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I had the sleeve almost 10 years ago, and yes, it does get bigger. However, I still can’t eat near what I used to eat in a sitting. For example, I can eat 3 pieces of pizza now. I used to be able to 5-7. It happened over time, though. I second those who recommend therapy. I am about to have revision to RNY, and I have been in therapy for several months to help me be successful this time around. In my case, because I didn’t truly deal with the reasons I eat, I regained almost of the weight. Best wishes to you!!

@SleeveToBypass2023you do make me laugh! I’m so glad that you’re able to understand your ‘godmother’ now, I feel I have rendered a valuable service 😉 Of course, there are always the joys of accents and drawls to throw in to this mix as well, which can add even more confusion. I’m a Yorkshire girl so we do have our own way of saying things, just like you will with your Southern sayings! And I’m so glad I’m not the only bitter wife out there…yes, I love him dearly but oh, there are times when I want to smother him with a pillow when he’s asleep 😈 I remember when we’d come back from our 2 week holiday in September last year and he was bitching that he’d put a couple of pounds on, whereas I had put on over a stone (14lbs) and I honestly wanted to stab him. He is supportive though, plus he has taken time off work to take me to all my hospital appointments etc as I still can’t bend my knees enough to climb in the van to drive myself but I will get there. Hopefully I will feel more able in a few more weeks 🤞 I rescued a pair of Billabong shorts from the charity shop bag yesterday as something for me to aim for on my WLS journey. I’d last worn them when I’d lost a load of weight previously and had worn them on holiday. Even now I cannot believe that I fit in to them. I tried them this morning and I cannot even get them halfway up my thighs, never mind anywhere else! I think I need to lose an additional 100lbs or so to have any chance of getting them on but stranger things have happened I guess 🤷‍♀️ I do generally use clothing as my inspiration to aim for, so I guess these are the ultimate goal!!

Sounds like I am actually a lot better off than I thought I was. As most of you probably know I am on my LSD now which is two shakes and then a low carb dinner of 3oz lean meat, 1 cup of cooked veggies, and 1 cup berries or melon. Well, I do not feel stuffed to the brim, but I am satisfied after just the meat and veggies. I end up having the berries later as a snack which cuts out one of the snacks I am allowed for the day so win-win. . What worried me was that this diet was written for someone with normal anatomy and I was getting closer than I thought I should to finishing it. That and some of the plates I’ve seen posted on here by veterans seem to be such tiny portions compared to my 8” plate full. I felt that my restriction was way-way less than anyone else with a sleeve. I worried that even if I was keeping it to healthier choices and some was being malabsorbed that the portion size would still get me in trouble if I don’t eat lean meat and veggies forever. i do realize that it’s more about what the foods are than how much I eat but I would like to add in some other options eventually (for maintenance at least). . I am fighting against a pretty complex scenario too. Not only am I asking for this surgery to help with obesity but I also have Bipolar Disorder. I have been on meds and doing okay but the meds are not a cure. I still have episodes and during those periods things like healthy food choices are…well…out the window. I try not to keep unhealthy options in the house but I have things i am allowed in moderation and my husband has some bad foods that he eats as well. On top of that I cannot go off of the meds that make me gain. Long story short, I really do need the most aggressive surgery I can get to give me the best chance at this. it sounds like my stomach is pretty normal for someone that is over a year out though. Some of the doctors redo the sleeve when during a revision which sounds ideal but mine does not. He says I that’s not worth the risks involved. Obviously I don’t want to risk more side effects, complications and lifestyle changes to get the SADI if I’m not going to get anything more out of it than I would a bypass which would also be more likely to resolve my mild gerd. I just wish there was more data to go on. I guess what it boils down to is having to trust my doctors judgement. Past experience witb doctors just make that SO difficult for me. Thank you all for sharing your experiences with the sleeve and the bypass.🩷 This does help me a great deal. Now I know that I actually am where he should expect me to be in terms of capacity. At least I know he did have all the correct information when he said the SADI was my best option.

