catwoman7

the patches work for some but not for others. I've never tried them because I'm sure I'd be one of those people they don't work for. But they might be worth a shot if you're tired of taking all the pills - they may end up working for you.

1) unless you're the size of someone on "My 600 lb Life", your weight loss so far is very normal. Most of us lose 15-25 lbs in the first month after surgery. Yes - you will find people who lose more or less than that, but they're the exception. You're in that range, so you're perfectly normal! 2) you're in the infamous "three-week stall". Almost all of us go through that. It's not ALWAYS the third week, but it is for most (hence the name) - but it can really happen any time within the first 4-6 weeks after surgery. Just stick to your program and stay off the scale if you need to. It'll last 1-3 weeks, and then you'll be on your way again. If you want to read more about it, do a search on this site for the three week stall. You will find about 17,000 posts on it (and no, I am NOT kidding...). It literally does happen to almost everyone. No changes necessary - just stick to your program and wait it out. It WILL break. oh - just re-read your post. Thirty grams of protein is too low. Most surgeons recommend at least 60. So THAT is a change you should make. Otherwise, you're good. Just hang tight!

I was a lap swimmer for years. I still do water aerobics occasionally (now that I can again (I didn't during the worst of the pandemic), I do that 1-2x a week), but I really haven't done laps regularly in a few years. Not sure how/why I got out of that habit - I always enjoyed it as well. My main exercise now is cycling - although that doesn't always work in the winter!

if you're still seeing your bariatric team, I'd start there. Or if not, is it possible to see them again? Otherwise, if you're not still tracking your food intake, start there. Track for a couple of weeks to figure out what your average calorie intake is now. Then try cutting back by 100 calories or so for another couple of weeks. If that doesn't do the trick, cut back by another 100 calories. Rinse and repeat. Eventually you'll find the level where you'll start losing weight. also, start doing some of things we did that first year after surgery (NOT all the way back to shakes and purees - I mean how we ate after the first couple of months - focusing mostly on protein and non-starchy vegetables. Then if you have room, maybe a small serving of fruit or whole-grain carb). if you're having trouble with hunger while cutting back, add in more vegetables - I try to eat vegetables with every meal when I'm trying to lose (I don't always with breakfast, but I DO blend a cup of fresh spinach or kale in with my morning protein shake to make up for it). I also always keep raw veggies (with a dip made from plain Greek yogurt and ranch dressing mix), sugar free popsicles, and sugar free Jello around, too. Healthy fats like avocado and peanut butter or a handful of nuts can also help with the hunger - but just have a small portion of those since they're pretty high in calories. good luck with this. I know it's tough - I'm battling a 10-lb COVID gain right now and I know it isn't easy, but people do it... At least you're catching it at 40 lbs while it's still do-able oh btw - I know a lot of people who've regained who've had success with Weight Watchers, Keto, and/or intermittent fasting - so those might be options for you, too...

yes. That 30 minutes after is for life (my clinic actually recommends 60 minutes after, but 30 seems to be standard)

I started eating both fairly early out, but I don't think we were supposed to have skins or seeds for the first month or so - so that precluded berries. I'd check with your clinic and see what they say. It's been a few years since I had surgery (although I do remember we had to wait on berries for awhile)

I was probably a year out before I ate popcorn. Much longer for chips. I do eat popcorn occasionally - I almost never eat chips. Too much of a temptation to overdo it - or at least it is for me.

yea I don't think titanium does. I know titanium doesn't set off MRI machines, either (I've been in a billion research studies where I had to have MRIs - some after I had gastric bypass surgery, so I would have had the staples). I know most/all surgical staples are made of titanium, so those supposedly won't set anything off. The only thing I can think of is the surgical clips I have in my abdomen - maybe they aren't titanium? I'm not sure - but something sets it off every time (or at least those really sensitive scanners where you hold your arms up in the air). It's weird that the loose skin set it off, too - but it did - and I've heard of many others who've had the same issue. anyway, good idea on TSA pre-check - I'll look into that for sure!!

you may want to check out the blog "The World According to Eggface". She's a long-time bariatric patient (and still very active in the bariatric community) who loves to cook - she has several recipes on her site for all post-op stages.

it's possible it could be hormone related. A lot of people report mood swings (and for women, screwed-up menstrual cycles) for the first few weeks or months following weight loss surgery. It's evidently due to estrogen being released from fat cells during rapid weight loss. It eventually stabilizes.

I think you're right about the B vitamins. I know thiamine (B1) tastes awful - and I think it nauseates some people, too

I was thinking that as well. Even if the OP is one whom the patch doesn't really work well for, some absorption is better than none..

