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I went from an 18E at about 200lbs to a 10E at 108lbs. I remember I was a 12F/G at 132lbs. (Bought a few new bras as I thought yay goal. I didn’t even get to wear all of them before they were too big. Sigh!). I wish they were a little smaller in the cup as I still have trouble getting fitted tops and dress to go around them at times. You know buttons gaping and trouble doing up side zips the last 2 or 3 inches. Yes, your frame will influence what size looks better on your body. Friend had a reduction to a 14C 2 yrs ago. She has a large frame and was about a size 18/20 Aust dress size & 18E bra. I felt they looked too small on her broader frame and size. Now she’s on Wegovy and losing weight so her smaller boobs should start to be more balanced I think. But I do agree with the suggestion to err on the side of going a littler smaller. Padded and push up bras can make a noticeable difference if needed. And it’s easier to find a wider range of prettier bra styles & options. Plus if you’re active, it’s easier to find more comfortable sports bras if you’re a smaller cup size than those large cup overs that feel like you’re all bound up & restricted.

Everyone is different. I am almost 6 years out. I made it to my goal weight about 1 1/2 years after surgery using the Fast Metabolism Diet for the last 6 months of that. I went back up 15 pounds but my body is happy here. I have never thought about calories. I have always concentrated on how many ounces I eat at a meal. I never go above 3.5oz total. 2oz protein & 1.5oz. I also eat 5 times a day. 3 meals & 2 snacks like cheese or fruit. You have to figure out what works best for you.

Yea well if you get an honest picture you may find that you have been losing all along on even higher calories than you think. We are definitely not all the same with what our body requires even if we could do the exact same in terms or activity. So many things play into our metabolism that I’ve seen people on here who can maintain their ideal at as high as 2500 calories and others that have to maintain at like 1200. Weight loss calorie requirements are probably just as varied. How is the activity going? Have you started any new cool classes?? I did a PIYO class that was pretty fun. It was at a local gym that has a day rate for people who don’t want a membership and it was only $5 which is more than I pay for YOGA but it was something different and it was on a Saturday so my friend got to meet me. I am actually thinking of doing a tai chi class that’s also at my community center. The Beginners class is at kind of an inconvenient time for me Is what has stopped my from trying it already but I can make it work I guess since it’s not forever. The regular class time works better for me. I figured if I like it I may do yoga one day and tai chi one day then as soon as I can get back to it I will do cardio two days.

I love what mom said that is so true we can be hard on ourselves....in other bariatric groups I belong too, I noticed a mindset amongst many that they were never satisfied. I will not be adopting that mindset and was glad I could listen in on groups early post op...I feel it's so unhealthy to never be satisfied with weight loss. Once I obtain my goal weight f**k it I am then in "maintenance" mode and I will allow myself 10 pound fluctuation. I'm not interested in loosing more after the goal weight. *it's unreal how much poop in the colon weighs..3,5, 10 pounds lighter

I agree with catwoman. Better to wait until your weight is stabilized to get the best results. You’re younger, though you may actually not have a lot of extra skin. When I did my sleeve, I did not have a whole lot. Honestly, you may find that if you wait a year that you don’t even need it. If not, you can save your money for when you’re older and you really need something done

"I mean all the hoops that are required for weight loss surgery, I haven’t done anything like this for any other surgery It really feels like discrimination. How is it that in this day and age they are still getting away with it.?" I wholeheartedly agree. I think about this when I think about skin surgery not being covered by insurance because its "elective" "plastic surgery" yet transitional surgeries are covered and "elective". Both are to help with how we see ourselves, what our inner selves are, our mental health! The differences are one can cause bad rashes, difficulties wearing clothing and getting around/exercising, back pain/skeletal pain from excessive hanging skin weight and is caused by treating a disease. The other involves self perception as well and can cause mental distress, yet is readily covered by insurance and yet involves "healthy body parts." To me it IS discrimination, why cover one without question but not the other? Heck, transitional doesn't even require therapy now. Both are major changes in a life. I always got the impression insurance companies refuse to cover skin surgery because we "brought it on ourselves" opposed to it being an actual symptom from a disease. I have rosacea which is purely a visual thing yet its covered, as is acne, warts etc...all covered. Yes, they're cheaper to cover, but are a disease that's visual that's covered they also won't cause a secondary problems. They will even cover breast reductions for back pain, why not excessive skin for back pain? I personally found no worth to the therapy session, I knew and know what caused my obesity and what I needed to do to get healthier. Some may not. It should be voluntary or required if people start to back slide gaining weight after surgery but to me beforehand was pointless. It would have been more helpful to cover the changes in your life that would be happening. Yes, I was also required to do a group session with ppl who had gone through it or were..but it was a structured topic put on by the dieticians. Perhaps if they offered mentors or group sessions for dealing with life changes..that would be better..ppl who've gone through it, not someone schooled on what its supposed to be like..that would be better opposed to a size two I've never battled with my weight therapist/dietician!

