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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

I totally get that a five pound gain messes with your head. My weight fluctuates by like 10 pounds through out each cycle with the chemo. I shoots up almost immediately on treatment day and then goes up and down until it gets mostly out of my system. Since I am still in the honeymoon period from my surgery and don’t really even want to eat apart from cravings it is sooooo hard to not just starve myself when I see the numbers go up. I know it’s not the exact same as your situation but I imagine the mental shock of the number is very similar. Hang in there. You should be able to get back to the majority of your routine soon and be back to your old self before you know it. I will probably be on here asking what worked for you this summer and fall because Im having a bilateral mastectomy with expanders in early May and then a reconstruction with implants planned after radiation. Although I’m trying to get in for a consult with that Dr to find out about that fat transfer option. Im not sure if its new or not but the surgeon I met with did not offer that option. Did your surgeon tell you to get routine MRI’s to monitor for leaks. (You said you got silicone, right?). I’m sure your surgeon went over the risks with implants in general but there is something I just learned about the other day from a lady at my craft group called Breast Implant Illness that’s worth looking into. It’s not a formal medical diagnosis but it’s a collection of issues that people commonly have after implants that often go away immediately once they are removed. There is the surgeon in Florida that she is going to that people go to from all around the world just to have their implants removed and he can do this procedure if you want them replaced where they transfer a fat from another area of your body. I am trying to get into him to see if it’s possible for me to have that instead of an implant for my reconstruction. They are very selective with who they give appointments to, though. I guess his surgeries are booked like a year out Anyways, not to scare you but there are also lots of more researched issues that a silicone leak can cause as well to include a very rare type of cancer even. I am not sure how much your surgeon went over all of that with you but to me it’s definitely worth being aware of and monitoring routinely. Your surgeon should be able to tell you how often to scan and what to watch for just to be safe. Best of luck with your recovery and I can’t wait to hear about your being all healed up and getting to finally take them girls out on the town. 😂

I am doing a trial session of hypoxi (https://www.hypoxi.com/en/) on Saturday as I am hoping it will help with the bad lipoedema in my calves and ankles which I feel kind of takes away from all the weight loss and how well I have done over the last almost two years as I still can't wear anything that does not cover it all up as I am so self conscious about and it depresses me a bit as I can't see that I will ever reach my dream of being able to wear calf high boots. I haven't been given a price list yet, as Saturday is a trial, but I am sure it will be very costly so don't want to get sucked into a gimmick and I was wondering if anyone else has done sessions to help with toning (not necessarily lipoedema related) and if you have any feedback? The one immediate good thing I can see from what I have read is that I won't have a problem following their nutrition guidelines which is not to have high fat or high carb foods a couple of hours before a session and or for a few hours after a session.

It happens to us all as our bodies adjust. We can be totally irrational about it, not giving ourselves the benefit of what we have achieved..... I had a 6 month check up with my surgeon on Wednesday and I was annoyed with myself as I was up (0.5kg) on previous weeks but that was just me being silly, he said my weight, 63kg, was "perfect" for me and my loss had been "incredible". I came away feeling much better BUT still want to get rid of that 0.5kg plus another 0.5/1kg

You have a point here about tracking what I eat. Since my doctor didn’t bring up the GLP-1 I never mentioned it, but I thought of it. I didn’t do any research about it and from seeing some of the stories from YouTube scared me. I do know a few people who are taking it and they are ok with it and have good result in weight lose. I also heard they can have the weight bounce back after they stop. Again I didn’t do any research and not knowledgeable about it. I don’t think it’s something I want to try as of yet, but it’s good to know I have options. The plastic surgery part I know it’s something I will get eventually because of the excess skin. If at 195lbs, it’s already bothering me, it will bother me even more at 175. My goal weight is 160lbs, if I can get to 175 on my own, plastic surgery will get me to 160. I’m going to try the hardest on my own and get to 175 for now. My first goal was to be under 200lbs, then I can rethink my goal, which is where I am now. From 200 to 199lbs it took me months because I would drop to 199 and bounce back to 201. And from there on , my weight is bouncing around. Luckily I am stable at 195. Finger crossed that it doesn’t go back up.

Hi, thanks for the reply yeah I know it's too early to be worried. TMI ahoy...Pretty sure it's the above!! 🥴 This has been a problem for sure! I had a truly awful bathroom visit this morning for an hour trying to birth something equivalent to Rosemary's baby 😬😱 only the second time I've been since surgery. Still feeling somewhat blocked up, will get something strong to help. I know I shouldn't weight daily, and shouldn't expect to see a smooth downward projection on. the daily but my (not Dx'd) ADHD compels me lol

I think the trick for me is going to be to wait until the actual holiday to have one cookie instead of having them for an entire season. Someone told me a long time ago if you just have desert or cake for holidays and various special occasions that’s still like twice a month. Maybe if you are in maintenance and do a small piece that would be okay but for weight loss that is definitely still too often.

