Search the Community

Thought I’d check in…a bit over two years out and I’m consistently holding at 155. Part of the additional loss is I had five pounds of skin removed, with a full fleur de lis tummy tuck, arm lift and breast lift in late August. I’m fully recovered and rand a 5k this weekend with my best time yet. So two years later, still the best decision I ever made. Being a thin person was a dream to me that I actually get to live…it’s amazing.

Today I had a bit of loose stool. Not too bad but not the norm. I did take extra benefiber, and haven't added anything different so I came to look at this site to see- since I have been pretty much eating the exact same things for two to three weeks- and my yogurt has one of things you listed as sugar alcohol <1g I didn't see it as an issue. Maybe it's that or something else. I'm thinking I should drink some extra fluids to compensate. Scared but excited.

this is part two… part one brought me to surgery with my weight loss adventure .. (quick warning, i tried not to be graphic but an infection is referenced) now I am someone who weighs almost every day for several months but i have trained my brain to be chill about the number… just watch for trends because bodies are sometimes heavier for non fat related reasons… i have seen my body go up, down and drop drastically and rise rapidly all while loosing weight as a trend… now i am in my early post op and start with my surgery weight of 351.4 on 11/3/22 sat, 11/5/2022 - day 2 post op after first night home - i dropped to 349.4 - considering swelling and fluids I was satisfied because I thought that I would have been up.. sun, 11/6 - 348.4 - spent lots of time walking in my yard gathering pecans with my picker upper stick for a few days - more than 5 gallons worth mon, 11/7 - 347.6 struggling with fluids, slight pull feeing while sitting and standing but otherwise good! tues, 11/8 - 349.2 - more sore but not really in pain.. i attributed this to walking a bit much the day before and trying to get more fluids… tried to power through and keep being as active as i could… (today i also had bathroom success lol) Wednesday, 11/9 - 349.2 - incision area hurting more and thought that I truly overdid it and took a lazy day… mild temp of barely 99 Thursday 11/10 - 347 - more pain in big incision area and it was warmer, mild fever 99.8 degrees- still blaming myself for pushing myself to be so active post op. took a super lazy day (even made someone get a birthday cake for my son who turned 19) friday 11/11 - 345.4 - something was wrong. pain was so much worse getting up and down and even sometimes moving. temp went to 100.8 in morning and i was feeing off. called dr and waited for call back. incision area looked ok but felt warm and kinda harder than it did.. not much redness… by 1 pm temp spiked to 101.7 even with tylenol. called again to dr and said something was wrong … they called in antibiotics and made appt for monday to see how i would respond. 11/11 - trip to town going to antibiotics- my husband drove .. we went into aldi to pick up a couple items before going to kroger to get meds and another grocery order ( we were feeding guests on saturday playing a game) and i actually have little memory or the store trip just bits and pieces … i told my husband i had a big problem and my pants were wet.... my infection, well, ruptured while in store.. we went to kroger to get antibiotics where i took one in the parking lot then i fell asleep immediately in the car for the ride home (unusual).. when finally hope after another stop i slept through, i groggily made my way in the house, cleaned myself up with hibclens and stumbled into bed without bandaging my still seeping wound and wrapped up shivering … and immediately went back to sleep… my mom called an hour or two later and i answers on my watch.. groggy and not very coherent.. hard to love, hard to talk, slurring words.. she called my husband who was doing another errand and he eventually came home and checked on me .. i was not medicated as he thought and still seeping a lot and he bundled me up and brought me to the er despite my slurring attempts to protest that i was perfectly fine and just wanted to sleep.. the er had a full waiting room, but when the staff talked to me and saw the state of the towel against my incision area - i was not only taken back but in a room immediately… my bad veins were acting up.. 7 different iv attempts and had to get an arterial pull for blood.. multiple bags of Fluid, potassium iv, multiple antibiotics, a ct with contrast, .. in other words a long long night.. 11/12 - 7 am my surgeon came to er and i was more coherent than most of the night… i had a large infection and was a little dehydrated … but with the treatment already received and the iv antibiotics combined with oral, he thought i would be ok and i could go home with a bandages wound and see him monday morning. i slept for a few hours when i got home, then woke up sore and still hurting some but better than i had felt in a few days. bandages changed every couple hours due to drainage. when i got home before 9 am i weighed myself out of curiosity and i was 352. it made me laugh because they really did pump me full of fluids!! every day after got better. less pain, discharge stopped monday and slowly the fluids started to come off. i am now 17 days post op and i am down to 335.6 for the second day in a row. might be that famous 3 week stall early. but i am fine with that because it usually means good healing is finally taking place and the scale with catch up eventually. i can move better than pre surgery and 100% better than six months or a year ago. my stamina still sucks but is improving even with the infection (two types of streptococcal bacteria) I am doing good and on my way to the life that i keep telling myself I deserve to live. i want to make plans and do things for the first time in a few years. i am no longer afraid to go to a store because it hurt my back so badly and turned my face from pale white to Tomato red due to the physical effort… i can actually go in without the immediate pain! so far even with the setback this is one of the best things i ever did for me

