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Oh boy that doesn't sound quite right. Will other members of the forum chip in here in case this is something I missed. You will get a shed load of confidence once you are at your desired weight. That might help with the anxiety. Its true exercise makes us feel so much better about ourselves, especially outdoorsy stuff. I love to walk too. You have come to a great forum. You will only get kindness here.

Sometimes you have to do things differently than other people or use some of other people ideas to help with the pre-surgery weight loss task goal. When I started, I drunk two meal replacement shakes that was high in protein (30mg) and for dinner I would eat a small portion for dinner. The amount I would eat for dinner was the amount you are supposed to eat after surgery. I even started drinking my water 30 mins before my meal and 30 mins after my meal. I actually have been keeping this going for the past four months and within the last two weeks I did the full on liquid diet that helped me reach my goal weight before surgery. I know some people talked with their provider and got on medication to help them lose their goal weight before surgery. It will be okay; you will get there.

I for one feel like I am constantly changing my style, whether that is my hair colour, the kinds of clothes that I wear, my make up etc! Anyone else feel like they are constantly playing dress up and having fun seeing what suits them after weight loss? For reference - I have just dyed my hair pink & have included a picture of my birthday outfit from Saturday!

For me it has been a life changer. I had the sleeve and lost weight but not as much as I had hoped and then I gained it right back plus some. Never did have the metabolic changes or the changes that made it a little easier to eat healthy so when I got done with my SADI revision I know right away that it was going to be different this time. I mean I still want pizza and burgers but I don’t hate chicken and fish now either so it makes it a little easier to make the healthy choice most of the time. I also exercise a lot and I think that has made all the difference in my commitment to my new lifestyle as well as My mood and overall health. Obviously I can’t say I know if it would have been better or worse with the Bypass but statistically as a revision the SADi does provide more loss and a more durable loss. Of course it is never so not as much long term research has been done and bypass is the tried and true gold standard but as a revision the loss is statistically less than as a virgin surgery. I think for me it was a perfect fit but you will want to keep in mind that you need to understand your surgery well enough to explain it or call your surgeon and ask them to when it is appropriate. Most of my doctors have never heard of it and when I was about to get an endoscopy/ colonoscopy done and the dr hadn’t heard of it I called my surgeon to see if that was okay and he called to explain my anatomy to them. Another thing to consider is whether you surgeon is resleeving your stomach. Mine did not. He said the difference in weight loss was not significant amount to take the risks that come with reducing the pouch. Something to do a bit of research on to decide if it’s worth it to you. If you have any specific questions about my experience let me know.

Very true! Thing is I love lifting using weight machines. Especially leg day! I don't like going to the gym alone and my husband and I work opposite shifts. So it's hard to get to go together. I started my new routine this morning and excited to continue it. We swim about once a week. But rained the last time we were off together. So indoor things I can do myself is most helpful to me for now. Thanks for the advice!

Had weight loss surgery 7 years ago. 2 years into it started drinking heavily. I use to drink maybe 2 or 3 drinks a year. Now I'm a full blown alcoholic in recovery. My ex wife also hade bypass and started to drink alot but was able to control it. Anyone else struggling with the cross addiction?

Best advice is to go back to how & what you were eating when you reached your stabilised weight. This was likely the calories and nutritions you needed at that weight. However a bounce back regain isn’t that uncommon. It’s like your body hits a low point but it was actually too low & then you gain a little & your body bobs up to get to what is actually your new set point & where your body is happiest. Check to see if you’ve let a few things slip like with your food or drink choices or or you’ve not been as vigilant about portion sizes, calories, activity, etc. It’s easy to get a bit over confident or complacent with our choices & behaviours. And life sometimes gets in the way of our best intentions. Unfortunately too, many medications, like those you may be on for your depression, can contribute to weight gain. Worth a conversation with your prescribing doctor to see if there are alternatives & also your surgeon to discuss your options to manage it.

Offer to be the designated driver. Nurse one glass for hours (did that a lot & still do it but for an hour or so now). Say you’re not really in the mood to drink. Or you have been fighting a headache all day & you don’t want it to come back. Or if you’ve realised you’ve been drinking a bit lately & decided to have a dry couple of weeks. They will notice your weight loss soon if not now so you could be semi truthful and say you’re making a few changes and trying to lose some weight. Whatever you decide to say add you’re glad to see them and to spend time with them & make sure they know you’re okay with them drinking or eating whatever they want.

