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Timely seeing this thread topic. Hair loss concerns here as well. Not simply from weight loss, but from getting older and fighting the DNA that threatens to thin my hair severely. I tried the head shaving thing a few years ago and it wasn’t for me. Got outa the shower looking like I had been in a cage match. Bleeding from some new cut all the time. Some dudes rock the bald look. I will do it if forced to, but in the meantime I am gonna throw money at it and hope for the best. Currently taking daily vitamins, iron, fish oil, potassium and started the collagen caplets this morning. Protein intake is good. Drink BCAA’s daily, too. I really noticed it when getting a haircut recently. The gal cutting it was cracking jokes about trying to work with my Donald. I was laughing, too….but geesh. Dis getting ta be serious bidness.

I'm killing it, body fat down below 10 percent, I'm working out at least 4 times a week, am lean and strong. But I've found solace in whiskey. I drink it neat, no mixers. I don't drink during the day, but need to quiet my mind. Good quality whiskey does that, after 35 + years of total sobriety. I'm in Texas, so pot is largely illegal- and the illicit vapes make me paranoid. Crazy thing is I don't wake up with a hang over- I take Pharma sleep meds but am careful about the combo. I did talk to one guy who lost a crazy amount of weight through surgery and told me that heavy alcohol consumption is not uncommon. I was not fixated on food before surgery, but gained a lot during Covid sitting on my ass without serious exercise. I'm now working hard at the gym with a good trainer, and the results have been impressive. But the alcohol is an issue. I don't drive or go out when I drink, I'm home. I'm a high functioning boozer, but still. I hate being dependent on any substance, but I need to turn down the noise in my head. There are some legal CBD outlets in Texas which I can explore. I know the volume of whiskey I'm consuming is not necessary good for long life, but it definitely chills me out. Would love input from others who have had the same experience. Physically I'm in amazing shape, and generally, my mental attitude is quite positive. TIA!

I was going to say the peri-menopausal syndrome has struck again. I had to switch to 50mg DHEA while the hormones were swinging around. I had my various doctor’s blessing. It is a hormone therapy treatment so please talk with your physician. Formal Hormone replacement therapy would have been better but alas, insurance. Now I’ve weaned off to 25mg at age 57. I live just fine on 900-1200 kcals at 5’4” and I’m not frail, I weight lift and have a super active job, and walk 20-30 minutes a day. Each of us is different. Soups make me very full, and salads when I can’t stand the hungries.

I've been wondering about something. When I look at my surgery progress under my picture, I have my starting weight (388) as what I weighed the day of my initial surgery. BUT, my highest weight was 421, which is what I weighed when I started the bariatric surgery process. I lost 33 pounds in order to be approved for the surgery, then qualified and had it right away. So should I put my starting weight as my highest weight, or keep it at the weight I was at on surgery day? How do you guys do it?

A few things stood out to me about your post. 1137 calories is oddly specific. Since most people can't be that accurate with their food intake, I'm curious why you used this specific number? Can you elaborate? For example, most food logging software is only accurate within about 10% plus or minus, even if you are really meticulous with weighing everything. Keep in mind as well that if you are eating very many processed foods, Manufacturers are given a pretty wide latitude in terms of the listed calories, so those aren't near as accurate is you might think. Most people drastically underestimate their overall calorie consumption by as much as 20 to 25%, even if they are logging their food. There are a number of reasons, but things like guestimating certain amounts, using "average" calorie amounts for some items, and not counting certain types of foods are common errors. In short, you may actually be eating a lot more than you think. I'm also curious how you came to the conclusion that 1137 calories per day is the proper amount for you to lose weight? It's entirely possible your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), is anywhere between say 900 and 1700 calories per day. While BMR is just one component of your overall calorie burn per day, it's typically the largest single component, even if you are super active. If you are only working out 3 days a week, I'd not put you into the super active category. My point is that while it's not super likely, it is possible that you are actually eating at maintenance right now. Especially if you are eating more than you think. (See points one and two.) Scales are a REALLY terrible way to track success since they don't account for variations in other tissues besides fat. Water, which is a huge component of your overall weight can fluctuate dramatically day-to-day. Ask yourself honestly, are your clothes fitting differently? There is a pretty good chance here that you have been losing fat, but made up for it by retaining water in your muscles. This is super common in people when they work out, especially when they start a new fitness routine. There's also a small possibility you are actually adding some muscle mass, especially if you are new to strength training. Muscle is much more dense than fat, so if you gain muscle and lose fat, your clothes will fit better, but you might weigh about the same. My advice is going to sound counter-intuitive, but I'd suggest adding 200-300 calories per day to your diet. Preferably lean protein. Do this for 4 weeks and then reassess where you're at. If you are really currently eating at maintenance (as you might think from weeks of no loss), then you would be expected to gain a tiny bit in the next 4 weeks. If it's as I suspect and you're actually eating too little right now, eating a little more may actually up your metabolic rate as well as change your hormone balance. This could be just the thing to kickstart some fat loss in the next 4 weeks. Best of luck whatever you decide.