I appreciate all the advice and kind words of encouragement. I bounce between the scary feelings I have about eating and being excited to lose weight and be a healthier me to enjoy life with my family as much and as long as I can. I was and am just a little overwhelmed because I initially went to my surgeon about the hernia repair. He informed me of this sleeve-to-bypass revision that would be in my best interest which I was not expecting. Hence, this isn't so much of a weight loss journey for me as it is a quality of life journey, With that being said it brought me back to confronting my unhealthy relationship with food and took me back to a time after my sleeve in 2009 where the smell of food would take me into an anxiety-riddled panic attack. All the byproduct of not taking the appropriate steps in getting my mind right before the procedure since I went to another country for my initial procedure. The hernia repair to me has now taken a back seat to the lifestyle changes needed to move forward with the bypass and everything that entails. This time I hope to do it a little better and taking the appropriate steps to making my lifestyle change more healthily. It's still very early in my journey. I don't have a date yet. Tomorrow is my initial consultation with the registered dietician and nutritional counselor and hopefully I will feel comfortable discussing my fears of failure. Again thank you for the advice I am truly humbled.

Prior to weight loss surgery, I could barely walk 5 minutes without stopping from the pain. I think the last time I actually tried jogging was with my mum when I was about 17, so like 11 years ago! And back then it was this Couch to 5k app so you would walk for a few mins, and then jog for 30 seconds and boy did that almost kill me off! Anyway, I was in the gym today on my lunch break, and I always do 20 mins of cardio on the treadmill after my weights workout. I do 5 minutes at a 12 incline, and then lower it by 4 every 5 mins, and increase the speed (hopefully that makes sense). So during the last 5 mins of cardio, the gym was empty, not a soul apart from me, so I decided to do something I was too scared to do with others there. I put the speed up so that I was jogging...full-blown jogging. At first I just expected my lungs to give out like they would previously, but they didn't...I was breathing fine, I was not in pain, and I realised I can do this! I did the last 5 minutes at that pace, and I left with only a little bit of a sweat on, and no pain in my legs or lungs. I just called my dad to tell him because I think this is perhaps the first time in this journey I have felt like I love my body, and I love what it is capable of. My NSV, that I didn't even know was on my NSV list ❤️

So tomorrow I have my first appointment with a cosmetic surgeon. As the health service here covers some plastics following weight loss surgery (have to be in sufficient saggy need) I am going with an open mind and closed wallet 😉 I would love to get a boob job, preferably a lift but open to implants, and then possibly discuss my legs and arms but I am not sure I want to go through the pain of those. I don't mind the idea of scarring on legs as no way I would be showing them now, dislike them so much everything is ankle length, so even with scarring it would be an improvement as I could at least wear tights and possibly something knee or mid calf length.... oh to dream such things

Hi everyone, Has anyone in the UK managed to get Mounjaro from any of the companies prescribing it after sleeve? The ones I’ve looked at say prev bariatric surgery means you’re not suitable. I’m 6 years out and finding it harder to keep the cravings at bay so weight has crept up a bit. My BMI is 35 so would qualify from that point of view.

It just depends upon your healing. I’m a side sleeper with a twist (so like an 3/4 side sleeper) and I was sleeping like that from when I got home. Yet others, like @SpartanMaker, sleep on their backs on a recliner for a while. After I lost weight I thought hey I might be able to sleep fully on my tummy now my breasts are smaller but no. I developed lower back pain when I tried. And I’m not the only one who experienced this. Apparently tummy sleeping puts undue stress on your lower back and causes an unnatural arch hence the pain. And without having a belly anymore I didn’t have any extra ‘pillowing’ to support my back arch from underneath. So it may be a case, like many things after surgery, of simply trying at random times and seeing how you go…. Unless your surgeon has specific requirements of course.

as usual, I agree with everything Arabesque said. A 10-20 lb bounce back regain is very common after you hit your lowest weight. It's your body settling in to where it's comfortable. You can always lose it again if you really work at it - although if that new weight IS your body's new "set point". it'll be a challenge to get back down there and stay there - but it's not impossible.

What you're experiencing is completely normal. Partly your body is simply trying to heal from the surgery, so food right now is not what a healing stomach wants. Regarding the tastes changing, it's entirely possible that some foods you used to like you may never want again. Other things you'll learn to enjoy again. This is just something we all go through. The water thing should get better over time. At this point, your stomach is likely still swollen, so it just can't hold very much. Most of us had to really be religious about drinking just maybe 1-2 ounces at a time and trying to drink every 10-15 minutes while awake. This is hard right after surgery, but as I said, it gets a lot easier as the swelling goes down and you're able to drink more normal amounts. The nausea is a little unusual this far out, so I'd honestly recommend talking to your surgical team. It could just be from overeating/drinking, but it's best to talk to the experts. Regarding weight loss, you have to keep in mind that your body is made up of a lot of other "stuff" besides just fat. You may well be retaining fluid or stool and that can mask weight loss early on. It's physiologically impossible to be eating as little as you are and not losing fat, so please just have faith in the process. The best thing you can do is follow your surgical team's post-op instructions and you WILL lose fat.

