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For me personally, I stick to 3 days of heavy weight lifting and it works for me and my goals, and I have always done the same. My goal is to maintain a good muscle tone (currently my inbody analysis tells me that my muscle mass is excellent and so is my lean body mass). I've always loved the slim but toned look on myself and I am not a fan of being on the bigger muscular side for me personally, although I admire that on other people. There were periods where I worked out with weights 4 times a week and I gained some weight (albeit muscle) and I wasn't 100% happy with the way I looked. My point is it depends on your goals, if you're trying to build as much muscle as possible then 4 or even 5 days will do you good, however if you want to maintain and cut down on body fat then 3 days are more than enough. Sometimes I add a strength and conditioning day (these are my favorite), and I realize Pilates is a form of resistance training so it all works out. With that being said, I used to do much more HIIT and intense cardio prior to surgery but now I stick to light jogging reaching my step goal and sometimes I'll do a fun trampoline workout (which burns a ton). I try not to rely on cardio to lose or maintain but on a good diet regimen to maintain a lower body fat and my strength training for building muscle and altering body composition. You are not as sore because you are building muscle and getting stronger, I suggest mixing strength and conditioning during your workouts so if you're training legs your supersets can be deadlifts + jump rope, reverse lunges + high knees and so on. This would particularly work wonderfully with upper body workouts.

Hi everyone! Just got my surgery date of August 12th. Suddenly it's all so real. So it looks like we'll all be surgery buddies!! I am really excited, scared, hopeful, and anxious. But at this point, I just want it done. I started my liver shrink diet yesterday. It's going great except that protein shakes really don't agree with me. I found one that is not so bad, but when you're drinking 3 a day (that was my doctor's minimum) it's a lot. My husband is super supportive although he doesn't like the idea of me having this surgery because he doesn't understand why I can't just lose weight and keep it off. (I bet you all do, though!) The good news is that he is a great guy and he's been with me every step, which is good because he's the cook at our house. I had my pre-anesthesia call today and I have my last appointment before surgery with the Physician's Assistant on Friday. Two weeks to go from today. I have done a lot of things to get ready. Since I work from home, I got a treadmill and an adjustable desk, so I can get up and walk on my treadmill during meetings. My goal is to walk 30 minutes 3 times a day (I'm up to 2 mph so that's 3 treadmill miles, although I know it's easier to walk on a treadmill than on the street). I don't always get 3 in, but it's SO much more exercise than I have gotten in years. I want to be in the best shape I can for surgery and recovery. I also got a bullet blender, tiny silverware, an electronic food scale, new measuring cups and spoons, and tiny storage containers to put pre-measured portions in so I can grab n' go. (Amazon makes it TOO easy to spend money!) I have read The Big Book on Gastric Bypass and I got several bariatric cookbooks so I can plan meals that meet the post-op requirements. I think the biggest part of all this for me is the idea of eating differently for the rest of my life. I have failed SO many diets (or they've failed me...) that it's really difficult to think I will really be able to lose my excess weight for good. I know that it is all up to me, and I am really hoping that having a tiny stomach and the new, shorter path for food digestion will be the key I've been looking for. I think it will be, because if I have a reason why I must eat small portions of nutritious foods and cannot eat sugar, that will make it much easier. Before, I could always say, "Oh, screw it, I'll just try again tomorrow" and give in to "mind hunger". That is why, like many of you have said, I will definitely need your support, and the support of my surgeon's clinic, to be successful in the long run. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and may we all be celebrating our successes together soon!

@ShoppGirl I can say that I was really losing my patience yesterday. I don't know if the pre-op diet had anything to do with my mood though. Saturday, I was out for 8 hours and prepped my food pretty well but it still threw me off. Sunday, I was replacing flooring in one of our bedrooms and did a better job at keeping up on food, but still did not get all my food in for the day. Today is day 6 of my pre-op diet. I have one week until my surgery and I'm actually getting more nervous about what I will eat after surgery. I have a coworker that had the VGS and she has been encouraging me. I like to plan and it is hard to plan when I don't know what or how much I will be able to eat, or what I will even be able to tolerate. For everyone that was talking about crocheting, I think that is great. I have zero talent with crochet, believe me I have tried to learn and it is useless. lol When is everyone else's surgery dates and have you begun your pre-op diet yet? Happy Monday!

