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That's good to know! I was shocked I lost so much in the pre-op phase. It took me 6 months to lose 15lbs from my highest weight this past summer, and then I lost the same amount in 2 weeks. So I imagine my body is reacting to that as well, like what the heck are you doing?! I just got to start soft proteins a few days ago (my doctor skips purees) and my calorie count is increasing as well. I seem to be able to get around 30g protein from food, and I'm still supposed to have 3 protein shakes, so I'm ending up with 90+ grams of protein and 600-650 calories. Pre-op I was at 600-800 calories per day and 80-100 grams protein, so maybe that's more of a sweet spot. Hopefully this will give me a nudge in the right direction!

Honestly, this seems way off-base, with the exception of 60-80 grams protein, which is completely sufficient for most people (but not all!). Your calorie estimations are much too low for the vast majority of people in maintenance mode. So rest assured, you won't be on 650 calories for life! Also, 25g carb is extremely low carb and not a lifestyle most people are eager to embrace. If a doctor insisted on 25g carb for life as the only way to succeed, I would seek out a second opinion for sure. From what I see people saying around here, 1200 to 1500 is a much more realistic calorie range for the long term, although that is for maintenance, not for weight loss or for early days after surgery. If you eat to maintain your current weight right now, that would seem to go against your goal of losing 20-50lbs more. I have two suggestions. First, check out some bariatric cookbooks because they will tell you appropriate portion sizes for maintenance as well as give you some ideas for what types of foods to be eating. My favorite is Kristin Willard's Bariatric Meal Prep Made Easy: 6 Weeks of Portion Controlled Recipes to Keep the Weight off. She's a registered dietician specializing in bariatrics and every recipe has a gorgeous color illustration. Second, take a look at the Portion Perfection brand bariatric plate. It's kind of expensive, so you may not want to buy it, but the concept is really good. Basically it's an 8 inch plate (with a one inch rim all the way around, so a 6 inch circle of eating space). There are lines and illustrations to divide up the plate and show you where to put your foods and how much. If you're a visual person, this may really help. Other than that, you may want to check out some of the nutrition videos as well as the weekly podcast done by Dr. Matthew Weiner (Pound of Cure). I find them so insightful and he and his dietician, Zoe, are very keen on plant-based nutrition, which may be perfect for you. Edited to add: Here is a link to a dietician article about post-op goals that might help: https://www.mybariatricdietitian.com/mbd-blog/portion-sizes-after-weight-loss-surgery

Andrea, have you lost just the 4 lbs from your surgery weight in November? Or do you mean in the last week/month?

Does anybody else not own a scale lol. If you don't own one how did you keep track of weight loss? By clothes?

Hi there! I just had my surgery last Monday on February 19th! I am on day 8, and honestly, im starting to feel almost back to normal! Struggling with the fact that I can't eat anything other than soup and pudding despite being so so hungry. Everything has been going down really good. I have had no issues getting in protein. I have 3 premier protein shakes a day, which equals to 90g of protein. I just wish I could eat soft foods like mashed potato and eggs. But my nurse practitioner wants me to stay on the liquid diet for another 3 weeks. YEAH RIGHT, hahah im going to be introducing some foods next week I think. I can't wait any longer. I am so hungry! I hope you have a speedy recovery from surgery! If you need any advice or have any questions, I am always here for you! Heaviest Weight: 376 - April 2023 Weight on day of surgery: 291 - February 2024 Total lbs lost before surgery: 85 lbs Current weight (1 week after surgery): 280 Total lbs lost since April: 96 lbs Im so close to meeting my 100 lbs down goal!!

