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There's several reasons I've heard for not losing right after surgery. One is that you lost beforehand - but sounds like that isn't you. Another is water retention. If you're only two weeks out, there could still be an awful lot of swelling in your abdomen. The incisions you can see are probably small, but there's a huge incision on your stomach! In fact, part of the reason your stomach is so, so small at the beginning (only 1/4 cup for some people) and gains capacity over time (more like a cup after 6 months) is because it starts out very, very swollen. You're going to lose. Trust me. Physics does work. I'd actually suggest something that may sound counterintuitive - eat more - but make sure that what you add is mostly protein. If you want to eat a piece of chicken, eat a gd piece of chicken! Keep in mind that your body is healing now, and protein is one of the things it needs to build all that scar tissue. Your body is telling you that it needs something. We are so used to not being able to trust our bodies, but the surgery really does rebalance things so that we can start to trust its signals more and more over time. Not everyone is like this, but my experience is that I was hungry right after surgery until my protein intake increased. That's when I relaxed into a groove, with easy to control hunger and pretty regular weight loss (though with stalls, of course, because everyone has stalls.) My calories were actually pretty variable after surgery. Some weeks I was more like 600, other weeks I was up to 1200. I still lost just fine over time. This is a marathon, not a sprint.

Hi Miratia. It sucks that you haven't lost any weight yet! I know how frustrating that feeling is when you are doing everything you can and it seems like nothing is working. And as much as I like this forum, sometimes it just sucks seeing how much others are losing. But I've also heard from other people here who didn't lose right away or lost slowly and still met their goals. To help myself remain calm and focused on my many stalls, I picked a date 6 months in the future and told myself I would not beat myself up about weight loss or lack of it until then no matter what. I know that if I stick to the plan I HAVE to be closer to my goal by then. Forget thinking that this is an instant fix because if you don't, your frustration might let you give up. And that would suck more. On another note, your procedure (ESG) seems really cool. I didn't even know it was a thing. I researched it after I read your post. So you don't have any incisions? I'm curious if there are other veterans of that procedure who could weigh in on the typical weight loss and provide you with some reassurance. I feel like most of the veterans here who are super active had the VSG or bypass. I did scan the ESG forum and it does seem like the weight loss is slightly less than VSG. So make sure you are not comparing yourself to someone who had a different procedure and different stats.

I wouldn't do that. Just follow your program. You're likely to hit a few of these patches on your journey - they're a normal part of weight loss. Don't worry about them - just stick to your surgeon's plan and stay off the scale for a few days. Your weight loss WILL start up again - promised!

So, here I am 2 weeks out from ESG! Sometimes I feel like I'd slap my own mom to eat a piece of chicken. But I've held meticulously to the diet, and I've been doing what moving around I can. No weight loss. None. Zilch. I'm no smaller and no lighter. Everyone with their "I instantly lost 5 pounds" even, is like...depressing. What's going on? How am I breaking physics? I'm eating around 700-900 calories a day -- surely that HAS to do something? If weight loss is at the beginning, what's wrong with me? Yes, I'm getting my 64 oz of fluids. Yes, I'm adhering to the diet. No, I'm not snacking. Yes, I'm keeping meticulous track of every single thing I eat. What's wrong?

it's the infamous three week stall - right on schedule! Fear not - almost all of us experience that. Just stick to your program and stay off the scale for a few days. Rest assured your weight loss WILL start up again. Stalls usually last 1-3 weeks, and you'll likely encounter a few of them on your journey.

