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Congrats on the weight loss 👏🏼 My program sounds quite similar to yours - As in we can have almost anything we can tolerate including rice, pasta, bread etc. I just don't eat them much right now. May incorporate them later on. We just don't have much focus on calories. Focus is more on serving sizes and protein/fluid intake. Don't have any numbers for carbs or fat intake either. Only thing is how did you manage to eat 1200 calories post week 4? I am almost week 9 but I still can't manage to eat more than 750-850 calorie range. Either that or I need to figure out how to incorporate foods high in calories 😂 Only calorie rich food group in my diet would be cheeses I suppose. But I also don't wanna overshoot fat intake. How was your fat intake first few months?

It sounds like you're heading in the right direction. Congrats on the contiuned weight loss!

I follow a girl on YouTube who is on a weight loss journey and she does Grocery Haul videos and she says it's very good.

Which app is that? I started using the Baritastic one months ago but it doesn't seem to tell you what foods are good or better options like the one above. Just logs food, weight, etc.

Hi. My surgery was on 28th of September. I weight 220 pounds (100 kg) in surgery date and I am 5’7 (172cm) tall. My goal weight is 149-157 pounds So far I am down many clothing sizes and about 52 pounds ( 24 kg). So 10-15 more pounds to go to hit my goal. I have not lost any weights for 2 weeks now. Getting a bit stressed by that. I do Pilates and weightlifting 4-5 times a week and I am active. I walk a lot and use a bike more then the car. All of my blood work came out great, and I am eating enough protein and so on, but I just found out that I have inactive thyroid and possibly fatty liver. That came as a bit of shock to me. Does anyone have experience with thyroid problems ?

I'm in about the same boat. Starting weight (on day or surgery): 300.5 Current weight: 305 Eating regular food but have completely stalled for nearly 3 weeks now. Have been walking up to 2 miles per.dsu, 3.times per week. Would do more.byt this darn RA flare is killing me.. But I know when I lift, I lose fat .

Today I am 5 weeks 1 day post op and I have to weigh and measure weekly as per my surgeon and nutritionist. Today is that day. I’m loosing 2-3 pounds a week and I’m 70 pounds from goal. I’m on regular food now except crackers raw veggies etc. I’m just bored and not interested in food. Here’s my stats - I’d love to hear how you Dec surgery buddies are doing! I get to start the gym on Sunday! I’m walking 3 miles a day around the house right now. So ready to go to the gym and see if I can start loosing more than 2-3 pounds a week!  SW 227 Current weight 195 Inches lost total 32 5’6” my height 52 YO Sleeved 12/22/2022 Stalled for 14 days 10- days post op

I live in Burnsville, Minnesota and was wondering if anyone else lives in Minnesota. If so, which weight loss center are you going to? I am going to Ridgeview Weight Loss Center.

February 28th here! Atlanta Georgia. I started this journey July 2021 @330. I finished my requirements by October, now at 304lbs. Labs, EKG, Insurance approval all good thank the Good Lord above. I have advanced Osteoarthritis so I need to lose some weight before they’ll do any knee surgeries on me. So now I’m just waiting for the day to come. My surgeons preop is 2/8.

I’m no longer pre diabetic. i can walk now (I was wheelchair bound practically and walked with a cane prior to surgery along with a huge plastic leg brace). my kidneys are functioning better than they every did. migraines: I still get these. Nothing changes there. high blood pressure: I now have the opposite problem. My blood pressure tends to be really low. Hyperparathyroidism: still a problem. gout: I had a flare right after surgery but my uric acid levels are almost within normal range now (I will have to take meds for this forever. This is a family thing and won’t go away no matter what weight I am) All in all my doctors have all told me how I have saved my own life by making the decision I did. They refer to me as the poster child of success for the reversal of my conditions and the fact that I went from being in a wheelchair to walking without problems.

Excellent progress pxt. And great top too. Shame it will be swimming on you so much soon you’ll have to consign it to the donation bin. 😉 Congratulations on your weight loss so far.

I have a sleeve but my liver function was off too - much higher levels. My cholesterol increased as well even on my very low fat diet. Some of it is because of the hormones, toxins, triglycerides, vitamins, etc. being released from your fat as you’re losing. It’s why some develop gall stones after surgery too. (I did ☹️.) Once I stopped losing, my cholesterol dropped back to it’s usual levels (had always been consistent regardless of my weight for decades) & my liver function returned to normal too. My surgeon & GP did more blood tests (almost every month) & ultra sounds to ensure nothing was untoward while I was losing & until everything stabilised again. Wouldn’t hurt to ask for additional tests just to ensure there isn’t another reason too.

