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I'm a newbie so maybe I am obsessing about nothing but I am about 2 weeks post-op and losing weight as expected. I'm not worried about the scale too much but I am so tired of the big middle I had and the thing is - it's still there!! The inches seem to be dropping everywhere EXCEPT my stomach. WTH? Is this normal? is the weight around your middle the last to go? This is depressing.

What if I can't lose weight before the surgery? To lose 10% of my weight, I need to shed 25 lbs. That's a lot and could take 6 months. Has that happened to anyone?

As I'm getting closer to my "goal zone" (in between 220-190) I'm wondering if anyone else who is female and six feet or taller was given a goal weight and what that should be. I distinctly remember my doctor showing me a chart during my initial consultation that put my sex and height at a desirable weight of 160 lbs but then my surgeon quickly said, that's not realistic for my frame/body and that these charts were outdated and inaccurate. He instead said I don't have a goal weight but told me he typically likes to see his patients under a BMI of 30 to reduce co-morbidities with being obese. Since 220 puts me in the "overweight" range, I'm sticking to that as a realistic goal until I achieve it and will assess the situation from there (how I feel, look etc). I'm wondering if any females who have big frames, broad shoulders, and are tall, like 6 feet and above, were given goal weights. What do you think about it? Is/was it achievable? Are you happy with how you look?

I know y'all are probably tired if seeing my post lol. But I'm struggling at losing weight. It's been 5 weeks since my surgery and I haven't lost anything in 3 weeks. My dr said it's sluggish. I'm going to call my nutritionist but not sure how much help she will be. I'm not cheating at all. I'm completely on the plan. I thought maybe it was my protein. (Not getting enough). But even with getting 60g or more. I still haven't lost. What's going on with me 😭😭😭. I'm still under 600 calories. Geez how can I not be losing on eating 600 calories or less. I need to get this figured out.

I am having a hard time not blaming myself for being 100 pounds overweight and having high cholesterol, high blood sugar, fatty liver, and other health problems. How did I get here, I've been asking myself. I was under the most extreme stress of my life for the past several years. I lost track of the fact that stress can affect the heart and cholesterol, etc. or I would have handled things differently. Now I might be having heart problems, which I NEVER though would happen...I'm very careful not to eat foods that are high in saturated fat. Genetics are working against me. My father and brother were about 100 pounds overweight when they had sleeve surgery, and a few cousins had gastric bypass surgery. I've taken medications that affect the metabolic system, so I think that system is totally dysfunctional now. I feel like I've failed my body by not taking care of it. It makes me very sad. On the other hand, I feel like this body isn't really mine. The real me is hidden in this body. But I swear to you I've had the best of intentions. I have done some things right, like eating lots of vegetables and fruits and drinking tons of water. I'm making an appointment with a bariatric surgeon to discuss gastric bypass surgery. That day can't come soon enough. I'm looking forward to being on the path that you all have bravely taken. Has anyone else had feelings like these? I seem to be overcome by them lately.

Hello. I was sleeved Dec 28, 2021. I have reached my personal weight goal. I had been eating about 800 calories per day. I talked to my nutritionist on Wednesday and she said go to 1200 calories per day. I will say this is really hard. I didn’t realize how hard it would be. It seems all I do is eat and then I’m trying to get fluids in. It is so uncomfortable. I have never been able to get 64oz. Of fluids. Probably 40oz. My nutritionist is ok with it at this point as it has been such a struggle and hard to get to that point. I weighed myself and down 2 more lbs since Wednesday. I honestly don’t want to lose anymore. Any suggestions and meal plan ideas would be greatly appreciated. Also, any idea how long it should take before the loss will stop? I don’t have another appointment until 2 weeks. I am 5’9 and 190 lbs. this is comfortable too me. I was previously banded and it malfunctioned and had to have it removed and then sleeved. I looked healthy and was good here. Thank you in advance for any suggestions

Well, as the title says I'm about 21 months out and now starting to gain. I got down to 143 (my goal was 130, but I was comfortable in the 140s). I'm now back up to 155. Over the past year, I've also developed a bruising issue and have multiple bruises on my arms and legs, mostly on the left side; random but moderate/severe aches & pains; brain fog; severe fatigue, and other idiopathic symptoms. I have a physical scheduled for mid-June, but I'm wondering if any of these things are common after surgery. As for my weight gain, nothing has really changed. I still eat very clean, limit myself to two low-sugar/low-calorie alcoholic beverages a week, and really try to take care of myself. With the aches, pains & fatigue, I'm finding it difficult to keep up with working out, but to be honest, I probably wasn't working out as much as I should be anyway. Mostly walking & biking. I'm also at the age where hormones are likely changing (I'll be 50 in two months). Any idea what might be going on or how to restart the weight loss? Thanks.

