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I had MGB a week ago and all and all I feel good BUT.. when I go to sit up from laying down, stand up or even sit up straight all the way it burns about 2 inches to the left of my belly button. BAD. It feels like something is going to rip apart. I don’t have any incisions there either. Has anyone else experienced this? TIA

I believe you completed enough exercised for three people. Can I be one of them? 🤔🤣

Hi I’m new here to the group I’m on my 2 week liquid my date is 11/20/24 I’m excited am scared but I’m ready I’m glad I joined the group hope everybody is doin well thanks for having me

Hi fellow Sleevers- I am almost 2 weeks Post op and I CANNOT quench my thirst for anything! I have tried crystal light, Water, juice, Vitamin water, SF slurpee(Yuck) and NOTHING works, ANY suggestions????

I’m only on the second day of a two-week pre-op diet. I’m already tired! I’d love to hear your experiences especially how you felt toward the end of the diet. Thanks!

My 3 week liver reduction diet consisted of Proti brand foods/shakes. Don't really recommend! Breakfast consisted of a proti packet, which was usually oatmeal. Then a proti packet for an am snack. For lunch it was a another Proti packet, and a second option of either 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, 2 eggs, 2 oz of lean meat, or a 2nd packet of Proti. Mid day snack, Proti. For dinner, it was 2 oz of lean meat, a starch and a fruit. Additionally, I could have all of the veggies I wanted, as well as sugar free jello, popsicles. Proti shakes are only decent if you're able to mix them with a milk frother and add ice. The soup noodles had a weird texture, so I always picked them out. The oatmeals were just ok. The blueberry pancakes I was not a fan of. Tomorrow starts my clear liquid diet and surgery on Wednesday. Excited to be on the other side of this.

And you’re already at 2.4mg? Weird. The dose escalation schedule is every 4 weeks beginning at 0.25mg, but either way here’s an interesting article: https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2024/05/21/health/glp-1-weight-loss-drugs-stop-treatment-real-world-effectiveness

Well, I found out Magnesium laxative works! 🥵 The evil has left the building!! 😆🥳 Thank you very much everyone, for the support, I woke up to find a 200gm (half poundish) drop today, so that's something!! I am looking forward to hitting my first mini goal this week (under 100kg) and am very close, so have been sweating it a bit!!

Hi everyone! I have been a little MIA lately; things got busy. I am in a slump lately and haven't really lost any weight in a couple weeks. I know this is normal, but because we have had a lot of events and fun things lately, I also haven't been eating as healthy as I would like to... so really either could be the reason for my slump. I'm trying to stay optimistic and get back on track. I'm so close to FINALLY being under 200 lbs and I refuse to stop losing weight before I reach it! I hope all of you are doing well and I look forward to updating you guys when I have hit Onederland!

Hi! I was wondering if anyone who is 5+ years since surgery is still experiencing any issues? I find that when I eat certain foods, much like when I was about a year or so out, that I have a feeling of being too full and can’t keep the food down. It isnt all the time. And it isnt really if I eat too much or too fast. I still eat pretty small meals at any given time and typically just eat 6 or so very small meals. An example would be if I eat pasta, maybe 1/3 to 1/2 a cup may feel unbearable and too full and can’t keep the pasta down. It could be something random like a handful of jelly belly jelly beans. I would say it happens maybe 1 a week? Just curious if anyone else has this issue. I have done well at keeping the weight off since the surgery and have hovered around 130-140 for the past 2 years. I am fairly active 50’s, 5’5 female. Thanks!!

I heard that reflux could be a side effect of taking GLPs, but I went on a low dosage of Tirzeptitde 6 weeks ago, lost 27 pounds, and am at my goal weight. Before losing weight, I took 40 MG of Omeprazole in the morning and another 40 MG in the evening. Since losing this weight, I've switched to once in the morning and have almost zero reflux! Losing the extra weight did the trick for me. BariatricPal does offer Saxenda (Liraglutide), Contrave (Bupropion/Naltrexone), Phentermine-Topiramate (Qsymia), and Tirzepatide in lower doses, which are known to cause less or no reflux. If you're interested, you can talk to the doctor, and they will prescribe what makes sense for your situation.

