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August 16th Starting weight 140 Personal goal 5 pounds this challenge Sleeve - losing my maintaining/10 pound bounce weight. Current weight – 138 Detoxing and craving things at night. My attitude is crap right now.

I don’t typically wish the summer away but I sure wish it was October and we could get this show on the road! Lots of pre op appointments coming up but other than that I am just waiting patiently. I have been working on journaling my food and thoughts. Making small changes. Setting small daily goals. I’ve lost 8 lbs since July and would love to drop a few more before 10/15/19 Surgery Date. I’m not dieting per se. I’m just making small changes and the loss of 8 lbs is due to those changes. I have been enjoying reading everyone’s posts and I look forwarding to finding others October people. Thanks for reading.

Bianca I’m with you! Surgery Monday 8/19/19. Woot woot!! Also doing liquid diet Saturday & Sunday. Mine is full liquid not clear. I’m getting my last blood test right now. Best of luck to you! I’ll follow you! Best... Joan

Hello all, Queen of Crop here....almost 8 years out and have a 18 lb weight gain. Haven't been on the site in quite some time but am freaking out about the gain. And yes, it is carbs and sugar and wine and a complicated life. I never thought I would gain it back...I guess we all thought that. Will read the head work...and find a program and start logging. Oh how I wish I could go back to that first year....it all seemed so easy (hard in some ways of course) but at least the weight came off. For me 83 lbs. And when I think about it, when I was at my goal weight I was SO HAPPY AND FELT SO FREE. And now I feel like crap. So time to get a grip. Will check in weekly to let you all know how I do. So interesting that the Veterans Forum doesn't have more of us here. Thanks for the encouraging words and good luck to all of us. I wrote a book called Queen of Crop...maybe I should right a Queen of Crop 10 years after to give me a new goal..hmmmmm...BUT NO I WILL NOT GO BACK!

I’m 3 weeks post op. Feeling good overall but weak at times. I’ve only lost 19 pounds till now. I lost most of it in the first 2 weeks but seems to have become stationary now. I wonder why. Supposed to be starting with puréed foods now. Will the weight still come off???

Got admitted to hospital tonight but wanted to send one thing that I had meant to contribute to a 'B side' question asked with the past 10 days..lol I know, I am SOOO behind. B side questions: Best lie you’ve ever told: When my family was living in Guam (Air Force brat) – it was the middle of the summer and I decided to try to get my younger brother to wake up faster so I tip-toed next to his bed and whispered in his ear “Santa Clause came!!”. I’ve never seen my brother move so fast. He was out of bed and into the living room before it dawned on him it wasn’t even Christmas time. That memory makes both of us laugh to this day although I still think he gets a “salty look” in his eye…LOL

You look amazing!!! 5'4" Starting weight 297 VSG on 7/31/19 266 CW 250 GW 135 Sent from my [samsung Galaxy] using BariatricPal mobile app

My surgery was 7/31 and I've lost 16 lbs. I'm at the week 3 stall. The scale has not moved this week. I have 3 premier protein shakes a day. I'm exercising an hour daily. I'm struggling to get my water in daily. I'm averaging 33 oz./day. I cannot wait to start losing again. 5'4" Starting weight 297 VSG on 7/31/19 266 CW 250 GW 135 Sent from my [samsung Galaxy] using BariatricPal mobile app

I had my surgery July 31 2019. Your son is just precious! How is it going?

zero added sugar - under 10 grams from any source - no fruit while trying to lose weight under 50 carbs and all of those from veggies eat nothing from a box keep your liquids high get your protein in and do something for 30-60 minutes everyday. essential - proteins yep essential fats - yep essential carbs - NO NO NO such thing i know this will upset some of you. but i believed it then and 2 years later i still believe it. if you want to get the max return for effort you must avoid all sugar and most carbs. Is this an all or nothing thing. No. but this must be your goal at the start of everyday and then do the very best you can and look for ways to improve when you fall short. When you reach Maintenance you will have more room to make more choices (fruit) but not during the honeymoon phase you want to squeeze every pound out of this special time that you can. good luck

Official lap band to RNY revision date is 9/13/19. Woohoo!! Did my pre-op labs while I was there, found out I can still drink coffee( praise all the saints!) and start my pre-op diet in a week. Yeah!