For those recommending medication over surgery: I am having the SADI surgery on July 25th. I considered medications initially, however, most of them aren't covered by insurance; and if they are, the insurance approval process usually requires a diabetes diagnosis. While I have a BMI in the 50s, my A1C is extremely health, which means I would pay out-of-pocket. The medications are intended as life-long commitments. Stopping them can have serious impacts including weight regain. Out-of-pocket for the cheapest meds I encountered was $900 a month. Out-of-pocket for my procedure is one-time $19,000 (unfortunately, not covered by insurance) If we look at the impact in 5 years of both... Meds = $54,000 Procedure + Vitamins = $19,000 + $3,800 = $22,800 How about 10 years? Meds = $108,000 Procedure = $19,000 + $7,600 = $26,600 The financial impact was a huge consideration for me. Please understand that the decision to move to surgery is not quick or easy. The financial impacts and health impacts are serious and really should be discussed with a trained medical provider. The purpose of this forum is to help guide others. We should be focused on the questions they're asking instead of offering an off-topic alternative. The OP made it clear in her posts that conversations with a trained medical professional led to the decision for another surgery. Shaking her confidence in medical guidance from her surgeon is not our place. We should accept that surgery is her path and give our own anecdotal experiences as references to help her understand what she might experience.

After 3 weeks of weight stall the scale finally moved some. I think the exercise specialist pointed out a flaw. I would eat something 2 hours before working out, she told me to eat something with a good protein and carb mix 20-30 minutes before my workout. also told me to drink a protein shake after the workout. I've done that the past two weeks. After a 3 week stall I'm not certain if it was that little change or the fact that it was going to have to move anyway. But, at least it moved. Hope everyone else has some scale or non-scale victories.

Ok guys, y’all have made me feel the need to get on the pic train. Unfortunately, I don’t think I have any from my highest weight cause like many of you guys have said y’all have done, I definitely avoided pics. I’ll have to start taking some now so I can have progress pics too! 🙈

Well, I think you look spectacular and very healthy. The transformation is absolutely stunning! I also think as our population trends heavier, we don't see the extra weight as much. I was a chubby kid, and I was like one of maybe 3 chubby kids in my entire grade, not just my class. I dieted like an idiot as a teen and got down to 126 lbs and I was nowhere close to the thinnest person in my friend group. Nobody said anything about me getting too skinny, for sure. I gained weight in college and by the time I graduated, I was overweight again, and obese by the time I hit my late 20s. I always felt like the biggest person in the room (at, like 210 lbs). But by the time I was in my mid-30s, I started seeing bigger people than me all around. Everyone was getting bigger. My weight went up to 225, but many of the parents of kids in my daughters' grades were way bigger than that. It almost had an insulating effect from my own weight gain, because I was no longer the biggest person in the room. I just kind of looked normal. When a friend heard I was getting bypass, her first response was "but you're not that big" and at this point I was 250 lbs with a 40+ BMI, plus high blood pressure, prediabetes, and high cholesterol. And this was from a person who is in the healthy BMI range and never been overweight. So I definitely think we've become so used to seeing larger people that we think "obese" is a term reserved for the people on television shows who weigh 600+ pounds. And, of course, the rapid weight loss from surgery is jarring so people notice it more. But don't let their comments get to you!

Exactly, the only meds that won't absorb well are extended release meds. After surgery you're losing weight and hormones are stored in your fat which starts to release with fat loss making emotions fluctuate horribly. It's completely normal to be emotional especially when you add to the mix less calories than you're used to and surgery recovery! More emotional, tired, run down depressed etc.!

Good morning! I had gastric bypass on 4/12/21. My highest ever was 293. I had surgery at 262. My lowest at my year mark was 135. Found out I was pregnant extremely fast after hitting my lowest and cannot budge out of the 150-155 range and I’m getting discouraged. I'm eating between 66 to 120 g of protein depending on the day. My fat intake I think is too high at around 70g, my net carbs range greatly between low 30’s to 100 g depending. My calories also vary between 800’s to 1200’s and I need to find the best range for losing weight while exercising now I started working out with the treadmill while concentrating on strength training and core workouts to help tummy skin shrinkage. I still have my restriction and often cannot even eat more than 4-6 oz a meal. I eat what I can of some fruit and veggies but mainly I’ll eat protein snacks like Catalina crunch, some small stuff from Atkins, Kodiak cake snacks sometimes. To name a few. I also drink a protein shake once a day which is either of the brand Ryze or Iso100 with 12oz of Fairlife low fat milk. Just to paint a picture. I work in corrections on night shift so there isn’t much moving around at night. But…I’m here to ask for advice and recommendations to help kickstart weight loss again. I’m miserable!!! please help if you can.

