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Oh, you'll go nuts if you go around comparing you to someone else. Everyone's structure is different. Bones weigh different, muscles add weight. No one ever beileved my weight because I was always heavier than I looked. (And believe me they were NOT being nice to me!) You have to go by what's right for you. Don't make it more difficult on yourself.

hello! I am 5 weeks out from surgery and doing really well. My only issue is that my stomach area is still very swollen. The swelling is above my belly button and seems strange because I can tell my stomach is losing weight below my belly button. At 2 weeks my surgeon said it was fluids that would reabsorb but if that is what it is, it is still there! I don't have pain but I'm wondering what it is and when it will go away! Anyone have a similar experience or any advice?

I've lost right below 100 pounds and still can't see it most of the time. I think it's because I see myself every day and I still see the really fat girl when I look in the mirror. I'm hoping that perception changes soon. But if you mean how long to notice my clothes were fitting differently, about 2 months and at least 30-40 pounds. I didn't wear much that was super tight anyway, and I lose weight proportionally (all over shrank; not just one area) so it wasn't obvious to me until I realized that a favorite pair of jeans were looser at the waist, and then started trying on a size smaller and they fit easily.

I didn't have true hunger until recently. It's almost time for another fill and right now I could eat the dog if I had one. I hope my second fill will be more successful. I am more than ready to get this weight off me and on to a healthier life. Perhaps some of your hunger is "head hunger" too. Find something to get you busy during those times. You can always drink a Protein shake between meals. Hang in there.

With less weight, it's easier to exercise. Plus you can build a great support system of people who know what you are going through and can motivate you. Plus it's a big decision to do weight loss surgery. A lot of people aren't willing to waste the time and effort they put into getting the surgery by slacking off. Plus it's a lot easier to re-lose five lbs than 100 lbs. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hi, I'm thinking about having the sleeve done. I currently weight 216, highest 237. I have struggled with my weight my whole life. I have used weight watchers, tried injections, pills. Nothing seems to help. I'm at 39 BMI and my insurance at my work will pay for the surg with a 40. Anyone been in my shoes?

I literally can not imagine this procedure not working. Even if you ate ice cream and brownies all the time, it just makes no sense that having eliminated hunger along with eighty percent of your stomach you would not at least lose something. I think there are people who gain their weight back -- there is always a small rebound effect with extreme weight loss over time and it might be hard to keep off some of the creep. But there is just * no way* you can fail to become reasonably smaller than you are now. Of course it's going to work. Maybe there's the possibility of ultimately only losing sixty percent of your excess weight over time instead of a hundred, , but as far as it not working at all -- it's not possible.

I had my lapband surgery in July 2011. It slipped in July 2012 but it fell back in place once the Fluid was removed. I had it refilled the last week in December and it slipped again last week. I only had it filled for about 2 1/2 months before it slipped again My doctor wants to remove it and would like to do a revision to bypass or the sleeve (my choice). My question is, how hard is it to get approved for a revision due to mechanical failure? I'm worried because my bmi is 36 with no co-morbities. I'm the same weight as I was before the surgery. I have priority partners in Maryland. I was self-pay for my lapband. Thank you!

Have you looked at p90x? They have several different training programs contained within the one, I do the doubles routine which is a weightlifting workout in the morning and a cardio in the evening, and I've been supplementing those workout's with a jillian michael's shred it with weights in the afternoon. But they also have a slim down one that is mostly cardio and a toning one, it might be worth looking into.

I've been reading these group posts for a while now and I feel I know all of you, but forgot you don't know me. I'm 56 married with three grown children, my daughter and her 2 year old son lives with hubby and I, as well as my youngest son , yes the house is pretty full. I'm in the US born and raised in NY, but living in Cincinnati for the past 15 or so years. Was sleeved in Nov 2011 start weight 330 pounds, did really good for a while, lost 75 pounds and got down to a size 18. I'm not exactly sure when it happened, but I started feeling this was good enough and old eating habits creeped in. Hubby began brining home chips and chocolate ( my favorite things to eat ) . Well the weight stopped coming off. I was actually so busy with life , as I usually am, I was really fine. I watched the scale and am at least proud to say I didn't gain any weight. All of last year I attempted a few times to focus and begin the weight loss again, but nothing ever stuck. I would go down 5 and back up.. Recently I've really wanted to get it going again. Not exactly sure what has spurred it. I think the scale reading 255 is starting to bother me and I'm ready to get it going again. I read about 5:2 on the internet, read the book and was thinking about trying it. Then when I saw some of us ( sleeved ) doing it I was in. I fast on Mondays and Thursdays. My fast begins on Sunday night after my last meal (really trying to get control of the night time eating ).. I have protein hot chocolate for breakfast on Monday, then green tea or crystal light until diner Monday night. If I'm really doing well and in control, nothing again until breakfast on Tuesday. So most fast days are 24 hours, from 7pm till 7pm. I'm at work when I fast so its pretty easy.. I stay busy. I take a no cal salad to work on those days, just in case I need it for lunch. On non fast days I admit I don't really track , just eat normal. high protein, veggies and low carbs with small portions. I still use my small sized plates. The down fall is the darn night time grazing. The fast days are helping me get that under control. My sleeve still has restriction especially after fast days (I wonder why???) I can tell when I'm physically full and still get sick if I push it.. The tool works. Its the head that doesn't always work. I know if I eat too much at night I'll be nauseous the next day and that knowledge stops me most days.. Oh yeah. I'v been doing 5:2 for 5 weeks and have only lost 2 pounds. So I'm not doing something right. Well that's me in a nut shell. BrownDoesAll came from my life. I'm mom, wife, grandma, boss, faithful daughter ( I care from my mom ).. and I do it all with a smile.. Love my family , Love my life , and I love me !! ( well most days!!)

