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The three most important elements after RNY gastric bypass surgery are to meet your daily Protein, Fluid and Vitamin requirements. food is secondary because your body is converting your stored fat into the energy that drives your body. Thus you lose weight. Weight loss is achieved after surgery through volume control. You begin at 2 ounces (1/4 cup) per meal and gradually over the next year and a half increase the volume to 1 cup per meal. With this minuscule amount of food, it is next to impossible to meet your protein daily requirements by food alone, so therefore you need to rely on supplements such as Protein shakes. I lost my hunger after surgery and it was not difficult to lose weight when you are not hungry. But the hunger returned about a year later but by that time I had lost a significant amount of weight. @ said I am a year out from my RNY. I was non compliant all that time. I did not gain any weight but I also did not lose. I have NO appetite. This is rather strange and it seems to me that something is wrong unrelated to your surgery. After I gained my appetite back, I had an experience of getting a stomach flu that lasted for a week. During that week, I was not hungry and ate very little and lost weight quickly. So if you continue to want to lose weight; restrict the volume of your meals, and make sure that you are meeting your daily protein, fluid and vitamin requirements. Also try to get in around 30 minutes of walking exercise per day [or equivalent].

Hello everyone, My name is Joyce. I was banded November 15, 2007. I live on the east coast. I completing my fourth week and I have lost 10 lbs. I have maintained the weight since I lost. I have not had a fill as of yet. I will see the surgeon the first week of January 2008. I am thinking I will probably need a fill. My weight fluctuates everyday. It seems I am losing then I gain it right back. I initially exercised, but my incisions are bothering me. I am getting sharp pains and a pulling sensation when I am standing and walking. My stomach is drooping a little, maybe that is the reason for the pulling?? Anyway, I am getting my Protein requirements in everyday and I am keeping good records of my diet. Oh, well. I do feel a lot better and my friends are complimenting me on my initial weight loss, especially those who didn't know I had surgery. I just want to get the ball rolling though. I am new to this site and look forward to everyone's comments.

Oh also if anyone is wondering the hair grows back fine. I did loose it in clumps but it stopped around 7months and it looks that same as it did before. It actually feels better because is newer growth.

Do you write down everything you eat, maybe it is effecting you a day or so later, lactose intolerent, a new allergy to a food, etc. Someone on here said they used a draft to show their weight loss, so now they recognise by a pattern, when they go into a stall. With that being said, if you notice every couple of weeks a different type of pattern, what is happening to you, maybe if you track everything you consume maybe then you might be able to narrow down what is happening. If you do track everything already then go back and look and see what might stand out. Be prapared and take that info to your Dr.

I feel the same way. I don't (at the moment) have a # I'd want to get to after surgery. I just want to be healthy and be pain free (back, knees, feet) I also heard the hair loss will stop after a while. Congratulations on your success!!! Sent from my SM-G930T using the BariatricPal App

I agree with @ValJean. What a thorough response, @CyclicalLoser. So many great tips! @kingcake, are you able to stay any longer in the hospital? I stayed for 3 nights by choice mostly because of fear of coming home too early and not having help, plus I adored the nurse team and loved all the pampering in the hospital. I did not have any help when I got home and pretty much did exactly what @MarinaGirl did to prep. I got bills paid for a couple months, deep cleaned my house, filled up my car up with gas and washed it, purchased all my post-op liquids for about 2 weeks, set up my bed so I could easily slide in when I returned, organized my vitamins, borrowed a toilet riser (a shower chair would have been nice at the beginning). I felt overly prepared and that's what helped me come home as I got to focus on just me. It was fun. I binged on Netflix and watched weight loss surgery YouTube channels and aside from daily walks in my neighborhood, I moved from bed to couch for the first 10 days. Lots of napping took place. This is your time for you and you don't need anyone. Just be prepared and get a couple bottles of liquid Tylenol. This way, when you ease off RX pain meds, you can begin taking Tylenol and start driving again. Congrats on your surgery! You're going to do great!

Anyone had a brain fog & memory loss Sent from my U307AS using BariatricPal mobile app

I was excited to tell my coworkers. I work in a doctors office. I have work there for 12 years. They have been my biggest supporters through my weight loss journey. I haven't had my surgery yet, but they have always been here for me. So tell your coworkers you might be surprised how supportive they might be.

I finally went to the Kaiser orientation class in South San Francisco. They really hammer the information home at a good rate. My head was really spinning by the time I left. Everyone was really nice and provided a lot of excellent nutritional information that I am going to rely heavily on in the coming months. It looks like I am on my own in my quest to lose the excess weight I carry. I was told that because I have severe sleep apnea I must be 100% CPAP compliant for two months prior to surgery. If I am not 100% CPAP compliant I WILL NOT receive a surgery date. In the 15 years since I was diagnosed with sleep apnea I have tried many times to use CPAP. I have major anxiety attacks trying to breath against the pressure of the CPAP machine. Because of this I have had to resort to using a dental appliance to help relieve most the affects of sleep apnea. It cost me $2200.00 out of pocket as Kaiser doesn't cover dental appliances. I had hoped the Lap-band assisted weight loss would help completely eliminate the apnea and improve my other so called co-morbidities. I will have to find out on my own without the help of Kaiser. More to come later on. Good Luck to all you bandsters and may you reach your GOAL sooner than you expect.

