Kimmysu

Great to hear from you all! It's so interesting how we have picked such a range of goal weights/BMIs.
I am almost exactly 9 months out now, 108lbs lost, BMI is 24.8, still losing about a pound a week and absolutely loving that. Gonna ride this horse as far as it gets me Loving my new life.

Yeees!!! So happy for you!!! I am in a very similar situation - just 5 pounds away from my goal, taking vacations, barely limiting myself on anything, and enjoying life IN FULL!!! Agree with 100% - this surgery was the best decision I ever made! Congrats to us, we did it!

Just checking in with my November buddies again. I'm 10 months post surgery. Weight lost 111lbs, BMI 24.4 so I've only lost 3lbs in the last month. One week did include a vacation when I didn't track my intake and had a bit more alcohol to drink than usual. Life's gonna be like that.
My goal (that I set 10 months ago and never believed I could ever reach) is now 5lbs away and it feels like I'll probably make it. This surgery is the best thing I have ever done for myself.
How's everyone else getting along? Lots of us must be close to or at our goal weight now. Anyone not doing so well and needing some support?

Love hearing from my November Pals!!! i am doing well and have had little to no issues. I still struggle with taking 30 minutes to eat my little meals and not being able to drink 30 mins prior and after. But other than that, I'm feeling ahhhhmazing!!! I over half-way there and I really need to go to Goodwill to pick up a couple of pair of smaller jeans, I don't want to spend good money on jeans that I will be in for a short period of time. lol I hope you are all feeling great too.

5’2” female. At the 6 month mark, I was at 97 lbs lost. But this includes ~12 lbs lost during my 2 week pre-op diet, so really it was more like 85 lbs lost in the first 6 months immediately after surgery.
FYI, during weight loss phase i went with volume and calories measures way to monitor intake (cuz there is a huge diff between 1oz of steak and 1oz of salad or 1oz of almonds in terms of “eat-ability” AND calories)
With that said, at my 6 month mark, I was averaging about 700-ish calories a day, with each “meal” coming up to no more than 1 cup in volume (if I remember correctly). I use the term “meal” loosely as I was (and sorta still am) a grazer.
But I’ve read enough on here to learn that my experience differs from many (and is similar to some). I have also learned that while everyone loses at their own pace and implements their own strategies, we all end up in the same place eventually so long as we stick with our plan and make adjustments as necessary.

Good Luck! ❤️
P.S. I am 3+ years out now and have maintained below goal weight the entire time. I average about 1800 cals a day with moderate exercise. …. Though, full disclosure, I was 2lbs outside my “happy weight range” a couple days ago, which has since been lost (a couple good poops did it, I think, lol…that and I cut down on the copious amounts of Xmas chocolates I’ve been porking on). This morning I was 119 lbs even, but I feel better when I’m closer to the lower end of my happy weight range so am gonna shoot for 115 and see if I can get back down there without too much discomfort, ha!….we shall see.

I am hitting 3 months post op. I am down 60 lbs and have been stalled for the last two weeks. I am not too concerned about it since I have read so much about it here. It is certainly a tad frustrating but I feel so much better after losing so much so fast that I can see so many benefits to encourage me. The biggest for me is no more CPAP at night.
As far as recovery: I can tolerate all fluids and I tolerated wine. I would say 90% of food sits just fine. I am avoiding high sugar and high fat foods obviously and I don’t really miss them. Fish and veggies are easiest for my system. I can swallow larger pieces of food now which is a huge improvement from the first month. Back then if I didn’t chew 30 times per bite I was headed for disaster. I still eat slowly.
I have found that when I go out to dinner I talk everyone into some appetizers and then I eat that during the appetizer course and in place of my meal. I space it out over a couple hours while everyone else enjoys the courses. It works for me and my friends don’t really notice since I am always eating. Who knew you could eat some chicken wings over an hour. But not buffalo. Spicy food is still a no go for me.

I have had foamies in the first month but not lately and I have still avoided dumping syndrome. I feel like it is going well and I am getting a lot of compliments. I am waiting to lose another 20 before I start investing in nicer clothes. I am looking forward to that. 3X is a bad memory. 2X I can no longer keep on. XL is getting looser.

I love reading this thread and seeing how well everyone is progressing. I had my surgery on November 9th and am now down 72lbs and feeling much better for it. I'm also learning to deal with the stalls and not panicking when they come. Hope everyone is doing well.

Hello every one, I hope the world of wonderful weight loss is great for everybody and all stalls have broken. I have just come out of a 4 week stall and am overjoyed. My calorie intake was just too small to let my body loose anything. Now that I can eat fish and seafood my Protein intake is going up to about 50 grams a day. I have no problems drinking anymore and am feeling the health benefits of that. Its been a bit of a struggle but I am getting there a little slower than lots of you but I dont mind being a straggler. My dietician said to begin exercising so I am going to begin walking. The weather is horrid here and I am going to have to force myself out of the door. I have started leaving clothes on the too big to clean up in pile. Instead of skirts sliding up my belly to my bra, now they slide off if I dont catch them quick enough . Not good when the postman comes. Have a good week everyone

Surprisingly in the last week or so I've lost more weight and I've been less careful about what I eat in terms of counting calories. Maybe I was having too little?