@SpartanMaker I have never done crossfit so I am not sure if it is like that, I just did research online to find what works. But it is fair to mention that these workouts were based on the beginning of my journey. It has been a good starter to get into form, getting used to those exercises, and finding what works. Its rare I do superset now or only if I am on a time crunch. Now I will spend 30-45min lifting heavy. I have seen better results doing cardio afterwards than doing before. When I was at the beginning of my journey I would start with cardio and end with strength, It wasn't until I switched it up I noticed a difference in my body composition. Maybe that is not the same for everyone? However, now that I am a year plus out I am curious if I switched it again if I notice a different. I am going to do this experiment and get back to you! I also eat anywhere from 150-175g of protein a day, so maybe that has something to do with it? @Bypass2Freedom I can also add what I do now in order to gain more muscle if you want. I'm not ripped but my arms gets lots of compliments HAHAH!

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!

I am about 6 weeks out from my arm lift. I was cleared Friday to resume normal activities. Today I was at the gym lifting weights, though not yet quite as much as presurgery. Do everything they tell you and recovery should be a breeze!

I too am at the 10 year mark and I've gained it all back!!! I feel horrible, can't breath if I move around too much. I'm 70 years old now and I'm going to talk to my Dr as to what I can do

You look lovely. And you had a bouncy castle. So much fun! Congratulations on your weight loss so far, your size 14 win (yay!) & your fifth year anniversary.

You definitely have a serious issue, but I don't think it's your weight. Your weight isn't going to kill you, at least not at the size you are right now, but your mental health might. And it certainly is robbing you of the joy in life that you deserve to experience. That's tragic. And unfortunately, surgery or weight loss isn't a cure. Gaining weight can take a toll, both mentally and physically. I understand, because I went from 5'6" and 127 lbs at age 16 to weighing 225 lbs by age 32 and hitting 250 lbs by 49. I tried many diets. I exercised. I worked with a dietician for about 7 years and tried many medications, including Saxenda and Wegovy. I developed high blood pressure and became prediabetic. For 33 years, I gained weight, lost a bit for a while, and kept gaining more. But I also lived a fairly happy life. I got married, bought a house, had two children, started a career I enjoyed, traveled to lots of places I had always wanted to see, learned new hobbies, spent time with friends and loved ones. Was I frustrated that I had to buy clothing in the plus department? Yes. Did I sometimes look in the mirror and feel sad at how I looked? Absolutely. But that wasn't my identity and it didn't dictate what I allowed myself to do or experience. Feeling like your life is destroyed, that life is a cruel joke, and reaching a point where you do not wish to continue living is an extreme and unhealthy reaction to gaining weight. It's a huge red flag that something else is going on with your mental health. That, in my opinion, is way more pressing to take care of right now than reducing the size of your body. I had surgery because I knew it was what I needed for my health. It would clear up physical issues and help me live a longer life with more activity and less pain. I did it because I loved myself and I knew I deserved to get every ounce of joy from life that I could. But a year ago, 80 lbs heavier than now, I loved myself exactly as much as I do today. I don't love myself any more now because I'm thinner, even though I do love how I look. And I love myself now way more than I probably did when I was downright skinny in my youth. There's no magic number on the scale that makes you worth loving. You're worth that at every size, shape, and age. I'm not saying to give up on losing weight or on getting weight loss surgery. If it's important to you, you can find a way. There are some amazing and affordable self-pay surgery options available in Mexico, for example. You could start saving a little bit of money each month now if it feels worth it to you. I hope this won't happen, but if you continue to gain weight, you will eventually qualify for surgery through your health care. In the US, it's at a 35 BMI with comorbidities and at a 40 BMI based on obesity alone. I assume the standards in Canada are similar. But no matter what you do, I would encourage you to find help with your mental health and self-image. You deserve to be happy with who you are and not to have how you feel about yourself be based primarily on something as arbitrary as a number on the scale or the tag inside your jeans.

Congratulations on your spectacular weight loss! You look great, and must feel healthier too

@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?

Ugh. It pisses me off when doctors make any of us feel like some number they come up with is applicable to each of us when even we know that all of our bodies are unique and the complexity of obesity. A weight difference of three pounds could be ANYTHING!! i know this is a little different because it chemo but it’s really not because like anything it’s not true weight gain so an example is when I come home from chemo I weigh about 6-7 pounds more than I did that morning and the next day. But everytime, the following day I drop it all. I don’t understand the science but it’s something to do with inflammation that any of us could have for various reasons to some degree. Also three pounds I know for a fact I have lost from a bowel movement. I always weigh myself first thing in the morning and I weigh about 3-4 pounds less than if I weight myself later in the day. . Long story short three pounds is absolutely nothing to stress about and if your doctor does then either smile and nod and tell them you will do better or express how ignorant they are being but whatever you do, DO NOT let that get under your skin!! Your loss is incredible. As @Justarwaxx suggested, Don’t let anyone negate how hard you have worked. Instead Celebrate your amazing progress and if anything use his or her ignorance to fuel you and keep going. 100 pounds is absolutely Amazing and takes real lifestyle changes to accomplish. All you have to do at this point is to stick with it and the rest will come off in a matter of time. The time may vary person to person but it will happen. You’ve got this!!

