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Sadi is so lonely
BariatricBunnyBabe replied to ShoppGirl's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
I had the SADI-S on June 14, 2024. Tomorrow (Aug 2) is my 7 week post op day. I was 278 when I started my liquid diet. I was 268 on surgery day. I was 275 directly after the surgery. Last week I was 238 and I had a combined inches lost of 31. I have been experiencing a stall for a few weeks. I’ll lose some and gain some but it’s the same 3 pounds. As such I’ve been trying to get more movement into my life. I’m eating, at the advice of my surgeon, in a trial and error way. He wants me to be able to eat normal foods as it is easier to get to your protein goals. I haven’t eaten bread, sugar, pasta, or potatoes. I probably won’t go back to those foods. The pain feels like you went hard on Abs day. It was pretty much gone after 3 weeks. Eating too much (even by a single bite) or drinking too soon after a meal hurts worse than after the surgery. If you feel full and you think it’s too soon, take a break then pick it back up. You’ll be able to get it down eventually. Your anastomosis will be swollen (the link between your stomach and intestines) so there’s a bit of backing up before it goes down. I found shaking my stomach helps the food/liquid go down. Get good with your food being cold. Even if it’s hot when you start eating, you can’t eat it fast enough for it to stay warm. This has been the worst change for me besides the smell of my 💩. Work on finding low fat/non fat substitutes for cheese, dairy, etc. Sugar free substitutes for drinks can help get water in. I like G Zero and the added electrolytes are helpful. Track your food in an app. Weight/measure everything. Avoid “eating out” even if you can find reasonable foods to eat, it’s impossible to know your macros when you’re only eating small bits of meals and maybe removing bread etc. I only have been out once and that was two days ago. I ate a few bites off my husband’s plate. I kept looking at everyone’s full plates and thinking about how I would have eaten all of that and still been hungry. You will be exhausted from lack of food and energy. However force yourself to at least walk laps around your home. Only weigh once a week. I had my husband hide my scale. It was pissing me off that my weight was fluctuating. You will see more movement in measurements than you see on the scale. Try not to fixate on the numbers and remember not to compare yourself to others. People with more to lose will be losing faster than you. Some will not follow a good diet and lose very slowly. Let your doctor guide you on follow ups. Trust the process. Im new to this message board but feel free to reach out to me if you want. I’m on instagram as @BariatricBunnyBabe and TikTok as @Bariatric.Bunny and when I find things that work I post about them. I also share my wins and my weight loss stats. SADI-S can 100% feel lonely but we’re out here doing the thing! -
Anyone Annoyed with the "Stop losing weight"
AmberFL replied to AmberFL's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
you will then it gets annoying lol after reading the rest of the comments, maybe getting into a routine. I measure and weigh everything. I track everything. I don't really pay attention to fat and carbs, but usually with eating a lot of protein I am able to keep fat under 25-30g and carbs under 60g. movement is super duper important too! I workout min an hour everyday. I know that seems daunting but I started with walking 25min during my lunch break and I built up then about 2-3months ago I started to incorporate weights. I don't drink alcohol (mainly because I have alcoholic tendencies and I did try to have a drink a month ago and it ended up being a 3day binge of a lot so I know I cant) I don't drink carbonation just water, Gatorade zero, coffee, ect.... I know it sucks because we want to be able to eat whatever we want but the reality is that our bodies don't let us and we gain. It is something that we will struggle with the rest of our lives, BUT we choose our hard. to be overweight and hurt? or sacrifice all the treats or just indulge a little bit. I still eat ice cream off my husbands bowl, or have a sip of his soda. I dont restrict myself crazily. You got this!!! dont give up!!! were here to help! -
Low Key freaking out...
