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I am so glad you had a lovely week! What did you have for your anniversary dinner? 😍 The weather at the moment is awful isn't it 🤣 Literally we are just predicted heavy rain & thunderstorms in the South East! Not particularly keen given that I have 0 clothes that fit so I am severely underprepared 😂 I am so happy to hear about your clothes fitting & how happy that made you - genuinely put a smile on my face! You are doing so well ❤️ I still haven't been to the gym but my excuse this time is that my boyfriend is having to use my car for work and therefore I can't get there in the mornings until I get it back tomorrow haha. But, hopefully, I'll have someone coming with me so we shall see! Have a good rest of the week ❤️

I have no idea why I feel this way. I'm finally down to 1 more surgery (my hysterectomy) and then I'm totally done with hospitals. I'm healing well from my hernia surgery (even did a VERY light workout today for the first time in a month since I'm only 3 1/2 weeks out). I love my job, I'm feeling good, our rent is paid and we have plenty of food, car is running well, gas tank is full, finally stable again. Hubby and I get along great, kids and granddaughter are doing well. It's driving me nuts that I can't figure out why I feel down. Normally I'm excited about the new year. I don't get SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), and I was fine up until about 2 days ago. I don't suffer from depression, so it's just really bugging me. What in the world do I have to be down about???

My understanding is hydration is primary concern 1st week. Sip sip sip all clears no protein until 5 days out?

I’ve had like 5-6 laparoscopic abdominal surgeries plus two open ones and this one has kicked my butt. It was including a large esophageal hernia repair also though. IDK but the pain has been relentless not as bad as night of surgery but not good. I hope to not have to use as many opioids after a week maybe but I’m on them anyway because of chronic pain from osteoporosis fractures. It’s hard for me to stand up straight to walk. I have 5 abdominal holes? How many do most have?

Great advice from @SpartanMaker as usual. I’d also add if you’re lifting weights you’d be building muscle which is heavier than fat. So you could have been losing some fat during this time while building muscle. May be consider having a dexa scan to measure your current muscle, fat & bone density. Then have another in a couple of months to compare. Are you still in contact with your dietician? If not maybe arrange an appointment. Because you are aware of your average daily calorie intake, I presume you’re measuring and tracking every thing you’re eating and drinking every day. I’d take this with you to the appointment and ask the dietician to go through it with you in case you are missing something not only in regards to calories but nutrients as well. If you’re a random tracker like I was and am, vigilantly track everything for a week or two before seeing the dietician. Don’t give up though. The scale may not be moving but I bet you’re fitter, stronger and generally healthier than you were before.

Hey there! I'm glad you did see some benefits from the stall. My dietician told me that would happen. The scale will stall, but our bodies will still lose inches. I'm doing well here. Nothing much new, really. It's so freaking hot out, and while I can handle it a bit better than I did with 50+ more pounds on me, it's still miserable. Especially the horrible humidity we get here. My birthday was last week, and my hubby and I ordered me an Electric Bike! It won't be here for a while, but I won't really ride it until it cools off outside anyway. We are building a new home and will be moving in about a year and a half, and that's when I really want it. We will live where it's more conducive to riding. We live on a mountain right now, and I'm not sure I'll be able to ride it down the hill. I'll try! Hope everyone else is doing well!!

Here are some pictures of my before & after (just of my back at the moment as I am most confident posting this!) Before liver reduction diet: Taken just before my holiday about a week ago!: **I know I need a new bra, this one is KNACKERED** And a fun little guest appearance taken today, featuring these denim shorts which pre-surgery would not go over my lower thighs:

I think the experience you're having emphasizes that a lot of this not as much in our control as we think it is. Which I'm sure is no more comforting for you than it is when someone is following every single rule and staying stalled at a higher weight than they had hoped. If it helps, remember that this stage is temporary. You won't keep losing forever, and when your body reaches its new set point, whatever it is, how you carry that weight is going to change. I know you probably look in the mirror and think what have I done, I'm going to look sickly forever, but it's temporary (and probably something you notice more than other people do). Whether your weight increases in the next year, or if it just turns out that your new, lower weight begins to look more natural to you as fat gets redistributed, this is only a brief point in the journey. The clothing not fitting part must be particularly frustrating, though, since it costs money to fix. I hope you're able to find an inexpensive solution, especially for your work clothing. You're sure to find your equilibrium soon.