I'm in the process of getting approved for WLS. I have 3 younger kids. Girl is 11 and 2 boys. One is 8 and the other is 6. My boys are at a healthy weight. Any one here with younger overweight kids that the kids have lost weight as well cause a parent had to do a life style change cause of WLS. I was just hoping that my girl will lose weight as well if I have the surgery. Anyone with experience in this matter?

I'm seriously considering RNY. I've now had a band that is 5 years old, unfilled and useless. My BMI is 55. I'm in a bad place. My husband is reluctant to see me go through the "diets", "life changes", "surgery" again. He saw me through the band surgery and two separate surgeries for total knee replacements, He doesn't want me to have WLS again because it completely disrupts his/our order of things. He also saw me eventually give up on the South Beach diet that my surgeon puts his patient's on. Does he have a point as far as my food addiction goes? With the Band I was "sober", then I fell off the wagon. All that work and money down the drain. He's afraid I can't do the RNY diet, okay, point taken but I WANT the strictness of the RNY lifestyle. When I was "sober", I ate SO well, I studied everything I put in my mouth. But when my band was too full years ago, or not full enough, I grew angry at myself because the band never made me full. Just made me sick all the time. With the RNY, there's a strict, similar, diet to adhere to. I can do it, my hubby just doesn't think I can do it again. How can I convince him that this is the right path for me? He's all I have in this world. I've hit rock bottom, never been such a slave to my weight as I am now. I want to be a success, like you guys, no matter how hard the work may be.

There are literally more things that impact weightloss (and fatloss) than you & I could count together, so I'm not sure where to start. Your info says you're down 22 lbs do I'm assuming you lost some pre-op. That has to be factored in. Losing is losing. You don't lose "before" and "after". It's cumulative. So don't inore the weight you lost pre-op. You also have to factor in an average over time. You're going to have rapid loss, and slow loss, and no loss. But are you maintaining a good rate on average? It's also fairly common for weightloss to slow a biut when you hit solid Proteins, and if you're already eating lean meats and vegetables then it sounds like you hit them pretty early. That might be playing a role. 10 pounds in 3 weeks is over 3 lbs per week. That's above the average rate of loss. There's a lot going on inside your body. A lot of things changing and adjusting. Almost all of them are based on Fluid, and fluid is heavy. I ate under 650 cals for 10 weeks and lost nothing. Obvioulsy I can't truly lose nothing on that intake, or no one would ever be able to starve to death. But there were things going on in my body that kept my weight (not necessarily my fat) unchanged. There are also "rabbits" and "tortoises". Men tend to lose a lot faster. People with more to lose tend to lose faster. Etc. Just be patient.

Thank you guys. I did lose more weight pre-op. You are right...weight loss is weight loss. I know, I read that some people were kept on strict liquid diets for many weeks after surgery. My Doctor said one to two weeks of liquid and I was supposed to be making sure 40 - 50 grams of protein were consumed during the first two weeks. Then, I was told in week 2-3 to puree' meat and vegetables and to introduce soft foods as I can handle them. I have not had any problems eating food that wasn't puree'd. I guess I just need to be patient.

Avocado, olive oil, nuts, whole grains made with nuts and olive oil....mayo.....do you track what you eat on fitday.com or something like that? Do you know how much you are eating? I know this really helps me to lose weight, I would think this would help to gain weight or stay the same too...

Do not fret, and please do not start eating craptastic food options just to get the weight loss to stop. There are healthy options available. Can you get access to a nutritionist or dietician? If so, do it now, and have them work out a meal plan for you. I had the same issue, and for me the key was to add in healthy fats and more carbs. You'll need to focus on eating more and possibly drinking calories via 100% juice. I can not stress enough that eating junk food to get your body to stop losing weight is just about the worse thing you can do. The few things I did was add avocados, Peanut Butter, nuts, all of those healthy fats that were easy to eat, and not wasted, crap calories. I also drank 100% grape juice for added calories. Refried Beans with cheese, high Fiber, good carbs, and a good option to help add some calories and healthy carbs.