This was my whole point about including the excerpt about me being previously anorexic. It’s NOT a sustainable thing, and yeah I was 96 lbs for 3 years surviving on 148 calories a day as a 3 sport athlete... but I ended up at 263 pre-sx... so it doesn’t work and it IS counterproductive in the end and long run... me, case in point! I just don’t see 800-1000 calories as “starving yourself” if you’re getting the right macros. Perhaps it’s the warped mind from when I was younger and actually living through (intentional) starvation. But I think it’s super important that even if not a medical professional, in ALL medical instances that we focus on the individual PT and their unique makeup and PMH, and not generalizations or broad spectrums, to provide the best care and treatment. @Jaelzion well said about the speed of loss not being important, I learned a lesson in that this week. Had a -25 month, a -38 month, and then I gained 4 lbs in my last 21 days. Was losing at a very very very molasses-in-July type pace. Now it’s coming back off, but in like 1/4 lb increments. So I have had to tell myself it will happen, be patient, keep following your plan, drinking fluid, and taking vitamins!!!

Well said. I also generally agree with your overall point @Creekimp13. Self-starvation is harmful, non-sustainable and counter-productive in the end. And my experience taught me that SPEED of loss is not as important as continuing to lose. It took me almost two years to reach goal and toward the end I was losing only about 1-2 pounds per month. But even that slow loss adds up over time and I got where I wanted to be! But as @BayouTiger said, we really are all different. For instance, you said: This may often be true, but I am currently in maintenance and eating about 1000 calories per day. I'm not restricting myself to that number, I eat about six mini-meals per day and plus small snacks whenever I am hungry. And I am exactly maintaining on that intake (besides normal fluctuations). I track my food pretty carefully, so my calories counts tend to be pretty precise. Some days I may have what I call a "munchie" day and eat more - I don't fight it. Some days I'm uninterested in food for some reason and I'll eat less - I don't force it (besides trying to hit my protein goal). But it averages to about 1000 calories per day. I'm short at 5'1", I've lost more than half my body weight, and I'm guessing I have a fairly low BMR. So the assumption that everyone eating 1000 calories a day or less is crash dieting for quick results is not always valid. As @BayouTiger said, I know your heart is in the right place and someone out there probably needs to read what you wrote. But you can't lump everyone together.

Read this and read it twice or three times, put it to memory the scale will make you crazy. you will fluctuate. Period. your body retails fluid, your body retains waste, it takes time. It took time to put on and it will take time to take off. Try not to weigh yourself daily, I know that is a super hard thing to do. Your going to go up and down, and you will all out stall. It happens to all of us. All you can do is stay your course and know that as long as the trend is downward your making good progress A good poop and pee can be the difference of a pound or pound and a half, the clothes you wear, how wet your hair is, the little things can make you crazy but the bottom line is if you weigh yourself weekly or biweekly you will see bigger changes in the numbers and the ounces won’t make you nuts!

You're right, summerset....getting folks to think about weight loss and disordered eating in any other way than...extreme dieting...is like hitting your head against a wall until it's bloody. I'm not sure I care to do it anymore. The windmill wins. And Sillykitty made a great point...many people FEEL any suggestion of doing it any other way...is criticism of what they've been doing. It isn't, but I know it's experienced that way. There is a defensiveness that rivals politics and religion...when we talk about diets and weight loss. Everyone is very fixed on what they believe...including me, I suppose. I think this might be a major reason why we don't see more activity on the veteran's forum...there's a volitility that gets so negative. And ya know? I like ya'll. I don't want to feel negative about anyone or anything here. At some point, it's unhelpful to share your two cents, even when you try to do it carefully. And at some point, maybe it's best to realize that. Peace and best wishes to all.

