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Weight will fluctuate but should not be that big of a difference, I would toss the scale you have and try another one. But then again, I don't weigh myself very often, I wait for my post-op weigh-ins because it is the same scale, same place, same lack of dust, etc. If your scale is on wood one day and carpet on another day you will see a different weight too. On the first floor or the 7th floor, it can make a difference, and don't forget with vs. without clothes. These are typical differences. My scale is about 10 pounds off from my doctors office. Remember that there are NSV (non-scale victories) that you should be focused on too, like the size of your clothes, how well you walk now than before, if you measured your waist, thighs, arms and the rest, are they going down in numbers? Celebrate the 43 pounds that you did lose and look for your win that you did have. You should remember that your body is different than others, and your wins will be different than others as well. I know you have other wins you can share from this last week post surgery. Mind work is just as important as physical work.

I had been part time following the pre ops diet and cutting down on my food sizes a few weeks before I got news of my operation date : may 26, the same date 5 years ago I knew I was going to gain weight because of pregnancy complications. So the first two and the half weeks I just did more pre- ops eating (modifast in 4 different flavors) . They are quite tolerable. I usually had a normal (small sizemeal) in the evening with the kids. Now starting last Sunday, (18 may) I am on a full water fast for 5 days. Meaning my fast ends today at 19:20. I have my modifast oatmeal ready should I really need to eat something at that hour. Tomorrow Saturday I shall be on liquid pre ops meals as prescribed. Sunday will be another day on liquid only in preparation for my operation on Monday. I tell you what this is my body and I am determined to get it back. The operation is not a magic pill. It is just a tool in my toolbox. The way I think about food and how and why and when I ingest it- that to me is the magic. I am focusing very much in discovering my cues and knowing what triggers my eating habits. I am learning to say no all together when I am invited to that snack moment at work to eat what so ever what when I truly know I do not need it. - I am learning to say ’No’ and knowing it will be okay. I take it a minute at a time. We shall get through this and we will not turn back. I want to be able to jump into every photo without cringing I want to feel good and run about with my kids without feeling pain, exhausted and above all guilty. I am doing this for my boys and then for myself. We will be alright guys. We got this.

I feel like you may be overthinking the malabsorption component of RNYGB? Yes, this does elevate the risk of nutritional deficiencies for some vitamins & minerals since absorption sites are somewhat bypassed. You've got to keep in mind though that ALL bariatric surgery patients are going to be nutritionally deficient, at least during the weight loss phase when you'll be eating a very low calorie diet. Very low calorie also means very low amounts of most vitamins and minerals. Even if your diet were perfect (virtually no one has a perfect diet), you just can't consume sufficient food to make up for your nutritional needs. Yes, you'll eventually get back to eating more normal amounts, but until then, bariatric multivitamins have been formulated to make sure you don't suffer from nutritional deficiencies. Keep in mind too that the supplementation recommendations are all based on averages and in reality very few of us are average. The volume of food and the nutritional quality of said food, as well as genetic and epigenetic factors all influence what you'll be able to get from diet alone, as well as how well supplementation works for you. As a result, ALL supplementation recommendations are set up to ensure ~95% of patients will have no nutritional issues. Bariatric multivitamin manufacturers also tend to over-rotate on anything that does not have an established upper limit since they know that their consumers will be having frequent labs done. If someone were to be deficient in a particular vitamin, then they're likely to seek out a different product. You can see this pretty clearly by simply looking at something like the ASMBS recommendations vs the massive amounts of many vitamins found in bariatric multivitamins. Know too that it's entirely likely your bariatric team will have you adjust your supplementation after your labs are done post operatively. Many will want to do labs around 90 days, 180 days, then annually thereafter to monitor for nutritional deficiencies (or sometimes even excesses). I for example had to modify what multivitamin I took because my B12 level was sky high. I get the cost concern, and you may be fine with just a regular multivitamin, but keep in mind your overall food bill should drop since you'll be eating so little. This should more than cover the cost difference, so personally I'd err on the side of caution and take a bariatric specific multivitamin at least while you're in the fat loss stage. Once you're in maintenance, you might be able to adjust that (with your doctor's blessing).

We started off about the same weight, and at month 4 (I just checked my spreadsheet), I'd lost 52 lbs, so not much more than you. It seems to be pretty common to lose about 10 lbs a month for the first few months (although some people have a big drop the first month (I did not), which is likely a lot of water weight - before settling in at a slower rate of loss). After the first six months or so, I dropped down to maybe five lbs a month - and after I passed the year mark, there were some months when I only lost about two lbs. It took me about two years to reach goal. If you stick to your plan, the weight will come off, whether fast or slow. There are so many factors that influence your rate of loss - age, gender, body build, how muscular you are, your metabolic rate, how active you are, whether or not you lost weight before surgery, starting BMI, etc. The only things you really have any control over are how closely you stick to your food plan and how active you are, so if you do well with those two things, the weight WILL come off. I ended up losing over 200 lbs, so definitely don't lose hope! P.S. of course, if your scale actually weighs differently than the one at the doctor's office, well then there's that, too...