Hi All ! I hope everyone is doing well on their journey, As usual, when i don’t know who to turn to regarding my VSG journey i turn to the forum 🤣 For a little backstory i had VSG surgery in early april of this year, so it’s been 7 months so far. I’m now down 88 pounds / 40kg And for the first time throughout these 7 months i’ve started getting comments from people about how much weight i’ve lost. Mainly from coworkers, or friends i haven’t seen in a while - « wow you’ve lost so much weight » or « you’ve melted away the pounds » or « you look completely different » … The issue is i have no idea how to react ! I never know what to say i feel awkward and weird when someone says this to me … and i’m not usually the kind of person to not react it’s just so strange to me that i can’t seem to find the words. Shouldn’t i be proud ? It’s what i wanted after all … Does or has anyone else felt the same ? How did you navigate the comments ?

Hi Sue, I’m eating about 1000-1200 calories a day on the days I am working out. I add a protein drink as my snack for the days I work out. If I am not working out, I eat around 900-1000 calories. I’m still following 3oz protein, 1oz veggie and 1oz carb rule. When I am more hungry I add more protein instead of 3oz protein I eat 5oz protein. You might be right about working out, it might not be the key to losing weight. That’s why my size is shrinking but not my weight. It definitely helps burn the fat though. I think this is also why I have so much excess skin. I have excess skin on my arms, tummy, thigh, back… basically everywhere, I know it will not bounce back just because how much hang I have. Even the weight didn’t change much, the excess skin is getting more wrinkly day by day.

I think i have to lose more weight first to "cure" it. I had BP from pregnancy and it didn't go away because of my weight n poor lifestyle so let's see in a couple of months

Hey there, I hear you! Craving processed carbs can feel like a slippery slope, especially when it keeps triggering your hunger—it’s such a common struggle for many of us post-surgery. The good news? You’ve already recognized the pattern, and that’s half the battle! First, don’t be too hard on yourself. It’s a journey, and cravings don’t mean failure. Try focusing on protein first—it’ll help stabilize your blood sugar and keep you fuller longer. Pair it with healthy carbs like veggies or a small portion of sweet potato, which you know don’t mess with your appetite as much Another tip: stay hydrated! Sometimes thirst can sneakily feel like hunger. And if you’re still feeling those cravings, maybe try a low-carb alternative for the thing you’re craving (like zucchini noodles instead of pasta or almond flour crackers) Lastly, take it one day at a time. You haven’t gained, and that’s proof you’re still in control. You’ve got this—remember why you started and keep moving forward! 💪

Hello everyone. I'm 2 years post-op and was sleeved on 01/06/2023. I'm at goal and have been for awhile. I just wanted to pop in and say that I have no regrets. For the first time in 20 years, I am HEALTHY. Bariatric surgery is just a tool though, you have to follow your plan to see results and you HAVE to work on the "head hunger" because that doesn't go away with surgery. However, if you do your part. You will be pleased with the results. It feels wonderful to be on the "other side" of weight loss and maintaining. Best of luck!

My understanding is sleeve is more prevalent as a first time surgery, but a not-insignificant number of people have revision from sleeve to bypass down the road because of GERD or insufficient weight loss. There are reasons you may choose one over the other, and you want a surgeon who is just as comfortable with either. If he is suggesting one because he's better at it (sleeve is a much easier surgery to perform) then he is not the surgeon for you! This video has some good information on both surgeries from a doctor who does both:

It is one of those really hard things isn't it! I genuinely think that there should be more of a remit for skin removal on the NHS following massive weight loss - it is so often detrimental to the individual's MH & sometimes their physical health too. I have gone from a 40GG bra size, to a 34FF and my boobs are sagging and under my right breast I have had this awful rash that doesn't go away - I think because of the excess skin!!

I live in a rural area. I too hate the gym but love walking. I get out at least 3 times a week, I need the alone time. I come home refreshed and ready for anything the family can chuck at me. I also work 1 day a week in a Charity Shop and oh boy this is physically hard work ! I come home battered after 9 hours there. Whole body and mind exercise This is all I did for weight loss and how I maintain

Well as you all know I had my procedure on sept 6 and now here it is Oct 20 and I haven’t lost in fact I think ive gained Ive been doing cardio and i go back to regular diet in 4 days and I am so so scared. I couldn’t even come on here and post because i got so depressed about having this revision procedure.. I have a appointment with my nutritionist on Tuesday and I’m just gonna put it out there . He felt like part of it could be constipation so I am trying ducolax and see if it’s just blockage idk

based on your height and weight, your BMI is 35.2. if you have 2 comorbities, you would qualify for WLS in Ontario. what province do you reside in?

Ooh and Amazon has the core power shakes in chocolate which I am 99% sure are the same as fairlife. if not, they use fairlife milk and they are really good. People say that their kids will even ask for them because they are just like chocolate milk. According to google the fairlife is lower calorie and core power is a workout recovery drink but I found it comparable to premiere protein and it worked for me for weight loss. Maybe check it out to see how it compares to fairlife.