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I am almost 8 weeks post surgery. Like you, I incorporate strength training and cardio every week. At the moment, I do cardio five days per week and I do strength training three days per week. One day per week, Tuesdays, I have a complete day of rest. Did I mention I love Tuesdays? It is my opinion that it is very difficult to build muscle while losing weight. To build muscle, your body needs the raw materials (food) for which to build muscle. While losing weight, your body has a calorie deficit...or in other words, a lack of food. Therefore, it is very difficult to build muscle while losing weight. Perhaps a good goal might be to maintain as much of the muscle you currently possess through strength training. As you lose weight, you will be losing fat and keeping lean muscle. And muscle burns way more calories than fat. Odd fact of the day: According to Harvard Health, adults lose 3% to 5% of their muscle mass each decade after the age of 30. (This is the reason we get fatter as we get older even though we eat the same amount.) 🤔

I didn't bake for probably a year after surgery. My husband was on board because he really wanted to be as helpful as he could with helping me on my weight loss journey. If he wanted a baked good, he went out somewhere and bought it. I do bake sometimes now (I'm almost seven years out) - but I use artificial sweeteners, use Greek yogurt or unsweetened applesauce to replace the fat, and use something like bran to replace part of the flour. And I usually add unflavored or vanilla protein powder, too.

I did my own research before I went to the surgeon and was pretty sure I wanted a sleeve, but he did talk me through the pros and cons of bypass too. I do have reflux, but it always settled in the past when I lost weight, so I took a gamble on that happening this time too (and it has!) I liked the fact that I could lose a significant amount of weight whilst keeping my anatomy much the same. TBH I also kind of liked the safety net (that I never intend to use, but who does!) of a conversion to bypass if the sleeve didn't do what I was hoping it would. Almost 3 months on I am really happy with my decision to go with the sleeve. But if my surgeon had recommended bypass I believe I am likely to have gone with that and probably been equally happy!!!

I have PCOS and slow metabolism but I wanted something that had better stats in the long run and RYN has that. Not to say sleeve doesn't since many have been successful on it as well. But personally given my medical history and plethora of PCOS related side effects, I opted for bypass. Plus chances of revision is also high with sleeve because of reflux issue. And I didn't want take the route of having to have a second surgery if revision was needed. "ONE surgery and that should be the end of it" was my thought process. Hence even after being confused, I finally opted for bypass. I know many prefer sleeve because of less chances of dumping and malnutrition, so it depends if those look tempting for you. Though there are 70% of by-passers who also don't dump, myself including. I always wanted a weight loss route that didn't restrict my diet (reason why I hated Keto and other carbs restrictive diets, my binge eating always worsened with them). Even then I took my chance with bypass thinking I shall see when I cross the bridge. And fortunately, I don't dump (at least with some of the sugary and fatty foods I have tried till now). So give consideration to your medical history, your metabolism, stats and pros and cons of each and go with your gut feeling. That's what I did and so far I haven't regretted it *fingers crossed*

I also love Greek yogurt and granola. Where I would have eaten it every day before surgery, I now eat it just occasionally. I eat Nature's Path Love Crunch because the sugar, fat and calories are lower than the type I used to eat. I also switched to high protein/zero sugar Greek yogurt. I eat pretty much everything I used to eat, but in healthier versions and a lot smaller portions. Find what works for you to avoid feeling deprived and sad that you need to "give up" certain foods. Good luck!!

I would definitely call your doctor. This does not sound normal to me. Even if they are two hours away they can see you or recommend someone near you. Taking your supplement is critical. Are you unable to take it because you throw up? Mine makes me throw up sometimes. I have to take it with food. Can you take yours with a protein shake? Are you not able to drink? It sounds serious, so call the doc or their office to talk to a PA/NP. Good luck!

Oh you said it much more eloquently than I (and at the same time!!) LOL.

Okay so yesterday I felt like I woke up hungry and nothing I was doing was fixing this. So I called my nurse for my program. Turns out since I’m younger- 27 my swelling and healing is going faster than normal and I’m not getting enough calories on clear liquids. Due to this she has recommended me to start drinking protein shakes a day early. I did my first one watered down just to be safe. This morning I have a mixture of a shake and fairlife milk just so I’m getting the most protein I can. It’s going really well so far. I still start my day with a bottle of water so I can take my meds without something thick. Also out of curiosity I weighed my self again- it seems like I’m loosing just under 3 pounds a day! I hope this progress keeps up. I can’t wait until I can get into the gym. 3 more weeks until that can happen. I debated taking a walk but it’s so cold here and slippery I’d be afraid of hurting my self. So I settle with walking my house as much as possible- something my dog is entirely entertained by. :) Last night I didn’t wake up to take my dose of Tylenol and I could definitely tell in the morning. All of my pain is focused around the larger incision to the point where I was starting to get nauseous. I sat in my bathroom on some cold tile- sipped some water until I felt confident I could take the Tylenol. Thank heavens it worked. So far I haven’t thrown up since the procedure- I’ve been reading others stories about how they have been and I couldn’t imagine the pain that would cause. I’m being very cautious- when I first tried my protein drink with water I took a tiny sip and just waited about 15 minutes before trying another sip. Thank you for taking this journey with me. It’s honestly really helpful writing it here and sharing it with people who understand. 💙

WLS is NOT the lazy easy way out. Get that out of your head. It's not a miracle cure. It's only a tool. You still have to do all the hard work. Second, it's only been a week. The surgery released hormones in your body and you're second-guessing what you did. You're healing. Life is changing. It's all normal to feel this way. Talk to the counselor at your surgeon's office and deal with some of these issues.

Completely. My RNY surgery was 12/1 I had a really rough time in the PACU (post-surgery recovery); my blood pressure kept spiking and O2 levels kept dropping. I was there for 6 hours and it was like a terrible fever dream. Meanwhile, I think I kind of underestimated how much pain would be involved. I do tend to bounce back quickly from surgery, but the past week has been really grueling. And while I'm *very* fortunate not to have much trouble with nausea or swallowing liquids, I miss food terribly. On Friday night, after picking out a Christmas tree, my family got Mexican take-out. Just smelling the food in the car caused me to burst into tears, knowing tonight would be another f'in protein shake and jell-o for me. My husband — who usually is pretty understanding and supportive — told me I needed to just get over it. That was a *special moment.* 😑 But I identify with your emotions right now. I just don't care about anything. Nothing sounds fun; everything feels like more effort than it's worth. I am desperately hoping this turns around soon.