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Hi, thanks for your response. How much protein do you suggest? *ill look into Sparten maker) I have always strugglled with protein. I was vegan for 18 years before surgery and afterwards I couldn't handle the beans etc. I used for protein. I had to add back in dairy and now my, the past 6mos, I have some chicken breast a couple times per week. I have a elliptical I use for exercise its a hard workout. I want to add back in DDP yoga for strength training. I have the issue if exercise making me do tired so I've struggled to add in more but I'd like to get up to an hour. I'll keep going and hopefully I'll start to lose again. My biggest issue is staying consistent, I get discouraged when I don't see results.

just a note on BMR - I've heard this from both a former dietitian of mine and from a nutrition class I took a couple of years ago at UW-Milwaukee on obesity and weight loss, so it's likely true (seems to be the case with me, anyway...). It's very common for formerly obese people to need to eat 300-400 calories less per day than a person of the same height/weight/activity level who's never been obese in order to maintain their weight. So in other words (and I'm just pulling this example out of the blue), if a calorie calculator tells you that it takes about 1800 cal/day to maintain your weight, if you were formerly obese, that could mean that for you, it's probably more like 1400-1500 calories to maintain. That being said, I do agree with some of the others that you may be underestimating your calorie intake since I would think you'd be losing weight at that intake level. It might be helpful to cut back by about 100 cal/day for a couple of weeks and see if the scale starts moving again. if not, cut another 100 calories for a couple of weeks. Rinse and repeat until the scale starts moving. I've had to do this a few times to get things moving..

Anyone who has ever flown commercial has seen the safety briefing, right ? "In the case of cabin pressure drop....an air mask will lower itself in front of each passenger.....put your own in place before helping those beside you" Took me quite a while to realize that our own personal health condition is no different. The WLS provided a wild ride for about three years. Surgery yield excellent weight loss results. Faster than I was ready for. I didn't make the best of decisions and never missed the opportunity to go have fun. One day....I woke up from the hubris and took inventory. My marriage had somehow survived...as it had survived tough times well prior. I was a dad to an insanely gifted son. I had a good job surrounded by great people. Mostly, though....my wife was there at my side and patiently waiting for me to get my head extracted from my arse. I did. We then had what can only be described as the best years of our marriage....like we were dating again. I was blessed and the first to acknowledge such. She had some health issues arise and we discovered it was worse than we were expecting. Diagnosis was cancer....treatment began right away but it was a terminal diagnosis. She fought hard...superhuman efforts. Her pain tolerance was simply beyond my compression. Cancer took her in April of 2021. I maintained my promise to her to keep on with the sobriety. I failed in most other ways. I had zero desire to cook as it was too painful. Anytime I'd try the sense of loss would be overpowering. We had so many fun times in and around the kitchen....I'd cook and she'd help me clean up my mess. Music always on....every day together was alike a date night. I remain so very grateful to have been given those recent great years together....but I chickened out when it involved anything we'd once do together. No cooking of anything other than maybe a quick breakfast.....no music....no movies or shows we once enjoyed, no gym, no maintaining of friendships......just went to work each day and came home....existing off fast food and vending machine garbage at work. Three and a half years went on like that. As the fourth anniversary of her death loomed, I once again took inventory. What I acknowledged was ugly. The mirror sucked, the way most of my clothes fit sucked, my annual checkups with our primary care doc sucked....and I owned every single bit of it. I owned all that suck. I also knew that she would kick my ass for letting myself give up like I had. I've never quit anything in my life....yet there I was....quitting on pretty much everything. I pissed myself off so badly. I made the decision to crawl outa that hole and do what she would have me do if she was here to push & pull on me to get my shyt together. She fought so hard to live....and there I was... giving up...no fight, no attempt, just giving up like a punk. So things began to improve greatly when I started jumping on what I could gain control of. My health was a perfect place to start..... And so it has been going the last few months. Daily macros are improving more each day. Essentially keto but am supplementing with fish oil, fiber, turmeric, powdered greens, multi-vitamins.....trying to shore up every aspect of daily good stuff taken in. I flipped the collective bird to all the fast food restaurants and their drive thru windows. Screw 'em all. Found the stereo again....whether in the truck or at the house. There is music. Took over the yardwork....and there is a pile of it needed. Joined a gym. Bought some new ear buds and gym clothes....and a heap more new music. In short.....I acknowledged that throwing my own health away was what had been selfish......taking control of it was imperative. The loss is still there....but my response to it is now different. Now I am doing much more to honor her by living as she wanted me to. She wanted me to live....all aspects of living. Health first, foremost and always.......and the other aspects of living are becoming more clear each day. Life is a gift. Squandering that gift is a crime. Longwinded answer.

