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That is awesome! I can't wait to get my license renewed this summer. It says 350 on it and I was almost 50 pounds more than that when I got it last time. I have also never had my real weight on my driver's license and I can't wait to put it on there in August! Sent from my Pixel 5a using BariatricPal mobile app

As someone who is 6 days away from an RNY bypass, I appreciate your authenticity and transparency about the process and your regain. I've been reading through all of the forums and it helps me to be realistic with my own expectations and reminds me that while WLS is a tool, I will constantly need to improve my relationship with healthy food habits and exercise (which I really do enjoy). Congratulations on your ability to maintain a weight that makes you feel confident and happy! I'm eager to meet post-op milestones. Sent from my Pixel 5 using BariatricPal mobile app

Hi everyone I had a roux-en-y gastric bypass with fobi pouch 5 years ago (well, 5 years and 11 days to be precise). In the year or two after surgery I was a regular poster here and got immense support from people going through the process at the same time as me, as well as from those who were living with the changes, so I though I’d come back and share for a bit. I have the same story as many of you I am sure - a lifetime of weight loss, weight gain. I had a bit of a distaste for serious exercise but I’d walk happily. I know I ate (well, still do a bit) to deal with feelings - especially loneliness. Stressful jobs over the years, I am 5 foot 7in tall and my weight seesawed until at 100kg (220 lbs) i got a gastric band. That was good, helped me loose maybe 25lbs, but eventually the refill port broke and it had some other issues where it broke, so I made the decision to get a bypass. Because I was back up to 120kg (165lbs) ’My’ bypass has a fobi pouch - so instead of having a small rounded stomach, I have a longer thinner one with a permanent band (made from a baby’s catheter with permanent suture through to make a tied-off loop) in place around it, so it will never stretch. Anyway, it has been a resounding success. I initially dropped to under 60kg (130lbs). I remember worrying ‘how do I make this STOP! Then settled at about 62-64kg. My partner was concerned I looked a bit skeletal, and I run (sometimes) and cycle (a lot) now, so encouraged me to consider putting on a bit of weight for my own health, and I did and feel better for it - so now I sit happily at about 66-67kg - just under 150lbs. There were times when it was tough work. There still are - I occasionally still get sick with that horrid ‘dumping’ if I make an unwise choice, but the benefits outweigh that so much! I want to thank users of this board - the best bit was each problem I encountered, I found someone else had encountered it and overcome it. And it helped me hang in, see it through.

Yes. Now, the weight I put on dating apps is true. 😂

My symptoms were constant burning and gnawing in my stomach, right below the breastbone, above the belly button. It felt like constant severe hunger pains. Taking anti-acids or eating something only temporarily helped. People with gerd and ulcers tend to gain weight because the food in the stomach soaks up the acid but unfortunately, it's a very temporary pain reliever. I suffered from gerd/ulcer for years and controlled it with PPIs, but the last 6 months before my revision, my symptoms progressed as I described above, and I knew I couldn't hold off revision any longer.

I am finally under my drivers license weight, I can't wait for renewal so I can update my weight.

For the first LITERALLY EVER my drivers license weight is TRUE!!! haha Even when I got my drivers license at 16 y/o I weighed more than I put on it.

Well today is my rest day, but I think I'm taking Friday (tomorrow) as well. Since we've had an arctic blizzard the last 2 days (Wed was negative 22, today was negative 15, and tomorrow is zero) I may as well enjoy the rest. Plus my body HURTS. Places I didn't know I had are achy and sore lol I'll do cardio again on Saturday, strength training on Sunday (after we do Christmas and clean up), and weight training on Monday. Switching strength and weight training hopefully will help with the soreness, too. I'm going to work out 3 days, take 2 off, workout 3, take off 2, etc until my body gets used to it and is less sore afterwards. Then I can work out 3 days, take 1 off, etc until I can work my body up to working out 6 days and taking 1 off, like I was before. It's a work in progress, but at least I have a plan and I'm working towards it

December has been an absolutely horrible month for me. I lost my GrandPa at the beginning of the month. I have been so sick all month long with stomach bugs, viruses, flu and now I have kidney stones from all the antibiotics and a cold with a nasty cough that has my chest on fire. I can’t ketch a break in the sick department! I’m freezing even more than normal due to all the sicknesses. I have a lingering migraine that Tylenol won’t touch. It’s been horrible! My Bariatric team just keeps telling me to keep my fluids up so I don’t get dehydrated and let the sicknesses run the courses but I have never been so sick for so long before or with so many sicknesses so close together. My body needs a vacation. I guess if anything good has come out of this month I haven’t been eating so much so my weight has dropped to 184 without even trying.

I hope your co silt went well and you are on your journey towards bypass now. You may have a 3-6 month requorement if you are going through insurance where you have to go in each month and get your weight checked while you try to lose weight under a doctors supervision. That seems to be a requirement by many companies. From then it just depends on how quick you get approval back from insurance and can get scheduled.