@@gabbisha have you been walking or otherwise exercising? It is critical, and unless you are very ill I would find a way to get it in. Your body will quickly learn to adjust to lower calorie intake, but there's nothing it can do to save calories if you are forcing the expenditure. Also, you will need to make sure you get the necessary Protein in order to see continued weight loss. It is necessary for healing and also for your muscles to continue torching the fat stores. If you aren't getting the protein, the sleeve will be much slower to start accepting real food again. Starvation does not work, and your body will just hibernate. You are far enough out not to be taking the liquid Protein. It looks like you are about to hit soft foods, so a whole new variety becomes available to you. Find some fish or poultry that you like and chew it well and see if your sleeve tolerates it better. Be absolutely sure you are not drinking any non-protein calories at this point.

Hi Sophie; To loose weight you have : 1) Less calories 2) More excercise 3) WLS 4) all options To gain weight you have: 1) More calories 2) Less excercise 3) seek professional help cause this might be psychological 4) all options Please you need to consume more, even if liquid. Drink a milkshake or two. Find someone to talk to professionally, you are worth it! Good luck.

I had this too. I also would go numb if I was standing for a real long time. After checking it out with Dr.s I was told it was my sciatica nerve laying on my muscle and my weight was aggravating it. It's amazing how much is related to weight. Now 30 lbs lighter after being banded March 6th, hardly feel it at all. I hope when you start losing weight you will feel it go away also. Good luck!! :smile:

@@aron how awful bad enough to gain weight because you are over eating, not eating well etc but when you are taking meds that make you gain too?? horrible - no control over meds you must take are you still gaining weight? or was it just those couple of years at the beginning? can your doc research your problem with that medicine/pill? hopefully he can find something comparable that won't have weight gain as a side effect my 13 year old grand-son was diagnosed with ADD a couple of years ago he ballooned up from head to toe with his weight gain doc took him off that med - changed it to something comparable!! new med did the trick for his ADD weight came off gradually in a few months (probably less then 70 lbs) you must continue to work with the sleeve/WLS for the rest of your life eat in moderation, lots of Water, eat slowly, plenty of Protein etc remember, "I'm watching you" I "THINK" you should/will lose weight with the sleeve but due to the med, will the weight stay off?? doc can advice you more than i can (i'm not a professional med person!!) whatever your health issue is "maybe" it will lesson with weight loss/sleeve tough decision surgery or not hope to see you in sleeveland good luck kathy

I lost 20 pound week 1 (I also had a heigh weigh 359) after the first week though it evened out and I hit a plateau for a few weeks, so don't be surprised if you stall for a little while after such a big loss. Generally when you start out with more to lose you drop the weight faster then say someone who started out at 220lbs. Don't worry it will even out, you won't be losing 20lbs every week lol

I think it also depends on what your goals are. A couple of women on another group I was frequenting are SO worried about getting too skinny, they think if they lose their curves they will be hideous. Both had surgery. One thinks she looks like a "crack head" at 147. The other is terrified about getting under 200. I honestly wonder why they even had surgery. Look at healthy weight charts. Do you want to get down to a healthy range? Or will you be happy just dropping a size or two? Younger people can usually handle the extra weight, but things like diabetes, high blood pressure, and joint problems catch up with every obese person as we age. As others have said, losing 100 pounds and keeping it off is a monumental task. Only a very small percentage of people can do it. And, if you are young, keep in mind that your metabolism gets slower as you age. You will have to work harder and harder to keep it off (take it from the post menopausal lady here) Not that I won't have to work even with the sleeve, I just know it is a tool that helps most people who get it. BUT, you have to do what works for you. I am awaiting approval from insurance. I know I will have cold feet, I have had surgery before and it was pretty terrible. I just know I can't lose this weight and keep it off forever on my own. For me, that's the deciding factor.

Picked up a copy of Weight Loss Surgery Cookbook for Dummies at borders books for $19.95. It's great and answers a lot of questions in plain language that most of us have and some we hadn't thought about. It covers LapBand and Bypass issues and clearly keeps issues with each seperate. There are Nook and Kindle versions too at about $10.00. I think its worth having on the bookshelf. Here's a cheat sheet link to whats covered in the book in more detail: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/weight-loss-surgery-cookbook-for-dummies-cheat-she.html

I'm not sure if this is the best place to put this topic... Anyone going to the conference in Orlando? http://www.ywmconvention.com/ We had a member of OAC give a presentation at my support group last night, and I'm totally enthused about this and would love to go. Has anyone been before?