I've noticed wrong information (excess vs total body weight) being stated regarding ESG weight loss. The following is from the doctor who performed my ESG procedure. "On average, patients who proceed with ESG will have lost about 20% of total body weight one year after the procedure. Because of how ESG contributes to helping change overeating habits, many patients lose over 70% of their excess body weight over the long term." I achieved a 30% total body weight loss (lowest weight at 9 months post procedure). However, I'm maintaining a 25% total body weight loss at 2 years out.

Hi! I know I'm "new" to all of this. I'm 13 days post op. The first 5 days after surgery, I had lost 7.5 lbs. By the 7 day mark, I had hit a 9 lb weight loss. I was SO EXCITED so I figured I'd weigh myself maybe every 4 days after the 7 day mark. I was REALLY looking forward to my progress, and I was so shocked by the original fast weight loss I just couldn't help myself. Keep in mind -- I'm STILL on the all liquid diet. Well, the last 6 days, I have lost 0 lbs. ZERO! I' got down to 244.0 lbs, then days later 244.5 lbs and today 245.4 lbs. So technically speaking I've actually gained 0.9 lb. HOW?! Can someone help explain? Is this normal? I'm following all the rules. The only thing I'm not doing anymore is working out since I haven't gotten the clearance, but I can totally go on long hour walks as my "exercise" for now. That's the only plan I have at this moment... My other confusion and worries lie in this: If I'm on the all liquid diet still, and I'm post surgery, IF I haven't lost ANY weight in the past week, I'm already getting nervous/anxious for when I am allowed to eat solid foods (hopefully starting tomorrow) and how maybe I'll gain weight.

Hi everybody! I had my surgery (Gastric sleeve) on 01/08/18. Everything went well, I was 245 lb and i went down to 128 lb. I was feeling so good, so healthy, so happy.... I got married and my life was perfectly fine! Last year, in October I found out I was pregnant... Unfortunately on December i had a miscarriage. During my short pregnancy I had to be fully in bed. I gained 30 pounds! and now I can't go back to my normal weight. I am feeling so depressed, my doctor said that he can't help me because he only help with surgeries. so, I don't know what I can do! I am eating healthy, working out... drinking water.... Can someone help me? I am so depressed.... sad... without help :(

Hi I am always worried about weight gain after my surgery I am 4 months post op , and there's days that go by and I only eat very few calories but all from healthy foods and there is usually one day out of the week that I feel that I m like a little piggy , and I m scared to death to get on the scale the next day but it's CRAZY because instead of gaining any weight I actually usually loose more? Has anyone else been seeing this? Sent from my REVVL V+ 5G using BariatricPal mobile app

I am a 69 y/o female that had VSG on 8/10/21. I am a slow loser, I have lost 51 pounds. I have gained 3 lbs back. Depressed also have eaten some high carb foods, but have gotten back on diet. Am retired not alot of physical activity. I do try to ride stationary bike. Any other people that are having similar problems? Would appreciate any advice on breaking stall.

Hi I have been reading through some of these to see if anyone has any of the same issues as me. This is the first time I'm writing anything. I had gastric bypass surgery on 12/2/21. I have had a lot of downs and some ups. I haven't seen anywhere if someone had the same complications as I had. They said that they scratch my liver but there was no bleeding so it was fine. But what actually happened was they punctured it in two places and my abdomen filled with bile and collapsed part of my lung so much pain. Then the bile came through one of the incisions. So gross. Had to go back in to surgery to see what happened that's when they found the punctures and put in a drainage tube also gross but made the pain less. I was down about a month and a half. Went through going through the motions of throwing up with nothing coming up for a month or so. Gas pains for about 2 months now I'm just super burpy which at times can be super embarrassing at times. I'm 5'6" started my journey at 290 and was 286 just before surgery and now I'm at 205 so I'm down 85 lb total and 81 since surgery December so I'm happy about that went from a size 19/20 pants and 3x shirt to a 10 in pants and medium shirt. So I know I'm doing good but there are days I look in the mirror and just can't see the weight loss. Does anyone else have this issue? I also can't stand chicken it makes me physically sick even the smell makes nauseated. Pork chops are also gross. And the crystal light I always liked can't stand. Also the only water I can drink without getting sick is smart water. So has anyone else had any of these things? Did anyone have their liver punctured? I know I asked a lot of questions but if anyone has any info on any or all would love to hear.

