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As a woman, especially a woman with bariatric surgery, you should not be getting huge. Women do not have the testosterone to be able to build huge muscle. Bodybuilders try to build muscle are usually in a caloric surplus which is hard to do as a bariatric patient. The women you see that appear huge have worked many many years to build big mature muscles and some are taking "supplements" or performance enhancing products to artificially get bigger. The beauty of lifting weights is that it increases your metabolism for up to 48 hours after each session. As a person that has lost a lot of weight it is great for filling in those areas where there might be some skin issues. For example exercises for the biceps, triceps and shoulders will help for those area in the upper arm that frequently have loose skin issues. I had my surgery 25 year ago - 16 years ago I became a personal trainer because I love learning. A simple gym routine could be Leg Press - Lying Leg Curls - Banded Walks {or abduction machine ) These would target almost all of the leg muscles Chest press (or pushup movement) - Lateral Pulldown - Shoulder Press Chest Press hits your chest and triceps Pulldowns or rows hit different parts of your back and your biceps Shoulder Press Primarily targets your shoulders but targets the triceps as a push move There are three was to build muscle (hypertrophy) Do the highest weight you can with good form - Do lots of reps at a lighter weight with good form - Slow the rep way down in a controlled motion You want to challenge the muscles for growth but you don't want to get hurt Most machines have a picture that shows you have to do each exercise correctly but ask the front desk if you can get a little help. There are lots of videos online also or give me should if you need help. I prefer bodyweight exercises but do things like the leg press because I realized I had arthritis after I lost weight and I have to be careful about some movements. I learned to master modifications. This is just a sample idea not a prescription for medical advice.

Have you tried going back to the pre surgery diet or the post surgery days 1-14 after surgery. it may help get you back on track. I'm only 4 going on 5 months and have stalled and what worked for me is to returning to high protein liquids for a 2 weeks. its kind of a rest for my body and then i can start trying to east solids again and get back to regulars healthy eating.

Looking at some of your other posts, it looks like you had surgery 3/20, is that correct? Regardless, as others have said, its far too early for you to have significant loss post-op and you may need to reassess your expectations. Those first few weeks immediately after surgery your body is putting all its energy into healing from major surgery. You need to be patient and consistent above all else. The right will come off in its own time. I know its frustrating - we have all struggled with the "hurry up and wait" of weight loss - but truly, this is a marathon not a sprint. Stick to your plan and give it time.

If I did the math right, you went into surgery weighing 190. I’m not sure what your expectations are regarding the speed of weight loss after surgery, but it’s safe to say they might be a bit unrealistic. Your anatomy was just rearranged, your body is in shock trying to heal and all of this is happening while taking in very few calories. The hospital will pump you full of fluids that can take a days to release, plus you’re inflamed and probably haven’t had a decent bowel movement yet if it’s only been three days. Take a step back, breathe and remember that surgery isn’t a switch that turns on fat release. It’s much more complicated than that. This entire process is life altering, so take it one day at a time and read up on the posts provided by @GreenTealael. It’s gonna be okay! You WILL lose the weight because it sounds like you’re following the program. Just give your mind and body more time. 🧬

Do you mind sharing the Dr name with me? That knew how to fix the issue you had in the Er. My messages are open. I'm having so many issues as well and only 9 weeks post op. Been having issues since week 1 po and it's mentally draining. You're the first person to mention about thing's twisting. I have this as well my stomach twisted after being sleeved. Along with vomiting acid reflux and two surgeries so far and counting smh. I don't want to keep getting cut. I want this issue fixed. I have been on a liquid diet for 2 months never advanced to any stage as of yet ☹️

I am 1 day behind you, 5 weeks post op today! I start soft foods today, after 4 weeks full liquid and 1 week puree. I'm looking forward to salmon tonight with some roasted veggies! My dietician said to get in a protein shake so I have 30 g to start, and while the rest of my protein should come from food, the focus should be on paying attention to my body's cues, eating slowly, chewing, and stopping when I am full, vs tracking and measuring. I was surprised, I've heard others say to always measure, but it made sense... at this stage. Stop when I am full, vs a measured amount that may be too much or not enough. Also getting into the pattern of scheduled meals vs the all day sipping. Puree'd foods I am able to eat quite a bit. I am not enjoying coffee like I used to (yes, I'm allowed coffee) but struggle without caffeine so I start my day with the Cafe Latte Premier Protein shake. I'm curious too as to what others find they no longer like.

