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When you look at calculators for post-surgery weight loss (I used this one -- https://mexicobariatriccenter.com/bariatric-surgery-weight-loss-timeline-calculator/), they are giving you a median view of what you can reasonably expect. Of course there are outliers (I'm one -- I am about 25 pounds lighter than what the calculator says I should be), but it is designed to give you reasonable expectations. I also struggle with what number to use for how much I have lost. From my absolute highest recorded weight: 285 pounds From right before my pre-surgery diet began: 270 pounds From the morning of my surgery: 240 pounds

Its crazy how different every Dr is. Mine tells me the same things to strive for. 3 meals plus a snack no more than 4oz or 1/2 cup. But she 100% understands that I just can not physically do it yet at 2 month post op. So she absolutely tells me to supplement with shakes because it is more important to “try” to get to these guidelines while maintaining my protein intake for the health of my body. Right now she says is the time to take advantage of the weight loss, to try all the foods I can tolerate so I can build that healthy diet. But telling my I am not allowed to supplement will only discourage me and make me feel like a failure. She said these are your goals, and every day you work to make it to these goals. But 3 priorities over everything. Water Protein vitamins…..

Hi everyone My surgery date is 4/30 so close enough to join the May group 🤣 1. I am excited to start this journey! I do have anxiety as well because I had a procedure done years ago that didn't work well. I had a lap band done back in 2005 with NO SUCCESS. The band was nothing but a problem. It flipped twice and the port moved so all of the saline was removed, and it's just been hanging out with me ever since. 2. For my hospital bag, I plan on wearing the same comfy clothes home that I wore in. I'm bring my crocs, chapstick, a long phone charger, a couple protein shakes because I was told by my surgeon that their options were not the greatest, and a heating pad. 3. I am excited to finally get some of this weight off of me!! I have lost the 60lbs (and gained the same 60lbs) since 5th grade, I swear. My son is 14 and I'm excited to be able to finally ride amusement park rides with him. We got this!!

you can always increase calories to gain weight (or to stop a loss), but keep In mind that a vast majority of us experience a 10-20 lb bounce back regain around year 3. You might want to factor that in. I purposely went below my goal just in case I had a rebound (and I did...actually closer to 30 lbs for me...).

Using my day of surgery weight, the calculator suggests I'll be 195lbs at 3 months. I'm 204.4 today, but assuming this blasted week-long stall breaks soon, it seems likely I'll be somewhere around there in another 26 days. It tells me to expect 178lbs at 3 months and 158lbs at a year, with a low of 151lbs at 18 months. I would be pleased as punch with that if it happens! That would be exactly 100lbs down from my highest weight, which seems unreal.

I am in the same boat with not having had surgery since I was younger so I really can't remember what it was like to go under! I am really glad to hear that you don't remember anything and it wasn't a scary experience! Also congratulations on your weight loss so far!

I'm in the same waist size jeans that I was in 2004. My belly will be the last to go since that's primarily where a lot of my weight was. Side pucker was about 3 weeks ago. The stalls just seem to be there as a test.

@BlueParis Excellent job on the daily steps! I'm happy to say the scale finally shifted today to 203.0, so I can officially say I am halfway between my highest weight (which was last summer) and my goal weight. 48lbs lost and 48lbs to go! This is also now officially the lowest weight I've been in over 20 years. I bobbed above 200 lbs a few times in my 20s, but mostly was steady at around 190-195lbs, until I started dating my (soon to be ex) husband. I was 28 at the time, and we went out to a lot of restaurants, ordering starters, desserts, and cocktails along with meals. By the time my 29th birthday rolled around, I was over 200lbs and I never saw the 190s again. I kind of feel like all of these pounds I've lost so far are like symbolically shedding the bad years I went through in my 30s and 40s and getting back to being myself and reclaiming my life as I start a new decade.

1-2 pounds per week is actually a healthy rate of weight loss. That's where doctors and nutritionists want to see a person at. But if you want to change things up, try changing your workouts, giving yourself variety in what you eat, weigh and track your food so you know where empty calories and carbs are coming from, Typically, the first 6 months after surgery is the time when we lose the most. After that, weight loss slows way down (you can still lose, but not at the rate that you were). We can definitely still lose weight, but it slows SIGNIFICANTLY and we end up "fighting" to lose more weight. I'm still losing, but it's slooooow going. Slow and stead wins this race.

