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Before I had my hysterectomy, I noticed my PCOS sort of regulated a bit. Didn't do a whole lot for my hormonal imbalance, skin tags, insulin resistance, and it really made losing weight slower and more difficult, but it straightened out my periods a lot. I would go 2 or 3 months without one, then bleed like niagra falls for 2 weeks straight, then get a light one the next month, then start over. After I dropped my first 70ish pounds, I noticed they were coming in more regularly, and after my first 100ish pounds lost, they were proper length, proper frequency. And it stayed that way until about 4 months before my hysterectomy. Then they started getting wonky again. Skipped 2 months, needed progesterone to get it started the next month which caused HEEAAVY bleeding, then nothing the next month, then hysterectomy and I didn't care lol

Hi Tynisha! I don’t focus much on carbs, but I try to not go overboard. I eat crackers or a tiny PB&J as a snack most days and may have some oven roasted potatoes with protein for dinner. And I drink whole milk. What has been really important for me is making sure to eat three balanced meals a day, hitting my protein goal (around 110-120 grams daily). I have to have a protein shake or two with milk to get there. If you find you are eating too many carbs, it’s probably because you are snacking too much. If you focus on balanced meals and up your protein goal, you won’t be hungry/want to snack. Veggies and milk aren’t a big impact on carb intake, and help you feel full. Another good way to sneak in more protein is Greek yogurt. I like Oikos mixed berry. Fairly low on carbs/sugars and 15 grams of protein. Basically make sure you are getting enough protein, focus on feeling full from good food, and try to limit snacking. Has worked for me, and I’m still slowly losing weight almost 9 months later. Oh, and work out with weights. Since working out 3 days a week, my body composition has changed quite a bit. Best of luck! Dave

I don’t have ESG. I’m in Boston and only some places offer it because insurance doesn’t cover it. The average cost is 11k. The average weight loss after a year is 10-20% (Johns Hopkins quote). You might want to do more hard core research before shelling out that kind of money for low results especially after your recent problems with the balloon. P.S. there’s different forums on here based on specific procedures if that helps.

You are another source of inspiration to me and I feel that we are very much similar (stats and progress and the love for food lolz) from what I gather through your replies and posts. I do not weigh daily and I do not track. I did track for 3 weeks a month or so ago and saw that I sit at around 800 calories a day (around 4.5 months post op) and now at over 6 months post op I still eat the same amount give or take. Even at my fittest and slimmest I never tracked or counted my calories and I don't think I will be doing that in my future if I am able to maintain my weight (with a little deviation that is). I also hate the weighing scale as it gives me so much anxiety (my heart starts thumping in my chest every time I step on it, I know I should talk to a therapist but I digress). What helps is that I exercise a lot and love working out since forever and it is sacred to me. I was traveling the past week and decided to have a little fun (to celebrate reaching the lowest weight I ever have) and allowed myself to eat normally (what the kids and the hubby were having) and that included burgers, bread, dessert (dumping is no joke, yikes!) and all things I didn't allow myself to eat. The portions were tiny mind you (thanks restriction). I decided to step on the scale once I was back and saw that I had lost 200 grams lol. I guess I should make friends with my scale and say hi multiple times a week instead of one. How do you keep tracking your calories without getting bored?

Nah, I haven't had any issues with this post-op once I was past the nausea phase 3 months out. And OMG sex is so much better with less weight on your body! My boobs don't try to suffocate me quite as much... 😂 Maybe your tummy is just having an emo week? Go to bland foods for a few days to see if it settles down. I always revert back to plain foods when mine gets cranky pants, it seems to do the trick.