BlondePatriotInCDA replied to AmberFL's topic in Gastric Sleeve Surgery Forums
I was in the same spot you are up until last week. I stopped losing at 7 months, gained a few pounds and watched the same 2-3 pounds up and down for three months! Then, at 10.5 months lost 8 lbs in a week. I completely understand your frustration. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I continue to lose now. Its very frustrating! Have you gone to your dietician or surgeon and at least confirm all is well? I did and even talked to the clinic psychologist (I was becoming angry about it). Just know it will eventually break, I know hearing/reading this doesn't help like losing pounds does but... But you'll start losing again. -
Just echoing what the two very experienced forum members say above. A regain in 2nd and 3rd year post op is almost the norm. Please try not to worry about it unduly. Your set point is the weight/body composition that your body wants to hover around. The video below is short and might help. Your set point gets lowered drastically by WLS. But - processed food raises it. Eating cleaner keeps it lower. Building muscle mass keeps it lower. Might those be things you can work on a bit? Lots of people focus on cardio and that's brilliant, but lifting weights or using resistance bands (even if you never do cardio!) can add another really significant layer to that. Do you or have you ever tracked your intake? If that has slipped just tracking again might make you aware of what you're taking in and what you're using up. I am saying this as someone just about 3 years post op who regained 16lbs this year. I personally wasn't happy with that because it didn't stop as others' seems to, so I lost 10lbs by strict keto and am now back where I want to be. I had dietary lapses I needed to correct too and am working on that. I had this surgery to stop dieting - I feel like I can tweak things to keep me where I want to be without that and that I've learned a lot by stepping back and really analysing my intake the last few months. Also huge kudos to you for thinking about this with only 9lbs on. Much easier to look at what you can change now, if you even need to do that, rather than further down the line. I wish you the very best.
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Sleeve revision to sedis-s
ShoppGirl replied to yesenia1016's topic in Revision Weight Loss Surgery Forums (NEW!)
Yes, I had sleeve 3.5 years before I started my journey to revision. It’s considered fairly “new” In the medical community but finally got endorsement by the ASMBS so it should become more prominent now but finding info on it as a standalone procedure was tough enough, nevermind as a revision. Like @Arabesque said I had a really difficult time making my decision between the SADI and bypass but i did finally land on the SADI and I am happy with it. This week at six weeks out I was down 40 pounds (including the weight I lost on my two week preop diet which was basically two shakes and a low carb dinner). With the sleeve I felt like I was on a diet. The reduction of the hunger hormone helped me to keep my portions small and get down to 167 (i’m 5’8”) but I was able to eat more than expected from day one. Not a lot more but enough that once the hunger came back and I was eating several times a day I was gaining from even healthy food. The fact that I felt like a failure for not reaching my goal and that I was gaining in spite of my best efforts discouraged me and bad habits started slipping in bit by bit but rather quickly I gained it all back plus some. Things that have been different with the SADI. For one, my level of commitment. I quit going to my follow up appointments at the Dr and stopped posting here when I regained a big chunk of weight post sleeve because I was so embarrassed and I never went to the in person support groups to begin with. After I started my journey to revision I began posting again and committed to doing the in person groups when they meet monthly. I also have made even more than the minimum required appointments with my team to acquire as much information as I can and I asked to do my follow ups more often which helps for now with my anxiety over healing but also will help to keep me accountable In the future. In terms of the surgery itself it seems to have made more metabolic changes for me. For one thing I was actually a salty snacker before my sleeve but post sleeve I craved sweets. I actually woke up from my sleeve surgery craving various desserts but with SADI I was craving Fish Tacos (a meal I never even enjoyed pre surgery) and I have been eating all kinds of stuff I had to force myself to eat pre surgery and I’m actually enjoying them. I mean not like pizza but still pretty good I am back to regular food now and I may have a sugar free popsicle once a week. Other than that I don’t really want sweets and my food cravings are very quiet and good choices are really good. In terms of motivation and energy I have a ton more. Part of that may be due to my exercising this time compared to the sleeve in which I didn’t do any. This time I started out a little shy of a month just walking to the end of my street and back and now I’m up to over 15k steps a day (sometimes 19k) and I’m getting ready to try YOGA at my community center (waiting for my 8 weeks post op just to be safe). I feel fantastic. It’s not just he honeymoon phase either. I actually wake up hours earlier eager to start my day and at night when I hit the bed I feel accomplished and I sleep so much better. Everyone I talked to said fat was okay with the SADI and carbs were the enemy but that has not been my experience. Maybe processed carbs are bad but in things like veggies, fruit and oats or brown rice are okay for me. I actually do