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What was your start weight and how tall are you? If you lost a lot of weight just before surgery your immediate post op weight loss is generally lower. It doesn't pay to compare ourselves to others in the first few months to many variables.

Exactly. Remember also we, all have a natural weight fluctuation, we just notice it more now because we ‘re more vigilant with weighing ourselves & recording our weight. I’ve discovered my natural fluctuation is a kilogram (2.2lbs). Any more or less & I reflect on what I’ve eaten or not eaten. Has my water intake been more or less? Did I have some alcohol? Am I constipated? Am I peeing more or less? … Should say I’m maintaining & am pretty vigilant but the principle is the same. If you’re still losing & your weight loss trend is still downwards your golden. If you’re maintaining, reflect on your last week & see what next week brings. Three pounds may be your natural fluctuation. Congrats on your weight loss. Whoo hoo.

As the others have said: it’s just a part of the experience. Your natural hair loss cycle accelerates as a result of the shock of the surgery, stress, anaesthetic, decreased protein intake, dietary changes, etc. The hair you lose was destined to be shed it just happens a bit faster than usual. Just keep on top of your daily protein goal & take your multivitamins. Taking additional supplements that supposedly stop hair loss or strengthen your hair will only help new growth not the hair on your head which is already dead if it does anything. Nothing happens to your new growth cycle so you still ate growing new hair while your losing just at it’s usual rate. A lot of us cut our hair shorter so the new growth doesn’t have as much to grow to catch up plus short hair always seems to look thicker. Same with your skin. Protein is important. You can try taking collagen & silica. Keep it well moisturised & regularly exfoliate. You may look more gaunt & tired for a while but it does settle once you start maintaining. Genetics, age, highest weight, length of time being obese all influences how much your skin has been stretched, how much will bounce back & how much loose skin you end up with. All the best.

I'm so excited and nervous at the same time. My surgery is on the 12th of January. Nervous cause i haven't had a surgery ever, cause i take neuroleptics that makes the weight loss harder but excited cause i so want it to go well. I even start my own blog in English about my journey: mybariatricstory.wordpress.com.

Thank you! I would love to have a plastic surgeon do it, but my BMI is still 42 and they won’t touch it. She said a panniculectomy is less risky with less risk of blood clots at this size. They all recommended I get the gastric bypass, but that means another two years of approval/weight loss/weight stabilization before I could have it done. I’m already 65. I just don’t want to wait that long, nor do I want the bypass. I have constant neck and back pain and know this would help, but I don’t want to look also don’t want to look odd. I’m so torn!

I am on bipolar meds which are notorious to interfere with weight loss. I have lost slow but steady and I am about ten pounds from goal.

Hello Buddies! I have been reading this board continuously but haven't posted much as I've been busy busy, but I just wanted to jump in and relay some of my experiences post surgery if it might be helpful to those currently going through it or about to. I had my sleeve on Nov 9th. The one thing that I found that really helped me out of the gate is walking. From day 1 I made sure to make myself walk. Each day I increased my distance by an additional driveway until I was able to walk all the way around the block and then added even more. By 2 weeks post surgery I felt like I was 100% again. A friend of mine who had the same surgery 5 years ago by the same surgeon couldn't believe how quickly I recovered. I attribute it to the walking. So that's my advice on recovery. Unfortunately I did make some major mistakes because I was feeling good and due to a family emergency, 1 week post op I had to fly home to help care for my mother. I didn't want my parents burdened by worrying about my surgery so I kept the entire thing hidden from them. As such, I completely skipped the pureed food stage and just ate soft foods while chewing oh probably a hundred times before swallowing. I do not recommend skipping any food stages but I had to do what I had to do. I had a bad experience with solid food. I was running around and wasn't paying much attention to the fact that I hadn't eaten all day and when I got home I was ravenous. I cooked up some tofu chicken fingers (my vegan go to for a quick and dirty meal pre surgery). Well, um... lets just say it didn't go well. I had that lump in my chest that felt like the food was stuck. The saliva continued to pour up into my mouth. There was nothing I could do to make the pain in my chest go away or the saliva stop flowing. I literally thought I was going to die. I decided to go for a walk. The amount of spit that continued to flow from my mouth could probably keep a whale wet for a decade... it was awful! After about 20 minutes, the pain finally subsided and the constant flow of saliva finally dried up. It was an experience and a hard learned lesson to remember to chew chew chew! and wait wait wait before taking another bite! Rice, my favourite pre surgery meal is now a no go for me. It just doesn't sit well at all. Sad but I can deal with it, bigger picture and all that. Sugar. I was a sugar addict pre surgery, I'm a mostly plant based eater, I attribute all my weight gain to my sugar addiction. I have found that although I am still addicted to sugar, I can have that '1' piece of whatever it is and be satisfied instead of that '1 whole bag' and still not be satisfied as I was in the past. If I go past that '1' piece threshold not because I'm not satisfied but because I'm still a glutton I find myself in the washroom with a mild case of dumping syndrome. Another welcome reminder that '1 is enough'. I feel like I am losing weight fairly quickly but I'm not noticing any adverse side effects like hair loss or sagging skin but I do take collagen everyday so I'm thinking that might be helping with that. Today will be my first day back to the gym in 3 months. I am looking forward to getting back into running again without all that additional weight holding me back I hope you all are enjoying success and keep going! Happy Holidays!

