Search the Community

anything is possible. i mean a one of those double chocolate frappacino cremes from starbucks are like 520 calories each. one 100g bag of pork rinds is like 650 calories. neither of which take up a lot of room in your stomach. and thats just 2 things...there a whole day to pack in more. just ask the multitude of folks on here who report most (if not all) of their weight loss regain. trust me, its not hard to regain weight. especially if you actually really want to (the majority of those who regain dont actually want to, but do anyway...so imagine what can be accomplished if you put effort into it) i would ask you to reconsider your position, but does't sound like that is what you want here? or maybe it is? im not sure. in any case, speak with a professional to help you achieve your goals as safely and "healthily" as you can.

I wonder if your feeling uncomfortable at this lower weight is to do with body dysmorphia or a similar disorder. It takes time for our head to catch up with reality and see ourselves as we really are after surgery. Our sense of who we are in ourselves and in society has changed. We’re not the big girl anymore but we may not see ourselves as a slim girl yet. We lose what we think is our identity. Our understanding of our actual physical size is different and hard to come to terms with. And so on. These feelings are not uncommon after weight loss. They seem to manifest in different ways but common seems to be feeling uncomfortable in your self and that you don’t know or can’t see yourself anymore. A lot of your head space during your weight loss has been filled with a second surgery, pregnancy and now caring for a baby. How much has been directed to you yourself? Before embarking on trying to regain your weight, it may be helpful to look into therapy. It can’t hurt & many here have found it useful when dealing with these and similar issues.

Are you a bot? Your old 300lb body was telling you something about your health. Here’s the truth. Don’t follow any recommendations for health and fitness. There, you will gain the weight back exponentially. The next time you try to be healthy again, it will be near impossible, even with surgery and medication. I thought you wanted a child? Isn’t modeling for that child healthy habits good parenting? You can do hard things. Ask for a therapist, dietitian, medical reports, take child care classes, marriage counseling, run away from abuse, get post partum care. Do it for your kid if you won’t do it for yourself.

How tall are you? Unless you are very tall 260 in unlikely to be within a healthy range. Check with your doctor about a healthy goal. That being said, eating frequent high calorie meals and snacks will result in weight gain.

Some of us don’t overeat and still stay stuck. I learned that it's not always about willpower or food addiction. Sometimes it’s hormones!!

Hello! My case is bit unusual from those I read here. I made a gastric sleeve surgery back in October 2023 (20 months ago) when I was 23 y.o., my weight was 300 lbs back then. In a month after surgery there was another surgery (my surgeon made a mistake which caused an abscess) and another surgery then too. They also cut 10cm of my intestines. It turns out that in 4 months after the first surgery, I got pregnant with long-awaited child. It is important to note that I made a surgery just to have an opportunity of having a baby, I was comfortable with my previous high weight. Pregnancy went good, without any complications and we born a healthy child who is 8 months now. I've lost 165 lbs over these 20 months (surgeries + pregnancy + breastfeeding). Unfortunately, I feel very uncomfortable in this weight and aiming to gain at least some of my weight back, ideally up to 260 lbs. Is it ever possible, or not? May be some people over there have stories about gaining weight back after the surgery? Or some tips? Will be grateful for any answer 🙏

Hey, just saw your post. Losing 148 lbs is incredible. You had about 54 to go back in January… how’s everything been since then? I’m still pre-op, but I’ve been digging into workouts and weight loss tips lately. I came across this guide on the best exercises for weight loss, and thought it might be helpful if you’re still working out or looking to switch things up at the gym. Hope you’re feeling good about how far you’ve come, seriously inspiring!

I so hear you on this! I stalled around that exact same time...9-10 months post-op, and it made me question everything! I was doing all the same things too but the scale refused to move. Then out of nowhere I dropped nearly a pound one week and the scale slowly started cooperating again! The body, i learned, can be weirdly stubborn when it thinks it's protecting you. I recently read this article that really helped me understand what’s going on like why the plateau happens and how to work through it. Sharing just in case it helps you too https://slimvive.com/breaking-through-your-weight-loss-plateau/ Also I still carry most of my weight in my belly too!

