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I am one year and one month post-op, and I have lost 90 pounds from my heaviest weight. I'm feeling a lot better, sleeping better, eating better, and moving more. However, since January, the scale hasn't moved at all. I spoke with my surgeon's assistant at my one year check-in, and she said I should still be losing about 3 pounds a month, albeit slowly, and to reduce my calories if I'm not meeting that goal (I eat between 1200-1500 calories a day, but usually closer to 1500). But, I've also noticed, the last few months I've been really struggling with sweet cravings. Before my surgery I'd like some sugary things every now and then, but lately I've had these really intense cravings that feel like almost every day. I try to choose fruit, or make a chocolate protein drink, but I'm more annoyed by the cravings than anything. I really wish they'd go away. I always feel awful after I eat something sugary, too, so I know it's not going to sit well in my stomach but that pang is still there. Can anyone offer advice on how to cope with this?

UGH - Just UGH - I'm an idiot. I KNOW what to do.... but can't seem to get back into the game. Up almost 15lbs from my lowest and can't seem to get it back under control. A couple of weeks ago, I put some slacks away because they no longer fit comfortably. It just about made me sick to toss my "goal pants" on a shelf. As I type this, I'm thinking I need to go back to where I started. Put those bad boys back in the closet, try them on weekly (like I used to) until they fit right again. STOP wearing the comfortable stretchy leggings that I wore when I was losing weight... It's so easy to get comfortable at this point. I guess this is really just a rant (and a warning): don't get comfortable. Pay attention and BEFORE things get out of control, get back on track. It's much easier to lose 5 than 15. I tend to be a social eater/drinker vs. emotional so I know that I need to make sure I have the right (raw veggies and fruit) foods available when in social gatherings instead of the "standard" snack foods (charcuterie boards are my absolute downfall). Knowing I will have an adult beverage, making sure I'm also drinking a water in between to at least slow myself down.... Putting on those ill-fitting shorts at home to remind myself NOT to over indulge. Make small changes every week instead of trying to go all-in with a "pouch reset" (which I fail miserably at every time I try). Take pictures and compare. Anything it takes to remind yourself of WHY you did this to begin with. TRACK - Whew, I can't say that enough... TRACK. My failure to track is why I am where I am. When I see what's going in, it's a real eye-opener.

It’s so frustrating i wonder if for me something else is holding me back like pcos, I’ve had it my whole life. Im also curious if having the drastic weight loss pre surgery affected post surgery and has made it less significant. I’m just as lost and confused here but we’re lost and confused together! Have you tried asking about phentermine or another medication? Pre surgery mounjaro and phentermine really worked well for me.

I'm almost 4 months post op from the MDS and I've been asking myself that question, "am I overeating", on and off for the past 2 months. I've been able to figure out 2 body cues so far: feeling full to me is a pain in a specific part of my chest and feeling hungry is a intense pain in my abdomen. But other than trying to avoid those, I feel like I spend a lot of time grazing or snacking. Because of my morbid curiousity, I weigh myself pretty much every day. I didn't experience the "3 wk stall", but my weight has bounced around a bit. Dealing with pain and nausea has made me lose both pounds and inches, which scares me more than it makes me happy. The stress of school made that worse recently, in 4 days I lost 6 lbs. At my last follow up, my dr and dietician said to slow down my weight loss by adding in some carbs. I have been doing that for the last 2 weeks and I've been able to gain/maintain a range of 2-3 pounds, so I agree with @SleeveToBypass2023's advice about the rice and such.

Iam one year on March 31, i was261 on surgery day and one year later I'm 221.so I feel how you are feeling. I feel like i never even had the rny..nothing bothers me i can eat anything i have never had foamies,vomitted,or had the dumping.i drink more than the daily recommendations of water.i exercise 30 mintues 3 times a week and i have been th ame weight since last september.i hmave not gained any nor have i lost any.At my one year check up the dr did a fluoroscopy,she state my pouch was right how its supposed to be.my labs are all on point.so iam i done with losing any more weight? its so frustrating. oh yes get my 60 to 80 grams of protien in.i dont know what iam doing wrong.

