Search the Community

@SethSnap That sounds rough! I'm glad you are not suffering from any "head hunger" or true hunger so it won't be so hard for you. I hope that keeps up. Maybe your doctor feels that the weight loss will be better with that plan? What surgery did you have? Maybe different surgeries require different post-op plans? I know it is usually similar between sleeve/gastric bypass. Good luck!

I, personally, think you're doing great. Everyone loses at a different pace and you started out at a much lower weight than many on this site and yet are losing a good amount. I wouldn't worry so much. Also, those weight loss calculators are all about average statistics. That includes the people who don't follow the diet guidelines as well as the people who do. As long as you stick to the dieting guidelines and get your exercise in then I don't see why you wouldn't be able to meet your goal. I wish you the best on your journey!

Hi all, while my surgery went great I don't really have much contact with my doctor so I have to ask all of you kind people here I had my surgery on 3/17 and started off at around 225-230. Right now I'm at 191 lbs - is this normal? I monitor my weight loss and between May 2 and June 2 (full month) I lost 9.2 lbs. I would love to reach 120lbs one day, do you think this is possible? Based on information I found online (such as gastric sleeve calculators) my goal weight seems almost impossible! What are your thoughts? Thank you all for answers in advance! ❤️

Wow! You're doing great with your weight loss. Congratulations. I hope they can help you get some better energy though! I'll have a good day, energy-wise and then a sluggish day and I'm not sure exactly what causes it. As another May 12th surgery "twin" just told me, I am on week 3 (not week 4) which with my dietician is the "soft texture" phase. I guess I jumped the gun a bit I'd say I'm sticking pretty much to it, though I ate some things over the weekend that weren't totally soft until I'd chewed them to liquid. I struggle to come up with things that sound good. It is so strange that now that I can have food other than protein shakes, I can't think of anything appealing. Since the gagging and nausea this morning over that scrambled egg, I feel a little hesitant about experimenting. Keep up the good work!

Thank you so much for replying I feel better. I had the lap band a long time ago (removed 5 years later) so I know that full feeling you are talking about and in the beginning of soft food I felt it too so I was worried that it was gone. The diarrhea they said and probably is true is my IBS acting a fool, I've had IBS since I was in high school and was an athlete so I am sure beans are not helping. I also think it's probably from sugar free which always bothered me. And I have to chew sugar free gum to help with not smoking. Some days it's just so mentally exhausting you feel like F it but I keep trucking along. Thanks again and congrats on your loss and for so long that's very commendable!!

that "stair step" pattern is a pretty common weight loss pattern as far as "full" - I never feel "full" in the way I did before surgery. Early out, your nerves, some of which were cut during surgery, have to regenerate before your stomach starts talking to your brain again, so you might not feel hunger or fullness. Those sensations eventually return for most of us, but fullness, especially can feel different. I never feel "full" the same way as I did pre-surgery. Now, my fullness cue is discomfort in my chest -- kind of a pressure-like feeling. When I feel that, I know it's time to stop, or I'll end up getting sick. You'll figure out your cues after awhile - but they may be different than before (for some people, a runny nose is their cue, oddly...) I've never had any issue with diarrhea that I can remember. Maybe you've developed a sensitivity to a certain type of food? Some people become lactose intolerant after surgery - or at least temporarily (or for some, permanently) - and some of the artificial sweeteners (especially those with names ending in -itol) have that effect. it's doubtful you stretched your stomach. You'd have to chronically overstuff it for that - day after day of overeating. From what I understand, stretching one's stomach isn't very common.

Everyone is different. I am 13 days post op and down 14 pounds. A loss is a loss - don’t compare yourself to anyone. This is your journey. And, who knows, they could be lieing to make themselves look good! 😊

In the beginning when I started to eat I would feel my pouch fill up, now I don't. I was wondering if it was the soft foods or I was afraid I stretched my stomach already. Weight loss stalls then goes then stalls. Then my stomach will act up and I need immodium or I can't leave home. Just frustrated but I guess it's normal. Just wanted to see what anyone else's thoughts /experiences were. Bypass was done 4/14

My surgery was also 5/12 but I'm only counting 3 weeks post op. Wednesday is 21 days since surgery that's 3 weeks right? I'm allowed to move to puree on Wednesday and I've been counting down the days lol if I'm off by a week I'll be mad at myself. My loss is super similar to yours, about 15lbs down since surgery and 35 overall. I feel mostly normal, maybe still a little tired, especially if I do a lot of activity or haven't eaten enough.

