Search the Community

Congratulations!!!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 You can do it! At any weight you will be beautiful mother of the bride! Best wishes to you and your family!

It can be part of a whole negative feedback loop. You’re depressed, spend more time in bed or on the couch or self soothing with food, so gain weight, which makes you feel worse about yourself so you isolate more. There’s a big study out of the UK that says the initial prescription for depression should be physical activity rather than medication (although meds are often necessary). It doesn’t have to be rigorous exercise, just getting out for a daily walk is a great start, or even just gentle stretching. (I’m a psych nurse)

Thanks for the replys guys I am getting Gastric sleeve for weight loss and has nothing to do with my gastric reflux, I do drink a lot off coffee which I will cut out that causes acid in the stomach , thanks again for the replys Sent from my LE2123 using BariatricPal mobile app

Hello all, It’s been a long time since I’ve posted. I had my surgery in 2014, lost over 120 pounds, gained back roughly 15. So far, so good. But I am having difficulties now that I never expected and I don’t know where else to turn. In the last 4 years or so, I have fallen completely out of love with my husband. There is NO physical desire whatsoever, and I am bored and nearly emotionally indifferent - I say “nearly” because of course I care about him, want the best for him always, wish him no ill will in any way, etc… But I feel as if my surgery/weight loss created not just a new body but a new PERSON. Has ANYONE else experienced or even HEARD of such a thing happening to gastric bypass patients? I feel lost. Trapped. Scared. I have been fighting how I feel for years, hoping it would improve. Any insight is greatly, GREATLY appreciated. Thank you. 💔

I joyfully kissed all my shakes away on day one week three. It was always my goal to rely on real food to get all my nutrients in & not depend upon supplements or meal replacements. My surgeon was also okay if I was not hitting my protein goal while going through the first stages as long as I was making an effort so that took off some pressure. But as @ShoppGirl said it does depend upon how much you can eat. (I wasn’t able to eat much but usually hit 40-50g of my 60g protein goal.) I found a good high protein yoghurt (15-20g) & a yoghurt smoothie (22-30g) to keep my protein closer to goal. I also did things like make my scrambled eggs & rolled oats extra milky to get in a little more protein. But being lactose intolerant I realise this isn’t quite as easy for you. Were you given a caloric goal or a recommended carb intake or limit? How many extra carbs or calories are you getting in by consuming lactose free/dairy alternative products? Because we eat so little it would take a lot to really have a negative impact on your weight loss. I drink a lactose free milk because I can’t drink a lot of ordinary milk. (No issue with other dairy though.) And even though it has about double the calories, it didn’t have an impact on my weight loss. Milk alternatives can actually have fewer calories than cows milk (per 100mls): Full cream cow’s milk – 281 kilojoules (67 calories) Rice milk – 255 kilojoules (61 calories) Regular soy milk – 241 kilojoules (58 calories) Oat milk – 213 kilojoules (51 calories) Reduced-fat cow’s milk – 191 kilojoules (46 calories) Reduced-fat soy milk – 153 kilojoules (37 calories) Skim cow’s milk – 142 kilojoules (34 calories) Sweetened almond milk – 123 kilojoules (29 calories) Sweetened cashew milk – 123 kilojoules (29 calories) Coconut milk – 95 kilojoules (23 calories) Unsweetened cashew milk – 73 kilojoules (18 calories) Unsweetened almond milk – 69 kilojoules (16 calories) Same with carb content. Macadamia milk: 1 gram of carbs/cup Hemp milk: 1.3 grams of carbs/cup Soy milk: 1.6 grams of carbs/cup Almond milk: 1.99 grams of carbs/cup Flax milk: 2 grams of carbs/cup Coconut milk: 3.38 grams of carbs/cup Oat milk: 9 grams of carbs/cup cows milk: 12grams of carbs/cup Have a chat with your dietician. They should be able to recommend lower calorie or lower carb alternatives if your intake is excessive for you to try. PS - Stalls rarely have anything to do with the calories or carbs you are consuming but are a natural part of your weight loss journey. Your rate of loss is never constant but zigs & zags, ups & downs & plateaus. Your body stalls or takes a pause (as I heard a surgeon say recently) to catch up with the changes - surgery, weight loss, change in diet or activity, etc. Think of it as your body is stressed & it needs time to recover & accept the changes. Just like you do if emotionally or mentally stressed.