I am only 6months out and I eat more than the average sleever..so my doc told me. I also workout 6 days a week and am active. I cannot eat 1.5C of food. if I want to add a veg or carb to a meal then I will eat 2C of protein and then some veggies and if I have room like 1-2 TBLS of carbs. I eat around 1200-1300 calories but my protein is around 130-150g. I fear that I have stretched out my sleeve but I never eat to being full. ok ok maybe once or twice. but I don't feel sick or miserable just like I might eaten too fast. Anywho, For lunch today I made a jalapeno chicken salad with bacon bits and I was able to eat 4oz of that with 1/2 bag of quest chips. and I am good for about 2-3hours. So I think that equates to .5C? its a constant worry I think for all of us to not mess this up. I know for me I fear that I will wake up and be 300lbs again and that fear makes me stop eating shi&&y. I think my comment mightve been a tangent...Ill get off my soap box LOL

ooo Pilates okay! I haven't tried that, I will have to look into that. That's why I am doing a cardio day and an F45 day. I am not trying to loose anymore weight but I feel so good afterwards. And I am starting to get muscly so I would like to maintain. I lift heavy as well. Do you think 4 days of heavy lifting is good? I am new to this and have been working out with weights for only 4 months but the progress is pretty addicting. I am having mixed feelings about F45 I did hybrid day and it was meh, I felt like I needed more, then I did a only strength day and oh man! that felt good, so this week I am doing an only cardio day and see how that is. I am only doing 1x a week, (works better for my schedule). So this is new but I am so bored with my workouts and I feeling like I am just coasting and not getting sore or tired like I used to, which I am told that is good since I am in shape?

I will have to say that at my highest weight I ate fairly well, just when I did eat bad I REALLY ate bad and binged. so that's how I blew up to 300lbs lol however now I am with you, if hubby is eating his Ben and Jerrys ice cream I will eat a couple of bites as opposed to eating the whole pint to myself. I do eat all the low carb stuff too. I do fear that my little Bites, Licks and Tastes will add up and make make me blow up again, but I work out 6 days a week, 2 cardio days, 2 upper body strength days, and 2 lower body strength days. I know you said that you have always worked out...I am getting bored of my routine which is why I added a cardio day and added 1 day of F45. What do you do?

I've heard stories of ppl who go to other countries for facial plastics..then they can't get home because they don't match their passports! Id''s should be ears, they're more reliable for identification than fingerprints, or start putting fingerprints on id's with scanners at airports IF you can get past the civil liberties issues. I personally am waiting until I hit my goal to avoid the constant hassle. Although, I met up with a friend last week after not seeing her for a few months - she walked right past me! I had to call out to her she said she didn't recognize me at all. So, I suppose I'll need to get id's done soon.

@BlondePatriotInCDA Thank you. I'm already done 11lbs in two weeks so I'm at least seeing progress so it's not as disheartening as I though it would be.

I second the warm / hot drinks. Herbal tea and broth were amazingly helpful, especially in the first week or two. My team also gave me the go-ahead for sugar free electrolyte drinks if I found the water wasn't doing it for me. I had to water down the electrolyte drinks to get past the taste anyway, lol. The first couple of days were rough, but after that I found the water started to satiate my thirst much better. It might just be that right after recovery, our bodies are so strung out they need time to readjust to everything -- including water. I was on chewable multis and liquid calcium/d3 from day 3 -- the first two days, they told me not to bother with either. I had bought a big bottle of the liquid calcium & d3 thinking it would be the easiest during recovery, and because it was available at my local drugstore. It was awful, it burned going down and for a good half hour afterwards. I was determined to use it all to 'not waste' but but I think by day 4 or 5 I was ordering chewable calcium / d3 because I couldn't take it anymore. Still took over a week to get the calcium/d3 chewables. Don't be afraid to reach out to your team about changing things up if they're not working for you.

1. Female, 49, 163cm / 5ft 3in 2. None, put on about 5kg / 11lb 3. 120.20kg / 265lb 4 & 5. Don't recall as was in hospital still at that point but not much as they were pumping me full of nutrients 6. 92kg / 202lb 7. 72kg / 158lb Now one year and three weeks I am at 68.6kg / 151lb and just a few pounds away from my goal weight.

