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I think people notice, but are quicker to comment on the negatives then the positives unfortunately! If they don’t notice my weight loss yet at 60lbs I like to think they notice my confidence gain lol.

I think those thoughts are pretty normal. I had them myself. BUT....I know what would happen because it happened a million times before. I tried to lose weight for DECADES (I'm in my 60s). On my more successful attempts, I'd lose 50 or 60 lbs. I'd sit there for a couple of months, and then the weight would start piling back on. On my less successful attempts, I'd lose maybe 20 lbs. Same thing. Every time. Over and over. For decades. I was over 200 lbs overweight. I finally had to get real with myself. If I couldn't even keep 50 lbs off, how in the heck was I going to lose and keep off 200 lbs? I came to the conclusion that weight loss surgery was the only way I was ever going to get the weight off and keep it off. I'd do it again in a heartbeat and my only regret is that I didn't do it years ago.

Hi Its been a year since my WLS and I am roughly a stone / 14lbs away from my goal. I have been a slow loser, there are times I have slipped up which lasted for weeks, due to changes in my life. However when I am consistent about my eating, weight loss widely varies. All I do is make sure I eat around 700 calories a day. The content of the food is mostly carbs / processed food, but it keeps me happy. I dont monitor my water intake but I do drink alot of tea / coffee. I also dont take vitamins or supplements as I hate swallowing pills, but I suspect that has an effect on my energy levels. Dinner is my main meal , so doing physical activity before that is difficult. Also....I know u cant eat and drink at the same time. But for half of the year, I ve not been leaving a 20 min gap between food and drink. Mostly because of time constraints (work) and yeah laziness. This is definetly gonna stretch my stomach inthe long run right? So any tips to improve weight loss is appreciated, thanks.

Wow, you're doing great with the weight loss, I hope the pain gets better! Glad you are loving it. Wishing you continued success!

Update: It's about 6 months since this post, and I made the decision to pursue the surgery. Wife is on board too, since it will help to alleviate other health issues I have. New job stress, wife having an awful pregnancy (but healthy baby boy!), and now the stress of chasing after a 2-year old and infant haven't helped the weight loss. Hoping for a 3-6 month window to surgery depending on insurance, which works out as I'll have more vacation time at my disposal in the new year. Sent from my SM-G973U using BariatricPal mobile app

Anyone had plastics done in portland Oregon after weight loss surgery ?.. where , who and how much was the quote ? Thanks

