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Hi rjan, I enjoyed reading your post. I was sleeved in July 2020, having a SW of 200# at 5’4”, similar to your stats. I am losing weight at a REALLY slow pace at this point. It has taken me 8 mos. to lose the last 10 lbs!! I figure it’s due to 1) a relatively low starting BMI, 2) my age (68), and 3) having the sleeve vs. the bypass. But your post is personally encouraging to me; I’ll keep plugging along!

The same happened to me. I ended up 18 pounds below my goal weight before I stopped losing. Honestly, I looked a little skeletal, and I posted here at that time that I was afraid I wouldn't be able to stop losing weight. Well, I did--and I gained 15 pounds. I stabilized there and have been able to maintain without too much work for the past year.

I’m looking at having an extending tummy tuck with lipo, and a breast lift/augmentation sometime early next year and the costs are going to be roughly in the 25k range (insurance won’t cover any of this as it’s an elective cosmetic procedure and my insurance doesn’t cover anything related to weight loss). I’m curious what most of you that had more costly surgeries used for financing? Did you do a personal loan, Care Credit, other financing options, or credit card? Any tips would be helpful!

I like his videos. He’s not rude or condescending. I think if more teams told people to expect a little gain it wouldn’t be so devastating when it happens. I was not given that information until I joined the community and people made it sound like Armageddon instead of normal.

this was really a really good video - thanks! And yes - I've heard from the get-go that most people gain 10-20 lbs (about 10% of what they lost) after hitting their lowest weight. I swore it would never happen to me, but it did! I've come to terms with it finally. My challenge now is just keeping it there and not letting it go up anymore.

My guess is that it may be related to medications, as many of the mental health meds have weight gain or increased appetite as a side effect. There are some that are considered metabolically neutral-check in with your psychiatrist about that. On the other hand, 16 lbs above “normal” BMI is really not bad! Many, many bariatric patients never reach a “normal” BMI and their surgeon will tell them that going from obese to just over weight is a success. Congrats on all you’ve done so far!

I've never heard that about bipolar disorder's effect on weight loss. There are a lot of WLS patients who are bipolar, though - I've seen MANY people post about being bipolar in the seven or so years I've been hanging out on bariatric forums. my weight loss finally stopped at 20 months out. Those last six months or so my loss slowed to a crawl, though - we're talking like two pounds a month some months. So don't give up yet! You may still have some loss and get down to where you want to be. But it's true that the closer people are to a normal BMI, the tougher (and slower) weight loss becomes...

I didn't mean the weight scale. I meant the BMI scale/chart. Nice to know it's not just me that feels that way.

Funny how you call the scale fat shaming....it really is as well as the BMI system itself. I remember when I was a teenager weighing 180 pounds or so. I was by no means overweight, played sports addictively, could run 10 miles no problem, biked 30 miles. But...given today's BMI I would be overweight. The BMI doesn't really work for some people in my view. I have muscular calves and thighs, even with my heavier weight I stay pretty normal in the legs because I walk and bike so much. I do not see me ever getting into the "normal" BMI area given the charts and my body type.

My fear is that I am going to go through all the insanity I went through to get approved, through the pre op diet that I am going through right now (incidently after 16 pounds or so I am stalled for the last 4 days), go through the surgery and recovery and more restrictions only to find out that I am not going to lose any weight for some physical reason unique to me. I guess it is irrational, but that is my sick mind at work. I am meticulous with following direction (20 years military does that to you) and know it will all be fine, but I worry it will all be for nothing.

UPDATE: I just had my video appointment with my dietician and surgeon. Both said everything is going well from what I have told them. Surgeon said I'm still ahead of the game when it comes to weight loss as I'm ONLY 2 lbs away from being in the 6 month weight range!! Meaning, for me (based on where I started and their calculations), at 6 months out I should be weighing in around 232-255. Right now I'm at 257. They also gave me additional ranges of: 15 months out: 186-223 18 months out : 170-212 21 months out: 155-201 The Dietician said not to worry about not being able to get in veggies with my protein right now that it will get better over time once I'm able to tolerate more volume of food. I will meet with both again in 3 months which will put me at 6 months out from surgery. At that point the surgeon is gonna run more labs that include a multitude of things my regular doc won't be checking for in a few weeks. Things like various vitamin levels and whatnot. Oh and, we talked about how I have switched to the ProCare one a day with 45mg of iron and how someone from the office told me not to take the extra B1, B12, Iron or Calcium. After looking at my previous labs from BEFORE my surgery back in March, surgeon said NO, I did NOT have to take Calcium as my levels were perfect then. And to not take any extra of the others as I was told. But we of course will know more when I have the new labs drawn in 3 months and will adjust accordingly. Oh, the surgeon gave me the go ahead to start using weights and also gave me a website to use that has FREE exercises/workouts. It's called www.fitnessblender.com If anyone is interested.

