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The pre-op diet is specifically designed to be very short term and to drop a good amount of weight to make the surgery safer. There's no way it can, or should, be sustained long term. If you're having the surgery because you haven't been able to lose, or keep off, weight successfully in the past, then that isn't likely to change just because the pre-op diet was temporarily successful. But if you're having doubts, more than just normal pre-surgery jitters, than definitely rethink the surgery. It's life changing. And A LOT of changes will have to be made in order for it to be successful. If you don't think that's something you're ready for, don't do it.

This gave me so much hope. I hate feeling like I look like a hunchback. I used to have amazing posture, but as I gained, I think that I lost confidence and sort of cowered in my own little shell trying not to be noticed. I've been working on bringing the posture back to what it used to be, but I cannot wait for the neck hump to be gone!!

Stumbled on an Australian bariatric surgeon who recommended multiplying your starting weight by 0.7 to find the weight you may end up at. Again based on averages & they said their patients’ stats & not depended upon your surgery. Easy way to check versus searching for the online calculators if you’re interested.

I wanted to post a quick update. I had my birthday and definitely didn't follow my plan and the next day was my friends wedding so that day wasn't much better. But I've regained my focus and I'm back to what I should be eating. I'm still losing weight and major slip ups aside. I'm not going backwards.

I had to lose weight before they gave me the okay to get into the bariatric program and I actually did Weight Watchers (WW) it helped me lose the weight I needed to get approved. Just a thought

So...I'm struggling with how to answer this because I want to give you helpful information, but I still have questions. I guess I'll jump right in and see how it goes. 1) You started off at a lower weight to begin with, so your body is likely at the point now where it's at it's healthiest. As of right now, you're 5'5" and 136 pounds with a bmi of 22. You're exactly where you should be. If you lose 15 more pounds, you'll weight 121 pounds and have a bmi of 20. On paper, that's still healthy. But my concern is you're becoming addicted to losing the weight and even though you're exactly where you should be (and could even gain 10 pounds and still be where you should to be) you'll panic and possibly go about things in an unhealthy way to drop those pounds. 2) Were there other reasons besides your weight that led you to getting the surgery? Did you have any comorbidities such as high blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, etc? You didn't mention that. My fear is, if you only wanted to drop weight and your bmi was 33 to begin with, and now you're wanting to continue to drop even though you're being told you look "stick thin" (and you're in the healthy range now but still want to go lower), that this might have more to do with the number on the scale than getting healthy. 3) Stalls are normal, and happen all the time. The fact that you haven't had one until 4 months out is actually kind of surprising. They do break on their own, but honestly, you may lose little weight going forward (and what you DO lose will likely come off slowly) since you're already well within the healthy and normal range and your body feels it's happy at its new set point. 4) Your body likely thinks it's in starvation mode, based on how you're working out and lifting and what you're eating. The harder the workouts, the more calories you need. Prioritize protein first above all else, then veggies, then carbs and healthy fats. But you definitely need to increase your calorie intake. This isn't necessarily advice for dropping more weight (although that tends to happen when things like this go on) but for healthy purposes. If your body thinks it's starving, it'll hold on to every single calorie and bit of fat. And it'll eat away at muscle before fat just to make sure you survive. So my suggestion is to increase your calories. I don't do heavy lifting, but I DO do weight training, and on those days, I go up to 1400 calories. Core and strength training, I go up to 1300 calories. Cardio I go up to 1200 calories. Non work out days I eat around 1000 calories. 5) You didn't mention what surgery you had, but I'm assuming it's the sleeve. If I may ask, what made you choose having surgery versus doing anything else for weight loss? Have you tried changing your eating habits before, did you try medication, or did you go right to surgery? How have you changed the way you eat, and what you eat, since the surgery? How much fluid are you taking in every day? How much protein and carbs are you taking in each day? Are you taking your vitamins every day? How many days per week are you working out (should give yourself 2 days off ideally, but for sure at least 1).

Happy puree stage! It's so much nicer hahaha. I also over bought stuff but they are still surviving in my fridge. I wish I could advice u on the qty but I also read that 1/2 cup is right for now. If u guys read arabic, I would've shown what mine said and we would have a pretty good laugh as it basically says nothing informative teehee but I am surviving and losing the weight!! I wanna fast forward to 6 months

I got pregnant with pcos, but that was way WAY before I ever thought about weight loss surgery, so I can't help you with any of your questions, really. I had so many losses that I had to do treatments to get pregnant with my daughter (got pregnant with my son naturally). Never was able to get pregnant again after my daughter, and I just recently had a total hysterectomy (including ovaries) now that I've lost all the weight I want to lose after my surgery, so I won't be having more babies. I second what @ShoppGirl said...posting on 1 or 2 existing pregnancy and pcos threads is definitely the way to go to hopefully get some answers.

Holaaaaa! I just wanted to ask if some of you never actually tracked down your food after your bariatric surgery ? Does it work ? Did you gain weight again ? I know everybody is different, i'm just trying to learn about other people's experiences !