Yes, I have type III lipoedema as diagnosed by two GP and a specialist consultant plus confirmed by my bariatric team and a cosmetic surgeon and in addition other female family members have the same condition. Before my sleeve I was at stage 3 but now I am, thankfully, closer to a stage 2 appearance wise. I have been prescribed compression clothing in the past but it just helped ease the pain/heaviness, I did not see any physical improvement. I have prescriptions for drainage massage which does help a bit. It is on each leg but not as pronounced in the upper area now that I have lost weight and is not an issue for me the way the lower part is, from just above my knees to my feet. I just did not see the need to go into all of this personal information to ask the question I did above. About the machines I am having my doubts as the more I read about it, people have to keep going to maintain the losses they may be achieving which then means it is not sustainable as far as I can tell and becomes a money pit. I will be postponing my appointment this weekend, for other reasons, and unless I come across some startling new information I will probably not reschedule.

Aaah scales. They have the power to make or ruin your day just by standing on them. Did you weigh more at your doctor’s than at home initially? I weigh differently at my GP, my follow up doctor, the hospital & at home. So they keep their records and I keep my mine. The actually weight loss is the same just the numbers are different on the scale. Check your batteries. How old are your scales? As my old scales were failing my weight was erratic until they finally read I weighed like 100kgs more than I was. They went in the bin & I bought new ones that day. Remember you have lost 43lbs in 4 months so averaging 10lbs a month. That’s fantastic.

I'll be honest. I'm skeptical of this, but before we get into that, I think you may need to clarify something? You stated that you have: This would be highly unusual, since lipoedema is normally seen over the entirety of the legs, but is typically most pronounced in the buttocks & thigh area. Have you actually been diagnosed by a physician? If it's just your calves, it would be a lot more likely for this to actually be muscle, not fat. It's extremely common for formerly obese people to have larger than normal calf muscles. This is so because basically you've spent your life doing heavy calf exercises daily just by walking around with all that extra weight. If this is the issue, your options may be somewhat limited. Eventually, with targeted diet and exercise, your calves may shrink, but it won't happen quickly. Another fairly common cause would be another type of edema such as lymphedema. Edema is common in obese people, but lymphedema specifically often goes undiagnosed. Unfortunately for some people, losing weight may not fix the problem. Bottom line, if you have not already done so, I would strongly encourage you to talk with a doctor about your concerns so you can get an accurate diagnosis. Now for my thoughts on hypoxi and the reasons I'm concerned: The basic principle here goes against our current understanding of how fat loss works. The only study linked on their website doesn't actually show ANY increase in fat loss. All it shows is a reduction in size of the "treated" area. This is a HUGE red flag. If the subjects didn't lose additional weight, even in the main study they link on the site, then what caused the size reductions? The most plausible answer is that this was simply fluid loss and thus extremely temporary. The study linked does not appear to have ever been published in a peer reviewed journal of any kind. This is another huge red flag. The fact that no one else has made similar devices seems odd? If the science were sound and the results reasonable, then copycats should be everywhere. Quality medical devices simply don't exist in a vacuum. It's also a bit sketchy to me that these devices can only be found in their "studios" and nowhere else. They seem to want to tightly control things, which seems odd if this really works as well as they claim? Why not sell them to health clubs, rehab facilities, etc? Best of luck whatever you decide.

HOLY ISH! A year already?! Time has flown! I still remember the beginning of your journey and those first posts—wow, you've come so far and done so incredibly well! I'm seriously so proud of you!! I totally agree with @SpartanMaker—maintenance is no joke, and exercise really does make all the difference. Weight lifting has been key for me too. It helps so much with maintaining, even more than cardio sometimes. Build that muscle and you're burning calories just by existing. Cardio is still super important,! I’m still figuring out maintenance myself, but my workouts have been consistent and even through my 2month spat of not being able to get my nutrition in control, making sure I kept up with exercise has been key I have been consistently doing this and its been great: 35–45 minutes of strength training, 5 days a week, At least 30 minutes of cardio daily (treadmill, dog walks, biking—whatever tickles my fancy), 2 lower body days, 2 upper body, 1 full body and one day a week my doggy and I do a 5-mile walk (she gets a walk every day, but that’s our long one). You’ve been so fabulous through this whole process, and I can’t wait to hear about your continued journey!

