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weight loss slows down a lot the farther out you get. My first month I lost 16 lbs. Then for the next six months or so, I lost 8-12 lbs a month. After that, I dropped down to about 5-8 lbs a month. And after the first year, it was like two lbs a month. This happens to almost everyone. The closer you get to normal weight, the slower and harder it is to lose. I remember going to Weight Watchers meetings before I had weight loss surgery. I used to mentally roll my eyes at these women who were only slightly overweight moaning about how hard it was to lose 10 lbs. Yea - right. Try losing 100+ lbs. But now I totally get it!! btw - I agree with the above poster. If you're straying too far from your clinic's plan, then get back on it. Track everything. If you're committed, you WILL continue to lose weight. I lost for 20 months.

I had my surgery August 3rd. My surgery weight was 270. I am currently 243. 27lbs in nearly 6 months. I kept track and followed all of the rules until my 3 month follow up. I got scolded for not losing 50 pounds and I just felt so defeated and angry.

We have the same surgery date. I have also gained some weight back. I hate to blame the pandemic but its affected a lot of people. I lost my job and depression set in. I went back to drinking diet coke. It's my downfall for sure. I too have wondered if my stomach has stretched out. I've had a lot of health problems. Back pain. So I am very limited of what I can do for excercises. it takes everything I have to get a shower. I want the last four years back. I turn 52 in a couple of months but feel like I should be turning 92 lol

I’m really struggling with whether to have a panniculectomy. I keep hearing and reading that this isn’t a cosmetic surgery, which I understand, but does that mean I should expect a hack job? The doctor is the weight loss surgeon, not a plastic surgeon. I’m still overweight and I’m not expecting a perfect body, but the fact that I keep hearing it’s NOT cosmetic is making me wonder if I’m going to look lumpy or something afterwards. He mentioned potential “dog ears.” Any experience you can share? Would you do this? Recovery is long! I just retired and want to live my life! But I sure would love to be rid of this thing.

I’m in the same boat. The holiday season threw me off. I will also admit to getting tired of feeling cold and tired, so the extra treats during holidays kept me toasty. I’m trying to get my weightloss groove back without being too extreme. So I looked back at my logbook. I loose weight when I drink all my water. I got back into it this week. I loose weight when I track my food. Still working on that, I was doing well half of this week. I know I can do better next week. I know I loose weight when I plan my meals. Gotcha, that took more effort and shopping but I did my planning and prep. Ok now I remember I loose weight when I switch my exercise up instead of the same old routine. Gotta plan that, think heavier weights, new class, new machine at home? What else could help me/you? Maybe more micronutrients, or vitamin D, or a phone call to friends or family, or a hobby to keep those hands busy, guitar, or crochet, a massage, I don’t know what makes you feel fulfilled or relaxed but I’m going to try them. I’ve lost 115lbs since Sept. 2020, but only 43lbs since surgery in Aug. 2021. I’m 5’4 or 163 cm and I’m half done with the weightloss phase. Oh yeah, my co-workers told me of an ax throwing place near me because people are so angry at covid, they go to this place to throw axes at stuff in a room! I also heard of a place that lets you smash stuff for 30 minutes for a fee. There’s pumpkins and dishes and stuff like that there. I like going to baseball batting cages and hitting balls, but they’re closed in the winter. Start googling ideas!

I got surgery around the same time as you. I've lost 70 total, and that includes 11 lbs during pre op. To me, your numbers seem good especially considering you also started at a lower weight than I did. I had two months where I lost 8 lbs each month, which was disappointing but only because I had overly high expectations. 8 lbs is still 8 lbs gone and not a gain. I actually had to add more calories into my diet, and that jump started my loss rate again. Having said that, you mentioned gorging on sweets, cakes and food. Are you tracking? Do you know how many calories you are actually eating? If you aren't tracking, then a first good step would be to start doing so, as accurately as you can, to see where you really are at and then determine steps to shake things up.

