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Being uncomfortable in my own skin is the shittiest feeling. Can’t wait to feel ‘normal’ and not constantly have to hide away. Looking forward to that the most. Just being comfortable and not constantly having my weight in front and centre of every decision I make. Thank you for sharing and good luck. Let the war commence!

Almost 100 pounds down and there are the changes I was expecting and excited for and some surprise ones!! Basic things like shaving are SO much easier! Sitting ay my desk with my legs crossed comfortably. Not being winded from doing menial tasks. Not being scared to go to the doctor because they were just going to tell me all my problems were my weight. Not shuddering when I see pictures of myself! The list goes on and on and I suspect will continue to grow as I lose the reming weight!

Chiming in here. I knew it was time to consider it after I put on almost 100 lbs in the last 2 years. I lost about 70 lbs before and felt the best I had in my entire life. Sadly, I had my stints of gaining a little bit back and then losing it and then gaining more back. However I realized in the grand scheme of things, I was overall gaining more weight than I'd lose during crash diets. Fast forward and I did a diet bet with some friends of mine realizing I ballooned past 310 lbs and feeling completely out of control, especially in contrast with friends who's weights felt normal to me. I then injured my knee pretty bad the beginning of 2021 and now have immense pain when doing any weight baring activities, even going up the stairs. I gained 20 lbs after injuring my knee as I couldn't do my walks for a bit. I felt so tired and sick. My legs were burning when I'd walk less than a mile. I got super depressed feeling like not too long ago I was running 2 miles a day during my big weight loss journey. Feeling like I have a useless body and 0 control has really been the lowest of the low. I've had wls in my mind for most of my adult life but was too afraid. It's bittersweet that I needed to hit a rock bottom to go up but in a screwed up way, I'm glad I took a lot of time to think about it. I realized the pain and unhappiness I feel being uncomfortable in my own skin is much worse than a surgery and I view it as regardless of surgery or non surgical weight loss methods, changing how and when I eat will always be a part of the equation. The surgery is just the tool I've needed.. I just see all the pros greatly outweigh the cons. There was a response in this thread that says nothing was harder than being 400 lbs. I'm feeling the exact same. I had my first consultation last month. I have my dietician and testing tomorrow morning and If I'm successful with my treatment plan, I'll be able to get the surgery after October 2021. I'm scared SHITLESS (excuse my language) but I know this is the right thing for me. I'm ready to win the war now. Sent from my SM-G975U using BariatricPal mobile app

I have to agree that asking for what the "plan" will be on here is pretty useless, because each surgery center is so different. It really bothered me, because there should be some evidence-based medicine happening - but then, I work in clinical trials in cancer, where they have protocols for everything that are standardized across hospitals. I know that I wasn't asked to lose weight before my surgery, but a lot of that is dependent not just on your surgery center, but also on your insurance. However, I wanted to make sure I got used to eating in a more healthy way to "practice" for life after surgery, so I started eating lower carb (I still eat a lot of fruit) and higher protein. I've lost about 45 lbs and I've been less hungry than on previous weight loss attempts when I just cut calories. I'm eating about 1400 a day, on average. However, if I lose any more weight, I will not qualify for surgery, so I'm going to relax my eating until it's time to start my official "shrink the liver" diet at the end of the month. Many/most people have a liquid diet, but I just have to do ultra low carb/low fat high protein with low fruit and lots of veggies. I get it that the hard part is not knowing and not being able to plan. It took six months for me to get my surgery date, due to backlogs from COVID and the surgery center being short-staffed. Hang in there, and read as much here as you can. Be careful not to take anything as Gospel, either here or anywhere else on the internet, unless it's a hospital or professional website, like mayo.org or ASMBS.org.

Well everyone's plan and office is different. My insurance/doc did NOT require me be on any sort of diet (or lose or maintain any sort of weight) as I waited for surgery. But I decided to put myself on a low carb/no sugar diet just to get used to things for after surgery. It helped and I lost like 18lbs in the few months before surgery. When it came to the liver shrinking diet, mine was for11 days BEFORE the surgery. It was all liquids, and 5 protein shakes a day (they of course suggested what they carry in the office but I just did Premier) and some of certain veggies. NO MEAT at all. But again, everyone's plan is different. Did they not give you any info yet? I know when I first called and expressed interest, even before I met with the surgeon for the first time, I was immediately sent a binder of info on the different kinds of surgeries, what happens before and after surgery, the diet afterwards, recipes, the diet before, info on vitamins, etc.