lower fat because I had my gallbladder out so think almond milk and 2% cheeses or non fat yogurt (surprisingly not bad tasting though). In terms of carbs if I remember correctly she started me at. 60g and then increased me to 80 because of my activity. They did not resleeve my stomach so my return to food progressed a little slower than yours will if your getting re-sleeved though so that will not be the case this early out. You won’t be able to eat the volume of food that I do at this point. I can actually eat every 3 hours. Most times I’m already up but I have an alarm set for 8 and I wake up and have my proffee which I finish by 9 with my multi vitamin and then every three hours (12,3 and 6) I have a small meal with my three calcium chews. My last meal being a snack at 9pm and I take my magnesium and hair vitamins. I seriously have so much energy. I care so much about what I put into my body. I make everything from scratch and before it was all about convenience (hated to cook) and I won’t lie and say I love exercise but I want to do it. In fact I’m nursing three blisters now and they just weren’t healing with the continued training so I’m having to force myself to slow down today. It’s so weird. I haven’t exercised in over 20 years. I have avoided it at all costs!! I mean I had to make the decision to get started of course but the surgery gave me the energy to do it. Ooh, the recovery was a bit tougher for the SADI, well a lot for me but they took my gallbladder too. I was okay without pain meds once I finally was able to pass gas (like 7 times one morning) but I spent five days in hospital because I couldn’t pass gas and my pain was only managed on meds they wouldn’t send me home with. Once I got home I took half of one pill because my husband forgot to get the Tylenol and I had to wait for him to get it I the store but after that i managed without it. With my sleeve I work up and refused pain meds and was fine the next day. In fact i almost forgot I had surgery when I was out front and asked my husband to pass the basketball to me. So night and day difference in recovery but it wasn’t horrible. Just not expected. Anyways, I’m sure that once I get closer to goal I will be tempted by less desirable food choices and it won’t be as easy as it is now but I honestly do feel like it will be different this time. For one, I have more support but also, I am actually changing my entire lifestyle this time. I am even looking for organic and cleaner ingredients in my food instead of just processed junk that’s diet friendly. I feel great and I want to continue feeling this way for a long long time. That got kinda long, sorry. I really hope some of it helps. -
Hello All, I am very new to the group and have not had my surgery yet but am scheduled for June 13th and I am excited to start losing weight exponentially even though I already have while on weight loss meds and starting a gym regimen while in the pre-op stages. My question for you all is if anyone traveled abroad within their first year post op? I am planning on going to Peru in Dec-Jan for two weeks and while I realize I will still have minimal portion sizes I feel I can make it work due to the wide variety of delicious/nutritious foods in the region that dont necessarily have to be carb-loaded. If anyone has experience with traveling to South America/Peru specifically your input would be much appreciated! I am hopeful that by that time I will be able to swim, walk and overall be active around touristy areas with ease but please let me know if there is anything else I should be aware of or try to pack before my travels to ensure I meet all of my nutritional needs.
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Question: Could this be Dumping Syndrome
JennyBeez replied to leese13's topic in Gastric Bypass Surgery Forums
I don't know about dumping syndrome, but blood pressure changes after WLS can be a struggle. I don't know how much weight you've lost so far, but the more weight lost the more BP can drop. Are you (or were you) on any BP meds prior to surgery, in addition to dealing with Afib? If so, you might want to discuss with your doctor about reducing the dosage. (Honestly, when it comes to blood pressure I feel like it's safest to talk to your primary doctor regardless) ((For me, I had high blood pressure for years prior due to my weight (anxiety too, so I feel you!). My BP tests have certainly showed a lowering post-op, but I'm still coasting on the line of good BP so my doctor has been hesitant to change anything up yet. Last week, ironically, I've been having some dizzy spells and low-ish BP (nothing lower than 110/68) so my PCP has suggested I halve my meds and keep an eye on how things progress from there. )) -
Spartan Maker thanks for the feedback. I am doing my best to increase my physical activity every day. I am weight training with the a trainer 2x a week and I’ve been trying to get in 30-45 minutes of cardio 2-3 times a week to. I do agree I probably need to do my best to up the intensity. I think I’ll start couch to 5k and start jogging. Lately my protein has been variable. I always get 70-80 but I know I would like to get more like 150. On a good day I get 110. My calories have been anywhere from 900-1300 depending on the day and if I work long hours. My hunger is generally fair. I do get hunger cues and what not but it’s not terribly overwhelming. I have been feeling great overall. I would say as far as processed foods the main thing I eat processed is the shakes otherwise I have been trying to eat Whole Foods. I am a nurse and work 12 hour shifts and I do need To do better about getting a little additional physical activity after my shifts. This is a journey but have been blessed with feeling good and generally have good energy.
