catwoman7

nope. I'd do it again every year if I had to. One of the best decisions I've ever made, and my only regret is I didn't do it years earlier.

O he's actually the only surgeon I've ever read about on these forums who's said that. Anyone else who's mentioned that their surgeon said anything about the gain/loss thing after plastic surgery has said they were warned a 10-15 lb gain either way will affect results. I don't know that there's been any research on this to know for absolute sure, but since there's evidently some difference in opinion, I'd sure want to be at a fairly stable weight before taking the plunge (and ms.sss, I know you and I have had this discussion before, so I'm just reiterating it for the sake of the OP)

they're very common during weight loss. I think your body has to stop every once in awhile to "recalibrate" before going on. It happens to almost everyone.

yes - I've always heard this as well - in both cases (take iron and vit C together - and separate iron and calcium by at least two hours)

I'd lost 52 lbs when I was at point where you are now, and I DON'T have hypothyroidism. the others are right, never compare yourself to other people. Your rate of weight loss is dependent on so many factors, most of which you have little to no control over (e.g. age, gender, starting BMI, metabolic rate, genetics, whether or not you lost weight prior to surgery...). The two factors you DO have control over are how closely you stick to your clinic's eating plan and your activity level. If you do well with those, and your general weight trend is down, then you're good. and btw - I lost over 200 lbs, so being a slow vs fast loser, in the long run, makes no difference. Your level of commitment is what makes the difference in your ultimate success.

if you're eating 600 calories/day and 60g of protein, then you're in a stall. Mine was weeks 2 & 3.

I think it's age. I know I used to almost NEVER get up in the middle of the night to "go", and now I do at least once - and usually twice. I was telling some other friends in their 60s about it, and they just laughed - they said welcome to seniorhood... p.s. although a catheter might affect things initially, at two years out, no...

if you want to go to Mexico, Dr Francisco Sauceda in Monterrey and Dr. Laura Carmina Cardenas in Tijuana are very well-known in bariatric circles. They've worked on A LOT of bariatric patients and specialize in massive weight loss patients. Dr. Joseph Capella in New Jersey has also operated on a lot of us (and specializes in massive weight loss patients, too), and his prices seem reasonable compared to a lot of other US surgeons (haven't seen anything recent on him, though) several people here have gone to Miami for plastic surgery because supposedly it's one of the cheapest areas in the country for that - I don't know any names, but a few people on here have gone there and can probably give you some recommendations. The prices they've gotten don't seem much more than the prices in Mexico oh - Dr. Joseph Michaels in Rockville, MD has also been used by a lot of bariatric patients I personally would look for someone who specializes in body contouring for massive weight loss patients or at least has done a BOATLOAD of them, because it supposedly is a complicated sub-specialty.

just so you know, chronic constipation is a common problem even years after surgery. Some people get over it once they start adding fiber to their diet, but some of us don't. It's not really due to the surgery, it's due to the high protein diet and also, some of the supplements (mainly iron and calcium). All of those are known to back people up. I know a lot of people (myself included) who take a capful of Miralax every morning to keep on top of it. Others take stool softeners, drink Smooth Move tea, take magnesium tablets, or eat a few prunes every day. Whatever it takes..

the only ready-to-drink ones I liked were from Unjury. I was 90% a powder user, though. You just get a shaker bottle or throw it in a blender. Depending on the flavor, I'd mix it with either water or unsweetened almond milk (some people use dairy milk) it will say on the container how much protein and calories are in one scoop (all the brands I've ever gotten come with a plastic scoop inside the container)

it's the infamous "three week stall". Almost everyone goes through that...if you search it on this site, you'll find something like 17,000 posts on it. And no - I am NOT kidding... Just stick to your program and it will break. It usually lasts 1-3 weeks.

regardless of where you started, the last 20 or so lbs are a bear to get off. It's that way for "normal" people, too. The closer you are to a normal BMI, the harder it is to lose weight. I remember years ago at Weight Watchers meetings listening to these normal weight or slightly overweight women b**ch and scream about how hard it was to lose 10 lbs. Yeah right. I'd just sit there and roll my eyes. Try losing 100+ lbs! But now I totally get it. It IS hard! But just keep at it. I was losing like 1-2 lbs a MONTH when I got to that point - but I finally did make it...

