Search the Community
Showing results for 'Weight gain'.
Found 17,501 results
-
You have done so amazingly well. Hair loss is (sadly) an inevitable part of losing massive amounts of weight. Your body just stops growing it for that time because it's not absolutely necessary. I promise it will grow back afterwards. I'm sorry there is no evidence at all that any particular supplements make a blind bit of difference. People take them and their hair grows back (and then they evangelise). But - other people don't take them and their hair also grows back. Me included. I wish you all the best - you're doing fabulously!
-
Anyone take up running after surgery???
Spinoza replied to Jjohnson1971's topic in Fitness & Exercise
Yes I am running 18 months after my sleeve. Many years ago I did much longer distances - lots of half marathon type runs. Then I got properly fat and couldn't run any more but missed it hugely. Since I have got down to a normal BMI I am running again, but much shorter distances, and only with the aim of maintaining weight loss and general fitness - I have nothing to prove to anyone these days distance wise. I can run 3 or 4 miles easily and I do that (or less) a couple of times a week. I could push it and extend that but I have no inclination to. If I can keep this up as part of my maintenance regime I will be a VERY happy bunny. -
Anyone take up running after surgery???
Jjohnson1971 replied to Jjohnson1971's topic in Fitness & Exercise
Hey new best friend!!! If you don't mind me asking how long did it take for you to hit running the whole 5k? I use to be a bit athletic and i was working on running last year but the extra weight just got me discouraged. I had to look up GU's. You don't have issues with the sugars causing issues with your stomach? -
I Am Not Really Seeing The Weight Loss I Was Expecting
Hey Man replied to Hey Man's topic in Gastric Sleeve Surgery Forums
I was under the impression everyone has to do Optifast or something similar to reduce liver size prior to surgery, but maybe that is more of a Canadian requirement vs. what bariatric surgeons require in the US for patients - as I am Canadian. So yes, I was sort of expecting that whoosh of weight loss at least temporarily following the surgery. I do also think there is a little bit of hype of weight loss made by the bariatric program I was in as they do want to get paid to do the procedure ultimately. Yes, I concede that getting the surgery will help keep me on track long term, but I didn't think the weight loss would be the equivalent of the weight loss of someone who sticks to a diet and exercises everyday - the 1 or 2+ pounds a week, so maybe my expectations were off there. However I think that is a reasonable expectation nonetheless because my stomach is much smaller than a normal person - so I can't consume what a regular person would daily anyway when it comes to calories or portion size. Of course the before and after photos of many people online can be quite shocking even from 6 months to a year, so of course one hopes for similar results. Or like that actor Billy Gardell - but yes, I know he can afford chefs and other things to keep him on track. Again, I am just thinking outloud here. Maybe my entire view will change in a couple of months. I think you kind of nailed it - I was expecting a whoosh of initial weight loss. Thanks, HM -
I Am Not Really Seeing The Weight Loss I Was Expecting
Fred in Pa replied to Hey Man's topic in Gastric Sleeve Surgery Forums
One thing you can try is tracking calories. Find a BMR calculator online and determine your current calorie requirement. Then use a calorie log for everything you eat in a day. You should be able to determine from this your daily calorie deficit. This should give you a good idea of how much weight you could possibly be losing in a week. It is going to vary depending on stalls, water weight, etc.. 3500 calories is 1 pound. So if your deficit is 500 cal per day, you would lose 1 pound a week. I’m sure it’s more than that but that’s a nice round number to see the math. -
I Am Not Really Seeing The Weight Loss I Was Expecting
rjan replied to Hey Man's topic in Gastric Sleeve Surgery Forums
People who go on a serious pre-op diet often don't have the big whoosh of weight loss in the first few months that others do because your body has already cleared out a lot of the water weight, stored carbohydrates, and sick muscle cells that makes up a big chunk of that whoosh. Once you get to a more steady state of weight loss, most (more than half) of what you are loosing will be fat. Yes, it's a journey and yes, the surgery is a only tool that helps you have success in the long term. You won't lose weight much faster than you would with a traditional diet. But imagine you lose "only" 10 lbs a month for the next year and a half - that's 180 lbs lost, which will put you at your goal weight of 210. Without the surgery, you'd likely fall off the wagon after 3 months, 6 months because you'd be starving. Instead, you'll actually be able to stick to that diet. How many diets did you start in your life where the start of that diet was more than 18 months ago? Imagine if one of those had actually worked. You'd already be at your goal weight now. But you're not, because it was too hard to stick to it. Bariatric surgery is a tool to help you stick with it. Bariatric surgery isn't a quick fix, and it doesn't mean you don't have to work pretty much just as hard as you would with a regular diet. It just makes it so all that work actually "works."- 33 replies
-
- 10
-
-
-
Don't feel bad, I am now at the point where one month I lose 10-15 lbs, and the next i will lose like 2... But I am not gaining, so it's ok. You're doing great.
