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Thank you and Good call to do the walk. I wish I could handle the heat so I could start walking outside. I’m hoping as I drop a little more weight I can. When you get to purées you have to Google ricotta bake. It’s like lasagna without noodles but it’s so good just make sure if your marinara has chunks you purée it first To add some of the information you can’t be on a phone. Not sure if you are on a computer but it’s easier.

Soooooo is it possible that with the weight change that our immune system slows down or loses effectiveness? I had an ingrown hair near my groin. Ive had them before but THIS?! It turned into an abnormally LARGE abcess within the matter of days. I went to the er. The doctors were in shock & asked me how i was managing. Anyway a nurse had to hold me as they lanced it. I screamed & cried. I also now have a weird irritation in my throat. Doctor said its probably due to the rapid weight change 😮‍💨

In reference to a comment above, I had a DEXA scan and found it very helpful. I thought I had more weight I could lose since I was near the top of my normal BMI range - but the technician said "no - you're done. You're at 21% fat, which is on the low end for a woman". I was shocked. But like the commenter said, you're always going to have more bone and muscle than someone who's never been obese. And I remember being told at one point by someone in my clinic that that is why we often look 10 lbs lighter than the scale would suggest (you do lose bone and muscle while losing weight - but that's fine because we don't need it anymore - we had all that infrastructure to hold up all that weight we once had. We do lose some of it, but not all). some pain isn't uncommon because of shifting architecture, as someone else said. You're carrying your body differently now, and your bones and joints aren't used to it. I'm not sure if that happened to me, but I'd get major butt pain if I sat for too long. I had to buy coccyx pillows for my car and office chair. I don't really get that any more (although I keep a coccyx pillow in my car for long drives) - not sure if I just figured out how to sit on it so it doesn't produce pain, or what.. re: unrealistic goals - after successfully getting down to around 170 lbs, I told one of the staff members at my clinic that I was going to shoot for 150 (which is a normal BMI for someone my height). I was told that wasn't realistic, that only about 10-15% of their patients make it that far. Most end up in the "overweight" or "class 1 obese" category (which isn't very obese). The research I read back that up (I did end up making it - actually got quite a bit lower than that - but years later, I'm now technically "overweight"). Anyway, that's what your surgeon might have been referring to. Not many of us make it all the way down to normal BMI.

I’m 5 years out & maintained since my weight first stabilised. I’m also one who finds some carbs sit more heavily in my tummy & are too filling. Specifically simple carbs like the rice, pasta & bread were advised to avoid while we’re losing. It’s not a big loss even though I used to love eating them before surgery. But I don’t consider myself to be low carb. Lots of carbs in fruit & vegetables. I eat a good two serves of whole or multi grains a day sometimes a little more if I say throw barley or lentils in what I may be cooking too. I usually say I’m lowish carbs, lowish fats. I also think the quality of these food types are an important consideration too like the whole/multi grain, less processed complex carbs vs white, more processed, simple carbs. Same with fats like good fats vs bad fats. One of the big learnings I had was that you have to work out a way of eating that works for you. That is it allows you to maintain your weight, complements your lifestyle so you don’t feel like you’re missing out or making sacrifices and is sustainable. It may be high fat or low fat, high carb or low carb, paleo, keto, vegan, vegetarian, carnivore or a mix of eating styles. Just what works.

I hear you. Fellow caffeine addict here. My team allowed coffee immediately post op. It was probably the last thing I drank pre-op and the first thing post-op. I feel your pain. If your team's caffeine restriction is arbitrary/a blanket ban because it's necessary for *some* then it might be worth asking them if you can restart now. If there are specific reasons YOU can't have it then probably best to avoid. Try other hot drinks that you are permitted instead? I did have a nice thing going with peppermint and camomile tea at one point when I was struggling to reach my fluid goals with cold liquids. Also - I echo the other poster who says be careful what you put into it. A big part of the post op restrictions are intended to guide you to a better way of eating for life. If you replace sugary hot drinks with pseudo-sugary hot drinks immediately you might just retain that taste and find it easier to slip into bad habits down the line? No evidence for this, just spit-balling at this point. Anyway - I hope you can get your caffeine fix authorised soon, or that you can find other things that replace it and contribute to your weight loss.

Honestly, I am feeling amazing! I have hit a little bit of a slow down on weight loss being 2.5 months post op, but I am now hammering the exercise and still losing inches off my body. When I say a slow down, I mean I've gone from losing 4-5 lbs per week to around 2lbs per week. An example of the exercise, I never imagined i'd have felt comfortable on a treadmill pre-op, and I am about to go onto week 3 of the 9 week couch to 5k program on the treadmill at the gym! How are you doing this week?

