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I felt the same way about my psychologist. I just thought I was being angry since she postponed me 2 times now for not "being fit with intention." I even asked her to clarify what that meant since I got a ring fit on the switch and religiously would do that as a workout routine with my son. We had competitions on that thing and the ring itself is a resistance band. It was so much fun. I even took the stairs versus elevators, walked 2-10 miles every day and went swimming 1-2 times a week. She told me she was concerned because I wasn't doing it with the intent of fitness I was just doing it because I liked it. She also told me at one point that she didn't like the ring fit because I couldn't tell her the muscles the were targeted even though I took screen caps of how many reps and the highlighted muscle groups. We touched base earlier this month and she told me she never said that and she couldn't assess me for my mental needs it was up to the therapist programs I completed this passed year to tell me if I was a good candidate and that they needed to submit support letters to her proving that I was active in therapy. I got a little annoyed with her and told her," with all do respect I have not received a whole lot of support in this program. I get told vaguely what I am supposed to do and expected to know how to do it like a professional after 1-3 months. It's a lot to expect from someone that has always been an outside girl to focus 110% in going to the gym and not even know what to do to benefit me. You said go to therapy, I did and not just one therapist but 2 and have worked through a PTSD course with flying colors and continue to make huge strides in mental health. The intentional fitness... Why else do people get active the way I have? because they want to be couch potatoes? You give the option of netflix and chill or kick your butt walking, swimming and ring fit they would choose netflix every time." I just felt hurt and invalidated in all my hard work. like none of it mattered despite the fact I literally did this 100% on my own because I was motivated to be better. I kicked my food problems and at super tiny portions. No more snacking late. conquered my pop addiction. Went to the gym . Made even small changes like stairs vs lifts. Got back into the things I loved to do that made me happy. Therapy. All of it. It's been on my mind a lot on what I should do If she denies me again since I passed my PT with flying colors. Sorry I kinda went on a rant there. It felt so good to let it out. *deep breathes* Thank you so much for helping me not feel like a crazy person. I keep getting told do what she wants if it means you get approved. I have and still no results. so... *shrugs*

I personally love my cpap machine lol. Probably one of the only ones too. It took a few days to get use to it but i did and love it. I have a resmed airsense 10. But yea i didnt need a sleep study done since i already had one. During my sleep study i slept but my Oxygen saturation kept going down into the 80's which is bad lol. I did the at home sleep study.

You guys, I am getting so close to my 2 week diet and I am so excited about it. 2 weeks ago I cut out coffee, this week I cut out sugar and so far I have been feeling pretty good. I'm confident that starting my two week diet on the 22nd will be a fairly easy transition on the home stretch to this goal. I need to lose weight ( I gained 120lbs. since November 2019). I was active duty Air Force for 15 years before and this weight has been accompanied with a lot of stress. We lost our baby at 25 weeks in August 2020 - my ultimate reason for this procedure is fertility. I really hope to be pregnant as a result of all this .. and be a super cute mom who can't teach her kids the same bad habits that I picked up by default.

I usually don't take mine with food - and I just take them with a very small amount of water (probably like two tablespoons of water), so it really doesn't count as "drinking" (so if I happen to take them 10 or 15 minutes after I eat, which I often do, it doesn't really matter). Or you could take them a few minutes *before* you eat if you prefer taking pills with a lot more water than that (and if you need to take them as close as possible to eating food if you're one who gets nausea from vitamins - which I know some people do). Or another option is to get all your vitamins in chewable or liquid form.

