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I have United, they are a pain. Keep working on the insurance approval and follow exactly what they want. I started at 370, did my 6 months in which I was definitely expected to lose (modified South Beach Diet for 4 months then I ate like it was my last meal! I stayed at about 310 for last couple months.) My surgery was Dec. 10 lost about 37 since then, My goal is to be under my college weight of 227. I am at 269 this morning when I stepped on my home scale before getting dressed. United wants you to prove to them that you are serious about losing weight and that you will keep at it. They require you to go to Diet Dr. or equivalent every month. It was a great way to get used to bariatric foods. I found I could eat plain nonfat greek yogurt with Peanut Butter powder, fresh fruit, or even diet maple syrup mixed in. I learned how to eat 60 grams Protein a day and to follow a tight diet while walking a bunch. I was worried about losing too much, but that is unlikely. My Dr. told me that if I started losing too much she'd put me on a Golden Corral diet for awhile. I also think United wants people to re-consider if they are doing really well on their own diets and NOT get WLS.

I had my daughter 8 weeks ago and I'm finding the weight lose really slow did anyone else feel the same way

OMG!!!! I'm in the same boat and I am so glad to hear that I am not alone to experience a stall so early in my weight loss journey. I had my surgery on July 14, 2017. I was losing 3-4 pounds per day immediately after surgery and then it tapered off to 1 - 1.5 pounds per day. At the end of week 2 post-op, I stalled. In fact, at some point during week 3 I gained 1 pound. For the past 10 days, I have been at the same weight. I exercise daily (I walk 5km per day on a treadmill) and I make sure I eat enough proteins. I follow the eating plan I was given. My water intake is ok, but not that great. I can only manage about 750 ml per day (+/-). My biggest downfall is weighing myself every single day. I realize now that the scale is my enemy when I do that. I will try to see how I am doing only once a week. In the meantime, I try on clothes that didn't fit me before and pride myself on the inches lost.

Any other RNY-ers constantly stalling? I feel like I'm losing weight for 4 or 5 days and then stalking for a week and a half- 2 weeks. It's frustrating.

Hi everyone! My name is Anthony and I'm 31 years old. I've struggled with being overweight all of my adult life. I am just about 5'9" and currently weight 245 lbs. It may not seem like I have to lose as much as some others and a lot of people tell me that I don't look like I weigh that much, but I know that I don't like the way I feel or look. I have back and knee pain, especially when I am standing for too long. It's also difficult for me to exercise at this weight. I've lost weight in the past via diet and/or medications but it always manages to come back on. I'm strongly considering the gastric sleeve. My only worry is that I did have my colon removed when I was 16 due to severe Ulcerative Colitis. I now have what's called a "j-pouch", which is basically when they form a new bowel out of your small intestine so that you don't need an ostomy/colostomy bag (I did have one for 3 months in between the 2 surgeries - first surgery to remove the colon, second to reverse it and make the pouch). I've checked with my doctors and one of the colorectal surgeons said he doesn't recommend the gastric sleeve and a couple of others said their only concern would be having urgent bowel movements due to having less of a digestive tract, but told me to check with the bariatric surgeons to make sure. The bariatric surgeon said he thinks it would probably make me have LESS bowel movements since I would be eating less and the food would be moving slower through my system. Wish me luck, I am having another virtual consultation next month!

I just started my first month weigh in yesterday. Good luck! Do you have united healthcare too? Did they tell you whether you were allowed to lose any weight during the waiting period? If so how much?

Oh No! I have BCBS too. Through Bank of America. I'm on my last month that but I gained 2 lb in month 2 also. At my last weigh in next week, I should be at a total loss of 4 pounds. This is because my bmi was only 37.2 so I was afraid to loose too much. It's like you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. What state are you in? I'm in the Dallas area.

My surgeon said wait 6 weeks before strenuous exercise (like weight lifting and running). I was the same way -- walking and walking and walking and when that 6 week point got here, boom, out for a run I went!!! Running when skinny is much more fun.

Tracy, I was an exercise hater. Hence my weight getting to 330 pounds. I realized that if I didn't make exercise part of my daily life I would always be fat. So, right out of surgery I decided to move every chance I had. I was up and walking around the exterior of the hospital within an hour of coming out of recovery and kept walking until I was given the go ahead by my surgeon for full exercise. I joined a gym (Curves) the day I turned 4 weeks post-op and I faithfully go every day. I have made so many new friends and have found so much support through the owners, employees and members that I actually look forward to going. I also ride my bicycle with my husband as often as daylight permits. My grown kids actually have started to join us and it has become a family outing every weekend and it is so much fun. My husband has always told me to push past the exhaustion of exercise and when I feel like I can't breath anymore to focus on slowing down my breathing and the feeling will pass. I would stop and plop on the sofa at the point where breathing got hard and give up. I've discovered that he was right. It does get easier when you push past that point and concentrate on your breathing. I love riding my bicycle and feel so alive like I can ride forever. I'm telling you all this to try and motivate you to find some form of exercise that you enjoy and will make part of your everyday life. I want you to succeed and become healthier, lose the weight and become happier, more confident and help others in their weight loss journey. Exercise is a necessary part of life. Best of luck to you and feel free to message me if you have any questions. P.S. Sassy is a good thing! Donna