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August Surgery buddies
Chatterboxdea replied to Averdra's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
I might need to hide my scale too. I lost 9lbs pre-surgery and 11lbs the week after surgery, but this second week I haven’t really lost any weight. It’s frustrating and I know it’s just my body using all the calories and nutrients I’m giving it, but I’m eating so little that in my mind, it should just be flying off. I meet with my dietitian for the first time tomorrow and I’m hoping they will give me the green light to start purée! I cannot wait to add more variety!! -
So just wanted to pop in and give you my short experience. I never ran, until 6months ago, I started out with walking outside, then stair master, then walking on incline a little faster to a short jog. I too would jog for 2-3min at a time then walk for a min and continue that pattern for about 15min. Now I can run 3.5miles on my lunch break and it takes me about 30-32min to do so. I started really slow but running really helped with my body composition, my mind is more focused and overall has really helped my moods too. I also lift weights 4 days a week so that has helped. My only thing I noticed with all the working out is that I eat more LOL however when I was only eating 1200-1500 calories I was not building the muscle I wanted, and not looking how I wanted. So if you start eating more remember its the working out and your muscles is burning off all that fast! Now that I am not able to work out how I like due to PS I am slowly dying LOL but soon enough i'll be back to it. Enjoy this journey its so fun!
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Yea since I was a revision to SADI they did not operate on my stomach. My portions are the same as they were years out from my sleeve which was about a single serving of most things. The weight I have lost is really just from eating 100% clean and exercising quite a bit. I really don’t worry too much about portions (although I still can’t eat a ton at once). I truly do believe that I am a carb addict though. It’s hard every single time I eat a lot of them to get back off of them. My plan is just to allow myself to have as much fruits and veggies as I want until the cravings ease up and then go back to my normal portions. We celebrate on Christmas eve and just have breakfast on Christmas while we watch the parade so I started yesterday and my plan worked, but I still ate a lot of calories because of eating all day long and I still want carbs just as bad today. My body just screams out for them. And for a while too. It’s really almost not worth it.
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Liquid diet.
SleeveToBypass2023 replied to ShoppGirl's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
OMG I'm so excited for you!!! I just know you're gonna rock this thing!!! Don't forget to update your stats once you get home and see what your pre-surgery weight is and what surgery you end up with. I can't wait to see you nail this thing!!! Good luck -
Ache or pain months AFTER surgery and...
BlondePatriotInCDA posted a topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
I had my one year check up with my bariatric surgeon yesterday, labs were all perfect, I was told I'm 20 percentage points down in my BMI and the surgeon said I'm exactly what the program hopes for in outcomes...etc. Etc... My questions to the doctor were the following: 1. When do I quit aching / feeling pain in my hips, shoulders and elbows I've heard so much about after losing weight?! He asked if I had this pain beforehand, I told him no its all since surgery. 2. I also asked about occasional pain that feels like gallbladder pain now (its been removed) asking if it could be a stone in my biliary tract? He said not likely its probably just "phantom pain." All fine and good but there's nothing phantom about it - it hurts like my old gallbladder attacks! 3. Lastly, I wanted to know when I get the magical much talked about energy after losing weight? He said everyone is different, and "you do seem to have an odd bunch of symptoms that should go away after surgery - not start up"! He went on to say that I might not meet my goal, saying it might be "unrealistic" yet I asked at my first meeting with him when he asked about my goal if it was unreasonable to which he said no! If I'm doing "exceptionally well" on the program then why is it now possibly "unreasonable"? He said I've got maybe 6 months more in which the surgery will continue to help me lose weight, but since its slowing down...I probably won't hit the goal (40 lbs to go). He knew the average weight lost in the 18 months following surgery, why say my goal was reasonable then? Sorry, I'm finding myself annoyed and discouraged now. So, my questions are: anyone else around a year out that is or has experienced the above issues? If so, do you still deal with it? If not, when did it go away (any of the above)? Did you after being told your goal is unreasonable and probably won't hit it, continue to lose and hit your goal or did you adjust your goal? -
Question for post op surgery and matcha
GreenTealael replied to Elizabeth Miller's topic in Gastric Sleeve Surgery Forums