It depends on the surgeon. I am in the midst of consultations with surgeons for tummy tuck and breast lift. Today one told me they wanted me within 10 pounds of goal weight, stable at that weight for three months. Two others are fine doing the surgery now, given that I do not intend on losing 20 or more pounds (goal is under 10 lbs).

Most of the people on here have said it. I do cook most of my food now, hence the name. I think I’m weird because I like to food prep. I weigh myself at least once a week or check how my jeans fit. Then jump back on track (if I’ve wandered) by weighing food, measuring, recording and checking in with my son or a friend to hold myself accountable. I stay in touch with my bariatric group of fellow WLS patients because it’s good positive energy from people working hard to maintain weight loss. I pop on here too, again nice positive energy from folks trying to be supportive and helpful staying healthy!

At my highest weight its tell me 188lbs at 18m but my pre-op weight its tell me its 179lbs. However in both scenarios I am weighing less than the 6months weight and I am 14weeks post op. So hey I call it a win!

I agree with @NickelChip that you are looking great. Well I’m glad that you have finally stabilized. I would like to think if you just do strength training that you wouldn’t lose too much since you should be building muscle which weighs more than the fat you would be burning as I’m sure you know. Maybe just some wrist and ankle weights around the house on occasion would help you to build a bit of strength without too much energy drain. I’m sure the low iron is a huge factor in that, hopefully they can get you on a good regiment if that is a chronic thing. Have they also been monitoring your B-12 levels? That’s another thing that can zap your energy when it is low.

When I had lost weight many moons ago, my jeweller put 2 balls of white gold inside my platinum bands to reduce the size and it worked perfectly. No damage to my rings, easy to remove if needed 🙂

We should be proud. Even though some ignorant people don't realize how much work goes into losing the weight after WLS. If they even know we had it. At first, I told everyone. I didn't care who knew. But now, like Catwoman, I only share with those I feel can benefit from my experience. The comments were hard for me to take at first too. I even had someone tell me I need to learn to take a compliment. I took that advice and simply say thank you and smile. But if anything negative or passive aggressive is said, all bets are off. LOL

I don't think they do either, my partner is supportive and told me his attraction for me has not left. I asked if he preferred me heavier and he didn't say a peep. I followed up with, well I am not changing, because this is the new me and our kids deserve a mom who is healthy, not a mom who is 300lbs with a climbing weight and cannot keep up with them. He agreed, he just said its different. He met me heavier so me NOW is super new. We had to have a very very long talk, and its continuous but we have been working through it. I think the first 3-4months were the hardest, I lost weight really quick and it was a really big shock to everyone but especially him who touches me and all the things. Intimacy lacked for a bit, So I would agree that keeping that transparency is so important, also being selfish is important too right now.

@BlueParis Frustrating as it is, I think it takes most people about a year to reach their lowest weight. Those lucky few who drop the weight really fast are unusual. I know it's hard! But you're a healthy weight and looking great, so it's worth being proud of how much you've accomplished, especially with such a difficult travel schedule. At least your stall has broken! As for scars, mine are similarly dark purple. This is not a surprise to me as I get very dark scars, even from spider bites. Those pajama pictures reminded me that I had to get rid of an old favorite pair of pajamas as they were much too large. I look forward to buying a cozy new pair when the cold weather rolls around! I honestly don't know how anyone stays on track while traveling, especially on vacation. It is so hard when eating at restaurants non-stop, not to mention being surrounded by snack foods and temptations like ice cream and candy, which are much too easy to eat. I dread what my weight will be at the end of the week when I get home from my family trip. This will be the most days in a row I've missed weighing myself since surgery. But now that I've had a day of indulging in some treats, and realizing that eating junk isn't as appealing as I remember and kind of makes me feel blah, I'm hoping I'll be better about limiting myself to the healthiest options I can find.

agree with Arabesque - common during menopause. Plus you said you're on prednisone - one of the side effects of that is weight gain. So there's two culprits right there... Yes - I'd have a chat with someone to see what your options are. Weight loss is going to be a struggle, so maybe they'd be willing to do something to help with that.

Ii haven’t had my revision yet but for the sleeve I was told about 6 weeks and I could do exercise. For the revision it’s a little more complex so at the skull part group meeting we were talking about fitness and I said that I needed to do core exercises and the PA said that 6 weeks was fine for them too and the surgeon was right there and didn’t correct him so I took that for myself as it means I’m pretty much cleared at that point for most things. I think they do say to wait a bit longer for weight lifting and one girl asked about roller derby 3.5 years ago. But outside full contact stuff and weights it seems to be 6 weeks that we are healed enough to be safe from outside stuff so I would imagine all swelling and stuff would be gone by then for sure.