Yep, erratic & changed periods post surgery is quite common. As you lose weight, oestrogen (& other hormones, vitamins, toxins, etc.) stored in your fat is released into your blood stream. I’m menopausal & after surgery my symptoms disappeared. Yay! (Though on HRT I still had break through symptoms before surgery.) Unfortunately they all came back when I stopped losing - no more oestrogen being released from my fat to offset what want I wasn’t producing anymore. ☹️ I questioned my surgeon about my HRT absorption because a much younger friend was told she’d have to find an alternative to her pill. My surgeon said taking the pill or HRT was not an issue with a sleeve. But it all depends upon where your pill (or any medication) is absorbed. Check with your surgeon or prescribing doctor to be totally certain.

Hello All, Sometimes it is nice to know that you are in a group of the "world's best" at something. It is my opinion that we are the world's best at losing weight. I do not mean to imply that once we have had bariatric surgery, we are good at losing weight. I am willing to say that, prior to your surgery, you have lost (and gained) tens and tens of pounds over your lifetime. You have tried at least six or more diets and you were probably successful in losing a significant amount weight on each of them. I have done this too. The problem is we are world class weight gainers also ...ugh! Thankfully, we have weight loss surgery to help us eat fewer calories. However, each time we lose weight, we must face the "STALL." You know, that period of time when we don't lose weight even when we think we should. Everyone dreads these time periods. If you are interested, I would like to share with you some information that has helped me over the years to overcome and understand stalls. First, I am not a doctor nor am I offering any sort of medical advice. I am simply trying to provide you with information from my own personal experiences. You are free to believe or not believe. Every single person is different. If you know something that works, please share. I would love to learn from you. Until then, here are my thoughts. Vary your exercise routine. This is pretty simple. One must understand that we come from a long, long line of survivors. Just think, there is a very good probability that several of your ancestors survived the black plague which eliminated almost half of the population of Europe. Over time, our bodies have learned to adapt to new "challenges" so to speak. Here is a secret to assist weight loss: YOU MUST CHALLENGE YOURSELF to avoid your body's natural ability to adapt and become more efficient to your routines. If you are doing any kind of exercise, you will need to vary this exercise every few weeks. For instance, I am currently using an elliptical machine for cardio. Every two weeks, I change my routine. I went from just moving for 30 minutes at any speed for the first two weeks to adding intervals of going as fast as I can for one minute and then slowing down for three minutes. I have also changed the interval times. For example, I went fast for 30 seconds and then slower for two minutes for a period of two weeks. Next week, I will be changing to a stationary bike for cardio. In a few more weeks, I will be heading outdoors for walking/jogging, etc. The point is to change it up so your body must adjust to new challenges. Build muscle. These are the facts. Muscle burns more calories, even while resting, than fat does. Did you know that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson eats more than 5000 calories per day? The man is a beast and definitely is not fat. He is able to eat so much because he has a huge amount of muscle mass. That muscle burns a lot of calories. Check out what he eats in a typical day here: The Rock's Diet. I wish I could say the phrase "build muscle" and, magically, I would build muscle...*sigh* Until then, I must incorporate strength training the old fashioned way. I lift weights. At the moment, my routine consists of body weight type of exercises, pushing and pulling. My goal is to preserve as much muscle as I can while losing weight. I want to burn the maximum amount of calories possible...even while sleeping. YouTube has many, many videos to help just about anyone. Keep track of your food intake. I measure my food and keep a daily log. I know how much food my stomach can hold and I do not over eat. But my personal opinion may be different than yours when it comes to caloric intake. Personally, I cannot live for the long term on 800 calories per day. Many of us were/are eating about 800 calories or so per day after surgery. I have no plans to eat only 800 calories per day for the rest of my life to maintain my goal weight. Therefore, I have increased the number of calories I eat per day. At the moment, I am eating around 1500 calories per day. I am about six weeks post surgery. The bulk of my calories comes from protein. I try to add calories to my day without adding a lot of volume to my stomach. Here are some things I do in order to add calories. Once per day, I drink a protein shake instead of water. Also, I will add the following ingredients to meals throughout the day (not all at the same time, mind you): olive oil, avocados, sour cream, cheese, mayonnaise and peanut butter. These are generally healthy fats which allow me to consume more calories at every meal. I try to eat approximately 400 calories three times a day and then supplement with a few snacks in between meals. I typically eat 5 to 6 times per day. Set realistic goals. If you do not know, one pound of fat is 3500 calories. To lose one pound of fat, you must create a deficit of 500 calories per day for each day of the week...500 calories x 7 days = 3500 calories lost. Create a deficit of 1000 calories per day and lose two pounds per week. 1500 calories = 3 lbs. per week. This is the idea...a 500 calorie deficit per day equates to one pound loss per week. A typical male burns about 2000 to 3000 calories per day (typical female: 1600 to 2400.) You can play with these numbers all you like but the reality is: it is very hard to lose a large amount of fat in one week. Last week I lost three pounds. I believe that this result is fantastic. That loss is a 10,500 calorie deficit for the week (equivalent to NOT eating 37.5 Snickers Candy Bars.) I believe this is a heroic effort on my part...I celebrated with a quiet "YES" and a fist pump while standing on my bathroom scale. Fist bumps to all of you who have shared the same win. NOT an exact science. Things change. There is not a perfect formula. When you lose weight, you lose fat AND muscle. This is NOT avoidable. No one is able to lose 100% fat. It is not possible to do so, therefore mentally prepare yourself for some disappointment. If you do not have strength training in your schedule, you will lose more precious fat burning muscle than you would if you incorporate strength training. Either way, you will burn fewer calories per day when you, eventually, weigh less. It makes perfect sense. At 300lbs. you may have burned 2500 calories per day. At 250lbs you may only burn 2200 calories per day. You were bigger so you burned more calories. Therefore, it is harder to create a calorie deficit when you weigh less because you are burning fewer calories. Again, this concept really sucks but it explains why we lose less weight as we get closer and closer to our goal. Okay...so this turned into a much longer post than I originally anticipated. Some of the words above make it sound like I have it all figured out. But alas, no. I have issues too. I gained over 100 lbs. in the last six years eating pizza with extra cheese and trying to diminish the world's supply of beer. I am somewhere in the early stages of this particular weight loss journey. My goal is to make this my last weight loss/gain journey. I truly wish all of you the very best life has to offer. The struggle is real and I know, like me, you are fighting every day. I look forward to all of your comments and learning from your experiences. Best, AnotherGuy