Hi Peeps, I had my Gastric bypass (RnY) on Aug 17. My stats are as follows. SW: 302 lbs Height: 169 cm. CW: 227 lbs. Total lost: 75 lbs Exercise: Walking 10km daily However, I'm feeling I'm not losing fast enough. Plus I've fallen off track with the festival season...been gorging on sweets, cakes and food. Just lost 8 pounds since November 15th. I'm worried that I'm going to ruin this. Any tips on how to lose faster as well as break this food addiction...can't seem to stop eating and feeling guilty after. Would really appreciate the help. Please help guys! Thank you.

There is not a way to shrink your stomach. Although I doubt you really stretched it. It sounds like your not necessarily eating too much food at one sitting but rather eating the wrong foods and perhaps even eating too many times a day?? If that’s the case you just have to go back to your weight loss plan and eat on plan foods. IF your stomach is “stretched” that doesn’t mean all hope is lost. It can be done without the restriction. I have been able to physically eat more than I am supposed to at every phase of this process for some reason so I just have to measure my food and eat what I’m supposed to and that seems to be working. Yes, I do tend to want to continue to eat until I feel that full feeling but I know I really shouldn’t so I stop and in a few minutes I do tend to feel satisfied (I think that part is a mind thing).

If you have a sweet tooth and that is what is causing the overeating and possibly the weight gain, consider stopping all sugar. For many people, if they do not eat it, they do not crave it. Some people find they need to give up fruit and artificial sweeteners too, but I didn't find that personally. Keep the sweets OUT OF YOUR HOUSE! If someone else in your house NEEDS sweets, have them eat them somewhere not around you and ask them to put them in a certain cupboard that you don't go into, or keep them in their car or something. Probably you have not stretched your stomach. You don't need to "shrink" your stomach (and really, there is no way to do that). You need to find a way to avoid the foods that cause you to overeat. Can you distract yourself when you have a craving? Talk a walk, watch a YouTube exercise video, take a hot shower/bath, read a book, color, etc? For many people, once they wait an hour by distracting themselves, they usually can make it without eating. You may also consider meeting with a therapist who specializes in eating disorder, or call your original surgery center for help. I have noticed that not everyone has these options, but you do have the option to avoid sweets (I have a sweet tooth too, so I understand!) Good luck!

Hi y'all! I was sleeved December 08, 2021. Surgery Weight: 263 Current Weight: 231 Obviously I know I won't continue to lose at this same rate in the upcoming months but getting such a huge head start has been such a motivation. The struggle will come when I don't see those same numbers and I'm just going to have to remember that slow and steady wins the race. Even though weight loss has been great thus far my energy has sucked. I'm meeting my liquid and protein goals daily and taking a bariatric multivitamin. I don't know if it's just that I have a very active job (Bartender- lots of lifting, squatting, stocking, walking- usually 4-6 miles a day) and I'm currently consuming only a third of the calories I used to....or if its just my Hashimoto's flaring up with all the stress on my body of late, hoping things begin to equalize in the next few weeks though. Being this tired all the time is a real bummer.

I got the sleeve in October 2017. I was down 135lbs and it felt great. Last April I started to gain a little back. I wasn’t surprised since I wasn’t being as strict as I had been. Unfortunately, it has snowballed and I have gained 35lbs back. I feel like I never had the surgery and my sweet tooth is out of control. Could I have stretched my stomach out back to the size it was? How can I shrink it? Help! Any advice is greatly appreciated.

I got the sleeve in October 2017. I was down 135 lbs and it felt great. Last April started to gain some back. I wasn’t surprised since I wasn’t being as strict as I had been. Unfortunately, it has snowballed and I have gained back 35lbs. I feel like I have totally stretched my stomach out. I need more food to feel satisfied and my sweet tooth is out of control. Is it possible I stretched my stomach so much that I feel like I didn’t even have the surgery? How can I shrink it? Can I? Help! Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I’m a no potato person either (my dad was a potato farmer & is rolling in his grave). First they weren’t allowed on my plan through my weight loss phase. They’re a starchy vegetable & unless you burn off their calories after eating them they’ll turn to fat very quickly. On the coupe of times I’ve tried the odd bite or two in the last two years, I find they sit heavily in my tummy too.