Three days out there is absolutely no way I would have been able to sit in a typical university chair/desk for 8 hours and gain anything meaningful from the classes I was attending. Set aside the pain that you may or may not be in at that point--everyone is different and while I was still experiencing a good deal of pain at three days post op, not everyone does. Honestly, my biggest issue was that I could not sit upright completely without a dull aching pain in/around the large incision where she removed my stomach. I had to be slightly reclined at all times to keep that pain away. Three days post op your ONLY concern should be getting in enough liquids to not dehydrate. For me, this required me to set a timer and take a TINY sip of water every five minutes from a 30ml cup I refilled every 15 minutes. Can you concentrate on the material being presented if you are constantly checking a clock to see if you should be drinking? Can you not be a distraction to your fellow students while doing this? There may also be a lot of things you aren't considering involved in attending classes. How far is the walk from the parking lot? Can you walk that distance post-op? I am a triathlete who regularly ran 10+ miles at a time pre-op. Three days post-op I could walk to the end of my 200ft driveway and back before I felt like I needed a rest. Are there stairs to get to your classroom, or inside the classroom itself? Can you navigate stairs three days-post op? Maybe...I struggled. How heavy are the materials you need to bring to class plus the bag you carry them in? If you have to bring books and a laptop to class, you may be WAY over your 5-10lb lifting weight. You mentioned in-hospital practicals too, which I assume means lifting or moving patients and equipment. I was given a 5-10lb weight lifting limit for 6 weeks. I'm a university professor and I know that many of the books I use for my research and teaching weigh more than that. I have had to ask my wife to bring them to me and put them in my lap. How many breaks do you get throughout the day? I was exhausted for the first two weeks, requiring at least two, and sometimes three 45min-hour naps a day, on top of sleeping 12 hours a day. This is pretty normal, given that your body has just been through a huge trauma and is healing itself. If you aren't getting proper rest, your healing will be slowed and honestly, how much good are you getting out of the classes you are attending if you are exhausted and/or falling asleep during class? If you are at the stage of treating patients (again, I assume based on in-hospital practicals), you can make critical mistakes if you are that tired. Critical mistakes can kill people. I will also add, as a university professor who has seen so many students get sick/have surgery/miss a lot of class for one reason or another, those students RARELY do as well as the other students in the class, no matter how hard they try or how many accommodations are made in terms of assignment or exam extensions, make up exams, etc. There is a considerable body of educational literature that suggests there is simply something about doing things at the same time as the rest of your class that makes students perform better. I see it time and time again--those who take make up exams do not perform as well as they otherwise would have done. I wish you the best of luck with your surgery and the difficult decision you have to make. Personally, I would not do it mid-semester, even as a faculty member.

Hey there! Hope you all are having a lovely day/night. I have my first dietician visit tomorrow where they'll do some blood work, take my weight, check my metabolism etc. I'm not even scheduled for wls until after October 2021. I'm wondering what the diet will be like until then. Is it the liver shrinking diet for a couple of months or is that just a couple weeks before surgery? Anyone know what kind of diet they put you on and will I have to buy a bunch of specialty protein powders? Sent from my SM-G975U using BariatricPal mobile app

I just felt horrible on a daily basis and couldn’t take it anymore. All Of my previous attempts at keeping my weight down through the years didn’t work any longer. I was getting too big and the stress on my already arthritic joints was too much for me to be able to over exercise like I did previously. Gained close to 100 lbs in 3 years because of that. Best decision of my life and I don’t regret the surgery in the least bit.

Congrats on your pregnancy. The old ‘eating for two now your pregnant’ maxim isn’t actually true. My sister-in-law was told she should only add up to a 100 calories in the first trimester & slowly increase to about 250 in the third trimester. She has back problems plus gestational diabetes so not putting on excess weight was very important. She followed that advice for her four pregnancies (incl a set of twins) & kept her actual weight gain pretty low each time. But that was what she was told. Check with your ob/gyn for their recommendations as to what you would need & then your dietician for suggestions on how to add those extra calories. If you’re advised similar amounts, you could add those extra calories with a protein shake or soup as a snack (easy to consume), increase your protein serve a little & add a few extra vegetables.