Had to quote this ^^^ because my cell bio studying butt REALLY appreciated the shoutout to the metabolic processes!! Long: Just to add. Quite a few peoples nutritionists, surgeons and PA’s programs are VLCDs. Atleast for the first 6 months. Mine doesn’t have me going over 1100 til June. I have a biology degree with a chem minor, so I truly get nutrition stuff. However... If it’s recommended by the team, who am I to say no, you’re wrong, I need to be eating more... To a surgeon who’s been doing bariatric surgeries since they were invented, and a nutritionist with a masters in dietetics from Vanderbilt... I get where you’re coming from, I really do. And I think you’re coming from a very sincere and concerned place. But from a purely scientific standpoint we are all different. And we cannot be treated as a one size fits all. There are people with diabetes, cancer, chronic pain, mental illness, etc. who go through these surgeries and lifestyle changes. All of those pts need to be mapped out differently based on THEM and their past medical history and their familial history. Our metabolic rates, our sugars, body fat, all the stuff that people want a “baseline” for, really don’t have a true baseline. Because it’s not one size fits all. It’s never a one size fits all. What might help you lose weight might make me gain it. What is too much body fat on you might be too little on me. If it’s going lower on Cals and carbs to lose or jumpstart, I don’t see that as such a negative thing like you’re portraying. You don’t have to restrict to something absurd like 500 cals, but dropping your daily calories by a few hundred for a short period of time is proven to be a huge factor in re-jumpstarting your weight loss. There’s a distinct difference between starving yourself and not eating a lot. I was a dx disordered eater when I was a teenager. I know what not eating is. And (I’m gonna use me as an example but I know there are plenty more, but want to only speak for myself) the 750-900 calories I’m getting a day is a heck of a lot more helpful and nourishing than a single low fat string cheese wrapped in a piece of ham and one blue Gatorade per day for 2.5 years. And I am eating 750+ calories of sustainable, clean, organic veggies and lean meats/seafoods with no additives or anything fake—very sustainable over time. Was being anorexic healthy? Absolutely not. Not advocating for that but rather in the opposite direction. You need to eat, but the devil is in the details with each pt and not in the broad “calorie range” scope. I see a very big difference in starving yourself and not eating much because of that previous experience. Just my .02$... Like I said, I really enjoyed the post, I just have a hard time even thinking about telling my doctors and team they’re wrong with giving me the diet they have me on, when this is the plan that’s been laid out for me, and many others as well. And they’re professionals. I mean, I paid almost $28K for this surgery (thanks no insurance and 4 days in the hospital), I’ve got to be able to trust that what my team is doing is to help and not harm me. And that they wouldn’t put me on a plan that will ruin my metabolism and make me unable to lose properly and gain back ridiculously. And that’s where these posts get harmful. Because they can have people doubting the road they’re on. I know for a fact it freaked me out good and well. We are all on the same, but separate journeys. I have to remind myself of that daily. You’re a good person Creekimp and very very knowledgeable. I honestly learn something new every time you post. I hope you dont take this as hostility but rather as an open dialogue as you are a vet; and I’m 2 mos post op with a medical profession and bio degree so I only know what I know from that. I promise I’m not being contentious but I know online tone and inflection aren’t always picked up and seen!! Also, how do you force yourself to eat that much in a day. I eat 6 “meals” a day and have to literally force myself to eat to almost misery each time to meet my goals. Do I need to add more fat or something to increase the caloric value of my food?!

I've just come through a 3 week stall..it isn't fun! At surgery 119 kg First 2 week Post op 116 .. by 6 weeks it was 112 kg then a stall Of 3 weeks so frustrating ( it was only the fact that clothes were getting looser that stopped me having a melt down!!) Weigh in yesterday 111kg So hopefully??! I wonder how much age is a factor ( I'm 66) plus I loss about 15 kg in the year prior to surgery) Just trying to plod on and stay sane ( or sane-ish!) Good luck

