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Thanks Amber. I took the IUD out mid October. I went from spotting to bleeding. The plan was to go without bc for 3 months but I was over the prolonged bleeding and ended up trying a bc pill. It worked for 2 weeks then the bleeding returned. Now I’m attempting again to go 3 months again without anything and praying my body responds.

I think 4 weeks of liquid shakes only is a bit excessive. I was told by my surgeon that I could only drink 3 shakes a day for 2 weeks, but when I did my research on liver shrinkage, what I found was that the goal was deplete carbs. And you can do that with things other than protein shakes. Like actual protein. So I asked my surgeon why I couldn't just eat chicken breast and eggs all day, every day. He explained that it wouldn't be nutritionally balanced enough, plus after the surgery, my stomach wouldn't be able to handle solid foods for weeks so it was good "practice". I took all of that under consideration, as well as discussions I read about other people's pre-op diets, and went a bit rogue. I would choke down 2 shakes a day (instead of 3), then eat chicken + non-starchy veggies for dinner. I also drank low-sodium broths frequently because I REALLY don't like sweet things. During the last ~5 days of the diet, I switched to recommended 3 shakes per day to get in that "practice" the surgeon talked about. That slower transition was so much easier for me than going cold turkey. I'm 2 months post-op now and down 42 lbs so I guess it's working. Not saying you should rebel like I did, but you should at least ask your surgeon to explain his reasoning and maybe bring up some of the above points. See how he reacts.

your doctor was talking about a stricture. About 5% of bypass patients get those (sleeve people can also get them, but it's a lot less common with them). It's been nine years for me, but I don't remember if I felt super full or not. I just remember feeling really nauseated or like I had GERD after eating, and after a while, I couldn't keep any food down - it'd all come back up. I had one at four weeks out and another around eight weeks out (they almost always occur between 1-3 months post op - very rare after that). It's an easy fix if that's what it is. They can stretch it out with this balloon-like thing when they do the upper endoscopy. It's quick and painless - and you'll feel A LOT better afterward.

sip sip sip. i carried a water bottle/insulated cup (and yes, i used a straw...i know people have been told not to use them, but i did...ymmv). around day 2-3 i realized warm/hot water went down easier than cold/room-temp so i started sipping that. was able to stand colder water again by week 2, and also in week 2 i accidentally found out i could gulp water...i was so thirsty and didn't think, so yeah. was able to drink large amounts of water no problem after that.

I kept loosing until the 2 year 3 month mark. I found the last year of it needed more attention from me. I still need to be mindful, not obsessed, but mindful. If you make the effort to keep your good habits up the scale will go down and stay down.

It sounds normal to me. Although I haven't had a gastric emptying test, I do get a little hungry after 2 hours. I usually eat every 2 to 3 hours as some of those above have mentioned.

We plan to update BariatricPal within the next 3-4 months. Thank you, I've added this to our list of upcoming features.

I agree with Arabesque that your body is probably more along the lines of what things would look like for most people at 4 months. The central line feeding would have been high calorie to prevent malnutrition, so I'm assuming you didn't lose any weight on it? Or did you? I remember reading about your rough start, I'm glad you've been able to get off the feeding tube and that you are able to eat, even though you are taking meds to help with that. Going from the high caloric intake of the central line to an extremely low caloric intake has probably been a shock for your body. Many of us stall somewhere in the first few months, some for a few weeks, some for a month or two, as our body readjusts and tries to decide if it is starving or not. I know you can only get in so much food with your digestion issues, but is there a reason you aren't supplementing with whole milk or shakes a few times a day? These wouldn't be affected by your slow stomach issues. And they may give your body a bit more energy to work with. Protein waters could work too, things like SEEQ are thinner and as easy to get down as water. The watermelon flavor tastes like a watermelon jolly rancher. LOL Weight loss post surgery is a delicate balance. We want to be in enough of a deficit to facilitate good weight loss, but if we are too low our body goes into stress mode and won't release any weight because it thinks we are in a famine and are trying to burn through our reserves. So we have to eat enough to reassure it that we aren't slowly starving to death. Decreasing your activity and increasing your intake a bit (even if it is just a shake or a few glasses of milk) might give your body enough of a signal that you aren't starving and have what you need to continue to lose weight safely. Things like hydration and sleep are crucial too, as these are also markers the body uses to determine how much stress it is under and if it is safe to lose weight. In fact, some studies have shown that sleep is MORE important for weight loss than even exercise is! I tend to think they are both important, but the point is, you have to look at the holistic picture of how much stress load your body thinks you are carrying in relation to how much energy it has to give. My last stall lasted 6 weeks and drove me crazy! But my body broke the stall when it was ready to, I just kept eating well, drinking well, and resting well. That's all you can do really. You can't push the river. ❤️

