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i gave a 10 yr passport also (got it in 2017, had wls 2018), and it expires in 2027 i inquired, and apparently i can get the picture updated by applying and paying for a new passport. it'll cost me $160 (for the new passport) + a $45 admin fee for renewing before expiry. i know it will probably save me time at immigration and security at airports, and really its only $45 measly bucks, but i just dont want pay that extra $45 for a new pic ON PRINCIPLE! i'll put up with the extra questions and sideways looks for a couple more years just to be stubborn.

OMG I greatly dislike cooking but this sounds so good I’m going to make this! I do better with weight loss and maintenance with some regular structure too. I do change up cooked veggies for winter and salads for summer. I’m glad I filled up on seafood this Spring because it’s suddenly gotten costly in the US heading into summer. Best of luck with PT, it’s kept me away from knee surgery for 10 years now, good stuff if you keep it up!

I start my pre op diet this week. I have everything. This is my second time with the diet. Last month surgery was cancelled the day prior due to lab work. So im back on track and scheduled 5/10. Nice to read all of your posts. I watched a couple of surgery videos today too.

Happy 10 day post-op! Im sorry to hear about your belly button discharge- do you have an incision close to it that caused it? I am also about 3 weeks liquid phase including pre-op. Im so sick of it. My fluid intake for water/sugar free gatorade is okay. I’m no where near 1.5 L a day but its slowly getting better and im definitely drinking more now than I was the first two days. Did you develop an intolerance to lactose after your surgery?

Is anyone out there like me? I had VSG surgery feb 2022. Started at 21.9 stone pre LRD diet. 20.9 stone after LRD , lowest after surgery 17 stone.  I lost weight the first year and then gained 2 stone currently sitting at 19 stone. Since jan 2023 the scale has not moved once , up and down by maybe 1 or 2 pounds but the scale is not moving. At all. I can count calories for a whole month and nothing. I can eat **** for a whole month .. and nothing. nothing makes my scales move and hasn’t for over a year. You can only imagine my frustration. is anyone else having this issue and if so PLEASE tell me how I can start losing weight and making the scales move again.

I wouldn't make a huge effort to stop. I started freaking out when I got down into the 130s (and looked pretty awful, to be honest), but like so many people, after being there for awhile (my body kind of stopped on its own), my weight started heading up again. It's very common to have a rebound of 10-20 lbs after hitting bottom. That's one reason it's probably a good thing I got into the 130s, because after that rebound, I ended up where I originally wanted to be.

Hello all! I had my SADI-S done on July 17th and I was trying to find a community/support from others who have gone through bariatric surgery. Both my parents had the RYGB over 10+ years ago, so I guess I'm not really new to bariatric surgery, but I am new to all things SADI/sleeve. I'm currently taking the Bariatric Advantage multiEA with iron and they are...gross. So I'm curious to the alternative people have been taking, but that also meet with the SADI requirements, since I know the malabsorption is an issue. I'm diabetic, and on the Omnipod insulin pump, but with U-500 Humalin instead of U-100. I am extremely insulin resistant, even after the surgery. But it has been way better than before the surgery, so whoo hoo. I think I'm just looking for people to share their own stories with the sleeve/SADI and any tips/tricks along the way.

Hi March Buddies, How is everyone doing? I can’t believe it’s been 5 months post op. Had a huge milestone met this morning on the scale after a period of stagnant weight loss. A weight that I haven’t seen in over 30 years. I’m still in shock and very grateful I’m on this journey. Still more work to be done, but, these moments help to reassure me I’m on the right path. Hope my surgery buddies are all healed and doing well. I’m having an incisional hernia repair in a couple weeks, not from the gastric surgery, from gallbladder removal 10 years ago! Hopefully this will be the end of surgeries for a long time! Would love to hear what people have found to keep their protein levels up. And what activities are you able to enjoy now? I was thrilled to ride some amusement rides with my kids this summer!

