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Thanks for the support! I've been told just liquids. I've lost .4kg (.8) after 1 day so imagine feeling encouraged! I've been told no food because I need to lose weight quickly for the surgery and I need 1000-1200 calories a day. But I also ride my bike everywhere so ai think that helps with the weight loss.

Hi, @Hiddenroses, @Mandalynne, and @Singingbarista, I had the same question about whether to tell people or not. I decided to tell my boss (that was a no-brainer, because I want her to know what I'm up to so when I need to take it easy, and when I start to lose weight, she'll know why), and I told my work team. I figured when I start losing weight the rumor mill will start (Does Andrea have cancer??!!) and I wanted them to be able to tell people I'm fine. But that's all the people I told at work, because everybody's got an opinion, and coworkers don't need to be weighing in on my personal medical decisions. I also told my sisters and my Mom. My sisters are totally supportive, even the one who thinks I'm making a mistake. She told me her opinion and hasn't hassled me about it since, she's just been supportive. My mom has said not one word. That's what she does when she doesn't approve, LOL. But that's fine, as long as she doesn't give me grief about it. Oh, and I told my hairdresser, who said her cousin had bariatric surgery and is rocking it. Here's a suggestion. This is what I'm going to do. If people ask me about my weight loss, I'll say that I am going to the MultiCare Center for Weight Loss and Wellness. Or I'm doing medically supervised weight loss. Both are true, end of discussion. I'm not planning to deny having surgery or anything, I'm just planning to not get into it, especially with people who want to share negative opinions. Of course we care what others think, there's nothing wrong with that. It's just this is a personal decision about a condition that everyone can see, but is mega-uncomfortable to talk about. We'll support you whatever decision you make. If you have surgery, as you can see this group is quite supportive and willing to share our experiences.

Hi! I'm new to this forum but definitely not new to this journey! I'm a mum of three adult kids from Newcastle region in NSW Australia. I'm an RN and have gone back to University for more torture (learning lol) I was sleeved in August 2021 and was successful in losing weight for 6 months before I plateaued and then stopped. After extensive investigations from my surgeon and other surgeries, I was booked for a revision and underwent my mini bypass with single anastomosis on 19th August 2024. I'm recovering well and would love to provide support (but not medical advice) to others who are considering undertaking any kind of weight loss or bariatric type surgery.

Oof, I'm still on cardio and working in light resistance training with bands (no weights yet). I keep re-straining my abdomen just doing simple things like twisting slightly when bending to get something out of a drawer at my desk, so my team has cautioned me not to start any actual weights until that pain leaves and stays gone for at least a week. :S My Monday is doing pretty good, but my weekend was awful (hormones, heightened body dysmorphia, heightened reaction to thinning patches of hair). This morning though, I found one of my matte eyeshadows is just the right colour to hide the most noticeable thin patch at my temple; I lost more weight this week than last even while fighting menstrual hormones and emotions; and several regular customers have complimented me this morning about both my hair and weightloss so even if I can't look at myself in the mirror without anguish, at least I'm getting some external confirmation that a lot of it is in my head. (@Bypass2Freedom I hope you're keeping an eye on your blood pressure too! After losing as much weight as you have already, it's not abnormal for blood pressure to lower even if it wasn't an active problem for you pre-op. Just make sure you stand up / raise your torso & head slowly after you've been exercising for a while)

"They changed their eating habits while on the medication, but once they stopped, that all kind of went out the window because all the things the meds stopped came roaring back." This is the problem. If people who decide to utilize this medication tool don't maintain healthy smaller portions and eating habits they will put weight back on. They've never learned or failed to follow a new healthy life "diet". They need to learn healthy eating while on the GLP-1, unfortunately most don't and go back to their old eating habits prior to starting the medication regimen. As long as you know this and stick to better, smaller portions and maintain a healthy lifestyle gaining weight back shouldn't happen. I know two people who've done this and have maintained their weight loss! GLP-1's are nothing more than a tool and should be used accordingly by learning to eat to maintain the loss and how to understand the hunger when it comes back. I'm assured that it won't happen to me since I have learned to eat healthy and exercise - we shall see!