Definitely go with gastric bypass. Had mine on Nov 1, 2021, to date im down 157lbs and going. No issues, just constipation and receiving iron infusions, but im very happy. Good luck! My highest weight was 327lbs Sent from my SM-G973U using BariatricPal mobile app

My husband bought me a fancy scale for Christmas that measures the body fat percentage and all that. I never use those functions. It is pretty consistent in terms of weight though. Better than the cheaper ones I have used in the past.

I woke up with one on after surgery. I have to admit it was a nice stand in for not having a bra on. Kinda lifted the girls or at least felt like it cause there was fabric beneath them. Lol. I was advised that I could use it or lose it as I desired. I took it off to shower and never put it back on because I didn’t notice a real difference. I have heard people who carried a lot of weight around their bellies say it helps though. I think it’s just a preference thing.

Okay so I have been following but not posting much for a little while. I have been frustrated, feeling like I don’t have much advice to offer others because I have been searching for my own answers and very embarrassed about my weigh gain. Anyways, for those of you who don’t know me, I had my surgery March 9, 2021 at 235 (5’8”). I lost pretty steadily down to 169 but then stalled for months on end until my appetite came back and I started gaining and continue to gain. I have been struggling uphill while searching for answers ever since. The bariatric team blames my psyc meds but the prescribing dr claims they are weight neutral meds. My family dr agrees and showed me an article about the cravings they cause but he ordered thyroid and diabetes tests too which came back fine but I continue to gain so I made an appointment with an endocrine doctor thanks to a few people on here who suggested it. I finally just seen the endo doc and My cortisol was elevated on the suppression test so I just completed the two day saliva test which hopefully will bring some more answers but what they have said so far is that it’s probably sub clinical cushings which takes a while to confirm. I thought about waiting until I had more info but they said it will be another two or three weeks for these results and I may need more tests after that. I guess MY diagnosis is not really the point anyways. My point is I have recently learned of three things that could be the culprit of my weight that were never tested before surgery and I wonder why they don’t mention these tests pre surgery. I mean They are simple blood tests. I even googled to see why the cushings thing isn’t investigated since it doesn’t resolve with bariatric surgery and all I could find was one article that said it is of course suggested if you present with any of the classic symptoms but in terms of a blanket requirement for people considering bariatric surgery this person felt it unnecessary because it’s not extremely common. I guess maybe that’s the view of my doctor too but I sure wish I was presented with the option at least. I am just curious whether these are things that are tested or even brought up by other people doctors prior to surgery or what others think about whether they should be. And perhaps to give some people things they can investigate first if they are on the fence about surgery. I just feel like the surgery was never going to work for me because it seems likely that the root of my issue is still there. I am maintaining SOME of the loss but according to what I understand about what I have read so far, left untreated I will steadily continue to gain. I know this is still up in the air and not a super common thing regardless but I can’t be the only one struggling with this pre or post surgery and I hope my experience can help someone else struggle just a little less cause watching everyone around me try to be polite as I slowly put the weight back on has felt even worse than being obese was to begin with. I am trying to hang In there for answers and give myself grace but it’s hard to not feel like a failure as I continue to gain and everyone now knows I had surgery and of course I have to wonder if I blew my one shot at surgery because I am doing these tests after instead of before surgery. Regardless, if you are someone who doesn’t really make a ton of poor food choices but just eats more than “normal” because you always feel hungry, consider a cortisol test before surgery. I wish I had.

Hi there. I'd recommend checking out a program like StrongLifts 5x5. It's an excellent program for building lean muscle mass while also helping to improve your skin tone. It's a strength training program that focuses on compound lifts to help you build strength and muscle with minimal bulk. Plus, it only takes three workouts a week, so it's easy to fit into your schedule. Good luck! It's also completely free, so you don't have to worry about spending money on a program. Have you looked into using ibutamoren from behemothlabz.com? It increases the secretion of growth hormone, which can help you achieve your goal of lean muscle gain without putting on too much size.

I'm happy that I've now lost a little bit more than half of my goal. I've lost 19.8 kilos (43.65 pounds) and I have 19.2 kilos to go to reach my goal weight. Also, since I'm at 93.2 right now I'm likely to reach my goal weight of 93 this month. Of course, it's Christmas this weekend, and I have to be a bit careful, but I think it will be ok. The only negative is that I have an UTI, for the first time in more than a decade. I looked it up, and yes, there's an increased chance of UTI's after bariatric surgery. So, I went to the drs office and got antibiotics. Hopefully, they will work and I won't be sick during my Christmas break.

it takes a long time to wear down your iron stores , although I don't know what your iron level was before surgery. it's super common to lose your sense of hunger for several weeks or months after surgery (up to a year for some). I know it seems weird at first, but take FULL advantage of that. It'll never in your life be easier to lose weight than it will right now, when you're not hungry and don't give a flip about food. I found it very liberating, too! My hunger came roaring back at five months out, and I honestly wish it never had. It was so much easier to stick to plan when I was never hungry!!! and no, what you described was not dumping syndrome. you're extremely tired because you just had major surgery, so I wouldn't worry about that, either.

