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I had my surgery about five years ago and maintained a loss of about 50 pounds after that, far short of my goal. I'm also diabetic, so was put on Ozempic for that about six or seven months ago and have experienced the appetite suppressant effects of that, very useful. So I started losing quite slowly with that, and then, on the advice of the psychologist my diabetes doctor recommended, I signed up for Noom about a month ago.

I was very skeptical but I am kind of a convert now, as I've lost another ten pounds or so with it. It's on my phone and while there are psychologically-based lessons and support groups to post to, what I find most useful are the daily weigh-ins and food tracking (on some phones it will also track your steps, but my knees are shot and walking is not my thing--I swim for exercise, just not enough). You enter what you eat and the program keeps track of the (estimated) calories; I have a 1200-calorie daily limit. The program is very supportive and recognizes that this isn't a straight-line process. We do better some days than others. But I'll admit that I think twice about eating something caloric when I'm at or near (or over!) my daily limit.

I'll add that a side effect of the Ozempic I'm on is that on the day I take it and the day after (it's a once-a-week shot), I've learned to be very, very careful about what I eat. The side effects if I have something carby are not pleasant, let me just say without further details!

I can totally relate to those who can't figure out why they aren't in a different size--I've mostly been wearing the same clothes all along. I've thrown some pairs of pants away for loose waists but figured they'd gotten stretched out. I ordered new pants in 3x and realized when I put them on that, hallelujah, I could have ordered 2x. But after losing 78 pounds, I should bloody well hope so! Shesh.

Have lived the last month without a scale so I have no idea what's happened, really. Am just hoping I haven't gained. I need the scale for accountability, I know I do. So will buy one soon, I think. Like so many things, I have a perfectly good one in storage I can't get to. Please, all the angels and saints, I need an apartment!! (With an actual kitchen.) Just sayin'

No regrets. I haven't lost nearly as much as I'd like and I'm still not off most of medications. I haven't had a big burst of energy and I still have issues with my knees. But I am on less medication for my diabetes and I would never, never, never have lost 78 pounds any other way.

One thing that many doctors/nutritionists don't tell you is that you may well feel hungry the first month, as everything you're consuming will go through you. You are not going to feel full on very little until you are eating solid food, especially Protein, protein, protein.

Another thing they may not mention is the stalls you will inevitably hit. Very often this happens at three weeks post-surgery, which makes very little sense from the point of how few calories you are consuming. But the basic explanation I've read is that your body needs to "catch up" with the weight loss; hang in there through the stall and eventually it will break and you'll start losing again.

Each person has to make his or her own decision on this. In the long term, it may be much less of a change than you think--the amount you can eat will grow significantly over time. Whether this works long-term depends a lot more on the habits you develop and maintain--or not.

Best of luck.

I can't say enough positive about Dr. Judd (and neither could anyone in the Crystal Run Healthcare network who tested me or saw me otherwise in connection with this surgery). He's the head of the department and he's very, very good. He doesn't spend enormous amounts of time with you--visits are short and to the point--but I was fine with that; the rest of the staff was also quite wonderful. I had pain only for the first few minutes after I woke up from surgery--pretty much none at all after that. No infection, small incisions. Also, plenty of written material with clear instructions about what to do/eat at each stage.

I have no hesitation in recommending him if you are in this area of NY state. I'll add that I had Medicaid for insurance and this was no problem. Additionally, the Orange Regional Hospital is almost brand new, clean, lovely, comfortable . . . and there's a piano player in the lobby if you have to wait there for anything!

One of my friends has "conversations" with food. She looks at something and says, "I like you, but do you like me?" If it's not good for her, she treats it that way--as an enemy to be avoided. It doesn't matter if you like cupcakes, say, do they like you? No . . . no, they don't.

I'll admit that I'm still in the process of retraining my habits. I have eaten all kinds of things that I shouldn't--but I do know I feel better when I eat correctly. That's something to remember all the time.

You look amazing! Well done!

Toomanytacos, I know how you feel--I've lost less than many other people on here. I know some of the reasons (it's been a rough eight months or so in ways having nothing to do with the surgery), but I just keep thinking about what I can do to change my eating habits and get *some* exercise going forward. This is a marathon, not a sprint, as the saying goes. The real goal is to make sure you maintain your losses long-term, not that you lose super quickly now.

