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I had been keeping a daily notebook since the start of January as I wanted to be prepared in case I was asked about my meals at my last check-up (I wasn't asked) but it was just a note of what I ate or drank, no nutritional info. Last week I started using My Fitness Pal. The reason I started tracking on the app is that my weight loss has slowed right down plus I wanted to be sure I was I was getting enough protein in each day as I have started to increase my exercise. I don't live or die by the tracking but finding it helpful as I can see already that I have been having less sugar than I thought and also more protein than I realised so am happy with that. Blonde me never realised that the daily scoop of collagen I put in my coffee also counted towards my protein 😂

Just keep moving, drinking water and eating protein first hand stay off the scale! Your body letting go of the weight is not just physical but mental! Give yourself some grace and be patient with the process! It will move again so stay positive and try to keep the negative thoughts away! I just came off a three week stall where I fluctuated between 3 #s to the point I thought my scale was broken!!

I’m at 5 months post op & down 90lbs. But I’m finding it so hard to exercise or walk everyday or any day. I feel lazy or tired after a long day at work so I’m not doing anything! Any ideas or suggestions that could help boost my weight loss and exercise?

Also don't forget possible "excess weight" from any loose skin and also fluid retention from certain foods, but also from building muscle during your workouts. You can continue to burn fat, which is the weight loss you want, but may add pounds on the scale since muscle weights roughly 1.5x that of fat. That's why the NSV's become more important towards the end. You may not be the goal weight number, but your BMI may already be there.

like others, eight lbs in eight years is actually great. Most people have a 10-20 lb rebound - and usually earlier on than you - usually at about three years out. And fortunately, as someone implied, it's eight lbs and not 40! It should be do-able, although that said, the closer you are to a normal BMI, the harder it is to lose even a few lbs. I've said this before on here, but I remember going to Weight Watchers meetings before surgery and listening in disbelief to those barely overweight women moan and complain about how hard it was to lose 10 lbs. And there I was - 200 lbs overweight. But I totally get it now!!! I've been dealing with regain, too (I'm 20 lbs above my lowest weight and have been since even before the pandemic), but I've been weighing back and forth after all this struggling if it's even worth the struggle (and my doctor is fine with my current weight, so she doesn't "get it" - which is no help!). I know a ton of long-timers who are dealing with the same thing. Some have just given up trying and are just focusing on maintaining where they're at, some have had some success with Weight Watchers, others swear by intermittent fasting, some go really low carb for awhile. And some go back to eating the way they did the first year post-op (not all the way back to purees and soft food - but they way they were eating when they were 6-12 months or so out). Whatever works and fits your lifestyle is worth a shot. But know that it's tough - your loss will be in ounces at this point rather than pounds, so it's hard to see your successes - but it can be done and some people do succeed! Anyway, best of luck to you!

Also your weight loss can make you more fertile (oestrogen is stored in fat & released as you lose weight) so, yes using two forms of contraceptives for quite some time after surgery is recommended by many surgeons.

Hello! I didn't have a Mirena removed post-op (my VSG surgery is scheduled for 11/22, so I am still pre-op!), but I HAVE had a Mirena IUD removed previously. I had it replaced with a copper ParaGard IUD (which does not have any hormones) because the Mirena hormones were causing me to have cystic acne and other weird hormonal stuff (more ovarian cysts, etc.!), and I can confidently say that the removal did NOT cause any weight gain. Hopefully that is at least slightly helpful for you to hear! You may want to ask in one of the post-op forums for other experiences, as well!

I agree with @Arabesque, track your food and see what you're eating, how much, and how often. The further out we get from our surgeries, the easier it is to slowly get off track. Our stomachs stretch out a little and we notice we can eat more, so we do. Definitely reach out to your dietician and see if you guys can come up with a way to get back on track. It's normal to have the weight loss slow drastically as time goes on, but if you aren't where you want to be yet, there's ways to fix it. But definitely start tracking your food and liquid intake, reach out to your dietician, and make sure you're moving your body. Even if you don't do full workouts, make sure you're moving every day. Park at the far end of a parking lot, take stairs instead of the elevator, take a walk a few times per week...anything to get your body moving.