Yea it sounds like you are bigger boned. That’s something I liked to say when I was heavier because it sounded better but I’m really don’t think that I am supposed to carry a lot of weight. My frame is tiny.

So as I mentioned in my last thread, I had VSG in 2014. I did quite well for a decent amount of time but after really losing focus of my diet and lifestyle I have had significant regain. I have literally had GERD my entire life. When my surgeon initially told me that VSG WAS an option, I decided to go ahead with it thinking it was a much 'safer' option than RNY. He did reassure me that the GERD I had was directly related to my significant abdominal weight and that with weight loss it would subside. It DID, and eventually I went from a double strength PPI twice a day to a H2 blocker (at my lowest weight) a few times a week. I thought I was over the moon with this! However, fast forward about 4 years and now my GERD is worse than ever, I literally have productive reflux now. I will be sitting and talking to my husband and what I ate a couple hours ago will just shoot up to my throat without warning (I just read another thread saying this same thing). I get it SO bad when I lay in bed that I will run to the bathroom and literally spit out acid. When I had my VSG I had a hiatal hernia repair too, and I was under the impression that was a permanent fix but i'm thinking maybe not. I have EGD this Thursday and frankly, I am petrified scared of what she will find. I'm not worried about my sleeve but I AM worried that there is irreversible damaged to my esophagus or God forbid, esophageal cancer is found. IF I am found to not have anything significant, I've decided to go ahead with a revision for my longterm health. I have been on PPIs for decades. I want off of them. And I want to conquer the regain.

Yes! Cycling is awesome. One of my true joys with my weight loss, being able to get out on a bike. I road bike, mountain bike, and have a gravel bike in the process of being built :)

i use the weight i was on my first day of my 2 week pre-op diet (235 lbs which happened to be my highest weight recorded). p.s. my weight when i had my very first consultation 2 years prior to that was lower...i think it was like 220 or something. there is a statistic where you can input your weight on day of surgery, but it's just not included in the summary under your name in the side bar.... @Alex Brecher...maybe we can include "weight on surgery day" in the side bar info?

I’m only in the beginning stages. I had an orientation and met with the surgeon then was told I’d get an appointment with a nutritionist. I also need to hit my surgery weight, 11 pounds left to lose.

@Arabesque hit all the important points. I will reitterate that it's hard to fail the psych approval or any WLS approval really. Honestly, the thoughts you are having are not unusual. Many of us worried about not being approved because we did so much wrong to get to our weight (I was 500 pounds overweight). It doesn't matter. Even knowing this I still fretted over the psych evaluation. I was certain I would be rejected for this life saving surgery. But I fooled them and was approved. You too will be approved. If you believe you can lose your weight and keep it off, then do it. Surgery is forever. Evaluate your history of weight loss attempts, if any. Many of us could lose weight. It was being consistent and maintaining that was the problem. If I honestly believed I could lose the weight and keep it off without WLS I would have done it. But I had 20 years of not being able to do it no matter my beliefs that I could. For me, my comfortable weight is just barely into 'overweight' because I'm tall and I didn't like being a stick (I was 'underweight' for a while). This decission is also all you. It's your body. There is no law that you have to have a normal BMI. Do you. Trust yourself. Tek

