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So, I guess it's normal to find it hard to breathe deeply, and get a little winded while walking? I kind of feel like I felt right after getting covid, and I'm not even up to 15 minutes walking yet. I walk to work which is like five minutes, and in the mornings it's kind of hard for me. Never was before. On the plus side, I lost another kilo (a little more than two pounds), so I guess I'm not stalled. And today I went to buy a new jacket for fall, and asked to try on size 46, but I ended up buying size 44 (same as UK size 16 or US size 12). I haven't fit into size 44 for years, so that was nice.

Hey there! I had RNY with hernia repair on August 9th so I can totally feel how you are feeling right now. I felt really horrible my first week home and I'm feeling slightly better this 2nd week. I felt pretty good at the hospital, but that was because I had constant IV fluids & they automatically gave me a variety of pain meds to manage pain (I was in a lot of pain). When I went home 2 days later, WOW, it was a shock to my system. I was exhausted all the time, probably because of the lack of fluids. Getting fluids in is HARD at this stage. Forget about trying to "eat" any liquids. It was a rough first week. Plus, I was so swollen and retaining so much water. My advice is rest as much as you need to right now. Don't feel guilty about resting. You just had 2 major surgeries (remember the hernia repair counts!!). I'm one of those people who is extremely active, so just allowing myself to lay down and rest was a challenge. I did too much one day and it was bad. My partner said I was the worst patient ever because I wouldn't listen to him and just REST and take the pain meds. Also, don't feel guilty about taking the pain meds either. I know society has made out these meds to be the big, bad guy (and they can be) but think about what your body has gone through...someone had opened it up, cut it apart, pulled stuff out, and stitched things back together. It's going to hurt even though we can't see it. I took the pain meds every 6 hours for at least the first week home. I'm on week 2 now and I take them less, but I still need something to manage the pain. During the first week, I did get up and walk every couple of hours just to prevent blood clots. But, it wasn't like I was hiking or anything. Just circles inside my house and very slow, short walks outside with my partner. I am on 6 prescription meds (all pills) and they gave them to me at the hospital, but I was only allowed 2 at a time so it took all day to get those 6 into my body. I'm following the same schedule at home + all my new vitamins (it's a full time job!)

Congrats Kevin! You're steadily dropping the weight. I'm only a week and a half post-op but I'm looking forward to getting out of my 3XL shirts also!

I honestly really questioned it the first week. It wasn't for a couple of days of pureed foods till I started to notice the restriction. Now I almost get frustrated because I feel like I have so little and get full so quickly.

Hi everyone! Today I am 4 weeks post-op and thought I would give an update. I stopped weighing myself everyday because it was difficult watching a stalled scale. I only weigh on Fridays now. Since surgery (4 weeks go) I have lost 16.6 lbs. I feel very fortunate that I have not had any pain. I feel like I can definitely eat more than a few ounces at a time. I can eat almost up to a cup but I am trying to mindful and stop before that. I can see the weight loss in my face and my clothes are fitting better. I believe that I am down a total of 30 lbs since I started this process. Today, I graduate to soft foods! Finally, some variety! Hope everyone is doing well!

My hair was down to my butt and I got it cut a couple of weeks ago. It really does help with the shedding and hair thinning out. It will grow back, but at first it can be a little jarring. I had heard that with the sleeve, the tastes would start to come back to normal, but so far, nope. And now my brain is trained to not like/want certain foods, so now I'm just kinda ok with it lol I don't have soda everyday, mostly because I can't tolerate it that often. But it's nice to be able to order it at a restaurant or have a can every once in a while. I mostly drink flavored water, gatorade zero, sugar free tea with skinny syrup (I make my own raspberry tea that way), etc...

Five-week Post-Op update. W1 - 7/22: -12.6 lbs W2 - 7/29: -5.6 lbs W3 - 8/05: -2.6 lbs W4 - 8/12: -3.8 lbs W5 - 8/19: -4.4 lbs That's 29 lbs since surgery to go with the 28 lbs I lost prior to surgery. It's great to see the numbers go down because when I see myself in a picture or in the mirror, all I see is my (still) big belly. I was weighing myself daily for the first 4 weeks, and not seeing big results each morning was driving me crazy. So, I am only recording my weight on Fridays now. After the first week, it looks like I'm losing about 4 pounds a week now. I think that's good, right? NSVs: My face is definitely thinner. My pants fit much looser and I am now fitting into some clothes that I had outgrown. I had to dig out an old belt since the one I have been using no longer had enough holes. I'm about to fully transition from my 3XL shirts to 2XL. Right now, it's a mix in my dresser drawer. Physically, I feel great. I still get hungry, but I fill up fast. I have a bit of a problem knowing when I'm full and it's hard to get out of the habit of eating everything on my plate. If I eat too much, it's a bit uncomfortable, but it doesn't hurt. I guess this concerns me a bit. I want to get better listening to my stomach. The diet plan completely sucks, and I try not to cheat. But it sucks, so what do they expect? I just got back from a family visit and had two 1,000 mile drives. For the trip, I made a low-fat chicken salad and had string cheese and Quest Protein chips for snacks.