I am three years post op and I can drink while eating but I don’t recommend it. For one, I’m pretty confident my pouch was left bigger than most since I was always able to eat more than expected from day one. For two, I gained my weight back and this could have contributed. I am thinking I am doing a revision and the PA reminded me I should be doing all those things such as the 30:30:30 (30 before and after with no water and take at least 30 minutes to eat your meal). They haven’t checked it yet but if it is possible to stretch the sleeve in any way, I worry that I have stretched mine. Regardless, he explained that the purpose of not doing both even once you have room is because the liquid flushes the food through your system quicker so you don’t feel full as long. In terms of the size bites you can take they will gradually increase BUT, ideally you will still stay with “normal” sized bites but with time in between so that full signal can get to your brain. Hopefully others can Learn from my mistakes. Apparently they make these rules for a reason 😔

I had surgery on March 21 making me almost two weeks out. I am eating every few hours, dropping weight like crazy. My scale says I'm down 29lbs from when I left the hospital. I'm eating some soft foods now, when I do eat though I get like an empty feeling after a couple bites. I feel like that's my "full" Feeling because if I do try to eat any more, I'm hurting. Anyone else get different cues that you're full?

if you increased your weight training, it could be water retention. Muscles hold on to water. Calories sound OK at this point in your journey with the added weight training, so I wouldn't drop those until you rule everything else out. AND three-week (or longer) stalls aren't uncommon when you get that far out. I remember times around the year mark (and after) thinking "OK - so this must be it.", and then I'd end up dropping 2 or 3 lbs. So it's not over 'til it's over.. EDITED to add that I just checked your stats. You're very close to goal. The closer you get, the slower the weight comes off. Those last 20 lbs were a BEAR for me to lose - but I just stuck with it and finally managed to make it

THANK YOU! So much for your kind response. This is indeed work and I intend to stick to the plan...it's been easy up until last week when I was able to start in on pureed foods. I took that as a challenge to see what I can thoroughly chew before swallowing. And I've paid the price by doing so...Easter was really hard. I'm trying my best to get my proteins in, but more than that too. Didn't really realize sodium plays a negative roll as well. I decided on surgery before gaining more weight. I was almost not qualified due to not weighing enough but my doctors worked with me. I have had a real bad relationship with food for so long. And with the pre-op diet going so well and the first 2 weeks of liquids i thought for sure I'd be golden by the time I hit pureed foods. But now I feel as if I've just set myself back. I have to really digest this new lifestyle change. Thanks for responding it really means a lot.

I just could not do puree, I did soups instead. I chewed any big lumps or squished them with the back of my spoon. I found a lot of these forward steps difficult. My team were very happy with me going at a slow and steady pace that suited my new stomach. When I was ready I went straight to regular foods like minced meats and vegetables and well cooked stews and casseroles. You will find what you can eat one day will not be ok another day. My new stomach has tantrums even now. Just do your best. I was so turned off food and was never hungry. I had a filthy taste in my mouth all the time, numerous tooth brushings never altered this. I too had deep regrets, everything I ever knew about eating was altered. I had to find new ways to find pleasure because now we have to eat to live and not the other way around. You will get there, just ride this out. Your hormones are running wild at the moment so it is all against you at the moment. Weight gains and stalls are all par for the course. You will get them all the time. A full bowel, a salty meal or salty broth can cause a temporary weight gain. Just stick to the plan and believe , it works. Soon you will be able to make your teams water and protein goals then you will feel so much better. People think that doing WLS is the easy option. Its not, especially early on. Contact your team and tell them your struggles. Get counselling if you need it. Chat and vent on here, we all have. Everyone has had similar issues.

Hi Team! I realize that stalls are inevitable, but I am having some trouble determining if I am in a stall that I need to just wait out, or if I need to change something up. Background: I just hit 8 months post-op. Stats are in my info box. I have been sitting at 174 pounds for three weeks. I had been losing a pound or more per week at around 900 calories per day, Protein at 100G and carbs under 100 g. That is around the time I hired a personal trainer, upped my weight training (free weights now and four days a week), my steps, and my calories (1200 or so per day). The increase in calories was at the recommendation of the trainer, who also recommended increasing carbs to 138 (most days I don't get above 110). I know the level weight is not due to increase in muscle mass---too soon. So....what are your thoughts? Stick with calories or go back down to 900-1000? Thank you in advance for any reassurance or guidance. (And I emailed my surgery team three days ago...waiting to hear back).