One week left for me. I’ve struggled a little with the pre-op diet the last couple of days, mostly because I can’t stomach (still) protein shakes so I’m mostly eating yogurt, one egg and bone broth. I did cheat yesterday (I was soooo hungry) and now feel really guilty. Ugh.

Though I don't have a surgery date, yet exceedingly excited without content for where this journey is about to take me... I'm already browsing clothes I've had my pockets waiting for since forever (if ever). Boutiques that only sell small, medium, large. Reminding me of how retailer 5-7-9 in the movie Mean Girls got its name. A shop that focused its collection on three sizes 5, 7 and 9.

Here is my story. I spent years stuck at 210 (I am 5’2) and thousands of dollars on personal trainers, nutritionists etc. watched and recorded everything I ate to no avail and of coarse the only scale movement would be I ate a cookie and gained two pounds. Meanwhile I began collecting every co morbidity - sleep apnea, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes , sever scaring on my liver. After two seperate per ate unsuccessful medically supervised diets I was advised gastric bypass was my best bet. I lot 10 lbs in the lead up (5 days a week of boot camp and strength training and keto diet). I lost another 20 lbs on the per-op liquid diet. Had surgery on March 29th. Lost 5 lbs in the first two days and have had no movement since. Walking 3 times a day at 30 minutes each. Drinking 70 oz of water and at least 90 g of protein plus all of the supplements. I know there is a three week stall but I am on a 3 day stall (at the time when weight loss is suppose to be the easiest). This was my last hope and I am starting to feel hopeless.

May be have a chat with your dietician & see if they have any ideas. Stalls are your body’s response to the stress of your weight loss & adjusting to the changes. I wonder if doing short fasts, increasing/decreasing calories & changing calorie sources may be adding to the stress. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I’ve read that stalls are an important part of weight loss as they allow your body to reset your hunger hormones & metabolism to what you need at a lower weight.

Stalls happen. You just have to stick to your plan & wait them out for the 1-3 weeks they usually last. It will break when your body is ready. Not sure how much you were hoping to lose but you could be in maintenance or just experiencing the extremely slow weight loss many of us face when we’re almost at our final weight. Congrats on your weight loss. 91lbs is amazing.

My wife is coming up on 18 years out on her DS, but can't offer any real advice on the preop diet as we didn't have one. The best general advice on the shakes is to try several ahead of time (some manufacturers/retailers have sample packs of different varieties that you can get to try). Try both the RTD (ready to drink) and mixes as suits your needs, but there is more variety in the mixes. Generally, 100% whey isolate is preferred to the cheaper whey blends or concentrates as it is better absorbed (and also more expensive...) and is also better tolerated by those who are or develop lactose intolerance as the lactose is filtered out in the processing. But if a blend or concentrate fits your tastes better, one that you will drink is preferred over one that just sits on your shelf. An additional option is unflavored powder (though there is no such thing as one without taste...) and flavor it with one of the sugar free flavor syrups that are available. Also, when just to complicate things further, when/if you hit on one that you like, don't load up on too much of it, as your tastes may change post op (or they may not...) Good luck in getting through this - lots of changes in these next few weeks pre and post op, but things settle out over time.

Hi! I’m new to this group. I’m hoping to find People who are like me and may can help. I had surgery may 2022. I’ve lost 91lbs, but I’ve been stalled for weeks. Any suggestions on how to get back in the game???

Hello, all. I have been happily using soft-chew multi-vitamins from Bariatric Pal for the last four years. I live in Australia and shipping has always been expensive but manageable. I just placed an order for more vitamins and three types of protein snacks, and the cheapest shipping option was US$ 225! That is way more than usual--and more than I'm willing to pay. Can anyone recommend a comparable product that is available on Amazon? Thanks!

