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I’m 11 weeks out from RNY and had a weekend trip away with the grand babies. Hotel had a swimming pool and I discovered I no longer float. I kept sinking and it took so much more work to not drown.

My dietician wanted me to get at least 90g of protein a day and 30g or less carbs. My energy has been sapped as well. But I also work 55-60 hours a week. So that doesn't help much along with getting in some exercise daily. So, I've been getting in 40-45 g of carbs and that seemed to help some. But I've also had no more than 100 grams.of caffiene every couple days. I use the baritastic app and log everything. It's helps a lot. My dietician can log in and see what I've been doing. She hasn't said anything, but I also don't have an appointment with her until next month. I think my issues are getting enough vitamins and minerals. My hair used to grow very fast, now it doesn't. I take three multivitamins a day and two B-complex vitamins. Along with calcium chews. I also have an appointment with the bariatric center where I had the surgery. I'm certain they will have another round of blood tests to see if I have any deficiencies. Sorry this was a book. 😁

Ooof. Had my 6-week post-op appointment today and it felt a little like the Spanish Inquisition - my days vary so much that it was very hard to explain what my meals look like! (Mostly, frankly, I hate eating, so it's not a highlight of my day.) They finally satisfied themselves that I really have been drinking enough water and having enough protein and few enough carbs, though, so it went pretty well. All the bits seem to function. Only issue we're both concerned about is that my exhaustion levels are pretty high, especially if I try to exercise, so the doctor was like, "go have some carbs already!" After how hard they drilled into me not to eat them, the idea sounded pretty foreign, Not like they want me to go ham or anything, but just to eat half a piece of whole wheat bread (whole wheat bread here is pretty serious) with some protein on it before I exercise or something. Tried it this afternoon and it was like someone had flipped a switch on XD Also put on a dress that I haven't worn for 8 years thinking it was going to still be too small. IT LOOKS LIKE A TENT. Had to give in and actually admit I need new clothes XD Hope everyone else's week is going well...

I just had surgery on 4/2/24 and I had the same. It looked really weird. Like a dent in my fat roll. My doctor said that it was from a suture in one of my abdominal muscles and would eventually go away as I lost weight and healed up. It’s only been a week and mine is completely gone.

I'm experiencing the same as you, but I'm only 6 months post-op. This past two weeks I've fallen off the wagon and am having a hard time climbing back on. I think I'm just rebelling because I'm so tired of having to watch everything so closely this past 15 months; it really does get old! Oh, I'll get back on the wagon soon because I don't want to embarrass myself when I have my 8-month check-in with my surgeon. But it's hard. It's just hard.

Has anyone else had nausea after drinking water? I'm creeping on 4 weeks PO and over this last weekend I dealt with nausea after drinking water??

I’m not counting macros calories or even protein - I just know I’m eating not a lot - even if I’m having to eat out for every meal I’m trying to make good choices and eat protein first - I think I’m way way off 100g of protein a day though! My doctors did say not to stress the protein too too much though and aim for about 80g most days. I’ll be back in Paris to weigh myself for my 2 month surgerversary but haven’t been able to weigh myself since last Wednesday which was 6.5 weeks post surgery - I’d lost 12.5kg which is 27.5lbs - I’m happy enough with that as I had a lower starting weight. I have another 20 pounds to loose to hit a healthy BMI but I know things will slow down weigh loss wise fast for me and I’d like to loose another 44lbs total to be back at my pre Covid happy/non near constant leg pain weight. it’s hard not having access to scales here and not being able to walk as much as I’d like because Cairo at night isn’t the safest place for solo female walks at night and I’m basically screwed to a chair in a conference center from 9-5 and night falls here at 6.15pm !

