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I think it is probably a lot of trauma related to my weight specifically! People, especially family, should know better as you say. A thicker skin is needed at times, I agree. It is just a shame that we have to develop that, rather than people just being kinder. I need to adopt that haha, I am glad you confronted them! I currently have therapy and it is definitely something I need to talk about! Thank you for your reply

Hey everyone, I was on here talking before about some comments that my partner's family member made, and how it kind of upset me. Yet again, now more comments are being made but this time from my own Grandma. I had a dessert with my sister whilst we were out and she proceeded to call us 'piggies'. I know this is just a phrase that a lot of people make, but for some reason it just got to me a bit. I struggle a lot with being perceived in public, always worrying that I am taking up too much space, or if someone is looking at me, thinking it is for a negative reason around my weight. It is a really destructive pattern of thinking, I am aware, and I am trying to change it. I just feel really heavy with it all at the moment. But I think I just needed to rant about it. I am just feeling quite low about a lot of things, and unfortunately, unless you have struggled with your weight, I think it is hard for people to understand the why. x

Thanks for mentioning the Project Runway episode 5. I watched season 4 years ago but watching it now, after losing weight, I can better relate and enjoyed seeing it again. I liked Penny's outfit best. I've been tempted to keep a few favorite clothing items that I've outgrown but I can't sew so.... 😏

Are you still in contact with your dietician? Might be worth a conversation with them to see if there’s something you’re missing & to get you back on track. Maybe track your food for a week or two as well if you don’t. Can be easy to get a bit complacent about portions, ingredients, etc. as time passes. You could take this data to the dietician too. Have you see your surgeon recently? PS: Can you provide a little more information: type of surgery, starting weigh, weight lost, current weight, how long you’ve been plateauing, etc. It’s very helpful when offering any advice or suggestions.

Day 5 out of 14 on the pre-op diet and I've settled into somewhat of a routine. I do a Bariatric Fusion cappuccino shake at breakfast with a 20 oz decaf tea that has 1/2 cup Fairlife milk and a scoop of collagen in it. Oikos triple zero yogurt for a mid-morning snack. Bariatric Fusion chicken soup shake for lunch. Jello for snack. 2 scoops Syntrax Nectar unflavored powder in one cup of Pacific Foods tomato basil soup for dinner. Jello for dessert. Sometimes a Good Night protein hot cocoa before bed if I'm hungry. I also take my chewable Celebrate One 45 vitamin, 3 celebrate calcium chews, 2 scoops of Benefiber, Vitagut liquid probiotic, and a liquid omega 3. Believe it or not, all of those supplements add 160 calories and 14g carb to my day! I also drink three 32oz waters with a sugar free flavor packet in each. Total average daily macros: 850 calories, 105g protein, 11g fat, 50g carb Weight loss so far: 7lbs

You have done so well and you look fabulous. I had a blip at Christmas too and its the first time that I had put a little weight back on. I was so mad at myself. It took me until all the festive food was out of the house. I could then shop better. I left carbs off my diet . Once I knuckled down and got my calories under 1200 for the day, it came off again. If you want to reply to someone's comments, just press the quote button. Or you can put @summerseeker for example and pick the persons name out of the drop down list

I had the lap band for a long time, and there were definitely days that food would go down much easier. Then I had days I couldn't eat but a few bites, and other days that it felt like there was no restriction at all. Many times, it depended on what type of food I was eating. I don't think you need a fill unless your weight loss has completely stalled, and even then, a common problem is being too aggressive and getting too many fills and ending up causing serious long term side effects with the esophagus. As long as you are still in the general ballpark of say, your calorie goals, I wouldn't worry about the day to day fluctuations. You can get a barium swallow and see if you pouch has stretch or not, I did that yearly to make sure the band didn't slip and/or if I stretch the pouch above the band. Sometimes that can cause people to be able to eat a lot more when they have the band.

OK - firstly, you are doing absolutely fine. Anyone who has lost 60lbs in 5.5 months is WINNING! We all stray from the path a little at times! You have already identified where you strayed - carbs. So from tomorrow, get back to your surgeon's plan. I suspect it will be protein first, veg second, carbs last (by a long way). Stick to that. I have a sleeve and I was still losing miniscule amounts of weight almost 2 years out. You have loads of time to get to where you want to be. I wish you luck!