I agree it’s not always the size of the plate or the total weight of your meal. Calories & nutritional value are more important. Measure/weigh your food separately so you can accurately track what you’re consuming. Soft liquidy foods like yoghurt will go through your tummy more quickly then a solid protein like meat. I can easily eat a full serve of rolled oats made with a cup of milk & about 15-20 blueberries for breakfast & I often eat about 1/2 cup of diced red paw paw (papaya) mixed in a tub of yoghurt (160g). If you’re consuming only 900-1200 calories, you can’t be eating to excess with portions that are too large. You need to work out the calories you need to maintain your weight & not lose or gain. Take the caloric ranges as a guide only. We’re all different & factors like age, activities levels, genetics, etc, all affect the actual calories your body needs to function versus what someone else needs. Have a chat with your dietician.

My surgeon actually gave me a hard cover copy of Sally Johnston’s Your Complete Guide to Nutrition for Weight Loss Surgery at my first appointment. I found it very helpful. Information about sleeve, bypass & band, before & after surgery, post surgical stages, general healthy eating & nutritional needs as well as sample menus & recipes for each stage.

All of this! The part about making dr appts really resonated with me. I’ve caught myself so many times avoiding the dr when I know I should go because of past experiences of not being taken seriously, having everything blamed on my weight, snide comments from drs, etc.

At lot of people experience a drop in their BP after surgery. For some it persists for a few months. For others it passes & their BP increases again. As you lose weight your BP should decrease but how much is an individual thing. I always had a tendency for low blood pressure but the episodes of weakness & loss of vision would only happen occasionally - couple of times a month. After my surgery it started happening every day then multiple times a day. My GP put me on a med (a fludrocortisone) to increase my BP but it didn’t work at all. Now it doesn’t happen quite as often only a few times a day so it’s improved lol! When I had my gall out in May, they pumped me full of fluids & even gave me a shot of ephedrine because my pressure was so low after surgery but nothing really worked. The ephedrine got it up to 105 over 70 something but ten minutes later it was back to the low 80s over 60s. It’s just me. My GP checks it when I see her but it seems to sit around that 90/100 over 70ish. Do you have your own BP monitor so you can track your levels during the day? Talk to your medical team about your BP meds & how to manage the drops in pressure. If you start to feel weak, dizzy or your vision narrows, stop moving, sit if you can or hold onto something. The episodes tend to pass in 5-10seconds. Some people do blackout so be very careful. Get up slowly & wait on standing before moving. Keep hydrated. Add extra salt to your diet.

I always said that being morbidly obese had hundreds of different small inconveniences and downsides that just added up every day. 150+ lbs down and I have a whole list, some things I didn’t even realize were possible Fitting into my wedding rings Wearing straight size clothing, and being able to actually wear hot weather clothing My thighs not rubbing against each other Feeling energized and athletic, and excited to do things instead of dreading what I can’t do. I don’t feel exhausted by just hauling around my body all day. Not being humiliated by pictures of myself Yes, people treat you better when you’re normal sized. And yes, I’ll probably feel bitter about that forever. Not having kids ask if I’m pregnant anymore! And just a million other things. Just small realizations throughout the day of dumb, small stuff. I can fit in this small toilet stall, I can wear high heels and they don’t hurt, I can make a doctor appointment for something and have them take me seriously, etc. I could list things all day. Surgery and losing the weight is 100% worth it. I still have 21.4 lbs to lose to goal, and even still I feel amazing each day.

When you say it is low, do you mean you are dizzy? Because "low" blood pressure is only a problem when it's symptomatic, meaning it's causing you problems. My blood pressure used to be around 90/60, due to genetics and medications I was taking for non-weight issues, and that was just normal for me. It's a little higher now, but still normal. If it's low and making you dizzy/light headed, you can drink more water, try electrolytes/high sodium foods, etc, but you may need to see a doctor if you continue to have issues because it could be something else. Did you already stop your BP meds?

