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So tomorrow is two years from when I had my sleeve surgery, though it is only just over one year since my last procedure due to all my post of complications, and a few weeks ago I turned 50. Here is a picture of me at 40 and a picture at 50. My weight back in May 2015 was about 130kg (20st / 286lb), it went up and down in the years between to where I was 120kg before surgery and now I am between 63 & 65kg (10st/141lb) so I am now half the person I used to be. 40yrs vs 50yrs The last two weeks I have had really bad abdominal pain on and off and when it showed no signs of improvement I went to the emergency department where my bariatric surgeon had some of his team waiting for me. After CT scan and blood tests it showed my abdominal area was very inflamed but no infection thankfully so they hooked me up to painkillers and sent me home with a prescription for more pain killers (tramadol) and muscle relaxers. Yesterday I had my follow up and the surgeon has said that following a review of my results it looks like the clip that they had to place when I had my leak is now causing a reaction so I have to continue on the pain meds plus add in antibiotics for a couple of weeks. The surgeon has said the clip has to come out as it is a matter of quality of life for me going forward as he says the pain can come back any time in the future if left it. The choices he gave are that it can be done by open surgery to remove (which he says is his second choice) and his preference is to do a revision surgery to bypass. Given all the sleeve post op complications I told him that I didn’t want to go down a surgical route, especially back in the same hospital but he feels this is the best option though he did say I could of course get a second opinion. So I have done just that, I contacted one of the surgeons (a mentor of my bariatric surgeon) who I had to be transferred to when my leak would not heal (the one who had to ft the pigtail/tube in my stomach) and he has said from looking at my files he believes it can be removed without the need for surgery and can see me in two weeks time to review my case and check scans so fingers crossed he can do something endoscopic wise. I am due to get my arm lift surgery end of October so if I had to have stomach surgery in the next few months I wouldn’t then be able to get my lift. Obviously that is not a reason to decline the surgery if it is the best and only option but it would be great to get everything resolved without stomach surgery and still be able to get my arm lift.

Obesity is a disease. As that being your mindset, it is a chronic long lasting disease and despite the loss of weight and a healthier you, obesity is still in the background. You need to treat the disease like any other chronic disease. Exercise even just walking is movement. You also need to focus on protein as your primary source of intake as it gives you a full feeling for longer than any other macronutrient. You may be eating carbohydrates, I eat none and am losing at a steady rate, and I just had the surgery after years of dieting. I am no longer in the diet mentality but rather focused on an overall healthier me. By following the dieticians and surgeons steps in the diet pre and post op I have been able to lose quite a bit in a short amount of time. Surgery is NOT the solution, but it is another tool for those with the chronic disease of obesity. The decision is yours and yours alone, but I wish I could have had this surgery earlier in my life. I would already be where I want to be. If you are seeking more information, there are Youtube videos out by BariNation that you can view to get a different perspective. This years push is being an advocate about stopping shame and stigma, but earlier videos focus on mindset, so you don't have the emotional eating, the eating while being bored, and how to get over the holidays and eating the right foods. Take a look and I wish you the best on your journey.

Regain happens, and you’re clearly putting in the effort, which matters. I’m still pre-op, but from what I’ve seen here, going back to basics like focusing on protein, cutting out snacking, and watching liquid calories has helped others get back on track. Tracking everything, even the small stuff, might help you spot what’s getting in the way. You’re not alone in this.

When I feel that I need to snack, I drink a protein shake, that takes my hunger away. I get my movement in and do both strength training as well as cardio, now that I got clearance to do so. I track everything I put in my mouth from the water I drink to ever morsel of food. If you think you need a therapist, I would suggest spending only 40 bucks a month and join BariNation. They have groups with licensed people, including social workers, counselors, dieticians, physicians, and quite frankly there are people just like you and me and everyone in this forum, all bariatric patients and we help and support each other. You can attend any group or meet-up you wish, and there are so many ways to track your wins every day, particularly your non-scale victories. Just a nudge to check things out, you will be surprised. To see a little bit, they have YouTube videos too, for free if you want to check them out. All of the professionals in BariNation are well versed in working with Bariatric patients/clients. Community is therapy. Hope for the best!

