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I work with clothing and let me tell you all sizes are not created equal. Lay the pants that are loose on top of the other ones and see if they are actually the same width. Different brands, different styles will fit differently. I can completely understand your frustration! I am down 40 lbs and some things fit looser but other things fit relatively the same and I am noticing losses in weird spots like the side boob chub. Taking photos has been a huge help but I would recommend taking them every couple of weeks or you will start to overanalyze them and make sure you are wearing the same thing each time. I have a swimsuit for mine but I also have a dress I have always wanted to fit into...these last times I can't see the difference in the swimsuit but I can see the difference in the dress because now I can actually zip it up some.

OMG.... i'm so sorry for your loss.

I had weight loss surgery about 2 years ago and I still struggle with things eating does anyone else have this problem and how do they overcome it?

I understand that thought process because I went through it too. I bounced around with the idea of WLS for years and never actively pursued it for a good 10 years or so when the idea of WLS first popped into my head because of the whole permanence factor. For a long time I allowed myself to be uninformed about all it entailed and just dwelled on the permanence and feared possible bad outcomes if I ever did decide to pursue it. I was in my early 20's when I first started to even think about it and I was in the low 300 pound range. I think part of me also didn't want to even try WLS because I'd heard stories about people 'who knew people' who had WLS and who either tried and failed or who lost weight and then gained most or all of it back. I didn't think I'd have the willpower to keep to a strict diet to lose the weight and then learn moderation and self control during that weight loss phase to help me keep off what I did lose, and I feared I'd be one of those failures because of that. However, a lot of things changed as I got older. My weight ballooned up and as I kept getting closer and closer to 400 pounds I was honestly fearing that every day would be my last. I thought for sure I'd die of a heart attack or a stroke or something. I had so many ER trips due to raised blood pressure, chest pains, etc. Then, in 2016 my TN flared up and I was in a world of constant chronic pain with basically no break. I was so doped up on my meds that I couldn't walk straight and was slurring my words when I talked. I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep, my whole world was just... pain. This lasted for 10 months. I wanted it to stop so bad that I was willing to end my own life. I didn't, of course. I tried to be strong for my family and went and saw a neurosurgeon who told me that the best option to get rid of the pain was brain surgery as meds were literally doing nothing for me. Surgery is just a temporary fix as TN doesn't actually have a cure. But it worked. I was starting to honestly consider WLS after I recovered from my surgery, but then my sister had a late second trimester miscarriage and the idea of WLS ended up as little more than a thought in the back of my mind. My sister's miscarriage hit her HARD and she fell into a deep depression and blamed herself for the loss of her son. It was months of trying to help her deal with his loss, and then her buying a house and moving, and helping her plan her wedding (I was maid of honor) so time just got away from me. About a week before the anniversary of the loss of her son, my sister learned she was pregnant again. It was the birth of my niece that really did it for me. The first time I held my niece I was hit with the realization that I may not be around to watch her grow up if something didn't change. I'd done the dieting route and failed every time. Every pound I lost, I'd gain it back. Plus some. I KNEW I couldn't do it on my own, and so I actively started to look into weight loss surgery and to pursue it, because my biggest joy in life has been watching my eldest niece grow up, and the thought of not seeing her little sister grow up broke my heart. I was 32 years old and 389 pounds when my niece was born. That was my highest KNOWN weight (I avoided the scale like the plague. I'm positive at some point I was over 400, but I never saw that number on the scale because I was only weighed when I went to the doctor. And that was usually only when I was sick. And you tend to lose weight when you're sick). I had my first consult appointment at the end of May in 2019. I did the six month weight loss program for my insurance, but due to overscheduling I ended up not having my surgery until January 23, 2020. I lost 68 pounds during the months leading up to my surgery and was 321 pounds on the day of my surgery. In the 13 months since I've lost an additional 126 pounds and currently weight in at 195 pounds. My biggest regret, like many others, is not doing this sooner. I allowed my fear of failure to stop me from pursuing this sooner. I've found that I'm a lot stronger than I ever gave myself credit for. Now I don't fear that I'm going to stray because I have accountability and willpower and can pass on all those foods that I used to never pass on. Is it hard? Yes. But, it's 100% worth it when I look at my 11 year old niece, 2 year old niece, and my 5 month old nephew and know I don't have to fear anymore that every day is going to be my last, and that I won't be around to watch them grow up. My family has always been my strength and they are really what have kept me going though everything I've been through in my life. I did this for them just as much as I did it for myself, and I'm grateful every day that I finally made this choice. In the end, the option of surgery is a very personal choice. It's something that YOU have to decide for yourself because you are the one that has to live your life and live with whatever choice you make. Whatever you decide, I wish you the best!

