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One of the hardest things that I am trying to teach myself that is is not a diet! this is a lifestyle. In life we eat right 90%-95% of the time and work out 3-4x a week, and the whole purpose of this was for me to be healthy. It is scary to think of being 297lbs again because of how unhealthy and how much pain I was in. I have to reflect on my "Why". Thank you as always for your words of wisdom! ❤️

Be careful with the gum post surgery. I had a piece when I was almost three years out from sleeve and I swallowed it accidentally. Hadn’t swallowed gum since I was a kid but sure enough I did it. Thankfully it did not cause a blockage but this is a real concern after surgery.

@RonHall908 You look amazing!!! NickelChip, I had a similar experience about 5 years ago. I got down to 202 pounds and couldn't get under 200. Then, I started to gain weight and, over the next few years, reached my highest weight. I am hoping to push under 200 without a big stall, but if it does happen, I'm going to fight hard to not let it mess with my mind! I find it interesting that so many of us are stalling at the same time. It makes me think this is a normal pattern after surgery. So far, I've been steadily losing weight —even if it's a pound a week. I'm guessing I'm going to be stalling sometime soon, too. This is when we have to look at the NSV's (Non-scale victories)... Ron's pictures for example!! Hang in there everyone!

I'm in the same waist size jeans that I was in 2004. My belly will be the last to go since that's primarily where a lot of my weight was. Side pucker was about 3 weeks ago. The stalls just seem to be there as a test.

@RonHall908 Wow, what a difference in your face! That is just a night and day transformation. Well done! I've pretty much been stalled the past couple of weeks. Down 1/2 lb, up 1/2 lb. Infuriating. An interesting thing to note is that I'm right at the weight I managed to hit about 7 years ago during my last really serious successful attempt at weight loss. Going back over my records, the lowest I hit was 203.8 after about 9 months of nutrition counseling and regular daily exercise. After that, it was a long plateau and a slow and steady climb back up. Lo and behold, I am at 203.8 again. It makes me wonder if my body has some reason it wants to stall out at this weight, which hopefully the surgery will eventually win out over. Or the universe just wants to mess with me because I'm an ounce away from lowest weight in over 20 years, 1 lb away from my half-way weight loss goal milestone, and 3.9 lbs away from onederland. So what a great time to stall and stew! I almost kicked my scale this morning.

I'm on a three week stall in weight. I'll weigh twice a week. I'll be down a pound or two. The next time I weigh. I'll be up a pound or two. Just hovers. I think im stalling because of my daily workout, the victory on the scale isn't happening to my liking. But overall I do feel better. Next week is my 3 month post-op appointment. Hopefully the blood tests reveal why I've been so exhausted. Just keep plugging away, it's a marathon. At least that's what I keep telling myself.

Im in a stall too 99.7kg so annoying. I must confess i had a unhealthy relationship with my scales and the non movement does my head in. Now i only weigh myself on Wednesday so if its good news I'm happy and if not good news (like my current stall) then i tell myself theres always next week.

You're correct to be aware of bathroom issues but it's not a serious consideration for having the surgery. Consider yourself more lactose intolerant among a few other things and just eat around certain foods. The heavy consumption of fruit is important for me for hydration and feeling satisfied with food. The only gas triggers are grapes (red & green). I still eat them at home but not if I'm going to be in an office or public area like the gym. No issue eating berries, oranges, pinneapple, peaches, mango, grapefruit and most others. I'm not kidding about eating at least 20lbs a week of fruit, often way more. It's great for supplementing hydration and satisfies a sweet craving.

If I remember correctly I think it was around one or so weeks. I remember the surgeon saying the dressings would slowly work their way off (loosening around the edges) & as long as the wounds weren’t being irritated by anything like clothing & looked healed on the surface I didn’t have to cover them again. Your internal healing takes about 8 weeks.

11 days to go! My friend just asked me out to dinner for next week before surgery and i explained we can go but i wont be eating! Lol. So had to explain the pre op diet. So maybe we will just go shopping. Im going to need a shopping buddy anyway.

Reformer PILATES. All the benefits of cardio and strength without the stress impact on joints. Its actually touted as great for mobility (joints, rotations, etc). I have recently become a reformer pilates addict so i may be biased. I started about 6 or so months ago going once a week, then twice a week, and for the past month i have gone 4 or 5x per week (i bought an unlimited plan at a local studio). i feel stronger (legs and core...my arms still need work lol), waaaaay more flexible (i was already pretty flexible, but now i could probably join a circus), and my abs are pretty frickin awesome to look at these days. it can get expensive, but studios do offer starter packs at a heavily discounted price for first time visitors...a friend of mine just studio surfs and gets starter packs everywhere lol. I also second swimming for low impact exercise...i used to go lane swimming much more before, but now maybe go once every couple of weeks with my Kid. while i love the actual swimming, i hate the changing/showering/etc afterwards, boo. there is also tai chi (never tried), yoga (love!), elliptical (not my cup of tea), cycling (also not for me as it hurts my butt). but the most important thing is to find something you actually enjoy as you will be more likely to continue doing it Good Luck! ❤️ But seriously, try reformer pilates!!