**My hair has begun shedding...A LOT. I have PCOS so I thought I was already used to it, but it's to the point now that if I run my hands through my hair a few times, hair comes out. Not in clumps or anything, just a lot of shedding. I knew it was coming, so I'm not freaking out, but it still sucks. **2 nights ago I had some kind of episode where I had a snack about 45 minutes after I worked out at night and I had INCREDIBLE pain. Felt heavy, sharp pains, burning. Hurt to sit up, hurt to lay down, couldn't find a comfortable position. Took pepto twice before I finally got any relief after about an hour. I was left with burning in my throat. My husband said it sounds like reflux (I'm on a PPI for 6 months, but I've never had reflux or GERD or anything before). My snack was normal (1 tbsp hummus and 1/4 cup sliced cucumbers) but my workout was more intense than normal (had the treadmill at a 5.5 incline at a speed of 3.5). Now I have burning in my throat everyday and slight nausea depending on what I eat. **I'm always tired. I have spurts of energy here and there, but they don't last long and I go back to being tired again. Even a nap doesn't really help all that much. I mean, I guess it does a little, but mostly I'm less tired (but still tired). **My taste is still weird. I thought it would correct itself by now, but I guess not. Stuff I loved, I don't like or can't eat now. Sour/tart stuff still tastes really sweet. What little sweet tooth I had is completely gone (the thought of chocolate, for example, literally makes me grossed out). I have no craving for anything greasy, salty, or fried (those were my weaknesses). I never use salt anymore because the taste is overwhelming, even in small amounts (I used to salt EVERYTHING). I can barely tolerate pickles (which were a STAPLE in my diet because I was obsessed with them) because the taste is just way too overwhelming and strong, even in tiny amounts. **I can finally drink diet soda again, but where I used to drink a 2 liter a day, I can drink one MAYBE two 12 ounce cans per day (usually just 1) because it tastes a little different and it takes a while because I still have to be careful with the carbonation (stomach is ok if I go slooooow, otherwise I get into trouble if I drink it too fast). **I can tolerate a little bit larger amounts of food now, but I have to be careful still because if I overestimate how much I can eat, food goes to waste or I end up in trouble. For example, I can eat 2 scrambled eggs and 2 sausage patties now (used to only be able to eat 1 of each). But there's no way I can eat more than that. If I do, it HURTS. I can eat 3 oz of steak in 1 sitting now (with 1/2 cup of a side like green beans), whereas I used to only be able to eat 1 or 1 1/2 with 1/4 cup of a side. At first it freaked me out, but now I'm good with it because I knew we would be able to eat more eventually, and I'm careful with what I eat and how much (and how often). **It's actually gotten easier to eyeball my food and see how much I can have. I still weigh it if I'm not sure, but more often than not, I can guesstimate pretty accurately. **It's a lot easier to stick to my diet and not overeat or eat stuff I'm not supposed to. Now that my brain is trained (still a work in progress, but so so much better now) I don't think about stuff I can't have. I use MyFitnessPal and I have my meals all planned out for the week and use that to know what I can eat, how many calories and carbs and protein is in each meal (makes it soooo easy to stay on track and get everything I need each day).

I have been on Steroid threrapy for almost a year and my suregry is coming up really soon has anyone else had this situation they are wening me off by cutting dosage day by day in three day intrevals I guess I want to know will this interfere with me having surgery once my suregry date is here I will be on 5mgs any thoughts or wisdom is greatly apreciated.

I'm part of a group of people who are mostly several years out of surgery. Some have tried WW. Some of them really like it and have been successful with it, but for others, it's not their "jam" and they gave up. I guess all you can do is try it and see if it works for you. others have tried things like Keto, intermittent fasting, or going back to logging and eating protein first, etc (in other words, the basics). Whatever works! BTW - 800 kcal a day being as far out as you aren't isn't really sustainable. Start logging to find out what your calorie range is (i.e., about how many calories does it take to keep your weight where it is. May take a month or so of logging to figure this out). Then, if you want to lose, cut back from there. Maybe 100 calories at a time. For example, if it takes 1600 kcal a day to maintain your weight, try cutting back to 1500. If after a couple of weeks nothing's happening, cut back to 1400. Rinse and repeat.