Yeah, sadly, those heady days of a high rate of weight loss don’t last. You can always depend on your weight loss slowing the closer you are to goal. You’re eating more (which is a normal progression) & getting closer to the number of calories your body needs to maintain your weight. As @catwoman7 said how much food you eat depends on the food you’re eating. A good place to begin is to look at the recommended portion sizes of different foods - start with google & quiz your dietician on what is a serve of beef, of chicken of vegetables, etc. You’re probably getting to close to a recommended serving size now. The problems only start to arise if you’re eating more than that & the only thing that will stop you eating larger portions sizes is you. Plus check the calories of what you’re eating & the nutritional content if you’re not still doing this. 1500 calories is 1500 calories regardless of whether it’s from nutritionally dense food or from cake, sodas, chips, pizza, etc. I eat more often & eat more food in a day now than I did when I was obese. It’s just more nutritionally dense food & my my metabolism is working better. As to what’s bad: carbs, fats or sugar? I think this is a personal thing. You know your medical status which would influence whether you should keep your fat intake low or not. You know your weaknesses - sugar, carbs. I think we should work out a lot of our eating plans based on these things about ourselves. There are recommended daily allowances for fats, sugar & carbs too. Generally, I’m a bit of a balanced diet person. Though I don’t eat a lot of carbs & only multi or whole grains - I used to eat a lot of bread, pasta & rice. I also avoid a lot of sugar, artificial sweeteners & sugar substitutes because I think sugar is the real devil. I get my sweet from fruit. I don’t have dessert as such but have eaten chia pudding (flavoured with vanilla extract). I’ll have a protein bar after dinner if my protein is a little low for the day or will have fruit. How I feel real hunger is very different. I feel restless & I don’t crave a specific food or type (salt, sweet, carb) of food. If my ‘hunger’ is craving something specific it’s head hunger & not real. If there’s an emotional component to the ‘hunger’ (like hangry) it’s not real hunger. Part of the ‘fun’ of maintenance is working out your calorie & nutritional needs. It took me a while to work out what mine was & to be physically able to eat that much food. But you have to find a balance too. If you have to have such a restricted diet to maintain that it compromises you enjoying your life, it’s doomed to fail. It’s about sustainability. If that means you end of weighing a little more than you thought you wanted to be, that’s ok. If you enjoy your latte every day enjoy it. If it worries you try a smaller serve or reduce it to one a day or three cups every two days. There’s always work arounds or substitutes you can make like zucchini noodles instead of spaghetti but still enjoy what you’re eating & not feel like you’re missing out. The truth about exercising is that it will only contribute to 10-20% of any weight you want to lose. Want to lose 10lbs? Exercising will only contribute to you losing 1 or 2 lbs. Plus if you increase your exercising, your hunger will increase. Unfortunately the work doesn’t the end. All the best.

the closer you get to a normal BMI, the slower it goes. Those last 20 lbs were a BEAR for me to get off. Took forever. We're talking like 2 lbs a month the last three or four months. But I hung in there and finally made it. The reason being, your calorie requirements at that weight are MUCH lower than they were when you started. It takes about 1600 calories for me to maintain my current weight. I would have lost weight like CRAZY if I ate 1600 calories when I weighed over 300 lbs. For me to lose 2 lbs a week (which I could have done NO PROBLEM when I weighed 300 + lbs), I would have to eat 7000 fewer calories that week (well, I would have when I weighed 300+ lbs, too). That's 1000 fewer calories a day. When I was scarfing up 3500 kcal/day, that means I would have had to cut back to 2500 kcal/day. Now I would have to cut back to 600 per day. Ah...no. I could do that the first couple months out of surgery, but 600 calories a day at seven years out? No way. Plus it wouldn't have even been healthy. So I basically lose a couple lbs a month when I'm trying to lose weight. 8-10 oz portions - would depend on what it is. Greek yogurt, yes. Steak - no. Stretching your stomach - probably not. You'd have to really overeat, day after day, every day, to do that. you are hungry because physical hunger does come back for the vast majority of us sometime during the first year. And that's when things get a lot harder. I've never counted fats. And I wasn't on an ultra-low carb plan (mine was balanced), but the first few months, I rarely ate over 80 carbs a day since I had to get in so much protein. There wasn't room for more than about 80 carbs. Now i probably get double that - but I limit the "bad" ones. Mine mostly come from whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. exercise isn't that effective in helping you lose a bunch of weight unless you're talking swimming mega laps or running marathons. But it's great for your overall health, and you should do it regularly if you can. It CAN help you maintain once you get to goal, though.

