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I posted some good palatable recipes from my Complete Bariatric Cookbook and Meal Plan by Megan Moore on the foods thread. I just finished the Green Machine Shake made with green apple, spinach, avocado, and stuff and thank goodness for a break in the sweetness. How ironic that lots of sweets got me to my highest weight and now all the sweet flavors are making me wretch. I had a bit of bleeding from the biggest incision site yesterday when I woke up so I contacted the doctor. They say it’s normal when that adhesive stuff starts to wear away. Did anyone else experience this?

I just hit my third week stall and I’m kinda meh about it. Thanks to this thread, i am taking the zen approach that it will happen (stalls) and i just need to channel my energy into something else (walking, getting outside to work on my garden, playing with my dog) instead of obsessing. I used to obsess all the time when i did weight watchers and the stupid scale wouldn’t move. I’m just grateful i was able to have the surgery and take a new approach to life. Plus the warmth and sunshine has come to Connecticut and I’m enjoying it!

I've seen everything from 800ish to close to 3000, depending... One thing to remember (or learn, if they didn't tell you,) is that the caloric malabsorption tends to dissipate after a year or two, so you may need more to maintain a certain weight now than you will in a couple of years, so stay flexible, keep tracking what you are eating and make adjustments along the way.

I have heard about this "phenomenon" and all I can say is this: We are currently looking for some gentlemen callers to assist my partner in his upcoming struggle! As a 600-pound man, I was always horny, and my man couldn't keep up with me...I feel SO bad for him as I start to lose more weight!

I take metoprolol and I will crush it. Hopefully after some weight loss I can ditch it and the lisinopril and both diuretics.

it's really an individual thing. It depends on your height, activity level, metabolic rate, and how much weight you're trying to maintain. As an example, you can eat a lot more calories if you're trying to maintain 160 lbs vs 120 lbs. I'm 5'6", fairly active, and try to stay in the 150-160 range. I can eat 1700 calories and maintain that. But i know women (WLS) who can eat 2000 calories and maintain, and others who have to stick to 1200-ish to maintain. the best way to figure out your range is trial and error, unfortunately.

I lost about 50 lbs before surgery and I’m super glad I did. Every pound I lost before was a pound I didn’t have to lose after, and also I feel like it made me healthier for surgery. The awesome thing about it as a lifelong yo-yo dieter is that I lost that weight and then had surgery so I never gained it back. I had a lot of weight to lose as I was starting out at 339 lbs, however. I knew that the weight loss would be easiest right after surgery so I wanted to lose what I could without it and let the surgery take care of the loss I couldn’t do on my own.

Definitely understand why you want to wait. I also don't feel like myself yet. It's kind of weird being like hey I'm going to lose a lot more weight heads up haha. I went on another date last night with a new person and we talked about weight loss because he was very health conscious. I told him that I recently lost over 80lbs and have issues absorbing vitamins so I take special tablets and get bloodwork every 3 months. I wonder if he put two and two together. I still don't think I'd tell a date until I reach my goal weight. Sent from my SM-G975U using BariatricPal mobile app

Building on my comments above, if you got along well with your band - it seems like you did - but just had mechanical problems with it, then the sleeve is a good replacement as its' character is similar, being strictly restrictive, but without the foreign object problem potential of the bands. The bypass is a good procedure that has been done for over forty years as a WLS, based upon procedures that are about 140 years old developed for gastric cancer, so it is a well established and understood procedure, both the good and bad. There has been a continuing effort in the industry to develop better procedures (as there should be) and a number have come along, with some remaining and becoming established as viable alternatives (such as the BPD/DS and VSG) and others falling by the wayside, never getting traction (such as the mini-bypass,) and others where the jury is still out (the SIPS/SADI/Loop DS.) The BPD/DS generally works better, being stronger metabolically, but is also technically more challenging to perform, so few surgeons have adopted it; the VSG came out of the DS (the DS is based upon the sleeve, and adds malabsorption) and has established itself as being comparable to the bypass in average performance - overall weight loss and regain resistance - in a more straightforward procedure that has fewer long term compromises for the patient. GERD is the main potential bugaboo with the sleeve, which compares with the bypass's predisposition toward marginal ulcers, dumping and reactive hypoglycemia. The ulcer potential is what presents restrictions on some medications with the bypass, the biggest group being NSAIDs, but there may be others that one encounters in life that will also be off the table, or severely restricted, with a bypass. There is also the blind stomach and upper GI loop with the bypass, which makes those areas more difficult to monitor and evaluate through life (can't just stick an endoscope down there to take a look,) and there are an increasing number of endoscopic treatments for a variety of maladies available these days that would also be off the table. If one needs periodic monitoring in that region, for instance for a history of stomach polyps or family history of some cancers, the bypass becomes much less interesting. Another factor to consider is what I call the "Plan B" case - what to do if things don't work out as expected and things need to be revised? While the bypass is technically reversible, that is rarely done as that in itself is another fairly complicated procedure. The bypass, overall, is something of a dead end procedure in that it is difficult to revise into something else is need be. As weight regain is similarly possible with either the sleeve or the bypass, there isn't much to be done to correct that with the bypass - installing a band over the pouch or tightening up the stoma are the most common revisions, and neither has a very good track record for resolving regain problems. The VSG, on the other hand, can be revised (some would say "completed" into a DS fairly easily as it is the first step in a DS, or it can be revised into an RNY if GERD problems can't be resolved with meds (the RNY is usually reversed if an ulcer problem can't be resolved with meds. So, more options are available with the sleeve should a "plan B' be necessary. These are the reasons why the sleeve is building in popularity; there are good reasons to choose either, but one needs to take a close look at one's circumstances going into it to determine what is the best trade off for one's needs.