first off, @newbegining2024, you will have zero complaints from me, food porn is my favourite kind of porn, ha! re: food funerals, like @Arabesque, i didn't really have time (or thought) to have one. i had postponed my surgery twice in the year and a half prior deciding to finally (again) go through with it. I called my surgeon to say, lets do it in early to mid september 2018, and he booked me in for surgery in a little over a month later for October 2018. I got into tunnel-vision like mode of like, "Lets GOOOO!" while i didn't do any specific diet prior to the 2 week liquid diet before surgery, i DID make conscious efforts NOT to stuff myself or eat mindlessly. i did this for about 2-3 weeks, and didn't lose any weight, interestingly enough. then it was time for my 2 week liquid pre-diet of 3 protein shakes a day. and since i'm a self-proclaimed over-achiever😂, by the end of week 1 i was doing 2 shakes a day, and by mid week 2 i was down to 1 shake a day. yes, i know i was NOT supposed to do this, but i just wanted to prove to myself that i could for some reason (i blame the tunnel vision). again, interestingly enough, i lost 11 lbs. fast forward 5 and half years and life is good, i'm skinny, healthy, happy, and full of energy. i also eat whatever i want...in fractions of amounts i used to, of course. and we aren't just talking salads (though i do LOVE salads!), and boiled fish. i will order items displayed in that awesome spread that @newbegining2024 shared. i eat bread and pasta and fatty steaks, deep fried whatever, chips, bacon, pizza, cheese, alcohol and yes, even desserts. JUST IN VERY SMALL PORTIONS (and yes, i also eat steamed vegetables, grilled lean meats, greek yogurt, and a ton of water). i guess what i'm trying to say is that you don't have to say good bye to your fave foods forever. good luck! ❤️

First was at week 5. I had returned to work in a new area where an old work friend was based. I’d lost a good 10kgs (22 odd lbs) so noticeable. She’d known me from thin to obese & up & down so knew of my battles. She hugged me in welcome on my first day & then whispered I was looking good. I told her a few days later. She offered no judgement just good wishes. Everyone in that section knew I’d recently had a surgery but not what. Most presumed it was a ‘female surgery’ (it was a largely male section) & I didn’t correct them. I remember her reaction so well because on the last day of my contract (about 8 weeks later), they organised a farewell/thank you morning tea for me. Lots of sticky buns, cakes, etc. She whisperered she’d made sure there was some cheese & crudités so I could have a little bite of something & not feel uncomfortable. Such a considerate thing to do & all without fuss. Can’t recall who was last to notice I was losing weight. Sometimes people don’t say anything because they’re unsure how you’ll react or don’t want you to think they watching how successful you are or will be. Or if the don’t know worry you are unwell & again don’t want to broach the subject with you. So they say nothing. Your boyfriend is likely trying to be super supportive & nothing more. Depending on how much you were when you started, it can take a little while to really notice a change. For me, that 10kgs was almost a dress size, but because I wore a lot of loose, or elastic waisted clothing, my loss was sort of hidden. Gave you been taking photos or taking body measurements (weekly or monthly)? Sometimes the changes can be seen more easily that way than just in a mirror (body dysmorphia can blind us to the truth sometimes) or when pulling on your pants (until they fall down of course 😉). Congratulations on your loss so far.

I am almost two and a half years post sleeve. At your stage I was eating around 800 calories I think, but if I've learned anything it's that we're all totally different! Well into maintenance, my typical day is: Breakfast: full cream milk latte. I have never eaten breakfast at breakfast time and never will. Mid morning: one or two fried or scrambled eggs, depending on how hungry I am. Generally one. Lunch: a salad with some protein (last night's dinner meat, tinned tuna or deli meat - sometimes cheese). Or more often soup - usually homemade and usually with either chicken or pulses for protein. Or occasionally, if I'm feeling really lazy and can take the sugar hit, 100g tinned baked beans with cheese and hot sauce. Snacks, probably three a day at this point: cheese (and usually a couple of crackers with that); 150mls [approx] full cream milk kefir or a kefir yoghurt; nuts (30g approx); seeds (20g probably); deli meat; fruit (I eat at least one portion of berries or an apple every day). I tend to keep lots of meat snacks in the fridge as they're filling and help me reach my protein goal. Dinner: whatever I've cooked for everyone else but without the carb element, or just a tiny bit. Basically protein and veg - in that order. But that includes fried chicken, bolognese, casseroles, sausages, roast dinners, fish pie (no potato topping) - everything I used to eat before my sleeve. Supper: I do most of my carb intake here. Toast and butter, porridge (oatmeal to you lot) with stewed fruit, crackers with butter (or cheese if I haven't cheesed out by then). Exercise: I do a 1 hour aerobic exercise class 3 days a week. I walk between 2 and 4 miles every day and I jog about a mile once or twice a week instead of walking. I am still amazed by what my new body can do. I probably should do more. This is my diet 90% of the time. I have lots of days when I stray badly off the path and eat chips (crisps) and occasionally chocolate. I also drink wine every weekend, which I accept is totally empty calories with no nutritional value. I just track everything and try to adjust if I can. I've had a couple of regains of a few pounds now (4ish), but so far I've been able to jump on those, ditch the rubbish (carbs mainly), up my exercise and get back to 140 or thereabouts. It's no problem at all - a couple of weeks of being more vigilant about what goes into my mouth and a few runs instead of walks. I really hope I can keep doing that. I may have to accept that my set weight is higher than 140 but I am loving it here!

