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Sip your water CONSTANTLY! Don’t allow yourself to get dehydrated. If you do, (I did) then call your doctor and they’ll arrange for you to get some IV fluids. Don’t worry so much about hitting your protein goals for the first few days. Just keep drinking. Start incorporating some bone broth and protein waters. (My fave is the blue Protein2O.) Walk some to get the gas they fill you with to move! Take chewable GasX. After about two weeks start your chewable vitamins (I take Barimelts. Multivitamin with iron, B12, Biotin, and Probiotic.) Add in Zinc along with your Biotin to avoid hair loss. Take Senekot to help with constipation. I’m trying to think of anything else I do….. I hope this helps!! 😁👍🏻

I haven’t really paid much attention to my clothing since I literally wear the same thing everyday since I am a uniformed employee. I really hope the Dr is wrong because I really was hoping for additional weight loss that I couldn’t achieve with the sleeve. I have been doing everything I’m supposed to do minus cheating once and having a few sips of coffee. Thank you for your words of encouragement.

I had band to bypass revision on July 19, for GERD. There's plenty of people on here who have revised to bypass that lost additional weight and are now at a normal or near normal BMI. So I don't understand why your doctor said that. But I do understand everyones medical situation is unique. But don't give up yet, because you're still early in the game. The first month or so I felt similar to you. Wasn't losing much at all and wondering if I would lose. This was a fear of mine since I made the decision to revise. I'm eight weeks out now and I've lost thirty-five pounds. Not as fast of weight loss as those with a virgin bypass or those with a higher BMI, but I am still losing. So just follow your program and wait until you're fully healed and then you will probably see more pounds coming off. One thing I will add, when the scale wasn't moving in the first month, I was definitely losing inches. Have you noticed your clothes getting bigger? Because that's still a loss. The scale will catch up.

Hey, those NSVs and your losses are awesome! How do you know you don't need your CPAP, do you have a sleep tracker that tracks your breathing, heart rate and blood oxygen level? I had to sleep without my CPAP for a week and I thought I was fine, too. Then, I looked at my Sleep Tracker (my bed is fancy and records breathing/heart rate, but not oxygen level) and my sleep score was way down all week and I snored more, breathed in a sporadic way and my heart rate went up (that's what makes us gasp in our sleep to get in more air, usually doesn't wake you up). I highly recommend another sleep study before you just stop using your CPAP, you could be hurting your heart.

I would look up advice for bariatric athletes online. There's a few dietitians out there who are working with post-surgery athletes and some of them write articles and blogs, but the field is very, very new. Most bariatric dietitians are not going to have the knowledge to guide you if you are exercising seriously and most sport dietitians don't have the knowledge to work around your restrictions and different macro needs during the active weight loss phase and beyond. (And even at the intersection, most of the writing I've seen focuses on athletes after the initial weight loss period.) And I don't fault them for that entirely. Bariatric dietitians are focused on patient populations assumed to be only begrudgingly if at all active and sport dietitians are focused on patients who have no history of morbid obesity so... what can you do. Don't worry about not getting enough carbs and losing muscle though. It's protein that you need to build muscle and it a lack of protein will cause your body to break down muscle. Carbs are for immediately accessible energy during workouts and Crossfit workouts are not long enough to require any additional carbs like a marathoner might need. You will be able to work from what your body has available, which it can convert from fat (from diet or from your excess weight). I would go relatively low-carb per your program's recommendation and notice how you feel during workouts. If you're hitting the wall much earlier than you have in the past (accounting for the fact that you've just gone through major surgery and probably taken significant time off), then maybe try adding a small amount of complex carbohydrate before your workout (something like berries or oatmeal, not something high in sugar natural or otherwise) or switch around the timing of when you eat your carbs and see whether that improves your workouts. Crossfit folks generally recommend a low-carb diet anyway. Disclaimer: I'm not a dietitian, I'm just a Crossfitter who was very concerned about this at the beginning of my surgery process and did a lot of research. I haven't had surgery yet, so I can't give my personal experience.

