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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.

You are not a failure. Below are links to web articles on how even a little weight loss can lead to large benefits : https://www.webmd.com/diet/ss/slideshow-five-percent-weight-loss https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/health/diet-nutrition/benefits-of-losing-weight https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/benefits-moderate-weight-loss-people-obesity https://www.obesityaction.org/resources/benefits-of-5-10-percent-weight-loss/

@Greekmom4 that bean recipe sounds good. Is salsa considered a purée though? I guess you can purée it a little more. I’m gonna order some now and try to use my little hand blender with it and see what happens. You have to tell me how exactly you went about making purée chicken salad. Was it totally mush? I am allowed canned chicken and tuna and a little low fat Mayo but that seems like a big jump from liquid to me. @Hiddenroses i haven't experienced that but have heard of lots of weird physical aches and pains, especially back pain that occurs as we lose because our posture changes so quickly. And lots of people do end up needing a cushion when they sit after a while. I’m gonna guess it is the loss. Your first NSV!! Needing extra butt cushion 🎉 @Onemealplan are you allowed the egg substitute? I had never tried them until my pre op diet and they are surprisingly good. The first ingredient is egg whites but they add some stuff to make them taste a whole lot more like regular eggs which is great for me because I really don’t care for egg whites. They are also super soft and moist which is good for us right now. @Hiddenroses I am editing this post to add that now that I am paying attention I am feeling a bit of tingling in my butt cheek. I am lying in an adjustable bed watching tv and I’m actually not in a very comfortable position at all but I swear I just noticed some tingling in the right side and shifted my weight. 🤣 I guess if it happened before I just didn’t pay much attention. I’m lucky that I haven’t had to do any desk chair sitting this week. That just got me to thinking about when will be the best time to get a new mattress. One thing I do remember with the sleeve was that the mattress seemed uncomfortable after I lost a significant ***** of weight. I think it’s because I was not sleeping in my same dented in spot with the posture changes. I flipped the mattress a few times and then ended up switching mattresses with my husband who is tiny because he can sleep on anything and that worked last time but I don’t remember if they have been replaced since then. I’m thinking not so I’m going to have to for sure this time at some point.

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.

The stalls keep hitting me as well. Losing weight after Gastric bypass is a lot slower than I expected. Only fast food I've ate was grilled chicken nuggest from chic-fil-A and chicken protein bowl from subway. Both last a couple meals. Instead.of trying to eat any meal. I just eat a few bites of protein and veggies. At 4-5 times a day.

I will have to say that at my highest weight I ate fairly well, just when I did eat bad I REALLY ate bad and binged. so that's how I blew up to 300lbs lol however now I am with you, if hubby is eating his Ben and Jerrys ice cream I will eat a couple of bites as opposed to eating the whole pint to myself. I do eat all the low carb stuff too. I do fear that my little Bites, Licks and Tastes will add up and make make me blow up again, but I work out 6 days a week, 2 cardio days, 2 upper body strength days, and 2 lower body strength days. I know you said that you have always worked out...I am getting bored of my routine which is why I added a cardio day and added 1 day of F45. What do you do?

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)

all good comments thank you! I am on plan 90% if not 95%. I do eat the alternatives but sometimes they aren't the option (such as this restaurant) and I wasn't sure If I was alone but it seems like everyone has a different perspective. My hubs even asked if it was okay that he could eat it another time without me or something (he has no weight problems). I am proud of myself that the meal didn't end up being going into an uphill battle to get back on track. I felt guilty eating them and felt like I messed up, but just continued the next day. I feel as though that mindset is getting me out of the "diet" mentality and allowing me to live this way forever.

Hi OP. Sounds like you had a relatively small amount to lose. 👍 Could you let us know what your starting weight and goal weight are? Also what your procedure was? And when you had your surgery? If so we could probably advise you more specifically! You sound really close to your goal - best of luck to you!