I had a 150 pound loss with my Lap Band, but never got to goal. And now I'm contemplating revision to RNY. I did have a tummy tuck 2 years ago. My surgeon was wonderful. She submitted to my insurance for a panniculectomy, but she said what I needed was a fleur de lis tummy tuck. So insurance approved the panniculectomy, but my surgeon did the fleur de lis, hernia repair and diastasis recti repair, and she didn't charge me extra. She is amazing. ❤️ One other note that I will add is I have a friend who was never a bariatric patient, but she had 4 kids and needed a tummy tuck, and her ob/gyn did the tummy tuck. She did not have good results at all and now regrets the decision. I would highly recommend having a plastic surgeon do your surgery. I think it's just a matter of finding the right surgeon in these situations.

I have been thinking about increasing my calories because of this. My surgeon doesn’t have me on a set amount of calories. He was extremely happy with my weight loss so far and asked me to stop weighing my food and eat ‘normally’ (three meals with two snacks), and I am at approx. 650/700 kcal per day right now with those three meals and two snacks. But HOW on earth can I eat more calories without adding fat and sugar? I am at a loss here 🙁 Any tips or tricks would be appreciated!

Not only are we trading weight loss tips, I'm learning American slang lol. Thanks man, took it off again for privacy reasons, just figured I'd show what 200 lbs looks like on 6 feet on me. But yeah, factor in the rebound 5 lbs or so people seem to gain (or 10 as it were), but kind reminder (to myself, too) that getting down to an indefensible weight is probably a really bad idea as it starts the cycle of overeating again. I'll honestly probably lose 5 lbs more due to my anatomy - it seems MGB'ers lose a lot and keep losing for a while - but it's not my goal. I'm already below goal. Congrats on your success. You'll be rolling in it soon I assume you're Scandi, too, based on name?

I'm slightly broader built than you, I think (it's always hard to tell with pictures, see below), and my weight loss target is higher than yours (225 would be about 15% body fat on me, aiming for 240ish, currently 290). But that was a REALLY great thread. I did not have the MGB, just the regular sleeve. My nutritionist is way on top of things and is an active woman who fought and won her own battle with weight, so I am confident she has got me on the right track.

12th is my magic number. The only thing that i'm nervous about is that maybe the weight loss wont be so fast because of my everyday meds.

Sleevemealone covered it. Congrats on your weight loss.

if it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen. Fortunately, most of us don't lose enough hair for others to notice (and even if you're one of those who do, it's pretty rare for it to fall out in big, noticeable clumps - rather, it's more like shedding - so your hair just looks thinner). About all you can do is keep on top of your protein and supplement requirements to keep it from getting any worse than it will anyway. It's temporary and will all grow back, so there's that. I had loss from months 5-9, but it was pretty minimal. I noticed more strands than usual in my combs and brushes, but just looking in the mirror, I couldn't tell - so no one else would have noticed, either. And then there are people who don't lose any hair at all. nothing you can do about skin. Although you're what we call a "light weight", so you're not likely to end up looking like a Sharpei puppy like someone who starts out much heavier might (I was one of the latter - I was almost 400 lbs and in my late 50s when I had surgery). You'll likely have some sagging, but it probably won't be what I'm guessing you're imagining. And there's always plastic surgery if it bothers you - but I'm betting it won't be that bad. I was really worried about the hair loss and saggy skin (I think most people are), but honestly, most of us would take those any day of the week over being obese. And again, the hair loss part is temporary.

