Search the Community

Maybe if you share what your starting weight is? For example: say you are starting at a lower BMI and thus a lower weight such as if you're starting BMI is 40 or your starting weight was 233 pounds then l would tell you that 22 pounds in 10 weeks is really fantastic for the weight you started at because that means that you lost almost 10% of your total body weight in those 10 weeks. If you start at a lower weight then you can't compare your weight to someone who started like me at 389 pounds because I would have needed to lose 37 pounds to equal the same percentage of weight loss as your 22 pounds. Comparing your weight loss to people who started at a higher weight is going to do nothing more than drive you insane! Trust me, you don't want to do that! We all lose at different rates because we all have different circumstances and each of our bodies works different. Also, daily weight fluctuations is 100% normal. You can expect your daily weight to be different on average of a 2-5 pound difference due to fluid retention, or your bowels being full. Hell, even inflammation or an upcoming or current period can cause your scale to have a higher number than you want to see. I had to deal with my hypothroidism causing more stalls than anyone I've ever seen on this site ever mention (literally went into one at least once a month from month three post-op to now. My longest one lasted 47 days) and yet I was still able to reach my goal weight. I've been in a stall since I reached my goal weight, admittedly, but I'm still weighing in at 179 (was 179.4 today, despite the fact that I had physical therapy just three days ago and am having a TON of inflammation and hip pain because of my arthritis, AND just started my period, tmi, sorry). I used to drive myself absolute crazy comparing myself to others wondering why my weight loss was so damn slow compared to everyone else and I hope you don't do that to yourself! If you keep with the dieting guidelines, and keep up the hard work, then your body will get there. It may just take more time then you expected, but you can do it! Please try not to compare yourself and your progress to anyone else. We really do lose weight at our own bodies pace, and so trying to match someone else is just going to drive you up a wall! You will stress yourself out and my PCP warned me that stress can cause weight loss stalls (maybe that's why I had so many lol. I get stressed out wayyyy too easily!). Anyway, I'm sorry that you're stressing out! It's pretty normal, I think. To stress out and think your weight loss is slow, I mean. I think many of us unintentionally thought we'd have weight loss like 'My 600 pound Life' despite the fact that none of us were that big. It's unrealistic to compare oneself to that since we generally have nowhere near as much weight to lose. Personally, I think you're off to a great start in your journey and I really wish you all the best!

Hi! I would love some help from everyone I am 10 weeks post op and 1 day. I am only down 22 lbs from surgery and 31 lbs down in all. I see other people story and they are losing way more than that. Here is my breakdown I eat shrimp, chicken and lots of veggies my snack (if I can eat one) is a the skinny pop one bag I do weight lifting at the gym 5 times a week not a lot of cardio I am 5’4 and I’m 25 so I’m not understanding why my weight loss is so slow. Sometimes I even gain back a lb or 2 and then it goes away I’m stuck someone please help!!!

I've been in this WLS world for close to twenty years, since the initial work up to my wife's DS and then my VSG some years later, and from what I have seen from many in our support groups, most everyone can lose up to around 30lb of regain - it takes some effort and a few months, but it comes off more or less like a "normal" person. 50lb or regain is more a a 50-50 proposition - some can lose it on their own, and some need a revision to help it along. My general feeling is that the revision should be your last step rather than your first. Go back to some basics and try to understand where your regain happened, as if it happened, once, it can happen again after a revision., so you need to get your head around the root of the problem. Is it a head problem, meaning that maybe some therapy is in order, or not really understanding the nutritional side of things and how to eat and live to maintain a healthy weight - an RD can be helpful for this. Or, maybe a bit of both. Unfortunately, our WLS, and by extension a revision for regain (rather than for complications) is really more of a "do over" rather than a cure for the problem Very commonly, before we had WLS, the most frequent reason for failure in dieting is that the diet will yield some weight loss, maybe even to normalish weight, but then the person declares success and goes back to their old habits, and diet, that helped to promote the weight gain in the first place - they never really learned how to live, and eat, to maintain that healthy weight. This is why we frequently see people regaining fairly rapidly after notionally successful dieting. The same basic profile often happens after WLS, only it takes a while longer to happen owing to the lower volume that we can eat, but that tendency is still there. Another consideration is that every time we go inside to do surgery, we back ourselves further into a corner, limiting our options for future treatment should that be necessary, whether for regain revision or for something completely unrelated; you have limited any future surgeon's options in what they can do to help you with some future problem. This is why I am very shy about "wasting" a surgery if I can possibly treat the problem some other way. Again, let it be your last choice, rather than your first.

