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Oh, yes. It really is so disheartening, and knowing it's normal/expected doesn't make it feel any better! To give you an idea of how my weight loss has fluctuated, here are my monthly totals so far: February: -16.4 lbs (2 week pre-op diet plus surgery on 2/21) March: -11.6 lbs April: -7.6 lbs May: -2.8 lbs June: -11.2 lbs July: -1.6 lbs August: -8.4 lbs And so far in September I'm at a whopping -0.4 lbs for the month. Let me tell you, May and July both sucked, and I honestly don't think I did anything differently in June or August to explain the variation. It just is what it is. I'd say stay off the scale, but personally, I enjoy having the daily number because I'm obsessed with having a record to look back on, so I get having to do it every morning. I'm sure you're far from done losing, even if you're at a slow point right now. Just for fun, I'm attaching a side by side comparison that I made of myself yesterday. It's a photo of me from last summer at my highest weight alongside a pic of me from my walk yesterday. When the scale stalls, making something like this cheers me up and helps me see beyond the numbers on the scale.

I was finally able to get in over 10k steps yesterday. I'm still two weeks post op so no strenuous activity or lifting so I have to walk to work instead of cycling. At first I was annoyed because I love cycling, but I think having to walk will kick-start the weight loss. I've lost 8.5kg (18.7lbs) in the two weeks since surgery and walking helps.

Hi all, I have been given an appointment for arm lift surgery the end of October, if all goes well, based on your experiences is this sufficient time (8 weeks) to be mainly recovered by Christmas with full motion etc.? I am due to fly home for Christmas and would want to be able to pull/push/lift suitcases without any issue, shower easily plus then enjoy my Christmas time and not have family and friends worried about me. Given the major problems I had with my sleeve surgery in 2023 I am a bit apprehensive as to how my body will react and recover. Plus I don't know how I am going to tell my family as I know they will have a total freak out considering I spent so long in hospital and had so many problems with leaks, pancreatitis, sepsis etc with the sleeve and how I live on my own with no real support network.

I first came to this board in March of 2022. I had my 1st surgery (sleeve) in May 2022. I had my revision to bypass (due to A LOT of complications with the sleeve) in June of 2023. Since then I have been complication free. But I was struggling to maintain my weight. I was put on a diet and exercise regimen to gain and then maintain my weight. Well, my metabolism finally sorted itself out, but I wasn't paying attention. I was supposed to weigh myself once a week to see how things are going. I went 4 weeks without weighing myself. And I was just eating whatever I wanted in hopes I would gain. And boy oh boy, I did gain. I went from 176 to 190 in 5 weeks. That shocked me, because I wanted to get to 180 - 183. Now I have to stop eating willy nilly, get my diet back on track, and focus more on my workouts. I became lax with what I needed to do and I found myself going back to old eating habits. Examples include eating whatever I wanted, even when it went against my diet. Not working out as much as I was supposed to because I was tired or didn't feel like it. Eating when I was bored. Eating something because it's there, not because I was hungry. Grazing all day and night, which was ALWAYS my issue. I'm telling you all this because I've seen so many posts where some of you guys really beat yourself up for messing up. You're afraid you'll undo all your progress. I admit, that has creeped into my mind a bit, but I remind myself that I know what to do and what not to do. I know how to get back on track. And I know how to give myself grace while still holding myself accountable. It's just a matter of doing it. So I'm going to course correct, get back to the proper diet and exercise routine, and really work on my eating habits. Just know that EVERYONE can slip up. It's not the end of the world....even if it feels like it is. Just own up to your mistakes, correct your actions, eat and exercise properly, and it'll all be ok. And with that, I need to go work out. Have a good one, and wish me luck that I get this sorted.

what @SpartanMaker said. increases muscle mass which drives up metabolism. good for physical health and side benefit of looking hawt. AND probably the number one, oft-ignored-yet-totally-obvious, underrated, oh-so-accessible producer of positive mental health...❤️ also...what @DaisyChainOz said. while it really doesn't matter what WE think you look like, you do look fab as ever. if u didn't see the number on the scale, would you still look pretty effing awesome in all those gorgeous clothes in your closet? but i get it, fear of going back to our pre-wls selves is a big thing in our demographic, no matter how unlikely that is your case. hugs. p.s. you know what i did last week when i was feeling down and annoyed? i bought a new pair of shoes. just saying...