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'm also just a year post-op, and I recently had some super weird severe shoulder pain (saw the Dr 😁) and I took a couple Advil/ibuprofen maybe 3x-4x in total over the course of a couple weeks. I ate first, and chewed a couple Tums. There was recently an episode of Dr. Weiner's podcast A Pound of Cure, where he addresses NSAIDs after bypass, and he touches on the spectrum of a very limited, careful taking of ibuprofen for a specific short term pain, vs someone who might have a chronic pain issue or injury that needs continuous dosing. Good luck and hope your jaw feels better soon!

I was sick the week before my surgery but thank goodness I was good about 2 days before

I attended a concert last week that was basically standing room only. In the past, I would have been DYING standing for 4 hours, but now apparently I can do it! My feet were a little grumpy with me, and I was a little sore the next day (over 40 here, lol!) but this is leaps and bounds better than it was in the past. Looking forward to seeing how I handle a 3-day music festival coming up this summer!

When they do surgery often they tilt the table and it can put a lot of pressure on your lower spine/back. I've had multiple surgeries done and each time I have lower back pain for weeks because it pisses off the arthritis in my back when they tilt the table and I lay that way for hours. LOL I also got back pain as the weight started to come off at first. I don't know why it was worse then than now, but it was. I think it is because of the change in center of gravity, as noted above. If you notice you are needing pain meds for it or it is worsening, definitely ping your doctor about it. Oh and if you still have a uterus it could be cramping from that locale too. I used to feel that a LOT in my lower back before my hysterectomy.

Hi, welcome! I read the posts here a lot before my first post too and felt like I knew everyone even though they didn't know me! LOL It is a funny feeling... My first thought is you aren't eating enough to be physically active. The body is pretty particular about how much energy it gets and after bariatric surgery our metabolism gets a nice reset (it is part of what helps us lose the weight) but to maintain that nice, new metabolism we need to EAT. And what is enough when you are mildly active isn't near enough when you are doing things that strain your heart, muscles, and burn a good bit of fuel. So I agree with the above, I'd eat more on days you work out. 65 grams of protein isn't enough for working out, I'd add in at least a protein shake, a little healthy fat, and some complex carbs. Second, it is normal to stall for a few weeks at any point, but it is especially normal if you start working out, or if you increase your workouts. This is because it changes the fluid balance in our bodies and the body takes a bit to even out. Some people even see increases on their scale when they start adding in more workouts! So if that happens, don't panic. We can also stall when our food intake changes. This is commonly seen when you go from fluids to solid food, but it can also happen if you jump in calories at any point, even if it is a needed point. My stalls seem to last for 6 weeks at a time. It is super irritating. At 4 months out you are not likely to be done losing weight yet. You may lose a little bit more. But weight loss slows WAY down the closer to goal we get and you are on the small end at this point so I wouldn't be surprised if it slows now. The most rapid weight loss is the first 3 months, then it tapers off slowly depending on how much you need to lose. Since you are used to being at the lower end of your BMI it is reasonable to expect you may drop a bit more to have the space you want if you rebound some. Just be careful not to starve yourself to get those extra lbs off, if it isn't sustainable for your body you'll really have to fight for it and it could damage that nice new metabolism in the process! Oh, and weight redistributes after weight loss. So you may look a little thin now and it may balance out a bit in the next year. This happens especially around the face for some people.

Dandelion can help with excess fluid. If I'm taking it in capsules, I usually take it in conjunction with milk thistle. Milk thistle is great for the liver and can help with excess fluid too. GAIA is a great brand that has a Milk Thistle blend I've taken before and liked, though I didn't take it for fluid issues. It may be worth talking with an herbalist to see what they'd advise. Sometimes herbs can be just as effective as prescription meds when given in the right ratios to the right person. I also know compression socks can help with fluid too, I wear them every time I travel and for weeks after any surgery... They can be annoying to find in the right size but wow do they help my legs not swell up! These are my favorite brand for compression. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0897RWF54/ Way more comfortable than the socks and since they are open foot I can wear them with dresses and sandals all year round!

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.

