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I just checked and at 2 months, I was down 20.6 lbs from the day of surgery. There's really not a hard and fast rule for how much you'll lose. Everyone is different and it depends on your starting point and how much you lost pre-op, too. I had some months when I lost a lot and other months where I hardly lost anything, but overall it moved steadily downward. My weight loss has stalled for the past month or so, now that I am more than a year out. The only guidelines I was given was 60g minimum of protein per day and 64oz water. I am now almost 14 months post-op and I've gone from 225 lbs on surgery day (251 was my highest, which was 6 months pre-op) to anywhere from 162-165lbs. My exercise consists of walking and that's it. I'd like to lose another 10 lbs but I'm also pretty fine with where I am as long as I don't gain (which is why I do hope to lose a bit more). I've gone from a size 22 to a size 12. I think I could still lose a bit more if I focused on cutting out some bad habits that have crept in with sweets/simple carbs, and if I increased my daily exercise to something a little more challenging than a walk. I don't count calories and I don't really track macros at this point, either. I just try to eat reasonable meals that focus on protein and veggies, and not snack too much or eat junk food too often. A typical day is either spinach frittata, Kodiak protein oatmeal, or a Greek yogurt for breakfast, plus a serving of mixed fruit (strawberries, cantaloupe, blueberries, grapes. Lunch is a good size spinach salad with 3oz chicken and some black beans. Dinner might be a bowl of homemade chicken, bean, and veggie soup, chili, or maybe some grilled meat and veggies. Sometimes I eat chickpea pasta with marinara and meatballs but other types of pasta and breads don't settle well. For snacks, I like string cheese and an apple, or some mixed nuts or roasted edamame. I have to be careful of overindulging in things like popcorn, candy, and cookies because they are too easy to eat without getting full (and sadly I don't get dumping from them). Red meat fills me up very quickly. The hardest thing for me now is dealing with the head hunger that makes me want to reach for food if I am bored or stressed. Getting the stuff out of the house completely is the only strategy that really works for me with that. My only real advice is don't drive yourself crazy. Just do your best each day and pay attention to your body. That's more important than counting calories. You're not on a diet! You need to figure out what you can sustain for the rest of your life, while paying attention now to the basics (protein and water, plus vitamins) to keep up your health.

I was swallowing my normal pills the next day in the hospital but I was also drinking pretty good. And when I got home I could take my tablets just fine. If you are worried, though, order some bariatric advantage chewables. They taste decent and you can get them with and without iron. I actually took them the first month just cause they are a little lower iron than my SADI specific vitamin and I wasn’t eating as much to stomach the iron. It won’t hurt to have a couple of options on hand. Even if you have auto ship (which if you don’t have that you should look into it once you know what works for you because you save money and it’s one less thing for you to remember) you can skip a shipment anytime if you end up with too many vitamins. Also the bariatric advantage calcium chews are a good alternative to tablets and they are quite tasty (like candy). I still take them because I like them. They are a bit pricey but for the first month you don’t have to worry about swallowing issues and them being individually wrapped and not needing a drink is pretty convenient. I just keep a handful in my pocketbook and they are always with me when my alarm goes off. For the multi vitamin I use the procare health They are quite complete and reasonably priced. On their site you can do authorship and save some money. My labs have alway been great. Even now while I’m in the middle of chemo and have diarrhea everyday. That is one thing to keep in mind though. What works for me may not work for you. Whatever you do decide to go with take it with you when you go over your labs. You doctor may want to see how much of a specific vitamin is in there. They all have the same stuff for the most part but they have more or less of the different vitamins. If you end up being low in something you can always add that one vitamin but if you high you may need to switch to a different multi that has less a little less of that vitamin. I did the Pro care health multi with 45 mg I believe of iron after my sleeve and post revision I do their multi for the SADI which has higher ADEK and IRON that we need after DS or SADI. Ooh and it’s not a bad idea to eventually have one multi without iron on hand for days where you need to fast like lab days or if you aren’t feeling well and can’t eat enough to take it. I mean for twice a year you can just skip it but I’m doing a lot of labs and stuff right now that require me to miss it so I ordered an iron free and I feel better than I’m not missing all the other stuff at least. Also be sure to tell you Dr you take a BARIATRIC multi because some labs can be thrown off with the higher levels of vitamins. And if something is way off just google that and vitamins and see if that could be the issue to mention to your dr. I think it was biotin and cortisol that was my most recent one that was thrown off.

