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7 years out this November (I can’t believe it’s been that long!) 1. The surgery did all of the work. I didn’t wake up hungry, I didn’t feel like I could eat more than recommended. I didn’t have any (initial) complications that slowed the weight loss process. 2. I was really strict and followed every rule pre and post op. I was super serious because I absolutely needed this to work. My motivation remains for medical reasons first and aesthetics second. 3. I limited calories from liquids. 4. I am finally ready to admit that I have a narrow palate. I don’t like most food and definitely not most fast food but in a pinch I will eat it *some* things. I cook the vast majority of my meals and most are very boring by foodie standards. 5. I was converted from VSG to RNY at my goal weight (GERD etc) and I’m sure the durability of RNY has made a difference in maintaining. 6. I was given a higher BMI range by my surgeon and thank goodness because getting any lower would have been a real struggle without added benefits. 7. I invested in plastics. I shouldn’t make sense or a difference but I didn’t want to mess up the work I had done plus removed skin and fat cells are gone forever. 8. I address the smallest regains IMMEDIATELY adjusting behavior and intake. I’m not ashamed of it or ignore it, I weigh often to stay accountable to myself. 9. I found what works for me and focused on that, adjusting as needed. I try very, very hard not to compare myself with anyone else. I never attached self worth or morality to weight (gained or lost). I think it helped immensely that no one ever bothered me about weight. I realize it maybe a different story if this wasn’t the case. 10. I check in yearly with my bariatric team.

This week has been disappointing. I didn't lose any weight despite not doing anything different. I got a dreaded summer cold, so I wasn't motivated to cook. So I ordered Pizza last night.. I'm really disappointed in myself, because there's a million better options. But what's done is done. So I'm back on the diet today. I'm still sick, but I can't use that as an excuse. And at least when I don't lose weight and gain, tomorrow, I'll know why. I've also joined a gym and I've got the induction on Saturday. I used to go to the gym pre-pandemic and just wasn't able (or maybe willing) to get back into the swing of things once they reopened. I do miss the water aerobics class I used to do. The new gym doesn't have a pool and I can't afford a gym with a pool. So up and down

Thank you so much! Yeah the first week is very bad with the pains, hope you got some medicine to help you out. I dont miss chewing that much , but since I live in a very hot country, I saw a trick some friends were trying, which is freezing fruit, blending it with water and filtering it to make a popsicle. This or chewing ice, hahahaha. Since my stomach is tolerating ice cold liquids way more, sometimes i get and ice and chew and I think that it kinda gets that ich for chewing off for me. Hope you pain gets better friend!

Yes it is very normal. Do not get discouraged. Remember your body just went through a major surgery and it will take time to adjust to such rapid weight loss. This is normal throughout the process and won't just be one time. Stalls and small fluctuations are par for the course. You have lost a major amount already and you've just begun. Keep in mind that it's not 5lbs of fat gained. It can be anything from water retention from a little more sodium and/or carbs or not having had a BM or something else. Further in when you're actively working out, it can be muscle gain. Your hormones and internal system are trying to find their place and rebalance. Stick to the program and if you weigh everyday, try not to for awhile if it makes you anxious or gets you down. It will move again. Also if you haven't already, take measurements and pictures. A lot of the changes can happen that are non scale related you'd be surprised.

I had surgery 4/9/24. Been sick ever since the second week, I can barely keep water down. Everyone keeps saying it’ll get better but this is by far my biggest regret!! I feel like I’m dying!! Anyone else experience this? I don’t know if I’m losing too fast or what but I can’t live like this!

I was March 13 and everyday it’s getting easier and less painful but man it’s harder for only having liquids lol so many food commercials 3 days till I’m allowed full liquid and can have my favorite protein shake.

Sooo I am over 8.5 months post-op, and want to ask the veterans what their thoughts are on carbonation? I was a big diet soda and coffee drinker pre WLS and I knew I would never cut coffee out and I've had it since the second week post WLS with no issues, but carbonated drinks is a different story. My surgeon has encouraged me to eat anything and everything except for diet soda. He has been adamant that I don' take it up again. Another friend who's had WLS and has lost and maintained her weight loss and eats everything has told me that she occasionally drinks diet soda but only started having it 2 years post op and advised against it at this point for me. My brother who's been sleeved for almost 4 years drinks it and is the definition of slim. I really really like diet soda, and I only want to have a small glass once a weekish, is that so bad? My restriction is fierce so a little loosening up doesn't bother me much. What are your thoughts?

