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So my surgery is tomorrow. And I’m starting to wonder. Will I miss the extra weight when it’s gone? I look at my clothes now and just say I will learn to sew and alter my current close to make them fit. Or the stuff that don’t fit now I will wear later on. And I’m like wait a minute am I going to miss being bigger? I can’t really understand why I don’t want to get rid of the old clothes and start fresh. Anyone else have similar feelings?

Hi, I had surgery on July 6, I have lost 13 lbs. For the last 4 days I have been the same weight or the scale has been fluctuating up and down by ~a pound. I hope to start losing again soon. I am still on the liquid diet, I will be moving to pureed on day 21. Good luck to all.

some surgeons will tell you not to gain more than 10-15 lbs after plastic surgery because doing so can affect your results, so if you think you can get down to your lowest weight and stay there indefinitely, then go for it. However, if this new weight is your body's new set point (the weight it's happiest at), know that it will likely be a constant struggle to keep it lower since you'll be fighting biology to stay at that lower weight. most people don't see a lot of loss after plastic surgery - usually five lbs tops. Although I suppose if they do A LOT of lipo, it could be more. They did a ton of lipo on me (I lost over 200 lbs), but I didn't have a significant loss after plastic surgery. I looked a lot better, though - and my clothes fit better.

I’m 6 months post revision on a 10 year old sleeve. I’m having terrible stomach problems. Dumping, cramping, nausea. I’m talking with my doctor and nutritionist about. They think it’s either diet or I’ve developed a post surgical IBS. They just put me on a two week course of Rifaximin. I don’t know what is safe to eat any more. Everything seems to make me sick. I’ve lost 75 lbs post op 30% of my body weight in 6 months and MOST IMPORTANTLY the reflux which prompted the revision is gone. I’m sure some of it is my own doing. One piece of candy or something with sugar (even ketchup) and I’m on the toilet. I have discovered that I need 45 min (not 30 as recommended) between eating and drinking. Anything but pure protein seems to be a problem. Salmon or chicken are ok but if I have fruit, rice, grains of any kind, and even some veggies like broccoli or zucchini I’m on the toilet in an hour. I’m learning my portions, which are so sensitive, one bite or two too many and I’m feeling green and laying down. I guess I’m looking for advice on how to systematically find my safe foods and portions? Has anyone else developed an IBS like condition post op such that you needed medication? I can’t tell if this is that or diet or both and I’m not happy either way.

Yesterday I put on a pair of trousers I hadn’t worn since last year. Pulled them up, zipped & buttoned, fitted perfectly & then it hit me. I didn’t have that fear of the pants not fitting. You know that fear. That I would have put on weight & then the expectation that what I wanted to wear wouldn’t fit. I used to feel that way just about every day (unless I was wearing elastic waists LOL!). Even with something I’d recently bought. Will my pants zip? Will the waist of my skirt be tight? Will my shirt pull across my chest? I realised I haven’t felt that fear for a couple of years now. The wonder & miracle that is maintaining a stable weight. Something I’ve never been able to do in the past.

Hey y’all, I had the sleeve surgery 2 years ago - lost 110 pounds (had lost 125 at my lowest weight). I got a few consultations last week for PS in Miami and felt the most confident is the surgeon who sounds like a perfectionist and is doing a lower body lift plus muscle repair, lipo, breast lift. I’m feeling like I want to be at my lowest again (~165 pounds) so that everything can be as tight as possible so I’m probably going to cut carbs for the next month and a half. Is that silly since he’s doing lipo? Does lipo end up actually impacting the scales? A few pounds of fat can be voluminous so I’m not expecting much. Also for people who traveled to Miami, I’ll take recovery house recommendations. and any other wisdom :)

Happy belated 64th birthday! I sure hope you are stressing less and less as you inch through the home stretch to retirement! Congrats on your weight loss achievement and continued success. Thanks for sharing your journey! Yes, there are still surgeons who perform Lapband. I just had a consult last week. I've spoken with a few doctors how are against the other radical, irreversible procedures. There is more money in these than lapband and many of them have abandoned their lapband patients altogether. Even if I were a candidate (My BMI not high enough) I would NEVER consider removing stomach after watching my sister slowly waste away to nothing and die over a course of 5 years because of a botched procedure. Countless doctors and nurses at her bedside ICU would tell me they wished they would stop doing these surgeries because there is nothing that can be done to fix complications once they arrive. I have to do self pay for the procedure and they can schedule it pretty much anytime. My only real concern is additional out of pocket $ for complications such as rejection, slippage, dilation, etc. You're success and happiness is great to know as I contemplate taking the lapband leap! Thanks and best wishes!