Ground turkey, cottage cheese, avocado and coleslaw. My kid is starting to cook more often (thanks to ticktoc?) and this is a protein bowl she put together and persuaded me to try. I am glad she’s trying new things (like cottage cheese which I refused to eat until 7 yrs ago😝) and coleslaw was my addition.

Glad you are doing well! Same for me, almost! Losing hair, I've lost a little over 60 lbs since sleeve surgery on Dec. 2, 2024, have sagging skin, but overall, I am very glad I did it in hopes I can KEEP it off this time. I'm eating 900-1100 most days I think. And have upped my water and protein since hair has thinned. Praying it comes back like normal soon. I have recently begun working out with resistance, etc 3 days a week and 5 days a week I have a goal of 10k steps. On day 2 of this. LOL! Just need to make it habit again like I did before. It helps! They said at my already-scheduled one year visit on Dec. 2, that I should probably be around 166. But my own goal is 154. So gotta up my game!! LOL! Then they said ultimate goal should be low end 115 and high end 125 lbs. Cannot imagine being that small. Lowest I ever got to was 155 as an adult and was there about 5 minutes. LOL! Thanks for doing a check in for us December Peeps! That's my month. Birthday and Christmas all in one! And now surgiversary too!!

Ohh, I didn't know you had access to a gym! I might have modified this a bit because I was trying to make sure these exercises were something you could do without equipment. Here are some suggested modifications if you are using a gym: If your gym has a hip thrust machine, feel free to use that instead of doing the glute bridge. As I mentioned, hip thrusts offer a bigger range of motion, so are an even better exercise. Push Ups are probably fine as they are, but once you get to doing 10-15 knee pushups, you might also start doing the chest press machine, or doing a bench press with dumbbells. Once you get to unsupported squats, you can start adding some weight. Some gyms have hack squat machines or leg press machines and both will work great here. Another one to consider would be a goblet squat (google it). The nice thing about this one is that it will emphasize your quadriceps a bit more, which might be good since we're hitting your glutes and hamstrings pretty hard with the hip thrusts and lunges. As to rows, feel free to skip all the ones I wrote and do a seated cable row or do something called a bent-over row with dumbbells. With leg raises, do them as listed, but if you get all the way through those, then the next logical progression is to move to hanging leg raises. These can be done on a dedicated machine (sometimes called a captain's chair). The lunge exercises are probably fine as they are, but feel free to add weight (hold some dumbbells in your hands), if you get to where the versions I listed are not enough for you. As an optional thing, if you wanted to add in one additional exercise per session, I'd do a Bicep dominated exercise one day, a Tricep dominated exercise another day, and a Calf dominated exercise the 3rd day. The actual exercise selection does not matter much, so do whatever exercise you like or whatever machine your gym has. You can even do a different one every week. Again, if you're happy without this, then skip it. it's not going to make a huge difference, because we are hitting these muscles some already. Best of luck!

Wow, congratulations on being off all your diabetes meds and insulin already at just 7 weeks out! You're so right about the liver doing its own thing overnight, I'm still learning all these quirks. My morning numbers can be all over the place even when I eat the exact same thing. It's reassuring to hear from someone who's had such amazing results with their blood sugar. I'm still on a reduced dose of Metformin but hoping to get off it completely as I continue losing weight. Can I ask what your typical breakfast looks like now? I'm always trying to find that sweet spot between getting enough protein in and not spiking my glucose.

Between measuring out my tiny portions, taking all my vitamins, and trying to hit my protein goals while keeping my blood sugar stable, some days feel like a full-time job XD

My name is Marisa. I’m having a gastric bypass surgery on August 7th. I’m starting my liquid diet two weeks before that and quitting smoking. I’m doing this for my health. I’m 60 years old and I’m looking for some encouragement from others who have had this done. I live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I’m a little bit scared of the change and what I have to intake as protein to fill my daily intake. Is there anyone out there who follows a specific program? Please let me know. Thanks, Marisa.

