NickelChip

I just got home from my appointment and am happy to say that I'm now scheduled for surgery on February 21. I was able to meet with the dietician right after my appointment with the surgeon and she went over the differences between my old program and their protocols, which are similar with the exception that I will need to do the 2-week liquid diet (my old place only did 2 days). I head to the hospital tomorrow for pretests and then just have to wait the 7 weeks until surgery. Time to get back to my good eating habits after the holidays!
I thought everyone was very nice and I got a lot of sympathy for what I'd gone through with the center closing. I was told one patient who is now at the new practice actually arrived at the hospital the day of her surgery and only then found out it had been cancelled. No one even called her. I don't even know what I would have done had that happened.

I just got home from my appointment and am happy to say that I'm now scheduled for surgery on February 21. I was able to meet with the dietician right after my appointment with the surgeon and she went over the differences between my old program and their protocols, which are similar with the exception that I will need to do the 2-week liquid diet (my old place only did 2 days). I head to the hospital tomorrow for pretests and then just have to wait the 7 weeks until surgery. Time to get back to my good eating habits after the holidays!
I thought everyone was very nice and I got a lot of sympathy for what I'd gone through with the center closing. I was told one patient who is now at the new practice actually arrived at the hospital the day of her surgery and only then found out it had been cancelled. No one even called her. I don't even know what I would have done had that happened.

I was 388 the day I went into my initial surgery. I had the sleeve and then revision to bypass due to complications. You can see all my stats in my signature. As of today, I've lost 160 pounds. My ideal weight (NOT my target weight, because my ideal weight makes me look sickly) is no higher than 155. The difference between that and what my surgery day weight was is 233 pounds. 65% of that 233 pounds would be 151 pounds, so I've already lost more than that. I have another 30 to go to hit my goal weight, and while it's slow going (I currently just started my 987964610 stall lol) I'll get there. Where there's a will, there's a way. You can do this.
I've had 8 surgeries in the last year and a half....7 of them this year....5 of them because of complications. I have 1 more surgery scheduled for next year and then that should be it. And even with all my starts and stops because of surgeries and recovery time, I still lost 160 pounds. Imagine if I was able to just keep going and not have all these health issues.... Anyway, don't get in your head about averages and statistics and all that. Everyone's journey is different.
Focus on your health, mobility, mood, and medication amounts drastically improving. Focus on how clothes look and fit on you, what sizes they drop to, and how you feel. These are called non scale victories, and they will absolutely SAVE YOU when you hit stalls. Focus on how you fit in a booth, or in "regular" seats in the movies or in doctor's offices. These things will tell you more than the scale ever will. Getting off meds, no longer having hypertension and diabetes, these were game changers for me.

I mean, I guess fear of prison is ultimately what keeps me from actually slapping stupid people... but the way the world is going, something's bound to make me break eventually. Honestly, why is it so hard for people to just be supportive and kind to other people?

I have been so good by not drinking alcohol, carbonated beverages and caffiene. I feel like deserve 1 cocktail but I needed reassurance LOL thank you ❤️

this is me before I had plastic surgery - with my tons of excess skin. See what I mean about it being easy to hide in clothes? No one knew it was there but me (well, besides my husband and doctor). (I tried to insert this into my above posting, but it kept wanting to drop it in the middle of my text. ARGGH! Must be something with Mac (I just switched from PC). Anyway, here I am - excess skin and all:

Hello and welcome in the forum. I started at a similar weight to you. I was told I could loose 65% of my excess weight through this surgery if I stuck at it. I did that and a few more percent. At my 2 year check in with my team, they were overjoyed with my progress. In private moments, I look in the mirror and say ' wow, you did this' The surgery has done everything I ever wished for and some other things that I never imagined. Enjoy the ride