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. 😣

Does your insurance have specific guidelines for qualifying? For example, mine required a BMI over 40 or over 35 plus a certain number of comorbidities from a specific list that they provided ( I can't remember the specifics now, but I do know they were spelled out clearly in writing). They required 6 months of regular appointments, including weigh-ins, with the team of dietician/surgeon/behavioral health specialists. They required a panel of blood tests, as well as a letter from the primary care physician in support of the surgery. Once those requirements were fulfilled, approval was a formality. We knew before the request was submitted that it would be approved. The actual approval took maybe 2 weeks to process and I was able to find the information by logging into my insurance portal and looking under the section for authorizations. Your surgeon's office should have someone on staff who is an expert at dealing with insurance who can tell you exactly how the process is expected to go. My office submitted my paperwork a standard number of weeks before the surgery, something like 3 or 4 weeks, I think.

Hello everyone!! I know I did a bit of a vanishing act, but I have things to report in. First of all - I hit a really frustrating plateau that lasted about 3.5 weeks from around weeks 7-10. That had me feeling pretty bummed, as it was post-two month check in and I had been feeling great about my progress before switching from purees to solids. I had last posted about hearing somewhat contradicting information from the nurse and Nutritionist. I had been told that I didn't need to really worry about staying on keto because I wasn't eating much as long as I hit my protein goal and by the nurse to try to stay Keto because eventually I'd get this great burst of energy from going into ketosis. WELL -- After doing some research I found out that the thing your brain tells you would be the worst thing to do - EAT MORE - was actually the solution. I started bringing in more vegetables and an occasional grains while sticking to mostly lean meats, plus using a protein shake for breakfast to keep me on track with my protein goals. I was already using Genepro; and I since picked up one of the Whey protein powders in a chocolate plus some of the PB2. That did the trick! I have started allowing myself an occasional 'cheat' type meal on days that I'm locked in on my protein, and find myself often meeting my protein goal and then some - more like 70g of protein per day rather than the minimum of 60g/day. The result of spreading my meals out - breakfast, three hours later lunch, three hours later 'dinner' and three hours later 'protein snack' if I'm still hungry - DID IT. My energy is up now that I've been walking more and giving my body more fuel. I am seeing the weight loss finally, and even when the scale doesn't show it right away I'm seeing my measurements shift and the way my clothing fits feeling different. I had purchased a cute pair of jeans about a week before my surgery and a button down short sleeve gingham shirt. At the time I couldn't get the jeans all the way up over my thigh; and now they fit loosely. My bras don't fit properly and I already had to buy one in a smaller size. I'm turning down plus sizes clothes I like that I find at the thrift store for pretty much the first time because - they're too big. I'm borrowing shirts from my Mom that I handed down to her previously and other friends handed down to her rather than me because she was a 2x/3x for a long time (mostly due to her chest) and I was a 4x+. I can feel where my arms have gotten smaller in the way shirts don't feel snug in the arms, shoulder, and chest area. I've gone down 2.5 ring sizes! All in all, I've found that portion control is still a big deal, but so is listening to your body and remembering that if it sends you a message about hunger, there is a reason. I DO have to focus on making sure I drink enough water, but the Baritastic app has helped me keep my sugar low. Even if I do hit over 30g of carbs in a day it's rare and because of something like beans, rice, or vegetables. I'm feeling more comfortable loosening the reins a bit on how strictly I adhere to my diet - although I still don't do anything carbonated, do minimal caffeine, and keep sugar very low. The idea to bring your own tupperware to restaurants along with a cooler is really smart. I'm not in an organized group exercise of any kind yet but I do have personal goals like trying to get in over 10k steps three times per week. I'm working my way up and have gotten to an average of around 5k steps each day, which I'm very proud of. My calorie deficit is usually 800+ calories less taken in than what I'm burning via exercise per day, and this week I have lost almost 6 lbs due to exercise and losing the bloat from my first period post surgery. I wanted to mention that - I did miss my first month's period and my second month's was late. As to exercise - I feel the activity in my back and as a low ache across my lower abdomen mainly, which I think is a result of using those core muscles and the way my figure is redistributing the weight on my joints. I'm shopping Marketplace to add weights to my exercise and still use my exercise bike when the weather isn't nice enough to walk. OH! And Old Navy has an amazing 50% off sale on their website right now and I just finally ordered myself some pants in two sizes below my pre-surgery size! I'm so excited for them to get here. Best wishes all, keep up the amazing work and be kind to yourselves!

