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All reasonable goals. Not unlike my goals all those years ago, just simple health and happiness. Most of what I write is for the wider world of readers. Previous responses covered the the numbers involved in the weight loss phase. I covered the numbers at the beginning and end of the process which are likewise flawed. Good luck always, Tek

As of today I'm officially considered "normal" weight! Finally I'm no longer obese or overweight: Result BMI = 24.9 kg/m2 (Normal) 161718.525303540UnderweightNormalOverweightObesityBMI = 24.9 Healthy BMI range: 18.5 kg/m2 - 25 kg/m2 Healthy weight for the height: 107.8 lbs - 145.6 lbs BMI Prime: 1 Ponderal Index: 15.3 kg/m3 <Happy dance>

Hey thanks for sharing with us. I just had my surgery the 14th of Feb, so I know I will have a lot of loose skin in my future. I myself just started back to work after being disabled for 2 years due to mental health and my weight. So it's a major non scale victory. It's also a field I have been wanting to get into, and they were god about finding me a client that would fit my needs. How do you like the gym classes? I am going to start hitting the pool at the YMCA for low impact workouts and build myself back into gym shape. I love the bikes too! I want to get one to ride with my bf around the neighborhood, i think it'll be a fun time. Hope you have an awesome day!

I am so happy for you. Going home is always emotional, I really understand why you were so very worried. Congratulations on the huge weight drop. NOW lets get through Christmas !

Obesity is a disease. As that being your mindset, it is a chronic long lasting disease and despite the loss of weight and a healthier you, obesity is still in the background. You need to treat the disease like any other chronic disease. Exercise even just walking is movement. You also need to focus on protein as your primary source of intake as it gives you a full feeling for longer than any other macronutrient. You may be eating carbohydrates, I eat none and am losing at a steady rate, and I just had the surgery after years of dieting. I am no longer in the diet mentality but rather focused on an overall healthier me. By following the dieticians and surgeons steps in the diet pre and post op I have been able to lose quite a bit in a short amount of time. Surgery is NOT the solution, but it is another tool for those with the chronic disease of obesity. The decision is yours and yours alone, but I wish I could have had this surgery earlier in my life. I would already be where I want to be. If you are seeking more information, there are Youtube videos out by BariNation that you can view to get a different perspective. This years push is being an advocate about stopping shame and stigma, but earlier videos focus on mindset, so you don't have the emotional eating, the eating while being bored, and how to get over the holidays and eating the right foods. Take a look and I wish you the best on your journey.

First of all, congrats on your amazing progress! 🎉🎉 You're doing incredible, and hitting 6 months with such a huge loss is definitely something to celebrate! About your BMI question, BMI is always calculated based on current height and weight, not your tallest height. While bones do have weight, the difference from losing an inch in height isn’t usually significant enough to impact BMI drastically. So, if you’ve shrunk, your BMI would be based on your new height. That being said, BMI is just a tool—it doesn’t account for muscle, bone density, or body composition, so don’t stress too much about the exact number! I can totally relate to the excitement (and overanalyzing) as I’m coming up on my 6-month “surgiversary” on February 14th! ❤️ I started at 109.5 kg (241.5 lbs) and now I’m 84.2 kg (185.7 lbs)—which means I’ve lost 25.3 kg (55.8 lbs) so far. Like you, I feel great, but seeing these milestones makes me reflect on the numbers too. It’s such a wild ride! You're so close to a “normal” BMI—27.3 is amazing! Keep going, and I have no doubt you’ll get there soon. Let’s celebrate our progress and keep pushing forward! 🎉💪✨

