Search the Community

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

I’m still trying to navigate my way thru this transition and it’s harder everyday. I just feel stuck that’s why I’m trying to get others input and try to “find my way”. It gets frustrating when I see other people losing alot of weight off the bat .. I’ve lost 20 lbs in the last two months and feel that’s not sufficient but then again is there a general number we’re supposed to be down by month 2 ? Ugh I drive myself nuts with that and I’m tryin to get my mindset right but I end up freaking out and stressing over it.

I know nothing of Herbalife so I am half informed. I know that any gain in this early stage is of benefit. Its tough to drink enough never mind eat our protein quota. I would say - go with what works for you until you can manage something better.

Obviously you need to decide what's right for you. I was in the same boat as you in that they discovered inflammation during my EGD. I had already been leaning toward RYGB anyway, but that sealed the deal as far as I was concerned. My doctor stressed that even though I wasn't having issues with GERD, there was a strong possibility I'd develop issues if I insisted on SG. As far as risk is concerned, all surgeries carry some risk and since RYGB is a more complex surgery, you are correct that some studies show a marginally higher risk profile. Interestingly, other studies show no difference. Keep in mind that obese people are all going to have a higher surgical risk for ANY procedure than a normal sized person. Other factors that increase risk are things like heart disease, diabetes, smoking, etc. Also, surgical experience and the quality of the facilities play a huge role in overall risk. My point is that cross sectional studies showing risk are not equivalent to YOUR risks of surgery. In terms of "convertability", I think my opinion is somewhat the opposite of yours. Technically, RYGB is completely reversible, since unlike SG, nothing is removed from your body. This to me was a huge plus in my decision making process. When we look at revisions, keep in mind that revision of SG due to GERD is pretty common and those revision surgeries basically revise the patient to gastric bypass to alleviate the GERD. I can't speak to your malabsorption concerns since first of all, malabsorption in and of itself is potentially a good thing for weight loss. i can see a concern for malnutrition, but I was willing to commit to a lifetime of vitamin and calcium supplementation. I also try hard to eat a fairly healthy diet, thus also upping the chances that I have no issues with malnutrition. If you are not willing to commit you those things then yes, this may be an issue for you. Keep in mind that while it's less common, SG patients can also suffer from malnutrition. It's actually recommended that all bariatric surgery patients use supplements and eat a healthy diet and I think as long as you do those things, neither surgery is going to be an issue. Best of luck whatever you decide.

Your surgeon (or their team) should provide you with a list of the liquids you can consume during the pre surgery stage. If they haven’t yet, ask for a list so you can start to prepare. There are variations between surgeons as to what you can and can’t have at this stage. For example some are three meals of protein shakes a day & that’s all. Others are four shakes. Some are two shakes plus one meal of a lean protein & vegetables. Some are not shakes but milk. Mine was keto. So you can see we can’t really tell you what your surgeon may require for this diet or require specifically for you ( your current weight, pre existing health concerns, etc.) But as a help, start weaning yourself off caffeine, carbs and sugars now because when you start the pre surgical diet the withdrawals from those foods can be pretty tough (headaches, lethargy, irritability, poor concentration, etc.) It usually passes after five or so days but that first week wasn’t called hell week for nothing by my surgeon’s patients. All the best.

@@AmberFL I get between 1700 and 1900 calories per day right now, it's working well for me. I'm having a surgery tomorrow though and won't be able to work out for a least 3 -4 weeks and will likely try to cut my calories to 1400 per day to avoid weight gain in that time. We'll see how well that goes, lol.

Did you get a date yet for your arm lift? My wings, even after seven/eight months of weight work, in the pictures I had to submit to the Dept of Health here.

No one takes 2 months off maybe 2 weeks. It’s really just the lipo harvesting and fat grafting so no huge incisions to heal. But that being said, you really need to have a viable source of fat to harvest. And it needs to survive so you can’t be in a caloric deficit or actively losing weight. If you’re really lean I believe they still recommend implants instead although I think that’s falling out of fashion too. If you’re really really into fitness, I would suggest transitioning to fitbody/bikini modeling workouts. Those transformations are amazing.

Major picture spam incoming haha 1) Flexing because under the bingo wings I can see some muscles 🤣 2) The first pair of shorts I have bought since losing weight 3) An outfit I finally felt confident enough to wear!

To be honest, I wasn't up until now. I don't have loose skin or any sagging but my butt has deflated. No amount of weight lifting seems to help as I'm still losing weight. My concern is time off work, I can't be away for two months 😭. Did you need to take two months off?

