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I can't believe it has been a year already since I had my surgery. Time really flies. This past year was filled with lots of major milestones, NSVs and overall positive things. I decided to write this post to hopefully inspire others who are on the fence or those who are already on their weight loss journey. I had my surgery (MGB) in Egypt on 30 January 2022. My sister had hers earlier that month and it didn't take her long to convince me to do it as well. I flew to Egypt on 28th, admitted to hospital on 29th and had the surgery 30th morning. I stayed in the hospital for two days and rested for a week in Cairo before flying back to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The whole process went smooth and the recovery was quick with no major issues. Just a bit of discomfort which is normal for any surgery. I was not given any specific diet to follow except for some guidelines - one week of clear liquids, 1 week of pureed food followed by gradual introduction of solid food in week 3. I will start with the positives and the current stats. The negatives / issues are listed below My starting weight was 149 kg. I was 85 kg yesterday. That means I’ve lost a total of 64 kg or 43% of my starting weight. I still have like 15 kg to go. The weight loss was quick at first then started to become slower but I’m more than happy with where I’m at right now. I didn’t follow a strict diet but rather reduced my food intake and ate healthier. I always start with my proteins vegetables and end with carbs. It helps that I cook myself so I know what goes into my food and can control the portions. I now enjoy food better than before because I really take my time to eat. There are some foods that I can’t tolerate like pasta, scrambled eggs etc. Not sure why but I’m not too concerned by that. Here are some of the major achievements and NSVs I’ve experienced the past year (a part from the weight loss): I went from size 52” pant to size 34-36 inches pants depending on the cutting. Here is a comparison between the pants I wore on surgery day and the current ones. Custom-made shirt on surgery day vs the one I wore yesterday (Size M) Here is me in December 2021 and yesterday morning (left to right) I got myself a mountain bike when I went below 100 Kg and that helped a lot. I try to go on a ride around the town whenever time and weather allow. I’m planning to do this more often after the rainy season. I feel more fit and energetic overall. I was able to join my family in a lot of fun activities which was impossible last year. I took the kids to the water park last weekend and we all had a great time. My son told me that he is so happy I could go on the water slide with him and that made the whole journey worth it. I’m planning to join the gym and start rebuilding muscles and tone my body. I’ve some loose skin here and there but it doesn’t bother me. I might end up having it removed but it is too early to decide now. There were also some negatives (as with everything in life) which I consider to be minor : - The 6 months blood work showed that I had Vitamin B12 and D deficiency. The doctor asked me to take high doses of Vitamin D and daily Vitamin B12 tabs which I’ve been doing over the last 6 months. I’m planning to redo the test soon. - I struggled with heartburn and indigestion early on but I learned how to control it. I don’t add a lot of spices to my food now and will stop eating if I feel any discomfort. I still get it every now and then but OTC heartburn medicines really help. - Loose skin specially on my arms and thighs (but that was expected) Overall I’m very happy with my decision and what I’ve achieved over the past year. I’m really looking forward to this coming year.

I’ve only told limited people. For two others who acted almost as if entitled to be hear about my weight loss my go to is “ I’ve spent my entire life talking about my weight and I’d prefer not to waste another moment discussing it.” 

If someone asks I will tell them because maybe they are looking for answers for their problem too or someone they love. I had 2 people tell me that they had a gastric bypass 10 years before. l had always known them thin so I was surprised to learn that they had had a bypass, but also encouraged by that too. I mean they have both kept they weight of for 10 years!! These two ladies are the reason I got started on the path of weight loss. So if some one asks me I will tell them truthfully.

Well I hope you get to have your surgery this time. Congratulaltions on the 50lb weight loss!!!

I have just said to those that have mentioned my weight loss that I have a nutritionist, I'm exercising 5x a week, I'm eating high protein/low carb and I'm eating small portions and not drinking, all of which are true. So really you can say you adopted a healthy lifestyle which you did.

