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Tracking is a thing that can be polarizing for sure. It's almost like weighing in daily - it's not necessarily a good thing for all people. Some it helps, some it hinders. I, like many here, have been on a weight loss journey long before choosing surgery. When I was ready to be serious back in 2014 I tracked daily on MyFitnessPal. I only had a calorie goal and macros wasn't even on the mind. It for sure helped me in my journey to lose 100lbs and maintain that loss for a few years. I was definitely more consistent with it Monday through Friday, but not overly "religious" with it on weekends. Sometimes you guess a serving or a recipe that's close to one you use - but at least you have a close enough snapshot. Then came 2020, tracking, activity and all that jazz all of it went out the window and by 2022 I gained all my weight back. Then was the serious contemplation of surgery. Now I track via the Baritastic app (which i like, but do not love) and it's honestly more about protein and fiber tracking and reminders for vitamins throughout the day. I've never been overly anxious about writing down every last bite and morsel or if the calories were more one day over the next. However it can help to provide insight if you feel like maybe you stalled and try to lower or raise carbs to help it budge. Or that it can help track activity along with intake. The numbers might help the big picture and to reflect back. Some track for a period of time and then step back when there's a good grasp of macro counts by reflex and it becomes second nature. But once I think it starts getting obsessive or causes anxiety or to villainize foods, then maybe tracking in that manner is not for you.

hiya! do you have a team or doc to reach out to for guidance...you will find that calorie and macro advice will run the gamut on here, as our docs all have different recommendations! with that said, your intake will really depend you your own physiological makeup as well as if you are looking to lose more weight or maintain... at one year post, i was in maintenance, and was averaging about 1500-1600 calories with about 75g protein. i was also 5'2" and 110 lbs-ish at the time, doing about 1-2 hrs of cardio AND strength training 4-5 times a week today i am 5.5 years out and average about 2000-2200 (recently increased from 1800 because i am on an exercise kick at the moment: 1 hour of exercise 6 days a week) and weigh 118-ish on average. so the recommendation on your cals (and macros) will depend on how tall you are, how much you currently weigh, how much activity you currently participate in, and whether you are looking to lose weight or maintain.

I just had surgery on 4/2/24 and I had the same. It looked really weird. Like a dent in my fat roll. My doctor said that it was from a suture in one of my abdominal muscles and would eventually go away as I lost weight and healed up. It’s only been a week and mine is completely gone.

I am also 2 weeks but gast bypass. I tolerate almost a cup 2-3x a day. But when i try adding in something new (i pureed som ground beef added to my cottage cheese) overnight i get an awful pit in my stomach and toss and turn all night. Then i have a few morning BMs and feel better. So the following day i do cottage cheese shakes pudding and i seem to do ok. Down 20lbs since surgery but have not lost any weight in 3 days.

Hi all, I had been on Wegovy for weight loss, and it almost completely silenced my food obsession. I stll got hungry and enjoyed my food, but I wasn't thinking about it all the time. My insurance no longer covers wegovy, so I've started on the bariatric surgery pathway. My question is, will surgery work in the same way? Will that voice be silenced? TIA!

I haven’t been very public about my surgery journey, but I’m not very public about any of my health stuff.  If people ask, I’ll ease in slowly and gauge interest, but usually keep things short. [[I’m okay- aka I’m still not great but not is particularly bad. We’re working on it- meaning my doctors and I Ah, it’s going, meaning it’s pretty bad but you don’t really care about it. ]] For my weight loss- I did it primary as a potential benefit to help my health issues, not particularly for looks. There were two people who pretty much immediately started commenting as soon as I lost like 10 pounds.  Other than that it was only in the past 1-2 months that I have started getting regular comments.  And I am struggling to figure out how I want to deal with them.  If it is strictly compliments, I’ll just say thanks and move on. [I’m still supperrrr awkward about it, but 🤷🏻‍♀️] [I also don’t particularly like the attention, and it makes me want to dress to hide the changes.] But when people continue and ask what are you doing or what’s your motivation or anything like that that’s where I am struggling a little bit more. My goal for the surgery was focused on my health. It also is a little difficult because my health issues are caused my genetic issues, and while weight loss likely will help in the long term, I haven’t really seen any improvements since losing weight.  So it can be awkward for those conversations if other women ask how I have lost weight or if I’m feeling better.  I don’t wanna tell anyone, yeah I don’t really feel better, because I know that for most people it would.  So for those of you who aren’t really sharing about your surgery, what do you say if people ask about how you lost weight? How do you respond when people compliment you? All of that…

