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Not to make you jealous or anything @AmberFL but I went to the gym today 🤣 I was really looking forward to it after not having been for 2.5 weeks due to Christmas holidays so I can understand the frustration. It is worth it to be patient and take care of your new assets.

totally me this week! I am just having a week where I feel like puffy, slow, tired, just unmotivated to work out. I am still doing my workouts because I know its a slump but I am just there this week.

You do not stay which type of surgery you are referring to but after sleeve it is normal that the stomach will stretch a bit again but it will still be smaller than before the surgery. The stomach is a muscle and adapts to how it is used so if you regularly and continually eat large amounts it will retain the size needed for those expected meals. It is how a lot of us (well me anyway) got to be the size we were that surgery was the best option. Not sure what you class by overeating as different to everyone (like a handful of nuts vs a packet of biscuits) or how often you mean "a few" but in the immediate weeks and months after the surgery you would not be able to eat much at all and then after some time you would be eating what will become the new normal size meals. If you just eat a bit much a few times over a long period of time it should not be an issue but you may feel uncomfortable those times. The time pre-op and the phases of food reintroduction post-op is about doing the work mentally also to understand how, what, why and when you eat. It can be hard but it will then help you use your new tool (smaller stomach) to go forward and not stress about things like an extra bite of something delicious every now and then.

So a month and a half ago I started working 12 hour shifts overnight 3-4 days per week. Everyone said by now my body would adapt, but that hasn't happened. Instead, as time goes on, I'm getting more and more fatigued. I sleep all day and wake up feeling like I haven't slept at all. My joints hurt all the time. I talked to my doctor and my nutritionist and they said to get more rest, eat more dark leafy greens, increase my protein, and maybe drink some coffee. I've done all that and it's been no help at all. Then I was told "maybe you shouldn't do overnights" but that's not an option. It's a requirement for my job. Energy drinks don't work on me (I'm not caffeine sensitive so no matter how much I drink of it, I don't get any kind of a boost) and b-12 doesn't do anything for me, either. I'm at a loss now and I was hoping some of you might have some suggestions. Thanks in advance!!!

my stomach had full on conversations with me for the first two or so years post op. it was pretty loud too, omg. i'm 6+ years out and on the rare occasions it may make a sound here or there...like maybe once every 2-3 weeks. i can't figure out the circumstances that makes it happen, these days, but i don't have any ill effects, so i'm not that concerned....

I'm in my 50s so also close. I had a sleeve 3 years ago. I'm not exactly sure what you mean when you talk about having it again - do you mean a revision of some kind? Second procedures are necessary for many of us, for many reasons. If we can look at *why* we regained, sometimes we can avert regain a second time around. Sometimes not. If you do go with further surgery (and many of us would if and when we regained I think) it might help before that to go back to the immediate post op rules and stick to those. I went for a sleeve partly because it left the door open to a revision if I *did* regain. I'm only 3 years out and glad to have that escape hatch (but - more surgery is not enticing!!!!) I am totally open to GLP-1 /GIP drugs if I do regain a lot. Just different tools. Also open to a revision if necessary - as I said I kind of chose the sleeve on those grounds.

Sorry you are in so much pain. I have a B12 deficiency (pernicious anemia) and a some of your symptoms are what I suffered from before my diagnosis and now when my level starts to drop, though I was diagnosed about 12 years ago so way before my WLS. My anaemia cannot be managed through oral supplements or food (as my body does not break down the B12 sufficiently) but the bariatric multivitamin I take daily and dairy products do help maintain my levels in addition to regular B12 injections (every four to six weeks). I think getting a B12 supplement and multivitamins should be top of your list, if you don't already take them but obviously that is not going to solve all the issues you are having with hernia and such. Make sure you get an appointment with the bariatric team to discuss everything with them and request full bloodwork and then also keep the appointment for the ultrasound etc. Hopefully you will get some answers soon that result in a course of action that will treat the cause and end the pain.