Would it be wrong to ask why don’t you come along to my next follow up and discuss this with my doctor because all my labs and his medical expertise say I am perfectly healthy. If you know something he doesn’t I’m sure he would love to hear you out. 😂 ahhh if only I would have the guts to actually say it. lol Sometimes I seriously think that people actually NEED us to be the heavy friend/daughter/niece/whatever in their life because it makes them feel better about themselves. Whatever their insecurity is they always make themselves feel better by saying at least I’m not obese (I’m not smart or funny or beautiful but at least I’m not as big as so and so). It’s really sad that some people who claim to love you are actually keeping score but unfortunately some are and they would rather keep you down than to deal with their own issues. if they know that the weight loss is intentional and that you are under the care of a physician that should be the end of it. Beyond that the benefit of the doubt that its genuine concern goes out the window. I mean seriously what gives anyone audacity to think that their opinion matters more than your own and that of your medical team.

I have yet to see a nutritionist or dietician that truly understands the optimal diet for a SADI or DS patient. Most of the time we just get a modified version of what they give Bypass and Sleeve patients. But as you say, you aren't absorbing as much as they are, therefore to give you their requirements would leave you malnourished. 15 grams of fat is absurd by all medical standards. Most medical studies show we need 60 grams of fat for proper hormone function and even if you ate 60 grams of fat, with an altered digestive tract, you aren't absorbing that much, so you need to eat a little more than that. Even the ASMBS recommends 60 grams of fat by 1 year out!! Your dietician is not following best practices. Most SADI/DS patients I know follow the vets that have been living with this surgery for 10+ years and maintaining their weight loss. We figure they know more about optimal diet than a surgeon who has never lived with this surgery, or a dietician that has never even researched best diet for bariatric patients of various surgeries. Most patients I know are eating 100-120 grams of protein, less than 50 grams of carbs, and over 60 grams of fat, usually around 100 grams of fat for SADI and 150 grams for DS. You can increase your carbs once you have reached your goal weight, they tend to slow/stop weight loss, so in active weight loss it is important to keep them low so you stay in ketosis. A calorie range makes dieticians feel better, but it makes no sense for a SADI or DS patient because we malabsorb so much fat we can't even begin to properly calculate our calories. You could eat 1200 calories, but that wouldn't be what your body is absorbing. I'm sorry this is so complicated. In the end you have to decide what you feel best at. I don't feel good following guidelines like your dietician gave you and when I go over 50 grams of carbs I stop losing weight. So...yeah. I'm going to follow what allows my brain and hormones to function, what makes my skin, hair, and eyes feel best, what gives me the most energy, and what allows me to lose weight steadily. I'm the one that has to live in this body. It is sad these surgeries are so uncommon there are no good studies about optimal nutrition for them. But there is no way I'd go below ASMBS guidelines, they are the closest thing bariatric surgeons have to a standardizing body. Your dietician should be able to give you ASMBS guidelines for your surgery.

Week 3 Puree diet sucks. I may need to seek counseling as I didn't realize my relationship with food, or lack thereof, is this out of control. Maybe it's not a food addiction? Maybe I don't try hard enough? I lack control and I know it will affect me long-term. I convince myself that I'm trying, but am I really? I'm supposed to be eating/drinking plenty of protein. 64oz of fluids per day, but I'm not. I have absolutely NO motivation to get out of bed or the control to not snack on foods I'm not even ready to properly digest. I keep telling myself I'm chewing enough so it's "basically pureed" before I swallow. I could literally be furthest from the truth. Wth is wrong with me? I did SO good for my pre-op diet. I was very militant, even drank more fluids than I was supposed to. I also lost more weight than my doctor asked me to. What happened? I'm hungry, what seems like, all the time. I was warned I may not like sweet things and even salty foods could throw me off. If anything, I'm craving those two like never before. I've been cheating with food already...drinking around 35oz of fluids per day, on a good day. I'm so tired all day all the time. End rant... I hope I'm not the only one here who is suffering from stagnancy and lack of control. I will become stronger. I have faith in myself. It's just right now I'm at a loss.