I'm currently 3 weeks post-op from gastric sleeve surgery and am struggling BIG time with the diet. The pureed foods aren't doing it for me as the texture is not right...Has anyone else struggled with this? If so, please let me know what worked for you...I've always resorted to food when I'm feeling low and now I can't...I have snacked on no-no foods already and I'm petrified of returning old habits. I've gained 2-3 pounds in the last week and that's incredibly discouraging. I know it could possibly be water retention as my intake hasn't been a full 64oz per day. I know I'm not getting enough protein as well...I'm ready to resort back to a full liquid diet in hopes to lose weight over the next couple weeks...any suggestions would be incredibly helpful!

I agree check with your team regarding if you can count it towards your protein goal. Generally it’s no because it doesn’t contain all the necessary amino acids though I believe there are some brands that add these additional amino acids. If you’re just taking it for general skin & hair health it won’t hurt. It won’t stop any of the hair loss though. That hair was going to fall out anyway as part of your natural hair shedding cycle. It’s just accelerated as a result of the surgery, anaesthesia & weight loss. Some people swear by taking supplements to stop the loss but they usually say it stopped after about 4+/- months exactly the same time frame as those who take nothing so … I took a collagen & silica supplement (powder) for a few months towards the end of my first year. Honestly, I can’t say if it did or didn’t do anything. Don’t know whether the quality of my skin & hair was a result of the collagen or just my weight stabilising & eating nutritious foods.

I'm only a week post-op so I don't have much experience with this particular conversation -- but I've struggled with weight all my life and have had a few periods of great weight loss. And those conversations were never great, either. Honestly, I feel like the majority of people just want you to reveal "the magic solution" to them -- whether because they want an easy solution themselves, or just want to write you off as having "cheated" for your success. They don't want to hear about the tough, ongoing, lifetime of work you're putting in. Some people -- those who deeply care and connect with you -- that won't be the case. But those people that care, won't get too pushy if you set a boundary. And that's really what I wanted to talk about: setting healthy boundaries. It's nobody's business how you achieved this. Decide how much you're comfortable sharing, and allow yourself to set a clear boundary. There's absolutely nothing wrong with giving a bland "oh, you know, lifestyle changes" as an answer, and if they push further let them know "Honestly, I'm not comfortable talking about it. I'm healthy and happy though." Anyone who tries to push past your boundaries? Deserves the stink eye, and maybe a LOUDER repetition of exactly what you told them. At most. (But most people feel too awkward to push, I think. If they don’t, well, they don't really deserve you to be polite back. Get sassy. Ask them what part of your statement needs clarification. Ask them something extremely probing and personal back. Tell them to look up the definition of 'boundaries,' 'respect,' or 'pushiness.' Ask if they're a Taurus. Hiss at them 'Alien Abduction' and walk away. Most importantly, take care of your own emotional and mental health first -- because nobody else will prioritize it for you. 🤍

What version of the truth you choose to tell is up to you IMO. If you refer to the gall bladder thing as a stomach surgery and you said your “stomach surgery” is why your losing- frankly that’s not a lie because the WLS was a stomach surgery too. In terms of claiming it’s due to all the changes you are making that’s absolutely true. I made the changes three years ago and guess what. I changed back to old eating habits and I have gained it all back. I still have a sleeve but I am obese again. So that surgery did not do the work to lose the weight. I did. And the second I stopped doing my part I started gaining and ended up right back where I started. My point is it is what you are doing that is making all the difference in your weight. The surgery is just a tool. No one tells a carpenter he is taking shortcuts if he uses a drill instead of a screwdriver. So why does society assume we shouldn’t take advantage of the best tools money can buy to set us up to succeed. I am willing to bet that they all buy the latest and greatest gadgets they can afford to make things easier on themselves. And realistically it’s not even like it makes it that much easier. It just makes it possible instead of impossible!! IMO taking the lazy or easy way out would be to never try anything. We have tried everything. To include facing some pretty scary complications not everyone would face to achieve their goals. Nothing about this is easy and people who think it is are just ignorant. You just have to decide what your comfortable sharing. It’s no one’s business unless you want them to know. Honestly if someone was really going to think I was doing drugs I would just think to myself that they never really knew me anyways so what reason do I have to care what they think about me. You are facing enough with your upcoming surgery. I say Focus on yourself and your health.

