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I've had two pregnancies since the sleeve. With my first I was only 11 months post op and not at my goal weight.

Hello Everyone, I am new here and am pre-op. I have been working with my bariatric team for about a yr or so no give or take and looking forward to getting the hopeful green light for surgery. It has been a wild and crazy journey to say the least but I am so excited to be on it. My whole thing is trying to figure out what is the best to staying motivated working out. So, a little back story on this. I have had a few injuries over the yrs. I had and ACL injury in my 20s and a neck injury in my early teens. I have been able to go to the gym for a max time of an hr lately (which is about 1x a week or 2x a week). Sadly I feel like I have lost motivation because despite feeling goo while at the gym and so proud of myself I ended up getting the worst migraine and neck pain of my life since I had worked on my shoulders and back muscles that day. Needless to say this has made me a little unsure about going back due to the pain and a reward for the hydro beds at the end. But if I don't my team is worried I cant maintain it when surgery is over. I feel so stuck. I also feel stuck because PT therapy walking was ok as long as it was 30 minute min. a day but my psychologist wanted more like 150 minutes a week and weights then recanted. (ugh sorry I am rambling and all over. Please be patient with me it is 1:30 am here) I guess long story short here I am wondering: 1) What were you recommended from your teams? 2) What work outs work for you? 3) What keeps you motivated? 4) and if you have an injury, disability or pain what do you do to overcome fears at the gym with it? Thank you. Have a good one, Destiny

My surgery is scheduled for 4/6. I'm in the same boat you are, excited and nervous. Gastric sleeve surgery for me. I have stocked up on some protein shakes trying various ones out but my friend, who had sleeve surgery said what worked for her pre surgery didn't end up working after so not to stock up too much. I am 57 years old, tomorrow 2/17 and my top weight was 438. I am at 373 now. Bad knees and hip bursitis are final straw to commit to losing weight and gaining a healthy lifestyle. Sent from my Lenovo YT-X705F using BariatricPal mobile app

I visited the sleep center today and was given results by the NP. I have had three previous studies. The first one I only slept 16 minutes out of eight hours. The second study was better but I could not tolerate C -PAP so they stopped that study and had me come back in for Bi-PAP. I sure do hope this does not set my surgery date back. Has anyone had any experience with this? Thank you and be blessed.

Yeah, sadly, those heady days of a high rate of weight loss don’t last. You can always depend on your weight loss slowing the closer you are to goal. You’re eating more (which is a normal progression) & getting closer to the number of calories your body needs to maintain your weight. As @catwoman7 said how much food you eat depends on the food you’re eating. A good place to begin is to look at the recommended portion sizes of different foods - start with google & quiz your dietician on what is a serve of beef, of chicken of vegetables, etc. You’re probably getting to close to a recommended serving size now. The problems only start to arise if you’re eating more than that & the only thing that will stop you eating larger portions sizes is you. Plus check the calories of what you’re eating & the nutritional content if you’re not still doing this. 1500 calories is 1500 calories regardless of whether it’s from nutritionally dense food or from cake, sodas, chips, pizza, etc. I eat more often & eat more food in a day now than I did when I was obese. It’s just more nutritionally dense food & my my metabolism is working better. As to what’s bad: carbs, fats or sugar? I think this is a personal thing. You know your medical status which would influence whether you should keep your fat intake low or not. You know your weaknesses - sugar, carbs. I think we should work out a lot of our eating plans based on these things about ourselves. There are recommended daily allowances for fats, sugar & carbs too. Generally, I’m a bit of a balanced diet person. Though I don’t eat a lot of carbs & only multi or whole grains - I used to eat a lot of bread, pasta & rice. I also avoid a lot of sugar, artificial sweeteners & sugar substitutes because I think sugar is the real devil. I get my sweet from fruit. I don’t have dessert as such but have eaten chia pudding (flavoured with vanilla extract). I’ll have a protein bar after dinner if my protein is a little low for the day or will have fruit. How I feel real hunger is very different. I feel restless & I don’t crave a specific food or type (salt, sweet, carb) of food. If my ‘hunger’ is craving something specific it’s head hunger & not real. If there’s an emotional component to the ‘hunger’ (like hangry) it’s not real hunger. Part of the ‘fun’ of maintenance is working out your calorie & nutritional needs. It took me a while to work out what mine was & to be physically able to eat that much food. But you have to find a balance too. If you have to have such a restricted diet to maintain that it compromises you enjoying your life, it’s doomed to fail. It’s about sustainability. If that means you end of weighing a little more than you thought you wanted to be, that’s ok. If you enjoy your latte every day enjoy it. If it worries you try a smaller serve or reduce it to one a day or three cups every two days. There’s always work arounds or substitutes you can make like zucchini noodles instead of spaghetti but still enjoy what you’re eating & not feel like you’re missing out. The truth about exercising is that it will only contribute to 10-20% of any weight you want to lose. Want to lose 10lbs? Exercising will only contribute to you losing 1 or 2 lbs. Plus if you increase your exercising, your hunger will increase. Unfortunately the work doesn’t the end. All the best.