Thank you for the great information- I did get to consult with dr before— and got the v-shape as that was what dr preferred as well. I had 4lbs of skin removed from my stomach, and they lipo scuplted arms, waist and back to get the 2lbs of fat to use for the tiny bbl they were able to complete. I am 3 weeks out (as of Wednesday April 10) and am very pleased with the results so far. The back side is not super dramatic, which I am happy about. Surgery went well, although i did have to have an iron treatment because my hemoglobin dropped 4 points ..but after that i felt great. Instead of general they used an epidural and exparel- so I didn't need any major pain meds after. Just had a headache for a couple of days, so Tylenol was solution. Staying in a recovery house for a week was THE best decision for me to not push it and to make sure i could recover well— at home I’d have been doing things when i should have been resting. No real pain to speak of from anything- sore and tight might describe it best—but that eased up at the end of the week. I admittedly have a high pain tolerance, and after previous breast reduction and hysterectomy knew some of what to expect. Now, Im just working from home and living a fairly normal life. Driving, walking, etc with ease. In a few weeks, I will be cleared to start exercising- which I have never done— so slow and steady will be course of action. Ill post some pics when things settle and i don't look too Frankenstein like. Thank you all for the kind words and support! Plastics is a game changer!

Hey all, I had my dietician appointment last week, and I am due to have my pre-op assessment this week. Bit of a long one, apologies! Full disclosure - I have ADHD and I am also suspected Dyslexic, and both of these things are making it really hard to plan and to work with numbers etc. We went through all the info of the Liver Reduction Diet (LRD) - I am starting that on the 1st May, for 2 weeks. I've been given 800 calories a day max - already made a small blunder when ordering stuff from New You Plan https://www.thenewyouplan.com/ - I ordered x14 shakes, x14 soups, x14 meals & x14 snack bars. I added up what a typical day's calories would look like with these, and it only comes to about 555 calories - so I had to order some SlimFast meal replacement powder to buff it up for another 222-odd calories. 😰 I don't know why that stressed me out so much, but because my dietician gave me a meal plan template of only 4 items, I got it stuck in my head that I couldn't add an extra shake on top of that, rather than just thinking I am allowed 800 calories per day. I also got through the guidance for the vitamins and the food stages and god...with my neurodiverse brain it is just SO much to take in and try and organise. I am anxious about ordering the right vitamins, and then making sure I am eating the right things - my instinct is always to prep, prep, prep, but I think maybe that will be running before I can walk. Any advise at this stage? 💜

Certainly don't think less of you. This is major surgery. You are normal to be scared. Then again think of what life would be like long term if you didnt do this. Maybe that is more scary? I know at that time before I had my RNY I didnt want to go on living entombed in my own body. I had this surgery in May 2022 and the surgeon also repaired a hernia at the time. (A few years prior I had another hernia fixed and that was very painful on it's own). I woke up in lots of pain (so maybe some of the pain was from getting the hernia fixed) but I was given lots of pain medication. The staff dont want you to be in pain either. So yes it was very rough but pain meds and heat packs eased the intensity. High end pain killers were needed for the first few days and then less and less over the next few weeks. And for the record I would rather be a little sleepy if it eases the pain. I needed to remind myself that it would get better and it did. Short term pain for very long term gain. Truly your journey will be yours and your alone. You may be in pain or you may not. You may have complications or you may not. I would also hope that the medical profession have learned more in the time since your mom had this operation. You wont know how it will be for you until you do it. PS - I would go through this again in a heartbeat. There is freedom again,

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!

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!

hello im 23 years old and all my life ive been battling my weight it was always fluctuating. Started at 280 and now I’m down to 180 I’m 5’8 and im definitely noticing muscle definition and loose skin is bouncing back. But as of lately ive been feeling super depressed and my recent breakup was what set it off. Just recently started going out with friends and having to eat small portion completely ruins it for me i wish i can cram in just a little more to enjoy food with friends. I feel like its a chore now to make sure im hitting my daily macros and im starting to have regrets. I feel good in my own body but i feel like i could’ve done this without surgery with the love i grew for the gym. I go 3-4 times a week with a split. Is there anyway to combat this depression and regret i have i just wish i can eat a little more to socialize and im scared of losing more weight

I'm 7 months or so out. I do weights, but you'd have to watch the eating style. 2 or maybe 3 protein shakes can give you up to 90 grams of protein. That would be in addition to what you eat.