I agree - 54 lbs in five months is great!

btw - I was looking forward to not having to deal with the loose skin setting the scanners off after I had plastic surgery (because oddly, that DOES set it off for some of us), but I STILL beep, even though all the excess skin is gone. I don't know what it is. I know surgical staples don't (they're made of titanium, which MRI machines don't pick up - so maybe that's why airport scanners don't, either), but maybe the clips I have in my abdomen from plastic surgery do - I'm not sure. But for whatever reason, I still beep. Grrrr. P.S. earlier in the weight loss phase I didn't beep - because I didn't have all the loose skin then. But I DID have the staples then - so they aren't what sets it off.

I didn't have that - in fact, this was the first time I've read/heard about an exercise eval, but I can't imagine anyone would fail it. A lot of obese people don't exercise or don't exercise enough, so you're in good company. They probably just want to see where you're at, and like someone said, have you start an exercise program prior to surgery.

just so you know, these work well for some people, but not for others. Some surgeons discourage them because of the mixed results. I've never tried them because I was afraid I'd be one of those for whom they didn't work, but they do work fine for some people.

yes. It's a bit overwhelming the first few weeks, but it becomes second nature pretty quickly. Sorry to hear about your nausea - hopefully that's behind you now!

no. Oddly, loose skin sometimes does (at least on those really sensitive scanners)

mine only got narrower (from a wide to a medium), but I've heard of people losing a shoe size, too. It does seem weird, but...it happens.

It took me 20 months to lose all that weight (I started out MUCH heavier than you did), so I was well into the second year before I hit my low. I don't remember exactly when i started looking better because it's been a few years, but it would have been within a few months after I hit bottom. I just checked my weight log and by a little over 2.5 years out, my weight started to head up, so things had probably shifted around and settled and I looked better at my lowest weight sometime during the period of 4-10 after I hit bottom and before I experienced rebound weight (I was totally convinced I would NEVER experience rebound like so many people do, but...I did). Even though I loved seeing the 130s on my scale, I looked way better once my weight started to go up. But now I'm 20 lbs heavier (the last 10 thanks to COVID). I still look fine, but I'd really like to lose 5-10 lbs.

to be honest, there are a lot more people who never make it to goal than there are who get too skinny. But you're definitely not the first (I got too thin at first as well, but it sounds like yours is worse). not sure when you had surgery, but after you hit your low weight, things sort of shift around and resettle, and you don't look as drawn. Then in year 3, most of us have a 10-20 lb rebound (some more, of course, but 10-20 lbs is extremely common). So you may end up looking fine... (actually, I just checked your stats. I'm 5'6" and got down to where you are now (low to mid-130s) -- my bmi was 22 - so number-wise I was slightly worse. I did look really drawn and unhealthy at that weight...but I was OK with it since I knew almost everyone has a rebound - and I did...)

I would be, too - I also drink Crystal Light and flavored waters because I get tired of drinking regular water all the time, so I'm grateful my system can tolerate the sweeteners. Otherwise..ugh.

not a typical thing with RNY, although I know some people who can't handle certain artificial sweeteners (esp sugar alcohols - those with names ending in -itol). Although I also know VSG people who can't tolerate those - as well as people who've never had any WLS at all. I've had RNY, and I'm fine with any artificial sweetener. It could very well be that in your case it's related somehow, but that doesn't seem to be true of all of us...

you're right - that "gain" in the hospital was because of the IV fluids. Some people gain up to 10 lbs with those. It takes a few days for them to work their way out of your system 20 lbs in two weeks would be an exception. Most of us lose somewhere in the 15-25 lb range the first MONTH. Although I suppose you could find a few folks for whom this isn't true, I would guess anyone losing 20 lbs the first two weeks either 1) started out at a very high BMI (much higher than the average WLS patient) or 2) didn't have much of a pre-op dieting requirement as that kind of loss is likely mostly water (I lost 57 lbs between my six-month supervised diet and my two-week pre-op diet, so any water weight was long gone by the time I had surgery) I lost 16 lbs the whole first month, and I started out at 373 lbs. That's not unusual at all, in fact, it's right in the typical range, and yours will be as well. I think a lot of people's expectations of this come from shows like "My 600 lb Life", but you need to keep in mind that those people are MUCH heavier than the average WLS patient, so of course they're going to drop a lot more weight than the rest of us - esp the first couple of months.

stick to your clinic's eating plan as carefully as you can, especially the first few months. I read posts on here a lot about people pushing the envelope, and that's a slippery slope to go down. In time, you'll be able to enjoy most if not all of the foods you currently enjoy (in smaller portions, of course), but let the program and your new tool work its magic during the weight loss phase. This will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lose a huge amount of excess weight - the first year after surgery will be the easiest time ever to do that - so take full advantage of it!!