So, I'm 6 months post Sleeve. I'm 86 pounds down from surgery day, and about 116 pounds from my max weight. Body dysmorphia is a real thing I've experienced where I forget on the day to day how far I've come, but when co workers or friends see me they are super excited and happy for me. One picture is me back in January, wearing a denim vest that is 4xl and barely fits, and size 58 jeans... Now(2 weeks ago) down to a loose 2xl shirt, and a size 44 shorts. I almost cried like a month ago when I was able to buy clothes off the rack at Target for the first time since 2006. PS. Someone please teach me how to take a selfie lol IMG_3342.heic

I totally understand the anxious mind, trust me. That’s awesome your weight loss. A great start to this truly amazing journey. I am a little over three weeks post op. Not sure I if I said that before but I have a friend of a friend that had her surgery like a year ago. I touched base with her today and told her how excited I am that I ordered pants that are a size smaller and they come today and they already Fit!! Also I ordered new walking shoes and my friend and I are planning to walk at the same time everyday and chat on the phone since we live over an hour apart. We are starting tomorrow. The goal is 30 minutes but I am going to just do loops around my block the first time so I’m not far from home if it’s too much. She replied and said that she has been biking several miles and that I will soon need to get myself a bike so I can join her. I was like no way. I’m wondering if I can do a half hour walk between the heat and my knees. She was like I started with 15 minutes walking and worked my way up. She said this surgery is Life Changing. She said she has SO much energy now and she feels amazing. She has lost well over100 pounds and has only 8 more to get to her goal. I Just thought I would share a positive story that you can take and try ti picture what your version of amazing looks like. Then you can use that when the anxiety starts to creep in. Seriously. I’m telling you. One step at a time. You’ve got this. ❤️

Thank you,i hope your husband is well. I can only imagine that being the caregiver that this hasn’t been easy on your bariatric journey either. Just being post op is pretty time consuming in itself (or at least it has been for me) and any big life curveball you throw in I assume makes for a pretty crazy schedule which make healthy choices that much harder. I know for me that I don’t need much of an excuse to be tempted to eat off plan so having no time to plan ahead makes the little obese voice in my head say it’s not your fault your too busy right now it’s okay to stop and have fast food just this once. But then this once turns out to be more and more often. That’s how I got to be obese was listening to that little voice too often. Luckily I did have a solid three months to get into some pretty good habits and I have really been trying to stick to them the majority of the time. I have a whole bag of healthy protein snacks that I just keep with me all the time in the car (I rotate them out so don’t stay there too long) since you rarely know when you start out what your day will end up bringing with these doctors. Or at least that’s how it has been for me. You start thinking it’s just one appointment at 8:30 am and don’t get home until late at night because you don’t even get seen until 10:30 and then they want two other things which you have to wait around to be squeezed in for those as well. I hate paying For and stoping for water so I bring a cooler with bottled water and protein shakes everyday since my surgery in case I get stuck out and don’t have time to eat on plan but now I also have my big bag of non refrigerated protein snacks with me as well. I can’t say it’s made me be 100% perfect but I’ve done far better than if I had to keep stopping on the road for sure. My favorite on the go snack is chomps pepperoni flavored turkey jerky right now. I do half a stick of that with a mozzarella string cheese or a baby bell light. Just 85 calories for 11 grams of protein and they are actually tasty. Them and the quest protein chips are my favorite go to options. Sometimes that’s lunch and then I end up eating what would’ve been lunch as a snack a few hours after dinner to get all my protein for the day since I need 90g.

It's not that it's hard to increase them per se, it's that they make me sick if they go too high. But I've been working on that more. I also cut out my working out (it went to 2 days a week because I work all week) but since I'm a medical assistant and on my feet most of the day, I decided to stop the weekend work outs for a bit and see how that plays out.