It just depends upon your healing. I’m a side sleeper with a twist (so like an 3/4 side sleeper) and I was sleeping like that from when I got home. Yet others, like @SpartanMaker, sleep on their backs on a recliner for a while. After I lost weight I thought hey I might be able to sleep fully on my tummy now my breasts are smaller but no. I developed lower back pain when I tried. And I’m not the only one who experienced this. Apparently tummy sleeping puts undue stress on your lower back and causes an unnatural arch hence the pain. And without having a belly anymore I didn’t have any extra ‘pillowing’ to support my back arch from underneath. So it may be a case, like many things after surgery, of simply trying at random times and seeing how you go…. Unless your surgeon has specific requirements of course.

I am in the same saggy boat. It is depressing isn't it to go through all this weight loss, still not be comfortable in our own bodies and just wearing smaller size clothes but still hiding the same areas? For me, I have bad lipoedema so from the knees down is horrible and nothing can be done really unless I want to go down the lipo route and then wear compression gear for life and even then no guarantees. Where I live in Europe, if you can prove justifiable reasons such as saggy skin interfering with your life and mental health following weight loss the national healthy insurance will pay 80% of the costs. I got approved last week for an arm lift so I am just waiting to hear back from the surgeon with a date. When I had my initial consultation with him he said he had a six month wait list so I have asked if possible to be fit in during October or else wait until January as I don't want any impact on my Christmas travel plans etc. I have not told my family yet as I live overseas and they got upset at just the thought of me doing something elective as I had such a bad post-op sleeve experience. My Mum actually broke down in tears when I told her I was going to schedule an initial consultation so not sure how or when I will say anything but will cross that bridge when I have an op date.

You will always be fabulous, slim and trim. A few kilos up or down will not change that! With that being said, I completely understand your fear and I'm sorry you're going through this. While I wouldn't recommend cutting your calories any further, have you tried dedicated walks? (5-6k steps) as they really help with weight management. From experience, people who don't enjoy conventional exercise can just hit 8-10k steps a day to maintain or even lose weight.

Exactly @Spinoza. It’s there all the time. Sometimes just a faint little voice whispering in the distance and sometimes shouting at you. Mine has been shouting a lot lately, Had to give myself a kick in the pants and getting it off my chest here has been a help. Always a such a supportive community here. Was actually thinking about asking my GP for a referral to a menopause specialist. She’s been great right from the start about prescribing HRT and putting me on alternatives when issues arose but I have been thinking I need some extra help. I reduced my estrogen a little last week (3 pumps down to 2.5) because of the bloating and sore breasts but now the daily headaches are back. Sigh! I see my bariatric follow up doctor later this month so I’ll what she says as yes, micro dosing had crossed my mind too. The man I was most surprised by with his bone loss was my cousin @SpartanMaker. He was a walker. Walked for miles, twice a day, up & down hills with his dog when he permanently retired. Still don’t understand that but he had a sedentary job which I think probably contributed and probably does for lots of men and women too these days. My dad was a farmer (horticulturalist) on his feet and lifting things every day. His bones were so hard that when he’d have his bone marrow tests for his multiple myeloma, the doctor would stand on the bed or kneel over my dad to put his weight behind the needle to get it into the bone Yikes!

Thank you! I've read numerous posts about "set points" and always thought if it was actually a thing then why did I need surgery (my body would have stopped at its set point) or why even bother giving plans for exercise if my body has a "set" point!? I realize that most of it is to get our minds set to a healthier way of thinking with follow through, but its simple math: calories in vs. Calories out vs. Bodies requirement = weight/health. Nothing has really changed other than our awareness of this math and adherence to it. It all comes down to calories in calories out. If set points were actually a thing none of us would have needed surgery. Anyone can gain weight if we exceed calories beyond daily needs or lose if we exceed calorie burn. Even those ppl who are bone thin and complain no matter what they do they can't put weight on, if they exceed needs everyday they too would gain. Thank you for an excellent post!

@Arabesque honestly could you find a menopause specialist and pay them for what you need until the supply issues are sorted? Your gain is so VERY clearly related to your hormone status. Nothing else has changed. Online if you can't access locally? There are medical professionals who do this for a living. As you know I had the classic third year regain last year and have been fighting that ever since. Not daily or weekly, but it's in my head all the time. Also - just dropping into your thoughts. We people with obesity have a metabolic disease even if we're currently thinner because of surgery. There are now drugs that replace what we never naturally produced (GLP-1 et al agonists). Would you consider micro-dosing on Ozempic or Wegovy etc in order to replace what you never had and keep you on track?

