Justarwaxx

On 6/20/2025 at 8:37 AM, AndreaJD said:

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!

HI, August surgery friends,

Checking in to let you know that I have just met my weight loss goal! I am proud and happy, but also frightened.

I have now lost an even 100 pounds, which was my goal. I'm pretty small (5'0") with a small frame, so if I lost another 5 pounds I would have lost half my body weight from when I started, which would be cool to say. But I'm already pushing it. I need to be satisfied with being able to say I've lost 100 pounds. I'm at 110 right now which is a BMI of 23, and that's lower than my surgeon would recommend already. I'm not sure if I'll be able to maintain it without chasing the weight all the time. That is what will determine whether I stay at 110 or settle at 120, which would be just fine. I do not want to have to be on a "diet" all the time fighting weight. Been there, done that, right?!?!?!

I'm really nervous now, because I've lost weight before, and always gained it all back plus. We all know that story, don't we? I'm a compulsive overeater, and I'm fighting compulsions quite a lot in the last few months, so I'm concerned. That's probably a good thing because it makes me appropriately afraid of triggers and what they call in AA, "slippery places".

My big goals have all been achieved: I am off blood pressure meds, my A1c is normal, I no longer need my CPAP, and I can walk as many miles at a time as I want again. I have all the stamina I ever had and it's glorious. I no longer fear a retirement where I'm trapped in a recliner for the rest of my life. Sure, I am also happy about how I look in clothes now, but it ain't like I ever planned to be a bikini model. (Not happening with all this hangy skin, anyway...)

Anyway, just wanted to share my goal with you and check in to see how everyone is doing. I am seeing SO MUCH success around here! I'm really proud of all of you and proud to be walking this path with you.

CONGRATS!!!! so proud of u and u look fantastic!!! yesss they say u will gain abit now then it will stop at the perfect weight as u say 120 lbs is a safe spot and then u learn to maintain .. it iwll take time adjusting but u can do it!!! as long as u eat good whole food and MOVE MOVE MOVE then u r sorted.. believe it or not i am not even at my goal weight and apparently i am eating at my maintenance and its so annoying. if i undereat, then i am dead hungry!!! so i am about to hire a coach to help me and hopefully start losing again... i can still eat the same but i should burn more ahhh and obviously being consistent, i am perfect 5 days a week and i indulge on the weekend. so i need to reduce my cals for sure.. its so weird how much i can. anyways i am well aware of what needs to be done and tahts step 1

On 5/14/2025 at 7:49 PM, SpartanMaker said:

You absolutely can reach your goal weight, but you will have to work hard at it. There obviously are no guarantees in life, but there's also no reason you can't get there if you work at it. I think you're doing great so far, so keep it up!

I'll be honest, maintenance is harder than losing weight. I actually just posted something about this in another thread, so rather than repost the same thing, take a look at this:

Amazing. Thank you so much. I just did my monthly inbody test and I've lose 4 kgs of fat and gained 2 kgs of muscles so I must be doing something right haha. And it made me excited to push through because I only lost 900g of "weight" so ya I should throw out the scale.

I do want to build habits which I can sustain forever. So that's why my workouts and food are very normal and not special food for right now!

Let's see how it goes!

1 hour ago, Arabesque said:

I’ve been here for 6 years now and I’ve see a variety of Protein goal recommendations so I don’t believe there is a right number or a wrong number only what you & your team thinks is best for you. For example I was told 60g was my goal from the beginning.

Certainly in the first months when we’re healing and not eating large portions focussing on Protein is very important. Now at 9 months, you’re eating more and a greater variety of foods ensuring you’re getting in a balance of all your nutrients is just as important like @spartanmaker mentioned. Maybe this is why your dietician has reduced your protein goal or did they mean 65g is more a minimum goal???

As for should you count calories or other macros, my feeling is you have to do what you feel most comfortable with. Another case of you doing what is best for you & much like what you said about exercising. Focussing on counting calories messes with me so I’ve always done just random checks of calories & portions. I probably was & still am more concerned with specific food choices and ensuring I was consuming some complex carbs, fruit and vegetables every day, reducing added sugars. Though I know others who value the accountability of calorie and macro counting and feel doing so keeps them on track - what’s best for them.

@SpartanMaker has given you some fabulous information for you to consider &/or adopt or for more rigorous conversations with your team. 

hank you both so much — I honestly do know the rules and I really am trying to trust the process.

But I just have this lingering question I need to ask — maybe for peace of mind more than anything.
If I’m doing everything I can — eating clean, prioritizing protein, tracking, moving my body, staying consistent — will I definitely reach my goal weight eventually?
And also… is regain really that easy? I hear people talk about it a lot and it scares me. Is it actually hard to regain weight after bypass if you stay mindful, or is it something that creeps up even if you're doing your best?

I know everyone's different, but I'd love to hear some honest thoughts from those who’ve lived through it.

16 hours ago, SpartanMaker said:

Again, If what you're doing is working, then I don't see anything that needs changing. If you're in the range of 100-115 grams per day, then you're already eating what I'd call Protein forward diet and about where I'd typically recommend for most people.