Hello @Angieee I am sorry to hear about your dieting issues. Can I add a little information into this mix ? After bariatric surgery I ate 300 calories for about 6 months, I had surgery issues. I lost a shed load of weight, fast as you can imagine. I gradually increased to 900 calories as I could eat better, until about 18 months out. I then began to get hunger and struggled. I increased up to 1200 until I got to my desired weight. I now maintain on 1500 I believe you will loose weight doing this surgery but may not help you when you are at your desired weight as you may still gain on 1400 calories. We can not stay on tiny portions it makes us so weak.

helloooo fellow Torontonian! ❤️ re: specific program inquiry, if you are going through the OBN (Ontario Bariatric Network) your whole plan/program/schedule will be outlined for you. in my opinion, the program and guidelines are very generic and are applied to EVERYONE, so its not the greatest at taking individual needs into account. im a natural DIY-er, so i took what they prescribed and determined for myself what worked for ME and just left the rest. personally i think this is the best M.O., but i get its not in everyone's wheelhouse. my best advice would be: keep doing what works until it doesn't, then find something else that does. re: smoking: i was smoke free for about 10 yrs when i had wls (prior to that i was a pack a day smoker for about 20+ years. one year post wls i started again (i was on vacay and thought "one couldn't hurt", ha!) that ended up with smoking a pack a day again from 2019-2023. been smoke free since (again). as we all know, you will only succeed in quitting if you ACTUALLY, REALLY, WANT to. both times i quit it was cold turkey. both times because i had a minor health scare and i ended up pondering my mortality. hopefully you will find the impetus to quitting...its hard (i know!). do the best you can....you may fall off the wagon a couple (or maybe tonnes!) of times, but so long as you make an honest effort to TRY, you are already better off. good luck! ❤️

So tomorrow is two years from when I had my sleeve surgery, though it is only just over one year since my last procedure due to all my post of complications, and a few weeks ago I turned 50. Here is a picture of me at 40 and a picture at 50. My weight back in May 2015 was about 130kg (20st / 286lb), it went up and down in the years between to where I was 120kg before surgery and now I am between 63 & 65kg (10st/141lb) so I am now half the person I used to be. 40yrs vs 50yrs The last two weeks I have had really bad abdominal pain on and off and when it showed no signs of improvement I went to the emergency department where my bariatric surgeon had some of his team waiting for me. After CT scan and blood tests it showed my abdominal area was very inflamed but no infection thankfully so they hooked me up to painkillers and sent me home with a prescription for more pain killers (tramadol) and muscle relaxers. Yesterday I had my follow up and the surgeon has said that following a review of my results it looks like the clip that they had to place when I had my leak is now causing a reaction so I have to continue on the pain meds plus add in antibiotics for a couple of weeks. The surgeon has said the clip has to come out as it is a matter of quality of life for me going forward as he says the pain can come back any time in the future if left it. The choices he gave are that it can be done by open surgery to remove (which he says is his second choice) and his preference is to do a revision surgery to bypass. Given all the sleeve post op complications I told him that I didn’t want to go down a surgical route, especially back in the same hospital but he feels this is the best option though he did say I could of course get a second opinion. So I have done just that, I contacted one of the surgeons (a mentor of my bariatric surgeon) who I had to be transferred to when my leak would not heal (the one who had to ft the pigtail/tube in my stomach) and he has said from looking at my files he believes it can be removed without the need for surgery and can see me in two weeks time to review my case and check scans so fingers crossed he can do something endoscopic wise. I am due to get my arm lift surgery end of October so if I had to have stomach surgery in the next few months I wouldn’t then be able to get my lift. Obviously that is not a reason to decline the surgery if it is the best and only option but it would be great to get everything resolved without stomach surgery and still be able to get my arm lift.