Really interesting to read about the “starting weight”. I booked my surgery on January 30th and was 96kg (my highest ever weight - stepping on the scales and seeing I was closer to 100 that to 90 was a real shock - I dug out some insurance papers from February 2020 - I was 58kg then and allready heavier than I like to be). My surgery was 3 weeks later because I had to stop smoking first. The day of surgery I was 91.1kg so I lost 5.9kg in the three weeks prior ( I basically did a broth fast and didn’t eat anything solid, only clear broth and tea and coffee). Im now 70kg so since January 30th I’ve lost 26kg (57lbs) in 16 weeks (average of 1.6kg or 3.6lbs a week) so I’m very very happy with the weight loss even if I’m over the weather! I do have a goal weight which is my pre pandemic weight of 52-55kg (114-122 lbs) because I know that that is the weight at which I function best and that feels the best for my legs ( I mentioned earlier in the thread that I have very minor cerebral palsy - I have the impression that the extra pain I have for every gram I weigh over 55kg just isn’t worth it and really impacts my standard of living and my mobility. Because of the CP I have very minimal flexibility so being even slightly over weight just makes moving so so much harder for me as I can barely bend my knees as it is and have no upwards ankle flexibility what so ever. I’m easily out of balance and I fall over often ( the best way to picture it is to imagine the mobility of someone who has had about 3 beers too many), I’m used to it and my physiotherapist always says I’m a very good « faller », a part from bruises and a bruised ego I’ve only ever seriously broken things ( shoulder, wrist and double arm fracture all in one go!) once since being an adult. But being heavier has meant having more issues getting back up after falling over and more and bigger bruises. So my goal isn’t an esthetic one ( even though it will be nice to not be the fattest person in the room anymore - and because I live in Paris where the average female BMI is 21.3 the bar is low!) but a functional one. So I have 15kg (33lbs) left to loose, I know the rate of loss will slow, but I’m hoping to be at least nearly there in September when I take a new position, I really want to do my transition speech feeling ( and looking) like my old self ( just with some extra wrinkles and grey hair). My handover is September 16th - that leaves 17 weeks so I’m not sure I’ll be at 55kg by then because it would mean continuing to loose an average of 0.9kg ( 1.95lbs) a week which is a lot given my current weight. However if I manage to loose an average of 0.5kg (1.1lbs) per week ( which seems a more attainable bar) I should be 61/62kg by then, and I can live with that! ( I’m an unapologetic numbers girl - I don’t track what I eat because that’s not sustainable for me long term - I try to eat protein but other than that - YOLO - but I do track my weight every day if I have a scale and my steps and my activity) A very long post once again. Thanks all for being here. And here is a picture of a Greek island morning! That’s the 9.30AM light!

Thank you so much for all these suggestions! Yes I feel hungry sometimes after 30-60mins of a meal. So I drink water or protein shake. I do take PPI, that could be a possibility of why I still feel hungry. Most of the time it’s my head hunger craving for certain food. Also my tummy does rumble but don’t really feel hungry. I’ve been able to tell what type of hunger I am feeling. when I drink liquid, I literally sit there and drink with small sips through out the hours….when my tummy feel full from it, I come back to it later. I can feel the liquid traveling down when I drink. Yesterday was my first day being able to reach 60oz of liquid, but at night I didn’t feel well. Had my dinner at 6pm, went to sleep 11pm. I woke up feeling something up my chest and when trying to get up, I vomited. Sorry if TMI. It’s was all slimy mucus. No food. I was shivering, chills, migraine. I vomited a few times then vomited foamy bubbles… well after that I felt so much better. In search to see what is going on with me, it seems many bariatric patients go through this, but usually right after eating if they didn’t chew well or had too much food. I have tofu last night tho. It’s soft and should be easy to break down. On the bright side, It seems I am breaking my stall. From 241.6, I am now 240.6 lbs. even it’s only a little bit I am happy, because I am on this stall since 2 weeks ago, only 1 week after surgery.