First off, let me say that you should always listen to your doctor and nutritionist...rather than crazy people on the internet, myself included. But here's my rant today. And for what it's worth....this is just MY feelings on this nonsense. I'm no expert. Ya'll need to eat. Not overeat. But also NOT UNDER-EAT. Eat healthy food you enjoy. I know how it happens. Your weight loss gets sluggish and stuck and you think OMG, this isn't working, I'm Failing at this! You start to panic. And what does a lifelong self-destructive dieter DO when they start to panic? They go exteme. They go...ok, my doctor said it was ok to eat this much.....so I'm gonna try to eat HALF of that to speed up my weight loss! I'm going to work harder than anyone! I'm going to eat less! I'm going to force this weight off of my body...because this is my last chance and I'm freaking out and I can't fail at this, so I NEED to do better and cut back! Only, here's the thing. You don't need to cut back. You need to stay the course, nourish your healing body, have good energy to boost your metabolism and lose weight sensibly. Why do people do VLCDs? (very low calorie diets....1000 or less calories a day)....they do them because they show results in a hurry. And there is nothing people like better than a lower number on the scale...regardless of how they're achieving it. Or how harmfully they are achieving it. When you eat less than 1000 calories a day, did you know you lose more muscle than fat...even if you are eating tons of protien grams? When you lose muscle, you slow your metabolism, endanger your organs that have muscle (heart anyone?), and decrease your bone density. None of this is a good idea. And when you're eating starvation level calories, your body tries like hell to keep you from dying....by, you guessed it, slowing your metabolism even further. And the carb thing...can we talk about that a minute? You DO want to avoid carbs that are metabolized to sugar really fast, like sugary foods and refined white flour items because they can cause your pancrease to over-react and send too much insulin and you'll end up with rebound hunger....but other carbs, particularly ones that have good fiber content to slow the sugar can also have good protien content...and they don't do the rebound hunger thing. They give you great available energy. Why do we lose so much weight so rapidly when we do keto? We don't really....but the first five pounds is so quick and shocking that it MUST work! (except you're not losing fat, you're losing the water that your liver stores extra glucose in.....and you've stripped your liver of its emergency reserve of energy. And yeah...you can make the sugar you need from other things through gluconeogenesis....but it takes amino acids that your body is typically harvesting from your muscles.) Don't do that thing where you lose the five pounds eating keto....then eat a few carbs and go OMG, look at the weight I've gained!....and go keto again and lose the same five pounds of water. It's an illusion. (Not saying keto people can't lose weight...they do lose weight fast...but they also have about five pounds in lost water from glucose storage, no emergency stores, and their bodies may be consuming their muscles) Food for thought (literally!) Guess what organ runs exclusively on sugar? Pure glucose. Your brain. Your brain burns over 300 calories of glucose every day. At just 2% of our body weight....our brains burn about 20% of the calories we use each day! The CPU needs fuel. Lots of people lose weight rapidly with Very Low Calorie Diets after bariatric surgery. They have these amazing results that other people notice and are in awe of. They lose to goal eating very little and feel very accomplished about their self discipline and their amazing fast results. And then guess what happens? At goal...they are still people who have never learned how to eat sustainably for life. All they know is starvation and self deprivation. And starvation doesn't work long term. Please learn to eat sustainable amounts of calories. Do it early so you don't fudge your metabolism into starvation level calorie requirements. One of the best ways to have a robust metabolism...is to do exercise every day. It doesn't have to be the gym or something you find tedious. Do things you enjoy....but keep moving. It's hard to build your robust metabolism.....when you're too tired to do anything but go to work and go to bed...because you're starving yourself. Please eat. Don't overeat. But eat. Learn to eat right, not starve. Starving is not the cure and in many cases sets the stage for significant regain. Do it right, even it it's slower than other people. Do it sustainably. Learn to coexist with food, not avoid it. (easier said than done) Don't get discouraged by small losses. Just keep losing to goal with small sensible tweeks. You don't have to suffer extremes to have success. Learning to control your diet moderately...is the best skill to have when facing a lifetime of sustaining a significant weight loss. This end my rant. Totally ok if you think I'm nuts/wrong/whatever. Take what you like and leave the rest. Peace and best wishes to everyone on this crazy road.

