vikingbeast

Totally the three-week stall. It lasted a bit over a week for me and then WHOOOOOOOOSH the weight came flying off. I'm averaging a bit over 4 lbs. a week now (hooray for the honeymoon period!) and 59 lbs. from goal. I know it'll slow down as I get closer to equilibrium, but for right now I love it. No te rajes!!

Meal 1 (0530) (51 cal 6C 2F 2.3P) Espresso with 5 g brown sugar and 2 oz steamed milk Meal 2 (0745) (164 cal 4C 10.6F 13.3P) 1 slice chard and spinach crustless quiche Meal 3 (1000) (164 cal 4C 10.6F 13.3P) 1 slice chard and spinach crustless quiche (liked it so much I ate it twice) Meal 4 (1400) (309 cal 11C 14.7F 32.8P) 2 beef kofte (meatballs) and 1/2 cup puréed pinto beans Meal 5 (1800) (327.2 cal 52.2C 3.3F 20.3P) 1 serving chicken tinga 1/2 cup puréed pinto beans 60 g steamed green beans Persian melon Meal 6 (2030) (130 cal 24C 3F 2P) 1 serving Maria biscuits TOTAL 1310 cal 105.1C 54.8F 97.4P - exactly within my macros per my nutritionist. I am just short of 10 weeks post-op. (Note, before someone jumps in about how that's SO MANY CALORIES—I burn at least 1000 calories a day just in exercise and physical work which I need to do, so it has to get fueled. When I was eating much less, I had no energy and no strength to do things like move hay bales. And I am still in the honeymoon of losing 4-5 lbs. a week.)

Stepped on the scale this morning and was under 300 pounds for the first time in almost twelve years… not gonna lie, I cried happy tears Once I’m a bit more comfortably under, I’m going to schedule a DXA scan, since my ultimate goal is 15% body fat, and it’ll help to recalibrate where that number lies on the scale.

I appreciate the concern! I'm a cis male in my 40s. It's an ambitious goal for sure. If I got below 20% I'd be satisfied, but would like 15% (which is basically a flat belly, though obviously skin will become an issue). I'm going to schedule the DXA scan shortly—now that I'm under 300 lbs. I can use the mobile unit that visits vaguely near my work, rather than having to drive to Culver City in traffic for the fixed unit that supports 400 lbs.

Yeah, the first couple of days it's a struggle to take in enough liquid. Make sure you go for lots of little walks to get the surgical gas out, too. Keep us posted!

I lost about 4 kg on my pre-op diet, but I started the pre-op diet at 166.4 kg which is significantly more than you. There was no concern about my liver, my surgeon didn't even mention it post-op. And weight started just dropping off as soon as I got rid of the surgical fluid and gas. DO NOT FREAK OUT if you gain weight right after surgery. They pump you absolutely chock full of surgical fluid and gas and it can take a week to pee and belch it all away. Make sure you have a couple of follow-ups with your psychiatrist (or whoever prescribes your bipolar meds), one 2-3 weeks post-op and one about 6 weeks post-op. You may need to have your medication levels changed a bit, and if you have extended-release meds (such as carbamazepine ERC) you will probably need to have those changed to regular release, since it won't sit in your new stomach long enough to be absorbed all day. It's annoying to have to dial in meds again but it's worth it. All you need at the hospital is your phone, a LONG charging cable (some of those outlets might as well be in another room for how far they are from the bed), lip moisturizer, Biotene or similar mouth moisturizer, a comfy and loose set of clothes to go home in, and a pillow for the car ride home in case the seatbelt presses on your incisions (mine didn't, but just in case). You can leave the pillow in the car, obviously. Good luck!

I'm two and a half months post-op and while I do weigh my food, I go by macros and calories. I take in 1200-1400 calories per day—BUT I also am extremely active, usually doing hard physical work at least 2-3 hours a day and on my feet longer than that. Yesterday: Pre-workout: espresso with 5g sugar (this is a compromise with my nutritionist) Post-workout: Fairlife protein shake Breakfast: Two scrambled eggs with two small turkey breakfast sausages and an ounce of cheese Lunch: Slice of thin, dense, seedy Scandihoovian rye bread with one of those packets of prepared Starkist tuna on it. Dinner: About 1/2 cup of puréed (not refried) beans and three ounces of chicken tinga with about 1/4 cup of chopped cooked nopales (cactus). I didn't quite finish it. I heated up a tortilla but didn't eat it. Snack: Big slice of Persian melon, didn't quite finish it.

Honestly? Start practicing sipping water rather than gulping it. But enjoy your holidays... since you snuck in juuuuuust under the wire with the pre-op diet. You're going to be so happy with the changes in your life. I'm down 58 since surgery nine and a half weeks ago, and feeling amazing.

I lived in Tijuana. It's not any more dangerous than Los Angeles or New York.

Congratulations! I'm in the middle (literally) of Couch-to-5K right now, so at the sort of 8 minutes 5 minutes 8 minutes bit. But my pace is getting better and better and I'm confident I'll break a 10-minute mile once I can run ten minutes all at once. And, like you, I never thought I'd be a runner, but here we are!

I think I'm going to have to choose either mashed potatoes or stuffing this Thanksgiving... and there's no contest, mashed potatoes hands down. Bread tends to sit heavy on me anyway, and I'd rather save that for a couple of bites of apple pie (hate pumpkin pie).

I keep telling my fiancé I'm gonna be his arm candy. 🤣

I'm not a woman (women's sizing was obviously invented by misogynists... absolutely terrible) but I will say that when my weight loss slows, it means I'm about to drop inches. One week I only lost 1.6 lbs (I tend to average about 3-5) and lost a full inch off my waist and hips. But even for men, sizing is "creative". My favorite jeans are one particular cut of Wrangler and they tend to run big, so I'm into a 36 in those, but if I buy the Cowboy Cut jeans, I'm a 40. Go figure. I've lost 56 lbs since surgery and in the same style jeans (Lucky 221s) sized down from a 40 to a 34.