My doctor said they tend to not want to remove ovaries on anyone that hasn't already had menopause because they don't want to send anyone into medical menopause. But she said with my PCOS, very large uterine fibroids, and all the problems both were giving me for years, she absolutely was able to justify removing them. And since I'll be 46 next month, she said I was in the gray area but still reasonable to do it. I was ecstatic. I have had so many surgeries and complications and issues over the last 2 years that I just wanted all of my stuff to be done and over. Now I'm on estrogen (tomorrow will be 3 weeks post op from the hysterectomy and also on estrogen since she started me on it the same day via patch) and I'm feeling great. It's literally the first time in my life that I've had regulated hormones!!!

Hello long time no speak! I had my vsg 4 years ago . With the typical stalls of loosing weight. As I approached my goal weight . The scale keeps going down. To the point I’m now underweight . Was told not to loose any more. Blood test all come back great. She did order an upper GI . Why? I have no pain or heartburn. i can eat and eat and eat. Half cup or less at an time even wake up in my sleep to eat. I feel as if my body is starving . I’m sure I’ll get the back lash but I know I’m not the only one suffering. If you happen to see a form on here please let me know. I don’t want bad eating habits like chips . Pop . Candy . But I am to keep the scale from moving in the negative 😢

There's a very high likelihood your weight stall has nothing to do with what you are eating, and it would definitely not have anything to do with too much protein. This is your body's natural reaction to severe calorie restriction. In a nutshell, when you are on liquids only, you rapidly lose mostly water weight as your body burns stored glycogen for fuel. Once the glycogen runs low, your body turns to burning fat, which is what you want it to do. This takes a few weeks. However, when you start to introduce solid foods again, and especially carbs, your body is very keen to restore those glycogen stores. So it burns fat while also replenishing glycogen. Glycogen is bound to water, which means the water weight you lost in the pre-op diet and right after surgery are regained, which is fine. You need glycogen. It's what helps us get through short periods of lower food intake, like when you have a bad cold and lose your appetite for a week. Your body is still burning fat because you have a major daily calorie deficit. It will show up on the scales in a few weeks when everything else balances out. My advice is to just do what your doctors tell you, stop tinkering with your diet, and don't weigh yourself for a few weeks. Your doctors have advised hundreds if not thousands of patients just like you. They know what they're doing.

staying hydrated is really important...are you able to drink now? or are u still needing infusions? i was pretty exhausted the first 2-3 months...likely due to the fact i was barely eating anything. Around month 3, i started eating more did start to feel much better, to the point i actually started really exercising (beyond walking around the block i mean, lol) How many calories are you getting in these days?

Yeah. I have some that haven’t noticed but you know what, I didn’t do this for them. At my weight (315) I still look fat to people. I however I’m down from 412 (43 since surgery and the rest preop). What they don’t see is I have to wear smaller clothes, can fit back into my bra, and I can move and sleep better. I had my surgery about 10 days after you. I’m down 43 pounds over all. Sadly I am struggling to keep my losing on track. I tend to stall for a week or two and then drop like 5-7 pounds 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️. 60 pounds sounds like you’re right on track. the important thing is how you feel now. As far as how the weight comes off it varies person by person. It depends on if you work out or walk a lot. So however you “burn fat” will affect where you lose faster.

