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As @SmolGojira says, there are lots of factors that will influence how much loose skin you have on your face & your body. But there are non invasive & minimally invasive things you can do to help to a degree if you aren’t happy. First, give your body a chance to resettle after you’ve lost your weight. It can be quite amazing how your body almost reshuffles your remaining fat after you’re reached your goal. In maintenance you’ll be eating a broader range of nutrients including more carbs (multi/whole grain low processed carbs) which help too. Initially I had lots of fine lines running down from under my chin. I did a series of RF treatments & with time & a broader diet most disappeared. This year I had some filler into the sides of my face in front of my ears where I had hollows totally empty of fat & that gave a slight & natural looking lift to the marionette lines around my mouth. I’ve also had one session of derma pen to help with acne scarring but will be transitioning to the combined dermal needling & RF instead which supposedly is more likely to provide skin tightening. I also have dysport/Botox but that’s for my vanity wrinkles - LOL! You can try taking collagen & silica. But like derma needling, topical or ingested collagen will still take about 3 months for you to see any effects (the natural skin cycle). Topical skin products like hylaurinic acid, Vitamin C, collagen oils & such can help make your skin, brighter, plumper, even out skin tone & texture & generally give you a healthy glow which will somewhat distract from any laxity you may have. I believe the effects of many of these will depend on you - your genetics, how your body processes/absorbs them & how much your skin is in need. One bonus of the weight loss was the deep lines that encircled my neck (fat creases) are barely visible in some light. Best is I have a jaw line, cheek bones & visible eye lids (hooded lids no more), my neck is longer & thinner & I look like me because my face isn’t distorted by fat. Before you do anything though, educate yourself. Be informed on the possible benefits & side effects. Don’t get caught up with what a beauty therapist is selling, influencers are promoting or latest fad. I started seeing a cosmetic physician this year for my treatments & I appreciate her honesty & straight talking about treatments & products. She often says don’t waste your money doing that. Sorry for the long post.

I feel you, I hate how my neck looks. I have turkey neck but I don't care. I look and feel better than before the weight loss.

Have you tried actually calling these insurance companies to ask what their process is for weight loss surgery? As for paramount advantage "selling out" Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield acquired Paramount Medicaid contracts.

Hello I am new here my name is Amanda I am 40 years old I’m going through the process of having gastric sleeve surgery my last thing to do is a sleep study and I have one more appointment with the dietitian so all the papers will be sent to Medicaid I don’t know how the process works and how long it takes I am stressing myself to the max because I am so worried that something is going to go wrong where I cannot have my surgery I really need the surgery because I am diabetic I have sleep apnea and I cannot walk for long periods of time therefore I can’t have fun with my family like I used to because my legs were swollen up anyone has any information please let me know

70 lbs in two months is a PHENOMENAL loss - way more than most people And the others are right - a pound or two here and there is likely just water, not true weight. Just weigh once or twice a week - then you'll just see the downward trends and not the day-to-day fluctuations.

Congratulations on your fantastic loss!! I only weigh once a week.

I had gastric sleeve 5 weeks ago, I have lost weight but for the past 1.5 weeks the scale is stuck. I am following the plan although not getting enough protein. I am moving- but I haven’t started strenuous exercise yet. Anyone have any tips? I have a lot of weight to loss still (almost 100 pounds) although I have lost (including pre surgery lost weight 73). Please and thank you

Congratulations on your weight loss! People fluctuate all day every day. Weigh yourself less. I weigh myself every Monday (my surgery day) Then you don't see the fluctuations, you only see the loss.

I've lost 70 lbs in 2 months. I thought that was great, but now I'm anxious about the scale. Before having the surgery, I didn't even a scale because I didn't want to know. Now, I've been told I have to monitor it. I get anxiety now every time I gain 1 or 2 lbs! Is that normal? Makes me feel like I'm not doing something correctly. [emoji53] Sent from my SM-F916U using BariatricPal mobile app

I did gastric sleeve, and right after, I underwent rapid weight loss, appearing most conspicuously in my face and neck. Will I ever gain a fit look on my face and neck after such a rapid loss of weight following gastric sleeve?

I never tried Nioxin. Personally, time is the only thing that worked for my hair loss. And I tried everything-shampoos, biotin, etc. Don't get discouraged! It is only temporary and it will grow back.

I guess your referring to it helping with the hair loss while you are losing weight. This hair loss is just an acceleration of your natural hair loss cycle (hair that was going to fall out anyway) in response to the stress of surgery, reduced calories, restricted diet, weight loss, etc. It’s temporary. Your new hair is still actually growing but just at it’s usual rate. The hair loss tends to start at around months 3 or 4 & lasts about 3 months +/-. (It seems to be the same length of time for those who take all the hair growth vitamins & supplements like biotin too.) It seems to stop around the time you’re eating more & a broader range of nutrients & you’re not as stressed. It most cases, the only person who really notices the loss is you (& your hairdresser 😉). A lot of us cut our hair if it was long during this time. I did it so it wouldn’t take as long for the new growth to reach the length of my shorter existing hair. Plus shorter hair usually looks thicker, bouncier & healthier. But you can always try something like Nioxin if you want. Can’t make it worse.

