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Hi All, I am 4 months post GS and I have been falling back into old habits. Like eating out of boredom. I thought I had addressed that behavior earlier prior to surgery. But now it has reared its ugly head again. I feel like I have a little demon in me telling me to eat that muffin, eat that cookie, try that cake. I can't seem to shake it off. I have I have been trying to drink water or tea when I get the need to eat. It works sometimes, but I have had 4 days where my little demon had full on control and I didn't loose any weight for two weeks. I guess the good part is I didn't gain any either. I am trying to figure out where this negative eating is coming from. I am disappointed in myself with my lack of control. I am open to any idea you all have that can help. Thank you, Mel

Hello My name is Jenny. I had my lapband inserted in August of 2010. I was 23 at the time and the lapband was popular at that time. Plus my mother was a big influence on me choosing the lapband over the gastric bypass at that time. I just recently been feeling a burning sensation where the band is located near the head of the stomach and pain when during my torso. The pain is gone now but lasted for about 2 months now the area is numb. I went to my original surgeon 2 months ago and we scheduled an endoscopy which will be done on December 15th, 2022. When we were talking he brought up that in the 12 years that I've had the lapband that research showed that the lapband was only temporary and leave in time was only 10 years and so is suggestion, whether the endoscopy shows erosion or slippage is to take out the lapband altogether. However, he suggested converting to a gastric bypass. I'm deathly afraid of a gastric bypass and suggested a gastric sleeve (in my mind, it's safer) but he said that with my health (BMI: 36, high blood pressure, metabolic syndrome, PCOS, high cholesterol, diabetes type II) that the gastric bypass will give me better results than the sleeve. I did not have any success with the lapband. After my one week checkup post-op, I had gained 7 pounds which was due to swelling and the doctor (same surgeon I'm still seeing today) accused me of eating hamburgers and pizza and drinking soda at night when everyone was asleep. I remember my mother was in the room with me and he turned to her and asked "well let me ask you ma'am? does she have her own room?" and my mother replied "well of course she does?" and he asked her "do you go to sleep before her and she stays up late?" and my mother replied "yeah, she's 23. She goes to sleep a little later than me." and he told her while was in the room "well, there you go. she has no one to monitor her at night. she's eating pizza, burgers, drinking soda." When the reality was I couldn't even get down a medicine 30 mls of liquid post surgery. So I never went back and so my post care suffered since I never sought after care from him or his facility. I don't think he remembers what he said all those years ago though and as I've grown older, I've gotten over it and want to start anew. Thing is I'm for converting to the gastric bypass but I have PCOS and my hormones are all over the place and it's very hard for me to lose weight when I do try. When I change my eating habits, my blood work gets better (H1C decreases, blood pressure decreases, sugar levels normalize) but my weight does not budge. My question is..... Has anyone had the same experience with the lapband and failed with it due to PCOS or any other hormonal imbalance. I've had my thyroid checked 10 times and it always comes back normal. But i've been told I have metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance and assume I have PCOS. Did those that had gastric bypass have success with weight loss even when they had PCOS. I don't think I can handle another failure especially when i'm willing to go under the knife to have my insides permanently and voluntarily re-arranged.

11/3 sleeve and on second post op infection (sigh) .. day 8 of 17 days of antibiotics to hopefully kick it in the butt ! weight loss has been slow with a couple stalls … only currently at 27 lbs lost since surgery.. know that i am swollen some from last weeks infection and healing so trying to be patient, but it’s hard! (i want instant results lol) HOWEVER…. my body is changing even tho the scale isn’t. haven’t been good with measurements but shirts that fit well before surgery are hanging and my pants are needing to be replaced… my face is (finally) thinning and stamina is returning …. my boobs have deflated (looong pancakes lol) and i have gone from 54 DD down to 48 D… It took me over 40 years to get to my high weight, it’s going to be a journey to get down the weight I want. Still want to see it reflected in the scale but glad i can see it elsewhere at least!!! we are all on the roller coaster of weight loss!

I wish I knew how to kill the cravings too. I still don't have actual hunger but since a few months post-op I crave sweet. I have never been a sweet person, always salty. Now I fight a constant sweet tooth. It is annoying and I don't always win the battle but I'm still on track with my calorie goals and weight loss goals so I just deal with it the best I can. I have also always had BAD leg cramps, I mean wake up from a dead sleep in severe pain. Almost in tears. I have been on a daily muscle relaxer for years and it definitely helps. There is a medical term for it, but I can't remember because it was so long ago. I have always drank tons of water, and still do. Hitting a minimum of 80 oz a day currently. Dehydration is a strong factor though, so push those fluids as much as possible.