First, congrats on your weight loss. Wonderful! Second, is it a stall, a very normal & important part of your weight loss, or is it just your body slowly down the loss to seemingly nothing as you’re nearing or at your body’s new set point weight? If it is your new set point, you will constantly be fighting it to try to lose more. This is where your body is happiest. If your weight loss has slowed/stopped at this weight that means you will need to continue to eat the 1000 calories you are eating now to maintain it. Or less to lose more. Is that sustainable? Is it healthy in the long term? There’s the weight you want to see on the scales & the weight your body wants you to be & is compatible with your life & lifestyle. This alone can take time to accept & wrap your head around. Just some things to consider. Not everyone has a bounce back regain. I didn’t. I still weigh about what I weighed when I first stabilised with the same fluctuation range of about a kilogram/2 lbs at almost 5 years out. And I consume more calories now than I did when I first stabilised (1300 then & 1600 now). I don’t do any real exercise, am a little shorter than you & quite a few years older than you I expect. Also, look at increasing your fluid intake. You should be aiming for 2 litres a day & more on the days you’re more active. Your weight loss isn’t over until it’s over. A stall doesn’t mean it’s over. Just your body taking a break to reassess your current needs.

Thank you so much!! as of now I am weight lifting 3-4x a week. Trying to switch up the exercises for my upper body and lower body. I do want to build a booty so I focus lifting heavy on those LOL. I agree I may need to eat more which I have been trying to incorporate more protein. I feel like this whole thing is a science and well I got a C in science so I am not sure what I am doing is hindering or helping. Like you said weightlifting and cardio are so good for us! I am sure I will see the difference in my body with inches as the time goes on. Loved the book/lecture

I had my first drink a month or so out post op. During my losing phase it was pretty rare as the calorie content just wasn’t worth it to me. Like ms. sss I had my worst ever dumping during this time off a delightful drink called a Cocoa Puff martini-like laying on the cold tile of a bathroom floor because it was the only place I could get even slightly comfortable hour of misery dumping. Now I’m a semi-regular drinker. A glass of wine about 3 nights a week, a cocktail or two on date nights with my guy. As long as it isn’t derailing you I think it’s fine.

OMG I'm so excited for you I teared up when I read your post!! I know how hard it has been and you've been so upbeat about it! I wonder if you were gaining muscle or maybe burning a bit too many calories with the exercise and now that you've slowed down on that your body feels it can let go of some of the weight?? My best friend loses more weight in the winter for some reason. Doesn't matter what she does, it seems to consistently come off better in the winter. Our bodies can be so mysterious sometimes... Whatever the reason is, I'm so happy the scale moved a bit towards your goal!! And I'm really glad you stayed consistent all summer, they say that's the best way to break a stall, even though it is so hard to keep the faith. I bet your body composition has changed a lot over the last 8 months even if the scale wasn't moving for a chunk of that time. Your experience is so encouraging because it shows that sometimes the scale can move months after you've thought it was done for good! You aren't the first person I've seen have a stall that has lasted for months instead of weeks...

I was 118kg back then till 27th Jan 2024. 10 days prior to my surgery, the liquid diet plan was quite challenging but managed well. I lost 5kg at Day 10... I was discharged from the hospital 26hrs later as 12hrs after surgery i started to walk with the support of my wife. Im on support of Multi-vitamins, Calcium Citrate + D3, blood thinning injection for 1 month, and Gastric medicine for 2 months. All vitamins or medications need to be crushed from solid pills to compound or powder base before consuming. This has to be for only the first 1 month of post surgery. Being just on liquid diet, plain water for the first 2 days, 3rd & 4th day took young coconut water, 5th till 7th day took sieved apple orange beetroot carrot & celery juice (200ml every 2 hourly) and by end of Week 1 post surgery, i lost another 6kg. Week 2 post surgery, continued with liquid diet by consuming protein milk shake 100ml at 8am, 10am, 12pm, 2pm, and 6pm. At 8pm and 10pm i take same sieved juices 100ml only. By end of Week 2, i lost another 6kg. However, this is my Week 3 post surgery, continued with liquid diet by consuming protein milk shake 150ml at 8am, 10am, 8pm and 10pm. At 12pm and 6pm i boiled small piece of cabbage and cauliflower, then i air-fry a small piece of chicken breast with 4 small slices of egg-tofu. Total weight of my lunch(12pm) or dinner(6pm) meal is within 80 to 100 grams only. This will be the diet for my Week 3 & 4. I weigh myself on a weekly basis. So let’s see by next week how much i lose again…😁😁😁

I was in Eygpt at 8 weeks post op for a couple of weeks and was totally fine!