I have been struggling with how to tell my family and friends about my surgery. It's not even because they would judge me, it's kind of the opposite. My brother was super skinny until about late high school and then struggled with weight gain and loss for years. Then 6 yrs ago he got the gastric sleeve and after seeing the results, my parents immediately looked at me and said I should do the same. I have always been bigger and curvier than everyone in our family, which is hard to ignore when you're an Asian girl (I'm not stereotyping here. They are all under 5'5 and the largest cup size is a B). While it has hurt me, it also pushed me to find a version of myself that I can accept and be happy with. Oddly enough my existing health problems (which are mostly the known side effects that occur from wls) stem from a blood disorder from birth and I don't suffer from the common issues from obesity like diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc. Having dealt with a number of specialists and doctors over the years without any real solutions, I eventually decided to consider bariatric surgery this year. I planned on telling them about it after I had recovered, but it has been rough and I am still undergoing further tests and treatment. My brother gained a lot of his weight back while my sister has pushed herself and lost weight- both about the same amount that I have lost in a few months. I don't want either to feel shame or resentment towards me, not that I can control that. It looks like I may have to go back into the hospital a 3rd time and get my gall bladder removed. How awful would it be if I lied and said that is the reason behind my weight loss? My family knows that I have been dealing with stomach problems and pain for years. I'm also losing weight much faster than the doctors expected due to this, in addition to nausea, and we're trying to figure how to slow it down. I HATE attention and it's getting harder to try and hide how different I look. Any advice or motivational speech from anyone would be greatly appreciated! 🙂

Hello! My name is Zach, and I am a 2nd year medical student conducting a research project, "Evaluating GERD symptom alleviation following robotic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery", which essentially seeks to evaluate the efficacy of robotic gastric bypass surgery in relieving GERD symptoms. I was interested in minimally invasive surgery long before starting medical school, and decided to spend my past summer working alongside a bariatric surgeon in my hometown. While working with him, I noticed how many of his patients stated that their GERD had resolved after undergoing robotic gastric bypass. My time there was limited, so I was not able to really share this survey with his patient population. Below is a link to a survey that follows the guidelines outlined in the official GERD health-related quality of life questionnaire. I would greatly appreciate your help with this! My goal for this survey is that your responses will allow me to publish a paper from an educational perspective, illustrating how efficacious robotic gastric bypass is at alleviating not only weight loss, but symptoms of GERD as well. While I hope that all of you have had nothing but success following your surgeries, I understand that this is not always the case. I would love to hear all of your various experiences and perspectives, whether they are positive or negative. This survey below is entirely anonymous. You should not be asked to sign-in to Microsoft in order to complete the survey, and I will not have access to your name or any other patient identifiers aside from your age. When you first open the link, you will see information regarding informed consent. After agreeing to participate, you will then see seven screening questions. After that, you will begin the actual survey, in which you will answer questions regarding various symptoms before and after your surgery. This survey should take about five minutes of your time. Survey link: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=5CBDHRt_fk2_8ubn-Q2YhAxSQabe5PdIrhihxZU9cCZUQ1hSQjE3WkozVEFHTUQ5N0RTNERSMUNPMy4u If this type of post is not allowed, I understand and apologize! I hope to have the opportunity to share your experiences with this survey and shed some light on the relationship between gastric bypass and GERD. Thank you all in advance!

Same boat here with the same fluctuating weight for a little while now…….soooo frustrating! Hopefully the rain stops and it warms up for you soon @BlueParis @NickelChip if you like the video you got would you let me know what bar/bands you got and what video. I know I’ve said I hate exercising ,but what I want to get is a Pilates reformer, unfortunately they are ridiculously expensive and would very likely become a clothes hanger at some point like all other exercise equipment I’ve bought in the past 🤣. So maybe what you have I would like for now. 🤞

I am 5.5 months out and at 3 weeks out I have been out to dinner at least once a week/twice sometimes. I traveled at 3 weeks out, 3 months out and at 7 months out (upcoming), and what I can tell you is this: - It never hindered my weight loss, on the contrary, I weigh in every Sunday and I see the weight melting off the morning after being out on date night and having yummy food. - It is truly enjoyable, I get to try a little bit of this and that and not stuff myself. A bite or two is enough. - I TAKE MY TIME. I have been a fast eater my entire life and since surgery I am forced to slow down and actually savor what I am eating. This has turned date night dinner from a 1.5 hour affair to at least 3 - 3.5 hours and I would have lengthy deep conversations with the hubby which also forces him to slow down (the connection and conversation part can apply to whoever your companion is). - SHARE - I order one salad/entree with the person I'm eating with and I portion out what I'm having. - I make good food choices, I scan the menu and choose the best option of protein & Veg. I always start with my protein, a salad/veggies, then if I can I'll have a bite of a fun thing, either a tiny bit of carb or a bite or two of dessert (not always, whenever I'm feeling like it). But generally meals out don't get in the way of how I eat and what I eat. I think it is important to train your body and mind to be okay with eating out without it being a hurdle or a trigger. Living after weight loss surgery should include experiences like travel and food because it's a lifestyle and not alienation from what life used to be. I knew early on that I would not stop myself from eating out (I love love love dining out and trying different cuisines and restaurants) and traveling, it's just how I would do it in a way that doesn't involve losing control and hindering my progress or causing a negative mind shift. Happy belated birthday, I hope you had a blast!