i got alot of the same responses/reactions about my decision to get an arm lift as well. i was told my arms weren't so bad, that they were fine, and that no one noticed the extra skin. Well *i* noticed. i always disliked my upper arms, even when i was "normal sized" as a teen, in my twenties, early thirties. one if my biggest sadnesses was having to wear a shawl on my wedding day over my awesome sleeveless dress because i was uncomfortable showing them. then when i started the road to morbid obesity, i absolutely HATED them omg fast forward to post wls and my joy of wearing tank tops again were marred by not up to snuff arms. so i got me an arm lift, baby. i wont sugarcoat it: recovery was a bee-yatch. mostly self-inflicted as i didn't listen to my doc and did too much too soon. i also have noticeable scars (im over 5 yrs post plastics, 6.5years post wls), which i knew going in as i historically scar badly. BUT, omg i love my arms. weird to say out loud but true. im sleeveless like ALL the time, even in winter lol. and because i love my arms so much i take care of them with regular exercise, ha! here is a link to my BariatricPal photo album of my arm lift before pics and progress/results over the years: there are pics 6m before arm lift, day before arm lift, and 1 & 6 months after, and one from last fall (5 years after arm lift) (im trying to find old pics of arm close ups where im not flexing, but it seems i only like to flex hahhaha) long story short, if you have the means/resources and the desire, do it! you only live once, may as well enjoy it with fabulous arms (or boobs or butts or noses) if thats what you want. good luck! ❤️

I’ve had surgery at a few hospitals and I’ve never seen anyone with family in recovery. You may not even remember it. They want to get you out of there as fast as possible and since they know that you’re going upstairs instead of Home, they basically do it as soon as you wake up. The nurse to patient ratio is very low and someone should be like practically sitting right there with you, though you will not be alone.

What you need to ask yourself is something I used to help me when my weight appeared to not be fast enough; did I put the weight on in just a few months? No, so I need to be patient and let the process work and do my part while not expecting the weight to come off in such a short time! Give yourself the gift of being patient with your body. I know its difficult, especially being that we're an instant gratification society now, but you deserve the grace, time and patience knowing you made the right decision for yourself having had the surgery! Follow the guidelines you were given by your bariatric team. But f you still don't feel the weight is coming off as fast as you think it should - schedule an appointment with your dietician/surgeon and ask for they're advice. You've got this! Lastly 13lbs is an average/"normal" weight loss for 5 weeks 🤗

@AmberFL love this for you! Major WIN. Thanks for getting on the fasting train with me. I've been fasting the past 10 months now and it has changed me in a lot of ways. I tell people my favorite part of my day is my fasted part of my day and they look at me crazy. Yes I agree with you. It cuts down that food noise by a ton but I guess I'm still in a honeymoon phase because I have minimal food noise hallelujah😂 almost a year out thank goodness I'm gonna hate when that returns. Keep winning chic!

My win is getting back in the gym and back on track! I have been cleared to do lower body, biceps and triceps. I have been prioritizing cardio which is great but now that I am back in the gym I feel so much better! I cant wait to hit back and shoulders but all in due time. I have been tracking and making sure I am staying in my calorie deficit. I started to interment fast, not a crazy one just 12:12, but its helping the food noise and helping me be more structured.

So I’m 5 weeks post op and have only lost 13 lbs. I feel stuck and wondering if that’s normal to lose only that amount in a month? I feel defeated as I only have protein shakes for breakfast and lunch while I’m at work . but dinner is where i incorporate a soup or broth. I just don’t know if I’m doing this right? I’m supposed to be in the pureed stage and then go into soft foods next week.. I need advice on how to help my weight come off faster /better.. this has been a crazy mind game for me ..

