Search the Community

What percentage of weight loss did you achieve?

kindly check here for more Weight loss products that will help you. https://sites.google.com/view/weight-los3/home

So I am replying to this very ate. I had rny gastric bypass on 4/2004. I lost too much weight within the first year causing low blood sugar and was advised to gain some which I did. I stayed around the 200 lbs I had lost literally struggling to keep weight on! Around 2017 I entered perimenopause and menopause as of 2018. I also broke my ankle around the same time. I gained weight rather quickly regardless of what I did. I am now post menopausal and have gained 90 pounds. I am trying to stop the weight growth.

So this could be your body’s set point. The weight your body is happiest at & will continue to gravitate to this weight despite your efforts to lose more. Remember if you reduce your calories & increase your activity to lose more weight, you will have to continue to eat fewer calories & be more active than you are now to maintain the lower weight. And this isn’t sustainable as you’re already experiencing & your body will fight you the whole time. This becomes a head issue. You’ve lost about 100lbs. That’s an achievement. Plus you’ve built muscle which weighs more than fat too. Look back on how you were before there surgery - general health & status of your cop morbidities, mobility, ability to do the things you wanted to, self confidence, etc. What have you gained or regained with this weight loss. Don’t fear your appointment. Take in your tracked food intake (there could be something you’re missing) & your activity. Ask what else you can do. Ask if this is it for you? Ask what else you can do. Maybe raise whether the GLP-1medications would be of benefit. Do you see a dietician? Because of your intense weight training, you may need to be consuming more & by reducing your calories you have put your body into starvation mode. Even with all this, don’t give up yet. Many of us continued to lose well into our second year albeit very slowly like grams not kilograms a week or month (ounces not pounds). All the best.

I had GS nine years ago. Lost a lot. During lockdown I transfer addicted to alcohol. Now I'm sober, but, transfer addicted back to food to get there and have regained over half my loss back in the last year. So, what to do? I'd appreciate thoughts from those who got revisions and how they think it has helped them. Thanks.

In another weight loss attempt I went on an all liquid diet for 4 months (yup months). The first week is the hardest. After that the routine was kind of set. I found it very helpful to keep busy. It was especially important to keep my hands busy. Hobbies, like playing solitaire or crochet, and physical activities that you cannot eat while doing were helpful. I also focused on just counting down the days. Reminding myself that I only had "X" number of days to go helped me focus on the end game. And water. Lots of water. Best wishes!

Cheers 🍻! That first couple of days home is rough. I was cleared to go back to work after 2 weeks, but I'm on a 20lb weight restriction for 4 weeks. Just make sure your getting up and moving and keep sipping that water!

My mom had gastric bypass a few months ago. Her doctor wanted her to have it because she was Type 2 diabetic and in danger of a lot of other health issues that would be solved by losing weight. She is 69 years old. Things were going well at first - she felt well, she was able to eat as needed, and was losing the weight. She is about 5'5" and I'm not sure about her current weight, but she's lost quite a bit and can now fit into like size large in women's (she was at a 2XL or 3XL before). But recently she has become very weak and has fallen several times (which is dangerous at her age). She went in to the doctor and they were initially convinced based on scans and blood work that she she had fatty liver that had advanced to cirrhosis, and they said it was Stage 3 cirrhosis (and that her only hope for survival would be a liver transplant). The doctor also told her that she was severely malnourished, comparing her to starving kids in other countries. He said that was the cause of her weakness, along with the liver issues. A biopsy was done on her liver and she's Stage 1 of fatty liver, which means she can turn it around with diet and exercise, and we're all very happy about that. However, she is still extremely malnourished. The doctor's solution was that she eat more protein. She has been focused on doing so ever since her surgery; now she is trying to up her intake even further. And despite trying to get as much protein as she can, her last blood work showed that her protein is at a 2, which is apparently really bad. So a couple of questions for you - Have you heard of anyone going through something similar to this? What did they do to improve their nutrition and overall health? (Because at this point the doctor is now recommending undoing the surgery so that she can absorb protein better, but I don't want my elderly mother to undergo surgery again.) How can she up her protein? She is already eating large amounts of protein at every meal and snacking on it throughout the day. She is also eating plenty of vegetables. I know you're not supposed to get your protein from drinking, but would that be helpful here? Just to make sure that she's getting enough? And how many grams of protein should she be eating a day? What kind of vitamins should she be taking, and at what dosage? She is very low on like Vitamin D and B, and assures me that she's taking OTC vitamins that her doctor recommended. I know that's not good enough if you have absorption issues and gastric bypass, and I also know that doctors' recommendations (especially those who don't focus on bariatrics) often recommend way below what is needed. (Her vitamin levels are bad enough that the doctor wrote her a prescription for vitamins to take once a week.) She told me she takes the Fusion brand Multivitamin every day (designed for bariatric patients) and a calcium/Vitamin D that is 1000iu twice a day. Looking at the label for the multivitamin, it seems low to me. Any and all advice/help/suggestions would be most welcome. Thank you!