Have you been able to lose weight before and maintain the weight loss for a significant period of time? For most of us, we can lose weight but we find it hard to maintain the loss long term. While your weight may seem lowish compared to others who have weight loss surgery, your current BMI is just over 40 and on some website calculators it is considered to be obese level 3. My surgery weight was on the lowish end too, and I don't think I have lost more than 50lb to be at my current weight, however, I am much healthier, more mobile etc etc and I would not hesitate to do it all again. 70lbs in not insignificant. You do have medical issues which would benefit from weight loss, if you feel the only reason you are losing weight now because of weight loss meds what are you going to do when you stop those meds? Only you can decide if undergoing surgery is worth it for you, but I think you will find there are many others with the same amount of weight or under lost and they too would not hesitate to do it all again. My only complaint is that I didn't do it much sooner!

Stalls are normal, you will find many posts about them, for post people as long as they are following their post op guidelines the weight loss will pick up again. How long since you've since you've lost any weight? My stomach growls when I drink and the fluids are going through it. For some people the growling is gas and for others its excess stommach Hopefully your stomach growling isn't due to physical hunger but one of the other reasons. Had it been a while since you had eaten before the growling started?

I am currently in the six months medical supervised diet per my insurance. I started at 217 lbs. BMI is around 40. I’m 4’11” and 200 lbs. I figure to expect about a 10 pound preop diet weight loss which would put me at 190. My question to myself is constantly, “Is it worth getting permanent surgery to lose an additional 70 lbs?” I’ve tried dieting before and failed, gained more weight. I have diabetes and sleep apnea. I’m on weight loss meds from my doc. I feel like that’s the only reason I’m losing weight. This keeps me up at night. Do I pursue the surgery or just continue to follow this weight loss doc and hope for the best?

That sucks! Congrats on yor weight loss!

Congrats on your weight loss. That is amazing!

9 months post and I average 1000-1100 a day. I've been doing that since about 4 months post. At my 6 month surgeon visit I was told I should lower it to about 8-900. I didn't think that sounded healthy. But I admit my losses are very slow.

25 lbs is actually an excellent loss. A 30 or 40 lb drop the first month isn't that common. You see that on shows like "My 600 lb Life" because those people start off at MUCH higher BMIs than the average WLS patient, but for those of us more "normal" patients, yea, you see it occasionally, but that's more the exception than the rule. Sounds like you're doing just fine!

Stalls are 100% normal and most usually have their first one between 2-4 weeks out (it's generally called the three week stall). Stalls can last anywhere from a week to three on average. Sometimes even longer than that (I should know since I've had a 23 day stall, a 26 day stall, AND a 27 day stall. My last stall was 26 days as from the last day I lost weight to the next time I lost weight there was 26 days in between [January 18-February 14]. ). My frequent stalls are due to having hypothroidism and having to have my meds adjusted every few months so I doubt you'll end up going through that same frustration. Also, weight loss depends on a lot of factors including, but not limited to, your starting weight/BMI, your age, how active you are, how closely you follow the nutrition plan, etc. Also, the bigger you start the more you'll tend to lose in pounds compared to others, so try not to compare yourself to someone who may have started off at a higher weight than you. For reference I lost 23 pounds that first month and my surgery weight was 321 pounds (but due to health issues, I'm not active). Despite my stalls, I've still lost 126 pound in the 13 months since my surgery. It may come off slow, but it DOES come off. Try not to stress about it and try and ride it out. Follow the plan and eventually your weight loss will pick back up again. Your body just has to adjust itself first. You're doing great, btw!

