all get in moods where we slip. The trick is to catch it, admit it, and start to correct it. You can still fix this, but you say you're not wanting to. So are you just wanting to vent about what you're doing to yourself or do you want to actually start fix it? If you want to vent...ok. But there's not much we can say or offer you if you truly don't want to start over and correct it. If you want to correct it, then we have something to work with. You know the rules, you know the diet, you know what you can and can't eat, drink, and do. You know you need to focus on protein, lower carbs, get in veggies and healthy fats, get in your fluids, cut out alcohol right now, cut way down or even out (for now) salt and sugar. Move your body more. Swim, walk, ride a bike, work out, do things that increase your movement more than you normally do every day. Cut way down (or out for now) soda. Start over and get yourself back on track and ease yourself back into things. You're only 4 months out from surgery, so you're still in the sweet spot of losing weight. So you can still turn this around and get back to dropping weight. If that's what you want to do. Again, if you just want to vent about it but not actually change it, there's not much else I can contribute. You've lost 41 pounds, and that's fantastic over 4 months. Remember your "why" for doing the surgery to begin with. Remind yourself what this meant to you and get back to that and really decide for yourself if that "why" still applies to you.

The problem is they don't have smaller stomachs like we do. The medication makes them not hungry, so they can't tolerate eating much. But once they're not on the meds anymore, all the head hunger, real hunger, and not being full or even satisfied with small meals comes back. If we didn't have this surgery, would we be able to sustain all the changes we made after the surgery? No. If we could, we wouldn't need the surgery. Same with them. If they could sustain the healthy lifestyle, smaller meals, and not giving in to head hunger without the meds, they would do it. But they can't. Which is why they gain it all back and then some. Same that we would if our stomachs just randomly started to stretch out over time (as a hypothetical, meaning not eating around the surgery but it just being something that wasn't permanent but could undo itself).

I know a few people on the compound semaglutide as well as tirzepatide, 1 person on Zepbound, and 1 person on Wegovy. They all say the same thing. It helps lower blood sugar, suppresses appetite, quiets head hunger, causes crazy constipation after the initial dose, causes nausea on the 2nd dose on up, and you basically have to stay on it forever because once you go off it, all the benefits go away and you gain back the weight you lost (sometimes even more). It doesn't cause weight loss in and of itself, it does burn or melt away fat, it doesn't speed up metabolism. They changed their eating habits while on the medication, but once they stopped, that all kind of went out the window because all the things the meds stopped came roaring back. So make sure, if you want to be on it, you can be on it for the long haul. Otherwise you well very well could undo the progress you make while on it once you go off it.

Same for both of my surgeries. I was on all liquid for a week and nothing after midnight (my 1st surgery was at 8am and my 2nd was at 9am). The only liquid I got was at the hospital and it was in a tiny cup when I had to take a couple of pills they gave me, and swished that little bit of water all around and savored it lol

Grrrrr!!!! I don't like the people at your doctor's office!!!!! As a medical assistant (and former front desk person) that just grinds my gears!!! But at least you're in now. You can bypass all of them and talk directly to your doctor now. I'm so glad you got your answers and feel better. Are you starting to get excited??? I'm excited for you!!!

I literally had that happen the other day!!! I was walking and I saw my reflection in the window as I was walking towards it. I saw this thin person walking and her thighs weren't rubbing together. There was like a gap or space between them as she walked. And I got SO JEALOUS!!! I've always wanted to have that. I kept thinking "Man, how much more weight do I have to lose to have THAT" and then I looked up at the face in the reflection and literally stopped walking. It was ME!!! I was the thin person walking without their thighs rubbing. I stopped walking and my husband was concerned. He kept asking me what was wrong and I could could say was "there's a gap!!!" He thought I lost it lol Body dysmorphia is REAL. That's definitely something NOBODY told me about when I started this journey, that's for sure.

Honestly, I like both. They both taste great. BUT...while Fairlife has more protein, it's harder to find and quite expensive. However, it tastes absolutely delicious. Premier has more flavor choices, is easy to find, is cheaper, and tastes really, REALLY good. Still gives a good amount of protein. So I like both, and I mad sure to have both.