Congratulations on the surgery and improving your health! Sounds like you are doing well! Just a heads up, you're approaching the dreaded Week 3 Stall, as its known, but don't get discouraged. Everyone hits a wall for about 2-4 weeks around that point, but that's just your body recalibrating itself to deal with the rapid weight loss. It will retain water and try to hold on to fat because its panicking from sudden change. Keep the same diet and stay the course, and it will release that fat once it realizes its safe. Expect the same temporary plateau around the Month #3 and Month #6 marks as well. Our body has to readjust periodically. Weight loss will resemble stair steps, with a brief regain of a kg or two before resuming loss, instead of a straight downward line. Just remember it's normal when that happens! You're doing great!

Agreed! We all have a baseline weight from parts of our body that just have to be there (bones, organs, skin, etc). On top of that is muscle (good weight) and fat (we need a little of this, but excess fat is what we're fighting here). That's why tracking percentage weight loss is more important as we get closer to our goals. An example I was given, just using big/easy round numbers, is pretend your start weight is 300 and your goal is 200. That means you would have 100 pounds of excess weight to lose, and the 200 is your base weight your body needs to survive (again, just using easy numbers here, not an actual guide) So if starting at 300, and you lose 50 out of the 100 excess lbs, that's a 50% loss. After that, you're starting at 250lb over the 200lb goal. To lose 50% of that (25lb), you would have to put in the equivalent amount of effort that helped you lose the previous weight, because its 50% of excess. This is why it feels like we have diminishing returns on our work. 25lb total loss at this stage feels like its not much, but its still a 50% excess weight loss! That's why weight loss slows as we get near the goal. Our metabolism readjusts because if we kept losing at that original weight, it would put our body into shock since it can't adjust that quickly. Just expect it to slow down and taper off, but track that percentage rather than actual pounds. One more thing, as you put on more muscle, that will likely keep you from hitting the exact goal if it is too low. Muscle weights in excess of 1.5x as much as fat per volume. If you go to the gym now when you previously didn't, you will gain more muscle weight, which is a good thing. The more muscle, the higher your baseline metabolism, which burns the excess fat off quicker and keeps it off. The scale doesn't tell you everything. You're doing great, keep up the good work!

Great information! I will ask again since surgery was delayed for 2 months. I was concerned about certain limitations with other procedures with medications I take and other negative side effects. Back in 2008 I was so opposed to even the band at that time and wanted the least evasive procedure. I will do a little more research and ask, I do have some time due to having 2 procedures, (1) Removal and heal (2) ? sleeve, SADI, GB etc. To be honest if I loss 100lbs I will be so happy and just pray I can keep it off, it's a realistic number and my doctor agrees. Of course we all want to be at ideal weight but to loss 100lbs off my knees would be great. I'm 59 and 6'1 so I can live with that number. Thanks so much.

