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totally understand your struggles with weight loss. I tried for literally decades to get my weight off. The most I could ever lose is about 50 lbs (and those losses were rare - it was usually more like 10 or 20 lbs). And I could never keep it off for long. Within months, I was back up to almost 400 lbs. Weight loss surgery was the only thing that ever worked for me. Not saying it's easy - it's work. A lot of work. But the difference is, your efforts actually pay off.

That is my reality if I don’t go through with surgery. Doctors are saying without it I probably won’t see 40. My mom died of multi system organ failure due to co morbid conditions and severe obesity at 50 and it was such a devastating thing to witness. I don’t want that to be my reality. But if I don’t get the weight off, it will be and I’ve tried for years without surgery and been unsuccessful (I’ve been obese since I was a young child). i experience all of those things. Just changing clothes makes me out of breath. Forget stairs or walking more than a few feet at a time. I’m existing.

That is my reality if I don’t go through with surgery. Doctors are saying without it I probably won’t see 40. My mom died of multi system organ failure due to co morbid conditions and severe obesity at 50 and it was such a devastating thing to witness. I don’t want that to be my reality. But if I don’t get the weight off, it will be and I’ve tried for years without surgery and been unsuccessful (I’ve been obese since I was a young child).

Mine is too. That is my reality if I don’t go through with surgery. Doctors are saying without it I probably won’t see 40. My mom died of multi system organ failure due to co morbid conditions and severe obesity at 50 and it was such a devastating thing to witness. I don’t want that to be my reality. But if I don’t get the weight off, it will be and I’ve tried for years without surgery and been unsuccessful (I’ve been obese since I was a young child).

That is my reality if I don’t go through with surgery. Doctors are saying without it I probably won’t see 40. My mom died of multi system organ failure due to co morbid conditions and severe obesity at 50 and it was such a devastating thing to witness. I don’t want that to be my reality. But if I don’t get the weight off, it will be and I’ve tried for years without surgery and been unsuccessful (I’ve been obese since I was a young child). I’m basically bed ridden at this point due to all my conditions, constantly in pain, exhausted, get winded walking a few feet…I’m not living, just existing.

That is my reality if I don’t go through with surgery. Doctors are saying without it I probably won’t see 40. My mom died of multi system organ failure due to co morbid conditions and severe obesity at 50 and it was such a devastating thing to witness. I don’t want that to be my reality. But if I don’t get the weight off, it will be and I’ve tried for years without surgery and been unsuccessful (I’ve been obese since I was a young child).

I'd be a lot more afraid of NOT having the surgery than having it. I hesitate to say this, but you're more likely to die from obesity complications than you are from the surgery. These surgeries are much safer than they were years ago - mortality rate is very low - even lower than hip replacement surgeries, which they do all the time. I was heavier than you are (although fortunately, I didn't have any co-morbidities), but I knew it for me it was either have the surgery or die from my massive weight (I was well over 300 lbs). Having that surgery probably gave me an extra 10 years of life. I'm much healthier today in my 60s than I ever was in my 30s and 40s.

Having weight loss surgery is a big deal and not to be entered into lightly. Most people have to get to a point when this is the last resort. You know a light bulb moment. From what you have mentioned this has been it for you. Sounds like if you dont deal with this then this will deal with you. It is not a magic bullet that will solve everything you will still have issues but they will hopefully be easier to manage. I have arthritis in my lower back and ankles. They no longer give me pain. I have diabetes but now I dont need to take insulin or any other medication to deal with blood sugar levels though I still check my blood sugar levels. I am not on any blood pressure tablets any more. I dont break out in a sweat after having a shower. I can look after myself more easily and dont having a coronary while cleaning the house. It really is a huge struggle with a BMI of 51. I can go for a walk and enjoy it. Life is hard enough without the extra weight. Be kind to yourself and your body. You can do this.

You can do this!! I know it is scary. But weight is not worth dying over... I keep reminding myself that with the horror stories I've read about surgery, there are tenfold that never get told about obesity co-morbidities killing people. It is worth trading medications for vitamins. It is worth trading co-morbidities with some POSSIBLE side effects. It is worth trading physical dysfunction for wellness. Living like this is a life half lived and that is not something I want for myself or anyone else. So I will do the hard thing! I have done hard things before in the name of a well lived life. This will just be another on the list. People very, very rarely regret this surgery. The odds are overwhelmingly in our favor... Your life is worth doing scary things and being rewarded with health! ❤️

So, I’ve posted in this group before about being uncertain about Bariatric surgery but knowing it’s a tool to literally save my life. I had an initial appointment booked with surgeon Dr. David Brandon Williams at Vanderbilt (where all my specialists are), but canceled it again (5th cancellation). Well I’m back in the medical hospital again with erratic blood pressure, severe headaches due to my IIH, and off and on chest pain and today the internal medicine doctor seeing me point blank said “you’ve got to get this weight off you or you may not survive the full life you want to live. This weight is killing you”. So I’ve rebooked the appointment and it’s on 9/18. I’ve got to do it, no matter what. I’m almost 33, 5’1” 271 pounds, BMI of 51.2, (I’ve gained about 5 pounds in 2 weeks). My current co morbid conditions are Right Heart Strain/Heart Failure (just diagnosed), labile hypertension, severely high cholesterol and triglycerides, fatty liver disease, Type II Diabetes that is not well controlled, past history of PE, Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension, widespread arthritis, frequent shortness of breath, Sleep Apnea, PCOS. My mom died at 50 of a massive heart attack and lung failure, maternal grandfather passed at 76 of a massive heart attack. Obesity, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension run rampant in my family. I don’t want to be next in the line of deaths in my family due to weight related conditions. So I’m finally ready to start this.

