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short answer: i didn't. i was not able to reach my prescribed protein goal, even with protein shake supplements (70g if my memory serves me correctly) regularly until about 3 months post op. and even after then, i probably only reached it daily about 85% of the time. during weight loss phase, i relied heavily on protein shakes. during maintenance and beyond, i get my protein from the regular stuff: meat fish/seafood dairy, etc. i also have a chicharron addiction, but i wouldn't advise it during weight loss phase (lotsa calories!) today (7-ish yrs post op) i"m "supposed" to be getting in 80g based on my current weight (103 lbs) and activity level (alot! ha)...but honestly i probably reach 80g in a day less than 50% of the time. and i seem perfectly fine. so i dunno. just do the best you can (your honest best, not your pretend best), i always say. nobody is perfect. and we are all so different that what work for me may not work for you. find what works for you and keep doing it until no longer does...then find something else that will. you may not be getting all your protein in, but if u are losing weight and all your labs come back satisfactorily, then why fix what aint broke?? sorry, just my self-supporting proverbial 2 cents. if my POV flavour is not for you, feel free to ignore... good luck❤️

The best advice I can give is to not try to revamp everything all at once. People that try that rarely succeed long term. Sure, it can work in the short term, but the real goal has to be retraining your body and mind how to be healthy. As such, I would urge you to pick something small to start working on today, or at least in the morning if you want to start fresh. This needs to be something so small as to almost be inconsequential. The reason it needs to be small (aside from helping with compliance), is so that your body and mind don't actually recognize that you're "dieting" or "working out". Continue with that one simple thing for a couple of weeks until it's become a new habit. Once that new habit is established, you can then make another small change. Just keep making small sustainable changes until you reach your goal. Yes, this approach is very slow, certainly much slower than drastic diet and exercise plans that promise quick results. Remember, what does it matter if you lose all the weight quickly if when you get there, you can't maintain the weight loss? Your real goal needs to be learning how you personally need to eat and move for long-term health. What that looks like is different for everyone, so no one here can tell you "eat this way", or "do these exercises" and you'll find success. It has to fit in with your unique needs, tastes and abilities and only you know what those are. If you feel like you need more guidance than that, I'd suggest seeking out professionals such as Registered Dietitians and Certified Personal Trainers. to help put more detailed plans together.

There are lots of studies that show weight loss (and thus also bariatric surgery), can lessen depression and anxiety. The thing to keep in mind though is that it won't help everyone. It all comes down to the underlying reasons for those negative emotions. As you point out, weight loss has has a considerable effect on how we feel about ourselves, so it follows that for some people, weight loss will help lessen anxiety and depression. There is also some belief that excess body weight can impact how certain hormones in our body work. By losing weight, this can help normalize some of those and that may also help mental health. Like everything, I think the real answer is "it depends".

I wouldn't know. I have no experience with "small amounts". I don't begin to understand the causation, biology, anatomy, genealogy, etc, etc, etc. All I can say is that I had my WLS at a time when my wife and I were both seeing an uptick in our drinking. Perhaps to mask the problems in our marriage....perhaps to make the best of things.....perhaps we simply enjoyed it. The WLS, gym work and new way of eating were working wonders for my health. Initially this was met with approval and it seemed to be really helpful in calming the stormy seas of our marriage. I was firmly committed to keeping the weight loss train chugging ahead. After healing from the surgery I began drinking. No beer, but high grade tequila and vodka with skinny mixers. Without the benefit of meals, the impact was much deeper than simply sipping beer and then having dinner. This was 7-ish years ago. Fast forward to today. I've been alcohol free for the past 6+ years. It simplifies things. It is one less variable in daily life. It is simply easier for me to abstain than it is to have something else to measure, to control, to monitor. Right now monitoring my diet is enough. I don't know much about alcohol and I'm quite sure my surgeon and his staff all said to avoid it, period. LOL, to me listening to that noise at the time. I can say this....it is refreshing and good to not have it be part of my life. I face things head on and get to solving issues right away vs sulking and sipping on them over a night or two. Strong coffee is a much better substitute for me. Get some professional alcohol-specific guidance on this matter. IT can improve the trajectory of your life. Don't try to wing it and solve this on your own. Get the right advisors onboard and helping you make the best decisions for you.

Yes and also my weight loss plan doesn’t want us to count protein shakes as protein intake. They want us to eat our protein!