Yep, I'm 9 months post-op and may or may not just be coming out of about a 3-week stall. It's very normal and expected to start slowing down, stalling, and having small weight gains at this point. I hit a low of 170.2 toward the end of October, immediately bounced up a pound, and didn't drop below that low point until 3 days ago. Personally, I find that whenever I hit a new low after a little bit of a stall, especially if it involves a large one-day drop (I went from 170.8 to 169.0 in a day), I'll usually bounce around a little before seeing any steady declines. Most people continue losing weight until at least 12 months, and sometimes a little bit more until 18 or 24 months. But with a lot more stalls, especially the closer you get to a "normal" BMI. (I'm about 14 pounds away from not being considered overweight by the medical charts). The important thing is to develop a healthy eating and exercise routine that is sustainable no matter what the scale says. If you're doing what is reasonable and recommended, keep doing it. There's no need to change what isn't broken. On the other hand, if you know you've been straying from your good habits, focus on getting back to where you know you should be. Eating healthy foods in the correct portions on a regular schedule, moving your body throughout the week, getting the right amount of protein, taking vitamins, and drinking water are all things you will be doing for the rest of your life, even though at some point the scale will stop going down. The advice I am giving myself these days is to try to separate those good things I am doing from the number on the scale. Because for me, if I start seeing weight loss as a "reward" for "being good", it makes it harder to continue the good lifelong habits when that "reward" inevitably goes away. It also won't do you any favors in the long run if you try to introduce a bunch of things you know you will never be able to maintain just to get the scale moving faster. I might be able to drop a few pounds really fast if I went back to 500 calories per day or re-did my 2 week liquid diet, but I can't live like that forever, so it's a false victory. I think we all have to find the right balance of habits we can maintain fairly steadily for a lifetime and a healthy weight we can maintain without torturing ourselves. And remember that just because you hit the 12-month mark doesn't mean the game is over. You can always introduce improvements to your nutrition or your exercise that will result in slow and steady changes over time. You don't have to workout 5 days a week for 2 hours a day if that isn't your thing, but if you add some resistance training a few times per week or an extra walk after dinner, you will see those results down the road.

I find myself more attractive after weight loss, so why wouldn't men? If some didn't want to be my friend because of my weight, yeah, that's a problem. But didn't want to date me because of my weight, I get it. Beyond physical appearance, when I was overweight there were things I couldn't or didn't want to do, hike, skydive, beach vacations etc.. People want partners that they not only find attractive, but that enjoys many of the same activities they do. I met my bf after WLS surgery. We have had many conversations about my weight, WLS etc.. He would not have dated me at my pre WLS weight. And that's ok, because I wouldn't have dated him if he was 100 lbs heavier than he is now either. As far as the "male gaze", I am completely unbothered by it. Having men do the double, triple take is sometimes amusing, but mostly I'm indifferent to it. I'm out there in public, let them look.

You are killing it! Your point about calories is really on point as well. I recommend any bariatric surgery patient read up on Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S). The simple explanation is that if you work out a lot, you need to eat more. If you don't, then you are a lot more likely to start having a hard time with things like fatigue, various injuries, getting sick a lot, lack of concentration and depression. At its worst, you can get really sick, leading to heart issues and worse. My personal experience is that women tend to struggle with this more, though anyone can be impacted. Some people here might think it doesn't affect them because they don't consider themselves athletes, but if you are working out multiple days a week, it is a risk, especially considering how hard it can be for us to get more calories in. Over time, you'll hopefully learn where your personal limits are. For example, I've found that right now I can maintain my weight reasonably well up to about 30 miles a week, but beyond that I lose weight whether I want to or not.

Yes to your first question. I only lost like 60 to 70 lbs. My surgeon staff only wants me on a 800 calorie diet loss weight. Except low cLorie sweet tea I don't eat much food let alone it's hard to eat anything when most foods have above 200 hundred calories.

You are doing amazing but I do understand how you feel. In the very beginning I just wanted to lose the weight as quickly as possible but then I had an epiphany! I need to fix my relationship with food! I'm 10 weeks out so I'm still early days but I know that just losing weight is a sticking plaster for the real reason I used food as a coping mechanism. So I think I need to consider therapy! The food noise gets so bad for me sometimes its like torture! I will be so much more happier when I nail these obsessive food thoughts but it will take time, I've had them my whole life. Like many I have lost up to 6 stone and put it back on quite a few times before I took the plunge and had surgery so I guess I need to be kind to myself and learn to understand the parts of myself that I have ignored for so long. Are you counting calories? at the 5 week mark I was managing around 500 cals a day. I didn't have the protein drinks because I was fuller for longer eating minced chicken, tuna, eggs, lentils, cottage cheese and pureed foods for less calories, a quarter of a cup at a time. I still managed to get in my protein and at least 2 litres of fluids too. If I was a little under in my protein I would drink a clear whey isolate protein squash drink, they are around 100 cals and contain up to 22g of protein! I am on 800 cals a day now as my stomach has done a lot of healing since then. Everyone is different though and I know that some people still can't tolerate actual food at your stage, so listen to your body hun. Here's some ideas for purees for you, a quarter of a cup at a time is about right for the stage you are at but if you can't manage it all that's fine, its just a guide for you. Tuna and mayonnaise - 14 grams of protein Blended baked chicken. I would bake chicken in some tinned tomatoes and season with garlic and herbs then blend it. 50g of chicken has 16g protein Egg mayo - an egg has 6-7g protein Bolognese - use 5%fat minced beef and blend with a tomato based sauce or make your own - 11g protein Protein puddings available in all the supermarkets - 15-20g protein readybrek oats with some protein powder Fat free cottage cheese blended with peanut butter powder and some sweetener if you need it. Cottage cheese has 11g protein per 100g PB powder has 8g protein per serving Ricotta cheese bake - you can find the recipe on Pinterest and even on here! I wish you well on your journey my lovely. You are on a path of healing, mentally, physically and emotionally and you are doing amazing! Be kind to yourself the weight will come off and at 5 weeks you are still healing and probably holding extra fluid anyway. xx

