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Hi I had my op 3 weeks ago. I lost 5kg in my pre op so was over the moon and in the first week of the op lost another 6kg, but for the last 10 days the weight has fluctuated up and down by .5kg. I am following everything. Is this normal? Am i expecting too much? It feels a bit disheartening

It has been 7 months since I had my ESG procedure in March. What a weird ride. I guess I'm just posting this to muse on the situation as a whole. Wall of text time! Six Weeks of Suck A six week liquid diet was awful. It went in 2 week chunks and degraded over time. The first two weeks, it was amusing. I got to tell people what was going on! The first entire week I was basically sleeping anyway and took sick days, so it was just me, in bed, playing Pokemon Sword. A weird sort of vacation, really, even if half of it was crippling nausea and whining to my husband. The next two weeks was boring and a bit annoying, but I at least got to sip chicken broth and relish the fact that my food tasted like actual food. (I bought a jar of low fat chicken gravy at the store at one point and sipped it in the car while feeling like some kind of jewel thief having pulled off a heist. It was the best food I have ever eaten.) The last two weeks, I just wanted to strangle the doctors for not letting me eat solid food. Six weeks! People who have literal stomach removal have less time than that! But no, the surgeon said that six weeks was because the sutures are internal, and thus are constantly disturbed, so in a weird twist they take longer to heal than gastric sleeve surgeries. Did I mention basic recovery sucked for the first few days? When I came out of anesthesia, the doctors said I had been under for a long time, because I was just too sleepy to actually wake after I was technically conscious. They kept me until I could walk, which was way longer than they thought. Even walking down the driveway made me so tired I had to lean on someone. Going to the bathroom and back to bed was enough to take a nap afterwards. I had to rotate constantly to stop feeling nauseous or crampy. I emergency-called the doctors for some more anti-nausea meds because the first ones just didn't work well enough. Then, like magic, around day 7, it all stopped and I could get up and do stuff normally. Not being able to lift more than 15 pounds or whatever the limit was, was almost a deal-breaker. I work with heavy machinery a lot, but I saw that problem coming. My long-suffering (but kind) coworkers carried things for me. But at home, do you know how many things weigh 20 lbs? Stuff full of liquid is right out. A gallon of water by itself weighs 9 lbs, heaven help you if you have to carry anything else with it. My husband had to haul our pet food and litter bags, which we buy in 50 pound sacks because we hate having to shop a lot. Even normal grocery shopping bags can approach 15 pounds if you fill them full. When I was still exhausted, I had to get a very confused Target employee to help me carry a single bag out to the car. I'm sure this guy had no idea what was going on, with a 30-something woman shuffling up to him like an old lady and holding out a fairly light bag and asking if he would be wonderful and carry this to her car because she had picked up too much stuff and now her body was saying it was time to sleep right here on the floor if she didn't hand it off. Did I Cheat on the Diet? Yes. 100%. I absolutely cheated. I cheated like a soap opera spouse. Honestly, the lesson I learned was that this really caused no harm whatsoever. Probably a bad lesson, but in the end, it made those last two weeks bearable. The doctor said clear liquids only, but I added in pureed chunky soups, Greek yogurt, and scrambled eggs. I chewed for a long time and made sure everything in my mouth was blenderized into pure liquid, and I still ate incredibly small meals. But really, anything to get me off those fake-ass protein shakes. I didn't tell my team the extent of the cheating, but I never felt any pain, and I still made my calorie and macro counts. The first day I let myself eat tuna from a can was the day angels sang in my ear. I furtively snatched it up at CVS, a tiny can the size of one of those Fancy Feast cat food tins. I snuck it in the car and dumped the can in a recycle bin before my husband could see it and wag his finger. Oh, it was good. What I'm getting at is that I was losing my bananas during the last 2 weeks of that dang liquid diet, and I needed something to eat that felt like real food, or I was going to crack. I think this worked out. Have I Lost Weight? 45 pounds so far. From what I can tell, there is really no way to beat the "1-2 pounds per week" rule. No amount of surgery was going to take my resting metabolic rate of 1800 and somehow get 5 pounds a week out of lowering it to 1000 cal/week. I think all the "omg I lost 10 pounds my first week" is water and glycogen, no matter who you are, unless you're very obese. Water weight will get you early on. If you gain weight or have not lost weight even 3-4 weeks after the procedure, it's probably still water weight. There's no way your body can retain fat on 1000 calories a day unless you have a disease/disorder. You will gain weight abruptly when you start putting food back in your body. I'm shocked at how much food in various parts of digestion weigh. That said, according to the Mayo Clinic, food takes about 36-48 hours from entering, to exit your body. Think about how much you eat in 48 hours. Let's say, for round numbers, you eat a meal weighing 3/4 lb, 3x/day. So that's 2.25 lbs a day. 48 hours is 4 days. Before the meal on day 1 exits on day 4, you've put a total of 9 pounds of stuff into your body. 9 pounds! That's like 4 weeks of weight loss, supposedly gone immediately! But it's not. If, like me, your last weight reference was right before the surgery, you fully blasted those 6 or so pounds of food out of your system with the absolutely awful colonoscopy cleanse they made you drink. You know how much you ate at each meal before surgery, at least ballpark. Add those "phantom" pounds to your hospital weight, and you have your "actual" weight. So my actual weight was really around 260, not 251, because it was 251 with my entire intestinal tract scrubbed to a bile-yellow liquid shine. (Ew.) Basically, expect water weight to cover up early weight loss and food weight to cover up weight loss about 1-2 months in, depending on when you're allowed to eat solids. Frustrating Points I am still not particularly lower in my dress size. I have absolutely lost some inches, but it seems to be coming off relatively evenly, so I'm still a 16-18 in a dress. I'm frustrated, because part of the point of this was to fit into my old college clothes, but I expected to lose a couple of dress sizes in 45 lbs of weight loss. I still have a bunch of clothes sitting around waiting for me to be able to fit them. That said, women's clothing sizes are stupid, and I really don't know what my dress size was when starting. I thought it was 18, but I gained weight over the pandemic, so I have no clue anymore. Awesome Points I can eat what I want. Seriously. The physical size of my stomach limits me from eating a lot, but I can eat single meals, and usually they last me the entire day. I routinely take home leftovers now. But in the end, the food I want isn't fast food and pizza -- though to be fair, I still do eat pizza. I just eat way less of it. I don't have to optimize now, and my body seems to actually obey calorie counts now without getting hungry. I still eat pizza every so often. I still have dessert. I had candy on Halloween. I still don't eat salad. In the end, I feel like this was what I wanted: the ability to eat the food I actually like, socially, while having my body go in a direction I don't hate. I have actual hunger cues now, and I'm not constantly thinking about food. Would I Recommend ESG? I will tout ESG from the tops of mountains now. Some suck early on for a feeling of actual control over my body and a sense that I finally obey physics as I know it? Yes. Yes, please. I should have gotten this years ago. When my parents offered to cover weight loss surgery when I was like 23, I should have said "YES NOW" instead of "ugh why would you offer that?".