Honestly I think this is one of the reasons therapy is so helpful when going through this experience. Even if you don't go every week, having a person who has both perspective and understands the ins and outs of abusive relationships and how they echo through us for years after can be immensely healing. You are changing a LOT and it is normal to have feels about that. And he will have feels about it too, because he loves you and as you change, he will have to change in some ways too, to accommodate and appreciate the ever-changing being that is you! My partner doesn't care what weight I am. I gained 100 lbs since we were first married. We've been together 17 years. They look at me with just as much, if not more, desire than they did when I was young and smaller, which is hard to wrap my head around! They have always encouraged me to dress in ways that feel good. They prefer curvy women, always have. I have been worried that as I lose weight they might lose some of that attraction to me because in time, I will be smaller than they've ever known me, smaller than I've ever been in my adult life! But they assure me that while they aesthetically like the look of curvy women, they LOVE me in all my forms and my health and wellbeing is more important than anything else and no matter how I change, I will still be beautiful. If they loved me at 200 and they loved me at 320, they will love me at 170 or wherever I land. I've done enough work in therapy with the abuse I dealt with in the past to be able to trust what they say. But it still gets to me sometimes... Today I noticed my boobs have become visibly flatter. This is really hard for me because I LOVE MY BOOBS. 🤣 I have always been booby and I like it! Last year I found out I carry the CHEK2 mutation and with my cancer history combined with it I have a much higher risk of developing breast cancer than I'd like. The specialist I saw advised I consider an elective mastectomy after my weight loss stabilizes. I understand the logic, but I've already had to bid goodbye to my reproductive organs thanks to cancer, I wasn't expecting to have to consider saying goodbye to my boobs too. So I was standing in the bathroom today having the feels about my flat boobs and my partner came in so I pointed out the change. They admitted they could see the difference but very stubbornly said "These are my favorite boobs in the whole world. They are the best boobs ever, no matter what size they are." FFS, really?? Am I not supposed to cry at that?? They said something similar when we talked about a mastectomy. I feel very lucky to have a partner that can abide all the changes that I've gone through in this life and still look at me through the eyes of love. I hope I succeed at giving that back to them...

Has anyone had a sleeve who takes Abilify? My metabolism has virtually stopped since taking Abilify. I am going to be sleeved on 10/24 and can't wait. Please write and tell me of your weight loss experience since being sleeved while on Abilify.

Congrats! Sounds like you are making some good progress if you've gone through that many clothes! I can relate to both of you. I feel like I haven't made the progress I should be, but Long Covid has hurt my exercise efforts and constant brain fog is frustrating. I also hit a 6 week long stall that really brought me down. Thankfully that finally broke the last two weeks for me, but I still dont' have my strength back. A 2 mile walk pretty much drains me still, even though I was doing 4-5 miles at a time 4 weeks post-op before Covid. EDIT: Based on continuing conversation in this thread, I just wanted to say I realize I have made good progress, but was trying to emphasize that I still have a mental block that, for some reason, prevents me from appreciating it. I've lost more weight than I was ever able to on my own, but at the same time feel physically weaker than any other point in my life despite trying to exercise. Also my start weight of 352 was from my highest ever weight in 2021, and not my pre-op diet weight of 321. Not trying to be dishonest, just trying to remind myself how bad off I was 2-3 years ago.

It really did! I think I was on the waiting list for Tier 3 for about 2 years. I don't know how they think they are helping those who desperately need help with their weight, by making them wait years and years without any support. I completely empathise with that, although there are a lot of freedoms with being self-employed, it does make some things more difficult. I am glad they have reacted quickly to the complaint - I so hope they take it as seriously as they should and the woman who initially caused stress is actually held accountable. I have my fingers crossed for you! ❤️ Here if you need a friend x

I have not but I've known a few WLS vets who have - and all have had great results. I've read a lot of people regain the weight after they discontinue it, though. so you'll either have to keep up with it or else be really careful.

