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Can you physically remove the temptations? I know it’s not always easy if you live with other people who don’t follow your food requirements, but if you can, keep the demon’s food out of the house. Get rid of anything you have that you don’t want to be tempted to eat. Donate it to a food bank. Anything you can’t donate (e.g., perishable food like baked goods), it will usually disappear pretty quickly if you leave it in the break room at work. Grocery pickup/delivery is a game-changer (I’m a big fan of Walmart Plus, but a lot of stores offer this type of service). I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve set foot in a grocery store in the past year. I have a saved list of my standard weekly grocery items (mainly fresh and frozen produce, meat, and fish), and anything else I need, I just add to my cart ad hoc throughout the week. I never have to look at the demon’s foods. I don’t have to walk through the bakery aisle and smell the cakes and donuts, I don’t have to walk through the cookie aisle and see the new Oreo flavors. I don’t have to resist temptation every time I go in the pantry because I have nothing that I shouldn’t be eating, I do have healthy(ish) treats that I eat every day so I don’t feel deprived. (Yes, I eat a lot of artificially sweetened foods. Maybe not the “healthiest” choices on earth, but the perfect is the enemy of the good.)

Mines on the 14th. I'm so super excited. Been on liquids for about a week. My dr doesn't require that long but I don't want any problems. Tomorrow is water day then surgery. Woo hoo!!! I'm sooo happy for you as well. Good luck to you!!!

I’d be afraid that if your surgeon wasn’t supportive 12yrs ago that they won’t be supportive now. Criticising you for gaining weight 1week post surgery is appalling. When they do the surgery, they pump you full of gas so they can see the surgical field & they pump you full of fluid to keep you hydrated afterwards. It’s very common for people to weigh more when they come out of hospital than they did when they went in. Many are advised not to weigh themselves for at least a week post surgery because of this. Maybe look into another surgeon if you’re able. Also find out if you really have PCOS or not so you know if that needs to be managed & supported. Weight loss surgery will improve insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome & other comorbidities. There are numerous people on this forum who had these conditions & PCOS before surgery. It seems those with PCOS do tend to lose more slowly. But I’m sure some will share their experiences. My doctor used to check my thyroid (there is a family history) often but it was always fine too. I often skipped meals & did it from my teenage years through to my early 50s. So my metabolism was crap - I’d struggle to lose weight eating less than 900 calories. Plus I think hormones were a contributing factor as well - my weight issues began at puberty & worsened with menopause. The surgery boosted my metabolism & evened put some of my hormones. Ask your surgeon lots of questions about how the surgery may work for you & what you may expect with your existing conditions. Even ask for stats about his patients. Then when you will feel more confident about your decision.

Hellooooooooooo. I'm Jacquie. I'm getting a gastric sleeve on the 21st. I've been cautiously researching stuff. Quick sidebar-I had a double mastectomy a few years ago thanks to a cancer scare, and I didn't know about the "drains" until a week before I got the surgery. Had I known earlier, there's no way I would have gone through with it and I probably wouldn't be here today. Anyway , in the interest of not scaring myself out of this, I'm wondering if someone could explain the "restriction" thing, bearing in mind that if it's too gross I will have nightmares. Thanks!

If you order from the Bariatric Pal store: I sent this message to customer service about 5 weeks ago, and they said they would look into it. The same thing happened AGAIN today. 😡 If you agree, please consider sending them a note, too. ***** Dear BP Store, Until this week, all of the products that I have purchased from your store has come with a return label that indicates “BP Store.” However, my latest package contained the words “Bariatric Pal” on the label. It might seem small, but for those of your customers who are not public with our surgery choice, this can be revealing, embarrassing, and could even lead to our health information inadvertently shared. Would you please consider changing the return label to the old “BP Store” label? Most of the products I get from your store can be purchased from other places, and I may need to consider this to protect my health information. Thanks for your consideration!

My doc is hard nosed. My BMI is under 40. 1 week of full liquids starting tomorrow followed by 1 week of clear liquids. I'm sad. Cooked dinner tonight and told my husband that it was all broth for dinner from now on. lol

I had no idea going in about puree either, but realized it's no big deal. I was never was a cook. I am a microwave type of guy. But I pureed a big can of white chicken meat with my little Ninja blender. Added a some light mayo, greeek yogurt, pickle relish, no flavor protein powder, and some spices and put them in little 4oz containers for the fridge. I was pleasently surprised that it tasted like a quality dip with that type of texture. I woud eat 1-2 pureee per day, the rest was yogurt, cottage cheese and of course shakes. Puree isn't forever, just a short time to let your gut heal. I acually still like my chicken pureee delight for a snack now that I'm in my 2nd week of "soft food" phase.

bariatric surgery often comes with period changes.. irregular can happen easily during rapid weight loss due to the estrogen which is stored in fat being released.. 11/3 surgery and my period arrived a couple days early 11/4 (31 days) .. my usual has been around 40 days most of this year so it’s due now but so far no sign (but i have been having mood swings which may indicate it) last week i had some bad hormonal breakouts of acne and my chin hair has been disappearing lol

i did the same thing for a long time avoided the idea of sugery, until finally I had to look at that as an option because nothing else was working, i tried everything. After three Dr. suggested I do the surgery I started to look into it. I had the gastric sleeve on Nov 29th. so far i am doing well. It is taking some time for my energy to come back but otherwise i am feeling good. Already seeing some benefits, my blood sugar is in a good range finally, I am type II diabetic and today got my meds lowered by endo so that made me happy! It is highly personal decision and journey but I am so glad I made the decision to just do it. The weight loss center I went to offers support groups and nutrition classes which are helpful too. I start on soft foods tomorrow, a little apprehensive about that because i don't want to do anything wrong LOL. Congratulations on your upcoming surgery so far so good and I am sure you will do fantastic.