Hello, all! I had gastric bypass on December 29th, so I'm only 6 days post-op, but I hit my first personal benchmark of losing 20 lbs since my 2-week liver shrinking diet pre-surgery today. If you are a visual person who is still on your weight loss journey or are looking to gain muscle, I wanted to share an awesome FREE app that helps track your progress visually and automatically takes measurements for you. It's called Me°-Three-Sixty. (No waiting for a partner to take your measurements or trying to do it yourself while holding one end of the tape measure awkwardly in your teeth or armpit.) As you continue to take scans, you can compare two scan dates side by side, both visually and with measurements. The measurements are approximations from taking a front facing and side view photo, but as long as you are consistent in where you stand & distance from the camera, the progress will be the same but may differ from actual tape measure. I took a scan pre-surgery and then took another one today. The app calculates the change in inches and percentages between any two scans. You can also use the slider tool and see what your body might look like with a weight gain or weight loss up to a certain pound percentage. Anyway, I thought you might like to try it out while you have something to compare a "Before" photo and it can still be in an anonymous way. I also loved Baritastic app, so if you know of other awesome apps we could benefit from please drop them in this thread!

I use the Nutracheck app and I can add my own recipes with weights & nutritional value of each ingredient and state how many servings it makes. I can then use either the portion size, the full recipe or specific weight used. So for your turkey meatballs I would state the weight/nutritional value of turkey, peppers, onion, marinara etc and say it makes 16 portions. I don’t know if this helps!

Hello everyone! I kind of disappeared during the holidays but came back by to poke my head in and see how others were doing. Seems like most of us are plugging away at this 'getting healthier' thing. Reminder (and FYI for any who read this and didn't know) I got the SADI surgery, which is the intestinal revision with the sleeve all in one go initially. This makes me feel extra obligated to update for some reason - maybe because I had to dive so far into my journey to find this option and how eager I was to hear about the results from others. So - my surgery was Sept 5th, and I lost 10 lbs in my pre-surgery liquid diet, which I had for one full week. On the day of surgery I was 352 and now, about four months out, I've lost right at about 70lbs. The weight loss has slowed a bit as I found my balance but I'm still losing 1-3lbs per week on average, about 7 lbs lost in the last 30 days. I got through my weight loss stalls by eating more, as I was only getting around 500 calories per day for a while as I maintained ketosis, with VERY few carbs. That was nice, but my energy was lacking. I shifted to included more fruits, veggies, and upped my protein from 60g per day to more like 75g. Now I get around 900-1200 calories per day, try to really focus on getting my water for the day, and angle for simple protein snacks with a small carb total when I get hungry. I have found cottage cheese to be a life saver as a replacement 'side' - and stirring it into my salads gives the salad more bulk and makes it easier for me to feel full. Eggs are not quite as weird for me as they were for a while - I still prefer boiled eggs over scrambled or fried. I do aim to get at least 5k steps per day and usually make that goal.I definitely slacked on exercise around the holidays and did snack more than a few times on things I shouldn't have. I feel lucky that my intestinal malabsorption keeps me accountable for poor choices. I have gotten the foamies once - and have overeaten like three times by a few too many bites. I feel like my relationship with food is much healthier and am far more likely to cook now as opposed to grabbing greasy garbage food. However your path feels like it's going - this is a great time to correct the course if it feels a bit off track. Your bodies are working for you, and you are working for those bodies! Kudos to all of us for taking these steps to a healthier lifestyle! Remember, too, that no one day of slipping up is going to sink you. As I said to my perfectionist son the other day - an A in school is 90%-100% (generally, anyhow!) so it's still an A even if you slip up one out of ten times ❤️✨

Sending you good wishes for your Brest check and that they find nothing untowards. Hoping it just is finding out more about your breasts since they’re likely smaller and you can feel things more easily now. I remember finding a hard lump as I was doing a self check of my deflated breasts only to realise it was a rib bone as I felt around more. Congratulations on your continued weight loss and getting into the next stone bracket. Yay! And yes, I’m for a little Christmas treat too. Enjoy your dark chocolate and have a most wonderful Christmas. PS. You’re not alone in feeling a bit flat about Christmas @NickelChip. A few friends and I are feeling the same. Can’t be bothered putting up a tree, hanging a wreath on a door, …Can’t blame it on the cold, or the heat in my case. Just a bit bah humbug. Though we had an early Christmas dinner with my younger brother’s family last night and watching his children (7-14yr) be so excited about opening their presents did boost my spirits. Oh & we did a little drive around to see the local Christmas lights. Hope wrapping your gifts will brighten your Christmas too.