It has been 7 months since I had my ESG procedure in March. What a weird ride. I guess I'm just posting this to muse on the situation as a whole. Wall of text time! Six Weeks of Suck A six week liquid diet was awful. It went in 2 week chunks and degraded over time. The first two weeks, it was amusing. I got to tell people what was going on! The first entire week I was basically sleeping anyway and took sick days, so it was just me, in bed, playing Pokemon Sword. A weird sort of vacation, really, even if half of it was crippling nausea and whining to my husband. The next two weeks was boring and a bit annoying, but I at least got to sip chicken broth and relish the fact that my food tasted like actual food. (I bought a jar of low fat chicken gravy at the store at one point and sipped it in the car while feeling like some kind of jewel thief having pulled off a heist. It was the best food I have ever eaten.) The last two weeks, I just wanted to strangle the doctors for not letting me eat solid food. Six weeks! People who have literal stomach removal have less time than that! But no, the surgeon said that six weeks was because the sutures are internal, and thus are constantly disturbed, so in a weird twist they take longer to heal than gastric sleeve surgeries. Did I mention basic recovery sucked for the first few days? When I came out of anesthesia, the doctors said I had been under for a long time, because I was just too sleepy to actually wake after I was technically conscious. They kept me until I could walk, which was way longer than they thought. Even walking down the driveway made me so tired I had to lean on someone. Going to the bathroom and back to bed was enough to take a nap afterwards. I had to rotate constantly to stop feeling nauseous or crampy. I emergency-called the doctors for some more anti-nausea meds because the first ones just didn't work well enough. Then, like magic, around day 7, it all stopped and I could get up and do stuff normally. Not being able to lift more than 15 pounds or whatever the limit was, was almost a deal-breaker. I work with heavy machinery a lot, but I saw that problem coming. My long-suffering (but kind) coworkers carried things for me. But at home, do you know how many things weigh 20 lbs? Stuff full of liquid is right out. A gallon of water by itself weighs 9 lbs, heaven help you if you have to carry anything else with it. My husband had to haul our pet food and litter bags, which we buy in 50 pound sacks because we hate having to shop a lot. Even normal grocery shopping bags can approach 15 pounds if you fill them full. When I was still exhausted, I had to get a very confused Target employee to help me carry a single bag out to the car. I'm sure this guy had no idea what was going on, with a 30-something woman shuffling up to him like an old lady and holding out a fairly light bag and asking if he would be wonderful and carry this to her car because she had picked up too much stuff and now her body was saying it was time to sleep right here on the floor if she didn't hand it off. Did I Cheat on the Diet? Yes. 100%. I absolutely cheated. I cheated like a soap opera spouse. Honestly, the lesson I learned was that this really caused no harm whatsoever. Probably a bad lesson, but in the end, it made those last two weeks bearable. The doctor said clear liquids only, but I added in pureed chunky soups, Greek yogurt, and scrambled eggs. I chewed for a long time and made sure everything in my mouth was blenderized into pure liquid, and I still ate incredibly small meals. But really, anything to get me off those fake-ass protein shakes. I didn't tell my team the extent of the cheating, but I never felt any pain, and I still made my calorie and macro counts. The first day I let myself eat tuna from a can was the day angels sang in my ear. I furtively snatched it up at CVS, a tiny can the size of one of those Fancy Feast cat food tins. I snuck it in the car and dumped the can in a recycle bin before my husband could see it and wag his finger. Oh, it was good. What I'm getting at is that I was losing my bananas during the last 2 weeks of that dang liquid diet, and I needed something to eat that felt like real food, or I was going to crack. I think this worked out. Have I Lost Weight? 45 pounds so far. From what I can tell, there is really no way to beat the "1-2 pounds per week" rule. No amount of surgery was going to take my resting metabolic rate of 1800 and somehow get 5 pounds a week out of lowering it to 1000 cal/week. I think all the "omg I lost 10 pounds my first week" is water and glycogen, no matter who you are, unless you're very obese. Water weight will get you early on. If you gain weight or have not lost weight even 3-4 weeks after the procedure, it's probably still water weight. There's no way your body can retain fat on 1000 calories a day unless you have a disease/disorder. You will gain weight abruptly when you start putting food back in your body. I'm shocked at how much food in various parts of digestion weigh. That said, according to the Mayo Clinic, food takes about 36-48 hours from entering, to exit your body. Think about how much you eat in 48 hours. Let's say, for round numbers, you eat a meal weighing 3/4 lb, 3x/day. So that's 2.25 lbs a day. 48 hours is 4 days. Before the meal on day 1 exits on day 4, you've put a total of 9 pounds of stuff into your body. 9 pounds! That's like 4 weeks of weight loss, supposedly gone immediately! But it's not. If, like me, your last weight reference was right before the surgery, you fully blasted those 6 or so pounds of food out of your system with the absolutely awful colonoscopy cleanse they made you drink. You know how much you ate at each meal before surgery, at least ballpark. Add those "phantom" pounds to your hospital weight, and you have your "actual" weight. So my actual weight was really around 260, not 251, because it was 251 with my entire intestinal tract scrubbed to a bile-yellow liquid shine. (Ew.) Basically, expect water weight to cover up early weight loss and food weight to cover up weight loss about 1-2 months in, depending on when you're allowed to eat solids. Frustrating Points I am still not particularly lower in my dress size. I have absolutely lost some inches, but it seems to be coming off relatively evenly, so I'm still a 16-18 in a dress. I'm frustrated, because part of the point of this was to fit into my old college clothes, but I expected to lose a couple of dress sizes in 45 lbs of weight loss. I still have a bunch of clothes sitting around waiting for me to be able to fit them. That said, women's clothing sizes are stupid, and I really don't know what my dress size was when starting. I thought it was 18, but I gained weight over the pandemic, so I have no clue anymore. Awesome Points I can eat what I want. Seriously. The physical size of my stomach limits me from eating a lot, but I can eat single meals, and usually they last me the entire day. I routinely take home leftovers now. But in the end, the food I want isn't fast food and pizza -- though to be fair, I still do eat pizza. I just eat way less of it. I don't have to optimize now, and my body seems to actually obey calorie counts now without getting hungry. I still eat pizza every so often. I still have dessert. I had candy on Halloween. I still don't eat salad. In the end, I feel like this was what I wanted: the ability to eat the food I actually like, socially, while having my body go in a direction I don't hate. I have actual hunger cues now, and I'm not constantly thinking about food. Would I Recommend ESG? I will tout ESG from the tops of mountains now. Some suck early on for a feeling of actual control over my body and a sense that I finally obey physics as I know it? Yes. Yes, please. I should have gotten this years ago. When my parents offered to cover weight loss surgery when I was like 23, I should have said "YES NOW" instead of "ugh why would you offer that?".

