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basically, the closer you get to a normal BMI, the slower the weight will come off. I lost 16 lbs the first month, c. 10 lbs (give or take) until I was about six or seven months out, then it dropped down to maybe 5-8 lbs a month, then after the first year, it was less than five lbs a month - sometimes just 2 or 3 lbs. it's because the lighter you are, the fewer calories you need. When I weighed over 300 lbs, I was probably eating over 3000 kcal/day. When you're eating that much, you can cut 1000 - or 1500 - or even 2000 calories a day, meaning you're going to drop weight pretty quickly. I'm trying to lose 10 lbs right now. My maintenance level is about 1600 kcal/day. Cutting even 1000 calories is unadvisable. That would put me at 600 kcal/day. if one were to eat 600 kcal/day for more than a couple of occasional days, they'd need to be under medical supervision. And cutting 1500-2000 calories from my daily intake when I normally eat 1600? Ha. Impossible. I can cut 200-300 calories safely. That translates to very slow weight loss - about 1/2 a pound a week. anyway, long way of saying, yes - your weight loss will slow down the further out you go.

This is a big issue that I don't feel gets addressed enough before or after surgery. I really felt this alot and spoke to my doctor about this. I didnt try to hide what I was feeling, they are your feelings. I also started a journal that I write positive affirmations about my weight loss journey. If I feel like I am going down that dysmorphia rabbit hole I reach out and speak to someone about this. It really helps when speaking with someone that has had the surgery and the same challenges and understands the process emotionally that goes with this surgery. Its hard to explain stuff or get true feedback and support from someone that doesnt really understand this process in my opinion. One of my coworkers had the same surgery and when we first met we smiled at each other and said "sister". I know that sounds odd but we bounce stuff off each other whenever we work together. For example she reached out to me because she was having issues with her husband (who is very supportive of her, but just doesnt understand the process emotionally.) talking about her watching her carbs. He felt she was getting "overly obsessive" about it. She is 3 yrs post op and has been struggling with some weight gain. Her husband makes her lunch for work and the stuff he puts in there is just bad! lots of breads, pastas, etc. well you can imagine. she has been making her own and bringing more healthier choices and she has started to drop again. The thing is you can't be afraid of your feelings, and need to address them whether its finding a support group or connecting with someone that you feel comfortable talking to. I talk to my doctor (reg doc) and have come up with some approaches that work for me. For me the anxiety is what gets me and I am proud to say I have a good handle on that now and the dysmorphia is so much more under control if you will. One really important thing that also helped me was to be realistic in my vision of myself. I am not 18 years old and will never have that body again. Accepting my self now at the age I am at now (60) and really feeling comfortable with my body now is extremely important. Society does woman an injustice by attempting to dictate how we are supposed to look. I feel great, better than I have EVER felt and I feel more alive now that before my surgery. I embrace that. I am happy and healthier for my surgery and owe it to myself to love myself and enjoy the rest of my life feeling good. Don't be hard on yourself. I recommend getting a book of positive affirmations and reading one every day. It sounds corny but the more positive you put into things (its hard in this negative world we live) the more positive you will feel. Love and light.

This is a great question!!! I have always been UNrealistic in my weight loss journey before my surgery so this was a concern for me. I looked over my past and tried to remember the weight where I felt good, confident as well as taking into account my age at the time of surgery and my activity level. I have some orthopedic issues that hinder my work outs and general walking. I discussed this with the therapist I spoke to before my surgery and it was agreed that my number for me was very realistic. I made my goal weight just shy of a year post op! I followed and still follow my meal plans, I do add in an "extra" here and there but its always worked into my plan and I avoid excesses. I took the time to learn what my eating triggers are and when I feel like I am going down that rabbit hole I adjust and use other non-food coping strategies. Each journey is very personal and once size does not fit all. This is something I have really became fully aware of during my journey.

I had the Loop DS, but my stomach is a VSG stomach, if that counts? And, I'll be 3 years post op next month so I don't know if I count, but... my tip is to take the weight loss phase and use it to learn how to eat in a better and more sustainable way. Make healthier choices, but allow yourself the freedom to eat the things you want in moderation (i.e not all the time). If you start to put on weight then monitor your calories (though in year 2 you WILL put on anywhere between 5-20 pounds back on average, or so I've been told by my surgeons office. I originally put 21 pounds on due to a med I was taking and once I stopped taking the med I worked on getting the weight off and was able to lose half the weight I'd gained, but I can't get under 186 pounds no matter what I do. I'm okay with it though as long as I stay in the 180's, but if my weight creeps into the 190's I start monitoring my calories closely to see if I'm eating too much. Which I usually am lol. I cut back and the weight comes back off, but stalls once again at 186 😒).