3 hours ago, 2shea said:

You may not be be able to kick him to the kerb yet, but are you able to be assertive as in "you want Breakfast? The eggs and bacon are in the fridge, the frying pay is on the stove, I'll leave you to it while I walk and feed the food, then I am off for my shower."

Exactly this. It drives me crazy that so many men act like cooking is something they can't or won't do. They eat. They should cook or go out and pay for their meals. NOT expect a woman to provide meals for them on demand.

In any event, I hope things improve for you in the future, and I'm sure they will. Stay strong.

The first month after surgery just sucks, except for all the weight loss. That part is good. But trust me . . . it does get better. Slowly.

If you are going to have something a bit past your current liquid phase, make sure it's soft, like eggs or cottage cheese or yogurt. I would definitely not advise a Protein bar or anything similarly solid, no matter how you break it up or chew it.

Finding a great guy anywhere is tough, but stick to it if you really want one. I do and I will (though not in Columbus, Ohio--I'm in a small town in upstate NY, so maybe it's even harder?).

Good luck to both of us!!

I'm not sure how long ago you had your child, but your hormones could certainly still be affecting your ability to lose, I'd guess. (*I am not a medical professional of any kind.*)

I'd suggest maybe changing your routine to see if that works--do a week or two of Protein Shakes for two meals and a lean and green meal for the third just to see if that makes a difference.

Frustr8, I hear you loud and clear. I've recently been "chatting" with quite a few guys on a dating website. It has taken me a long, long time to get to the point where I can just say what I want and wait for someone who is worthy of me (!!) to answer or to step up to the plate. A guy I had a lunch date with today emailed me this morning that he couldn't make it, "too much going on." Really? He's the one who picked the time. Next!!

Another guy wanted to come to my motel room (where I'm currently living, waiting for an apartment to become available) with some wine or beer, even after I told him I don't drink. I've made it clear that I'll meet someone for lunch, but I'm not inviting someone I've never met into my room! And so it goes--I won't give out my phone number (too many scammers out there) and I won't join Hangouts or whatever the latest online chat thing is.

I'll protect myself as much as necessary, and the right guy will understand that. This isn't rocket science: say you want to meet and show up. We can go from there . . . if you seem compatible.

Good luck to all on this journey. I bought new clothes for the first time since my surgery and I think I could have bought a size smaller. Woo hoo!

If it's liquid, it'll basically go through you. Once you start regular food, you'll find you feel full very quickly--but you mostly won't feel full until then.

Here I am, still over 300 (I think: I don't have a scale at the moment). But I was 302 when last I weighed myself, and I've been doing some adjustments on what to eat where I am now (living in a motel without a proper kitchen--I started with a microwave, but have added a toaster-oven, an electric kettle, and a crock pot!).

I don't know if I'm losing more slowly than some other people because of my starting weight, my age/being post-menopausal, my diabetes, or the incorrect choices I've made. I don't spend a lot of time comparing myself with others--this is my journey and it's all about me, me, me!

I'm happy about what I've lost so far, but I'd certainly like to lose at least as much again. I'd like to really see a difference--I sometimes see myself in mirrors and think yeah, maybe there's some difference . . . but it hardly seems remarkable to me. I've thrown away four or five pairs of pants that seemed very loose and stretched out at the waistline, but I don't really think I've gone down more than one size, maybe. I've ordered three new pairs of pants, the first new clothes since my surgery nearly eight months ago. Will they be the right size? I should find out tomorrow.

One thing that is a bit discouraging is to see people who have lost about the same amount of weight as I have who are now only 20 or 30 pounds from their goals. I wonder what that is like? On the other hand, I'm not married to my goal--not the one in terms of numbers. My goals are more in terms of cutting medications and having my knees stop hurting (or be able to get them replaced, if that's the only option) and maybe, someday, being able to sit in an airplane seat and be relatively comfortable.

All that aside--am I glad I had this surgery? Hell, yes!

One issue is that you won't feel full on liquids, even with the much smaller stomach--liquids still mostly just go through you. You will notice a much greater feeling of fullness when you are eating solid food again.

I have put a goal weight of 140 but I'm not terribly convinced I'm going to get there. I change my mind from time to time about what would be acceptable--I'm not that crazy about the massive skin sagging and wrinkling, but I am happy that I can occasionally glimpse my collarbone for the first time in decades.

I'd really like to have my diabetes go into remission instead of simply taking less medication (which I am now, and which is great, but . . .). I'd like my knees not to hurt horribly, which they do when the cortisone shots wear off, which has taken longer last time than previously. Accident or weight loss? Don't know.