@ShoppGirl I hear you. Yes I saw the articles from HSS and a few others that quoted that amount, but I've found that sometimes things like this often become an echochamber, even among doctors and other healthcare professionals that should know better. All it takes for this to become the "standard", is for a 50 year old medical textbook or two to print this (based on old data or beliefs), and an entire generation of doctors come to accept it. Look no further than BMI as an example of a well meaning, but ultimately wrong calculation becoming the standard by which we judge obesity and you can see how this sort of thing may not be based on science, but on "generally accepted knowledge". Back to the subject at hand. We do know that RMR can and does increase during recovery, but the amount is not always the same and is highly dependent on both the injury/illness, as well as the individual themselves. As a general rule of thumb when talking about athletes like @AmberFL, the number of calories needed during recovery is typically a little higher than maintenance, but quite a bit lower than what they might have needed when working out. That said, we also need to recognize that Non-Exercise Energy Thermogenesis (NEAT) can vary by many hundreds of calories between individuals. This is important, because even though RMR may increase, it's logical to assume people will have a concomitant reduction in NEAT when ill or injured. The net effect of that may mean the calorie balance may not really change that much if at all. Here's an example: Let's use a 3 factor calorie model, meaning RMR, NEAT & Exercise. (I'm going to ignore TEF for now since it won't make a lot of difference here). Let's assume an RMR is 1500, since this is around the average for all humans. Let's also assume a NEAT of 600 for a total calorie burn before exercise of ~2100. I've selected this since it also is fairly close to the median. Obviously these are just averages and every individual will be different. At an RMR of 1500, if we use as an example a 25% increase due to illness/injury, that would mean the new RMR would be as much as 375 calories more. We would expect NEAT to drop in most people when ill or injured because they tend to sit/lie down a lot more, walk less, etc. Especially in people that have a high NEAT amount to begin with, a drop of 375 calories per day or more is easily within normal ranges when they don't feel good. The net result in our "average" person here is that while their RMR went up, their NEAT went down by the same amount, thus completely negating any need for additional calories. At the end of the day, like you pointed out, we all have to decide for ourselves what we believe and what we think is right. I'm certainly not opposed to anyone consulting with their doctor regarding nutritional needs, as long as you recognise that most doctors get, at best, a single course in nutrition in medical school. Many get even less. I'd tend to suggest a Registered Dietitian instead, especially when dealing with chronic or acute injury or illness. Full disclosure, my background in this area is in nutritional needs for athletes, not people that are unwell. The flip side of this is that I find there are very few RDs that have the requisite knowledge to properly coach athletes, since so much of their training goes into how to help with weight loss, or assist with the nutritional needs of diabetics, cancer patients and the like. We also know that there are some really lousy RDs out there as well, so caveat emptor. (Otherwise, why would we see some of them trying to get very active bariatric patients to stay on an 800kcal/d diet.). Any RD that does that is, i'm sorry to say, an idiot. I'll close by saying that I don't doubt you in the least that you needed to up your calories by a significant amount due to cancer and chemo. I'm sure you recognise that's really in a different league to what most people are going through when recovering from an injury/illness or even surgical procedure. In your case, you have both the fact that cancer cells are effectively using calories that should go toward healthy tissue, as well as the fact that chemo is incredibly destructive to the rest of your body. Best of luck.

It may seem counterintuitive, but you may actually need more calories. At least, I've read that many times in other threads. Make sure you are feeling satisfied when you eat and not cutting back on calories just to keep them low if you still feel you need more. I know that as time goes on, we're supposed to be in the 1000-1200 range, and that sometimes our bodies can slow the weight loss if we feel we are facing starvation. Check with your dietician about that if you can. Having said that, I think expectations for how fast we will lose are sometimes skewed by results from outliers, either those who lose very fast or those who start at very high weights. I've lost 48 lbs since I started this journey, but only 22 lbs of it is post-surgery. Basically, yeah, I think just keep doing what you're doing and trust the process.

Hi all. My name is Carrielee. I am 33 years old and have been on the fence about WLS for the last few years. I have struggled with obesity since I was quite young and the weight keeps piling on. I am 5 foot 1 and just hit 325 pounds. I now have a BMI of 61.4. I have uncontrolled Hypertension on multiple meds, uncontrolled Type II Diabetes, fatty liver disease and high cholesterol, sleep apnea, severe arthritis, IIH, angina, past history of PE. I can barely walk and have been told if I don’t lose the weight I likely won’t live to see 40. I’ve backed out of this so many times but now that I’ve surpassed the 300 pound mark I know I have to do this. I’ve ended up in the ER twice in this last week with abnormal EKGs and the idea of having a cardiac event before 40 terrifies me.