Personally, I do actually have loads of luggage space since I plan on bringing 1) lots of cute outfits with me and 2) many many MANY souvenirs back home. Plus buying the tickets months in advance has made it easier for me to upgrade the luggage since there’s no way two weeks worth of clothes were all gonna fit in my carry on since we plan on adventuring and going out all across Lima. One sole/sol is about 1/3 USD so definitely cheaper to buy stuff over there the only thing I really thought about brining is protein powder/shakes but then I feel powder might freak TSA out too much. 😂

I'm 10 months post op and have been in a stall for months and I've been contemplating starting a semiglutide. I've never not been hungry, nor have I been able to stop the constant food drum beat in my head even a few weeks post surgery so I fully understand the "white knuckling" it part. I've spoken to my surgeons office dietician and the psychologist at the clinic who actually was the one who suggested it after I told her the "food chatter" is so bad that its become my walking cadence "I am still hungry" over and over. I spoke with the psychologist because I wanted help with my anger, anger over the fact I went through all this to get healthy, stop the constantly thinking of food ...I've done and have been doing my part: I'm still "hungry" and no matter how much protein (80 grams) I eat, sticking to my 800 calories, drinking my water....my brain says eat. I'm tired of the constant battle. I'm angry because I'm doing everything I'm supposed to do...and yet I'm right back to the diet mind games I have to do ...work out instead of eating, clean the house..hoping the chatter will be blocked off or side tracked....etc.. I'm tired of this battle..I don't mind IF the weight is coming off, its a battle with results but it hasn't been for two plus months now the same two pounds over and over. So I understand what you're saying wanting it to help..and why you tried it! I'm glad to hear its worked for you! I have an appointment with my GP in 2 weeks to request the prescription as recommended by the psychologist and dietician. We shall see because there is NO way I can afford to pay $1000 A month. How long before did it shut off the brain chatter? At this point if it can stop that I can quit being angry...and continue to do the right things ..healthy things without the wondering why and if its worth it!

Back down to 199.2lbs this morning, which was my lowest recorded weight from 12 days ago. Will it start dropping again now? It's a mystery! One thing about these stalls that is a little scary, other than just wondering if you will ever lose any more weight again, is how hard it can be not to give into bad habits and cravings when you start feeling like there's no reward for doing the right thing. The last couple days, all I wanted was sugar and simple carbs. I tried not to indulge in the cravings too much, but I did have a little bit of candy (red licorice bites) and a serving of whole wheat Ritz crackers, which I wasn't eating at all before. As the weather warms up, I'm finding it harder to decide what to eat. Is anyone else struggling? Nothing sounds good. I have discovered a nice treat/light meal that reminds me of the pineapple Dole whip you can get at Disneyland. Fill a single serving smoothie blender cup about 2/3 full with frozen pineapple chunks, plus about half a serving vanilla protein powder, half a cup or so of plain Greek yogurt, and a splash of milk to thin it out. Blend until you get a thick, creamy, frozen consistency. It's got about 20-25g protein depending on what products you use and it was so refreshing when literally nothing sounded good for lunch. @gracesmommy2 this is the pilates bar set I have: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CCRCG5ZP This is the video I'm going to try: There are so many videos if you search YouTube for "pilates bar workout." I thought 20 minutes was a good starting length, but they have longer, too, and ones that target different body areas. I need a yoga mat for the floor part, though.

Oh that is absolutely normal and actually still a great loss streak! The weight loss path is not a straight path down. It will slow and even stall as your body is adjusting. Weight training can add to it, but honestly your body will adjust throughout. And yes the smaller you get, the slower it gets. I lost about 30lbs in the first month and a half (including the pre-op diet) and yet it's taken me nearly 4 months to lose 12lbs. You are still early on since surgery and have done fantastic. We started about the same weight. We are in this for life so keep doing what you're doing and let everything else speak for itself - the way you feel, take pictures and measurements. The scale is just one factor.