Agree with above - my goals are 80 g carbs, 45 g fat, and 75 g protien. I target 1250 calories at 7 years out as I am working on a 5 lbs weight loss menopause has not been kind! I am 5’5” female 49 years old and 133 lbs.

I kept losing well into my second year too. At my lowest I was 48.2kgs (was only there for a couple of weeks but …) & then I fluctuated between 48.5-49.5kg (about 18.9 BMI). I did that for about a 11 months & have been at about 50.5kgs for almost a year. (Am 3yrs 7 months out.) My dietician gave me some tips to up my calories before I stabilised so I’m glad you’re seeing your’s. Initually my surgeon & his associate were a little concerned when they looked at just the number on the scales but then they realised I’m ‘pretty small really’ (their words). Which is true as I’m not tall & am more finely built. They were then fine with my weight. Give yourself a little time to get used to your new body & your weight to stabilise & settle. Body dysmorphia will still be giving you a distorted picture of yourself as you compare yourself to the size you were before. It takes time for your head to catch up with the new reality of your size. I still get the occasionally shock when I realise the slim woman in the mirror or reflected in a window is actually me. And yes, bounce back regain of 10+/- lbs is a real possibility. You’ll work out what are your magic maintenance numbers are @pintsizedmallrat & it may not be 1500 calories because we have different needs & different weights we‘re most comfortable at. I thought 60kg & a BMI of about 23 would be great for me. But my body set me at a lower weight & I’m very happy with it. I was only eating about 1300 calories to maintain at the lower weight & about 1400 for the slightly higher weight now (have to eat more protein due to an absorption issue). But I’m not overly active & am 57 so that’s plenty of calories for me to maintain my smaller frame too. (I eat three meals & three snacks a day so eat heaps.) Oh & I get the clothing thing. I’m a US size 2 & sometimes a 0. There are stores here in Australia that don’t go smaller than a size 4. And there are ones where if they go to a 2 I’ll need a 0. (Still have largish feet for my height - 37.5-38). I’m about the size I was when I was 12. And yes I fit into Aust size 12 chn’s shorts. (My mum bought a pair for my niece & wondered if they would fit so asked me to try them on.)

Hi heatherdbby! I feel I’m in the same spot you're in. I’ve lost 42 lbs including my pre- surgery weight loss. I stalled for almost four weeks before losing a couple of pounds and now I’ve stalled again. My surgery was Oct 13th. At my 6 week check up they said everything was right on track. However, it is so hard when you see posts on here talking about this amazing weight loss in short periods of time and then you look at yourself and can’t help but compare. I know we shouldn’t and that everyone is different, but it’s just really hard. I’m also starting the gym tomorrow so I’m hoping that will change things up a bit. I just try to remember when the last time I lost 42 lbs in two months and surprise-surprise, I can’t remember such a time. Lol

I've said before and I'll say it again... crossing my legs like a lady and not requiring a death grip to keep them there is my greatest victory so far. I mean the weight loss and energy and added ability and clothes are great but by golly I can sit like a lady comfortably! I never realized how much it bothered me until I could do it.

Good news is, once you're at a normal weight you'll get a lot less questions. And if I do get asked, my answer "I have a small appetite" doesn't get the side eye that it did when I was heavy.

It is definitely weight/density thing for me. I can eat a large volume of salad. It's what I'll order if I don't want comments about how much I (don't) eat. But anything dense, it's a pretty exact 4 oz limit. How do I know? Because a frozen burrito is my perfect feeling of full 😂

i think it depends more on the person than the surgery. i had sleeve a little over 4 yrs ago and these days i can get in about 1 cup of food in volume at one sitting (volume matters more to my stomach than weight does)...more if its salad, less if its dense meat or fluffy bread. mind you, just because i can eat 1 cup at a sitting, doesn't mean i do. i prefer to stop eating well before i get full cuz i hate the feeling of being stuffed. further, i graze/have several mini-meals so while i may not eat alot at once, i do end up eating enough for my needs by the time the day is over. At six months post i was probably 1/2 - 1 cup capacity per sitting. which looks about the amount of what you ate in in your scrambled eggs(?) picture. P.S. is that a cutie patootie black kitty sitting on your remote??

i looked up your profile that stated u r 4'10". I have a good friend who i've known since high school who is your height and "normal" weight for her height, and all her life had issues buying clothes. she wears a good amount of children's clothing, but luckily these past couple decades they have adult-looking childrens clothes (at a premium though unfortunately). if she does happen to find some adult size cute stuff width-wise (in like 00, she always has to shorten them. shoes are another problem for her, she has teeny tiny feet!! i don't know if u are a fan on online shopping for clothes, but she also has quite alot of success finding cute stuff from asia, who's sizing runs much, much lower than north American stuff.

