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Hellooooooo So I'm one week shy of being 7 months post op, and for those 7 months I have avoided sugar like the plague except for some rare occasions where I was traveling and the European country I was in was famous for desserts that I would order and only have a miniscule bite of. On one occasion I got excited and had 3 bites and thought I was fine. 10 minutes later I started feeling extremely nauseous that I was almost dry heaving, I started walking back to the hotel and after 1 kilometer I felt much better so I guessed that was dumping! Not fun Yikes! So fast forward this week, and it is that time of the month and I was craving some chocolate, so I picked a 72% dark chocolate square which I had with a few roasted cashews (to manage the blood sugar spike) and guess what? 10 minutes later I am extremely nauseous and queasy that my skin was crawling. I was at my desk and got up and walked back and forth but to no success. It lasted a good half an hour/40 minutes and it only fully subsided midway through my Pilates class. Does this happen to anyone? The chocolate square barely had any sugar! Will I ever be able to have a little fun? A tiny slice of cake for my birthday? Ice cream? Anything? I don't crave sugar anymore but I like to taste things and take bites here and there especially when I'm travelling/out for a nice meal (which is often).

Congratulations on your decision. Unfortunately I don’t have that insurance but do you usually need a referral to see a specialist? I suppose If you were to call a surgeons office and ask to schedule they would let you know if you really need to wait until you see your primary. Then again if your appointment is soon it may make sense to just wait anyways so they can give you a recommendation for a surgeon if you don’t have one in mind For me, it was the surgeons office that let me know what all the requirements were. I have seen them vary slightly from one person to the next. It depends on insirance but also varies by the program as well as your medical history. For my Sleeve the requirements were a 6 month medically supervised weight loss attempt, psyc eval and a nutritionist appointment. Ooh and you will need medical clearance for surgery which depending on your health may be just routine lab work or it may be additional appointments like a cardiologist checkup. They may also require you to sort out the sleep apnea thing and make sure that the cpap is working to treat your sleep apnea sufficiently if you do have it but i’m not 100% certain on that (just seems like I heard something about that). I am currently pending a revision and this time he required an ekg that he didn’t ask for last time. I guess maybe since I’m a little older. They wanted the labs to be drawn within a month or less of my surgery date so I scheduled them and the ekg at my primary doctor at two weeks out from my surgery. Listing it out it seems like a lot but you will have a While to get it all done and they should walk you through it step by step.

How long post-op are you? I know my surgeon said not to have sex/any sexual activity for around 2-4 weeks! But definitely if it hurts, probably too soon for you!

Hi!! Going well!! 26kg down and loving the energy and the movement I have now! I was in abit of a slump the past 2 weeks just with sickness and not going to the gym so I hadn’t dropped any kg but I spoke to someone about it and they said to start measurements which I have not done! So will start that I guess. how about you?

Nothing like completely avoiding the digestive tract. I love the convenience of only having to change the patch twice a week. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to get my script filled - supply dramas sigh! My GP swapped me to a gel & a progesterone pill for two months hoping the patch would be available by then & also hoping I’d absorb enough progesterone to cover me for the short term. They’re hoping end of August for the patch to be back which means I’ll need four months of the gel & tablet. Unexpected effect of being smaller was I was told to rub the gel into my upper arm. Tried that but I’d had to rub it over my entire arm because of the amount of gel & it still wasn’t enough skin. I now rub it all over my butt & tummy. That’s only 1 pump. I’d be rubbing it all over my body if it was two pumps. Lol! PS I found eucalyptus oil really great at removing the sticky residue left on my skin from the patch.

3 more days!!! Today I had a surge of energy. Probably all the naps I had the past few days. Did my last minute grocery run. Even though I already have tons of broth, power aid zero, jello, pudding, popsicles, I grabbed more. 🤣 I also grabbed gas X just in case. Tomorrow I will get my bag ready. Started the miralax regimen today per doctors orders. I do have to say the Advanced Impact AR drink from the doctor is so disgusting. I have to chug it and rinse my mouth with mouthwash. Anyone else have to drink this for a few days before?