I ate a lot after surgery. The restriction was there and I could only do a little at a time, but I was non-stop HUNGRY, so I ate non-stop. At around week 3-4 weeks...when I was encouraged to eat 1200 calories a day, I started feeling more content and like I was on a sustainable diet. I still ate 6 times every day....and often still do. You will be able to eat more of mushy "slider" foods than foods with more substance. Eating is not the devil. Eating a sane number of calories during loss phase is not a bad thing. Feeling well enough and having the energy to do the exercise that boosts your metabolism...is a good thing. You don't need to be a starving zombie to lose weight. You definately need to keep track and make good food choices, but the extremely low calorie diets are both unwise and can set you up for rebound regain. Eat sensibly. Good choices. Stay within calorie limits. Boost your metabolism with 15 minutes of cardio every day. (doesn't have to be anything fancy, some very heavy folks reach cardio just by taking a walk) Stay active, stay nourished. You will lose weight.

Collagen is a good supplement, too. I’m trying to head off the hair loss possibility by taking 10,000 of biotin, and using a collagen protein powder! I’ll be sure to continue taking after I’ve had my surgery, plus maxing out on as much protein as I can. I hope not to lose any hair, but just in case I’m being proactive. I’m using Dose & Co vanilla collagen protein powder, ... but there are others out there. It can’t hurt.

My doctor wanted 10% weight loss through medically supervised diet before he'd approve you. For me that was 27 pounds. My insurance wanted 5 months of medically supervised weight loss....so that's what I did, and lost 40 pounds by cutting back calories, learning about better nutrition, making better choices. After surgery, my doctor wanted us eating 1200 calories a day by the 3-4th week. We avoid refined carbs, but eat LOTS of whole carbs....potatoes, whole grains, etc. (no refined sugar or white flour products) We ate 1200 calories a day like that until goal....then gradually upped calories to maintenance. I maintain well at 1600 calories a day. I eat pretty much everything, but am careful with refined foods.

I was 234 at heaviest 118 at lightest and am now (4 and a quarter years post op) 149. Yes - lockdown but more than that it’s sugar addiction. At 114 I had no bum or tits or shape and people said I looked gaunt and old but I LOVED being skinny. I’m now a size 8-10 uk - up from a low 6 and definitely not fat or even really overweight. My bmi is maybe a tad over but I’ve always been solid - short legs long back- great build for a hod carrier an ex once told me!!! so I need to deal but it’s sugar I need to deal with. I go in and off IF and Keto but constantly relapse with sugar. I’m weaning off just now and am going to aim for IF on work days (my tummy is v hair trigger so that helps avoid leaving a classroom mid lesson. the struggle is real. I’m a recovering alcoholic and sugar hits the same button. I’m depressed, sedentary, lonely but I’m not giving up. It’s great to hear from people who’ve kept weight off and I’d like too to hear how you get it off again befor it’s all back... on a positive note I have boobs and a bum again!

@MarissaD : Yes, your haircut is lovely,...but your EYEBROWS! 😍 (In BOTH your Before AND your After pics) Congrats on your weight losses!

I can think of a few "negative" side-effects from results of the WLS (i.e., weight loss), but really, none that would not be considered as mere skinny-girl problems by my old bigger self. But...I do have one negative that came about due to the WLS itself, that needs legitimate addressing (probably for life): Nighttime Relfux. I never had it before, but since surgery, I need to make sure that I go to bed on an empty stomach, and that I have my head/upper body elevated when I'm asleep. If I don't, I will wake up with some stomach contents in my mouth sometime in the middle of the night which is wildly unpleasant. I'm all good when I'm awake, and I know how to manage it with my sleeping arrangements, so its not that bad, but it is annoying.

