Progress Update

[lmsrny5 51]

I had gastric bypass on 5/7/2021. I began my weight loss journey in August 2020 when I attended my hospital’s bariatric seminar. My insurance required 6 months of diet before surgery approval.

My fist dietitian appoint was mid-October 2020. Prior to this appointment I had very little motivation to lose weight. I was 280+ pounds (5’ 7.5”) and depressed. My ankles swelled every day, I had trouble moving, none of my clothes fit well and my wedding rings didn’t fit at all. I had gone off the rails.

Between October and March 21’ I managed to lose 45 pounds. I attribute my success to my husband also taking charge of his health and being a great partner.

My packet was submitted in March and approved 1 week later. My surgery was scheduled 7 weeks form the approval to my disappointment. It was a long 7 weeks! I didn’t gain or lose weight during my wait. I was officially 237 at my pre-op appointment. I managed to lose 10 pounds prior to surgery on the liver shrink diet. I was 227 the morning of surgery

The surgery went fine. I had some nausea and dry heaving the first few hours. I was able to get Water down but not much else. The drain really caused me trouble so it was removed 12 hours later. I ended up only staying 1 night in the hospital because I was determined to get released early. I walked all the time and really kept my RN on his toes. Thankfully the doctor agreed with me that I would recover better at home. The next evening I was discharged and could sleep in my own bed. I followed the diet exactly for nearly 8 weeks. I went on a cruise with my family and 95% ate to plan. I would have a taste of dessert but let me tell you I sure paid for it. Dumping is real and it affects me. I seem to dump if I eat too fast, too much, or an item too high in sugar (hello chai tea!). I learned many lessons that week I’m thankful for. The surgery did exactly what I needed it to do- deter me.

I have had trouble with Constipation. I am taking 3 colace per day and benefiber each morning. Seems to help but my body likes to hold onto waste. I might go back to Miralax to help move things along. I’ve always had trouble in this area but now it’s more consistent.

On Saturday I hit “onederland” and weighed 199. I never thought I would get here. I weigh myself each day and I am fluctuating between 198 and 199 this week.

I have a heck of a lot more energy than I did a month ago. I am moving my body every day and using my elliptical at least 3 times a week.

I have changed sizes! Last summer I wore a 20 and now I need a 12. It blows my mind. It’s hard to describe how I feel. I can see the change but I don’t believe it’s me. People I haven’t seen in a year take a look at me and their mouth drops and tell me they didn’t recognize me or make a comment like “omg you have lost so much weight!” In a way it feels good to be validated but at the same time I hate the attention. Honestly if I didn’t lose another pound I would be happy. I am under 200 and I feel/look great! I can move without pain and I have energy. Heck I mowed the yard today! I’ve had some negative comments too- mostly from my parents- “you’re starving yourself, don’t loose too much weight, and I think you’ve lost enough” It’s painful so I don’t speak with them much.

I feel my weight loss has been slow but I remind myself how far I’ve come. 80+ pound weight loss is nothing to bat at! I’m doing a great job!

I hope to be better and update this thread monthly! Thanks for reading.

[Arabesque 7,240]

Congratulations. What a great story. I hope people who are pre surgery or recently had there’s read your post. I’m sure they would be motivated & encouraged by your story & optimism.

Edited July 14, 2021 by Arabesque

[GreenTealael 25,335]

14 hours ago, lmsrny5 said:

I had gastric bypass on 5/7/2021. I began my weight loss journey in August 2020 when I attended my hospital’s bariatric seminar. My insurance required 6 months of diet before surgery approval.

My fist dietitian appoint was mid-October 2020. Prior to this appointment I had very little motivation to lose weight. I was 280+ pounds (5’ 7.5”) and depressed. My ankles swelled every day, I had trouble moving, none of my clothes fit well and my wedding rings didn’t fit at all. I had gone off the rails.

Between October and March 21’ I managed to lose 45 pounds. I attribute my success to my husband also taking charge of his health and being a great partner.

My packet was submitted in March and approved 1 week later. My surgery was scheduled 7 weeks form the approval to my disappointment. It was a long 7 weeks! I didn’t gain or lose weight during my wait. I was officially 237 at my pre-op appointment. I managed to lose 10 pounds prior to surgery on the liver shrink diet. I was 227 the morning of surgery

The surgery went fine. I had some nausea and dry heaving the first few hours. I was able to get Water down but not much else. The drain really caused me trouble so it was removed 12 hours later. I ended up only staying 1 night in the hospital because I was determined to get released early. I walked all the time and really kept my RN on his toes. Thankfully the doctor agreed with me that I would recover better at home. The next evening I was discharged and could sleep in my own bed. I followed the diet exactly for nearly 8 weeks. I went on a cruise with my family and 95% ate to plan. I would have a taste of dessert but let me tell you I sure paid for it. Dumping is real and it affects me. I seem to dump if I eat too fast, too much, or an item too high in sugar (hello chai tea!). I learned many lessons that week I’m thankful for. The surgery did exactly what I needed it to do- deter me.