Thank you all so much. I was so taken aback by this entire conversation. She even had the gall and AUDACITY to ask me if I wanted to try phentermine!!! PHENTERMINE!!! I told her that not only would I never ever take that, I would be finding a new doctor. For her to KNOW about the cardiac issues I had after my hernia surgery in December and then suggest a medication with known cardiac implications....I can't fathom what was going through her mind. She said to me that if I felt better at maybe 170 instead of 155 or 160, she could maybe see if that would be ok. I said "Ok with WHO?? It's MY body, and I'm ok with it as it is now". She said I've come so far and made so much progress that it seems like such a shame to not get myself to a healthier and more normal weight and bmi. I explained AGAIN that I lost 238 pounds from my highest weight, which is what I weighed when I first came to her. I reminded her that SHE REFERRED ME TO THE BARIATRIC SURGEON. I reminded her that I've lost 205 pounds since my first surgery. I've done enough. I've gotten off all of my meds that I wanted to, started the career I wanted, became active and started doing all the things I wanted to. I have my life and health back. There is NOTHING else I need or want to accomplish, besides plastics in a few years. She didn't use to be like this. She was an amazing doctor. But for some reason, she's jumped on the BMI bandwagon and decided that it's the only way to judge if someone is healthy. I can't get behind that, and I can't tolerate this from her anymore. Definitely looking for a new doctor.

Over the last 5 years I have been following on social media overweight athletes and body positivity. I have been able to run some 5ks and get my yoga teacher certification at my current weight, 252. After surgery I will not have this identity of being ’a person who moves in their large body’. I don’t hate my current weight but I know the surgery will be better for me medically. Has anyone had a similar experience?

Not to beat a dead horse, but as others have said, consider therapy. Look for one on your own (or see if your program has one / can refer you to one) who specifically deals with eating disorders. I haven't done had this experience Post-Op, but I've fully been there before during diets I've attempted in the past. For me, there were so many things at play: ongoing depression, feelings of low self-worth were helping me further sabotage myself. I punished myself with food, even while logically knowing better, because it was what I was used to. I hid myself behind my weight, because it became my norm and was easier than dealing with a lot of the trauma and mental health issues lurking in the shadows. It's so, so hard to break these cycles all on our own. Having someone to talk to about it -- a friend, a counselor, support from your program, or us here on the forum can make a world of difference.

First of all Happy Birthday. 🎁 and congrats on your 20 pounds loss and your first non scale victory (the stairs) 🎉. The chili was a really good choice and good for you sticking to a couple of bites of the cake. Your husband sounds super sweet and supportive. They actually have a birthday cake yogurt too. I can’t remember what brand it was but went I seen it I was like ooh I’ll have to remember that. I do log my food. I actually use the Baritastic App and it has worked great so far but i ran into a snag with it tonight. I made Turkey meatballs and it does have Turkey meatballs in the database but I’m pretty sure they are smaller than mine were because one meatball was way less calories than I estimated. I wish it had a way to add a recipe and say how many servings you had. I like the app because my phone is always with me and it also notifies you to take your vitamins and to drink and all that if you set it up. Plus you can log your measurements and weight. The book certainly is sufficient too if that’s what works for you though.

Never heard of it. Hope you get answers. You have done an amazing job and so close to your goal weight. Congrats on that!

Over the last 5 years I have been following on social media overweight athletes and body positivity. I have been able to run some 5ks and get my yoga teacher certification at my current weight, 252. After surgery I will not have this identity of being ’a person who moves in their large body’. I don’t hate my current weight but I know the surgery will be better for me medically. Has anyone had a similar experience?

3 weeks (to get staples & drain removed), monthly for first year, then quarterly for the next 1.5 years, then annually, then I moved out of state. I was a special case because I started at an exceptionally high weight, so Doc wanted to monitor me much more closely than most. Gosh, as the years go by I feel like my experience and my Doc's philosophy of weight loss is very out of touch with folks today. Good luck, Tek