LOL I love Candy Crush too! I call it mental Junk Food Congrats on your weight loss success! You should update that ticker!

Hi. I am on victoza. They say it simulates the experience of having a weight loss surgery. Is it true?

Alive and well... still getting used to eating like a supermodel instead of a food-eating-champion... but I suppose that's to be expected. The losing game is interesting. Lose some... stay the same for a day... gain 2 pounds the next day... stay the same for week... lose 3 pounds... lather, rinse, repeat. Still trying to get the calorie/water/protein combo consistent. For the most part, am getting all the Water and Protein, but have to fight to get my calories to around 1000-1200 per day. Lower than that and I get cranky and my weight-loss stalls. It's difficult, though, to eat healthy with such small portions and still get the calories up. I'm slowly getting better at it, though. I'm already sooooo much better off than I was a month ago that I find it hard to believe. My range-of-motion and moving without fat pains has greatly improved. I just keep asking myself, "why did you wait so long to do this?"

Mary, Im so sorry to hear of your son's loss. How sad. Fish? low maintance, no noise, doesnt pee on carpet... hey! This idea is sounding better and better. Come to think of it, we had 2 fish once. We went on a vaca and one of the fish had given birth to about 12 babies while we were gone. A week later our cat had kittens, and a week after THAT, I found out I was pregnant. :ermm Dear God, I never want another fish in my house!

Hi everyone! I am not officially booked in January, but it looks like that is the month I will be banded. I would like to lose enough weight to get off my BP and diabetes medication. I am currently 274 and 5'2-- I would love to loose 100 pounds. I have lost 10 pounds in the past year-- 10 hard-fought pounds. It seems silly, but I am very proud of them. After doing a lot of research, I have decided that the band is for me. I have also convinced my husband finally. I was glad that my insurance has required six months of supervised weight-loss with a nutritionist. That has really helped me get my head around the idea of being banded. Looking forward to getting to know everyone better! ~~Amaara

I spent the better part of the weekend crying about the turn of events in my WLS saga. I talked to my DH about it (more than he wanted to hear I'm sure! ) He said that we could take a loan through one of his retirement savings accounts so I can still follow my dream :wub: I've always known that I'm a lucky girl to have trapped a good man like him! :tt2: I love him more & more every day. He knows the score with obesity. His dad has type 2. His mom had bypass surgery about 5 years ago. He saw her struggle for so many years, being beaten down by military doctors & the insurance company every step of the way. We've struggled together with our weight over the years. We're like that cartoon couple you see in the Slimquick commercials. :frown: I told him that I feel like being able to have WLS would be like a new beginning for our whole family (all 3 of us!) Y'know how the mom/wife is kind of like the glue of a family, well I know that if I could finally get my weight under control it would have a huge, positive impact on all of us. I could finally set a good example for my child - so that he can grow up with a healthier relationship with food than my DH and I did. We'll be able to "go" and "do" together. I know for sure that I've held them back from doing things recently. It wasn't with malice - I just don't want to go out walking in our neighborhood and risk more people seeing me & how huge I am. (Not to mention that I might make it one whole house away before I start huffing & puffing.) I've had people yell disparaging remarks at me when I was outdoors on more than one occasion. I know that I'm not the first & unfortunately won't be the last, but I didn't deserve it (nobody does) and I don't want to deal with it again. Today I had the pleasure of calling up Pacific Surgical to schedule a consultation. Yay! I spoke with Michelle. I remember her from the seminar I attended a while back. So much of what she said about her experience still rings in my ears. She was so nice! The way she treated me was the polar opposite of the way Karen did. Amazing how when you're a self-pay patient things can happen sooo quickly! I was able to get a consult scheduled for next Monday! Michelle said that it would be possible to have surgery as soon as May 11th! I think we're still going to shoot for a surgery date towards the end of July. My DH said that since we just paid off the last loan through his retirement plan, we need to wait 2 months to apply for another. He'll be back from his partial-deployment in time to help me with a summer surgery. I'll find out the nitty gritty when I go for my consult, but I believe that all I have to do for Dr. Neal is a nutrition consult, and I assume pre-op bloodwork. I'd imagine there's some sort of pre-op diet. Pre-op as in a week or two before surgery - not Dr. Oh's type of pre-op diet. Oy vey! He wanted a 10% weight loss in the months leading up to your procedure & two weeks of clear liquids prior to surgery. Not to mention that Dr. Oh had a huge list of other pre-op things that had to be done. Speaking of that, I need to call and cancel my endoscopy & follow-up. I really hate that we'll have to pay $ every month for the next few years, but... I have a feeling the return-on-investment will be priceless! :ohmy: I'm actually kind of relieved now. If I can have surgery w/ Dr. Neal, I don't have to make that arduous trip over to Federal Way, cow-tow to Dr. Oh & his excessive pre-op testing, and worry about coordinating all the babysitting I'll need to cover those appointments. When I tried to picture myself going through surgery & whatnot w/ Dr. Oh I couldn't quite "see" it; it didn't feel like that was the place I needed to be. I haven't had my consult w/ Dr. Neal yet (just the seminar), but already I feel that this is where I need to be. I'm feeling much better 'bout everything now!