I have had trouble with constipation. I am taking 3 colace per day and benefiber each morning. Seems to help but my body likes to hold onto waste. I might go back to Miralax to help move things along. I’ve always had trouble in this area but now it’s more consistent.

On Saturday I hit “onederland” and weighed 199. I never thought I would get here. I weigh myself each day and I am fluctuating between 198 and 199 this week.

I have a heck of a lot more energy than I did a month ago. I am moving my body every day and using my elliptical at least 3 times a week.

I have changed sizes! Last summer I wore a 20 and now I need a 12. It blows my mind. It’s hard to describe how I feel. I can see the change but I don’t believe it’s me. People I haven’t seen in a year take a look at me and their mouth drops and tell me they didn’t recognize me or make a comment like “omg you have lost so much weight!” In a way it feels good to be validated but at the same time I hate the attention. Honestly if I didn’t lose another pound I would be happy. I am under 200 and I feel/look great! I can move without pain and I have energy. Heck I mowed the yard today! I’ve had some negative comments too- mostly from my parents- “you’re starving yourself, don’t loose too much weight, and I think you’ve lost enough” It’s painful so I don’t speak with them much.

I feel my weight loss has been slow but I remind myself how far I’ve come. 80+ pound weight loss is nothing to bat at! I’m doing a great job!

I hope to be better and update this thread monthly! Thanks for reading.

Congratulations!

[ShoppGirl 4,785]

Glad to hear it. Your doing great!!

[Candace76 212]

Your story is inspiring, thank you for sharing it. Congratulations on losing over 80 pounds!👏🤩

[carmencat 0]

I had gastric bypass on 5/7/2021. I began my weight loss journey in August 2020 when I attended my hospital’s bariatric seminar. My insurance required 6 months of diet before surgery approval.

My fist dietitian appoint was mid-October 2020. Prior to this appointment I had very little motivation to lose weight. I was 280+ pounds (5’ 7.5”) and depressed. My ankles swelled every day, I had trouble moving, none of my clothes fit well and my wedding rings didn’t fit at all. I had gone off the rails.

Between October and March 21’ I managed to lose 45 pounds. I attribute my success to my husband also taking charge of his health and being a great partner.

My packet was submitted in March and approved 1 week later. My surgery was scheduled 7 weeks form the approval to my disappointment. It was a long 7 weeks! I didn’t gain or lose weight during my wait. I was officially 237 at my pre-op appointment. I managed to lose 10 pounds prior to surgery on the liver shrink diet. I was 227 the morning of surgery
The surgery went fine. I had some nausea and dry heaving the first few hours. I was able to get Water down but not much else. The drain really caused me trouble so it was removed 12 hours later. I ended up only staying 1 night in the hospital because I was determined to get released early. I walked all the time and really kept my RN on his toes. Thankfully the doctor agreed with me that I would recover better at home. The next evening I was discharged and could sleep in my own bed. I followed the diet exactly for nearly 8 weeks. I went on a cruise with my family and 95% ate to plan. I would have a taste of dessert but let me tell you I sure paid for it. Dumping is real and it affects me. I seem to dump if I eat too fast, too much, or an item too high in sugar (hello chai tea!). I learned many lessons that week I’m thankful for. The surgery did exactly what I needed it to do- deter me.

I have had trouble with constipation. I am taking 3 colace per day and benefiber each morning. Seems to help but my body likes to hold onto waste. I might go back to Miralax to help move things along. I’ve always had trouble in this area but now it’s more consistent.

On Saturday I hit “onederland” and weighed 199. I never thought I would get here. I weigh myself each day and I am fluctuating between 198 and 199 this week.

I have a heck of a lot more energy than I did a month ago. I am moving my body every day and using my elliptical at least 3 times a week.

I have changed sizes! Last summer I wore a 20 and now I need a 12. It blows my mind. It’s hard to describe how I feel. I can see the change but I don’t believe it’s me. People I haven’t seen in a year take a look at me and their mouth drops and tell me they didn’t recognize me or make a comment like “omg you have lost so much weight!” In a way it feels good to be validated but at the same time I hate the attention. Honestly if I didn’t lose another pound I would be happy. I am under 200 and I feel/look great! I can move without pain and I have energy. Heck I mowed the yard today! I’ve had some negative comments too- mostly from my parents- “you’re starving yourself, don’t loose too much weight, and I think you’ve lost enough” It’s painful so I don’t speak with them much.

I feel my weight loss has been slow but I remind myself how far I’ve come. 80+ pound weight loss is nothing to bat at! I’m doing a great job!