The first GP I talked to was against surgery, she said that it didn’t address the psychological issues of overeating and if I eat emotionally it would be extremely hard for me to cope with my emotions afterwards. She recommended a ‘health coach’ and keto. Roll forward a year, couldn’t find a qualified health coach, lost weight with keto and realised that it’s not sustainable. I have at this point nearly put back all the weight I lost last year. Spoke to another GP who I know is diabetic himself, he said absolutely , surgery is the only way to lose weight permanently, he gave me a referral. As a postscript I saw GP. Number one in the car park, she is a lovely human, but you couldn’t fail to notice that her own bmi had shot up over the last year, maybe she shouldn’t heed her own best advice.

Oh ! Makes me realise how darn slow everything happens in NZ! I spoke to my GP last August, it took him 2 weeks to even write the referral letter (I had to get referred even though I am self funding). I waited until December to see the surgeon, then i had to have two psych appointments and a dietician appointment, then they all got together yesterday and agreed I can have the surgery 😁 I have another final appointment with the surgeon beginning of March where he will schedule the actual date…..am elated and terrified at the same time! So it will be near 9 months. Though I did actually talk to another GP in the practice about surgery over a year ago, she was negative and told me that keto might work…it did but I have since put nearly all the weight back on again.

the closer you get to a normal BMI, the slower it goes. Those last 20 lbs were a BEAR for me to get off. Took forever. We're talking like 2 lbs a month the last three or four months. But I hung in there and finally made it. The reason being, your calorie requirements at that weight are MUCH lower than they were when you started. It takes about 1600 calories for me to maintain my current weight. I would have lost weight like CRAZY if I ate 1600 calories when I weighed over 300 lbs. For me to lose 2 lbs a week (which I could have done NO PROBLEM when I weighed 300 + lbs), I would have to eat 7000 fewer calories that week (well, I would have when I weighed 300+ lbs, too). That's 1000 fewer calories a day. When I was scarfing up 3500 kcal/day, that means I would have had to cut back to 2500 kcal/day. Now I would have to cut back to 600 per day. Ah...no. I could do that the first couple months out of surgery, but 600 calories a day at seven years out? No way. Plus it wouldn't have even been healthy. So I basically lose a couple lbs a month when I'm trying to lose weight. 8-10 oz portions - would depend on what it is. Greek yogurt, yes. Steak - no. Stretching your stomach - probably not. You'd have to really overeat, day after day, every day, to do that. you are hungry because physical hunger does come back for the vast majority of us sometime during the first year. And that's when things get a lot harder. I've never counted fats. And I wasn't on an ultra-low carb plan (mine was balanced), but the first few months, I rarely ate over 80 carbs a day since I had to get in so much protein. There wasn't room for more than about 80 carbs. Now i probably get double that - but I limit the "bad" ones. Mine mostly come from whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. exercise isn't that effective in helping you lose a bunch of weight unless you're talking swimming mega laps or running marathons. But it's great for your overall health, and you should do it regularly if you can. It CAN help you maintain once you get to goal, though.

In the early days of the surgery the scale has no relation to your body's reality. My advice - ignore it for a bit. While you are on liquids and basically minimal calories, you are losing weight. Nothing more you can do. For reasons I cant explain (and it seems no one else really can either) weight loss is not linear at all. Days will pass where the scale doesnt move - then one day three pounds disappear. We all go through the same anxiety from time to time (I am in the midst of another stall now). Other than having this group tell you its all going to be alright, there is nothing to do but be patient, and know that its just a matter of time. Wishing you good luck!