I had the revision due to weight regain (not more weight loss from where the sleeve got me). Fourteen years ago, I had the sleeve. It was great, and I kept the weight off for 6 years. In 2014, life began to take its toll, and I gained it back. It took a decade and a half, but it happened. I still had restriction right up to this second surgery. There were other factors, however, like severe depression and anxiety after the death of my parents (18 months apart), a divorce right in between those 18 months, a job transfer I was not expecting and was not happy about the year after that, and then seriously quarantine-ing with my daughter and having to teach from home for a year and a half. Then the medications they put me on which eventually led to drinking alcohol every day.

I use a patch a day plus one chewable high ADEK. I don't understand a handful of day vitamins... I guess it depends on your doctor but that seems extreme. Why did you have the revision? I had to have one for gerd. I had no choice. If you had the revision for more weight loss, the consensus is that it is usually much slower IF your sleeve was done right. The reason behind this is if one ate around the sleeve, one would have a high chance of eating around the bypass.

I'm the complete opposite. I love my revision. I literally feel normal (pre-any WLS) with the added benefit of controlling my weight loss. Literally the only side effect I have now is slight constipation (3 to 4g miralax a day does the trick) but I had that with the sleeve too. I wish I wasn't so scared to do the bypass in the beginning. It would've made my life so much easier. I really hope it improves for you.

I feel "less" restriction with the bypass. That could be because I still felt sleeve restriction, even after all these years. Up until this second surgery in June, I could never eat more than 1/2 a burger. I couldn't eat more than 1 slice of pizza, with maybe just the toppings of a second slice. So, now, I don't feel any different as far as restriction. What's different this time is the constant worry that whatever I eat is going to make me sh** myself or cause extreme nausea, vomiting, and pain. I didn't have that fear with the sleeve. When I got the sleeve, I was really very careful with my eating (just like now), but I would feel restriction more quickly up in my chest. This led to the "foamies" once or twice, but I never puked, felt nauseated, got sweaty, had abdominal pain, or got diarrhea . Also, the sleeve is NOT a malabsorptive surgery, so I knew I was going to absorb everything I consumed seeing as my intestines were complete and intact. I never feared malnutrition like I do now. With the sleeve, I didn't take handfuls of pills all day long. I took one multivitamin a day, and that was it. With my sleeve, I didn't exercise for like the first year and a half, I just lived my daily life going to work and back. The weight fell off daily. I kept that 149 lbs off for 6 years. Now, with the revision, I've been stalled for a month. I don't know if 45 lbs is all I'm ever going to lose. It's a possibility seeing as my body is already used to the limited calories. I am exercising now, but the scale isn't budging. I did and do understand that because it's a revision the weight loss will be slower, but a whole month with only a 2 lb loss is even worse than a regular person with no surgeries who just diets. A kind person mentioned that it's still very early for me in this bypass experience and things may get better. I'm hoping and praying that they do.

I appreciate your input on this topic, @CarmenG. 1) Is there one or two main things you don't like about the bypass, or is it just more restrictive overall? And 2) Have you done much exercise in either case? Just wondering if that was a factor in your weight loss.

@ryan_86 Thanks so much for this. I was not going to do the revision from sleeve to bypass due to all the posts of people mentioning that there was no restriction with the bypass. I am terrified of regaining weight. I had my sleeve done in 2017 and had regained about 30 pounds back during the last 3 years due to a serious back injury in 2020 during COVID. I also have been having some water retention this past year. Even with this I am still down 103lbs from my original weight. My GERD is out of control...I had the Upper GI and the EGD with Bravo recently...my Bravo tested acid at 50 when per doc it should be below 15. When they told me to go back on my meds during the test the numbers dropped and they uped my meds from 20mg to now 40mg per day. I go back in to meet with the surgeon soon. Although I am now back in the gym and eat considerably well/healthy...my portion sizes are still small too I would love relief from GERD and the higher probability of health issues with my esophagus later. However with the scare folks are putting in the forums about no restriction I would rather live with GERD than to not have this tool to help me stay on track. Your post helped to relieve "some" of my concerns. Please let me know how you continue to do on your path. You can send a DM if you like to stay in touch. I woukld love to know your progress and how you're doing with the malabsorption.