From what I've been reading and a video from Dr. John Pilcher I recently watched, it's definitely normal. You usually lose the most in your first 3 months, around 1/2 the weight you're going to lose. After doing some poking around to clarify, it seems that number is calculated using your day of surgery weight. Between 3 and 6 months, you continue losing at 1-2 lbs a week, and this slows to maybe just a few pounds per month between 6 months and a year. So, let's say you lost 50lbs in the first 3 months, it's going to take you 9 months to lose the other 50lbs, but you most likely will lose it as long as you keep doing the right things.

Have you checked to see if you have any uterine fibroids? I'm asking because I ended up having an abdominal total hysterectomy because I had 3 extremely large ones and they couldn't do anything laparoscopically. My stomach was the size of someone who was 5 1/2 months pregnant. We never noticed it when I was over 400 pounds because EVERYTHING was fat on me. But once I lost a ton of weight, I finally agreed to a pap and they found the enlarged uterus. 1 ultrasound and abdominal ct later, and it was confirmed. I had the hysterectomy and my stomach is a lot flatter. Looks like it's supposed to.

Stalls tend to last 1-3 weeks and you’ll likely experience a few of them while you’re losing. They’re actually an important part of your weight loss. It’s the time when your body shuts down to reassess your new needs based on your weight loss. Your body works out what it needs now in regards to digestive hormones, metabolism, etc. When it’s done this & it’s ready to move forward again, your stall will break. Stick to your plan. Don’t make any additional changes other than what your plan requires - don’t stress your body more.

@BlueParis Still stalled I had my 3-month appointment yesterday. It seems I'm on track based on the numbers my doctor wants to see, which is losing at least 10% of your day-of-surgery weight at the 3-month mark. For me, that would be 22.3 lbs, and I've lost 22.4 lbs. So, I just have to trust the process, I guess. I have to go in Friday morning to have blood drawn for iron and B-12 check, and I need to redo my TSH (thyroid) from my physical earlier this week because Biotin messes up the results! So I have to stop my multivitamin and my biotin supplement for 72 hours before retesting. And @Noelle74it's so true that the weight does not just "fall off." Maybe the first few weeks, but after that? It's a struggle. Lots of ups and downs. Lots of frustration. I think a lot of trial and error, too, until you find what works for you. My plan is to just keep tracking protein and water, as directed by my dietician, for the next month. I have a vacation at the end of June. If I get back from that and don't like my progress, I will try limiting carbs to under 50g per day until my 6-month check-up at the end of August. If I'm worried at that point, I will talk to doctor about adding GLP-1. But hopefully there will be no cause for concern. My next thing is to learn how to use my resistance bands! That's my goal for the coming week.

You can do this Carrielee!! I started out with many of the things on your list. Now most of them are gone. I'm almost 6 months post op a Duodenal Switch. I've lost half my weight, from 320 to 240!! I feel incredible. It is so, so, SO worth it!

First, there is no one right way to eat to lose or maintain your weight. There’s just the right way for you. I agree to the suggestion to get in contact with your old dietician or find a new one. I’d also teach for a couple of weeks just to check your calorie & nutrient intake. I’d also get in contact with your surgeon as well to see what other options you have - revision surgery or maybe GLP - 1 meds. You’ve likely reset your body’s set point. The surgery lowered it but returning to larger portions, poor food choices & bad old habits have raised your set point again. So you’re actually fighting your body now. You’re trying to lose weight & your body is doing all it can to hold on to it. Have a look at Dr Matthew Weiner’s Pound of Loss metabolic reset diet (not that I’m an advocate for any ‘diets’.) It may give you some ideas you could try to see if works for you. He’s a great source of information around all things weight loss, bariatric surgery, etc. (He has a website & a you tube channel.) If you like being active, I’d add in some weights. Building muscle will help burn more calories & help counteract any muscle loss you experience while losing. Walking will help with general fitness. Remember though, activity only contributes to about 10% of any weight loss. Oh & don’t listen to your family & friends when they offer advice about your eating, nutrition or weight loss. They mean well but unless they’re qualified nutritionalist, dieticians, bariatric surgeons or medical doctors or had bariatric surgery they really don’t know what they’re talking about. And they’re not you. You know yourself best. You know your psychologically, physiologically & emotionally self best & know how you want to live your life. All the best.