She may have called it a DEXA scan, but it wasn't. That was definitely a BIA scanner. Here's the workout: 3 times per week, please dedicate time to do the following workout. It should take no more than 45 minutes and hopefully closer to 30. For all of the below exercises, I want you to start with the first variation of each exercise. Week 1: Do variation 1 of each exercise for 2 sets of 10 (or the max you can do if you can't do 10) In between each set, rest for ~1-3 minutes. The exact time doesn't matter that much, as long as you feel ready to begin again Week 2: Now I want you to do 3 sets of 10 or your max if you can't do 10. Week 3 (and beyond): Continue doing 3 sets, but now I want you to do the maximum number of each exercise that you can, up to 20. If it's 12. do 12. If it's 15, do 15. If you can get all the way to the point that you can do 20 of the exercise for 3 sets (a total of 60 repetitions), then stop there. Next time you do that exercise, I want you to move to the next variation listed to make it harder. Be aware that some of these may feel like big jumps, meaning you may go from being able to do 60 of version 1, to only being able to do 5 or 10 total of the next one. That's perfectly fine and to be expected. Just keep working at the new version until you can do 3 sets of 20 at that level. At that point, move on the the next version. If you get all the way through one or more of these, there are even harder variations available. Reach out and I'll give you more. That said, after doing these for 2-3 months or so, we might want to switch things up a bit? Doing the same thing over and over can get boring and we also want to fight any potential muscle imbalances by changing things up with different exercises. Be aware that you may feel sore a day or 2 after doing these exercises, especially at first. That's perfectly normal and should get a bit better over time. Here we go!: Exercise #1: Glute Bridge – Primarily works your glutes and lower back, as well as various smaller hip muscles How to progress: Standard Glute Bridge -- Both feet on Floor Single Leg Glute Bridge -- Do a single leg at a time with the other leg held straight out. Be sure to work each leg! Weighted Glute Bridge -- Time to add weight across your pelvis. How much is up to you and you can also progress here by adding more weight. Dumbbells work, but short of that, it can really be anything. Sandbag, milk jug, small child get creative! Hip Thrust. This is a very similar exercise, but allows a higher range of motion, so actually works your glutes even better. Ideally you'd also add heavier weight than you were using for the glute bridge Exercise #2: Push Up – Primarily a chest workout, however it also works the arms, shoulders, core and upper back as well. How to progress: Wall Push Ups -- It's what it sounds like, do a push up against the wall. Start by standing just over arms length away from the wall. You can change the difficulty a bit by moving further away Elevated Push Ups -- Another push up motion, but now you're using something lower to support yourself. You can also gradually move to lower and lower surfaces. For example, start with a kitchen counter, then progress to a coffee table Knee Push Ups -- Move to the ground in a basic push up position, but on your knees Regular Push Ups Exercise #3: Squat – Good leg exercise that hits the quads, hamstrings & glutes How to progress: Box Squat -- This is basically squatting down to sit on a box or chair, but DO NOT use your hands to get up or down. Ideally, the chair/box will be about the height where your legs are parallel to the ground Supported Squat -- No more box. Now you'll hang on to something for balance. Again, try to shoot for getting your upper legs parallel to the floor. Also try not to use the support to aid you in standing back up. It should be there mostly for balance Deep Supported Squat -- Now it's time to go as deep as you can, ideally with your butt hitting your calves Unsupported Squat. Time to let go of the support and do a proper squat Exercise #4: Row – Primarily a back exercise, but also can work the arms to some extent, especially the forearms. How to progress: Wall Pull -- It might be a little challenging to find a place to do this, but the idea is you'll find something sturdy like a stair rail, or something firmly attached to the wall that you can pull against. When you did the push ups against the wall, you stood further away. Here, I want you to start by standing maybe a foot or so closer to the wall so that you're leaning back when your arms are fully extended. Wall pull with a towel -- We're going to increase the difficulty by using a hand towel wrapped around your stair rail or object. You'll hold onto either end of the towel. This will allow you to lean further back. If needed, you can progress even more by moving to a bath towel instead of a hand towel. Inverted Row with Legs Bent -- Now things get even more complicated. Ideally to do this you'd have something like a suspension trainer, but it's possible to do this with a heavy wooden or metal rod suspended between 2 sturdy chairs or kitchen counters. Some city parks may also have a low bar that would be ideal for this, but you might have to look around? Inverted Row -- Same as above, but now you keep your legs straight NOTE: It may not be easy for you to find a way to do the inverted rows. If you're struggling, another option might be a "Plank Row", but this will require dumbbells. Simply progress this by adding more weight. If you go this route, you may want to go easy on the Leg Raises below or you may torch your core muscles.) Exercise #5: Lunge – Another leg exercise, but these are done one leg at a time. This will continue to work your legs, will help with balance and will engage your core as well. How to progress: Supported Rear Lunge -- I suggest just googling all these as they are easy to do, but harder to describe. In this one, find something to hang onto for support. Rear Lunge Front Foot Elevated Rear Lunge Bulgarian Split Squat Exercise #6: Leg Raise – Primarily a core workout How to progress: Lying Knee Raise -- Another one I suggest googling. These are all done from the floor Lying Knee Raise to Straight Leg Lower -- the idea here is you’ll raise your legs with your knees bent, but then straighten out your legs and slowly lower them down. Lying Leg Raise Seated Knee Tuck Good luck!