One thing I forgot to mention is that I also decided to just tell the women at my yoga class a vague version of what I am going through. Not because I am seeking attention or pity as some people may believe but because the doctors told me that with the first phase of chemo I need that I would no doubt be losing my hair and not to even torture myself trying cold caps because they wouldn’t work for me. I didn’t want to have to miss any days trying to hide that when it was inevitable that they would find out anyways. I can’t wear a wig to yoga without dying of heat stroke even if I can find one that doesn’t irritate my head and won’t fall off doing downward dog. Also, I have to wear a mask until class starts and I’m at my mat and far enough away from people. Also, with the chemo i do get a little dizzy at times and physically I have to take a tiny break once in a while which doesn’t go unnoticed I’m sure. I just decided that I have no clue what is going to happen with my body in days to come but I’m going when I can and doing as much as I can. I’m not missing something that is good for my health, weight loss journey and that I really enjoy just to try and keep something a secret. I have spent enough of my life hiding because of my weight and I have finally broken free of that. I’m not going back in that dark place ever again. I am usually a pretty private person so it was a big choice for me with sharing about the bariatric surgery and now with the cancer, but so far I am happy with my decisions for both. I just told them that I don’t want them to make a big deal about it that we are there to relax and do yoga, but I just didn’t want to feel awkward wondering what they must be thinking so I was just getting it out there. It was partly because I did the same with my revision surgery and it has worked out positively for me. With the sleeve I didn’t tell anyone outside of my best friends and that wasn’t successful so with the SADI i decided to try something different. I told the women in my crochet group and the one craft group because I have known them almost two years now (but not the one I joined more recently). They do ask how I’m doing or congratulate me on my weight-loss and ask what I’m eating and about my exercise, I briefly answer but then I will say enough about me we are here to craft and ask what they are working on today and that seems to work pretty well. So with yoga, now, I hope I can just walk in with my hat or wig and take it off before class begins and do my thing and when I take more an more breaks they will just ignore me. I’m sure it will feel really weird for me the first time when I’m bald because it was when i had to go really short and I was thinning with a head band covering most of the bald spots but everyone already knows about the elephant in the room now and hopefully we can just focus on YOGA. Food for thought for those with the decision about cancer and for those on the fence about whether to tell about their bariatric journey as well because people who see you once or twice a week notice things and they are probably wondering. It has worked for me to just rip off the bandaid and move on.

haha! girl I gotchu!! From what I read you work out a lot so if your comfortable with weights then lift heavy! I do anymore from 40 to 110lbs depending on the workout. I workout lower body 3x a week! Here are some examples of workouts I do! Also you can totally ask, I am having so much fun seeing what transforms my body lol. I have more written down in another book, but if you want more lemme know!! I have great upper body ones too! Still working on the abs lol I haven't found anything that has helped a whole lot, but with the workouts I do now my core is pretty strong. This is my quick lunch workout paired with 30min of cardio 4 sets 8-10 reps Leg Press Seated Hamstrings Seated Leg Extensions This is my tried and true for a booty pump: Cardio: Treadmill 12+ incline 3+ mph 30 min (don't hold onto rails) Back Extensions 15 reps no weights, 15 reps with weights, 15 reps with the heaviest weights Bulgarian Split Squats Heavy Weights 4 sets of 8 each leg Walking lunges Heavy Weights 4 sets of 8 steps turn around and walk back 8 steps Hip Thrusts Heavy Weighted 4 sets of 8-12 reps This is a machine only: Start at highest weight for 2 sets then finish at last set with 10 reps at heaviest weight, 10 reps at medium weight finish with 10 reps at lighter weight Back extension Glute Kickback Machine Hip Adductor Hip Abductor Leg lift Leg curl

Brachioplasty six weeks out now. Still putting silicon gel on incisions BUT started wearing these compression sleeves last week that really help sequester the pain especially in the daytime. The throbbing, burning and uncomfortableness are still there - but the compression helps numb the intensity. Many surgeons do not use them for this procedure since they can open up the sutures. I waited 4 ½ weeks for them to heal better before I sleeved. Keeping busy with light housework, cooking, holiday cards, planning for holidays and the 30th anniversary gala for Spring 2025! It will be fabulous, and really planning something special for hubby after his patience, loyal loving care in this 2019 - 2024 weight loss journey + saga now with the arms! Like SSS, by far the worst. I do not take any meds all day accept for Arnica, then a Tramadol at night to sleep. I definitely think I will be an 8 - 10 week heal time girl.