So did you have your appt yet? If so, how did it go? Did you get in the dang portal? I'm so annoyed about that....

Both times I wore leggings (soft with a soft waist) and a loose top. I wore it there and just wore the same thing home. I just wanted to make sure it was soft and loose.

That sounds so wonderful!!! Have a fantastic time, you deserve it. And you're right, we all deserve to have time with the one we love and not worry about anything else. I call it "the bubble". For this amount of time, nothing but hubby and I are allowed in our bubble. All the stress and BS will still be there later, but right now, in this time and in this bubble, it's just me and my love. Nobody and nothing is allowed to bother us in our bubble. YAY on your NSV!!!! The first time I was able to paint my toe nails without straining or getting out of breath, I literally almost cried. I couldn't believe it!!! So being able to do that is definitely a victory worth celebrating. As for leggings, I still wear them all the time (when I'm not in scrubs for work lol) I love them. They're super comfy, and the smaller sizes have the cutest colors, styles, and designs. And like @summerseeker said, they hold my wobbly loose skin just enough lol Something @catwoman7 said really struck me. She said "not because I'm fat, because I'm not any more" and I stopped right there because HOLY CRAP, I'm not fat anymore!!! Sometimes I forget that. I don't know why that resonated with me so much, but it really hit me that I'M NOT FAT ANYMORE. I know you're going to hit your goals. We all have our ups and downs, and this journey is not easy and not for the faint of heart. But if you do it, and you really make the changes and do the work, it's BEAUTIFUL on the other side. And I know you'll get there. But for right now, put everything else out of your mind, get pampered, get in your bubble with your hunny, and have an awesome time in London ❤️

I'm working on figuring out how to maintain lol I'm below goal, which is fine is I stay where I'm at. Don't really want to go any lower. I'm slowly increasing calories and carbs, but I can't go too high or I get sick. So I'm just trying to figure it out. My first year post surgery, I was half way to my goal (I needed to lose roughly 200 pounds to get to my goal). I had complications that slowed my weight loss (I lost 113 pounds in 8 months) after the 8-9 month mark. I had my revision 13 months after my initial surgery and lost another 94 pounds in a year. I also had 2 major surgeries during that time, too. Now my weight loss is (hopefully) stopping - 2 years after my initial surgery and 1 year after my revision. I've lost a total of 240 pounds from my highest weight and 207 pounds from my surgery-day weight. And it took me a total of 2 years. I hit many stalls along the way, but it's all been 100% worth it.

How are things going now? Have you gotten yourself back on track?

I always liked making smoothies. I used 1 bottle of Propel electrolyte water (different flavors), 1 scoop of collagen, 1 scoop of greens, 1 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 4 packets of monk fruit sweetener, 1-2 cups of whatever fruit I wanted (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, etc), and avocado. I would also add ground flax seeds, ground chia seeds, and shredded coconut. I loved them. I did them from about 6 weeks through the first year. Then I just kind of got out of making them. Maybe I'll start doing them again.....

Oh my Lord...lol Do you know what system the portal is through? Athena, Epic, eClinicalWorks...I've worked with all 3 and can walk through how to get on the portal. If they have to send you an invitation to set up the portal, it sounds like Athena. The front desk should be able to do that. Medical Assistants can also do it. What kind of people did they hire for the front desk??? Patients being on the portal is HUGE. You request refills, see your appointments, make/cancel/reschedule appts, see lab results, and talk directly to your doctors through it. Now I'M annoyed with that office.....

At 2 weeks, I was on things like avocado spread, cottage cheese, hummus, refried beans, softly scrambled eggs. I was also drinking ready made protein shakes because they count as fluids and protein. I also was drinking protein gatorade zero. I would just be careful with what you're eating and how much, because at 2 weeks out you're still healing.

If you go into your profile and update all of your info (starting weight, current weight, goal weight, bmi, surgery, height) that helps. Also, what is your diet like? Do you work out? Do you track your food? So you have any other health issues that could be stopping the weight loss? Have you talked to your nutritionist and surgeon?