Hi everyone, I had gastric bypass on February 27 of this year and I am down 53 pounds. My goal is to lose 100-120 pounds. While I am happy with the weight loss, I am losing muscle just as fast. I started going to the gym and hitting the weights this week. Of course I’m not as strong as I was before (I used to lift weights 10 years ago). I’m concerned that I won’t be able to get the nutrition/protein I need daily to start growing muscle again. Anybody on here bodybuilding months or years after surgery? Any tips or suggestions? Thanks

I will definitely get onto the team and surgeon! Start weight before surgery was 21.9 , 20.9 after LRD before surgery. Lowest after surgery 17 stone, currently at 19. After surgery total loss was 3 stone 9lbs which I think isn’t great surgery was feb 2022 got to 17 stone august 2022. Then gained now stalled at 19 stone for nearly a year.

My maximum weight was 303 lbs. I am currently 133lbs. I got my gastric by pass on May 7th 2019 in Pennsylvania. Since then I have had so many issues and I do not know where to turn to anymore. I feel the dr and I have gone through every option there is to go through and it is still not enough. Immediately after surgery I was having issues with eating. I followed all the rules took all the vitamins and meds I was supposed to. Still could not keep food down. I ended up having to take my gallbladder out in Oct of 2019. I was with a horrible person and she left me because of my issues with my stomach. I moved back to my home town of Peoria Il. I had to go on a search to find a new Dr. that would take me as a patient. I found this to be a rather horrible task as some Drs do not like to do that because they don't know all that the previous Dr did with the surgery. I finally found one and he is a great Dr. He has kept me alive. After the gallbladder surg. I was still having issues with keeping food down. This started in February 2020. The only thing i could tolerate was broth. At this point I had to take all my meds in a liquid form. Finally The dr. sent me to a gastrologist for an endoscopy. It was shown that I had some scar tissue covering the entrance to my stomach so they did a dilation. There was also an ulcer found. I was put on 2 diff acid reducing meds to get rid of it along with nausea meds. To prevent a tear they had to do this several times. I had dropped down to 118lbs. very malnourished. My health was becoming a huge concern. One of the times that they went in to dilate the Dr ended up putting a hole in my intestine. I had to have an emergency surgery for repair. I spent 2 weeks in the hosp. When I woke up in recovery i had a wound vac, drains and a feeding tube. i went home with the feeding tube. This is now Sept 2020. My new Gastric bypass dr was trying to get me healthy enough to do a revision to help me tolerate food. I had a revision scheduled for Dec. 2020. Since this was during covid I had to be tested before surgery. Yes I tested positive. The surgery was postponed until Feb. Finally i had my surgery and was hoping that this was going to be the last and all would be good. The feeding tube was removed and I had to start over from scratch with eating. Clear liquid on up. At this point I am weak and thinking the worst that it is all over for me. I kept up the fight and it kept kicking me back. I was able to eat a little better for a few months after surgery. Then it all started over again. Every time I tried to eat i threw up. I called the dr. He said probably more scar tissue and that meant more dilation like before. So that was the plan more endoscopies. There was also another ulcer found. Upped the intake of the acid reducers and still not going away. I just kept dealing with this and eating what I could. I put up with this for a long time. Then in Oct. of 2022 it got really bad again. I was in and out of the ER for pain so many times I lost track. The dr. went in to check things out and the ulcer was back. There was no Rhyme or reason for this to keep coming back. I was referred to a Thoracic Surgeon in 2023. I finally was able to get in to see him. He scheduled me for a surgery to have my vagus nerve removed. (vagus nerves produce the acid in our stomach and mine was producing to much there fore causing the ulcer to never heal. When i came home I was still not able to eat food it made me sick. I wasn't in anymore pain but still could not tolerate food except for soft foods. Then it would be next to nothing. Somedays i could eat a bit more than others. I was released to go back to work on 4*12*24. I have been to the er once again for pain and not keeping food down. I was given a gi cocktail and felt better. I called the Dr and was told when it hurts drink Mylanta. I am now to the present day and have no answers. Please tell me there is solution for this. I cannot do this forever. I don't wish this on anyone but I hope someone else has been through this and can help.

