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Well, I don't like that dietician. That was just unprofessional to comment on your weight compared to other patients. And also a load of garbage, as there are plenty of people your starting size who seek out wls every day. As for why you've struggled with your weight, it's the same reason we all have: genetics plus environment. Your body is very efficient at storing fat for survival and your current environment offers you the exact kinds of foods your body is best at converting to fat. It's not your fault. Are there things you can do better to keep from returning to where you were? Of course! Learning to resist those simple carbs is going to be very important to longterm success. But it's not a moral failing or lack of willpower that made you obese, and you can definitely make the changes you need to make with the surgery to help you. Good luck!

I never even attempted to go the NHS route as knew it would be years. I’d toyed with the idea of surgery for a couple years, then I suddenly thought, what am I waiting for? No time like the present so just booked the consultation. There’s only one private hospital in my area of Scotland so it was Circle Health and Prof. Bruce for me. Both outstanding. I saw the psychologist and dietician within 2wks of the initial consultation and was then cleared for surgery. Zero complaints from me about any of the process, and apart from the constipation I’ve had a very easy recovery. So easy in fact I wasn’t sure what to do with myself. I expected to suffer, and know how to cope with that as I have endometriosis, but no suffering ensued. so I feel very fortunate. I’m trying to take each day, one at a time. Last week I was panicking worrying about putting back on weight I’ve yet to lose. Eejit. So that needed to be quelled. My energy level is good, I’ve been slowly increasing the distance I walk every day, I drove after a week and plan to returning to work one month post surgery, all being well. The future looks brighter for me from where I’ve been sitting. Wishing you as positive an experience as I’ve had .

Maybe the fact that you are practically starving yourself is the problem. Even with the weight-loss, your body still needs enough calories, including protein, carbs, and fats to burn. That’s when you start (or continue) losing weight. When you start eating too few calories, your body reads that as famine. It holds onto whatever calories it can. Your best bet is to eat enough calories that you and your body don’t think you’re in a famine.

yes - obesity is a complex disease. Among other things, at some point it can cause biological changes that make it very difficult to lose weight. For example, I've read that research has shown that even gut bacteria is different in very obese individuals than it is in normal-weight individuals. your experience is very common. In fact, I took a course in obesity and weight loss at a local university (nutrition department) a year or two ago that addressed this. The usual pattern is that people lose about 5% of their weight in the first few months of dieting, then it levels off for a couple of months, and then it gradually comes back on. About a year later, they're back to where they started. That knowledge didn't surprise me at all - that happened to me over and over and over. Weight loss surgery is the only thing that ever worked for me. Surgery won't help prevent the behavior. What it does is. 1). takes away your hunger for the first few months - (for a lucky few this is permanent - for most of us, it comes back sometime during the first year post-surgery) and 2) keeps you from eating a ton of food at one sitting. What it doesn't prevent is "grazing" or mindless snacking, and that can be a really slippery slope. Take those first few months of no hunger and really work on changing that behavior. Nine years out, I struggle with that every day - the urge to eat mindlessly. It takes a lot of work and dedication to control that (although honestly, a lot of my never-been-obese friends struggle with that, too). I don't know if I'd ever eat my way back up to 373 lbs again, but I know if I let myself loose for more than a few days, my weight starts heading north...