Disclaimer: Always listen to your doctor - or at least not me 🙂 When you read about the liquid stage pre surgery, its sounds nearly impossible. Actually, the hardest part is consuming the liquid. You wont be hungry. I found the protein broths were the most tolerable. Hated the fat free cream of something soups. My doc (may be different from yours) basically said for the first few days worry about not being dehydrated - to do your best on protein. Then it was protein based liquids - check out the protein waters, they aren't "heavy." Pretty soon thereafter, shakes, puddings, jello, yogurt. That's only about a week-10 days out. at that point protein isn't too hard. In the early stages, I agree with Queen - warm was much easier than cold. I thought this one was pretty tolerable: Protein Broth Wish you all the best for surgery. If its at all encouraging - I think it was the best decision I have made!

Hey all - So like many of you, I am still trying to figure out what normal means, six months post surgery. First off, I am so happy I did the VSG - no complaints, I feel great, surgeon was fantastic, their office is responsive and follows up and I am down from an all-time high of 305, 261 on Surgery Day, and 195 Today. Hoping to get to 185. That's where my difficulty is: In the past 10 weeks, I have lost maybe 5 pounds. I find my weight fluctuates daily +/- 5 pounds, so I only track the lows as benchmarks. (IDK: water retention, lack of BM, salt...). My low was 194, today 196, the other day 200 (which is a number I hate!). I think I am spoiled by the rapidity of weight loss early on and feeling a little discouraged now that things are slower. More than that though, my fear is that my portion size is starting to feel almost normal person normal... not my pre VSG by any stretch, but not terribly restricted. I also am getting hungry again... and craving things like sweets again. After a filling dinner at 6, by 9 I think about dessert - and sometimes succumb. Thus far, I havent done anything too terrible, but the idea of making a batch of chocolate chip cookies has been on my mind for weeks. I feel like I could fall off the wagon at any time. And now that I can eat almost normal amounts again, its not like the little cheats along the way that didnt matter due to space restrictions - I COULD DO DAMAGE! (BTW- still dont understand the "2nd stomach" when it comes to dessert. If I think about having another piece of grilled chicken, I know I am full, but a bowl of iced cream, suddenly I am starving!) With slow weight loss, which I understand is normal as I am getting close to goal weight, and growing portions (8-10 oz at a time), cravings for sweets, and inter-meal hunger, I am terrified that I am a few months from seeing an uptick on the scale. Ten pounds from the finish line - which I might hit, but for how long? So, for my version of the "is this normal" questions: 1. 5 lbs in 10 weeks? 2. 8-10 oz portions 6 months out? 3. How long till 8-10oz becomes, 12, 14... 4. Is this in my control (am I stretching), or is this healing and normal? 5. Why am I hungry - is it psychological bad habits or physical healing and ok? 6. I have no problem getting enough protein, but are carbs still the enemy, or calories, or fat? 7. Macros, Keto, Calorie counting - academically I understand them all. I cant reconcile the conflicting info. Even my Doc and my nutritionist seems to differ (though they obfuscate to be respectful of one another). Anyone in a similar phase of this process with insight on this part? And tips: 1. Least harmful desserts that have worked for you? Mathing things our has been getting me a little crazy. I have gotten back to espresso/lattes lately, which I find to be a filling snack, but even with skim milk: 100 calories x 2/day x 7 days per week = 1400 calories = almost half a pound a week. Same with the 100 calorie dessert. Thus, if the I'm doing the math right: I am basically eating a neutral calorie amount at this point - evidenced by lack of meaningful weight loss. Avg 1/2 a pound a week for the past 10 = 1750 calorie deficit per week = 250 calorie deficit per day. Does that mean I am a skim milk latte and an apple a way from not losing weight. Then any excess is gain!?!? I think all I have left in my arsenal is more exercise, which frankly, doesnt seem that probable. If I liked the treadmill, I would be on this forum now would I? Welcome thoughts & feedback! Thanks all!