Hello All, I had sleeve April 15, total down 55 pounds. I was stalling alot it seemed until I started grazing and than it's slow but steady weight loss. The full meal's were not working for me. I am amazed at how food changes constantly. I was loving watermelon and now can't tolerate and eggs. And things I didn't like before surgery I am enjoying now. So strange. Anyway, keep up the good work and I hope we all talk again 5 months out. Peace

Hi, I'm also 4 mos out with a stall between 192-195. I'm also became caretaker for my elderly Mom so lots of stress going on here. I know how that can impact a person's health but at least I'm not gaining. Still thrilled to be in "onederland" and really enjoying breaks I get from other fam members so I can do my. Reformer Pilates classes where my focus is now cardio/sculpt. I also hop on my treadmill at home buty water intake has really taken a dive. Need to work on that. The great news is that my A1c # for diabetes no longer requires meds. I'm so, so, happy about that🙂. Btw, my highest history of weight gain was 261, pre-op was 245 to 235 from the week fast, and now 192. Goal is 150 since I am 5'6". I had the revision from lap band to gastric sleeve. My niece had the bypass and she said that her stall required her to go back on protein shakes 3x a day un order to trigger more weight loss and so far she has lost 100 pounds. I think I will be trying that, too. Good luck to everyone and I love seeing the pics Mizzkay! You look awesome. Blueslily, thx for keeping this topic alive. I'm right there with you on the stall. We can do this! Sincerely, Trish

Hey guys and gals! Hope everyone is doing wonderful. I haven’t posted in forever. Overall I lost 110 pounds from 268 to 155. I could stand to lose 20 more but not concerned about it. I got a breast lift and implants this week. The girls were so sad after that much weight loss. Just deflated and had no volume. Boy are they voluminous now! I have an apron of lose skin but doubt I will get a tummy tuck. Dating again. Very much like the guy I’m seeing. Been a very long time since a man was so nice to me. He is a sweetie. I truly hope life is treating everyone well!

For anyone who has had their gallbladder removed after their weight loss surgery, could you please let me know of your experience post op removal? I’m having my gallbladder removed next week (I’m around 8 months post op bypass) and really haven’t been given much info on what to expect pain wise, post op diet etc. just looking to hear about some personal experiences :) thanks

2 years ago almost i found myself in a dv relationship in a new city with no friends i just moved there 3 weeks prior ive had weight/gain weight loss alot of bloating and alot of gas ive since a gastrointestinal doctor who wants to do the camera your stomach im sure weve all have had but i have no to drive me and covid had made it difficult on top of the huge co pay ugh so this doctor set me for this test where i drink some frizzy like alka and it made me burp uncontrollably when thw test came back i have small rolling hernia which confuses me still because 2013 i had thst was tied down during my bypass. Has anyone experienced this ir any idea Sent from my SM-G991U using BariatricPal mobile app

The chewing & spitting of food is a slippery slope. I know people say they do it but it doesn’t make it the best choice. The liquid diet is only two weeks before surgery. Besides helping you lose weight & shrink your liver to help during your surgery, it helps to start breaking your cravings/dependency on caffeine, sugar, carbs, etc. It helps you start to think about why you eat & why you make certain food choices. It’s not easy, but you have months of weight loss ahead of you which will throw many eating & food related challenges at you. You can do it. The post surgery staged diet is needed because you’ve just had surgery to alter your digestive system. Your poor tummy is being held together by a lot stitches & staples. It’s there so you don’t strain or stress your tummy or pop stitches. You may not have felt nausea or vomited @edwardstylez but you could have been just lucky. We all heal at different rates & your tummy may have been able to cope but others may not. Please be careful. Good luck.