As @summerseeker was told, 65% or so weight loss is about the average excess weight loss for Roux-en-Y (RNY). Personally, I find such averages to be next to useless. I'm not average. Heck, it's axiomatic that the average person is not average.
At any rate, what to expect.
My plan is forever. From day 1 post-op I was intent that I would never be on a weight loss diet ever again. My plan is foods I enjoy that fit my life goals. No crash diets. No counting calories, carbs, or whatever. No weighing myself at home.
Working out is one of those things everyone agrees needs to be done which I didn't do. Ever. There is nothing like exercising for it's own sake. No thanks. I did do a lot of walking, what my spouse and I call 'people watching.' When I got down to about 100 pounds overweight I challenged myself to run 5K. I did a plan similar to "Couch to 5K" (C25K). When I got to 5k I realized I enjoyed it, so I kept doing it. I started binge running. Running was a time just for me, that I could contemplate the coming day and listen to audiobooks. A great start or end to a day. Long story short, I ended up running 5 marathons. That is something I never thought I'd do. I got to run across the Golden Gate Bridge.
Extra skin for me was inevitable. My deflated stomach hung way down. To a lesser extent all the places one would expect extra skin I had it. I started with an Abdominoplasty, after which a bleeding disorder almost killed me. No more elective surgeries for me. So I've had to get used to things as they are. Not the end of the world.
What life is like now. I've been my current weight for about 17 years which is a weight loss of a bit over 500 pounds. I am still happily eating to plan. Some of the things I wanted to do after I lost weight I didn't end up doing. Other things I never thought about I thoroughly enjoy.
Mostly, things just got easier.
Good luck,
Tek

I've personally been on both Saxenda and Wegovy. With Saxenda, I lost 20 pounds and my blood sugar and cholesterol improved, but high blood pressure was unchanged. I stopped because the insurance price went from $50 a month to over $200, and my weight loss plateaued so $2400 a year to keep off 20 lbs seemed a bit steep. As soon as I stopped, the weight came back, the A1Cs went up, and the cholesterol went higher than before I started. With Wegovy, I was only ever able to get the first two months of doses before shortages made it impossible. After that, I switched insurance and lost coverage of Wegovy completely, meaning over $1k per month out of pocket if I wanted to continue. I wasn't on it long enough to see how my labs would have been. From everything I've seen, surgery is the only durable option. In my case, the copay is less than a single month of Wegovy, with the possibility of it lasting a lifetime, and the ability to add the GLP-1 drugs down the road if needed. Only you can decide what is right for you, but I think for most people who are at the point of qualifying for surgery, the drugs alone will not be enough, and if you lose access to them, you will most likely go back to square one with weight. Or in my case, square one plus 10 pounds.

The biggest thing that has helped me with being better (not perfect!) about foods was getting all of the temptations out of my house. I went through every cupboard. When crackers or chips were gone, I did not buy more. I've also started ordering my groceries for curbside pickup. I hadn't realized what a huge help this was until this morning when I had to run in for a few things last minute. It was all I could do to walk past the bakery without buying a loaf of fresh sourdough or to keep myself from throwing a bag of Christmas candy into the cart. Shopping online from a carefully curated list is so much less dangerous! At least for me, removing the opportunity to easily access Snacks makes a big difference.

If it helps, remember that this is a completely different surgery than years ago. The reason the risk used to be so much higher was they had to cut you open, exposing you to all sorts of infection risks along with making it really traumatic for your body. Nowadays, they make tiny incisions and even use robotic assistance in some cases. The death rate for bypass is less than 1 in a thousand, and the sleeve is even less than that. Any other statistics are ancient history. It would be like comparing outcomes for diseases today to a time before we had antibiotics, chemotherapy, or insulin.

January 4th for me. I am having some doubts at the moment though xx

I’m 17days post op and very glad to have a group.,

Thank you so much @NickelChip @Arabesque and @MandoGetsSleeved for your responses. I guess you all summed it up in one way or another. I stopped tracking as much, I went back to eating habits I had before the surgery and I was feeling sorry for myself instead of taking ownership.
I needed this - I can’t thank you enough. I will give myself grace and start small with incorporating back habits that helped me lose the weight in the first place. I am really grateful for this community. My family and friends do not know I had surgery so it has been a little lonely.
I am looking forward to getting back on track

I'm a sleeve to bypass revision, and it's honestly the best thing I've ever done. The only time I have dumping is if I eat too many carbs. I only did that twice (holidays both times) and I learned REALLY quick not to anymore. I stick to my diet religiously and have had no issues. If you look at my signature, you'll see I've lost weight with the revision, although nowhere near what I lost with the sleeve initially. I do think your doctor is exaggerating what you'll lose. If you exercise, stick to your diet (or get back on track with it), and get your relationship with food back to where it should be, you'll do fine. My recovery with the bypass was amazing. I've had absolutely no issues with the revision at all. My only regret is that I didn't just do the bypass to begin with. Oh, and I did the revision because of major complications from the sleeve (GERD - never had it before the sleeve - gastritis, esophagitis, polyps all through my stomach and duodenum due to excessively high PPI over a long period of time, etc..).