I hope to be better and update this thread monthly! Thanks for reading.

Congratulations!! Love your story. It's inspiring [emoji173]

Sent from my SM-G998U using BariatricPal mobile app

[Butterflyeffect 122]

Congratulations !!

[ndrjackson 6]

Congratulations on the weight loss and thank you for sharing your story, it's motivation for us all

Sent from my SM-G998U using BariatricPal mobile app

[lmsrny5 51]

Thanks everyone for the kind comments. I really appreciate it!

Quick stats: Started 280. Now 195.5 this morning, 5’8”, currently fitting into size 10/12 pants and medium/large shirts.

Today was my 3 month post op visit with my surgeon. This morning I weighed 195.5 and weighed in at 199 on the doctor’s scale. Not bad! I plan to ask my dietician about weight swings during the day. I can’t be the only one that weighs themself in the morning and evening..right? Does anyone else have 3-5 lb weight swings?

I went in today with two concerns: I feel like I’m losing sooo slow and my hair is falling out like crazy. I went through surgical menopause when I was 31, so I already have very thin hair to begin with and I feel like I am pulling clumps out in the shower everyday.

Regarding losing so slow, the doctor reminded me my BMI day of surgery was 34 not 50+. Losing 10 lbs a month the first three months is totally normal. He told me MY normal is 5 pound loss per month. He saw my confused expression and said that I’ve been obese most of my life, so my bones are denser than thin folks because I needed the stronger structure to carry the weight. I don’t have much fat to lose as someone going in with a higher BMI so I need to give myself some slack. I asked him what his goal for me is and he said a BMI of 27 which for me is 178. My goal is 160-165. He told me I will get to my goal and may even exceed it but warned me after a few years I will gain some weight back. If I can keep a 27 BMI or lower I will be successful for life. It’s hard to wrap my head around that I have about 20 pounds until his goal already. No wonder I have only been losing 1 pound a week lately. It’s all normal and I just need to accept that. I get caught up in others who are losing 3-5 pounds a week. I need to remind myself I don’t know where they started. It makes sense for a higher BMI to drop weight quicker as they have more to lose. It’s a good lesson for us all. Don’t compare!

Regarding the hair, Dr told me to start taking 50 mg of zinc sulfate everyday in addition to my Biotin. I’m going to pick some up today and report back next month. I know it will grow back eventually but it’s so depressing to see the hair fall out.

Moving on-

I can eat pretty much whatever I want if I follow some rules. Red meat in small portions and chew it to death and then rest my stomach. My stomach doesn’t care for it much but we’re trying to come to an agreement because I like steak I allow myself to taste Desserts on occasion. It’s not often but I won’t eat a full serving again. My last post I talked about vacation and I did eat a full serving and was so sick afterwards. Never again. I began weighing my food again. Turns out I wasn’t serving myself enough. Crazy! I was trying not to eat too much! It works because I felt my restriction during dinner last night. I was able to get 3oz of chicken and a few baby carrots but that was it. I had been eating my full meals lately and worried it was slowing down my weight loss because I still wanted more. I was under eating! My advice don’t slack on weighing and measuring your food! Oh funny thing my nose starts running when I am full. I thought it was allergies but nope every single time I am “done” my nose (right nostril to be exact) starts running.

I must admit I am not doing so hot on using my elliptical. I haven’t been on it in two weeks. I am talking 20 min walks every night. Saturday I deep cleaned my entire house and it took me 3 hours. I only stopped for Water and my watch told me I hit my goal for the day. I will count it. This is awful but I really don’t have much time. I’m slammed at work and can’t get into a groove to get on that dang machine. It’s in my house and I work from home so I feel like I have no excuse. Ugh.

I had to goto the dept store and get a work outfit last weekend. Would you believe I needed a 10?! I couldn’t believe it. Still don’t actually.

Last topic because this is long! This is all mental but I can’t shake it. I see myself in the mirror but I don’t recognize her. I study my face for a long time and I don’t see me. I see someone who is older than I used to be and has different features. To be fair I am (almost) 40 and losing weight has caused some wrinkles. I can’t describe it. Does anyone understand?

[Butterflyeffect 122]

Hi Imsrny5,

I am going through a lot of what you have described above. I already suffered from female pattern baldness before surgery and now I think I have lost about 50% of the hair I did have. I have started taking Biotin and a tablet called Viviscal, which contains Zinc. I also use Rogaine. I’m trying everything at the moment to slow it down but I might just have to wait and hope.

In relations to wrinkles, my face hasn’t gotten too bad but my neck is starting to look like a turkeys neck!! It apparently gets a bit better once the weight loss settles but I think I will need a neck lift at some point.

Good luck with everything and please keep us updated on how you go