There are so many different studies on the effects of caffeine on weight loss outcomes, but I cannot find anything specific to our population. Maybe someone else has a resource to share. As for the restrictions, usually the warning is that caffeine is a diuretic and appetite suppressant. That can seriously impact hydration early on. But every program is different, mine didn’t particularly care if you had coffee/tea but you couldn’t count it towards hydration. Here’s an interesting (mouse) study on matcha and it’s effects on obesity (through the liver gut axis) https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2022.931060/full Anecdotally I’ve never stopped consuming tea (including matcha) but I was never asked to, thank goodness 😅 -
Yea since I was a revision to SADI they did not operate on my stomach. My portions are the same as they were years out from my sleeve which was about a single serving of most things. The weight I have lost is really just from eating 100% clean and exercising quite a bit. I really don’t worry too much about portions (although I still can’t eat a ton at once). I truly do believe that I am a carb addict though. It’s hard every single time I eat a lot of them to get back off of them. My plan is just to allow myself to have as much fruits and veggies as I want until the cravings ease up and then go back to my normal portions. We celebrate on Christmas eve and just have breakfast on Christmas while we watch the parade so I started yesterday and my plan worked, but I still ate a lot of calories because of eating all day long and I still want carbs just as bad today. My body just screams out for them. And for a while too. It’s really almost not worth it.
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August Surgery buddies
ShoppGirl replied to Averdra's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
I didn’t do the bath or swim yet. I believe it was 6 weeks they said the outside was fully healed (double check on that though because there are different types of closure techniques that may heal slower). My team cleared us for anything but weights at 6 weeks but I noticed that some of the stuff that focuses on the core area in Yoga pulled so I just didn’t do that for a couple weeks (I needed the rest in between anyways 🤣). Tried again this morning in fact and it didn’t pull. I will be 10 weeks out tomorrow. I didn’t realize that I was that far out actually. Probably would’ve tried last week. Anyways, just with anything new, start slow and if you feel it in your tummy, stop!! That’s what I did. -
There is another thread about this called reactive hypoglycemia which apparently is not all that uncommon post weight loss surgery. Actually may be why my teams standard is to have us eat every three hours. I’ve never gone longer than that so I wouldn’t know if I had it. Maybe I should try it while I’m at home instead of it happening when I’m out having fun on vacation or something. Definitely try eating more often a little something. It’s also possible that it’s diabetes related so personally, I would go ahead and schedule an appointment with my family doctor and then just cancel it if eating more often helps. That’s just me because my doctor is kind of hard to get into.
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February 2024 Surgery Buddies?
RonHall908 replied to NickelChip's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
Thank you! I was the same about taking pictures, since I had gained a lot of weight over the years. I didn't like my picture being taken. I deleted a lot of them a few months ago. If I run across some pictures from 2016 when I was at my highest weight, I'll post. Those pics are very few, I was 454 lbs. and I didn't want any taken. I thought I would feel different by posting my pictures. I have to admit, It has made me feel better showing them. I'll post more pictures as I progress. From what everyone has posted, it doesn't seem like anyone is going backwards with the progress with weight loss. If anything, like myself, the progress seems slow. But, it's still progressing in the positive. -
Im from London. Semi skimmed milk with 2 tablespoon skimmed milk powder. I use Hartley 10 cal jelly pot. I've been doing normal because I lost weight fast and because il lost weight in last 3 weeks in liver reduction diet when it's just soup and yogurt.
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How do you figure out what your ideal weight should be? I've had a figure in my head for years, but after 3 mths of recovery I'm already almost there. So maybe my goal should be lower?
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Well, there is actually a formula for "Ideal Body Weight" and you can use a calculator to figure it out for you. This one also does an adjusted weight for a person who starts out overweight or obese. https://www.mdcalc.com/calc/68/ideal-body-weight-adjusted-body-weight
I would use that as a starting point, and then just see how you feel as you lose. How you look and feel is more important than a number.
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Clueless_girl reacted to this
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I did find different calculators but I couldn't find any that accounted for body frame. But you're right, it is just a number. It was just disheartening to see that although I lost 60% of my excess weight, it's still not in the "normal/healthy" range..