14 days post surgery - got my sleeve at 8:30 am on Oct 20th. I've followed the program perfectly - easy, since I have little interest in food - and been able to get in 60 grams of proteins every day and 64 ounces of water every day, although it was not easy the first week. First week was rough - felt bad physically, pain from surgery and from drinking/eating, fearing loss of food enjoyment as a thing in my life. Days 7-10 I started to gradually feel better. By this last Monday, Day 12, I guess, I felt totally normal, back to myself. Although I don't crave it, I find drinking a tasty broth or eating a sugar free jello or pudding pleasant. So much better. I averaged 300-350 calories the first week and 500-600 calories the second week. Down 12 lbs since surgery date, total of 22 lbs since pre op diet, and 40 pounds since I started the bariatric program in July. Sometimes it feels a little unreal, and I'm startled I undertook something that is going to change my life so profoundly, but I'm looking forward to a future with improved mobility and health (I hope) or at least proud I have done all I can to move towards that goal.

This isn't about her, it's about you. Maybe this is her way of covering up her fears about you having surgery. Yes, there are risks, but the risks of being obese are much higher. Maybe she feels guilt for any role she may have had to your weight struggled (I am not saying she did, just that people have strange hang ups about things). Similarly, maybe she feels like you having surgery suggests something about her as a parent (again, not saying it does, just that people have all sorts of hang ups and this is one I can see being out there). At the end of the day, you know what is right for you. And, calling this the "easy way out" is just asinine. Seriously, would anyone say that to a cancer patient getting chemo or surgery? Or a diabetes patient who needs insulin? No, they wouldn't. The data says that long term weight loss of significant amounts of weight is nigh impossible without surgery. This is the best tool in your toolbox to get you to a healthier you.

Remind me, why is taking the easy way wrong? Think about any other aspect of your life where taking the hard way is considered a virtue. Every non-surgical weight loss program out there claims to be the easy way to lose weight. I've yet to read a Weight Loss Surgery program that claims it's the easy way to lose weight. I found my Weight Loss Surgery program to be the easy way to lose and keep weight lost. I found it to be the only way. Good luck, Tek

a lot of women experience screwed up cycles the first few weeks or months after surgery because of extra estrogen (or so they say...). Estrogen is stored in fat cells, so it's released during rapid weight loss. For most people, it'll eventually stabilize. However, with your medical history and various meds, your situation may be more complicated than that.

Have you reached out to your dietician? That is really not sustainable and could result in some long term health issues. I know its hard, I am right there with you, but you HAVE to take care of yourself and nourish your body well in order to be successful. At 200 calories a day, you are going to be rapidly losing lean muscle with is starvation, not weight loss. Please reach out for support!

1. It's a newer procedure, so some insurances don't approve it. 2. Not every surgeon does the Loop DS. 3. The surgeons who DO the Loop DS tend to have a guideline where you have to have a BMI of 50+ or two or more co-morbidities because there is a higher statistical weight loss at 70-100% verses the statistics for gastric bypass which is 60-80% (but this is just the statistical average. People can lose more or less then the average depending on if they work with the surgery or not). I chose the Loop DS for my surgery because I have hypothyroidism and I'm disabled so I had to rely on statistical average for my weight loss and the DS and Loop DS have the highest statistical average for loss. I chose the Loop DS over the traditional DS because of the diarrhea issues associated with the traditional DS since the Loop DS fixes that issue. Mostly. Also the vitamin requirements for both the DS and Loop DS are much higher. You have to take more vitamins and thus it's more expensive and you also have a higher protein requirement (80-100g protein a day for women or 100-120g for men) which, in my opinion, deters people away from the Loop DS or the traditional DS. I'm happy with my choice, personally. I was able to meet my weight loss goal and even went a little under it (I think I'm near maintenance, honestly. I lost 1 pound last month and only 1 pound the month before so... yep, very close to maintenance). My advice is to do your research, weigh the pro's and con's, and decide what YOU feel is the right surgery for YOU! You are the one who has to live with the surgery that you go with. Not your surgeon. Choose what makes YOU comfortable! Also, I warn everyone of this... they don't tell you, but any surgery with malabsorption (Gastric Bypass, DS, Loop DS) has a 3% chance of giving you either a wheat allergy or Celiac's Disease. I mean, it's UNLIKELY to happen to you as it only happens to 3 out of every 100 people, BUT my luck is terrible and I ended up with a wheat allergy. I mean, it's a blessing in disguise because it ensures that I can't eat fast food even if I wanted to, and it really forces me to think about every little thing that I put in my mouth, so I, personally, am grateful for my new allergy, but I still would have liked to be WARNED. So yeah, just so you know. It's unlikely, but there's a chance it can happen to you. Also, like most people will tell you, my only regret about my surgery.... is that I waited so long to have it done. I wish I'd done it years ago! If you have any questions about my own experiences with the Loop DS, feel free to ask!