Hello. I had a conversion from the gastric sleeve (2017) to the bypass on 1/8/24. I should start regular foods this week, however, I am at the pureed thin phase as once I incorporate foods with any weight or texture, such as oatmeal, scrambled eggs, finely blended chicken (not pureed), the food feels stuck in my esophagus and I am vomiting froth and mucous (not the food). Has anyone else experienced this? I have contacted my surgeon, seeing her Wednesday as she was on vacation last week, I have spoken with my dietitian and the center for weight loss and they believe that my esophagus is having spasms. Has anyone else experienced this? I have simply gone back to full liquids as I had no problems with that.

yep. i was notorious for barely eating anything. i just didn't want to honestly. and i want to be the type of person to force my self to eat if i didn't want to (personally i think that is just as an unwanted eating habit as eating out of boredom). i did also lose more that i wanted to after reaching goal (at 7 months), but it all leveled out eventually (by 1 year). and no, i did not waste away, i did not become malnourished, i did not starve to death. while i did look pretty gaunt for a few months, that too went away despite not re-gaining any substantial amount of weight. i did have to re-learn how to eat higher calorie foods (abstaining from them during weight loss phase got ingrained into me, so it took me a few months to be mentally ok eating it again, you know?) i'm 5+ years out and there are still days when i just don't want to eat, or just forget to eat altogether. i don't worry about it too much because i know there will be a day when i just wanna eat. so long as my weight stays within my acceptable range, my pants fit, my doc is not concerned and i feel great, then i'm all good. honestly i just accept that i didn't reach my goals that particular day...so long as i reach them at least like 60-70% of the time, then i consider it a success. but i'm a bit far out now...during early weight loss phase i did try a little harder by drinking protein shakes (which i don't anymore), also i never tried to forcefully increase calories during weight loss phase though, no matter what i was eating. but during maintenance i was concerned about increasing calories...see my go-to's below: stuff i ate to increase calories in the early days of maintenance when stomach real estate was on ongoing issue: - avocaods - nuts and nuts butter - full fat dairy and cheese - beef jerky - olive oil drizzled on whatever - chicharron / pork rinds --> yeah this one would raise eyebrows cuz the crazy fat content, but i loved/love it! plus it had the added bonus of being very high in protein, ha. and it really helped to bump up my calorie intake. finally, i am also a grazer...since i can't really eat alot in one sitting, i eat a little bit every hour or so. this was really an issue for me in the early years, but now my food intake capacity has increased so it doesn't feel so much like a chore as it used to. In sum, just do your best, keep up with your labs and doc appt to make sure you medically ok, and eventually the stuff that you are worrying about now will be just that thing you used to worry about. good luck! ❤️

Yeah, you should have been given either macro goals, or a calorie goal, or ideally, both with the sleeve surgery. It isn't odd to not be able to digest heavy carbs like noodles, pasta, breads, and rice. And they really aren't the best things to be eating in the weight loss phase anyway. Pork can be quite dense, my stomach doesn't like it too much and it hates chicken breast. LOL When you eat things that your stomach is fine with, do you keep it down easily or does it cause vomiting and nausea? If you drink fluids other than water (like milk or a protein shake), does it cause the spitting, or is it just with plain water?

Love, love, love this advice!! I can personally tell you that you are 100% correct. I was not drinking enough water (i was relying on Coke Zero) which i know actually dehydrates you. I also got into the bad habit of staying up way too late on my phone while watching Netflix so I was not getting enough sleep. My weigh loss stalled. I have now been drinking a lot more water and making sure i get between 7.5- 8 hours of sleep a night. By doing this i have broken the very long stall/very slow weight loss!! I know this is common knowledge about getting enough water/sleep, I just got into very bad habits for a while. I had my surgery 4/12/23 and have lost 82 lbs so i am doing good, but i knew i could do better!