Hi All, First Post I'm female in the UK and nearly 59 years old. I have been a fat toddler, a fat child, a fat teen and a fat adult. I have yo-yo dieted all my life, with each yo-yo lasting for a shorter period and resulting in a new high-point when I would inevitably bounce back. In July '23 I reached a new all time high 24st 9lb (345lb) I was about to start the diet again, about to go through the same loop but just couldn't face it. I made an appointment with a bariatric surgeon, discussed my history and options and agreed that a gastric sleeve was a good fit for me. I was told I was too heavy for their practice and I needed to lose 56lb before I could have the surgery. The surgery was booked for Jan 2nd '24 and I started dieting. As is the practice here I had an assessment with a psychologist who confirmed I was a suitable candidate and a dietician who again confirmed I was a suitable candidate but in the process managed to make me feel like I had already failed, in her words I was "Much heavier than most people who come to us" As she was a gate keeper and I needed her approval to progress I did not complain. That time will come. Following my initial consultation on the 8th Aug I started dieting to get down to the target weight. I have never had difficulty in losing weight I simply cannot maintain any losses. My normal pattern is if it takes me 6 months to lose the weight I will regain it and 10lb in the following 12-18 months. By the day of surgery I had lost 75lb and was already feeling so much better. I considered carrying on with just dieting and not having the surgery but I was already beginning to see my discipline weaken and I knew it would be the same old story. Surgery went well, I had very little pain or discomfort and by and large I cannot complain. I'm currently on the pureed stage of the diet and doing OK managing to keep protein and fluid levels up though I struggle with the fluids some day. I have lost 13lb in the last 21 days but have hit the dreaded 3 week plateau. Early days but I have no regrets - to be without hunger for the first time in my life is such a relief, I feel good and am doing more and more each day. I am already starting to live the life I want and i can see so many more benefits ahead and believe they are attainable and retainable. I wish I knew why I have struggled so much with my weight - there is no one trauma or set of childhood issues I can point at. It is not that I have a compulsion to eat everything in sight there are so many foods I can just ignore, I have no interest in sweet foods of any kind or greasy deep fried foods. But I cannot resist bread, pasta , rice etc and my down fall has always been the second or even third portion of these carbs. For this reason if no other I hope the VSG will not only prevent that behaviour but I also hope it will give me enough time to re gain control before considering a second helping. My parting thought for this post is that as I have gone through my journey thus far the one thing I have found is that my story is not that unusual, my problems are not unique and most importantly that they are not the result of some moral failing or fundamental weakness. There is more to life long obesity than can simply be solved with "diet and exercise" and having finally found medical professionals who believe that is the case I see this year and this journey as a new lease on life that I am going to grab with both hands. Koshk - newbie

I had VSG in 2017 and found myself pregnant with my first! I have not taken vitamins as I was supposed to post op. But I have been taking prenatal vitamins since finding out. I lost a total of 150lbs since surgery, and this last year another 20 due to stress. I’m concerned the weight loss will continue (I know I’m just stressing more, it’s kind of my thing) For you bariatric mommies, were you able to hold enough food for you and the baby?

your experience so far is VERY similar to what mine was (BMI wise, at least - as i am much shorter than you). we were both BMI 43-ish at start. we were both BMI 40-ish on surgery day. we were both BMI 30-ish at 14 weeks (yes, i tracked all my stats religiously and have all the records, ha!) so if there is anything we could glean from this series of coincidences (which, by the way, there ISN'T, because we are totally different people, and my experience is totally different and separate from yours, yada, yada), we can at the very least say that what you are looking for is POSSIBLE, since you seem to be travelling the same trajectory as i did, and yes, i got to BMI 25 (your goal) by my one year anniversary. To be more specific, i got to BMI 25 just a little after my 6 month post-op mark (6 months + 1 week to be exact) you're doing great. keep doing what you are doing and you'll keep losing until you don't (i also lost 2-ish lbs a week after the first 2 months...seriously we are like weight loss twins) many have said it before, and i'll say it again, losing the weight is the easy part (comparatively). keeping it off is where the harder work comes in. p.s. i am now past my 5½ year post op mark and i have maintained a BMI 21-22 since reaching goal almost 5 years ago. cross my fingers this continues, but i am not so ignorant that i actually believe i will be this weight forever...though i am definitely enjoying it while i am.