Hello to all my surgery buddies, I've read some really amazing posts on here and just want to say thank you to all of you that show support to each other. It can be a very scary time, specially for those of us who are alone in our process to recovery. I had my gastric sleeve surgery on February 8th, I am 17 days post op as of this post. I still struggle a bit to consume even liquids. I burp a lot, and feel bloated all the time. I also have a constant feeling like everything slowly creeps up in my esophagus and just sits there. My pain levels are actually quite low, and my surgery incisions are healing quite well. I'm just worried about my stomach, my doctor wanted me to start introducing some solids slowly, but I told him no way I can barely tolerate liquids. So he has me on liquids for another week. I hope I am not one of the unfortunate few where the surgery will have long lasting complications and although I will lose the weight, my quality of life will be lowered because of all this discomfort. Thanks for reading, I wish everyone here a speedy recovery.

Reading a lot about tiredness and fatigue, is anyone feeling the other way at night? I’m struggling to sleep! I feel tired but ever since the op I have not got to sleep easily, have tried walking further in the day, reading etc but doesn’t seem to help!! (I’m 3 weeks post op on Tuesday) Feeling really positive otherwise though, the weight is coming down and the pureed stage doesn’t seem to be bothering me so much!! Just need to keep up with protein water to ensure I’m getting enough in, as only manage a few mouthfuls of the pureed food! Xx

i re-read your initial post, and picked up on this line that i missed the first time... are you saying you lost 17 lbs (from a weight of 137-145) in one month? i.e., you ended up weighing 120-128 at the end of said month?

You can have daily fluctuations of weight simply from water weight. Eating salt, menstrual cycles etc. That's why I only weigh once a week but even then, weight could be up on that weigh day for any of those reasons. Obviously overeating will do it. But I think you would know if you were doing that. Hopefully you are not one of the sleevers who lose 30 pounds then weight loss stops. It's usually at that time when doctors go the Ozempic, diet pill route. Or.. looks like you only have 29 pounds to go to hit goal weight. Those last few pounds will come off slowly. I have around 55 more to lose and expect it will become a much slower process now. But I sure hate those stalls too. If you are not seeing any loss in weeks or months, tell your doc/nutritionist and come up with a new plan. GL

I've done both. When I first started going to a nutritionist 7 years ago, I tracked religiously for calories as well as daily steps and lost about 40lbs. The problem I found was when I stopped tracking, I didn't have enough of a routine to keep eating the right way. When I was tracking calories with a 1500 limit, I would eat whatever and then stop when I hit the limit. Sometimes I was still hungry, other times I would have a glass of wine because I had "extra" calories at the end of the day. So it was effective for losing but not for maintenance. I also got really anxious having to track it all online for some reason. This summer, I started changing the basics of how I ate and forming a routine of the same foods almost every day. I would do a smoothie for breakfast, a big salad at lunch, and then a reasonable dinner, while minimizing the snacks and eliminating processed foods, added sugars, etc. I lost about 15lbs without tracking by keeping to this routine about 28 days out of every 30. The consistency worked for me and I didn't worry about the couple of times per month when I broke the routine and went out to eat or had a treat because it wasn't enough to outweigh the good stuff I was doing. Today, I've started my pre-op liquid diet and I am tracking again, but this time I decided on a notebook instead of an online tracker. I plan to track for several months because I think it's information I will need for my doctor and nutritionist if I encounter anything unusual during my recovery. I bought a Legend Planner Food Journal (pocket edition). It's not too big and it doesn't give me the anxiety tracking apps do. It has 6 months worth of pages, so I plan to track until the book is full and then reevaluate. I feel like if I can establish good habits and continue to track my weight weekly, I can stop tracking food. But if my labs come back bad or my weight starts going up, I will reassess.

I'm just going to list things in no particular order: 1. When sharing weight loss numbers many folks count from their highest weight rather than from day of surgery, or whatever starting point yields the biggest number; 2. There are many, many variables that go into how much weight one might be expected lose post-op. Such as highest weight, how much weight was lost pre-op, starting weight, expected total weight loss, how much of your excess weight is fat vs muscle, how active you were pre-op, genetics, and on an on; 3. Most people will lose weight in the first few months no matter if they follow plan or not. This is why following plan now is so important. When you follow plan you get the positive reinforcement of losing weight. Those folks not following plan also get the reinforcement. In a few months when the weight gets harder or stops altogether, who is going to be able to stay on plan? For you who followed plan it's now a habit. For those that didn't follow plan, they are back to going on a new crash diet just like before surgery, with about as much success; 4. We each manage our meals in different ways. Personally, I don't eat until I am full because it's not a comfortable feeling. Early out it was tough to figure out. With time I learned to eat until I feel like the next bite will make me full. Not unlike your method for avoiding being full. Good luck, Tek

