SleeveToBypass2023

Awww thank you It's a hard fought battle, but every milestone makes it so worth it.

Thank you so much

I'm 44 and just over 6 months post op and I have, what my husband calls, a "turkey neck" now. No more double chin, but a lot of loose skin that isn't looking that great lol I have a lot of loose skin right now, and I really don't care about the rest of it, but the neck is driving me nuts. I drink over 90oz of fluids per day and take a collagen/biotin/keratin/hyaluronic acid powder every day. And it's not really helping. But it is what it is. It'll either resolve itself or I'll have surgery later on down the road.

I finally weigh less than 300, for the first time in 17 1/2 years!! I'm off all 3 diabetes meds, my anti-inflammatory/joint pain med, and my blood pressure med. I do cardio 3 days per week and weight training 2 days per week. On cardio, I'm up to an hour and a half. On weight training days, I'm at right around an hour. Never in my LIFE did I think I could ever be here. I know I need my rest days, but I actually hate taking them LOL I look forward to working out, which is so crazy and foreign to me.

Hey there girlie!!!! YAY, I'm so happy for you!!! You're on the other side of it now and will just get better everyday. Your first week sounds a lot like many of us, so you're right on track. I work from home and still took 2 weeks off. No way could I focus or stay awake or sit in 1 position before that. The main incision gave the most trouble and hurt the longest. Took about 3ish weeks for the pain to stop, but it's because that's the biggest incision and that's where they pulled the stomach from. You're doing great.

Thank you so much. That's what I love about this forum. We can all genuinely share in each other's successes and milestones, and help stay accountable, give advice, and listen when someone needs to vent. No matter how far out from surgery I am, even if I don't post everyday, I will never leave here. This place, and everyone in it, is so amazing.

I just came out of a 4 week stall. I added weight training, really paid attention to my calories and carbs (added up and wrote everything down...you would be surprised how even healthy food and drinks have calories and carbs we don't even think about) and I changed up my workout a bit. And then my stall broke and I even finally made it out of the 300's.

Thank you so much!!!!!

Weird, I didn't have to do it. I live in Colorado and they were fine with not doing it.

Thank you all so much. I'm stunned. I really am. I had hoped to get here, but I never really believed it would happen.

I'm ugly crying right now. I'm below 300, for the first time in almost 18 years. I can't believe it. I don't even have words. I never thought I would see this. I really didn't. I can't wrap my head around this. I'm below 300. I'M NOT 300 ANYMORE!!!!!!!

I drink Lipton sugar free lemon tea and it's soooo goooood. It has aspartame, not sucralose, so that's a plus. Hard to find, but I love em. I didn't drink them until about 4 weeks out, tho. I stuck to warm liquids, protein shakes, and flavored water up until then.

That's awesome!!! You must be so happy and excited. Pre-surgery I was size 26/28. Right now I'm a size 22 and about to have to go down to 18/20. So so crazy lol Never thought I'd see this again. It's been more than 17 years.

My ideal weight is 145. I'm naturally curvy and at that weight I always looked sickly. My goal weight is 200. My secret goal is 170. I'd love to get there, but as long as I can hit 200 I'll be ecstatic. Some doctors really stress getting to the ideal/recommended weight. Others realize that's not always realistic for some, like me, and want us to get as low as we can while staying healthy and having a better lifestyle. My PCP and surgeon love my goal of 200 pounds. I'm already moving great, dropping sizes, and off all the meds I can get off of. My diabetes and high bp are gone. So I've already hit my health milestones. The goal weight and clothing size is more for me, and my doctors are good with it. Maybe that lady's doc is pushing for her to get to her recommended weight for her height. Who knows? But I think thin shaming is just as harmful as fat shaming. Nobody should be doing either one.

Took 4 weeks, but I'm so so glad it broke lol

YAY!!!! My stall officially broke!!!! It's only 3 pounds, but I gained 2 pounds during the stall so I technically lost 5 pounds and am down 3. I'm sooooo close to being below 300 for the first time in over 17 years. OMG!!!!!

YAY!!!! My stall officially broke!!!! It's only 3 pounds, but I gained 2 pounds during the stall so I technically lost 5 pounds and am down 3. I'm sooooo close to being below 300 for the first time in over 17 years. OMG!!!!!

Thank you. I'm not checking until my normal weigh in day on Tuesday. Just want to focus on my new workout routine before I even think about my weight.

I'm hoping to lose more weight before I gain enough muscle to affect my weight LOL

Today is a rest day from working out. My body is SORE. Adding the weight training has been a game changer, for sure. Given that I have MS and run a real risk of overdoing it, I have to keep giving myself 2 days to rest. BUT, I added the weight training to 2 days of my normal workouts. So 2 days a week I'm PUSHING myself, 3 days I do my normal cardio, and 2 days I let my body rest. My body is MAD right now LOL The weights are a whole other thing. I love it, though. I love how my health and body are changing, and adding the weights is just going to make it even better.

I would just say make sure you increase your calories to around 1200, switch up your exercises once in a while, watch the sugars because they can definitely slow weight loss, keep protein between 70-90g per day, watch the fats (and try to have the majority you consume as healthy fats), reduce caffeine if possible, avoid carbonation, definitely keep fluids up. And after all that, just give it time, have patience, and really pay attention to your NSVs (Non Scale Victories). Those are keeping me sane right now during my VERY long and annoying stall.

I was diabetic pre surgery and my blood sugar never went over 160 after a meal, but my A1c was 7.4. Type 2 diabetes causes weight gain among other issues. Psych meds definitely cause weight gain, and hormonal imbalances (particularly PCOS, which I have) definitely cause weight gain and slow down or stop weight loss.

If you are burning 1600 calories, you should be consuming around 1200. If you work out that hard and eat as little as you are, your body thinks it's starving and it holds on to everything. You still want to consume less than you burn off, but you have to consume enough so your body knows it's not starving and will let the weight come off. For protein, try to stay in the 70-90g per day range. What do your fats, sugar, and carbs look like? Are you drinking anything carbonated? That can stretch the pouch, as well. How often are you eating and what kinds of snacks are you having?

Had my 6 month post op appt on Wednesday. Went FANTASTIC, but still in this stupid stall. Officially 3 weeks on Wednesday. So so annoying. Really ready to have it break so I can get on with it. Have to get bloodwork done, but all vitals and stats look excellent. Happy with my progress and my NSVs and my improved health. My dietician told me to keep my calories between 1100 - 1200 per day and add 2 days of weight training to my workout routine. I was doing light weights and cardio 5 days per week and she said to add the weight training to the 2 days I'm not working out. She said my diet and drinks and Snacks are all good, the amount and frequency I'm eating are good. So hopefully this will help. Today was my first day doing it. This stall is just driving me nuts. She also said if I get to 5 weeks, it's considered a plateau at that point and not a stall anymore. And then there's different things I would need to do if I'm in a plateau. Hope it doesn't get to that. I know stalls are normal, but I haven't even lost 100 pounds yet, and I'm nowhere near my goal, so slowing down this much at this point is really frustrating. Just gonna keep on keepin on until the stall breaks and the scale makes me happy again.

I use Optimum protein powder (24g protein, 1 not too big scooper) and Rule 1 protein powder (25g protein, 1 scoop, medium sized scooper). Lots of awesome flavors. Optimum is 100% whey protein and Rule 1 is 100% Isolate and Hydrolysate protein.