@summerseeker I do not think it is a dollar a day wasted, you can find information and people there too who have all had the surgery and live with it every day, including those that have had it and they are the professionals that hold groups in the BariNation. Take a look at some of the YouTube videos. Maybe you will see that there are bariatric surgeons, licensed social workers, licensed counselors and others, including nurses in the BariNation group and they have four pillars, it is community, and you can ask questions and get answers and everyone is experienced working with Bariatric patients/clients. There is talk about all kinds of things. Until you give it a go, you wouldn't understand it but it is not like this forum that gives non-professional experience. For those that need to work with therapists, it is a lot cheaper to have 5 sessions of group therapy than 1 session in a one-on-one meeting with a private therapist. It is cost effective and you get so much more than you can imagine. I'm not saying anyone should join, just some that I feel would benefit. I might be "advertising" BariNation, but it is no difference than promoting Bariatric Pal vitamins. If I feel someone would benefit I would make mention of it and a little bit of information, but never do I try to persuade anyone to join, it is entirely up to the individual. Check out some of the YouTube videos. The latest drop was of our Leaders attending ASMBS and speaking about the need for patient support. If ASMBS invited them to talk, than that is something. When doctors/surgeons are asking to do pod casts and question and answer sessions, you can't say that they know nothing about bariatric patients. If you don't like it, I'm sorry but there is more than just writing, sometimes having a video meeting with people like me is important for my mental health and my journey. I have made friends and enjoy hearing about other people's lives and I have tried to learn from those that have had surgery well before me, even revisions for things that they had no control over. Before you criticize BariNation, you have to experience it. You are saving money on food, you can afford a few bucks a day to try it for a month and join in on anything on the calendar to check it out before making your opinion about BariNation. Thanks.

Yes non-scale victories (NSVs) are sometimes just as important than being a healthier you. The scale is not what you should be on every day. Choose one day a week and just keep track. It is about health and wellness, not just loss of weight.

Obesity is a disease. As that being your mindset, it is a chronic long lasting disease and despite the loss of weight and a healthier you, obesity is still in the background. You need to treat the disease like any other chronic disease. Exercise even just walking is movement. You also need to focus on protein as your primary source of intake as it gives you a full feeling for longer than any other macronutrient. You may be eating carbohydrates, I eat none and am losing at a steady rate, and I just had the surgery after years of dieting. I am no longer in the diet mentality but rather focused on an overall healthier me. By following the dieticians and surgeons steps in the diet pre and post op I have been able to lose quite a bit in a short amount of time. Surgery is NOT the solution, but it is another tool for those with the chronic disease of obesity. The decision is yours and yours alone, but I wish I could have had this surgery earlier in my life. I would already be where I want to be. If you are seeking more information, there are Youtube videos out by BariNation that you can view to get a different perspective. This years push is being an advocate about stopping shame and stigma, but earlier videos focus on mindset, so you don't have the emotional eating, the eating while being bored, and how to get over the holidays and eating the right foods. Take a look and I wish you the best on your journey.