This is probably best answered by your dietician because yes, plans are so different. Your dietician should advise what’s best for you taking into account your physical & caloric needs, your dietary requirements & restrictions, etc. without compromising your weight loss. I was never given carb limits only told low carb & only low processed whole & multi grains (traditional rolled oats for breakfast 3 or 4 days a week was my only source beside the carbs in vegetables). But then I’m not an exerciser. 🙂

That’s my plan, too!! Can’t wait to hit my 100 pound weight loss. Twenty pounds to go! Once I get there I’m calling a plastic surgeon for a consult. 😁👍🏻

Hi, For the first 8 weeks my doctors have only 2-4 teaspoons of food for each meal. And only 3 meals per day. After that it is 1/4 cup per meal 3xs a day. My doctors also advise to take miralax to make sure I don’t get constipated. My friend hit a stahl and turned out it was gas and constipation. Check in with your weight loss team!

Congratulations on your loss! I like to get my nails done, or visit a friend out of state. I’ve rejoined yoga, and tried balance boarding, and went to Great Wolf Lodge as rewards. Try something you’ve been curious about, pink hair? Or keep it simple like download a new song.

Great job on your progress! I’m not generally one to “reward” myself, and I kind of look at the weight loss as its own reward. If you’ve been living with obesity for a long time, some really basic things that most people take for granted can be amazing to experience for the first time — like shopping in a non-plus-size store, traveling on an airplane without a seatbelt extension, or just being able to bend down and tie your shoes. Many of us experience great health improvements like stopping blood pressure medication. There’s a very long thread about weird non-scale victories here: http://sparktrack.bariatricpal.com/f/a/Y50OG68aRzzLR0Yjxz0aTA~~/AABcJQA~/RgRlAveiP0RTaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmFyaWF0cmljcGFsLmNvbS90b3BpYy80MzY3MTAtd2VpcmRlc3Qtbm9uZS1zY2FsZS12aWN0b3J5LWlsbC1nby1maXJzdC9XA3NwY0IKYx-iciBjIPHUHFIRc2FyYTc4MUBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAAAA~ I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with buying yourself a nice shirt or new phone or treating yourself to a massage to celebrate, if that’s how you like to reward yourself, but I think it’s also good to appreciate all of the ways your life is improving as you lose the weight.

Remember not just about weight loss… but the other benefits too! I did notice when installed - I upped my protein and then I started losing again. I am 6wks out from surgery and had the same type of stall the first month. Give your body time to heal! You just had surgery and when it’s ready, changes will happen! Ps I’m supposed to get 80g protein a day… that’s why I mentioned maybe upping your protein. But always check in with your dr and or nutritionist! Good luck ☺️

I had a stall for more than two weeks after I started on solid foods. It was really frustrating, but recently I started losing a little weight again. All you can do is be patient. In the first days and weeks after surgery, you are losing a lot of water weight. Then your body starts adding the water weight again, but you're still losing fat. You just don't see it on the scale for a while, since the re-added water makes up for the fat loss on the scale. Just stick to your program. Eventually you will start losing weight on the scale again.