I don’t understand why people who buy a gym membership get congratulated for deciding to improve their life & get healthier but you decide to have weight loss surgery, also just a tool, get criticised. I’m sorry your mum is not being supportive. You would expect your family to be your biggest supporter. My mum supported me but she did struggle with my eating. ‘I don’t know what food to get when you come to stay,’ was a frequent comment. Which was a combination of her not understanding my plan & not wanting to jeopardise my success. Like probably all of us, you’ve likely tried to ‘do it yourself’ & lose weight. Probably many times & also put the weight back on again. I certainly did. The difference this time was, with the help of the surgery, I was able to make sustainable changes to what I eat & understand why I ate. The physical restrictions & the support to analyse the psychology behind our eating is what will contribute to the success you may have. Good luck. You can do this. PS - that graphic is excellent @Elidh.

Here’s a question from a different angle: number on the scale aside, are you happy with how you look and feel? Sometimes the quest for that number blurs the view (i’ve been guilty of this as well). Your weight will fluctuate.. that is a given. Being ok while this happens will make life easier and less angst-y. Do the best you can (or as much as you are willing to do), and make peace with the results of this, whatever it may be. i know, i know, easier said. Good Luck! ❤️ P.S. it really doesn’t matter what i think, but in my insignificant opinion, a 120lb weight loss is a phenomenal achievement. Congratulations!! Try to give yourself props instead of stress. It really, truly, isn’t worth it. Yeah, i know, easier said. *hugs*

It is so hard to give advice when every surgeon has a different plan! 1200 calories a day so soon out from surgery seems high. I think they want you getting your protein to mitigate side effects (hair falling out, no energy, not looking "good"). My surgeon's office had me on pureeds til I was 9 weeks out, and emphasized just doing shakes if meals were too much. Last week, I had my 2 month appointment and was told I should be getting 80g of protein through protein shakes alone, (and the protein HAS to be Bariatric Advantage or Unjury - yuck, no Isopure which I can actually tolerate), and 120g of total protein daily. Well, I frickin hate the protein shakes, and I was doing really good getting in 80g from real food, (and the office was quite pleased with the weight I've lost so far). My nutritionist said 500 to 700 calories a day was good, not to focus on macros, just to focus on getting my protein. Because those shakes are so high in calories and carbs, if I drink protein shakes, my calories are closer to 900 per day and my carbs are close to 100g (which seems very high). So I'm just going back to what I was doing. Sent from my SM-N976V using BariatricPal mobile app

Help my mother with doesn't support me have weight loss surgery, she keeps saying it is the easy way out or if I lose weight I will just gain all back, she does not understand weight over 600 pounds is very hard for me to live life.

Dr Andrew Kramer in Kingsport Tn is great!!! Hes at the Comprehensive Weight Loss center. Extremely informative and will answer any and all questions you have

I have generalised anxiety disorder, but it’s no longer severe (not bc of surgery). I got to a place where I only saw my psychologist every couple of months for ‘routine maintenance’, but started seeing her more regularly before my surgery and now see her every three weeks po just to sort through all these feelings. I would really recommend working with a professional for support, ideally if possible someone who you already know and trust. Having someone who you can tell your deepest and darkest thoughts and fears to has lightened my load immensely po. The first week I was too tired to be anxious, but the two weeks after were a little rough. I have always self soothed with food and even though I prepared myself as much as possible beforehand, the reality of that comfort being taken away was difficult. I think I felt more gloomy and sorry for myself than anxious though.. although I do now struggle with some anxiety related to the weight loss (since +- 5 weeks po), but I really don’t think that’s because of any hormones (more me not believing in myself, which leads to a lot of my anxiety in the first place). I’m now 9 weeks po so I couldn’t tell you how it changes when weight loss slows down. Good luck with everything! 😄🌸