Only you can decide if surgery is right for you, but if you are obese, you overeat... full stop. One fundamental rule of weight loss is that you cannot break the laws of thermodynamics. If you eat fewer calories than you burn, you'll lose weight and if you eat more calories than you burn, you'll gain weight. I know some people don't like to hear that, or think it doesn't apply to them, but physics is physics. You can't add body mass unless those calories are in excess of the number your body needs to keep you alive. Look at it like this: your body burns a certain number of calories per day. It's not exactly the same every day, but for most folks, it stays fairly consistent. The problem is in your case, you stated you only eat 1400 calories a day. That number alone is completely meaningless. Because weight loss, weight maintenance, or weight gain are all about energy balance, you also have to also know how many calories you burn in a day. If you are gaining weight on 1400 calories per day, there are only two possibilities: You are underestimating how much you actually eat. I know you probably think you're being accurate, but underestimation is incredibly common. Study after study shows that almost everyone underestimates how much they actually eat, even if they think they are accurately measuring everything. Part of that is measurement error, part is variation in foods, part is failure to count certain parts of a meal, part is "eyeballing" foods, and part is due to inaccurate calorie listings. The bottom line is that calorie counting is hard and often not nearly as accurate as we like to think. You may have an exceptionally low resting metabolic rate. As I said, 1400 calories consumed per day is irrelevant because you don't actually know how many calories you burn in a day. Since the basic principle here is you have to consume less than you burn per day to lose weight, 1400 calories consumed doesn't matter if you don't also know how many calories you are burning. Let's move on to how surgery works. Bariatric surgery works primarily by simply limiting how much someone can eat. Yes, there are also hormonal changes, but those are about satiety, so in your case, those may be less important. There is also some reduction in intake calories through reduced absorption (yes, even in sleeve surgery), but that's a fairly minor component overall. At the end of the day, this is no different than weight loss drugs like GLP-1s, or even diets. They are all designed to reduce calorie intake. If you truly have no problems dieting, then it sounds like you need to just reduce your calorie intake until you start losing at a sustainable rate. You need to forget what someone may have told you about how many calories you're "supposed to" eat to lose weight, because it sounds like that whatever that number was, it's not the correct number for you. Once you're losing at about a 2-3% per month rate, just stay there until you reach your goal weight. This should be simple for you since you said you have no problems sticking to a diet. Best of luck.

I ate about 1400 calories per day and see a nutritionist about the content of food I eat. I'm still obese. I've been eating extremely healthy for the last four years with portion control and still never lost any weight unless I completely starved (500 calories per day). I've posted here before about wanting to get the surgery but now I'm not so sure. I have no food addiction and don't over eat. I have no issue sticking with a diet. I'm not so sure this would be the right procedure for me at all. My heaviest weight was 230 pounds and I am 213 and can't lose anything at all. My body tries to put on weight when I skip a day at the gym even. I'm not sure what to do. Is the surgery for folks with a food issue primarily and does it not work otherwise?

Sometimes, it is your brain thinking you are hungry, it is called head hunger. Stop and think to yourself and ask during the pause about is this truly hunger in your stomach, or is it some other reason that is making you think you are hungry? Sometimes people eat due to boredom and if you are only a couple of weeks out from surgery, you will have to suffer through the hunger signals that your brain is putting out. Kind of like mind over matter. You don't need the matter, find something to do, like journaling and make it just go away. It is hard, very hard, but we all need to focus on the reason we are hungry, the head or the stomach. I hope you find something to keep your brain occupied, other than food.

Thank you @SpartanMaker and @ms.sss. I have gotten two nights now of good sleep and feel much better. I have always been a bit of a night owl but 3 and 4 am was a little too late to get to sleep. Things are just taking a while to get back to something close to normal. I have been REALLY lucky and not had too much pain, nausea or spasms but the sleep issue was piling up on me. Next step I see the surgeon for a follow up tomorrow and talk to the dietician about moving to pureed food Monday. Changes, one ounce at a time!

Glad you are doing well! Same for me, almost! Losing hair, I've lost a little over 60 lbs since sleeve surgery on Dec. 2, 2024, have sagging skin, but overall, I am very glad I did it in hopes I can KEEP it off this time. I'm eating 900-1100 most days I think. And have upped my water and protein since hair has thinned. Praying it comes back like normal soon. I have recently begun working out with resistance, etc 3 days a week and 5 days a week I have a goal of 10k steps. On day 2 of this. LOL! Just need to make it habit again like I did before. It helps! They said at my already-scheduled one year visit on Dec. 2, that I should probably be around 166. But my own goal is 154. So gotta up my game!! LOL! Then they said ultimate goal should be low end 115 and high end 125 lbs. Cannot imagine being that small. Lowest I ever got to was 155 as an adult and was there about 5 minutes. LOL! Thanks for doing a check in for us December Peeps! That's my month. Birthday and Christmas all in one! And now surgiversary too!!