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.

One week out of gastric bypass surgery, I was a bit down. Tired, sore... so decided to watch something to lift my mood on TV. What normally would make me smile, chuckle or laugh wasn't happening. I thought. Oh no! Have I lost my sense of humor already with all of the hormonal changes happening? Shirley not Post whatever makes you happy. I'm sure many here would love to smile with you

My doctor put me on 12 weeks! Not a typo. 12 weeks of protein shakes and broth. I have 10 weeks to go. The doctor will have their reasons for the diet so I guess it's just individual difference.

Hello. I am 6 weeks out and down 41 pounds as of today (which includes a 2 weeks low carb preop diet where I lost 13 pounds). I went from a BMI of 39 to 33 and will be 32 with one more pound loss. I was 235 when I had my sleeve and lost down to 167 but I stalled there for a few months and then started gaining it all back plus 23 pounds. Aside from a few blisters that are slowing my walking down I feel fantastic. I have more energy and motivation then I have had in years. I’m exercising (walking 5-7 miles a day) and making all my meals from scratch. I am also planning to start yoga the week after next when I am 8 weeks. The NP actually said 6 weeks is okay but I’ve never done it so I’m afraid it will be strenuous and I’d rather be safe than sorry. I did have a pretty tough recovery. I was in the hospital for 5 days because they couldn’t get my pain to a level that was manageable with meds they were willing to send me home on. Well once I finally passed gas like 5 times I was fine without any pain meds but it still was a far tougher recovery than my sleeve. Not sure why but with my sleeve I was home and out front the next day and asked my husband to pass me the basketball because I forgot I had surgery and that was with no pain meds. This time they also took my gall bladder out though because it looked bad. I wasn’t expecting it because I never had any symptoms so we didn’t discuss it but the post op pathology came back that I had gall stones so it saved me from another surgery I guess. I suggest discussing some of the things like that which may pop up during your surgery and what your wishes are since they can’t wake you up to ask. I was kinda surprised that mine went ahead and did it but the NP said his thought was that it already looked bad and that the anticipated quick weight loss was going to only make it worse. Anyways, I took it easy for the full 6 weeks this time. My floors have never been so disgusting. I have done laundry because I have the pedestals and dishes and that’s about it. My hubby has freshened up the bathrooms and changed the sheets but other than that it’s all waited for me. I confess that it’s still waiting. I am supposed to be cleaning now but I sat down for lunch and got started on here 😂 My surgeon does not believe in resizing the stomach so my surgery was only on my intestines. This made my recovery in terms of food tolerance go way quicker. I am back to normal food already. I had raw veggies in my spring rolls even and that was fine. Of course ask your team before you do it. I didn’t have any food tolerance issues after my sleeve either though. I have not had any of the diarrhea that they warned me about. They said some of their SADI patients had it for 3 months. One had it so bad it interfered with work. I have been eating very healthy though. I was actually constipated In the beginning and even with the stool softeners I had to do milk of magnesia a couple of times but now I am able to eat a bit more fiber in my diet so I am trying to cut back the stool softeners slowly. if you don’t log your food now I suggest the Baritastic app. You can log EVERYTHING there. You food, weight, measurements, exercise, moods, even your bowel movements and you can also set notifications for your vitamins (although I don’t hear them so I have alarms set as well). I really like looking at the trends and graphs to see how I am progressing. A fitness watch is really good too. I had a much older Apple Watch that I dusted off and it makes it so much more fun to do my walking and stuff because you can see how fast it adds up. I never exercised with my sleeve but I talked on the phone with my friend the first few times and then my husband got me these awesome headphones that don’t go in or over your ear so you can still hear traffic while listening to music. They are called “bone phones”. Now I just put on my music and take off walking. Makes the time go by so much faster. I wear them all day actually. You can listen to music on low and hold a conversation with someone even. I also started posting here and attending the in person support group meetings before my surgery this time so post surgery I have had lots of support. I go to check in with my NP more often than they generally require too because I have pretty severe anxiety and that comes with lots of questions and I just need the reassurance that everything is okay. Don’t forget to take photos and do measurements before you start your preop diet and again before surgery and set reminders in your calendar for once a month or so to keep doing them. And if you want to use that Baritastic app you can also keep track of your protein and water on there so familiarize yourself with it early. I kinda rambled but I tried to cover everything I could think of that may be helpful.