Hey all - So like many of you, I am still trying to figure out what normal means, six months post surgery. First off, I am so happy I did the VSG - no complaints, I feel great, surgeon was fantastic, their office is responsive and follows up and I am down from an all-time high of 305, 261 on Surgery Day, and 195 Today. Hoping to get to 185. That's where my difficulty is: In the past 10 weeks, I have lost maybe 5 pounds. I find my weight fluctuates daily +/- 5 pounds, so I only track the lows as benchmarks. (IDK: water retention, lack of BM, salt...). My low was 194, today 196, the other day 200 (which is a number I hate!). I think I am spoiled by the rapidity of weight loss early on and feeling a little discouraged now that things are slower. More than that though, my fear is that my portion size is starting to feel almost normal person normal... not my pre VSG by any stretch, but not terribly restricted. I also am getting hungry again... and craving things like sweets again. After a filling dinner at 6, by 9 I think about dessert - and sometimes succumb. Thus far, I havent done anything too terrible, but the idea of making a batch of chocolate chip cookies has been on my mind for weeks. I feel like I could fall off the wagon at any time. And now that I can eat almost normal amounts again, its not like the little cheats along the way that didnt matter due to space restrictions - I COULD DO DAMAGE! (BTW- still dont understand the "2nd stomach" when it comes to dessert. If I think about having another piece of grilled chicken, I know I am full, but a bowl of iced cream, suddenly I am starving!) With slow weight loss, which I understand is normal as I am getting close to goal weight, and growing portions (8-10 oz at a time), cravings for sweets, and inter-meal hunger, I am terrified that I am a few months from seeing an uptick on the scale. Ten pounds from the finish line - which I might hit, but for how long? So, for my version of the "is this normal" questions: 1. 5 lbs in 10 weeks? 2. 8-10 oz portions 6 months out? 3. How long till 8-10oz becomes, 12, 14... 4. Is this in my control (am I stretching), or is this healing and normal? 5. Why am I hungry - is it psychological bad habits or physical healing and ok? 6. I have no problem getting enough protein, but are carbs still the enemy, or calories, or fat? 7. Macros, Keto, Calorie counting - academically I understand them all. I cant reconcile the conflicting info. Even my Doc and my nutritionist seems to differ (though they obfuscate to be respectful of one another). Anyone in a similar phase of this process with insight on this part? And tips: 1. Least harmful desserts that have worked for you? Mathing things our has been getting me a little crazy. I have gotten back to espresso/lattes lately, which I find to be a filling snack, but even with skim milk: 100 calories x 2/day x 7 days per week = 1400 calories = almost half a pound a week. Same with the 100 calorie dessert. Thus, if the I'm doing the math right: I am basically eating a neutral calorie amount at this point - evidenced by lack of meaningful weight loss. Avg 1/2 a pound a week for the past 10 = 1750 calorie deficit per week = 250 calorie deficit per day. Does that mean I am a skim milk latte and an apple a way from not losing weight. Then any excess is gain!?!? I think all I have left in my arsenal is more exercise, which frankly, doesnt seem that probable. If I liked the treadmill, I would be on this forum now would I? Welcome thoughts & feedback! Thanks all!

Hello All, I'm anxious and pretty excited about my upcoming surgery! 🙂Counting down the days...Just 9 days left! I can't believe it's almost here! When I went in for my final dietician appointment today she told me that my BMI was in close range that I may have been able to forego the 5 day liquid diet but it didn't happen. I still have to do it. No worries...I am prepared for it. For those that have gone before me...Any tips or suggestions to make it easier or more tolerable? I assume preparation is the key! Any tips and for day of or post op surgery pain relief? Praying that everyone has great success with their surgery and weight loss!❤️

This is so true. My surgery date is 3/2/22 and it has been a long journey getting here. I have all of these feelings as our weight loss may change relationships. I have been in much prayer that all will go well. Be blessed.

I was "fortunate" that I was too large to fit on a home scale (or most doctors scales) so I could only weigh at my Doc's office at follow-ups. As a result I didn't see any stalls or phantom weight gains, so the scale never messed with me, so I was never tempted to "change things up" to get the scale moving. I just stayed on plan. Eventually, when I could weigh at home, I did it for a couple weeks until the novelty wore off, then I went back to only weighing at follow-ups then only annual physicals. You don't necessarily need a scale for success. My weight ruled my life for so long that I resolved after surgery I would stay on plan and let my weight take care of itself. Good luck, Tek

It's not about your scale, it's about your body. A woman's body often undergoes abrupt changes that are sometimes difficult to explain. It is in such cases, I am very helped by my smart scale https://www.amazon.com/Vont-Smart-Body-Scale-Black/dp/B08XYX8RDR/, it allows me to track changes in my weight as quickly as possible. I understand that it's sad to lose weight when you've gained muscle mass. Treat it as a feature of the female body, because at the time of ovulation and menstruation in our body changes.