Okay so I am over a year out now. I was warned by the nurse practitioner that statistically people with bipolar disorder do not always lose as much weight so I made My goal a little higher so I would not be dissapointed. My first goal was 180. Well I reached that and was still losing so I set it to 160. I got down to 169 rather quickly and I stayed there for months and then I started gaining. I gained to 179 and Now I have been stuck right around this weight for months. At this point I honestly don’t see myself getting back to 169, never mind 160. My hunger hormone is back and it will not allow me to reduce my calories anymore. I have decided that If I can actually maintain it, I think I can be happy at this weight. I am in normal sizes at least and only technically “overweight” by a little bit. I will not be happy if I gain anymore though. In a perfect world I would’ve gotten down to 160 and made another goal for 140 but on the meds I am on I guess that is just not possible. Anyways, whenever I look at the 160 it is depressing me. Should I just change it back to 180?? I know it is just a number but it is making me feel like a failure for not reaching my goal. Don’t laugh, I’m my mind it’s a big deal for some reason.

I feel my surgeon has abandoned me. My next visit with her isn’t until 3 months post-op. My only goals we set are to drink 64oz of liquids and 60 grams of protein daily. She said MOST of my excess weight will be lost in the first 6 months, so to stay focus and take advantage of the surgery. I don’t know how much MOST of my excess weight is, so I don’t know if I’m losing at the correct rate. I don’t know if I am eating too much or too little. I’m just listening to my body. If I’m hungry, I eat. If I am full. I stop. The only food restrictions I have are raw veggies and steak. Other than that, she told me to “listen to my body and if it hurts, stop and try again at a later time” . I had surgery 3/21 so that makes me a little over 6 weeks post-op. I started at 245 and was not required to follow the 2 week diet. I was only told not to eat solids the day before surgery. Day of surgery I weighed 238. Today I weigh 210. That’s only a 28lb lost in 6 weeks. I’m 5’1” so I still have a lot to lose. I’ve been at 210 for a week now so I think I’ve hit a stall. I’m losing and I feel great; so I am happy , but I don’t want her to be disappointed at 3 months if I am not at the weight she’s expecting me to be at (whatever that might be). I don’t know if I’m doing this right. Some days I feel so great and able to move that It seems too easy. just rolling over in bed use to get me so tired. I am wondering if I should go “harder”. How much was everyone else down by 6 weeks?

Hi I am 7 weeks in after gastric sleeve- Till the week I started eating solid food at 5 weeks I was losing between 0.5 to 1 pound a day Then it started getting lower till it stalled 10 days ago and I actually gained 2 pounds over the last 10 days - I had taken water pills a couple of times as I noticed swelling around my ankles so I am not sure if the gain back is a result of that My calories intake are between 900 and 1100- Carbs are low- I do more proteins as needed- drink water sometimes 64 ounce sometimes 60 ounces- I workout 3 times/ week now I walk every day I also do intermittent fast 13/11 everyday I am getting very frustrated almost regretting the decision of the surgery as I historically lost more weight on diets the problem was that I always regained the weight I lost 35 pounds since I started and 28 pounds since the day of the surgery Any thoughts? Thank you

PLEASE HELP WITH SUGGESTIONS! I weighed 284 at my heaviest, I got down to about 135 at my lightest. Within the past 6 months, I've gained about 25 pounds! I know I've been eating more and eating crappier so I'm not surprised. I just need to know how to lose it again. I've heard of people "resetting"? How does that work? Also, after WLS, is there even a point in doing the whole "calorie deficit" thing? Does it work? Open to ANY AND ALL suggestions. Thanks!

Just as a preface, I had the sleeve in Dec. 2016 and dropped about 120 lbs in 6 months, then screwed up and slowly went back up almost to where I started. I had a revision to bypass in Nov. 2021 and have been doing very well, about 80 lbs down so far. Last week was spring break for my kids so we decided to take a vacation, my first since the most recent surgery. We went to Virginia (drove from NY). I was very worried for a few reasons. First, I weigh myself every single day (yes I know some recommend against it, it works for me). I didn't want to bring my scale so it would be a week without monitoring my weight loss (or gain). Second, I rarely eat out and I weigh everything I eat when I make it. I wasn't going to be bringing my food scale and I knew I'd have to eat out more than usual. Finally, we were going to a lot of places where there weren't the healthiest options to eat. So I resolved to try my best not to blow it and see what happened. We stayed at a timeshare resort which had a full kitchen (stove, oven, microwave, utensils, pots/pans, etc) which was fantastic because we were able to go shopping for a lot of stuff to make in the room so I knew exactly what I was eating. I was able to make my usual breakfast (2 scrambled eggs with shredded cheese) almost every morning. I bought a few pre-packaged salads and some other stuff for the room. I only had to actually eat out 4 or 5 times the entire trip, not counting during the drive to and from VA. When we ate out I was able to check the calories for what I was eating to make a healthier choice, and made sure to stop when I was full instead of cleaning my plate. I was able to find something to eat at both Waffle House and Cracker Barrel that wasn't too horrible. Even at Busch Gardens we went to the German area restaurant and I got something called a German Chef Salad that was pretty good and not too heavy or unhealthy. Bonus at Busch Gardens: Last year (pre-surgery) we went to an amusement park and I wasn't able to ride most of the roller coasters because I just couldn't fit - no problem at all this time, got in with room to spare! I stayed away from snacks and desserts (I got Halo Top ice cream for the room to have at night). When we got back I was concerned what the scale might say, but I was down 2 lbs from when we left, so I'll consider that a win! I had a nice NSV before the trip too - I was looking for clothes to bring and found a bunch of shirts I got when I lost all the weight the first time, and they all fit comfortably and looked great. Before the surgery I wore XXL shirts, and even those were getting a little snug, I even had one XXXL I think. Lately I've been wearing XL's which were getting roomy, all the shirts I found were L and fit great, so that was awesome. I also had to buy a new pair of jeans that was 4 sizes smaller and fits great. I found my old bathing suits which were too tight last year, now half are too big and the rest fit OK (almost too big but not quite yet). So it's been a good week, hoping to continue on my path to onederland again! Here's a pic of the family having fun.