Sorry you're having trouble sleeping. I know that's just making recovery harder. You probably already know this, but here's the thing: being stressed out about not sleeping can just keep you from sleeping. The first step in getting past that is just to release yourself mentally from the stress/insomnia cycle. What I mean is that you have to acknowledge that you just had major surgery. Coupled with massive dietary changes and you are going through an incredibly stressful time right now. It's normal when stressed to struggle with sleep, so the best possible thing you can do is simply acknowledge that sleep may be difficult for a while and it's okay. I would also say do whatever you need to do to get control of your pain levels. You may need to try changing out your pain meds, or consider changing where/how you sleep. As an example, even though I'm normally a stomach/side sleeper, I slept on my back in a recliner for the first couple of weeks simply because it was less painful. Finally, I'd recommend researching good sleep hygiene and implementing as many of those recommendations as possible. Right now, you need all the tips and tricks you can get. Good luck.

Heya! Whilst it was definitely a nice experience, it was one that felt strange for me! I didn't quite believe I could fit into the smaller sizes, so was constantly sizing up when I didn't need to. Even now, I am sure I need to go down a size but I don't think I am prepared to make that leap! Just feels really strange! I am however really excited about the access to new styles, the fact I can shop in "normal" places now, and generally enjoy shopping a bit more now!

The emotional rollercoaster after surgery can really screw up your hunger signals. Your head hunger signals go into overdrive as your head tells you to eat to make you feel better. Not helped by surges in estrogen that is released from our fat as we lose weight messing with our emotions too. Also many nerves are cut during surgery plus the swelling & inflammation @SpartanMaker mentioned distorts messages like hunger and satiety even if they actually get through. And it’s a pretty major surgery and it knocks you about. It takes time before you don’t feel tired, weak, dizzy, doughy headed, etc. It takes a good 6+ weeks to fully heal after surgery, so these mixed signals & feeling unwell will continue for a while. Generally though, if you’re craving a specific food, flavour or texture, it’s head hunger. If you’re feeling sad, anxious, frustrated, angry, bored, etc. it’s likely head hunger. In time you’ll discover real hunger signals are different. For me I feel restless like something is wrong not that I ‘feel’ hungry. Having eaten enough can feel different too. Many sneeze, or get the hiccups. Don’t eat until you feel full or until you’ve eaten all you want. It takes 20 odd minutes for the full message to get through normally & a lot longer this soon after surgery so don’t eat until you feel full - you’ve eaten too much by then. Stop when you’ve had enough, when you don’t need any more. You’ll have lots of meals (appropriate portion sizes) you simply can’t finish because you’ve had enough and don’t need any more. I still do at 6 years out. The lightheadedness could be from being dehydrated too or from your blood pressure dropping (many experience this). Are you meeting or close to meeting your daily fluid goals? Often an electrolyte drink can help. It does get easier and you will feel better. Just give yourself time.

