catwoman7

tiredness could be due to depression, too - not sure about weakness, though.

if you're at a normal BMI, you may not lose any more weight. People who are still pretty far from goal typically do with a revision (although not as quickly as with a virgin surgery), but if you're at a normal weight, then you may not. Just follow your surgeon's guidelines and you should be fine..

I still measure/weigh food at five years out. I don't trust myself "eye-balling" portions. My only motivation at this point is that I know how hard it is to lose regain (been there....), and I do NOT want to be obese again. I've put WAY too much work into this... just so you know, what you're experiencing at about a year out is not unusual - many of us DO start to lose motivation at that point. But you can keep going if you put your mind to it and continue to work hard.

not all are. I have a friend (female) who was around 250-ish lbs who had the DS, so you're right - not all are severe cases.

I personally don't think bypass is that much more drastic than the sleeve. Removing 80% of your stomach and throwing it in the trash seems pretty drastic to me. And RNY is NOT the most drastic procedure and isn't for the most severe cases, either - DS is the most aggressive of the more common WLS surgeries and results in the highest weight loss. It's not nearly as common as VSG and RNY, but it is sometimes recommended for people who have a lot of weight to lose (like a 60+ BMI - although some people get it who are under that). There are many people on here who have had RNY at much lower starting BMIs - similar starting stats as the VSG. if you have GERD now, I would definitely be looking at bypass. Sleeve doesn't always make it worse, but for about 30% of people, it does. I had GERD prior to surgery and wasn't willing to take that risk. both are good surgeries and I've seen people on here who have been very successful with both. If you're willing to take the risk of GERD after surgery, then the VSG may be a good choice for you. As I mentioned, I had GERD before surgery and wasn't willing to take the risk. I've been very happy with my RNY. P.S. From your title, it seems like you're not clear on "RNY vs bypass" - RNY is a gastric (stomach) bypass, and we use those terms interchangeably (there is some bypass of the duodenum, but most of the bypass is of the stomach). You may be thinking of the DS where a much greater portion of the small intestine is bypassed (??). The DS has a sleeve stomach, so the stomach is not bypassed. I probably would have gone for the DS if my insurance covered it, given my starting weight, but my insurance only covered VSG and RNY. Although there was the GERD issue with me, too. Anyway, I'm happy with my choice, so it no longer matters.

that is going to vary A LOT depending on several factors - age, gender, metabolic rate, activity level, for example. Some people have to eat 1000 calories to maintain - some can maintain on 2000 (and some men can maintain on even more). Just from hanging out on these boards for the last few years, I would say somewhere in the 1200-1500 range is pretty common for women, but again, it's all very individual. I can maintain on 1700 and lose on 1500, but that's kind of on the higher end for women. You'll just have to experiment and see what level you can maintain at - and what level you'll start losing at. And of course, to figure this out, you'll have to start tracking your food intake (if you're not already doing that).

well, that's true. I did end up getting down to a normal BMI, but my surgeon said only about 10-15% of his patients make it that far. Research appears to back that statistic up. Although I do know a lot of people who have done it (mostly on this or other bariatric forums - it may be partially due to all the support we get here - and reading through threads every day may make it front & center in our minds all the time?? Not sure....). It does take a TON of work though. The first 100 lbs came off relatively easily (for me). The last 40 or so were torture.

you're going to get about 100 different answers for this because people's tastes are all over the board. I never liked Premier Protein, but a lot of people love it. I loved Syntrax, but some people don't like it at all. The best thing to do is just pick up a bunch of packets at someplace like Vitamin Shoppe or GNC - or order some sample packets online. You can even get some here at the BariatricPal store (although some are available on amazon as well) I liked Syntrax and Unjury products the best, but again, tastes are really all across the board.

they say losing weight is 80% diet and 20% exercise, so it's not the end of the world if you can't exercise - you still should be able to lose weight. I'd go back to what you were doing that first year. Not necessarily all the way back to protein shakes, but back to focusing on protein first, then veggies - and then, if you have room, a small serving of fruit or whole-grain carb. Also, figure out how many calories you're averaging now by tracking your intake for a week or two. Then cut about 100 calories. If after two weeks nothing's happening, cut another 100. Rinse and repeat 'til you find the spot where you're starting to lose again. your tool should still work - you just have to adjust your eating.

