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I am so glad that you are still reaching out to your team and posting here. I won’t get too far into my story but because of “confusion,” about my mental health, interactions with meds and embarrassment the help I got from my team was not working for me and I gave up. I continued to gain and now I am back here facing revision weighing a little more than when I started this journey. People here are very helpful and understanding but your team should be giving you answers too. Sounds like they have a plan for the next step if need be and that’s great. if all else fails, The phentermine is the one medication that I could try which did work amazing during the day for me but I suffer from insomnia and when I can’t sleep I eat. So, the meds worked wonderfully during the day but at night, with my larger sleeve and being awake so many times, I was able to consume too much for the whole day and I still gained. But I can see how if you sleep throughout the night it really could work. I didn’t get to try mountjourno or any of the other brands it’s sold under because of financial reasons but if you can swing it, I have heard AMAZING things about that medicine too (there are some side effects for some people to consider). People claim they think they must know how skinny brains feel after taking it. They just don’t ever have to think or worry about food. One lady has to set alarms if she is busy to remind herself to eat something. Another drawback is how long you have to take it. Some say when you go off it you start to gain. They are doing studies now where they are trying to work out a maintenance dose that may be less than the regular dosage though. There are also places that are starting to “compound” it at compounding pharmacies. I wouldn’t necessarily trust the stuff from random sites online but my PCP was telling me they were working on getting it in their office and it is less than half the normal cost that way. I don’t know much about the other weight loss drug options because I couldn’t take them with my bipolar meds Interestingly, i just seen an ABC special Oprah did on weight loss injections the other night. (Ironically it was the day I went back to see my surgeon so I thought maybe it was meant to be which is why I inquired about them with my PCP). I’m really hoping that reached someone that has the power to change how accessible these meds are. I asked my pcp and she said it’s probably going to take a little while like everything else and she thinks at this point I shouldn’t wait on surgery for that but if your interested keep asking questions because these things tend to just change in the middle of the night and the word takes a while to reach you if you not the one asking. Anywahs, kudos to you for not giving up. Let your team do all they can to help you and keep posting here!!. I think when I stopped that I lost all hope. I was so isolated. Surrounded by skinny family and having only one heavyset friend who is perfectly content being that way I don’t have a lot of real life people who understand me the way that this community does. I felt so ashamed and I didn’t want to drag down the vibe here with my failures. Since I have returned I have been welcomed with open arms and honestly don’t know why I ever doubted that I would be. Keep doing what your doing and you will work this out. I know it. 🤗

I was the same. Nothing tasted good and I'm so not into sweet foods, protein shakes were a nightmare to drink and half a smoothie took me a whole day to finish (and they were gross no matter what I put in them). It gets better, I found that after the pureed stage I lost my interest in eating, it was only after I started consistent weight lifting and exercise (around 4 months) that my hunger returned. Hang in there!

Sounds like a stall (it's only been 3 weeks...my stalls have been known to last 2 months before). And also, the closer we get to our goal weight, the slower we lose. I've been fighting the last 20 pounds to my goal weight for every bit of 5 months now lol Now that I'm 11 pounds away, it's like I'm at war with my body to get it to be where I want. Eventually, we hit our new "set point" where our bodies are happy and comfortable at a certain size/weight, and it doesn't want to go any lower. Personally, I don't care if it's happy here, I'm not where I want to be yet, so I just have to keep at it, change things up periodically, and above all have patience. I'll get there in the end.

OP you have done amazingly well. I know lots of us beat ourselves up lots of the time but honestly, to drop almost half your body mass after surgery, AND then regain only 15 - 20lbs three years later, AND to have had a baby in the meantime is unbelievable. Third year regain is common - the norm actually. Trying to get back to your lowest weight ever might not work if your body has chosen a higher new set weight. It will fight you all the way. Forever. Please cut yourself some slack. It might be helpful to ask yourself what exactly you're aiming for now. Is it a goal weight/BMI? Or a state of mind where you accept and celebrate the huge changes you have made to your health and your life and now that of your baby. If you have a set goal, why is that better than where you are, and how much effort or angst do you want/need to devote to achieving it? As a general observation processed and ultra processed foods (products with ingredients you don't have in your kitchen) are what make people obese. The sooner you can ditch those the better IMO. Freshly prepared food is less likely to cause regain. I am a big fan of Dr Matthew Wiener's book A Pound of Cure. Might be worth a read!

