Jaelzion

I really wanted the bypass, but it turned out that it was medically contraindicated for me. I even got a second opinion and that doctor agreed that the bypass was not safe for me. So I had the VSG as my second choice. I started with a BMI of 47 and 118 pounds to lose. VSG worked out very well for me - I lost all my excess weight and had no major complications. The surgeries have pros and cons but both can be effective.

I did too for most of the first year. It's back but it's a lot more tame than the monster I used to deal with, LOL.

Uh no, you shouldn't get over yourself, you should set some boundaries! As a WLS patient, you have particular requirements for your food. It's unkind and unfair to eat all your food knowing that you will then be left with nothing to eat. If he absolutely loves your bariatric foods, that's great - he should contribute to the cost and then you guys can buy enough for the two of you. Problem solved!

Your experience is actually pretty typical. Right after surgery, you can have a lot of water retention and internal swelling, which can skew your weight. And just when that resolves, it's common to hit a stall at 3-4 weeks and it may last anywhere from 1-2 weeks. It's not a sign that anything is wrong, it's just your body first recovering from surgery and then adjusting to the radical change in your food intake. After the 3 week stall breaks, most people start seeing a steady drop in weight for the next several months. I wish weight loss surgeons would warn patients that the number on the scale may not drop a lot in those first post-op weeks, it would save so much unnecessary stress. You're probably doing fine, just stick with the plan.

I mostly eat mini-meals throughout the day. I start eating at about 6 AM when I have coffee before work and I eat every 2-3 hours or so until about 6-7 PM (like maybe 6 AM, 8 AM, 11 AM, 2 PM, 5 PM and 6-7 PM). I'm naturally more hungry in the daytime and not so much at night, so I don't usually need to eat at night. It adds up to just under 1000 calories per day and I am just about exactly maintaining on that amount. Some people consider the way I eat to be problematic grazing, but our bodies all work a little differently. One other thing, make sure you are getting enough protein and fat when you eat. That keeps you full between meals/snacks. I can eat baby carrots as a snack and feel really full right afterward, but it won't keep me satisfied as long as a cheese stick, for example. You mileage may vary. There's a bit of trial and error in figuring out an eating pattern that works for you. Hugs. 🤗

I have my first tummy-tuck consult on Monday. 😀

One of many...medical professionals speak to me much more kindly and respectfully. Instead of dismissing everything with "You need to lose weight", they actually assess and evaluate my symptoms.

You're a little over a month out and it's common to encounter a stall right around then, so don't worry too much about that. It doesn't mean you won't lose any more weight, most people start losing again after 1-3 weeks. 😊 Regarding your appetite, I'm sorry you haven't gotten the typical reduction of hunger after your surgery. In keeping with the original post of this thread, I believe you that you're experiencing real hunger and not just head hunger. I notice that you're tall at 5' 11", so your base calorie needs may be higher than average. Are you extra active? That would also up your calorie requirements. It may take some trial and error to find an eating pattern that is sustainable for you and also allows you to keep losing. As I lost, I kept having to adjust my intake because my caloric needs went down as I got smaller. You'll find the sweet spot. As for the stall, most of us have been through it. Just stay the course and wait it out, it will break.

I step on the scale with PJs and slippers on and as long as my weight falls into the normal range I'm good with that. But if my weight is so high or so low that it's on the edge of my maintenance window, then I'll undress, take off my slippers off etc. so I can get a more precise number, LOL. 😁

One thing that will help is that most doctors recommend that you track what you eat. Assuming you weigh yourself regularly, you'll be able to spot weight gain early and then you can look back at what you were eating to determine why. Emotional eating can still happen post-surgery, but part of the work we have to do as WLS patients is finding different ways to cope rather than food.

23 days post-op is still pretty early and it's really common at this stage to have unexpected reactions to foods when you try them for the first time. That's one reason why the vets tend to advise that you go slow with new foods so you can see how your tummy will respond. Sometimes things that make you sick early on are fine later and sometimes certain foods just won't ever sit right after surgery. I still can't eat ground beef and I'm almost 2 years out. Let your tummy be your guide on what you can and can't tolerate.

Sorry, I don't know the Starbucks menu well enough to suggest anything. When I was at your stage I really didn't get Starbucks, but now I occasionally have a sugar-free vanilla latte with soy milk.