Alright, y'all, I'm 6 weeks post-op and feel great! I've had a very smooth recovery, and am truly grateful for that. Two weeks ago, I got an update from my dietician about week 4 & 5 phases, including suggested meal schedules and calorie intake. I was a little lower than her goals, but figured I was close enough that over the course of the 2 weeks I would get there. Today I got the week 6 & 7 guidelines and I'm realizing I'm further "behind" than I thought I was. Her guidelines include 3-4 meals a day, 3-4oz each, with an overall 1,200 a day caloric intake (70g protein goal). I'm still sitting at 800-900 calories with 2 meals a day and a protein shake or two, which does allow me to hit my protein goal every day. However, if I try and up my meals to 3 a day, I feel super full and uncomfortable most of the day, and then struggle to get all my fluids in because I'm so full. Then, if I skip the shake to compensate, I don't come close to my protein goal. On top of that, I'm struggling with the mental piece of wanting to "ride the wave" of not being hungry as long as I can. Its so tempting to say, well I'm not hungry so I might as well make the best of it and not eat while I can get away with it! Weight loss will never be easier than it is right now... blah blah blah. I realize that's unhealthy, borderline disordered thinking and I recognize it and I'm working on it. Just adding it in there for context, that this is super freaking hard! I have an email out to my dietician, but would also love some personal experience on how to up intake when you're not hungry and additional/bigger meals is still difficult. Is it even that big of a deal to keep pace with my program, or will it all sort of work out in the end? I do NOT want to slip back into extreme restriction type behaviors, I want to do this properly and in a way that creates a healthy, sustainable lifestyle. Any advice to that end is welcome!

I didn't eat bread the first year or two after surgery (for the record, I'm 6.5 years out). Now I have it occasionally, but when I do, I usually eat this 35-calorie-a-slice bread I get at Aldi's. A lot of bread products sit in my stomach like a brick, so I can't eat much of them. Plus bread isn't all that nutritious and we have tiny stomachs, so I try to eat mostly nutrition-dense foods to make the most of my stomach space. I can eat maybe five French fries. I can't tolerate much fat anymore. I didn't eat a fry for at least a year after surgery - maybe two. for your second question, you'll lose weight because you'll be eating much less than you did before surgery. I used to be able to eat half a large pizza at one sitting. Now I can eat 1-2 pieces at one sitting. Exercise helps somewhat, but I've read in several places that 80-90% of weight loss is due to reduced food intake, not exercise. Of course, exercise is wonderful for you in many ways - it's just not the main factor in weight loss. Diet is.

Hey July Surgery People! This thread has been very quiet lately. I think we need another status check & update now that we are all at least 3 months post op. I'd love to hear how everyone is doing. Hoping you're getting closer to where you want to be and seeing results! Getting a little bored with the foods I've been eating lately. I switched from Oikos triple zero yogurt to light & fit's higher protein yogurt, as I needed some new flavors. Often have P3 snacks for lunch or protein shake. Enjoying salads again. Most foods go down easily. Share your favorite foods, tips, or advice! ------- Surgery Status: Post Op (a little over 3 months) Phase: modified regular diet Highest known weight: 291 Starting weight: 280 Current Weight: 221 (-59) Inch loss: (have to measure & calculate) NSV: finally needing new clothes & fitting into sizes that I haven't for a long time. I had some clothes that I never wore, because they say a certain size, but must be smaller (Looking at you Gap & Levi's!!, unless it is just my shape)😄, and they finally fit. Current Favorite foods: cashews, almonds, P3, light & fit yogurt, chicken, protein waffles, oatmeal, farina, turkey, shrimp, fish, salad

Catwoman is right. You are in the dreaded 3 week stall. It is incredibly frustrating because you went through all of the work for surgery and then ... nothing. I lost 24 pounds in the first 2 weeks. I lost 6 pounds over the next 18 days. Lost 36 pounds in the last 44 days. For the next 2 weeks, either don't step on the scale or step on it expecting no weight loss. Go only by what you feel (energy levels, etc.) and if your clothes start to fit better.

I suggest you check out "My Level 10 Weight Loss" videos on YouTube by Erin Branscom. She had surgery in Mexico and has a FB group (private, $10 a month, but I think it's worth it!) where many people talk about this. However, this is not really "research". I think you would have to see if there are any clinical studies on patients who had their surgery in Mexico and compare them to patients who had their surgery in the US, but then I'm not sure if you'd find those studies. You could contact ASBMS (American Society for Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery), to see what data they have, but I suspect they are biased in favor of people doing it in the US. I wouldn't have done it Mexico. Sure it's cheaper, and most people come out fine, but what if you have a complication? Some doctors in the US won't treat you if you had your surgery elsewhere - at least based on some posts I've seen. And you may have to take a flight home. It's risky to fly right after any surgery due to the increased risk of blood clots, which are also increased if you are obese.

I am the same but at my 3 month mark i stalled at 80kg, weightloss of 24kg ........ so i hope i start lossing again soon