I think if you need a weight loss program to go to metabolic research center they have a lot of WLS clients and they are protein based program tell them your had WL surgery so they know

I'm sure you'll hear it from others, but hair loss and loose skin are absolutely inevitable. They are just part of the WLS process. There are some basic things you can do to help minimize the impact and/or speed up the healing/regrowth, but that's about it. That being said, here is what I did: Start taking your vitamins now including biotin or hair/skin/nail supplement, get in the habit of drinking your water and hitting your protein goal, use BioOil daily, stop dying your hair/using heat/doing restrictive styles (these all contribute to hair loss so if you minimize them, you'll lose less overall), start using a hair oil with Rosemary (clinically shown to work nearly as well as Nixoin). I'm 3 months out and am just now starting to see some increased shedding. I'm not sure how bad it will get, but I've just accepted it as part of the process, while doing the best I can to minimize it.

A single pound of fat is roughly 3500kcal. So unless you ate 10,500kcal OVER your baseline intake, there is absolutely no way that is true weight gain. It could be water weight, hormonal changes, bowel movement issues, etc. There are dozens of factors that impact weight and might be reflected on the scale. Additionally, the more you lose and closer you get to a healthy weight, the more likely you are to see those fluctuations as the week to week loss slows down. Keep sticking to your plan and doing exactly what you're doing and you absolutely will see the scale move again. And congrats, 90lbs is amazing!

I’m almost 6 months post-op and lost over 90lbs. I haven’t had any major stalls in my weight loss but I just weighed myself and saw I gained 3lbs. Is this normal? I’ve been following everything I need to so I’m confused

Due to Covid delays I am about 8 months out from gastric sleeve. What can I do, take, ingest, rub on, tie up (lol) to prep my skin and hair prior to surgery to prevent as much damage control as possible. I am 5’6 225 body type is apple shape (or frog shape as I call it.) and I’m 45

I am not joining WW waist of my $. I am an emotional eater which is never really addressed when having WLS. Overeaters anonymous is helping me change my mindset, it’s free and it’s working. You can attend on zoom and there are meetings 24/7/365. Best thing I ever did. Was sleeved in 2018. And after 4 months my hunger came back. Only list 80 lbs from the 165 my dr thought I would. So his disappointment lead to mine as well. I just joined OA and it’s not a weight loss club it deals with reasons why we eat overeat etc… free and best thing I ever done. They have group meetings for Bariatric people a few days a week but I attend a meeting every day. It’s amazing how better I feel about myself, less shame, less guilt and the scale is starting to move slowly but it is moving. In the right direction. If you feel you have mind work to do , or are an emotional eater try overeaters anonymous. It’s world wide

I unfortunately don't have any input to your question, but I just want to say it sounds like your body already decided this was the right weight for you. Don't feel like you don't deserve your plastics, you've done great to keep such a large loss off!

Congratulations on your sleeve. First I’m going to address the issue of Protein. In the beginning Protein is super important. It helps heal, Hair loss, muscle building, skin elasticity, etc. My full liquid diet consisted of 3 Protein Shakes a day with a list of other fluids in between my shakes. My surgery center let me know it was imperative that I got in at least 3 protein shakes a day. I went home with a 30 day supply of Bariatric Fusion protein power and Vitamins. Along with prescription for nausea and pain. So not having any protein for two week properly isn’t a good thing. They also gave me a list of approved bariatric protein shakes and powders so I can order more once I ran out of what they sent me home with. Now to address the negative, I don’t recommend anyone go abroad or go for a cheaper version. I actually feel sad for you because we went to a place that didn’t give you the correct information to be successful in the long run. This surgery is about so much more than have someone reputable to cut into you. It’s good to have a surgery team to be there for you before and after the surgery and to let you up for success. Everyone’s situation is different. Your starting weight was like mine in the 200s, so I didn’t have to undergo some of the things that others have. I must mention the I had RNY and not sleeve. There are a couple of things that I see that I know my surgery center in the US would have caught. Assuming you had heart burn before your surgery, RNY would have been the way to go instead. Also I started my surgery journey in August and I had my surgery in November in the US. During the months leading up to surgery, I was taught a new way of eating not only food choices, but also how to chew, eat slower, and take smaller bites. Most of all how to get used to not drinking for 30-45 minutes after eating. This was the hardest habit to break. Lol!!!! This made it easier for after surgery. I was also accustomed to ending this new way. I had several tests done just to ensure I was healthy enough handle the anesthesia. During the coarse of these tests it was discovered that I had sleep apnea and an irregular heart beat. Had I gone aboard and settled for a cheaper option, I could have died one the table because the anesthesiologist not know of these issues and we hadn’t worked to correct them as much as possible before hand. I had to work with a psychiatrist to work through my emotional eating. Now I turn to prayer or journaling instead of a bowl of ice cream and potato chips. So I said all that to say, YES you need protein. And to discourage anyone from taking a short cut or cheaper option. As you can see you can easily be given misinformation or left without the necessary info and tools to be successful after the surgery. Best wishes 💛💛💛💛