I'm curious as to why you chose the balloon rather than a surgery that has a longer track record or is likely to cause more weight loss? Not trying to judge; maybe 100kg is a good weight for you, I can't see your stats/BMI. I know that my surgery center only does RNY and sleeve because they have the most evidence of safety and effectiveness. I hope you get the results you want!

I'm in Dallas, but when I was researching surgeons, I came upon a great group in SA. Sage Bariatric. One of their doctors has a YouTube channel and I've really enjoyed his videos. John Pilcher. Not sure if he's connected to your weight loss center. Good luck!

Is anyone here in the San Antonio area & going through the Methodist Metropolitan Weight Loss Center??? My Dr is leaving at the end of June & IDK what to do. I am hoping to be scheduled for my Gastric Sleeve by June 22nd ish. Do I change Doctors so I have the same one through Post Op etc...? Or keep the one I currently have?? Sent from my LM-Q730 using BariatricPal mobile app

Best thing is no more GERD/ Acid Reflux! Worst thing is I can't think of is the wrinkles in my face from all the weight loss. I have no issues personally with dumping and can eat anything without any issues except ice cream. I can only eat a very little amount of ice cream (candies too) or I will pay a price with stomach/colon pains and uncomfortable heart rates but I never throw up and I think that may be because of a hiatal hernia repair that my body just won't throw up even when I want it too. I am almost 8 months post op and have lost 21 lbs more with the roux en x bypass and after a couple of months stall and just now starting weight training in a gym am starting to see the scale moving once again. I am only 4lbs from my goal. I am sure my lose skin weighs about this, LOL... But I am happy just not having the GERD or Acid reflux and so it has all been very worth it!

RNY here. I never had any issues, either. Some of us don't. Consider yourself lucky! (btw - not having issues won't affect your weight loss as long as you follow your surgeon's plan. I lost 100% of my excess weight)

Best thing.....NO MORE ACID REFLUX Worst thing.....Dumping Surgery 10/29/2020 @ 187 lbs. Weight loss since surgery..... 52 lbs. That's also a BEST THING! Since my surgery was for the stomach/esophagus issues, the weight loss has been a bonus! After the sleeve, I had a banana sized stomach. Now I have a golf ball sized stomach. The remainder of my stomach and my duodenum (upper most part of my upper intestine) is still inside, the duodenum is just connected further down into my ilium (lowest part of the upper intestine). So in the revision, nothing is taken out like with the sleeve. The digestive track is just rerouted to bypass the stomach and duodenum. I hope that makes sense.