Ommgg I'm not at my goal weight yet but I feel this. The biggest thing is how my heart literally races, my face turns red and I shake when I need to get on an airplane. I've learned by traveling a lot recently that seat belts fit with room but in my mind I still feel like that 340 lb person waiting to be embarrassed to find out the seat belt won't fit or barely closes. When I tell you my heart RACES still, it's crazy. I wonder when it won't be such an anxiety provoking moment. I also have body dysmorphia and still feel like I'm at my heaviest most days. It's a big long mental journey too. Sent from my SM-G975U using BariatricPal mobile app

Agreed. I started my road to morbid obesity later in life (in my early 30’s). So when i was bigger, i still thought i was smaller and would bang my shoulders on walls not thinking I actually needed to give my myself a wider berth to round corners, lol. Or i’d pick our clothes thinking they would fit and be suprised/disappointed when they were way too tight. Then, later, I suppose i was big long enough (im 50 now) to ingraine in my head that there was no effing way i would fit into a size 2 when i lost the weight after wls. Im 3.5+ years post now (and over 3 years at my current weight/size), and the weird surprises about fitting into things are long gone. To the OP, As with all things, its just a matter of time before you get used to stuff and it becomes your new normal. But its a fun kind or surprise so go ahead and bask in it! Good Luck! ❤️

After wls, it took 10 days till i pooped. After plastics is took 13 (a record which in recently tied during and just a little after going on vacay) Pooping regularly is a lot different for me post wls. Before i used to go 2-3 A DAY, post its more like once EVERY 2-3 days. During weight loss phase, i took Benifibre every day with my morning protein shake nowadays (3.5+ years post), i just go with it sans the fibre. But generally if i haven’t gone after 4 days (unless im on vacay), then i’ll take a dose or Miralax; and if that doesn’t work in a day or two, its time for a glycerine suppository. I almost always go after the first suppository. Twice, though it took 2 days of suppositories before i got to see any poop. In any case, from what ive read constipation is just an reality after wls we need to learn how to deal with in our own ways. Good Luck! ❤️

From April 29th to today, I've lost 10lbs. I really wish I would have done phentermine sooner. The cheat code is to take it later in the day... At least for my partner and me. I'm barely hungry now and the weight is coming off slowly but surely

So you sound like me. I lost 30 pounds in 2 weeks (yes, you read that right....2 weeks) and then hit the mother of all stalls. I gained 5 pounds and it lasted 2 weeks and I was MISERABLE. I vented a lot on here, I changed up my work out (longer walking, more frequently), I really watched what I was consuming (stall started at the very end of my liquid diet and then during my soft food stage). Once it broke, it BROKE. I lost 6 pounds lol Now I lose at a much slower rate (about 4-6 pounds a week on average) but I'm seeing changes in my body. Stalls, for me anyway, are the WORST part of the surgery. And my surgeon said the more you lose pre-stall, the slower you'll lost post-stall (and he was right!!). Now I'm 2 months out and have lost 43 pounds (so an average of 21.5 pounds per month) and I'll take that all day long. You'll get on the other side of this and when you see the scale move again, you'll be so happy lol It's hard because I know you're used to seeing huge weight loss every day/week. And while it'll be slower, it'll be steady and manageable. Just keep yourself busy. Distract yourself. Don't weigh yourself every day. Stick to your bariatric diet and keep exercising. And look for non-scale victories. Those will really make a big difference.

So I'm actually enjoying working out!!! Who knew?? lol I work out twice a day. I do 20 minutes on the treadmill on speed 3.5 (running is 4.0 and I'm not there yet lol ) then I do 15 minutes on the bike at speed 12 (most resistance is 15, but again, not there yet) and 10 minutes doing sit-ups and stomach crunches. Those are the hardest, so I only do 5 minutes of each, but it's a decent start, anyway. I just finished my work out and even though I'm tired, I feel GOOD. Really accomplished and actually have energy. And even though the scale is moving slowly, I see a real difference. My size 26 clothes are too big now and I almost fit into size 24!!!! I haven't been in a size 24 since I did keto a few years ago. The lowest size I got to was 22. I can't wait to hit size 20 and know I did it!!! I beat my keto size and weight and this time it'll stick. This has been the hardest, greatest, most frustrating, wonderful journey I've ever been on lol