I’m sorry I meant to say I saw your profile lol. Wow 8 months in! I’m so happy for you! You’re a strong woman. It’s so hard and it’s just my first day lol. Any advice you can give me? Did you have to go through the same preop diet? I know everyone is different. Mine is strict liquids for two weeks 😥

Thanks! It's crazy to think I had surgery 8 months ago, seems like a week the time has gone by so quickly. Wearing clothes you want instead of what you have to is such an amazing feeling. You'll get there before ya know it!

Anyone her have the BPD/DS done? I am scheduled for surgery April21. Look for some advice on my 2 week liver shrinkage preop diet. What shakes did you like? What did you pick for your 4 meals that you can have. Those kinds of things. Thanks in advance!

Im two weeks post op. Started thinking about surgery a few years ago, but actually acted on it in late January if this year. Wrapped up my pre-reqs in a single week and cleared with insurance in one day. After that, had a week of food funerals (fun times eating things I wouldn’t be able to for a while), then started my two week high protein low carb diet. It was tough, not gonna lie. I weaned myself off caffeine during the same two week period and BAM it was suddenly time for surgery. By this point, I’d lost about 6 or 7 lbs. Rolled into surgery at 6am on 3/13, started on time at 8am, only discomfort afterward was nausea from anesthesia. No vomiting; they took great care to relieve the nausea immediately and sent me home with medicine to help. First few days, I felt hungry. Dreamt of food. Realized it was just gas in my tummy causing a “hunger” feeling. The gas went away within a week and so did the faux hunger. I tried to go off pain meds too soon, and that sucked. When they do the surgery, they will go through the abdominal wall with the scopes. I had pretty strong abs (yay…) and the scope caused a bleed that healed very slowly. Caused me some pretty serious discomfort especially without the pain meds. Went back on the meds and rested for several days, all the while working to get all my protein and fluids in. Lost 9lbs the first week and then stalled three days into week two. The stall just broke today, one week after it began. Total of 16lbs lost since the start of the pre-op diet. I’m three days into week 3 and just started soft foods. If I had to choose one hard thing, it would be the emotional response I had post surgery. I realized “omg, I cannot eat those things…” the choice was no longer mine. I was scared at first, almost grieving. And then I felt light because the pressure of making the “right” decision was out of my hands. Yes, I could still make a bad choice… and when I made brownies for my daughter the other day I was tempted, but I don’t want to hurt my body or deal with the backlash from eating so much sugar after barely having any for the last month. I can just imagine the sugar rush and terrible feeling I would get… it would suck. Not to mention, with VSG (my procedure), the first six months are critical. You’ll lose the most weight if you can just get through with as much discipline as possible. I’m thankful for my family and therapist; they’ve all helped me find my way in the dark. I’m so glad I did this. Even as I just ate my first egg in weeks, I still wouldn’t change a thing. It’s like experiencing food again for the first time but with a coach in my body helping out 👌😊 Good luck to you with whatever you choose!

We had surgery on the same day!! My weight loss has been less than I hoped for the first week but getting my liquids, protein and walks in. I am not having any issues holding down liquids (and while I am not pushing it - I feel like I would not have issues handling more liquids)

Hi everybody. Just had VGS surgery last Monday (Happy Spring). Started my initial bariatric journey at 241 and when I got to the hospital i was 229. Down 14 pounds this morning and seeing my surgeon tomorrow for the post-op appointment. I've been able to tolerate all clear and thicker liquids thus far and looking forward to purees next week. Right now it seems I can only hold 4 to 4.5 oz at a time but water and clear protein supplements I'm able to drink 32 oz. in 3.5 hours. Is that ok? Will I not be able to hold 4 oz of pureed foods?

