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If you're like me and carry your weight evenly all over your body, your weight loss is not going to be obvious for a while. I'm 4.5 months post op and my husband can finally start to see it in my face. I've lost nearly 50 pounds since surgery. The only reason why I know that my clothes are fitting differently, is because the skirt that I wear when I go to town, now needs a belt. All my other bottoms have either elastic or drawstring waists, so it's hard to gauge my size. I can see it in the t-shirt I took my picture in, the night before surgery - but there hasn't been much change in most of my clothes.

So I don’t think phentermine is working perfectly for me. It doesn’t give me energy at all. I actually took a nap yesterday on it and I am doubting its power to control cravings. I have to admit I am celebrating a belated bday because my husband was in hospital during mine and I have had two bday lunches where I was able to skip the bread and substitute salad with my protein so that’s better but I am still hungry at night which is my biggest problem I think. I am supposed to try this for a month and check back in but I see my family dr today who has also been trying to help with my weight so I am hoping maybe she can adjust the dose at least today while I am there. Fingers crossed that one of these meds helps me.

Everyone loses weight differently, for me it is first in my face/neck and waist, so it is easier for people to tell. I was told I was losing weight 1 week post op, and I had lost about 15lbs at that point, but I also retain a lot of water. I also believe that those that see you more often will take longer to tell you about your weight loss. I'm 3.5 months post op and last week my husband asked me if I'm losing weight lol. Just hang in there, keep doing what you're doing, and things will move in the right direction.

I'm a little over 3 months out and I've lost 47lbs from my heaviest (32lbs from surgery date). People just started noticing just in the past few days. My husband of course noticed within weeks after the surgery even though my clothes still hid most of my weight loss. I tried to pay attention to all the non scale victories, like my ankles weren't swollen anymore, my shoes and slippers fit better, and my rings could fit my fingers in the first few weeks. I also was happier that my blood pressure was down and that my sleep apnea has gotten better and that happened almost immediately after surgery.

Just home from having my sleeve converted to bypass on Friday at the Northern General in Sheffield by Mr Ackroyd who did the original sleeve, severe reflux and gain. Feel amazing compared to last time around. Good luck and plenty of health sent to anyone on a revision journey [emoji3] Kim Sent from my SM-G960F using BariatricPal mobile app

With an ESG, which is a non surgical weight loss procedure, there is less recovery time needed. I would have been fine flying at 14 days, the issue is ensuring you have appropriate food handy...may still be on fluids or pureed at this point. For surgical weight loss procedures, I was fine to fly within a few days (as I did to come home), not sure I would have been up to flying for recreational or work on a longish flight by day 14. I had two weeks off work for a desk job, it was fine for me. I've seen people posting about going back to work within days, (not something I would have been able to manage).

I totally agree with this. Don't stress too much about how much you have lost and if you look different or not. Focus your energy on healing and following the post-op diet. People lose weight differently. For me, I lost most of the weight on my thighs and lower body at first and for the first few months my face almost looked the same. 3 weeks is too early to see any noticeable changes to be honest and your body is still healing. That is also when most of us got the infamous three-weeks stall. At least that was the case for me. Good luck

I had my surgery in June 2015, and people didn't start noticing until October 2015, so four months. But I weighed well over 300 lbs, so I'm not that surprised that it took that long. *I* could tell, but I'm sure I still looked really heavy to others....it was probably hard to see nuances until I'd dropped a lot of weight (well, it was hard for ME to see nuances sometimes as well). I just checked my spreadsheet - at four months out, I was down 52 lbs. So I had to lose over 50 lbs for people to start noticing. Arabesque is right - take photos of yourself - or have someone else take them - every month. I had my husband take them every month on my surgery date until I hit maintenance. Sometimes you can't tell from one month to the next that you're looking thinner, but if you compare current photos to the ones from three or four months prior - yep - you can definitely see the difference. just to add that I thought that was a pretty sh*tty thing that your dad said.