I sometimes experience blocked ears - hearing becomes muffled & ears block like when going up or down a mountain range (used to get when flying) except, yawning, swallowing doesn’t ‘pop’ them. For me it’s from low blood pressure (& a little drop in sugar sometimes for me too) - my iron levels are good. The low BP will also cause weakness, lethargy, dizziness, narrowing of vision, mental doughinrss, headaches, etc. too. Do you have your BP tested regularly? Low BP plus low iron levels could be making the situation worse or you. As @catwoman7 said you’ll get more iron from red meat than vegetables. While 100g of fresh spinach will provide about same amount of iron as a 100g of steak, 100g of spinach is a lot of spinach. Personally I was eating vegetables from soft food - carrots, onions, celery, mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach, … in soups, stews, omelettes, mince dishes, etc. In solid foods I was eating a small floriet of cauliflower, a couple of green beans, or some steamed cabbage at dinner. Not much, but a start. I slowly increased the vegetables as I increased the protein. How much protein do you have to eat each day? My goal was 60g - it took me a while to reach that goal every day but I’d get close. Hope they can sort this out for you soon @SummerTimeGirl. After weight loss surgery, we can’t take nsaids like ibuprofens. Too strong & harsh on our now small tummies & can lead to inflammation, ulcers, etc. Sleevers may be able to have the odd one after a year or so if your surgeon approves. I’m allowed . For e.g. had 2 in the last 3 months - one after my gall surgery & one for my COVID vaccine headache. Many ibuprofens work by constricting blood vessels but they increase your BP as your heart works harder to get your blood around your body hence hearing the whooshing sound of blood being forced through the constricted blood vessels.

I think many of us feel a sense of sadness and loss after surgery. To me, it keeps reminding me of getting out of a bad romantic relationship. There's a period of time after the breakup when I get lonely and a little frantic and I consider going back even if I know the relationship is completely toxic. But when people keep going back into a toxic relationship, they just keep getting sicker and sadder. I don't want that anymore for me with my relationship with food. When you break up and get out of a bad relationship, you have to mourn the loss of that relationship, even if it sucked. It filled a hole in your life. But just like when you break up with somebody, you have to find new things to validate you or to bring you joy. You are grieving habits that weren't good for you, but soon you'll start to find new things to help you feel better. Hopefully they will be good healthy things for your life. For me it has been exercising, spending time with friends, and probably spending a little bit too much money on new clothes lol. I'm not really sure if this is exactly the way you're feeling, but I just thought I would tell you what's been going through my mind the past month in case it is the same. I sure hope you get through the mourning process soon, and you can have peace with your choice.

Hey, congratulations on your Recent loss of 10 pounds. It’s not an easy thing to accomplish. I just recently had my surgery done on August 2. Some of the big motivators for me or my friends and family. Looking forward to keeping up with my kids instead of having them run circles around me with a game changer for me. I also learned to take a lot of pride in the small successes that I had. Instead of looking at the big picture and feeling overwhelmed I was able to take it day by day and measure my success like that. Before I knew it it was surgery time.

Chiming in here. I knew it was time to consider it after I put on almost 100 lbs in the last 2 years. I lost about 70 lbs before and felt the best I had in my entire life. Sadly, I had my stints of gaining a little bit back and then losing it and then gaining more back. However I realized in the grand scheme of things, I was overall gaining more weight than I'd lose during crash diets. Fast forward and I did a diet bet with some friends of mine realizing I ballooned past 310 lbs and feeling completely out of control, especially in contrast with friends who's weights felt normal to me. I then injured my knee pretty bad the beginning of 2021 and now have immense pain when doing any weight baring activities, even going up the stairs. I gained 20 lbs after injuring my knee as I couldn't do my walks for a bit. I felt so tired and sick. My legs were burning when I'd walk less than a mile. I got super depressed feeling like not too long ago I was running 2 miles a day during my big weight loss journey. Feeling like I have a useless body and 0 control has really been the lowest of the low. I've had wls in my mind for most of my adult life but was too afraid. It's bittersweet that I needed to hit a rock bottom to go up but in a screwed up way, I'm glad I took a lot of time to think about it. I realized the pain and unhappiness I feel being uncomfortable in my own skin is much worse than a surgery and I view it as regardless of surgery or non surgical weight loss methods, changing how and when I eat will always be a part of the equation. The surgery is just the tool I've needed.. I just see all the pros greatly outweigh the cons. There was a response in this thread that says nothing was harder than being 400 lbs. I'm feeling the exact same. I had my first consultation last month. I have my dietician and testing tomorrow morning and If I'm successful with my treatment plan, I'll be able to get the surgery after October 2021. I'm scared SHITLESS (excuse my language) but I know this is the right thing for me. I'm ready to win the war now. Sent from my SM-G975U using BariatricPal mobile app