I'm almost 7 months post op and I am 17 weeks preggo... I have not gained any weight yet, I have continued to lose... not a lot but still losing. This is my 4th child and I feel like this pregnancy is probably the healthiest out of all. I feel like a normal pregnant woman (if that makes sense) I just have a normal preggo belly... before I just looked like an overweight person. I habe had no issues with eating... my appetite has picked up a bit. I still get my protein in and I have had a few "unhealthy cravings" that I have given into, but nothing I feel ashamed about. I had an ultrasound on Wednesday and my baby boy is healthy as can be... so my doc is not worried at all. Good luck with your pregnancy!

We weigh about the same and seem to have the same issues right now. I have lost 10 pounds since surgery and have had one fill and have another scheduled. The last few days I have really tried getting alot more water in and I think I have lost some more weight. I only weigh once a week, but I feel alot better. I have also been using fit day and I usually eat about 1200 calories. So something has to work soon. Good luck with your struggles.

So for me when I stalled I know that my body was struggling with what it was going through. I re-evaluated what I was doing. I found I was eating too much: I cut back to 600-700 calories and one snack three meals a day. I have always been exercising(walking) and I didn't change this. The scale is DEFINITELY your friend. I beleive if you weigh yourself regularly you keep on top of your weight loss(or not). You can make adjustments if it slows or you gain. Keep in mind also processed foods, they have alot of sodium and can slow down weight loss. Try to consume more foods that you prepare rather than pre-made.

I am also 7 weeks out, but have only lost 21 pounds, so far. It'll come off; I am not going to go scale crazy. What I lose, I didn't gain. I am being good, but it is hard with the half hour after liquids, solids, 1 hour til liquids again. It takes all day to get the Protein in and I usually get 64 ounces of Water in; trying to get up to 80 oz. I used to drink a gallon of water (128 oz) before surgery.

The gas and yucky post surgery feeling will go away. But I think I will always be aware I have the band in me. The more weight I lose, the more I feel the port and that does give me occasional discomfort. Totally worth it for the benefits though.

Gatorade is a salt and sugar concoction, so you may want to ponder it. At 5 weeks adding a meal in response to gaining 2 pounds in the last couple days seems odd. Heck, making any changes in response to what happened in the last 2 days seems questionable. I can't help but think we're missing some information here. I do understand wanting to increase 40g of protein, though. But, as I always say, it's more important to follow the plan then what the plan actually is. A big part of our program is learning to follow rules. At 5 weeks, I was on puree of 3 oz protein, 1 oz veggie, 3 times per day. That comes out to 60 grams protein. Actually, my program is still not all that different. For folks on protein drinks, a quick look at Amazon says 25-30 grams per drink minimum. So 3 of those = 75g. Food protein or drink protein, 3 times per day should not be overly taxing. Is it? So, I guess it comes down to your plan, and how you are doing on it. Good luck, Tek

I nver used this I did ask the nurse and she told me not to use this yet to wait until I get more weight off because it could add some weight at first. I still use the Nectar by Syntrex and it has helped me a great deal.

I read that Gastric Bypass patients lose an average of 75% of their excess body weight. At the time of surgery, I weighed 346 and my ideal body weight by BMI is approximately 190 pounds. So, that means I am carrying an excess weight of 156 pounds. 75% of 156 pounds is 117 pounds. So that means if I lost 75% of my excess weight, I would be a relatively svelt 229 pounds. Crunching the numbers is interesting. 229 seems like an impossibly long way off but I'm only going to take it day by day.

And Matty? A LOT of people beat the average weight loss:)

from the research i've done, you basically have a "genetic reaction" to the surgery. in other words, don't beat yourself up or OBSESS (a big problem around here) about whether you lose 65% or 75% or 85% of your excess weight. the initial loss is virtually all out of your hands. it's the long-term years afterwards that your behavior and healthy habits will determine if you keep it off. that's what you control. that's what you should focus on. just try to be at peace with wherever you land after a year or so. it's nothing you did wrong (or right, tbh). it just is what it is. and it will be 1,000x better than where you were pre-surgery!

