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I had some ladies in a group I belong to that are in weight watchers who sorta turned their nose up at first mention of weight loss surgery. I took it as a challenge to educate them. In all fairness they get to see me each week and hear about my nutrition and activity choices but I’m pretty sure they now realize they didn’t have all the facts before and recently started being some of my biggest cheerleaders. I guess you won’t be afforded the time to change their minds about it this one visit but maybe it will help some to know that their ignorance is most likely just lack of education and that upon seeing how hard you work at it, they may change their perspective eventually as well

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

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

My surgery was yesterday October 1st from the sleeve to DS SURGERY Highest weight -270( before gastric sleeve) Surgery weight-237 Goal -150

Things absolutely do slow down, for the reasons the others have said. I lost almost 10 stones with my sleeve, half my starting weight. 9 stones of that was in the first year post op (with many stalls towards the end that made me think I was done) and 1 stone was in the subsequent 9 or 10 months. In the last few months I was honestly losing half a pound a month or less. It's fascinating looking back. The concept I am most happy to have learned on this board is that of a new set point. Once I knew that our bodies can decide early after surgery what weight it now wants to maintain, I felt less like the driver and more like a passenger who could sit back and just enjoy the ride. No actually - not quite sit back - follow the rules strictly to enable the smooth journey to my new set point. Mine ended up a bit lower than my 'goal' (plucked out of thin air) weight. Lots of people's seem to end up much higher. All of this is fine if we can make our peace with it. I get the feeling you have much more to squeeze out of your procedure @Bypass2Freedom. I do understand the frustration when you're following the rules to the letter but not losing. It's steps and stairs always - never a linear loss (well not for me). You're doing this.

As you say, I definitely need to give myself some grace! We started at a very similar weight, and I am 5ft 5" so I completely get it! I'll start trying those stretches in the morning - thank you

I have littles at home so I am unable to go the gym in the mornings since Hubby works early in the AM. (M-Thurs and then Fri/Sat Hubby is off and I go to the gym at 5am). I do a lot of home weightlifting workouts and then on my lunch break I run 3-4miles. This morning I did this workout: My upper body is toast!!! Thank goodness I work in an office, but I will be running and getting that cardio. I agree with you attributing the rapid weight loss to movement. My weight fell off and I look pretty good if I do say so myself lol

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

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. 😂

Wow! That's awesome. I'd take even half that loss and be happy. But would sure be nice to lose quite a bit so my low back can calm down. Severe osteoarthritis there. About 240 lbs now. 277 was my highest many years back. Lost 100 through diet and exercise and slowly came back. (Had lost 100 lbs 8 years before that and gained it back too.) Then end of 2021 was 265. So did it again. Ate less, moved more and lost 64.5 lbs about 2 years ago and got to 200. (Had lost around 60+ twice before that and gained it back over some years too). Felt sooo much better even there at 200 but slowly back now to 240! Blah! Surgery most likely early Nov for sleeve. Said bypass will cause ulcers since only ibuprofen helps my back. Can I ask you about exercise you did? Also that you do now? And did you have any skin removal? May need that around my middle later on. Heard someone with our insurance got that covered also. Praying for that but will save up for it if I have to. Thanks for any advice and info! You look great and I know you must FEEL better. That's what I want. I never sought surgery to look better but hopefully will. I just feel terrible and need some relief and want the weight to stay gone. Using this tool to help me remain smaller.

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.

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 ❤️

it's very common to have a 10-20 lb regain in year 3. It's not inevitable, but it's very common. And no, one day of bad eating when you're in maintenance is not going to affect your weight - I'm sure most of us long-timers have those days once in awhile. But if you go back to your old eating habits, you WILL gain a bunch of weight back (and maybe close to all of it). The trick is to be able to recover quickly from a bad day and get back to your regular plan ASAP (like...the next day). This is a lifetime battle (made easier by WLS, but still...a battle).

Hi lovelies, Hope you are all well. Need your thoughts please. Had my VSG 5.5 months ago and these were my stats: Weight: 198/90 KGs Height: 168/5'5-5'6? I started at a BMI of 33, which I understand was on the lower side. Since surgery I have lost weight quite rapidly and I suspect its due to always being at a BMI of 22 my entire adulthood, I ate well, worked out and remained fit even after two pregnancies. My weight issues started 5 years back and then followed by a very bad ankle injury that affected my mobility that I reached my highest weight of 198. I understand that that where my body feels most comfortable at and its decided to take the chance to lose the pounds and run with it. My original goal was 154, and I got there very quickly then I changed my goal many times and settled on 127 which I am currently very close to. My surgeon seems to be a little apprehensive and has told me to try to slow it down and as per him it is very rare that he sees such rapid weight loss on a lower BMI patient. His original comment at 2 months was that the weight I had lost in 2 months was supposed to be my target at 6 months. Last time I saw him he asked me to up my calories to 1500 (currently at almost 800 on weekdays give or take, 600 on weekends because I apparently don't have much of an appetite on weekends). He ordered some bloodwork which I still haven't gone in for. I feel like my health is good, other than hair fall and the customary dizziness when getting up I am in fantastic health, I workout hard, I make good food choices and I prioritize my Protein. I also look great if you ask me. My fear is I am losing too much too fast, and from what I hear and see, you don't quite stop losing until at least 12 months post op, which - according to my projections and calculations - will leave me at 110/50 KGs at 12 months out. That is way too low I fear and I do not want to look like a skeleton. Also I feel I have a huge restriction and I can't eat more than a few bites at a time, drinking Water has become an aversion, I have to drink BCAA and sugar free iced tea to hydrate and tiny sips of water every hour or so. Other than that I eat very well, except I can't eat enough to maintain due to restriction. I am a little worried of my what will happen as the days pass and where I will end up. I don't want to get sick or too frail to work out and lift weights. I want to look good and feel good and I am not sure where my weight loss is heading but I am quite worried at this point. I also get comments on how I have lost half my body weight from people which is quite inaccurate lol but it's a complete shock when I meet someone who I haven't seen in some time, even my colleagues seem to think I'm looking too skinny. Sorry for typing so much, I thought it would be better if you have the full picture so its easier to respond. For anybody who's experience this, any thoughts?

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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! 💪

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.

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!

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.