I decided quite early on just to be completely honest if asked directly. It’s made everything a lot easier really, no need to remember who I told what etc. To be honest, not a lot of people have had the guts to really ask! I can often see people itching to ask but never offer up the information just like that. I kinda enjoy watching them squirm like that 🤣 Telling people about it has never really felt awkward to me. I don’t feel ashamed of having had WLS and I’ve gained a lot of self confidence since 💕

What do you do when people your not close with ask how you lost weight? I have told all my close family and friends my plans for bariatric surgery but its not something I could see myself advertising to others. For example I work with a lot of men. I feel like it will be awkward if they ask how I'm loosing the weight.

Thank you for posting this. I am interested in revising vsg to esg as well. I had the sleeve in 2012, lost 65 lbs (that was my goal) I regained 30 and struggling because it’s slowly creeping up. I eat really healthy just too much from stretched sleeve. My maintenance calories was 1500 at my goal weight and to lose I had to eat 900 to 1200 calories. I’m wondering are you eating even less calories with esg?

I mostly get jealousy from my mother. She is not a great person, nor mother… She seems to think it’s a competition because I’m losing so much weight. She’s not even obese… It is infuriating and I wish she could just be happy for me. I just do my best to let her comments roll off.

I would like to get extensive body contouring now that I've lost 170lbs and seem to be in a stable spot in my weight. What I'm most concerned about is how long I would need to take off from work though. I would like to get an arm lift, breast lift, tummy tuck and thigh lift, which I believe would be 3 separate surgeries (combining the arm lift with the breast lift). The recovery time sounds a LOT longer and rougher than the actual weight loss surgery so I'm having a hard time gauging how long I'll be needing lots of help at home, when I could go back to doing my WFH office job, and when I would actually feel better after surgery. I went to real self and they said * Tummy Tuck - 2 weeks until back to work, but ideally give yourself more time and 6 weeks to fully recover * Arm Lift - 2 weeks but really it sounds like 4-8 before the incisions are mostly healed * Thigh Lift - 2 weeks until back to work and 6 weeks until fully recovered I am not a fast healer and have chronic pain/disability from other illness, so it took me 5 weeks to get back to work from my SADI. I'm worried that this would be like 3 months of time off work total and I'd have to split it up a year for each surgery just to get the time off. Am I looking at this all wrong or are these surgeries just that brutal to recover from? 😬 I don't even know how to start explaining that much time off to my boss either.

I have been fortunate enough to have the majority of my family/friends/coworkers have been very supportive and I think the funniest thing is dresses I wear now that I wore 100 lbs ago I get mega compliments. I do have a few "friends" that keep close track of my weight loss and comment about how they've found the weight I lost and things like that, but I have noticed a distance as I get closer to my ideal weight from some people. I feel lucky that I have not had a lot of nay sayers in my world, but I have had people distance themselves. I'm also VERY open about my surgery. I feel like that's important to be said here. If someone compliments me on my weight loss and asks how I did it, I tell them I had RNY and my before and after story. I'm sure there's talk behind my back about "the easy way" and things like that but I just refuse to let the negative in.

It took me a lot of years to figure out that I never knew how to do the " 5 pounds to play with " thing. I can do that now. I live in Southern California and love going to Disneyland ! All sorts of very not weight loss friendly foods - but there are healthier choices that can be made - and not just salads. There are really good soups in some locations, I am a fan of their corn chowder (vegetarian) and one of the Mexican places makes a yummy grilled half chicken plate that I share with my adult daughter ! I pick my treats and plan on having what I really want, whether it is ice cream or something else..... and if I gain a pound or so... then I know how to take it off over the next week. I weigh myself every morning... so that I can figure out what the heck I did or did not do in the couple days earlier to deserve weight gain, or loss. For me, I don't use much salt. And a meal out .... even a nice salad; can put pounds on me. Took me a long time to figure that out. A diet frozen dinner with less than 300 calories will do it too. Those are full of sodium and it does it every time. I cook with a lot of fresh home grown herbs - getting ready to plant my spring garden - will do lots of lettuces and baby carrots, radishes and beans and peas.... later in the spring will plant cucumbers and tons of heirloom tomatoes for the hot hot summer. Find the things that make you happy, that make your body strong and healthy and take good care of yourself !

