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I've always been overweight. I honestly can't remember a time when I wasn't. But it's crazy how when you're a kid, you're not fat, obese, or whatever, you're cute and chubby, and the extra weight that you're carrying is no need for concern. But as you get older that quickly changes and you're no longer perceived as chubby and cute, and the extra weight has become a major problem, not just for yourself, but for others as well. I wonder if any of you can relate to this. I've struggled with my weight my entire life. I know many people say this and it's as if they're just talking, but I've actually been the biggest person in my class, school, church, etc. It was rare that I would see someone that was just as big as I was, if not bigger. I've tried different diets, exercise plans, supplements, nothing has worked for me. If I did lose any weight, it was a short-lived accomplishment. I've struggled with deeply rooted insecurities that only further fueled my horrible relationship with food. I have struggled with anxiety and depression for years because in my mind I could never get to that perfect weight or body. Just a constant battle with myself for most of my life. It has taken a great deal of trial and error for me to get to where I am today in how I see myself, physically and otherwise. I have come to love myself and my body and I feel that there's nothing wrong with loving who or how you are physically, mentally, spiritually, and yet you feel the need to change a part of you. I believe most people would associate this with insecurity, but I beg to differ. I believe that it is the reasoning behind the decision to change that makes the difference. While I have learned to love and appreciate my body for all that it has done and continues to do for me, I am also very aware that carrying over 200 pounds of extra weight is not healthy for me. I want to have children one day and I don't want to put them or myself at increased risks because of my weight. I don't want to be at an increased risk of high blood pressure, sleep apnea, diabetes, or congestive heart failure. These things run in my family and I don't want to be next in line. I want more for myself. I haven't went swimming in years, but I remember how good it felt to feel weightless in the water, how peaceful and serene it was for me. I view this surgery as an opportunity to experience life in a different way. Even though I can walk or run at the weight I currently am, I know that my body will feel a lot better walking and running with less weight being carried around. Even though I can go swimming now, or travel the world just as I am right now. Simple things such as "will I fit in this seat? Will they have clothes my size? Is there going to be a lot of walking, etc...". I don't think many people understand the daily struggles of an obese individual. Yes, we're all aware of the "health concerns" associated with being over-weight. But not many people are aware of those small things that affect us daily such as standing for extended periods of time, back and body aches, getting winded or out of breath easily, etc. I've made the decision to have gastric-bypass surgery as I'm confident that this is the tool that I've been missing to help me finally be successful in my weight-loss journey. I'm nervous and excited, but in the end I know this is the best decision for me. I'm interested to meet anyone who would like to go through this journey together, no matter where you are in your own journey. I'd love to hear from you all and know how you're doing and if I can be of some help to you, even if it's just a kind word. Good Luck! And Blessings to you all!

Hi @Jen637! I had a terrible time post-op with my sense of smell. I was so sensitive to any smell and it played a huge part in my nausea and vomiting. It felt like I was being assaulted with information overload to my brain. The good news is that at 3 months after surgery it is completely back to normal. The first week was the worst, but it slowly eased up each week. I might have been back to normal by week 5 or so? But no vomiting by the end of week 1, definitely bearable by week 2-3. It was so horrible and distracting in the beginning! My sense of taste seems to be fine now, too. Good luck, and I hope this passes for you quickly!

Congratulations on reaching goal weight! It isn't necessrily the meals but an increased calorie intake that will help maintain weight loss/stop losing weight. Do you know how many calories you are eating now? If not, you could you a calorie counting app to find your current baseline. From there you could slowly increase your daily calorie intake each week/fortnight until you stop losing weight. If your current intake is say 800 calories, for the next week or fortnight increase to 900 or 950 calories? Monitor for loss, gain or stay the same and keep adjusting up or down until you find the balance that works for you. If you don't want to count calories, you could try instead by increasing portion sizes a little, but restriction may hinder that, so perhaps an extra snack or two during the day instead. Otherwise, if you are using diet products eg low fat products, instead you could try 'normal/standard' products, thus increasing your calorie intake without too much effort. They do say that most people will put on a little weight after reaching their lowest weight, so perhaps your balance may come naturally without too much trouble on your part.