Honestly, I am feeling amazing! I have hit a little bit of a slow down on weight loss being 2.5 months post op, but I am now hammering the exercise and still losing inches off my body. When I say a slow down, I mean I've gone from losing 4-5 lbs per week to around 2lbs per week. An example of the exercise, I never imagined i'd have felt comfortable on a treadmill pre-op, and I am about to go onto week 3 of the 9 week couch to 5k program on the treadmill at the gym! How are you doing this week?

Jeez, your Dr sounds a delight 😡 The Dr should be lifting you up on your successes to date, not making you panic over where you are. And spouting arbitrary nonsense over 2 frigging pounds when you still have 7 weeks to go to lose what, 8lbs altogether so you lose was it 21lbs overall pre-surgery?? I’m so sorry that you’ve had this today. Things like this just piss me off no end, especially as weight loss and gain is generally reliant on a lot of emotional issues and external pressures 🤬 Big hugs, we’re all cheering you on 🤗🥰🤗

I was warned too but I figured no way it would happen to me! I really keep up with the protein and supplements, alas here we are I wish I had the confidence to rock a short do, I am pretty sad just looking up styles for when I get my hair done again in August. I know I am dramatic and pretty vain butttttt ya know LOL

As much as it would be great if we could reset our tummy to the loss of hunger phase after surgery we can’t. You can reset your thinking and your head though it’s not easy. Start by going back to tracking everything you eat and drink & maybe keep a second record of what you were feeling at the time you ate or drink to see if there are any specific emotions (boredom, frustration, anger, sadness, happiness, stress, etc.) driving you to eat or any events that occured or situations you were in (Friday morning tea at work, socialising, at the movies, a sporting game, holidays). Identify things you ma have let slide: portion sizes, protein intake, food choices, fluid intake, snaking, etc. check your activity levels. Then make a change. Drop a snack or work on reducing your portion size. After a couple of weeks make another change or two like increase your activity, or increase your fluid intake or swap out some food choices to better ore nutrient dense lower calorie options. And so on. Gradual changes are much easier to adapt to and adopt and always seem more achieveable. Become more mindful about your eating. Are you eating because you need to eat (real hunger) or just want to eat (head hunger - associated with emotions, situations or events). Eat slowly to allow time for your full/had enough message to register (takes at least 20 minutes). Slowly work your way back to how you were eating when you were first maintaining. You’ll get there. All the best.

I struggled to eat enough to slow my losing though not as much as you are. I reached goal at 6 months and was barely eating 900 calories. It took another year to get to about 1300 calories and for my weight loss to stabilise. To increase my intake I was eating all day long or it certainly felt that way. I had three meals and 5 or 6 snacks, predominately in the afternoon and evening. It took another year +/- to get to around 1600 calories which is about what I eat now to continue to pretty much maintain that initial stabilised weight.. And yes I still snack but only 3 or 4 times a day now to meet my caloric needs. So, yes, some of us do take time to get those calories up. But you are a more extreme case. If this has happened in rare other cases, what did they say what treatment was used in those cases? Can they stretch your pouch via an endoscopy or balloon? Have they suggested you incorporate those nutrient dense, high calorie smoothies like Ensure used for those with digestive and eating issues?

I had my husband take photos of me - all four sides -- every month on my surgery date from the night before my surgery until the day I hit maintenance. It's great having that documentation of my journey. Plus when you get to the point where the weight loss slows down and you're not seeing differences from month to month, you can look back at photos taken three or four months earlier and DEFINITELY see the difference. It helped keep my motivation up!