I too am a fast eater, always have been. When I was at my highest weight I would eat so fast that I would get horrible indigestion pain on the right side of my stomach that would last 4 days. I still struggle with this, not nearly as fast as I used to be but I mentally need to remind myself to eat slower. During my first weeks post op I would set a timer for each bite, it took me ages to finish a meal. Nowadays if I'm really hungry I'll eat my first two bites really fast then my restriction reminds me to slow down, I almost always end up eating less that what I need to because of it, and then feel hungry again an hour later.

Jamielogical thank you for your inspiring words of motivation I had the VSG about 3 years ago and regain weight to the point I was thinking there is no way to get it back off. After reading your story I have the motivation I needed to not give up the fight and reclaim myself.

@Arabesque was that test invasive. I’m curious to know if my NP thinks I should get a baseline too. It was at first just my triglycerides that were up a bit but during my last pre op labs the other cholesterol numbers and my sugar were elevated a bit too. She said it was my weight starting to catch up with me and it should go back down post surgery but you know how they tend to assume EVERYTHING is because of weight. I get that it does cause a lot of issues but my Mom has high cholesterol too and I’m getting older so it’s possible it also just genetic and my age catching up to me.

Hi guys, my name is Anna and I'm really glad I found this site. I received approval from my insurance earlier this week, there's just one x-ray needed and then I will be scheduled. My mom had the same procedure over 2 years ago, but she's more of a cautionary tale of what not to do. I have friends who have had it done as well. The hardest part of this process for me has been giving up cigarettes, and trying to lose weight on my own. I started my umpteenth weight loss journey November of 2022, and finally went back to see my moms doctor in January of this year, after chickening out a couple times before. No matter what I've done I have no been able to get below 300 since 2016. My highest weight was 374. The smallest I've been is 230 in my 20s after losing 70 lbs and keeping it off 2 years. Right now I'm chilling at around 340, have been for almost 2 years. I love the gym, I love swimming, I love being active. But I have a lot of chronic pain from back and neck issues, as well as arthritis and between that and depression, it can be hard to get out of bed some days. Last time this year I had just finished a 16 week fitness challenge at a local CrossFit center, where I learned to do a real push up, deadlifts and other strength and endurance building exercises. It was great, and I got down to 315. Then the program ended and about 25 lbs reappeared out of thin air (psych, I know lol). I am hoping that this tool is the missing puzzle piece I've needed. I know how to track, how to measure, how to diet basically. And I know how to exercise. What I've struggled with more than anything is portion and hunger. It's hard to stay in a deficit when your stomach feels like it's gonna eat itself if you don't put enough food in it- That being said I do know I want to focus on protein and fiber for fullness, and I'm working on eating smaller and more frequent throughout the day which is helping some. I guess I'm as ready as I will ever be. Am I the only one who has struggled with being a bit depressed about it all? Like I am mourning the loss of so much, including my stomach and the ability to indulge in a meal. I understand I still can, but it's not gonna be the same having a jr popcorn at the movies, when i had a good portion of a large gone before credits were over- ya know? Like people who don't struggle with their weight take a lot for granted. My whole life I've been big, and it has always felt like a punishment I didn't do anything to bring about. And society punishes you for being overweight/obese/plus size. Part of me feels like cutting out a part of my organs is another punishment I must endure because I am fat. I hope this makes sense, and these are just fleeting thoughts and feelings, mind you. I have a wonderful counselor I see weekly, and we have talked about this, among other things. But I wanted to bring it up here because I am wondering if anyone has struggled with this line of thinking? And if so what are some good things about the process to focus on? I know the outcome of the weight being gone and my appetite under control, and I want those things very much. But it's the actual surgery and the discomfort I know is coming after that trips me up. Thank you all for taking the time to read this, and I wish you all well ❤️

I absolutely can relate to this, and I so wish I could hug you right now. When I was younger (all the way until I had my son at age 20) I was thin and athletic. That's all I knew, that's all anyone knew of me. As I started to gain weight, the looks and attention changed. And I wanted to disappear. I saw the stares and looks, heard the comments and whispers and laughs. I felt every jab, every comment, every insult. Then I lost all the weight and I look like I did in high school again (I mean, like LITERALLY I do...so weird) and things have reverted back to the way they use to be. And it really hurts because I have something to compare it to. Definitive proof that I "fit in" and I'm "accepted" when I'm thin and fit society's idea of what beautiful is. And it makes me angry and hurt and frankly, pissed off. I have a really hard time accepting compliments from ANYONE who knew me when I was originally thin, and fat, and now thin again. It just doesn't feel genuine.