Though, I will say my circle is used to me having chronic, non-weight-related health issues. [ FWIW, my health got worse the more weight I've lost. [ Especially the transition to a Healthy WeightTM. ] I (and my doctors) did not expect my health conditions to improve in any specific way, but a decline is just r.u.d.e.. I am not saying I was not a recipient of the Importance of Weight Loss Soundtrack - most just didn't bother claiming it would help. ] So I can see why most leaned towards - concern - before normal weight judgement. [ ^ The person above is more in the small talk/friendly greeting outer circle.... sooo yeaahhh. ]

That’s the word I was looking for @FifiLux- vanilla. Thankfully just a one-off though you can choose to attend more sessions if you want…I don’t want! As for knee surgery - I was only told to get my BMI down to below 40 and nothing else. After checking whilst at the session last night, dropping below won’t be an issue as my initial BMI was 45.3 when the hospital received my referral from the GP. The fact that I have started losing weight shows commitment, as far as the hospital is concerned, to WLS. The only time surgery would be refused based on a lower BMI is if it went below 30 which I can’t see happening for me!! The Musculoskeletal Therapy team will give me a call around the end of October to see how things are with regards to the steroid injections and physio I should be having by then, and to check on my weight loss so I can be referred. I did say that I hoped to be 40 or just below by this time. I guess I will find out more once I’m referred. Honestly, I would prefer at least one knee replacement before WLS, purely because the recovery from the knee op can be pretty unpleasant and take several months but I know I have to be guided by the hospital with it all. I would like to have at least some movement when the heavy duty weight loss kicks in 😉

Hi fellow people! Can anyone share their success stories with losing weight, when being diagnosed with PCOS? I was diagnosed with PCOS almost 2 years ago, and I did the surgery back in January and now it’s being almost 7 months and I’m over the mini to start and try to get pregnant. So I’m wondering if anyone has success stories with PCOS healing, periods being natural again and on time and conceiving fast and easy if they could please share. thank you so much!!! .

You’ll find your rhythm, it might take a while but you’ll begin to understand what works for you and what doesn’t. When I first started working out I was doing 2 hours of cardio a day. When I knew better I cut it to 50 minutes a day and lost more fat that way. I would train glutes twice a week if I could but I get too sore because I don’t eat adequately to recover and for them to grow hence the once a week. If you can train glutes twice a week and rest well between the sessions (say beginning of the week and end) and eat well then go for it, nobody minds a juicy perky booty lol. Shoulders are not large muscles so I would limit it to 3 exercises a week (shoulder press, upright rows, lateral raises) and 2 bis and tris exercises as these are smaller muscles. I didn’t meet my protein goals for over 4 months post op. At 6 months I upped my calories to 800 and at 7.5 months (now) I’m averaging around 1000 calories a day, give or take. I have some fierce restriction so my portions are very small but I eat frequently (every 1.5-2 hours when I’m not busy or distracted). On weekends I forget to eat and can go 6 hours between meals but on weekdays I try to stay consistent and eat every 1.5-2 hours. It’s very unlikely that you’ve messed up your sleeve, you’re losing weight and keeping active so it sounds you’re doing it just right. You might be surprised to find out that you might need to eat much more (1800-2000 calories) to maintain your weight! My brother was sleeved 3 years ago and to maintain his weight (mind you he’s really slim) he’s eating around 3000 calories and he’s not active lol. Not saying you should jump to 1800 calories overnight but maybe gradually start increasing your calories until you hit the sweet spot and your weight stabilizes. Track everything and keep a food journal and note down your weight changes (loss, gain, maintenance). Remember you are very active and you WILL feel more hungry than someone who isn’t. Your body is new to weightlifting and is trying to build muscle, and building muscle requires a lot of calories. At 4 months post op I started serious weight training again and I was able to up my calorie intake when I was failing prior to that, I am just much hungrier working out than when I am not. At 3 months post op I was barely getting in 200 calories a day. Don’t doubt yourself, you’ve done amazing!