My weirdest thing was chairs. Like not having to worry about chairs in restaurants, the embarrassment of not fitting in chairs in a conference room at work, weight limits on patio chairs, etc. I can’t list how many amazing things have happened to me since I lost almost 170 lbs but every time I sit in a chair in the conference room at work and there is tons of room on either side as I sit with my legs crossed (another fun victory) it’s a reminder how far I came.

I have that when I eat too fast. Does eating slowly help? Did it just start or has it been going on since surgery/starting solid foods? But, it could be just from losing weight - I've had back pain since starting to lose significant weight and I've never had back pain my whole life.

This isn't about her, it's about you. Maybe this is her way of covering up her fears about you having surgery. Yes, there are risks, but the risks of being obese are much higher. Maybe she feels guilt for any role she may have had to your weight struggled (I am not saying she did, just that people have strange hang ups about things). Similarly, maybe she feels like you having surgery suggests something about her as a parent (again, not saying it does, just that people have all sorts of hang ups and this is one I can see being out there). At the end of the day, you know what is right for you. And, calling this the "easy way out" is just asinine. Seriously, would anyone say that to a cancer patient getting chemo or surgery? Or a diabetes patient who needs insulin? No, they wouldn't. The data says that long term weight loss of significant amounts of weight is nigh impossible without surgery. This is the best tool in your toolbox to get you to a healthier you.