I am not sure of monthly totals, but as of Friday I am down 58 lbs. My surgery was November 9th so feeling pretty good about this amount of loss in less than 3 months. I have had a couple of short stalls but mostly I am consistently losing 1/2 pound a day. I stick to mostly Protein and then vegies as tolerated before I am full. I exercise 4x a week for about 30 mins, but also go up and down the stairs in my house about 10 times a day. 😁

Everybody will lose at different rates, depending on starting BMI, height, gender, muscle mass, etc. Some people lose really fast, and others at a steady lower rate.
Keep following your plan, and make sure you are meeting the daily Water goal. Water is essential to 'process' stored fat.
For reference, I'm approaching month 2, and I am losing a bit over 2 lbs/week.

Zoe don’t be too hard on yourself. In a month I have managed to eat every single thing they have told me to avoid. I just do not eat much of it. While I used to destroy a carton of ice cream, I was completely fine with a few bites. One slice of pizza at my favorite restaurant doesn’t kill me. I am full and feel like I deserve the reward after a long week. I don’t look at these things as failing. I look at them as adjusting to my new life. It is not realistic to think that I am going to live the rest of my life avoiding everything on the very large naughty list. The naughty list is things that I eat less of. No longer an entire large pizza. Now a slice. No longer an entire box of chips Ahoy. Now three with some skim fairlife milk. And I am still losing my 2 to 3 pounds a week which my doctor says is healthy weight loss. Some days I don’t get enough Protein. Other days I get extra. There is nothing magic that happens at midnight that resets your nutritional needs. If I average out enough protein a week I am happy.
There is a support group here in Miami which is helpful because you get to hear first hand from people a year and later post op how they eventually fell into a routine and now most people seem to not think of their surgery as a burden like I feel it is now. I keep reminding myself that this is a lifetime lifestyle surgery and not a quick fix. Losing 100 pounds in 2 months would be very satisfying but is not healthy for your organs or your healing. I do get jealous of the people who can eat whatever they want. Some of my favorite foods do not sit well at all with me. eggs are still a no for me. Shrimp is death. My favorite chips and the spicy salsa at my Mexican restaurant had my drenched in sweat on the curb trying not to vomit in the gutter while my friends frantically went for the car. We never even got to order the meal. My surgeon for my 30 day follow up said that with time I will be able to enjoy small amounts of all these things again and to just continue to proceed cautiously. He is pleased with my weight loss and my healing and that is all you can ask for.

January turned out to be a good month for me and I lost 12.5 pounds. I hope everyone had a good month.

Don't get discouraged. I had my surgery on November 8th and I'm basically in the same situation. My saving grace is orange juice without the sugar. For some reason I'm able to drink more of that than the Water. In fact water taste so nasty to me now and it hurts even when I take a gulp. Also, pretty much anything I eat gives me the foamies (I learned what that was from this site
My Doctor just said to hang in there and don't worry about my food intake, but to try and least get some Protein in. So, I take really small bites of a protien bar at a time and beef sticks.

I would say go with what u can handle…i know from being on these forums for 3 years that my daily cals back then were on the very low side of the range that most people were eating at the same stage.
I was blessed (or cursed, depending in how u look at it) with very, very, very little interest or desire to eat. So going as low as i did was relatively low-effort and angst-free for ME.
So long as u are consistently at a caloric deficit you will be successful.
P.S. Fast forward to now and it now seems (based on what i’ve read on here) that i am on the higher end of average daily calories consumed for my size and stage post op. So who knows? We all operate on different gears…i am of the mind that success is based on one’s ability to determine that gear and operate effectively in it, as well as adapt when those gears change.
Good luck! ❤️

Its hard to believe it’s been 6 months since I “went under the knife”. What a 6 months it has been. From nervousness to excitement, from regret to happiness. The emotions have been all over the board. It definitely hasn’t been easy and it’s really only just began.
I wanted to share a little of my journey thus far for folks that are considering the surgery, just had the surgery or anybody else that can relate or possibly get/stay motivated.

Like most, the beginning was very difficult. I did a ton of research before the surgery. I thought I was prepared. But as the old adage goes, “you don’t know until you do it”. I struggled with drinking enough water/fluids, not getting enough Protein, feelings of despair as I could only eat a tiny amount of food, total regret of having the surgery and wanting to call up Doc Brown to see if I could borrow the Delorean to go back in time. But around the 6 week mark, it seemed that everyday my attitude got a little better. I started to walk a little bit to clear my mind. I started just walking around the block. It’s about all I could do and I was a little paranoid of doing too much (silly in hindsight). I tried to really stay focused on sticking to the plan and just taking each day as it was and not look into the future. I started incorporating fish into my diet and nuts and I started walking around the block twice. I just kept telling myself that things will get easier. And before too long, they did.