I'm exactly the same. Even starting to talk to somebody, I would panic wondering how they could really like me, and delete the dating app. But this is definitely something I want to do. I want to go to more concerts and music festivals, too. All the standing is painful and makes me not enjoy the show. Less weight on my knees and I can stand longer and do more

I've been told by my doctor that I'm behind the weight I should be losing. I should be done to 116kg (255 lbs) by now. I really was starting to worry as the weight on the scale kept going up, but then I suddenly went down to 117kg. I had to stand on the scale twice because I couldn't believe the number. It was so easy the first couple of weeks of the pre-op diet and now it doesn't seem to be working as quickly. I'm still doing what I need to, but it's not been easy. I've also been told by my doctor that after surgery, I won't be able to ride my bike for 6 weeks! This is more difficult than not being able to eat solid foods for weeks. My beautiful noble steed (her name is Angelique Iolanthe) will have to be in storage for 6 weeks. 7 more weeks until the surgery. I've been reading more articles and doing more research on the sleeve. I'm not sure if that easing the anxiety or adding to it. Thanks to everyone for sharing your stories! It's one thing to do research and read medial information, but it's so much more reassuring to hear from people who have actually lived it. Even hearing the not so glamourous parts of life post-op.

Hi, @Hiddenroses, @Mandalynne, and @Singingbarista, I had the same question about whether to tell people or not. I decided to tell my boss (that was a no-brainer, because I want her to know what I'm up to so when I need to take it easy, and when I start to lose weight, she'll know why), and I told my work team. I figured when I start losing weight the rumor mill will start (Does Andrea have cancer??!!) and I wanted them to be able to tell people I'm fine. But that's all the people I told at work, because everybody's got an opinion, and coworkers don't need to be weighing in on my personal medical decisions. I also told my sisters and my Mom. My sisters are totally supportive, even the one who thinks I'm making a mistake. She told me her opinion and hasn't hassled me about it since, she's just been supportive. My mom has said not one word. That's what she does when she doesn't approve, LOL. But that's fine, as long as she doesn't give me grief about it. Oh, and I told my hairdresser, who said her cousin had bariatric surgery and is rocking it. Here's a suggestion. This is what I'm going to do. If people ask me about my weight loss, I'll say that I am going to the MultiCare Center for Weight Loss and Wellness. Or I'm doing medically supervised weight loss. Both are true, end of discussion. I'm not planning to deny having surgery or anything, I'm just planning to not get into it, especially with people who want to share negative opinions. Of course we care what others think, there's nothing wrong with that. It's just this is a personal decision about a condition that everyone can see, but is mega-uncomfortable to talk about. We'll support you whatever decision you make. If you have surgery, as you can see this group is quite supportive and willing to share our experiences.

Hang in there, those last 20lbs or so come off very slowly! I am 16 months post sleeve and just hit my drs weight goal (although my goal is 5-10lbs less than his 😂) I drink Coke Zero everyday and probably more than I should but that being said, it has not impacted my weight loss at all. I must be one of the few lucky ones that don’t get heartburn from it. However, I do notice I can’t drink it too soon after I eat. Good luck with those last few pounds! Just stick to the program and they will come off eventually!

I had the Gastric Banding placed in 2012. I've moved away from where I had the initial surgery to a place that didn't have a doctor comfortable with the banding procedure. I've gone several years without having it adjusted but keeping my weight maintained so I didn't think much of it, I figured it was doing it's job and so was I. I recently had severe abdominal pain after having some lunch, was rushed to the local hospital, which then had to be transferred to a hospital an hour away from home to find a doctor comfortable with the banding procedure. It turns out the band slipped some time ago and completely eroded though my stomach. I had an emergency surgery with 2 surgeons for over 4 hours. They had to remove some of my stomach and a piece of my liver that had attached itself to the scar tissue. I have months of recovery ahead of me now and could have died from this when I thought everything was working fine. If you are considering getting the band please rethink it. If you have the band and haven't been check in a while, PLEASE go the doctor and get a complete check up as soon as possible.

Two weeks is the usual length of the pre surgery diet. But there are difference in what format the diet actually takes. Some are all liquid like yours (can be shakes or milk based drinks or other liquids) or two shake meals & one meal. Mine was keto. It, as @ShoppGirl said, can be influenced by your staring weight & how much weight they want you to lose to reduce the size of your liver before the surgery. It may be your general health status. It can also just be your surgeon’s preference. My two friends & I were each on a different pre surgery diet but all were two weeks long (2 of us had the same surgeon .) Each of us were in different places (health, weight) when we began.