Estrogen is stored in your fat. As you lose weight it is released into your blood stream. This additional estrogen or estrogen flush causes your emotions to go haywire (like major PMT) & changes to your menstrual cycle (heavier/lighter, more or less frequent periods). Plus in general, this is a pretty emotional & stressful time. The surgery, the reduced eating, the structured eating, etc. all can mess with your emotions too. It does settle eventually though when differs person to person.

@ShoppGirl my biggest incision is kind of dented in also. My surgeon said it will flatten out. It is also where they removed my stomach. Steristrips: I did not have them, or staples. My incisions all have stitches and a strange purple glue covering them. It is slowly wearing off. Food: We had a vegetarian potluck at work today and I did have a small teaspoon of ranch dip, one bite of a very spicy hummus, and a bite of a veggie meatball. I knew I could tolerate the food and did not want to punish myself by not having anything. Today I am 3 weeks and 2 days post-op and wore jeans for the first time. Not the brightest idea but I survived the day. LoL going to change as soon as I get home. I have lost 16 pounds since my surgery day. I am a slower loser and have had a couple of 3 day stalls. I like to weigh daily to see if a certain food or activity affects my weight loss. It also keeps me accountable. I know this may not be good for all people. I can’t wait for my 6 week checkup so I can be cleared to go to the gym. We have a large department move at work coming up in a couple of weeks and know that may pose some problems with my weight restrictions. Hope everyone is doing well and it seems like we are progressing along from all the posts. Keep up the good work. We’ve got this!

Nope didn't and don't have a problem with swallowing. Performed oral after 1 week post op and it was fine. Sex is much better for me with all this weight gone for sure! My partner misses my butt but meh LMFAO

Happy Monday everyone! I just wanted to start a post to just check-in and see how everyone is doing, regardless of what stage we are at, pre or post surgery I feel that after complaining that I wasn't feeling full, now that I am on proper food, I am feeling it, and boy is it a struggle 😂 On the plus side, I feel a lot better in myself already, and I am going to go back to the gym! Just body weight stuff and light cardio to begin with, and maybe 2-3 times a week. I notice that I am getting dizzy spells lately, probably due to struggling with eating much, so I will be mindful of that! I've had some people comment on my weight loss already - which admittedly was quite nice - they were friends and I don't mind hearing it from them, but they were just proud of me regardless, which made me feel quite good. I hope everyone is doing well ❤️

I agree with the others, it’s too early to make calls about what your final stabilised weight may be. Don’t make decisions based on the number on the scales. It’s not uncommon for your weight to bounce about a little before it stabilises. Bounce back regain is real for many whether that be your body resettling or you making adjustments to complement your lifestyle. And don’t forget your remaining weight resettles itself, even though the scales don’t move, so how you look now may not be how you look in a couple of months. I initially lost my curves and was sad about losing my hour glass shape. A few months on & there it was again - smaller ratios but there. Body dysmorphia comes into play too: how we. See ourselves & how others see us. I thought I’d be too thin & gaunt if I got lower than my goal but here I am 11+kgs less and I’m far from gaunt or skeletal. And like @ms.sss, people who said I was too thin many kilograms more than I am now, think I look fine now and don’t say anything. Remember your goal is not necessarily your body’s goal (new set point). Working out your maintenance isn’t always easy. It wasn’t for me. I was still adjusting to how much food I needed to eat & what I could actually physically eat & I was subconsciously ignoring where my body wanted to be. Enjoy the ride and only worry if your surgeon and doctors aren’t happy.

Definitely try and get some sleep! 😂 This is definitely the case! I know myself that I need to focus a little bit more on my water intake - then hopefully I shall feel a bit more energy! I have been back to the gym in the last week and started walking more, and I will be having a personal trainer come the 1st August so I know I am going to be putting my weight loss & health first! Which is surprisingly exciting haha.