I am five months postop and think I am driving myself crazy. I have not lost any weight since November 11 right before the holidays and am terrified I messed my surgery up. I indulged a little too much with carbs during Thanksgiving and Christmas. I started this journey at 285 and am currently 227. I was 269 August 29th day of the sleeve. I followed my diet to the T until holidays How do I pick my weight loss back up?? Did I ruin this for good?? I def CANNOT eat as much as I used to but I can't seem to get back to starting point of protein and 5%carbs and 5%fat limits on food items. I'm embarrassed to talk about it with anyone except this forum. All my bloodwork is great. I am doing some cardio and weights 5 days a week but not much as I'm slowly getting into it. But I feel like I've messed up my sleeve or something!! What If I did all this just to lose almost 60 pounds but to be honest I do feel the best I have in years. I just don't wanna give up I don't even know what to think about not losing weight all these months. I did gain/lose a few pounds (was 224 then was 230 now I'm 227). Am I going to be stuck at this weight forever??? Its only been 51/2 months!! Advice please!!!!

You are looking absolutely amazing! So healthy and happy! I can't even imagine what it must feel like to go from a size 18 to a size 4. Lordy, I haven't seen 145 lbs since I was 17. Congratulations! If you don't mind my being nosy (because I am close to your same starting weight and height, and probably age too), how is your loose skin situation? Have you posted your before photos on here somewhere?

Oh yes, I've heard of Dr. Puebla. Great reputation and the prices in Mexico are incredible. My starting height and weight and end goal are really similar to yours, actually. I swear, I just can't picture how I'll look at the end at all. But I guess if there's a chance I'll want skin reduction surgery, I should get going on Duolingo! I wonder how much Spanish I could learn in two years...

I have stagnated a little bit over the past month+. Got down to 215 but popped back up to 220ish (now back to 217). Figure it is just a bump in the road and I am still committed to getting to sub 200 by my year mark. Feel amazing and had a good ego boost last week when a nurse at my dad's memory care facility asked my mom if I was single Currently trying to gently talk my sister into looking into the surgery as well (and potentially her son). She is worried about the financial aspect of it, which I totally understand, but my mom has said that she would pay for it. Given how against my surgery my mom was, I feel like this is a HUGE win. I want what is best for my sister (and I think the surgery is best), but I also know how I felt when people told me what I should do about my weight, so I am trying to be very supportive and helpful without being pushy at all. I have talked to others about it as well. I kinda feel like I am a WLS evangelical now! Finally, haven't heard from @Synlee in a while, but I hope you are doing MUCH better. I still say a prayer for you every week.

Yeah, so I chose the RNY gp because I liked that it has a stronger metabolic impact than VSG while not being too malabsorptive like DS. Based on the risk calculator, there was a somewhat higher likelihood of addressing/resolving my hypertension and blood sugar issues, and I didn't want to risk developing GERD and requiring daily medications or a revision. I need this to be a one and done surgery if possible for financial reasons. Given that a full 20% of my surgeon's practice is revision (mostly to RNY, but they also do DS), this revision issue felt like something that is common enough with sleeve patients to give me pause. Also, my brother had the sleeve 15 years ago and while his overall weight is still well under where he began, his weight regain has been significant. I wanted the additional threat of dumping syndrome to keep me in line where sugar is concerned. And also, the more I thought about it, the more I preferred the idea of rerouting instead of removing parts of my organs. As for not telling people, I was tempted to do that, too. But the more I thought about it, the more I decided to just own it. A lot of people out there mistakenly believe obese people can "just" eat less and exercise more to lose weight and keep it off. How many of their real life examples are people who quietly got WLS and then credited their diet and exercise for their transformations? I don't want anyone using me as an example in the future to tell some other obese person what to do. Thankfully, I turn 50 in a few weeks and have therefore reached the age where I officially no longer give a fig about what anyone else thinks and am happy to direct naysayers to a wide selection of their own body orifices where they are welcome to stow their unsolicited opinions. Also, luckily, my close friends and family are very supportive, which helps immensely.