My B-12 levels are right where they need to be. I have systemic lupus, which has always caused anemia. I actually have wrist and ankle weights, so I'll try wearing them and see how things go. I didn't even think about it, honestly. I'm just nervous about burning more fat and calories before I build any muscle. I haven't mentioned it yet, but besides my butt being flat and flabby now, I literally have almost no muscle there. When I sit on anything, I have to be careful because I'm literally sitting on bone. Actual bone, and it hurts. So I have to do this carefully.

Hi everyone! Sorry for the information dump, I'm just incredibly overwhelmed right now and would love to hear any experiences you've had. I've been talking with my surgeon about all this. I just need to get some thoughts from other people who've been through it. I'm in my 20s, autistic and ADHD, and got the SADI early May. It's been 5 weeks. I've basically failed almost every instruction (except to lose weight, I've done great with that! I've lost over 30 lbs post-op). Like protein shakes. I'm very lactose intolerant, and intolerant to several fake sugars, AND allergic to yeast (which is in every soup known to man). After surgery I became intolerant to every fake sugar, even stevia. The three shakes I had managed to tolerate became intolerable post op. Two have things that burn my insides now, and one just makes me puke because it tastes gross without too much sugar for me to tolerate. So I tried a bone broth and then eventually foods (in line with the stages) to try and get protein. Lactaid didn't work unfortunately so no cheese, creamy soups, ECT. Meats are hard to tolerate. Eggs are ok, and vegan Greek yogurt, but after eating anything consistently (like every day) it makes me nauseous. I wasn't picky before surgery, and actually had a protein shake daily, so I wasn't prepared to find food I tolerate literally vomit inducing after a few meals of it. I have massive food aversion now. I get nauseous anytime I think of food, or smell food, though I manage to find something to choke down with my pills so I don't get more nauseous. I've tried to force myself to eat/drink things, but it always ends in dry heaving at best. Its mental, I'm sure, but I liked eating the same foods pre-op so that's confusing for me. Water was fine when I was in too much pain to sleep and had all that extra time, so the first week, but now I'm mentally and physically exhausted and want to sleep a lot. Or even just lay down, and with the GERD that means not drinking while laying down. With all the meals and the not drinking around them, I get 40-48 oz of water a day. I'm not exercising (another ding) so I don't actually seem to be too dehydrated? But once I hit the 40-48oz I stop being able to drink, even if I stay up 2 extra hours to get some more down much more slowly. It just makes me nauseous past the amt mentioned. I don't know what that's about. Also intolerant to the anti-nausea pills btw. For some reason they make the nausea worse and give me stomach cramps to boot, yay. There's more issues, but that's the gist. There's so much to juggle, and it seems like everything I try to fix my issues leads to nausea. How do you do all of this? And not go crazy? And please tell me it ends soon?

I definitely know I lose weight in my upper body before my lower because I’m all hips and thighs; I have been since I was a tween. So when I have lost before, it took me 40lbs to drop a pant size. I just want it to happen already!

soooo question:...why do you think you need to be in the 1500-1700 range if you are maintaining fine in the 1800-2000 range? logic would dictate that you would lose weight given your current exercise regimen if you dropped cals...are you looking to lose more weight? or maybe decrease activity levels? if so, then yeah dropping down a few hundred cals would do the trick. but if not, then why try to fix something that ain't broke? I am a good 7 inches shorter than you and i maintain with 2300 cals a day...been at this level for about a year, and my weight has hovered around the same number +/- 3lbs the entire time. i don't count nor manage macros anymore, but a quick glance at MFP show that i'm well over 150g of net carbs every day this week and protein about 80g more or less; as for exercise, from what i've read from your posts we are probably about the same activity expenditure range. you wont "ruin everything" if you keep on top of things and watch whats happening (which sounds like what you are already doing), if you do that you would have plenty of time to adjust and make changes before it all goes to shite. you're doing great! keep it up

I agree it’s more of a volume consideration than mass. Also agree with checking in with your team for their recommendations, I was advised 1/4-1/3 cup from purée slowly increasing to about a cup at 6 months. That was pretty much all I could manage too. That was me. You could be very different. I never considered the actually weight of what I ate until I was in maintenance and working how much I needed to eat though I know some are given weights from early on.

So many awesome WIns this week ladies! My win for the week is keeping moisturized and hydrated. I will share this for neck, face, under eye! It is heaven! I love a good face routine. While loosing weight it's important to focus on our neck as it may start to droop! Well we have to focus on our entire bodies! So many changes!