Introversion

Also, a zinc deficiency can cause the hair to become thin and/or fall out: https://www.nutrafol.com/blog/zinc-for-hair-growth/

I am 27 months out and can eat 8 to 10 ounces at one sitting.

At the hospital or surgery center, you received bags of intravenous fluids before, during and after getting sleeved. These IV fluid bags have significant weigh and, therefore, contribute to the weight you're currently at. It would be wise to stay off the scale for a few weeks and let your body sort things out. It's physiologically impossible to gain 7 pounds of fat in 24 hours unless you ate 25000 calories in the 24 hours that have elapsed since your procedure. It's fluid retention.

You received bags of intravenous fluids before, during, and after surgery. These bags of IV fluids weigh a considerable amount and add to the water weight you're retaining. My advice is to stay off the scale for a few weeks. There's no way you physiologically gained 7 pounds of fat unless you consumed 25000 calories in the 24 hours since surgery. It's fluid retention. Good luck to you.

Which surgery did your brother have? I'm assuming it was the gastric plication since you posted this thread in the gastric plication forum. I am sorry for what happened to your brother. May expedient healing and a swift recovery arrive in his direction as soon as humanly possible. Any surgery entails risks. For most of us who have chosen to undergo weight loss surgery, the risks associated with remaining obese and miserable weren't worth it. Less than 1 percent of those who undergo bariatric surgery suffer from major complications. To place it into perspective, 1 out of 100 people who have weight loss surgery experience major complications. Nonetheless, since people who experience bad outcomes tend to be the most vocal and outspoken, it makes it seem like bariatric surgery is riskier than it really is. After all, few people run to an internet forum to proclaim, "I had an uncomplicated recovery with minimal pain! I lost 100+ pounds and kept it off! I have no regrets and am pleased with the outcome! My life has changed for the better because of weight loss surgery!" The vast majority (read: those who had good outcomes) move on with their lives, whereas the vocal minority blow the risks tremendously out of proportion. It's called negativity bias.

If the original poster's husband has an insurance policy that won't pay for weight loss surgery, I'm assured it's due to a bariatric surgery exclusion. Thus, his insurance won't pay for weight loss surgery under any circumstances, regardless of how carefully the paperwork is submitted or whether an appeal is filed. If the original poster is willing to travel to New Iberia, Louisiana, Dr. Borland charges a cash price of $9800. If the original poster is willing to travel to Mexico, Dr. Maytorena of Long Term VSG charges a cash price of $2999 all inclusive for the sleeve.

I'll tell you the truth: yes, you could certainly lose the weight without surgery. For many of us, losing it wasn't the problem. In fact, I've revealed previously that I've lost 200+ pounds over the years prior to resorting to bariatric surgery. Yep...I'd lose 30, regain 50, lose 50, regain 60, lose 60, regain 100, then rinse and repeat the miserable yo-yo process. Keeping the weight off is the problematic issue here. Personally, bariatric surgery has been my last hope for keeping the weight off. So far, since entering maintenance a year ago, my weight has been the most stable it's been in my entire adult life. A clever physician who specializes in obesity medicine stated, "If you disliked what you did to lose the weight, you'll dislike what you've gotta do to maintain the weight. Therefore, you'll regain the weight." The pre-op diet is good for short-term weight loss, but it ain't sustainable in the long run. If we are true to ourselves, we'd know deep down that we really wouldn't adhere to two shakes a day and a 'sensible' protein dinner for the rest of our lives. Good luck to you.

I wouldn't worry about the calories, at least for right now. As long as you obtain 80+ grams of protein (preferably from real food rather than shakes and bars), the rest will take care of itself. 4 ounces of chicken breast has 43 grams of protein. If you can eat 8 ounces of chicken breast per day divided into 3 or 4 meals, you've consumed your 80+ grams of protein.

A low-grade fever is a normal part of post-surgical healing. During the healing process after surgery, your body increases its metabolic processes to speed up repairs. A low-grade fever is a sign of an increased metabolism. A low-grade fever is also protective against infection to a certain extent because most microbes do not thrive in higher-than-normal body temperatures.

Weight loss doesn't necessarily stop at the 9-month mark. For instance, I continued to lose slowly until I reached my goal weight at 17 months out. Perhaps your surgeon was predicting the 'average' outcome. Nonetheless, there's a weight loss phase known as the 'honeymoon period.' It begins on the day you are first sleeved and ends sometime between the 6th and 18th month post-op for most people. During this time, weight loss will be the easiest it will ever be. After the honeymoon period, weight loss can definitely happen, but you'll need to put significantly more work into making it happen because many of the neurohormonal and metabolic advantages of the honeymoon period have dissipated. http://www.obesityaction.org/educational-resources/resource-articles-2/weight-loss-surgery/bariatric-surgery-what-to-eat-when-the-honeymoon-wears-off

Ask your unsupportive family members the following questions... 1. Will they support your funeral fund? Without weight loss surgery, you might as well plan for an early death and they need to be willing to support this with money. 2. Will they support you by driving you to the dialysis center three times a week, every week? Obesity leads to hypertension, which eventually causes kidney failure. 3. Will they support you by performing CPR when your heart stops beating? Obesity is difficult on the heart. Many badly overweight people suddenly drop dead. 4. Will they support you by being there to push your wheelchair in the future? Obesity is hard on the joints and leads to knee replacements and prolonged immobility. 5. Will they support you by administering your insulin injections? Obesity causes insulin resistance and diabetes, and they need to step up to the plate to support you if this occurs. 6. Will they support you by purchasing an electric scooter? Obesity makes it difficult to move around. You notice most of the shoppers on electric scooters at Walmart are obese.