Ooh, I'm here too, and it's been very interesting. I've started drinking a protein decaf coffee again to add a cup of fairlife skim milk to my day. I know that some of us need to be very careful about carbs, I need more carbs to support my exercise which is basic strength, walking, and the 2x weekly run. I add an extra apple, gluten free pretzels, and popcorn (which is totally ok for me in my known portions). I also add a few days of cashews, easy to eat and high nutrient density. I would say if you aren't going to track calories (and why would you if that isn't your favorite) then it would be helpful to add a specific snack/food etc and have that extra every day for a few weeks and see where that gets you. If you continue to drop weight, increase it, if not, you have likely found your maintenance diet. The thing that has been most eye opening for me is the fact that I can occasionally go over and not see any consequences for one day of overdoing it. In the past that would have been hell to take off again, now it just seems to regulate like a normal person. I had surgery 1/24 and have been at my same weight since 11/24. I'm not fighting to stay here, I'm struggling with some head hunger vs real hunger, that was to be expected, but otherwise it's been such a different reality from presurgery.

Wow that’s unfortunate but I know there are outliers. My friend lost all her weight really quick (too fast if you ask me) and now the maintenance dose for her is too high. She is having to go off of it because she cants STOP losing and she is getting weak because she can’t eat. I guess most people fall in between these two extremes. Hopefully before long all of these meds will be covered for everyone. They are doing so many studies and learning they work for so many things in addition to weight loss and diabetes. I think it’s just a matter of time 🤞

Yes my weight has affected me the majority of my adult life as well. I’m looking forward to living again! Being able to join my sisters on long weekends and my friends too! I have missed out on a lot!