I was on this forum ages ago but when I was thinking about you all and tried to log back in I could not remember my old user ID so I created a new one. I even tried searching for key words I remember taking about for a meetup in the Boston area. I gave up and created a new account. I had my RnY in November 2015. I had the most amazing and pain free recovery. I had my old clip on Fitbit on the day of surgery. It was taking them a while to get me a bed out of recovery and I was bored. I managed to walk five miles that day just in laps around the nurses' station. The nurses didn't believe me but I was able to show them! I went home the next day and had no reactions to meds or food. The hardest part was having my mom stay with me for a few days and wanting to help when I was really fine on my own. What hurt her was she could not use her love language of food on me. I kept most of the weight off until COVID. Working from home and not being accountable to pants with buttons for two years took its toll. With normal weight creep, a bad knee injury in 2020 that led to a lack of exercise, and then COVID too, I gained back about 40 lbs. that I am in the process of losing again with Mounjaro.

I agree with the others. Your rate of loss is fine. I also agree with the concerns about your eating during this losing period. It seems more like how you may chose to eat when you are in maintenance. When we choose how much & how often we have foods like pizza, chips, sweetened drinks, etc. When we decide what foods we’ll to add back into our new way of eating or ones we’ll avoid. When we look at alternative ingredients, or different cooking methods. I also worry about you changing your way of eating so often, going from one extreme to another. (Not including Ramadan in this.) Are you sure you’re meeting your fluid & protein goals? Are you sure you’re getting in a range of nutrients from nutrient dense foods? This is so important when we are only able to eat smaller portions. We all say & are told to stick to our plans for a reason. You mentioned you had a difficult relationship with food/bad eating habits & these current behaviours do seem a continuation of this. Do you still see your dietician? Your therapist? If not, at the very least I’d seek a reference from your surgeon/team to a therapist who specialises in disordered eating. Many find therapy very helpful in changing these behaviours & their relationship with food & identifying strategies to mange them. All the best. PS - Don’t believe the calorie burn on your Apple Watch. It’s known to be inaccurate & tends to inflate the stats. It only uses your height, weight & age & not your individual metabolic rate, your optimal heart rate, the amount of energy you are putting into the activity, etc. Use it as a guide/approximation only.

I had a revision from sleeve to bypass, but it was due to complications, not for weight loss. When you have a revision, the amount of weight you lose is a lot less than the original surgery, and tends to come off slower, as well. For example... with my initial sleeve, I lost 103 pounds the first 8 months. Since I've had my revision (and it's been 8 months) I've lost 57 pounds. I'm not complaining, by any means, but it comes off a lot slower and you definitely lose less. Also, with the initial surgery you tend to lose the most weight in the first 6-7 months. With the revision, I noticed it was the first 3-4 months. In no way do I regret it (as I said, I had some pretty gnarly complications, so a revision was a must) but it's just something to keep in mind when looking at a revision for weight loss versus because of complications.

I’m really excited about the progress being made in pharmacology to manage obesity! This medication works well but is still generally considered a lifetime or long term treatment. Some can manage to keep the additional weight lost off with intensive lifestyle changes. However its so new there is much data on this for our population. Check out Dr. Weiner, he covers the topic extensively on his podcast and has additional info on his website. https://youtu.be/eu6Zt0LTg14?si=_rPWlf8DlrhGh3u6 https://www.poundofcureweightloss.com/glp1-medications/ Please connect with a Bariatric/weight management team that supports this. Unless you are T2D, you’ll likely be prescribed Zepbound. Make sure to check your insurance coverage and download the coupons. https://zepbound.lilly.com/coverage-savings