Hi, NeonRaven! Thank you so much for your reply and sharing your experience! I find it so helpful to hear how other NHsers have experienced the process since it seems so much more elongated from the U.S. process. And you make such a good point about the London privilege - now it makes more sense why I’ve seen more internet presence and response from London NHSers. (And quite a few from the far north of England as well!) About three or four years ago during my annual diabetic review, my nurse had suggested bariatric surgery and that gave me a lot of hope - she was able to refer me for Tier 3. I had my dietitian appointment yesterday and it went really well! It was about 30 minutes and went over the Tier 3 lifestyle changes, continued lifestyle changes (balanced meals, regular exercise, blood sugar monitoring, weight maintenance, etc), medications, and then any questions I might have. She was very positive and said she would be recommending me to go forward for surgery when the MDT meeting happens 🥲 (once I meet with the next consultants - psychologist, anaesthetist, bariatric nurse, and surgeon - how soon? No one knows.) Needless to say, I am so relieved, so happy, and so excited to be moving forward even if it’s one step. I’ve found out that my hospital trust now does their “one-stop” clinic as separate virtual appointments, rather than in-person. (So, perhaps it will be quite some time before that MDT meeting?) And then the endoscopy and ECG will be done at the pre-op assessment once a surgery date is confirmed. I am so glad to hear your NHS experience has been so good and positive. I am so sorry to hear about your mother's complication and her passing, but it is so hopeful to hear she was able to put her diabetes into remission (that’s one of my big hopes!) Congratulations on your weight loss and wishing all the health and success! 💕 PS - funny enough, I have not had any group sessions whatsoever in this process. I am wondering if I’ll have a group session with the bariatric nurse?

No I haven’t once I was discharged form hospital I was given 4 sheets of dos and don’ts and dieticians no but I can’t seem to get through. I had my bypass no on nhs in uk. have a 6 week appointment on 10 th march so I will speak to them then x thank you for taking time and advice x

Congrats on the surgery. I strongly urge you to bring your symptoms up to your team because I have never heard of such a thing. As far as cravings, you have to remember that you can't unfortunately, and have a bit of willpower. I never had the strong cravings, but I do desire salty foods in my hot US state. I'm drinking a lot too, but do not desire food, I don't get the stomach growling. Sorry. Find a distraction for when those commercials come on, like get on your computer and check email. That craving is called Head Hunger. I recommend you look up Lora Grabow, she is really good with headwork, mindwork, and eating difficulty with bariatric patients. She has worked with us folks since 2003 and had a great following of patients. Or, you can see her in a group through BariNation.mn.co and see her several times a week in that community. Wishing you well.

i am a big proponent of food tracking...but im anal and love spreadsheets and data so its actually kinda fun for me. so i get that its not for everyone and may actually be harmful for some in terms of anxiety, et. al. BUT...if you can commit to tracking everything you put in your mouth for a week (preferably two!) you can determine exactly what your habits are instead of guessing that you are "mostly on track". you will be surprised how much we underestimate what we eat (and for this very reason i used to always OVER-estimate everything i track/tracked). hopefully this data/info you collect can help you come up with a plan for YOU. but yeah, it takes a bit of commitment and effort. if this is not for you, the simplified version of my advice would be to do something else if the thing you are doing is not working. good luck! ❤️

I’m a week post-op and I’m up to 32 oz of water. My issue is I get gas pains no matter the water’s temperature. Has this happened to anyone else??

I slept on my back in a recliner for the first week or two. If you don't have a recliner, i don't know that I'd go out and buy one just for this, but I found it really helpful during the early recovery period. I don't really know, but I'd think it would be a bit longer for sleeve patients to recover to the point that stomach sleeping was comfortable again? Your profile doesn't seem to have that info, so I'm not sure which surgery you're planning to have.