Peanut butter chicken sounds good. Remember them spring rolls had a sauce that was equal parts of peanut butter and soy sauce. I’m glad you just reminded me of it because I really liked it and it was good on chicken too. Sorry to hear about your hip. Really sucks that we get tested with hurdles so soon after surgery but maybe it is just that a test. Test to see if we are truly committed even when it doesn’t come as easy as it did right off the bat. If so, I think we are crushing this test!! 10K steps is awesome. I bet you will not stop at 30 days. When I was doing my normal walking it felt so good I didn’t ever want to stop. As soon as I figure out this thyroid thing I’m gonna start again. Or if the cardiologist says it’s safe. Just scares me that my resting heart beat has gone up and I get notifications from my watch about weird heart stuff so oncology ordered test and did referral for an oncology cardiologist. I need to call that office too another reminder. Anyways, as soon as I get the all clear I will be working back up to join you. I’m telling you it helped me with everything. After doing it consistently my mental health was far better and it made me think twice about my food choices. I was feeling so good I didn’t ever want to do anything to ruin it so healthy nourishing choices were so much easier. I hope your hip is better soon and you meet or even exceed your walking challenge! I am bummed that my clinic has cancelled yoga for next week because the instructor is out but they are adding gentle yoga the following week and I think I am going to check out meditation this week since she will be gone and it’s at the same time so I couldn’t before. I wish these things were offered more than once a week. Kinda unfair for the people who do treatment that day or the day before if their treatment makes them feel icky. They also have a physical trainer that they offer who will do some free sessions but I’m saving them for after surgery since I will be needing more direction then. Right now I just need clearance and then motivation to get back at it After surgery I will have limitations. My range of motion will be an issue and I will need help pushing through them but not pushing too fast. I talked to the guy and he said we can’t go any quicker than my dr clears me but I am going to tell the dr I see him weekly and ask to see the dr more often to get clearance quicker if I’m ready. i am so ready to get back to my pre chemo activity. I can already tell my lack of activity is affecting my mood. I want my happy positive rainbows and unicorns outlook on life back. Drove my hubby crazy but I liked it and I’m pretty sure after dealing with my being cranky and irritable for over a month he is probably missing it too. 😂

Those sounds delicious and easy! You know exactly what you're doing! I try my best to be creative or ill lose interest but my restrictions is even higher after fasting for long hours so struggling to even eat whatever I make because the doc told me I should focus on my liquids more. But oh well, so today I made peanut butter chicken! Oh god it's so gooood! I forgot to update you guys but I've injured my hip doing a class and I've been ongoing physical therapy to cure it .. it's so painful when doing some movements. So I've been working on my steps and upper body strength training. Currently in a 10k step a day challenge and I haven't missed a day! 9/30 of 10k steps and it feels good!

Hahaha I've been seen those videos of the attachments hahaha it's so over the top 😂 I can't wait to be one of them but for now. Carrying this stanley is hard enough lool Hahaha I get what you mean about fasting but it's so weird how EASY it is!

Congrats on your loss. Glad to hear you are doing well. Did you see all the attachments that you can get to put on a Stanley. To hold your phone and chapstick and all sorts of things. Like you wouldn’t need a purse I’m not kidding. I don’t know if I could do a month of fasting. Fasting for lab work is enough for me. Im trying to schedule some and they are all after 9:30 and I’m looking at a whole other lab just so that I don’t have to wait as late to have food. 🤣

Hey y'all, Haven't posted in a while but I need some insight from the community. I was sleeved December 2020, took RX strength omeprazole for 90 days post op since that was what my surgeon did., had zero issues with heartburn incidences. However, heartburn runs in my family---in the males, I didn't have issues beyond maybe once in a frozen blue moon I MIGHT have a mild case that 2 Tums fixed before surgery. Fast forward a couple of years-heartburn incidences starts getting worse/becoming more numerous, would get up choking on acid if I laid down to soon after eating and everything seemed to cause it. Water, Protein Shakes, sugar/no sugar, etc it's just stupid. I had a bad attack of pain and nausea a few months ago that honestly had me worried about a heart attack but ended up with a CT scan and was diagnosed with a hiatal hernia--the ER doc I saw said my surgery site/stomach looked fine though. I have regained about 35-40ishlbs from where I was but I have maintained a loss of close to 80lbs. In order to survive mostly comfortably, I am living off of a lot of days multiple famotidines sprinkled through the day. Sometimes NOT eating also causes heartburn. I'm over it 120%. Here's my question---my current insurance covers NO bariatric surgery for ANY reason. Should I pursue JUST the hernia repair in the US or should I look into going to Mexico for a revision to the Bypass with maybe also a hernia repair if that's offered? The reason I went with the sleeve in the first place was my already mild anemia that is genetic-runs in the family on the women's side unfortunately and I didn't want to contend with possibly getting really anemic or not being able to keep up with the nutrition/vitamin requirements but I can't live with this heartburn issue for another 50-60+ years (currently 35 years old). Thanks for anyone who wants to give me some thoughts/input!