But numbers are just a fantasy game in a way . . . I'm currently just trying to get under 300. Then I'll see if I can get to, say, 250. If I get there, then I'll focus on getting under 200. I can't even imagine what I'd look like. I have no idea what size clothes I'd wear. So I'm kind of open to re-evaluating along the way, rather than shooting for a number that kind of seems ludicrously out of reach now.

Bottom line, I'm still working on changing my eating habits for the next however many years there are. I kind of think I'm getting that figured out, surprisingly.

That is precisely what my surgeon told me to do at my first follow-up--not worry about weighing myself. I chose to do so, but I'm pretty good at rolling with the stalls and so on. I'm currently living in a situation without a scale, and I'm not happy about that, but I know I can buy one if I really feel the need. I like to keep myself in check--but I salute you, because if you know you are following the rules and you see the sizes going down, you KNOW you are losing weight. If that's the case, does the number matter that much? You go!

Are you still pre-op? If so, a glass of wine probably won't hurt. If you are actually post-op, I'm not sure how long you should wait--your information from the bariatric practice may say, but you are no doubt aware that it may affect you more than before, right? Besides being empty calories . . .

Some people advise not getting on the scale at all for the first month or so. I'll admit I didn't follow that advice, but this is part of the reason why. My doctor advised me to focus on my Protein, Water, Vitamins, and exercise, and not even pay attention to my weight. I did weigh myself--after all, why did I have the surgery?!--but I kept his words in mind. Be patient--it will come off. Pretty quickly the first month, too, though it will slow down. And you'll stall--you know to expect that, right? It can be discouraging but it's just another phase we go through. And come out the other side and start losing again!

Wow, you have made fantastic progress already, congratulations. And come here to vent--that's certainly part of what this site is for. If it helps, take a look at some of the threads of before/after pictures--very encouraging!

Hang in there. The pre-op diet and the first month or so kind of suck, but it definitely gets better with time. Good luck!

Let me just say that if you overeat a couple of times, you'll decide to stop when you're full after that! I don't crave more of something when I'm full, and I get full a lot sooner than I used to. But a couple of times I've eaten too much (or drank coffee with my Breakfast because I was out at a restaurant, say), and I regretted it for an hour or two afterward. Not doing that again if I can help it!

But you can eat things you like and you'll be satisfied with less of them, that's all. If, eventually, you can eat more and more, you'll have to make some decisions about how much you want to eat and what foods you want to make a regular part of your diet.

Eventually you'll probably be able to eat most anything you'd want to, although perhaps in smaller quantities. Doesn't make it a good plan. You can use the time you're restricted to retrain your eating habits or not . . . your choice.

I'm not trying to be tough on you, and I've eaten a ton of things I shouldn't have since the surgery. But I keep trying to do better with my diet, because this is it for the rest of my life, and I still have a lot of weight to lose. It's my choice, too. It is for each of us.

I think Creekimp 13's suggestions are all very good. I'd also suggest browsing for recipes on this site and elsewhere to find things that will excite you to try but that are within the bounds of what we should be eating. I started a "high Protein, low carb" section on my Pinterest page just to save these things so I can try some new recipes and keep things interesting.

I also just needed to list various diets I had tried in the past, including the usual suspects--Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, things I did on my own, etc. I've been overweight/obese/morbidly obese for decades, so had no issue with that . . .

It's good you posted this--other people should note that if you have persistent pain, don't suffer in silence--get it checked out!

It's too soon to worry much about this now. Probably more important to concentrate on your Water to make sure you don't get dehydrated. I didn't hit my water goals at all early on, but didn't get dehydrated--and I'll admit that my energy just sucked the first month. Had none. It picked up after I moved to real foods, although I still haven't had the burst of energy a lot of people describe having. Although, as one doctor pointed out to me today, think about the energy it takes for you to carry around 75 or 100 pounds all the time! I still have a lot of excess weight I'm lugging around . . .

Protein will be easier when you have more choices--I still rely on cottage cheese, for example, almost every day. Yogurt is a good choice early on, though I couldn't eat more than half a container for a long time. Cheese (including cheese sticks as a snack) is helpful. Eventually, a handful of nuts. You'll get the protein and you'll always have those tasty, tasty shakes (she said sarcastically) to fall back on.

As far as the protein water goes, I personally like it, but if you don't like one brand, try another before giving up on it. Sweetness levels and so forth vary.

Hang in there, it will get easier.