Hi All! Alex has graciously allowed me to post once about my dating site for weight loss surgery patients. I designed this site after input from several friends who have had weight loss surgery, myself included. Many of us are new to dating and just discovering ourselves and dating in general is hard enough, let alone after weight loss surgery. I thought it would be a great idea to bring men and women together who have both had some type of weight loss surgery. We all want to stay on track and we all fear regaining the weight we've worked so hard to lose. Finding someone with similar goals and interests would be great for long term success. www.loveafterwls.com was born! loveafterwls.com is NOW totally FREE! If you were a previous paying member, please unsubscribe and rejoin as a FREE member. Our site offers personal profiles with up to ten pictures, blogging, instant messaging, forums and more. Like all new dating sites, it will take awhile to grow our membership but come on in, fill out your profile, start a blog if you wish and help build this dating site into something great! Please tell your friends, especially men. We currently have a lot more women on the site than men. Visit www.loveafterwls.com for more information! Thanks

Compounded Tirzepatide is Now Available via BariatricPal! Tirzepatide has garnered considerable attention in recent media coverage, with patients reporting enhanced weight loss, improved blood sugar control, and fewer side effects than Semaglutide.

Tested positive for COVID on Saturday morning. I suppose it explains why I’ve been feeling like I was coming down with something all week plus why my joints felt so painful. I just put that down to being back at the gym 🤷‍♀️ It will also account for why my liver function test was off too. It always amazes me how the LFT can show something amiss before I’m even aware of it. So, the weekend was a complete bust - no anniversary dinner, feeling like I’ve been run over and just general yak. Dealing with an out of hours NHS service has tried my patience to the nth degree this weekend. Due to having a suppressed immune system, I’m supposed to be given antiviral medication if I contract COVID. Huh, it’s Monday and I still don’t have it. Many phone calls all asking the same set of questions (and giving the self same answers) being discharged from the OOH Dr via text, twice, for no apparent reason, waiting for calls that never happened, receiving other phone calls at almost midnight on Saturday, blah blah blah. Thankfully I was able to get through to my GP surgery at 8am this morning (a complete fluke) and explain the situation. They will find out what needs to be done and get back to me. Honestly, sometimes the NHS is brilliant and other times it’s just dire. Health eating? LOL…do you know when you read about the effects of an illness and it says ‘loss of appetite’? Ha, Ha, Ha, I’m the complete opposite, every single time 🙄 I’m not fretting about it right now as I’m more concerned over getting the COVID stuff sorted out. Hey, at least I didn’t have any alcohol on Sunday so that won’t interfere with my levels for when I do manage to get my bloods done again. Obviously I can’t have them done until I test negative. I’ll test again on Wednesday and see how things are. My anniversary dress did actually fit, so that’s a positive! I wouldn’t have been able to wear it on Sunday though as it’s so cold and rainy here now. Hubby has rebooked dinner for 2 weeks time. I don’t think it will be warm enough to wear the dress though but It’s not the end of the world On the plus side, I will have it altered professionally once the weight comes off post-WLS as I really do like the dress and would like to keep it. Missing my gym time, obviously , but it was nice to go back. Muscle memory definitely kicked in which helped enormously. It also gave my mental health a boost so it was win/win for me. I don’t know if my case was discussed in the MDT meeting last Friday or not. They will let me know at some point I’m sure. I will focus on getting any gains off once I start to feel a bit better. My hairdresser put some layers in my hair in order to give it a bit of body and movement. It’s just a shame that i haven’t actually bothered stying it as yet! I’ve just been washing it and leaving it to dry naturally. It looks OK anyway 🤷‍♀️ That’s me for now. Have a great week everyone 😍 Onwards and Downwards!

I made a post about losing weight slowly and I just kept doing what I was doing, and dropped 5lbs this week…WEIRD! But I am officially considered overweight and not obese!! Below is a before and after picture. The before is not even my heaviest!