Thank you for your reply, I wish they could start me on pureed before leaving the hospital so that I could have the weight loss team next to me if I have any problem. Kind of like the lactation consultant making sure you’re breastfeeding right before leaving the hospital.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!! HI, August surgery friends, Checking in to let you know that I have just met my weight loss goal! I am proud and happy, but also frightened. I have now lost an even 100 pounds, which was my goal. I'm pretty small (5'0") with a small frame, so if I lost another 5 pounds I would have lost half my body weight from when I started, which would be cool to say. But I'm already pushing it. I need to be satisfied with being able to say I've lost 100 pounds. I'm at 110 right now which is a BMI of 23, and that's lower than my surgeon would recommend already. I'm not sure if I'll be able to maintain it without chasing the weight all the time. That is what will determine whether I stay at 110 or settle at 120, which would be just fine. I do not want to have to be on a "diet" all the time fighting weight. Been there, done that, right?!?!?! I'm really nervous now, because I've lost weight before, and always gained it all back plus. We all know that story, don't we? I'm a compulsive overeater, and I'm fighting compulsions quite a lot in the last few months, so I'm concerned. That's probably a good thing because it makes me appropriately afraid of triggers and what they call in AA, "slippery places". My big goals have all been achieved: I am off blood pressure meds, my A1c is normal, I no longer need my CPAP, and I can walk as many miles at a time as I want again. I have all the stamina I ever had and it's glorious. I no longer fear a retirement where I'm trapped in a recliner for the rest of my life. Sure, I am also happy about how I look in clothes now, but it ain't like I ever planned to be a bikini model. (Not happening with all this hangy skin, anyway...) Anyway, just wanted to share my goal with you and check in to see how everyone is doing. I am seeing SO MUCH success around here! I'm really proud of all of you and proud to be walking this path with you.

I had my gastric sleeve surgery 10/31/2024, turned 57 2 weeks later. Had hysterectomy 1/20/2024….so slapped into menopause then g. sleeve…..my hair is 1/3rd the thickness it was 18 months ago…had started thinning in late Jan 2024….but handfuls are coming out now. 😭

It's hard and we all went through it, but you need to prioritize fluids. It will get easier over time. The reason fluids are important is that dehydration is one of the most common reasons people end up back in the hospital post bariatric surgery. Yes, protein is important too, but at this point, as long as you're getting some protein, you'll be fine. Protein is prioritized over carbs and fat during extreme weight loss because it can help prevent catabolization of muscle. Hitting your protein goals does help some, but it's not the huge issue some people think it is. A lot of that mentality comes from the bodybuilding world where every ounce of muscle mass counts. The reason we don't want to lose a lot of muscle is because metabolically, muscle is more active than fat. I believe the net difference is roughly 6 calories, meaning if you lose 1 pound of muscle, vs lose 1 pound of fat, you'll burn about 6 calories less per day. Keep in mind that some loss of muscle is inevitable after bariatric surgery, so don't stress over it.

Hi! I had the gastric sleeve on May 28th, 2025. I underwent this surgery because I take medication that made me hungry and it got me obese up to 207 lbs. I used to weigh 135 prior the medication. So I ended up deciding to not quit the medication and to undergo this surgery for weight loss.

Hi! I had the gastric sleeve on May 28th, 2025. I underwent this surgery because I take medication that made me hungry and it got me obese up to 207 lbs. I used to weigh 135 prior the medication. So I ended up deciding to not quit the medication and to undergo this surgery for weight loss.

Believe it or not, low blood glucose can actually be a symptom of prediabetes. Below 70 mg/dL is considered hypoglycemia and needs immediate treatment, so if you see regular readings in the 70s, that might be considered borderline hypoglycemia? There is a condition called hyperinsulinemia that happens because you become insulin resistant. The body tries to compensate for this resistance by creating even more insulin, but this can push blood sugar too low. Again, not trying to diagnose you, just throwing out things for you to consider and discuss with your doctor. I brought it up because low blood sugar (potentially caused by caused by not eating or not eating well), can cause nausea, excessive tiredness, etc. Since these are some of the same symptoms you mentioned and diabetes or prediabetes are common among obese people, I figured it's at least worth checking out. The good news is if you are diabetic or prediabetic, bariatric surgery will often put that into remission (you are never "cured" of diabetes). The bad news is that this does sometimes cause long term hypoglycemia issues and can be challenging to manage when on a severe weight loss diet. Best of luck.