-
I Am Not Really Seeing The Weight Loss I Was Expecting
Hey Man replied to Hey Man's topic in Gastric Sleeve Surgery Forums
Thanks for responding. I was 425 at my biggest. I am now just under 390, but most of that weight loss was from the 4 weeks of Optifast. Not the 3 weeks now after the surgery. When it is all said and done, I am looking to be 210/220 max which is the weight I was prior to gaining the weight. I haven't been overweight all my life, but I have been for a good 10+ years now. I am an emotional eater. Eat my stress away as opposed to say drinking or smoking when it comes to other dealing with life vices. I remember one time I lost about 20 pounds in two weeks when I did the Keto diet and joined a gym. Yes, I know that much of that is water weight and that rapid weight loss wouldn't continue as well as the fact that I didn't stick with it, but these are just questions that are popping into my curious head now - will I pretty much lose the same amount of weight monthly if I just stuck to a more traditional way of losing weight. I know it is a journey and tool for long term. I guess I am thinking how am I not losing more weight from just a calories point of view of just soups and other liquids in small amounts as I am not in the solid foods yet phase. I am also just thinking outloud here and just wanted to see what other people had to say when it came to weight loss just after surgery. Thanks HM -
Dr. Laura Carmina Cardenas in Tijuana has done a lot of plastic surgery for massive weight loss patients (in fact, she's a bariatric patient herself and she specializes in plastic surgery for bariatric patients). Dr. Francisco Sauceda in Monterrey also specializes in massive weight loss patients and has done many of us WLS patients. there used to be a nationally-known plastic surgeon in San Antonio who specialized in WLS patients, too, but he retired a year or two ago. there are lots of plastic surgeons in Miami and it's one of the cheaper areas in the country to have it done, but I don't know any names. There are people on here who've had their surgeries done there, though, so they may respond. Just be sure to go with someone who either specializes in massive weight loss patients or, at minimum, has at least done a boatload of them. It's a complicated surgery, so you want someone who's had a lot of experience with it.
