Matt Z

Stalls are common. How's your water intake per day? Are you exercising? You really might want to look at bumping your calorie intake up a few hundred to see if that helps kick your metabolism back on.

@BlueEyedAngel28 Congrats! You look fantastic and you look like you feel fantastic! Are you looking at some light cosmetics/plastics down the line? I know there are reports of the excess skin weighing 10-20 lbs, not that you look like you need them, you shrunk right up!

There is no "goal" that folks should be reaching for... the walking helps prevent blood clots, it helps remove the gas from your system and it prevents blood pooling etc. You are doing fine. Only do what you can, what your are comfortable with and don't worry about what everyone else is doing, because there is only 1 person that heals like you, and that's you. It does get better.

Sounds like you've got this fully under control! Keep that mindset when you start to potentially get a little depressed or when you start to hit the stalls. Just stay focused and in control and understand that... these things will happen, but will pass. Congrats!

While online (from a computer browser), after you log in: Click the drop down arrow next to your name in the upper right hand side of the page and select "My Surgery" There you'll be able to change yourself from pre-op to post op and add some information. Then on the left side of that page you'll see "Progress" here you can add weigh ins. If you click the drop down again and select "Account settings" Then on the left select "Signature" you can update your signature block there. If you click the drop down next to "create" and then create a ticker, it will use your stats to fill in the ticker and you can click the check box to add the ticker to your signature block. Hope that helps some!

If there are duplicates or you *REALLY* want something you posted removed, you can click on the "report" button for that post and enter what you want in the request box. I typically report duplications when I see them so that they can be removed.

Dude Congrats! And no, you aren't blind, the settings for the call out / stats, is online and not the app for whatever reason, I've requested that they add those options to the app... but, nothing's been worked on yet it seems.

Good luck! There are more and more stories about banded folks not being able to get the sleeve, I was one of them, and more and more reports about folks not being able to be revised in 1 surgery do to scar tissue caused by the band. I was lucky enough that my surgeon kept working, even though the surgery took WAY longer than it should have. Over 6 hours for an under 3 hour surgery. There was just a post today from another Band to Bypass revision that the doctor removed the band and that's it due to scar tissue. I mention this because you stated your surgeon was 2 hours away and you were going this alone. Just want to make sure you fully understand that there is a real possibility that your doctor will open you up, and only be able to do the removal. We can hope that doesn't happen, but you should at least be aware and prepared for that possibility.

There is no guarantee that you'll not feel hungry. No surgery promises that. A small percentage of folks end up not feeling hunger at all, but most do, just a different levels of intensity.

Initially, you could get some bad gas/poop. And it's possible that it'll be a forever problem. You could try just not farting around your customer base. I work at a hospital as well, and I've had no issues with my gas or poop smell... I'm just not running around the hospital crop dusting folks and I use Poo-Purri in the bathroom. It's a totally easy thing to deal with at work, just stop farting around folks in the workplace... go outside or to the bathroom or somewhere where you can let them fly without having co-workers and patients around.

I puree'd pretty much anything I could. Even puree'd a bit of steak and cheese at one point (no bread)... wasn't as good as you'd expect.

A bit of nausea is going to be expected while moving around for a bit, things are different inside you, so it'll take a little bit for everything to figure out what's what. Just keep moving!

I know I did! I'm pretty sure everyone does.

This was a major fear of mine going into my band to bypass revision as well. I'm sorry that you got derailed due to the band scaring... I know mine was 100% encapsulated in scar tissue and took them almost 4x longer to remove than it should have, I guess I got lucky and my surgeon kept moving forward, even if the surgery took well over 6 hours when it should have taken less than 3. Good luck on your healing, hopefully you'll be able to get the bypass in the future.

I can tell you right now, as a bypass patient, I'm not "constantly hungry", I'm over 4 months out since surgery, and I won't say I don't have some level of hunger, I have to remind myself to eat most days. Everyone is going to be different, but I haven't seen or heard of any bypass patients that are "constantly hungry".

The almost pure meat diet might be the deal... you really do need fiber and good carbs. Veggies have carbs, so it doesn't need to be bread. There are studies outlining how increasing calories can actually help speed up weight loss, part of why I was saying to make sure you talk to your nutritionist. Not saying what you are doing is wrong, just, sometimes the body needs to be "confused" or have a curve ball thrown at it for it to get off of whatever is keeping it where it is. With what you are doing not working... it might be time to adjust. Continuing to do the same thing, might not get you were you want to go... then again, it could also out of nowhere just start working again. It's a crazy process overall and with everyone be so totally different, it can be hard. Tracking fat loss helps me because, when I step on the scale and if it doesn't move or I gain... And the fat % drops, I don't freak out as much. Fat loss is just as important as "weight" loss. Because overall, that's what we are really wanting to get rid of, the fat. Hope things finally break for you and those numbers start to drop.