I have fiber in the turkey chili (kidney beans) I make and I also take 6 (2 morning, 2 mid and 2 evening) of the Psyllium Husk Fiber Supplement 1450mg, 240 Capsules from Amazon just a bit above recommended daily dosage, but my GP said it can't cause any issues other than maybe gas..but I have noticed anymore than normal with a bypass.. I also eat 3 (again 1 at different times throughout the day) OLLY Probiotic + Prebiotic Gummy, Digestive Support and Gut Health, 500 Million CFUs, Fiber, Adult Chewable Supplement for Men and Women, Peach, 30 Day Supply - 30 Count. I started the psyllium when my GP started me on Ozempic to break my 3 month stall and to stop the annoying food cadence in my head! I'm holding at 1mg dose and have had very little constipation if any. I don't "go" regularly at 7am everyday like I used too, but I do go each day. I just make sure I get my water in and all works as it should. I hope this helps!

To everyone who has responded....thanks, lets keep in touch and get a good start to our journey. I look at this surgery as a new volume in my book, not a new chapter. I'm not looking back and I will be able to not only lose weight to feel better, but I will be able to get the much needed hip replacement. I'm due to have surgery on the 12th of May, signed my consents today, got my pre-op class done and met with the surgeon and he was quite pleased with my weight loss and my A1c both have gone down. I'm just as eager to get rolling on this new journey. What is next is the clear liquid diet a few days before surgery as they found I do not need to be on a liver reduction diet. I have my supplements as instructed, I have protein water for after surgery. We have 4 days of clear liquids only, then we can go on a soft diet, we don't have a puree, which is a blessing, I can't imagine eating chicken in a puree form, can't have meet until day 11. I'm taking this seriously, and will follow all the rules. I think I am more excited than anything for the 12th of May to come. Ealbers, you are right on track, let's get on with the journey. CJPom, you are first on the list being May 7th, let us know how you are doing post surgery. Jena, we will do this as a team, let's keep each other motivated!!! Congratulations to everyone! Every week, find a win other than is on the scale. Don't check your weight every day, it will fluctuate as your body adjusts and changes. Find other wins to celebrate, but don't stop celebrating. This is not just weight loss, but it is a metabolic shift in our bodies. Movement is important so let's keep walking. WendyJane

It doesn't get any better than this. You are not alone. I was about to write a post about the exact same thing. I was on a 2-week holiday in Thailand and the same thing happened to me. I was 70 kg on the day we started our trip and now I'm 66.5 kg three weeks after. I lost like 3.5 kg or so which is amazing. Not sure if that is a water loss or what but I'm happy haha. I can't say the same about my wife though. She is blaming me for gaining 3 kg on the same trip. We ate like "tourists" and tried the many wonderful Thai dishes and made sure to keep hydrated. We did a lot of walking, a bit of swimming and ate a lot of fruits so that might have helped burn the calories from all the coconut milk rich dishes we tried there. I was burning more calories during the trip and more active according to my Apple Watch. The same thing happened to me on a similar previous trip so I can totally relate.

Egg whites & eggs themselves are still giving me problems. (And chicken. I give one or the other a try every week or so but even two or three small bites induce foamies, no matter how slow I take it or what other foods I bite in between. Ooh, how did I forget pea protein existed? That sounds like a win already. The mashed up chickpeas was... an experience. It wasn't bad, but definitely left the oatmeal with a different taste that I wasn't fond of. This morning was oatmeal with raw sunflower seeds and some chunks of apple. It was delicious but heavy, and still more fat than I want so early in the morning. The brightside of the experiment was when I remembered (gasp!) that I don't have to eat classic breakfast foods for breakfast. I was looking at the portion of un-mashed chickpeas in my fridge this morning (after I already made my darned sunflower seed oatmeal) and finally had the fecking epiphany that I could just toast them up as is -- or as a patty -- and eat them seperately (or instead!) of my oatmeal, and it still wouldn't take much effort in the morning when I'm dragging my feet everywhere I go. Like. WTH. I knew this. I knew this when I was on purees. I had sweet potato with bone broth powder puree for an entire week back then. Why am I overcomplicating my life trying to solve problems that don't have to be problems at all. So, these surgery hormones, can I blame them for making me slower on the uptake or is my age finally catching up to me? XP