Hey Folks, I had my surgery on 08/07/2019. Things seemed to go great, I was concerned the day of the surgery that I was put into the wrong area of the hospital because the RN's on duty kept giving me things that I was not permitted to have. They would walk in and give me full cups of liquid and asking if I wanted a soda. They would put straws in everything, they never asked me if I wanted anything to eat. etc. I had to get my little book to show them what I was supposed to be eating and they still would bring me a full cup of soup that had chunks of things in it. I barely drank any water while I was in the hospital and because I was nervous about the nursing staff not knowing what was going on, I kept asking them to give me popsicles, until I found out they were giving me sugar popsicles. My hospital experience was unique, I had an RN at the end that walked in and gave me a once over and started taking all kinds of stuff out of my room and then replaced everything with things I would expect from a Gastric Sleeve surgery. You could tell she knew exactly what she was doing because she would bring me in these little medicine cups and tiny spoons and she wouldn't allow anything to be left within reach that I could drink. She said it was to lessen my temptation. She was really good. Sadly, she was my RN as I was leaving so I didn't get to have much time there with her. Besides a lot of cramping, I didn't have a lot of problems after surgery. I could not sleep in my bed so I got a lift recliner to help me out. I was walking all the time after my surgery. I didn't' have any pains there. Getting up and down I could feel it in my abdominal area, but it wasn't too bad. here's where I started getting concerned. I was following my surgeon's instructions to the T. See, I have to take blood pressure medication, stool softener, anti-acid type pill, anti-nausea pill, a pill for cramping, my multivitamin and then 3 times a day I have to take a Citra chewable, and twice a day I have to give myself a shot for blood thinning. They told me I had to space all that out 15 mins apart from each other and then work in eating and sipping water. Being a big guy, I had no idea what a "sip" was. Is it what you do to the soup when it's hot? Anyway, I was finding that I was not drinking enough water, I knew I wasn't, but I could not force water down myself. I was getting nauseous just tasking the water. I tried it hot, cold, room temp, ice-cold (almost ice), it was and still turns my stomach. I told my Dietician and she told me I had to drink 50% of my fluids have to be plain water. I told her that it was difficult and she stopped responding to me. yesterday I contacted my Surgeons nurse and told her that I have been having cramping that was lasting for hours each day, consecutively, and she told me that this is normal. I told her that I haven't had a BM since the day before my surgery and she stated that was normal, I then told her that I haven't had more than 8 oz of water a day since the surgery and she said that was fine, but she couldn't give me any suggestions on the diet aspect of the surgery as that's the responsibility of the dietitian. She told me that her only suggestion was to go to the ER. Which I did. My urine was extremely dark and the ER doctor hooked me up to an IV and said that I'm in very good spirits, he didn't see any issues but was wanting for my blood test to return. When he came back he was in a different mood. He said my liver count was 200 (whatever that means) and he didn't understand how my stats the day of the surgery were perfect and now they are 200 and he is concerned. He said that my liver isn't filtering anything out and that's extremely dangerous. He said he didn't know what the cause was and is having me return on Friday to see if it's improving. I sent another message to the dietician, they do not like calls and have to be contacted through an app, and she stated that I still have to drink 50% plain water. I told her I keep trying and I keep getting sick. I asked her about Gatorade Zero and she never responded. Today I have been able to drink a protein mix of 16 oz of water with 2 scoops of my shake, which goes down easy and I sip it over a period of time and I've been able to drink a 32 ounce of Gatorade Zero, I'll be drinking another shake later today which has another 16 oz of water in it. In my head that should meet or come close to the 64 oz of liquid/water that I'm supposed to intake each day. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm also eating popsicles and putting some of the Gatorade zero in popsicle form to eat as a snack. My urine this afternoon was not as dark as it has been previously, so I was thinking that I might be doing an okay thing.

I WAS APPROVED!!!!!!!!!!! Yes!!!! Surgery 8/19/19 4 days away!!! OMG!!!!!

I’m so curious... going in hopefully 8/19/19 unless I’m rescheduled AGAIN!! How Does the pain compare to child birth???

Trying to have it before the end of 2019 d/t we have met our deductible already for this year. 😂 I am in the same spot as you! I have been so worried that we will have to fund this next year when it could be paid for entirely this year. I think I will get in on time though. My surgery is set for Sept. 16th, but I haven't meet with the surgeon yet. Each time I call they have some excuse as to why she didn't get to talk to him about skipping y psych appt and nutritionist since I had a sleeve 20 years ago. Hopefully she was able to speak to him yesterday. Best of luck on your journey!!

60-70% is the average so that's usually the target surgeons will give you. Of course, there are people who lose more or less than the average. I lost 100% of my excess weight, but I was told only about 10% of people end up doing that. I can tell you that I worked by butt off to do that. So yes, it's possible, but you have to be super committed to do it. Edited to add that that 10% figure that my surgeon's office gave me is pretty consistent with what I've read in medical literature as well. Not sure where you're getting that 80-100% figure, but that's not reflected in peer-reviewed studies that have been done on this. you may see better success rates among people who participate in sites such as these than you will in the general bariatric population (although this is just speculation on my part - I've never actually read studies that say this) because people who continue with support groups or with online forums or stay involved with the bariatric community in other ways long after they've had surgery are probably more likely to keep their head in the game and may be more likely to reach and maintain their goals - but again, that's just speculation on my part and I may be totally off-base. I have been involved with this and other internet forums for the last five or six years and stayed pretty much 100% committed to my plan the whole time I was losing weight. I almost never went off. Again, you have to remain super committed if you want to lose 100% of your excess weight.