Thank you for validating what I was feeling on the treadmill. I was trying to watch tv which was not directly in front of me too because it’s angled from the corner of the room but the treadmill was too close to it (kinda hard to explain) anyways, it did hurt my stomach worse so I had to quit. Also, mine can’t really go 2.0 mph. Anything less than 3.0 and it sputters…..is that the right word? I thought maybe it was my weight because I remember I was close to the high weight for it last time before I had surgery but that would make it 250 and I’m 228 now and it worked then at 335. In any case it’s really hard to keep my balance when that’s going on so I upped the speed and that didn’t hurt at first but caught up to me. I just don’t understand the bar that you cannot reach, lol, that thing makes no sense to me as I’m wishing I had something to grab and keep my balance. Awesome job sticking to just your protein and nothing more at the hospital. Especially when bored and worried about him and probably tired and all the things that would make us want to eat before all of this. Congratulations on getting cleared for soft foods. I started mine yesterday and it was so nice to be able to chew something. On that website that was suggested the fitness coach said she told her patients to do two bites of protein and one of veggie and I sorta stuck to that. I still obviously have to supplement with shakes that way but I would anyways so I figured it’s good for me to get into that habit. Hopefully my team will agree that is a good strategy. I’m not sure how early you get up but my time varies so I set alarms beginning at 9AM for my vitamins. I have been getting up at 8 and that works great I drink my protein shake and take my multi vitamin and stool softener by 9. Then the three calcium’s are 12, 3 and 6. Then at 9 I take my magnesium and stool softener. Basically every 3 hours I take something. I also added reminders in the Baritastic App so I can check it off each time which helps me to not question if I just turned off the alarm or if I actually took it. I’m really hoping they don’t add anything else or I will have to wake up in the middle of the night to take vitamins 😆 Congratulations on your non scale victory. I’m sure that others can see your 30 pound loss. It’s sometimes difficult for us to see in the mirror. It’s called body dysmorphia. People chat about it all the time in here who have lost 100 pounds and don’t see it. Three things that may help are side by side photos, taking measurements and if you look on Amazon they have a replica of one or five pounds of fat. You can visualize SIX of them big five pounders and see that IS ALOT!! it’s great that you are evaluating your hungry feeling to see if they are from the actual need for nutrition. When the hunger came back for me post sleeve that’s when things started to go wrong for me. I started giving into those feelings and I hadn’t changed my diet enough so the larger portions and more frequent meals and snacks added up quicker than if it was healthy foods. That’s why this time every healthy meal I make and actually like is a huge win for me as something to put into my Arsenal for when I am feeling hunger again. it sounds like you are really starting to get back into your groove. I’m so glad to hear it. Keep allowing yourself to take them little naps if you need them. It takes a while to get back to 100%’ from any major surgery. Never mind on the reduced calories we are taking in.

first congrats on the weight loss! second: for someone going into their 60's your skin is phenomenal!! do you like bathe in tubs filled with moisturizer?? never go out in the sun??? amazing 😳 third: unfortunately you cant target weight loss to a specific part of ur body without losing in other areas as well. generally the first place you notice weight gain is the last place place it will come off. unless you have an underlying condition (which you can be found out by visiting ur doc), bigger midsections are usually the result of 3 main things: (1) genetics...do ur parents have higher-proportion midsection circumstances? (2) bloating...from ones diet that causes fluid retention and gas...cut the carbs! (3) inactivity... visceral fat lives on inactivity, and guess where visceral fat likes to hang out? around ur internal organs which are located in your midsection.

lots of folks on here post about being disappointed in their amount of weight loss immediately following surgery. i *think* its because they did a lot of reading and remember the huge weight loss numbers then compare it to themselves. the people who have huge drops are the ones who have waaaaaaaay more weight to lose than you, and frankly, more than most people on here. someone said it on here before and i'll echo it cuz i think its awesome and bang on: "comparison is the thief of joy". you are doing awesome. you have lost 13 lbs in one month. and while you may not see it, i TOTALLY see the missing 13 lbs in your before and after pics. like i mean, you have you SEEN the side by side of your midsection?? you finished one month, and you have several more months to go. can you imagine what the result would be in a year if you keep this up? even if you just lost 5 lbs every month for the next 11 months. pretty effing awesome, i think. keep on keeping on, you are doing great.