So, I always use "cross body" purses because when I put them on my shoulder they always slide off and it annoys me. If I am only going from the car to the house sometimes I may just hold it or put it on my shoulder, I don't know why? Quicker? haha Anyway, the other day I put my purse on my shoulder and walked to my house and noticed it never slid off. Didn't think anything of it, then did it again yesterday and again, it didn't slide off. WHAT? Did it slide off because I was fat? Is that really a thing? Does it stay now because my shoulders are thinner? Is it coincidence? Is this a NSV? I don't even know, but I will take it and I am adding it to my NSC bank. haha This is not the first thing that changed and I had no idea it was the way it was because of my weight? For example, moving my seat forward. Even being 400+lbs my belly never touched the steering wheel. I am 6ft tall. I assumed my seat was moved back because of my height, but as I lost weight I noticed I needed to move my seat forward. I guess less back/butt fat allows me to sit further back in the seat which makes me further away from the steering wheel. Scooting forward on the couch before getting up, like to the edge and then standing up. I just always did it, never realized it was because I was fat but just thought it was normal. Never paid attention if anyone else got up like that. But, like a week ago I noticed that I just got up. From my normal sitting position, did not scoot to the edge of the couch first. Then, i noticed it and was like UHHH what just happened. It was not intentional it just happened and surprised me. So then i started paying attention if my thinner friends got up the same way and they do. So, another "I didn't know it was because I was fat" NSV! It is so weird how we (or at least myself) has been so big for so long that things we think are completely normal are really just our normal and we didn't even realize it until suddenly they weren't OUR NORMAL! It is kinda cool; actually it is very cool!

No body odor that I ever noticed but my breath was gross for a few weeks/month after surgery. Also, I think (still think) my pee smells like protein powder. lol I don't use protein powder but I drink a premade shake every morning and the smell is still the same. Very particular.

Stalls are normal. My teams warned us about them and stressed not to panic. I think everyone has their own preference on who often they weigh themselves. There is no right or wrong answer here, just whatever works for you. I weigh myself every Monday morning, basically in the same clothes. Tshirt, bra, underwear and flip flops. My surgery was on a Monday morning, so that is why I choose that day. I do sometimes weigh myself randomly during the week but only document my Monday morning weight.

There are some antidepressants that can cause weight gain (for example, tricyclic antidepressants are notorious for it). Surely your doctor didn't prescribe an antidepressant that can cause weight gain since they know that you are trying to lose weight. IMO, the best antidepressant for overweight patients is Wellbutrin (burpopion) because it can actually promote weight loss. Sorry, I am a pharmacist so I can't stop myself from making drug recommendations. I know everyone pushes the "reset diet" but I have to say that what made it easy for me to get rid of my regain and not feel hungry doing it was my doctor prescribing me Ozempic. I am a type 2 diabetic and I had been taking Bydureon in the past without weight loss effect then my insurance removed Bydureon from their formulary and I was switched to Ozempic. Weight started coming off within a month of starting the Ozempic and just kept coming off. I have currently lost around 30lbs. If you are not a diabetic, Wegovy has the same drug in it as Ozempic (semaglutide) just at a different dosage for weight loss. I have been taking Ozempic for almost a year now and I no longer have cravings and rarely ever even feel hungry. It is funny how Ozempic, Bydureon, and Saxenda are all in the same drug class but I only experienced weight loss with Ozempic. I just flat out couldn't tolerate Saxenda. Slowed my gastric emptying to an unbearable level. Bydureon worked for my diabetes but didn't have any effect on my weight. Of course, these are all injectable drugs (Ozempic/Wegovy/Bydureon are only once a week though vs daily for Saxenda). Contrave is an oral weight loss drug that contains wellbutrin (bupropion) as one of the ingredients. It seems like it would be a good option for those who can't stand the thought of using an injectable medication but honestly, I. Rybelsus is the oral equivalent of Ozempic. Phentermine is probably the most popular weight loss drug but I have known of people with poorly controlled hypertension to have strokes while on phentermine so I don't recommend it unless I know that the person either does not have hypertension or they take their BP meds and check their blood pressure frequently. Best of Luck