I am almost one year out from VSG. I am down 100ish pounds and am hovering around 225. My goal is 170-180. I, too, am struggling with continued weight loss. I feel hungry all the time. It's probably a lot of head hunger, I've been told, but I am almost never satiated. Uughh. The guilt when I go over my daily calories kills me. 🙃 My one year appointment is coming up soon and I'm afraid I will weigh about the same as my previous appointment. You aren't alone. Just keep going. Maybe change up your diet a little bit. Maybe increase cals? In my case, I feel like my body is happy with my current weight, but I'm not, so its a struggle from here on out. Lol.

I am almost one year out from VSG. I am down 100ish pounds and am hovering around 225. My goal is 170-180. I, too, am struggling with continued weight loss. I feel hungry all the time. It's probably a lot of head hunger, I've been told, but I am almost never satiated. Uughh. The guilt when I go over my daily calories kills me. 🙃 My one year appointment is coming up soon and I'm afraid I will weigh about the same as my previous appointment. You aren't alone. Just keep going. Maybe change up your diet a little bit. Maybe increase cals? In my case, I feel like my body is happy with my current weight, but I'm not, so its a struggle from here on out. Lol.

hiya! and congrats on the weight loss and 18 year maintenance! thats awesome to your questions: (1) can't really comment for U.S. surgeon recommendations as i'm up in Canada and had mine done up here. though sometimes when i read U.S. prices posted on here, it seems like prices up here are cheaper than the U.S., and its in Canadian dollars so thats like monopoly money for you guys. 🤷🏻‍♀️ (2) I had a breast lift in 2019 no implant nor fat transfer (a had an arm lift and tummy tuck as well...all 3 in one shot) and i actually stayed the same bra size before and after surgery...the bras just fit differently on my lifted boobs. I technically should be wearing a 28D (my torso circumference is on the small side of normal), but since 28D is like finding a unicorn in the stores, i mostly have 30Cs in my closet. so while the bra size remained the same, i fill them out better now....i used to just stuff all my boob material in the cup of a full coverage bra. Now, i can wear those demi-cup style bras without looking like im carrying two bowls of jiggly pudding on my chest ahhahahha. And i can wear those triangle bikini tops and NOT look like i'm spilling out the sides NOR do i have the separated-elongated cleavage look anymore, if that description makes sense. AND i can go commando and not wear a bra at all and still remain relatively perky. good luck! ❤️ p.s. i'm curious as to the reasons why you are not pleased with your thigh lift?

That makes so much sense! I kept comparing to other people’s weight loss per week and I am along myself down. But with their percentage calculation it is a much better way!

hiya! i remember you from a post about a year ago I remember you were concerned about the number on the scale back then and were resolved to take measurements vs weighing since you are a body builder...did you end up keeping records? you didn't mention in this post what your current weight is, but at 5'6" (assuming age 25 and weight of 266lbs) your current calorie intake is well below your BMR, even if you sat on your couch the entire day...which you aren't. so if your calorie count is indeed accurate, its not an issue with your intake. besides the number on the scale, how do you FEEL? joints better? sleep better? move better? less winded? off any meds? pull out the measuring tape and compare from your measurements last year...like a poster suggested a year ago, as a body builder, the tape will tell you the truth more than the scale will. have you taken pics of yourself this past year? can you see a diff? i know its difficult, but really try not to go down any shame spirals, stress is not a friend of health and weight loss. ask your team for advice and guidance during your appt next week. good luck! ❤️

I was 118kg back then till 27th Jan 2024. 10 days prior to my surgery, the liquid diet plan was quite challenging but managed well. I lost 5kg at Day 10... I was discharged from the hospital 26hrs later as 12hrs after surgery i started to walk with the support of my wife. Im on support of Multi-vitamins, Calcium Citrate + D3, blood thinning injection for 1 month, and Gastric medicine for 2 months. All vitamins or medications need to be crushed from solid pills to compound or powder base before consuming. This has to be for only the first 1 month of post surgery. Being just on liquid diet, plain water for the first 2 days, 3rd & 4th day took young coconut water, 5th till 7th day took sieved apple orange beetroot carrot & celery juice (200ml every 2 hourly) and by end of Week 1 post surgery, i lost another 6kg. Week 2 post surgery, continued with liquid diet by consuming protein milk shake 100ml at 8am, 10am, 12pm, 2pm, and 6pm. At 8pm and 10pm i take same sieved juices 100ml only. By end of Week 2, i lost another 6kg. However, this is my Week 3 post surgery, continued with liquid diet by consuming protein milk shake 150ml at 8am, 10am, 8pm and 10pm. At 12pm and 6pm i boiled small piece of cabbage and cauliflower, then i air-fry a small piece of chicken breast with 4 small slices of egg-tofu. Total weight of my lunch(12pm) or dinner(6pm) meal is within 80 to 100 grams only. This will be the diet for my Week 3 & 4. I weigh myself on a weekly basis. So let’s see by next week how much i lose again…😁😁😁