My clinic's nutritionist was on board the low-cal train—and I actually stopped losing weight for a while because of it (not just the 3-week stall). It all came to a head (there's a post elsewhere on here about this) and I fired her. My new nutritionist has me on a balanced diet of proteins, carbs, and fats, based on my activity level (active). I intake 1000-1400 cals a day depending on actual activity level; most programs are far less. And I feel like all I do is eat and drink 🤣 I will say this: fats are essential for hormone regulation, ESPECIALLY for people for whom estrogen is the primary hormone.

I think a lot of us had that same worry. I'm here to tell you that the eating habits DO change. Sometimes, if I'm out, I'll order food like The Before Times... and then after a few bites I'm all "yeah, not doing this". Tonight there was cake. I had a few bites and pushed the rest away. The old me would have et the whole dang thing and gone for seconds (and possibly thirds). The whole point of the surgery, really, is to give you a tool that makes it a bit easier to develop better habits. You know how when you start a diet pre-op, and the first week or few days you're ALL IN on the diet, and the weight starts to come off, and you feel like you can just DO this? Now imagine that for six months. Or a year. Because the weight will just come off. Especially for us—it is, unfairly, still easier and faster for male bariatric patients to lose than female (in general). By the time the weight loss slows down, the habits you need are ingrained.

Have you looked into going to Mexico? Laredo or if you want to come out West, Mexicali or Tijuana? It'll be a heckuva lot cheaper to self-pay, too, and the doctors and clinics are reputable.

It happens. And after your surgery, your stomach will tell you it's not time to fall off the wagon. Don't worry. You didn't fail. And the tool you're getting will help you with those cravings (as in not having them!)

You might be in a stall. They happen. They're frustrating. And they all break. Just keep following your plan. If you're truly stuck for like a month, then ask your nutritionist about shock calories—a week of an extra 100-150 calories to get your body to think something else is happening. Are you measuring yourself? When I hit my three-week stall, the inches kept coming off even though the scale change was pokey.

Complications are fairly rare. And honestly—this is from someone who resisted the surgery because "I can just do it on my own"—I wish I had kicked my own butt 15 years ago. It's not that it's effortless—I have to put in work to lose weight—but it's that when I put in the work, I actually lose the weight, instead of that incredibly frustrating "why isn't this working" garbage. Basically what you're getting is a tool that doesn't allow you to deviate much from the plan. But you still have to reduce eating and get in exercise. The difference is you can't fall off the wagon. Your new anatomy won't allow it, and by the time you get to the point where you could overeat, you'll be so used to tracking what you eat and being careful that it'll be second nature. I mean, I'm only two months out (from sleeve, not bypass) and I already always automagically reach for my phone when I set food down in front of myself.

Your bariatric program should have this for you. Every surgeon is different.

Thought I would give an update here. VSG was done 9/14/2021, today is 11/14/2021. THE GOOD: Down 55 lbs from surgery, 64 lbs from the start of the pre-op diet, and 94 lbs from my heaviest weight. Hypertension and asthma diagnoses were officially withdrawn. Hypogonadism is under review. CPAP average setting went from 16 cm H2O to about 7 cm. Have an appointment soon to see if I need it any more. Depression has almost completely been put in remission. Went from 52/34 to 36/34 in the same cut of jeans, and actually need to go see if they have 34/34 at the outlet. Went from 4XL or even 5XL shirts to L or XL (mostly XL). Went from 15EE boots to 12D; my arch has returned, which shocked my surgeon and my PCP. Running and enjoying it for the first time ever. Way too many NSVs to count THE BAD: Still occasional bouts of constipation which mess up scale results, but then it all, um, resolves and the number on the scale goes WHOOSH. Had to fire my NUT for being a horrible person. Found a new NUT who is amazing and who does the same fitness I do. The extremely restrictive diet (especially under the old NUT's "guidance") caused a massive drop in strength, which did not help at work. It also caused me to stall out. The new NUT increased my intake from 600-800 to 1000-1400 cals a day, and WHOOSH went the scale once again. It actually hurts to sit down because my butt is bony. I'm cold all the freaking time, even when it's objectively-by-any-sane-standard not cold. Needed a chiropractic adjustment because my hips are not used to carrying 25% less of me and were hurting badly. Had to replace expensive work boots because they were giving me blisters. Clothes I can get from the Goodwill and Ross Dress For Less; work boots not so much. THE UGLY: Eating too fast or even one bite too much means spending the next 30 minutes to an hour in great physical discomfort. It takes time for the full signal to arrive in my brain. Eating lettuce salad was, in hindsight, a really, really bad idea. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Some gnarly skin tags as my fat melts away, and the beginnings of some loose skin. Added in a daily dose of collagen peptides to help. One incision is still quite visible, though it's healed over. Starting to notice a little more hairfall, including head, beard, and chest. Still the best thing I've ever done for myself.

I have the same "concern". I have had DXA scans done and my lean body mass fluctuates between 205 and 215 lbs... so that's what I based my goal weight on. 240 lbs. would be 10-15% body fat. We'll see if I can get there!

I'm in the same general area—3 to 5 pounds a week. It won't last forever, though, so enjoy it while it does.

My coach said to think of this is a months-long cutting phase... and just like with any cutting phase, the muscle will return.

I'm an odd bird and it takes a LOT to make me upchuck. I did it once and still felt woozy but at least not "blocked". But usually I just tough it out.