Hi All, First Post I'm female in the UK and nearly 59 years old. I have been a fat toddler, a fat child, a fat teen and a fat adult. I have yo-yo dieted all my life, with each yo-yo lasting for a shorter period and resulting in a new high-point when I would inevitably bounce back. In July '23 I reached a new all time high 24st 9lb (345lb) I was about to start the diet again, about to go through the same loop but just couldn't face it. I made an appointment with a bariatric surgeon, discussed my history and options and agreed that a gastric sleeve was a good fit for me. I was told I was too heavy for their practice and I needed to lose 56lb before I could have the surgery. The surgery was booked for Jan 2nd '24 and I started dieting. As is the practice here I had an assessment with a psychologist who confirmed I was a suitable candidate and a dietician who again confirmed I was a suitable candidate but in the process managed to make me feel like I had already failed, in her words I was "Much heavier than most people who come to us" As she was a gate keeper and I needed her approval to progress I did not complain. That time will come. Following my initial consultation on the 8th Aug I started dieting to get down to the target weight. I have never had difficulty in losing weight I simply cannot maintain any losses. My normal pattern is if it takes me 6 months to lose the weight I will regain it and 10lb in the following 12-18 months. By the day of surgery I had lost 75lb and was already feeling so much better. I considered carrying on with just dieting and not having the surgery but I was already beginning to see my discipline weaken and I knew it would be the same old story. Surgery went well, I had very little pain or discomfort and by and large I cannot complain. I'm currently on the pureed stage of the diet and doing OK managing to keep protein and fluid levels up though I struggle with the fluids some day. I have lost 13lb in the last 21 days but have hit the dreaded 3 week plateau. Early days but I have no regrets - to be without hunger for the first time in my life is such a relief, I feel good and am doing more and more each day. I am already starting to live the life I want and i can see so many more benefits ahead and believe they are attainable and retainable. I wish I knew why I have struggled so much with my weight - there is no one trauma or set of childhood issues I can point at. It is not that I have a compulsion to eat everything in sight there are so many foods I can just ignore, I have no interest in sweet foods of any kind or greasy deep fried foods. But I cannot resist bread, pasta , rice etc and my down fall has always been the second or even third portion of these carbs. For this reason if no other I hope the VSG will not only prevent that behaviour but I also hope it will give me enough time to re gain control before considering a second helping. My parting thought for this post is that as I have gone through my journey thus far the one thing I have found is that my story is not that unusual, my problems are not unique and most importantly that they are not the result of some moral failing or fundamental weakness. There is more to life long obesity than can simply be solved with "diet and exercise" and having finally found medical professionals who believe that is the case I see this year and this journey as a new lease on life that I am going to grab with both hands. Koshk - newbie

I still have more weight to lose but yes, sitting in my changing body is more uncomfortable than I anticipated. Even in a relatively comfy chair.

Hi, I had gastric bypass surgery August 16, 2023. My heaviest weight ever was 260 lbs, but I started the 6 month weight loss program weighing 249lbs (5'3"). I had to do a one week of liquid diet which was just protein shakes, water, decaf tea. I can honestly say it was the hardest 3 days of my life on the liquid diet because the physical pains of hunger was a constant reminder I needed food. Day 4-7 was more so a mental hunger and I had a boost of energy. What helped me was just constantly drinking LOTS of water though out the day and keeping myself busy. Heaviest weight: 260lbs Starting weight: 249lbs Surgery weight (day of surgery) 235lbs Current weight: 181lbs Peppermint tea helped eased the hunger pains when I was experiencing stomach cramps. Also, no one told me my tongue will turn white, like literally a coating of white film on my tongue during the liquid diet phase. Something to do with ketosis (detox of sugar from body) Best of luck!

They pump you with a lot of fluids after the surgery so you’re probably still peeing that out. When I had my gall out the pumped me with so much fluid I gained a good 2 kgs. Thankfully I’d lost it two or three days later once I’d peed it all out.

I'm getting surgery on january 29 th.... they told me on the 19th my official date and I started my liquid diet yesterday. I had my last meal on saturday... i went to all you can eat sushi Sooooo.... I'm on day 2, it's going great. Not easy but i'm okay for now. Any advices ? Also, I'm a 5'9 woman and my weight is 262 pounds. I'm 26 years old, anybody have similar numbers to me ?