I am doing a trial session of hypoxi (https://www.hypoxi.com/en/) on Saturday as I am hoping it will help with the bad lipoedema in my calves and ankles which I feel kind of takes away from all the weight loss and how well I have done over the last almost two years as I still can't wear anything that does not cover it all up as I am so self conscious about and it depresses me a bit as I can't see that I will ever reach my dream of being able to wear calf high boots. I haven't been given a price list yet, as Saturday is a trial, but I am sure it will be very costly so don't want to get sucked into a gimmick and I was wondering if anyone else has done sessions to help with toning (not necessarily lipoedema related) and if you have any feedback? The one immediate good thing I can see from what I have read is that I won't have a problem following their nutrition guidelines which is not to have high fat or high carb foods a couple of hours before a session and or for a few hours after a session.

Today's win ? Returned to weight lifting after what seems like a 200 year hiatus. 🤣 Nothing extreme or crazy....very light weights with lots of reps. Injury avoidance is key concern. Other win is the overall feeling like I have things dialed in and the cruise control is activated. The positive feels from this are so welcome. The last 6 years or more have been chaotic and hellish at times. Things are slowing down and falling into place. Sure the scale is giving lower numbers every week, but the real improvement has been with the pure simplicity of returning to the initial advisements of the professionals at my bariatric center.

I was recently told that I have PCOS. My husband and I are currently trying to conceive, and have been for over a year. I get very frustrated and critical of myself because I keep hearing “you might have better luck if you lose more weight”. I’m so proud of where I am, though. I’m 7 years post-GBS, and I’ve kept all the weight off (125 pounds). But it always feels like it’s never good enough. Any tips or advice? Thanks! -Sarah

I realize this is an older thread...but it is still near the top of page and I suppose the "most recent" of it's type ? A pile of stuff has occurred in my life since I was active here on B,Pals. My 10th year sleeve anniversary is coming up later this year. Lost a ton of unwanted weight as a result of the sleeve. Daily trips to gym were the norm. no longer drank beer, but found that sugar free mixers and high grade tequilas and vodkas made for some FUN fuel for many adventures. Storm clouds loomed heavily over my marriage. Some unresolved issues resurfaced in a big ugly way. It appeared divorce was most probable. The storm finally broke....my ship hadn't crashed on the rocks... my wife still my first mate, ally, friend and lover....marriage was stronger than ever. 6 years ago she received a diagnosis for stage 4 breast cancer. Immediately stopped drinking when that diagnosis was delivered. 4 years ago she succumbed to the evil hell of cancer. She fought it with superhuman strength and courage. I will live the rest of my years in awe of her bravery and grit. It has been an incredibly tough go of it since. Her unshakable faith stoked my own faith. That is what I leaned on heavily....and will continue to do so. Early last month, the anniversary of her death was approaching. I was filled with this feeling of guilt in addition to the ever present loss & grief. The guilt was spurned by the realization that I had taken zero steps towards what she had told me to do...afterwards. She was clear that she wanted me to live. I was going to work every day and that was the extent of it. I'd maintained zero friendships and seldom contact my family, other than our son. The hurricane damage had been repaired on the house, yet I'd done nothing towards moving stuff back into the rooms that were repaired. Was living off take out and drive through garbage because I couldn't bring myself to cook...painful memories of meals made & shared together. ENOUGH. That was the word that hung heavy in the air. I could almost hear it as if she'd spoken it loudly. ENOUGH, GREG...IT IS TIME TO MAN-UP I began taking inventory right then. I vowed to not let another year go by with me still living in a bubble...not treading water, but sinking. I have remained alcohol free since quitting those six years. Clear headed and no monsters to address there. Good. Doctors appointment for annual checkup had revealed several things....top of which was my blood panel looked like trash...precisely because that is what my diet consisted of....pure trash. There had been some weight regain...but nothing that I felt like would be too difficult to lose....if I would get my arse in gear and make the lifestyle changes needed. Things were going okay on my job, simply because I'd let it be my focus...the only thing I rallied for. Spent way too much time there. Immediately scheduled some vacation time off and road tripped to visit family Visited my wife's grave....our gravesite and did so with a different feel....loss and missing her....but, feeling more stable for the first time since losing her. She'd forced me to sit down, months before passing, and listen to her on a certain subject matter that I was avoiding. told me to live...how to live....wanted me to continue on with all aspects of life and was very descriptive. She would make ongoing instruction in the months ahead. I couldn't speak in reply...just nod that I understood. She was so brave that she could accept things and love me enough to coach me how to live....afterwards. I was too much of a coward to discuss it....just sat there and listened and acknowledged. She would KICK my arse if she saw the state of low I'd been to. One day, perhaps, I will be able to show her that I heard her and rallied. That time will be at the end of my days, however. Until then, there is much life to live. RESETTING THE SLEEVE WAS EASY: I simply swapped over to strict keto. After two weeks I felt much better....after a month I no longer wanted the crap foods and I no longer wanted big meals. The smaller meals reset things for me. There is a noticeable restriction and feeling of full that occurs now. I haven't finished a meal in a month...unless it was a 1/2 sized meal. Sipping water all day...cutting off prior to meals and 30 mins after. Zero sugar intake an damn few non-fiber carbs. Supplementing with vitamins, iron, potassium and calcium. Moving more....but still not ready for the gym and all the people. Slowly feeling emotionally more "awake". Keto, with an eye on the overall daily calorie intake is how I live now. I don't see changing that. By the time that 10th surgery anniversary arrives, I suspect I will be at my all time lowest weight since college. The sleeve is still there. It just needed me to treat it right and not override it with trash food.