Holy cow!!! That's so crazy. I'm sorry you're going through that. I can't even imagine. But at least you're seeing non scale victories. Those always help me get through stupid stalls.

it’s healing … a little tmi but the infection is one thing but the fact it swelled and burst yuck twice now is what disturbs me! once in the grocery store with the first infection before I could even pick up my antibiotics and this second time sitting in my doctors waiting room (thank goodness i brought a tea towel to catch it.. yuck) after i was on antibiotics for 24 hours … dr says it may happen again because it’s probably an infected stitch which needs to finish dissolving (up to 12 weeks to dissolve) … totally terrified of it swelling and bursting again.. he thinks and any procedure he does could potentially do more damage than the infection.. on 17 day course of antibiotics to try to keep it from flaring again ….

Most of November and the first week of December was a stall for me, but now the scale goes down a little every day. At least I know now that I will get over a stall eventually, now that I’ve had two. It’s frustrating, but it’s just a matter of continuing to do your best and waiting.

Hi, I've just come back on these forums after a long long hiatus. I am like you. I had my lapband inserted when I was 23 years old back in August of 2022. I felt back then that was the safest and least invasive treatment option. I did not have success with the lapband. The most I lost was 12 pounds and then after that I stalled and gained. Today I'm 227 pounds but have a BMI of 36, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, Type II diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. I also didn't have the best relationship with my surgeon when I told him "I don't think it's working" when I told him at my one week post surgery check up because instead of losing I had gained 7 pounds. Long story short, he told me it was my fault because I was sneaking burgers, pizza, and coke when my family was asleep at night, which was farthest from the truth as it took me hours to down 30 ml of liquids and could not get solid food down 7 days post op. I ended upgoing back to him 2 months ago after not seeing him for 12 years due to having pain in my upper left quadrant of my abdomen. I can only describe it has a burning sensation, like burning on the inside, and I felt strange when I would turn my torso, in the that specific area. Now the pain has subsided but now the area is numb. He scheduled me for an endoscopy which I will be having on december 15, 2022 to see if the band has slipped or eroded. However, he told me that since having my lapband put in, they found out it's only a temporary gadget that should be removed in 10 years time. He spoke to me and suggested converting to a gastric bypass but I voiced my preference for the gastric sleeve, if I were to get a conversion. He told me because of my comorbidities and my unsuccessful journey with the band that a gastric bypass would benefit me more. Now I'm scared to get revised due to having my insides removed and rearranged compared to the lapband being reversible and afraid that I will get the bypass and end up failing again. That would be devastating. It's a decision that weighs heavy on my mind. Back when I was 23 I just wanted to be pretty but now that I'm 36 I just want to be healthy. I guess I'll see how the endoscopy goes this week and talk more with him about converting to the bypass.

I have found the stalls necessary for your body to adjust to all the changes. However, I have found that by going back to some of the basics for water, protein, protein shakes, and then adding much more movement has been helping to kick the stalls faster. Good luck with pushing through to your goal!!

27 lbs down in five weeks is better than I did in that time. If you stick to your plan, the weight will come off, whether fast or slow.

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 am on week 3 of a stall... I'm trying not to let it bother me. I have seen a few reset diets, I am thinking of trying one if I can't kick this in the next week.

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’m only five weeks out and I can already comfortably cross my legs like a woman instead of the wide cross-legs like a man I’ve been having to do for years. 😂

i am like 8 months out and i still get the pains in the right side. surgeon ordered an ultrasound to check for gall stones. It came back clear. in 2 weeks i will have a HIDA scan which is a nuclear medicine test. To check the functon of the liver, gall bladder and all that stuff that connects it. One of my labs showed an elevated billiruben level (spelling)

My surgery in 12/29 as well. On Friday I receieved a letter from Kaiser titled, "crisis standards of care declared by Portland hospitals." While they haven't cancelled any procedures yet, they may need to reschedule if the hospital can't accommodate me due to high numbers of patient's. Ugh, I have been in the program for 1 1/2 years and ready for my new journey! With that being said, I am hopeful and excited. I begin my 2 week liquid diet this coming Thursday and pray I do not become too crabby. Lol. Best wishes

I'm 7.5 weeks out - gastric bypass. I still have a lot of diaphragm discomfort. Wearing a bra makes it worse. I think that wearing bottoms with a high or snug waistband, does too. My surgeon's office has referred me for an upper GI series. I reckon it will come back "normal". I think my problem is just what I've been wearing and the activity I've been doing.