I’m sorry your dad is being unsupportive. It’s always hardest to block out hurtful comments by those we love. Did you point out how much you’ve actually lost? It was early in the second month post surgery I think when a friend commented. I was wearing a more fitted dress that used to pull across my butt & tummy a bit in the past & now skimmed. I’d lost about 12kg ( 26lbs) in total. I was still wearing mostly the same clothes but they fit better. The only pieces that were verging on too big were those with proper waist bands everything else had elastic bands or drawstrings so could fit multi sizes. However, importantly, my staring weight was less than yours (based on what you want to lose) so it took less weight loss to see any difference. You’re losing weight from all over your body not just your torso. Try taking photos & body measurements - thighs, calves, upper & lower arms, waist, hips, breast & compare those too not just the scales & the size on your clothing tags. Remember the difference between one size & the next is usually 2 inches so, for e.g., your waist would have to be a good 2 inches smaller for you to need to drop a size (in a fitted waist outfit). General advice is if you lose about 10lbs you’ll drop a size but that really only applies to those in the healthy weight range & dropping say from a US size 12 - 10. If you’re smaller it takes less weight loss & vice versa. Your dad will be changing his thinking in another month or so. Keep up your great work.

Give yourself space and time to heal. It's 3 weeks. At the size most of us are/were at surgery, weight loss ISN'T visible until months after. I know it's hard, but try to block out the voices of others, it's not helpful. Concentrate on healing, be patient, focus on the plan and distract yourself where possible. You'll be experiencing non-scale-victories frequently, so enjoy those as they come. I honestly didn't get any "you're looking smaller" comments until a good 3/4 months after surgery. I was 130kg and wore my weight from head to toe, so even a ten kilogram loss wasn't a big visual change at that stage.

I am three weeks post Sleeve surgery. Today my father said to me, “when will I be able to tell a difference when I look at you?“ This comment stung because I have lost 40 pounds since beginning the process in November. However, I still have more than 100 to go. Despite losing the weight, none of my clothes, fit any differently, I have not gone down in size, and nobody has noticed the weight loss except for me. My question is, how far along after your surgery were you before people noticed you were losing weight?

I have been using Jordan's Skinny Syrups to add a splash of flavor (found on amazon), splenda, and a sugar free liquid creamer. I like blended coffees, so I add everything in a blender cup with some ice, and let it go to town. I really like the vanilla caramel, and the vanilla pecan syrup flavors. I found these back in my Optavia days and actually kept using them even when I wasn't actively trying to lose weight or eat healthier. Topped with some sugar free whipped cream, and it's actually better than a frappe from that place that's lovin' it.

I'm 2 months post-op and my teams recommends 800-1000 calories a day with the intent to work up to about 1200 calories a day which is apparently the "sweet spot" for weight loss. I will be at about 1200 calories a day until I get to goal.

Hey! How is everyone doing? Today marks 2 months since my sleeve and I've loss almost 50 lbs from my pre-op diet. Overall, I feel great. I go for my blood work tomorrow so I hope everything checks out OK with that. I walk about 3-4x a week and attend a weekly Water aerobics class. I have to "UP" my exercise routine but as a mom of 3 (youngest being a toddler), it's just so hard to find the time. The weight doesn't slide off the way I envisioned, you definitely have to put in work to lose the weight but I have no regrets.

Hey! How is everyone doing? Today marks 2 months since my sleeve and I've loss almost 50 lbs from my pre-op diet. Overall, I feel great. I go for my blood work tomorrow so I hope everything checks out OK with that. I walk about 3-4x a week and attend a weekly water aerobics class. I have to "UP" my exercise routine but as a mom of 3 (youngest being a toddler), it's just so hard to find the time. The weight doesn't slide off the way I envisioned, you definitely have to put in work to lose the weight but I have no regrets.