I was able to do 1 hour on the treadmill, but definitely not at the level I could before all this stomach crap. I was at incline 15, speed 2.6, heart rate around 142. It annoys me that I've had to back it down, but at least I can do something. I was also able to do 20 sit ups (used to be able to do 50), 30 stomach crunches (was able to do 60 before), 10 step ups on each side (used to be able to do 30 before), and 20 reps on each of my arm exercises (used to do 40 each). I couldn't so anything more because I started to have sharp stabbing abdominal pain as well as burning from the gastritis and GERD. I might have to back it down on the treadmill a little more and see if things improve. I can't wait for all of my procedures to be done so I can finally start feeling better and get back to working out the way I normally do. I can't even THINK about any weight training or strength/core training right now

I don't mean to be judgmental about this because I went through it, myself. I first heard of weight loss surgery when I was in college, and I had already struggled with my weight and countless diets over the years. Gastric bypass sounded like an absolute miracle -- something that would just magically prevent me from overeating! I went to an informational seminar and a consultation with a surgeon, but when I started learning about how much work it would be, I thought, "If I had that much willpower, I wouldn't need the surgery!" I read people's personal experiences with WLS and was very turned off by how much their surgery affected their lives, because I wanted something that wouldn't require me to devote my whole life to weight loss. I backed out and it took me another 15 years before I was ready to put in the effort of the lifestyle changes. I'm very grateful to have the "tool" of weight loss surgery, but it required (and continues to require) a lot of work on my part.

Well, if the term "lifestyle changes" doesn't get rid of them (which is my goal -- I do not wish to discuss my body, my weight, or my diet with anyone other than medical professionals, and I consider it rude for people to ask about these personal topics in public, so I just want them to drop it without having to be rude myself and say, "None of your business"), I sometimes mention specific lifestyle changes, all of which are true. I work out daily, track my food intake, avoid sugar and fried foods, eat more vegetables, find healthy recipes to cook, and use online grocery shopping to avoid temptation. These are actual lifestyle changes that I have made and use along with the tool of my surgery, and I know that if I fall off the wagon of all these lifestyle changes, I can easily regain a lot of the weight. I WISH the surgery worked like magic and I didn't have to make permanent lifestyle changes.

I sure hope the surgery helps with fibro, at least some. In my mind, getting the weight off will give my body one less thing to be angry at me for.

I wonder if this bothers people because it hits a little too close to home. I used to hate when people said, "It's not a diet -- it's a lifestyle change!" (usually when referring to... a diet, e.g., keto). But now, I get it, as much as I hate to admit. I actually use that now to shut people up when they get too nosy about my weight loss (I have kept my surgery private and not told any friends, family, or coworkers). When they demand to know my secret to weight loss, I say I made a lot of lifestyle changes, and that's not what they want to hear. I see a lot of people on this forum who seem to expect the surgery to work like magic -- to make weight loss easy, instant, and permanent. Reminding people that surgery is a tool, not something that works on its own, might be a reality that's hard to face.

being restricted on your food choices is temporary. When I hit the six-month mark, any and all food restrictions were lifted. After that, it came down to what my stomach could tolerate (and I can eat pretty much anything except for really fatty meals). I just have to eat smaller portions than I used to, otherwise my weight will start heading north again. I should add that I was a pretty healthy eater even before surgery (although granted, I ate way too much of it). I did enjoy occasional treats, but I mostly ate pretty healthy. If you're used to eating a lot processed food and sugary or fried things, then you'll be dealing with bigger changes than I had to and might miss some of that - but I don't miss anything since I can eat pretty much anything I want to again (although there are times when I'm eating some fantastic pizza or barbecue and wish I could shovel more and more in like I used to be able to do - but it would be physically painful for me to scarf up half a large pizza or a huge pile of BBQ in one sitting with this tiny stomach). But to answer your question, no, because I eat pretty much what I did before - I just eat a lot less of it.