How are you doing now? Have you started back to some form of movement. I know that when I had the sleeve I tried to do the treadmill and that did not stick no matter how many times I tried. To me, that was like torture. This time with my revision I am walking around the neighborhood instead. Talking with a friend on the phone who is also walking or listening to music and seeing the various houses and people is just a great deal more enjoyable for me than the treadmill even with the television on I still felt like a hamster I am still early out and I definitely wouldn’t call it a habit yet but I can tell you for sure that I do not dread it each day like I did the other and I’m really hoping that I can keep it up I know for sure that the endorphins are great for my mood and my energy I go until I fall into the bed and sleep like a baby. In fact that’s why I’m up right now, because I did so much yesterday I feel asleep at 9pm 😂 I agree somewhat about the fact that if you must choose one place to put your effort then the nutrition is definitely the most important in terms of weight loss BUT, having done this before and been less successful, I can tell you that last time I did not exercise and it felt like less of a huge life change for me as it does this time Again, I am only 5 weeks out so it’s possible that this is temporary, though I hope not because I feel fantastic with all of my choices my point is that adding in exercise, for me, makes it feel like more of a lifestyle change and after I come home all sweaty from my walk I don’t want to put any junk into my body. I am even starting to buy things that are grass fed and organic when they are available and trying to cut back on salt as well as rethinking my artificial Sweeteners (although that’s going to be the toughest for me to give up) because my body feels so good and healthy and I want to feel this way for a long long time. As others have said it doesn’t have to be a specific exercise. Just move your body more. Maybe dance lessons, or Pickleball, something like that. My library had a Belly Dance teacher at one point about a year ago and now that I’m losing a bit I am going to look into whether she is still there because that sounds kinda fun. I also did some research on the weighted hula hoop and it is cardio for most people as well as a bit of strength training so I may try that. It brings back memories of competitions with them as a kid so it could be fun. Something that my PA said at one of my pre surgery support group meetings keeps ringing in my mind that helps motivate me too he said that just 90 minutes of exercise a week in zone two heart rate (which I achieve with a brisk walk) decreases your risk of “all cause mortality” by 15%!! You can even break it into 15 minutes a day- 6 days a week (although it’s really 25 with your warm up and cool down added) but weight loss aside, a 15% decrease, thats pretty incredible. I was afraid of some of the complications from surgery that may or may not kill me and that was once like a 2% risk. So my goal is 30 minutes of exercise a day (I rounded up) and anything beyond that is just a bonus. That has seemed to work for me so far 🤞

1. Basics: GENDER, AGE, HEIGHT: Male, 47, 5'11" 2. Total Weight lost in the 6 months BEFORE surgery (if any): 16.8 pounds 3. Weight on DAY OF SURGERY. 430.8 4. Weight at 1 MONTH POST surgery 400 5. Weight at 3 MONTHs POST surgery 351.6 6. Weight at 6 MONTHs POST surgery 302 7. Weight at 12 MONTHs POST surgery 247.6 (two weeks shy of 1 year) Gastric Sleeve

How are your iron levels? Are they low? If they’re low, then you may need a supplement but if they’re okay, you don’t need anything. My iron levels were great & still are so I never took any iron after my surgery. Many people, women especially of all ages, experience anemia and it seems there are many more cases now days than years ago. For some its lifestyle and dietary choices, for others there can be medical reasons behind it. If you are anaemic, ensure your doctor rules out any medical cause first. If there isn’t any medical reason, check your dietary intake. Ensure you’re eating a lot of iron rich red meats, green leafy vegetables, etc. Avoid caffeine when consuming food especially iron rich foods. Caffeine reduces your body’s ability to absorb iron by 60+%. Also your body doesn’t absorb iron from fortified foods (like breads, cereals, oat milks & other milk alternatives., etc.) as well either. Iron supplements can cause constipation. Don’t take your iron supplements with calcium or iron with zinc. Your body can’t absorb these in combination so take say the calcium and zinc in the morning and your iron at night. Remember too, excess iron isn’t good for you so avoid taking iron supplements if you don’t need them. Haemochromatosis can damage your liver, heart, pancreas & joints. Symptoms can include lethargy, weight loss, mood swings, depression, brain fog, irregular or no periods & joint pain. Interestingly, many of these symptoms are the same as with anaemia.

I’m wondering if you still aren’t eating enough for your current height, weight, and activity. I eat about 1600 calories to maintain and am shorter & weigh less than you & I’m not active at all. I mean my stretches and resistance band use burns nothing really. So I’d expect I would need fewer calories to maintain my current weight than you yet your non workout days you eat the same. Yea I am making a generalisation and we are different but ut is something to consider. I’ve linked a BMR calculator below which may give you an idea of the number of calories you may need to be consuming and it maybe something to discuss with your nutritionalist. I get the looking tired and unwell. My uncle told my mum I looked like death when I first stabilised. A few months later he was telling me & my mum how great I was looking. Give it time. PS - I too was wondering if you need to take a break from your workouts like @ms.sss suggested or reduce the frequency or intensity. https://www.calculator.net/bmr-calculator.html?cage=45&csex=f&cheightfeet=5&cheightinch=5&cpound=175&cheightmeter=180&ckg=60&cmop=0&coutunit=c&cformula=m&cfatpct=20&ctype=standard&x=Calculate

