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Hi Everybody, I'm 5 weeks out from surgery and walking for exercise. Today I did 5 miles on a flat surface at a 17 min/mile rate. The balls of my feet are extremely sore. This has happened in the last couple weeks several additional times. My shoes are either Ryka or ASICS and are in good shape. I'm no stranger to walking, I've just upped the intensity and distance since coming on board with WLS. Am I walking wrong? Maybe my gait is still at my higher weight? I don't have flat feet or plantar fasciitis. My feet are normal and average. My heels are fine. What could this be? Anybody have this happen to them too? Thanks for your input.

I just wanted to share my progress. I had RNY on May 19th, so not quite 3 months. I have lost 40 lbs thus far. It seems as if the weight loss has been slower than expected, but I have noticed a difference in how my clothes are fitting. I assumed my clothes would start looking better bc of the weight loss, but now have too much material in the waist area, making me look wider... I won't complain about this it gives me an excuse to go shopping. Unfortunately, my hair is changing for the worse. The texture is more straw-like, and it's noticeably falling out. At this point, I am taking Biotin, and looking into alternatives to cover this up while it re grows. Overall, I am very blessed to be able to tolerate almost every food I have tried post op. I still struggle with getting in all my proteins/fluids, but that will come I just wanted to ask-- what are some examples of Vitamin regimens y'all do? I really feel like it must be a mental thing but I Cannot stand taking pills. I tried chewable gummies Vitamins and those were getting to me disgusting to me too..Id love some examples of how people space their meds/vitamins. Here is a pic of my day of surgery, and of my current status. Thanks so much

For me variety is the key. I have a couple of core exercises, push-ups and knee bends, two sets of each, 2-3 times a week. Otherwise, I walk and run with kettle bells, bodyblade, walk through theme parks (I live in Florida), swim, bicycle with granddaughters, and anything else that seems fun. Moving is more fun the more the excess weight drops off. When you work off that last 40 you may be surprised about the difference it makes in the rest of your life. I have always dreamed about taking my old, experienced mind and put it in that body that I had when I was young. This is pretty close to it. P.S. My wife made a rare valid point, (kidding) lack of proper hydration can take the energy and motivation out of a person. Sometimes when you think you have it covered, you don't.

The port under the skin is super creepy especially when people lose a lot of weight, and belly fat. The older bands have really big ports which actually poke through the skin. Where my port was located is the most disgusting place on my stomach, and to this very day, I can feel the scar tissue popping even though they removed hoards of scar tissue around that area. My port had migrated, and I had tons of scar tissue not only in that area, but adhesions that stretched from the original site to where the port ended up.

Thanks for the info,the sweets was just one of the reasons I was leaning towards the bypass,I also have issues,high bp,high cholesterol and high triglycerides, was hoping that losing more weight will help those issues as well.

So at my last fill appointment my doctor opted to not give me a fill. He said my weight loss was going very well, and I may be in the green zone without any fills. The nurse however, told me I just may be swollen a little more than normal and to let her know if I started getting hungry. Well I don't know if its my head playing games or what, but I started Friday becoming very hungry, but at odd times. Also, I am still hungry after my 5oz of food and yes I am going my Protein first and minimizing carbs and whatnot. I have been able to subdue this with eating a pickle, a cup vegetables, or even a cup of air popped popcorn without anything on it. Weight wise I am still going down but at a slower rate than in the beginning. The other side of this is at 400 lbs I hurt my back pretty bad. I had been in pain everyday day of my life until just recently. When I hit 323 I felt like I was able to get up and down easier and since then I have been extremely active. I went from sitting and doing next to nothing everyday to being active 406 hours a day. Not so much exercising, but going outdoors and doing things I had not done in a long time like, gardening, mowing, and house projects. (has not mowed my lawn in over a year) I do work out with strength training 2 days a week, go see a personal trainer once a week, and do cardio every day now. My schedule also impacts my diet to as I work 330 to midnight at home sitting for 8 hours. I had got int he habit of eating after work along with my three meals a day before surgery and it is a fight every night lately. My wife thinks I should listen to my body and eat if I need to since I am burning so many calories. My sugar has been lower than it has ever been and the doctor took me off all my diabetes meds 2 weeks ago. I find myself dropping out in the morning and sometimes late at night. Has anyone else had these issues? How did you cope with them? Do I need a fill or is this just head games? Thank you for your responses!