Hi all newbie here. I had the sleeve surgery back in 2015. I did super well until 2020 when I was placed on a depression/anxiety monthly injection that caused some serious side effects. Unknown to the doctors, therapists and myself one of the non-listed side effects were to lose weight. At this point I was already at goal of 160# but the injection made me loose down to 121# within 2 months. I had become super weak, with almost no mobility. It was so bad that I could no longer take care of my personal needs without assistance. I could no longer walk but shuffle no more than about 6 feet before giving out and having to rest. My family doctor told me I absolutely had to gain weight of a G tube might be in order. My phyc doctor change my meds and unfortunately, I went from 121# to now 225# within about 6 months. Here I sit literally only 42# away from my WLS starting weight Now every time I try to do a reset or just simply get strict with eating and watching all my intake, I do good for about 3 days then I goof up again. For all those years I was able to keep my diabetes at bay, but it showed it weary head last year and has been acting up ever since. My mom died in 2004 from complications of diabetes so I have to get back on track. My dad passed away in August this past year (I am a daddy's girl 100%) and he begged me to have the revision and get my life back on track so this is what I shall do. Any tips or info you wished you would have known prior to the revision from sleeve to bypass? I greatly appreciate any info and prayers. (NOTE: I am in the midst of getting my medical records to locate the name of the injection I was on as I do not recall the name of it)

I hate the blood thinners, but I’m doing great so far. I’m already a lot more mobile and it doesn’t hurt to move anymore, so my daily steps are up from 2k/day to over 6k/day. I’m having a bit of a stall weight wise now at 12 lbs down and 10 days post-op but I try not to stress about it and just carrying on with my new routines.

Hello, I guess I can day I feel great. I'm still hurting in my stomach, but it's getting better. I weighed 338 pounds the first visit to the weight loss management center Oct.19th, 2022. Surgery was January 9th, 2023. As of January 28th, 2023, my weight is 297 pounds. Still have some work to do. The good thing about all of this is that I'm walking, standing, and sleeping more than I've done in more than 15 years. I don't post a lot but I will try to do better. Sent from my SM-S908U using BariatricPal mobile app

My main fear regarding what my body would look like was loose skin. And yes, it's a reality, though it's not as bad as I thought it would be. I have loose skin all over my body, but it was most pronounced on my belly and neck. My stomach seems to look better four years after surgery--or perhaps I've just gotten used to it. I still have a turkey neck and droopy jowls on my face, and they make me look much older. I never thought I would have plastic surgery after weight loose, but I'm now planning a lower face lift and neck lift, since I simply can't hide those areas. I've made peace with the rest of my body. I definitely look better in clothes than without, but it sure beats the embarrassment/shame I felt when I was significantly overweight.

I started a new contract 4 weeks after my surgery. I did struggle a bit because my BP was so low - had times I was very doughy in the head & would lose vision at times. (Always had a tendency to this so…) I had a long history working in this department & they were very understanding. They knew I had a surgery & was recovering so let me negotiate my hours a bit. Funny thing was my boss presumed I’d had a ‘female’ surgery & I didn’t say I didn’t. Some noticed the weight loss ((last worked there five months previously) but they linked it to the surgery too & me trying to be healthier. All very easy actually.

Hey Folks, So I am finishing the pre surgery process here in a couple weeks and it is starting to be real that I’m really going to get the surgery and life as I know it now is going to change. Has anyone dealt with fear of what their new body will look like? I’ve been plus size my entire life. I’m nervous as to what my new body will look like. I worked hard to get to body neutrality and I feel myself starting to fixate on weight I may or may not lose. Has anyone else felt this way?