Its hot as h**l in Greece in September. If you are going Self catering then you will not need as much as if you are in a Hotel. I took a huge case full for 3 weeks in May and wore 3 swimsuits and 3 dresses and 3 tops/dresses for over my costume. I wear swim dresses and feel confident in them. The rest I didn't wear for the most part. Lesson learned for me. Its a very laid back country and unless you are going in a 5* hotel, you will be ok dressed down. Shorts are what everyone wears. Loose dresses look great and are practical. I would buy a size down. I went down a size every 2 months.

tomorrow July 10 😌 Weird because 1200 calories for the past 2 weeks and liquid diet 24 hours before the surgery. This is gonna sound nuts but I hope that my liver isn't a fat gigantic thing... so embarrassing. I had gastric sleeve back almost a decade ago and managed to regain the weight. It's the same surgeon for this gastric bypass.

I know the autumn styles will be in the shops closer to when you go so it could be difficult to find summer clothes by then but if you can wait a few weeks I would as you could drop a couple of sizes before your trip. If you can't wait you could get a summer dress (or three) in a size or two smaller than you are now and then have some belts if the style suits that way you can cinch them in if needed. Another thing is drawstring loose trousers as that way even as your waist shrinks you can adjust the waistband. I got lovely ones in M&S in both navy and black and even though they are the bit too big now they have a nice summer flow to them.

Hi all! My surgery is scheduled for 7/17. I'm just a little uner one week away. On day 7 of my liquid diet today. Shakes, Water, Sugar free popsicles and jello. Oh - what I'd do for anything crunchy right now! I live for the moment I have to take my vitamins simply for the ability to chew freely. LOL. It's been a hard couple of days emotionally, but I'm trying super hard to stay positive. You go online and read horror story after horror story - but I know there are far more positive stories than negative. So - I'm holding onto that. And remembering my "whys". Hope everyone else is doing well and their July surgeries and preops are just a blip on the screen of a happy and healthy future! ❤️

Do you like dresses? I adore dresses for warm weather. I suggest getting some loose, flowing types and a few light cardigans or those scarf-life draping kimono/shawl thingies for if you go inside somewhere that is cooler or want to cover your arms. I would probably take measurements to match up to your size on online size charts and try ordering or shopping in mid-August. You might get some things on end-of-season clearance. Actually, one of my favorite tricks is to find one dress I like and buy it in 3 or 4 neutral colors, and then top it with different accessories that I can use at any dress size. Three different kimonos will make a single dress look like you have three.

My go-to marinara brand is Bove's, which is made in Vermont and only contains plum tomatoes, olive oil, fresh onions, fresh garlic, salt, and fresh spices. It's delicious, but is pricey and can be harder to find if you aren't in New England. But the one I will get if I'm not able to find Bove's (or if I'm feeling like a cheaper option) is Ragu Kettle Cooked tomato basil, which you can get at Walmart and Target for under $3 a jar. It's about as close to homemade as you will find from a bigger brand and the ingredients look like things you keep in the kitchen. The turkey meatballs are fresh but precooked from Shady Brook Farms and can be found in a lot of grocery stores. The ingredient list is kind of terrible, though. They are tasty and heat up in 2 minutes, but once I actually looked at all the crap in them (I tossed them in the cart without checking), I will probably opt for a frozen version in the future if I don't want to make homemade. Speaking of frozen, they make frozen zucchini spirals, and I think you can get butternut squash and beet spirals, too. When made with fresh (not frozen) ingredients, I just toss it all in a bowl and microwave for 2 minutes. Dinner done!

I appreciate that, I am going to reach out to them. I needed to b**** and moan, ask much as I hate that you went through that stall, its reassuring to know I am not alone. Seeing that scale go up is not great!