So glad you had a wonderful holiday and was able to deal with the heat and get loads of walking in, with weight loss too! How are your cats with you, now that you’re home? My older cat, George, used to sulk massively when we’d been away. He would sit on the end of the bed with his back to us, letting us know of his displeasure! I would take a day before he would consent to be stroked and then he would gradually forgive us. I hope your dose of Covid isn't too bad? There’s a lot of it about apparently and it’s hitting people differently. My son had migraines with his, but the 3 month old baby and his 4 year old sister both sailed through it! You just can’t tell, unfortunately. Loving the new profile pic - your cheekbones are looking sharp!

I’m glad you have someone to talk to about your experiences and that you’re finding it helpful. It may be baby steps but they will eventually lead you to a happier, more contented place where you will be able to put the horrible experience behind you and finally enjoy the positive benefits of your weight loss 🙂

My advice is to make changes to your diet and exercise in the next few months that you feel you can maintain for the rest of your life, as opposed to trying a fad diet (Keto, paleo, etc.) that is likely to be too extreme. Focus on basics like reducing your simple carbs and sugars, increasing your lean protein and veggies. Start measuring your portions to make sure you are not eating more than you think. Start getting your 64oz or more of water every day and cut out any sugar-sweetened drinks that you might drink (and also alcohol) because it's just empty calories. Walking and light weights are really great, but remember that about 80% of your weight loss comes from your diet, and only 20% from exercise, so don't feel like you have to go crazy with joining a gym and working out, especially if you're starting from sedentary. Regular walking every day does amazing things. At this stage, small changes can make a big difference. One thing I did right away was go through my cupboards and get rid of temptations. I stopped buying crackers, pretzels, cookies, and sweets. I would still have a treat when I was out, but I would try not to bring it home. Since I work from home, not having things in the cupboards to tempt me was a huge help. I was not required to lose weight before my surgery, but by making these little changes, plus the strict 2-week liquid diet, I ended up going from 251 lbs to 225 lbs in about 6 months. You can do it!

So I will definitely say that I am so oblivious LOL I stay in my own world so I really don't know, however I do have a great deterrent from men talking to me....my kids! LOL My boyfriend has actually had a hard time with my weight loss...there was a good point where he felt uncomfortable being intimate. He said that the change happened so fast that I felt and looked so different he felt like he was cheating on the old me. He also preferred me fluffy, met me at 240lbs size 16, then I blew up to 297lbs size 20 after I had our baby, and now I am 160 ish at a size 2-4, but he also understood I did this surgery for my health. I am getting my boobies done 12/30 so I k now that will be another hurdle I think, then I most likely will be getting more obvious blunt attention that both of us will have to get used to. Our relationship is strong and our communication is really good so we will be okay but its been a process lol

Tested positive for COVID on Saturday morning. I suppose it explains why I’ve been feeling like I was coming down with something all week plus why my joints felt so painful. I just put that down to being back at the gym 🤷‍♀️ It will also account for why my liver function test was off too. It always amazes me how the LFT can show something amiss before I’m even aware of it. So, the weekend was a complete bust - no anniversary dinner, feeling like I’ve been run over and just general yak. Dealing with an out of hours NHS service has tried my patience to the nth degree this weekend. Due to having a suppressed immune system, I’m supposed to be given antiviral medication if I contract COVID. Huh, it’s Monday and I still don’t have it. Many phone calls all asking the same set of questions (and giving the self same answers) being discharged from the OOH Dr via text, twice, for no apparent reason, waiting for calls that never happened, receiving other phone calls at almost midnight on Saturday, blah blah blah. Thankfully I was able to get through to my GP surgery at 8am this morning (a complete fluke) and explain the situation. They will find out what needs to be done and get back to me. Honestly, sometimes the NHS is brilliant and other times it’s just dire. Health eating? LOL…do you know when you read about the effects of an illness and it says ‘loss of appetite’? Ha, Ha, Ha, I’m the complete opposite, every single time 🙄 I’m not fretting about it right now as I’m more concerned over getting the COVID stuff sorted out. Hey, at least I didn’t have any alcohol on Sunday so that won’t interfere with my levels for when I do manage to get my bloods done again. Obviously I can’t have them done until I test negative. I’ll test again on Wednesday and see how things are. My anniversary dress did actually fit, so that’s a positive! I wouldn’t have been able to wear it on Sunday though as it’s so cold and rainy here now. Hubby has rebooked dinner for 2 weeks time. I don’t think it will be warm enough to wear the dress though but It’s not the end of the world On the plus side, I will have it altered professionally once the weight comes off post-WLS as I really do like the dress and would like to keep it. Missing my gym time, obviously , but it was nice to go back. Muscle memory definitely kicked in which helped enormously. It also gave my mental health a boost so it was win/win for me. I don’t know if my case was discussed in the MDT meeting last Friday or not. They will let me know at some point I’m sure. I will focus on getting any gains off once I start to feel a bit better. My hairdresser put some layers in my hair in order to give it a bit of body and movement. It’s just a shame that i haven’t actually bothered stying it as yet! I’ve just been washing it and leaving it to dry naturally. It looks OK anyway 🤷‍♀️ That’s me for now. Have a great week everyone 😍 Onwards and Downwards!