Ah 2 weeks ago I did an inbody test and today I did it again to just see if I am going in the right direction. Well, I've lost "weight" but I think i only lost water and muscles I'm down 1 kg muslce and actually gained 300g fat! Ahhhhhh why does everything have to be complicated? The coach in the gym told ne to up my protien and take PT classes to focus on building strength and muscles but is she right or is she just trying to sell her services? I'll sit n discuss with my team on the 15th and decide what to do. On another note, I tried the power stretch class today and I stretched muscles didn't know existed hahaha it was amazing but tiring like I burnt almost 400 cals. P.s. attaching my 2 weeks and today inbody results

I have been on Wegovy for 6 months and have been on the highest dose for a month now. I have not had any side effects that I can tell, but I also haven't had any effects at all. No weight loss, food noise is still there and don't notice that I get full faster or less hungry. I asked my Dr about switching to Zepbound but my insurance won't cover it. Anybody else have this medication not do anything?

Are you in the UK? I am and I was told that the NHS doesn't do any cosmetic surgery after weight loss unless it's causing a health problem. I really hope that they can do something for you if you want.

Thank you for your kind words. I think I am going to be the same with the moving goal. I was actually tiny my whole life and didn’t start gaining until around age 25. I was a size one when I met my husband so I would love to get back there but I am not nearly as active now even when I exercise like mad. My hobbies have changed from very active ones to sedentary ones so formal exercise is my primary form of activity. I just want to feel good at this point and if I get to a size medium I will be happy enough. I won’t just stop there though unless my body wants to. Building muscle is going to be my next big challenge. I wish you the best of luck in your goals with that. I am thinking that at some point I am going to have to get a personal trainer for the muscle building since that is something I have never even tried. Hopefully next year I will be In a place that I can start working on that. Maybe insurance will cover it since I will need help to do it safely after my surgery 🤔 I need to ask about that.

My advice is to make changes to your diet and exercise in the next few months that you feel you can maintain for the rest of your life, as opposed to trying a fad diet (Keto, paleo, etc.) that is likely to be too extreme. Focus on basics like reducing your simple carbs and sugars, increasing your lean protein and veggies. Start measuring your portions to make sure you are not eating more than you think. Start getting your 64oz or more of water every day and cut out any sugar-sweetened drinks that you might drink (and also alcohol) because it's just empty calories. Walking and light weights are really great, but remember that about 80% of your weight loss comes from your diet, and only 20% from exercise, so don't feel like you have to go crazy with joining a gym and working out, especially if you're starting from sedentary. Regular walking every day does amazing things. At this stage, small changes can make a big difference. One thing I did right away was go through my cupboards and get rid of temptations. I stopped buying crackers, pretzels, cookies, and sweets. I would still have a treat when I was out, but I would try not to bring it home. Since I work from home, not having things in the cupboards to tempt me was a huge help. I was not required to lose weight before my surgery, but by making these little changes, plus the strict 2-week liquid diet, I ended up going from 251 lbs to 225 lbs in about 6 months. You can do it!

Thank you again — this was packed with great insight and exactly what I needed to hear. I feel better knowing that my current protein intake (100–115g) is actually within the clinical guidelines. I’ll definitely bring up that 1.2g/kg recommendation with my nutritionist on the 20th and get their take as well — I want to be sure I’m not compromising my health by lowering it too much. And yes — I completely agree about focusing on fat loss over just scale weight. I love how I’m looking now, and my goal is to tighten, tone, and keep my muscle rather than just see a lower number. I’m not aiming to bulk or build new muscle right now — just to hold on to what I have and keep my body strong through strength training. Also, your point about essential fats and nutrient-rich carbs like fruits/veggies really helped. I do eat clean and home-cooked, so I’ll make sure I’m not over-restricting in the wrong areas. This has honestly helped me refocus — I’m grateful 🙏