I was in the same boat last year - wanting to get the surgery by the end of 2018 since the deductable had been met.....but it didn't happen, even though I let the office know from the beginning that I wanted it done by the end of the year. There were delays and errors in losing documentation, submitting incomplete info to the insurance company which led to denial, then resubmission, etc, etc. I ended up having surgery in Feb 2019. But it turned out OK, because there have been a lot of expenses this year, too. Some ER visits for a blood clot, lab work, and various followups with other doctors to take care of other matters - sleep doctor, orthopedist, PCP. I need a new sleep study now, mammogram, bone density test, and I may get my upper eyelids done due to decreased field of vision. I am sure I will meet my deductable again this year, so am trying to wrap up all the "loose ends" and get everything done in 2019. If you don't get your surgery by the end of the year, there will be lots of opportunities to make up for it next year. Don't fret too much over it. You can only do what you can do. Trust it will work out for the best either way, which it will. Best wishes!

I'm 5' 6.5" Age 53 Pre-surgery weight 265, sz 22 Surgery Aug 2018 (1 yr ago) 250 Current 157, sz 10 I'm extremely happy with where I am with my weight and clothes size. I'm not really sure what my Doctor's goal was - I'll ask at my one year check up next week - but I think it's 150-155. In my mind I'm pretty much there. Truly I think I would look too gaunt if I got below 150. I attribute my success to simply working the program. Logging my food, focus on protein goals and lower carbs. For a really long time I was eating between 900-1200 calories, but in the past few weeks I seemed to have jumped up to about 1100-1500. Haven't gained (yet?) because of it. Best wishes on your journey! It's really excited to watch the transformation over time.

I dunno.... hair loss for me seems to have actually amplified this last month. Also in that same time period I had a 10 pound loss month and I haven’t had one of those since April. At the end of the day I guess I’ll take the 10 pound month and be satisfied with continued hair loss. It wouldn’t be so scary if someone could promise me that eventually most (I’m not even asking for all) could come back in a few months

Beautiful words I heard today come from my surgeons mouth, "Are you ready for this?" #LoveHIm We discussed the surgery, time off from work as well as recovery time and most importantly the success of the Roux en Y. We also discussed the success of the Roux en y after being banded along with the time I will need to be off from work (possibly 2 wks but said if I want to go back before then I could). Also I am truly grateful that I have a surgeon, nurses and dietitian that truly understand the struggle of weight loss. Just him explaining to me why people struggle with weight loss and he totally hit the nail on the head about it at least in my circumstance! So now my worries are: will the insurance company approve the date and surgery. Trying to have it before the end of 2019 d/t we have met our deductible already for this year. 😂 ps. LOLOLOL so excited!

I am on my first day of the pre op diet. I am so proud of myself, I haven't cheated and I've wanted to multiple times. I know as the 2 weeks move along may get a little more difficult but hopefully I'll adjust. Anyone else with surgery date 8/28/2019. I have about 150 pounds to lose! Any advice or tips would be welcomed. Sent from my SM-J737T using BariatricPal mobile app

I have been doing 16/8 for a couple of months about 600-700 ca/day, and then got stuck for about 2 weeks. So in addition to the 16/8, I started alternate day caloric restriction: 500 one day, at least 1,000 the next, and so forth. I continued my exercise regimen. Well, this is unbelievable, but last week I lost 6 pounds!!! That's more than I've ever lost in a week, from the very beginning! I am just a couple of pounds away from goal now, and very happy that this new IF tool has been so powerful. It is really good mentally, as well. On the low cal days, it is easy to maintain the restriction, knowing that I will be stuffed the next day. It is actually pretty hard for me to get in 1,000 cal in 8 hours. I've had to stretch it to 10. But the results are fabulous. I feel good - lots of energy, no hunger at all. The alternate day is actually much easier than the 16/8 by itself. After I hit goal plus a few pounds to spare, I plan to continue the 16/8 and maybe do just 2 days a week of restricted cals (5/2). Might even add in a 24 hour fast once every couple of weeks. I am reading Dr. Jason Fung's book on IF and finding it so informative and quite fascinating. We all know that IF or any kind of fasting kills off senescent (zombie) cells that contribute to aging, mental decline, osteoporosis, and increased frailty with age. We have all heard that a 3 day fast prior to chemo makes the chemo much more effective in killing off the cancer cells, while maintaining health of good cells. But I did not know that a 7 day total fast (nothing but distilled water) once a year is potentially a potent cancer preventative (gives the body a chance to knock off any aberrant cells before they get a hold.) This is something to think about for the future, once my weight is stabilized.

Hi ljmasse! 1 week from now 8/19/19! You’re 10 days after me! Good luck to both of us! I was pretty nervous & anxious about it but as it gets closer & I’ve begun to understand how to take my prescriptions, & understand everything I need to do I’m becoming more excited! How are you feeling? Chiptress, I just left my surgeons office and starting to feel better. I take HCTZ for my blood pressure and he told me I could say good bu to that medication because my blood pressure will start to regain control before I leave the hospital and the swelling in my hands and feet will start to go down. Like you, I just want the pain to go away so I can live life again ! we should stay in touch !

I have kaiser and just had my surgery on 07/29/19. I’m glad I did the classes because I feel good making choices regarding food now.