You can do this!! You are a beast woman!! If you need any support after the hysterectomy feel free to message, I've lived that recovery. Honestly with all the other surgeries you've had, I hope this one will be par for the course and you'll be back on your feet in no time, feeling better than ever. I highly recommend you get the disposable mesh postpartum underwear from Amazon, they are the only thing I could tolerate on my abdomen for weeks. Also, yoga blocks or something to prop your feet up a bit on when you go to the bathroom will make those bowel movements easier post op when you aren't supposed to bear down at all. I lived on prunes for 12 weeks because for me they work gentler than laxatives! But you are probably an old hand at the post surgery bowel game by now... For me the hardest thing was to stay down and REST!! You wear out much faster than you'd expect for the first few months, and honestly it was pretty close to a year before I felt back to a normal normal. All the changes in the body are weird. Feeling my bowel drop into the space when I rolled over one night was VERY strange! LOL But I'm sure you know all this. I'll be sending you tons of good juju! You will be amazed and delighted at how light your pelvis feels once those fibroids are out of there! I am still amazed at how light my lower abdomen feels. I didn't realize how accustomed I had become to feeling that boggy heaviness in that area all the time...

I am between 800-1100 a day. Last week I avg 959 per day.

It's always good to ask stuff like this, because I guarantee there is someone else out there with the same question who is too shy to ask! 😂 Personally, I haven't had any issues post-op. It's entirely possible that it's something in your partner's diet that's making things taste off/funky to you, or just an "off" stomach week for you. Hopefully it resolves, otherwise SleeveToBypass2023's suggestion works! Good luck!

I can relate to being afraid of gaining weight after working so hard to lose it. We all deal with that here. But it's a fine line between being mindful about it and developing disordered eating habits. I can speak to this because it happened to me. I was dropping weight like a champ, then I hit stall after stall, and each one lasted longer than the previous one. And I would panic. And I would restrict the amount I ate, I would kick up the intensity and frequency of my work outs. I would have anger and confusion and fear anytime I either didn't lose or I gained a little (turns out, I'm one of the ones that gains 3-5 pounds during a stall and then just sits there for weeks and weeks. Then when the stall breaks, I drop like 6-7 pounds all at once). I had to actually go to a therapist that specializes in bariatric disordered eating (not easy to find, btw) to get my head on straight. And it's still a struggle sometimes. Especially since these last 11 pounds absolutely fight me tooth and nail and just don't want to come off. I said all that to say just be very careful. I never started out intending to have these issues. I thought I'd have the surgery, lose the weight, get healthy, and bada-boom bada-bing, life would be great. But it's never that cut and dry, is it? We can become obsessed with losing the weight, seeing how low we can get the scale, getting into that lower size, looking thinner, never gaining weight again, getting that bmi just a little lower.....and before you know it, you have a whole new eating disorder that's even harder to get out of and we're doing even more damage to our bodies without even meaning to. And we can justify what we're doing because HEY, we got off our meds, we're getting healthier, we're losing the weight, we're EXTENDING OUR LIVES damn it!!! And that's harder to overcome and harder to recognize and going too far than being obese is. We knew we needed help. We knew we were doing wrong. That's why we had the surgery. But now? Now it gets harder to see what we're doing because HEALTH!! WEIGHT LOSS IS GOOD!!! NO MORE MEDS IS THE GOAL!!! JUST A LITTLE MORE WEIGHT OFF CAN'T POSSIBLY BE BAD!!! So please please just be really careful with where you're at now and where you're wanting to get to. Lastly, on the days you're working out (especially the really hard weight days) increase your protein and calories. Your body thinks it's starving, so you need to reassure it that you're not. The heavier the work out, the more your body needs. You can't run a car without gas and you can't run your body without food. So give it what it needs, in the amounts it needs, and it'll do what you want it to. Make sure you also have a larger amount of fluids than you normally would on those days, too. Dehydration can really do a number on the body, as well.

I had a nice trip to Nantucket for the Daffodil festival this weekend. Lots of meals out. I had chicken teriyaki, poached eggs and kielbasa, smoked bluefish pate, mozzarella and beet salad, and scallops with bacon among other things. Got in lots of walking. Weight was unchanged this morning, but I'm curious if that is a mix of not enough water and too much salt from so many restaurant meals. So we'll see what a couple days of regular routine does for me. I'm grateful I have had no issues with foods for almost 2 weeks now. Hoping that means my stomach is finally healing properly.

Thanks, I'm weighing every three days ... trying to wait a week each time but not reached that stage yet. I haven't really noticed any difference for a week... I know it will pass but it's hard. I still feel so enormous.