You are doing an amazing job! It's been 5 months and you have turned your life around! Speaking about myself personally I have been a big person my whole life and I know that many people here have too. So that means We need to give ourselves a little bit of grace if we back track a little. What is important is how fast we get back in the saddle. Our old eating habits need time to die a death but we will get there, every day brings us closer to that. congratulations Neon Raven, be proud of yourself you are a warrior! x

Hi ladies. How's everyone doing? Share updates and losses and NSV x I've been doing very well. I'm 83kg and almost 7 months post op (well in a week) 26kg loss and my surgical team are happy and proud. I look fantastic and feel it. We are currently fasting (holy month of ramadhan) so I've been focusing on dehydrating more than food as doctors are more concerned about dehydration then starvation haha which is unlikely teehee but I've been doing well especially after getting a fancy stanley 😄

So as I mentioned in my last thread, I had VSG in 2014. I did quite well for a decent amount of time but after really losing focus of my diet and lifestyle I have had significant regain. I have literally had GERD my entire life. When my surgeon initially told me that VSG WAS an option, I decided to go ahead with it thinking it was a much 'safer' option than RNY. He did reassure me that the GERD I had was directly related to my significant abdominal weight and that with weight loss it would subside. It DID, and eventually I went from a double strength PPI twice a day to a H2 blocker (at my lowest weight) a few times a week. I thought I was over the moon with this! However, fast forward about 4 years and now my GERD is worse than ever, I literally have productive reflux now. I will be sitting and talking to my husband and what I ate a couple hours ago will just shoot up to my throat without warning (I just read another thread saying this same thing). I get it SO bad when I lay in bed that I will run to the bathroom and literally spit out acid. When I had my VSG I had a hiatal hernia repair too, and I was under the impression that was a permanent fix but i'm thinking maybe not. I have EGD this Thursday and frankly, I am petrified scared of what she will find. I'm not worried about my sleeve but I AM worried that there is irreversible damaged to my esophagus or God forbid, esophageal cancer is found. IF I am found to not have anything significant, I've decided to go ahead with a revision for my longterm health. I have been on PPIs for decades. I want off of them. And I want to conquer the regain.

@Mspretty86 ooooo okay! I'm not afraid of fats either. healthy fats are important! I refuse to restrict myself. I still eat fast food, I cant say no to a couple of French fries LOL There are days I cannot lie where I binge like a mofo but its never more than 1 day and I get back on track the next day. I.E today I started my period and I want to munch of anything and everything lol I just want to graze on all things chocolate. But I am eating my healthy sweets and hot coffee. Its helping!

Well everyone’s loss is different. I looked back at my logs and I only lost 20 pounds I that first months and I had a more aggressive surgery and I was exercising (not sure if you are). Also, some people do have a stall early out so try to trust the process and stick with it. I mean when before have you lost four pounds a week pre surgery? The surgery is obviously working just maybe not as quick as you would like. Your a relatively low BMI so your not likely to lose as fast as someone who started with a higher one. About the scale, Do you have a followup appt at one month with your surgeon. I bet the scale recalibrated or it could just be that you sat it back In a little Different spot. I know I have wood laminate floors and they must be just the tiniest bit off level because when I move my scale around it weighs a bit different. When you go to your surgeon and he or she tells you what your weight is and your kiss by their scale you can figure how many pounds your scale is off from theirs and go from there. Honestly it Doesn’t usually really matter if it was accurate before or now so long as you are measuring with the same scale because accurate or not it will still reflect your lost. But if it is that far off from what it was before I can see how it would be confusing. Maybe even if you don’t have an appt you can ask to go in and just weigh yourself using the dr scale. I cant imagine why that would be a big deal. That way you can sorta estimate how many pounds your scale is off from theirs.