Keep in mind what I mentioned, calories are king. You only lose weight when you eat fewer calories than you burn. Thus if you did want to add more Protein, you'd have to do so at the expense of other nutrients. When eating as few calories as you are right now, dropping any more on carbs & fat could have negative effects on health. It's important to get sufficient essential fatty acids since your body can't make these (that's why there called "essential". Technically you can live without carbs since your body can manufacture glycogen from fats and protein, but the problem is that if you reduce these even further, you're going to also have to reduce your intake of fruits and veggies and these convey a lot of other benefits to you nutritionally.

Here's what I'd ask your nutritionist about.

• The most up to date clinical practice guidelines from AACE/TOS/ASMBS/OMA/ASA say to focus on protein intake of 1.2g/kg of bodyweight. https://www.soard.org/article/S1550-7289(08)00163-9/fulltext I recognize that you are not from the USA, but I dare say these organizations have a significant level of money and experience going into these recommendations since obesity is rampant in the USA. For what it's worth, some recent data I saw showed that the USA does far more bariatric surgeries than any other country. In fact, it was roughly the same number of bariatric surgeries as the next 10 countries combined. An impressive but sad statistic.
• Protein is highly satiating compared to carbs & fats, plus protein takes longer to digest, meaning you'll be full longer. Being full longer equals less cravings and better dietary compliance.
• Protein has a small but meaningful effect on overall energy balance because on average, for every 100 calories of protein you eat, you burn about 20 calories just to digest it. This is way more than carbs or fats which range from 0 to 3 for fats and 5 or 10 for carbs depending of Fiber content. This means the more protein you eat, the better your overall energy balance compared to eating the exact same calorie amount of other foods. Granted, this isn't a lot, but it all adds up.
• Higher levels of dietary protein help you preserve more muscle mass as you lose weight. (It helps prevent muscle catabolism which is a real risk when eating a very low calorie diet.) Because muscle is more metabolically active than fat, the more muscle mass you preserve as you lose weight, the more calories you'll burn, even at rest. Studies suggest anything above about 1.2g/kg (95% CI), is sufficient for most people to stave off catabolism, which is probably where the dietary guidelines linked above came from.

You mentioned something about body recomposition, so I want to touch on that briefly. I LOVE the idea, but you need to understand it's extremely hard (bordering on impossible), to add muscle mass while on a very low calorie diet like you're eating right now. For most people, you actually need to be eating a significant surplus to add muscle mass, so I honestly wouldn't even try until you get closer to your goal weight. If you do decide to add mass, then yes, higher protein amounts than what you're eating now would be recommended (Roughly 2g - 2.5g per kg of bodyweight). This also would require a dedicated hypertrophy training plan though, and that's a bit out of scope for our discussion here.

Best of luck. 

Thank you again — this was packed with great insight and exactly what I needed to hear.

I feel better knowing that my current protein intake (100–115g) is actually within the clinical guidelines. I’ll definitely bring up that 1.2g/kg recommendation with my nutritionist on the 20th and get their take as well — I want to be sure I’m not compromising my health by lowering it too much.

And yes — I completely agree about focusing on fat loss over just scale weight. I love how I’m looking now, and my goal is to tighten, tone, and keep my muscle rather than just see a lower number. I’m not aiming to bulk or build new muscle right now — just to hold on to what I have and keep my body strong through strength training.

Also, your point about essential fats and nutrient-rich carbs like fruits/veggies really helped. I do eat clean and home-cooked, so I’ll make sure I’m not over-restricting in the wrong areas.

This has honestly helped me refocus — I’m grateful 🙏

14 hours ago, SpartanMaker said:

I realised my response above was a bit lacking on practical recommendations. Let me try to summarize what I'd suggest:

• Since you're right where I'd want you to be in terms of weight loss per month, don't change anything at this point. Only consider changing if you find the weight loss completely stops for 2 months or more.
• If weight loss does stop for at least 2 months, I'd actually recommend UPPING calories by 250-300 calories a day. I know that sounds counter-intuitive, especially considering that a negative energy balance is the only way to lose weight, but let me explain. Remember when I said above that one of the main jobs of our metabolic regulation system is to keep us from dying? No matter what we do, our metabolism slows when we diet. The rationale behind upping calories (by a small amount), is that we want to convince that system that the "bad times" have passed, and it's okay to ratchet up metabolic processes again. I'd recommend eating this increased calorie amount for at least a month, but two months would be better. Somewhat surprisingly, most people won't gain weight if they do this because their metabolism will increase to compensate.
• After that diet break, only then do we drop calories for a month or two in order to drop some more weight. You can keep up this intermittent dieting (not to be confused with intermittent fasting), until you get to your goal weight. I know this sounds like a slow process, but I promise, in the long run it's actually faster than if you just tried to keep cutting calories to get to your goal.
• Please keep exercising for your health, but also so that once you do get to your goal, you'll have a much easier time maintaining the loss. I would strongly recommend a minimum of 3 days per week of aerobic exercise and 2 days per week of strength training. This will set you up really well to maintain weight, as well as for excellent health as you get older.
• Don't be afraid to seek out a good mental health counselor. None of us got as big as we were by having a healthy relationship with food. The vast majority of people that fail to lose weight or that regain lots of weight after bariatric surgery do so because they fall back into old poor eating habits. 