So sorry you're going through this! This does NOT seem normal to me at all. Yes, most of us have things early on that just don't seem to sit right in our guts. For example, I could not eat eggs in any form for the longest time. I also can relate to the mental side of things. I was probably about 3 months post surgery and had a work function where they catered lunch. I knew better, but wanted to "fit in", so I decided to just eat whatever was provided. It was sandwiches so I decided to just eat the deli turkey out of the sandwich. It made me horribly nauseated to the point I had to leave work. After that, it took me almost 2 years before I tried any sort of deli meat at all. I knew it probably wouldn't actually make me sick, but the fear that it would kept me from trying it. Anyway, my point is a few changes and food aversions is quite normal. EVERYTHING making you sick is not normal. Regarding fluid intake, lots of people have a little bit of a challenge drinking at first, but it's supposed to get easier and easier as you go. That does not sound like you're experience, though? At 5 weeks in, if you're still only getting 40-48 oz that's pretty low. You mentioned that you're working with your surgeon. I'm curious what they are telling you? Have you really told them everything you explained above? I have found a lot of people (forgive me for stereotyping a bit), especially younger people are not good at advocating for themselves. Unless you really make your doctor fully understand what's going on, they may not realize just how big of an issue this is. I would also recommend talking to your dietitian and your therapist about all this if you have not already started working with those other professionals. The dietitian should have more experience dealing with these sorts of dietary issues and may be able to help you find foods that can help. I would also agree with your assessment that at least some of your issues are mental, thus talking to your therapist would be a really good idea because they may be able to teach you some ways to overcome those issues. With all that our of the way, I wanted to maybe suggest a few things for you to try to help you eat and hydrate: Your water intake seems to be on the low side as I mentioned. I would think you really should be getting closer to 64 oz a day right now. (If your program told you a different amount, go with what they told you.) Be aware that dehydration can actually cause nausea, so could be making your issues worse. IMO, you really need to double-down on drinking, even if that means you have to change your meal schedule. Also, at 5 weeks you should be able to drink several ounces at a time, thus it really should not take hours to get in another 15-20 ounces. If it does, this is yet another thing to talk to your doctor about. You could also consider adding in an electrolyte drink to help with the dehydration, but please only do that with your doctor's blessing. Consider taking a broad spectrum probiotic. I know that then becomes one more pill to take, but I do think at least some of your digestive issues are due to an out of whack gut microbiota. If you can get your gut healthy again, it should really help. You mentioned you are not exercising. At 5 weeks, you really should not be doing any strenuous exercise anyway, but you do need to be walking. I don't know your current weight or how much you're capable of doing, but if all you can do is just 5 minutes to walk to the end of the block and back, that's what you should be doing. If you can do more than 5 minutes, great, do what you can do. I would strongly encourage you to do this outside if at all possible. There are lots of benefits mentally from that exposure to nature, so please don't just walk around the house or on a treadmill. I know this feels like just one more thing to do, but how about you take some water with you and drink some while you're walking? Believe it or not, walking can reduce stress and even improve gut health. In short, don't consider this a nice to have or somehow related to weight loss. Think of it as part of your treatment plan to get past this nausea and on the path to feeling better. Food-wise, you mentioned you're okay with yogurt, but getting burned out on it. You might try flavoring it? In other words, if you're just eating plain greek yogurt to avoid the fake sugars and other ingredients, you probably can add extracts to make whatever flavor you want. I love coconut for example, but vanilla, almond, etc. would also work well. Just check the labels carefully and make sure it doesn't have weird ingredients and that it's using natural flavorings. Fairlife Milk. This is lactose free and taste just like regular milk (at least to me). It also has a lot more protein in it than regular milk, so will be a way to boost your protein intake. Best of luck. I do hope you find solutions to your issues.

Well, I guess the OP isn't coming back. 🙁 If any of the rest of you are thinking about trying something like this, I'd encourage you to read up on what dopamine is and isn't. It's not a drug or a chemical that you can diet, detox, or fast your way past, regardless of what the social media influencers may have told you. You can't make it go away and no amount of deprivation is going to lessen your bodies ability to produce it on demand. In fact, contrary to popular belief, dopamine isn't a even the "pleasure" hormone it's portrayed to be. It has a number of functions in the body, but one of it's key uses is as a neurotransmitter (think of it like a messenger from one brain cell to another). Dopamine job as a neurotransmitter is in reinforcing reward-seeking behavior. Said differently, dopamine does not actually "cause" any pleasurable sensations, it simply triggers the brain when we do have pleasurable sensations to remember those and reward the behavior that caused the pleasure. You can think of it like a feedback mechanism. If you do something pleasurable, dopamine kicks in and says: "hey, we liked that, let's remember what caused it." Dopamine is easily manufactured in your body, so as I said, trying to remove pleasurable stimuli in the hope that this will keep you from seeking these reward behaviors in the future just won't work. Plus, once that reward mechanism is triggered, removing the stimuli after the fact makes no difference. Your brain still remembers the pleasurable sensation. If you have concerns about unhealthy behaviors such as late night snacking, the best plan is always going to be talking to a mental health professional. Through counseling and some techniques they can teach you, there are ways past these behaviors. If counseling isn't in the cards right now, I'd also recommend seeking out a book called Atomic Habits by James Clear. This book can teach you to trade out bad habits for good ones. If sleep is a concern, we do have a pretty good idea of things you can do to improve the quality of sleep. As I mentioned, sleep is absolutely critical to weight loss and franky to just staying healthy. If you're looking for tips on improving sleep, I recommend Googling "sleep hygiene". There's a wealth of information out there. Finally, I want to close by mentioning that late night eating is not necessarily bad and is not actually a cause of poor sleep. it depends more on what you eat, but multiple studies have shown that going to be hungry may be WORSE for sleep than eating before bed. It all comes down to what you eat and how close to bedtime you eat it. This is another one of those "common knowledge" things that's just wrong.