I haven't lost any more weight. I've been going to the gym and even got a walking pad for Christmas that I use but it's just not coming off. I lift weights at the gym 2 to 3 times a week an hour at a time and do at least 2 miles 2 times a week while I'm at home. The last three weeks I cut my calories way down which sucks with how much I work out. For example I did an hour of intense weight lifting today and only consumed 1104 calories and 104 grams of protein. On average I'm only consuming 1300 calories and getting between 70 to 100 grams of protein. My food through the day consists of small meals or protein shakes from 6 am to 6 pm. Like a protein shake for breakfast, one after the gym on my lunch, some low cal soup, jerky, piece kf fruit, etc For dinner (around 7 pm) I have a majority of my calories, usually baked chicken strips or shrimp, etc with a side and then bed at 10pm.. It's just not coming off. I get I could've tried harder through the last year but man this is just tough. I can't even say I've gone down in clothes sizes any more. I just don't know. I do have a one year post op appointment on Tuesday and I'm terrified and ashamed that I have virtually nothing to show for it. What am I missing?

Oh yes the hunger returns. It was around a year for me too. Think you’ll find developing a better eating routine helpful with more complete meals. Ensure you’re including some vegetables or other food group with every meal. Will help ensure you’re meeting all your nutritional goals too. Maybe find a dietician to help with meal planning & menu ideas. They’re way more qualified than a nutritionalist. I know it’s easy to grab a few nuts & jerky for a meal but each are really just snacks. And I’ll put my hand up, I was guilty of grabbing a chicken tender I’d pre cooked from the freezer & reheating it for lunch while I was losing. It’s likely why you feeling hungry after you’ve eaten. Differentiating between head & real hunger is an important learning. Are you craving a specific food, flavour or texture? That’s head hunger. If you’ve eaten recently it’s head hunger. If you do something to distract yourself (go for a walk, water your plants, read, phone a friend, craft, check social media) & the hunger decreases it as head hunger. If you have a warm drink (like tea) & the hunger decreases again it’s head hunger. If your tummy is rumbling (hunger pangs) that’s usually head hunger too. Real hunger feels vey different to me. I feel restless like something is wrong. Don’t crave or want anything specifically. Takes a while to realise I’m hungry. And there is always a logical reason why I am hungry. I reached my goal at 6 months but lost another 11kgs in the next 11/12 months. The weight loss got slower & slower until I was losing grams a week. So don’t give up yet.

Did your surgeon discuss Gastric Bypass or the SADI or Duodenal Switch with you? With your starting weight, you might want something that gives you more than the restriction of the sleeve. Especially if you only lost 100 lbs with the band... All three of those surgeries have varying degrees of malabsorption which help you lose weight for longer and the SADI and DS are usually used in patients with a high BMI. But, not every surgeon is trained to do these surgeries. If your surgeon didn't offer them to you, I'd highly recommend finding a surgeon that will. The convo is worth it. Unfortunately I can't comment on how the sleeve feels vs the band, since I never had the band. I have a sleeved stomach (as well as rerouted small intestines) and for the most part it feels normal. Do NOT believe anyone who tells you that you won't be hungry post op. Some are lucky enough to lose their hunger for the first year, a few lose it permanently, but some of us never lose it at all. I woke up in recovery hungry and boy was I mad! LOL But my surgeon had warned me that not everyone loses hunger. The portion of the stomach that is cut out contributes to a number of hormones that can affect hunger and satiety... The rerouting of the intestines that the Gastric Bypass, SADI, and Duodenal Switch do controls a whole host of hormones too, some different than the ones in the stomach, this is why these surgeries are more effective at helping with comorbidities like diabetes and high blood pressure, and why they are a bit more effective for higher BMI patients.