Talk to your surgery team and see if they can recommend an ob/gyn who is familiar with bariatric patients. That would be your best bet to keep weight regain low and vitamins on track. You could also call some ob/gyns who are listed on your insurance and just ask the office staff if this is something the dr/NP is familiar with, or you can have them work with your surgery team.

if you're into architecture, Chicago is world famous for early 20th century architecture. The Chicago Architectural Foundation has TONS of walking, bus, and boat tours. We've been on several - they've all been excellent. Art Institute is great if you're into art; Field Museum is great if you're into natural history. We also do a lot of just walking around when we're in Chicago (I live two hours from there, so we do weekends there several times a year). the Drake is pretty far north in the Loop - north of Loyola. The area around the Loyola campus is nice. But go beyond that and walk down Michigan Ave - so much there. we've been to so many restaurants, but I can't think of any one particular one to recommend - you'll stumble upon tons just walking around. We usually try to hit ethnic places, usually. Scoot over to some of the other streets that parallel Michigan Ave - there are lots of restaurants over there as well. You could always pick some cuisine and do a search on that. We've been to Colombian places, Argentine places, Turkish places, Middle Eastern places, Cajun places, pizza places, delis, so many.....they really have everything there. P.S. there's a Nutella Cafe on Michigan Ave. Might want to avoid that one! (it's great but...Nutella - you'll gain 10 lbs just walking in the door!)

that sounds pretty normal. I went more by calories -- I was eating 1000-1200 a day when I got to be about a year out. Since I hit maintenance (at 20 months out), I've been in the 1500-1700 range. a small plateful of food when you're over a year out is pretty normal. That's about what I eat now. No one would be able to tell I've had weight loss surgery at this point. I eat about as much as my never-been-obese women friends do who are watching their weight. if you aren't gaining weight, then I wouldn't worry about it.

The anesthesia they give you for surgery lowers your heart rate and blood pressure for a few days to a week or two post-op (in my experience, anyway). My doctor was initially one of those who thought my blood pressure would be fine after surgery, so she actually told me just stop taking my meds altogether. It wasn't okay. I went off my bp meds for three months and my bp SKY ROCKETED! I had to go back on them. I mean, I take less now then I used to (i.e I used to take my bp meds pre-op every other day. Now 18 months post-op I take them every 3-4 days. And my bp is normal with that. But I can't give them up altogether because my bp sky rockets and so does my heart rate. I also have tachycardia btw, so yeah). Just monitor your blood pressure for a couple days and then take them when it starts to rise again. Maybe you'll be one of the lucky ones that may not have to take them anymore (that's usually only for those who have weight related bp. Mine is genetic. Literally everyone in my generation except my sister has hbp. Everyone in my mom and grandma's generation take bp meds. Weight in our case doesn't matter).

I would think it was more about the volume rather than weight. If you are concerned speak to your dietician or surgeon. Given that your profile shows you are in a good place so you must be doing right regardless of the weight of the food you are eating.

I’m freaking out a little. Over a year post sleeve and For breakfast I eat 150g quark (low fat Greek yogurt kind of) with 70g strawberries and 30g protein granola. I’ve watched way too many videos on YouTube that state after one year your plate should only be a total of 170grams. It’s a full children’s bowl. Is that normal? 😞 dinner I eat really healthy but it weight up to 250-300grams total of protein and veggies. I have not gained any weight but it’s scary to see that I’m able to eat almost a full small plate of food

You've kept off a LOT of weight, congrats on that! Wanting to graze could be because you are tired, so figure out why you are tired: are you sleeping enough? Are you drinking enough water, eating enough protein? Are you depressed? Do you have sleep apnea? Anemia? Have you gotten your B12 and other vitamin levels checked? Also, consider seeing a therapist to deal with wanting to graze. Many people find it super helpful. Or, you can find a WLS support group. Also consider tracking your eating on MyFitnessPal or another app to see when you have problems and what is going on in your mind and body when you are eating things that aren't helpful. Good luck!

@ Elizabeth having the sleeve: I had the same concerns when I was sleeved last August at age 68. I came through with no issues and have had a slow but steady weight loss. My snacking habit is rearing it’s ugly head and slowing down my progress. It is super difficult to maintain my focus!!. I never thought that I would have to even consider Weight Watchers or a”pouch reset” or whatever. Overall I am super pleased that I got this tool.

I had the sleeve in 2011. Went from 479 to 160. Stayed that way for 6 years got pregnant 4 times 2 babies. I switch to bypass this may start weight 280 current weight 231. I don't look like I have lost any weight. I'm super tired and have no energy. I struggle with wanting to graze. Please help me. Sent from my SM-S506DL using BariatricPal mobile app

I am sorry about your mom. You seem to be very focused on weight loss. Very motivational. I wish you the best of luck. Thank you for your experience and insight.