I started my journey in January 2022, between all the appointments and getting approved for insurance my surgery date was August 2, 2022. The 2-week liquid diet wasn't too difficult up until day 10 ish I started to get a little over it, especially on the day of my birthday. I drank a lot of protein shakes (fair-life chocolate is still my favorite to this day) and ate a lot of applesauce, berries, sugar-free pudding, and Panera soup broth along with V8 & grilled veggie kabobs. I lost about 13 lbs on the liquid diet but aside from weight loss, the main goal is to shrink your liver. Day of Surgery I was scheduled to be there at 7 am and surgery at 9 am. I didn't go back till about 2 pm. My hospital stay wasn't bad at all. I actually was able to get around just fine with very little pain the entire stay. Getting in liquids was quite difficult but when you have nothing else to do watching the clock and drinking your liquids wasn't really that bad in the grand scheme of things. I only stayed one night and was discharged by 11 am the next day. First week home I was completely drained, and starving. Especially those first couple of days. I basically stuck to everything I had on my liquid diet aside from the berries and veggies. I got around just fine with very little help from my daughter. I was down about another 10 lbs in the first 2 weeks. 3 months out I was "only" 30lbs down from my surgery weight. I was really disappointed at the time but now looking back Averaging 10 lbs a month is pretty healthy. By that time I was eating pretty normally in the sense I wasn't as restricted. Exercising regularly. Had taken a week's trip to Disney World and had my energy back. On the downside, I got sick often. Meat of any kind never sat well with me or anything tomato based. I would end up purging often. I also had a lot of issues with constipation. I became slightly reliant on ducolax (would take every other day to avoid being bound up). I was very reliant on protein shakes, water, and v8. I remember thinking at one point if I knew it would be that bad Idk if I would have gone through with the surgery because I was so miserable (but so glad I did). 6 months out I was 45.9 lbs down from my surgery weight. I was low on iron and high on copper (pretty abnormal about the copper and they think there was a possibility that was inaccurate). I was completely drained and was blaming it on the cold and the weather, not really thinking my Iron was a possibility for how I was feeling. I didn't talk to my doctors about it sooner and I wish I would have. I was still sick often. Meat of any kind still not sitting well with me or anything tomato based. The doctors were kind of unhelpful and just kept encouraging me to keep trying, which was kind of frustrating because I felt like I wasn't being heard for the first time. My issues with constipation weren't as often and was only taking ducolax about 1 or twice a week compared to the months before. I became a lot less reliant on liquids. 8 months out I'm 55lbs down from my surgery weight. 83 lbs down from my highest. I work out 5 times a week and my eating has been dang near spot on, with a few occasional indulgences. If I feel drained I know it's because I missed a few nights in a row of my iron. I can eat pretty normal without the sick feeling but it still happens every once in a while. Constipation is super rare I feel like I hit a lot more stalls than probably most. Eating and physical activity def. go hand in hand and It can be really frustrating. Consistency is your best friend. Between logging your meals, protein & water intake & some sort of physical activity you'll get where you want. I don't think you will ever be fully prepared for what's ahead of you after surgery. I did the research for months to prepare myself and feel like it still wasn't enough. I feel so much more confident now, Clothes fit great. No worries about fitting into booths at restaurants or seats on roller coasters or seat belts on airplanes. I love to put on clothes that once couldn't fit and now are way too big on me. It helps me remember how far I've come even if the scale is disappointing. The biggest compliment I love to get these days isn't how great I look, but how happy I look. I get being nervous, we were all in the same storm as you just different boats. But rolling into that surgery room was the best decision I could have made. I feel like I got my life back.

Hello I have been referred by my pcp for weight loss surgery. I have a consultation with the surgeoun in about 2 weeks. I wanted to know if anyone had any experience with wait times and requirements dealing with California Medi-cal specifically Alameda alliance for health. Thank you

@dskg i’m on my 2 week liquid preop diet and it has been challenging. Days 3-4 were my worst days. The Headaches & the exhaustion was immense. But I pushed through. Days 5-present, surprisingly are much better. The Higher energy levels and the mental clarity on how my body will change, for the better, has been my motivation this week.

I’m just over 4 weeks post op. I’m not tracking either, but I’ve started getting into a rhythm. protein shake for breakfast cheese for snack lunch (varies - today was some corned beef hash) protein shake for afternoon snack dinner (today was like 1/2 a taco) and I might have a protein-y snack like these protein cookies by hold da sugar. my main goal is to get over 60 g of protein and a similar amount in oz of water. I can’t eat very much at a time but I am getting hungry frequently so I’m trying to listen to my body about that.