I am glad to read these posts here. I'm in really bad shape when it comes to muscle. Does anyone know about how much a person should have? I read like 30% of our weight?? I was 244 and had 26 lbs of muscle. Just doesn't seem possible I can walk around and carry that. Now I'm 183.8. But probably lost more muscle too. Every time I lost and gained 60 or 100 lbs over the years, I gained way more fat. So makes sense but scares me. Had eggs and half a protein shake so far today. Haven't liked the powder much. It's ok. But tried using it in cooking. Not really good. And don't like milk much to drink it. I'm doing resistance and small weights. But I feel weak and I work alot so not much energy left to do a full work out and go all in on that right now. Can't be good to have so little muscle. My heart is a muscle! 🙁

As you are saying you are struggling to take in 80 grams of protein a day, which is more than my 60 grams. I feel I must say that there is no research that this works. Also specialised hair products and medications are also shown not to work. The hair is dead already, what we shed after surgery is a symptom of that body shock. It is a speeded up process of what we would normally shed months in advance.

Congratulations! Up your protein to save your hair.

Hello all my surgiversary December people, we are officially 6 months post op! what an amazing journey this has been for me. I am down 70#’s and still loosing. I am hoping to hit 150 and stabilize at 160. Eating around 900 cal daily, still struggling getting 80g protein and 64 water in. I feel like I always have something in my mouth! This past month my hair started falling out, I mean, AT THE ROOT…. It’s been a bit terrifying honestly but I know it will grow back. Luckily I had thick hair already, I just hope this ends soon. Working out, skin is sagging,and all that fun. I feel a million times healthier, energy level is great, sleep is good, etc Enough about me… How are you all?

My new favorite summer breakfast is Full fat cottage cheese with seedless black grapes sliced in. Everyone I have told says yuck no, but I love it. You could add extra protein powder to it.

I've finished my Pre-Operative Program at Bariatric and General Surgery at MedStar Washington Hospital Center. I'd previously felt unsure about the program but it's turn out to be a very good experience. Now, I'm in the window where they will request prior authorization and then at some point I'll get a surgery date and be off. For me due to scheduling the gap is going to be about 3 months. Since I have the time I'm interested in learning what could be beneficial for me to consider in this waiting period. I will continue to lose weight with the goal of losing 8 lbs a month. I will continuing exercising, and seeing my dietician. I've eve reached out to setup sessions with a bariatric therapist. I've purchased six months of chewable multi-vitamins and calcium, an assortment of protein shake flavors. But I know there's more needed so please lay your wisdom on me.