Hi, Amy. Congrats on your weight loss! Real Good brand makes a frozen chicken crust pizza.[emoji4] Sent from my Pixel 3a using BariatricPal mobile app

elevated liver enzymes are common the first year or so after surgery, even without Seroquel. Rapid weight loss is really tough on livers. Mine were high that first year and then were back to normal sometime during year 2, when I was at or near maintenance.

I had a lot to lose (175 lbs) but I went with the sleeve anyway. I ended up losing all the weight. Either surgery can be great for you, it’s just a question of what you want and what your surgeon recommends. I liked the “simple” nature of a sleeve, and I knew people who had gotten it and had great results. A bit over a year later I am still happy with it, still maintaining my full loss. I don’t have to take bariatric vitamins anymore, I just take standard vitamins from Costco now. Honestly there are some valid medical reasons for one over the other but if those don’t exist it’s just a matter of preference and both are great surgeries that can be super successful for you.

I got a DXA scan, assumed I would lose 5-10% of my muscle mass, and picked the weight based on wanting to be below 20% body fat. That end goal changes as my body comp changes, but I guessed 240 and I was exactly on target.

I had fruits in smoothies pretty early out but I waited a while before having whole fruits because I worried about seeds and skin. A lot of programs introduce fruits and veggies earlier though. Dr wiener who is a surgeon who wrote a couple books on eating for weight loss and weight loss surgery is one that starts fruits and veggies earlier.

September 14 here. I am down 78 pounds since surgery and 87 since the start of the pre-op diet. Weight loss has definitely slowed as I replace fat with muscle, but it's nice to be able to buy clothes and have choices again.

Yes. I have had a stressful couple days and dreaded getting on the scale cause I thought I would’ve gained and I actually lost. Weird.

Yup! Sometimes eating more, for some magical reason, definitely triggered weight loss for me.

Thanks everyone for the great advice. I also reached out to Halo Top and got a less than helpful response just telling me the difference between ounces and fluid ounces. The most useful responses advised to check the grams per serving on the container which I didn't even think of - the serving size on the one I've been eating (Cookies and Cream, yum) says it's 3 servings of 2/3 cup each and then in parentheses 88 grams which is the key. One ounce in weight is equal to 28.3495 grams, so 2/3 of cup in weight is equal to 5.33 ounces which on the scale would be 151.103 grams. So by using the scale and measuring straight ounces (4 ounces) I'm getting 113.398 grams which is actually greater than one serving. To get one serving I should be measuring out 3.104 ounces which equals 88 grams in weight. Or at the very least I should be tracking it properly if I continue to do a 4 oz serving.

yes - it's related to the surgery. It affects your hormones. A lot of women experience screwed up menstrual cycles (and/or have weird moods) for the first few weeks or months after surgery. Estrogen is stored in fat cells, and the theory I've read is that it's released during rapid weight loss (don't know if the latter part of that is true, but it IS stored in fat cells, and lots of women DO have hormonal issues after surgery because of it). It'll eventually stabilize and things will be back to normal. I don't know the answer to your second question, though.

Hi all, Hope you are all doing well. I am 5 weeks post-sleeve and take the pill as contraception. I take this back to back and don't usually allow myself a period (this is totally safe). For the past few days I have been experiencing heavy painful bleeds, do you think this has anything to do with the sleeve or weight loss? Does the sleeve have any bearing on how medication (the pill in this case) is absorbed by the body? I would appreciate any help/ advice! Thank you!!