Alright guys, 6 months is upon us!! This pic is from the morning of my 6 month post op visit. I weighed in at 232 in office. That is 88 lbs since my highest weight, 75 lbs since surgery! Weirdly, I am smaller now that I was last time I was at this weight. The surgeon found this funny and said the way our bodies lose weight can be really entertaining. LOL I startled myself the other day because I pulled out my smallest clothes (the smallest I have ever been as an adult was 195) and my size 16 jeans fit, zip easily, and are huge in the waist!! That means my smallest size, a 14, will probably fit now snugly, or comfortably in another month. How insane is that?? How can I fit into clothes I had to be 30 lbs lighter to wear last time?? Magic, that's how. 😂 The surgeon estimates I'll be at around 200 lbs by my year mark, though he said if I don't get quite to 200 to not stress it. We each lose weight at our own pace and with my common channel length I can expect to lose weight (albeit much slower) through the second year and possibly into the 3rd year, though at that point it'll be 1 lb here and there. This is the upside of the duodenal switch, it is a long, slow burn. Most stabilize around 18 months to 2 years, but there are always outliers. I feel pretty great! I had a hiatal hernia repair in mid April after I starting having issues choking on my food and pills not going down (I even ended up in the ER with it, which was awful, they don't get bariatric patients at all!!). I gained 15 lbs overnight and it took 2 weeks to get it off, so that on top of my stall for most of March really slowed my weight loss down. But that's okay, I'm reminding myself I have faith that it will come off in its own time. But man, it is hard to remember that when the scale goes up!! In other news, my GP and bariatric surgeon both think I have POTS. I've had issues with it on and off since having a bad case of Epstein Barr Virus (mono) that put me in the hospital a few years ago. It seems every time my body gets stressed it reverts back to having symptoms and it seems it counts any surgery as a major stressor (understandably). She referred me to a specialist and my appointment is October 24th, 2025. Uhuh, 2025, not a typo. He's booking 1 1/2 years out. There are only 2 doctors in the state that specialize in it. So I'm not a happy camper... Meanwhile we are trying a low dose of a beta blocker to see if it helps with the dizziness when I change positions, the racing heart rate when standing/exerting myself, and the exercise intolerance... And doing the lifestyle things like compression leggings, increasing salt and fluid intake, etc... It seems that a lot of Long Covid patients end up having POTS too. Have you looked into this @SomeBigGuy ?? How are you doing? How is everyone else doing??

I absolutely LOVE to pull out my historical spreadsheets! thanks for giving me an excuse to do so!!! 1. Pre op weight, BMI or measurements 2. Surgery type VSG (Sleeve) October 24, 2018 3. Lowest post op weight, BMI or measurements and when it occurred 4. Maintenance weight, BMI or measurements and when it occurred Stabilized at about 115 lbs (BMI 21) around June 2020 and stayed that way for about a year or so. Unfortunately i don't have measurements for that time but i think they were similar to my lowest post op weight above. 5. Bounces (up or down) in weight, BMI or measurements and when they occurred around year 3 i averaged closer to 120 lbs (but rarely ever above 120), and have stayed that way until today (almost 6 yrs post op). This morning I weighed in at 119.4 lbs. 6. Methods used to maintain and what has/has not worked i track my food intake almost daily i weigh myself daily when i have access to scale (i also take my measurements once a month) i engage in regular exercise. i try to NOT eat to fullness (don't always succeed) if i want to eat something, i do, but i generally limit it to tastes/bites, vs full on meals. i generally ONLY eat things i really want to, and skip the stuff i deem "not worth it", as i consider it a waste of valuable stomach real estate. 7. How your life has changed (losing vs maintaining perspective) i eat carbs now lol (i avoided them like the plague during weight loss phase, and a year or so afterwards). its been a while for me know and i do notice that i am not as worried as i used to be about regaining weight. i think i've learned to trust myself in that i can make good decisions about my health and weight maintenance, and that i know i am flexible/resourceful/confident enough to make changes and adjustments WHEN things change. i guess that is it really, i am exponentially more confident than i was before: in terms of decision making, self-image, relationships, dealing with stress, all of it. I am so much more CHILL. Life is really good (plus im super HAWT, lol) 8. Words of wisdom/cautionary tales/stories of beating the odds Don't give into the angst. Don't try to do stuff that is beyond your abilities or desire. Don't compare yourself to others. Exercise. Drink water, Wear sunscreen.

I'm curious if anyone else decided to hold off on dating until after their weight loss surgery. I've decided to wait six months post-op before I start dating again. I feel like I need to focus on my weight loss journey and ensure I'm in a good place physically and mentally before diving back into the dating scene.

I feel I am losing way too much weight very fast. I am quite worried now.

I had my bypass in May 22. Happily and I needed to,\ I have lost a decent amount of weight after the bypass. My diet has been much improved. I go for walks most days and attend a gym once a week. On the down side depression has been kicking my butt and I have recently been hospitalized because of it. I spent a month inside and tried a new medication but it didnt seem to do anything for me so My P'doc said to stop taking it. Ever since then appetite has skyrocketed and it is causing me so much distress which I try to fix by eating. Yes, the cycle continues. So far my weight has not altered much but that wont stay the same forever. My psychiatrist has suggest that I ask my GP to prescribe Ozempic. Yes, I am a diabetic but since the bypass have managed my bsls with exercise and diet. Has anybody added Ozempic to help with their wls journey? Were there any draw backs. WHat else have you tried to get help with food addiction.