I think it's pretty safe to say that this happens to all of us. :phanvan It takes awhile for the head to take in what the eyes are seeing. I am at goal but there are days when I think I have gained it all back again and only by pulling on a pair of size 10 pants and having them fit without getting a muffin top do I know that, yep, I really have lost a bunch of weight. :straight Cheer up, it seems that the head has an even harder time losing weight than the body does....! Weird, eh? :bounce:

Lift weights.

SEX!!! Of course If i relied on that I would still be 330 pounds... lol. I always do my weights first, followed by hard cardio. By the time I am finished I usually need help getting to the car.

I feel bad habits creeping back into my world! (late night eating, mindless eating, overeating sugar etc) With all this candy around, it's hard to focus and on my goals. My kids would kill me if I got rid of the candy (and I don't want to deprive them so that they go crazy later on in life like I did) so I try to remove myself from it. Somehow, when I get back home at night, it is right there again, talking to me.... I am 8 mo post op and have a hard time getting a nice piece of fish down (I gag and get sick afterward) but carbs and sugar go down nicely. I've hit my goal however would like to lose another 5-10lbs for the "just in case I gain some" factor. Anyone have any great ideas?

Have you been overweight your entire life? Have you tried structured diet plans and workout plans and continually failed? If so - and you're battling additional health problems due to the excessive weight then clearly this may be the route for you. Try not to psyche yourself out of the losers bench.

Hello all, I found a great thread on another forum that addresses a weight loss stall that happens right after surgery. One of the people described it as the "dreaded 4 to 6 week post op stall". Just seeing that someone referred to it that way made me feel better before I had even begun reading. Several folks on this site have also had this problem (myself included, It will be a month on Monday and no weight loss since my 6 pounds the first week) and I have received alot of encouragement. But I didn't find as many people who experienced the stall right away and/or that had a very small weight loss so I went searching on my friend Google. As a matter of fact (sorry for the aside), a few people suggested that they had never heard of a weight loss as low as mine in the first month. I assured them it was possible and said other people on this site have experienced it and worse. Anyway, I digress. I am unable to place a link to the thread because an error message comes up telling me the administrator won't allow it. But if anyone is interested you can do a Google search for "vertical sleeve weight loss stall" and the first thing that comes up has something underneath that says "stall after 2 weeks?" If you click on that you can see several things and it directs you to another place also. Worth the visit. Or it was for me. It had even had a follow up from the original poster several months (or maybe years) later where she verified that what she was told was true and it did finally end. Because I think that is the real fear. That somehow it will not end or we will end up losing 2 or 3 pounds a months for the whole time. Ok, done now. I am going to try not to visit this issue again as even I am getting sick of it. LOL Good luck everyone! I hope this helps someone!

I have only lost 25 pounds since surgery and been stalled with no weight loss for 4 or 5 weeks now. You are doing awesome. That stuff is horrible. It's so hard but think where you are and why you did the surgery in the first place.

When I read your post the words Appetite Control jumped out at me. That sounds like heaven! Appetite Control. But to me, Phentermine is something different. When I think of Phentermine I think, stimulate. And what will happen when you stop being stimulated. Your system will slow down and you will gain weight. It is a vicious cycle. Some people are strong enough to stay out of it , others get sucked in without even knowing it. Please be careful.

:thumbup::ohmy: I went over the weekend to some stores in search of spring clothing until I reach my goal weight I wanted to refresh my wardrobe..I hate these plus size clothing anymore..Its more incentive for me to stay on the right path... Fashion Bug Gitano jeans dont feel right..they are huge in the thigh area...I carry most of my weight in my stomach.. Marshalls Have brands I never heard of and they have apple bottoms jeans that look terrible TJ Maxx nevermind.... The Galleria @ Crystal Run Middletown NY All of the clothing stores..aeropostale..gap..hollister..aerie and others dont carry plus size... I hate walking in the food court and the chinese place is handing out samples..ugh...sorry I had to vent!!!!