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I think it's important to remember that the weight charts and BMI ranges were developed a very long time ago and only intended to be applied to people who have never been overweight or obese. Those numbers aren't for us. When you are larger, especially for a long time, your body develops extra bone to support the weight. Your organs get a little bigger to handle the extra mass. Your entire infrastructure increases so you can support and function with the extra weight. That doesn't all go away just because you burn off the excess fat. If you still had a pair of jeans from your skinniest point in life and then lost weight to get to the exact number on the scale you were when those jeans fit you, chances are they would be a little baggy now because you would actually be thinner than you were, even though the scale and the BMI chart disagree. When in doubt, listen to the jeans, not the scale!
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August Surgery buddies
ShoppGirl replied to Averdra's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
I am so sorry to hear you had to go through that. But your right, it was a perfect example of something life changing that you got through and you got through it sober. That’s amazing!! I am just hoping to get through this and figure out a way to help make some changes to the process. Dealing with all these insurance hurdles and the administrative red tape with all of these doctors offices is just way harder than it needs to be. I struggle with anxiety and I told a lady today that I am more anxious about getting the appointments scheduled and getting the staff to do my insurance authorizations or fax my records to other places than I am that I have cancer. I said I don’t know but that seems pretty backwards to me, doesn’t it you? I think I got her attention with that statement. But, I have been able to manage my anxiety pretty well without much medication which is a huge win for me. My exercise helps a great deal with my anxiety day to day. It doesn’t take it away entirely but it brings it to a more manageable level. Yoga is really good for it too so I got started with that new habit just in time. Have you tried the tropical variety of the sugar free popsicles? I absolutely love the pineapple ones. They are so much better to me than the old school flavors. I actually forgot that I have them in the freezer. I need to get back to eating them when the sweet tooth hits. I have a non scale victory. Well I guess it is a scale victory but it’s about more than just the scale. The support group that I belong to for cancer had a therapy program where you get to work with horses and they have a weight limit. It’s technically 180 but I told them I was a tad over and they said I should still be okay to do it. They make us do a whole medical packet and get it signed by our doctor so I won’t know for sure for a while but at least it wasn’t an automatic no like it would have been four months ago i hope you have a fabulous holiday and enjoy your trip. I bet that seat will be extra spacious for you. I haven’t flown since my loss but my best friend travels a lot for work and she has recently lost a bunch of weight and she mentioned how it keeps getting easier and easier for her. Not just to fit in the seat but the trip itself takes less out of her than it used to. -
Report Your WINS ..What is your today's win??🥇
Bypass2Freedom replied to Mspretty86's topic in Rants & Raves
Hmm...my win is fitting into shorts that I bought last year that didn't even get on one thigh 🤣 and now I can get them on, with some room around the tummy and waist! Added bonus win: the shorts are high-waisted denim, and I haven't worn denim in years and years because of my weight! -
When did your weightloss stop ?
summerseeker replied to Star1234's topic in Gastric Bypass Surgery Forums
I lost for about 2 years then I decided that I felt ok with my weight and size. I then increased my calories to 1500 a day and I am stable at this weight. I don't do strenuous exercise, just gentle walking. Oddly enough I have dropped a size in the last 6 months ?? but no weight. -
What would you do or have you done since surgery..
NeonRaven8919 replied to BlondePatriotInCDA's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
I'm exactly the same. Even starting to talk to somebody, I would panic wondering how they could really like me, and delete the dating app. But this is definitely something I want to do. I want to go to more concerts and music festivals, too. All the standing is painful and makes me not enjoy the show. Less weight on my knees and I can stand longer and do more -
14 Days to Go!
NeonRaven8919 replied to NeonRaven8919's topic in Tell Your Weight Loss Surgery Story
Thanks! We definitely have this! My doc put me on a 12 WEEK milk diet (milk with skimmed milk powder, a cup of broth for lunch and lots of water) It's been really tough and it's been ten weeks of taking it all in my stride, but as it gets closer, I'm starting to get nervous! The only surgery I've ever had has been an impacted wisdom tooth removal and this is major surgery! I'm at the point where I just want it all over with now to start the major weight loss, but I also want to delay it because of fear and one last Pizza Hut pig out. But the end is in sight and I'm excited!