There are things like miracle noodles, heart of palm noodles, and of course most of our "fullness" should come from veggies once we are a year out. Think high volume low carb veggies like lettuce, mixed greens, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, as well as colorful things like bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, green beans, etc... These paired with a little fat and a decent amount of protein should help you feel fuller longer. I think it is very well possible you could be experiencing true hunger. You are MUCH taller than the average woman (if you are not a woman I apologize for the assumption) and the dietary guidelines that surgeons and nutritionists hand out are usually useless if you fall outside their standard patient. If you are exercising enough to get your heart rate up for a consistent amount of time or doing weights/strength training, you could be burning a fair number of calories too. Both of these things would make me think you may have a higher caloric need, even though you are a sleeve patient, than the average sleever would. If your surgeon's nutritionist isn't interested in customizing your true caloric need given your frame, height, and activity level, you may need to have a few sessions with someone else who is trained in bariatrics and will actually help you work through this so you can stop feeling guilt when you eat more than your surgeon wants you to. Also, have you tried the Millie's sipping broths? You can get a sample pack of their flavors on Amazon for a pretty reasonable cost. They might help ease the hunger between meals until you find a dietician to talk to.

I told everyone I had the surgery. Most of my friends and family have watched me struggle for decades and have been supportive along the way, so I wanted them to be able to celebrate with me! NONE of them think I took the easy way out because I'm very transparent about how HARD this is. I wanted to be able to encourage open dialogue about the surgery and reduce the stigma around it. Even people I don't know very well have been really accepting and encouraging and curious.... It has been interesting for me to experience. Sometimes people judge us less than we think they do. I have had a hard time most of my life dealing with other people's judgments of me. But I decided a few years ago that was a THEM problem, not a ME problem. I have a few choice phrases for people who judge me to my face. Those that do it behind my back have issues and I really don't need to know about them... That said, I tend to live most of my life as an open book so people are used to it. LOL Every person's journey is their own and I support people who keep it completely secret the same way I support people who shout it from the rooftops! You do you. It is perfectly okay to keep it to yourself, it is your body. You do not owe anyone an explanation for how you've lost weight. Just smile, say thank you, and change the subject. If they keep asking you can give one of the suggestions here or just say it is something you are still working out and you don't really care to talk about it. People need to learn to respect boundaries! I may be considered rather blunt (or a b***h) by some but I try to be kind about it. It has taken me years to eradicate the people pleasing side of my personality and I don't really want her back. 🤣

Oh!! And never look at the number on the scale and compare it to others. If you really feel the need to compare, use percentages. Those at a lower weight tend to lose slower, those at a higher weight tend to lose faster. For instance, your excess weight is 50 lbs. That's the amount you want to lose. A 10 lb loss means you have lost 20% of your excess weight already in 4 weeks! That is a lot even though it doesn't look like a lot on the scale. In comparison, my surgery weight was 307. So for me, 20% is 27.4 lbs. It took me until 9 weeks post op to lose that much... So you are a bit more ahead of schedule than it feels! Percentages are a way better gauge of where your progress really is.