My program requires six monthly meetings with the dietitian, four of which have to be in-person because they need to weigh me. Ugh! I'm in month 3 and haven't lost ANY weight yet because I've been eating up all the "bad stuff" in my cupboards and freezer (pot pies, frozen burritos, frozen meatballs, pasta, and many freezer bags filled with prepared meals. And lots of cereals too. I think I have 7 boxes of Special K Red Berries.) I went this route because it's very easy for me to lose weight, and I know that I can quickly drop the 12 pounds (220 to 208) the dietitian requires me to in order move forward with scheduling my surgery and beginning the two-week liquid diet. My February visit showed I had actually gained weight, up to 223, and I felt really embarrassed in front of my dietitian. I promised her I would lose at least 5 pounds before my next visit, which is coming up one week from today. So, starting yesterday, I abandoned all my cupboard and freezer food and have been crash-dieting (broth, fruit, a little lean chicken) just like in days of old. I figure after the 8 days, I'll step on that scale in front of her and we'll see at most 115 and I'll be in her good graces again. Then I can be a bad girl and keep working my way through the unhealthy stuff for 3 weeks, then crash diet again for my weigh-in. Yeah, I feel guilty doing this, and I know my dietitian wouldn't like it, but here in the forum I know I can be totally honest. You are my people! And I know you understand. It's important to point out, I live alone, which explains why I can't simply have others eat that food. Another main reason is that I'm a penny-pincher, and just won't throw it out UNTIL I'm in the final two weeks pre-op. That's the deadline. I have to toss it at that point because I absolutely do not want it around post-op! On the positive side, my progress so far includes: cutting my coffee from regular to half decaf, mastering eating slowly, not buying any more "naughty" foods, exercising 30 minutes every day, drinking at least 64 ozs of water every day, recording my starting body measurements (shocking!), and reading tons of threads in this forum. Good luck to all of you.

I'm not new to this; I want to reiterate that I am 18 months out and have reached and exceeded my goal weight, and this does sound awfully similar to what I would "normally" eat. However, things are not normal right now. At this time, I am not able to tolerate a lot of things. This is a specifically difficult period. I know what I should be eating but it is very difficult to even drink shakes right now.

Yes same as @kcuster, just sending a hug. I hope you get things sorted quickly. Antibiotics and steroids are a combination I hate, my come down off them was worse than the reason I was put on them in the first place. I still am on 5 or 6 tiny meals a day because I cant eat a lot at once, I dont know if it help you but I will post a menu that my team said will help me with weight and energy, my calories were very low before before this Breakfast - protein yogurt and berries Mid morning - whole milk Lunch- A homemade soup with chicken, veg and lentils i.e. curried lentil Afternoon snack - nuts Dinner- Meat and vegetables or fish and salad etc Supper - Cheese and grapes This gives me 1000 to 1300 calories a day and between 60 and 85 grams of protein

Hello, welcome to the Bari world! You will learn very quickly that everyone has their opinion about foods/shakes. Not only how something taste but also their opinion on it's value to your diet. (Is it healthy? Should you eat it? Don''t eat carbs.. do eat carbs.. etc.) I always say, follow YOUR teams/Dieticians plan! Period. You trusted them with your life (literally) so you should trust them in your recovery and your WL process. Every team is different, different rules, different guidelines, everything. I tried a bunch of different "alternative" foods. Some are ok, most I didn't prefer. I find it easy to hit my protein goals, so I don't need to make sure EVERY single item of food has protein. I still drink shakes every day for breakfast but that is mainly because I am not a morning person and don't like to eat in the mornings. Otherwise most of my nutrition is from whole foods. My point is, if I feel like I really want "need" some chips, I just eat a few regular ones. I eat regular cereal (usually raisin bran) with fairlife milk. With that being said I reiterate ALL PLANS ARE DIFFERENT. I am "allowed" anything in moderation as long as I am hitting my protein/fluid/ WL goals. My Dietician says "you shouldn't feel like you are on a diet for the rest of your life, you should modify your eating habits to gain a healthy life and learn moderation". Now, to actually answer your questions. My opinions: Quest chips: They are ok, the taste is good but the texture is a little weird to me. They feel powdery to me and do not hold up to any type of dipping or even to use as nachos. Protein cereal: I have not specifically tried the magic spoon brand but have tried a few others. I hated them ALL. haha Literally hated them, brought them to work and threw them on the "sharing" table in the lunch room and it all sat there till i threw it away. I have tried premier brand, they are SO HARD and taste like stale rocks. I ate 2 bites and tried to flush the rest down the toilet and they wouldn't even flush! haha I also tried the brand "wonderworks keto" and felt just about the same way although they were better than the premier. They were ok to eat dry as a snack but disgusting with milk. To each their own, you may find like some other people that you love them. I have also tried Quest protein pizza, it was actually good but not a big enough deal to me for the price. I will jsut eat regular pizza. Usually a few bites and then just the toppings. Or, make home made pizza on low carb/calorie wraps. I don't know what else I have tried other than probably hundreds of protein bars, which I still randomly try and eat once in a while. Usually more of a meal replacement in a pinch than a snack. Ok- I have rambled long enough! best of luck on your journey!!