I was in the same spot you are up until last week. I stopped losing at 7 months, gained a few pounds and watched the same 2-3 pounds up and down for three months! Then, at 10.5 months lost 8 lbs in a week. I completely understand your frustration. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I continue to lose now. Its very frustrating! Have you gone to your dietician or surgeon and at least confirm all is well? I did and even talked to the clinic psychologist (I was becoming angry about it). Just know it will eventually break, I know hearing/reading this doesn't help like losing pounds does but... But you'll start losing again.

As others have said, I felt absolutely no hunger after surgery. I got a little tired of the same flavors every day and kind of missed chewing, but I wasn't hungry. I even had to go back on liquids for a few more weeks because of some vomiting issues and it was fine. For resting, the first couple days home I rested a lot. I would bring a big tumbler of water and a premade protein shake into the living room and just sit and watch TV and nap when I needed. That passed quickly and the pain was mostly gone within a few days. You will be amazed how quickly you are feeling back to normal. You've got this!

Do you change up your workouts? I’d read somewhere years ago that you need to change them every 6 weeks or so as your body gets used to what you’re doing. Can you change your reps/sets? The amount of weights you’re using? Try something completely different? I had to keep doing this and it did work for me so maybe it’s something that could work for you too? I remember I stopped working out for a couple of weeks and dropped 7lbs 🤷‍♀️ Our bodies are weird!

If you don't want to stay off the scale for a week, which I'll admit I can't do either, just remind yourself each day that the number does not define you and that it isn't the end of your weight loss journey. Plateaus and small upward movements are common and normal throughout the process. It's temporary. You're still eating too little for it not to be. You're only 6 months in, so you have at least another 6 months ahead of you to lose those last few pounds. It will probably get harder, but it will happen! And you've done an amazing job in such a short period of time.

Thank you @ShoppGirl @Bypass2Freedom and @JennyBeez for you lovely, thoughtful words. I really do appreciate your comments. The clothes came - the shift dress that I thought would be OK is massive and the jumpsuit that I thought would be too tight fits perfectly so go figure 🤷‍♀️ Annoying though when you buy the same size from the same brand and there are massive discrepancies. So, dress is going back and I’ve ordered a couple of things from the sale at Roman for less than half the price of the dress I’m sending back 🙂 @ShoppGirl I have to say that my hubby is being fully supportive. There are obviously times when I want to smother him with a pillow but not over this. He is onboard with what I am trying to do so no complaints from me over that. He just wants me to feel good about myself and get some confidence back I think. I did take your advice and ordered some new, dressy shoes (backless so if my feet do shrink again, it won’t matter!) I hope that the metabolic changes from the op really do kick in and work in tandem with the other changes we make. I know the op is a positive thing that we’re doing both for our physical and emotional wellbeing. @Bypass2Freedom Definitely seek food to ‘soothe’ when in meltdown mode. It is difficult to lose weight and keep if off. I hate, with a passion, those that patronisingly say “oh, you just have to eat less and move more”…OH REALLY?? 🤬🤬🤬 Well tell my metabolism that you arsehole. Continually dieting just screws your metabolism up, I’m sure of it. I’m hoping that the op acts as an internal reset button so my body stops acting against me and works with me for a while. I do know I need to stop being so harsh on myself…old habits and all that 🙃 @JennyBeez Yes, to camouflage, yes to self-sabotage. I know what started my weight issues and disordered eating. Food was used as a punishment when I was growing up (amongst other things) I won’t go in to detail as I don’t want to trigger anyone but I have undergone counselling etc. I did lose approx 100lbs around 12 years ago and then immediately started with Rheumatoid Arthritis which threw a massive spanner in to my works! My focus went from weight and gym visits to meds, hospital visits, X-rays pain and tests. Weight went back on, Osteoarthritis decided to join the party and then recently Fibromyalgia because why not?? Did I choose any of that? NO! Looking at it all dispassionately, I can see that I was angry with my body - I’d done the major weight loss, I was at the gym 5 days a week because I loved it, I was happy with myself and then I felt that I was kicked in the teeth without rhyme or reason. I know that WLS won’t make everything go away but hopefully it will make things easier to handle and get me moving once again. I miss the gym like you wouldn’t believe and I’m just hoping that I can get going to it once again for my physical and mental health. Working on my mindset is definitely a work in progress.