Surgery is a stress on your body that often causes hair to fall out. Suppliments won't change it. My suppliments started with a basic multivitam, iron (slow-FE), Calcium, and B-12. The basic multivitamin is because the first few months we are often on a virtual starvation diet so it's to make up that deficiency. After the first few months we were expected to eat adequately to cover typical requirements. Iron, Calcium, and B-12 additionally because Bypass patients are known to malabsorb iron, calcium & B-12. Any and all other suppliments were/are in response to deficiencies in blood work. Times have changed in the last 20 some-odd years. I haven't. Good luck, Tek

Have you ever thought of making your own clothes? I’m just thinking it could be a win/win for you - get the clothes you actually want to wear (no cutesy puppies or kittens here either 😉) plus it would keep you busy and occupied so distracting you from food both short and long term. Congrats on your losses so far. It’s immensely difficult when you’re putting yourself under pressure because of someone else’s expectations (your surgeon in this case) Just think about YOU, not him. You’re doing brilliantly and that’s all that matters 😊

Congratulations on your success so far! I completely empathise with the surreal feeling - it is almost like a weird out-of-body experience! I can answer a couple of your questions, obviously not the one about maintenance as I am only like 7-odd months post bypass now I think! I believe I have lost almost 100lbs now (45kg, 7 stone), and in the initial first 5 months I was really struggling to go to the gym so I wasn't very active. I have started going to the gym now and I am really enjoying it, not seeing as fast-paced weight loss currently, but that could be because of muscle gaining at the gym and normal stalling! I think my biggest challenge/lesson has been listening to my new stomach now. Understanding when it is full, and also looking at food differently - I just see it as fuel now, rather than thinking about it 24/7 which has been hard. It has also been a challenge to actually accept that I am smaller now - I still instinctively reach for my old clothing size in shops (UK 22-24), and am genuinely shocked when it is too big, or when something I see as "tiny" fits me. The changing the mind is a long haul lesson I believe! All the best for you on this journey x

I had gastric sleeve surgery now I noticed I’m depressed I haven’t been happy since I got the surgery I went from 382 to 269 I’m 6’0 feet tall. I recently got diagnosed with bipolar 2 I’m not sure if it came from gastric sleeve. If anyone is struggling with depression since your weight loss surgery tell me how tall handle it?.