Hi all. To address this collectively: I have been to *tons* of doctors over the last four years trying to figure this out, as it started even before my weight loss surgery. The short version is that they haven't found anything. At some point, you have to live your life instead of living in a doctor's office. I get my labs taken every few months: my vitamin levels are perfect, blood count is great, etc. I know this is an unpopular opinion in the chronic illness/grey area community, but I truly think the majority of my issues are coming from anxiety. It's created an intense hypersensitivity/vagal response for everything I do, so what I'm trying to do is control the things I can through diet and common sense. So here I am trying to get macros and lifestyle advice two years later. Time to give it a whirl.

i have never seen that show but yea i was hoping for a little bit faster lol. but of course i am just 6 weeks post op. even my surgeon says hitting the goal weight takes time. up to a year or so

How's the scar for neck lift? I took some pictures and I think I see some difference with some face yoga or may be just little more weight loss. Sagging looks little better. So I suppose, I'll just to wait and watch how it looks towards the end of my weight loss and what procedures I may or may not need.

they didn't have Webinars back when I had mine seven years ago, but I had to go to an informational session (they had them scheduled once a month) where one of the surgeons from the practice spoke. They mostly just went over the different surgeries, talked about the benefits of weight loss surgery, and entertained questions. But yes - it was required. I'm glad I went because that's what convinced me I needed to have this done.

We are surgery twins. I am June 8 as well. Height 5’2” Weight 211 Good luck to you! 😊

@loli_lotus oh my lovely I feel your pain. [emoji3059] I have also battled with depression and my weight for many years and I also had all the doubts and questions that you have. I first considered the surgery 3 years ago, all the doubts and questions made me change my mind and I decided to try dieting again ( because I thought I could do better this time). Fast forward 3 years and no matter how hard I worked at dieting, I struggled to lose weight. I finally had surgery this March! I still had doubts, questions and family trying to dissuade me but I finally realised that I couldn't do it myself I needed a help. I didn't want to spend anymore time sad and obese with no confidence or self esteem. I'll be honest, it hasn't been easy, I've had to deal with emotions that I previously ignored by eating. I now have counselling to help me deal with this. I reacted extremely well to surgery and for 8 weeks the smell of meat repulsed me, this happens when your hormones change after surgery, it doesn't happen to everyone though. I now struggle to eat a great deal and have to eat little and often. Food was my best friend and now I don't enjoy eating. I find it a struggle to eat more than a few mouthfuls, but I keep reminding myself that it won't be like this forever and I need to take advantage of this. I also remind myself that I chose to have the surgery and how much more confident I am already! I have lost 36lb in 10 weeks, dropped two dress sizes and now feel OK looking at myself in the mirror. Everyone reacts to surgery in they're own unique way and it is a personal decision that only you can make. It isn't a quick fix and it is a difficult journey, but you are already putting in the hard work of working on your mental health. For me, the positives far outweigh the negatives. I now look forward to going out and doing things I previously would avoid and I'm continuing with my counselling sessions to make sure that I don't return to emotional eating in the long run. I hope this has helped you, I'm sure you'll make the right decision for you, sending you a huge hug x Sent from my SM-G980F using BariatricPal mobile app