I highly recommend looking at the videos on the Pound of Cure channel on You Tube, which go into detail about how to eat to lower your body's metabolic setpoint. Foods that are ultra-processed and high carb push your body's setpoint, the weight it wants to maintain, higher, where nutrient dense foods like leafy green vegetables, Beans, nuts, and seeds, make your body want to maintain a lower weight.

As I have been preparing for surgery, I found the Pound of Cure book on Amazon and implemented many of the basic changes it recommends, such as cutting out processed foods, breads, sugar, and artificial sweeteners, and eating more vegetables, fruits, and beans. I lost 15 pounds in around 3 months without counting calories or ever feeling hungry. And I can also say that in the past several weeks, as the holiday treats have infiltrated my house, I have not been as good about eating that way, and to no one's surprise, my weight has shifted upward. I will be returning to better nutrition as soon as the last of the ham, sweet potatoes, and pie from Christmas dinner is out of the house!
I recommend starting with these videos that I've linked below (and then, if you're like me, binge watching the rest of Dr. Weiner's channel). I find his advice to be a common sense approach to nutrition that you should be able to implement long-term without a lot of pain. Hope this helps!
Protein should I eat after Bariatric Surgery?" width="200">

Dr Weiner resources are great as are Dr John Pilcher’s.
Bounce back regain is always a possibility in the second & third year. I believe the average is about 10lb/5kgs so that could be a possibility. This regain can be from not being as vigilant, how you were eating wasn’t sustainable (too restrictive) & didn’t allow you to live & enjoy your life as you want, a change in medication, & your body & new weight set point resettling. And yes, muscle weighs more than fat so some of the regain could be from that too. (Maybe have a dexa scan to compared your fat & muscle mass.)
Start by making one or two changes to your eating & then in a week or two make another change or two. You can start small. Maybe track your food to begin. Then up your Protein & fluids if you’re not meeting your goals. Adjust your portions if they have become larger. Then drop some of your sugar or carbs or swap the highly processed refined carbs for low processed multi or whole grain options. Etc. Small changes are often easier to adopt & adapt to than large all encompassing changes.
Doesn't matter how long it takes you to get fully back on track.

Omg thank you so much for this explanation! This really helped me to understand! You're great! 😊

I highly recommend looking at the videos on the Pound of Cure channel on You Tube, which go into detail about how to eat to lower your body's metabolic setpoint. Foods that are ultra-processed and high carb push your body's setpoint, the weight it wants to maintain, higher, where nutrient dense foods like leafy green vegetables, Beans, nuts, and seeds, make your body want to maintain a lower weight.

As I have been preparing for surgery, I found the Pound of Cure book on Amazon and implemented many of the basic changes it recommends, such as cutting out processed foods, breads, sugar, and artificial sweeteners, and eating more vegetables, fruits, and beans. I lost 15 pounds in around 3 months without counting calories or ever feeling hungry. And I can also say that in the past several weeks, as the holiday treats have infiltrated my house, I have not been as good about eating that way, and to no one's surprise, my weight has shifted upward. I will be returning to better nutrition as soon as the last of the ham, sweet potatoes, and pie from Christmas dinner is out of the house!
I recommend starting with these videos that I've linked below (and then, if you're like me, binge watching the rest of Dr. Weiner's channel). I find his advice to be a common sense approach to nutrition that you should be able to implement long-term without a lot of pain. Hope this helps!
Protein should I eat after Bariatric Surgery?" width="200">

The reason for erratic weigh-ins (and the infamous three-week stall) is that in the early stages of running a sustained calorie deficit, your body does not burn much fat. Your body worked hard to store fat and considers it a precious commodity that it does not want to part with for no reason. For extra energy to make up for a lack of calories in the short term, your body first burns glycogen. 1 gram of glycogen is bound with 3 grams of Water, so as you burn it for fuel, you also flush out this water weight. Only when the glycogen reserve is used up does your body turn to burning fat.