This!! ☝️ I feel the same way! Congratulations on your weight loss!

Update, no clots. The constant moving around did prevent it! Need new asthma plan because they gave me a shot intravenously of steroids. The weight loss program explained that steroids can harm your surgery healing, but of course asthma can kill, so there was a compromise of a lesser dose of steroids. So the uptake is keep walking, it does prevent blood clots. And, advocate for yourself, I can finally take a full breath and slept a full 5 hours. Next, I will need to spend a significant amount of time with my pulmonologist when this has settled down. We are all worth spending time upon!

For those who are comfortable talking about it, my dr said statistically because of my bipolar I will not lose as much weight as those who have the same surgery and do not have bipolar. I honestly thought he was wrong but my weight loss seems to be slowing to a crawl and I am still 16 pounds from the top of normal BMI range. I know that some people never reach a normal BMI but I had hoped to get there plus a little cushion for the bounce back weight. I was always thin until I was 25 so I hoped I’d be one of the lucky ones. I am just curious to hear others stories firsthand.

of course, that's totally up to you. Regain is unfortunately very common in year 2 or 3 - most people put on 10-20 lbs, so you might want to factor that in (I swore I'd never be one of them, but...it happened!). If you don't want to lose any more weight, you can always increase your calories a bit. I just kind of let mine keep going until it naturally stopped - and in retrospect I'm glad I did because I did experience a 20 lb regain.

Ooh I so hope I can afford to get my boobs done. I have boobs. Too much of them. I got implants when I was tiny but then gained weight and a lot of it went to my boobs. Enough that I qualified for reduction but dr said if he took as much out as required by insurance I would not be happy cause I would be super tiny afterwards. I have to pay oop but after I lose the weight it may just be the right time to do so. Has anyone else used care credit to finance plastics. That is my hope. (I have it from my vets office but they take it at some plastic surgeons offices).

Congratulations on making it to your goal! It’s not uncommon for people to be able to lose at 18+ months out. I cannot speak for every experience but it sure seems like most people do not stay at their lowest post WLS weight at 3+ yrs out (without working on it) I wouldn’t suggest forcing premature maintenance when you may eventually gain a little back anyway. Since you like your routine, have good habits, active , have indulged periodically, don’t want to focus heavily on tracking perhaps try just going with the flow and letting your body workout where it wants to be weight wise. You still have wiggle room especially since you in the healthy not underweight rage. If you start to effortlessly drop into that area without any signs of weigh loss slowing down then definitely consult your team.

This is a great thread for ideas...but be careful, not all items will appeal to everyone! I'm looking at you Parmesan Crisps! Favorite Grocery Products - General Weight Loss Surgery Discussions - BariatricPal

I'm 11 months out bypass. Down 123 and stuck until I can quit drinking my calories. I get so dehydrated! I still have 38 pounds to go to my goal weight. Unless I decide I need to lose more. I haven't been that weight in 25 years, so I think that's a good weight for me. Congrats on your weight loss!

