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I'm almost 9 weeks post-op and trying to figure out if I'm on track. I started my 2 week diet at 239 and was 223 the day before surgery. Since surgery, I am down to 204. (So much slower since surgery!) Here's where it gets tricky. If my goal weight is 155 lbs and I use my starting weight from the day I began my 2 week diet, I had an 84lb weight loss goal and am currently at around 41% of excess weight lost. But if I use my day of surgery weight, I had a 68lb goal and am at only 28% lost. This feels like a big difference. I've seen some sources say count your weight loss during the immediate pre-op diet, and others say no, don't count it. Are there any actual rules, or is everyone just making this stuff up as they go?

I absolutely had this, right around 4 weeks post-op from VSG. With laparoscopic VSG, there's one larger incision where they remove the stomach remnant (usually on the right side), and I know my surgeon said there's generally an internal stitch there that will dissolve over time (or pop, if you put too much pressure on it). In my case, I bent over pretty far to pick something up and felt a POP and a little pain, then it was fine. I noticed right after that my previously puckered-looking incision was now flat, so I was fairly certain it was the internal stitch popping. I asked the team about it, and they said that's exactly what it sounded like, palpated the area a bit, and had no concerns. Now, I'm not sure how this relates to RNY, but it's possible you also had an internal stitch that just finally let go. No pain following the pop is good. At 4 weeks out, your incisions should be starting to heal up pretty nicely, but it's definitely best to check with your team juuuuuust in case! Good luck!

Hi Carrielee - welcome! I had VSG surgery just about a week before my 40th birthday this past November. I had sworn in the years leading up to it that I would NEVER have any kind of WLS, but here I am! If I could have done it on my own, I would have - I needed help to improve my life, because nothing I tried on my own was working, and I tried it all. I had sleep apnea, insulin resistance, and bp that bounced back and forth between hypertensive and high-normal. I felt like I was going to die after climbing up a flight of stairs, and I was passing up good opportunities at my job because I didn't want to walk 5-10 minutes to another building and get all sweaty. I had never had surgery of any kind before (other than getting my wisdom teeth out, but it's not like I was intubated for that), so the thought of getting put under and having my innards poked at was rather intimidating. I would do it over again in a heartbeat. Like @catwoman7 said, I'd do it every year if I had to! I never needed to use my prescription pain meds post-op. I actually take the "long way" to my car at the end of my workdays now. My husband and I routinely walk to the front of our neighborhood and back, whereas previously, I hated just walking the 0.10 mile to our mailbox. My blood pressure has actually been almost LOW ever since waking up from surgery, my IBS-D has essentially disappeared (and I had days where I couldn't be too far from a restroom before), and I'm a little less sweaty. My knees feel INFINITELY better, and they're a little less noisy when I bend down. Now, you do have some health conditions that could make any surgery a little more risky (fatty liver, history of PE especially), but your doctor will review your history and will probably have you do quite a few tests and things to make sure it's safe for you to have surgery. I had some weird, random heart palpitations for darn near 20 years that were dismissed as "nothing major", but my doctor insisted that I do a 48-hour Holter monitor just to be sure. When that didn't show anything, they had me do a monitor for a whole month! They actually figured out the cause (occasional premature atrial contractions, or PACs, which apparently darn near everybody has at some point - some of us just feel them more than others), and cleared me for surgery. Ask your surgeon all the questions you can think of. I watched YouTube videos for months leading up to my surgery just to see what others' experiences were. I crawled through this forum extensively. I read the binder my program gave me over and over and over. I started following tons of WLS accounts on Insta. Do whatever you need to do to ease your mind a bit, and know that there is a large community to back you up! Trust your gut and go with what you know you need to do, be that surgery or something else. No matter what you choose, we'll be here for you.

@SandyT eee! That is so exciting! Please do let us know how you are getting on! Sounds like you have it all sorted and planned Mine starts next week! 😖

See, when I don't lose, it messes with me so much. From Feb to March 7th, I only lost 8 lbs, which messed with me so much. It triggered a binge where I just ate crappy foods for like a week until I came to my senses. But now I am terrified of the scale bc I don't want to fall into that horrible mental state again. So, for now, I am just keeping it away until next month. I do agree with everything you said and feel I can definitely lose much more if I just stay consistent and on track. I appreciate your kind words. ❤️