@SpartanMaker I have never personally experienced one but a male friend had one due to the amounts of the mountain dew he consumed and omgsh- A big burley man crying was tough. Now I drink water like a fish! haha! There are days where I eat the 130-140g in protein i.e the weekends when I indulge on not so great stuff lol Speaking of Atkins, I have friends that do strict carnivore and they tried to give me the benefits of it, but the kidney stones and not being able to have bowel movement did not sound appealing!

I wanted to address this because it's just not correct. I'm not trying to discourage anyone from doing resistance training since there are a lot of benefits, but this idea that it helps you burn more calories is based on outdated science. We used to think that adding a pound of muscle mass would on average burn an additional 50 or so calories in a day. More recent research shows it to be closer to just 6 calories per day. Considering that the average woman that strength trains might do well to add 10-12 pounds of muscle in a year, Strength training consistently for a year is only going to get you to a place where you burn maybe an additional 60-70 calories a day. For comparison, this is roughly the equivalent of 1/2 a scoop of your typical protein powder. Yes, you do burn some calories as you do resistance training, but it's not even close to the amount you can burn doing moderate to heavy cardio such as running, spinning, etc. Resistance training does contribute to a higher level of something we call EPOC, or Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption, but the contribution there is also minimal. Even with the increased EPOC amount, resistance training simply can't touch the amount of calories burned in moderate to intense cardio. Once again, I'm not trying to discourage anyone from doing resistance training. There are some tremendous benefits, from increased health and longevity, to being more capable (and bad a$$), to making you look seriously hot, but as a way to burn more calories? Eh, not so much.

Yea, if 160 grams works for you, it's not high enough that I think it will be problematic at all, I only shared all that for awareness. I personally think you'd also be fine at 125 to 140 as well, but you know your body best. If you feel better at 160, do 160. The biggest potential issue for most people eating higher amounts of protein is an increased risk of kidney stones. I doubt you're eating enough excess for that to become an issue at all, but If you've ever had one, then you know it's something to be avoided at all costs! If you haven't ever had one, imagine a grown man (with a pretty high pain tolerance), rolling around on the floor crying for his mommy. That was me back when I did Atkins and had kidney stones ~twice a year. Ah, the good old days! 😬

@WendyJane Thank you for your comment. I strength train quite a bit and I have been playing with the amount of protein that is suitable for my body. I noticed that If I drop lower on protein my body cannot handle my workouts and I am not building muscle. I tinker between 170-177lbs so this is actually okay. I do follow a whole foods diet. Lots of veggies, fruit, eggs, avocado ect...heck I even eat a piece of sourdough bread that I make with some kerrygold butter as my pre-workout meal. I have spoken to my primary doc, nutritionist and my surgeon and they are not concerned with the amount of protein that I am eating. My typical day is: pre-workout is sourdough bread and butter, after workout I make my profee, breakfast a few hours later is 1 egg, 1/2C egg whites, Turkey breakfast patty and cheese. Lunch is always a lean meat and lots of veggies, dinner is some sort of meat, veggie and carb like air fried potatoes, something like that. Snacks typically range from jerky, Greek yogurt with berries, string cheese, sometimes chips if I am feeling sassy lol My only thing I cannot eat is shellfish because I am allergic otherwise I am open to anything! @SpartanMaker I rarely eat red meat, my protein mostly comes from lean meats, eggs, protein powder in my iced coffee things like that. I will say I like eating this way, I feel good, my recovery is easier, and it helps with the cravings. When I don't eat enough of the good stuff (i.e weekends are a struggle for me) I get off course and not just a little but a lot. I was looking at overnight oats for my weekends! I haven't had them in a long time and I figured it would be good after my long runs. So I will definitely give those a go! I like the simplicity of that breakfast! Soups after a workout probably are great for you since you run long distances- what kind of soups do you eat? Love Greek Yogurt with berries and granola. I just found this granola from Magic Spoon and its delish!