I had my sleeve in early 2020. I didn't start out as heavy as some - about 210 - which is a BMI of 35. I reached my goal weight of 149 at 11.5 months after surgery, which is a normal <25.0 BMI. During months 6-12, my weight loss was slowing down. The last ~6 lbs came off pretty slowly over 5 months. I felt like I was slipping into maintenance, and I was very happy that I was doing that at about a normal weight. I only counted calories for the first 4 months after surgery to make sure I was getting enough protein. I haven't been tracking my eating since then, and I don't want to. Obsession with my food/weight is one of the things I wanted to escape with this surgery. But since reaching my goal weight, I've continued to lose at about that same rate: a little more than a pound a month. I'm now 140, BMI 23.3. I'm kind of surprised that it hasn't slowed down much, let alone stopped. I've certainly allowed myself more dietary indulgences over the past 9 months or so. On the other hand, a lot of my routine has remained the same. I still start the day with my protein powder latte, which comes in at 30 g of protein. I also still eat 2 eggs nearly every day, though I've added an 1/2-1 english muffin. I also average ~6000 steps a day. These things are easy for me to maintain because they were things I already liked - I've always enjoyed walks and my morning latte and vegetables. My family were backpackers, and usually had a garden. I'm certainly not complaining that I've been so lucky with my results. It was always really frustrating before when people would assume I was sitting on the couch eating pizza and ice cream all day just because I was fat. I always knew my weight problems were more of a diabetic nature, since it clearly runs in my family and I've been diagnosed with PCOS. And the vast majority of the weight came off my belly, as my loose skin can attest. I do wonder if I should make any effort to change things, or if I should just keep going with the flow. I don't really feel like I need to lose any more. (I'm still getting used to the weird way my ribcage sticks out way more than my stomach, despite the loose skin.) And it wouldn't be hard to increase my appetite a bit - I know very well that sugar still does that. But I also hear that weight regain is likely, so I also feel like it might not hurt if I let myself go lower to give myself more safe room. I am curious how those of you who are more like 3-4 years out got into maintenance mode. Did it just happen, or did you do it on purpose? In retrospect, do you have any regrets about how you handled it?

Congrats on your weight loss so far. Whoo hoo! Don’t forget everything you drink counts towards your fluid goals. I don’t enjoy plain water as much since surgery so to up my fluid I drink a large mug of green tea every day & flat sparkling water which I intersperse it’s water. While I was losing I also drank a drinking yoghurt (protein & fluid two wins). I also sip water during the night - just keep a bottle of water by my bed & sip when I wake or get up to pee. The BMI range takes into account your skeletal frame. The higher weight for large frames, the lower weight for small frames. But you may feel happier & healthier being more or less than the bmi recommendations. Just be aware your frame may not be what you think it is. I was always told I had a large frame based on my wrist measurement but in reality I have a smallish frame. My wrist size was large because I was obese & had fat all over my body including my wrists.

Congratulations on your 71lb loss! That is amazing!!! I'm with you - I can gain or lose 50lbs and still be in nearly the same size. Granted, 50lbs smaller and the size I am currently in is a bit looser and when I was at the top of that weight range it was a squeeze. But, still! Very frustrating for sure. I think this is where counting those inches like you are doing really pays off. I read a thread on here the other day about this topic and it seemed that once folks get into the lower of their weight range goals 10lbs or so seems to equal a size. My surgery is in five days (fingers crossed!) and I have been thinking a lot about this, too, and how I can keep myself motivated because I know my sizes won't drop quickly in the beginning.

I am 5'6". I put my goal weight at 180. It says BMI would still be 29.1 and overweight. Normal should be 18.5 to 24.9. I don't want to be thin-thin. Just normal. This scale is almost fat-shaming. I'm not going by the BMI. I'll go by when I feel good about myself.

Most dont consider frame size. That’s why it’s such a broad range. 123-164 for 5’8” for example is all “normal” weight.

Three months and five days out from VSG surgery and I am down 50 pounds since surgery and 65 since April when I last saw my primary care doc. I've gone from a size 24 jeans to a size 18 that fit loosely. It is more weight than I thought I'd lose in this period of time and the lowest I've been in nearly 20 years. I love that my feet don't hurt, my ankles don't swell and that I have energy! My family went camping this past weekend and I actually went hiking, including climbing a steep hillside that, afterwards, I knew I'd have never have even tried before. I have had issues with consuming enough calories and finding foods that appeal to me, which I know has contributed to the fast weight loss. I can only eat very small amounts at a time and some days I don't do as well as others with my water and protein intake. While I sometimes miss the pleasure of a big, comforting meal, I don't dwell on it and find that eating to fuel my body has its own appeal. I feel free and that's a wonderful thing.