actually, a 10-20 lb gain after hitting your lowest weight is VERY common, especially in year 2 or 3 - so you were lucky you held out for so long. Your gain is pretty minimal for being 10 years out - a lot of people fail to get a handle on that 10-20 lb bounce back and it starts to get really out of control. Losing 10-20 lbs is tough but do-able - way easier than the 50+ that some people gain (and unfortunately, some people end up gaining most (or all) of their weight back if they're not careful). I gained 10 lbs in year 3 and have gained another 10 this year (thanks to COVID). I don't want to get back down to my lowest weight as it was too low for me, but I'd love to get rid of the 10 pounds I put on this year. Although it's been tough. It doesn't seem to want to budge much. Although for normal weight or slightly overweight people, losing weight is really hard, even for those who've never been obese. I remember being at Weight Watchers meetings years ago and rolling my eyes at these slightly overweight women who'd groan and complain about how hard it was to lose 10 lbs. Yea right (I'd think...) - try lose 100+ lbs! But now I totally get it!! all you can really do is either cut calories or bump up your exercise - or both - and know that it's going to be tough slog since you're at a normal (or maybe slightly above?) a normal BMI. But....some people do manage to do it! Congrats on your loss and on your ability to keep it off for so long. And be grateful that you've only put on 20 lbs in 10 years. That'd still be considered a very successful result - and it's manageable - with some hard work, you should be able to get rid of that (that is, if you want to!)

well glad to hear.. that was exactly my thought about the starting weight and expectations on loss.. i was too the point of wanting to pass out at any given point in the day - so i couldnt imagine what my body would go through if i lost at the rate the doc suggested.

given your starting weight, 30 lbs a month is unrealistic. Most of us lose somewhere in the 15-25 lb range the first month (of course there are exceptions to that, but...they're exceptions), and with your low starting weight, I'd expect you to be on the lower end of that. Plus that's just the first month. After the first month, rate of weight loss drops quite a bit. Most of us have a big drop the first month (or maybe two months for some of us), and after that it's around 10 lbs a month. So you're fine. And your surgeon is being very unrealistic. Maybe he's used to patients who start out much heavier than you? I'm not sure, but his expectations are way off. I'm glad they'll be starting you on prilosec. Actually, many surgeons prescribe it for the first 3-6 months after surgery (mine prescribed it for the first year, but that was a few years ago before all the potential side effects of PPIs were known - I wouldn't be surprised if he's reduced it to 3-6 months at this point). At any rate, that might help. And if not, yes - gall bladder could be the culprit. keep us posted...

I had surgery on March 23rd and had the SADI. I’m starting puréed foods currently. My weight was 265 surgery day and I’m stuck at 252 for over a week. Did anyone else have this issue?

Hi @DaisyAndSunshine I also have pcos and after continous research i chose gastric bypass. The weight loss is more permanent with the bypass and I dont have to worry about becoming diabetic. But good luck with your decision and just look into stories of females with pcos that had weight loss surgery.

It appears to be resolved! I fought with appeals for 10 months to get approved for my surgery, the big hurdle was weight loss surgery wasn't included in my coverage. I won my final appeal because the surgery was my only viable option to properly repair my hiatal hernia. I called insurance, they told me it was automatically rejected based on my coverage, they will process it again and it should be fine.

Hi there, After having followed the site for some time, I am posting here for the first time to get some advise! Height - 4'11 HW - 222 Current Weight - 215 My surgeon has given me both options - Sleeve OR Bypass! I don't have any GERD issue or anything that may tilt the balance on one or the other. So can I please get some advise so I can make up my mind on what to choose?! I have PCOS and I want to lose about 100 pounds for my PCOS related side effects to come to a good halt. So maximum weight loss or as much as I can is definitely a key for me. Hence I was thinking *Bypass*, but then I have also followed some posters here and they have lost the same amount with Sleeve too! I would preferred Sleeve too because of little less side effects in future. But then I also don't want to get Sleeved and then not lose the desired weight, having to regret the decision not to have picked Bypass. I have also read how average weight loss is more or less similar to both in the 5 yr study, so why do some pick *Bypass* over *Sleeve*?! Any advise would be great so I don't pendulum on the options and pick one of the two!