It's nice to see I'm not the only one Nepenthe44 to break down the science for them and yes that when you do they view it as noncompliance and being difficult. I've even had it suggested that if there's not enough time in my day - wake up and drink a few sips during the night. Science states we as humans require uninterrupted sleep more than those few sips of water. So Nepenthe44 I hate to agree because there will be those that say they really do care, but I do, what people fail to remember is the dieticians are doing a job, one most likely they've never personally experienced for themselves; being a bariatric patient vs. nutritional counseling for bariatric patients having never experienced bariatric struggles. I finally suggested the next time she had the stomach flu and was nauseated and exhausted - wanting to vomit picking up a glass and start drinking water and to make sure to get her 80 grams +- of protein in and getting down 60+ ounces of water, she finally "understood." What is a requirement on paper doesn't always equate to what actually works for people much less a bariatric patient. Its all theory. A body is set up that when you need water lo and behold you feel thirsty! I realize the nutritional requirements for the human body per weight/sex are all fairly similar but the comparisons/suggestions for likes/wants vs needs on food replacements isn't even close E.g. heart of palm noodles vs Thai noodles - in NO way are they taste comparable. So to suggest when I say I miss Thai noodles - heart of palm noodles as a replacement is absurd. That's like suggesting when I say I want a hamburger to replace it with a 3oz of fish - not equal! I didn't say "I miss protein"! They don't understand the struggle and since its their job, not a family member or a true friend they really don't "care." Lastly, I realize they are trying to help and its their job to help me achieve my goals in a healthy way (for those who are thinking this as they read this), but in reality they don't really have a personal investment in my success. I do as they suggest, for the most part, but I also decide what goals are obtainable realistically and which aren't based on consumption quantity vs. time in my day vs. work schedule vs. my employers needs.

Choosing a surgeon and Days 1-3 It's Sunday night and my surgery was Friday morning (1/12/24). My gastric sleeve was 3/24/23. I lost almost half the weight before my Gastric Sleeve surgery. I chose to have my surgery in Tijuana, Mexico because of the cost and I have a friend who lives about 45 minutes away in Mexico and my father lives about 2 hours away. I started my research reading about medical tourism in general to get advice on what to look for and what questions to ask. I started my search with Realself.com and chose surgeons with 4+ stars,10 or more years experience, and who said they were part of the American Board of Plastic Surgeons or the American or International Societies of Aestetic Plastic Surgeons. I read all the reviews I could find, noting all the bad things said, and verified they were actually listed on the board or society sites. One of them wasn't. I made virtual appointments with 3 and chose Dr. Rodolfo Casillo Calderon, who is listed on both the American and International Societies. He originally told me I had to wait until a year after my surgery, but I reached my goal and my weight stabilized in early October so I was able to move the date up. I uploaded a bunch of pictures to myTouchMD and when we did our call he explained in detail what he would do, complete with drawings on my pictures. He explained possible problems and what could be included in my package and that I would have a patient coordinator to walk me through it and answer questions. I had told him I wanted a 360, breast lift with gummy implants, and a BBL (i've always had dents in my butt and got called board butt in high school). He told me he didn't think I had enough fat in the area he was working for a BBL, especially since some of the transferred fat would die, but he would see what he could do. I asked for the best medicine package and told them I didn't need transportation to/from the airport since my dad and friend would provide that). I also told him in the future, I wanted my inner thighs, maybe my arms if I could get a good price at the same time and a face-lift. He told me that was too much to do in one surgery, that the face-lift would be one and the thighs and arms another, and they had to be at least 6 months apart. He sent me a quote for the 360, breast lift with implants and lipo and said it included the mons reduction and lift but not the BBL. The quote included the surgery, labs, cardiology evaluation, compression garments, meds, hospital stay of 1 night, and 6 nights in a recovery home that has 24/7 nursing staff and food. $12,699. I paid a 20% deposit and paid the balance during my pre-op lab appointment. I also filled out paperwork and met my coordinator. When I talked to Dr. Castillo in person, he took the pre-op pictures and told me again that he didn't think I had enough fat for a BBL, but he would see what he could do. I was disappointed, but trusted his judgment. I woke up after surgery in recovery, and they took me to a room and bolstered me well with pillows. I had a catheter, so I didn't have to move. My right toes felt numb and I couldn't feel my left toes, The nurse said it was from the anesthesia and would wear off and it did. I could feel and move my toes again. I had good service ar CER Hospial and spent the evening eating, drinking and watching TV. I asked for a snack and they got me some crackers (the cafeteria was closed and I didn't want jello). The next morning (Saturday) Dr. Castillo came in and talked about my surgery. He put 320cc in my right breast and 240 in my left and explained it would take a while for them to drop. He also told me he did a little fat transfer to my butt and gave me instructions to reduce death of the fat and stressed that there wasn't enough fat for a ful BBL, but he did what he could and it mostly came from my hips. Then his nurse came in and gave me my meds and instructions for aftercare. My patient coordinator from his office also came in and told me I'd get picked up by Casa by Linda's driver at about noon and asked if I have any questions. Shortly before noon they took my catheter and IV out and the nurse helped me sit up and helped put the compression garments on me, then I got dressed. The drive was a bit scary. The driver said it was like driving in New York with people pulling out and changing lanes without enough room. He told me interesting stuff about Tijuana and prohibition, how the margarita came to be made, and about Rita Hayword's history, getting discovered, and changing her name. I was helped out of the car and to my room, which has a queen hospital bed. The head was inclined and my space was pre-padded. I got in bed and they explained the remote and how to call them and asked if I had questions, needed anything, and if I was hungry. They brought me lunch and my friend came with my backpack and snacks. I was able to get out of bed and put my stuff away. My laptop, tablet, and snacks are all in reach. Sitting up is the most painful. Lying down in my nest of pillows is not as painful, but hurts pretty bad. To get up, I put the foot of the bed down, the head up, and roll to the side, then use my arm to push myself up. To get back in bed, I get on the bed on my knees and position my knee at the far side of my nest, then lower myself sideways and roll into the in the nest. My breasts aren't hurting at all. The compression garments has an open crotch, so you don't have to mess with it to go to the bathroom. The staff here respond quickly to requests and bring me my antibiotics and pain meds, and so far the pain is tolerable and I've been able to walk. You walk hunched over and slow. Linda has come in several times to check on me and see if I need anything. She is originally from Canada and is a US citizen, married to a local. This morning, after breakfast, I took a shower. One of the staff helped me with my compression garments (it hooks down both sides) and got the water ready. There is a seat in the shower with the shower head within reach. I hosed myself down and she handed me a washcloth and put soap on it. I didn't have to ask her for help as I was able to bring my legs up to wash them (it wasn'teasy). After I rinced myself off, she put antiseptic on gause and applied it to my incisions. I dried myself and got into bed to wait for the return of my compression garments (they washed the blood out). When she returned with my compression garments, she put gause in my new belly button and over the incisions in the back that had bled, then she helped me hook the garments up, putting a square of gause over my nipples. Nothing else to report. Unlike Friday and Saturday, I slept most of the day.