Hi everyone, I am new to this, or any group. I had the gastric surgery in Feb 2006, weighing nearly 430 lbs. in one year, I lost 210 lbs. I gained about 50 lbs back the following year traveling every week for work. But I maintained the 160 lb loss for many years. Little by little I gained another 50 lbs back, but was still 100 lbs less. About a year ago, 17 years post surgery I began having many many problems with dumping, nausea, dehydrating and severe diarrhea. As a result I have lost about 90 of the 100 lbs I had gained. I have seen gastric doctors, Bariatric doctors and all types of specialists and nobody can find anything wrong, yet I continue not to be able to eat. Has anyone on here ever had these issues and if so, what did you do? Thank you!

I was recently converted from a sleeve (6-10-2013) to a RNY (11-7-2023) because of GERD. Getting insurance to cover it took 8 months. 4 appeals. And Multiple calls and emails all the way up to the VP of the company. I work in medical education so I fought and fought and fought and finally proved they had an immense amount of bias towards obese individuals. They kept denying me because I "gained weight" and "just want to lose more weight" that I "don't have GERD". In that 8 months of proving I have GERD I had to have an EGD, Barium Swallow, Stress Test, Colonoscopy, and a PH Monitoring study (that was the really crazy one).... and they were positive for GERD. They kept insisting that no they weren't positive and if I just lost weight I wouldn't have heartburn. When I had my first sleeve I was 380 pounds I got down to 170 pounds in 2017. In 2022 when I started the program to get the revision I was 220. So yes I had gained some weight but NO I hadn't regained all my weight. My entire experience has been very eye-opening how quickly someone in insurance will deny obesity as a medical condition and say it is a lifestyle choice. Especially when the entire point of the conversion was to fix GERD and not lose weight! If you seek to have the revision my advice is keep all the framing on GERD. Don't even reference weight or weight loss. It has to be for GERD. Study that insurance companies weight loss surgery policy and reference it often. It is best practice to convert a sleeve to RNY to fix GERD. And craziness I had the conversion and haven't had GERD once since! Don't let them tell you no. If the tests prove you have GERD get the conversion.

Things have been going well! After some very slow weight loss in late April thru May, June is really looking up. With my 4-month mark just a few days away, I'm down about 61 lbs from my highest weight, which includes 35lbs since my actual surgery. I'm looking forward to hitting the "overweight not obese" milestone soon, just 5lbs to go! And 35lbs to go until I reach my weight goal! My hair thinning is just starting. My hairdresser styled it a bit shorter when I went yesterday and she'll suggest a new style if it becomes needed. But it's not too bad yet. Thankfully, I don't have any issues hitting protein and water targets. I usually have a protein shake in the morning to start the day and I put around a cup of Fairlife skim milk in my 32oz morning decaf tea, so that's 36g protein before I even have food, which I do a few hours after I get up. I can eat around 15-20g protein when it's solid food. I like Greek yogurt with berries and nuts for breakfast and often do a salad with chicken strips for lunch. Dinner is all sorts of things. The protein shake I use is Syntrax Nectar Natural in orange flavor, which vaguely reminds me of orange TANG. It feels sort of like having a glass of orange juice, enough to not be too weird in the morning before I'm fully awake. The rest of the flavors are just disgusting, although I am okay mixing a scoop of vanilla with some frozen pineapple and a splash of water or milk in a blender to make a frozen treat on a hot day. I do have about 1x a week issues with vomiting, triggered by different foods each time but usually either due to eating too fast or something being too dry. It's hard because a single bite can trigger it so it's very unforgiving. I've started carrying a small hospital-style vomit bags (found on Amazon) in my car and purse so that I won't be caught in an uncomfortable situation in public.. So far, I haven't needed them, but it makes me feel better to have it with me. I'm going on vacation next week and planning to bring along some protein bars and easy snacks like roasted edamame and beef jerky (which I found in 50-calorie packs at Dollar Tree). Once I'm home, I'm hoping to do some meal prep and try some new recipes because food is getting boring and kind of a chore. I don't really experience any hunger, so remembering to eat and making myself eat regularly is a nuisance.