I am 4 years post op. I started at 227 and my lowest weight has been 103. I've done amazing. These last three months I have gained 14 lbs. I known shouldn't worry but I am. I would like to lose at least 7 of those. We all know the struggle and I fight it everyday still. Any advice on how to drop those few lbs? Can't seem to do it. Thanks so much and many blessings!!

My surgery was March 7th, and I've lost 33 pounds so far (starting weight 193). Lately my weight has been doing a weird thing where I will gain and lose the same half a pound or so for a few days in a row. (I typically weigh the same time every morning) I don't understand how I could gain ANY weight when I'm barely eating anything. Has anyone else experienced this?

its been 7.5 weeks since my surgery and I lost a total of 30 lbs. Within the last 2 days I have gained 1 lb so now im back at 29 lbs lost. is this normal? I feel so behind. I see so many people loosing so quickly and so much and I feel stuck. Most my weight was gone within 3 weeks and ive just been stalling. I know im not overeating so I dont get it. Thoughts?

Well, I had my day 1 of my journey on Sunday 4/17. At that point I weighed 278 pounds. I’ve had quite a few doctor visits lately so I’ve been weighed more frequently and I’m gaining. 4/21/22 279.4 4/23/22 279.2 4/24 (today) 282.2 I’ve been eating a little better and trying to move more so this is very frustrating. A weight I have always feared is being 300 or more and it looks like I’m rapidly getting there.

Me again! I am 23 days post-op. I lost 15 pounds the the first two weeks. I began my purée diet last week and since then I’ve stopped losing weight. I am dealing with horrible constipation and struggling to keep up with 64 oz of water. I’m worried that I haven’t lost any weight, in fact I gained 2 pounds. I’m starting to think this isn’t gonna work for me and I won’t lose any more weight. Has this happened to anyone?

Brief background, got lapband about 11 years ago (starting BMI was 43). I did well and kept off 55 pounds (BMI 33)... until I started aspirating at night. I had a barium swallow which showed a distended esophagus and a endoscopy which showed reflux. Doc said band needs to come out. I had band unfilled, and as I expected, I've gained weight. I've gained about 30 lbs in the last 5 months (current BMI 38). I want to revise to a gastric bypass. I am well aware that I need surgical help to keep at a healthy weight. Prior to banding, and since being unfilled, I'm constantly hungry and never feel full. I finally felt "normal" with the lapband. When I'm not constantly hungry, I can maintain a healthy weight. But, even with the extra 30 lbs, my BMI is still not over 40, which as I understand it, would make insurance coverage easy. (I have Maryland CareFirst BCBS) My doctor has me doing all the things needed for insurance approval for the revision, including being on a supervised diet. But I'm gaining weight. This does not surprise me -- there was a reason I needed surgical weight loss in the first place -- but I'm getting mixed messages from my doctor and from my diet supervisor (who works for his office). Diet supervisor tells me that I'm less likely to get insurance approval due to my weight gain since being unfilled and being on the supervised diet. Doctor has made vague statements saying that the reflux found on the endoscopy may be enough to make it go through insurance successfully. Diet supervisor wants me to lose a significant amount of weight in the coming month, to try to offset my gains, by going on the pre-surgical diet early. Very honestly, I'm hesitant. If I do end up having to get up to a 40 BMI to have the surgery (12 more pounds...), I don't want to yoyo any more than I have to. And if the reflux finding will get me approved, I don't want to starve myself without the benefit of surgical help. Anybody been in any kind of similar situation? I can use any advice or commiseration available.