The thing that scares me about staying away from the scale. Is that I did that while I was 300lbs because if I didn't know my weight then I wasn't gaining so it didn't matter, I am a size 4 right now which is INSANE, so I really couldn't imagine myself losing anymore weight anyways but I was hoping for the last 2.4lbs dang nabbit! I am not mentally prepared for the scale to go up let alone 4lbs in less than a week. Thank you so much for the words, it has helped. I know it cannot be me. Its just really disheartening to see it going up almost every day

It's easy to forget that "weight" and "fat" are not the same thing. You can burn fat and go up in weight, and it's normal for daily weight to fluctuate by several pounds. You've been really lucky so far that the scale has gone down consistently, but you're getting to the 6-month mark and that's when the surgery's fat burning effect starts to slow (not stop, but slow). In the past, you were burning enough fat quickly so that even if you went up in weight from water or the food in your digestive track, you wouldn't see it on the scale. Now, though, you might only lose a small amount of fat in a week, so you could see the scale become a little more erratic. It's totally normal and you aren't gaining fat. It's also very common to hit a stall around 6 months post op as your body recalibrates. You'll probably see slower weight loss once it breaks, but you'll still see the scale go down for many more months. And if I just base it on my own experience, you will experience this type of thing the closer you get to a number that feels important to you because the universe is like that. The moment I dropped below 200 lbs, which was such a psychological milestone for me, my weight bounced back up and it took another 10 days to get back into the 190s again. My third month post-op, I stalled and only lost a total of 3.8 pounds. The following month was my best month so far for weight loss. So don't read too much into a little wobble on the scale if your habits have been reasonable. If it takes 3500 extra calories to gain one pound, unless you can identify some really bad choices that would have led to a 14,000 calorie surplus this past week, it's not anything you're doing. Just keep following your plan and ignore the scale.

You are having a head moment. You know that you are doing everything right but your head is saying WHAAAT ! TF ! Just breathe for a moment and think. There are a few things to consider and you probably know this, Its a stall, Its water retention, you are over doing things and your body says no way or you have eaten salty foods. You have gained the pounds and you need to stay away from the scales for a few days/ a week. Its a tough ask I know, I am the worst at it. Watching the scale will screw with your mind. Keep to your plan and it will work its way right.

Do you measure yourself too? Is it plausible that with your workouts, you've started gaining more muscle than what you're losing in fat? Has you been bowel-regular, and your sodium hasn't increased? I'm nowhere near my goal yet, but I've heard / read that a lot of people gain back 10-15 after they 'stop' losing, whether they're purposefully going into maintenance or their body has told them to go into maintenance lol. It could also just be one final stall that your body is giving you as you near your goal weight. Try not to worry too much? I know it's hard -- and it probably feels even harder since you're so close to where you want to be. I doubt you're doing anything wrong, every post I see you make or reply too, you always seem to really be on the ball about things. As someone else on here recently said, give yourself some grace. And keep on keeping-on! ❤️

It sounds like a lot of people have that 10-15-20 lb rebound after they stop losing, so that sounds kind of natural. Don't sneer at your 70lb loss though -- that's the average / median weight of a 10 year old girl. You have lost the equivalent of an entire child's body weight. I definitely second the therapist / group counselling route. I personally think therapy is good for everyone, anywhere, anytime -- but for things like ED it can be a game changer. Also? This forum. Come here often. Make it a point to log in at least two times a week, even if it's just to say hi, or grumble about your new protein powder tasting like saccharine-dipped-shite, etc. Honestly, reading other people's trials & tribulations reaching out and interacting on the regular with other people who are on similar journeys can be such a great support.

Goodness yes. I am incredibly emotionally reactive right now -- and prior to all this, as an adult I've always been very non-reactive, to the extent that I used to wonder if I was a sociopath. The past two-ish-weeks I've been on a rage bender, and now I'm starting to see that ease but now instead I get teary when I tell my dog I love her, etc. XD