Hi Sarah! I did not have that fear at first, but I can tell you that if you do not meet your fluid and protein goals you will run yourself into the ground. Trust me! I am 6 weeks post op, and after 2 weeks, I didn't drink my fluids or have my protein. When I took a shower one night, I came VERY close to passing out. The plan is so important (and sometimes really annoying) to follow, but it is for your safety, health, and to achieve the weight loss that you desire. Drinking fluids (all 64 ounces +) will really help your weight loss. I worry about stretching my stomach out later on. Like, if I succumb to mental hunger and have something that I should not have, and I just keep eating it because it tastes good - but I am told it will take a LOT to get it stretched out. I know it will eventually stretch out some, but nothing like it was. Good luck on your journey! I hope the worrying subsides and you are able to heal and start seeing the good things. My first non-scale victory was putting on a pair of jeans I hadn't worn in years and they fit...comfortably. Those are the kinds of things that keep you going. I'm down 38lbs since 4/10 (pre-op diet) and 23lbs since my surgery. I haven't weighed in a bit, so hoping it's more like 25-30lbs since surgery, but as long as it keeps going down, I'm good.

I am new here and I’ve been devouring the forums. I am one week post ESG. I am down 16 lbs. I notice a lot of you have cute pictures on your signature showing your weight loss journey. Where do you get those?

i lost another 15+ lbs in the 6 months after i reached goal weight. i had to learn to get out of diet mode and into maintenance mode, which was unexpectedly difficult as i had a low-key fear of carbs and eating more and gaining all the 125 lbs i lost back in a one fell swoop, ha! anyway, i slowly ate more and more, but had a sort of physical limitation because i had very effective restriction, so i had to choose higher calorie, low volume foods. by the time my 2 yr post op mark hit, i gained back about 1/2 of the extra weight i lost. today, at 5+ yrs out, im still more or less the same weight. BUT my composition is different: i had more muscle mass percentage back then (because i was exercising much more recently then) so i am technically fatter now despite being the same weight. but i digress... anyhoo...short answer to ur question is eat more calories than u burn. it doesn't mean eat heaps and heaps of food, just choose higher calorie stuff: avocados, nuts, full fat cheese and dairy, olive oil, salmon or other oily fish, red meat, egg yolks, etc. ...and if you are able to practice moderation, chips (my go to was chicharron), chocolate, etc. if you can't practice moderation, then just don't bother going this route...slippery slope and all... you may lose more weight as u figure stiff out. though unless ur doc is worried, you probably don't need to either. oh, and no, i didn't meal prep, but i did grocery shop plan and execute to make sure i always had stuff at home i could eat/prepare. mind u i don't/didn't work outside the home so i was able to eat/cook on the fly. good luck! ❤️

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

After 3 weeks of weight stall the scale finally moved some. I think the exercise specialist pointed out a flaw. I would eat something 2 hours before working out, she told me to eat something with a good protein and carb mix 20-30 minutes before my workout. also told me to drink a protein shake after the workout. I've done that the past two weeks. After a 3 week stall I'm not certain if it was that little change or the fact that it was going to have to move anyway. But, at least it moved. Hope everyone else has some scale or non-scale victories.

I finally got my actual wedding ring sized. It was a size 8 when we got married. I was able to wear it for several years, and then I sized it to a 9 and wore it for a few more years. But once I went up to a 10, I started to wear a plain men's band. Now that I'm done losing weight, I finally got it sized to a 5, although I could realistically wear a 4 1/2, but I would never get it over my knuckle. I can juuuuust barely get the 5 over my knuckle, so at least I know it won't come off. I have to be honest, it looked smaller when my hand was bigger lol Now that my hand is a lot smaller and bonier, the stones look A LOT bigger, which is kind of weird lol I definitely wasn't expecting that.

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.