I agree, Check with your surgeon. I had low energy too and low blood pressure with several weeks. There’s no way I could walk around Disneyland. I couldn’t stroll around the local shopping centre for 30 minutes. Can you postpone your trip? I know your son is probably vey excited but he won’t enjoy it if you’re not at your full strength. Congratulations on getting your surgery approval.

I had relatively little pain and no nausea. For the first few days I was very tired. I think that was the anesthesia working its way out of my system. The pain was manageable with just liquid Tylenol. I had a couple times I moved wrong and got a sharp pain in my lower right incision area, which they say is the largest one. I found having a heating pad was so helpful. I put it on my belly when I went to sleep and it helped a lot. I took it really easy the first 3 days. After that, I was mostly up and about but not mentally sharp enough to trust myself with too much work unless it was pretty mindless. By the end of the first week I was mostly back to normal but weak from so few daily calories. If you can, taking two weeks off or being able to work very minimally is the way to go.

A odd kind of NSV for me but we’re doing a major house and garage purge this week—rented a big dumpster and we’ve been tossing so much stuff. I actually have the energy to actually do it all. I’m waking up, getting my workout in, getting the kids up and off to daycare, working full-time, and then coming home and spending a couple hours lifting, sorting, organizing—and still meeting my kids’ needs. I’m sore and tired, but I’m not completely wiped out. I actually feel like I can keep going. The old me would've been out of commission after day one. No way I could’ve handled this much activity and still shown up for work the next day. WLS gave me a powerful tool, and it helped me lose 120+ lbs but even more so than just weight loss, it gave the energy and stamina to be able to keep going!

I've been surprised by my lack of constipation. I was so prepared for it to happen that I ordered the biggest value container of Miralax to keep on hand... and I used it twice in a year. I am regular like clockwork and have been since about the second month or so. BUT, I have had the vomiting I mentioned in another post, which I wasn't really prepared to have happen. I have been surprised by how different it feels to eat different types of foods in various quantities. For example, if I eat 3oz of chicken or beef, I'm very full and sometimes can't finish it or have more than a bite of a side dish. But I can eat a very large salad or other non-starchy veggies and it doesn't make me feel stuffed. A few bites of bread can sit really heavy but I can eat crackers without feeling that way at all, where I would have assumed they would be about the same. Also surprising is that what you eat, how much you exercise, and how much weight you lose in a week do not necessarily go hand in hand the way you think they will. Some weeks you will drop several pounds, other weeks you will not lose an ounce. You can do exactly the same thing both weeks. Your body will do what it wants. Beyond making good choices and sticking with a healthy lifestyle you can sustain (longterm sustainability is the MOST important thing), there's not much you can do to make a meaningful difference in how much weight you lose and how quickly.

I am 6 weeks out and I take Bariatric PAL MV and I take a calcium soft chew by Fusion. I also do protein powder in my tea in the morning, 2 scoops that’s 30 grams, then I make the rest by what I eat. It’s funny, I loved coffee before surgery, but now it makes me feel awful🥺

I have been upping my water intake, and I did have the hormonal coil put in last week on Monday! maybe it is the hormones! the universe is cruel haha

I’m starting to notice a pattern. The dreaded stalls and the gained pound for me seems to come after the too good to be true weight loss 🤣 basically what I’m saying is when I lose a couple of pounds quicker than my normal rate then I may go a week without dropping anything or I actually gain a pound or two before I lose again. But the overall my rate of loss for the last 30 days remains pretty consistent. It is super helpful to have that weight log in the Baritastic app. It automatically calculates your loss over the past seven days the past 30 days the past 90 days. Plus, it has a really cool little line graph so that you can see the steady loss also, you can track your measurements on there which is a nice way to keep them because I tend to lose things written on paper. 🤣

I need an overhaul. My weight loss has been so slow but I have been losing inches like crazy, I know it is possible and I see the changes, but it irritates me so bad not seeing the scale move. Maybe I should set some serious NSV to achieve. I have exactly 150 days til my birthday and I think I am gonna give this whole surgery thing an overhaul and see where it takes me. I will be honest, I have been low-key skating buy because I got discouraged right after my first stall..... I refuse to quite and I am gonna give it all I got right now.