Yes, plans can be quite different but I agree with @ShoppGirl’s suggestion to check with your team. I was told 1/4 - 1/3 cup for a meal from purée increasing slowly to a cup of food by the 6 month mark. 7ozs pureed turkey dinner coupled with the sweet potato & cobbler & you’ve way exceeded my 6 month portion recommendation. And to add to her warning also, a lot of nerves were cut and or damaged during the surgery so messages like being full/had enough or eaten too much at going to get through or will be distorted. It’s why sticking to portion size recommendations are very important: to ensure you don’t damage your digestive system or impact your healing and recovery. It takes 6-8 weeks to fully heal.

Sometimes stalls are just stalls, and there's not much you can do about them. Sometimes just changing things up a bit so you body has something new to get used to can also help jar you out. I personally think of my stalls kind of like my body is a computer, and the stall is the time it takes the thing to reboot. Sometimes it's long, sometimes short. Sometimes uninstalling an older program and reinstalling an updated version will help your machine boot faster. If your body has gotten used to eating the same thing everyday, maybe try changing it up a little. For a week, maybe find a protein bar or a different source of protein like greek yogurt for breakfast. Replace your broccoli with green beans or leafy greens, or try a different dinner protein for a while. As for exercise, I agree -- any exercise is good exercise. If you've got access to a pool, swimming can act as both cardio and muscle strengthening. There are also water exercises you can find online that can target certain areas -- look up water aerobics or aquafitness on youtube if you need some ideas. I go to a local community pool twice a week for drop-in aquatics specifically tailored to be a sort of aquatic physio session, but there's lots of options out there to suit a variety of needs.

So I am trying to navigate everything with new boobs haha. They are bigger than I thought they would be which is not a bad thing. I am 5 days post op and will be getting my drains out Tuesday. Hopefully. I had an appointment yesterday and he said I’m more swollen than he would like me to be, which being sedentary is so damn hard for me, but I am trying! Anywho I go back to work on Wednesday and I am wondering what you all wore to work? Im not sure if I need to go buy more button ups? Or can I put tshirts on. I have no issues lifting my arms above my head but it’s a no no for a few weeks. I’m in a casual office setting. Usually nice tops and jeans. Also I knowwwww I shouldn’t have stepped on the scale but it’s 10lb up and now im unhealthily nit picking my body. I put on jeans and they were so damn tight. Someone tell me it’s not fat weight 😂

Yea I’m just now 8 weeks out and my back is already starting to hurt too. Part of it for me is the extra activity but I know that part of it is also my body trying to readjust to being smaller. I actually told my hubby that I’m going to ask the NP if she reccomends chiro or massage or anything else. I feel like I need to do something.

Sorry I haven't reached out sooner - glad to hear you are out the other end and you are doing okay ❤️ Congratulations! TMI!: I had to have the pessary when I was in the hospital as I just couldn't poo 😂 It did work but I ended up having this strange explosive bowel movement that had lots of old blood in it - proper freaked me out but a nurse told me it was normal and was just residue blood from the surgery. I wish she had warned me about this prior to it happened so I wasn't so concerned about it, but IF anything like this happens, don't worry too much! But either way, apparently doesn't happen to everyone. Definitely keep away from the scales for a bit as a lot of people find that their weight is a bit higher immediately post-op so just wait until you have healed! My surgeon didn't want me weighing myself until at least 8 weeks pot-surgery (I lasted about 4 weeks 😂) Hope you are well ❤️