Unfortunately their dad is the only one who should be watching them since any friends and family would be going with me to the spa 😂. I will get there eventually. The clothes thing is kind of crazy. I just pulled on a size 10 day for the first time ever (down from a size 28). They were a tad tight but the 12s I have are too loose. The tens fit 🤷🏼‍♀️ My mom was a bit concerned that I need to watch myself that I’m not loosing “too much weight”. i have my one year appointment next month and I cant wait to tell my surgeon how much I weigh. I feel so much better now and it is amazing how clothes fit so differently (in a better/more comfortable way).

Magnesium Citrate will certainly get things moving. It's what I take the day before a colonoscopy. It available OTC where you would find miralax, tums, etc...Its a liquid that tastes like very strong slightly salty lemonade (if you get the lemon flavored one). I don't think I would drink the whole 10 oz bottle though. Maybe just a quarter to start. Make sure you drink more water because it causes your body to release excess water to your colon.

It’s not so much the size on the tag that bothers me but the frustration about choosing which is the correct size to buy & avoiding the return process. I hate online shopping. Aust sizes are two more than US so a US 0 is an Aust 4, a US 10 is an Aust 14. Oh & yes your husband is the best @BayougirlMrsS. 🙂. I’ve heard some people put clear contact or sticky tape on the soles of their Louboutins & some brands put on a clear peel off protection on the soles but it makes them slippery to wear. I tried to walk very carefully with mine but ended up just giving up & letting them get scuffed. Still sad though.

this helped as well... ty! I am game for trying things... I use the Baritastic app.. i just redownloaded the my fitness last night, ooh my how that changed and it showed i hadnt used it since 2019, i was 225..my surgery was in 2020 and i was 228, im now 169.. thats where i have been 1 year out of the surgery.. ♥

^^^^ I agree with lizonaplane. People have been known to come out of the hospital up to 10 lbs heavier than when they went in.

If you can not tell anyone....... GO THAT ROUTE!!!! I had the lapband in 2009 and everyone knew... of course, everyone also had an opinion on what they thought I SHOULD DO. I got the "lap band is the easy way out".... or "someone they knew, knew someone who died"... "it won't work".... blah blah blah. It did work and I lost 89lbs. So when it had to be removed....... again, I told everyone it was gone. Here's where it changed..... from 2017-2019 I put back 30lbs of what i lost. I had divorced (26 years of marriage), moved states, changed jobs, got into a new relationship (married 2019). No one here knows I at one time had WLS..... So when I told them I was going on a diet for my upcoming wedding and I was working out.... No one gave it a second thought. So about 3 months before Sleeve I told everyone I developed a "hernia" and needed SX to fix it. Day of SX comes (Wednesday, back to work on Monday), and Dr goes in, does the sleeve and fixed an actual HH that I didn't know I had........ Slam dunk. So the first year of weight loss was explained this way. After losing weight for the wedding I just decided to keep going. No one ever asks further questions after............. I had HH SX. I'm now 50lbs lighter and so happy. So tell no one and I guarantee you will be happier for it. But, remember if you tell even one person outside your home (even family)........ everyone will know. People love to gossip and when you start to lose, there will be that one jealous person that will say something.