Totally agree with @RonHall908. I didn't like photos, but I made sure to take some at my highest weight for reference because I wanted a record of it to look back on. And I'll go ahead and share this little comparison I made for my "half-way there" milestone:

Operation is on May 1. I'm one week into the liquid diet. It's not as bad as I thought it was going to be. My doctor's nutritionists made a schedule (I always do better with a plan) and required me to buy Unjury products. I have the chicken soup and cookies and cream shakes. The shakes are actually pretty good. My sense of smell is through the roof. I wasn't expecting that. I can smell people cooking meat a mile away I swear! I get odd tightness and heat where the back of my head meets my neck. Is this the headaches I was warned about? I'm feeling good about the surgery. I'm already down a pants size after one week and am looking forward to sustaining gains through the next 12 months.

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

I just could not do puree, I did soups instead. I chewed any big lumps or squished them with the back of my spoon. I found a lot of these forward steps difficult. My team were very happy with me going at a slow and steady pace that suited my new stomach. When I was ready I went straight to regular foods like minced meats and vegetables and well cooked stews and casseroles. You will find what you can eat one day will not be ok another day. My new stomach has tantrums even now. Just do your best. I was so turned off food and was never hungry. I had a filthy taste in my mouth all the time, numerous tooth brushings never altered this. I too had deep regrets, everything I ever knew about eating was altered. I had to find new ways to find pleasure because now we have to eat to live and not the other way around. You will get there, just ride this out. Your hormones are running wild at the moment so it is all against you at the moment. Weight gains and stalls are all par for the course. You will get them all the time. A full bowel, a salty meal or salty broth can cause a temporary weight gain. Just stick to the plan and believe , it works. Soon you will be able to make your teams water and protein goals then you will feel so much better. People think that doing WLS is the easy option. Its not, especially early on. Contact your team and tell them your struggles. Get counselling if you need it. Chat and vent on here, we all have. Everyone has had similar issues.

H Hello there I have had my band for 8 years. Weight loss was not remarkable and at the max of 5-7 kg over all the years. Instead, the band has only caused issues and daily vomiting. Have finally decided to have it removed, as I now suspect it has slipped. I haven’t been able to keep food down for 7 days, despite not having had any fills for years. However, I have once concern: I am 41 y.o and have no children and planning to become pregnant this year. How soon after band removal am I allowed to become pregnant? Thank you

Nope didn't and don't have a problem with swallowing. Performed oral after 1 week post op and it was fine. Sex is much better for me with all this weight gone for sure! My partner misses my butt but meh LMFAO

I see your point, but I think the psych eval is necessary. Weight loss surgery outcomes are much better when used along side pysch evals, dietician visits etc. This is all documented and confirmed by the medical community. I think if I was an insurance company, I would prefer to pay out for a surgery that it likely to be successful because the patient is using all the tools in their tool belt and is more likely to be successful. I would also think that more than one appointment with a psychologist should be the norm. You can sometimes do more harm than good with only one therapy session. I don't see it as discrimination because ultimately, it's an elective surgery. We can live (albeit less well) if we are overweight. There are also other surgeries that require psychiatric evaluation too, for example gender surgeries. It's not really discriminatory to require that the person getting certain surgery is likely to have a successful outcome because the require life changes to be successful. However, I definitely agree that it shouldn't be down to the insurance companies to determine the requirements, it should be medial professionals. Insurers should never get the final say in what procedures a patient can or can't get if the doctor disagrees with the insurance company. I also don't think a tick box appointment should be enough to get approved for a major surgery which is what insurance requires.

i should also disclose that i am a grazer by necessity (and habit). its the only way i can get the amount of calories i need to maintain COMFORTABLY. i read alot on here that this way of eating is not recommended (heck even my NUT said i should be having set meals and snacks) and that its a slippery slope and is a sure path to weight regain, but its been working for ME for over 5 years, so yeah...its just what i do.

Welp.... I did it... barely, but it was so nice to see this number! It's been over 20 years since I've been under 200 pounds. (my feet aren't as dirty as they look in the picture! lol) As for the knee, the doctor said he's pretty sure it's sciatica. I would have never guessed that. I have had problems with my sciatic nerve before, but always in the lower back/buttocks area. He explained that the nerve goes down through the back knee, and that's where my pain and swelling are. He saw some arthritis in the x-rays, but not enough to be causing this pain. He's got me on a six-day steroid pack. I'm praying it works because this pain is horrible! Let's hope I can keep the weight down while on steroids! Hope you are all doing well!