I have the mini gastric bypass and the smell after using the toilet literally strips the paint off the walls. The stench is out of the world nauseating and lingers. I truly feel sorry for people who are experiencing similar issues with the smell, because no amount of air freshener or pills make a blind bit of difference. It's a very depressing existence. The weight loss is to be celebrated, but the smell issue is something that really affects your confidence, relationships and quality of life in general.

I'm also in the "what to do for the birthday Struggle Club! My surgery is 7th of October and my birthday is tomorrow 25th July. My dr put me on a 12 week milk diet (1.5litres of milk with semi-skimmed milk and 1 salty drink a day) to quickly lose weight before my surgery. So I don't want to jeopardise that and have my usual slices of cake from my favourite bakery. It's also my friend's wedding on Saturday. I can't avoid the wedding are ask people to do something that isn't food related. But I can control my birthday and avoid temptation. I made the decision to go out and get my nails done and go to a comedy club instead! I'm not much of a drinker so the club won't be a temptation and I can't eat while getting my nails done! Next year, I'll be thinner and probably more in the mood to celebrate anyway.

I wake up at 3:30 am every morning. Work starts at 5 am. It's hard for me to go to bed at 9 pm. But I try anyway, only to toss and turn. I don't like taking meds to sleep. I may need a new sleep study just to see if I need the bipap. They did tell me that I may not need it after losing a lot of weight. They suggested that would be about a year out. As I mentioned in other posts, they warned me about exhaustion so that is definitely where I'm at. I hope it gets better soon. Being tired all the time isn't fun.

For me, the pain wasn't bad. I needed liquid Tylenol for the first 3 days, a few times per day (tip: look for the ADULT formula because the child formula tastes horrible and is thicker, like gel). I had one incision that would give twinges for about a week, but it passed quickly. I did not experience gas pain. I found a weighted heating pad on my abdomen at night was very soothing. I was very tired and found it difficult to focus. If possible, don't tax yourself.I walked frequently, but not far. So I was moving around but not logging a huge number of steps. By week 3, I felt relatively normal. By the end of month 2, I was pretty much back to my old self with the bonus of quite a bit more energy, and I could navigate eating in restaurants without too much trouble (I went on a weekend trip out of town at around 8 weeks post op).

I want to thank everyone for the kind words and provide an update. I had my one-year post op doctor appointment yesterday. It went well and they were happy with the results. I still need to get blood work done, which I will do tomorrow. The blood work is probably the most important part of the visit, so I am hopeful that everything is right with it. I have had the 'normal' hurdles over the last 16-months that everyone has to deal with, and I am very thankful for little to no complications. I feel for those that have had more challenging journals, since I have been so lucky. Again, I want to stress that I am not special or unique. I hope someone out there might read this and it helps them in some way. It is hard work to lose weight no matter how you do it. It requires mentally reprograming how you have lived your entire life and making physical choices to match, but it can be done. Tons of success stories in this group are proof. Stay positive and go day by day with it. Stay off the scale and celebrate the non-scale victories. My wife and two kids have been so supportive: everything from education to food prep to walking with me to listening and talking about the process. Not an easy process, but because of their support it has been much easier. I am so grateful for the changes they made to support me. I will probably never be able to express that to them at the level it deserves it. I have never been happier. My wife attended the appointment with me yesterday and the update went as follows. I started in 9/2022 at 514-lbs. I had my surgery in 2/2023 at 488-lbs. My weight yesterday was 254-lbs. Its official I am truly half the man I was compared to the start of this program. Weight loss is different for all, especially someone that started as big as me, but it was great seeing those results. My 'ideal weight" connected to my 'normal' BMI would require me to loss another 80-lbs. I told my doctor from the beginning that I never cared about being skinny or normal and that has not changed. I wanted to improve my quality of life by being less huge. I wanted to be able to participate in activities with my family. I am happy to say I have achieved that goal! I am not done yet! This is not a diet -- it is a lifetime change! I do not care if I ever become 'normal,' but slowly losing and not gaining is the only plan. The future holds unlimited possibilities for me and my family. Future goals for me are to increase my exercise plan by adding strength training as priority number one. My second goal is to continue to try new 'healthy' foods that I may or may not like but expanding my options for more variety and balance helps me stay on plan. I will finish by saying if anyone has questions or thoughts, especially those big boys out there, feel free to ask and I will provide more detail about my experience. I am no expert, and we all have different programs, so I can only share my experience, if that can be of help to anyone. Good luck to all with your own personal journeys.