Mine would if it wasn't so saggy now! "Has the Dr given any explanation? Any advice? My dietitian keeps telling me we are losing inches not necessarily pounds. I call BS. All I know is I have 17 more pounds to lose to get new knees. After that I hope to lose another 60 so my hubby can buy me a face lift (he doesn't know it yet) SURPRISE DEAR LOL" I see my doctor next month for my 6 month check in and in two weeks my blood tests. It will be with the dietician, to be honest she's seemed kinda pointless. Just says you're eating as you should...perhaps add some fruit, to which I explained again when I eat carbs my heart races and fruit is high in fructose soooo. Then she'll suggest something like those nasty palm heart noodles, boy those were a mistake..again texture issues. It was like eating a bowl of slimy rubber bands. She gave me a G7 to monitor my blood sugars after the fruit discussion oh joy! I agree with the inches vs. pounds being BS. Last time I checked fat or "inches" weigh something. You can't lose inches without weight - unless I'm packing on muscle (weighs 7 times more than fat) but I assure you that's NOT it! Lolol "surprise dear" face lift, I love it! 😆😂😆 17 lbs should go quick for you and you'll have new knees soon enough! Thank you for the laugh, at this point it is well appreciated!

I can't see why the weight isn't falling off for you. Dang, you certainly are eating very lean and low calorie. Seems unfair. I'm clearly nobody to give advice since I ballooned to nearly 350. I only know for my body and if I hit a stall I have to eat a bigger amount for one day then back down to low calories and it seems to jolt my system into more weight loss. My sister had gastric bypass - lost 85lbs and starved herself on cabbage to get down to the 100lbs loss so she could get her knees replaced. Once replaced and she started eating a normal (for us) diet and gained the 15 lbs back but has maintained her weight for the past 3 years. Th beef gelatin has no flavor, none. I can't eat sugar free jello due to the sweeteners they put in it. Many sweeteners are inflammatory and due to my super bad knees I can't stand any inflammation of that kind. If those products don't bother you then you could do sugar free jello, add some extra unflavored beef protein and have a tasty snack. I should add some foods make me retain water - like any tomato product and any wheat or rice. I've no clue why but if I eat those my feet, ankles and lower legs swell. I've been eating mostly paleo for the past 7 years. Has the Dr given any explanation? Any advice? My dietitian keeps telling me we are losing inches not necessarily pounds. I call BS. All I know is I have 17 more pounds to lose to get new knees. After that I hope to lose another 60 so my hubby can buy me a face lift (he doesn't know it yet) SURPRISE DEAR LOL

So maybe super embarrassing but no one told me I'll be sitting on cooter and butt bone when losing weight, their is no padding down there. 😭😭😭

Congrats!! I'm sure you feel relieved! I'm at the point where I've been in a stall or at least a weight loss slow down stall for a few months myself. But I've only lost about 3 lbs the last month..21 over 3+ months and I'm only at 5 months post op! As annoying and worried as I'm sure you've been.. I hope it helps some knowing you made me feel relieved knowing it might only be temporary. Again, congrats and you're soooo close to your goal now - you've got this!

.......... I "think" I broke the stall ! * knock on wood* 😁 Yes! I've been at 192 for months and nothing I did would break it. Finally ....I am gradually going down and as of today I am 185 ! It's the weirdest thing - all summer I was exercising and walking and the scale wouldn't move. Now that it's winter in Wisconsin , I haven't been walking at all except for grocery shopping and the weight loss started again. The only reason I can think of why I was stalled is,I must have been gaining muscle . Well - I'm not going to question it .... I'm just going to enjoy it I'm so happy to be a "loser" again..... LOL

you'll lose bone mass. You lose everything when you lose that much weight - fat, muscle, and bone! But then again, you need a lot of infrastructure to hold up 300+ lbs. It just isn't needed once you lose a ton of weight. Exercise and protein will keep you from losing too much protein. Exercise (especially weight-bearing exercise like walking, dancing, strength-training) will keep you from losing too much bone mass. But losing SOME of both isn't necessarily bad, since it's not needed. hair - not everyone loses it, but most do - but it's temporary. I didn't lose enough for others to notice. In the grand scheme of things, it's a small price to pay, and at this point it's just a blip on the screen for me.

I'm curious if you've had any discussions with your surgeon about converting your sleeve to a duodenal switch if your weight loss continues to be disappointing from the sleeve. I've heard there are some patients who just don't see the results they need from the VSG alone, and that might be an option for you.