How is everyone doing? I have my first fill on Friday!!! YEAH!!! I need it really bad, I have been eating way to much thank goodness no wieght gain but only a 3 pound loss in 4 weeks

Haven’t loss any weight since March 1 2018 is this normal

The closer you are to goal, the more slowly you lose but in saying that you may have reached your balance & are in maintenance. That is the calories you are consuming are equal to the calories you are burning. To lose more you either have to consume less or increase your activity. Whatever weight you end up at has to be sustainable. Many bariatric patients end up at a weight that is higher than what they may have initially wanted. But they’re at a weight they can maintain while still enjoying & living the healthy & happy life they want. It’s fine to eat several smaller meals across a day or graze on three meals as long as caloric intake is constant. It just has to work for you. I eat three meals and about 4 nutritious snacks every day because I can’t physically consume enough in three meals to maintain - my restriction kicks in & I can’t eat any more. My total caloric intake sits at about 1200 calories a day. Another path you could look at is Dr Matt Weiner’s videos & books about resetting your basal metabolic rate which could enable you to lose more if you are interested. The intent is to reset your metabolism to run faster so your body burns more calories just to function. I guess the big questions are do you want to have to take appetite suppressants for the rest of your life to maintain at a lower weight? Do you want to live your life consuming fewer calories &/or maintaining a higher activity level to stay at a lower weight? You may say yes to either of these questions & that’s fine. It’s your decision. Congrats on your weight loss & good luck whatever you decide.

Can't overstate enough about those fluids and protein! It's the hardest part for me, getting all those fluids in. I'm 8 weeks out, and if I'm a little light on the fluids, I get bound up. If I'm light on protein, weight loss and energy drop off. I am at the point where I can put benefited in my water bottle, but more importantly I have to actually drink ALL the water! ^Benefiber

Welcome Mini-Gil; Thanks for your great story of no regrets on sleeve. I too am still loosing my hair at almost 7 months out, but I did not start losing hair until 4 months out. Hoping it stops soon. From what I have read on this forum from other experiences sleevers, not much you can do to prevent hair loss. Yet some use Nioxin shampoo and swear by it. I am almost to the point of trying that too. Love your excercise program and that you run 5K's several times. Strength training is important, not just eating less. Way to work the sleeve!

Totally tell your nutritionist. She/he can help figure out what foods you could eat instead of what you are eating. You know, "instead of bacon, how about..." Does your weight loss program also have a therapist on staff? Maybe you could visit with the therapist as well, to help determine why you are trying some of these foods. (Sort of a self-sabotaging thing..) Granted, part of the "why" is probably just to see if you can. Us "sleevers" really aren't as limited as someone who has had the gastric bypass. I don't "dump" nor do I "slime". It's up to me to really make the best decisions.

My pulmonologist recommended I lose 75 # to be able to get off CPAP. Now he has bumped it up to 100 #. We have agreed that when I get to 75 # loss he will repeat the study. My machine is supposed to adjust to needed settings. They had to replace with a new one it just quit working and beeping. Glad I had the surgery

Web, I too have to do the 6 months of supervised dieting. I am with Cigna Arizona. I have just had my 2nd month. Still no loss. Cigna does not pay for programs like Optifast or even appetite supressents. Good luck on your progress, seems your doing the right thing to lose some of your weight before the surgery.

The fact that you know what you are doing is helpful towards your weight loss. This will help you be accountable and make changes. In the beginning weeks of my surgery I was testing the limits a bit and I tried low carb pasta and it didn't bother me. But, I remembered why I started this journey and that even though my body can tolerate something it doesn't mean it's good for me. There's no one to blame but me if I don't achieve my weight loss goal. I hope you make the most of the chance you have been given and go back to basics. Try using My Fitness Pal to log your foods and use any support you can find. Hang your old clothes up and pictures of where you want to be for motivation. Just my opinion. ????

Great job! It's a loss so that is going in the right direction. Keep up the good work! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App