So, I’ve posted in this group before about being uncertain about Bariatric surgery but knowing it’s a tool to literally save my life. I had an initial appointment booked with surgeon Dr. David Brandon Williams at Vanderbilt (where all my specialists are), but canceled it again (5th cancellation). Well I’m back in the medical hospital again with erratic blood pressure, severe headaches due to my IIH, and off and on chest pain and today the internal medicine doctor seeing me point blank said “you’ve got to get this weight off you or you may not survive the full life you want to live. This weight is killing you”. So I’ve rebooked the appointment and it’s on 9/18. I’ve got to do it, no matter what. I’m almost 33, 5’1” 271 pounds, BMI of 51.2, (I’ve gained about 5 pounds in 2 weeks). My current co morbid conditions are Right Heart Strain/Heart Failure (just diagnosed), labile hypertension, severely high cholesterol and triglycerides, fatty liver disease, Type II Diabetes that is not well controlled, past history of PE, Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension, widespread arthritis, frequent shortness of breath, Sleep Apnea, PCOS. My mom died at 50 of a massive heart attack and lung failure, maternal grandfather passed at 76 of a massive heart attack. Obesity, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension run rampant in my family. I don’t want to be next in the line of deaths in my family due to weight related conditions. So I’m finally ready to start this.

Yay!! That's great news!! The body doesn't like to let go of weight when it is sick or traumatized (like with a surgery) so that stall was probably inevitable. I wish you smooth sailing now and some extra weight loss juju!

i went through stages. 1st month: looking or thinking about food and eating made me sick. i was like REPULSED. month 2-3: didnt want to eat (but no longer REPULSED) though i forced myself to eat because i was getting weak. i had a very strong restriction so wasn't able to eat much anyway. month 4-7: there would be days that i wanted to eat and days that i didn't. i stopped forcing myself to eat on no-hungry days at this point and just ate when i wanted to because i started to develop this thing where i felt like eating was WORK and i didn't like that. my restriction was still doing its job though, so i still couldn't eat much anyway. month 7-12: struggled to up my calories to ease into maintenance and i think my not-wanting-to-eat phases during this time period had more to do with a mental block than anything else. i had a bit of a time when i had a challenge "allowing" myself to eat higher calorie foods and carbs, ha. fear of weight gain and all that. though in hindsight i needn't have worried, as my restriction kept me in check. 1 year and onwards: i still get the odd don't-want-to-eat or oops-i-forgot-to-eat days here and there. not as often and regluar as before, but they show up every once in a while. i don't sweat it, as i know there will be hungry days too. my restriction is still very much in play, even at 5 years out, and i have learned over the years what foods and what amounts i can consume before i hit my full mark. i was/am a regular food tracker so its second nature. i tend to only eat things that i really want because, why fill my valuable limited real estate with something meh? luckily the list of things i want does not comprise of just junk. while i do enjoy a bite of dessert and a bowl of chips, i love me a salad just as much. though personally, my fave kind of meal is when there are an abundance of different things to take a bite or two of (like hors d'ourves at a cocktail party, or a tasting menu, or dim sum/tapas/izakaya, or when i go to a restaurant with a large group and get to have a bit of everyone's meal!) anyway, i think i may have gone on a tangent there, lol. but yeah, you are not the only one that gets the food aversions, and while you will get differing advice on this topic, i would say go what works for you. if you are getting worsening physical symptoms from not eating, or if your labs are not coming back satisfactorily, of course, please speak to a medical professional. otherwise, if you are losing weight, AND suffer little to no angst, then in my non-medical opinion, you're golden.