6 July for me and doing well. Still have upper back pain when eating now but hey ill take it with weight gone. Started at 268 and now 192. Lost from 46 pants to 36 now. Loving all of this. Eating in stage three now and Jan. 2022 is my 6 month f/u.

Remind me, why is taking the easy way wrong? Think about any other aspect of your life where taking the hard way is considered a virtue. Every non-surgical weight loss program out there claims to be the easy way to lose weight. I've yet to read a Weight Loss Surgery program that claims it's the easy way to lose weight. I found my Weight Loss Surgery program to be the easy way to lose and keep weight lost. I found it to be the only way. Good luck, Tek

The further out I get, the more I adopt the attitude of Never Say Never. I have regular crap food in my diet. As I do healthier stuff (i love me some salad). I love food and can thoroughly enjoy eating in my much smaller quantities. Balance and portion control is key for me. I started eating bread again (the regular, non-keto, full-everything kind WiITH butter) about 2-ish years post op…and surprise, surprise, I didn’t implode. Warm, fresh bread is THE BEST (my Mr. is the bread whisperer lol). Now, I won’t eat 5 slices anymore, I’ll likely just have 3-4 bites (as it is very filling for me), but still. Other than excess sugar, I can enjoy a wide range of foods with no ill effects nor unintended weight gain. Im 3 years post op and been maintaining my weight consistently at 115-ish since reaching goal almost 2.5 years ago…non-healthy food choices (with portion control) and all. My most recent labs a couple weeks ago showed once again that i am the picture of health. I do understand that for some folks, some foods are triggers or potential starts of slippery slopes. I guess just know what your boundaries are and strive to stay within them. You may not be perfect, but u can be perfect ENOUGH. Indefinite denial and avoidance, especially if it causes you angst is a meltdown waiting to happen. P.S. For those early in the process, for me it helped to tell myself: “Not right now, but maybe later”; or, “This kinda sucks, but it won’t always be so”. Making peace with the fact that nothing is forever helped with accepting my present circumstance. and who knows? what u really want today may not even be on ur radar tomorrow or next week or next year. And if it is, you can always have it then. Good Luck! ❤️

a lot of women experience screwed up cycles the first few weeks or months after surgery because of extra estrogen (or so they say...). Estrogen is stored in fat cells, so it's released during rapid weight loss. For most people, it'll eventually stabilize. However, with your medical history and various meds, your situation may be more complicated than that.

I'm 6.5 years out. This is NOT easy. I was very successful with it, but it is NOT easy. I struggle to maintain my weight every day.

Have you reached out to your dietician? That is really not sustainable and could result in some long term health issues. I know its hard, I am right there with you, but you HAVE to take care of yourself and nourish your body well in order to be successful. At 200 calories a day, you are going to be rapidly losing lean muscle with is starvation, not weight loss. Please reach out for support!

1. It's a newer procedure, so some insurances don't approve it. 2. Not every surgeon does the Loop DS. 3. The surgeons who DO the Loop DS tend to have a guideline where you have to have a BMI of 50+ or two or more co-morbidities because there is a higher statistical weight loss at 70-100% verses the statistics for gastric bypass which is 60-80% (but this is just the statistical average. People can lose more or less then the average depending on if they work with the surgery or not). I chose the Loop DS for my surgery because I have hypothyroidism and I'm disabled so I had to rely on statistical average for my weight loss and the DS and Loop DS have the highest statistical average for loss. I chose the Loop DS over the traditional DS because of the diarrhea issues associated with the traditional DS since the Loop DS fixes that issue. Mostly. Also the vitamin requirements for both the DS and Loop DS are much higher. You have to take more vitamins and thus it's more expensive and you also have a higher protein requirement (80-100g protein a day for women or 100-120g for men) which, in my opinion, deters people away from the Loop DS or the traditional DS. I'm happy with my choice, personally. I was able to meet my weight loss goal and even went a little under it (I think I'm near maintenance, honestly. I lost 1 pound last month and only 1 pound the month before so... yep, very close to maintenance). My advice is to do your research, weigh the pro's and con's, and decide what YOU feel is the right surgery for YOU! You are the one who has to live with the surgery that you go with. Not your surgeon. Choose what makes YOU comfortable! Also, I warn everyone of this... they don't tell you, but any surgery with malabsorption (Gastric Bypass, DS, Loop DS) has a 3% chance of giving you either a wheat allergy or Celiac's Disease. I mean, it's UNLIKELY to happen to you as it only happens to 3 out of every 100 people, BUT my luck is terrible and I ended up with a wheat allergy. I mean, it's a blessing in disguise because it ensures that I can't eat fast food even if I wanted to, and it really forces me to think about every little thing that I put in my mouth, so I, personally, am grateful for my new allergy, but I still would have liked to be WARNED. So yeah, just so you know. It's unlikely, but there's a chance it can happen to you. Also, like most people will tell you, my only regret about my surgery.... is that I waited so long to have it done. I wish I'd done it years ago! If you have any questions about my own experiences with the Loop DS, feel free to ask!