Good morning, in pre-op. Made it through the 2 weeks of clear liquids. Went from 270 to 255 during the time. Look forward to getting my pre-weight before weight loss become a problem. So glad to be part of this group. I know I’m not alone. May God bless us all.

It's very early days, your body is still in recovery, weight is going to be all over the place. It's only been three days since you've lost some scale weight, you are not going to lose weight every single day and three days doesn't make a stall. Give yourself a break from the scales, don't weigh yourself for another few weeks.

Hi guys had my surgery 02/02, start weight was 21.9. I got down to 20.9 before my op on the LRD. first week weigh in after surgery was a loss of 8 pounds and this morning week 2 I’ve lost 3.5 pounds. However I got on the scale Sunday and it showed a 3.5 pound loss then, so in 3 days the scale hasn’t moved and I’m still on liquids? what do we reckon, I’m going to be a slow loser? Or I’ve hit the dreaded 3 week stall early? thankyou.

Yeah, honestly many people are less observant than we give them credit for 😂. I told a few very select people after surgery, a few months out. Every one of them was shocked, and believed I’d just been losing weight because they saw me exercising a lot and being mindful of what I ate. Like…yeah, that’s me doing my part to make the surgery successful. At this point I’m at a stable goal weight and lost a bit more than 175 lbs over the past few years. I’m still glad I limited who I told.

I had the same thoughts today, now I have lost it how do I keep it off and how do I stop worrying about regaining. I am having a hungry day today and I haven't even got to my goal weight yet

Unfortunately their dad is the only one who should be watching them since any friends and family would be going with me to the spa 😂. I will get there eventually. The clothes thing is kind of crazy. I just pulled on a size 10 day for the first time ever (down from a size 28). They were a tad tight but the 12s I have are too loose. The tens fit 🤷🏼‍♀️ My mom was a bit concerned that I need to watch myself that I’m not loosing “too much weight”. i have my one year appointment next month and I cant wait to tell my surgeon how much I weigh. I feel so much better now and it is amazing how clothes fit so differently (in a better/more comfortable way).

Your surgeon could mean tablespoons. 3 level tablespoons is 1/4 cup. I was advised 1/4 to 1/3 cup to begin slowly increasing as I was able. I could eat barely eat a cup by goal at 6 months. Maybe they were referring to the losing weight phase? I do eat more now: the recommended serving size or a little less depending what I’m eating. I eat more vegetables though: 1-1.5 cups steamed vegetables, 2 cups shredded lettuce. My soft food stage ended at 6 weeks so you’re plan could be similar. I was still able to eat yoghurt & ‘soft’ foods like eggs, casseroles, soups etc. but introduced more solid food as I was able. I was low carb but that generally came from rolled oats as a low processed, whole grain & then incidental carbs like in vegetables. I wouldn’t have reached my protein goals without yoghurt every day (I gave up shakes once at the purée stage). The no crystal light or other flavours could be because your surgeon wants you off artificial sweeteners as well as sugar. Artificial sweeteners still feed your craving for sugar & many cause irritation & allergies. I’m just trying to suggest what your surgeon may be thinking but the best answers are going to come from them. Explain you’re confused because what the dietician is telling you is different & you’d like to know their reasons for the recommendations they’ve given so you understand.

Congrats on 100+ pound weight loss. How are you doing maintaining progress?

I'm rooting for you. Hopefully you'll see some movement soon in those last 45 pounds. How does it feel to have lost the weight that you have so far? Im hoping that you've celebrated that progress.

I have a half cup of sugar free chocolate jello pudding each day. I mix in protein powder and use fairlife milk so that it’s 15g of protein. It doesn’t mess with my weight loss and helps me get closer to eating enough.

Our surgery center said not to worry TOO much about some added fat, like cheese sauces, right away, because we are eating so little. On the other hand, we shouldn't eat high amounts of fat like in Keto because that can increase the risk of galbladder issues as you are rapidly losing weight. I eat cheese and sour cream and butter sauces on things I eat at restaurants and I have to eat out a lot for work. I also can't eat tomato sauce because it upsets my stomach (my whole life, not related to surgery). But try different things to see what works for you.