Oh, I forgot to mention for breast cancer if someone is considering reconstruction afterwards, which I am, the cosmetic surgeon said there is no rush for his part. They are going to put in expanders during my mastectomy and they can stay in a pretty long time safely. This means that I can wait until I reach my goal weight to do the cosmetic part. The way it works. Is they put in the expanders in and they are like deflated balloons that are sewn to the chest wall and slowly inflate them a little bit at a time each week until you find a size that suits your body. But if I’m still actively losing, that may be too big so they can also deflate it if I want to until I find a size that is comfortable for me and my body is settled and then schedule the surgery. Since that’s just the cosmetic part, the cancer will already be gone. Well, I know that when I lost weight with the sleeve, I had bounced back weight. So I think I’m going to stick with the expanders for a while and just make sure that my body doesn’t change before I commit to something in a surgery. They did say that if you gain a significant or lose a significant amount of weight and the implant shifts or whatever that they will do surgery again, but of course that’s costly and painful and I’m already just about sick of doctors so I’m sure by then I won’t want to do that. Anyways, that is an option someone else may want to consider as well. Some doctors tried to push doing both parts of the surgery in one, skipping the expanders and just putting the implants in right away, but my doctor did not recommend that for my situation.

Question for you all with experience with going on GLP-1s after surgery. First of all I started out at 325 before I started my pre op diet, Day of surgery i was 315 (Oct 2), Tomorrow I am 4 months post op gastric bypass and I am down to 259.8 (55 since surgery and 65 since the pre op diet)Anyways, I also have a failed attempt with the gastric band back in 2013. Lost 100 lbs only to have complications and gain it back so thats part of my side story. My Dr. recommends GLP-1 starting now because of my high BMI and how much I want to lose after surgery. Personally i would prefer to start this after I’ve lost all the weight I can with diet and exercise and have plateaued. What is your experience with this. I am always wondering if im on track. I would ultimately like to see 160-175 but I guess I wont know until I get there. Any feedback or experiences would be great! Thanks

Sorry I have been MIA guys! I was out of town for a long weekend for a friend's 40th birthday celebration this past weekend and work was crazy before that, trying to prepare to be out. @Justarwaxx I hope everything went well with your surgeon. I feel like I have been losing weight slower than most too so I get your pain and feeling of unrealistic expectations put on you. Just remember that your still losing and your journey is exactly that... YOURS and it's yours alone. @ShoppGirl I'm so sorry to hear about your struggles with cancer; I hope the treatments are working and going well! We appreciate you letting us in and sharing your story. It's great that that you are mostly feeling okay. I'm sure it has to be hard balancing managing your health in multiple ways at the same time. I'm glad we have this community to help support you! I went a little overboard with eating this weekend because there was so much food and alcohol; I think I did okay at meals but there was a lot of snacking. I am used to having my husband with me when I go out, because he is willing to split everything thing with me, though I had one friend that would do it sometimes. I didn't gain weight, but I also didn't lose any weight. I am trying to be super good today to help me get back on track and back in my normal eating routine.

A few new wins! I just bought a size 8 🤣🤣. Like WTF I was not a 8 even at my smallest. Also I have been able to jog 3 to 4 miles without stopping. It took me a year but I finally unlocked that power and I credit strength training/weight lifting it helped me with endurance and strength to run long distance! Major wins !