Nioxin works by stimulating hair follicles. To truely get it to work you would need to use the whole line of products, not just the shampoo and conditioner. Prenatal vitamins work really good on hair and nails. That said, i actually really like nioxin as a product. Sent from my SM-F916U using BariatricPal mobile app

First, stalls happen. They’re part of the weight loss journey. Some have more of them. Some experience ones that seemingly last forever. The thing to remember is they do break. Secondly, the further out your are the slower your rate of loss which make you think your stalling too. If it persists, chat with your dietician. Maybe a tweak to your diet or activity will help. And yes, track or monitor your food. It can be easy to eat a little more than we think or eat something we think is okay but may not be the best at this time. And I’m with @kcuster83, I often find I weigh a little more after I break a couple of days of constipation. It usually doesn’t show until the following day. I wonder if it’s because I’m retaining extra fluid at the same time??? How our individual bodies work can be fascinating (& frustrating).

Is Nioxin worth it?

First photo is from an Alaskan cruise in 2019. The second is at 60 lbs loss while on vacation in Miami.

I don't do carb cycling because I eat a lot of carbs (tons of fruit) BUT, I naturally do calorie cycling. I know both carb and calorie cycling are effective. Some days I just feel hungrier so I eat more those days. I track calories by the week (net calories under weekly goal) so there is a lot more leeway, freedom and flexibility, for those bottomless pit days. My longest "stall" ever was during my maintenance phase. It was 33 days. I'm still trying to find my maintenance calorie level but if I keep losing, I won't stress, I'll just let nature takes it's course since the honeymoon phase will inevitably end soon enough since I'm 15 months post-op. Link: "Research suggests the benefits of calorie cycling include greater weight loss, improved ability to stick to a diet, less hunger, and a reduction in the negative hormonal and metabolic adaptations of a normal weight loss diet." https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/calorie-cycling-101#:~:text=Research suggests the benefits of,it works best for you.

Sorry you're dealing with this. Sounds like your team has ruled out most of the physical issues. but I wanted to throw a few more things out there that might be worth considering: Have you ever been evaluated for sleep apnea? This disease can absolutely wipe you out physically if left untreated. It would be odd for it to start post-surgery, but maybe it was masked before for some reason and you've had it for a while? Obviously eating a severely restricted diet means you're not getting a lot of calories in. Now this is as designed to drive weight loss, but your body should adapt to that and use fat to fuel your cellular processes. This should mean, if everything is working properly, that you get plenty of energy from the chemical decomposition of fat. Depending on what specifically you're eating, there could be something going on diet related here that may not have that process working as designed. Your gut microbiome is often overlooked as a source of issues, primarily because it's not well understood by physicians. What I mean here is that it's possible you don't really have the proper balance of good bacteria in your gut to deal with what I assume has been a significant shift in how you eat. At the very least, adding in both prebiotics and probiotics could help shift your microbiome in the right direction. This one will sound bad, but it's possible this is psychosomatic. If you're not familiar with the concept, the mind is an extremely powerful thing and can absolutely make you feel like you're exhausted, even when there's no physical cause. This does not mean you're crazy, or faking it, or anything like that. The physical manifestations of psychosomatic illness are very real. FYI, stress is a huge driver of this process, so working on stress reduction would be a good first step. If needed, there are even doctors and therapists that specialize in treating psychosomatic diseases.

Yes, I normally give everybody the benefit of the doubt thinking their comments are in good faith, but I can see what they see in the mirror and my looks may use some divine help. I am glad you look better now after passing the shock phase of weigh loss, I hope I am Lucky and have some improvement in the looks department.

That is how mine is... Unfortunately, there isn't much you can do except wait it out. I was luck that I have a lot of hair, but it is noticeable for me still. Shorter hair definitely helps.

I had the runs also for the first week or so. It is incredible the amount that exited compared to inputs. But it did get better and if you are worried call you nutritionist or surgery team nurse. I'm sure they will be able to better help you. Never be shy with asking them for help it is what they are there for. Hope you find better days ahead. Wishing you good health and success in you weight loss journey.

*raises hand* Same. Same. Same. a few months into weight loss, everything about food began to fascinate me. I started to love cooking, baking, researching recipes, watching cooking shows, reading restaurant reviews, smelling it, taking pictures of it, watching others eat it, everything except actually eating it myself. one of my fave things to do is read a menu in its entirety at restaurants. I’m 4 years post and I am still like this, with the exception that I can eat way more now than I could back then (for those keeping score, I remain below goal weight, so I didn’t end up imploding. So far, at least lol) I used to worry about this behaviour of mine, but have long ago learned to just go with it. I figured I was not suffering any angst about it, nor was it negatively impacting any aspect of daily life. So…yeah. BUT…If a behaviour (any behaviour!) is limiting you in any way, or preventing you from being a functional member of society, or causing you mental anguish or physical harm, then maybe that is a sign you may want to get it addressed. Good Luck!❤️ P.S. Full disclosure: I also smoke, so I probably have bigger fish to fry than my affinity for Top Chef et al.