So glad Im not the only one who feels this way. Its funny not in a humorous way that everyone has an opinion on this surgery. Just diet, work out more.... Ive done it all. Now then, I haven't told anyone Im actually going to have this surgery. I have no idea what I am going to say about not eating certain things and or losing weight. I think Im leaning toward an ulcer or hernia surgery.... Good luck to you too. Can I ask why you chose GP and not something else like a sleeve? I was told I was a better candidate for the sleeve but originally, I was leaning toward GP.

I made it down to 144 on my own but I finally reached goal thanks to plastic surgery. I'm still recovering from my surgery 3 weeks ago. I actually went to mexico because I found a great Dr that I loved his work and he is board certified in the US as well as Mexico and Cuba. He is known for being very safe and I had to be pre screened medically twice before he would even operate on me. He also works out of a hospital so I thought I had all of my bases covered but my luck is always bad lol. I had complications but I still received amazing care. My only symptom after surgery was a fast heartrate. They brought in all the guns and had a cardiologist, the surgeon himself, a radiologist and the surgeons partner all come in and test me and discuss on my care. My blood came back with a hemoglobin level of only 6.9 and the ultrasound showed a large hematoma. So they immediately wrapped me in a compression garment and then taped me even tighter and I was given 2 blood transfusions through the night. Early the next morning at 7 am I went in for a second surgery to remove the hematoma and to see if I had any active bleeds which I did end up having an arterial bleed which they then fixed. I was also given one more bag of blood. I have the pictures of me opened all the way up during the original surgery and you could not see any bleeding at all so I don't know how this bleed happened but they acted quickly and I felt safe and taken care of the whole time. My dr always has everyone stay at least 1 night in the hospital and I think that is what saved me. So many people go home right away and if that had been me with no other symptoms, I am afraid to think of what could have happened. I was never dizzy or nauseous or even really tired. Just a fast heart rate of 120 with spikes to 150. Unfortunately because I had to have 2 surgeries my front tummy tuck scars are taking forever to fully heal but they are still doing great. No infections, just slow healing. I had a lower body lift which is the cut that goes all the way around and is great for tightening the front and the back. Lipo to my back and flanks, a small bbl and breast reconstruction. So I did have a ton of stuff done and with hind sight I may not have chosen to do it all at once because I wonder if that was increasing my chances of complications After the fact though I'm so glad to have it all done and not have to face any more surgeries. They removed about 8 lbs of skin and 2 in fat. I haven't weighed this little since middle school and I'm still swollen so who knows what my final weight will be. I'm so happy with my results and will have to share pictures once I'm fully healed. My youngest daughter and I went shopping this week and bought crop tops to wear together to celebrate. I've never worn a crop top ever. So I'm looking forward to wearing it in the near future. Gastric bypass certainly has changed my life in amazing ways

Interesting question. We women experience a burst of estrogen as we’re losing weight as estrogen is stored in fat. As we lose weight it’s released into our bloodstream. It stops once we get to a healthier weight range & our weight loss has slowed? Your question made me wonder about testosterone. I found this brief article which you made find interesting. It seems testosterone is stored in your fat where it can’t be used by your body & in overweight people it shows as low testosterone levels in blood work. Weight loss results in an increase because you have less fat so less testosterone is stored & it’s available for your body to use. Sounds like good news for you if you are actually producing adequate levels yourself. Worth a conversation with your doctors anyway. https://www.sharecare.com/health/endocrine-system/can-overweight-lower-testosterone-levels#:~:text=Finally%2C testosterone is a fat,being stored in body fat.

I was for a lot of years. I tracked everything. My weight, my diet, my bodyfat % and my exercise. I realized just how much when I cleaned house this past fall and found tons of my recorded "data." I kept a few things and threw the rest out. So much effort and in the end none of it was sustainable until WLS. I started logging food again during my pre-op diet up until surgery using the Bariastic app. My nutritionist was quite pleased with my choices and progress. I followed everything religiously up until the date of my surgery and thereafter except for the food logging. I was done with the diet mindset and that was part of it for me. As long as I know what to eat and how much I'm good. I realize everyone's needs are different. Just do you as long as the end result helps you reach your goals. GL

oddly enough, my skin folds & skin rubbing bothered me more when i was overweight vs. AFTER the weight loss. my issues were all centred around sweat and moisture, so for me, it was all about keeping dry. i used non-talc baby powder (the johnson and johnson cornstarch baby powder is whar i used most) in my "problem" areas: between my thighs and my under boobs. worked great so long ad i was vigilant about it (if i wasn't, i'd get itchy and rashes, and worst case, i'd get open sores). but like i said, as i lost weight it actually got better so i ditched the powder.