We are in Costa Rica now! I had my gastroscopy and ultrasound this morning. The EKG and internist are this afternoon. Best part was chatting with the doctor who did my gastroscopy about music before the procedure. He was so adorable and everyone had been very helpful!! Oh and both scans were fine. I have to go back in the morning for bloodwork because I fasted for too long. It has to be less than 12 hours and we went to bed at 7PM. Oops!

I needed to hear this today! I'm losing around 3 lbs a week since sleeve was done Dec. 2. But went out of town to see my mom and sibs and drank her sweet tea and ate nibbles of things I normally don't now and I'm up in weight. Was 204.2 and now I'm 206.2. (On my phone right now but will change my ticker soon! 206 is better than 215! Lol!) Frustrating! I didn't eat much as I still feel extremely restricted but I think the sugar must cause inflammation and salt always makes me hold water weight. So I'm happy to be back home and working a lot and eating my grapefruit, cucumbers and protein shake, etc. daily. Hopefully I can begin going back down this week. So close to Onederland! Thanks for sharing this. Goes to show just how fast it CAN come back on us. I've lost and gained lots over the years. Hoping this surgery was the tool I needed to help me get my weight down and keep it there. At this point I'd be thrilled just to get to and stay at 199 forever. LOL! But my goal is much lower. But once I get into the 100s I know I always FEEL better. So I'm looking forward to that milestone!

Gastric Sleeve, with a hernia fixed while he was in there, as I seemed to have climbed into my own oesophagus the hernia fix means that I have more to repair and a VERY small food pipe. When I woke up - the pain cleared up relatively fast and honestly - it wont hurt after that - you have made the right choice. By the end of the day, you will feel better and ready to start seeing your scales again without fear.

Phew - had it Thursday, only a 12 hour wait on the ward (first in , last operated on ). The NHS is clearly still overloaded in the UK, but still , it went well and a hernia was stitched Im told too , so thats good even if I am slower on the recovery now. I was home the next day (another 12 hour wait for my bag of drugs, glad Im an avid reader). I have strange pains in my left wrist which was a surprise - normally alleviated by raising my wrist or a heat pack. Fading today, so CO2 or canula related I guess. I am still on water , coffee, and actimel drinks, will try puree on monday. No hunger - instead a hard belly and only some grumbles in my head when my kids eat crisps beside me. For people to go through it - dont be a fool like me and try and pull 27 stone up into the standing position without going slow and careful . And dont dwell on what happens when you wake up , its not long and its over fast.

omg and lol *raises hand* i totally used to bawl during savasana at the end of almost every yoga class i took in the beginning!!! my instructors said its a common occurrence....something about releasing tension and emotion?? lasted about a month or so for me (mind u i went/go to class 1-2 times daily so i fast tracked the ugly-cry phase lol). i do remember it was very disconcerting at the time. when i try to explain it to non-yoga-ers, the best i could describe was that i wasn't feeling sadness nor happiness exactly...more like feeling overwhelmed, with what exactly, its hard to pinpoint...relief? gratitude? unworthiness? its been a while since i did that in class so my memory is foggy.... in any case, it normal apparently!

That is AMAZING! Nothing beats the feeling of achieving a new PR! And it feels so good to discover that your stamina has picked up and that you are able to go for longer (whatever that is you're doing), or do things you were never able to do before. Disclaimer: it is addictive. While I worked out my whole life, including while being obese, I was never fond of running. I did all sorts of cardio (Spinning, HIIT, BodyAttack, BodyCombat, Step, you name it) but I hated running with a passion. Found it boring. Although I was able to run for 6-7 km straight I rarely ever did. Fast forward to my foot injury, I was so immobile I was in pain walking, so I did a lot of jump rope and spinning to compensate but my weight never budged. 4 months Post VSG I started getting into serious fitness again and I discovered this newfound love for running that I run every single day now. I do 5-6k once a week and 3k every day after my lifts and I LOVE it with a passion, how times change LOL. I have a feeling you will too. Although I don't know you, I am very proud of you and hope your journey is full of such pleasant surprises.