Thank you so much for this detailed reply — I truly appreciate the time and care you put into it. It really helped ease some of the anxiety I’ve been carrying.

You’re right, I’m losing around 1kg a month and logically I know that’s great… but emotionally I keep feeling like I should be doing more. So reading that I’m exactly where I should be was super reassuring.

I also loved what you said about exercise — I know it’s not the biggest driver of weight loss, but for me, it plays a huge role in how I feel. I actually want to focus more on losing fat and toning up now, not just dropping scale weight. I’m starting to realize that body composition matters more than the number.

As for protein, yeah — I was surprised when my dietitian suggested lowering it to 65g. I’ve been aiming for 100–115g all along. I have another appointment on the 20th, so I’ll definitely bring this up again and see what’s behind that recommendation.

Right now, I’m not using apps like MyFitnessPal. I track my food using ChatGPT (kind of like a food journal), and I weigh things in grams to stay accurate. But I’m a bit unsure how to move forward — like, should I only track Protein and not worry too much about calories? Or try to follow macros more closely?

I do eat clean, mostly home-cooked meals, but I also have occasional Snacks and off-plan moments (nothing crazy, just not perfect). I know I need to tighten things up again, especially with workouts — I’ve been slacking a bit lately.

Again, thank you for the perspective and advice. It means a lot to hear this from someone who's been through it herself. Would love to know your thoughts on whether focusing on protein alone is enough, or if I should be tracking more closely.

On 5/9/2025 at 9:49 PM, SpartanMaker said:

I'll do my best to help, but I'm going to have to start by asking some questions:

• When you say the weight is "barely coming off", can you be more specific? How much in the last week, two weeks, last month?
• Can you clarify what your goal weight really is? In your profile, you're showing that you're currently at 78kg and your goal is 75kg. That's only about 6-7 pounds, not the 33-44 you listed. I'm thinking you probably have a new goal and have not updated your profile, but it's important to understand what you really are trying to do.
• When you say you are "eating pretty well", can you give some examples of what a typical day looks like?
• What is your daily caloric goal? What about Protein, fat and carbs?
• How are you determining your what you caloric and macronutrient intake should be?
• How are you tracking your intake? Do you weigh everything in grams before it goes into your mouth? 

Let me explain why I'm asking these questions. Typically when people are struggling with weight loss, we see a few common issues:

1. Unrealistic expectations. Especially if weight loss early on after surgery was easy, people tend to think it will continue that way until they reach goal weight. Unfortunately, that's not how this works. The heavier we are, the more we'll lose at first. The closer we get to goal, the harder it becomes. It can take months just to lose a few pounds if you are already pretty lean. You also have to really have your nutrition dialed in at that point.. I won't get too deep into the physiology here, but there are multiple reasons for this and it's 100% normal for this to happen. My point is that you may be right where you need to be. It's hard to know just that just based on what you posted above.
2. Eating more than you think. Study after study shows that almost everyone thinks they eat less than they really do, even those that log their food using calorie tracking apps. It's sometimes simple things like those little tastes while preparing a meal, or that handful of nuts they forgot to log. Others, they just guess at calories because accurate tracking is really hard.
3. Burning less than you think. Most people have absolutely no idea how many calories they actually burn in a day. We often use estimates based on height and weight, but these can be off by may hundreds of calories depending on age, lifestyle, percent body fat, etc. Further, your calorie burn isn't the same all the time. It can vary by hundreds of calories per day even before you consider exercise. Speaking of exercise, we drastically overestimate the impact of exercise calories. For the vast majority of people, the calories they burn in a day don't actually change all that much due to exercise.
4. Blaming things outside your control. It's natural for people look for causes for problems. If we take ownership of the problem, we can then take steps to correct it. It's when we place the blame on something we perceive to be outside our control that we can run into serious problems. Let me give you an example here. We can't escape simple physics. If you burn more calories in a day than you consume, you'll lose weight. Eat more than you burn and you gain weight. If I take responsibility for this, then it means I need to eat less or burn more to lose weight. I realize that's easier said than done, but without first taking responsibility for the problem, I'd have no hope of fixing the issue. If on the other hand, I were to say "I have a slow metabolism", I'd essentially be saying this issue is outside my control, even though the solution is the same as before: eat less than you burn.
5. Thinking a particular diet/macronutrient is more important than calories. I noticed you hinted at that in your post. Calories are king here. Specific diets that emphasize one or more macronutrients can help, but they never trump calories. I can go into more detail later, but this post is already getting overly long so I think I'll stop here.

Please provide some additional detail and I may be able to provide better guidance.