So this could be your body’s set point. The weight your body is happiest at & will continue to gravitate to this weight despite your efforts to lose more. Remember if you reduce your calories & increase your activity to lose more weight, you will have to continue to eat fewer calories & be more active than you are now to maintain the lower weight. And this isn’t sustainable as you’re already experiencing & your body will fight you the whole time. This becomes a head issue. You’ve lost about 100lbs. That’s an achievement. Plus you’ve built muscle which weighs more than fat too. Look back on how you were before there surgery - general health & status of your cop morbidities, mobility, ability to do the things you wanted to, self confidence, etc. What have you gained or regained with this weight loss. Don’t fear your appointment. Take in your tracked food intake (there could be something you’re missing) & your activity. Ask what else you can do. Ask if this is it for you? Ask what else you can do. Maybe raise whether the GLP-1medications would be of benefit. Do you see a dietician? Because of your intense weight training, you may need to be consuming more & by reducing your calories you have put your body into starvation mode. Even with all this, don’t give up yet. Many of us continued to lose well into our second year albeit very slowly like grams not kilograms a week or month (ounces not pounds). All the best.

You will only get help and kindness here but we are not surgeons or dieticians. We can only help so much. We always recommend a visit with your team if possible. If you are not eating well and not getting enough liquids in then your body is holding every little calorie it can because you are in starvation mode. You will not loose weight, your body is in charge of this. If you can not get water down and you could a while back then you have a narrowing/ swelling in your new tummy and it needs a little easy tweak to stretch it back out. Its called a stricture. If this is something you have had from the beginning then you are forcing too much food and or drink in at once. Small sips of drinks, they can be hot, cold or frozen see which might work . Once you have mastered drinking, then pare down the foods to really soft, protein based ones again. Chew well and add sauces, it helps. Soft eggs, protein yogurt, soft cheese etc. Only eat a small amount, say 1 - 2 ounces and see if you can keep the foamies at bay. Foamies happen when your stomach rejects the food or drink it does not want that day. It may have been ok the day before but.... today, oh no you are not putting any more of that in me ... I haven't exercised as such, I was too decrepit too start with and I lack motivation now so I walk a few miles a week. Exercise doesn't really count for much weight loss unless its marathon running or such.