Hi, sorry I have been absent. I was sleeved a week ago today. I stayed in hospital two nights and didn't have any real problems. Liquids went down pretty easily and I got 1litre in on the first day and the drip was taken off that afternoon. They left the cannula in and it started bleeding - it was in my elbow bend and I think I did something when I bent my arm too quickly - so they took that out too, which was great! I tidied up my room, put on clean clothes and took it easy. I even got let out for a couple of hours to visit my father-in-law in the public hospital next door. He is nearly 90 and the end is coming - they thought it was close on Tuesday although he has picked up a bit since then. Slept intermittently the first night and rang the bell for pain killers a few times. The second night I slept fine - but they woke me up for obs at 11:30pm and 5:30am! Ugh! Then I went back to sleep after the 5:30am ones and my surgeon woke me at 6:30am! I gave up after that My husband turned up 9ish so I got up and showered, dressed and packed and was sent on my way with Palexia (opioid painkiller) and a reflux medication. We went to visit FIL for an hour or so then got an Uber to our short stay apartment. I had to go to Sydney for surgery - I live in Canberra - and the doctor said I should stay in Sydney for four more days. So that was Thursday, day 2 post op. I didn't do anything else that day. Friday was ok, I'm not having any trouble consuming liquids although plain water is the hardest - it gives me a temporary lump in my chest and sometimes hiccups. One thing that really bothered me on Wednesday and Thursday was that when I lay down to sleep at night I felt like I had a tennis ball in my chest. I had to sit up for a while. The surgeon said it is common with the surgery and I also had a small hiatus hernia repaired and it can be part of that too. I found that not taking tablets and drinking water immediately before lying down was best but I haven't had it since. Saturday I hit a wall mentally. I think it was a lot to do with being away from home - I always feel a bit "wrong" away from home but usually I'm travelling which means (a) fun (b) eating and drinking what I like and of course post surgery none of that was happening. I went for a short walk with my husband in Hyde Park Saturday evening and it helped a tiny bit. I felt really depressed and like I'd done the wrong thing and that I'd never lose weight etc etc. Because I'm autistic I had a couple of autistic meltdowns at my poor husband who copes with them quite well. So unfair, he was doing his best to look after me. Sunday I said I didn't want to do anything but after a while I said to him we should go for a walk. Unfortunately it was hot and humid in Sydney (Canberra has an inland elevated dry climate so I don't do humidity well), but we went out for two hours. I had to sit down a lot - no energy plus the humidity ugh - so it was slow and I only did about 5,000 steps but it was a good thing to do. We walked through Hyde Park, down to the Art Gallery, through the domain, up to Macquarie Street, round to Circular Quay. It was Australia Day so there were heaps of people out, which made me nervous about someone walking into me and hurting my incisions. We had lunch at the Quay - fish and chips for him and a banana smoothie for me - I ate the tip of a chip with aioli but I chewed it to death first, and chewed some fish and spat it out (I know, gross). We caught the light rail back up to Town Hall and went "home". He went back to visit his Dad and I watched YouTube videos and even edited one of my own (I have YouTube channel on, don't laugh after what I said about being away from home, travel). Monday we packed up and came home. The relief of being home! I still felt a bit funny bit it wasn't too bad and last night I gave the kitchen and butler's pantry a really good clean so I was obviously feeling a lot better. Our cats (6) sit all over the bench and leave hair and dirt so after a week of being away it was pretty grubby. Plus my husband cooked me some soup and he is messy to say the least. Today I'm back at my desk getting on top of things and having that shower in my own bathroom was unbelievably good. I'm shaky and weak this morning so sipping on an Optifast shake. I've been tracking food in My Fitness Pal. I was craving hummus for lunch yesterday - I saw it in the Qantas Lounge on the way to the plane haha - so when we went shopping for food I bought a tub and ate half of it for lunch. Then I tracked it and the calories are unbelievable! I thought it was mainly chick peas but the half a small tub was about 850 calories so I won't be doing that again. Michael is going to make me some and put only a tiny bit of oil in it so it should be a lot lower in calories hopefully. I hope all this is of some use to others about to undergo this procedure! Or else I've just been rambling to no purpose I think I can start puree today but tbh I've been eating thicker stuff like hummus and yogurt already.