Sizes are crazy in the US. I can be anywhere from a 0-4..... Which i think in Aus sizes is 6-10 i think. Best thing to do...... cut the dang tag off and just enjoy the fit

Thank you, Yes I am stable in my weight and have been since the surgery BUT I want to lose about 20lbs more I just want to know the caloric intake and how many oz to eat, how many meals a day? etc I am so frustrated that I have no help... I had an eating schedule 10 am breakfast 1 pm lunch 5 pm dinner with 7am yogurt and 8 pm yogurt *but then i was told by a family member in the medical field, they have never seen anyone with this surgery have a "schedule"* So I stopped the schedule and gained 5lbs, so back on it i went Thank you so much for your reply

Hello April Sleevers, Can you believe it. We are in February. Which means that some of us are getting close to the 1 year mark for our surgeries. My VSG was on April 6 so I'm at 10 months. I just celebrated my birthday and treated myself. Things are moving smoothly at 10 months. I met my goal, and I am maintaining my loss without any issues (minus my birthday celebration, lol). No complaints here. I cant believe that we are almost at 1 year. I'm still very happy that I had VSG done and that I committed to doing everything to make changes that have me at goal and staying there. 🙂 How are you all doing? How are you doing at 10 months? Hope all you April sleevers are ok.😁

Hi, I had VSG 2/10/2020.. since then I have been on the journey alone.. SW 228 CW 169. I have no clue how to eat, what to eat, how many calories etc... My surgeons office is no help, Saw him Feb 1 2022, sent a message to the dietician Feb 2 2022, still no response. I will be having my 3rd CT scan tomorrow the 15th as I had some massive pains at the largest incision that started July last yr 2021.. The pain feels like hernia but was told there isn't one there.. will see what this CT shows if anything. When I asked my surgeon about the constipation *coffee 1st thing in the AM has helped A LOT* My surgeon told me not his specialty and to talk to my PCP! Thankfully she has had the same surgery and told me to do Collace, did that for a week but it upset my intestines, Miralax gave me horrible cramps after 1 year of use.. Maybe I will figure out what I am supposed to do one day lol. I haven't regained but maybe 4ish lbs.. I dislike food, it consists of eggs, deli turkey or chicken, spinach.. veggies.. sugar free everything & fat free as well.. thank you all for listening

My surgery date is 02/24. I started my preop diet on 2/10, well I fumbled the first 2 days with one meal but followed everything else (protein drinks etc). After that I’ve been on track since. I think I was honestly having a hard time to adjust those first 2 days, I felt so empty not being able to consume food but I actually feel amazing now on this Pre op diet journey. I’m nervous about the actual surgery operation but I’m ready for the change and outcome! I’ve struggled with weight my entire life and like I tell people all the time it’s not as easy for everyone to lose as everyone’s body is different also with genetics coming into play. Good luck everyone we got this!!

Many people start to be cold all the time. I was always cold before the surgery and now I'm not so cold, because I work out more. I'm not as cold when I exercise. See if you feel warmer after a walk. I find that when I'm sitting all day (which is happening right now due to a knee injury) I'm very cold. Usually I would walk on the treadmill when I start to get cold and I'd be warm for a few hours after just 10 minutes of brisk walking. You can also try drinking hot tea or soup.

I'm 19 days out. Just ate the inside of a burrata and the inside of a smoked aubergine at a restaurant, both of which comply with my soft foods stage. In fact, I was fully prepared to not eat anything and just enjoy the company but often there's something you can enjoy, even from someone else's plate. At another, Burmese restaurant I had a little of the liquid of a pork and mushroom soup, and the sauce of a cauliflower curry. Here's the soup, just had the liquid.

355 to 150 at 4.5 years post surgery. I've lost another 10 lbs since this pic too!

I stopped cold turkey during my pre-op diet, which was something because I drank a ton of caffeine: coffee, diet sodas, etc. I somehow did not get withdrawals when I stopped, and I can say now it was much easier than I thought! I'm now six months out, and haven't tried it again yet, and am not sure I will. I was tempted to try some caffeine a few weeks ago when I had to attend video meetings based on the South Africa time zone, so online from 2 AM - 10 AM, but I decided not to and was fine. Honestly, I don't miss it. I do miss my coffee ritual in the morning and while I could use decaf coffee, I also realize I'll then be tempted to use creamers and such that will add unwanted calories. I've created a new decaf tea habit and it is quite nice. At some point I'll try caffeine again, but I'm not really driven to do it now.