3 lbs in 10 days sounds like water retention. Have you had more salt than usual? I gained almost 4 lbs in a week at Christmas, but it was gone within 2 weeks and now I'm back to slowly losing. If you've had a disruption to your routine, that could explain it. Or hormonal shifts. Or just your body messing with you because you were looking forward to hitting a certain number on the scale and the universe finds it amusing to taunt you (been there).

Hi all I am just over 4 weeks post op and today I got up and went for a walk!! This is huge for me as I have not gone for a walk in around 6 years! I suffer from depression and i live in my bedroom most days. But… I am starting to slowly come out of there and actually do stuff in other parts of my house! I know it may seem small but it is a massive win for me! Have a great day!

I am about 18 months post gastric bypass surgery. For about the last three months I have developed a condition where one or both of my eyes sting between 5 and 7 pm each evening for a period of about five minutes. At first, I thought perhaps I had something on my hands and I had touched my eyes and it had caused them to sting, however it happens without touching my eyes. It's the same kind of sensation as having sweat in your eyes. However, I'm not sweating. One thing that I have noticed is that in the evenings if I touch my forehead my skin feels very oily. So I do wonder if perhaps my eyelids could also be getting oily and therefore getting the oil onto my eyeballs. I have tried eyedrops for Dry eyes but they don't seem to work. The only relief I get is actually by rubbing my eyes, which when I was growing up my parents told me not to rub my eyes. But it does seem to give me a relief and it seems to make the sting go away faster. Has anyone else experienced anything like this?

i had arm lift, breast lift and tummy tuck in Canada, and paid roughly 15K CAD for all three (back in 2019); that's about 11K in today's US dollars. Mind you, i did get the panniculectomy portion of the tummy tuck covered by provincial insurance which i believe saved me about 6K CAD.

Good luck! I’m a week in and am miserable to be honest. I know it will be worth it though.

I've had a very up-and-down sort of week, mentally/emotionally (and weight-wise too, I guess). It started in that I'd finally gotten out of a stall, and everything stayed good for 10 days or so? And then a week with absolutely no weightloss. On the back of a stall, it just crushed my spirit. I said fine, by next week it'll be better, stay off the scale... and instead I hopped back on 2 days later to a 1.4lb gain. I think I went into a sort of zombie-state. I was still doing what I needed to (work-wise, diet-wise, exercise-wise) but it was like some kind of emotional shock: I was functioning but apathetic about pretty much everything. My brain and heart just couldn't take it, and shut down. Then the physical side. I'm sure it will surprise nobody here, but when you're behaving kind of like an automaton you don't pay enough attention to things like time, or specifically eating slowly. Cue the foamies and vomitting. I think four times in the past week. Luckily, most of the time I caught it early enough to prevent anything too intense, but yeah. I'd thought I was smart enough / experienced enough at this point to learn from my mistakes, but that one I just kept making. Afterwards, the lingering nausea kept me from eating enough -- so the protein goals were not met for five days in a row. (Until I found Greek Yogurt Cheesecake Pudding which turned things around so I was exceeding my goals) I'm doing better-ish, now? I still feel mildly dissociated, but the past couple days it's been like... life & energy slowly returning and my mood improving. The universe waited for me to be in a better mental place, and all of a sudden knocked 4 lbs off the scale this morning. Sunday, I had a great NSV that I didn't feel hit me until today -- I'm wearing a 1X for the first time in over a decade. (Top and bottom, which is another NSV because ever since my late 20s, my bottom has always required me to go one size up from whatever shirt size I was wearing) But even this NSV, I'm able to acknowledge it and told a couple people about it because I knew they'd be happy for me, but it still just all feels pretty superficial. I only seem to be able to get excited and enthused about other peoples' good news, lol.

I cancelled my gym membership in the month I had my surgery since I wasn't going to be able to exercise for 6 weeks after the surgery and I would be away for another 4 weeks and Christmas was coming up and didn't want to waste the money (month to month membership). I need to get back into the gym, but I've not been in months so I'm going back to complete novice stage. But I have been cycling so that's at least something. I want to make going to the gym a habit again. I haven't renewed my membership yet because it will be too crowded with all they "new year, new me" types who use the gym in January for two weeks and then never again.