Ok folks I want to pick your brains. I am 18 months out from surgery, I got really sick a couple weeks ago and my doctor put me on steroids and an antibiotic. I finished the course of meds in 10 days, and ever since then it has been nearly impossible to eat. I gained 6 pounds in water weight while ON the steroids and then proceeded to drop all that and 5 more pounds I did NOT want to lose just because I am not eating enough. I'm dangerously close to slipping into double-digit weights and I'd really like to stop this before I end up there. I've gone back to basics and have mostly been consuming things that are really soft like soup and making sure I chew everything very well, but my portion sizes are TINY (again, I'm 18 months out. My breakfast the other morning was 3/4 of a scrambled egg and a forkful of hash browns, as an example. I should be, and have been able to, eat more than that.) Every time I eat, no matter what it is, I get this sharp pain around the left side of my rib cage and my left shoulder has been aching for days. I went to my general practitioner (who himself is a gastric sleeve patient) who said that I probably am just having a harder time recovering from being ill because I'm not 20 anymore and that steroids can wreak havoc on our systems for weeks after we're done taking them, and sent me for some blood tests that I haven't gotten the results back yet from. Before anyone makes this suggestion, yes I am drinking shakes to supplement and I'm having a hard time getting even those down. I feel like I'm starving to death. I just want to not be in pain anymore.

Is there a big market for this? Seems like a one-way trip to gaining back every ounce you lost and more. I guess some people like feeling like they have a "safety net" which is why the dangerous gastric balloon seems to keep sticking around.

I found out that not onlY have I not lost weight, but I’ve put on 2lbs. I know it all takes time, but even after doing all the right things and sticking to the plan, my body is resistant to it. Thank you for all your help but I am beginning to regret this surgery. Maybe it doesn’t work for all bodies. I’ll let my surgeon know when I have my 6 week checkup and ask how long it’ll take to stretch my stomach back to normal. There’s no point in me eating minimal amounts anymore if I can’t even lose the weight - I may as well go back to how I was eating before and actually enjoy food again.

This has not been well studied. One study from Scandinavia showed no difference in weight loss when people drank during meals. Many of my successful gastric bypass patients, as well as sleeve and band patients, do drink small amounts during meals. The key is not to drink liquids with the sole purpose of forcing in more food. Remember, speed-eating champions (with normal stomachs) will sip water while they pound down their hotdogs. Mimicking the eating patterns of the world's speed-eating champions is probably not a great way to eat on a regular basis. I advise my patients to drink a glass of water (or some calorie-free beverage) about 15 minutes before they have a regular meal. This prevents them from being thirsty when they start a meal. It also helps to "flush through" thick saliva that may cause food to get stuck inappropriately. If the "pipes are clear" every time they eat (band, bypass, sleeve, whatever..) their eating experience will be more consistent.

Your weight loss is never a perfectly straight downward line. It zigs & zags girls up & down. Stalls, hormonal fluctuations, fluid retention, constipation, diarrhoea, etc. all affect our weight. Last month I was retaining so much fluid due to some very high humidity I couldn’t put my rings on. Took three days to pee it all out & get back to my usual weight range. We all have a natural fluctuation too. I mean we don’t eat the exact same thing, pee & poop the same volume & do the exact same activity every day. Stick to your plan & you’ll be fine.

I have had 2 previous stress tests from an irregular ekg reading pre-op (mine was for ligaments being replaced in my knees), but the day before surgery I was cancelled and referred to a cardiologist- both times I had to have the nuclear tests and no issues. No I am in the process of needing cleaners for the sleeve surgery and worry about the same thing. My health has changed since before and my previous tests tooold to use for this time. My pulmonologist told me Friday that he won’t give me clearance until I see a cardiologist and get that clearance first. I had respiratory failure in 2018 and have reduced lung capacity, so losing weight hopefully will help me breathe easier. Don’t stress about the stress test…. Many people have a slightly abnormal ekg ready and go on for the stress test to be clear.