I buy 6pk Hanes at Walmart and they are inexpensive. So, outgrowing them is not a problem to replace while I'm dropping sizes. Hanes Women's Cotton Bikini Underwear, 6-Pack - Walmart.com Bras are a bit harder to fit into...literally. I buy at thrift shops and will, until my weight stabilizes. I buy stretchy full cups and use bra extenders when needed. Sometimes the cup is right, but the smaller band sizes don't fit around me. I'm able to wear for longer periods of time using the extenders. I am now wearing a couple bras I bought a couple months ago. No longer spilling out of them and no longer needing the extenders. I'm having a harder time with pant sizes. I tried on jeans today I couldn't fit into a few weeks back. I guess I waited too long because now they are too big to even wear so they went into the donate pile. Makes me super happy :)

For me I think I should’ve gotten a bypass in the first place but my pcp said I was so young and the sleeve was good so I just went along with it. At first I had no intention to get a revision even though I had gained almost all the weight back but I’m glad I did and I have no regrets.

Aww, thank you!! Big hugs to you too! I'm doing great, I have been in remission for almost two years and the weight I lose from surgery will go towards decreasing my chances of reoccurrence so my oncologist was super happy to approve it! Hope your surgery went well and you are resting and sipping and walking! ❤️

Just had my first milestone walk - completed the entire block at a decent pace in 15 minutes! I was worried I wouldn't even make it to the end of the street, but I got there and felt like I could keep going... so I did. I can't wait for these weight restrictions for lifting/pulling/all that jazz to be lifted so I can actually take my dog out. But he's so hyper all the time that he would do more harm than good right now. I'm trying a plan today to hopefully reach my fluid and protein goals (like adding more water to a premade shake and things like that). We'll see. Those of you who have had your first post-op appointment already, could you tell you were losing weight prior to the appointment? I can't and I'm terrified I'm doing things wrong. But I guess since I actually made it around the block in a decent time, maybe something is working. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @ShoppGirl I'm definitely going to be looking into making the proffee. Iced coffee is my fave (though honestly, I just love coffee). I foresee me making it the night before, just so that I don't have to get up even earlier when I return to work. At least until I get a rhythm going lol. Huh, I didn't even know there were different ones, other than the Protein 2o with caffeine and without. So that is good information. I've been having one of the electrolyte ones a day, because honestly it was just so much for me to drink at once. I know I really need to focus on those goals, but man... I can't even finish a premade protein shake in 30 minutes right now. I'm glad you got to enjoy your crochet group, and kudos on feeling better in your normal clothes! 27lbs is no joke, so another grats to you for sticking to it and seeing it through to the other side. And congrats as well on your NSV with the car seat! It's nice to have cheerleaders. I haven't really told many people about my surgery - my husband (obviously), a few best friends, and my in-laws. My in-laws were... probably the most negative of everyone, telling me how they knew people who had the surgery and it ended up not working for them. But I knew they were just offering their perspective. Those suggestions from your crochet group are amazing! I love Ms. Dash flavors myself, and the food processor idea is amazing. Responding to a later post - I'm glad it worked!!! Makes me look forward to that puree stage even more. I think putting a band aid over the incision under your breast is a good idea for a while. I know I'm just as nervous about my incisions (though I can't wait for these staples to be out, holy crap). So I too would be erring on the side of caution, just to make sure I didn't open them up again or anything. Ohhhhh, good information about the peas, corn and collagen. I'll have to double check my book when I get to the pureed stage. (Though someone's idea about getting baby food some time ago in this forum is still like... the best idea ever to me.) You have soft foods coming up already? That's awesome! Although, you did have surgery a bit before me, so that makes sense lol. I am nervous about doing anything beyond the full liquids currently, just because I'm not sure what to expect with my new stomach. But at the same time, I can't wait to move it right along. I'm sorry to hear about your dog. ❤️ I've never boiled chicken before. How do you know when it's ready? I'm sure as I progress, I'll definitely have more questions. Right now, I'm just focusing on my fluid and protein goals. And not overdoing it with the pain. I took myself off the narcotics because I am terrified of taking them more than necessary, but I'm not sure Tylenol is cutting it either. Maybe I'll break down and take one tonight so I can hopefully get some sleep since I've been struggling getting comfortable. Thank you for the website recommendation! I'm trying to do all the reading and stuff to make sure I can stay on top of everything. I too am a 'by the rules' person if I know the rules, and I really need this to work for me. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @RRenaeL23 You are very welcome! I hope that helps you out some, and you definitely deserve all the encouragement. Everyone here does. We are all each other's cheerleaders because we know what we are going through, and we're going through it together. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @Hiddenroses I know what you mean about being easier to type from a desktop computer. I have to have a separate word document open to help me organize my thoughts as I'm responding to each post. That's another reason why it takes me like... a couple of days between posts. (My ADHD is also responsible for that, but shhhhhhhh.) I'm sorry that Wednesday was exhausting for you. I've had a couple of nights now where I'm just not sleeping. I can't get comfortable. I'm not in pain, but it just seems that since I took myself off my pain meds that I have been extremely tender in the abdomen lately. I do like your idea of the 'no noodle' soup, and will definitely keep that in mind for when I make it to the puree stage. I have so much stuff to get for that point, but I'm waiting until I'm actually at that point. I am looking forward to the ricotta bake that ShoppGirl has mentioned a few times. Though, admittedly, I'm just looking forward to different flavors. You are welcome again for the pillow idea. My pillow is my best friend right now, literally lol. It protects me from the overzealous dogs I have as well as just provides relief. My left side is also where most of my tenderness/pain is at this point, so being able to apply pressure there has been really helpful. And... a month or two to recover??? My husband might lose his mind lol. He still forgets I just had surgery and is like, "Will you cook dinner?" No, no I will not. You are an adult, figure it out. I am not taking any kind of collagen. The only thigns I got were what the doctor told me to get, which was my multivitiman with iron and the calcium supplements. They did not recommend anything else, so I went out of my way to make sure I didn't get anything else lol. I did not want to screw up anything regarding this surgery. I'm still using an antibacterial body wash, so I guess that's the biggest thing. So enjoy your Hibiclens while you have it! (And absolutely, if insurance paid for it - TAKE IT ALL. lol) Baritastic has been great, so I also highly recommend. It's what my bariatric team wanted me to use, and I've been using it faithfully. I have noticed a few things that had the wrong information, but it is easy enough to correct. I'm glad you got in contact with your testing center and will be meeting with a counselor soon. Honestly, getting tested was the best thing I've ever done and told me so much about myself. Finch sounds kind of like Habitica, which is what I have been using to help me set routines and habits and such. 40-60g of protein for a female? My bariatric team says a minimum of 60g of protein a day, and the more the merrier. I'm still amazed at how different offices handle things. Pre-surgery, I was averaging 90-100g of protein a day, and they were ecstatic about that. They did say the more protein I could handle before and after surgery, the less likely I would be to lose my hair and things like that. I'm still not quite up to that 60g mark post-op, but I'm hoping I might be able to hit it today. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @Pepper_No_Salt Welcome to full liquids! Sounds like your first post-op appointment went well! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @Greekmom4 The refried beans with salsa and a little bit of mozzarella sounds yummy. I'm used to eating medium salsa, but I'm pretty sure that's a no go for a while lol. Those are also good tips for starting the soft stages of food. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @AndreaJD (I'm not sure why it suddenly won't let me tag you?) My incisions can't make up their mind if they want to hurt or if they want to itch. They seem to alternate between both, though the ones on my left side tend to hurt more than the others. I do absolutely have those moments of "I want...." though mine are more like, "I want a slice of cheese, just to have something different than liquids." There are a few times that I want things I used to have, like Cheez-Its. But I know those aren't on the table, so I am able to push those away fairly quickly. But as someone who loves a variety of food, I'm really struggling with just "I want ANYTHING different than my current liquids." I'm glad your sister is showing her support. I've been on Pinterest myself, pinning recipes for Future Me to be able to have. As for weighing, I literally do not weight myself. Only at the doctor's office. Because I DO get hyperfixated on those numbers and will absolutely derail myself mentally. Maybe I'll go to weighing myself once a month at home after a few post-op visits, but for now I'm just doing it strictly at the doctor's office.