Yesterday’s lunch and dinner and today’s breakfast. Lunch- after pics of the salad and mini cannolis. I only ate 2 bites of soup as lunch just wasn’t my jam. Dinner- only grabbed an after of the salad but ate a small roll with about a tsp butter, 3/4 the steak, 4 bites of the underside of the chicken (it was dry and the sauce was gross), both carrots, 2 bites of asparagus (less than 1/2 a spear), and about 1/3 of the mashed potatoes underneath. I ate about 1/4 of the 2 desserts offered because I split with a friend. I also had some 1/3 cup street corn dip, 2 mini pita, half an eggroll filled with black beans and corn, a mini eggroll, and 2tbsp hummus as a snack yesterday and chips with queso during bingo. I gave my alcoholic drink tickets to someone else because after half a glass of champagne I was done drinking alcohol. Breakfast- coffee had half and half and I drank it all. Drank about 6oz of the milk but ate the yogurt and oatmeal. I didn’t eat any of the mid-morning pastries offered today and the boxed lunch I picked was a roasted vegetable wrap with balsamic dressing, 4oz of potato salad, a cookie and I stopped and picked up green beans from the truck stop. I ate 1/4 cup of the green beans, 3/4 of the potato salad, pulled off about a 1/3 of the tortilla before eating the wrap and gave away the cookie. I can’t wait to have surgery next week because within 1-3hrs of eating I’m in unbelievable pain. I can chug my water like I could a few months ago for the same reason and I’m over it.

I just had a check up with my surgeon and he told me the weight loss slows down at the 6 month mark, then at 12 months and then usually stalls around 18 months post op. I’m 8 months post up and I have definitely noticed the weight loss has slowed to 3kg (6lbs) a month. But i also noticed it’s motivated me in my choices: I’m so much more mindful in the sense that i catch myself choosing entirely willingly to eat more protein for example or to just say no to that Christmas chocolate someone’s offering - and knowing my weight loss is slower means I am even more conscious of the impact of « bad decisions » so it’s actually kind of a good thing. Almost like preparing for the future I guess But anyways yes it’s normal to see the loss slow down but put a positive spin on it My surgeon actually told me there’s and « anorexiogenic » side to WLS that can be dangerous - kinda like being addicted to seeing that number go down. So he prônes putting the scale away and weighing in once a month from 6 months post op onwards to make sure we don’t mess with our mental health

I was an early adopter of sparkling water too but I let a lot of the bubbles go first so it was semi flat. Plus I sipped on that glass (500ml) for a few hours. I turned to it as plain water started to become heavy and difficult to drink so sparkling water gave me an alternative to predominately plain water. I still do this almost every day. I actually gave up a lot of carbonated drinks years before my surgery (except for soda or tonic water as a mixer & champagne). Carbonation is terrible if you have reflux (GERD) of which I had a mild case so it is something to keep in mind especially as you have a sleeve. I’m not a big or regular alcohol drinker any more either & I can’t recall the last time I had soda or tonic water as a mixer. Still have the odd glass of champagne - maybe one or two glasses a month. As for being able to take large gulps, drink large volumes of liquid or take multiple sips at a time is an individual thing. Personally I can’t gulp any more nor can I take more than 2 or 3 sips at a time. (E.g. had trouble swallowing a med last year - 4 attempts then up came all the water & the med I had finally swallowed.) Regularly sipping doesn’t bother me. I never feel thirsty or at least never so thirsty I need to take several gulps or down a whole glass at a time. It comes down to what you and your tummy is happy with you doing in regards to how much liquid you can swallow at a time and to carbonation.

I can’t wait to see all of the dishes being made this week!