The first few weeks after surgery, you were probably lucky to get in 600 calories per day. Your body was burning glycogen like crazy. When the numbers first dropped on the scale, that was almost entirely water weight. Now that you're a couple weeks out, you're allowed to have some pureed food, and you can probably get closer to your Protein goals with your shakes. With a few extra calories coming in (still nowhere close to what you need every day to power your bodily functions), your body is at least reassured you are not in imminent danger of starvation. It's taking a look at your empty glycogen reserves with horror and doing its best to fill them back up with the calories you are giving it, like a squirrel storing up acorns for winter. For every gram of glycogen your body puts into the storage cupboard, you've got 3 grams of water tagging along for the ride.
Meanwhile, you can rest assured that your body is also burning fat to keep your engines running. However, when you step on the scale, it can't really tell you that you've burned 4 pounds of fat and also stored 7 pounds of glycogen and water. It's just going to tell you that you've gained 3 pounds. But you've done nothing wrong. This is your body doing what evolution programmed it to do since humans lived in caves and constantly had to battle short-term food shortages. Once you've restocked that glycogen, you'll start being able to see the fat loss on the scale again, and in your measurements. As long as you keep doing what you're supposed to do, your weight will move in the right direction. But not as a straight line. Weight loss looks a lot more like a staircase with drops and plateaus, and a lot of small fluctuations that have nothing to do with fat. Try not to let it drive you crazy!

To all my 12/27 buddies - I wish you good luck and can't wait to hear about your successes!
Here is to a new us in 2024! 🎉

The reason for erratic weigh-ins (and the infamous three-week stall) is that in the early stages of running a sustained calorie deficit, your body does not burn much fat. Your body worked hard to store fat and considers it a precious commodity that it does not want to part with for no reason. For extra energy to make up for a lack of calories in the short term, your body first burns glycogen. 1 gram of glycogen is bound with 3 grams of Water, so as you burn it for fuel, you also flush out this water weight. Only when the glycogen reserve is used up does your body turn to burning fat.

The first few weeks after surgery, you were probably lucky to get in 600 calories per day. Your body was burning glycogen like crazy. When the numbers first dropped on the scale, that was almost entirely water weight. Now that you're a couple weeks out, you're allowed to have some pureed food, and you can probably get closer to your Protein goals with your shakes. With a few extra calories coming in (still nowhere close to what you need every day to power your bodily functions), your body is at least reassured you are not in imminent danger of starvation. It's taking a look at your empty glycogen reserves with horror and doing its best to fill them back up with the calories you are giving it, like a squirrel storing up acorns for winter. For every gram of glycogen your body puts into the storage cupboard, you've got 3 grams of water tagging along for the ride.
Meanwhile, you can rest assured that your body is also burning fat to keep your engines running. However, when you step on the scale, it can't really tell you that you've burned 4 pounds of fat and also stored 7 pounds of glycogen and water. It's just going to tell you that you've gained 3 pounds. But you've done nothing wrong. This is your body doing what evolution programmed it to do since humans lived in caves and constantly had to battle short-term food shortages. Once you've restocked that glycogen, you'll start being able to see the fat loss on the scale again, and in your measurements. As long as you keep doing what you're supposed to do, your weight will move in the right direction. But not as a straight line. Weight loss looks a lot more like a staircase with drops and plateaus, and a lot of small fluctuations that have nothing to do with fat. Try not to let it drive you crazy!

Well just got letter from insurance company...surgery is approved...paperwork says Jan 2,2024...tried calling surgeon and weight loss center...no answer..maybe took extra day off for holiday.... Totally excited been long time coming...thank God finally.!!

If it helps, remember that this is a completely different surgery than years ago. The reason the risk used to be so much higher was they had to cut you open, exposing you to all sorts of infection risks along with making it really traumatic for your body. Nowadays, they make tiny incisions and even use robotic assistance in some cases. The death rate for bypass is less than 1 in a thousand, and the sleeve is even less than that. Any other statistics are ancient history. It would be like comparing outcomes for diseases today to a time before we had antibiotics, chemotherapy, or insulin.

I'm supposed to have my surgery on Dec 27th at Mt Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, MA, with pre-op tests scheduled for next week. Today, I get an automated message from my hospital to check MyChart. I did, and it showed my pre-test appointment as canceled. My surgery date is also gone from my upcoming visits. No explanation. Meanwhile, my insurance approval appears to have gone through. I called the weight management center's office and the receptionist mumbled something about surgeries being canceled and someone would call to explain. No one has called all day. I emailed, too, but nothing. Now the office is closed for the day and I'm so worked up over this, I won't get a wink of sleep. It wouldn't be such a big deal if it had to be delayed, except I am currently on an insurance plan through the healthcare marketplace as I am self-employed and my husband has been unemployed for a bit. But he starts a new job in January and I have no idea what the health insurance situation is going to be in terms of coverage. I am so stressed right now I could cry.