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Oh gosh, I totally get what you’re saying. I have seen celebrities after WLS looking gaunt and, I admit, I am one of those who thinks “they looked better fat.” But then I think about the Dragonball Z meme “This isn’t even my final form!” 😁 I hope if I look gaunt, it’s only temporary. I know many people have WLS for their health, not their appearance. That was my primary motivation. I want to be strong enough to play with my future grandchildren. Whatever weight gets me there, that’s my goal.

I am a type II diabetic, one of the reasons for the surgery. Post surgery many people have vast improvement in blood sugar levels. I also have heard that people gain before they lose which is confusing to me. I am just following Dr recommendations and praying for positive outcome.

Hi, RoyalAdpi — just wondering how your ESG went. Hope everything went smoothly. I am halfway to my goal weight at 5 weeks post-procedure. Keep us posted!

Don't give up increase your protein and water I have lost 68kg and am maintaining now as soon as I see changes in my weight I up my protein and water try it and see if it helps

Hello. I am really really struggling. I have only lost 9 lbs at the 6 week mark after gastric bypass surgery. I lost over 50 lbs prior to surgery. I don’t feel restricted but I am totally following my instructions for intake. Today, I tried beginner’s yoga for overweight people and couldn’t even get near the poses. I feel like just giving up.

Lifetime rule. I just spoke to someone last week who had the size of his stomach checked because he gained back all his weight. He was sure he stretched it out. He had the surgery over 15 years ago. It was not stretched out. They told him it is because he washes the food out by drinking with his meal.

Okay, here's a weird one and an unclear "victory": I was going through airport security and after they did the backscatter screen, the one where they look at your naked body through your clothes with X-rays, they called me aside and did a very invasive and thorough pat-down, focusing on my groin area. This has never happened to me before, save at the Kathmandu airport where I'm pretty sure everyone just gets grabbed by the crotch as part of standard procedure. As far as I can gather, I've now lost enough weight that my panniculus looks less like a fat belly and more like a low-slung bum bag full of drugs/explosives on their machine. Hoping that as it deflates, it looks less alarming and triggers fewer groin probings.

I have had a few of those dreams about eating. They’re not anything like gorging on unhealthy foods… (my weight gain wasn’t food addiction related) I’m almost 4 weeks post op from my sleeve surgery. My dreams are about having a poached egg on toast or having a salad with grilled chicken… I think whatever you’re missing food wise your brain is trying to help you make up for it somehow with dreams? Anyway I can see how it would be scary to dream you are a bunch of off limits foods in access and be afraid you ruined your sleeve! Mine are more like “I was able to swallow the bite of salad without getting foamies”’.

No. That's got nothing to do with a PAP. Ways to find it are through blood work and classic symptoms such as irregular or non existent periods, skin tags, dark areas under arms and under breasts, predominant weight gain in the stomach area, inability to get or stay pregnant, major hormonal imbalances, insulin resistance, etc...

You may want to be fitted and find at least one to have on hand if your weight has settled cause the price of bras has gone WAY up but if you can get them during a sale it will be far more reasonable. Victoria Secret has their sale twice a year I believe and if you are a larger cup size, lane Bryant has smaller and larger band sizes and they have different sales but every few months they have a good one. If you wait for an event you likely will end up paying twice the price for it. Not sure what your budget is like but it’s just food for thought.

I agree 100%. My surgeon said snacking is the biggest reason for weight regain - or for not being as successful at this as you want to be. Saving some calories for a late night snack might help, as someone else suggested. This surgery takes a lot of work - it's definitely NOT the easy way out.

I'm almost four months post op and I still have two shakes per day in the form of proffees. I can't afford to stop them. I hit higher protein goals because I do cardio/strength training five days per week and I couldn't eat that much protein from solid foods. As for vitamins, I will never stop taking them. My surgeon stressed how important it was to prevent vitamin and mineral deficiencies by staying on top of my supplements, (and having regular blood tests) because once they occur it's much harder to bring the levels back up, so it's just not worth going against that medical advice. I trusted my surgeon enough to operate on my body, so surely I'm going to trust her advice on preventing V&D deficiencies so I will follow her advice forever. To the OP: I would say that life is probably easier for you post op in many ways after losing weight, the trade off is your guts have been rerouted, and you can't compromise on supplements and protein. Have you had your vitamin and minerals checked via blood test? Talk to your team and see if they approve these changes, take their advice firstly because they know your medical needs. Best wishes!