Your worry is going to give you a stroke or higher blood pressure if you are not careful. I'm concerned about that so here are my thoughts. At 61, I finally had the RNY. Initially I wanted the GSleeve, but was educated by my surgeon about RNY and that made the most sense, it is well researched, it is done laparoscopicly and if you need the other part of the stomach removed, you can ask your surgeon to do that. The Y portion of the RNY might need to be attached somewhere else. I'm not sure. I had no pain and have been able to tolerate all of my walking and light housework during my 2 weeks off work. I tolerated the clear liquids and the full liquids well and now I am on solid foods and doing well. With RNY you tend to lose more, but it is dependent on you and what you eat. With RNY, I was taken off more than half of the medications I was on, and taking none of my diabetes meds and insulin. Having a fear of the GERD with GSleeve, I also opted for RNY. Because you are already on pantoprazole and still have issues, I would suggest the RNY because there is a higher risk for those who already have indigestion issues or suffer from too much stomach acids. RNY you can't have NSAIDS, but with my arthritis, I am allowed to take it only as needed, and I take a capsule of Celeobrex, and it works fine for my painful arthritis. Just talk to your surgeon about that. Being down 40 pounds already with the GLP1 medication is good, and it will reduce fat on your liver as a side effect. I too have renal problems, stage 3, but was encouraged by my kidney doctor to have the RNY, and yes, the kidney doc also doesn't want me on NSAIDS, but allows me to do so. I need to get down in weight so I can have a hip replacement. Then, I might not need NSIADs any more. I hope I have been able to give you some information and encouragement to re-look at the different surgeries. RNY is just one step further than the sleeve, and with the history of your family, I'm sure the surgeon will be able to compromise and do a revision to the typical RNY as needed. Having stomach cancer history in your family would be one reason to just take the stomach out that is cut off, like in the sleeve and attach the Y end of RNY elsewhere. A modification should be easy to contemplate and do. Just another thought, your surgeon may want to meet with you because the ulcer in your stomach is evident on the series of pictures taken, and wants to move quickly to get that part of the stomach taken out? It is possible? Already having an ulcer starting may also be the reason they postpone the surgery and put you on healing meds, and get you to "calm down" because worry makes ulcers worse too. There are all kinds of reasons and things to factor in, but I would say you definitely need to find out what the surgeon wants to talk about, and go in with some knowledge. I suggest you take a look at some of the YouTube videos by BariNation. You may find out that they help you. I wish you the best, keep us posted after you talk to your surgeon.

i had my preadmission class yesterday and they spoke about what we can and can't have as well. they don't do the two-week liquid diet before they just have a green and lean diet basically healthy eating that we must do before the surgery and the liquid diet 2 weeks post op. my date is 10/29 so start the diet Monday. they gave us two shakes one we have to take 12 hours before surgury time and the other 3 hours prior to surgery . the day before surgery we can have a liht breakfast and after 12 noon all liquids .

Thanks for the detailed reply. It makes perfect sense that the loss is going on in spite of the lack of movement on the scales. My Dietician said the same to me yesterday at our first post surgery apt last night. I don't agree with the "don't weigh everyday" mantra myself. It would be no less disappointing or frustrating to find out after a week the scales haven't moved. for me it would be far worse!! YMMV of course.

I enjoyed my Thanksgiving food a bit too much lol, but December is a reset and I am getting my boobies done in 28days! so I am doing a lower carb and amping up my workouts since I will be down and out for a few weeks. So my win was meal prepping, having everything that I needed to be successful this week!

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

TLDR: 1.sugar-free pudding with sugar-free Cool Whip, 2. Mio, and 3. plastic portion cups. There are two food/drink favorites of mine, looking back to my first 3 months of post-op. First is Jello sugar-free instant pudding. The box says "makes four 1/2cup servings," but I make five. I top it with a tbsp of sugar-free Cool Whip, and I had one at the end of every day. A real treat. And, you'll be able to eat pudding very soon. Second: in a 32-oz water bottle, put in about a cup of water and squirt in some Mio water enhancer. My fave is the fruit punch flavor. You'll have to experiment with how much to put in. Too little and there's not enough flavor; too much and it's too sweet and heavy. After squirting in the Mio, I add my daily scoop of Miralax (has absolutely no taste or texture). I needed it-- you may not need any laxative at all. Stir well. Then fill up the bottle with more water. Sip throughout the next few hours. It's a great way to get your minimum 64 ozs of water. One more tip is to order a sleeve of 5-oz condiment cups (Amazon calls them "plastic portion cups") with snap-on lids. The kind you find in restaurants for putting salad dressing or salsa into. Restaurant ones are only about 1-ounce size, which is too small for our use. The 5-oz is what you need. I use them every day for portioning out so many things. I bought 100, but I keep washing them out after each use, so 100 looks like a lifetime supply for me. Wishing you the very best!!

How often do you do your labs? Are they okay?? My team has us do them every 3 months for the first year at least.