Fast forward to today and I’ve lost 164 lbs. I’ve lost 33% of my highest body weight. My BMI has gone from 58.3 to 38.9. I’m now walking 5 miles at a time, about 5 days a week. I eat mostly fish, salads, veggies and nuts. I actually eat carbs and some stuff that they probably don’t want me to but it’s limited and I’m burning so many calories exercising that I can handle some extra calories and not worry about it. I think I’m most proud of the fact that I’ve consistently lost weight every single week except in week 3 (seems like this is the week everybody tends to stall). I’ve learned to give myself a little credit instead of giving it all to the surgery. The procedure definitely deserves most all of the credit but I wouldn’t be where I’m at now had I not stuck to the plan, pushed myself to stay mentally strong and built a routine of exercise. Giving myself that little bit of credit has helped me in so many ways.

I’m still about 80 lbs from my goal. I have a long way to go to get to that goal and of course even longer for a lifetime commitment to being healthy. I know whoever reads this has heard the line “if I can do it, anybody can”. I hate to use that but it’s so true. I used to lack motivation to get out of my Laz-E-Boy to even walk around the block. To put down the soda, stop eating a large pizza by myself, fries, Chinese food, burgers,wings, you name it. I found something inside me that clicked to get curious about the surgery. Then to actually go thru with it. Then to implement and execute the plan to improve my life. I wish I could say that I’m 110% confident that I’ll never gain weight again. That I’ll never binge eat again or go off the rails. I’m confident right now that I’m fully committed to a new lifestyle. I’m only 6 months in. I’m still not even that hungry. I can still only eat a little bit. At some point, those things will change. But I know that I never want to go back to what I was. I haven’t changed as a person in the last 6 months. But my attitude, goals and purpose has. For that I’m grateful.
I wish all who reads this much success in your journey. Know that it will be different from mine and all others that you come across. There will be many similarities but your journey is your own just as mine is for me. If I can do it, anybody can. 👊🏼✌🏼

I am now 10 weeks post op and I have lost 27lbs since the day of my surgery. I had just one long stall of about 2 weeks post op but have lost about 2lbs a week since then. I'm so so pleased with that. I have quite a way to go but I feel like I'm into the swing of things. I do have a little alcohol every weekend but it's one or two drinks and all counted in my calorie allowance, which is around 800 per day now and 1000 at weekends.
Good luck to everyone, hope it's going well for you all.

You've been very successful. Congratulations! 50 pounds in 3 months is outstanding! Your body is going through an adjustment period. Just keep doing what you're doing and it'll start moving again. No worries.

I’m a sleever & I’ve found vomiting is different too. I wonder if it’s because we have fewer stomach muscles as well cause, on the handful of occasions I have vomited, it doesn’t feel like all my muscles are heaving. A win is I don’t have sore muscles after like I used to either. Plus I only need to throw up a small volume of food to empty my tummy.
I hate the foamies! I get them if my food is too dry, too coarse or fibrous. Begins with my restriction being more severe, followed by hacking & then spitting up small amounts of that foamy, gunky saliva. Can occur up to an hour after I’ve eaten.
My dad was told the same thing about the flattened cola with his chemo. It’s also useful for getting rid of the bad taste & reducing the coated tongue after chronic vomiting with chemo. Best of luck with your continued recovery, @Jacks133.
PS - Personally, I’ve never understood the whole ‘pouch’ description thing. Our tummies are exactly the same organ as they were before the surgery. They function in the same way as they did before (maybe a bit fussier). They are only smaller & for bypass have had a little shortcut rerouting to the intestines. They’re still stomachs.

Sounds like the foamies. Combination of pain across your chest (restriction), hacking cough, feeling like something is stuck, spitting up a lot of foamy saliva &/ or regurgitating a little food (bubbles up not a heaving vomit). Usually you feel a lot better after it occurs.
A lot of us experience these symptoms at various times. I get them if I eat too fast, eat too much or eat food that is too dry & coarse. Try eating a little more slowly, hold off on having ‘just one more bite’, eat until you’ve had enough not full, keep your food moist (add gravy, sauce, etc. if needed) & avoid coarse & fibrous foods for a while & see if that helps.
Multi Vitamins used to make me nauseous every day too. Make sure you take them after you eat. If you take several, split up when you take them across the day. Try a different brand or different combinations . Vitamin A, C, D, E, K, Iron, Calcium, some Bs can cause nausea especially if you’re doubling up (e.g. taking iron & having iron in your multi vitamin).
But do speak with your surgeon &/or medical team to make sure there is nothing untoward happening. Hope you feel better soon.