😁 Your post was both hilarious and relatable. I'd glanced at the scale and it said I'd gained almost a stone! I panicked and almost threw the scale. I don't quite have the hang of this "monitoring my weight" thing as of yet, and I don't want to. However, I know it's a necessary evil. This is a fancy, schmancy electronic scale that you cannot put on the carpet (or it'll be inaccurate), and that connects with an app on my phone to tell me my BMI and keeps track of my weight loss/gain. Evil thing, indeed. Thank you for everything!

And you’ll likely experience a couple of them as you’re losing. Stalls are all very normal & very common. They usually last 1-3 weeks. Think of them as your body saying what the hell are you doing to me: less food, change of diet, change of activity, weight loss, … It then shuts the door & tries to come to terms with the changes. Some find that while the scale doesn’t move, a tape measure may show some changes.

You’ve done amazingly well so far. Congratulations. Ok, breathe. Weight loss is never a straight downward line. It goes up & down, plateaus, goes faster at times, slower at others. As long as your general trend is downward you’re golden. We all have a natural fluctuation too from hormonal changes, water retention, constipation/diarrhoea. It’s just how our bodies function. Don’t let the scales rule your life. You know best how to manage it - weigh every day or less frequently. I weighed every day until I stabilised now I weigh every second or third day but that’s what I need to keep myself honest & on track. Don’t forget to that what you weigh on your scales will likely be different to your doctors. Different scales, you’re weighed at different times, after eating/not eating, dressed or not, etc. Also scales are not 100% accurate all the time. A few weeks ago my scales said I weighed 136.2kg & that was after I changed the batteries. It initially read 151kg - about three times my weight. Yes I did have heart palpitations for a second or two. Since it wasn’t the batteries, it may have been the days of extremely high humidity or that it was just time they went to God. I bought a new set … which weigh about a pound heavier than the old ones. ☹️

It's great to hear that you are considering all of your options when it comes to loose skin. It is true that there are many factors that play into how our skin responds to weight loss, and genetics is definitely one of the biggest ones. However, there are a few things that you can do to help your skin bounce back, even if it takes a little longer than you'd like. First and foremost, make sure that you are eating a healthy, balanced diet and getting enough protein. This will help your skin to heal and repair itself from the inside out. Additionally, staying hydrated is key for keeping your skin looking its best. Make sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day, and consider adding a daily moisturizer to your skin care routine. Finally, give yourself time. It can take months or even years for your skin to fully adjust to your new body, so be patient and give your skin the time it needs to bounce back. If you are still unhappy with your appearance after a few years, then you can always talk to a dermatologist or plastic surgeon about your options. Thanks for the advice! I'll definitely keep all of this in mind as I continue on my journey. Thanks for the advice! I am only a few months out, so I am hopeful that my skin will tighten up a bit more over time. I am being very consistent with my skin care regimen and using sunscreen religiously, so fingers crossed that will help! I am also drinking tons of water and eating pretty well, so hopefully that will make a difference too. I know it will take time and patience, but I am hopeful that I will see some more improvement. I'm so sorry to hear that you're struggling with your loose skin! I can completely understand how frustrating it must be. Have you considered talking to your doctor about surgery? It sounds like you've been doing everything right in terms of taking care of yourself, but sometimes our bodies need a little extra help. Surgery could be the answer for you and it's always worth exploring all of your options. I had never even heard of "turkey neck" until I started my weight loss journey. I was always unhappy with how my neck looked, but I thought it was just because I was overweight. Now that I've lost the weight, turkey neck is one of the things that bothers me most about my appearance. It's really hard to feel good about myself when people are constantly pointing out how saggy and wrinkled my skin looks. But you're right - at the end of the day, being healthy and feeling good about myself is more important than anything else!