-
I Am Not Really Seeing The Weight Loss I Was Expecting
catwoman7 replied to Hey Man's topic in Gastric Sleeve Surgery Forums
What were you expecting to lose? If you're looking for 30+ lbs the first month, that's pretty rare unless you're the size of someone on "My 600 lb Life". For most of us "average" WLS patients, that much loss the first month is pretty unusual. Most of us lose somewhere in the 15-25 lb range. Plus most people don't lose much the first week because of the "gain" from the IV fluids you get in the hospital (which of course is just water) - and then there's the infamous "three-week stall" that many of us experience, where you can go a couple of weeks (usually 1-3) without any loss, because your body is kind of recalibrating after the surgery - so you may be experiencing that as well. you're not going to lose the weight any faster than if you ate the same thing without surgery. With the extreme calorie deficit we have the first few months out, you'd probably lose about the same regardless if you had surgery or not. The difference is, it's much more easy to sustain that deficit with the surgery. Most people probably could not go for months on end eating something like 800 calories. But with the surgery, you can. Your hunger is suppressed, your stomach is tiny, etc. The most I could ever lose before surgery was about 50-60 lbs. With this, I lost over 200, and have kept it off for eight years. No way could I have done that without the surgery.- 33 replies
-
- 12
-
-
-
-
I Am Not Really Seeing The Weight Loss I Was Expecting
Hey Man posted a topic in Gastric Sleeve Surgery Forums
Greetings, So I finally had my sleeve surgery 3 weeks ago and while there has been weight loss, it hasn't really been what I expected. I don't have unrealistic expectations, but I expected to lose more weight than if I just did it on my own without the surgery with little calorie intake and some activity like with doing Optifast prior. Or just eating healthy and going for a walk everyday - which I wasn't doing prior. Perhaps it takes a month to really get things going, but I am hardly really eating anything when compared to the 4,000 calories+ a day I was eating that got me this way. I do eat a breakfast, lunch and dinner, so I am not starving myself - but I am not yet in the solid food phase yet. I have sort of reprogrammed my brain and I am not really craving the things now that made me obese. Now granted I know I JUST had the surgery and don't know how things will be 4 months from now, but I am just sort of wondering in the back of my mind if the surgery was really necessary in the sense that I maybe could have lost the same amount of weight if I finally just stuck to living a better life when it comes to food and my health. I would appreciate any feedback or advice from anyone else where weight loss started a bit slow even with having a smaller stomach now or feedback in general. Thanks! HM -
Hello everyone!! I'm currently in the process of getting weight loss surgery, i'm torn between Sleeve and RNY. My doctor recommended sleeve but my number 1 concern is acid reflux, I don't have any issue that I know of with acid reflux now but I've hear people developed reflux/GERD shortly after the procedure or years later. Is there anyone that has not had any issues with reflux since having surgery? I'm torn .....
- 6 replies
-
- 1
-
-
- gastric sleeve
- acid reflux
- (and 1 more)
-
Hi @Jamie72! Thanks for sharing! I understand about going back and forth about surgery. I opted against the new drugs because they're in such short supply and I don't want to be dependent on the drug supply chain to keep my weight off. Surgery seems like the option that gives me the most control of my success. I didn't think about Reddit, but I agree youtube has videos that help.
-
Looking for women 46 who had the sleeve
ms.sss replied to Jaz&kar5's topic in Gastric Sleeve Surgery Forums
we are/were ALMOST surgery-stat twins. i was 46 when i had my sleeve in 2018, i'm 5'2" and weighed 235 lbs 2 weeks before surgery...so a BMI of 43. Yours is 44.3, so yeah, ALMOST-twins! I got to goal around 7 months, and yes i has saggy skin. For me though, i had little underlying fat so it wasn't so much rolly-looking, but more like wrinkled-lumpy-bedsheet-looking. what fixed it? plastic surgery (i had a tummy tuck, arm lift and breast lift). my butt is pretty saggy still, and "hangs low" lol, but i can live with it. also the vertical skin lines on my neck gives away how old i am now but i can also live with it...sort of, ha! (in the link to collage below, the last two pics in the middle row are me 2 and 3 months before plastics. the last row is entirely post-plastics. i keep meaning to update this collage with more recent ones, as im 4.5+ years post-wls, but im lazy! i am still basically the same weight just not as defined anymore...i don't exercise nearly as much as i did back then.) -
Weirdest None-Scale-Victory - I'll go first
ms.sss replied to chiquitatummy's topic in General Weight Loss Surgery Discussions
Not a new one, just a re-validation of previously-enjoyed one: I LOST weight on vacation. I've been on a few getaways in the past 12 months, and each time I come back, i'm always lighter than when i left (after i get rid of all my obligatory vacation-constipation backup of course, lol). I remember pre-surgery i would always come home 5-ish lbs heavier (even after a good poop) Guess this means i should go on vacation more! P.S. i also almost always eventually gain back the weight lost, but still! -
Bad habits before and after WLS
Jjohnson1971 replied to omrhsn's topic in General Weight Loss Surgery Discussions
My surgery is not until the 12th but I have plenty of bad habits before. 1. Boredom eating is my biggest issue. 2. Using food to show love. My family has never been the "I love you" type so I grew up on food celebration and over endulgence to make up for the lack of affection. My mom would give me entire banana cream pies as my breakfast when I was little. Now I do the same. When anyone comes over I make a huge dinner with enough to eat on for 2 days. 3. Making jokes about me being fat before anyone else can. It's my super shield. 4. Going through depressive states where I won't eat for days but then also going thru them where its all I want to do. 5. Having a fear that after surgery I will gain my weight back. 6. Wearing sweatpants and black shirts everyday (literally wearing that right now). 7. Blaming my farts on the dog. 8. Having to not carry cash so I can't sneak thru the drive thru without my wife knowing. I could do this all night but I think this list will do. -
Post Surgery - Ability to Exercise for long periods ?