Hi! Thank you for the detailed questions — I appreciate the time you took to break things down. Here's a full update from my side:

1. Weight Loss Progress:
I’m currently losing around 1 kg per month. I know that’s on the slower end post-bypass, but I’m trying to be patient with the process.

2. Goal Weight:
My initial goal was 75 kg, and I’ve now revised it to 65 kg. I haven’t updated my profile yet, but that’s the target I’m working toward.

3. Typical Daily Intake:
I eat clean, home-cooked food, and I really focus on quality over quantity.

Breakfast: 2 eggs and a small side like labneh or some veggies

Snack: ½ scoop of whey Protein or something light

Lunch: chicken breast or thigh (120–150g) with cooked dhal or sautéed vegetables

Dinner: A high-protein meal like steak, paneer, or fish with non-starchy veg
I do snack or “cheat” here and there — I’m no angel — but I genuinely try to make good choices most of the time.

4. Caloric and Macro Goals:
I was aiming for 115g protein daily, but just yesterday my dietitian told me to reduce that to 65g. I’m adjusting and seeing how my body responds. I try to stay between 1000–1200 kcal, but again, I focus more on food quality than strict numbers.

5. How I Track:
I track everything using ChatGPT, not traditional apps like MyFitnessPal. I log my food manually, with weights in grams, and I try to stay mindful and consistent.

6. Activity Level:
My workouts have reduced lately. I try to weight train twice a week, and I walk or move throughout the day, but I’ll admit I’ve been slacking a bit. I’m trying to get back on track.

7. Mental State (the honest part):
Physically, I look fantastic. But mentally, I feel like I’m failing. I have really bad anxiety that I’m doing something wrong — that I should’ve reached my goal already — and that maybe I’m overeating without realizing it. This fear honestly clouds my progress.

I know I’m not alone in this, and I’m trying to work through it. Any advice, especially from others who’ve had slow progress or battled this anxiety, would mean a lot.

Hi all,

I am almost 8 months post op bypass. I'm down 68 lbs (31 kg) I feel and look fantastic and I'm quite happy but I still need to lose 33-44 lbs and well it's barely coming off these past months. Now my question is I'm eating pretty well and counting calories and protien content. I'm focused on calories mostly but I think that's where the problem is. I should focus on my protien only which means I should eat 115g of protien daily which might mean more calories and it scares me.. I m active and go to the gym too (not as gym rat but not lazy) so what am I doing wrong? Do I need to up my Protein? Also how much of the food is actually absorbed? Does bypass really mean ill def lose and maintain the weight? I need reassurance. Help me understand what to do now and if I'm safe

On 5/5/2025 at 4:28 AM, ShoppGirl said:

So glad to hear you are doing well. Yea when the cravings come back it sucks. I have been doing okay. Tomorrow is my last day of the infused chemo. Surgery on 3 weeks then radiation in five. I will be on the immunotherapy another year and maybe oral chemo depending on the pathology from surgery. 🤞 I don’t need the chemo because that may mean I’m immunocompromised still and I’m so sick of the isolation of trying not to get sick and miss treatment. I got a tiny little cold that made me septic and spent 10 days in hospital which made me miss two weeks of chemo so I’ve had to be super careful to not get sick again and all along they have told me once I get to radiation I won’t have to be so careful. I mean sick would mean I would miss treatment but only for a day or two while I had a fever or felt really crummy and it wouldn’t be life or death. Anyways, I only read about the oral chemo on the patient portal tonight so I will ask Dr more about it this Friday when we chat. Maybe it’s not a big deal. I have pretty much maintained my weight till recently. I’ve gained a few pounds. I’m still on the heavy steroids and the immunotherapy caused thyrotoxicosis I think it’s called. I was hyper thyroid to start but then like 3 weeks later it went back to normal and then to hypo thyroid and apparently it usually stays that way. I reached out to my bariatric team and asked him if I could start on with Govee to help get me off of some of these processed carbs and he acted like I was being crazy to be worried about my weight at a time like this. I said I’m not trying to lose weight. I know I’m not supposed to and I haven’t Since December when I started the Chemo, but I don’t think that if you’re so concerned about me, maintaining my weight to fuel my body and help myself recover that the foods I’m eating in order to sustain an overweight body weight are really helping me recover from anything. I said all I want to do is be able to stop eating the garbage and start eating healthy nutrition again and I would be willing to log all my food again and check in with you to make sure I’m not losing too fast or anything, but he says no way not until I get the all clear cancer free from my oncologist. But I’m helping my oncologist can reach out to him and tell him that I’m not gonna get that for another year and if I wait that long, I’ll probably be as big as a house again without any help. Or I may just have to go through an endocrinologist or my family doctor or something. Anyway, anyways, trying to not worry about it too much but I didn’t appreciate that. He acted like I have some kind of eating disorder or something and I have like a death wish. I mean, I wasn’t saying that I wanna take something that’s gonna make me starve myself to death. I was just saying that I want to change what I’m eating and eat healthy obviously if the medicine made it where I couldn’t eat anything. I would stop taking it. I’m not insane. 🤣 but it is very discouraging to see the numbers on the scale go up even if it’s only 5 pounds.