Actually, i know several people who are many years out who maintain.... and lose regain.... on Weight Watchers. They love the new program (i haven't tried it, but i might at some point)

I think 600 is pretty average by that point. Much lower and you wouldn't be getting enough nutrients. You'll lose the weight - i ended up losing all of mine...

that's pretty low. I was eating that (400 kcal/day) the first two or three weeks post-op. By a month out, I was eating about 600 a day. At three months out, I was eating 600-800 pretty consistently.

that's pretty low. I was eating that (400 kcal/day) the first two or three weeks post-op. By a month out, I was eating about 600 a day. At three months out, I was eating 600-800 pretty consistently. Of course, I started out at a much higher BMI than you, but still, that seems a bit low.

yes - it could definitely be low blood pressure. Low blood sugar can also cause that - or an inner ear imbalance - but given you're on blood pressure meds and took more than you're supposed to, that would be my first guess. I'd run it by my doctor and see what he/she thinks.

depends on your clinic's plan. Some have their patients on ultra-low-carb diets, some have them on more balanced diets. Fortunately, mine was one of the latter. Some carbs - like rice, bread, pasta - and of course, sweets - take up space in our tiny stomachs and don't offer much in the way of nutrients, so we were told to avoid those while in weight loss mode - but other than that, carbs really weren't off the table for us. we were also told not to worry about calories the first few months, either. Like you, we were told to focus on getting at least 60 grams of protein and plenty of fluids. You're probably not going to have enough room in your new stomach to get much more than that in until you're a few months out. I didn't count calories (or carbs) that first year post-op, but because I was tracking everything I ate starting on day 1, I knew that once I was a month or so out, I was eating around 600-800 kcal/day - and I continued to eat about that much for the first several months, if that helps. By a year out I was around 1000-1200 kcal. I don't remember my carb intake early out, but I know for much of the first year I was usually less than 80 and almost never went over 100. But that wasn't because I was limiting them to that - I just couldn't eat more than that once I got in all my protein. I started counting calories at around the year mark, and I still do, but I've never counted carbs.

I could swallow everything except for Ursodiol and those giant calcium tablets as soon as I got out of the hospital. The PA at my bariatric clinic said anything the size of a pencil eraser or smaller could be swallowed whole - so, I did. The above poster is correct, though - some meds can't be crushed, so check with your doctor or pharmacist.

RNY here. I never had any of those problems, either, and our stomachs are smaller than yours. You may just be lucky!

Are you worried about dropping below 40? In that case, it depends on the insurance company. Most (although not all) seem to use your beginning weight in their approval decision, so you may be fine. as far you not thinking they'll pass you because you were successful in losing weight this time around, don't worry about that AT ALL. They use past attempts, not what you did during the six-month supervised diet. I think all they're looking for with that one is to see if you're capable of following a plan. I lost 57 lbs during mine and they accepted me with no problem.

I'm guessing at some point they'll be able to do this for humans, but I wasn't going to wait around for it. I'll probably be dead before it becomes "the thing".

I do a lot of volunteer work for my clinic. All the patients are supposed to follow the same diet guidelines, regardless of surgery.

in some ways I was kind of glad, because I didn't want it widely known that I'd had surgery. I had WLS in June (2015), and people didn't start noticing my weight loss until October. I highly doubt any of them linked that back to the "staycation" I took four months earlier (I told them I was taking a couple of weeks off to work on house projects rather than to have WLS!).

I can't remember how long it took me to notice the weight loss - maybe a couple of months? But others didn't start noticing until four months later. But then, I started off at over 300 lbs - so at that rate, you really have to lose over 50 lbs before people start noticing.

you can increase your calories after you hit maintenance, but by how much is going to be very individual, depending on your age, height, weight, metabolic rate, activity level, etc. So it's sort of hard to advise you. It's going to take some trial and error to determine what your sweet spot is. How many calories a day are you averaging now? Are you happy with your weight? If so, you're probably fine at your current level. If not, try cutting about 100 calories a day. If a couple weeks go by and you haven't lost anything, try cutting 100 more. Rinse and repeat until your weight starts going down again (but keep in mind if you're within 20 lbs or so of a normal BMI, that weight is going to come off R-E-A-L-L-Y S-L-O-W-L-Y....)

you'll most likely have loose skin. But I think I can speak for the majority of us when I say that looking back, we probably shouldn't have wasted a lot of brain cells worrying about the loose skin. Most of us would take the loose skin ANY DAY over being 100 - or 200 - or whatever pounds overweight. The loose skin is a pretty minor issue when you look at the big picture. Plus for most of us, it's pretty easy to hide in clothes. And if it REALLY bothers you, plastic surgery will take care of it. So I know it's hard to believe now, but the loose skin should NOT be your biggest fear. Being 100+ lbs overweight should be. here I am, after my initial loss of 235 lbs (I've since gained 12 lbs), with tons of loose skin. See it? Doesn't it look awful?

not much you can do about surgery-related hair loss other than keep on top of your vitamins and protein so it won't get any worse than it would be otherwise. Other than that, time. It WILL eventually stop - and grow back. My hair loss phase lasted about three months, I think. Luckily, I didn't lose all that much (and most people don't lose enough for it to be noticeable to others - but unfortunately, some do...)