I get your frustration. I gained 5 lbs after Christmas and it just wasn't coming off. Last week I graduated off of Hint water and can now drink any water however I did change my diet. I know this is going to sound weird but it worked for me and I'll be 67 in a few weeks. I eat high protein, no sugar, sweetened with erythritol yogurt then my coffee with a small amount of sweetened flavored creamer and whipping cream. Lunch is usually a protein bar and a cheese stick. Protein bar is sweetened with the erythrirol.. Then the snacking begins - I make jello cubes out of unflavored beef gelatin, monk sugar and allulose, unsweetened kool aid and water. I make it thick and cut into 1/2" cubes. Place a hefty serving into a baggy and I can eat as many as I want. I snack from 3 til 8 on jello cubes, not non stop but maybe 3 baggies worth. I too was hungry all the time until I started eating the jello cubes. IDK why it works but in 5 days I lost 6 lbs. I pee non stop but that's ok with me. My jello cubes are about 35 calories a baggy but it's all protein and if you take a tryptophan with it it becomes a complete protein plus its tons of collagen. I've lost a lot of hair the past 6 weeks so trying to fight that. My surgery was 8/14 and so far I've lost 91 pounds (lost 45 before my surgery). I need new knees something awful so highly motivated. 17 lbs to go. I did join the gym 2 weeks ago in preparation for the new knees. Gotta get these old legs strong again. I hope things break for you soon.

Update: Gastric Bypass Date 8/16/2023 Starting weight 376 Current 270 Down 106 pounds. My heaviest was 387. Current 270 Down 117 pounds

Anyone else at 5 months noticing the weight loss is slowing down? In the last 3 months (my scale averages it out) I've lost 20.4lbs. From December to today 3.8lbs - less than a pound a week!! I'm not happy. I do exactly as I was told: 1. No more than 800 calories 2. No more than 50 carbs 3. Low calories, low low sugar, low low fat 4. Drink the equivalent of Lake Superior every day 5. I'm always active, stairs, dog walks, cleaning, treadmill, Occulus, etc etc... 6. Take all my vitamins I didn't go through surgery, liquid diets, being hungry all the time (including now) to have weight loss come to a screeching snails pace this soon after surgery! Is there such a thing as a complete slow down/stall 3-4 month post op for several months? I worry because everyone says its "normal" to slow down at 6 months..but this started at 4, what will happen at 6?

I just wanted to say it sounds like you've been through a lot, and I hope the plan you're starting now with the enzymes will have the results you need. It must've sounded like a dream come true as an obese 19 year old to get to eat all you want and not worry about weight gain, but it starts to sound like a nightmare when you're told you must eat thousands and thousands of calories every single day or you could die. That's terrifying. And then again, taking the enzymes could mean gaining more weight than you wanted, and that's not great either. My only advice is to keep a really close eye on things and work with your doctor and nutritionist as much as you can to get the right balance of working out, food choices, and medications/enzymes to get yourself healthy again.

I don't remember the weight when my face got smaller, but I will say that I look 12 years older. I'm 59 and never looked my age. Getting bigger and bigger kept the wrinkles filled in. It bothers me because I'm not used to it. I have to look at other people my age and tell myself I don't look old, I just look my age.