Congratulations on your sleeve. First I’m going to address the issue of protein. In the beginning Protein is super important. It helps heal, hair loss, muscle building, skin elasticity, etc. My full liquid diet consisted of 3 protein shakes a day with a list of other fluids in between my shakes. My surgery center let me know it was imperative that I got in at least 3 protein shakes a day. I went home with a 30 day supply of bariatric fusion protein power and vitamins. Along with prescription for nausea and pain. So not having any protein for two week properly isn’t a good thing. They also gave me a list of approved bariatric protein shakes and powders so I can order more once I ran out of what they sent me home with. Now to address the negative, I don’t recommend anyone go abroad or go for a cheaper version. I actually feel sad for you because we went to a place that didn’t give you the correct information to be successful in the long run. This surgery is about so much more than have someone reputable to cut into you. It’s good to have a surgery team to be there for you before and after the surgery and to let you up for success. Everyone’s situation is different. Your starting weight was like mine in the 200s, so I didn’t have to undergo some of the things that others have. I must mention the I had RNY and not sleeve. There are a couple of things that I see that I know my surgery center in the US would have caught. Assuming you had heart burn before your surgery, RNY would have been the way to go instead. Also I started my surgery journey in August and I had my surgery in November in the US. During the months leading up to surgery, I was taught a new way of eating not only food choices, but also how to chew, eat slower, and take smaller bites. This made it easier for after surgery. I was also accustomed to ending this new way. I had several tests done just to ensure I was healthy enough handle the anesthesia. During the coarse of these tests it was discovered that I had sleep apnea and an irregular heart beat. Had I gone aboard and settled for a cheaper option, I could have died one the table because the anesthesiologist not know of these issues and we hadn’t worked to correct them as much as possible before hand. I had to work with a psychiatrist to work through my emotional eating. Now I turn to prayer or journaling instead of a bowl of ice cream and potato chips. So I said all that to say, YES you need protein. And to discourage anyone from taking a short cut or cheaper option. As you can see you can easily be given misinformation or left without the necessary info and tools to be successful after the surgery. Best wishes 💛💛💛💛

Hi! Has anyone had a panniculectomy while still being quite overweight? I was sleeved in 2012. I was 368 lbs when I had my surgery and have maintained a 130 pound loss. In spite of trying relentlessly I was never able to get even close to my goal weight (menopause, knee replacement, etc.). But my life is about 10,000 times better!! I have lots of skin and have been approved for a breast reduction and panniculectomy, but in between those two areas I have that damn menopausal spare tire. I never had that even at 368! I tried to get a plastic surgeon to do an abdominoplasty but my BMI is too high. So I’m kind of freaking out, imagining that I’m going to have a smaller bust, no belly, but some big floppy spare tire hanging over my waist band. The surgeon doing the panniculectomy is a weight loss and general surgeon, so he’s not going to spend any time trying to make it look good. Anyone have any experience with this? Thanks!

Congrats! I feel what you're saying. Before my surgery my diet for the 11 days prior consisted of 4 protein shakes a day and 4, 1 cup serving of non starchy vegetables. NO MEAT! Then after surgery my diet was 2 weeks FULL LIQUIDS, followed by 1 week PUREE, and 2 weeks SOFT FOODS, then finally normal foods. So yeah, between the 11 days pre-op and two weeks post of of liquid, that was almost 4 weeks of nothing but liquids (but for the veggies in the pre-op stage). The protein came mostly from the shakes in those stages. It seems almost impossible but it works. I was so happy when the puree stage came. LOL And YES, protein is VERY important!! Not only to keep you losing weight but also to help you not lose so much hair or at least to shorten to hair loss phase. I recently, and inadvertently, put myself in a month and a half long stall because I was so inconstant with protein and ingesting LESS than the recommenced amounts of it (plus a few other things I was doing wrong as far as my macros goes). So again, YES, protein IS important for many reasons.