So its been interesting reading so many people saying bad things about the gastric balloon, because for me, even though its very early days, it is going really well. I have lost 8kg since my procedure on May 21st (starting weight 134.9kg which I think is just under 300 pounds?, height 5'6), I am, as advertised, not hungry at all, and while the first week I was cramping somewhat, I haven't vomited or had any nausea at all. I haven't had any issues in the puree stage and am already finding some soft foods are okay too, though I do still feel more comfortable on liquids so I am dialing it back a bit and taking the transition slower as the fullness is hard to (lol) stomach. Speaking of stomachs, even though I intellectually knew better, I think my mind always associated my stomach with my belly, so intestinal pains or discomfort sometimes translated as hunger pains for me I think. I have never been so aware of my actual stomach before and I think that's hugely important to learning how to change my lifestyle going forward. I can hopefully do a better job listening to my hunger and fullness cues because this balloon is taking me to actually listen to the right body part! I wonder if this is something anyone else has experienced as part of their bariatric weightloss journey? I must say I did a LOT of preparation in the lead up to my procedure, I created a folder with all the info I needed for my different stages, as well as recipe ideas, info about possible health issues and troubleshooting for anything that might come up, tracker sheets for water and medication, weight loss, exercise tips for recovery, measurements etc (like you might have in a bullet journal) and I am referring back to my folder and adding to it constantly - which is actually super fun and keeps me motivated! I got some info from my surgeon and dietician, as well as the usual orbera booklet (in digital form, so i printed only the relevant bits - why there are whole pages of slim people who have never needed to consider weight loss procedures in these things I will never know lol) and I also scoured the internets for resources from other hospitals, much of which is more aimed at surgical patients but is still really relevant for me. I think it's a mindfulness thing, because I find that adding to my folder is great way to keep my mind busy and get out of old habits (And I have cute stickers that I put in there too). I was an emotional eater all my life but recently I am realising I am also a boredom eater - so trying to replace those boredom triggers with other things is my main goal, sometimes I find myself even though I am FULL, thinking about eating something out of boredom so I am learning how best to divert my brain with new fun things. I think a lot of people go into the gastric balloon thinking is going to be a quick fix and obviously that isn't the case. Its a tool like any other. They say the average amount lost is around 15kg but as I am halfway there already, and I have at least a year of this, I am quietly hopeful that my goal is in reach ( I want to get below 100kg, so the total amount I want to lose is 35kg over the time I have this balloon). It's still early days for me but I feel hopeful. I can do this. Honestly I'm not sure if my lack of vomming is because I am being so careful with how much I have at once, or because I am tracking the medication and taking that regularly as a preemptive thing, or if I am just one of the lucky ones. Along with not being hungry (at ALL), I am not having any of my regular cravings. I tell people the fullness feels like.... say you stuffed yourself eating a huge meal then someone put a slice of chocolate mud cake in front of you and even though you KNOW it would taste good, the idea of even getting it near your mouth is the last thing you want. Or say you've had a big holiday dinner and now you need to go have a mid-afternoon nap to sleep it off. I feel like that almost all the time right now so there really is no room for temptation. I'm happy to talk about my experience with the balloon insertion, why and how I chose the balloon (and why Orbera), how I put my folder together, or generally answer any questions. And I hope to come back and update on my progress to help keep myself accountable. Sent from my SM-G965F using BariatricPal mobile app

I had my VSG 5/17. To date I have had no nausea, no vomiting, no pain or discomfort aside from what I think of as normal healing pains. I was upgraded to puree a couple days ago, and am having no issues with anything i've tried. I don't need to drink any protein shakes to get enough in. I am following the dietician's guidelines with what to eat, and how much, and I can always eat my whole 2oz, although I do feel full by the end. I do feel some hunger and I'm still having wicked cravings for some of the foods I had before but have not caved in yet. My concern is that all this is just going too smoothly, I see all these posts about people not being able to finish meals, nausea/vomiting's for weeks post op, and people really struggling with water and I'm concerned that I'm not going to have as much weight loss since its all been so easy here. I was 'hoping' for some of the n/v to help me curb my eating, and to help reinforce the habits i've learned before surgery. I'm worried. Anyone else post op experience similarly and what happened with yall?

Check this link out on stalls. It covers stalls and weight loss issues. https://www.sagebariatric.com/what-you-can-do-about-weight-loss-stalls/?fbclid=IwAR32VsKiWHImteYKwt638j0aP-c6FUxhaxAp42-6HyGVSPkUgBjzyVlm2y0

I am over 10 years post gastric sleeve. I waited for my *** to do the sleeve vs an RNY because of medication I need to take orally and was not recommended to have the RNY. Weight loss surgery was the BEST THING I have ever done for myself. I was in my mid 50s. 5'3 and 320 pounds when I started. I lost a few pounds before I went in to start !!! I am now 65 years old. I lost 145 pounds. Yes, I am still overweight - but I lost 145 pounds. I work full time, have the same career for 40 years. I am active, I garden and keep chickens for fresh eggs, grow organic fruit and veggies. I rake and hoe and walk and am more active NOW at 65 then I was at 40. NOT one regret at all. Also, I eat beef on occasion; when I want to. And I eat chocolate every darn day. Mind you - not a lot. I have learned the value of a really good piece of chocolate. No hershey bars here. But a lovely piece of dove chocolate ? YUM. I re-learned how to feed my body. Protein and fresh veggies and fresh fruits. Healthy fats, and keep my carbs down. Instead of a "rice bowl" think of it as a chicken and veggie bowl. I might sprinkle rice on top as a garnish !!! Move your mindset to "HEALTHY". I went from a 4x plus size to wearing a 14/16 petite. I am thrilled. My doctors are thrilled. Find the RIGHT support team. Start with supportive doctors. Best Wishes.