First, congrats on your surgery & welcome. It’s not uncommon for your sense of smell to become sensitive to certain odours just like your taste changes & you become more sensitive to how certain things taste or even textures. Foods you always enjoyed may become repulsive. These first months are a big learning curve of what your tummy can tolerate & what it won’t. But it does improve. Just give it time. As Tek said listen to your body. I still have days when I’m just not hungry so I get how you feel. Like Tek, I eat to routine too - what I eat & when I eat. It’s the only way I can keep up my calories to maintain & meet my protein goals. On not hungry days I don’t quite eat as much but I make sure I get in three meals. Have you spoken to your medical team about your nausea & struggles? My nausea & occasional vomiting came from my multivitamins. I’d had this issue with them before so it wasn’t unexpected. Having too much of certain vitamins can cause the nausea so it may be worth asking your medical team about that too. There are patches you can use instead of tablets. After I reached goal, I spoke with my surgeon & gave them up & no more nausea. My bloods have come back well in the acceptable ranges in the 10 months since. Good luck.

I tend to scar as well but I have to really look to see my scars now. They’re just tiny, thin white lines. I used bio oil & gently massaged it in twice a day once the wounds were healed. I’ve used it before & it helped heaps then too.

Look up “eggface’s baked ricotta’ recipe it’s yum

The scars are pretty small, but I look like a pin cushion because I had my gallbladder out 6 months before my surgery. I have like 10 holes! [emoji23] I'm not too worried about it but if you are, you can try scar massage. I had a breast reduction years ago, and I used Mederma to massage my scars and they're barely noticeable. Sent from my Nokia 7.2 using BariatricPal mobile app

Im a bad scar-er too. Always have been. My scars stay red/raised for a long time, but eventually flatten and turn *almost* back to skin colour...but this takes YEARS. I am two years post op, and my WLS scars are still brown, and one is still raised (don't even talk to me about my plastic surgery scars that are only 10 months old!) Unfortunately aside of proper wound care (keep it clean, keep it moisturized, keep it out of the sun) not much you can really do to influence the way your scars form the way they do. However, you CAN do some "scar maintenance" after the fact (i.e., steroid shots.., surgically excising them in hopes that it will heal nicer...but there are no guarantees to this). The WLS scars are very small though, so unless you suffer from serious keloid formations, they aren't so very stand-out-ish. Edited to add: just remembered something you else can do to aid in better healing: DON'T SMOKE! (at least that is what both my wls and plastic surgeon said...)

Is this what your doc recommended to use? I have never heard of it before. I think most of us just used broths, juices or a protein shake.

Welcome to the forums. You need to eat to plan, whether you want to or not. You are developing new, healthy habits. So, eat to plan. Second obligatory thing: Talk to your Doc. Doc may be able to help with nausea. Now is the part of the post where I share my possibly useless personal experience... When I don't eat I get nauseous. When I get nauseous, I don't want to eat. It's a downward spiral that does not end well. Solution: Eat. Smell is still a big thing for me, particularly when I am nauseous. Smells that I don't give a second thought to can get me from zero to wretching very quickly. Solution: Kill whoever is the cause of the odor. It may seem severe, but really, which is worse? Wretching or murder? Really, it's a no brainer. Your early experiences seem close to what I recall of mine. Maybe you'll get the rest of what I have. Now, when I am pondering "what will I eat?" I do a mental image of the food I want to eat. If my stomach says no (a slight lurch and nausea), then it's a no. No lurch means the meal will likely work fine. I've tried to ignore my stomach and it never ends well, so I listen. I credit this with much of my long term success, so if you are like me in this regard, listen. Now is the encouraging part of the post... Follow your plan consistently and you will succeed. It seems you are mindful of what you are doing which will serve you for years to come. Now is the signoff... Good luck, Tek