Kristen it's not uncommon for people who are post op a few days to have so much angst. Follow your doctor and nutritionist protocols. Everyone loses weight at a different pace. The main thing is to stick to the program and despite what is preached about super fast weigh loss, it does happen but it's not the norm. The majority of people lose a a decent amount of weight, experience a stall, after time the body adjusts and then you experience constipation, and the body adjusts and you lose more weight. . Your best result is patience and sticking to the plan. I have family members who can eat a lot more than they thought they should. It comes down to what you eventually eat. Eating a ton of salad is much better than eating a ton processed food. Still eating a ton but with much different results. Stay the course and dont be discouraged, your body is going through a process and needs to sort things out.

Good morning! I am so happy that I found this group! I have been lurking for a month or so. There is a lot of information to be gained here😁. I had VSG Nov 2014 and lost 80 lbs. I was down to 170 lbs. I am 5’9 so I was quite content there. As we all know life throws curveballs and my weight has steadily climbed. I am now 60 years old and weigh 225. My A1c is high and I have been diagnosed with type 2 dm. I have been nauseated for months and last month I had an upper GI that showed severe acid reflux and a moderate hiatal hernia. Omeprazole has not helped at all. I have an EGD scheduled this coming Friday. Revision to bypass has been brought up by the nurse practitioner at the bariatric surgeon’s office. I also just met with my new PCP who gave me a prescription for Mounjaro. Bariatric surgeon said not to start the Mounjaro until we resolve my reflux issues (due to the possible side effects of nausea). I am unsure if I should go with the revision to bypass with hernia repair or just get the hernia repair and hope that fixes my reflux issue and use the Mounjaro to help with weight loss and lowering my A1c. I am not sure if just repairing the hernia will fix my relax issue. I will discuss all these options with my surgeon after the EGD. What are your thoughts/experiences?

My husband is thin as a rail and can only put on a few pounds back In the day by eating fry daddy for dinner and a dozen doughnuts every day. Even then he didn’t gain that much. The best way I could explain it to him how hard it is to not eat when I am hungry was to explain the opposite. I came home with five Big Macs and after he just ate I told him to eat them. I said as much as your body is telling you NOT to eat them Big Macs and it would be almost impossible for you to eat I believe that it’s just as hard for me to ignore my body when it’s screaming out for food. He isn’t superior or less lazy or a harder worker or anything else that skinny people like to think. He is just blessed with good genes. He did nothing to earn or deserve them anymore than we did anything to earn or deserve our bad ones. In retrospect maybe five was a bit of overkill but I really wanted to make a statement. But just like some of us are blessed to be naturally pretty or cute and others are less fortunate in the looks department or some of us have a higher risk for certain. Illnesses, some people are lucky enough to be thin. We may have a tiny percentage or control by dressing a certain way or make up for looks or good preventative medical care for illnesses but ultimately it just is what it is. Now there are others that work at it everyday who are a different story but my husband and it sounds like your neighbor are just blessed. i think i finally got through to him about that.

Welcome out of lurking mode! We are true surgery buddies with the same surgery date! It looks like you are doing great weight-wise. How are you feeling?

Go back to the basics! Prioritize protein, cut out sugar, stick to 140g total carbs, 40g fat. Meal Prep and go for daily walks Its doable!! You got this! This is my diet at 7months post op with an 1hr + of exercise 6x a week (exercise is 30min weight lifting and 30-45min cardio) Wake up: Café latte premier protein and decaf cold brew Breakfast: egg whites, Jennie o turkey sausage, cheese and Pico de Gallo Snack: fruit and mini jerky stick or popcorn (lesserevil brand only 50cal low carb and has some protein) Lunch: usually a salad with pasta, veggies, some crunch (wonton strips, crispy onions, croutons) dressing is homemade (Greek yogurt, hidden valley ranch dry mix, fat free Italian dressing to thin it out) snack: Oikos or Dannon Light and Fit yogurt with granola Dinner: I get fancy- last night I had an Egglife wrap put 2TSP of pest on it, 3oz grilled chicken, 10g of reduced fat mozzarella cheese, 1 tlbs of picked jalapeno, 1 tbls of red onion and 10g of shredded Parmesan cheese Dessert: a couple of yasso popples, or Ill have a few bites of my hubbys ben and jerrys (lol) This is my normal day to day with variations but I usually end up with about 130+ of Protein, under 90g carbs and under 50g of fat. I am not perfect at all but meal prepping really really helps my week be successful. I also track every single thing (bad or good) in Netdiary and I pre-track my day the night before or the morning of, this allows me to see what I have going on and if I decide to eat a piece of sugar free chocolate or make myself an iced coffee with sugar free creamer, I can see if my macros fit it. Lately I have been going over but I am still losing weight. I have surpassed my goal weight and am still losing- lot slower- so I am trying to figure out how to eat a bit more so I can maintain. I love this journey and am having so much fun with it (crazy I know) but I am an open book and am happy to help with meal plans, meal prep and exercises!