Hi @Beljer72 How are you getting along? I had mine 10 days before you. I'm generally fine but have very dry skin, am still quite tired and have had horrible cystitis for the past few days ...

as I've said before, just remember that most of us do have a 10-20 lb bounce back regain during year 3. Not only that, but even before that, your fat distribution starts to change and shift around and you start looking better, even if you don't gain any weight. I, too, got too thin - but I sure as heck am not thin anymore! I gained back more like 30 lbs. I really did need to gain a good 15 lbs or so, but not 30! (I still look OK, but I'd love to lose those unwanted 15 lbs. Which isn't easy when you're at or near normal BMI...) I felt very weak when I was at my lightest as well - but I no longer did after that rebound weight started piling on..

Well I head in tomorrow morning at 10:00 for my surgery. I'm a lil nervous, just the not knowing, what I'm about to experience. They say 💭 it's different for everyone. Appreciate all that I've learned from everyone's experiences here on this page. The procedure for me to get here has taken a whole yr and a half. So I'm so ready for this…. (I think !!)

I was never a breakfast eater and I've always done Intermittent Fasting and never ate my first meal before 12 PM (mind you I wake up at 5:30 AM). But since my VSG I get really hungry in the mornings, I have an oat milk coffee and wait to eat at 10/10.30 AM. My last meal of the day is at 6 PM so it explains the hunger especially with the tiny portions.

I am 10 weeks out and I can eat eggs and chicken thighs but not chicken breast. I can't stomach the white meat. Wondering if it will be like that for awhile. We will see. se

Hello! I am posting to see if anyone got their surgery in their 20s and what their experience was like? I am 19 years old (turning 20 in July), and getting my gastric sleeve on June 21st. I was wondering if anyone my age who has had the gastric sleeve would be open to sharing their story with me, since I know each age group experiences different side affects and symptoms:) Thanks in advance!

My surgery went well. I also had hiatal hernia repair. I was an outpatient and had little pain after coming out of anesthesia, was able to keep water down and walked....gas pains were mostly non existent. Currently having mild pain, due to soreness from hernia repair. Liquids going down well, ready for pureed foods. I have my two week post op on Wednesday 3/20. I lost 19 lbs in my two week full liquid pre op diet and 6lbs down from surgery, so a total of 25 lbs.

How do you know how much excess skin you have? Like in lbs. I watch these shows and its like we cut off 25 lbs of skin. How do I get an idea of how much weight my excess skin is so I can decide if I am truly happy here or if I want to lose a little more? I am at the point of plateau. I have been at 157-162 for 10 months now. I would like to end up at the 145 ish range. I just have no idea how to know if I have 15 ish lbs of skin. and I dont want to cut the skin, not be in the 140s, lose another 10 ish lbs and possibly have to go back and have more skin cut off/ have more sag that I am trying to avoid.

You don't really have to worry about food safety if the food is frozen at 0°F (-18°C?) or lower. It technically can keep indefinitely. The problem is the quality will degrade over time and this is made worse if there is air in contact with the food. From my experience, freezer burn is the biggest problem. After a while in the freezer things will start to dehydrate and oxidize if exposed to air. That's why you want to get rid of as much air as possible. You'll know if it's freezer burned when it gets kind of a grey or white surface to any parts exposed to air. This will cause an off flavor that's not particularly pleasant. This may be happen in a few months, or much, much longer if stored properly. I once tried to grind up a ~5 year old roast that I "rescued" from the bottom of my freezer. I knew it was freezer burned, but I was hoping that if I made chili from if, the strong flavors of the spices would mask the freezer burned taste. It didn't. ☹️ 0/10, wouldn't recommend.

I had surgery on 3/6 of this year and am doing really well - losing steadily, no food issues, etc. I am still sleeping a ton though - feeling best getting 10 hours of sleep, which seems crazy to me. I used to go on 6-7 and never felt tired. I’m assuming it’s the extreme calorie deficit and will ask my doctor at my next appointment, but wondered if anyone else had the same experience?

Thank you! It feels like it has been longer, but when I look at the July picture it just doesn't seem like it has only been 10 months. Scales wins are better, but inches are pretty good too. I see you just had gastric bypass in March. I hope all is well. Seems like I've had a lot of stalls. But losing 48 lbs. Since my surgery Feb 7th. Seems odd to say I had any stalls.