It sounds like a very stressesfull time and the only way we know or remember how to make ourselves feel better is food! It's just so comforting and I'm so sorry you're going through it but I can feel the strength through your words and u will fight this .. I think it's smart that u want support to maintain ur weight and make u eat better it will help ur health too so yes let ur doc speak to the bari team to support the idea if it won't harm you. Health is health weather losing the extra weight or being cancer free im rooting for you

Hi Skinny queens. ive been so distracted with work, business and my journey and i forgot to check in! how is everyone doing?? my weight loss has been good but slower for sure but i had a fantastic ramadhan as i closed my workout ringS EVERYDAY in march so 10k steps daily which was beautiful and got down 4kg of FAT. but things slowed down abit but im not bothered alot.. im now 78.3 kg (172.6 lbs) which is close to my first goal of 75kg then my final goal is 65kg, which im hoping to reach on my anniversary in Aug then guys, i might start trying for a baby teehee. i am just scared and planning too many things so i dont know. also is it weird that lets say i eat dinner now and i am so full, i could die then 30 mins later or so i am starving so much... whats with this new feelings ahhh.
please update me ladies with ur progess @ShoppGirlhows your treament goin?

1 hour ago, ShoppGirl said:

For Breakfast it’s almost always an omolette or an egg and cheese wrap. Either one I use whatever leftover veggies are in fridge. chicken Cesar salad with a low carb wrap is my favorite option right now. That and fajitas are two of my favorites. My hubby makes a couple chicken breasts on the grill every few days and starting with the cooked chicken they are both quick and go down easy. I also do steak fajitas or cauliflower crust pizza with chicken or I do taco meat and make tacos or taco salad with the taco lean beef or chicken on them mini low carb tortillas. I am pretty fine having the same things over and over as long as it’s stuff that I like. And I always have a whole variety of chopped and washed fruit in the fridge and I have that when the sugar cravings hit. Probably way too often in terms of calories but hey at least it’s not ice cream, right? I have been doing a lot of skinny pop which I know is not really in the bariatric diet but it’s not horrible for me nutrition wise at least. Other than that it’s mostly yogurt drinks and nuts or cheese sticks on the run.

What are your go to’s?

How is the activity? Are you still plugging along with your classes??

Those sounds delicious and easy! You know exactly what you're doing!

I try my best to be creative or ill lose interest but my restrictions is even higher after fasting for long hours so struggling to even eat whatever I make because the doc told me I should focus on my liquids more. But oh well, so today I made Peanut Butter chicken! Oh god it's so gooood!

I forgot to update you guys but I've injured my hip doing a class and I've been ongoing physical therapy to cure it .. it's so painful when doing some movements. So I've been working on my steps and upper body strength training. Currently in a 10k step a day challenge and I haven't missed a day! 9/30 of 10k steps and it feels good!

8 hours ago, ShoppGirl said:

I had a post op appt with my NP yesterday. She is please with my nutrition even though it’s not quite status quo. I am still doing chemo with steroids so I have some pretty intense cravings but for now the chemo has made me hyperthyroid so I am maintaining despite a lot less exercise and a less than perfect bariatric diet. Sounds like a blessing to be able to eat more but I’m still having to rein it in because I am ravenous 24/7 and of course there are some real health risks with hyperthyroidism so I have to closely monitor things. I am really hoping it goes away or I’m going to go broke trying to afford healthy food in the quantity I am able to consume. I have mostly nutritious food but I’m not counting calories or quantity for now. Plus with the tiny stomach I eat like 10 times a day so it’s pretty time consuming. On a better note I had a PET Scan the other day and my treatment is working!! A couple more months until the chemo should be done as long as I stay healthy enough to keep getting it. I hope a couple of months later things will be back and I will have a normal amount of cravings that I should be able to handle. I’m gonna need some emotional support kicking the carbs though for sure.

That’s amazing news about your treatment working! We’re here for you every step of the way. I know balancing everything with the cravings and frequent meals isn’t easy, but you’re doing your best, and that’s what matters. We’ll take it step by step with food, and it will all work out. Do you have any go-to meals that help keep you satisfied without overdoing it?

8 hours ago, ShoppGirl said:

Congrats on your loss. Glad to hear you are doing well. Did you see all the attachments that you can get to put on a Stanley. To hold your phone and chapstick and all sorts of things. Like you wouldn’t need a purse I’m not kidding. I don’t know if I could do a month of fasting. Fasting for lab work is enough for me. Im trying to schedule some and they are all after 9:30 and I’m looking at a whole other lab just so that I don’t have to wait as late to have food. 🤣

Hahaha I've been seen those videos of the attachments hahaha it's so over the top 😂 I can't wait to be one of them but for now. Carrying this stanley is hard enough lool

Hahaha I get what you mean about fasting but it's so weird how EASY it is!