Just wanted to make a post about my new found confidence... I think it has to do with people starting to notice my weight loss. I don't mean this in a vain way, but I love when people tell me my face looks thinner, I look healthier and happier. It encourages me to keep making the right choices and staying on track. Also, I'm surprised at the complients/attention I'm getting from guys. Hear me out--- I am not saying this because I think I'm drop dead gorgeous, and I know I've lost only about 1/3 of what I want to lose, so I've still got a ways to go. But I think that since I feel happier and healthier, it gives you a glow on the outside! What a great feeling. I hope it continues! I hope you are all feeling gorgeous out there... male or female! We work hard to get healthier with this band, it's nice when people acknowledge it!

I really needed a Kick in the ass to get me back on track. Was having trouble and got away from everything I knew I was supposed to be doing. Tried to justify it because I was still exercising but the scale wasn't hearing my excuses. I felt like crap when it was time to go for my appointment, embarrased to go in and show a gain! Had to go back to the beginning- tracking everything Im eating and drinking, keeping track of when I ate so im not drinking to close together, no carbs, everything like I just got my band. Also I changed my exercise- signed up to run a 5k, etc. Hard to find the motivation but you can get there_ Good luck

You've done far better on the band than I ever did -- I lost just 40 lbs and gained it back over 6 years. It just didn't work for me to curb hunger, at all, and I had horrible reflux. I'm only 1 week out from the conversion to sleeve, but I feel the sleeve has a more natural feeling when I drink (havent' eaten yet). I don't have to force it down my esophagus like I did with the band. But the big thing is I'm not hungry like I was with the band. Really barely hungry at all on 600 cals/day! Maybe you'll find it easier to lose the rest of your weight. Of course it's your decision, but I think you'll do great with the sleeve.

I was banded 2009, lost 70lbs but gain all but 10lbs back. Congratulations on you success with your band. I had alot of trouble with my band it slipped and was consistently throwing up. I converted my band to a sleeve in one surgery 4/10, that's just the way my surgeon does it. I'm happy with my sleeve I'm down 31lbs. Good luck in what ever you decide to do.

I've been in the same boat - I had cancer in 2010 and got down to 130 and was really skinny, but I confess, I loved it. Had treatment, got better, and managed to keep the weight down. But I kind of let it go - I'm sure some of it just has to do with being healthy and completely better again, but truth is, I did stop being so strict. And hello 12 lb. I'm still only a BMI of 21. But I feel absolutely horrible and it has thrown me into obsession with food. Which leads to overeating for me. The stricter I try to be, the worse I get. I'm sooooo tempted to do something like this, but I fear the backlash if I don't stick to it! In truth, I know for me, if I say to mysql "ok, I'm a healthy weight, I'm not going to try to lose" then I will probably stop eating crap and lose weight. I just need to accept that the super hot jeans that fit me at 130 just aren't my regular size and trying to stay in them sans muffin top is unrealistic! Perhaps I'll go jeans shopping tonight after work. Or perhaps I'll buy the 17 day diet book, lol. Hmmmm....