Thank you very much! Congratulations to you as well for your successful journey. It's amazing to finally be free of the fat and, more importantly for me, the addiction to food and the total control/power I have over food now. It's seriously my lifelong dream at 55 so staying motivated was baked in.. Thank you again. I am sure I didn't elaborate or explain my reasons enough but actually I am concerned about slowing down the weight loss. I still eat very small portions and am worried it would be hard to sustain on just protein, without carbs. I like my body running more ketogenic than carbed up with the ups and downs of carbs. Without adding fat, and with our malabsorption aspect of the surgery, I am wondering if its possible or not so much..If I am being honest, at 240lbs, I started eating dirtier with carbs to try and stabilize at 240 until I got my knee surgeries, but then just dropped another 20+ within a month and a half or so. My steps and activity increased, small by normal people standards, but a lot for where I have been, after I got another Cortisone shot to the knees. This just illustrates my concern once I reach goal weight and I am rucking, hiking, and lifting. Those three things will be lifelong for longevity and mobility going forward. Obviously everyone is different as far genetically and such, but I have been extremely low calorie, plenty of short fasts up to three days, and have plateaued at certain points during my weight loss, and after doing a refeed with carbs and basically whatever I want to eat, I recharged my metabolism for another huge run of weight loss. The refeed was usually only a couple days to a few days but less than a week. Now with this approach remember I am lifting weights. I mean hard as I can weight lifting 4 days a week. It sucks! Low energy lifting is not fun but the recomp.. I really believe the built-in calorie burn from lean muscle mass is the most efficient way to permanently stay in shape. Male or female doesn't matter. IMHO if your metabolism is slow and you are struggling with the last few pounds, I mean the literally like 5-10 pounds from goal BF, man or woman, start lifting weights. The body recomp will floor you. And that weight or really I think just your body composition after significant weight loss without adding lean muscle mass leaves you looking(Sometimes) like a no muscle bag of skin. Flat. It's not fun but the results.. Anyways thank you for the reply and just to make clear if any of the vets care to weigh in, the WLS gave me the tool, the only tool I will ever need again to lose weight. It's so powerful for me that I need to think about slowing down my weight loss combined with, if possible, being low carb and more ketogenic as a lifestyle choice I prefer. I just don't know if low carb is sustainable without the fat calories. that specifically is what I am looking for. Does anyone prefer low carb/ketogenic after surgery and is it possible? I already realize that fats can be problematic, is anyone doing carnivore after DS Sadi. Not my preference but the only option it seems for low carb without the keto fat plan. Thanks in advance for any tips.

Ooh I’m so glad to hear you have some guidance now that makes you feel confident that you are doing what’s expected of you. That makes all the difference in this journey I am doing really well. Tonight is my first in person support group meeting and I will be three weeks tomorrow. I feel like I have a pretty good handle on the purée diet now and i get to move to soft foods on Monday. That’s a little more scary for me with being a revision that didn’t not involve them operating on my stomach because I do not have the feeling of that was not a good call like the rest of you do to slow me down. Yet at the same time my intestines still need time to heal so I’ve got to be disciplined and return to food slowly. I am pretty anxious so I may end up getting there a little slower than the rest of you but I guess that’s better than too quickly.

Doing pretty good! My first meal post-op was liquids and since I kept it down I got mashed potatoes and soup for dinner. I have my 2 week post op this coming Friday and by then I should know when I’ll be allowed back to work. Meals this past week have been mostly on the older kids to make because I’m too tired by dinner to care. 😂🤷‍♀️ So for me I’ve been eating mostly salads. The one with corn is vegan ground beef, green chilis and corn. The kids topped theirs with cheese and cornbread batter and baked it.

Spartan Maker thanks for the feedback. I am doing my best to increase my physical activity every day. I am weight training with the a trainer 2x a week and I’ve been trying to get in 30-45 minutes of cardio 2-3 times a week to. I do agree I probably need to do my best to up the intensity. I think I’ll start couch to 5k and start jogging. Lately my protein has been variable. I always get 70-80 but I know I would like to get more like 150. On a good day I get 110. My calories have been anywhere from 900-1300 depending on the day and if I work long hours. My hunger is generally fair. I do get hunger cues and what not but it’s not terribly overwhelming. I have been feeling great overall. I would say as far as processed foods the main thing I eat processed is the shakes otherwise I have been trying to eat Whole Foods. I am a nurse and work 12 hour shifts and I do need To do better about getting a little additional physical activity after my shifts. This is a journey but have been blessed with feeling good and generally have good energy.