If you’re on a GLP-1 drug wondering why you’re also considering surgery? Yes, some do combine the two but why not wait & see how effective the medication is & how you feel & then decide about the surgery. Don’t feel undeserving of the surgery if you decide to go down that path. For your health you are deserving & that is hugely more important than a number on the scales. Do you feel undeserving being on the medication? It’s helping you lose weight too. I’m 5 years out, tomorrow actually, with my sleeve. I enjoyed food before and I still do. I eat with family & friends at their homes, restaurants, events, etc. I just look at food differently & make more careful & better choices. You said since being on the GLP-1 med you don’t really want fast food any more. For a lot of us, the surgery does that too. And it gives us the time to examine our relationship with food - this is the most important benefit. There’s food I don’t even think about eating now. Just the thought of eating some foods makes me feel ill. Some foods simply don’t appeal. And yes, there are some foods I choose not to eat. Would never have believed it was possible before surgery but here I am. I don’t even crave any foods now. Mind blown! Keep us updated on your progress & what you decide to do in regards to surgery. Will say, if you are having doubts about the surgery, don’t do it. You have to be mentally & emotionally ready before embarking on it. It may be that you’re just not ready now & that’s okay. All the best. PS - I didn’t exercise at all when I was losing & do very little now (some at home stretching & resistance band things). Wouldn’t burn 30 calories LOL! Lost all my weight & more & have maintained that weight.

Hi, I'm Sandra and I am having a gastric sleeve on May 6th! I have been lurking here reading as much as i can of other's posts and have learned a lot. My situation is a little different as this is my second bariatric surgery. I had lap band surgery in 2009 and now am having it converted because my band stopped working for me. I did lose weight but then gained a lot back and recently have lost some again but need to lose more. My reason for surgery is to be healthier and hopefully improve my arthritis pain and mobility. My emotions are currently all over the place, anxious, worried, happy and excited. I will start my liver prep diet in 1 week. Not looking forward to 2 weeks of shakes only. I really am not too concerned about the surgery itself, as I have had several surgeries, and the pain has not been bad afterwards. As for my overnight hospital stay, I plan to pack as little as possible. I will plan on wearing home the clothes I arrive in. I think moisturizer and lip balm are good ideas. I may take a light robe. Someone mentioned a heating pad, but I don't think most hospitals allow you to bring them (coming from a retired RN here). They can be a burn hazard if they malfunction. If I am only staying overnight, I may not need reading materials. I will likely watch TV and nap. Slippers to walk in will be needed. I wish you all the best of luck for an easy surgery and pain free post-op course!

Good afternoon all! I just was thinking of all the surprises I've experienced since WLS...and I wanted to ask others what's surprised them about their weight loss/surgery journey that they weren't told by their bariatric team?! I'll go first: 1. All the aches and pains in my hips and butt. My butt hurts now when I sit since I'm missing my butt padding! Also, since losing weight my posture and gait have changed so now I'm in PT for hip abductor pain. 2. The ever increasing and changing locations of skin irritation. The skin now droops in places I wasn't told to expect and I get red irritation under my butt creases from over lap - sorry for the unpleasant visual! 3. I've shrunk..so driving I now need extra padding to be at my former "sitting height" I feel like a kid driving my parents car now. 4. I've had to buy new glasses, mine were stretched out from digging into my fat head 😋 and now they keep falling off when I look down. 5. I've had to buy new shoes, all my old shoes no longer fit. They just flop around. I was expecting new clothing..not shoes. 6. I feel more clumsy and weak despite working out. My manual dexterity is horrible now. 7. I still feel hunger 😔 These are just a few of the changes I've experienced that my bariatric team never mentioned. Do you have any to add that can take the surprise out of it for people just starting their WLS journey?! I eagerly await your responses!

How tall are you? For shorter people we unfortunately have to eat less. I've been struggling with an 18 lb/8 kg regain and I had to replace my food scale because the one I had was no longer giving accurate weights.