This is fruit I was allowed to eat during the soft stage. But I wasn't able to eat much fruit and still meet my protein goals. Fruits/vegetables Canned fruit (in own juices or water packed) Soft, fresh fruit without skins and chewed well (berries, peaches, plums) Bananas Cooked or canned vegetables Avoid raw, fibrous vegetables like broccoli and Brussels sprouts. Avoid skins and seeds.

Yes - I've always tended toward low blood pressure and after surgery it's lower than ever.

Exactly this. I always say my pre-surgery hunger was like "FEED ME NOW!" where my post-surgery hunger is more like "Would you mind awfully if we got something to eat?" LOL 😁

This is what scares me about going to Mexico for surgery. It's not that I think complications are more likely there because I think they can happen anywhere. But the lack of access to follow-up care is a problem. I can tend to be a complex patient and I need to know that my surgeon is there to deal with issues that may come up. Going back to Mexico wouldn't be a feasible option in that case, so I'd be on my own, looking for a provider to help me. That's not a prospect I'm comfortable with. Oh, edit to add: I'm really sorry you're going through this, I wish you a complete recovery.

My bariatric team neither encouraged nor discouraged my goal of reaching a healthy BMI. My surgeon gave me the statistics and then said that those were just averages, that some people lose more and some less. He did say he'd be happy if I lost 50% of my excess weight and we'd see what happened. And I'm glad because if he had been more discouraging, I might not have believed a healthy BMI was possible for me. He didn't set me up with unrealistic expectations but he also didn't squash my enthusiasm. And in the end I did end up losing much more than average. I know getting there is only half the journey, I'm right now trying to learn how to maintain it. But I'm not sorry I set a healthy BMI as my goal. If I had set my goal to losing 50% of my excess weight, I might have stopped there because an authority figure said that was all I would lose.

I have vivid food dreams too but they're not dreams of longing, they're nightmares! 😂 I'll dream that I threw all my commitment to the wind and ate ridiculous amounts of all the worst food. And that means I'm going to gain all my weight back. I'm so sad and disappointed and then it's such a relief to wake up and know that it never happened! I think it's just my sub-conscious expressing my fear that I won't be able to maintain and I'll regain all my weight.

I was definitely not ready for camping 2-3 weeks out. I had no complications but I just didn't rebound as quickly as some folks. I was also unable to eat at all for the first two weeks and drinking was a struggle. That got better in week 3 for me. How fast you recover is very much a YMMV kind of thing. Can you defer the decision until you see how you feel?

It's actually pretty common after surgery to go through a period where you feel like "What have I done to myself!?!" The early days of recovery can be really tough. Like you, I had a lot of post-op pain and I struggled to hydrate (have you tried clear protein drinks - not shakes? They helped me a lot early on.) I remember how awful I felt in the early days but fortunately it gets better pretty quickly. By week three I had no pain issues, I could sleep more comfortably, and I felt more myself. It's hard to say what might have given you hives - are you doing anything different? Using a new product? Taking a new kind of vitamin? Or did the ER use something or give you something you may be allergic to? It may take a process of elimination to figure that one out. As for generally feeling yucky, I promise it gets better. Hang in there! Hugs.🤗

I've only been in maintenance a few months, so I'm not an expert. But so far I am finding it easier to maintain after the surgery because my appetite has never rebounded to where it was before the surgery. I definitely eat more now than I did immediately after surgery, but nowhere near what I ate before surgery. So portion control is a lot easier than it used to be. In the past, for me "portion control" really meant "get up from the table hungry". I couldn't sustain that for long. Right now I walk almost every day and I do a very basic strength training routine three times a week (15 minutes). That's it for exercise and so far, I'm maintaining without a struggle. I also think it depends on how much weight you lose. All of our bodies have a comfortable weight range and if you push it much below that, it fights you to get back into the preferred range. I think right now I am at the lowest weight that I could easily maintain.

No, not really. If you start out smaller to begin with, you may not have stretched your skin as much, so you will have less loose skin. If you are younger, your skin may have more elasticity, leaving you with less loose skin. Toning exercises can help you build muscle which helps your appearance but doesn't get rid of loose skin. It kind of comes with the territory of losing massive amounts of weight. Amen to that!

I have this too. I've been diligent about my vitamins and religious about getting my protein but I've still lost most of my hair. I'm quite a bit older than you, so I've been assuming that the surgery accelerated age-related hair loss I would have had anyway. But at 23, that doesn't seem likely for you. What does the doctor say?