Based on the study conducted by the University of Michigan, the average weekly weight loss of gastric bypass patients is around 5 to 15 lbs for the first two to three months. It starts to taper off to 1 to 2 lbs a week after six months. You should know that the rate of weight loss depends on the individual’s age, health, and starting weight. In addition, weight plateaus occur during the weight loss. However, if it lasts more than 6 weeks, then adjustments should be made. It is best for you to work with a dietician during this period.

I don’t take Paxil but I do take a mood stabilizer and an antidepressant so I asked about meds and i was told that with sleeve typically it is only the extended release medications that cause issues. Of course there is always the outliers so you should stay in close touch with your doctor if you don’t feel the same but typically dosage will stay the same. After they lose weight, some people are able to reduce their dosages of antidepressants.

So sorry to hear you're having these problems. If you haven't seen it already I'd suggest watching Dr Weiner's Youtube video about alcohol use after gastric bypass - the video and the comments are very interesting. Judging by what he says it seems that gastric surgery can trigger alcohol abuse, and that the same amount of alcohol will affect more strongly after surgery. He suggests that zero alcohol after gastric bypass is the best way - maybe keeping no alcohol at home at all? You're definitely not alone. I've been teetotal for nearly 35 years - I just wasn't interested in drinking alcohol at all - and I found his video a few months ago because I was trying to work out why all of a sudden after surgery I was craving an alcoholic drink - it's bizarre! The last thing I expected. But you've already overcome the food addiction and lost loads of weight - you can definitely overcome these cravings. Stay strong - life has been so rubbish with covid, but hopefully we're coming out the other side now.

I had gastric bypass surgery December 6 2021. I regret doing the gastric bypass surgery. I haven't seen any significant weight loss since I did the surgery. I'am not losing anything I'm not happy. I feel like I wasted my time getting the gastric bypass. I'm eating healthy but nothing is changing I feel stuck.

I was always underweight and never had a problem my entire life. 5 kids and still perfect weight could eat whatever until 2018 I was in a bad accident had emergency surgery on my neck and was on steroids for a year. Got up to 245 - 100 pounds heavier than I had ever been. I went raw vegan and lost 20-25 pounds then Covid hit and I was scared to eat raw vegis. I live in the Rocky’s so really can’t get outside year round and we moved in the middle of nowhere and I couldn’t go to the gym every day. I have myself this year to get under 200 and I tried and tried. Ended up with type 2 diabetes and Sept 1 I said enough is enough and called a weight loss surgeon. The rest is history. I’m hoping this works I miss riding horses, bikes, hiking in the mountains and all the things I loved all my life. This was not an easy choice for me but my dad died of type 2 diabetes at 59 he was thin and active. He had 2 brothers that were juvenile diabetes. It is strong in my family. I want to be here for my 5 kids and 6 grandkids longer than my Dad was here for us. I turn 53 next month. My husband of over 2 decades wasn’t happy with it but in the end he supported me and stayed with me 24/7 in the hospital. He has been my biggest supporter and tells me daily I’m a hottie. I know it was hard for him to have this athletic wife who was active and thin and see me almost die and watch me struggle like I have for the past 4 years. I’m so glad we have this group because it helped me decide that the sleeve was the best choice for me l. This wasn’t about vanity or the easy way out this for me was a choice to live or die. I want to live and this will help me get there and be here for my loved ones.

This is good info. I know my hormones play a huge role in my weight even now. I have an unrelated question, if you don't mind me asking, when were you able to drive?