I have to agree that asking for what the "plan" will be on here is pretty useless, because each surgery center is so different. It really bothered me, because there should be some evidence-based medicine happening - but then, I work in clinical trials in cancer, where they have protocols for everything that are standardized across hospitals. I know that I wasn't asked to lose weight before my surgery, but a lot of that is dependent not just on your surgery center, but also on your insurance. However, I wanted to make sure I got used to eating in a more healthy way to "practice" for life after surgery, so I started eating lower carb (I still eat a lot of fruit) and higher protein. I've lost about 45 lbs and I've been less hungry than on previous weight loss attempts when I just cut calories. I'm eating about 1400 a day, on average. However, if I lose any more weight, I will not qualify for surgery, so I'm going to relax my eating until it's time to start my official "shrink the liver" diet at the end of the month. Many/most people have a liquid diet, but I just have to do ultra low carb/low fat high protein with low fruit and lots of veggies. I get it that the hard part is not knowing and not being able to plan. It took six months for me to get my surgery date, due to backlogs from COVID and the surgery center being short-staffed. Hang in there, and read as much here as you can. Be careful not to take anything as Gospel, either here or anywhere else on the internet, unless it's a hospital or professional website, like mayo.org or ASMBS.org.

Hi Butterflyeffect did you have problems with hair loss? thankuou four your updates 😀

My surgeon actually gave me a hard cover copy of Sally Johnston’s Your Complete Guide to Nutrition for Weight Loss Surgery at my first appointment. I found it very helpful. Information about sleeve, bypass & band, before & after surgery, post surgical stages, general healthy eating & nutritional needs as well as sample menus & recipes for each stage.

At lot of people experience a drop in their BP after surgery. For some it persists for a few months. For others it passes & their BP increases again. As you lose weight your BP should decrease but how much is an individual thing. I always had a tendency for low blood pressure but the episodes of weakness & loss of vision would only happen occasionally - couple of times a month. After my surgery it started happening every day then multiple times a day. My GP put me on a med (a fludrocortisone) to increase my BP but it didn’t work at all. Now it doesn’t happen quite as often only a few times a day so it’s improved lol! When I had my gall out in May, they pumped me full of fluids & even gave me a shot of ephedrine because my pressure was so low after surgery but nothing really worked. The ephedrine got it up to 105 over 70 something but ten minutes later it was back to the low 80s over 60s. It’s just me. My GP checks it when I see her but it seems to sit around that 90/100 over 70ish. Do you have your own BP monitor so you can track your levels during the day? Talk to your medical team about your BP meds & how to manage the drops in pressure. If you start to feel weak, dizzy or your vision narrows, stop moving, sit if you can or hold onto something. The episodes tend to pass in 5-10seconds. Some people do blackout so be very careful. Get up slowly & wait on standing before moving. Keep hydrated. Add extra salt to your diet.

that sounds pretty normal. I went more by calories -- I was eating 1000-1200 a day when I got to be about a year out. Since I hit maintenance (at 20 months out), I've been in the 1500-1700 range. a small plateful of food when you're over a year out is pretty normal. That's about what I eat now. No one would be able to tell I've had weight loss surgery at this point. I eat about as much as my never-been-obese women friends do who are watching their weight. if you aren't gaining weight, then I wouldn't worry about it.

3 or 4 years out, loss, a move plus a pandemic is lot for anyone. You did it once and will again! Congrats on joining the community!