Well there is never a 100% guarantee because we are all different but I would say that your response so far makes it very likely that you will be a success story based on my personal experience and the knowledge that I have of others experience who have lost and kept it off vs those who have regained a significant amount. I had my sleeve surgery 3/9/2021 so I have been on these boards since then and I have been going to in person support groups since a couple of months prior to my revision and my personal experience and learned experience is that one of two four things happen to cause regain. 1: the person never really does change what they eat. This is a problem when the anatomical changes control portion of less nutritious foods for a while so they lose some but then as the stomach stretches they can eat more and they regain or they are able to have just a taste of things in the beginning but when appetite comes back that changes (note that some people can have just one bite of a brownie forever but that didn’t work for me so we just have to be mindful of how our body reacts and stop doing it if we can’t stop ourselves at a small portion). 2: the surgery was never a good fit. I know that this was part of problem with the sleeve for me because I never did feel ANY metabolic changes. I still absolutely hated healthy foods that I didn’t like before and I did not have any additional energy or motivation after the surgery. Basically I think for me the surgery was probably like Wegovy would be. The hunger hormones went away for a while and I was able to eat less until that came back. But nothing else changed for me. I never felt a change in energy and I was never about to get start r with exercise and healthy food options did not appeal to me in the slightest. I ate alot of chicken breast and a few veggies that I don’t mind in the beginning but there was no variety so like most diets I couldn’t sustain it when the hunger came back and I wasn’t moving my body to help my physical and mental health to keep it going. 3: This would be a combo of the two which would be where i would actually say that I fell with my sleeve. Because I didn’t like enough of the healthy food even a little bit I started having less ideal foods far more often. I mean i wasn’t eating McDonald’s ever and I wasn’t having poor choices all the time but I would have like a quarter of a frozen pizza or a lean cheeseburger with a roll several nights a week thinking it was okay because calorie wise it wasn’t much worse if that was all ate. The problem was the other macros and the fact that for me they were slippery slope foods and they made me crave more. I wasn’t gaining on that but carbs make me crave carbs so that little devil voice took over and I tested the waters a bit more by having just a few fries or a bit of cake with that but it was way too often and far too early out for me to know my limits. Then, to make matters worse, my mental health issues kicked in where I had not only stopped losing but gained 20 pounds and when I couldn’t reverse it even when I tried my hardest to rein it in (because I was now craving the carbs again bad) i just considered that I was a complete failure and they didn’t say it but i could see it that my friends and family felt that way too and I just slowly just quit trying. This is when the support of people who get it would’ve been sooooooooooo very important. Never been obese people are never going to be able to get it or be able to help. Reach out to your bariatric support if you struggle. Even if your disgusted. They get it and never judge. 4: Some people even though the surgery is a success and they make all the lifestyle changes and everything is working lose sight of their lifelong goal for one reason or another and let bad habits slowly slip back in and they gain. I think this is probate going to be the hardest one for me. To not take my eye off the prize 5 years down the road. But we can do it. I think that staying active in these support groups and checking in with my team is going to be key for me. I am going to ask to have my follow ups a couple times a year even when I’m a ways out just to keep me in check. I know that I am able to gain a lot of weight in a year!! I never did the In person support groups at all after my sleeve and I stopped posting here for a while and didn’t go to my follow up appointments when things were out of control and I needed the help the most. Basically for me the sleeve was just one of my longer and more successful diets that started with the curved appetite and a lot of hope that it would work this time but slowly ended when the hunger came back, bad habits slipped back in, the cravings got unbearable and my all or nothing thinking finally got the best of me. I think I probably would have leveled out somewhere between my starting and my low weight if I had not given up but since I started at a relatively low BMI to begin with that did not seem like a success to me at the time. 89 pounds later I only wished I had been back to that weight though. I learned a lot from the sleeve experience though and I think that knowledge is helping me now. Hopefully, it helps others too. I try to let my experience be a cautionary tale without scaring anyone too much. Anyways, based on your nutrition changes, steady loss and your activity I do not think you are like me with the sleeve or others who I’ve seen who never even tried to eat differently or exercise so I don’t think your surgery was a bad fit at all or that your just expecting the surgery to do all the work. I think that your surgery is doing what it was designed to do for you and so as long as you keep doing your part you should get your where your body needs to be. Just don’t get caught up in a certain number and let your brain get the best of you like I did. That last 10 or 15 pounds may feel like a lot but your already so much healthier and happier that you were before. Keep striving for that goal but don’t let it be the only thing that matters. To me it will be icing on the cake to what is already a success story Your body will have its own idea of what is an ideal size for you and you may have to just accept that it may not be exactly what you have in mind (it could be lower but it could also be a bit higher. It may be a sorry to accept where your body is happy and healthy if you don’t want to be really working hard at this forever. Honestly, I imagine we will have to work at it for the rest of our lives to some degree. By that I mean that we will probably never have it as easy as someone who has never been obese. You are doing so incredibly well, though, making actual lifestyle changes and I have listened to anyone who is willing to share whether they were successful or not and that seems to be the biggest piece of advice. This is not a diet it is a lifestyle. Your surgery is working for you and you are working hard for you as well. Those two things are key to this journey long term. Just keep it up and I really believe you will reach all of your goals. ❤️

I use my highest recorded weight (from my initial consultation) as my starting weight. I lost about 70 pounds before my surgery, and I remember my surgeon saying, "Don't worry, you still get credit for the weight you lost before surgery." At the time, I was mildly annoyed because, in my mind, that meant he was taking credit for the weight I lost without the surgery, but now I understand what he was really saying. I lost over 200 pounds from my highest weight until now, and it was all part of the same process.