Well I finally managed to get in and see my cardiologist and boy am I NOT happy. Why? Abnonrmal ECG he didn't exactly say what was abnormal about it but he now wants a heart cath done. BUT there are problems with that. Because of my large belly they can't go in through the groin, (BUT he did say something about the possibility of having my belly removed? Have to see where that goes) So they will go in under the arm. We sat for a extra hour while the nurses played phone & fax tag. Since I had M.R.S.A before they wanted to get ahold of the records from 2002 saying I was cleared from it. But that wasn't possible. So tomorow I have to go and get a nasal swab done to be sure. Only when that comes back can they actually schedual the heart cath. Since its a culture test it will be 72 hours before they get back anything. The doc wants more testing but he says at my size most of the tests can't tell him much. One of the reasons he said something about getting my large stomach removed. He was pleased that I want to get the band and mentioned possibly having both done at the same time. But he had to see just what was goin on with my heart first. Also durring the cath they will be doing some imaginging. I also start the patch for quitting smooking too soon so life sounds like its gonna be a trip for a bit next week. Gotta take a 30-45 minute drive to the center where they want to do the cath at. I REALLY hate driving into Indianapolis. Seems the older I get the more nervious I get riding in the car, interstate/city driving utterly freaks me out anymore. FINALLY got a accurate weight though. 6-months ago I was 440 today was 424. So there has been some loss. Just not as much as I would have liked. But I now also know of place I can go to get weighed durring daytime office hours if I need to, another office in the cardiologist building has a full blown wheelchair type scale. Dad is in the hosptial atm we have the same cardio doc. Hes gonna have a cath also and possible stent replacement. In the morning. He started having chest pain last night. He is 82 now and had several caths. Doc was trying to warn me that dad is increasingly more negative and vocalized to him that he was ready to be done with life. I told the doc yea I knew he had started talking like that 2+ years ago right before they had to put him in the nursing home. At the time we were living with him but he refused to follow his doctors orders and refused to let me help him with much. He was already talking like that then. So for really close family this is nothing new. But I could tell the doc was spooked by it. He really does care about his patients. So thats it. I now have 2 docs that care (FINALLY) And want to help me improve my health so only good can come from that.

Well I will go in for my third fill tomorrow, 60 pounds down and around 90 more will be my goal, it is hard that my husband does not want me to have another fill:faint: because he said that I don't eat as it is, but I do eat and I can tell that when I get to a halt in losing weight it is time for the fill, I just wished he would have had the surgery with me, he tries to lose weight but his will power was like mine before I had the surgery non exsistence:angry but now since I am losing weight I am not sure if he feels thereated or what, because he sure does not need to be because I love him unconditionally......:kiss2:

I need to be a little lighter on myself. But as usual I am beating myself up for what's wrong with my life. So, no referral faxing yet....and even though is shouldve happened last week. Maybe this week it will happen. So, Ive been thinking about how being overweight has held me back in so many ways.... No husband at 35 and I cant help but think now that because I never felt worthy..(being fat) that I never opened myself up to expecting or expecting someone to fall for me. I'm tired of sharing my bed with someone who doesnt desire more from me, and hold me up to sociey's standards of beauty and not being fat. Tired of being judges downward because I ate and what the eating has caused. Feeling less than because society says that I am. I held myself back socially because I didnt want to be compared to women of a lesser size. People think that I am really outgoing but that is all a front. I have a great smile and that is what I have hid behind all of my dating or lack of dating life. I have found myself going after men who were either not available or not "ready" to commit even a courtship with me. I hate myself for dragging out those relatonships that were doomed from the start. Being told all of your life that you have a beautiful face and being sufficed by that alone. It is getting old hearing that. And because I diabetic and high BP, I feel that I have unintentionally sabotaged myself, as I turned to food and overeating every time. As I lay alone in my bed at night, I wonder what if anything I would do differently if I had a real chance at life, I would not hold myself back and try new things. Poeple who have lost the weight that held them back , not only look differently but tell tales of a new lease on a bad life.... I pray that I get this surgery because I feel that its my turn...before I get too old for babies, love and a healthy life.:glare: I want so much to be in love with myself, and yet, I cant because I know that I havent given myself a real chance at happiness. Sorry, If I am depressing anyone reading this...just venting... So tired are my tears...:thumbup:

I did 6 weeks, no cheating about 4 years ago in a medically supervised weight loss program.

Still on a slow recovery. Today I can finally stomach my vitamins. I already got in 8 oz. of water (only been up for 2 hours) and am shooting for 64 total for day. Incision pain isn't too bad except on right side where I hurt myself from dry heaving so much. I'm only about 3 lbs down since day of surgery. 13 is a lot! I gained about 6 right after while in hospital I believe from fluids. But that went away fast. I am also feeling a bit light headed and dizzy I think it's from not taking in enough water first couple of days. But I think I am good on that now. I'm looking forward to continuing to improve. I'm still very tired but I think once I start eating more that will improve as well.