Celebrating my 11th year anniversary of my RNY. Age 78, height 5/8, 299 lbs. Lowest weight was 165 (ideal) but the COVID "home bound" situation has caused some gain that I need to work on . Age now is almost 84 and some health issues are adding to water retention that has add to my weight. My story is that I gained weight after having 2 sons, starting two businesses created stress and a lot of responsibility fell to me. Diabetes became a big issue and while I reached 299 lbs.... diabetes was a big concern. My decision to have Bariatric surgery was guided by the fear of how diabetes was not under control. I was very fortunate to live near Indiana University Med Center which we use on a regular basis. IU has a great weight loss center with excellent nutritional department, and surgeons that operate in the best hospitals. At my age, the cost was taken care of by my Medicare benefit. The Dr that was assigned to me was the director of the IU Bariatric Dept. The Center gives out excellent information for the rules and reasons to prepare for surgery. My April start was to be the start to lose 35 lbs in 3 months but due to summer vacations, etc. it was 5 months to surgery. In that time I lost 55 lbs and had the option to continue on my own. I seriously considered that but since I had, initially, needed help with my diabetes, I elected to have the surgery. I'm very happy that I did. The increase of energy was unexpected. The diabetes meds and insulin was eliminated and hasn't returned, largely due to the fact that I no longer like the rich cream and sugar loaded junk. The small quantities that I can eat are a constant reminder that I need to fill up on good nutritional choices. Calories naturally come up to Breakfast: approx. 350 and consists of a tortilla with one mushroom, one small egg, diced onion, 1/2 slice of crisp bacon, and a sprinkle of cheese. Lunch (2 pm) is veggie soup or salad, dinner is served about 8 pm and is a minimum amount of food. Portion limits are always followed as are the eating rules....small bites!. A big help is that we no longer have a pantry full of bad snacks. Sugared drinks and juice is no longer in the house. Another help is we are the only two in the house now. It is much easier if you don't have to prepare additional meals for extra family members. Keeping busy is a key to not thinking so much about food. I'm a designer and building a line of paper and textile designs for personal use and interior decor. It is a business that I've had for 50 years and thought I was through but I guess not.

the no weight loss since last week is almost certainly a stall. They're completely normal. They usually last 1-3 weeks, and you're likely to hit several of them on your weight loss journey. Just stick to your program and stay off the scale for a few days. They'll eventually break and you'll be on your way again. the nausea part - I'd let your clinic know that...if nothing else, for peace of mind.

Hi All, I am a newbie here had surgery on Aug 4, 2022. Lost a total of 55 lbs. So I have this weird question ( or maybe not). I am working back up to a mile a day walking, but what I noticed when out walking is I seem to be off balance. I was told this is common because your stride is adjusting to the weight deferential along with muscle loss. I do not have an ear infection or anything like that. So all seems weird, had blood test done all is good. Seen my doctor all fine there as well. Has anyone else experienced this?

The gas pain was not that bad just make sure you walk! They put a local around the incision sites and that is what wore off in the middle of the night. But it is really one incision more than the rest. I fully believe that is the one they pulled every thing out of because it is the only one that is bruised! Having a little better today maybe. I have over done it a little already. I got up and showered, fixed my hair and made my bed. So I am still sore from the up and down but all in all I am ok!

That is awesome! Congratulations on the weight loss, the tattoo and the house!

Hi Kelsey. Congrats on the weight loss! The regain is worrisome and I’m glad you’re working to address it before it continues to creep up. I’m sorry you had a frustrating experience with your surgeon. It’s my understanding many programs try to get patients back on track with basics before doing revisions to make sure that we are using the tools we will need to be successful after the rescission. I hope that is what he was doing but wish he would have communicated that in a way that was more … helpful. You did well on the shakes, which is encouraging. I’m wondering if you were weighing, measuring and tracking when you went back to food? Following up with a PCP about your malabsorption and other health issues is a good idea. I’m glad you had an appt, but sorry it’s so far out. Have you ever seen an endocrinologist for the metabolic issues? If not I highly recommend it if possible. While I love my pcp - my endocrinologist has a very different approach to those things and it’s been a big help at dialing in the right treatment. This forum is a great place for support and I think you’ll find a lot of it! I’d also suggest looking into to finding a therapist if you are able. Please check back in and let us know how you are doing.