Yes, it is usually those slider foods that I can eat so much with no problem. I feel like these last 2 weeks, I have been eating more than I should, and it's just kind of scary that I can. I prepped my meal and have my water and protein shake ready for tomorrow. I just want to do a refresh. I'm so scared of weight gain, and this tool is not working for me. I know this is the "honeymoon phase," and I really want to take advantage of it, too. Thanks for answering! ❤️

Well, it's countdown time for me. I start my liver prep diet tomorrow and my surgery is two weeks later. I have all I need for the next two weeks, it came in a tote bag from my surgeon's office, chocolate and vanilla protein powder. I can add some fruit to the shakes if desired and have other clear calorie free liquids and jello and popsicles. I hope it won't be too bad. I'll let you know how it's going! It's getting real y'all.

I had a revision for GERD. began regaining weight at 6 months post revision. I've had issues with rapid gastric emptying after my bypass, I feel limited restriction and have blood sugar issues. Most people only get these issues with sugars or simple carbs ie: dumping. I get it after everything. I started wegovy a week ago and it seems to be helping.

Hi all. My name is Carrielee. I am 33 years old and have been on the fence about WLS for the last few years. I have struggled with obesity since I was quite young and the weight keeps piling on. I am 5 foot 1 and just hit 325 pounds. I now have a BMI of 61.4. I have uncontrolled Hypertension on multiple meds, uncontrolled Type II Diabetes, and high cholesterol, sleep apnea, severe fatty liver disease (nearing cirrhosis), severe arthritis, IIH, angina, past history of PE. I can barely walk and have been told if I don’t lose the weight I likely won’t live to see 40. I’ve backed out of this so many times but now that I’ve surpassed the 300 pound mark I know I have to do this. I’ve ended up in the ER twice in this last week with abnormal EKGs and the idea of having a cardiac event before 40 terrifies me. I have to do this. My mom died at 50 at over 400 pounds due to multi organ failure from obesity and I am so scared the same will happen to me.

Hi all. My name is Carrielee. I am 33 years old and have been on the fence about WLS for the last few years. I have struggled with obesity since I was quite young and the weight keeps piling on. I am 5 foot 1 and just hit 325 pounds. I now have a BMI of 61.4. I have uncontrolled Hypertension on multiple meds, uncontrolled Type II Diabetes, and high cholesterol, sleep apnea, severe arthritis, IIH, angina, fatty liver disease, past history of PE. I can barely walk and have been told if I don’t lose the weight I likely won’t live to see 40. I’ve backed out of this so many times but now that I’ve surpassed the 300 pound mark I know I have to do this. I’ve ended up in the ER twice in this last week with abnormal EKGs and the idea of having a cardiac event before 40 terrifies me.

Hi all. My name is Carrielee. I am 33 years old and have been on the fence about WLS for the last few years. I have struggled with obesity since I was quite young and the weight keeps piling on. I am 5 foot 1 and just hit 325 pounds. I now have a BMI of 61.4. I have uncontrolled Hypertension on multiple meds, uncontrolled Type II Diabetes, fatty liver disease and high cholesterol, sleep apnea, severe arthritis, IIH, angina, past history of PE. I can barely walk and have been told if I don’t lose the weight I likely won’t live to see 40. I’ve backed out of this so many times but now that I’ve surpassed the 300 pound mark I know I have to do this. I’ve ended up in the ER twice in this last week with abnormal EKGs and the idea of having a cardiac event before 40 terrifies me.

I think the hardest part for me, like @RonHall908 said, is having foods be fine one day and nearly lethal the next. I had scrambled eggs several times, no problem. So I ordered scrambled eggs while out one day last week and ended up searching high and low for a discreet place to vomit. I made a batch of tuna salad and split it into two servings. One serving was fine. The next day, nope. I could accept it so much easier if I just knew okay, this item is off the list for good. But having to build up the courage to try again in another week or two after an unpleasant experience is daunting.

Sounds like you're doing well! I'm only down about 20lbs since surgery (but 35lbs if you count the 2 week liquid diet), so I hope they're pleased with your progress. And I completely agree it has not been easy! It's really been a struggle and never knowing what will be okay and what won't from day to day is very difficult.

I totally understand this. It's not a bad thing AT ALL to step away from the scales if they aren't helping you. Honestly - if you stick to your plan you will lose more weight than you have already - much more. The issue is that the loss is never linear. If you get stressed by stalls and regains then maybe weigh yourself once a month and celebrate your losses then. I was and am a daily weigher but I could tolerate the highs and lows associated with that. Yes - the food volumes we can tolerate increase in the months and years after surgery. If you focus on a diet of protein and veggies you're not likely to go too far wrong.