Well I signed a contact twenty years ago and I wasn't informed all that much about what I signed up for... Maybe because it was so long ago.. I do now know and understand the deal but the problem is simple.. So I had a car hit me when I was crossing the street and spent six months in a hospital followed by six months of a resting home to recover followed by a heart failure and another five months in the hospital followed by multiple hospital trips and lost all my original muscle.. I was always average strength but it's another thing to be told you might have a heart attack if you don't gain muscle. So I did everything I was told to bring me to this point. I have gained ten pounds of muscle in the last two years and I gain average of a pound a month. Only in the sorta person I need advise and someone to tell me what to do so that I don't make mistake. This might be a result of brain damage from my accident or maybe I'm just a big dumb guy I dunno.. But I did my own math if I eat 4200 calories I absorb 2200. So it does make sense I can't bulk however I'm taking enzymes and my doctor said the enzymes turn your ds off so that you can absorb everything you eat with them.. Now I'm fine tuning everything. Maybe my ds is to powerful and I'll learn that I really can't bulk and yes I look more defined in the mirror I think. But because my skin is stretchy it's hard to tell. I have gone from 175 to 178 so hopefully that's going to keep going up. My only real goal of taking the enzymes is to increase my protein which is 6.1. Before I worked out I was capable of maintaining my weight but my doctor told me I lost so much muscle that to not regain it would be dangerous to my health So regardless of anything I have no choice but to gain weight. If that means eventually eating 6000 calories so be it. But I really think the enzymes alone will solve my problems. I plan to take the enzymes for 3 months then get off then for two months then back on them in a bulk cutting kinda formula however I'll admit I don't know that this will work. I've gained weight in the past getting up to 240 in the resting home but that was eating six full meals a day with no working out and tons of high fat snacks and sense then I've gotten hypoglycemia which makes gaining weight difficult because I can't just devour sugar like I used to be able to. Man I used to love pudding cups... Anyways no I didn't know what I was getting into I was 19 and all I wanted was to lose weight but to still be able to eat as much as I wanted. Which is what I got. I never understood the risks. Never. That's why I got all these problems and it's hard to dig your self out of a ditch.. I would work out more if I thought it would help but I just lift weights 3x a week and I have a trainer and a bunch of great doctors who help.. The thing is the DS shouldn't kill me.. I should be able to figure out a way to make this work and my real issue is I'm 6"3 and a man so I require 3200 calories a day is what my trainer said. I only absorb 2200 thus I'm taking enzymes I'm focusing on absorbing protein and enough calories to feed my muscle building and I'm getting blood tests and scanning my body for progress it's a really scary time for me because I know I can lose muscle fast if I forget anything.. finding this website has helped me relearn just got crazy this surgery can be... For real you all helped me so much... But I can not except life as a weakling I'm 39 and a man and people need me so I can't just except things the way they are. If a normal person can build muscle I can to. It may take more work and more intelligence on my part but that fine I'm willing to do anything to be average if that makes sense.. in fact I was debating going to the gym today because my back hurts but you just motivated me to go . 😁 Thank you. Have a nice day. Please information is key here any advise on maybe how many calories you eat or your macros would be helpful to me because I do have a little problems working stuff out in my head and so the more information I can't the better I can deal.

I don't think you fully understood what you signed up for. I work out 6 to 7 days a week and do not have any bulk muscle. I had the Sadi DS 10 years ago and I can eat a horse without weight gain but also no bulk muscle. Instead, I have excellent muscle definition and can work out at a level not possible before wls. The DS fortunately keeps the weight off, so you will never bulk up. You signed up for this, and it's a fantastic thing for you to be able to work out, eat what you want, and be healthy, especially given you previously weighed over 400 lbs.

@Allen, I had no choice once the weight loss started. I lost slowly but steadily and had an initial goal of getting down to 185 lbs. I was concerned about the traditional Hess DS being too extreme so I opted for the SADi due to the much longer common channel (mine is about 300 cm). When I hit 135 lbs my Dr and I were concerned but not panicked. Over the next 2 years I gaind back 27 pounds to reach 162 where I have been very steady. I feel like my body knew the right weight and I needed to let it get there over time. I'm very happy with the Sadi and would not change a thing.

Congratulations on making positive decisions for your health. I had/have GERD. I got bypass and hiatal hernia surgery to correct it. I still need PPI but less of them, and only feel the burn or the flip of the esophagus once in a while like with eating nuts (high fat) or coffee. So, I avoid my triggers or have only very small portions. I was a slow looser, even lost half of total weight loss before surgery. I believe it was due to menopause creating such a dry environment in my throat. The research on gut health and menopause is still so new that I can only mention it without solid peer reviewed evidence. The research is still ongoing. I only know my experience with menopause caused worsening asthma, eye infections, sudden tooth decay, arthritis and GERD. The underlying commonality was a lack of mucus production ie. menopause. Maybe it’s Sjorgrens but it slammed into me at 45 and DHEA helps, and I never developed full diabetes, nor Lupus, nor non-Hodgekins Lymphoma which are hallmarks of Sjorgrens. I applaud your scientific curiosity. Keep letting us know what happens!