I have been struggling with how to tell my family and friends about my surgery. It's not even because they would judge me, it's kind of the opposite. My brother was super skinny until about late high school and then struggled with weight gain and loss for years. Then 6 yrs ago he got the gastric sleeve and after seeing the results, my parents immediately looked at me and said I should do the same. I have always been bigger and curvier than everyone in our family, which is hard to ignore when you're an Asian girl (I'm not stereotyping here. They are all under 5'5 and the largest cup size is a B). While it has hurt me, it also pushed me to find a version of myself that I can accept and be happy with. Oddly enough my existing health problems (which are mostly the known side effects that occur from wls) stem from a blood disorder from birth and I don't suffer from the common issues from obesity like diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc. Having dealt with a number of specialists and doctors over the years without any real solutions, I eventually decided to consider bariatric surgery this year. I planned on telling them about it after I had recovered, but it has been rough and I am still undergoing further tests and treatment. My brother gained a lot of his weight back while my sister has pushed herself and lost weight- both about the same amount that I have lost in a few months. I don't want either to feel shame or resentment towards me, not that I can control that. It looks like I may have to go back into the hospital a 3rd time and get my gall bladder removed. How awful would it be if I lied and said that is the reason behind my weight loss? My family knows that I have been dealing with stomach problems and pain for years. I'm also losing weight much faster than the doctors expected due to this, in addition to nausea, and we're trying to figure how to slow it down. I HATE attention and it's getting harder to try and hide how different I look. Any advice or motivational speech from anyone would be greatly appreciated! 🙂

I lost 70+ lbs. before I had my surgery. I've been eating healthy for a while now. But, it starting going into overdrive back in October. As of my weight today I've lost 25 pounds since my surgery. I had a 10 day stall and started to worry a bit because it was the time between my surgery and when I started soft foods. My surgeon and Dietician told me that would happen. I expected it, but it still had me second guessing at the time. One thing I've taken from all of the stories everyone has, nobody loses the same. I keep that in mind and then realize I'm only 7 weeks post op. I try to walk a 1-2 miles at least two days a week or more. I would like to walk more, but I have a torn meniscus that's going to require a full knee replacement (bone on bone). So, I'm limited without being in a lot of pain. On the days I don't walk, I use my rowing machine or I do some resistance training with a band or light weights. Thanks for your advice and story of what you've been through. I hope you're able to get where you want to be and I wish you the best!

My son’s wedding was today and I managed to eat with everyone without getting sick. I’ve struggled with not taking one more bite when I feel a bit full. I think maybe I’m learning finally. I’ve had to set a timer after eating to not take a drink too soon. I never realized what a set habit it is to drink while eating. I am able to eat solids now as long as I take small bites and chew a lot. I don’t know that my stall has broken yet. I went down almost two lbs but nothing else yet. Trying to not get discouraged over that. I didn’t measure before hand so I can’t say if I’m losing inches at least. I was just too discouraged at my weight before surgery to measure anything. I will say even with the little bit of progress I’ve made since surgery I was comfortable in my dress at my son’s wedding. I’m sure when I see pictures from it I will be my worst critic but for tonight I feel pretty so I’ll take it.