1. Basics: GENDER, AGE, HEIGHT: Male, 47, 5'11" 2. Total Weight lost in the 6 months BEFORE surgery (if any): 16.8 pounds 3. Weight on DAY OF SURGERY. 430.8 4. Weight at 1 MONTH POST surgery 400 5. Weight at 3 MONTHs POST surgery 351.6 6. Weight at 6 MONTHs POST surgery 302 7. Weight at 12 MONTHs POST surgery 247.6 (two weeks shy of 1 year) Gastric Sleeve

I don't know about dumping syndrome, but blood pressure changes after WLS can be a struggle. I don't know how much weight you've lost so far, but the more weight lost the more BP can drop. Are you (or were you) on any BP meds prior to surgery, in addition to dealing with Afib? If so, you might want to discuss with your doctor about reducing the dosage. (Honestly, when it comes to blood pressure I feel like it's safest to talk to your primary doctor regardless) ((For me, I had high blood pressure for years prior due to my weight (anxiety too, so I feel you!). My BP tests have certainly showed a lowering post-op, but I'm still coasting on the line of good BP so my doctor has been hesitant to change anything up yet. Last week, ironically, I've been having some dizzy spells and low-ish BP (nothing lower than 110/68) so my PCP has suggested I halve my meds and keep an eye on how things progress from there. ))

Ohhh, this makes me feel so much better. Internally, almost as soon as I posted my inner voice was all "Stop complaining, everyone stalls, nobody wants to hear it," but the rest of me was just needing something to break through the deadened emotions with some logic & care. Even now I feel a little guilty for taking up people's time with all this, lol. @MrsFitz, yes, feeling much better after this weekend, thank you! Feeling back in the positive range again. I think being able to get outside to nature this weekend (more than is possible for me during the week) definitely was a boost. Looking back, I think I was afraid to feel the scary negative emotions & worries, so I just kinda shut everything down. Not the healthiest, but everything is get-throughable.

A new week beckons 🙂 London was fab, a break that was very much needed by both of us. The hotel was very nice, the staff were fantastic, couldn’t do enough to help but some of the guests were just entitled dickheads. You know something is amiss when you say ‘thank you’ and the member of staff looks completely surprised. There were film crews there - one was something about a reality music show shown on MTV/Paramount possibly Love and Hip Hop Atlanta?? Not my thing so wasn’t too fussed. Did chat to a lovely crew lady though who filled us in on what was happening. Also there was some setting up to do regarding some additional Mission Impossible 8 shooting. Apparently the hotel was used for a lot of interior shots 🤷‍♀️ Didn’t see anyone famous though! Anyway, I was complemented on a couple of my outfits which gave me a real buzz! Having my makeup done was actually a lovely thing. It really helped that the MUA was very approachable and actually listened. The Pet Shop Boys were as brilliant as ever and a wonderful time was definitely had! Hubby bought me a commemorative PSB sweatshirt which is a XXL and fits like sausage skin. So, my next goal is to fit in to it comfortably. I think it’s definitely losing a couple of dress sizes 😬 (if not more) I’ve added 3.5lbs to last week’s weight, which isn’t bad, considering. I have my dietitian appointment in 3 weeks and I’m hoping to get that gain and a few more lbs off by then. I never thought I would miss protein shakes and protein yoghurt quite so much! I hope everyone has an awesome week ahead Onwards and Downwards!

Hello there! I had my MGB on the 13th of May. I’ve lost 46 lbs since then but my weight has been stalling since two weeks now. I also feel like I can eat what ever I want without feeling sick or feeling full. Do you guys count calories? My nutritionist says I should not but when I read other threads I see people eating max 800-1200 calories….i am thinking maybe I need to do the same in order to continue to loose weight….

I wish I had taken some 'before' pictures so that I could see the great changes. I still don't think I see the real me in the mirror at times so wish I could look at how fat (I can now say that about myself 😄) I was pre-op. I did switch to decaf for the two weeks pre-op as read it online but the hospital were giving me (disgusting) coffee the day after the op and continued to offer it to me every day I was there but my tastebuds couldn't hack it so I went with herbal tea each time. Now, a year later, coffee is no problem and have it running through my veins. I also made a batch of liquid soups for the first week and froze them in 150ml containers so that I wouldn't have to worry about it, just needed to add protein powder at the time, plus I prepped the veg for a second batch of soup and froze them so it meant I just had to put them in the slow cooker with a stock cube, no standing around peeling, chopping etc.