Yes, I have definitely felt this, though not currently. I always recommend therapy, even a two month “tune up.” It can be cost prohibitive so other resources I found useful are body movement classes like yoga and Thai Chi that ground me in my physical body. I like to walk meditate, journal. Use what you have done in the past that helped you recover or grieve like art, music, a house of worship. O.A. meetings have discussions on the topic. WLS is a wonderful tool that helps with weight loss, but it doesn’t fix our brains. The fabulous thing is you have already begun your amazing journey of great success to heal your whole self.

Post surgery question(s)... Has anyone struggled with body dysmorphia? I have reached onederland, and thought I would be more excited than I am. I see some weight loss, but my brain isn't connecting the dots and I feel like I should be more excited than I am to have reached such a great milestone in 6 months. Instead of being excited I am just trying to reach my next goal and keep telling myself that maybe then I will be happy. I just need my brain and body to be in unison. I think this is part body dysmorphia. Any advice would be great!

I found my rate of loss just got slower. & slower. There wasn’t a sudden change. It goes hand in hand with you slowly increasing your calorie intake as your portion sizes get larger & you’re eating a wider variety of foods which you should be doing. Plus every week you have less to lose. The hair loss is temporary & only lasts about three months. Small cost to pay for the weight loss. The thing to watch is complacency in your food choices & activity. It can be easy to let a treat become a more regular addition to your diet, to add extra snacks, larger portions etc., not tracking & measuring as carefully or regularly. Boredom & diet fatigue are real. But stick to your plan, recommendations from your dietician & the new habits & behaviours you’ve been establishing.

You are not alone!!!! I have to not only throw it away in my kitchen garbage can, I have to take the bag out to the garage & put it into the big garbage can or I will keep eating it! People think that having surgery is the easy way out. It’s not, we all still have to face our food demons. We have worked really hard for every pound loss & trying to keep it off is hard!

Forgot to add that slight mood swings started around 3 months, hair loss between 3-6 months, my hair has always been sensitive to my stress level.

Congrats! wish you the best. My weight loss did slow once I added food and stopped the complete protein drinks. Having said that, I'm 64, have restricted movement and had insulin resistance. So, I had a lot of thigs to work against. Still losing, but its abut 5 pounds a month.

I was revised from VSG to RNY over three years ago. I can say that my lifestyle and routine is about 95% the same as VSG (and about 75% the same as pre WLS.) I think I was back to what I considered normal in about 4 months after surgery. Your experience may vary of course. The 5% margin of difference between VSG and RNY was the immediate post op period where I had to adjust to new bathroom habits and figuring out exactly which food I no longer could tolerate. Now even the things I didn’t tolerate immediately I can have in some amount and some things I just don’t want at all (super sugary sweet stuff). I can’t speak to the weight loss aspect because I was at my goal and have pretty much stayed there, but the reflux/GERD is gone and has not returned, yet (although unlikely anything is possible). Good luck

Hello Everyone!! I am about 1 week and a half away from being 3 months Post-Op! I am making this post so that I can get a heads up of any changes I should be expecting soon, I know one may or may not be hair loss, but my main question is will my weight loss begin to slow down drastically? I understand that these changes are different for everyone but I would still appreciate everyone's input since I don't know what to expect lol

I lost 16 lbs the first *month* and started at almost 400 lbs - so you are doing fine! I think a lot of people's expectations come from shows like "My 600 lb Life", but you have to keep in mind those people have starting weights of 600-900 lbs - so they are MUCH heavier than the average WLS patient. And starting weight is a big factor in how fast the weight is going to come off (or at least at first). The closer you are to a normal BMI, the slower it goes, unfortunately...(and at a starting weight of 250 - you're much closer to a normal BMI than I was - let alone a contestant on "My 600 lb Life"!) anyway, hang in there. If you follow your program to a "T", the weight will come off. Your level of compliance is a MUCH greater indicator of your ultimate success than your rate of weight loss is.

Thanks everyone, I’m still pleased with what weight loss I’ve had already and I know everyone is different so shouldn’t compare to others but seems like everyone’s loss has been greater so just want to make sure it seems like I’m on track. Fully aware I won’t loose 60lbs overnight haha! only just moved onto soft food (no puree stage) been on liquid for 4 weeks. I’m tracking what I’ve started to eat on my fitness pal it’s still only circa 700/800 cals a day as portions and Snacks are small, getting my 60g Protein and Water intake as per my plan so everything seems on track for what I’m supposed to be doing. I feel great in myself - started to incorporate walking daily - I know I’m still early days so only time will tell 😊

Hello and welcome in this forum. I weighed in, heavier than you. I lost 15lbs during my 3 week pre op. Then 27lbs in the first month. So you seem on track to me. What kind of foods are you eating and are you tracking your proteins and calories ? Everyone has a different weight loss journey and its not a great idea to compare with others. Medications, age, height and medical issues are different with each person. This leads to different weight loss. Also how much you can walk or exercise can benefit weight loss.