I didn't have a specific pre-op diet though my Doc did want me losing weight. Really, the only direction given was don't eat after 6:00pm the night before surgery. I had planned a nice late lunch early dinner the day before that would be Prime Rib, loaded potato, and mushrooms with my spouse. When the day came I lost interest in the whole idea. For whatever reason it lost it's appeal. I ended up not eating anything at all and playing Everquest with my spouse and friends until far too late. Good luck, Tek

@Arabesque and @Jeanniebug made a lot of good points. I'm going to make one or twelve more: Since the statistics say the average weight loss is about 70% of one's overweight amount many patients choose a goal weight, or their surgeons choose a goal weight, that assumes the 70% excess weight loss. 70% being an average that means slightly more than half of people will lose more. Of course most people that go with the 70% excess weight loss often have another number for which they are hoping; As I said in another thread I had so much excess weight to lose that choosing a goal weight was ridiculous. I figured I could worry about a goal weight when I got into the nationhood. As I said in the other thread, I also didn't want to choose the wrong goal number that could make a 500+ pound loss a failure. Good luck, Tek

Hi just now seeing this. I went pack to basics and intermittent fasting. The two protein shakes and one meal is what you have to do to get weight moving. Also you can never eat regular again to maintain the weight loss. That’s what I found works for me. I keep my calories around 1000 or less per day and I’m fine. If I splurge one day I only eat a little of the bad item. Also no leftovers of not good food choice items.

I have 2 goal weights - my surgeon's and my own. My surgeon's goal for me was 163 lbs, by the 1-year mark. My own goal is 150 lbs. So far, I haven't hit 165. I've been bouncing between 166 and 170. I'm 9-months post op. It's worth noting that I haven't been able to exercise much, due to an issue with my diaphragm (surgeon thinks that perhaps my xiphoid process may have been injured during my bypass) and a rotator cuff injury. I'm currently taking a short course of Celebrex to see if that knocks out the pain. I know that once I can start lifting weights, my body will change. Walking doesn't seem to be enough. That said, I'm pretty happy where I am. I'm an easy keeper at this point. I'm not struggling with my diet. I'm maintaining well. I know that regain may happen and I'm hoping to prevent that with activity. I'm just super happy that I have other health wins. I'm no longer diabetic. My cholesterol is normal again. My blood pressure is back down to where it should be. I'm wearing a size XL - and while that's still fairly large, it's an off-the-rack size and I can shop in pretty much any store. So, goal weight... It's something to think about... But, I'm really more focused on my health and my size.

It’s very likely your goal weight will not be your final weight - where you settle & maintain. This is controlled by your new set point, any bounce back regain, a settling weight, any lifestyle choices you may make & the weight you feel happiest & most comfortable at. I picked a goal weight that had always been my low weight in the roller coaster that was my weight loss/gain history. My surgeon said it was a reasonable goal. It put me at a BMI (love it or hate it) of about 23. Though I felt I would be happy if I just got close to that weight & a long way away from what I did weigh. Yes, I did exceed my goal but that was totally unexpected. It’s my new set point weight where my body is happiest. And I can fairly easily maintain it without limiting or restricting my life. Goal weights have the potential to mess with your head if you don’t reach it or maintain at that weight. It’s just a number on a scale often selected for emotional reasons. The bigger wins are improvements to your health & well being. Be flexible. Allow for fluctuations & influences beyond your control. Some people set a couple of goal weights. Like a good, better, best but recognising any would be an achievement which would improve their life.