You are doing just fine. I also started in January. 303 lbs. My surgery weight was close to yours and my surgery date was July 28. I am 5'3". I have lost about 30 lbs since surgery. My doctor said that since i lost enough prior to surgery to significantly lower my BMI that my weight loss would be slower. He is well satisfied with the average of 10 lbs per month as am I. I go to the gym at least 3 times a week and get about 800 calories a day, and stay active as much as possible throughout the day. Sent from my KFTT using the BariatricPal App

Wow, I weight 183 pounds & I'm a size 8, not even close to a 6. Awesome, great job!

Hi and congrats on taking the steps to a healthier and better you. The sleeve is a wonderful and I absolutely love life post-op. As for your questions, I'll answer honestly and openly as I can. 1) I am a smoker. Smoking inhibits healing, and can cause ulcers. Not only that, it increases your risk of a leak due to hindering healing of the staple line. My surgeon knew my smoking status, but I didn't quit pre-op. Could it have contributed to the fact that I did have a leak, yes, but the biggest issue in my recovery and leak issues was because I had a band first that destroyed my stomach tissue. Smoking also complicates anesthesia recovery. Your abdomen is sore, causes more coughing and I had to use a spirometer to help prevent pneumonia. That really sucked because coughing caused major discomfort. I have quit twice since surgery, and am now trying to quit again. I actually went on Wellbutrin to help with the withdraws of nicotine as the patch, gum and cold turkey make life with me pure hell. 2) I had a huge panel of labs, a chest xray, psych eval, and consult with a nutritionist. Some surgeons require an upper gi and sleep study. 3) I didn't have a drain initially. A lot of surgeons use drains to make sure there is no leak, and some pull it before discharge, some require it stay in for about a week. I only had drains due to the leak repair surgery, and they stayed in for over 2 weeks. 4) I was not catheterized for my revision. I urinated before surgery, and was dry when I came out. 5) hair loss can happen to anyone that goes through surgery. It's a pretty normal occurrence. There is absolutely nothing you can do to stop it. It's a combination of anesthesia, surgical stress, and rapid weight loss. I lost hair for about 3 months, and I lost half of my hair. Luckily, I had super thick, coarse hair and no one that didn't know me before never guessed that I had lost all of my hair. The only thing you can do pre-op and during your recovery is to take hair/nail/skin supplements to help with regrowth. Biotin is usually the one most people choose. I didn't do anything to help with regrowth until I started losing. I used Folicure extra care shampoo. I started having new growth pop in while I was still losing. Currently, I look like a chia pet, and have chopped my hair off, layered it and bleached the top to help hide some of the new growth. I kept the back and underneath dark to help give the illusion of depth and volume. Unfortunately, hair loss seems pretty inevitable. There's several patients on this board that got in there Protein and extra protein, and they lost more hair and lost it for a longer period of time than I did, and I didn't get in my protein until I was on soft solids when I could eat chicken and other meat. My main advice is make sure you can handle the mental and emotional aspect of this surgery. It's a huge change, and no matter how much you read or talk to people will you really grasp it all until you go through it. I truly believe going in positive, and upbeat helps. Find strength within yourself, and know that you are doing something absolutely fabulous for yourself and your family. Know that recovery can be difficult, you'll be tested, you'll be exhausted, you might be mad at yourself especially during the post-op diet, but all of that is just temporary. Questions to ask your surgeon: What size bougie do you use to make the sleeve? What are your leak/complication stats? What are your expectations of my weight loss? Do you provide follow up care, labs, access to a nutritionist and psych if needed post-op (especially since you'll be self-pay find out what all is included in that cost)? Do you prescribe an acid reducer such as Prilosec, Prevacid, Nexium to protect the sleeve, how long should I be on it? Post-op diet instructions? Pre-op diet instructions? How many sleeves have you performed? How many bariatric procedures have you performed? How long is the hospital stay? Leak tests, how many and when are they performed? That's all I can think of right now. Best wishes on your consult, and if you need anything ask away. We'll all be here for you through this journey.

Because of Insurance my lap band surgery is not scheduled till February 2009. I tried cutting down on my eating prior to the surgery since my dietician recommended it. It hasn't worked and I put more weight on. My husband is upset with me saying if I can't cut down now the lap band is not going to work. I am worried and wish I could have the procedure done sooner. What are your thoughts ?

I started doing VERY light lifting at the gym around 4-5 weeks. I'm talking so I light I couldn't really even feel the weight, just to get some form and stretching back. I did this for about two weeks, then gradually added back a little weight each week or so. But I had a pretty easy recovery from the surgery, so I would definitely go with your Drs advice.

I have tri care south and my doc looked over my hospital charts an that was good enough with me wanting to loss weight and such