I just checked and at 2 months, I was down 20.6 lbs from the day of surgery. There's really not a hard and fast rule for how much you'll lose. Everyone is different and it depends on your starting point and how much you lost pre-op, too. I had some months when I lost a lot and other months where I hardly lost anything, but overall it moved steadily downward. My weight loss has stalled for the past month or so, now that I am more than a year out. The only guidelines I was given was 60g minimum of protein per day and 64oz water. I am now almost 14 months post-op and I've gone from 225 lbs on surgery day (251 was my highest, which was 6 months pre-op) to anywhere from 162-165lbs. My exercise consists of walking and that's it. I'd like to lose another 10 lbs but I'm also pretty fine with where I am as long as I don't gain (which is why I do hope to lose a bit more). I've gone from a size 22 to a size 12. I think I could still lose a bit more if I focused on cutting out some bad habits that have crept in with sweets/simple carbs, and if I increased my daily exercise to something a little more challenging than a walk. I don't count calories and I don't really track macros at this point, either. I just try to eat reasonable meals that focus on protein and veggies, and not snack too much or eat junk food too often. A typical day is either spinach frittata, Kodiak protein oatmeal, or a Greek yogurt for breakfast, plus a serving of mixed fruit (strawberries, cantaloupe, blueberries, grapes. Lunch is a good size spinach salad with 3oz chicken and some black beans. Dinner might be a bowl of homemade chicken, bean, and veggie soup, chili, or maybe some grilled meat and veggies. Sometimes I eat chickpea pasta with marinara and meatballs but other types of pasta and breads don't settle well. For snacks, I like string cheese and an apple, or some mixed nuts or roasted edamame. I have to be careful of overindulging in things like popcorn, candy, and cookies because they are too easy to eat without getting full (and sadly I don't get dumping from them). Red meat fills me up very quickly. The hardest thing for me now is dealing with the head hunger that makes me want to reach for food if I am bored or stressed. Getting the stuff out of the house completely is the only strategy that really works for me with that. My only real advice is don't drive yourself crazy. Just do your best each day and pay attention to your body. That's more important than counting calories. You're not on a diet! You need to figure out what you can sustain for the rest of your life, while paying attention now to the basics (protein and water, plus vitamins) to keep up your health.

Hi guys I just thought I would check in with you all and tell you of my progress, trials and tribulations! I'm nearly 6 weeks post-op and I am still adjusting to my new life. I am doing very well all things considered, except that one of my surgical sites reopened and is not healing properly, don't worry I am having medical support from the doctor and nurse, I just feel a bit down with it to be honest. I'm type 2 diabetic and my glucose levels have stabilized which is awesome! I lost 2 stone 1lb in just under a month which is amazing, I did stay the same last week which was disappointing but I guess my body needs time to catch up! I'm struggling mentally with self-imposed restrictions and triggering situations like food shopping etc and I wondered if you guys could help me gain some clarity I am one of the unlucky ones that still experiences real hunger and it is definitely not head hunger. I need to eat around every 2 hours, I am getting all my protein in and my fluids and I'm eating around 700 cals a day. My problem is that when I feel real hunger I panic and I don't know why! I have had lots of therapy and I am in a very good place now after many years of struggles with my mental health. I guess I was expecting not to feel hungry like most other people, and that was the case until about 3 weeks ago! The self imposed restriction is calorie counting! I am conflicted about whether I should be counting the calories in non starchy veg such as sprouts, cucumber tomatoes, gherkins, beetroot etc and fruit such as blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and satsumas. Should I be counting calories at all? I'm eating around 700 cals a day at the moment. I am committed to eating healthy and do not crave junk food anymore which is awesome! I go for whole foods mainly and low carbs. Previously when I have given myself restrictions before I have done great for a few months then fallen off the wagon. I know it is different this time as I have a new tool, but it's taking my brain a while to catch up! I know that I am at the early stages at the moment and still learning my fullness cues and practising a fair amount of control, I used to eat mindlessly, now I think about everything that goes in my mouth. What do you guys think of this? I also worry that my weight loss will stall and I know it's only been a week so far and its not a stall until 3 to 4 weeks, but I have seen it so many times on lots of forums and it worries me a bit to be honest. I know that no one really knows how their weight loss is going to go as everyone is unique and I need to stop overthinking things but its so hard when I have done it all my life! Did any of you guys have similar worries or concerns in the early stages and did it resolve itself? Any advice would be great! Thanks in advance x

Hello everyone! I am very sorry to those who interacted with the post and didn't get any replies. Unfortunately week 2 of my LSD my doctor called to say the surgery is cancelled due to fact I failed my psych assessment. I lost nearly £2,000 in money that they refused to refund (the cost was for booking my surgery date) due to being caught in a catch 22. Because I failed my psych assessment it is considered MY fault not theres, therefore under the contract I signed prior, no refund. It really made me depressed. I'm back on here losing weight with Mounjaro. I would still like to connect with people whether you're pre surgery, post surgery, losing with the injection or naturally. I am hoping I can lose enough weight so I don't need the surgery, but if I do, that's fine too. Thanks!