Sorry you're having trouble sleeping. I know that's just making recovery harder. You probably already know this, but here's the thing: being stressed out about not sleeping can just keep you from sleeping. The first step in getting past that is just to release yourself mentally from the stress/insomnia cycle. What I mean is that you have to acknowledge that you just had major surgery. Coupled with massive dietary changes and you are going through an incredibly stressful time right now. It's normal when stressed to struggle with sleep, so the best possible thing you can do is simply acknowledge that sleep may be difficult for a while and it's okay. I would also say do whatever you need to do to get control of your pain levels. You may need to try changing out your pain meds, or consider changing where/how you sleep. As an example, even though I'm normally a stomach/side sleeper, I slept on my back in a recliner for the first couple of weeks simply because it was less painful. Finally, I'd recommend researching good sleep hygiene and implementing as many of those recommendations as possible. Right now, you need all the tips and tricks you can get. Good luck.

I’m glad you asked this! I am 1 week post-op and still up 2# from my pre-surgery weight. Finally meeting my fluid goals and almost at protein goals, hoping that scale will start moving and give me a momentum boost!

Yay! Really felt the visual benefits of mid-October brachioplasty today with new winter vest, shirt and scarf ensemble. I begin physical therapy tomorrow to work out elbow knots + soreness, ensure overall range of motion and optimum healing results 13 weeks out. I am pleased with the continued process and results.

I just love seeing people's stats. I wish I had done mine to help me through the stalls. Absolutely amazing loss 😍

So I have not gotten skin removal YET but I did get a breast augmentation 3 weeks before I hit a year P.O. I lost a lot of weight, work out really hard but my boobs were gonners, between losing and gaining for years, breast feeding two children for 13m each I had skin sacs. I can honestly say that my confidence has sky rocketed- I enjoy wearing cute clothes, I feel better but body dysmorphia is a summa bi&^%, I still see myself at 300lbs, think that I look "fat" and not attractive. I do think once you see your lean fit arms without the extra skin your going to be showing them off as you should! Cant wait to see your "after" pic!

Hi, Sorry you're experiencing this, but I am quite sure that it is very early out for you to be having regular food at 2.5 weeks. Every single region I have researched heavily emphasizes on waiting at least 6 weeks until you can have regular food (whatever you were able to eat prior to WLS). At 2.5 weeks blended soups and Greek yogurt felt like a brick in my stomach. If you could maybe wait a few more weeks and stay on pureed/soft foods then please do, you could harm your staples eating solids so early on.

Many team will just start you out on the vitamins that people tend to become low on to try and get ahead of it, but you should be getting labs every three months for a while and then at least once a year once you are on track. Your team should tell you what to change based on your labs.

Peanut butter chicken sounds good. Remember them spring rolls had a sauce that was equal parts of peanut butter and soy sauce. I’m glad you just reminded me of it because I really liked it and it was good on chicken too. Sorry to hear about your hip. Really sucks that we get tested with hurdles so soon after surgery but maybe it is just that a test. Test to see if we are truly committed even when it doesn’t come as easy as it did right off the bat. If so, I think we are crushing this test!! 10K steps is awesome. I bet you will not stop at 30 days. When I was doing my normal walking it felt so good I didn’t ever want to stop. As soon as I figure out this thyroid thing I’m gonna start again. Or if the cardiologist says it’s safe. Just scares me that my resting heart beat has gone up and I get notifications from my watch about weird heart stuff so oncology ordered test and did referral for an oncology cardiologist. I need to call that office too another reminder. Anyways, as soon as I get the all clear I will be working back up to join you. I’m telling you it helped me with everything. After doing it consistently my mental health was far better and it made me think twice about my food choices. I was feeling so good I didn’t ever want to do anything to ruin it so healthy nourishing choices were so much easier. I hope your hip is better soon and you meet or even exceed your walking challenge! I am bummed that my clinic has cancelled yoga for next week because the instructor is out but they are adding gentle yoga the following week and I think I am going to check out meditation this week since she will be gone and it’s at the same time so I couldn’t before. I wish these things were offered more than once a week. Kinda unfair for the people who do treatment that day or the day before if their treatment makes them feel icky. They also have a physical trainer that they offer who will do some free sessions but I’m saving them for after surgery since I will be needing more direction then. Right now I just need clearance and then motivation to get back at it After surgery I will have limitations. My range of motion will be an issue and I will need help pushing through them but not pushing too fast. I talked to the guy and he said we can’t go any quicker than my dr clears me but I am going to tell the dr I see him weekly and ask to see the dr more often to get clearance quicker if I’m ready. i am so ready to get back to my pre chemo activity. I can already tell my lack of activity is affecting my mood. I want my happy positive rainbows and unicorns outlook on life back. Drove my hubby crazy but I liked it and I’m pretty sure after dealing with my being cranky and irritable for over a month he is probably missing it too. 😂