Hi ladies. How's everyone doing? Share updates and losses and NSV x

I've been doing very well. I'm 83kg and almost 7 months post op (well in a week) 26kg loss and my surgical team are happy and proud. I look fantastic and feel it. We are currently fasting (holy month of ramadhan) so I've been focusing on dehydrating more than food as doctors are more concerned about dehydration then starvation haha which is unlikely teehee but I've been doing well especially after getting a fancy stanley 😄

2 hours ago, ShoppGirl said:

You will be able to eat more. As long as you stick to healthy options you will be fine. There isn’t a huge calorie difference between a half a cup of broccoli and even two cups of it. Now if it’s rice or Pasta you’re gonna be eating more. Stick to eating extra veggies with your meal or a dry salad (if you like them) before your meal to fill your belly. Also, we don’t have to eat until we are stuffed. We can instead just eat until we are satisfied. Like if you stopped now, would you be full until your next meal or snack? If not you need a low calorie filler.

Agreed and understood. I think now it's time to adjust my lifestyle because I def can eat more. And it scares me.

Guys I'm not liking myself. I feel "fat" it's so weird how I feel .. I look myself in the mirror and I c that I've gained weight but on the scale I was losing weight and just stalled for 2 weeks (well gained 200g) so I'm just feeling shitty. I feel like I'm able to eat more (not as much as pre surgery ) but more... my husband almost smacked me to snap out of it lool and he said I was delulu n I'm not seeing myself .... I'm trying to watch my food and I'm between 1000 to 1300ish cals and maintaining 70 to 90g of Protein. Sometimes my carbs are over but I won't say too bad. I'm almost 6 months post op

On 2/7/2025 at 11:41 PM, Chatterboxdea said:

So... I am pretty vain about my hair. When I was bigger, my manta was "well at least I have great hair" because its long and super thick.

But over the last 2 months, I have been shedding like crazy. It's excessive! I know there is no way I will lose all of my hair; I just have too much. But I am still freaking out a little about the amount. Plus, it's just super annoying to always have shedding hair everywhere.

Has anyone else experienced this and what did you do to help? I am already taking hair, Skin, Nail Vitamins everyday and collogen frequently.

When peopel talked about this. I was like okay I've had this issue before but then when I saw what they meant!! I was freaking out n but it didn't last too much but I'm still shedding but it's not thaaaaaat bad. I just cut my hair a few times to not feel it and I started this Multivitamin for the hair n nails and my doc told me to stop because it was effecting my results! So I never went back. Apparently u just need to eat well and protien and and it will get better

21 hours ago, ShoppGirl said:

Congratulations on your loss. I was a savory girl Lee bariatric world and post sleeve I became a sweet girl too. Then post SAFI that went away but has started to come back. I think MAYBE it’s just our bodies wanting carbs and sweet food is usually the absolute highest in carbs so the quickest way to get them. I did not have the bypass but I don’t think your friend is correct about eating whatever you want. I know that was for sure not true for the me with the sleeve. I started at 235, lost down to 168 then gained it all back plus some to 258 and was still gaining when I started the preop diet for my revision.

I have also heard plenty of regain stories on here about the bypass. Now, does it malabsorb some of your food, absolutely. So if you were like 900 pounds before it’s possible you would stay a bit smaller just because you pretty much already ate all you wanted volume and calories wise before and the malabsorption would in theory make you weight a bit less if you ate the same exact food, but it would only be a bit less anyways and who of us wants that. . As far as a more common starting weight I really don’t think so because even at our high weights we still weren’t eating absolutely all we would have liked to or we could have and if we ate any and everything we wanted, even with some calories not absorbing that’s still probably giving our bodies more than we were eating before.

I do know from experience that what fuel I put into my body changed how I feel, though, so even if I could get away with eating anything I wanted cosmetically, I know that I wouldn’t feel as good as I do when I eat a balanced diet and keep up my activity. That processed junk that most of us used to eat all the time is not good for us and it doesn’t give your bodies what it needs to run efficiently.

Another thing to keep in mind is that we are still pretty early out to be relaxing too much. Most people have a 10–15 pound bounce back even if they keep working at it. I don’t know about you but I’ve still got more that I want to lost. I definitely don’t want to be bouncing back!!

for the sweet cravings try the sugar free popsicles again. They can trick my brain sometimes and others i Have fruit. I figure calorie wise they may be more calories but at least it’s not added sugar. I try to avoid that as much as possible because that makes me have more cravings the next day and for like a week. 

Thank you so much for your thoughtful response! I really appreciate it. 💕

I completely agree that what we fuel our bodies with makes a huge difference in how we feel. And I know I’ll always feel better when I’m making balanced choices. I also get that we’re still early out, and I definitely don’t want to get too relaxed either—I still have more to lose!

But my main question isn’t really about regain—it’s more about will I 100% lose ALL the weight I need to? Like, I WILL do my part, I AM doing my part, but of course, there are ups and downs. My friend’s point was that bypass guarantees weight loss as long as you follow the process. I just want to know if that’s true—that no matter what, I will definitely lose the weight and reach my goal as long as I stay on track.