Thanks for the protein water suggestions, JoSwan and Emeraude! I hadn’t tried it because I couldn’t find a plant based one and I’m vegan. But your suggestions inspired me to look again and I found one! It’s only 10 grams of protein per scoop but hopefully it will help! I ordered it online, it comes on Thursday. 🤞

I definitely have body dysmorphia. There's times when I look in the mirror and still see 421 pounds. No matter what I do, I just can't see where I'm at now. It goes as far as me thinking people who tell me I look great and they're proud of me, I think they're just BSing me and saying what I want to hear, even though I'm still huge. My husband kept one of my size 10 rings and size 30 outfits and when it gets really bad, he has me try to put them on. Obviously, they don't fit and it kind of snaps me out of it. I hope at least that part of it goes away sooner rather than later. I can hike 10 miles. I can do major work outs. I can shop in NON plus size sections in any store. I can live my life, yet out of nowhere, my brain will misfire or something and set me back because I'll go in my closet or drawers and wonder who the hell stole my clothes and replaced them with someone else's. It's such a mind eff sometimes.

I unfortunately only spent a few months following surgery without being overly hungry, but after about the three month mark it came back with a vengeance, so I decided to do some research. I now consume Non digestive or Resistant meladextrin. Its a corn fiber that your body can't digest so; no calories, good fiber and probiotics purported to help with the following: Resistant maltodextrin is believed to enhance gut health by [19, 29, 30]: Promoting the growth of good gut bacteria Improving stool weight, consistency, and bowel movements According to some researchers, resistant maltodextrin has potential against obesity, diabetes, and heart disease because, in various studies, it has [31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39]: Reduced belly fat and body weight Decreased food intake Increased satiety hormones (glucagon-like peptide-1 and peptide YY) Lowered the production of the “hunger” hormone (ghrelin) Reduced blood sugar levels and insulin resistance Blocking the growth of cancer cells and tumors ** hasn't been proven** Decreasing endotoxins, inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress markers (TNF-a, IFN gamma, MDA) Increasing protective antibodies and anti-inflammatory substances (IgA, butyrate, IL-10) In clinical studies of over 200 people, resistant maltodextrin enhanced the growth of good gut bacteria, including [19, 29, 44, 47, 48]: Bifidobacterium Ruminococcus Eubacterium Lactobacillus Lachnospiraceae Bacteroides Holdemania Faecalibacterium As a resistant starch, this type of maltodextrin will help keep your blood sugar level stable after meals. In a meta-analysis of over 900 people, resistant maltodextrin blocked the increase of blood sugar after meals (postprandial glycemia) [37]. resistant maltodextrin decreased blood glucose and insulin levels. It increased a weight-loss protein called adiponectin that blocks glucose production. 3) Obesity In several clinical studies of over 300 overweight people, resistant maltodextrin reduced body weight, body mass index (BMI), and body fat. In one 12-week clinical study of 30 people with metabolic syndrome, it decreased waist circumference and belly fat [31, 55, 35]. In clinical studies of over 160 overweight men, resistant maltodextrin decreased feelings of hunger, increased satiety, and reduced and food intake. In another study on 32 healthy people, it decreased levels of the “hunger” hormone (ghrelin), lowered feelings of hunger and improved satiety [31, 32, 33, 34]. In rats, resistant maltodextrin reduced body weight, belly fat, and suppressed excess food intake [56, 6, 50 I found numerous research studies that pretty much said the same things above..so I figured I'd give it a try. It has no flavor and desolved completely so I just add it to my water plus it has no calories and helps regulate Ghrelin (hunger hormone). It really seems to help! I just make sure its non GMO etc etc. Perhaps it can help you, I figured it couldn't hurt and I do feel less hungry...still by try but less.

60lbs down since the start and 52 since the day of my surgery. 13 inches off my waist and 10 off my apron belly. Feeling more confident. Still a way to go

Hey Everyone, I keep seeing how people have a hard time using the restroom. Even my mom told me that she had an issue peeing when she got the sleeve. I am shocked at how my body is working. I’ve been able to pee since day 1 and I’ve had steady, good bowel movements since day 3. I had taken pain meds and was not constipated at all. Maybe my body was happy to get rid of that stomach lol anyway I’m excited for the Summer Time fine bodies we are working hard to get. Happy healing ladies. ❤️ WL Update: as of 01/27, I am down 22.2 lbs. with 121 lbs to go😋