I am worried I am starting to have this issue also; I have gotten so small that I literally shrank my way out of the smallest size my favorite jeans come in, and I don't want to lose anymore because I am starting to have trouble finding clothes that are small enough in the adults' section, especially in nicer brands that run larger (I am very short, but I wear between a size 0-2). Even if I eat "whatever I want", my cravings tend to be for fruits and veggies and I still come in below that magic maintenance number of 1500 calories (my "lose" number was 1000). I've decided to add an additional protein shake every day between breakfast and lunch; we'll see how it goes. I was always so afraid I was going to end up falling short of my goal or gaining a bunch of it back so this is a weird situation I've found myself in.

It may also be that as you are loosing weight your stance may have altered. I walk so much taller these days and it made me ache until my muscles got used to it. Also I needed new bras as my old ones gave me back aches just because of the size change.

im 5 inches shorter than you (and 4 yrs post op) and i would lose weight at 1400 calories a day. at two years post i had stomach volume constraints too (still do actually, but not as tight as it was at 2 yrs post) and, like you, got down to a BMI 20 (at about 1.5 yrs post) it took me a while, but i basically had to get over the mental roadblock of eating higher calorie foods. i physically couldn't put more food in, so i had to make sure that the food i did get in packed more calories per punch. it was hard at first, but then it became easy (too easy! lol). Avocados, olive oil, nuts, nut butters, fatty meats, cheese, butter, full-fat anything, are "good" foods that are high calorie and low volume. Personally i ate ALOT of chicharron (pork rinds) but its not a very nutritious choice. I ate alot of them cuz i was pretty carbophobic back then and they were zero carb and a ridiculous amount of calories for so little (plus a pretty good source of protein AND oh so delicious lol) But is really high in sodium so there's that. But i digress... Anyhoo, today im BMI 22 (well 21.8, but close enough haha) its good you have an appt with a dietitian. they can help you make some eating decisions to increase your cals. Good Luck! ❤️ P.S. personally, i wouldn't eschew the exercise altogether...exercise has much less effect on weight loss than calorie restriction does (unless of course you are doing athlete-level exercise), and it's excellent for body health and well-being. Not to mention an excellent stress reducer, sleep inducer, and all-around energy improver. AND it tones your body and muscles so you look great (if u are into that sort of thing lol)

I was in the same boat - but I put on 20 lbs in year 3 with no effort on my part. Most of us do experience a 10-20 lb rebound after hitting our lowest weight, so you might want to wait awhile before trying to intentionally put on weight. I thought it would never happen to me, but it did...

Congratulations on your success!! Happy to hear that you have such great support, too. I'm at the start of this process and wondering if you could share some details about your experience with SurgeryPlus. My insurance offers this now, but it won't kick in until Jan. 1st. Were you satisfied with the experience? I'm disappointed that I can't go to the weight management center at the local hospital where I'm already familiar with the physicians...they aren't in the SurgeryPlus network (although they are a Center of Excellence). Any thoughts would be appreciated. Best of luck on your journey!!

hi! im 4 years out too! (50 yrs old, female, 5'2", moderately active and weighed 119.2 this morning) i stopped basing my diet on macros a couple years ago, i mostly rely on calorie monitoring (i still track everything out of habit). Based on my data, i've been averaging about 60g protein a day, of course there are some days i have like 20 and other days when i have 150...but on average its about 60. I haven't noticed any significant relation to weight gain/loss with my protein intake. Nor any relation with fats or carbs for that matter. (carbs do seem to have an affect on my appearance, but that's another story). the only thing that affects my weight is number of calories consumed over time, and to a lesser degree, activity levels. so its been an ongoing tweaking process to balance the two. A couple years ago i was an exercise fiend, and was taking in 2500+ calories. Now i'm a 2-3 day a week casual exerciser and average about 1800. im sure if i didn't reduce my intake when my activity levels went down, i'd be 20-30 lbs heavier than i am today. For those keeping score, i've (so far) maintained below goal weight since i reached it at 7 mnths post op. FULL DISCLOSURE: i am in good health (as my most recent labs can attest), and i have no diagnosed medical issues that would affect my metabolism. @SpartanMaker summed up the science surrounding protein well enough that i dont need to add anything more, but i do want to highlight the point they raised about the fact that the body can only metabolize x amount of protein (the amount varies slightly from person to person), and that any excess protein will be stored for energy (i.e., fat if you dont use it up). So i wonder, did your team give you a scientific or medical reason as to why they object to your protein level intake? Also, did they offer an opinion as to how you would replace those protein calories to stay at 1500 over all? (more fat? more carbs?) While i would not recommend NOT listening to your team, i do advocate the asking of questions to get an understanding of the reasoning behind a recommendation so you can make an informed decision for yourself. Good Luck! ❤️