My Dr was the one that gave me the advice I'm following now. Although I'm not new to weight loss, I am new to this type of weight loss. Your comment "diet that is normal" is a bit contradictory as in none of us would be in this forum if our diets were normal in the first place. I think I understand what you are saying though. I'm glad to be on this forum and grateful to pick up on knowledge from everyone.

I had my surgery dec 2020. Horrible gout flair ups. Didn't know this was an added risk with surgery. When I called the surgeon's office they said I would have to speak with my primary. The primary was the one who cleared me for surgery so she was aware I had gastric bypass. Nothing was working for the gout and she put me on prednisone. Wish I would have questioned her decision but I figured she was the doctor. 4 days in on the prednisone I'm home alone at 4am and I started to hemmorage. Unlocked the front door and called 911. Long story short I was given 5 units of blood a couple units of plasma and was rushed to surgery. Called my Mom to say goodbye and to tell her I loved her. Took them 2 hours to stabilize the blood loss before they could start the surgery. That surgeon saved my life. Gout is still bad but I don't want to take any gout meds. Hoping it stabilizes soon.

Congratulations on your joy. My Doc never commented on my weight loss. Our discussions were always about my program, my health, and my outlook. It was an attitude I took to heart. It appears you have also.

How YOU doin'? (correct answer: you look like you are doing great. your weight loss stats are impressive! welcome to the thread!)

Can somebody enlighten me on "weight stalls" should I feel discouraged 😞 will the weight eventually start to leave again? How long does the stall usually sticks around? I had my sleeve Feb 2nd 2021 and here we are at Mar 10th and I lost 25lbs which I'm totally excited about of course, other people I know lost well over 30, 40lbs in their 1st month, I'm just a little ughhh at things now

You'll go through stalls that can last 2-3 days and some up to 5-7 days. Your body is trying to figure out your new life and may reserve some calories because it thinks you may be starving. It's all ok and good, I use stalls as extra motivation to keep it clean and healthy to resume the loss again. I have been in a stall at 245 for a week, but I've also included lifting weights a few weeks ago and the old, "muscle weighs more than fat" is my theme right now. If you're feeling good, then good things are happening. Keep focused and motivated, remember, the stomach had surgery, the brain didn't. The brain has been trained your whole life and your stomach has been retrained for a short amount of time.

I wanted to introduce my self since I view these forums daily and they have been more than helpful in my young journey so far. A little about my path, at my highest weight late 2019 I found out my scale does not go past 340. Of course, I have yo-yo dieted trying everything from Weight Watchers to Keto but as usual the weight loss happened then came back plus some. I started this latest adventure in September 2020 weighing in at 314 at the start of my required 6-month medically monitored diet and classes. Once completed I was down to 304 at the start of my pre-op liquid diet in preparation for a February 1st, 2021 VSG. On surgery day I was down another 10 pounds to 294. The surgery went fine and so far, recovery equally easy with three realizations. The first realization was that constipation is real and boy figuring out how to manage that one aspect is occupying my daily thoughts. I have tried everything from MiraLAX to Enema’s. So far, the latest attempt to control this seems to be working and that’s 12 teaspoons of Benifiber through out the day and 2 Colace twice daily. But nothing works like a good old fashion cup of coffee in the morning to start things flowing 😊. The second realization has been the mood swings and emotions from the hormones being released from rapid weight loss. Just ask my family, it seems I go from happy to depressed in a matter of minutes and back again. The final realization has been that yes, the stalls are real also. I have been locked into the same general weight for about a week and a half now and couple that with the mood swings, its enough to get you doubting your decision to have the surgery. Thankfully these forums have been a source of resolve and information that has gotten me through this far and helps me stay the course. Today I stand before this forum at 261, 53 pounds down total since the beginning and 33 pounds down since the day of surgery. Hopeful for the continued success as I walk this path and the constant adjustments to eating like knowing when I have had too much or drank too fast. There are far more benefits I have encountered already in my short time on this side of surgery but in an effort to keep a long story from getting longer I will reserve more comments for a future discussion. Thank you to all those who bring experience and honesty in there posts and replies I peruse daily and for those who are struggling earlier on then me, just know it does work if you follow the program and stay connected here.