Hi everyone! I haven't been on this site in a VERY long time, but I am currently on a new weight loss journey and I thought I would report in with my experience and the hope that some of you newbies can learn from it. I had my VSG surgery on 9/1/2014, so 10 years ago this month. At the time of my surgery, I weighed ~260 pounds and I am 5'6". I have lost and gained weight a million times before that, with my highest weight ever having been 277 pounds. In the first couple of years after my surgery, I was able to get below my goal weight (165) all the way down to 154. During that time I trained for and ran in a half marathon and a full marathon, completing the full marathon in September 2016 (almost exactly two years after my surgery). I separated from my then-husband in May of 2016 and our divorce was final in December 2016. My life took a very different path after that and I did not stick to my healthy diet and exercise. I met my current husband in February of 2017 and while I love him dearly and he is THE BEST, he is a bit of a hedonist and we definitely supported each other in our hedonism. I became a connoisseur of fine craft beers and we have a large friend group who we go out with or have get-togethers with several times a week. I not only stopped running but stopped exercising altogether. Both my current husband and I put on weight in the seven years we have been together, especially during COVID, and I got all the way back up to 234 pounds! Last year, my husband was diagnosed as pre-diabetic, and, in April, we resolved to turn things around together. Since then, I have lost 30 pounds and I am on my way down to my new goal weight of 180. So, here are some things I want to report, trying to lose weight again for the first time since immediately after my surgery: The restriction still works! I cannot eat much more than about 200 grams of food in one sitting. Once I cut out snacking and stopped drinking as many calories (beer), it was easy to rely on my sleeve to restrict my daily caloric intake. My metabolism is still normal. As a 5'6 female weighing 203.2 pounds, I still burn ~2100 calories per day just by living, according to my Garmin watch and it definitely tracks with the calorie differential I am logging and the weight loss I am seeing. I still can't eat and drink at the same time. I usually have to wait about 45 minutes to an hour to drink anything after I eat a full meal. Being overly full is still an unpleasant feeling. Before my surgery, I used to love the sensation of being "stuffed." Since surgery and to this day, it is still uncomfortable for me if I overeat in one sitting. Not a pleasant sensation at all, but not painful like it was in the very beginning. I can still get dumping syndrome if I'm not careful. If eat too much sugar too fast, usually in the form of ice cream or a milkshake, I get dumping syndrome and it is VERY unpleasant, fortunately, it is very rare. Food can still get "stuck." Every once in a while, mostly when I am eating turkey or pork it seems, food can get stuck and it is completely miserable. Be sure to thoroughly chew your food!!! Especially dense meats. My advice to anyone who is post-sleeve and still losing weight or trying to maintain their weight: Snacks are the enemy! It's so easy to get in extra calories by eating smaller amounts between meals. Your sleeve won't help you at all with this. Drinking your calories is easy and dangerous. I haven't given up my precious beer entirely, but I have cut back and I am mindful of the type of beer I am drinking as some types are more caloric than others. You can just as easily drink your calories even if you don't drink alcohol. Be wary of soda, milkshakes, energy drinks, juices, and too much cream/sugar/syrups in your coffee. Keep up with the exercise. It doesn't have to be training for a marathon like I did in the beginning. Currently, my husband and I take a ~mile walk after dinner each night and we try to do one, long, 4-5 mile walk/hike on the weekend. Just that moderate amount of activity can make a big difference. Be mindful of calorically dense foods. Even though I can only eat 200 grams at a time, if it is 200 grams of junk, it can have a LOT of calories! I hope the lesson that all of you take from this post is that the sleeve is a tool and it is all about how you use it. It can work for you, even 10 years out, as long as you use it correctly.

My goodness, how?! since I had my BA I cannot get my weight back down. Even with the exercise and cutting calories. I am feeling a bit defeated

it took me 4 months (and ~15 lbs) to figure out my maintenance calories were. i also had to get over my fear of gaining all my weight back and actually start eating MORE. maintenance level calories are VERY individual, and vary greatly from person to person. and even then, it varies greatly form time to time for the SAME person. 4-ish months after achieving goal, i finally figured out that i needed 1800 cals a day to stop losing weight... AT THAT TIME. over the years, this amount has changed depending on my activity level. luckily, i am anal and i track my food intake and weight DAILY so i am armed with data to figure out what i need at any point in time. i am 6 years post op now, and these days i need about 2300-2500 to maintain my current weight (i exercise alot). had i continued to stay at 1800 cals from the before days i would have shrunk beyond what i wanted. soooooo....long story short: your maintenance calories will change depending on your output and input, on your sleep patterns, overall health, stress levels, age, genetics, etc....its up to you to notice what affects you and act upon it. so, so, so, so, many times i read folks on here saying "i gained/lost weight and i just don't know why!". the answer is PAY ATTENTION....you will know why. P.S. i do know that "normal" people don't need this level of attention to stay at a healthy weight. i also know that i am NOT a "normal" person. i mean, i got to a BMI of 43 (from BMI 23), in 10 years. it takes more "effort" for me to stay at a healthy weight that a "regular" person. so i do what i am willing to do.

Thank you for asking!! I had forgotten to update my weight. It's going slow and steady! I'm still working on my PN1 certification and building out my materials for my nutrition coaching business. I've lost 38lbs and my fat% is going down while my muscle% is going up so I'm happy with the progress!