Hello and welcome in the forum, its great to have peoples from other countries who contribute and share their journeys and knowledge. I didn't know anyone who had this surgery either, so this forum was super helpful. In the months waiting my surgery I read thousands of back pages. You are at a really difficult place in your journey. Everything is hard to learn, eating and drinking are difficult. Lots of people find it hard to drink the shakes, I just drank milk with dried milk powder in to boost the protein or milk with peanut butter and fruit. You just have to wait until you can have real food again. We have all been there, it sucks. There are still foods that are off my menu, mainly chicken and the very preloved cooked salmon. I hope that I can eat them one day but its still a small price to pay for my weight loss and getting my life back. I wouldn't change a thing You may get a stall in your weight loss soon. If you want to read up on it, put three week stall in the header. There are thousands of posts. It saves a lot of anguish and asking yourself 'What am I doing wrong' Just take it day by day and trust the process. Go back and ask your team if they have any info that will help you just now with food and drink choices and make sure you have enough medication for the nausea. Good luck in your journey

Welcome! First of all, great job on your weight loss. Even after the regain, you’re still down 130 pounds from where you started, which is a major accomplishment. Secondly, I’m appalled that your bariatric surgeon’s solution was a 10-day liquid diet, as if that’s a realistic long-term weight loss strategy. I do think you’re on the right track to go to a PCP and get your thyroid and vitamin deficiencies corrected. Are you tracking your eating at all? I use MyFitnessPal, but there are other apps like Baritastic that have similar features, and I think tracking your eating can really help you see where you can improve. At least for me, there’s something about seeing the numbers that makes it clear what is or isn’t worth eating.

The other Dr. in the practice where my surgeon is, does the sleeve for $14,900 cash. Here's his website... https://myradbody.com/surgical-weight-loss

@Hazel40 Hi! And welcome to the forums, and congrats on your surgery and the beginning of a successful weight loss journey! 🤗 Best wishes!

Hi there, it has been wonderful to read all of the stories here. I'm a 39-year old mother of three from Finland and have had RYGB 17 days ago. Here surgeons actually operate more RYGB than SG (contrary to US), and although I was set on SG before when I decided on needing the surgery, the surgeon did convince me with RYGB suiting me better in the end (and she is the surgeon in Finland who gets referred with the most difficult cases and operates a lot both in University hospital as well a privately, so I just ended up trusting her expertise). I don't know anyone personally who has had the surgery so nobody to really have discussions with about the downs (ups is another matter as I do have a family but obviously not all of the NSV's (a new term I learned today, yay) can be comprehended by someone who really has never been there. I started my journey with the decision in May, first appointment at the clinic June 2nd weighing 352 lb (160kg, I'm 5'10 tall so BMI about 50 at this point), 11 weeks later August 10th had a meeting with the surgeon and internist for approval (weighing 320 lb), had to have ECG and gastroscopy due to medical history to be approved, and the surgery was done 26th of August so jyst over two weeks ago. My weight that day was 317 lb (143,8kg), and currently it is 301 lb (136,6kg). Here in Finland we have the possibility to get the operation through regular healthcare system if we fullfil the criteria (BMI over 35 with obesity related diseases or BMI over 40 plus you need to have had experience before atleast of 6 months of conservative weight loss (can be from the past, does not need to be just then) and you need to lose 8% of your weight prior to surgery with atleast 3-4 weeks vlcd to make sure liver loses its fat to make surgery less risky). I obviously fullfilled the criteria and was referred to the process, but unfortunately due to Covid having resulted in so many cancellations of elective surgeries, the waiting time for surgery was more than a year in every University hospital (we have 5, so I called everyone of them). Here we have this wonderful thing, called progressive taxation which ensures that people who make decent money, don't really get to keep more than 50% of my paycheck so having good healthcare and free education (like University is free, free school meals up until you're 18) comes with a prize tag that we just have had to accept, so obviously I would have preferred to get the surgery for that regular prize (which would have been probably around 300 euros in total with the doctor's pre visits and the hospital days). However I quickly decided, and my hubby agreed, that waiting for a year, maybe even two, was too long as my body had gone through so much already last year. I was worried that too long of a wait would result in me yoyoing with my weight and more complications could have a really bad impact on my long term health. So, I ended going to a private hospital in Finland which in overall was a good experience, and I was able to go home the next day as planned. Tried to go to work 3 days later, but had to go back home after a couple of hours and just work from home the amount I was able to. After leaving the hospital I only took a couple of acetaminophens a day, which I found quite surprising. A week later I was already working regularly normal hours (mostly a desk job, no heavy lifting). No vomiting but a couple of times now that after two weeks I was allowed to have crisp bread (and somehow thought it was a good idea to make it less dry by combining it with cream cheese) have I had it block the stoma or just become just a big clump inside the pouch. Not a pleasent feeling, and tried to drink a bit, and I could feel the fluid staying in the esophagus so just waited it out... Thing I find most annoying is that I have never been a person to drink my calories, not a soup person, especially pureed soups are not at all my thing. Vlcd with the shakes was already a 5 week misery and the the liquid and pureed food phase now after surgery. I already hate all the things I previously used to like such as protein puddings and smoothies. I like the textures of differents foods, fresh fruits and vegetables and can't have most of them in a long time. I have started to chew foods like sweet paprika in my mouth to get the experience and then spit it out to not cause problems. I had no idea I would grow such a disgust (it really is like a physical feeling of nausea) towards so many liquid and pureed foods so quickly.. Feels like right now, at this point when I really don't have any of the NSV's etc effects yet, that it is quite hard to stay in positive at times when the physical nausea, inability to join the family dinners etc. makes you feel down. Maybe atleast some of you understand where I'm coming from, some support would be encouraging. At least reading threads about different topics related to WLS is already something to keep my mind of negativity. Final note; WLS aka weight loss surgery sounds so much more upbeat than our translation in Finnish which is Lihavuusleikkaus (direct translation to Englush for it is Obesity surgery). It sort of has the emphasis on the obesity rather than what it aims to do. Person who came up with the terminology must not have been obese themselves... For anyone who actually read the whole post, thank you, I appreciate it! Sent from my AC2003 using BariatricPal mobile app