@Bypass2Freedom I absolutely hate that comment, I get that all the time. Or "Don't loose more weight, your getting too skinny or you look really muscular" I just say no I am normal weight you just have never seen me at this weight so it looks really thin or I am in the best shape of my life, and I worked my ass off so thank you for that! Anyways its annoying AF!

Well here’s one I never thought I’d post. I just found out I’m pregnant 11 months post op. (Happy) accident (failed BC) But I’m really worried about how it’ll affect me weight wise, I was doing so well I’ve hit my goal and was 3kg away from hitting the goal I’d set for my 1 year post up next month Anyone been through this ? How did you navigate pregnancy after a sleeve ?

I remember you!!!! We had gastric sleeve the same day lol. You've done very well with your progress. I see you had to go to a bypass after the sleeve. I got really discouraged because with my sleeve I lost 52 lbs and that was it. I couldnt budge off that. I didnt want to have the bypass done as well so I just bummed around and got discouraged. Gained like 12 lbs and by January 2024 I was seeing another Dr to see if Zepbound would be beneficial for me or not. I started Zepbound by the end of Jan 2024 and so far I have lost an additional 72 lbs so its working better than the sleeve did. So much so I have all this loose skin now to deal with lol. Good to see your posts again!

ok...so i've been on here for a few years and have read the statement "i'm gaining weight and i don't know why", and an umpteen different variations of that same statement. the answer to this is to (honestly) track your food intake and weight over a period of time (and tracking your exercise habits, sleep habits, menstrual cycles is an added source of info). you will quickly figure out on the data collected where you can tweak things. and yes, I KNOW this is not for everyone. its not easy and it takes a certain level of crazy to keep this up for forever (*raISES hand* ... yep, im crazy). Now, if you are willing to make changes, then yay! if not, that is ok too! like i said, i've been on here for what seems like an eternity, and another thing that need to be addressed is that not everyone gets to their arbitrary goal weight, let alone stays there. often because this goal weight is not realistic to the efforts they are willing to put forward...wanna be 120lbs with 15% body fat? then be prepared to eat lean and exercise hours every day. forever. for most, this lifestyle is just not sustainable. and that is ok! quality of life is more important than a goal weight. if you lost weight then you won already. if you are off your meds and have energy and can move unhindered, then you won already. if you are angst free and living life, then you won already. BUT, if you WANT to lose more weight, get stronger, look better in that bikini, then go for it. start tracking your intake and be aware of how your inputs and outputs affect you, speak to a medical professional to see if there aren't any other issues that may be at play. adjust your diet and activity accordingly. and again, if that is just not your bag, thats ok...you just need to learn to accept your present and be cool with it. peace, people! p.s. and as GT expressed above, use whatever resources you have available to you (if you so desire), including meds!

I suspect that, given your loss to date, you still have a good way to go @Bypass2Freedom My original (totally guesstimated) 'goal' weight was based on the average loss after a gastric sleeve for someone with my starting weight. I would have been thrilled to get there and no further - I honestly mean that. But it was way out. I sailed through that and beyond. Kept sticking to the plan and finally landed well below. I know other people who stick to their plan land well above. The moral of the story is - stick to your plan and (within reason) you will land where you will land. Unless you actually end up underweight or unwell you don't need to add calories on purpose (that's my experience anyway) - your expanding capacity for food and your increasing hunger will eventually meet you in the middle. Whilst you are in the honeymoon post op period I say milk it for all it's worth. Meet your goals, take your supplements and enjoy the ride. Then begins the lifelong journey of maintenance. That's another story, LOL.

I am in the 1st stages of my journey. I meet with the team for my 1st consultations on Jan 2nd. I am @ 250 lbs. I have cronic back pain. I just had back surgery in Oct. I am doing the surgery because the weight of my stomach is pulling my spine forward. If i don't do this i might have to have another fusion in my back later on. Plus i am so excited to get this done. I have hit a plato and i cant lose any more weight i bounce around 250 lbs up or done by 10 lbs no matter what i do. I was @ 285 lbs I lost 60 lbs and it all stopped.So i have been hovering around the same weight for years.I am so excited to get this done.