I had surgery Feb 22nd and am somewhat close to you as far as height and starting weight etc. I know we’re past surgery but I would love to have a buddy in this journey if you are looking for one.

i lost another 15+ lbs in the 6 months after i reached goal weight. i had to learn to get out of diet mode and into maintenance mode, which was unexpectedly difficult as i had a low-key fear of carbs and eating more and gaining all the 125 lbs i lost back in a one fell swoop, ha! anyway, i slowly ate more and more, but had a sort of physical limitation because i had very effective restriction, so i had to choose higher calorie, low volume foods. by the time my 2 yr post op mark hit, i gained back about 1/2 of the extra weight i lost. today, at 5+ yrs out, im still more or less the same weight. BUT my composition is different: i had more muscle mass percentage back then (because i was exercising much more recently then) so i am technically fatter now despite being the same weight. but i digress... anyhoo...short answer to ur question is eat more calories than u burn. it doesn't mean eat heaps and heaps of food, just choose higher calorie stuff: avocados, nuts, full fat cheese and dairy, olive oil, salmon or other oily fish, red meat, egg yolks, etc. ...and if you are able to practice moderation, chips (my go to was chicharron), chocolate, etc. if you can't practice moderation, then just don't bother going this route...slippery slope and all... you may lose more weight as u figure stiff out. though unless ur doc is worried, you probably don't need to either. oh, and no, i didn't meal prep, but i did grocery shop plan and execute to make sure i always had stuff at home i could eat/prepare. mind u i don't/didn't work outside the home so i was able to eat/cook on the fly. good luck! ❤️

Yes, it’s definitely an option. Please consult with your medical provider to explore options that best fit your needs. Regarding experiences, my younger brother began this program recently and has seen significant weight loss after a gradual increase in dosage over two months. If you’re feeling nervous about administering your first dose, it might help to have a healthcare professional guide you through the process or to watch instructional videos provided by healthcare providers.

Some nights I definitely struggle. I have been pretty low on energy; I'm usually getting my protein and am taking all of my vitamins. I know that my goal of 64 oz a day of fluids has been flagging, though, honestly. I'm drinking a lot of Gatorade zero but plain water has not been tasting good, even filtered, unless it is REALLY cold. I mean, from a bottle in the fridge then poured over ice. I feel like it got harder as I moved into phase 3 of trying to eat more real food as opposed to drinking most of my meals. I do know that I was told to expect different back pain as I lost weight, and I feel like maybe the magnesium has activated my digestion so much that it sometimes keeps me awake? It isn't really pain, but more like gas pressure. Not sure if that part is SADI exclusive. Sorry I've been so silent lately, I have been skimming and still hope to respond to a few more posts.

Yep, me too. I had upper back pain. Getting a bra that actually fit & was supportive helped a lot but that’s not an option for you - Lol! I had some acupuncture too. As @ms.sss said, a changing centre of gravity because of your weight loss is a big contributor. Your body (muscles, tendons, sinews) was used to holding itself in a certain way to counteract & balance the weight you carried, now it’s relearning how to hold itself. I remember slouching for a while after because I didn’t have a tummy to prop me up anymore. I used to check & correct myself to sit up or stand straighter until it became more automatic & natural. Yes it was temporary for me too. Can’t recall how long for though. Maybe a physio can help with some exercise & stretches to build up your postural muscles again. Or some good massages or acupuncture. Congrats on your weight loss though!

I will have to try the kale chips too! Stalking your recipes Blueparis, lol! . Congrats nickelchip on the stall break. I managed to lose 4lbs so far this week. I’m 9lbs from being at a normal bmi and 19lbs from where my surgeon wants me to be which i guess is the lower end of the normal range bmi for my height. Personally I’m just counting down to being within normal range at all. I have two dresses I’m still dying to fit into so hopefully I’ll get there eventually. I desperately need to tone up now that I’ve lost some weight but I’m struggling with my energy levels.