Mine never would. None of those are as good as broccoli or cauliflower, cucumbers, when it comes to nutrition. The amount of protein, the reason why I said measure it is because you'd see a lot of calories in there. The chicken isn't plain, so there's calories in what it is cooked in. Mozzarella is never ever recommended for us because its a lot of fat. That's another reason why I said measure in 1 ounce cups. You need 60-70 grams of protein a day. 2 eggs in the am is 14 grams. 1 ounce chicken is 47 calories if boneless, skinless. 8 grams protein. 3 ounces or even 4 ounces is about 150-200 calories and 24 grams of protein. 30 at the most at one time. So there's where your calories are coming from. That doesn't include anything else on the plate. This is why I said measure your food. The calories are coming in there and I bet those sticks are also contributing to potential fat and the like. I have carbmaster yogurt. Don't see that and it is 3-5 grams fat, lots of protein, w/no carbs. That's another low calorie option - 70 calories that works too.

This one took a little more math since they give you pounds lost instead of what weight you will be, but I liked that I could see it month my month. The funny thing is the risk calculator one is more aggressive/optimistic in terms of my weight loss. The Mexico one says I'll be 195 at 3 months but the Risk one says 5lbs lower. Oh well, as everyone says, this is just an average, no matter which calculator you look at. But I do find it helpful to have an idea of what to expect. It keeps me realistic.

Sometimes you have to ring some bells like HELLO, i need some aftercare and followup. Congrats you finally got your appt. and your A1C going down! I'm not sure about B12. Some labs calculate it differently as the high end of the normal range for mine is 1245. I'm sure if it's an issue it will be or should be addressed by your team. The Vitamin D for sure should be. I know for me it was getting to the higher side of normal and my dietician had me drop down from bariatric vitamin to a regular multi and cut back on my calcium chews which also contain lots of Vitamin D. Woohoo on the weightloss. And the hair loss will eventually slow down. Mine lasted from about month 3-6 at it's worst and has slowed considerably and now I'm only just slightly annoyed at all the short hairs from regrowth.

Nausea, vomiting, foamies, difficulty eating aren’t that uncommon after surgery. Your tummy is pretty sensitive and while it usually take about 6 or so weeks to heal some take longer. But it is always best to rule out anything else. Please tell me your doctor gave you something for the nausea & is sending you for tests. If not, I’d ask (demand) an endoscope to rule out a stricture and an ultrasound to check your gall and rule out anything else (appendix, pancreas). I only had one symptom with my gall (I had a stone) and that was pain. Very strong, writhing on the bed pain upper right abdomen & around to my back. Nothing before that. I know my sister in law used to get crampy pain and nausea when she ate fatty foods or a large heavy meal with her gall. You’re certainly not eating fatty or rich heavy meals at the moment. If it is a stricture, they’re easy to fix. If you do have gall stones it would mean another surgery. Gall issues after surgery aren’t uncommon. Rapid weight loss can cause stones to grow but usually not that soon out. (Mine was 2 years and one month later.) Or you may have had them already but they’re making themselves known now.

Every time I eat I go from starving to stuffed in a split second, and it's to the point where I feel sick. Is this normal? Am I stretching or hurting my sleeve? Sometimes I think I am eating more than what I should. I've been at about 900-950 calories a day. I am out 3 weeks.