I still worry about the weight limits on chairs, and then I have to remind myself that I'm under the weight limit for everything now! And I definitely still go to buy clothes and think they won't fit and they end up fitting! Or the reverse is, I'll pick out an item of clothing and think it will fit and it ends up being way too big because I still have in my mind that I'm larger. There have been times I caught myself in the mirror or in a picture and didn't recognize myself! Sent from my Pixel 5a using BariatricPal mobile app

I love when my friends tell me about all the people that had WLS that gained their weight back. Very encouraging Sent from my SM-G998U using BariatricPal mobile app

First of all, you have done amazing in your weight loss, and you're only 29 lbs. away from goal. The closer the goal, the longer the "stalls". As long as you're eating at a calorie deficit, be assured that you are losing weight, it just isn't showing up on your scale yet. You are 6 ft. tall, and I don't believe 1300 calories is even close to your maintenance required calories so your stall will break and you'll get a big drop. For some reason, my body is somewhat like this. For myself, I don't lose for 3 weeks almost every month but then I get a big drop. One of the ways that I get comfort is looking over my food log, the amount of calories I had day by day, week to week... Etc. and I have to remind myself that there is no way that I could stay the same or gain weight on the amount of calories I'm consuming. Our minds love playing those games on us.

Totally agree with Arabesque and Catwoman. You've lost 38lbs in 2 months. This is already astounding weight loss. You are ON THIS. Stick to your programme, don't stress about mixing things up just for the sake of it, and you will totally smash this. 800-1000 calories sounds spot on for this stage of your journey.

Gotcha, wow, that's rough. But it should definitely let your tummy heal very well. Enjoy your liquids! I was so happy to be able to have soup. That lasted about a week. Now I'm counting down the days to soft foods! 😂 I'd imagine your weight loss is off to a fantastic start!

People don't wait for me on the stairs anymore. Before I lost weight, if I was going up or down stairs and someone else was coming in the opposite direction, the other person would wait until I got all the way to the top or bottom because there wasn't enough room for both of us to pass. Now, when I'm on the stairs and someone else is going in the opposite direction, they often just keep on going. Also, when I was big, it seemed like people would sometimes move over when they saw me walking down the hall -- sometimes practically diving out of the way as if I was going to mow them down (I really felt quite offended, TBH). That doesn't happen anymore, either.

During weight loss phase I chose to keep them out of my diet despite being “allowed” to eat them as per my NUT. I didn’t start eating them until a few months into maintenance, but if/when I do, it almost always just for taste (1-3 bites) because they tend to fill me up quite quickly…and i’d rather fill my tum with something more delicious. If i’m having soups or stews or curries with potatoes, I generally finish my meal with (almost) all the potato bits still in the bowl, if i didn’t already fish them out earlier.

I dont eat more than 4 oz other than my yogurt I finish the container. its 5.6 oz.... my calories before this... I couldn't say... That's how I got to this in the first place.... Not caring about my calories before weight-loss journey....

I am over a year out and in maintenance. I still choose to have a shake for breakfast daily 160, one of a handful of lunches that I know are around 300 calories, a choice of dinners under 500 and a couple of snack options right around 100 calories each. I have never eaten a ton of variety because I am pretty picky so this works for me. Someone with a lot of variety this totally wouldn’t work for. I can keep a pretty rough idea in my head. I basically just know if I ate to plan yes or no for my meals and how many snacks I have had and then I know if I’m on track for the day or not. (I know how many I can have after working it out actually logging for quite a while though). Some days my dinner may be less calories but other days I am super hungry and I have an extra snack so it balances out. Basically I semi log my food at this point but I do it in my head counting by 100’s. But I agree it is very good to do it in the beginning and do it for a good while because we first need to figure out where our calories need to be to lose and to maintain but also because there are foods that we just really don’t know how many calories are hidden in them. For me a big one was baby back ribs. Odd I know. I guess I just assumed it’s a meat. It’s innocent. It’s not a desert or a dreaded carb, right? And I knew the sauce was bad but the meat itself doesn’t have sugar so when I found a descent sugar free BBQ sauce I thought I had this meal all figured out. Well, did you know a HALF rack of baby back ribs has 668 calories WITHOUT sauce and 45 grams of fat!! That’s only about 4 oz of meat so a comparable chicken breast is only 190 calories sans the sauce. I am in my 40’s and I just learned this about ribs. I had never logged them because I don’t eat them often enough but I had a couple ribs on Father’s Day and I’ve been craving them ever since so I researched them a little. Guess I may just have to wait till next time i can have a couple off someone else’s plate, lol Anyways, my point is logging foods helps you to learn what is in most foods so you know if they are totally safe (green light), sorta pushing it (yellow light) or a total splurge (red light that you can run on occasion if you are in maintenance and have budgeted for it). Logging also helps you to learn little tricks you can live with for your favorite meals like the sugar free sauce, veggie substitutions, lower carb bread options, etc to make them a little better for you. Once you learn these things about most foods you will encounter day to day, a more “intuitive version of eating” seems more doable in my opinion. For me the ribs are a definite non runnable red light as I have gained 3 pounds above my happy weight I am not allowing myself ANY red light or yellow light foods until I drop these three pounds (I have also cut back on my snacks for the time being to make it go a bit faster). At almost 16 months out now this is the first time I have gained past my happy weight so I am making this up as I go but so far I have lost a pound and a half with this plan so it seems to be working for me. A lot of people like to use apps like my fitness pal for logging. Like anything else It takes a while to get it set up but once you do they say it’s goes pretty quick. I did it the old fashioned way which allowed me to keep a page of frequent meals so I could quickly add those. It’s just whatever works for you. Some people on here say they take a day off each week from logging or they only log on weekdays, etc. just commit to what you can because anything is better than not logging at all.