Wise words from @GreenTealael & @catwoman7. Yes, it is your body not theirs & yes only you know what goes on in your head & your body. We are all so different physiologically & psychologically there is no one size fits all. If there was no one would ever have a weight issue & there would be only one diet that works for everyone. The surgery offers you the opportunity to really learn about what drives you to eat, why you made certain food choices, etc. You’ll also start to work out what your eating routine & food choices needs to be (notice I didn’t say diet). That is what your body needs to function effectively (physical health) & what you need to include to still enjoy & live your life as you want (contributing to your mental health). How I eat now will be different to how you will eat in the future. There will be similarities of course. but it won’t be exactly the same because what my body needs to be healthy & what I need for my mental health won’t be the same as yours. The surgery provides the opportunity for you to do the work into understanding your eating habits & your emotional drives to eat, to reflect on your food choices, etc. A lot of the success of the surgery does depend on you being able to do this work. As part of the surgical process you will be given access to dieticians & therapists to support you to identify the causes & strategies to manage or deal with them. The surgery also temporarily changes your taste buds, your tummy can be sensitive to certain flavours or foods & there is a restricted diet to begin which can be used to break addictions to certain foods or tastes. The physical restriction limits how much you can eat too. I know people say surgery is the easy way out. Believe me it isn’t. Appetite suppressant medications take away or mute your real hunger. Your head hunger, the psychological drives to eat (cravings, boredom, emotional traumas, addictions, etc.) are still there shouting at you to eat. Your gain, lose & gain cycle likely occurred because when your ended the diet, you went back to eating the same way you did before. The issues behind your weight problems were still there. You still didn’t know how to recognise or manage them. Exercise is great & has lots of benefits. But the truth is exercising alone accounts for only 10-20% of any weight loss. You have to diet too and … well … I tried medications, a myriad of diets & tried all sorts of exercise programs. Sure I’d lose weight but I always put weight back on. For exactly the reasons I gave above. After the surgery, I look at food totally differently. I still have cravings but I recognise & understand them better & they don’t have same power over me. Ultimately, it’s your decision. All the best whichever path you chose. PS - I’m a rambler too - can’t you tell 😁. Just embrace it - I do!

I have a saggy neck too. Right under my chin, ugh. I had sculptra on my face and that helps a lot with the gaunt look after weight loss but not sure what to do with my neck yet. lol

I had a revision from vsg to rny last august for gerd. It didn't take long to lose a lot of weight and hit and pass goal. I actually lost faster on the revision than the with the sleeve. My workout is less than when I had the sleeve due to much lower calorie intake after the revision. I had quite a bit of side effects with the sleeve (gerd, TMI stuff... Etc.) but none so far with the rny. Everything was resolved. I'm at the 10th month mark. Like you, I was concerned about whether I could lose more weight and the surgeon remarked "Oh, you WILL lose weight. Your pouch will be the size of an egg." He was correct. You'll definitely lose weight after the revision.

I hit goal weight a couple of months ago, and continuing to lose weight, and am so glad I had the revision done. Had a blood test recently, all good numbers. The best I have ever had in my adult life. My cholesterol and triglycerides, protein, vitamins/minerals, everything is in normal range. I was one of the few that had complications with the VSG so I'm hoping I won't get complications later on with my RNY. So far so good. No more severe gerd, feeling really good. Wishing you all great continued journeys. Glad to see someone posting on this still. Ahh, sorry. I didn't see this was for sleeves. I know I was talking one thread for August 2021.

You’ll find it will be similar to how the loose skin on the rest of your body responds. My neck looked pretty bad for a while. Lots of fine vertical lines running down from under my chin. They improved a lot over time - in my second year. My face looked drawn for a while too but it improved as well. You’ll notice once your weight stabilises, your body seems to resettles a bit which helps. I tried a few things like radio frequency sessions but don’t think they really did anything except I looked a bit fresher in the short term. I have a short neck too but it looks longer now because I don’t have as much fat around my shoulders & neck. You’ll discover that too.

So having lost some weight, my skin under the neck is a bit saggy. I already have short neck, my side face makes it look more obvious. Question is, will the skin snap back a little may be in months to a year? How has your experience been, did you face skin snap back especially your neck area?

Anything that gets your heart pumping is good. I was planning on buying clothes from Shein when the weight loss starts. They're not high quality like American eagle, but the clothes are cute. They're hit or miss, but maybe purchase a few pieces of clothing?

It does stink. It’s sort of grieving the way we used to eat, and the comfort it provided. It does get better. For example, I still come home from work and snack crackers, just wheat ones and fewer crackers. I still get my chocolate fix, just from calcium chews and occasionally sugar free chocolate. Rarely I do have a “stress eat” moment…but I choose something very healthy and the restriction prevents me from overdoing it. This is all working, as the weight keeps coming off. Your life will get better as your body heals. You’ll be able to blend in with other eaters, just in a healthy way. Food will provide comfort again, just not in the type and amount from pre-surgery. It’s a terrific tool!

If you can't lose weight, it's up to your doctor. I would ask him/her. Some may refuse to do the surgery, while others don't care and are aware how difficult it is for some to lose weight but they give you a goal to work with so you can begin practicing good habits and discipline. For example, if you eat the wrong things after surgery before healing occurs, you can hurt yourself, hence some discipline is needed. Good luck. I wish you a great and successful journey!

I've never heard of that. I have always had asthma but it has improved after the weight loss.