@Hiddenroses I also struggle with getting enough fluids in a day. I sometimes feel sick as if I am too full of liquid. I have found that chicken gets me to my protein goal bette than beef. Not sure why but it does. I am also still on eating 1/4-1/3 cup at a meal. Be careful with drinking so much Gatorade, it causes water retention. It may seem as if you are not losing weight as quickly. My doctor said to limit to 12 ounces in a day. As for sleep, I always sleep badly. I am very restless and wake multiple times a night. Been married 22 years and my hubby says I have always been like that. I am just happy now that I can sleep without being propped up with pillows to keep me comfy. Looking forward to when I can sleep on my stomach again. lol

That’s awesome that you got some cleaning done. I said I was going to clean my bathrooms and kitchen yesterday but hubby was home and kept me distracted. I probably should do that today. The energy is kinda crazy for me because I wake up so wide eyed and ready to go but then I get tuckered out just as easily. I guess it’s probably the exercise giving us the endorphins but the low calories still limits it a bit. Either way, I’ll take it if I’m at least getting the exercise in and still dropping weight. Sorry to hear about the bathroom issues. I really think once we get to where we can regularly get In a bit of fiber In our diets that will balance out. I know that we are not alone though because they even have a tracker for bowel movements in the Baritastic app. I laughed at first but now I’m actually using it.

Have you considered getting started for your follow ups with another practice? It sounds like you could benefit from someone with some medical expertise to help get gpu into a routine that with work for you. Others who have experienced this may have some suggestions but Most offices have a NP that can probably help quite a bit with the blood sugar while maintaining your weight as well.

Nothing much to report this week, everything is just ticking over. Weight is stable, no losses this week after the unexpected losses of the week before. Happily going to the gym 3 times a week and I do feel improvements even if I can’t see them. Been to see my GP today (she’s the one who put me forward for Bariatric surgery) I’ve had a sharp pain smack bang in the middle of my chest. First time was a couple of months ago - it woke me up and lasted about 5 minutes or so. Could only be eased by sitting forward. Then nothing else until the pain happened again yesterday afternoon. The area still felt tender when I woke up this morning so rang the docs and actually got a face to face appointment - the shock!! Anyway, GP listened to my heart and chest, asked a stack of questions and came to the conclusion that it’s some sort of ligament pain where something is slightly out of alignment. I then explained about the endoscopy 💩show I had - pinned down, thrashing around etc and she thinks it could be caused by that as the timing adds up. She did ask if I was taking ibuprofen and I said no and explained about not taking anything until my next set of bloods (17th) in order to give my liver some breathing space. Advised to take after my bloods if needed as it will help recovery. Thankfully the gym isn’t causing any pain so I was cleared to carry on with that. We did have a chat about WLS and how everything has been so far. She is so incredibly supportive, it makes such a change. She said she’s updated with everything from the hospital and is really pleased with how things are going, so that was nice! So, that’s about it. Hope everyone is having a great week so far. Onwards and Downwards 😉

HI all, The surgery itself went well, the GERD is gone and my hiatal hernia has been repaired, however, I am dealing with terrible constipation (so much pain!), stomach cramps, and nausea (especially when trying to drink protein drinks or any zero sugar drinks). My surgeon has me on stool softeners, Miralax, and Smooth move tea, and Zofran for the nausea to help me to drink and consume more protein (they say I am in protein deficiency). They also want to get me an IV infusion to up my fluids intake with the hopes that will also help with the constipation. Mostly I'm just mentally and physically exhausted from it all. I know it will all be OK and a resolution will come eventually (whether it's a few weeks or months though is why I'm kind of worried about it all), but in the meantime I am at my job and uncomfortable sitting in my desk chair, feeling like I'm cheating my time because of how much I spend in the ladies room, and so close to a breaking point (there are other work issues) that I just want to quit so I can stay at home and convalesce in bed with my pets for a few more years. LOL I have lost a few pounds, which is a bonus (SW 286, last weigh-in was Sept 17 and I was 279, I think I'm probably below 275 at this point) since the surgery wasn't to lose weight but to fix the acid reflux issue. But I kind of feel like I just traded one problem (GERD) for another (constipation) and it's really dragging me down mentally. I hope everyone here is doing well and not dealing with any major issues post-surgery! Christine