I remember the first time I realized I have food noise. I was given Saxenda and several weeks into it as I increased the dose, I noticed that the mental pressure to eat was gone... It was like that voice that often brought up food throughout the day was suddenly silenced. I never even realized it was there before, it was such a familiar thing in my mental landscape it didn't occur to me that not everyone has that! GLP-1 medications in general are known for this side effect. Meds for ADHD like Vyvanse and anti-depressants like Wellbutrin are also known to help with this. When I went off my Ozempic before surgery, the voice came back with a vengeance!! I didn't have much of a appetite pre-op, but man did it come back post-op... For the first month I was sooo hungry. And the voice was SO loud. Thankfully I have a lot of techniques to manage inner voices, due to a decade of somatic based trauma therapy. I think without that, the process would have been so much harder for me. One thing that helps me the most is distinguishing that part as a PART of me, not ALL of me. So instead of "I'm hungry!" it is "I'm noticing a part of me feels hungry." This may seem like a weird distinction, but research has shown when we do this with emotions "A part of me is angry." vs "I'm angry!") it helps us create a little space between us and the feeling and helps us remember that there are other parts of us present and not all of them are caught up in the emotion of the moment. Remembering there are parts of ourselves that are like Switzerland helps us navigate internally when voices get loud. So I apply this to head hunger too. I identify the part of me that is hungry. I ask it what it needs. I validate its experience. And then I offer to just sit with it for a while and be present with the feeling of hunger. Then I let it know when we are next going to eat and orient that part to thinking of what we might want to eat at the coming meal. I'm sure this approach won't work for everyone, it is just what I tend to do. I notice when I hear the parts of me that feel things and give them some presence, they often start to soften, or have something important to tell me about what we are experiencing in that moment. For instance, I have severe ADHD. I get easily distracted and forget to eat. Post op it has been a struggle. That voice is there to remind me to tend my body. It may be louder than most people have it, but it still serves a purpose and when I can give it a job it tends to fight with me less. I eat every 3 hours. Without exception. If I go past 3 hours the voices get really loud and I feel sick, probably my blood sugar dropping... So I eat every 3 hours. But I eat within a 30 minute window, then I'm done. I don't snack in between. If my body tells me we need more food before the 3 hour mark I stop to reflect why this might be. If it is because I am bored, I find something to redirect the energy to and wait. If it is due to a workout or being sick and burning through energy faster. I may add in an earlier meal. Seeing my body as something to partner with, as something I have a relationship with that I want to be a GOOD relationship, seems to help me remember to treat my inner voices with kindness and compassion instead of judgment and irritation. If someone you were closely connected to constantly ignored you or snapped at you, over time you'd either get louder or go away. That is what I did to my body. So now when I hear the voice it is a reminder that this is something I'm working to relate to in a healthier way, so I choose a reaction to it like I'd choose a reaction to a friend reminding me to eat or drink water. Sorry for the long ramble, it just happens to be something I've been reflecting deeply on over the past 6 months!! ETA: I do take Wellbutrin for depression. I have never noticed it affecting that internal voice, but some notice an impact. If you are struggling deeply with this voice, you might consider a medication that can support you in this. I have a good friend who has ADHD and noticed when she started Vyvanse it significantly helped with the food noise and binging behavior. It isn't a good solution for everyone, but it is a good solution for some. ❤️

Had my 4-week post-op appointment with my dietician today. She wants me to start aiming for 80g protein and 800 calories per day. Currently I'm averaging closer to 65g and 600 calories. We'll see how it goes this week!

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.

A good phlebotomist once said it's not about what you see, but what you feel. I don't have any medical issues that relate to vein issues, but many many times it was a hunt for a vein to have my blood drawn. I've been poked up to 3 times and have had to have blood taken from the top of my hands on several occasions and once from my wrist (do not recommend that one hurt like a /@%$*). On the day of surgery, the anesthesiologist also poked me 3 times before finally placing the IV and that was with the use of a sonogram thingy(?). I won't lie, that hurt like heck - one because i'm already not a fan of needles and two that one is larger than a standard blood draw needle. Thankfully that was honestly the worst part of my entire in hospital experience start to finish. I was also told that drinking plenty of water helps a lot to plump the veins and I have found that has worked. Obviously that won't always be fail proof when you are restricted from both eating and drinking several hours beforehand. Oh and nothing really changed for me from before or after major weight loss as far as visually finding veins. I've just been lucky the last few blood draws to have someone who knows how to feel around for a good one and only poke me one time.

Hello everyone, I had my surgery yesterday. Surgeon said it went well. I am pretty sore at the moment and will be in hospital for 1-2 nights more.Will provide an update in a weeks time.

I know the autumn styles will be in the shops closer to when you go so it could be difficult to find summer clothes by then but if you can wait a few weeks I would as you could drop a couple of sizes before your trip. If you can't wait you could get a summer dress (or three) in a size or two smaller than you are now and then have some belts if the style suits that way you can cinch them in if needed. Another thing is drawstring loose trousers as that way even as your waist shrinks you can adjust the waistband. I got lovely ones in M&S in both navy and black and even though they are the bit too big now they have a nice summer flow to them.