I wish it were that simple, but it's not. We have to keep in mind that our weight is made up of a lot more than just fat. There are multiple body composition models used, but the one I recommend most people use when trying to lose fat is a 3 compartment model that consists of the following: Fat Muscle Bone I recommend this one since it's easy for most people to visualise those 3 components. Keep in mind however that roughly 70-75% of muscle mass is water. Why is that important? Because sometimes we can be fooled by the scale into thinking we're not losing fat, or that we're gaining fat when we're not. Most likely, what you're seeing is simply changes in water weight. A really common scenario is for people on low calorie diets (like most people here), to see a plateau and think that means they need exercise more and/or eat less, but when they do that, they actually gain a bit according to the scale. The reality is they didn't gain fat, they retained more water. I think it's important to keep in mind that we all have something called a Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). This is the minimum number of calories your body needs simply to stay alive. It can be thought of as the number of calories you expend per day even if you were completely sedentary. BMR is a complicated subject, but on average, the bigger you are, the higher your BMR. Yes, it goes down as you lose fat, since fat is not completely metabolically inert, but fat loss does not have nearly the effect on BMR that losing muscle does. This is one of the main reasons bariatric patients are told to focus on protein intake because protein is needed to help prevent excessive muscle loss when dieting. More muscle = higher BMR = faster weight loss, or being able to eat more at goal weight The average BMR for women is ~1400 k/cal per day. Higher if you are taller or more muscular, lower if you are shorter and/or have lower muscle mass. Men, for obvious reasons tend to have a higher BMR that's more in the 1700 range. My point in telling you all of the above is that it's highly unlikely that someone eating 900 calories a day needs to eat even less if weight loss has stalled. Frankly, if that is the OP, then I'd actually recommend exactly the opposite: try upping your caloric intake a couple hundred k/cal per day and see what happens. I know it seems counter intuitive, but your body is not a simple machine where the calories in vs. calories out paradigm actually works. Happy to discuss more and provide additional info, but this post is already overly long. Best of luck.

@Todd_196 how has this week been for you? We are all here to support you. I hope you're on the way to a happier life

Maybe I should make this a thread, but I recently got the flu. I had been under the impression that I would never be able to take any pain meds. The inflammation was so bad my doc suggested children ‘s medication. It worked. I took what a 60 lb kid would take in liquid form. I felt better and could sleep. I stopped ASAP. It was liquid Motrin and powdered Tylenol. I just kept switching back and forth like you do for sick kids. I was surprised there was anything I could take. Also, I was surprised that regular osteoarthritis symptoms and mild asthma can be controlled through a high protein/low carb lifestyle. I stopped taking all shots and meds 3 years ago. (Not for asthma, that’s a different beast, but my baseline is back to where I was at 20. I’m 57 now.)

Several good possibilities above but also consider this. It is copied from Google AI because I couldn’t think of the words to describe it. “ “Glycogen storage: When you drastically reduce carbs, your body depletes glycogen stores, which are stored with water. When you reintroduce even a small amount of carbs, your body quickly replenishes glycogen, leading to temporary weight gain due to water retention” I know this happens to me. I eat low-ish good quality carbs and then when I have like one cookie it seems like I gained 3-4 pounds and I panic but it always goes back down.

Men’s and women’s bodies are different, but for reference—I started at 297 lbs and am now between 165–170 lbs. I went from a size 20 to a size 4 in pants and from a 3X top to an XS–S. I do have loose skin, but it’s not as bad as it could’ve been because I started strength training about 3 months post-op and never stopped. I’ve always made cardio a priority too. Here’s what my weekly workout routine looks like: 2 upper body days 2 lower body days 1 full-body HIIT (with weights) 1 cardio-only day Even on my lifting days, I still include some form of cardio—walking, Stairmaster, biking, or whatever I’m in the mood for that day. It keeps things balanced and helps me stay consistent in my fitness journey. My biggest advice is really take that time to get your relationship with food in check, even though I'm in maintenance mode, I still have issues sometimes with binging- just being truthful- but I am able to control it and get myself in check the next day. Pre-op I would've just given up and kept the binge fest going. Stick to foods that you know you enjoy but also fuel your body. Track! I know its not for everyone but it sure helps me stay accountable. No diet is perfect, its not a thing- the main thing is if you fall off track dust yourself off and get back at it!

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!