So now that I'm down a significant amount of weight, I get more people telling me I look younger. Maybe because my face isn't all stretched out? I also notice that people are much nicer to thinner people than they are to fatter people. That annoys me (I am still the same person!) but it's just bizarre. Someone flirted with me the other day and it took me a while to realize it was flirtation.

I don’t understand why people who buy a gym membership get congratulated for deciding to improve their life & get healthier but you decide to have weight loss surgery, also just a tool, get criticised. I’m sorry your mum is not being supportive. You would expect your family to be your biggest supporter. My mum supported me but she did struggle with my eating. ‘I don’t know what food to get when you come to stay,’ was a frequent comment. Which was a combination of her not understanding my plan & not wanting to jeopardise my success. Like probably all of us, you’ve likely tried to ‘do it yourself’ & lose weight. Probably many times & also put the weight back on again. I certainly did. The difference this time was, with the help of the surgery, I was able to make sustainable changes to what I eat & understand why I ate. The physical restrictions & the support to analyse the psychology behind our eating is what will contribute to the success you may have. Good luck. You can do this. PS - that graphic is excellent @Elidh.

It’s happening more nowadays…work, neighbors, etc. Half “you’ve lost some weight “ and half “You look so good!” People who usually don’t talk with me much. Why is the space that someone takes up so important to others? And why does anyone need to comment on someone else’s body? And if I look “great” now, what did they think of my image a year ago? I realize that some people thrive on these types of comments, and I am glad that they are helping. But do these comments make anyone else uncomfortable and a bit irritated?

I really liked bread too & I had access to a lot of really damn tasty artisanal bakeries. But I don’t eat bread any more. It tends to sit heavily in my tummy. Last time I tried was a couple of months ago (a za’tar & garlic flat bread - smelt & tasted divine) but nope not for me. Do I miss it? It may seem strange but not really. As @dms75 said you develop a different relationship with food. I too look at food as what I need not what I want. I still enjoy it but I don’t find it difficult to choose not to eat certain foods like desserts, chips, bread, pasta, rice, etc. Some of these I don’t eat through choice, others because they don’t sit well. You will find some people do eat bread, chips, sweet things once into maintenance. But it is their choice & most seem to seek out healthier, more nutrient dense options (like air fried sweet potato chips, high protein breads, etc.) & are careful with portions & frequency. Don’t worry too much about struggling with certain foods like eggs. For most this is a short term difficulty. Your tummy can be a bit fussy for a little while. Try some hydralyte or similar electrolyte drinks to help with energy drops. I carried a bottle with me everywhere for months. It does get easier & you’ll be eating a greater variety of food sooner than you think. The surgery will get you so far. The rest is up to you & the dietary changes you make. Exercise only accounts for a maximum of 20% of the weight you want to/have to lose. It has other benefits. I’m not an exerciser but I lost all the weight I was to lose plus more because I made changes to what I ate. But the decision as to what you eat & how often you eat it is ultimately up to you. Best advice to gain the most of your surgery while losing is to follow your surgeon’s plan & dietician’s recommendations. Good luck.