Your feelings are valid @Nan CC, surgery is stressful and the idea that we have done so much for so little loss in the beginning is discouraging and depressing!! I have some thoughts to share about your experiences... 1. That hunger you are experiencing is normal. It doesn't go away for everyone. I woke up in the recovery room ravenous which pissed me off because all they kept saying is I wouldn't be hungry! And I ended up more hungry than I'd been in years!! The first two months I was hungry all the time. True hunger. I think it is because the body is panicking and trying to figure out what is going on. Plus we've been lied to, that growling sound is often not hunger, but just our system digesting and moving air and fluid through our system. After surgery our internal digestive process sounds louder to us for some reason. Maybe because we are paying more attention?? I don't know. But I had true hunger constantly. One thing that will help this is a PPI (proton pump inhibitor). Our tiny tummies are still making enough acid for a normal tummy and that can irritate it as it heals. That gnawing hunger can often come from this and gets worse at night... 2. No, you aren't supposed to automatically feel full with 1/4 cup of food. A lot do, but not all by any means. The reason for this primarily is because all the nerves that communicate fullness to us were cut during surgery. It takes at least 3 full months for those to heal enough to accurately communicate again. The 1/4 cup portion size is to keep you from inadvertently overeating and stressing your healing stomach. At about 8-10 weeks you may notice you can eat more, that's because the internal swelling has gone down. By then you should be able to start gauging your fullness signals. They are often different post op and can look like sneezing, a congested or runny nose, hiccups, pressure in your breastbone, nausea, etc... By 3-4 months out you may be eating more like 1/3 to 1/2 cup of food at a time. Not everyone progresses that way, some have high restriction all the time and have to stick to smaller portions. But the key here is to start building that relationship of listening with your body and learning that the feeling of hunger does not mean you are starving. If you are eating 1/4 cup of food 5-6 times a day, you are getting enough nutrients for your stage in the process. As @AmberFLmentioned, I suggested Millie's sipping broths (you can get a sample pack of all the flavors on Amazon) they help a LOT when you want something, the warmth and savoriness can really soothe the extreme hunger until it balances out on its own. 3. Stalls are normal and can happen early and often. I lost about 15 lbs in the first 3 weeks and then proceeded to stall for 6 weeks and gain and lose the same 4 lbs!! I was horrified and really worried my surgery wasn't going to work. I lose weight VERY slowly, my body is resistant to losing, and I have diabetes and such like you, which I think makes losing hard too. This stall was normal, even though it didn't feel normal. DS patients are known for losing dramatic amounts of weight and my surgery weight was 307, there was no good reason for the stall. But my body needed to take a break and recalibrate and heal, so it did. Finally after those 6 weeks I SLOWLY started losing again. Then at the beginning of February the weight loss finally started to pick up! A lot of people lose a ton at the beginning, I didn't. Apparently my body needed 3 months before it felt safe to start dropping weight steadily... All you can do is get good movement, good sleep (sleep is crucial to weight loss), good hydration, eat every few hours, and stay off the scale for a bit...it will break when it is ready to. 4. Hunger does eventually return to normal, or whatever is normal for you... I'm almost 4 months out and mine is back to what is normal for me. I still have to eat every 3 hours, if I don't I feel drained and irritable and my weight loss slows... I drink plenty of fluids during the day, it helped with the hunger. I feel my fullness signals clearly now, I think all that healing is finally done. I just have to eat slow enough to allow those signals to get to my brain (it takes longer than you think!). Broths, milk, coffee, tea, flavored waters, all these will ease hunger pangs, but the best cure is time and learning to heal your relationship with your hunger so you can feel it and not feel stressed about it. The great thing about eating every 3 hours is the next meal is around the corner, so I can drink something and tell my system to wait until mealtime. This helps heal the insulin resistance too by allowing your body to go through the full insulin response cycle post meal. I'm sorry this feels so hard. I hope your stall breaks soon! And I hope it helps to know you are not alone. ❤️

Well, I have low energy sometimes. I'm at 225 right now. My goal is 170-180. I guess it could be some "head hunger", but I also have spells that seem to me to be hypoglycemia. Also, my stomach growls and I feel sickish. Idk. If it is "head hunger", do you have any tips for getting through it? My psych suggested sipping a warm drink when hunger hits. I'm not a warm drink fan, but have tried herbal tea a few times. I just feel like my weight is coming off so slowly now. Like a pound every 2 weeks. At this rate, I will never reach my goal. I do exercise at least 3 or 4 days a week. I try my darnedest to stay under 1200. But, there are lots of days where I go over and the guilt murders me.