I always feel bad for my waiter when I go out to eat because they will usually come over and ask me if there is anything wrong with my meal. I just tell them that I had a stomach surgery and don't feel like eating and then I take my meal to go. When I am out with people outside of my family, I usually order something small and cut it up and use my fork to mix everything on the plate together and move it around to try to make it look like I ate more than I actually did. (This is a technique that small children often use to try to convince Mom that they have eaten enough dinner. I have often wondered how many other bariatric surgery patients have done this in an effort to not offend a host. ) You can also just box up half of your meal before you even start eating and just say that you are trying new eating habits if anyone asks. Buffets are just a no go for me unless they have to go options (pay by weight of meal). Even though I am several years out from surgery, after my doctor started me on Ozempic last year (for diabetes, not weight loss), I have been unable to eat more than a few bites of food at a time. My stomach literally feels just like it did a few weeks after surgery. Consequently, I have lost more weight which is great but I have to say that the daily nausea is getting old at this point.

I haven't noticed anything. And my kids would DEFINITELY tell me if they did lol Being a big person, I'm always paranoid about how I smell. I shower every day, wash my hair 2-3x per week, wear deodorant (and refresh it at least once) everyday, brush my teeth twice a day, choose a soft and pleasant perfume to wear everyday (even if I'm staying home). And I wear clean clothes everyday (I have friends that will wear the same thing for 2 or 3 days if they're staying at home, but I just can't do that). This has been my routine for the last 20 or so years.

I weigh myself at least once a day too. If I am at home all day, then I weigh myself several times a day. Stalls and fluctuations do not bother me at all. I meticulously track my food real time, so I know whether I am doing something wrong or not even before stepping in the scale. Too many factors play into weight. Like if I eat too many pickles, I will gain water weight for a few days. I understand others though. If the stalls and fluctuations bothered me, I wouldn't weigh too often either.

Just wanted to share a little NSV. I realized last week that I had to do some shopping because once again my clothes were getting too big on me! When I started my weight loss journey, I was wearing XXL shirts that were getting too snug, and size 42 pants that were also getting too snug. As of this week, I'm wearing Medium shirts and size 32 pants - holy cow! I found one of my old XXL shirts that used to fit me tightly, tried it on with a little help from my daughter, thought some here might enjoy:

Before my VSG, I only lost 2 lbs during my 2 week pre-op diet! Talk about discouraging! They had me only eating/drinking protein shakes and greek yogurt. I never eat yogurt because it’s too high in calories and carbs. I think that is what kept me from losing any weight. However, my surgery went very well and I recovered quickly so there’s that… This time around (I’m getting ready for a revision from VSG to RNY) I’m drinking protein shakes but not eating much greek yogurt. I’m sipping on chicken bone broth a lot instead. I started my pre-op diet 4 days ago and I’ve lost 3 lbs. so far. Hang in there! It’s all going to work out great! Just stick to your pre-op diet and everything will be fine. You’ll start dropping weight after your surgery. I lost almost 80 lbs in about 3 months after my VSG.

Prayers coming. I’m sure in a few days it will be routine and second nature. I’m worried because I can easily take in my Protein Shakes, soup/broth and Water without restriction. That doesn’t seem “normal”. Im not hungry - I’m just trying to reach my water, calorie and Protein goals for the day. Hopefully when I start purées next week I will notice the restriction and I will stop stressing.

I could not weigh at home for about the first 2.5(ish) years, so that would certainly kill some of you. Once I could, I did it for a couple weeks until I drove myself crazy (not a far trip), then gave it up. Once I stopped my monthly follow-ups, I didn't weigh between annual doctor visits. Still don't. The scale no longer has power over me. I guess when you go through a couple/three years of only weighing monthly you learn it's not the end of the world not to know your EXACT weight. Just keep following your plan, then rest happens on it's own. Oh. Scales lie. There! Good luck, Tek

Well I commend you for your fortitude liveaboard but no way could I wait a month or even a fortnight between weigh ins! OP it is totally normal to see no loss in a 4 day or even a 2 or 3 week spell. These are stalls. We all experience them on our weight loss journeys. I hope you start to lose again soon - I suspect you will *really* soon!

Only weighing in once a month! I don't think I can do it. I think that's the hardest thing to do. I'm down to weighing once a week now but will admit I was weighing everyday. I had to go down to every other day then twice a week and now I'm at once a week.

It's normal. If you didn't lose weight for another couple weeks it would still be normal. Get off the scale, it doesn't make you lose weight faster. See? I didn't do the "scales lie" routine. I can change! Good luck, Tek

I am 6 weeks post op from gastric bypass and have not lost weight in 4 days . Is this normal ?