Hands down my favorite is CrossFit. I used to do lap swimming and deep water aerobics but it is too far from my house and classes don’t take place at a good time of day for my schedule. I still love yoga, I have DDP yoga and in general in just really helps with strength and flexibility. Since starting my 6mo preop phase I picked up CrossFit and have finally found an exercise I love doing and even don’t mind to get up early to do. I’m a quiet person somewhat introverted and still love it. I like it because you compete against yourself first and foremost and everyone works so hard there isn’t time to compare each other. The fittest to the slowest (me) all encourage and support. It’s a good environment and you gain strength and endurance for everyday life. It is also modifiable for every level. I didn’t believe that until I went but it’s true.

I walked back then, now i run…which is my hands down fave and go-to form of exercise. also: - yoga (its strength training disguised stretching) - anything dance (just plain fun) - swimming (easy on the joints esp when one is bigger) - stretches and mini body weight exercises when i find myself vegging too long in front of the tv (i’ll do sets of a combination of all/some of the following: dips, chest presses, pushups, squats, crunches, planks) - and sometimes i’ll drag myself down into the basement and do pull downs on the machine and dead hangs or hold ups on the chin up bar (it’s my life long dream to do a pull up from a dead hang…but its just not happening, lol. Some day.) Long story short: find something YOU like to do, there will be a higher chance you will stick with it. Good Luck! ❤️

Here’s a question from a different angle: number on the scale aside, are you happy with how you look and feel? Sometimes the quest for that number blurs the view (i’ve been guilty of this as well). Your weight will fluctuate.. that is a given. Being ok while this happens will make life easier and less angst-y. Do the best you can (or as much as you are willing to do), and make peace with the results of this, whatever it may be. i know, i know, easier said. Good Luck! ❤️ P.S. it really doesn’t matter what i think, but in my insignificant opinion, a 120lb weight loss is a phenomenal achievement. Congratulations!! Try to give yourself props instead of stress. It really, truly, isn’t worth it. Yeah, i know, easier said. *hugs*

Highest weight (when I made the appointment) 385 January 2021 now I'm 235- 150lbs down total. 175 is my goal weight but honestly not sure I wanna be that small or not, kinda loving where I'm at... sans the apron of skin 😆

I had surgery a week before you and I'm still struggling to pass 200 calories a day. I'm not hungry. I have to force myself to eat. I'm happy with the weight I'm losing, I'm taking a multivitamin, iron, and calcium every day, but I feel sooooo weak all the time.

I still don’t understand why people think this is the easy way out. It is by no means easy. It’s doable, but definitely not easy. Everyday I have to make choices of what I put into my body and how many times I eat. If you chose to eat junk food or eat too many times a day you wouldn’t lose the weight. The surgery is a tool but you still have to do all the work. You may be able to educate her on the surgery or you may not be able to get her on board but you should still do this for you. Statistically they say that something like less than 5% of people with an obese BMI can lose the weight and keep it off. Im guessing you like so many of us have tried dieting and either can’t lose or gain it right back. Maybe if your mom came along with you to the doctor so she could express her concerns the doctor or the nurse practitioner could help you explain to her that this is not the easy way out and it is necessary for your health.

The "easy way out"? Bulls(p)it. Total bulls(p)it. It is not the easy way out. It is a TOOL that you are being given to teach yourself how to interact with food from now on. It doesn't last forever. A lot of people think "oh well you got your stomach stapled so of course you're gonna lose weight" without knowing that you can absolutely stretch that pouch out. Don't. Listen. To. Her. Mothers aren't always right. Do this for YOU, because you have an entire life to live. And when the weight is coming off you left and right and you're starting to ease back into the world, you'll have the best feeling in the world and it'll motivate you to keep going.

Weight belts? They help brace your core (remember, tight core = stability) by giving you something to press against when you breathe. I would never do heavy lifts without one—in fact I wear one bench pressing even, because it helps the core stability. In fact, I just donated my old weight belt because it's too big for me, and am halfway through the holes on my new weight belt. If you are braced properly and using proper form you shouldn't have to worry about hernias. If you're not braced properly or have bad form, you're gonna get hurt one way or another.

I am looking forward to seeing old friends! I'd been too ashamed because my weight had gotten so high, I didn't want to see anyone I used to know. I'm going home for Thanksgiving and have already reached out to people to meet and catch up. Can't wait! Sent from my SM-N976V using BariatricPal mobile app