I am doing a 3 week liquid diet too. It starts tomorrow. I have to be under a certain weight by June 15th, so I am just starting it a little early (my surgery is scheduled for the 21st). My daughters are freaking out about the idea of a liquid diet and my husband is worried that I will be hangry all the time, which surprisingly makes me less worried and more focused because someone has got to keep it together - lol! I do plan to have my three allowed protein shakes a day, as these are the only things of substance I am allowed to have, and treat them like breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Congratulations on the weight loss - that is 10 pounds you do not have to worry about after surgery! I am hoping for the same!

What have been some of your experiences with going from sleeve to bypass? Worst things? Best things? Weight loss time periods? etc. Also, I know this is a stupid time to be asking this but I made a bad assumption about the bypass. I thought since I had the sleeve already that the surgeon would just use that pouch and redirect the small intestine. After reading some of the stories on here, I am not sure what they did to my stomach part?? Anyone have any answers for that one too??

I have FEP Blue BCBS. I have attached a screenshot from their 2021 booklet. Although it does say three months in a medically supervised weight loss program, there is nothing regarding how much needs to be lost (if any) or if a net gain would be ok. Here’s my issue. I started this journey at 257. My first weigh in was 269. I am 260 right now but I am having a colonoscopy just a day before my next weigh in a week. With all those laxatives and extended clear Liquid diet (2 days for me) , I am probably bound to be down even more. This will look like a 12 lb gain and 12 lb or more loss in two months. Ugh. I don’t want to look all Over the place. Each month I gain and loss weight everyday it seems. It would be good if I got back to 257, but almost not because the month after I go on vacation and my last weigh in will be a few days after I get back. Can’t win! The surgical coordinator told me to try to maintain the best I could. This is not happening for me. I am obsessing so much about being denied. I am almost done with my clearances (except endoscopy) and the last two weigh ins. Do you think I’ll get denied ?

Your natural hair loss cycle accelerates due to the shock of the surgery & reduced calorie intake - excess stress on your body. I also think the oestrogen flush we have as we’re losing weight probably adds to it like the hair loss it causes in a lot of pregnant women or after childbirth. This is hair you would have usually shed over a longer period of time concentrated in a short time frame. But just like new hair grows when we shed at our usual rate, new hair is growing in while we lose at the accelerated rate. It’s just the new hair is growing at it’s usual rate so it’s going to take time to catch up. There’s nothing you can really do to stop it or slow it down. The hair you’re losing is already dead & ‘scheduled’ to fall out & be replaced. All the supplements can do is maybe make your new growth stronger. I just cut my almost waist length hair to shoulder length so the new growth wouldn’t take as long to catch up to the hair I had.

Great topic. When I first began I was 280 at 5’8”. I wanted to loss 100 pounds, so 180 goal. I lost 43 pounds during my 6 month diet. I had the surgery almost 4 weeks ago and now down to 213 (thanks to a week long stall). I want to live within 155-170. Right now just looking to get under 200. My surgeon said I can get down to 130’s but I might not be happy there. He said to aim for 150 and it will be easy for me to get there and maintain. I can’t believe it. I think I was 12 the last time I weighed 150!

Hashi’s is auto-immune based, so it is extremely common to have dosages lowered if you’re not having a flare up. Restricted calories and weight loss will reduce inflammation which can cause thyroid resistance. I’ve seen a few studies done where longer term restricted calories can actually improve thyroid function, so it does make sense.