I had my bypass a week before my 51st birthday. I am 4 weeks post op now and I can honestly say everything has gone text book. Did my tender age of 23 make a difference, I believe so because I am at that stage in life where I can just focus on me, and everyone else is able to look after themselves. I was one of the lucky ones as I had no pain afterwards, just a tiny bit of discomfort in my left side but not enough to warrant taking any pain meds. And I was expecting to feel like I had undergone 12 rounds with Muhammad Ali after being stabbed 6 times and my stomach cut apart. But maybe I have a higher pain threshold than most, I really don't know. Ok I will stop rambling now as i dont want to tempt fate. All the best Sent from my SM-S918B using Tapatalk

Ooh, I always fall behind on that too. I've heard from so many people how important it is to practice when you're not feeling symptoms so you can kind of mentally pull it up easier when you need it -- muscle memory, but for the brain? -- but it's one of those things that I'll do for like a week and forget one day and not pick it back up. Meanwhile I know it would probably work amazingly since I've done similar things to practice getting out of night terrors (counting fingers, etc). ISTG if I don't set alarms to remind me to do certain things, they never get done.

I started chewing Nicorette Gum about 6 months after my gastric bypass due to a lot of stress going on w/my teenager… Up until recently, the last 3-4 weeks, everything seemed fine; I even swallowed my gum once accidentally not thinking cuz I was getting a ketamine treatment for depression and chewing gum right when the ketamine started kicking in; but that didn’t cause any issues, thank God!!! Then I all of a sudden started really feeling sick when I chew gum after meals w/bloating and gas, nausea, stomach cramps, and diarrhea. I had increased the amount I was chewing; which probably really kicked in my sick feeling. I know most of my fellow responders are referring to non nicotine gum; but if any of you chew Nicorette or take nicotine lozenges I’d love to hear if anyone has had negative side effects after bariatric surgery. I know chewing any gum, and definitely using any sort of nicotine, is most likely frowned upon by our surgeons; but has anyone heard anything specific about why using nicotine gum or lozenges after surgery is particularly a bad idea?

Had my one week post op appt today. She said my incisions look good but when she was cleaning one of them mostly because I was scared since the bandage came off in the shower and it was bleeding she noticed my pain lying on the table and getting up. She told me that I am trying to be too tough and that I need to take my pain meds. I ended up talking to her about that again today and she said if I don’t want to take them thatI could take Tylenol and try a muscle relaxer which I just picked up both and came home with the groceries popped the trunk and went inside. My husband took the hint since I had already texted him that I was hurting pretty bad. lol. I mostly talked to her about my gallbladder since I didn’t know anything about that ahead of time and didn’t much care while I was in the hospital. She made it sound like for most people it’s not really that big of a deal. I may have some issues with super rich and greasy foods but for most people that’s about it. She also started me in B-12 injections. She said it usually ends up being required witb the SADI but now with the gallbladder thing too she may as well just start me now. I am starting with once a month and we will tweak it from there depending on labs. So I picked that up too and ordered the sharps container and medical grade alcohol swabs. Wish me luck since I can’t even look when I get a shot. I feel like I have had to learn so much this week. A lot of surprised but am still just rolling with the punches. My biggest thing that’s pulling me through right now is that Sunday I get to have purées. 😆 Good luck to the two having surgery tomorrow and I hope that everyone else is going well with preop and recovery. ❤️‍🩹

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

My son’s wedding was today and I managed to eat with everyone without getting sick. I’ve struggled with not taking one more bite when I feel a bit full. I think maybe I’m learning finally. I’ve had to set a timer after eating to not take a drink too soon. I never realized what a set habit it is to drink while eating. I am able to eat solids now as long as I take small bites and chew a lot. I don’t know that my stall has broken yet. I went down almost two lbs but nothing else yet. Trying to not get discouraged over that. I didn’t measure before hand so I can’t say if I’m losing inches at least. I was just too discouraged at my weight before surgery to measure anything. I will say even with the little bit of progress I’ve made since surgery I was comfortable in my dress at my son’s wedding. I’m sure when I see pictures from it I will be my worst critic but for tonight I feel pretty so I’ll take it.

Good luck everyone and those that have had to done already I wish you all well! My surgery for my sleeve is the 22nd and I started my liquid diet on Monday this week (8th).