You may want to chat with your nutritionist about gum and if/when it can be reintroduced. Chewing gum gets the tummy excited, it thinks its going to get food, it's starts the digestive process, the stomach produces acid in readiness of food it needs to break down, except there isn't any food and the acid can upset the stomach. Perhaps best to chew just before a meal. Some people also belief that chewing gum can cause swallowing of air into the stomach, causing gas. Also some sugar-free gum contain the alcohol sweetners (mostly those ending in ...itol) which can have a laxative effect causing the stomach to be gassy etc. At the end of the day you are an adult you are free to try whenever you choose, but generally I would suggest at least listen to your professional team while you are still in the healing and early weight loss stages.

Hello all, I am scheduled for the sleeve surgery in April. I was feeling excited about having surgery until two weeks ago. I have been watching a ton of videos on YouTube and reading lots of posting on here. Now I am SCARED! I understand that every person has a unique experience, and I had done lots of research before and during the four month weight loss program that I had to go through per my insurance requirements. But now, when I read stuff and watch videos, I get scared and am doubting that I should put my body through a surgery. I'm having the surgery for medical reasons versus a desire to be a certain number on the scale or to look a certain way. I want to improve my health and hopefully reduce risk of having additional health issues. Help! I read that people go through brief moments of regret or "what rid I do" right after surgery, but I'm scared before. Nervous that I will be the unlucky person to get all the negative consequences or side effects. Thinking about pushing surgery back a couple weeks. Just seems I want to do that for some reason. I have up to early May to get it done per my insurance. What do you all think, recommend, etc.? Thanks!

147?!!?? That’s AMAZING!! I’m just about to break into the 150’s and I seriously can’t believe it! Congrats on the weight loss. You’ve got to be feeling good!

No idea you could do henna in your hair?!! Wow! I am kinda lightening my hair up and adding highlights. It blends the gray really well as it grows out. I’m really liking it Now let’s get to the fridge porn!! I love seeing inside others fridges!! ESP people who live in other countries! It’s neat to see the diff brands and types of foods that are staples. Pretty cool!! Your fridge is big! I love it

Hi, I am also new to this forum and live in NJ. I am much older than 25 🙂 and I am scheduled for lap band surgery next week. I don't have 100 pounds to lose, my goal is 60-70 pounds - I am not so concerned about loose skin, I am more concerned about my hair. I have seen people who have had gastric surgery and their hair always looks dead with no life. I am hoping the vitamins will help - has anyone had any hair issues? Vanity lives deep within:-)

I don't think it's such a bad thing; the problem is more a matter of expectations - if you are expecting to log a loss every day with no gaps or minor gains (water weight is everywhere!) then you should stay off of it. However, if you can just look at it and say, "gee, I wonder why that is?" then it's fine. I weighed twice a day because I was using a body composition scale to monitor that progress in addition to scale weight, and those work best if you weigh twice - first thing in the morning when your scale weight is most "accurate" (assuming after first eliminations, if you're that regular and before any consumption) and then in late afternoon when you are usually fully hydrated and the body comp measures are most "accurate" (or at least repeatable). Those in particular worked best with daily readings applied through a moving average. The body comp was of greater interest to me than the scale weight. That said, I only "officially" recorded weight once a week to smooth out the day to day fluctuations.