BabySpoons replied to LandofHopeandDreams's topic in General Weight Loss Surgery Discussions
I used to do long distance riding and loved it. I trained many miles for Century rides and MS 150's for charity. That was in my 20's. As I got older I cut back on long exercise sessions (biking, weights and jogging). Big mistake and started gaining weight. But my Mom became ill and I began taking care of her instead of myself and didn't take the time anymore. I eventually stopped exercising altogether when I suddenly couldn't breathe, and everything became hard for me to do. I was misdiagnosed as having COPD and kind of gave up on myself at that point. It was only recently with pre op testing for Bariatric surgery that I found out I never had COPD and couldn't breathe because of a hiatal hernia. It caused 10% of my stomach to stick up through my diaphragm. Makes me mad to think about but thankful at the same time that it is now repaired, and I can breathe and exercise again. I would love to try biking too at some point. For now I walk 5-6xs a week for a little over a mile and makes me so happy. Just to be able to do it. I wouldn't worry too much about hydration. You should be fine. Just keep drinking. But not sure how long hours of exercise will affect your appetite? I have little to none now, 7 weeks out. I can only imagine I would become quite ravenous, which could defeat the whole purpose. IDK but good luck! -
What was your "Last Meal" before starting the pre-surgery diet???
BabySpoons replied to Jjohnson1971's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
I've heard amazing things of people reversing diabetes, sometimes days after surgery. Even before losing the weight. I am prediabetic and hoping for similar results. Doc said he'll run some lab work at my 3 month visit. It's my goal too, to eventually be off all my meds. People can't seem to see past the weight loss aspect of the surgery and how much more it helps in resolving the comorbidities that are slowly killing us. I wish you the best and keep us posted on your progress. Oh and fun thread. Smoked brisket sounds amazing!!!! -
What was your "Last Meal" before starting the pre-surgery diet???
BabySpoons replied to Jjohnson1971's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
Spaghetti with tomato-based meat sauce topped with grated parmesan cheese. No bread. I pretty much stuck to my dietician's recommendations for the 3 months before surgery. Even skipping a family Easter dinner. I kept remembering, reading the warning that if I regained weight my surgery would be cancelled. That pretty much kept me on the straight and narrow. -
With the liquid diet is anyone working out or all of this weight loss is due to all liquids?
-
I went to my Bariatric doctor a couple of months ago as I had been suffering some weight regain and I was worried about the direction my body was going after having had the sleeve Dec 2018 and then Roux Y Bypass Oct 2020. She put me on Metformin and Phentermine to help counteract the effects of some of my other medication and menopause. I too had been experiencing the worst smelling stools imaginable and felt that I could never travel. The Metformin had the best side effect and turned that around for me and for the first time since having the surgeries, I had normal smelling stools! Game changer!! I have no blood sugar issues and am only taking the Metformin 500 mg twice a day for weight management reasons but it is controlling the smell of my stools! So I had to share as I had too like the rest of you been suffering since 2018 with the same issues up until a couple of months ago....