yes - I agree - check with your team. Mine allowed walking right away, but I had to wait for four weeks to start most other types of exercise (and eight weeks for strength-training). and no, I never went off my plan when I was that early out. You're still healing and need to follow your surgeon's instructions.

unfortunately, GERD does happen to about 30% of VSG patients - and revisions for severe GERD aren't uncommon. RNY usually (but not always...) will improve it if not cure it. I would certainly do the bypass vs risk getting esophageal cancer, but then, I'm not you. Hopefully you'll get a lot of responses here from people who've revised for that reason - there are several folks out there..

many surgeons put their WLS patients on a PPI (like omeprazole or pantoprazole) for the first 3-6 months after surgery. Are you on one?

the only things I had (besides the vitamins) were for omaprazole (which I had to take for a year - but that was several years ago before they knew about the risks - I think most surgeons just prescribe it for 3-6 months now), ursodiol (I think I had to take this for 3-6 months - it minimizes the risk of gall bladder issues), and pain pills, which I didn't even bother opening because I wasn't in pain. some people have to take the heparin shots, but I think they're in the minority. I think they gave them to me in the hospital, but once i got home, no. A few surgeons have patients continue them at home, though.

I agree with Nova Luna - a stall can typically last up to three weeks. I think it's just your body's way of recalibrating before going on. I had several stalls along my journey. I wouldn't start worrying about it unless it gets to be a month or so.

I think they're OK to have occasionally, but they're not the best choice. I think they're too much like candy bars and may get you headed in a not-so-great direction. I do often throw one in my purse if I'm going to be somewhere for a chunk of the day, and the food choices are likely to be sub-optimal (or non-existent...). I also pack some when I'm traveling. So yes - I do eat them occasionally and I think they're OK for that. But as a regular thing, there are better choices.

I've been trying to lose a 10 lb COVID regain and am trying to do more of this, too - asking myself WHY I want something. Sometimes I truly am hungry - but other times it's just because I'm stressed - or bored. I've been working on trying to recognize that and finding alternative ways of dealing with it. It often saves a couple hundred calories a day (and sometimes more!) that I'd otherwise be eating!

I had nausea the first day or two, but I was still in the hospital and they just put Zofran in my IV line to control it - but since you're home, that wouldn't be a solution. I'd just let your clinic know if it lasts for more than another day or two.

there seem to be a few surgeons who are recommending that calorie level these days as this isn't the first time on here that I've seen it - but it's high compared to most programs (however, most tell patients to just focus on protein and fluids the first few weeks and don't worry about calories. I only knew what my calorie intake average was because I was tracking from the get-go). The kind of odd thing is that they told you nothing is off limits. That's true once you're in maintenance, or at minimum, a few months out - but early on we were told to stick to very nutrient-dense food (which would not include things like pasta, for example. And although my program didn't have us limit carbs, like many do, we were told to avoid sugary things like fruit juice). I wouldn't worry about the carb level they're recommending, though, as not all programs are ultra-low-carb. Also, many of us are told to shoot for 60-80 grams of protein, but 110 isn't anything outrageous - and may be appropriate given the amount of calories and the macro percentages they're recommending. Creekimp may weigh in here because I think her program was one that recommended higher calorie levels than most (I think some do now because they believe keeping calories a bit higher means your metabolism doesn't take quite the hit).

just so you know, most of us don't eat pasta for at least the first year. I still can't eat much of it at 6 yrs out because it feels like a brick in my stomach. Plus it's not very nutritious. You have a tiny stomach now, so you have to eat mostly nutritionally dense things...

you may be down at least another 3 lbs by then - that's still a few days away. Do you retain water? If so, it may be the sodium in the broth - you may be hanging on to a lot of water. Regardless, I'm guessing you may be down another 3 lbs by then

I don't know that it really matters in the long run. I use my highest weight, which is what I weighed before my six-month supervised diet started (and I completed this diet BEFORE I entered the bariatric program, because I had to change insurance companies to get WLS coverage, and I had to wait for the enrollment period (and then until January of the following year because coverage would start). The new insurance company said it was fine to use a six-month supervised diet that was done under another network as long as it had occurred within the last two years.

I'd only weigh daily if you can put up with the fluctuations. On the other hand, I wouldn't weigh less than once a week. I personally have been weighing pretty much every day for a few years, but I'm trying to cut back to a couple of times a week.