Happy New Year 2025 everyone!!! 12 weeks out sleeping comfortably on both sides with arms under my pillow. No more aches or soreness waking up. Our December holiday getaway was a wonderful diversion feeling it aided greatly to next stage of healing. The surgeon mentioned colder temperatures might exasperate nerve pain, but I had no issues. We loved the crisper + snowy days. Invigorating! And, samplings of Penn State ice cream was the best medicine indeed.

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.

Saturday was crazyyyyyy for me. I went off my rocker, I snacked and grazed all day. I started my period Friday even and Saturday I was bitchy and wanted all the food. Sunday I felt like crap almost like a hang over. I didn't track my food, I didn't worry about my protein, I did work out that morning though, but still No bueno, but I am back on track and just let that day be. However these last two or three periods have been me fighting back eating the whole house but this last one I lost the battle LOL

You are doing amazing but I do understand how you feel. In the very beginning I just wanted to lose the weight as quickly as possible but then I had an epiphany! I need to fix my relationship with food! I'm 10 weeks out so I'm still early days but I know that just losing weight is a sticking plaster for the real reason I used food as a coping mechanism. So I think I need to consider therapy! The food noise gets so bad for me sometimes its like torture! I will be so much more happier when I nail these obsessive food thoughts but it will take time, I've had them my whole life. Like many I have lost up to 6 stone and put it back on quite a few times before I took the plunge and had surgery so I guess I need to be kind to myself and learn to understand the parts of myself that I have ignored for so long. Are you counting calories? at the 5 week mark I was managing around 500 cals a day. I didn't have the protein drinks because I was fuller for longer eating minced chicken, tuna, eggs, lentils, cottage cheese and pureed foods for less calories, a quarter of a cup at a time. I still managed to get in my protein and at least 2 litres of fluids too. If I was a little under in my protein I would drink a clear whey isolate protein squash drink, they are around 100 cals and contain up to 22g of protein! I am on 800 cals a day now as my stomach has done a lot of healing since then. Everyone is different though and I know that some people still can't tolerate actual food at your stage, so listen to your body hun. Here's some ideas for purees for you, a quarter of a cup at a time is about right for the stage you are at but if you can't manage it all that's fine, its just a guide for you. Tuna and mayonnaise - 14 grams of protein Blended baked chicken. I would bake chicken in some tinned tomatoes and season with garlic and herbs then blend it. 50g of chicken has 16g protein Egg mayo - an egg has 6-7g protein Bolognese - use 5%fat minced beef and blend with a tomato based sauce or make your own - 11g protein Protein puddings available in all the supermarkets - 15-20g protein readybrek oats with some protein powder Fat free cottage cheese blended with peanut butter powder and some sweetener if you need it. Cottage cheese has 11g protein per 100g PB powder has 8g protein per serving Ricotta cheese bake - you can find the recipe on Pinterest and even on here! I wish you well on your journey my lovely. You are on a path of healing, mentally, physically and emotionally and you are doing amazing! Be kind to yourself the weight will come off and at 5 weeks you are still healing and probably holding extra fluid anyway. xx

Yes its a very common symptom. Drink slow, tiny sips. Its a real chore until your internal suture line calms and water can trickle through better. Hot drinks thankfully worked better for me. Maybe a chat with your team might be beneficial. I was an outlier, I really struggled. It took me 3 months to get all my required water allowance in. You should hopefully feel a difference next week. Keep struggling through, its worth it. Once you can master this you will feel so much better.

Also, the grand baby (will be one this month) and I had the same sized breakfast earlier this week and here’s our before and after. Mine is the light blue plate. Scrambled eggs with onion, mushrooms, and salmon with maple buttered toast.

What you need to ask yourself is something I used to help me when my weight appeared to not be fast enough; did I put the weight on in just a few months? No, so I need to be patient and let the process work and do my part while not expecting the weight to come off in such a short time! Give yourself the gift of being patient with your body. I know its difficult, especially being that we're an instant gratification society now, but you deserve the grace, time and patience knowing you made the right decision for yourself having had the surgery! Follow the guidelines you were given by your bariatric team. But f you still don't feel the weight is coming off as fast as you think it should - schedule an appointment with your dietician/surgeon and ask for they're advice. You've got this! Lastly 13lbs is an average/"normal" weight loss for 5 weeks 🤗

I wish you a happy healthy journey on your surgery and weight loss. I saw April Laren on YouTube had the DS and was very honest about her first few weeks. She might be worth a look.