After a year I decided to cut my hair short for the first time. It is coming in thick and beautiful! Now I can let it grow!

Loving this thread. @Bypass2Freedom you look so good. And you KNOW you look good. Love the hair. And - happy first birthday in your new body. I had my surgery almost 4 years ago but honestly I still cannot believe that I can walk into a clothes shop and buy something because it suits me, or I like something about it, or it flatters me - rather than just because it fits. I haven't really changed my style - just adapted. Was always a jeans and tops gal but perhaps now wear dresses a bit more. I like getting gussied up! Enjoy every minute of your new look(s)!!!

I waited about a year after surgery before getting new ink because my skin was still adjusting. Placement mattered more than I expected—anywhere with stretched skin looked way different once I lost weight. A friend of mine got a 3D Areola Tattoo after reconstruction, and it looked super realistic. Always smart to check that your artist has experience with post-weight-loss skin.

Happy belated birthday!!! I love your hair!😍

Girl you look goood as hell! Congratulations on your weight-loss journey and yes girl I'm having fun in the clothes I've always wanted to wear but living in obese body all my life I couldn't so it is definitely a time to play around.

You are hot! rock on with your bad self! My style has changed for sure, I would wear only bootcut jeans, loose tops, never tank tops, never shorts, wore a ton of makeup. I am 36 and a mom of 3 younger children, so my everyday I am more simple, mom jeans and a crop top with my vans/converse, or I will wear skinny jeans and a tank top. I will wear shorts and crop top/ tank/fited top, summer dresses. Minimal makeup, just my lash extensions and eyebrows (unless I'm going out or having a date night then I will glam up!) I am back to brown hair which I feel suits me more. Also with my new enhancement I feel sexier when I wear tops. Going swimming I will wear a bikini (GASP!) I feel like dressing up everyday for work and to actually try!

Sort of. I've always dressed a little more alternative/gothic, but considering most of those fashions don't come in plus sizes I've mostly just made do with black leggings and black tops. Now, I'm a size 14 (uk) so I can actually start buying and wearing all the clothes I've always wanted to wear! I do think that I've gain more confidence since I lost weight and that means I've starting taking more time and put more effort into makeup and hair etc.

Most definitely! Finding my new style when I lost weight was very exciting. I used to wear a lot of architectural/structural clothing with volume, panels, angles darts & folds to give interesting shapes so more avant garde. Partly so people would look at the clothing not my large body. Became obvious pretty quickly that I didn’t have the body to support these designs (being short didn’t help either). I was drowning in the volume of fabric & being overwhelmed by the designs. I had so much fun going on shopping sprees to stores and boutiques to try on different styles just to explore and see what now suited & not always to buy. Now I tend to go for sleeker more fitted clothing much like your body con pink birthday dress. I like some volume but have to balance it with a fitted top or fitted bottom or in the cut or fall of fabric. Still like things with a difference in fabric or cut & generally don’t follow fads or trends so have a wardrobe of timeless, statement pieces. Some sadness though as some designers/labels I used to love wearing are too big now (in style &/or size) but am very happy to be able to wear designers I used to wear when was smaller in the past or coveted. (Yes, I have a clothing addiction and spend too much on clothing). PS - Your new pink hair is very flattering on your skin tone. Perfect colour choice. ❤️ And happy birthday!

I for one feel like I am constantly changing my style, whether that is my hair colour, the kinds of clothes that I wear, my make up etc! Anyone else feel like they are constantly playing dress up and having fun seeing what suits them after weight loss? For reference - I have just dyed my hair pink & have included a picture of my birthday outfit from Saturday!

Thank you! Though I have just changed my hair

You look amazing. Loving the lighter hair. The skirt is coming through as tiny posies of flowers for me! 🥀