As @SmolGojira says, there are lots of factors that will influence how much loose skin you have on your face & your body. But there are non invasive & minimally invasive things you can do to help to a degree if you aren’t happy. First, give your body a chance to resettle after you’ve lost your weight. It can be quite amazing how your body almost reshuffles your remaining fat after you’re reached your goal. In maintenance you’ll be eating a broader range of nutrients including more carbs (multi/whole grain low processed carbs) which help too. Initially I had lots of fine lines running down from under my chin. I did a series of RF treatments & with time & a broader diet most disappeared. This year I had some filler into the sides of my face in front of my ears where I had hollows totally empty of fat & that gave a slight & natural looking lift to the marionette lines around my mouth. I’ve also had one session of derma pen to help with acne scarring but will be transitioning to the combined dermal needling & RF instead which supposedly is more likely to provide skin tightening. I also have dysport/Botox but that’s for my vanity wrinkles - LOL! You can try taking collagen & silica. But like derma needling, topical or ingested collagen will still take about 3 months for you to see any effects (the natural skin cycle). Topical skin products like hylaurinic acid, Vitamin C, collagen oils & such can help make your skin, brighter, plumper, even out skin tone & texture & generally give you a healthy glow which will somewhat distract from any laxity you may have. I believe the effects of many of these will depend on you - your genetics, how your body processes/absorbs them & how much your skin is in need. One bonus of the weight loss was the deep lines that encircled my neck (fat creases) are barely visible in some light. Best is I have a jaw line, cheek bones & visible eye lids (hooded lids no more), my neck is longer & thinner & I look like me because my face isn’t distorted by fat. Before you do anything though, educate yourself. Be informed on the possible benefits & side effects. Don’t get caught up with what a beauty therapist is selling, influencers are promoting or latest fad. I started seeing a cosmetic physician this year for my treatments & I appreciate her honesty & straight talking about treatments & products. She often says don’t waste your money doing that. Sorry for the long post.

Thank you very much for your answers, y'all! Without any exceptions, and I mean it. I really appreciate telling me all about the problems you've faced and potential solutions. Weight problems are as difficult as they are, I appreciate that there are others who have the same problem (and sometimes even the same kinds of problems). For the time being, I've decided to give it some time and, if there is a need for it, then I would decide to proceed with a surgical procedure such as non-ablative partial laser resurfacing. If not, perhaps I can be patient and wait it out until my weight and appearance may stabilize after a waiting period.

I feel you, I hate how my neck looks. I have turkey neck but I don't care. I look and feel better than before the weight loss.

Have you tried actually calling these insurance companies to ask what their process is for weight loss surgery? As for paramount advantage "selling out" Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield acquired Paramount Medicaid contracts.

The first couple of months were terrible I had the bypass last Dec 2nd and had some complications so it took me longer to heal but by February I was feeling good. Was throwing up and in pain for what felt like firever. Now I'm doing great I hit my goal weight my surgeon gave me Halloween and my bmi went from 47 to now it's a 25 Sent from my SM-A716U using BariatricPal mobile app

I finally weigh less than 300, for the first time in 17 1/2 years!! I'm off all 3 diabetes meds, my anti-inflammatory/joint pain med, and my blood pressure med. I do cardio 3 days per week and weight training 2 days per week. On cardio, I'm up to an hour and a half. On weight training days, I'm at right around an hour. Never in my LIFE did I think I could ever be here. I know I need my rest days, but I actually hate taking them LOL I look forward to working out, which is so crazy and foreign to me.

Hello I am new here my name is Amanda I am 40 years old I’m going through the process of having gastric sleeve surgery my last thing to do is a sleep study and I have one more appointment with the dietitian so all the papers will be sent to Medicaid I don’t know how the process works and how long it takes I am stressing myself to the max because I am so worried that something is going to go wrong where I cannot have my surgery I really need the surgery because I am diabetic I have sleep apnea and I cannot walk for long periods of time therefore I can’t have fun with my family like I used to because my legs were swollen up anyone has any information please let me know

I had the gastric sleeve on October 6th and I would say I'm doing fantastic! The hardest part was the first week. It was weird to have zero appetite at all, but the hardest part was the gas pains. In the last month I've lost 34 lb since surgery and I couldn't be happier. Don't be surprised if you hit a plateau for a couple weeks that happened to me and evidently it's extremely common and the more weight you lose the more likely you are to hit a plateau for a while. Just hold on and keep doing the diets. The only thing I'm struggling with is getting exercise into my day as I'm exhausted by the end of the day since I have no carbs, no sugar, no caffeine to help by. Just hold on and know that the pain of the first couple days is only temporary. In the more you walk, the better you'll be. When I was on the liquid diet I loved low sodium broth as well as lots and lots of sugar-free popsicles. They really hit the spot and soothing your throat if it's a little sore from the innovation and also they just feel good when they hit your stomach. Good luck on your surgery! I just had mine on the 6th and I feel fully recovered to the point where sometimes I forget I even had surgery. It's pretty awesome!

Ahhh. Water weight. I'd forgotten about even thinking about that. Thank you!