First of all, there is no such thing as a "window of opportunity." There is no clock or deadline on weight loss surgery. The surgery is permanent. The surgery itself doesn't cause weight loss -- the surgery is a tool that helps you to eat less so you can lose weight. For most people, yes, the effect of the restriction wears off over time, so the first year or so is often called the "honeymoon period" because that's when it's easiest to lose weight due to low appetite and high restriction. But that doesn't mean that you can't lose any more weight after X months post-surgery. You have to build and maintain good habits during that honeymoon period so you can sustain the weight loss. It is a lifelong journey and if you get back into eating too much, you could regain the weight. Second, yes, weight loss normally slows down as you approach your maintenance weight. It's easy to lose 10 pounds when you have 100 pounds to lose, but much more difficult to lose the last 10 pounds (when you only have 10 extra pounds). This is partly because having excess weight results in burning more calories -- if you're carrying an extra 100 pounds, it just takes more energy (and thus burns more calories) to do anything. If you maintain a constant calorie intake -- say, 1800 calories per day -- you will lose weight quickly at 300 pounds but more slowly at 250 pounds, and eventually you'll get to an equilibrium (say, 200 pounds) where you are burning the same number of calories as you're eating, so your weight will stabilize. If you want to lose more weight after you reach that equilibrium, you'll either have to lower your calorie intake or increase your calorie burn by exercising more. Finally, my personal opinion is that people should not get hung up on a specific number on the scale. The non-scale measures of success are so much more important. If you are satisfied with your health and appearance at 222 pounds, there is no reason to worry that you are 2 pounds over the range that your surgeon estimated (which is almost certainly based on statistical outcomes, not a personalized assessment of you, specifically).

I recently reconnected with an old friend who I hadn't talked to in years. I saw I picture of him that he'd posted on his social media and reached out. He's been a great resource in sharing his experiences having had RNY a little over two years ago; he's lost half his body weight, is no longer pre-diabetic and is completely off the hypertension meds he had been on for years prior. When we spoke about diet and supplements post-op, he said he'd been told by his team to take prenatal multivitamins. He takes two Equate (Walmart house brand) Prenatal Multivitamins each morning and for the past two years since his surgery, his bloodwork numbers have been perfect.

Oh yeah, it’s common. I didn’t have an appetite for months. It probably came back before my hunger did but having no appetite or hunger helped me start to look at food differently: as a source of necessary nutrition. That whole eating to live not living to eat thinking became true for me. So even if I wasn’t really hungry or interested I eating I knew I had to eat something that was nutritionally dense. There were times I just ate the protein component of my meal. I also starting to eat to a routine which I continue to follow most of the time 4 years out. If it’s not a meal or snack time I don’t eat. Now, I’ll happily drop a snack if I’m not hungry because my meals are much larger & are more nutritionally balanced than they were when I was losing weight. My enjoyment of food hasn’t changed (still look forward to marks, dining out, eating socially). It’s more that there are foods I value more & enjoy eating more now & others I just don’t want to eat.

I took a laxative and miralax and I pooped! Im afraid to weight myself though. I feel like if the scale does t say I’ve lost I may spiral again. I have pcos so I’m wondering if that or something else could be making me retain fluid? I have an appointment on Monday with my pcp and I’m gonna ask her what she thinks. Thank you for the suggestions. I’m gonna try miralax daily and hopefully that will help.

I took a laxative and miralax and I pooped! Im afraid to weight myself though. I feel like if the scale does t say I’ve lost I may spiral again. I have pcos so I’m wondering if that or something else could be making me retain fluid? I have an appointment on Monday with my pcp and I’m gonna ask her what she thinks. Thank you for the suggestions. I’m gonna try miralax daily and hopefully that will help.

mark me down as another who doesn't mind getting a picture taken after the weight loss....BUT i still have a no social media post ban on posting my pic online without prior permission! (its the same courtesy i give others) always get consent, people! its just good manners 😉

pretty common - and take full advantage of this "feature", because for almost all of us, hunger and appetite come roaring back sometime within the first year post-op. I know this may sound strange to you, but...I wish my hunger and appetite had never come back. It came back at five months post op. It was so much easier to lose weight when I was never hungry and didn't give a flip about food. So, I know it sounds weird to say, but enjoy it while it lasts!

I also agree with everyone above. Leave out the pasta and rice, bread, pita etc and you will have more success on your weight loss journey. All of those are a hard no for me simply because they are not good for us. Plus if you eat them often, your body will crave them.

Kinda taking the summer off. I'm getting ready to ramp up again in about 2 weeks. My kids will both be off to their respective colleges and school will begin for my wife. This summer has been a lot of traveling, beer and kayaking... my new favorite sport. I'm dealing with the worst case of poison ivy in my life right now, so hopefully that will get better in the next 2 weeks as well and I can start the late summer early fall push for fitness again. I see a new 90 day challenge in my future. Weight wise, 258... so about 7 lbs from my lowest point. Not terrible given the lack of focus. See y'all again soon!

LOL--MsTeeTee ....... our wallets are losing more weight than we are !!!!!!! That stuff IS expensive !!!! LOL

I am 54 years old and 5'1''. My starting weight was 230. I'm currently at 175.9. My surgery was 4 months ago. My goal weight is listed as 140 because that is what my nutritionist said i would likely get to. i would like to get down to 120-130 but i am being realistic and setting the goal for 140 and then we will see what happens!

It takes the stomach 6 months to totally heal. That being said, we dont have a lifting restriction for 6 months but i would definitely check with your surgeon and let him/her know the amount of weight you are lifting a day so they can let you know if you are over doing it at this point in your recovery.