Sorry ahead of time, this is going to be a long post! Let's talk a bit about what causes stalls/plateaus: The most common reason for any stall (including the dreaded 3-week stall), is simply that you are retaining more water. There are a few reasons this happens, from hormonal shifts, tissue repair, illness, or changes due to glycogen vs. ketone metabolism. This post would be even longer if I spent too much time here, but suffice it to say that for many people (especially early in the process), they are just retaining water and not actually failing to lose fat. As you lose more weight, your overall metabolic rate will slow down. People sometimes think fat is not metabolically active, but that's not true. Losing fat means your metabolism slows down, even if you retain the same amount of muscle mass (which most people don't). This means that as you lose weight, it takes less effort to move or even just live, so the amount of calories you burn both during exercise and just living also drops quite a bit. On the intake side as you progress after bariatric surgery, you'll be able to eat more. This isn't a bad thing and is by design, but obviously you should be able to see the problem here. Your metabolism has slowed down and now you can eat more. This can lead to you basically eating as much as you're burning. When that happens, weight loss stops. Especially if you're not tracking intake closely by weighing and measuring your food, you can easily be eating a lot more than you think. Some studies have shown people underestimate caloric consumption by several hundred calories on average. This is more than enough to cause a stall. This one may be TMI for some, but you may simply be retaining more stool. Feeling constipated? That will definitely impact your weight. This is going to be hard for some people to hear, but I can tell you one thing it's not, and that's hormones. Yes, various hormonal processes negatively impact weight loss in a myriad of ways, but they don't overcome the basic fact that if you eat fewer calories than you are burning, you'll lose weight. What these hormones can do if they're out of whack, is bad things like slowing your metabolism even more, increasing your hunger, screwing with water weight, or even fooling you into thinking you're eating less than you are. So, that's all great, but what do we actually do if we're in a stall? Well, I think it depends on when it happens and how long it lasts: If it's early (a.k.a. the 3-week stall), just keep doing what you're doing and you should be fine. I know people don't like that advice, but as I said it's just water, so don't worry about it. Later on, especially if the stall is lasting longer than 2-3 weeks. that's when I think it's important that you look closely at what you are actually burning, as well as really tracking what you are eating. If you don't know your RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate), you should. The closer you are to goal, the harder it is to get the balance right between intake and output to make sure you're not eating too much, so fixing this starts with knowing your RMR and accurate food logging. There's a lot of anecdotal advice thrown around about "ways to break a stall", but there seems to be little scientific evidence for any of it. It certainly won't hurt to try things like breaking up your routine in terms of diet or exercise, but just understand that this change may or may not have any impact. If it makes you feel better to be proactive, go for it. Longer term, there is one piece of solid advice that's backed up by lots of research: Even if you don't really like working out, do it anyway. Those WLS patients that make a regular habit of exercising for 45 minutes to an hour most days a week are significantly more likely to reach their goal and maintain the weight loss. (One caveat here: significantly changing your exercise routine can make you retain water and possibly even add muscle, so don't freak out if you see a stall or even a gain.) I'll take that exercise advice one step further and say you really should be doing some form of strength training. This is also backed up by lots of studies, but the great thing about strength training is that it makes your burn more calories even at rest (in other words, it increases your metabolic rate). There are lots of other benefits, but the metabolic benefit is the most germaine to the stall question. Those that do strength training are less likely to stall during weight loss and are more likely to reach and then maintain their goal weight long term.

I am struggling to loose as well. In the last 2.5 months I have only lost about 4 pounds. I still have a have a big restriction so getting a different calorie count would be difficult. Apart from a small amount of fruit carbs and a odd slice of bread, my carb count is low. I think I must be in the slow loss phase now. Upping exercise would be a cruelty to me. I am so cold already, going out walking more than I do, we are going into the miserable dark, wet, cold, windy part of Winter and I hate it with a passion. Going swimming is not an option as I have so much loose skin now, I would be more embarrassed than when I was 333 pounds. I am considering the gym but its not my thing. Excuses, excuses, I know. I am going to see my dieticians early next month so will see what they have to say. I always think its something that I am doing wrong rather than right. I love this skinny woman that I have become but I would like to get under 200 pounds also. Onederland is so close, I can see the finish line ......

My hair is leaving my head. It started this month, and I lose a ton every day. Even if I just run my fingers through my hair, I'm left with a handful. Is there anything that can be done to stop the hair loss? I'm taking vitamins.