Hey, I had a VGS on 22nd Nov and now 4weeks PO. I’ve lost 22lbs so far (11lbs of this on the LRD pre surgery). I was hoping for a little more progress than where I’m at currently, I’ve been sitting at a loss of 22lbs for the last 2 weeks - I know of the 3 week stall period, just want to see if anyone had had similar losses to me in their first 4 weeks to see if I’m on track, as often posts I see it seems everyone has massive losses in the first month or so and mine seems a little low :( starting weight was 250lbs ans I’m 5ft 8in for reference - thank you

I’ve lost 31 pounds

The ones I use are clear tabs so they're nearly invisible! Especially when I have my hair down as the tape used on the neck tends to get pulled near the ears. & they stay on as long as you use them before moisturizer or makeup! (I find them on Amazon) I also use skin colored kinesiology tape (what boob tape is made out of) as that sticks even better even through sweat/heat. I HAVE to wear my hair down w that one though

I just started yet another stall. Each one lasts longer than the last, and my last one was 4 weeks long. So I'm just settling in for the loooong miserable wait to get out of it. Last time I was in it, my nutritionist recommended adding weight training and switching up my calories (1200-1300 on working out days and 900-1000 on non working out days). I added weight training 2 days per week and eventually upped it to 3 days per week. I also reached out to my cousin (she's a professional trainer in AZ) and she gave me some tips for cardio to build up strength and switch up what I do. I ended up losing 13 pounds in 2 weeks doing that. Aaaaand...now my body is freaking out about the large amount of weight loss and I'm in a stall again.

I feel your pain! I seems to hit long plateaus and they are frustrating. I saw that although the scale wasn’t moving in those weeks - my body was changing, clothes were still getting smaller, skin was firming or readjusting - so that was nice to see! I noticed my calories and protein were on the low side because I’m struggling with amounts I can eat but when I can bump those calories and protein up some, I would notice a loss. Keep up the good work! We can do this!! :)

The first few months post-op are the hardest because you’re still healing from surgery and adjusting to a lot of changes, but you’re not yet getting the benefits of the weight loss. It’s very normal at this stage to have feelings of regret and wonder if the surgery was a mistake. As time goes by, though, it gets easier in many ways. You’ll be able to re-introduce more foods into your diet as well as get used to the changes that will become your new “normal.” And in the meantime, you’ll lose a lot of weight and get to experience life as a non-obese person. This rough part of your journey will be a blip in your memory, and if you’re like most of us, eventually your only regret will be that you didn’t do this sooner. I’m 2.5 years out from gastric bypass and I can eat pretty much normally. I still avoid foods that are high in sugar or fat, and bread, pasta, and rice, but I tolerate most foods and I eat pretty normal-sized portions. In fact, it scares me sometimes to see how much volume I can eat, and I have to be pretty careful to eat low-calorie foods. Sometimes I kind of miss the early post-op days when I could only eat a few bites at a time and was never hungry. Although it’s not fun, take advantage of this time because it will never be easier to lose weight than it is right now.

First congratulations on your weight loss so far. Yay! Secondly, constipation is a common problem & a pain in the butt (meant the pun). Try adding some non swelling, soluble fibre to your diet like Benefibre & ensure you’re meeting your fluid goals. Try to keep on top of it with medications, & try to avoid not going for extended periods of time - too painful & stressful. I didn’t mind if I didn’t go every day but I took a stool softener if I hadn’t gone after three days so I would have some action on the fourth day. Maybe track your pooping (not Sheldon Cooper style 😉 but just when you go) so you can avoid prolonged periods if constipation.

You're doing great! Someone who hadn't seen me for quite awhile honestly thought my husband had a new wife (I also grew my hair longer. ) Good thing they caught on before they started criticizing the old wife!

I kept getting pushed back too. You must be feeling so disappointed after doing all that prep work too! Just think of when you do get the surgery you lock out all the weight you have already lost. The surgery as a lock sustained me through many bumps in the road. You’ll get there. Have a proper cry then Keep loosing weight to beat that lock out and make the loss more sustainable. You got this. Covid/RSV/ flu can’t beat you!

I was told to expect to lose 125 lb roughly from the surgery... Pre-op I lost 40 so that's about 165 lb of loss... I think I can lose more than that being that since the pre-op diet in June to now after having surgery October 6th I have lost a turtle of 92 lb.. My goal weight is 180 to 199... Why 199 you say? I want to be part of wOnederland as my mom had calls it who have bariatric surgery 13 years ago... I haven't waited under 200 lb since I was 19... I'm 36 and I'm ready to roll!!!! I also decided that I didn't want to be super duper skinny because that doesn't look good with my frame. So I am completely happy with 180 to 199