I want to challenge your ideas a bit here. This concept that there is some underlying mechanism at work that controls our weight and that we don't have any say in the matter is based on something called set-point theory. In short, the theory is that some as yet undetermined mechanism (likely in our brain), wants us to be a certain weight and thus actively regulates both calories in and calories burned to keep us around the same weight. Anecdotally, most people can attest to the fact that there seems to be a specific weight where they naturally settle when they aren't actively trying to gain or lose weight, so the theory makes intuitive sense. That said, there are some big problems with this theory: Why have we not been able to find the actual mechanism for this set-point if it really does exist? How are some people able to change their set-point? How do we explain that overweight and obesity are significantly more prevalent in some parts of the world vs. others? In those parts of the world where overweight and obesity are more prevalent, how do we account for the fact that these issues were much less prevalent until very recently? (For example, the rate of overweight and obesity in the USA has tripled since about 1980.) To explain this, more modern interpretations have suggested a more nuanced approach. We know that historically, food scarcity was the norm. It's logical to assume our bodies are well adapted to dealing with this as a result. Unlike set-point theory, we do have a solid understanding of the physical processes involved in regulating metabolism during scarcity. This means our bodies know how to handle a lack of food pretty well by down-regulating metabolism. (There are several ways it does that, but I'm going so skip discussing those specific mechanisms for now) What our bodies are less good at is up-regulating metabolism in an environment of where there is an extreme availability of highly palatable foods like we have today. We often think of our bodies like a car that's always running. This is somewhat problematic, but let's go with the analogy for now. Just like a car idling will burn some fuel, our bodies burn some calories just keeping us alive. If there's a shortage of food/petrol, (either because I can't afford it, or because there's a true shortage), I can curtail my movment/driving to conserve how much I use. Likewise, if food/fuel is cheap and readily available, I can move/drive a lot and even fill my fuel tank (fat stores), whenever I want. Unlike a car that has a limited fuel tank that can only hold a specific amount of fuel, humans have a theoretically unlimited ability to store excess fuel in the form of fat. TL;DR: It's not so much that our bodies decide what weight to be. It's more that we were never designed to deal with cheap, easy access to super tasty food. At the end of the day, what determines whether or not you have more fat stores than you might want is whether or not you eat more calories than you burn in a day. The entire point of this overly long post is that there's no mechanism working against you that's keeping you from reaching your goal. Our bodies were designed to store excess calories to keep from starving to death when food was scarce. We rarely experience scarcity anymore, but our bodies don't know that. They still will do everything they can to hold onto those stored calories "just in case". There are ways to get beyond this, but that will have to wait for another post.

I think the thing many people get wrong when trying to transition between weight loss and weight maintenance is using an all-or-nothing mentality. By that I mean they expect to be either in "diet" mode, or "maintenance" mode, but that's not really how things work. To me, that would be like sprinting on a treadmill and thinking I can just stop running. Um, no. That would have really unpleasant consequences. You're not going to simply wake up one day and immediately go back to eating "normally". Instead, think of this more like a baby learning to walk. You're going to have some false starts. You're going to fall down a lot. In fact, you're probably going to fail more than you succeed. This is completely normal and is how you learn. Over time, you'll hopefully learn what works for you and what level of caloric intake is right. The point is, there are no "tricks" here. If you feel like you've lost too much, then just try different things to up your calories. Alternately, if you're heavier than you want, try different strategies to lower your calories, since there is no perfect solution for everyone. There's only what works for you. You didn't ask, but there are a couple of points I want to make here as well: There is no perfect number of calories for you to maintain. Let me say that again so you don't forget: there is no perfect number of calories for you! Our bodies are wonderfully adaptive and can maintain a healthy weight across a wide spectrum of calorie intake. It does this by up and down regulating your metabolism in response to intake. There is no ticking clock here whereby you have to lose the weight by a certain date after surgery or you won't lose anymore. It just does not work that way. I don't care if it takes you 9 months or 9 years to get to your ideal weight, you can get there and you can maintain at that weight. Best of luck.

So I have not gotten skin removal YET but I did get a breast augmentation 3 weeks before I hit a year P.O. I lost a lot of weight, work out really hard but my boobs were gonners, between losing and gaining for years, breast feeding two children for 13m each I had skin sacs. I can honestly say that my confidence has sky rocketed- I enjoy wearing cute clothes, I feel better but body dysmorphia is a summa bi&^%, I still see myself at 300lbs, think that I look "fat" and not attractive. I do think once you see your lean fit arms without the extra skin your going to be showing them off as you should! Cant wait to see your "after" pic!