Actually it’s not that common. It could just be others have not remained active on the forum or as you wondered they haven’t updated their stats. Their profile weight might be their lowest weight & not the weight at which they settled & maintain - there is a difference. The average weight loss is about 65% of the weight you have to lose to put you in a healthy weight range for either bypass & sleeve surgeries which is usually informed by BMI (love it or hate it) at the three year point. But with all stats there there are those who exceed that stat & those who don’t for many reasons. Some we have control over (dietary & activity choices) & many we don’t (medication, gender, age, genetics, health issues, mobility, set point, etc.) But statistically the number who reach their goal will be less & the number who exceed it even lower than those who lose the 65% average. Your goal weight is a weight you picked. It may be based upon BMI. It may be based on a weight you’d been before. Or a weight that seems okay to you. Some even adjust their goal weight as they progress. I call it my head weight or emotional weight. It often is not the weight you end up at. Some find they prefer to be at a higher weight - easier to maintain without limiting or restricting their lifestyle or they feel they look better or are more comfortable at a higher weight. There is also a bounce back regain weight many experience. You can’t really tell what your finally weight will be before your surgery. Some surgeons say they can predict approximately how much weight you may lose at specific points in your weight loss post surgery. I think it may be double the weight you’ve lost at 3 months but I’m sure some one will confirm the actual formula. Though again this is based upon stats & some exceed this & some don’t. And I don’t know if it takes into consideration bounce back regain or settling weight or is just the lowest weight you reach. Would be worth asking your surgeon about it though. The trick is not to get tied to your goal weight. It’s not your body’s new set point weight (the weight your body is happiest at). It can really mess with your head if you don’t reach it or you don’t maintain it. Even when maintaining, allow yourself some realistic fluctuation & wriggle room with your weight. Try & remember it’s just a number on a scale & there are many more important wins to celebrate like your health & well being. I am someone who exceeded my goal (based on the lowest weight I always cycled around in the past) & exceeded the stats (132% lost). Not by anything I did. It’s my body’s new set point & where it happily stabilised. My lowest weight was 48.2kg & then I settled at 48.5-49.5. I gained a couple of kilos because of a medication issue but resettled & stabilised at 49.5-50kg after sorting the issue. I find it pretty easy to maintain & not limiting or restrictive.

I think it just means they surpassed their initial goal weight. They didn't just reach their goal loss, they lost even more!

I sure hope so. I know I need to get back my positive attitude (like during my pre-op dieting, when I lost about 30 lbs in as many days). It's just hard with all the other things happening to me right now with the weight loss stall, insomnia, night cramps, skin issues, and lack of energy. I really just want everything to balance out already. Thank you for the encouragement, though.

Having only found this site yesterday, I've spent a couple of hours over the past two days wandering around and have noticed that there are many folks here who have a listed Current Weight that's anywhere from 10 to 30 lbs or more below their Goal Weight. Is overshooting your GW something that typically happens, or are some of those folks just not updating their listed numbers or am I completely missing the boat on this? I'm scheduled for my surgery on Aug 28 and know where I'd like to end up on the scale and am more curious than I am concerned about going below that.

If you're only 4.5 months post-op, you still have a LOT of weight loss left in you. You will likely continue to lose until at least 9 months post-op. It will slow down, but you are likely nowhere close to being done.

Thank you all so much for your replies, gives me quite a bit to think about- wrestling with the issue. I love that NSV are very life changing, and I dont think im wrong picking a number either- just trying to wrap my mind around the difference between advisors and what is sustainable. i too am very short- and have lived most of my life overweight. Im motivated by the numbers, but just as an indicator on how im doing - and i do feel really good. Still no labs pulled, but have plans for them to be pulled in August, prior to the Bariatric nutritionist. At 4.5 months post op, i know i still have a bit to go, but am trying to shift my thinking towards the maintenance phases. Not there yet, but i could accept it if I my body decided this is my stable weight.

1. Basics: GENDER, AGE, HEIGHT Female, 50, 5 feet 0 inches 2. Total Weight lost in the 6 months BEFORE surgery (if any) 6.4 kilos or 14 pounds 3. Weight on DAY OF SURGERY. 148.6 kilos or 327 pounds 4. Weight at 1 MONTH POST surgery 137.6 kilos or 302 pounds 5. Weight at 3 MONTHs POST surgery ----- 6. Weight at 6 MONTHs POST surgery ----- 7. Weight at 12 MONTHs POST surgery -----