A protein shake is really a meal replacement so you are having more than a meal or two. And no, don’t load up on junky snacks or empty calories. Look too foods that will add additional nutrients: fruit, complex carbs i.e. whole/multi grains, good fats like avocado & nuts, boiled egg, cheese stick, etc. Keep the deli/luncheon/charcuterie meats intake low too - highly processed, high salt & high fat, lower protein. Better to buy a bbq/rotisserie chicken& package it up in single serves & eat that. Give your body time to settle. It takes time for your body to work out what it needs to function effectively & for you to physically be able to eat appropriate sized portions & meals. My hunger didn’t really come back until about a year so after I reached goal at 6 months & it played a part in my continued weight loss. And it took a while to work out the calories I needed. When my weight first stabilised at around 18 months I was eating 1300 odd calories - it took me all that time to eat that much. At 4 years I was eating 1500/1600 & still maintaining much the same weight so it took that long for my body to work out what it really needed. Your lowest weight may not be your final weight either. There’s the quite common 5-10lb bounce back regain around the 2 or 3 year mark. Or lifestyle choices may mean you settle a little higher. And finally, your goal weight might not be your body’s goal weight (your new set point). My new set point was 11kg/24lbs less than my goal.

I'm currently having this issue as I'm almost a year (9 months) into it; I was satisfied with my 160 for a couple of weeks ago, but I'm currently at 155 and I'm starting to get worried. I know I haven't been eating more than a meal or two a day which can be the reason, but I'm having a tough time in going beyond two meals. Should I just load up in empty calories and junky snacks? I'm also trying to go to the gym more regularly so the muscles can gain more pounds.

Every morning I put a capful of Miralax in my 20oz of water and drink that. I take Metamucil 3 in 1 fiber supplements (2 in the morning, 2 in the afternoon, and 2 at night). At night, I take 3 of the Equate brand 2 in 1 stool softener/laxative pills. And at night I take 1 digestive enzymes w/ pre and pro biotics supplement. And I always drink a MINIMUM of 64oz of fluids per day, but usually more. It took a while to get this regimen figured out, but it really works. I poo every morning. Sometimes big, sometimes medium, sometimes small. But I ALWAYS go now.

I never lost my hunger. Not with the sleeve and not with the revision to bypass. I just have more of a hard stop now that can't be ignored. My big thing has always been training my head. It's HARD, but very necessary. I always made sure I had 3 meals and 2 snack and a TON of fluids. And by a ton, I do mean A TON. My head told me I needed to eat, even when I knew I didn't. And that can manifest into physical hunger. I put myself on a schedule. Breakfast between this time and this time, snack here, lunch around this time, snack here, dinner between this time and this time. And then DRINK, DRINK, DRINK. Eventually my head and stomach learned when it's time to eat and when it's not. I only really run into trouble if I miss those times by a lot. THEN I'm in a minefield. Focus on protein as your #1 with food and snacks. That fills you up and keeps you full longer. Veggies are 2nd. Then carbs and HEALTHY fats. Sometimes at night, I'll have a sugar free popsicle if I really can't ignore the 3rd snack craving. I don't do it often, but the tropical ones are my favorite and they hit the spot. Make sure you're getting enough calories. Don't starve yourself, but also don't over eat. It's all about balance and training your brain. It takes a lot of time, patience, and effort. But I promise it's worth it.

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.

This has been my go to breakfast this week. Two hard boiled eggs, half an avocado diced and mixed together in a bowl. I did add in a pinch or two of shredded cheese - I used some Kerrygold Dubliner cheese because that’s what I had already shredded. Spread the mixture on two slices of toasted Sara Lee 45 cal bread, no butter and sprinkle with everything bagel season. Adjust as necessary as the everything bagel can be salty. The mixture egg/avocado mix makes two servings so below toast is half the bowl spread on the toast.

a couple weeks ago i remember your post about your struggle to stop losing...are you still losing while this hunger appeared? perhaps its your body's response to the weight losses...? if thats the case, then perhaps listen to your bod and eat more? i can imagine that eating more is in itself a struggle...it took me 3-4 months to get over the mental block to actually stop diet mode (and like 2 years to get over the mental block of eating bread/rice/pasta lol) if im not mistaken you just recently reached goal? (congrats again btw), my suggestion would be to give yourself a bit more time (ie several months) to find your happy spot, it usually takes a while before you get to the autopilot of maintenance...great suggestions above...experiment with (small amounts) of (preferably nutritious) foods and amounts and see what help with the hunger. keep an eye on the scale in tandem to determine any causal relationships with certain foods. but yeah, i know, "easier said...". good luck, and it CAN be done! ❤️