-
The "honeymoon" period
maintenanceman replied to RobertM2022's topic in Gastric Sleeve Surgery Forums
I found that I needed more and more calories to be satiated as the months passed. By 6 mo post-op, I just couldn't maintain a very low calorie diet without becoming ravenously hungry. And, my weight loss progressively slowed down each month until the weight loss petered out at 9 months post-op. I reached my goal weight, losing 100% of my excess weight. I currently eat 1800-2000 calories a day and have maintained my final weight for five months so far. While my hunger has returned, it is nothing like it was pre-op. I feel very much in control of my hunger, and I find it difficult to overeat... even when I want to. And my body generally craves healthier, cleaner foods vs. the garbage fast/junk food that was the staple of my diet pre-op. I suspect the reason people regain is they increasingly indulge in slider foods... crackers, chips, cookies, etc... and start drinking their calories... sugary drinks, alcohol, ice cream and such. I think it would be very hard for me to eat enough "real" food to regain. My restriction is still very present, but it's easy to defeat it by "eating around" my sleeve. -
My hunger came back gradually too into my second year. I had my first experience of real hunger at about 8 months after a busy day when I hadn’t really eaten but not again for months. I still have times when I’m not really hungry or don’t eat all my usual portion & I’m 4 years out now. Because I eat regularly throughout the day I don’t really feel HUNGRY just yep must be time for my meal/snack. Your portion sizes slowly increase as your losing until you get to a point where you are consuming the calories & nutrients your body needs to work effectively & your weight stabilises. It’s then up to you to manage your portions & calories by permanently adopting the changes & things you’ve learnt within your lifestyle (what you need & how you want to live & enjoy your life). I eventually I reached a point where I was I eating about the accepted portion size of the protein, vegetables, fruit, dairy, etc. for my meals & snacks & to get in my daily calorie needs to maintain. It’s plenty of food & I don’t need or want more. I consume about 1500 calories which is appropriate for someone my height, age, weight & activity levels. (Interestingly I consumed about 1300 when I first stabilised & though I eat more now I’ve pretty much maintained my weigh. I presume to do with my body settling & adjusting.) I choose to rarely eat sweet foods or drinks. I don’t eat bread, rice, pasta or potatoes but then they tend to sit heavily so an easy choice. I tend to eat whole or low processed foods most of the time. Do I experience head hunger at times? Yes. But I recognise now that it’s not real hunger.Of course there are times I give in to it but I make better choices - like a few nuts, a little fruit or am trying beef jerky at the moment. It’s funny but I rarely specifically crave salt, sugar or a specific food anymore except sometimes after I eat yoghurt I will crave salt. Don’t know why though. This is how I am. You may be totally different & that’s okay. It comes down to how you manage it.
-
Success with Berberine?
Arabesque replied to annamassie's topic in Protein, Vitamins, and Supplements
Have to admit I’ve never heard of it so looked it up. I did read it said there is no sound scientific evidence of it helping with diabetes & reducing blood sugar, cholesterol, or weight loss though. Your surgery will definitely help with these if they are your concerns anyway. As with all natural remedies, check with your doctor first to ensure there aren’t any negative side effects or drug interaction issues with meds you are on so you can make an informed decision to use it or not. -
How far out from your surgery are you? It’s quite common to feel lethargic, sleepy & have low energy after the surgery while you are healing and at other random times as your body adjusts to changes (weight loss, increased activity, etc.). What you are experiencing may just be part of the process & nothing to do with your vitamins. Listen to your body if it is telling you to rest or nap. (If you’re able of course. Not many bosses appreciate you curling up under your desk at work unfortunately. A little Seinfeld reference 😉) I loved those daily naps & rests I had after my surgery. Wish I could still justify them now.