I completely understand what you mean about the surreal feeling and the challenges of adapting mentally to the changes in our bodies. It's so interesting (and inspiring) to hear about your experience of seeing food as fuel and learning to listen to your new stomach – that’s something I’m working on too. It’s definitely a process to shift those old habits and ways of thinking about food! I also resonate with the struggle of recognizing our new size. It’s such a strange feeling to realize that clothes we never thought would fit actually do now. It’s a learning curve both physically and mentally, but it sounds like you’re handling it with such grace and determination. Wishing you all the best with your gym journey – muscle gain definitely changes the scale numbers, but it’s amazing to see your strength and confidence grow! Thank you again for sharing your story – it’s so motivating for me. 💕

Figured I’d go ahead and say what’s up instead of just lurking. I'm Jamal, 36 from Kansas City. I’m fresh on this journey, haven’t had surgery yet, but I’ve been reading a lot, trying to get my head right before I take that step. I’ve been overweight most of my adult life. Tried the usual: keto, low-carb, meal plans, gym memberships that turned into donation centers. You know how it goes. What’s different now that I’m finally tired of starting over. I want to do this the right way, with support, and by learning from people who’ve already been through it. I’m still doing research, but I’m leaning toward VSG. I’ve got a consultation next month, so I’m trying to prep mentally and get honest about the habits that got me here in the first place. Food has always been my comfort, and I know surgery’s just one piece of the puzzle. Anyway, thanks to everyone who posts updates, progress pics, even the stuff that didn’t go so smooth. That’s the kind of real talk I need. I’m thinking about tracking my experience through writing too not just for me, but maybe for people like me who don’t always see themselves in the typical weight-loss stories. If I do start a blog, I’ll definitely share it here. Appreciate you all.

An interesting article about “Fat Memory” https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-03614-9 Key points: •Fat cells have a ‘memory’ of obesity hinting at why it’s hard to keep weight off. •Long-lasting changes to the cells’ epigenome are linked to a decline in their function. •For fat cells, the shift in gene activity seems to render them incapable of their normal function. •Even weight-loss surgery did not budge that pattern. •The research is ongoing as “It’s not yet a causal link, It’s correlation. … We’re working on this.”

Thank you so much, guys. I love that this is a safe space to speak our truths about this surgery. So many people think it's a miracle cure, and it's not. We have to do the work. It really is just a tool for us to use while we do the work. You guys have been so supportive. Thank you so much. I'm going to go back to weighing once per week, meal prepping again, sticking to my diet, and start back with my work out plan. I'll work to lose 10 pounds, to get back to the weight I'm happiest at. You all are awesome!!!

Forgot to add numbers Age : 67 Heaviest: 215 Now:195 Goal: 125-130 Started gaining since 2005 mainly from behavioral health meds.

It just depends upon your healing. I’m a side sleeper with a twist (so like an 3/4 side sleeper) and I was sleeping like that from when I got home. Yet others, like @SpartanMaker, sleep on their backs on a recliner for a while. After I lost weight I thought hey I might be able to sleep fully on my tummy now my breasts are smaller but no. I developed lower back pain when I tried. And I’m not the only one who experienced this. Apparently tummy sleeping puts undue stress on your lower back and causes an unnatural arch hence the pain. And without having a belly anymore I didn’t have any extra ‘pillowing’ to support my back arch from underneath. So it may be a case, like many things after surgery, of simply trying at random times and seeing how you go…. Unless your surgeon has specific requirements of course.

One suggestion in terms of your bra is to buy a bra with the correct cup size, but one that actually fits you on the biggest hook. That way you can use the other two or three hooks depending on how many are on it as you lose weight still because usually when they fit you, they aim for that middle hook so that you can gain or lose 10 pounds and it’ll still fit, but you know you’re not gonna be gaining anytime soon. Another option that I thought about doing myself because I had the sleeve and I know that I don’t lose much in my cup size. It’s just the band size is to buy one that fits in the cup, but it’s actually a size smaller in the band and use a bra extender, so it’ll last longer

I would suggest you do some more research into which surgery to get. There are pros and cons to each. Many people choose the sleeve over gastric bypass because it has a lower risk of dumping syndrome, vitamin deficiencies, and ulcers. Most doctors want to do what’s best for the patient, so they should be able to explain why they recommend the sleeve for you. Do you know how many calories you are eating? Have you tried measuring and tracking your food? At your height and weight, you are eating approximately 2500 calories per day, and you will need to eat less to lose weight. Either surgery works as a tool to help you eat less, which is how you lose the weight.