I’m not going to lecture you. I can’t solve your problems. I got help for my family emotional problems by utilizing psychology today.com and found a therapist locally. Covid emphasized so many existing problems and like you, I reached out for help. It really worked and I can only encourage you to keep reaching out, be persistent because you are worth it! Even bringing these things up to your PCP will get the ball rolling. You can ask for a social worker to help you navigate the many specialists and paperwork you will need. You can ask for group therapy which is often cheaper and helps you make friends. Some people have tried OA to meet like minded people and support for weight loss. Meeting with real people locally is important for community. You are not alone, we all get in these ruts.

Hello my name is Kelsey and I’m new to this website/forum. I came on here to seek advice/friends to help me out. I have been struggling so so bad lately. I had weight loss surgery 11.28.2015 and I was 400 pounds when I did. After about a year and a half I had lost a lot of weight, I got down to 170 pounds. I was happy at this weight, healthy, had less back/foot/ankle/knee pain, etc, you knew the drill. Until Covid i kept most of it off. In the past 3 years I have noticed a steady incline in weight again, so much so that I got back up to 270 at one point. i went back to my surgeon, dr Scott in search of maybe a revision. What I got instead was a speech on how sncking is bad etc, things I already knew and he told me to do nothing but shakes for ten days. I did pretty well on my shakes, drinking 4-5 a day and got down to 253. Of course, when I started eating again, I’ve gained weight back and I’m back to 265. I am so unhappy, and stressed out about this and I’m not sure what to do. i did have lbs done, my thyroid is acting up and my b12 is not absorbing correctly, vit D low, etc, im thinking hypothyroidism is the main cause of my weight gain and low energy but my surgeon wants me to see a pcp about starting meds. I don’t have a pcp, so I made an appt (I made this appt one month ago) but I’m having to wait until OCTOBER 25 to see the pcp. I just don’t know what else to do. i do have history of bipolar and depression, which causes me to stress eat. I’m fighting this very hard, but I feel like I would do better if I had friends or online even pals to help me through this. Anyway. That’s me. I need help, obv, so if anyone feels inclined, reach out to me. We can exchange whatever info we need to stay in touch.