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It's great to hear that you are considering all of your options when it comes to loose skin. It is true that there are many factors that play into how our skin responds to weight loss, and genetics is definitely one of the biggest ones. However, there are a few things that you can do to help your skin bounce back, even if it takes a little longer than you'd like. First and foremost, make sure that you are eating a healthy, balanced diet and getting enough protein. This will help your skin to heal and repair itself from the inside out. Additionally, staying hydrated is key for keeping your skin looking its best. Make sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day, and consider adding a daily moisturizer to your skin care routine. Finally, give yourself time. It can take months or even years for your skin to fully adjust to your new body, so be patient and give your skin the time it needs to bounce back. If you are still unhappy with your appearance after a few years, then you can always talk to a dermatologist or plastic surgeon about your options. Thanks for the advice! I'll definitely keep all of this in mind as I continue on my journey. Thanks for the advice! I am only a few months out, so I am hopeful that my skin will tighten up a bit more over time. I am being very consistent with my skin care regimen and using sunscreen religiously, so fingers crossed that will help! I am also drinking tons of water and eating pretty well, so hopefully that will make a difference too. I know it will take time and patience, but I am hopeful that I will see some more improvement. I'm so sorry to hear that you're struggling with your loose skin! I can completely understand how frustrating it must be. Have you considered talking to your doctor about surgery? It sounds like you've been doing everything right in terms of taking care of yourself, but sometimes our bodies need a little extra help. Surgery could be the answer for you and it's always worth exploring all of your options. I had never even heard of "turkey neck" until I started my weight loss journey. I was always unhappy with how my neck looked, but I thought it was just because I was overweight. Now that I've lost the weight, turkey neck is one of the things that bothers me most about my appearance. It's really hard to feel good about myself when people are constantly pointing out how saggy and wrinkled my skin looks. But you're right - at the end of the day, being healthy and feeling good about myself is more important than anything else!

I'm another who can't tolerate protein shakes post-op. They're just too sweet. There's one brand I can stomach (BSc Clean Vegan), but I only drink it occasionally when I want to hit most of my protein in one "meal", and I definitely don't enjoy it. Instead I drink protein water throughout the day to supplement my food-based intake. Adding unflavoured powder to soups etc was basically like adding mud. Completely inedible. It's probably a different story with whey protein, but plant-based protein powder needs a lot of flavouring and help to be palatable. It's strange how the taste buds change, as I was absolutely fine drinking protein shakes before my bypass. The tolerance for them hasn't come back, and I'm over a year post-op now.

Hello, I,m new here ..looking for answers and options, I hear paramount advantage will do the surgery in 3 months. I REALLLLLY don't want to wait 6 months ..I,m on buckeye now but I will switch in a heartbeat if I can get it done faster. Need information. Also I heard paramount advantage is selling out to another company.. are they going out of business?

I have EXTREME period pain due to endometriosis. I take CBD pills for the pain now and it works better than ibprofin, etc. ever did. CBD has also not had an effect on my appetite. I know it depends on what state you're in if it's even an option

I had gastric sleeve 5 weeks ago, I have lost weight but for the past 1.5 weeks the scale is stuck. I am following the plan although not getting enough protein. I am moving- but I haven’t started strenuous exercise yet. Anyone have any tips? I have a lot of weight to loss still (almost 100 pounds) although I have lost (including pre surgery lost weight 73). Please and thank you

In the beginning, I added unflavored protein powder to things I drank and/or ate. 1 yr 3 months later, I still have have problems meeting my protein requirements so I can't stop. So far the only protein shake I like is RTD Koia plant protein shake in chocolate banana. Unfortunately, it is too expensive for me to drink every day, so I still add protein powder to my coffee in the morning. Recently, I like Syntrax chocolate truffle.

One of my favorite protein powders is vegan... there are so many options at this point, it's definitely doable. But for real, the French Toast and Chocolate Frost from this link are sooo good. https://1stphorm.com/collections/protein/products/vegan-power-pro?variant=39919579660374

at 7.5 years out, I still have a protein shake almost every morning as my morning snack. However, we discovered early on that I malabsorb protein, so I have to have at least 100 grams a day to keep my prealbumin level from tanking. I *can* reach that through food, but if I have that morning shake, I know I'll always make my goal and i don't have to worry all day about whether or not I'm making my protein goal. I'd rather have that shake and not be thinking about protein all day...

I’m 2yrs out from sleeve to bypass revision and still drink a protein shake most days in my coffee. Do what works for you and is acceptable with your surgical team.