Don't worry. From what I've read, in time, after your new tummy heals up you should be able to stretch that new tummy back out and regain all your lost weight. No doctor needed. But I have a feeling, over time you may change your mind. 🤔

That was me pre-op and at my heaviest weight which was 320. I was on anti-depression meds years ago for a short time but found they made me worse. So don't be quick to get on any unless you find you can't shake the blues. And even then, the right type and dosage is very important. For me... I was so sick and tired of being sick and tired, it didn't matter how shitty I felt after WLS because I knew better days were ahead. I powered through the nausea. And yes, I had a few down days too. Recouping from major surgery. Hormones shifting. I can't relate to the reflux because I had RNY and hernia repair so that resolved my issues with it. At 10 months out, I feel like a million bucks. I'm hoping the same for you. Congrats on losing the 35 pounds and GL going forward.

There's a very high likelihood your weight stall has nothing to do with what you are eating, and it would definitely not have anything to do with too much protein. This is your body's natural reaction to severe calorie restriction. In a nutshell, when you are on liquids only, you rapidly lose mostly water weight as your body burns stored glycogen for fuel. Once the glycogen runs low, your body turns to burning fat, which is what you want it to do. This takes a few weeks. However, when you start to introduce solid foods again, and especially carbs, your body is very keen to restore those glycogen stores. So it burns fat while also replenishing glycogen. Glycogen is bound to water, which means the water weight you lost in the pre-op diet and right after surgery are regained, which is fine. You need glycogen. It's what helps us get through short periods of lower food intake, like when you have a bad cold and lose your appetite for a week. Your body is still burning fat because you have a major daily calorie deficit. It will show up on the scales in a few weeks when everything else balances out. My advice is to just do what your doctors tell you, stop tinkering with your diet, and don't weigh yourself for a few weeks. Your doctors have advised hundreds if not thousands of patients just like you. They know what they're doing.

*raises hand* 5+ year tracker, here. been logging my food intake since day one. im not as anal/precise about it as i was in the beginning, when i weighed and measured EVERYTHING. even spices and items with single digit calorie counts. now i kinda eyeball my food to determine portion size and sometimes just log a guesstimated calorie amount for an entire sandwich instead of breaking down the ingredients. i don't log when im on vacay anymore. but i DO still log. (oh and i still weigh myself every single morning- if i have access to a scale) for what its worth, personally i believe my tracking habits in the earlier years contributed to my successful weight loss and maintenance...if my weight started going in a direction i didn't like, i would know (because of my daily weighing) and i would generally also know why (because of my daily food tracking and activity monitoring), and be able to take appropriate action before it got out of hand, you know? at this point though, for me its more of a habit/hobby. i sorta feel like i'm pot-committed...i have all this data from the past 5 years and i feel like i should just keep going cuz it would be kinda cool to have like 10, 20, 30 years of data someday? i dunno. maybe i am still anal. in any case, i reached goal in 7months, and maintained below that goal weight this entire time. I am 5+ yrs post op i realize this M.O. is not for everyone and for some (most?) this level of effort would be more detrimental than helpful. bottom line: you know yourself best. do what works, don't what doesn't. good luck! ❤️ p.s. sorry this was so long

I would follow what your clinic says. Stalls are a normal part of weight loss, and as long as you're compliant with your program, they WILL break. No need to do anything other than to make sure you're following. your clinic's program to a "T". 100 grams of protein isn't too high. Most of us are told to shoot for the 60-80 range, and even that can be a challenge at first, so It'd be a huge challenge to get up to 100 so soon after surgery (which is probably why he recommended drinking two protein shakes a day). Although that said, 100 grams of protein is not too high. I have to average at least 100 grams a day because we discovered early on after my surgery (nine years ago) that I malabsorb it. If I don't get that much, my pre albumin level tanks. also, you are not going to gain weight, given what you said you're eating. You would not be gaining weight on 100 grams of protein, either, given the amount of calories you're taking in.