I am so thankful for this tip. Not just because of how it will fit in fridge but how it will fit in my cooler. My friends and I like to do lunch while we are out shopping and them big styrofoam containers don’t fit in my everyday cooler. I have the containers by “easy lunch boxes” I ordered On Amazon. I have the square ones with four compartments and the rectangle ones with three. I just tried the rectangle and it fits perfectly in my cooler. I just put one in a bag in my trunk and when I looked it up to post the name here I just found that now they have rectangle ones with five compartments which I think will be even better since I am one of those weird people that don’t like their food to touch. lol. Anyways, Awesome tip!! Thanks again.

Wow a 6 month prep seems so long. Hard to stay motivated, I totally agree. You're clearly eating what you should be because you've lost more than you need for your surgeon. Honestly if I had a 6 month run into surgery I would have accelerated my adherence to the programme in the 6 or 8 weeks before the date itself. Agree with the others - celebrate your non scale victories (although you totally have scale victories too)! Look at where you are now compared to where you were 3 months ago. And then visualise where you will be once you have your surgery. It's hard to stick to any eating plan for 6 months. I wish you all the best.

I'm always cold too. I was cold before surgery and now it feels worse. Also i have a slow healing ulcer in my leg, which is going on three years everytime i get close to it healing somehow i manage to rip the dressing off it. Don't know if it's the extra walking I've been doing that has made it flare up again. On friday i had a fever and literally could not warm up (until i was too hot) that's gone now. Just called in sick for work to get some antibiotics for this leg. (Its Winter over here in Australia)

I thought I was so ready to get the fluids in before surgery, but it is a lot harder than I thought! Getting easier. Today is the best I’ve felt in 2 weeks.

This is so important! I went into surgery with BP of 130/88, taking meds for years, and left the hospital 2 days later at 92/54. Because it was so much lower right away, I stayed off the BP meds and doctor officially removed them from my chart about 3 weeks later when my BP was still measuring 110/68 without them. Good luck meeting your protein and fluid goals!

I was so happy to have chicken soup flavored "shakes" to offset all the sweet stuff (until they started to taste like chemicals after surgery, lol). I was also able to put unflavored protein powder in tomato soup, and that was so nice! I would do a coffee flavored shake at breakfast, chicken soup shake for lunch, and tomato soup for dinner, plus sugar free jello. It wasn't too bad after the first several days. Mine lasted 2 weeks. Take it easier if you can, and get lots of fluid and sleep.

Had a rough day yesterday with food. I had a little bite of mango at lunch that set my tummy off and caused quite a bit of pain before finally having to vomit. And my right hip is suddenly in pain for no reason. It's excruciating when I climb stairs, or when I have to shift my leg from the accelerator to the brake, as I discovered while driving. Today I'm sticking with a smoothie for lunch and some soup for dinner. I'm so frustrated that everything seems to make me sick. And I've been stalled at 204.4lbs for three days now, which just adds insult to injury. But, I've done very well with increasing my activity level. I've only missed one day of hitting my 10k step goal, and that was a day when I was doing a long drive with little chance to stop and walk. As for being cold, I was freezing yesterday! Spring is taking its time and my hands are always so cold.

I agree with @BlondePatriotInCDA. Definitely check out the NSV thread. That's what got me through when I was needing motivation or when I needed to get through stalls and feeling frustrated.

So for me, I've had stalls last anywhere from 2 weeks to 6 weeks. I tend to gain 2-4 pounds during a stall and then drop like 5-6 pounds when it breaks. Once I see I'm in a stall, I stay off the scale. Normally I weigh myself 2-3 times per week. When I'm in a stall, I do it once per week, just to see when it breaks. I stick with my diet, I change up my workout to "confuse" my body (if you do the same thing at the same time al the time, your body gets use to it and the exercises become less effective), and I focus on NSVs (Non Scale Victories) such as how I look, how my clothes fit, how my rings fit, if I've dropped inches, if I can fit into seats/booths better, etc...

I have been told I don't need to do the LRD, but will probably start next week anyway. Finding liquid protein i can stand has been my biggest hurdle. I like the hot savory ones from unjury, so might stick with those.

Them tests and being off PPi’s for a week do not sound like fun. Hopefully all that is a means to an end, though and you get scheduled for your revision very soon.