The 2019 clinical guidelines from the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgeons (ASMBS), calls for bariatric surgery patients in active weight loss eat 1.2 g/kg of bodyweight. For those in maintenance, the range should be .8-1.2 g/kg. I don't know how much you weigh, but 135 g a day sounds like it might be a bit on the high side based on those recommendations? There is research that intake levels between 1.2-1.5 g/kg may maximally stimulate muscle protein synthesis, but there's not a lot a data to suggest rates over 1.5 g/kg are beneficial. Rates above that might be necessary in certain people such as if are a professional strength athlete or top tier fitness competitor trying to maximize muscle growth. Especially if you're just trying to lose some fat, you probably can't metabolize that much protein. I can tell you from experience that many trainers will push this recommendation up to 2 or even 2.2g/kg of lean mass, because they believe if some is good, more must be better. The reality is that your body can't store extra protein, so any above the minimal needed just gets converted to fat. My recommendation would be to follow the ASMBS guidelines for your weight. Unless your trainer has extensive experience working with bariatric surgery patients nutritional needs, I'm afraid their recommendation may be targeted more at a different population.

I had surgery RNY February 2021. 300 lbs before — I am now 132 lbs 5’7” which is way too skinny in my opinion. My BMI is 20 (getting REAL close to 19). Honestly have a hard time eating even 1400 calories a day, too full! Everyone tells me “eat more” but of course I can’t. I have an appointment with dietician in a few weeks to assess. I want to stabilize, or gain back maybe 20 lbs but can’t seem to be able. Lost 10 lbs in the last 6 months so it’s a slow loss right now. But I am almost afraid to exercise for fear of losing more! Help!

It depends a lot on where you’re at and your level of activity. Normal ranges for women are 50-60g per day, but there’s huge variation for muscle mass, activity, age, etc. The guidance for active people is 1.2 to 2.0 grams of carb per kilogram of body weight per day. I weigh 71 kilos, I’m a 51 year-old woman, and I’m very active (heavy training for strength and cardio performance), so my targets are 160g protein, 150 carbs (250g on big endurance days), and 80g fat per day. I am 8 years out from RNY and this has been very effective for me.

After a stall for a while, my weight finally went down today and I'm 94.3 kilos, which is a little less than 208 pounds. It has become more likely that I'll meet my goal of 93 kilos (205 pounds) before the end of the year. That would meand that I'd lost 20 kilos even (44 pounds) since this summer. Of course, reaching 91 kilos (200 pounds) would be even better, not to mention 90 kilos (198 pounds). That would mean I was no longer technically obese and also at 90 kilos I'd weigh less than I did a decade ago. That's the next goal for the new year. But I'm happy to see the number on the scale moving again. I'm trying to get used to shorter hair, although I feel it makes me look older.

Hey everyone. I am 4 years out and struggling with the covid 20 and some additional weight gain on top of that. I am working with an online coach for exercise training and nutrition following a macro based diet. I have not lost any weight so I reached out to the team where I had my surgery and they commented that my macros are way to high for protein. They were happy my calories were in the 1500 range (135g protein/160g carb/ 45g fat) but concerned about the protein being so high (optimum is 60-80g). Anyone else follow macro based plans?

Ugh, the 3 week stall is now extending well into week 4! I've gaining and losing the same 2 pounds since last Thursday 😭 Trying hard to trust the process... Hope everyone is doing well!

I can't believe it. As of today, 7 months and 1 week since my surgery, I have officially lost 100 pounds!!!! I was 388 the day of my surgery. I cried this morning when I weighed myself. My next goal is to hit 270, which is what I weighed when I met my husband. After that, my last goal is to get to 200. Once I do that, I'll have to maintain it for a while and then SKIN SURGERY!!!!! There's no magic cure, no pill or food or drink that just magically makes the weight melt off. This is the result of the sleeve surgery, keto, working out 5-6 days per week (and alternating between cardio and weight training), and staying on track with what, and how much, I eat. No one thing works for me, it all has to be combined into a partnership for my mind and body. Surgery alone isn't enough. Keto alone won't work (at least it didn't for me). Working out by itself helps a little, but not enough. It ALL has to work together, and the key is to stay motivated and dedicated. Stalls suck, and they get frustrating. But as long as I keep my eyes on the prize, I'm actually gonna get there!!!! I never thought this was possible, but here I am