I've quoted a definition of the 'honeymoon period' for you. Enjoy. https://www.foodcoach.me/2015/04/22/the-wls-honeymoon-period-metabolic-changes-vs-physical-changes-and-why-you-can-still-lose-some-weight-after-its-over/

The goal of the pre-op diet is to shrink your liver. A shrunken liver is less likely to obstruct your surgeon's view of your stomach, ensuring a safer surgery and reducing the chances of accidentally slicing your liver. Fruits are loaded with fructose. Fructose is processed by the liver. If you eat fruits and other high-sugar foods, your liver will not shrink sufficiently. Good luck to you.

A hospital stay is not always necessary unless you experience major complications. In the area where I live, gastric sleeves are frequently done on an outpatient basis. I was sleeved at 9:00 in the morning and went home that same night. My surgery was outpatient. Since a two-day hospital stay can cost your insurance company an additional $10,000 per day, there's a reason they want to avoid approving it by any means necessary. Explore outpatient/same-day surgery options with your doctor.

There's no need to exercise right now. In the weight loss phase, your food choices matter more than any other factor. https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/exercise-futility-exercise-iii/ I am not opposed to exercise. In fact, I run almost daily and lift weights three times weekly. Exercise is good for many things such as improved cardiovascular health and mental well-being. However, you can lose plenty of weight without one minute of exercise during your honeymoon phase. You say you don't eat much. The combination of undereating and exercise is known to cause notorious stalls and plateaus. I'd wait a couple more months to resume exercise if I were you. Good luck to you.

Running burns approximately 100 calories per mile. It is one of the most efficient calorie-torching aerobic exercises in existence. You burn 300 calories for running 3 miles, regardless of whether it's a leisurely jogging pace or a competitive 5k pace. Likewise, you burn 700 calories for running 7 miles, regardless of your pace. The only way you won't lose weight with running is if you haven't cleaned up your diet. There's a salient saying: "You cannot outrun a shitty diet." Many runners actually gain weight due to a phenomenon called overcompensatory eating. Good luck to you.

Running didn't change my shape, either. It simply caused me to lose stubborn fat. I've always held much of my weight in my lower body parts such as the hips, thighs and calves. Even though I've lost 100 pounds, I still have flared hips, thick thighs and prominent calves. An obese apple-shaped runner will soon become a normal-weight apple-shaped runner. An obese pear-shaped runner will soon become a normal-weight pear-shaped runner. And an obese runner with proportional dimensions will soon become a normal-weight proportional runner. My point is that our shapes do not dramatically change with running. We lose fat, but we don't lose the general shape we were born with. No amount of running will make Beyonce's body (extremely curvy) more like Kate Moss (extremely boyish); the underlying shape will always be there.

I am single and lived alone at the time I was sleeved. The vast majority of my family lives out of state, so I performed my own aftercare. I managed my immediate post-op recovery just fine.

Less than 10 percent of weight loss surgery patients are males, and very few of them are in their 30s. Men tend to wait until they're older and in a hot mess medically before opting for bariatric surgery. Therefore, you'll probably be twiddling your thumbs for quite a long time before you receive replies from those who match your 'precise' demographic. Good luck to you.

I enjoyed the analogy. It was very thought-provoking. In my case, weight loss wasn't my problem. I was the queen of losing weight. I've lost 200+ pounds over the years (lose 50 then regain 60, lose 60 then regain 100) and reached a normal weight multiple times. My problem was I couldn't keep the weight off. So when people say, "Why have surgery? You can get a personal trainer and go on a diet to lose the weight," I respond, "I can lose weight without surgery, but surgery is my only hope for keeping it off."

I don't really have much saggy skin. Then again, I was 34 years old when I was sleeved. The older you are when you undergo surgery, the less elasticity your skin has. Also, the bigger you were on surgery day, the more likely your skin will sag after a massive weight loss. I suspect I'd be covered in loose skin if I weighed 300+ pounds at the time I was sleeved. Loose skin was the least of my worries. I see it as a badge of honor. Remaining obese is far worse than sagging skin, at least to me.

Thanks for providing this clarification.

Nope. After the first six weeks, I was no longer cutting food into small pieces. I am 27 months out (2 years & 3 months) and my sleeve's capacity has greatly increased since those early days. I can easily tolerate three pieces of chicken (2 drumsticks and 1 thigh), although I opt for smaller portions. The days of getting full off a few bites of food will be temporary for most people. Good luck to you.

Is this a serious question? There's no way you can accurately determine your rate of weight loss after a whopping four days post-surgery. Your body underwent trauma and it's normal to hold onto fluids before dropping pounds. For now, stay off the scale until four weeks post-op. The first month is notorious for stalls, plateaus, and weird changes. Also, weight loss after bariatric surgery doesn't happen in a predictable, linear pattern. You lose a few pounds, hold onto pounds, and sometimes stall and plateau before you start losing more weight. In other words, you won't post a daily loss. Weight loss starts and stops and resumes. I lost an average of about 6 pounds per month after weight loss surgery. However, I'm pleased with the overall outcome: I've lost 100 pounds and have been keeping it off so far. Good luck to you.

I'm 27 months (2 years & 3 months) out. My only regret is not having had bariatric surgery earlier in life. I could have avoided the nonstop train of yo-yo dieting with constant weight regain and loss. In retrospect, I'd have chosen the wrong surgery if I'd gotten bariatric surgery a decade ago. Sleeves were not popular as a standalone procedure back then, so I likely would have been steered into getting a lap band.