Welcome to the site! I'm only two weeks post-op (sleeve) so I'm still learning and adjusting as well. Keep us updated!

Literally, this morning I just came out of a two-weekish stall with an abrupt 4.5lb drop. Stalls are frustrating as heck but as long as you keep doing what you know you should be doing, you'll come out of it ok.

I post here for advice, encouragement and always get such uplifting/helpful comments. I just need this to get out to my bari-fam! I am 15months post op. I have done well, got down to my goal weight fairly quickly, made leaps on my fitness journey and just pretty proud of how far I have come. Lately, body dysmorphia is really rearing its ugly head and I am not dealing with it well. I am punishing myself with binge eating...All of April has just sucked a$$ for me. I am maintaining, continuing my workouts, my days are great then I go home at night, I grab a few chips, leads to some sweets, leads to some bread and butter, ect....do I eat a ton of it? No but I don't feel good when I eat it. Last week, I went on a week long drinking fiasco- I used to drink...a lot pre-surgery- Last night I ate Jack in the box tacos.. you know those disgusting delicious mini tacos and my feel like garbage today! I am letting my emotional eating get the best of me and I am struggling to get back. I woke up at 5 walked on my treadmill at 10incline 3.8speed but at the end of the day you cannot exercise a shitty diet. I wake up every single day and tell myself okay new day lets get back on track. And every single day I just cannot seem to get my ish together when I am at home. I am getting rid of all the bad snacks and getting everyone on the healthy train. I am trying and I am so terrified that I will get back to 300lbs again. Looking at the mirror, I see how big I am, I see the tummy, I see the hanging skin, I see everything negative when in reality I probably look fine. Not sure what I am looking for outta this post, but I needed to get it out and not hide my food struggles because I did that and it lead to me hiding food and getting up to 300lbs.

Hello there! I had my MGB on the 13th of May. I’ve lost 46 lbs since then but my weight has been stalling since two weeks now. I also feel like I can eat what ever I want without feeling sick or feeling full. Do you guys count calories? My nutritionist says I should not but when I read other threads I see people eating max 800-1200 calories….i am thinking maybe I need to do the same in order to continue to loose weight….

I agree with @ShoppGirl. Either do it 2 weeks before Christmas or 2 weeks after, or beyond that. Not for your family, but for you so you have full access toy our surgeon and their team. The Christmas holiday is a tricky time because so many leave or are off and nobody wants to come in if there's an emergency. I know the feeling of wanting to hurry up and start your new life, but you have to make sure you're doing what's in your best interest.

I’ve lost around 100lbs. I have been gaining and losing the same 4 pounds since last fall, about the same time I hurt my back in the gym. I’m recovered now and need to get back to exercising. The gastric sleeve has been super helpful because even if I have a cheat meal, it’s very small and almost no weight impact. I’ve always liked protein heavy meals so this has been pretty easy for me. Limiting bread and sugars, and not drinking soda has gotten me most of the way there. I have started to drink a few beers a week…I try to keep it to lite low cal/carb beer.

No my followup is on the 30th. Wednesday is just a week after I had my psych eval. I called the bariatric clinic Monday they said it takes at least a week for the results and to call back Wednesday and they should have the results then. So tomorrow hopefully I should know how the appointment went.

I think sometimes our bodies kind of freak out when lots of changes are happening at once. As you lose weight, things redistribute, move around, the chemical make up of your insides change, hormones change, glucose, cholesterol, and blood pressure all change. So even when the scale isn't moving, so many things are happening within our bodies that it likely needs time to catch up and get use to the new and ongoing changes before the weight can start to come off again. I know how frustrating it is, believe me. The amazing people on here had to talk me off the ledge a few times when I hit stall after stall. And I'm one that gains a few pounds whenever I hit a stall, so THAT was always fun lol But then I would drop like 6 pounds in 1 shot and then I knew the stall was over. I know this is so frustrating, but it'll pass. And you'll get to where you want to be. It took me 2 years to get where I am now. And I still feel that was fast. It took me almost 30 years to put the weight on, so getting it off in 2 years is HUGE. Give yourself some grace, feel your feelings, and just focus on all the good parts of this journey. You'll be ok and you'll get there