Hello, I had bypass a little over 7 months ago. I still drink a protein shake everyday. Otherwise, I have to eat NON stop ALL day to hit my protein goal. I am not a breakfast person, so I actually don't mind just grabbing it for breakfast to give my protein a boost right out of the gate. You can stop drinking them whenever you want, you just need to maintain your protein goals. Vitamins depends solely on the vitamins and your blood work. I take a "1 a day" bariatric multi vitamin and calcium each day. Vitamin at breakfast and calcium at lunch. So far so good with blood work but I am early out so we will see how it worked out in a few months at my 1 year blood work.

Meeting your protein goals is really a "For the rest of your life" thing, just like with vitamins. Which we would have to do even without having the surgery, it's just that now with the surgery, it will be so much harder to fit in all those great nutrients, which is why we need to have more nutrient dense foods to fuel our bodies. The amount you need to eat per day depends on what your Height and Weight is. The good news is that this doesn't have to be in Protein shake form. You can do it just with diet. If you have a dietician, it's worth chatting to them about other ways to get your daily protein in. Some people just find the shakes easier. Others are happy eating it in their daily food. Below are a bunch of foods high in protein, you can make amazing meals with these and get all your daily protein without using shakes 1) Beef Skirt Steak: 26.7 g Protein Per 100 g 2) Chicken Breast: 23.1 g Protein Per 100 g 3) Canned Tuna: 23.6 g Protein Per 100 g 4) Lean Pork Chop: 22.4 g Protein Per 100 g 5) Sockeye Salmon: 21.3 g Protein Per 100 g 6) Lentils: 25.8 g Protein Per 100 g 7) Shrimp: 20.3 g Protein Per 100 g 😎 Sardines: 20.9 g Protein Per 100 g 9) Lamb Chop: 20.4 g Protein Per 100 g 10) Cocoa: 20 g Protein Per 100 g 11) Cod: 17.9 g Protein Per 100 g 12) Cheddar Cheese: 24.9 g Protein Per 100 g 13) Pumpkin Seeds: 18.5 g Protein Per 100 g 14) Beef Jerky: 33.2 g Protein Per 100 g (Dont know if we can eat this) 15) Nutritional Yeast: 50 g Protein Per 100 g 16) Turkey Breast: 24.6 g Protein Per 100 g 17) Parmesan Cheese: 35.8 g Protein Per 100 g 18) Whey Protein: 70 g Protein Per 100 g 19) Dried Squid: 72 g Protein Per 100 g 20) Mackerel: 18.6 g Protein Per 100 g' Then there's also things like Peas, Spinach, Kale, Broccoli, Sprouts, Mushrooms, Brussels sprouts, Edamame, Sweet corn, Winter Squash and Yummy Avocados. Hope this helps

I couldn’t drink protein shakes after my bypass because they felt like they filled my tiny stomach up. I was told that they really weren’t beneficial since they were liquid they pretty much went right through the stomach anyway. I use the patch vitamins every night. I’m over 4 years out & the only thing I have had trouble with is my iron but I have a history of anemia so it’s not really from the by pass.

Hello there, I got a mini bypass in February, and I am wondering if maybe it's time to make life easier. I'd like to cut out the daily protein shake I drink and perhaps take vitamins morning and evening instead of four times per day, as I do now. Can anyone please share their experiences? Thank you.

Lifestyle issues: none. I went vegetarian back in 1989, and have been vegan for about 7 years now. Likewise my partner. I've always been a supplement taker, so I've never been anemic or had any issues (outside of eating too much junk food and carbs, of course, leading me here!). Post-op, my labs have been consistently good, so even with the malabsorbtion factor, I've been able to nourish myself well. The only thing any blood test has found was 8 weeks ago when I landed in hospital after a bike accident and the labs showed I was low in magnesium. So I've been taking a mag supplement since then which is fixing that. Never a whisper of kidney stones. It's tough recommending any protein drinks since I'm in Australia and we don't have access to the same brands as you guys over there. The best protein water I've found that's both tasty and not absolutely drowning in stevia is MyProtein's Clear Vegan Protein. I know you can get that one internationally. It's not as much protein per serve as a shake (it's 10g per serve), but since I have to drink a couple of litres of water a day anyway, getting 3 of those in means I've got over half my daily minimum protein intake plus water, so I love the double-up. Other vegan protein waters with higher protein counts that I've tried have either been too cloyingly sweet or just straight up revolting. The MyProtein one is like drinking cordial. Minus the sugar. The Apple & Elderflower flavour is the bomb. Also: vegan protein will absorb as well as non-vegan. I promise it's a myth that you can't get enough protein from plants. Plenty of vegan athletes and body builders can attest! 💪

Thank you, this was very helpful! Have you noticed any issues with this lifestyle? Are your labs normal and you're able to keep on track? I think my biggest fear is protein not absorbing well enough. Have you ever had to worry about kidney stones? Do you have a recommended brand for the vegan protein water? Thank you immensely for all of your help!