@AmberFL In all your exercising have you found that your arms are firming up, if they were flabby before? Just looking for some tips as they remain a problem area for me and doing arm weights at home (mix between 1.5kg and 3kg) a few days a week for some reps doesn't seem to be making any inroads. My legs are always going to be a problem area for me because of lymphedema but that just stops me wearing shorts or a short dress leaving me still with plenty of options but having to keep my arms covered all the time (because I hate my arms) is a pain.

I’m wondering if you still aren’t eating enough for your current height, weight, and activity. I eat about 1600 calories to maintain and am shorter & weigh less than you & I’m not active at all. I mean my stretches and resistance band use burns nothing really. So I’d expect I would need fewer calories to maintain my current weight than you yet your non workout days you eat the same. Yea I am making a generalisation and we are different but ut is something to consider. I’ve linked a BMR calculator below which may give you an idea of the number of calories you may need to be consuming and it maybe something to discuss with your nutritionalist. I get the looking tired and unwell. My uncle told my mum I looked like death when I first stabilised. A few months later he was telling me & my mum how great I was looking. Give it time. PS - I too was wondering if you need to take a break from your workouts like @ms.sss suggested or reduce the frequency or intensity. https://www.calculator.net/bmr-calculator.html?cage=45&csex=f&cheightfeet=5&cheightinch=5&cpound=175&cheightmeter=180&ckg=60&cmop=0&coutunit=c&cformula=m&cfatpct=20&ctype=standard&x=Calculate

do any of you have a solid upper body or lower body routine? I do a lot of free weights and machines if I don't do a home workout. Sometimes I do YouTube videos or I will look up exercises on what muscles I want to target. But if anyone has a solid, sweaty, muscle shaking workout I am all ears!!

Hi All! Lately, I have been receiving attention for my weight loss, mostly positive. People have been asking me how I lost the weight. I prefer to keep my surgery private and only a select few know about it because I do not want to hear negative comments. When people ask how I did it, I say, "Thank you! I have been following a low carb diet, walking every day, and not drinking alcohol." Recently, someone commented on how quickly I lost the weight on this diet, and for a moment, I worried that they might be thinking I was using drugs. LOL Does anyone use different excuse?

Hello!! January 30th is my date. I’m nervous. I lost 130 pounds on my own in the last couple of years and have gained at least 50 Of it back, I keep telling myself this is the right thing to do I don’t want all that weight back, I’m glad I’m catching it in time but I am still nervous. I got a surgery date 5 years ago and backed out due to my career and trying to do it on my own. Now here I am again and I refuse to back out.Wish me luck and God Bless.

I have a local consignment shop where I may take a few things if they're still decent, but I have to confess, my wardrobe lately has been absolute crap. I had bought some cute stuff in a 1x back around 2018, but I gained weight and was wearing 2x and 3x when I moved in 2020, so I got rid of everything. I didn't want to buy an expensive new wardrobe at a higher weight, so everything I have now is cheap Walmart stuff that I'm happy to donate. Thinking about the future, though, I am embracing the idea of a capsule wardrobe, where you buy maybe 10 pieces of clothing that can all be worn mix-and-match, and you change up the look with accessories. When I think about how much clothing I will be getting rid of, it sickens me a little to contemplate buying all of it again. Especially since I only really wear a handful of things regularly. If I had two pairs of leggings, a skirt, a dress, 5 tops, and a lightweight sweater, that would pretty much cover me for 99% of my clothing needs each season. Now to remind myself of this when temptation rears its head the minute I can shop off the rack in all those stores that have nothing in my size right now.