I thought I replied to this earlier from my phone but don't see it here. So if you see it somewhere else, tell me! LOL! Thank you for the info! I will keep that in mind. Probably when these four levels are done and the last one is easy for me I'll start going to the gym again, even alone. LOL! I had been going alone. Just gets boring and I stopped. But we don't talk or even work out near each other when we go together. I just like it. He does too. Ah well. It's ok for now. I have a goal of losing more weight by my follow up appointment, one year from surgery. Dec 2 and it's already scheduled. They said I should be around 166 but my own goal is 154. One lb less than I've ever been since Jr High. LOL! Excited to get there this year! So once more weight is off of me, I really want to begin sculpting my body as much as it'll let me. I KNOW weights are the key. And I'll really need to do a challenging level and push myself but maybe that will be easier when I'm not as heavy. Things are easier when I am lighter. Pretty shoes don't hurt me feet too. Lots to look forward to! LOL! And I should be happy to lift weights every other day for an hour, compared to carrying them with me 24/7 for 48 years. :::sigh::: Thankful for all the great advice and info I have read here. I hope you all are enjoying your Monday. Mine went well and I'm home now. I also have decided I am going to hit 10k steps 5 days a week. Right now I have 7829 just from work. So it will be easy to do on work days. But I am going to rest some on weekends. Well, try to! I get our groceries and meal prep then clean the whole kitchen and fridge on Sunday and clean house and run errands on Saturdays (last few I've worked at a client's home because they are on vacation and had some special projects needing done.) But most weekends I am off so if I'm not doing an open house, etc then I'm still busy with our home and life. Walking 10k steps a day did a world of good for me when I lost weight all those others times. I feel sure the extra weight won't come back this time because I had surgery. Sooo glad I did it. I have severe osteoarthritis in my low back on the right side and degenerative disc disease in my neck and low back and often sciatica down my right leg so some days I'm in pain worse than other days. (Ha ha, my friends and I joke. The older we get the more we share what's ailing us every day. LOL!) But overall I am ok! I have many friends with diabetes and I worry for them. I'm lucky I don't. I don't even have pre-diabetes and I stay grateful for that. My dad had it. When he passed at age 73 he had had both legs amputated and had had congestive heart failure for 25 years as well as diabetes. He went many years not addressing his diet at all. He wanted to do what he wanted to do. Bless his heart. We have learned what not to do, at least. My brother is a carnivore and is doing well. Labs are great. His weight stays managed. Everyone must do what works for them. We miss Dad and wish he was still here. He taught us many positive things in life too. But we are trying hard not to go through what he did at the end. My husband had pre-diabetes, but has made it much better with diet and exercise. I am super excited to get to my first main goal weight of 154. Then I'd really love to work to get into a healthy BMI to hopefully have smooth sailing into my 60s, 70s, and beyond. My bariatric doc said lower end is 115 lbs for my height and high end is 125. I feel that the less weight that's on me, the more years I have left to live and enjoy my family and friends. Certainly worth putting in the work! 💗

Also, sometimes excess stomach acid can lead to that grumbly “hungry” feeling. Check with your team about an acid reducer. And do your best to follow their diet plan! They are the experts and give you the post-op diet rules for well-studied reasons.

Have you talked to your surgical team? That should always be your first point of contact when you're having issues. I really doubt the surgeon somehow didn't create an appropriately sized stomach pouch. They use something called a bougie to determine where to staple. Not all surgeons use the same size bougie, but they definitely have a guide to use that would preclude somehow leaving your stomach too big. With that out of the way, we can think more about what may be going on with you. Obviously I don't know for sure, but just to throw out some ideas here: Some people have a hard time with the liquid portion of the diet specifically because the desire to chew can override their brain a bit. It can even make them think they're hungry when in fact the issue is just this strong need to chew. This happens because part of what signals our brain that we've eaten is actually coming from chewing, not from a "full belly". There are hormones released while we chew that signal to our brains that we're "done" and don't need to eat anymore. Your stomach is also really inflamed at this point still and the mechanisms involved that signal fullness can get really messed up as a result. This should settle down the further out from surgery you get. It's not unusual for people to not be good at understanding the fullness signals out brains are receiving. Overweight and obese people especially often associate being overfull almost to the point of pain as "being satisfied", when in reality that stuffed signal is not actually what we should have been relying on to know when to stop. If you're chasing this feeling now, that may be part of the issue because you're not going to have that feeling for long, if at all on just a liquid diet. Finally, keep in mind that it's common for hunger cues to be based not on anything physical at all. Sometimes we yearn for food so soothe us or satisfy other psychological needs. If your desire to eat is still present, even after you have a "meal", then it may be psychological, not physical hunger cues that are driving you to eat. Best of luck.