I'm so glad you tried the muffins and liked them!! I really enjoyed mine, they kept well in the fridge and warmed up really well with a quick zap in the microwave. Regarding the nutritional needs of a SADI patient. We don't really know, honestly. The SADI is too new to have some of the longer term studies that have been done on the sleeve, bypass, and DS. But it is commonly thought by most surgeons that the dietary needs of a SADI are more than with the bypass because SADI patients are thought to malabsorb more than a bypass patient. And their needs are most likely a little less than a traditional DS. That said, I attended nutrition classes with all the different surgeries in one group, so we had to learn everybody's requirements!! Most good surgeons recommend that SADI patients follow the dietary requirements of a DS patient to be on the safe side. That means 80-120 grams of protein, less than 50 TOTAL carbs while in the active weight loss phase (the dietician said "net carbs" is not an official measurement, but if you want to follow net carbs you'd need to keep under 30 net carbs since they get counted differently, most DS patients introduce a bit more complex carbs into their diets once they reach maintenance weight) and the fat grams recommended by the ASMBS is 60 grams of fat by 1 year post op. However, SADI and DS patients malabsorb a good amount of fat, so veterans of the surgeries will tell you that you need more fat than that. I seem to feel best around 80-100 grams of fat a day, but there are veterans of the DS surgeries that eat closer to 150 grams, or whatever alleviates their constipation and eases their symptoms of low fat like dry eyes and dry skin. According to most studies, a DS patient only absorbs about 20-30% of the fat they consume, around 60% of the protein they consume, 60-80% of the complex carbs, and every single calorie of simple carbs!! That's why simple carbs are so important to restrict post surgery (besides the digestive drama), you can eat your way around any surgery with simple carbs... And this is why counting calories is pretty useless for DS and SADI patients. We don't yet know exactly what the percentage of absorptions is for SADI patients as they haven't done a breakdown study (as far as I know) but it is safe to assume SADI patients absorb a little more fat and protein than a traditional DS patient would. The best way to find your own perfect macros post surgery IMO is to aim for 80-120 grams of protein and then watch your protein labs. They will tell you if you need more protein or if you can back off a little. And for me at least, I find my skin, hair and eyes are highly sensitive to when I have too little fat in my diet.

Oh, that's interesting. So many sources say you start out much faster and then slow down at 3 months and again at 6 months, but it's encouraging to know that isn't the only way it can happen. My highest weight is what I show as my starting weight in my stats, but I lost about 13 lbs from nutrition changes while waiting for surgery, and another 15 lbs from the pre-op diet, so in the 5 weeks since surgery, I'm only down 12 lbs, with a one week stall at the 3-week mark, like clockwork. Patience is not one of my virtues.

@LindsayT Looking amazing! Did you track your monthly weight loss totals? I'm really curious what the progression looked like for you. And has it finally slowed/stopped? I know you were nervous about losing too much.

I believe that post came at the exact time I needed to hear it. Thank you. I am in a craft group and for some random reason they were talking about someone they knew that had bariatric surgery and how they gained it back. I told them I had the sleeve and I gained it back. That was kinda my way of testing the waters to see if I could confide in them I am considering it again. Well that went over okay so I did and that’s when All the advice came of how I should try to lose it with this diet and that. I know that I can lose weight. I have lost probably over 1000 pounds in my life. It’s the keeping it off part I cannot do!! Recently, I have been doing low carb trying out recipes that I think I can eat post op and I have lost a couple pounds. That’s when the little voice creeps in asking if I should try it the old fashioned way just one more time. Knowing good and well it will just be another year of dropping a few pounds then gaining that back plus some more soon after.

Not jiving in my mind. I was ALWAYS thin and active. Once I got pregnant with my son, my PCOS really kicked in. I gained almost 100 pounds and only lost 35 after I had him. Nothing I did worked, but back then, doctors didn't know much about PCOS (this was April of 1998). I worked out, ate fairly healthy, did a lot of swimming, and still nothing worked. Because of my PCOS, I then had 10 losses (and gained weight with each pregnancy). I was diagnosed with PCOS in 2005 as well as insulin resistance. I was put on Metformin, which helped me drop down from 322 pounds to 301 pounds. I got pregnant with my daughter and had her in Sept 2006. At that point, I was 355 pounds. I stayed on Metformin, worked out, improved my eating even more than before, and went down to 340 pounds. And never lost another pound. At all. I also was never able to get pregnant again. Through the years, my weight ballooned up to my highest weight of 421 pounds. I ended up getting type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, painful joints, mobility issues (needed a cane to get around), and I was wearing size 28/30 (4x/5x), size 10 rings, 22"-24" necklaces, no bracelets (none fit me). I exercised so much for so many years, but the PCOS really did a number on me and stopped me from getting healthy. After a while, you start to feel defeated and give up. Why kill myself dieting, working out, doing everything right to, at best not lose weight, or at worst keep gaining?