I still have some boobage 🙂 but they're not perky and round like before. Now they're pitifully droopy and saggy and sad. 😞 Well, maybe that's got more to do with my advanced age rather than the weight loss. LOL! :-0

UPDATE: So as per my Nutritionists suggestions that I listed above in my last post, for the last 3 weeks I've been strict with logging my daily food intake, keeping my protein AT LEAST 60-70 grams a day and my carbs around 50 and my calories around 800. I've also been trying to keep my water intake up. In the beginning I was unsure of what exercises I was gonna do. I was trying to think of things that would work my entire body, help build muscle (esp. in my legs and arms), but also wanted to do cardio. Combining all that was also a suggestion of my nutritionist. She didn't want me just doing cardio. Last week I made sure to do the treadmill and/or exercise bike several times a week. I also contacted a trainer that I saw online and asked for some advice based on my situation and he in turn sent me some info and suggestions that he said he has all his clients start off with regardless of their abilities. So this week I started that program. It consists of 3 days (Mon, Wed, Fri) of weights and in the first week and one day of cardio for 25 mins. The reps and sets stays the same for the weights for the 4 weeks, but the cardio is slightly increased as the weeks go on. By week two I will be up to 2 days of cardio for 30 mins. But to be honest, I plan on doing the cardio on the two off days from the weights starting in the first week. Maybe more. I've also been tossing in some work with weight bands. Anyway, prior to all of this I was consistently weighing in between 246 and 248. Despite having gotten down to 241.2 on Oct. 25th. So since sticking to this I did get down to 239.4 on Dec. 19th. HOWEVER, I have been consistently weighing in each week since, between 240 and 241. So, the gap from my lowest weigh in is at least a lil closer than what it was doing before. But still not sure why I'm not actively just losing still when I have at least 50-60 more pounds to go! My nutritionist said she wanted to see me if things didn't improve after a few weeks so I'm unsure as to whether I wait it out a lil longer or contact her now. I may wait since I just this week finally got some sort of exercise program going. The first two weeks after talking to her I did not so I wanna give it some time. Oh and, last month when I checked my inches on Dec 4th, I had only lost .25 since the previous month. That was it!!! Well yesterday when I checked my inches I had lost 3.7 more (two of which were from my stomach and breast)!!! So, maybe things are starting to go in the right direction again and I should give it a little more time. I am hopeful and sticking to the plan. Guess we'll see.

I’ve gone through all that and then some! I had anorexia which turned into bulimia when I was a teenager so I weighed myself obsessively. It was an instrument of absolute torture and it breaks my heart when I read about others struggling with scales as well. Please don’t let it get to the point where it has that much power over you that it begins to negatively affect your life. Nothing about the semblance of control you feel you are grasping at when obsessive weighing starts is any sort of actual control. Your body does what it wants and your weight loss is happening regardless of you weighing yourself so often or not. It’ll only drive you crazy and make you unhappy. I’ve been ordered by my surgeon to only weigh myself once a week (forever!), and have been able to stick to it. My husband knows about my history and keeps an eye on me as well ☺️ If you or anyone else would like to chat about this for some support, please do let me know. 💕

It;s very typical for weight to fluctuate on a daily basis, if someone can't handle the daily fluctuations they should weigh weekly or monthly. The daily fluctuations are not fat gains or loss, they are typically related to temporary fluid retention gains or losses. As long as the long term weight is stable (if goal weight is reached) or the long term trend is downwards (for those in weight loss mode) its all good.

14 days post op today I just can’t believe it has already been 14 days! I finally started loosing again. I did a 4 day stall. My sister had bypass 25 years ago and her daughter did too 5 years ago thank god because even though I had the sleeve I don’t know what I would do without my sisters help and wisdom! I am down 11 pounds since surgery which my sister said is really good especially since I only had 80 to loose preop. I guess I am more impatient than I had ever realized lol I hope everyone’s doing good - feeling way better today but my port site above the belly button still hurts a lot for some reason. - I am going to only weigh in and do measurements on Weds from now on. Btw - I was 41 inches in my waist preop and today I was 35 inches in my waist! I think I’m pretty sure where I lost most the weight from! Have a great week everyone!

If you just had the surgery a few weeks ago, you are likely in the 3 week stall. It happens to almost everyone. You will start losing weight again. As others have said, it's completely possible to lose weight and gain it all back. You have to follow the rules of the program, but the restriction is there to guide you... for a time. Hang in there! It's a head game as much as anything.