Just another update to my measurements! Starting weight: 281lbs Bust = 53", Waist = 45", Hips = 56", Stomach = 56" 26/08/24 216 lbs Bust = 45", Waist = 36.5", Hips = 49", Stomach = 47.5" 13/11/24 196.2 lbs Bust = 43", Waist = 35", Hips = 46", Stomach = 46" 19/05/25 150lbs Bust = 35", Waist = 28", Hips = 39.5", Stomach = 35"

Awesome, my surgery was on the 12th of May and I'm doing great too. Not too much pain, I'm on a liquid diet, but it is full liquid, so no real food for me yet, just drinks. So far I have not had Nausea or vomiting either. I'm still swollen, so I'm not stepping on the scale for a while. I'm doing a lot of walking, and resting, and drinking plenty of fluids to stay healthy as possible. I am surprised how little pain I have had, just achy but no cramps or sharp pain at all. Glad to have BariNation on my side, they are an online support group that I pay to be a member of, and love the support of my online friends, and those that I keep in contact with by phone, and someday will meet. They have nutritionists and social workers, and Bariatric Pal is one of their co-sponsors, which is nice. Might want to check them out. Glad you are doing well, keep up the great work, and don't look at the weight, do other measures. Hope you took lots of pictures of you before, you won't regret that!!

Hello, I was 63 when I did the sleeve. The only problem was, i had lost 60 pounds and got knocked over at the dog park which stirred up my back injury. I think if I had been younger, it might have been different. So I had to go on steroids 9 months after surgery and the weight loss came to a shcreaching halt! I have not been able to lose anymore, but at least keeping the weight off.

Amazing. Thank you so much. I just did my monthly inbody test and I've lose 4 kgs of fat and gained 2 kgs of muscles so I must be doing something right haha. And it made me excited to push through because I only lost 900g of "weight" so ya I should throw out the scale. I do want to build habits which I can sustain forever. So that's why my workouts and food are very normal and not special food for right now! Let's see how it goes!

My lap band removal was terrible. I lost a lot of weight in the beginning and ended up gaining all my weight back and then some after a couple years of having the band. I kept it about 10 years. I had my band out last January and ended up having bypass last October. The band removal was very uncomfortable, i had a drain and I just felt overall terrible compared to bypass which was an easy surgery for me….that band was the Bain of my existence personally….bypass a lot lot lot better so far for me. Good luck and get that miserable thing out.

I had lap band 21 years ago. Through the years I lost 120 lbs. 60 of those the last three years after I retired from teaching. My band has slipped and food is sitting in my esophagus. So it has stretched out, and my reflux is bad and I have to have the band removed. I am freaking out that I will gain the weight back. It has been part of me for so long that I feel funny having it removed. But I also don't want to have esophagus problems and can't keep getting up in the middle of the night with terrible reflux. Has anyone gone through this? Did you gain your weight back? Any hints and suggestions? Thanks. Deanna

Hey everyone! I had my surgery on the 9th! Everything went really well, I’m still a little sore, but it gets easier every day. The biggest challenge has been the protein shakes, while they were good at first, I have begun to have a dislike for them. Tomorrow is mashed potatoes, soups, and creamy peanut butter! Looking forward to that immensely. So far I haven’t experienced any nausea or vomiting. I already feel a change in my weight I’ve lost 25 lbs between my preop and post op diet. Once I start working out the weight should fall off. Thanks to everyone who greeted me and sent their well wishes!