Because while I understand regain is a separate issue, my panic is more about knowing that I will actually get to where I want to be. Do you think that’s the case? That as long as I keep working at it, it will 100% happen? That’s what I really need reassurance on. 😭

Lately, I've been eating quite comfortably, and honestly, it's scaring me. I had a week where the scale didn’t move, and just when I started panicking, boom – down 1.7 kg the next week. But here’s the thing... every time I feel confident in my weight loss, I start getting too comfortable, and that makes me so uneasy.

And the weirdest part? I’ve become a sweet girl! Like, I actually crave sugar now, which I never used to before. WHY?! 😭 There are no actual signs of regain, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be worried, right? My brain is panicking even though nothing bad is happening (yet).

I have a friend who also had gastric bypass, and she keeps telling me:
👉 “Don’t worry, you will lose weight no matter what – that’s what bypass does.”

But how true is this??! 😭😭 I feel like I can’t fully trust it, and I don’t want to get too relaxed and regret it later. Someone please tell me I’m not losing my mind. 😣

On 2/2/2025 at 1:12 AM, ShoppGirl said:

This coming Friday is my 6 month “surgiversary” and I’m 174 today (down 84 pounds from 258 pre-pre op diet so technically 6.5 months next week I guess). I totally thrilled with my loss so far. I feel good and I’m relatively happy with the way I look, but the anniversary is making me look at the numbers. Does anyone know when they calculate BMI if we should go by our young adult BMI or our current one. I mean our bones still weigh the same as our tallest height I would assume but I have shrunk at least an inch. I am just curious to know when I will reach a “normal” BMI. I went from 40.4 to 27.3. I’m getting close 🎉

First of all, congrats on your amazing progress! 🎉🎉 You're doing incredible, and hitting 6 months with such a huge loss is definitely something to celebrate!

About your BMI question, BMI is always calculated based on current height and weight, not your tallest height. While bones do have weight, the difference from losing an inch in height isn’t usually significant enough to impact BMI drastically. So, if you’ve shrunk, your BMI would be based on your new height. That being said, BMI is just a tool—it doesn’t account for muscle, bone density, or body composition, so don’t stress too much about the exact number!

I can totally relate to the excitement (and overanalyzing) as I’m coming up on my 6-month “surgiversary” on February 14th! ❤️ I started at 109.5 kg (241.5 lbs) and now I’m 84.2 kg (185.7 lbs)—which means I’ve lost 25.3 kg (55.8 lbs) so far. Like you, I feel great, but seeing these milestones makes me reflect on the numbers too. It’s such a wild ride!

You're so close to a “normal” BMI—27.3 is amazing! Keep going, and I have no doubt you’ll get there soon. Let’s Celebrate our progress and keep pushing forward! 🎉💪✨

1 hour ago, ShoppGirl said:

Yea well if you get an honest picture you may find that you have been losing all along on even higher calories than you think. We are definitely not all the same with what our body requires even if we could do the exact same in terms or activity. So many things play into our metabolism that I’ve seen people on here who can maintain their ideal at as high as 2500 calories and others that have to maintain at like 1200. Weight loss calorie requirements are probably just as varied. How is the activity going? Have you started any new cool classes?? I did a PIYO class that was pretty fun. It was at a local gym that has a day rate for people who don’t want a membership and it was only $5 which is more than I pay for YOGA but it was something different and it was on a Saturday so my friend got to meet me. I am actually thinking of doing a tai chi class that’s also at my community center. The Beginners class is at kind of an inconvenient time for me Is what has stopped my from trying it already but I can make it work I guess since it’s not forever. The regular class time works better for me. I figured if I like it I may do yoga one day and tai chi one day then as soon as I can get back to it I will do cardio two days.

You're right. Since I was tracking i saw myself behaving haha. I probably eat way more but panicked when saw it on paper. Today I'll be more honest hopefully but I am still preplabbing my protien intakes .. I've been going to the usual classes but I did a few challenge classes which were amazing. I realzied I really do enjoy circuit training or crrossfit so I'll look into it. My fancy gym membership is ending on 24th if this month and I don't think I'll renew it now as Ramadhan is coming (holy month for muslims) so I'll be fasting from dawn to dusk so I will probably fit in some cardio for that month. Let's see how it goes!

Your classes sound fun especially that there's for beginners so u don't push urself too hard. I am glad u r still in the zone!