Hi, certified vegan bypasser here! 🤓 It's totally doable, and I've had no issues at all hitting my protein goals both with and without vegan protein water. The protein water has been a big help, but honestly, even if I wasn't vegan I'd still be using the protein water as there are days when I just want to eat vegetables and don't want to deal with heavy seitans. Speaking of, seitan (wheat meat/faux meats) are the best source of high protein I've found. The best ones can be sourced from good Chinese grocers in the freezer section. If you have a Trader Joes or Wholefoods near you, I expect they'd have a great vegan section. Some examples of the protein counts in the seitans I have access to: Chinese supermarket Not Pork 100g serve = 165 cal, 21g protein Chinese supermarket Not Duck 100g serve = 150 cal, 19g protein Princess G brand "Crispy G" 100g serve = 266 cal, 17g protein Sayur Not Pork 100g serve = 155 cal, 21g protein Lamyong is another great faux meat brand. But if you can't source good faux meats, good old tofu comes through: Firm Tofu (½ cup/126g) = 181 cal, 21.8g protein Marinate that tofu in something delicious, and fry it up with some asian greens! Some mung bean pastas are high in protein. Not the nicest wheat pasta substitute, but with a nice tangy tomato sauce and a little vegan Parmesan, it's acceptable. Also check the nutritional info on the back of Gardein products, I think they're pretty easy to find. Soy milk has about 8g of protein per serve, so that's another way of slipping some extra protein in, especially if you can tolerate protein shakes. Protein fortified soy milk (10g per serve) in a plant based protein shake gives me a whopping 40g of protein in one go, so again, on days when I'm just craving vegetables, I can do a shake for breakfast and a protein water or two throughout the day and easily hit my goals. Some vegetables are also higher in protein, like edamame, but I honestly just stick with protein water and seitans, as that's what I enjoy. Hope that helps!

From what I read, as long as you get your protein and iron in, there is no problem being on a plant-based diet. It may be more difficult to reach your protein and iron goals but as long as you are committed to reaching those goals, you will be fine. Tofu, tempeh, beans and lentils... Etc. And maybe add vegan protein powder. Also, I'm a fan of taking full blood tests every 6 months to ever year to make sure I am not deficient since I don't eat a lot of meat myself. Definitely talk to your doctor about it though.

I tolerate this really well and wish it had more of its own protein.

Hello everyone! Its been quite a long time since I've utilized this site, but I'm itching to get people's opinions on something. Lately, I've been stewing on becoming plant-based, or at least, mostly plant-based. Can this be done as someone who's had WLS? Would it be difficult to meet protein goals? Has anyone on here tried it, or does it? There's a good possibility this question has already been asked on here before, and I just can't find it. But I am curious. Any thoughts on this are appreciated! Thank you.

My surgery was also the 8th. Today I have been able to drink about 30 oz of water and about 3 oz of a protein shake. Not much. My dr told me that I would most likely not hit my goals this week and possibly next week either. Just do your best

I'm disappointed that I didn't know about this options BEFORE I had my VSG, although I am very pleased with my progress.

I had mine done 11/8. I was discharged 4 hours after the procedure. I think the hardest part for me was coming out of anesthesia it took about 24 hours. I am able to get my clear fluids in it I just get nauseous thinking about adding in protein.

Yay, glad that things are going well! I have not warmed up any of my premier drinks, I should try that! I have added it to decaf coffee as a creamer, but your idea sounds awesome. My taste buds keep changing per week it seems. This week I like sf raspberry lemonade for my cold drink and apple cinnamon tea as my hot. I've also tried a few fairlife protein shakes and I might be leaning towards liking them more than premier even though I love premier. Mostly its because its less thick and so far I haven't gotten the occasional chunk of protein in my drink. I've been in a stall now for almost 3 weeks so not fun at all. I saw my dr, dietitian and exercise specialist and they all said I have done everything right and hitting all protein and water goals so the only thing to do is to increase calories until the stall breaks. So they want me to get to 900 to 1000 a day, I was at around 750. Its so hard for my brain to wrap around that since my whole life I've been told that to lose weight you need to eat less and exercise more. I do understand the stall too and that my body is very good at protecting itself. So I'm going to listen to the experts and just be patient and I know it will pass. Just sad because I was already a slow loser and now I've lost only 4 pounds in almost a month. How is everyone else doing?

I got sleeved Oct 19 2022 . I absolutely can’t stand the chewable vitamins. I also have a hard time getting all my protein in . I just bought unflavored protein powder . Hopefully that will help .

I am struggling with my fluids. After just one or two small sips i feel so full for hours. I am trying to force it to get all my proteins and water but it hurts. I hope it gets easier soon Sent from my SM-F916U using BariatricPal mobile app