vikingbeast

It just happens. I have a bunch in the stomach area, and then a little bit of bat wing on my arms and legs, and I wouldn't trade it for the 125 lbs. I've lost or the health I've gained. Once I stabilize I can decide if I want it to be removed.

I also am six months (almost) out and have some of the same feelings. Slider foods—ones that you can eat a lot of without feeling the restriction—are real. So what I do is I tell myself if I still want it in two hours, I can have a little bit. Then I put a portion in a bowl or on a plate and only eat that. No taking the entire container or package out of the kitchen! Carbs are NOT the enemy. Your body needs carbs for energy, and the more active you are, the more carbs you need. Fat is NOT the enemy. Your body needs fats for hormone balance, especially for people who are AFAB. I finally went to a nutrition program where I have a coach who helps me once a week. I plan my meals and sometimes things happen and I go off the rails—but just for a meal or maybe a day. Then it's right back on the horse. I am still losing about 1 pound a week, and I'm around 15-25 pounds from my ultimate goal (how much exactly will depend on the results of next Wednesday's DEXA scan, since my goal is sub-20 body fat percentage, not a scale number). It might take me six months or more to lose it, and that's okay. The longer it takes, the more eating the 'right' way feels normal. For reference, I'm only a little taller than you but significantly heavier. I am extremely active (workouts, running, coaching, working outdoors) and I am losing a pound a week on about 1700-1800 cals a day, split pretty evenly among protein, fat, and carbs—about 140P, 160C, and 60F. Every body is different. Just rein in those habits now.

Congratulations! It's amazing how much more mental energy there is for stuff when you're not having to keep up the façade, isn't it??

Your workout routine is really intense. And that's a good thing. But... if you weren't very active before, it's extremely likely that you are gaining muscle, particularly since you are doing weight/resistance training. While that isn't going to explain away 50-60 lbs, it's probably worth spending a little bit of money (should be under US$50) to get a DEXA scan and see what your body fat percentage is, instead of using the BMI which is horribly inaccurate. Are you doing body measurements? That's probably a better gauge given your activity level than the scale. I still have 30-ish pounds to lose and have been bouncing around (just tiny bumps down every now and then), but I also suspect I have gained muscle since I do weight training four days a week—and the continued shrinking of my midsection despite the traitor scale's refusal to move means that I'm replacing fat with muscle. (I have a DEXA scan scheduled for mid-March to mark six months after surgery.)

Heavy weight: 396 lbs Intake weight: 375 lbs Surgery weight: 357 lbs Current weight: 276 lbs Goal weight: 240 lbs I'm 6 feet tall and was sleeved September 14, 2021. I am a week short of five months post-op and am still losing around 2 lbs a week on 1800-2000 calories a day. (I am also extremely active, so don't take those calories as written in stone.)

I had a presumptive positive last month (couldn't get a test for love or money around here). I was sleeved in September. I ended up retaining water and felt bloated. I gained three pounds (and wigged out) but as soon as I got over it, that weight came right back off. I didn't lose my appetite, though, I just was too tired to eat.

What others have said—walk. Walk a lot. It jiggles the insides gently and allows trapped pockets of air to escape. Don't be alarmed if you feel shoulder or chest pain, either—it's not a cardiac event, it's surgical gas rising to the top of where it can get to. If you walk it off, the gas bubble will pop. The first four or five days after surgery I made the most disgusting personal noises, walking around my tract belching and farting.

I'm not sure why you can't go out to eat. I go out to eat, and I'm not even five months out from surgery. I just order what I want and ask the server to bring a to-go box at the same time as the plate. I portion out what I think I'm going to eat and put the rest in the box. Or I just order an appetizer if there's one that looks good to me. I definitely am eating more than 4 oz. of food at a time, and I'm still losing 2-3 lbs. a week. I agree with others that it's probably time for you to look for someone to talk to about your pining for the old days. Because what's done is done. "Stomach stretching" takes years if it happens at all—and there are plenty of WLS veterans on this very board who, three or five or even ten years later, have reduced appetite.

I love the chocolate and vanilla 26g Core Power ones... I've got four cases hoarded away.

And it’s not any more accurate than the BMI is. The only way to get your actual BMR is taking a BMR test and breathing into the tube. But your insurance company is going to insist on seeing your weight in order to keep paying the surgeon follow ups, which means your surgeon will be weighing you. it’s just a number. A data point. It doesn’t define you, but it does have value.

It’s a bit hard to believe they’re not going to weigh you or ask for your weight. Literally the two questions my surgeon asks first when I have a checkin are how much do I weigh, and how long does it take me to eat a meal. I do agree that BMI is crap. It was never intended as a measure of individual fitness.

I literally force my watch sometimes... scroll to Workouts, start the workout, because I want the credit!

Women always have higher bodyfat than men—I'm aiming for under 20% and hoping for 15%.

Yeah, that's straight up insane. Literally all of our plans right after surgery talk about 60-80g of protein a day. I would seriously question your doctor's competence to guide you through this.

It's normal not to be able to fart (you're constipated!) and it will go away. As GradyCat said, walk. Walk a ton. It will go away. The first few days post-op are the hardest.

Your DEXA scans are $150?!?! Out here it's $39.99 and they're in mobile vans. I had one in December (really wanted to be under 30%, came in at 30.7% damn it) and the next will be scheduled mid-March.

I also use the ProCare with 45mg iron. But I have to have it after there's something in my stomach or I get dizzy. I also take D3/K2, B12 (liquid), calcium citrate, and a few other things, but none of them are officially "bariatric" and yet my labs are fantastic.

Right there with you, my surgery sister. I had a three-week stall and it made me insane. Then this week—WHOOOOOOSH. Three pounds practically overnight. Now, obviously there's something going on in there. I have a theory that the Epsom salt bath I took after a physically intense day reduced some inflammation, but who knows.

If your doctor is assessing your physical health based on the BMI scale, and not other health markers (A1c, blood pressure, circulation, etc.), then it's time for a new doctor.

I accidentally mooned the public on a major road while running yesterday because I sized down but my track pants didn't. Oops.

Go in person and make her sit with you until it's all done. Or speak to the office manager and explain what is going on. If nothing else, make them print your records for you and go find a different surgeon without such a terrible front office staff.

Neither my surgeon nor my PCP ever mentioned BMI when working with me to set a goal weight. I will never be a "healthy" BMI because that, for me, would be 184 lbs. and I have almost 200 lbs. of lean body mass. So I picked a number based on body fat. For a man, below 25% is average, below 20% is good, and 15% is fit (as in flat stomach, at least for people who don't have a ton of excess skin). So I took my pre-surgery muscle mass, subtracted 10% since I knew I'd lose muscle mass as I lost fat, then added back in 20% body fat, and came up with my goal. Every three months I get a DXA scan because as I work out and lift weights, my muscle IS coming back, so I adjust my goal. Next scan is in March.

I run 2-3 days a week and do CrossFit (combination of strength and metabolic conditioning/cardio) 3-4 days a week, so I am always having some amount of cardio-type exercise.

Oh, right! I need one next month too. It's actually really motivating to see the muscle number go up (after the initial drop, lol)... it also moves me closer to my goal weight which is based on body fat percentage... raising the floor rather than lowering the ceiling, IYKWIM.

I had a two-day athletic seminar this weekend with a bunch of people I've never met. We were asked to tell our story, so I told my story about struggling with weight loss, getting WLS, and trying to maintain strength through the weight loss. Afterwards a few of the participants said, "I would never have guessed you were heavy before. You could never tell now." Like a (refreshing) splash of cold water because I of course remember myself as the fat kid.