8 hours ago, ShoppGirl said:

So did you eat less than you normally do the day that you logged it? If so, you might wanna log it for like a week or something and try to get a better idea of what you actually eat. It’s possible because your activity has increased that you can still lose on 13 or 1400 calories. I think really it depends more on the quality of your calories than it does the actual calories. Like as long as your carbs are natural carbs, and your fats are healthy fats. They may have more calories, but they may not cause you to slow your loss. I’ve been eating a lot more calories but I think mine is a little different because of the chemo. I know that they said it burns a lot of carbs. So I’ve been eating like fruit and vegetables all day long and my calories are up to 13-1700 some days even and I’m losing still. Slower than I was but it’s hard because I do my infusion and my weight shoots up like 8 pounds and it scares me but then it eventually goes down and I don’t know how much it’s really going to go down this time it was an extra two pounds. But I know for me based on my activity I was able to increase my calories before all this chemo stuff probably like 300-400 of mostly healthy carbs that I added and I was losing the same, which was the occasional very small portion of brown rice and then lots of extra fruits and veggie Snacks. Like I would have just a small side salad in between meals or a cup of fruit. Of course I was working out like a mad woman. 😂

Yes makes sense. Everything i am eating is balanced and well cooked except for that half cookie i ate teehee .. I think I did eat less because I was tracking it so felt bad. I will do as u suggested and track for a week for real and see how it is. But I literally slept starving.

I hope you recover well dear and I'm sure it is hard trying to balance both journeys but I know you can do it!

Hi hi 👋

Today I decided to just log in my food to c where I am at calories and macros wise and I was abit surprised that I am eating close to 1100 and around 90g of protien which is great but I was just like hmm isn't that "alot" i am losing weight so I must be on a deficit for sure but I just assumed I'm eating way less. Also I was basically hungry all day. Because I worried I'd reach 1500 if I listened to my hunger.

3 hours ago, Greekmom4 said:

Hi everyone!

I’ve been MIA for too long. Work and family have been keeping me super busy. It also took a while to catch up on all the posts.

I am officially at my 5 month post-op mark and down 60 pounds, down 100 from my highest point. My long term goal is to lose another 50-ish pounds.
Even though I know I have lost a good amount I am a little anxious about my follow-up appointment in 2 weeks. My doctor gave me a goal and I am still about 3 pounds away from it. I barely missed my goal for my last appointment and he was not super happy.

You're doing an incredible job! Honestly, it’s frustrating to hear about doctors who express disappointment even when patients are clearly making amazing progress. You've lost 60 pounds in 5 months—that’s phenomenal! Weight loss isn’t always linear, and the fact that you’re still losing and so close to your goal is what truly matters.

You’ve already proven your dedication, and you’re clearly on track to hit that mark soon. Don’t let any external pressure overshadow your success. Your body is adapting, and you’re working hard—be proud of that. At the end of the day, it’s your journey, and no one has the right to diminish your accomplishments! Keep going; you’ve got this!

On 1/3/2025 at 8:54 PM, Chatterboxdea said:

Happy New Year! So glad I have you guys to help me through this journey! I don't always start the new year feeling great about making changes but that's different this year because of surgery. I have always made some kind of goal or resolution to lose weight or workout more over the years and have always felt like I "failed", but this year, I think I'm going to leave weight loss goals behind and just enjoy the ride as I continue to lose weight. Even though I still have about 60 lbs I want to lose, having lost over 40 lbs has made me feel so much lighter and better in my body. I want to focus on the positives and not so much the long ways I still have to go, because that feels like thats how my life has always been, such as "I will do this when I lose weight..." or "I will buy that dress when I lose weight...". I'm tired of waiting and hope to live more fully and authentically this year. Anyways... I'm rambling. I'm just really wanting to change my mindset and focus on positives.

Happy New Year! 🎉 I absolutely love your mindset and energy—it’s so inspiring! It’s such a huge shift to leave behind those weight-loss-focused resolutions and instead embrace the positives of where you are now. You've already accomplished so much, losing over 40 lbs is incredible, and feeling lighter and better in your body is such a win. 🙌

Focusing on the present and living fully is such a beautiful way to approach life. You deserve to wear that dress, enjoy those experiences, and Celebrate yourself right now, not just when you reach a certain goal. Your journey isn’t just about the destination, it’s about living and loving every step along the way.

Here’s to a year of living authentically, celebrating every win (big or small), and feeling great in your own skin. You've got this! 💖

13 hours ago, ShoppGirl said:

It’s soooooo cold it’s hard to get up and get my exercise done early like I’m used to doing. I’m sure it’s been cold for many of you already in other parts of the country, but this is not typical for me. How do you guys get going early when it’s so cold? Also, I want to eat more when it’s cold too. Its like my body is not used to it and thinks I need to store enough to hibernate for the season. 

I don’t have anything i absolutely have to do today so I reluctantly got up and made Breakfast then got back into bed to eat it. It’s almost noon so I guess I should do my walking now and then get my shower while it’s warmest but this plan won’t work long term. I have things to do. 😆 

We totally get the "cold" vibes for a couple of months too! 😅 And by cold, I mean we're freezing at 19-20°C—total winter mode for us! I absolutely get in the mood to eat more when it's chilly, but I try to ignore it (or at least manage it) by always having good Snacks on hand. Things like beef Jerky, Greek yogurt, or even some fruits help keep me from overindulging.

Your plan to walk and then snuggle back into bed sounds perfect though! Nothing like getting that movement in and rewarding yourself with a cozy snuggle session. 🥰 You've got this!