@BajanSleeve This is going to open up a huge can of worms. I've been using them for 4-5 months, I started before my surgery. My surgeon, nutritionist, head nurse and pharmacist all got together and agreed to let me try them out. They also have heard all the negatives etc. And Yes, there is some concern surrounding the reported amounts vs the weight of the patch... etc etc etc etc etc. I've been banded since 2011, never really took any vitamins with any consistency at all until these. My 3 month check up labs were good. My surgeon is happy with my labs and is allowing me to continue using the patches. You are going to hear a lot of "don't use them" coming up... The choice is up to you (and it's a good idea to make sure your surgeon and surgical team are aware of your choice). I for one like not having to take a ton of vitamins by mouth. I still take biotin every day, on my own, not by doctors orders. And I still take 1 vitamin D pill a week. I also take a different vitamin D every day, on my own, because I live in New England and... there are long stretches of time where it's not possible to create any D from the sun. My daily vitamin routine, I put on 3 patches (multi, Calcium with D, b12) I chew 1 biotin tab and chew 1 dose of chewable fiber. Monday's I take my prescribed vitamin D, and every day I take 1 vitamin D tab. And that's pretty much it.

Everything I asked you, you should know. BMR = Basal Metabolic Rate. This is how much energy/calories your body needs just to exist, think "in a coma" alive, but not moving, this is an important number. BMR decreases as we age and as we lose weight. So pay attention to this number. https://www.active.com/fitness/calculators/bmr Your daily intake, this is how many calories you are consuming total. Your daily burn, this is how many calories you are burning a day, this is BMR + normal activities + exercising. You stated your protein amounts, 60-80 is good. Your water is decent too. I'd try to see if you can increase that, we require lots of water just to function, adding healing, diet changes, exercising, increase our requirements and since our body uses water to breakdown and remove fat, you want enough to support your minimum requirements as well as allowing extra for fat loss. Are you tracking your body fat %? You don't need money for a gym. You can lift things you find around your house. A gallon of water is around 10 lbs and comes with it's own handle. When was the last time you checked in with your nutritionist and do they know you haven't lost anything in over month? They might want you to adjust your diet.

You say you are doing everything right. Let me ask you the following. What's your BMR? What's your average daily intake? What's your average daily burn? What's the average amount of protein you are getting day? What's the average amount of water you are getting day?

Your nutritionist should have gone over this... several times at this point. I was drinking shakes the day after I had surgery. You ***NEED*** your protein. If you don't have a diet sheet, call your doctor and ask why you didn't get one. You shouldn't have any real questions at this point... you should have all your meds, information on when and how to take them and for how long, you should have a diet breakdown, with when you can start adding what back... etc etc etc. Most bypass patients are on pureed foods before they even leave the hospital.

First and foremost, there is no surgery that guarantees your hunger will be reduced, none. Also, not everyone gets dumping syndrome, not everyone loses their hair (I haven't, and I'm over 4 months out now). You see a decent amount of folks getting revised from the sleeve to the bypass. The bypass isn't as extreme of a surgery any longer. I was afraid of it when I first started my whole process, back in 2010 when I was 370. I chose the band, because it was removable, there was no malabsorption, etc. What a mistake. I spent years trying to get things to work... and in the end, I has the band removed and revised to the bypass. I can say that, I can't feel the changes. I don't have a major hunger sensation at all. I don't feel full exactly either but I do get to a point where the act of eating just doesn't interest me any more... so that coupled with proper portion sizing gets me to "full". Time on the table isn't a guarantee either... actually from an outside view, you'll have a hard time telling which person had which surgery based on surgery time and incisions. At the end of the day, you have to pick what's right for you. If you've got reflux/gerd issues now, then the sleeve is going to potentially make that much worse. For me, the sleeve wasn't an option due to the scaring from the band. But, overall, I'm super glad I did the bypass. The malabsorption isn't really that hard to overcome with just a new daily morning routine. Sugar intolerance isn't really even much of a problem for me either... to my dismay... because I WANT to not be able to eat the crap I shouldn't be eating. At this point, potential losses between the 2 are very close, with the bypass having a higher loss and higher % of keeping it off vs the sleeve, but the differences are slight. Good luck with your choice. For me, I'd chose the bypass over the sleeve.

Hows your water intake? Like, how much are you getting a day? Our bodies need a crazy amount of water normally, and it uses water to break down fat. So if you don't have enough to allow it what it needs, fat loss is going to suffer. Also, working out is going to increase muscle size, which is good in the long run. Not so much short term as the building requires swelling to occur, which means... water weight! But, down the line, those larger muscles will burn more fat than they would being smaller. So you WILL see the results. Now, are you tracking your fat %? I've had weeks where I didn't lose any weight, but my body fat % keep dropping. Hell, I've had days where I've actually GAINED weight, but lost body fat. So your best course of action, is to keep doing what you are doing. If you are not gaining... then you are doing fine. Just ride it out, as frustrating as it is, and trust me... I know exactly how frustrating it is. Are you getting any fiber? If not... you REALLY want to make sure you are getting plenty of fiber! It helps clean things out and keep things moving along. Even if you are "regular" getting more fiber can still help you out.

@lauratro very impressive! Have you had any skin removal yet? If not, you'll lose another 10-20 lbs (potentially) with the removal.

Compression gear. Hands down. Just make sure you buy 1 size smaller than you currently wear and I suggest not spending too much on them if you know you'll be losing a bunch more weight. Sucks buying expensive stuff and then not having it be useful any longer when you shrink. Plenty of cheap compression gear for women all over the place, target, walmart, amazon, etc.

ibuprofen is approved post-op, so you *should* be ok with taking that. But confirm with your surgeon/surgical team first. Drastic changes all at once will cause the issues you are describing, and yes, if you just stopped the caffeine recently, you could be going through withdrawals.