So did you eat less than you normally do the day that you logged it? If so, you might wanna log it for like a week or something and try to get a better idea of what you actually eat. It’s possible because your activity has increased that you can still lose on 13 or 1400 calories. I think really it depends more on the quality of your calories than it does the actual calories. Like as long as your carbs are natural carbs, and your fats are healthy fats. They may have more calories, but they may not cause you to slow your loss. I’ve been eating a lot more calories but I think mine is a little different because of the chemo. I know that they said it burns a lot of carbs. So I’ve been eating like fruit and vegetables all day long and my calories are up to 13-1700 some days even and I’m losing still. Slower than I was but it’s hard because I do my infusion and my weight shoots up like 8 pounds and it scares me but then it eventually goes down and I don’t know how much it’s really going to go down this time it was an extra two pounds. But I know for me based on my activity I was able to increase my calories before all this chemo stuff probably like 300-400 of mostly healthy carbs that I added and I was losing the same, which was the occasional very small portion of brown rice and then lots of extra fruits and veggie snacks. Like I would have just a small side salad in between meals or a cup of fruit. Of course I was working out like a mad woman. 😂

Had my one month post op appointment today and I showed her my food tracking summary of all my macros and told her what I’ve been doing on my fitness and she was very please. Said my weight loss is excellent and my food choices are perfect. She wants me to increase a little bit to add a little more protein and carbs because I’m so active now but other than that everything is fine. I cannot believe how amazing I feel you guys. I have not had this level of energy since I was a teenager and I’m not just eating but ENJOYING foods that I never liked before!! The fresh ingredients is seriously the trick. It’s more work but it makes things taste so much better.

Hi Mspretty86 and wendy4energyrenewal. I'm doing ok, I'm down 51 lbs total (including the 15 pre-surgery), so the loss is slow, but continues to trend down. Of course I wish it was faster, but as long as it is on a downward trend, I'm pleased. No one at work has even noticed yet (or at least no one has commented), so that too is a little depressing. I am not really feeling any differences from before other than I rarely ever feel hungry ... it's the weirdest thing and something I've never experienced before, I used to be hungry almost all the time!

Adding another voice to the chorus that you don’t have to go to the gym if it’s not your thing… Diet plays a much bigger role in weight loss than exercise, so that should be your focus. Depending on where you are with your diet progression, this may not be the time to be doing intense workouts, anyway, since you may not be able to eat enough to fuel a serious gym session. Exercise is definitely beneficial to your health and important for maintaining weight loss, so the instinct to start now is a good one, but it doesn’t have to be miserable. Try to find something you don’t hate. Just walking is great exercise. Start an episode of your favorite podcast and walk until it’s over. Check out some YouTube videos that you can do for free in the privacy of your home. Someone on this very forum recommended Leslie Sansone videos and now I pass that recommendation along to anyone who hates “going to the gym” and/or doesn’t know where to start. FWIW, I didn’t go to the gym even once for over 3 years after my surgery. I lost the weight working out at home, walking and doing free workout videos. It’s only been in the past year that I started taking fitness classes, and although I am a self-proclaimed exercise hater, I must admit that I’ve come around. By the way, although I’ve discovered that a lot of stereotypes about gym members being mean to people who are overweight and/or out of shape are wrong, it is a heck of a lot easier to work up the will to go to the gym when you are already in decent shape from, say, home workouts, so maybe put the idea of going to the gym on hold for a while and see how you feel once you’ve gotten some results from working out at home.

That’s the word I was looking for @FifiLux- vanilla. Thankfully just a one-off though you can choose to attend more sessions if you want…I don’t want! As for knee surgery - I was only told to get my BMI down to below 40 and nothing else. After checking whilst at the session last night, dropping below won’t be an issue as my initial BMI was 45.3 when the hospital received my referral from the GP. The fact that I have started losing weight shows commitment, as far as the hospital is concerned, to WLS. The only time surgery would be refused based on a lower BMI is if it went below 30 which I can’t see happening for me!! The Musculoskeletal Therapy team will give me a call around the end of October to see how things are with regards to the steroid injections and physio I should be having by then, and to check on my weight loss so I can be referred. I did say that I hoped to be 40 or just below by this time. I guess I will find out more once I’m referred. Honestly, I would prefer at least one knee replacement before WLS, purely because the recovery from the knee op can be pretty unpleasant and take several months but I know I have to be guided by the hospital with it all. I would like to have at least some movement when the heavy duty weight loss kicks in 😉