Im posting this here in case it helps someone else. These are the workout video creators I follow on YouTube. I am three months(ish) out from gastric sleeve surgery so I like to switch it up. Leslie Sansone-Walk Away the Pounds. She is the OG of walking videos. Her walks range from ten minutes to 45 minutes. The majority require no equipment and the ones that do have it as optional. I started with her immediately after surgery. Now to challenge myself, I do them in my pool for more resistance. The downside is she is EXTREMELY OVER THE TOP PEPPY so sometimes I've muted her and have followed along to my own music. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVl6ZdslZz2Zj-34bMJFPbg Burpee Girl-I just found her and I do at least two of her workouts a week. She can be modified for all levels. She has videos that are walking to Pilates to dumbbell work. Her music she uses is extremely upbeat and engaging. She also has active break segments in her videos so you get a chance to cool down in between rounds. She doesnt talk or explain the moves but there is a ten second preview of each exercise before you do it. Highly recommended if you're wanting to challenge yourself a bit more. I put her at an intermediate level. When I outgrew Leslie Sansone, I found Burpee Girl and love her content. https://www.youtube.com/c/BurpeeGirlLiss Billy Blanks-Tae Bo. AS a 90's girl, I remember doing this in gym class and sweating to death. He has his own YouTube channel with really good workouts. A lot of focus on kicking and punching, great for when I need to expend a lot of negative energy. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMGIp3jifsoufZv_y8_c1Qg Yoga with Kassandra- She is so soothing. I love her videos and do them on my off days to stretch. She's very calm and it makes you feel like you're in a yoga class. If you cant do a move, she recommends ways to do it so you can modify your practice. I am not a yoga person but the stretches help and she doesnt make it new agey.https://www.youtube.com/c/yogawithkassandra

I LOVE that you're losing at a sustainable rate. There is so much data to suggest that crash diets almost never work, so losing ~1-3% of your total body weight per month is the sweet spot. I'd take it even further and say 1-2%, which is right where you're at. If I could give advice to anyone either trying to maintain after initial weight loss, or fighting regain like you are, it would be threefold: Focus more initially on learning to eat a healthy diet and less on the weight loss itself. People that follow the fad diet du jour when losing weight almost always regain because they very quickly go back to their old eating habits. If instead you focus on first learning to eat like a normal weight person that eats a healthy diet, you'll be setup for real success. Many people find that if they do this first, they don't really have to "diet" because their bodies actually start to self-regulate calories. Part of this is because when we eat a wide variety of foods that are nutrient rich, our bodies don't fire off signals to eat more. If that doesn't happen for you, there are strategies to slowly reduce intake while still maintaining your healthy diet. The second thing is to focus on instituting a regular physical activity routine. I feel like way too many people skip this, but the data is clear: up to 90% of people that have lost a lot of weight and successfully kept it off for years do a lot of exercise. In fact, the average for those successful losers is ~1 hour per day on most days of the week (roughly 300+ minutes a week.) This is twice the minimum recommended amount to stay healthy, and twice what someone needs that was never significantly overweight. I want to be clear, this is not really a huge factor in weight loss, but in weight maintenance, it's critical. Finally, focus on behavioral modification. Let's be honest. Most of us got as big as we did because we had an unhealthy relationship with food. We may never actually "cure" ourselves of that, but we can learn to fight back. Probably the best thing to do is work with a therapist that specializes in behavior modification, especially regarding weight. I realize this is not an option for everyone due to cost or availability, but there are also lots of good resources available online. Anyway, best of luck and keep up the good work!

I’m pretty sure dry skin can also be from l not enough protein I’m using my phone so I’m not sure which surgery you had but if it’s bypass and increasing, your fluids, doesn’t work consider whether you just need more protein than the average bypass or if your activity is high, talk to your team, but they told me I needed to increase my protein because of my level of activity. Also, if your activity is really high, you may actually need to increase your carbohydrates. I would definitely talk to your team about your activity and your food intake. I know that increasing carbs sounds scary and counterproductive, but I’ve been on here for about four years now and a lot of people found that when they exercise level was high their body thought it was starving and was hanging onto everything until they increased their calories and then it started dropping so I would definitely ask if that could be an issue. Daughter it’s just the three weeks stop which isn’t exactly at three weeks, but it does happen to pretty much everyone.