Yes! Happy to share! It's this one: https://www.wholesomeyum.com/keto-banana-muffins-recipe/ I doubled the banana flavoring emulsion (I got mine from Amazon) and I added vanilla. None of the box mixes were low carb enough for me and I used to be a chef so I have a bias towards homemade things. 😂 I can empathize with the carb cravings. When I eat carbs I crave them intensely for days afterwards. There are a lot of people who make judgments about those of us who use artificial sweeteners, and though I prefer the real thing, I simply cannot have it. My body HATES carbs, it just doesn't know what to do with them and whether it's a piece of cake or a bagel, it will bloat me and I'll want 3 times as much the next meal. It is just not worth it. And now with the surgery and my designer insides, it isn't worth the gas and such either... The only exception I seem to be able to make is a small amount of very dark chocolate. I think the reason it doesn't cause the carb cravings is because my craving for the minerals in it is stronger. LOL And even with that I can't have it two days in a row without cravings kicking in stronger... I think it is perfectly reasonable to ask those close to you to support you with limitations around what they offer you. I asked the same thing of those close to me and they were happy to do so because it gave them a tangible way to help me with my goal. We don't gain weight in isolation. Food is a social thing. We ask our social circle for support around other goals like going to school or raising our children, we should be able to ask for support with this too. It increases our chances of success!! The head game will do you in every time. Having people close to you wise to that helps tremendously in my experience... As long as they don't turn into food police. 😂

I was very reluctant to post my before and after. I just don’t feel like I’m done yet? I’m 4.5 months post op and reached my initial goal at 3.5 months post op and went down further more so set myself a new goal weight, which I’m very close to, but thought hey, why not celebrate it anyway? I look good, I feel good and I should get to celebrate that. Every single one of you looks absolutely fantastic, way to go lot ♥️

My suggestion is eat more vegetables and drop the packaged, processed snacks and protein shakes altogether. You are no longer healing from surgery or dropping a ton of weight quickly, so you don't need 120g protein, or even 100g anymore. If you can eat 3oz chicken breast twice a day, plus a serving of Greek yogurt and fruit for breakfast, you've hit your protein needs and then some. Get your protein from lean meat, beans, nuts, and seeds (not as much from dairy). Have a leafy or non-starchy vegetable at every meal. Eat fruit for dessert and raw veggies and nuts for snack.

I don't live near a gym either and really don't want to go to one. I've been trying to do some YouTube videos, and I got a walking pad. Have you guys heard of "cardio drumming?" We did it at my bariatric support group and I started doing it at home too. I don't think I've ever walked away from any kind of exercise saying "that was fun" before this! I bought some wrist weights to use while doing it. I'll put a few links here... (Where they use 2 balls, I just hit the side of my one)

Hi Debby! Please can I ask what the purpose of the detox is? I know people do these for various reasons. If you have regained some weight after your bypass (if so, how much?) and you're wanting to kick start further loss then I agree with the others above - eat your protein first, veg second and fruit/carbs last. If you have another (health?) reason for a detox then it might be OK to follow what sounds like a very restrictive plan. I'd be worried about your protein intake with what you're proposing though.