UGH - Just UGH - I'm an idiot. I KNOW what to do.... but can't seem to get back into the game. Up almost 15lbs from my lowest and can't seem to get it back under control. A couple of weeks ago, I put some slacks away because they no longer fit comfortably. It just about made me sick to toss my "goal pants" on a shelf. As I type this, I'm thinking I need to go back to where I started. Put those bad boys back in the closet, try them on weekly (like I used to) until they fit right again. STOP wearing the comfortable stretchy leggings that I wore when I was losing weight... It's so easy to get comfortable at this point. I guess this is really just a rant (and a warning): don't get comfortable. Pay attention and BEFORE things get out of control, get back on track. It's much easier to lose 5 than 15. I tend to be a social eater/drinker vs. emotional so I know that I need to make sure I have the right (raw veggies and fruit) foods available when in social gatherings instead of the "standard" snack foods (charcuterie boards are my absolute downfall). Knowing I will have an adult beverage, making sure I'm also drinking a water in between to at least slow myself down.... Putting on those ill-fitting shorts at home to remind myself NOT to over indulge. Make small changes every week instead of trying to go all-in with a "pouch reset" (which I fail miserably at every time I try). Take pictures and compare. Anything it takes to remind yourself of WHY you did this to begin with. TRACK - Whew, I can't say that enough... TRACK. My failure to track is why I am where I am. When I see what's going in, it's a real eye-opener.

Hello and mega congratulations. Its good to hear just how well you are doing. In such a short time you have gained so much. I feel the same joy every day just living life in a smaller body.

Great job! My doctors are very happy with where I am. I've regained about 10 pounds, which I'm not super happy about, but here we are. LOL! My personal weight goal is 150. My doctor's goal for me is 163. The lowest I got was 166. I'm struggling with food choices, right now. I'm eating too much protein. But proteins are easy, grab-and-go, fast to prepare, so they're what I tend to reach for. But, they also make you gain weight, if you eat too much of them. I'm trying to strike a balance. I've also developed hypoglycemia. So, I have to eat about every 2 hours. When I prep my food, I do better with my eating. Again, the grab-and-go thing really helps. And having veggies already washed and cut up, in the fridge, encourages me to eat less protein and more vegetables - which I really need to be doing. But, overall, I'm doing really well. I'm no longer diabetic. My cholesterol is normal. My blood pressure is actually on the low end. I'm off of all my obesity-related medications. I had my final visit with my therapist, on Tuesday. He thinks I'm in a really good place and don't need him anymore. Besides a couple of little speed bumps I've had along the way (an issue with my diaphragm and the hypoglycemia) this has been an amazing, wonderful, journey. I have no regrets.

I haven't had my surgery yet, but honestly some of the things I am most looking forward to are these: being able to have most bath towels (especially ones at hotels) fit around me with no gaps. being able to wear my partner's clothes. not having to use my own weight as a way to get momentum to get off of a sofa. to be able to walk up a flight of stairs, or even just alongside my friends when we are walking without feeling out of breath and sweaty! Reading everyone's NSV's has been really encouraging. I can't wait to have my own!

I am outwardly fierce and confident. No one but my doctor, since high school has ever dared to mention my weight. I would deck them. Now they just say wow you look good, your new hair style suits you or think my husband has a mistress. There is loads of Exorcist head turning going on when we go out together. What they are saying behind my back has not as yet been heard by me. I am a big believer in Karma. What goes around always comes around with a heavy hammer.

I get your frustration. I gained 5 lbs after Christmas and it just wasn't coming off. Last week I graduated off of Hint water and can now drink any water however I did change my diet. I know this is going to sound weird but it worked for me and I'll be 67 in a few weeks. I eat high protein, no sugar, sweetened with erythritol yogurt then my coffee with a small amount of sweetened flavored creamer and whipping cream. Lunch is usually a protein bar and a cheese stick. Protein bar is sweetened with the erythrirol.. Then the snacking begins - I make jello cubes out of unflavored beef gelatin, monk sugar and allulose, unsweetened kool aid and water. I make it thick and cut into 1/2" cubes. Place a hefty serving into a baggy and I can eat as many as I want. I snack from 3 til 8 on jello cubes, not non stop but maybe 3 baggies worth. I too was hungry all the time until I started eating the jello cubes. IDK why it works but in 5 days I lost 6 lbs. I pee non stop but that's ok with me. My jello cubes are about 35 calories a baggy but it's all protein and if you take a tryptophan with it it becomes a complete protein plus its tons of collagen. I've lost a lot of hair the past 6 weeks so trying to fight that. My surgery was 8/14 and so far I've lost 91 pounds (lost 45 before my surgery). I need new knees something awful so highly motivated. 17 lbs to go. I did join the gym 2 weeks ago in preparation for the new knees. Gotta get these old legs strong again. I hope things break for you soon.

I did not, I stayed the same weight for maybe a week but that was it and it was close to my 2 months mark. Im gonna be 3 months next Tuesday and ive lost 68 lbs since surgery. (SW 369)