Thanks for the information. I'm a Gym Rat, but my surgeon told me I had to wait 6 weeks before I go back to swimming and cycling, and I have a personal trainer working with me on strength training so I lift weights well. I'm getting in over 80 grams of protein with my protein water and doing a lot of walking and only 3 days post op now. It has been a wild ride so far, and the surgeon called me last night to see how I was doing and checking my glucose numbers and pain...that was a shocker, who does that? My surgeon does!! He is a people person, that's way cool! Anyway, thanks again for your support, and everyone's support. I'm starting my new life happy.

You may reach goal, you may not or you may exceed goal & all are okay. Remember though if you have to work harder & be more restrictive to reach your goal you will always have to work harder & be more restrictive to maintain the lower weight. At that point it becomes all about sustainability: can you maintain the exercise and eating plan in the long term without feeling it’s too restrictive or you’re missing out. As for the possibility of regain, there are a myriad of factors. Could be just the bounce back regain many experience (around 10-20lbs), stressful situations (personal, work, etc.), health issues, changes in meds, too restrictive maintenance, not dealing with issues that lead you to gain in the first place, returning to your old way of eating, etc. Some things we can have some control over and some we have no control over. Personally I maintained for almost 6 years but a complete hysterectomy Sept last year has messed up my hormones and I’m seeing regain. I’m fortunate I have supportive doctors and we’re looking for ways to manage it. Regardless where you settle, you are winning and have successfully made changes to improve your health and life. Enjoy.

You absolutely can reach your goal weight, but you will have to work hard at it. There obviously are no guarantees in life, but there's also no reason you can't get there if you work at it. I think you're doing great so far, so keep it up! I'll be honest, maintenance is harder than losing weight. I actually just posted something about this in another thread, so rather than repost the same thing, take a look at this:

Congrats, you've done an awesome job so far! I'm going to tell you now; transitioning to maintenance is HARD. It's scary to start eating more, it's hard to know how much to eat, and it can be challenging for some to eat all the food they actually should be eating. I would also STRONGLY, STRONGLY encourage to to work up to at least 1 hour of cardio 3 days a week and 1 hour of strength training 2 days a week if you are not already doing this level of exercise or more. The data is crystal clear here. Those individuals that get at least the amount of exercise I listed are significantly more likely to be able to maintain their weight loss. Scientists don't entirely know why this level of exercise is needed (it's almost double what someone that was never obese needs to maintain weight), but the most likely explanation at this point has to do with the fact that exercise affects your body in a couple of ways: Regular exercise changes the way the brain regulates hunger and metabolism. Simply put, most of us got as big as we did pre-surgery because our brains weren't good at telling us when to stop eating. Exercise seems to help change the way your brain understands and interprets these signals. Exercise also lowers stress and systemic inflammation, two huge triggers for overeating. Best of luck!

First, let's differentiate between a stall (what you're going through right now), and a plateau. A stall is just a temporary fluctuation in overall weight and is not indicative of an issue. Stalls are perfectly normal and to be expected. After all, your bodyweight is made up of lots of other stuff besides fat, so fluctuations are to be expected. More than likely, you actually have continued to lose fat the entire time, it's just being masked by a concomitant rise in some other component of your overall body weight. The most likely candidates would be fluid retention, or stool weight. Most of the time for a stall, I wouldn't recommend any adjustments since it's unlikely that there is really any issue with fat loss. A plateau is like a stall, but longer. I typically wouldn't consider it a plateau until you've hit more like 6 to 8 weeks without any loss. In that instance, it would be hard to argue the fat loss was being masked by something else. There are things we can do to work through a plateau, but IMO it's too soon for you to worry about that yet.

It always makes me a bit sad when medical professionals that should know better tell you what you can expect from surgery based on averages. Please know, there are no limits on weight loss after bariatric surgery of any kind, thus saying that you'll only get to 300 is in my opinion doing you a huge disservice. Whether you get to 300, 200, or beyond is all up to you and your behaviors post surgery. As you leaned the first time around, bariatric surgery does not fix your brain, so I would strongly encourage you to work with a mental health professional to understand your eating behaviors and how to address your unhealthy relationship with food. It would really be a shame to go through with a revision to bypass, and end up back at 400 again. As far as dumping, some people dump, and others don't. For some, dumping can be a blessing in disguise because it forces them to eat better. Most people that dump tend to dump on either simple sugars and/or fats. The vast majority of people that do have an issue with dumping can manage it well with diet modifications alone. For those that need it, there are some medications that can help, and in the worst cases, there are even surgeries that can help dramatically. My advice would be to not continue to put your life at risk by staying at your current weight simply because you're worried about something that may not even happen.