I dont know what it is exactly. I work a lot and I study. I’m a nurse. I got into a fight with my mom and the guy I like isn’t interested in getting into a serious relationship. It’s a lot to deal with. I feel just lonely because I go through all of these new moments by myself, no one truly understands what this surgery has changed in my life. My body and the relationship I have with food is constantly transforming with time. I was using a weight loss drug that included an antidepressant, so I think it could be related. But I’ve always been depressed in my life, it’s just that I feel lonely going through all of these new changes. Losing weight isn’t easy, but people never really understand how much effort you have to put in, even if you have a tool like the surgery. I try to follow my diet as much as I can, but sometime let myself have some meals/snacks that I like. I’m stressed because I don’t know if I’m eating too much. My mind never shuts up, and it’s so exhausting. im just writing my thoughts, thank you for you answer

I am contemplating revision and have to choose between bypass and Sadi so I am curious to follow this as well. Not sure if your surgeon does the Sadi revision but I was told that the weight loss should be a little better than bypass. There are drawbacks too though with more absorption issues it can cause more malnutrition than the bypass and also bathroom issues seem to be a common complaint. I was told with proper nutrition that both of these are less of an issue.

a few months late, but better than never! Starting weight (Oct 2018): 235 lbs, 5'2" female, 46 yrs old Surgery Day weight (Oct 2018): 223 lbs Goal Day weight (May 2019): 127 lbs Today's weight (Jan 2024): 117 lbs, 5'1.5" female, 51 yrs old

Hi everyone, I am new to this, or any group. I had the gastric surgery in Feb 2006, weighing nearly 430 lbs. in one year, I lost 210 lbs. I gained about 50 lbs back the following year traveling every week for work. But I maintained the 160 lb loss for many years. Little by little I gained another 50 lbs back, but was still 100 lbs less. About a year ago, 17 years post surgery I began having many many problems with dumping, nausea, dehydrating and severe diarrhea. As a result I have lost about 90 of the 100 lbs I had gained. I have seen gastric doctors, Bariatric doctors and all types of specialists and nobody can find anything wrong, yet I continue not to be able to eat. Has anyone on here ever had these issues and if so, what did you do? Thank you!

I’ve had this feeling before but it lasted a very short while. Your body needs the calories to survive and weight loss will still happen. Your stomach is not that same anymore and you won’t be able to eat the same amount or the same types of food anymore. That feeling will pass in due time. You’ll be okay! Just make sure you follow your surgeon’s directives ♥️

About 21 years ago I weighed over 700 pounds when I decided to have surgery at 43. The writing was on the wall: By 50 I would be dead or wishing I was. With surgery I had solid chance at losing enough of my weight to live a more active, healthy, happy, and longer life. Because of my weight and health issues, Doc said I had a 1 in 20 chance of dying on the table. I had a 100% chance of dying in too few years. I didn't even have to think about it. Surgery went fine. I'm told I didn't die. I followed my plan. I worked on my mental health. It took about 3 years to lose just over 500 pounds. I am healthier, happier, and ridiculously more active beyond anything I imagined. Life is still full of ups and downs. Some ups and downs are the same, some are vastly different. The current ups and downs are better. Much better. Good luck, Tek

I literally had that happen the other day!!! I was walking and I saw my reflection in the window as I was walking towards it. I saw this thin person walking and her thighs weren't rubbing together. There was like a gap or space between them as she walked. And I got SO JEALOUS!!! I've always wanted to have that. I kept thinking "Man, how much more weight do I have to lose to have THAT" and then I looked up at the face in the reflection and literally stopped walking. It was ME!!! I was the thin person walking without their thighs rubbing. I stopped walking and my husband was concerned. He kept asking me what was wrong and I could could say was "there's a gap!!!" He thought I lost it lol Body dysmorphia is REAL. That's definitely something NOBODY told me about when I started this journey, that's for sure.

Sooo I am over 8.5 months post-op, and want to ask the veterans what their thoughts are on carbonation? I was a big diet soda and coffee drinker pre WLS and I knew I would never cut coffee out and I've had it since the second week post WLS with no issues, but carbonated drinks is a different story. My surgeon has encouraged me to eat anything and everything except for diet soda. He has been adamant that I don' take it up again. Another friend who's had WLS and has lost and maintained her weight loss and eats everything has told me that she occasionally drinks diet soda but only started having it 2 years post op and advised against it at this point for me. My brother who's been sleeved for almost 4 years drinks it and is the definition of slim. I really really like diet soda, and I only want to have a small glass once a weekish, is that so bad? My restriction is fierce so a little loosening up doesn't bother me much. What are your thoughts?

Yeah €150 is expensive but I get a small contribution from work towards gym membership so I think I will try it out, plus if it is too cheap I may not turn up! I have a free introductory personal training session at the end of Sept (have to wait until I am back from holidays) and then if I like it I can start membership from Oct. and they include personal training in their price so that should help me. It is a small gym, only 10 people allowed at a time and no-one from my work is a member there which is a bonus as my boss is a member in the cheaper gym near me. I really just need to be shown the correct way to use the weights to try to tone up arms and legs but any tips from you @AmberFL would be great and much appreciated for at home use. I have 3lb and 6.5lb dumbells at home but no idea where I am on fitness scale, I would think medium - I do pilates and aqua aerobics (but not for August as everything in this country closes down for the month!) and walking but nothing high energy.