I think it is kind of normal to think of yourself in a certain way when you have been that way for so long. Conversely, many people who have been skinny all their lives still live their life as if they were skinny when they are putting on a lot of weight. I always think of myself as an overweight person when I am out and about in the world. I still feel like people are looking at me and judging me for my appearance, what food I order or similar things. I think I will eventually think of myself as a normal sized person but I am sure it will be a slow evolution to that. I some ways it is really not a bad thing because you know where you came from and will not pass judgement and scorn on those who are struggling with weight issues like has been done to all of us through our lives.

Yep, this is 100% normal. Take it from a serial staller (I also stalled at week 2 and every second week after) and slow loser (in that I've lost my weight at the same rate I would on a standard old-school calorie counting diet). Manage your expectations, and don't compare yourself to other people who are losing fast and aren't stalling. Doing that will only make you unhappy. Focus instead on the positives as they come, and they DO come. Feeling better, clothes getting looser, sleeping better, skin clearing up because you're not poisoning yourself with processed sugar anymore! The weight will come off. Distract yourself with activities that aren't about your weight, and stay off the scale for a couple of weeks. The stall will break.

Congrats on your weight loss. That’s fantastic. I’m a real food person too. I didn’t touch another shake or protein supplement powder from the start of purées in week three. I got all my protein & nutrients from the real food I made which was always my intention - to start establishing my new eating habits, food preferences, etc. & develop a sustainable way of eating from as early on as I could. We can not live on supplements & shakes alone. It worked as by month 8 I was totally off my multivitamins & I continued to lose. Just watched my portions, met my protein goal & ensured I included a variety of vegetables, whole/multi grains, dairy & fruit in my diet. Still do. I snack on yoghurt, nuts, multi grain crackers, hummus, protein bar (my exception as I developed a protein malabsorption issue post gall removal & the bar helps me ensure I meet my now higher protein goal), fruit, peanut paste. I have a couple of purchased snacks in my cupboard which I eat occasionally (baked chick peas/fava beans, freeze dried mango, nut clusters) like once a month when I stay with my mum or if travelling. You’ll find what works best for you & if that’s including shakes or protein powders in your diet that’s fine.

My initial consult with the surgeon was in person. I've only talked to him one time since, and that was to do an EGD. My initial consult with the nutritionist was in person. We've been meeting on Zoom every month. My final visit with her will be in August, and it will be in person. I meet - in person - with the medical weight loss gal, about every 6 weeks. She's prescribing me some medications to help me lose weight before the surgery. They have one of those scales that scans your body mass and gives you a cool little printout with your fat percentage and stuff. I like it. My psych eval was on Zoom and it was 2 visits and a phone call for feedback. My surgeon's office has monthly support group that meets on Zoom, as well. These are interesting times that we're living in!

I’m currently taking THC gummies to help with insomnia. I researched the effects of THC and CBD on Bariatric patients before I started and studies show it has no negative effects on weight loss. I originally tried CBD gummies and they made me feel super alert, like I drank coffee. I was up until 5:00am! The THC gummies are Delta 8 strain, 20 mg per gummy. I take one and it works within one hour and helps me relax and sleep deeply. I don’t like how I feel afterwards, kinda zombie brained. I only take it about twice per week.