I am just starting maintenance. I'm being pretty rigorous about tracking calories, and I weigh every day. I think, for me, it's the only way to stay within maintenance guardrails. I know that otherwise, I'm prone to calorie drift and weight creep. My concern is that even though I'm no longer trying to lose weight, planning and accounting for food still takes up massive amounts of brain space and attention. I feel like I'm thinking about food all the time. Does it get better? I really don't want to go through the rest of my life obsessed with food intake. I also don't want to regain the weight.

I’m three yrs 7 months post surgery. I’m about 3lbs heavier then my lowest weight (2 of which are above from where I initially settled). I eat about 1400 calories a day & don’t really exercise apart from from resistance exercises, sit ups & stretches (wouldn’t burn 30 calories 😁). I am pretty careful with what I eat & there are certain foods I don’t eat or eat very rarely. Some are foods that don’t sit well in my tummy like bread, pasta, rice, quinoa, cous cous & starchy vegetables. Others are things I’ve realised I feel better without like sweet foods. I don’t eat fast food like burgers & rarely eat takeaway like Chinese, Japanese or Thai - only with others & make careful choices. I don’t consider this a diet but just how I eat. Some may think I’m fairly restricted in what I eat but it’s only with certain things & I don’t feel I’m missing out on anything. I still have cravings - salty foods are my challenge - but I understand the why & the when behind them like craving salt after I eat yoghurt (🤷🏻‍♀️). Sometimes I surrender though I’ll have some salted macadamia nuts, a couple of multigrain rice crackers (carefully as they’re a slider food) or roll some cucumber in salt. I changed some of my cooking styles & use have incorporated some alternative ingredients & more if others. Like I use an air fryer or oven more & incorporate more lentils, pearl barley & beans than I did before. I don’t track as such but I do random checks of portions, calories & nutrients. I still keep a close eye on protein, because I have an absorption issue, & on my water intake. I weigh myself a couple of times a week just to keep myself on track & honest. A lot of how you manage your maintenance into the future is a personal thing. My body, how it works & what it needs, is different to yours. My lifestyle will be different. How I want to live my life & the demands on it is likely different too. And you may be more or less active than me. Health, age, etc. are a considerations too. So how I choose to eat may not work for you or for anyone else. Same with the other changes & choices I’ve made. Best advice is to experiment with different eating styles & cooking styles, introduce new foods, reintroduce old favourites, etc. & see how you go. It just need to be sustainable, complementary to your lifestyle & you’re happy & healthy.

Firstly, congratulations on reaching onderland. Yay! Body dysmorphia doesn’t disappear with your weight & sometimes you only start to experience it as you’re losing & when your weight stabilises. It takes time for your brain (& how you picture yourself to be) to catch up with how you really look now. And it affects family & friends the same way - all those ‘you’ve lost too much weight’ comments we all get. I still have days when I look in a mirror or a reflection in a window & am surprised that the reflected person is really me & I’m 3.5 yrs out. But I was bigger for a lot longer than I’ve been slim. It may seem silly but I actually used to look up the height & weight of actors & I also took pxts standing beside family & friends so I could better see my size in comparison. You can always seek support from a therapist if you think your body dysmorphia is hindering your physical, emotional & mental progress in any way.

Good Luck, my revision to bypass is on Friday 12/23 ......I'm so excited. I have to do 3 protein shakes a day, I do 2 ready made and make my own shake for lunch in my Ninja blender. Add Better than Bullion to my broths for better taste and I like Sugar free chocolate Ice pops. Since I do not like water I'm adding Cold Enhancers to my 64oz jug which are pretty good and I drink Zero Cherry flavored Gatorade and Propel water......I'm 195 today and Goal weight is 145lbs.

I get a lot of weight related videos on Tiktok, I'll see certain girls & think "ah yeah she looks like me!" (in a good, relatable way) only to find out they weigh 40-70lbs more than me. I don't think I'm used to being a smaller size yet, I still relate to the bigger girls way more than the girls who wear my current size. I think I will always feel big until I get close to my final weight goal. If not, I'll definitely have to seek tharapy

I remember being 180# and too chunky for bikini. I seen the BMI chart and said for 5'8" 199# was overweight, 200# was obese. So 199# is my realistic goal. Started at 333# 2020, lost 30# on Noom in a year but gained a lot of good habits with food selection. At 8 weeks post surgery lost #40 and am at 270#. Lost #10 every 2 weeks from presurgery appointment. Stalled for two weeks but seeing impacts with trying on winter wardrobe!

So omg my body hates me today lol Absolutely everything hurts. But it's that good hurt, you know? Today is strength training, and then I get to have a rest day tomorrow. I'm doing 50 sit ups, 50 stomach crunches, 25 push ups, 25 calf raises, 35 front and side lunges without weights, 35 squats without weights, 50 step ups (stepping up and down a step or elevated surface), and 50 side leg raises. Let's see how it goes!!!

I'm 5'5 and 150 lbs is the highest end of a "healthy" weight for my height. I got down to 168 lbs. about 5-6 years ago and while I looked good, I knew I had a few more lbs that I wanted to lose.