I had the Gastric Banding placed in 2012. I've moved away from where I had the initial surgery to a place that didn't have a doctor comfortable with the banding procedure. I've gone several years without having it adjusted but keeping my weight maintained so I didn't think much of it, I figured it was doing it's job and so was I. I recently had severe abdominal pain after having some lunch, was rushed to the local hospital, which then had to be transferred to a hospital an hour away from home to find a doctor comfortable with the banding procedure. It turns out the band slipped some time ago and completely eroded though my stomach. I had an emergency surgery with 2 surgeons for over 4 hours. They had to remove some of my stomach and a piece of my liver that had attached itself to the scar tissue. I have months of recovery ahead of me now and could have died from this when I thought everything was working fine. If you are considering getting the band please rethink it. If you have the band and haven't been check in a while, PLEASE go the doctor and get a complete check up as soon as possible.

If you eat less calories than you use then you will always begin to lose weight. With exercise, your body adjusts over time and compensates for the lost calories (saving them elsewhere) meaning that exercise becoems less effective over time. It's still best to combine both though. Exercise has many offer health benefits.

SO I am pretty early in my journey. I am about 5months post op and have about 11lbs to get to "goal" I may be okay where I am at. I did increase my calories by 100 to see if that would help things. I do weight lift and workout so I am starting to look on the side of "too thin" We will see what this week looks like I weigh in on Wednesday. Its the first week I increased them. I may go back down, but I have been consistently losing 3-6lbs a week so I was worried that I was withering away LOL

I had a total abdominal hysterectomy on May 7th. I was in the hospital for 3 days and 2 nights. The initial surgery took 3 hours because not only did they remove my uterus, cervix, fallopian tubes, and ovaries, but they also had to call in general surgery to detach my intestines from my uterus (was attached with lesions in 3 places). My heart actually did really well and there were no complications.....with that. But it wouldn't be me if there wasn't something wrong somewhere. Ok, so I get back to recovery and seem to be doing well. Blood pressure is a little low, but all in all, not too bad. About an hour into my recovery, the nurse notices a lot of blood. She checks me and apparently I was hemorrhaging blood and clots. I went through 3 big pads in 25 minutes. Just as I came to, I was told I would have to go back into surgery on an emergency basis. My surgeon was with me and actually held my hand the whole way back to the OR and while I was being prepped. The 2nd surgery took almost 2 hours but they got the 2 places that popped internal stitches on the vaginal cuff re-stitched. I was in recovery again for another 2 hours and then was FINALLY allowed to go to my room. My husband was extremely panicked and white as a ghost. He made all the necessary calls and told me he was scared. I felt awful for him. I had to get 2 units of blood because I lost so much. I'm normally on the low side of normal because I'm chronically anemic. My blood pressure was also extremely low for over a day. They gave me a 1/2 liter saline bolus while I was getting the blood transfusion because my blood pressure was staying around 82/39 and thereabouts. It was around 4pm on day 3 that my blood pressure stabilized enough to go home (it stayed around about 93/55 for 4-5 hours). Since I've been home, I sleep a lot, I walk 3-5 times per day, I just finally got off my pain meds and can get by with tylenol. I'm not cleared to drive or exercise, but I walk the apartment complex a couple times a day and that seems to do well. Still have some pain at the incision (it's about 6-7 inches long at the bikini line) and the muscles and nerves under the incision ache sometimes. I can only sit at the computer for about 15 minutes at a time, so this is the first chance I've had to type this out. I had to go to my doctor yesterday because 2 stitches on the right side of my incision popped and I had to be re-stitched. That really sucked, but it is what it is. I'm on leave from work for 6 weeks (well, 5 now). I normally heal well, but this one is really slow going. I'm already on estrogen patches (Climera) but I was told it takes anywhere from a couple of weeks to 2 months for the estrogen to fully kick in and get my hormones regulated. Lemme tell ya, I've been riding the crazy train, complete with night sweats, hot flashes and flushes, and insane mood swings. Can't wait to feel normal. Initially, I gained 13 pounds of water weight in the hospital, but it's slowly working it's way off. Once all the water is gone, I can't wait to see how much weight has actually dropped since my lady parts were removed (everything together, including the huge fibroids, weighed 3 pounds) so I'll start weighing myself again in about a week. That's about it!! So glad to finally be done with everything. Once I'm fully healed and on the other side of this, WATCH OUT!!! lol