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 hundreds but thousands of posts about it. I never understand, when it is something that almost every single person experiences after their surgery & it can be so demoralising, that surgeons & support teams don’t warn & prepare people for it. Yes, it generally occurs around week 3 +/-. The stall can last 1-3 weeks. It likely won’t be your one & only. Your body shuts down to reassess your needs as a result of the weight you’ve lost so far. This is when your body resets things like your digestive hormones, etc. The stall will break when your body has made the adjustments & is ready to move forward again. Stick to your plan. Don’t stress your body more by making additional changes to your activity or food intake other than what your plan recommends or requires. While waiting fir the stall to break, celebrate the weight you’ve lost so far. It’s a fabulous achievement.

When it comes to public posts like this, i think sometimes you need a reality check. i know its your life but when you are venting and crying for help but in the same paragraph talk about how you don't want to go to the gym, it feels like you don't want to take the extra step and put a little more work in. before getting my surgery i had to lose 28lbs and i ended up losing 60lbs because i was in the gym pushing myself. getting that sweat in. you gotta put you first you cant blame your husband or your kid. they also say that 70% of marriages don't last because of this surgery due to the significant other not wanting to make the changes as well. All you can do is hold yourself accountable. i wanted so bad to blame everyone around me for the weight i gained because all my friends eat so freely, and my family eats so freely, and then there's me just huge. but its me who ultimately who has to hold myself accountable. i cant cry about everyone around me. i have to make the changes necessary because its me who wants to see the changes. don't do a pouch reset. Go back to your eating when you were in your first year. think about your potions. this is what my nutritionist said " Pouch resets aren't real they are just a way for Bari patients to think they are starting over" go for walks. you don't need the gym. but getting active and making sure you are burning off some of the calories you are consuming is really what you wanna do. YOU GOT THIS. you made it this far now that you are here you just have to do maintenance.😁

count me as a non (traditional) gym goer as well. i do not enjoy lifting weights and never did. i really, really tried to like it but it just didn't stick. i also am not a fan of the various cardio machines (bike, row, treadmill, etc). so i gave up trying to do those activities. i did find out that i enjoy running (but for some reason only in circles, like around my block or on a track, i think its because i like to run, but not actually go far?) i also enjoy pilates and rock climbing. im completely addicted to hot yoga. also do other stuff i find interesting or fun or cool here and there but nothing on a regular basis like the activity above. like others have said, if u do something u like, you are much more likely to stick with it. if you force yourself or try to motivate yourself in any other way (to not waste money, self-flagellation or self-shame, fomo, etc) you will most likely quit and then feel disappointed or whatever and the shame-spiral continues.... not everyone is a gym person. hecks, not everyone is an exercise person. and there are lots of these people who are not (and even never have beeb) obese.

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. 😂

tomorrow morning, i am getting my excess tummy skin removed and my boobs reduced and lifted. i had rny gastric bypass in september 2022 and lost more than 200 pounds, highest weight 410, and my weight has been stable at 190. i saved up enough money to get plastic surgery in tijuana, mexico, and my work, school, and holidays lined up to get it done! im getting 360 lower body lift, tummy tuck with fleur de lys, and breast reduction and lift. i also want to get an arm lift and inner thigh lift sometime in the future. im nervous for my surgery tomorrow morning, but i’m confident in my decision to have plastic surgery now, and trust my surgeon and medical team. ive done everything i can think of to best prepare for surgery and make sure it’s as successful as possible: i have SO MANY medical supplies; i’ve been taking SO MANY vitamins and iron to make sure my hemoglobin levels are high enough; i’ve had iv infusions of iron, vitamin c, and ozonized (definitely not the correct term) 120 ccs of my blood and pumped it back in; i’ve done too much research; and i’ve saved up thousands of dollars and dragged myself all the way to mexico and tomorrow’s the day! ill update as i drag myself through yet another surgery and recovery! 😅 i also will take any recommendations for healing, post-op recovery, pain management, and expectations. ~kukui