Not really a cup based measuring person as that is a US basis and while I am not "ways out" I can at times, depends on the day and also what I am eating, eat more than a cup and a half (I think if I understand the measurement conversions). Last week I had approx 1/3 of a pizza when out for dinner. I then had the same portion (leftovers) for lunch and dinner the next day. I would think that they would be more than a cup and a half. At home I will have usually 150g yoghurt for breakfast and my dinner is usually 160ml chicken or mince dish (as I portion them all out and freeze) but I will add things to these - like a bit of fruit and/or chai seeds to the yoghurt and have a post dinner desert of some dark chocolate or nuts. Lunch depends on if homeworking or office based, or even if weekend but if at home it is usually one of my homemade meals again about 160ml or a salad at work of about 250g. One day for lunch last week I had a Californian chicken roll in my local sushi place, it was cut into 8 pieces so likely more than a cup measurement and I was able to just about eat it all. I was a cheap date for my boss, only cost €6.50 vs his €25 meal & drink 😂

I started to do that just in a standard pocket notebook (so I had it with me no matter what size handbag I was using), a day a page, and did little motivation or positive comments a couple of days a week. Each time I had a decent weight loss week (I try to weigh only once a week or I go mad with overthinking the fluctuations) I would note it and then highlight it in a neon colour. After three months I switched from the notebook to online tracking with myfitnesspal as I just found it easier to track portion sizes, calories, carbs etc. as it took a lot of the work away from doing it myself. I then moved to a manifestion & positivity journal instead to keep it separate from my food tracking as I didn't want the two things to be linked as for me I find it easier to disassociate food journaling from feelings going forward. I found a journal that also had positivity exercises in them do to each week, some were not relevant to my situation at all but I considered if 'food' for thought.

Did they not put you back on the schedule at all? I would’ve figured they would give you an appointment but then call you if they had a sooner one due to a cancellation. Also, At this point you have been on that diet for 6 weeks, right? I would call and make sure that it’s okay with your doctor that you continue on with that same diet. Some of these diets are only designed to be short term.

With my upcoming revision I was asking about the long term effects of PPi’s and my Dr told me that if I was really concerned we could try famotadine. So the past three days I took it twice a day as prescribed and it wasn’t bad all day but at night when I laid down the heartburn was enough to keep me awake. Does this mean it just doesn’t work for me or do I need to give it more time? The lady at the pharmacy said it took lile a week for her but I don’t know if she was on something before that. I literally took my Omeprazole the day before. Does it mayne just depend on what causing it?

Yea. I don’t eat all three either. I eat the meat and veggies And save the fruit for a snack later. I thought I said that, maybe I wasn’t clear. Anyways, it sounds like I still can eat a little bit more than you because I can eat all the meat and you would eat half. But still we are not nearly as different as I previously thought. I thought I could eat WAY more than others with the surgery. When I say Veterans I’m talking mostly about the people still posting on the food before and afters that we’re posting when I had my sleeve 3.5 years ago. It seems ljke their portions are still pretty tiny. But maybe thats Just what they limit themselves to and not what makes them full.

"So this is the first day of a 12 week liquid diet to lose 10% of my body weight before the surgery." Wow, 12 weeks is a long time on the liquid diet portion of the prep surgery step! Im glad mine was only a week or two. Sorry for your losses, I'm sure its very difficult. Good luck and congrats on getting your date moved up!

I have to say I haven't come across a protein powder that could be sprinkled over a popsicle without clumping and being disgusting. But I did add unflavored protein powder to tomato soup in the early weeks because I got really turned off by sweet shakes early on. It gave it a similar taste and color as if you'd added a little bit of cream. I want to say I was allowed tomato soup right away (smooth, no chunks).

My bites are about the amount given to a baby. I’ve learned(the hard way) to take very small bites and wait a minute before the next. Last night I was able to eat smoked chicken salad (homemade and pulverized with my Braun hand chopper) the amount that I ate was maybe 1/8th of a cup and 1 1/2 saltine crackers. Afterwards, I felt a little nausea so I think I had eaten too much. I’m leaning on my protein shakes a lot. Especially since it’s difficult to drink all the water I need. My fluid intake consists of water, shakes and popsicles. It’s hard to drink as much as I need at work due to the amount of calls that come in and the patient load. But, I’m down 25 lbs. and I feel good. My next hurdle is walking as I broke my tailbone about 3 weeks before my surgery. That’s a very difficult hurdle.