@ Elizabeth having the sleeve: I had the same concerns when I was sleeved last August at age 68. I came through with no issues and have had a slow but steady weight loss. My snacking habit is rearing it’s ugly head and slowing down my progress. It is super difficult to maintain my focus!!. I never thought that I would have to even consider Weight Watchers or a”pouch reset” or whatever. Overall I am super pleased that I got this tool.

I am sorry about your mom. You seem to be very focused on weight loss. Very motivational. I wish you the best of luck. Thank you for your experience and insight.

On some of these I don't recall if they were a pre-op goal or not: Health issues resolved; New health issues revealed; Buying normal sized clothes; Riding rides (I was way too large). Boy have I ridden the rides; Getting into a bathtub. With room for my wife; I wanted to run, just to do it. I ran 5 marathons, one of which was the San Francisco Marathon where I got to run across the Golden Gate bridge; Chairs no longer vex me. Flying is an option without the belt-extender parade; Horseback riding with wife on vacation; Kayaking on vacation; Sex. There, I said it; I now do housework and all the cooking; Rode a bike to work for a few years; Can tie my own shoes while I am standing; Honestly, so many things of which I never thought; I wanted to dance but I still lack rhythm. Weight loss doesn't solve everything; Kids still make me anxious. People no longer walk into walls, poles, etc. staring at me. People don't automatically get out of my way now. I wanted to dump, and I do. Occasionally it's a real pain in my arse. Good luck, Tek

I'm so sorry for your loss. I don't think we ever are prepared to lose a parent, and nobody really talks about how hard it is. I lost my mom in 2019 and was devastated. It sounds like you are re-focusing and looking for healthy outlets. After my mom died, I joined a crossfit gym, and honestly, it helped so much with my anxiety. I am terrible at it, but I love it. For an hour every morning, the only thing I can do is focus on getting through the workout. It's nice to have an hour every day where your brain is so occupied with something that you can't think about anything else. And then when it's over, you feel a sense of accomplishment. Also, the people at my gym are really friendly and encouraging, so I've made a few friends, too. You might have some luck making friends at your gym. I move a lot with my job, it's so hard to make new friends as an adult. Running clubs are another good way to meet like-minded people. In the last place I lived, I joined a martial arts gym, and made some really good friends there. (I join a lot of gyms, but I'm still fat, lol. I'm getting the sleeve later this month...you can't outrun a bad diet!). Just thought I'd offer some suggestions for meeting people. Life can be really hard to navigate. You've got this! This quote helped me put things in perspective after my mom died: "Life is amazing. And then it’s awful. And then it’s amazing again. And in between the amazing and awful it’s ordinary and mundane and routine. Breathe in the amazing, hold on through the awful, and relax and exhale during the ordinary. That’s just living - heartbreaking, soul-healing, amazing, awful, ordinary life, and it’s breathtakingly beautiful!" Take care and keep us posted how you're doing. You can do it! Sent from my SM-N976V using BariatricPal mobile app

Before my breast reduction, my breasts were so pendulous they hung to my waist and my nipples had very little feeling at all. The skin around them was also purplish because there wasn't good blood supply and my nipples barely had any color. After the breast reduction and lift, I have feeling like I never had before. It took a lot of getting used to, because they got so sensitive, and before I never had my nipples show through clothes because they didn't react much to cold or touch. They are also a much darker color now. So for me, I GAINED feeling in them after the reduction and lift. I was also able to successfully breast feed my son, which I don't think would have been possible had I not had the reduction and lift. All that being said, there is always a risk of loss of feeling after a lift. I had a really fantastic surgeon and was also very lucky that everything went so well. If they become empty sacks after I have finished losing weight, it will be ironic. Ha ha Sent from my Nokia 7.2 using BariatricPal mobile app

having "buyer's remorse" sometime during the first month post-op is pretty common on top of that, you said you'd had binge eating disorder, so you're also dealing with an addiction withdrawal, too. and on top of THAT, the rapid weight loss can screw up your hormone balance in the early weeks (it'll eventually stabilize again), so that could be going on as well.. so - in short - a lot to deal with. Do you have a therapist - or if not, are you willing to get one? A lot of us have used them for a variety of reasons and have found them helpful.