As far as breakfast is concerned, it's hard to go wrong with Greek Yogurt. You can add additional flavors to it if you like, throw some fruit on it, and maybe some granola (I add protein boosted granola), and you have a solid breakfast with 25-35 grams of protein depending on serving sizes. It's super portable if you need to eat at your desk (just keep the granola separate from the yogurt until ready to eat). Another option would be overnight oats. There are lots of recipes online, including some that have additional protein added to them. The nice thing about this is it's also easy to customize based on your needs and literally all you need to do in the morning is grab and go. It's great if you workout in the morning before work and don't have a ton of time to prep something. My final suggestion may honestly be a little weird, at least to many Americans. In a lot of cultures, they don't actually eat what we in the US think of as traditional breakfast foods. Breakfast is often simple and last night's leftovers many times make an appearance. In some Mediterranean cultures, one of my favorites is just an assortment of things like a slice of leftover bread, some olives and/or fruit and a slice of cheese. You can add in a boiled egg or two and get a simple and healthy breakfast that's easy to take on the go.

In the summer, I'm a huge fan of "bowls" for lunch/dinner. Take a base of your choice like rice, brown rice, farro, quinoa, etc, add whatever veggies you like and then your protein of choice. If desired, you can also add some sort of sauce/dressing. The nice thing is you can easily meal-prep these and even vary the ingredients slightly in every single bowl just by having a few different base/veggie/protein choices available. It's also easy to adjust them to your tastes, as well as change the proportions to fit your macros. Also, for the most part you don't even need to heat these up. I eat them cold (or more often at room temp), all the time. I'm also a big fan of soup (yes even in summer), because it helps me rehydrate (due to the salt and fluid), as well as get some food in me after my workouts. I totally realize that for many people, the thought of something warm post workout seems odd, but it works for me. As to the amount of protein you're eating, I think that's okay (and not likely dangerous), but honestly is a bit higher than you actually need. I know in some gym circles, they push as much as 4 grams per kg of body weight, but there's not a lot of evidence that even strength athletes need more than about 1.6 to 2 grams per kg. Keep in mind that your body can't store excess protein, thus what it doesn't use for muscle repair just goes to waste or gets stored as fat if you're eating in a surplus. Another consideration as @WendyJane mentions is that your ability to metabolize protein is limited. While I think the rate at which it can be metabolized is actually variable and likely somewhat dependent on overall bodyweight (some studies suggest it's around 0.3 to 0.4 g/kg/bw), the net effect is that it may actually be a lot less than 50 grams for most people. For this reason, it would be ideal to actually plan on eating about five meals a day, rather than the traditional three. Further, keep in mind that the ability to metabolize protein IS NOT the same as the rate at which your body can induce muscle protein synthesis (i.e. use protein to repair repair your muscles). That rate may be as low at just a few grams per hour! That said, there's not a lot of evidence that high amounts of protein hurt the kidneys in healthy people. Yes, certainly if you have kidney disease, you should follow your doctor’s advice and limit your protein intake. For everyone else, the danger is pretty limited (or even nonexistent). I would say that if your higher protein intake is coming exclusively, or almost exclusively from meat (especially red meat), this is a lot more likely to potentially cause renal problems. Now keep in mind that when we look at whether or not a high protein diet can cause kidney issues, scientists always look at EXCESS protein. In other words, it's not the total protein intake that matters. It's the amount in excess of your needs. As someone involved in strength training, you do need additional protein to repair your muscles. As I pointed out, your actual needs may be less than you think. Like a lot of things, it's best to not assume that more is always better. Obviously some protein is essential, additional amounts can be beneficial for some people, but there are potential downsides to eating more than you actually need. Certainly your call, but you might try dropping that down to ~125 to 140 grams. This will open up some options to get some additional veggies or whole grains in you that will help with athletic performance, while still supporting your goals regarding body recomposition. FYI, my statements about protein needs for athletes is based on the latest Nutrition and Athletic Performance position statement from the American College of Sports Medicine. Sorry for yet another long post. I geek out on this stuff and just wanted to share.

Why on earth do you want to have 160 grams of protein? Are you trying to kill your kidneys? Too much protein isn't good for you, and your body only metabolizes 50 grams max at a time. What is your eating routine? Do you eat snacks too? Are you drinking protein shakes? What are your absolute yuck foods on your list so we can stay away from them? What do you like to eat?