Long post alert, just venting and catching up after so much time away... TLDR, I'm getting an arm lift. I want to hear from other people who got it and how it changed their body/body image, recovery, success stories, and whatever else you want to share! Wow, I haven't posted in a while. This forum got me through some dark times when I had my gastric bypass both before and after. I am posting today because I am FINALLY getting some plastics done. I have been waiting a while because I wanted to maintain my weight. I just turned 30, I'm not getting any younger and I've been doing excellent maintaining my weight loss so I finally scheduled a brachioplasty to start. I am getting an arm lift in other words. I included a pic of my arm and the skin hang-age. This is my before. Disclaimer, this pic is from a couple months ago it's the one I had handy on my desktop but I've been doing a lot of weight training and have built up my bicep a bit more. I would like to do a tummy tuck too (I have A LOT of loose skin in an apron belly shape and my boobs sag down to my ribs 😕 ) but I am okay with not getting it for now. I can't afford both and don't really have the time to recover from all that surgery. I am starting with just the brachio for now. I have spent my whole life hiding my body and after losing all this weight, I found I am concealing it even MORE because of how droopy and flappy everything has gotten. I am fed up of feeling uncomfortable in my own skin after all the hard work I put in. I'm sure a lot of people who get plastic surgery post-major weight loss can relate to this. At this point it feels like a necessity. My bat wing arms also smack against my body like crazy, I can't wear short sleeves without this happening and tops do not fit me right because of my wonky proportions. My bicep has very little fat on it and all the bulk on my arm is hanging under it so it's very uncomfortable. I've been holding off because of how expensive it is as well. I am paying out of pocket 15k and it's a chunk of my savings but I'd rather have this than a payment plan and I can start ASAP to recoup my savings. I have a lot of body image issues as one does from being morbidly obese their whole life... so honestly I am almost 100% sure this surgery is NOT going to fix the way I see myself. I am more looking at it as a way to feel more comfortable on a day-to-day basis whether I am exercising or just trying to wear a short sleeve outfit in this very hot state I live in. So that's basically my update. I have been doing well, maintaining my weight loss and a healthy lifestyle. Gastric bypass has completely changed my life and made it so much easier to make better choices for my body and my longevity. I am ready for the arm lift and I am so scared but also excited to see how this all goes. I want to hear from other people who got an arm lift or any loose skin removal and how the recovery went for you and how it helped you and your confidence. Thanks and you're all wonderful people!

Hi all! I had VSG back in Dec of 2016. I was very involved in this community for a long time. I lost 124 pounds over about 18 months and maintained a 105-110 pound weight loss for almost 3 years. Then the pandemic hit. Then I had some non related medical issues. I went on a medication that caused weight gain. I got frustrated. I fell off the wagon and tumbled down the road and I’m now facing a 60 pound weight gain in about 4 years. I made a lot of excuses! I also started picking up bad habits like drinking alcohol, not counting calories and indulging in carb heavy snacks. But hitting 260+ again shook me. I was only 15 pounds down from my surgery weight. It’s time to get off the pity wagon and get back on track. so I’m back. I’m counting calories. Eating low carb. Cutting almost all alcohol, bread as pasta out! 10 days down, forever to go! My Stats: SW: 305 SD: 275 LW: 181 MW: 195-200 RW: 263 CW: 258 GW: 200

Ooh, I'm here too, and it's been very interesting. I've started drinking a protein decaf coffee again to add a cup of fairlife skim milk to my day. I know that some of us need to be very careful about carbs, I need more carbs to support my exercise which is basic strength, walking, and the 2x weekly run. I add an extra apple, gluten free pretzels, and popcorn (which is totally ok for me in my known portions). I also add a few days of cashews, easy to eat and high nutrient density. I would say if you aren't going to track calories (and why would you if that isn't your favorite) then it would be helpful to add a specific snack/food etc and have that extra every day for a few weeks and see where that gets you. If you continue to drop weight, increase it, if not, you have likely found your maintenance diet. The thing that has been most eye opening for me is the fact that I can occasionally go over and not see any consequences for one day of overdoing it. In the past that would have been hell to take off again, now it just seems to regulate like a normal person. I had surgery 1/24 and have been at my same weight since 11/24. I'm not fighting to stay here, I'm struggling with some head hunger vs real hunger, that was to be expected, but otherwise it's been such a different reality from presurgery.

I am feeling okay! Trying to budge this last bit of weight and then I would have hit my 2nd goal, but everything has definitely slowed down so I am having to push more! I am struggling to eat as much as I should, but I find that I am loving crisps at the moment (albeit only a few every day or so 🤣) Trying to think now about what surgery I may want to tackle this loose skin!

One of them flits between it, but the other has consistently been underweight for a while now, I last saw her bragging about almost being 7 stone and being referred to an eating disorder clinic 🤔 So I know that it is a very unhealthy thing! I do remember my surgeon telling me it is somewhat normal to dip into the lower weight category a bit before your body will bounce back and settle on a healthier weight, so that is to be expected I guess! I can imagine how hard it must be to budge those last bits of weight, but I am sure you look absolutely fabulous and you have achieved beyond amazing results!

I know how you feel- I am doing a DietBet (it’s an app) I figure if I have money in the game ( you pay into a pool, all who meet their goal get a share of the pot ( which is the pool of money paid in minus commission from the app) I am doing a Lose 4% of your body weight in 4 weeks i figure it’s a good reset motivator if nothing else