I had my call with the hospital nurse yesterday and I asked about this since I'm spotting after not having a period for 6 months. She said not to worry about it, to use a pad and not a tampon, and if I was going to shave to do it a couple of days ahead since they wipe down your entire body and some people complain of itchiness after surgery since the skin is exposed.

Is thin shaming as bad as fat shaming? oh yes. These are our bodies, we have done the work and when we say we are done, we are done with loosing. No-one else should have any input. I always believe in this - If you cannot say anything good then keep your trap shut

Yes, I do agree. I don't think people realize how things come out of their mouth sometimes. Sometimes, it is just plain mean and they still don't think it is.. those people are dicks. LOL For example I was told "if you loose too much more weight you will be unattractive to me" lol.. ok 1st: it is fine that you like big girls, 2: I don't care if I am "attractive to YOU".. I care I am happy with myself and attractive to my partner. And, honestly.. if my weight loss became UN attractive to my partner.. that wouldn't stop me either it just may stop my relationship.. This is for me.. for just about the first time ever.. it is FOR ME..

14 days po! my infection is clearing up (still red around incision but no discharge shine monday) and I am finally slowly loosing the water weight from the er visit and seeing progress! 11/3 sw 351.4 11/17 cw 338 (for reference, 11/13 when i got home from er i was 352! and january 2022 i was 440) still working on liquids but close to the 64 oz … tolerating most full liquids fine but starting to get heaviness with dairy so dialing back a little there… no desire to eat or drink so i am just sipping trying to get my ounces … changing back to water from sf beverages in case that’s what’s influencing my lack of thirst (had thought flavor would be a good thing) Friday my diet changes from full liquids to purée! will have some refried beans and sweet potatoes this weekend sometime

Seriously, what is with people of this world. Don't get me wrong, the noticed weight loss and compliments are nice.. to a point. Over the weekend I was at my VFW for a Thanksgiving food drive dropping off some donations and while standing at the corner of the bar talking to a bar tender a guy(who knows me from there and sees me all the time) came up behind me and said "excuse me BIG GUY!" I turned around and said I am a woman. Seriously WTF? My hair was down and it's LONG, I was wearing leggings and a hoodie... I know it was an accident but why "BIG" guy? He apologized and I just went about my day. Then I had someone close to me THE VERY NEXT DAY grab my hip and tell me I need to stop loosing weight, I am getting bony. Again, W.T.F? First off I weigh 260 lbs... not even close to where I want to be... and someone already said I am bony? RUDE! I am 6ft tall so even at 260 lbs I do realize I look bony in areas but I am seriously still chubby and FAR from "bony"! Then just yesterday at work, I was helping this guy understand a engineered drawing and in the middle of me explaining he says "Man Kim you are really slimming down"... Now, had he just stopped there it would have been fine but he goes on to say "I don't know how much you used to weigh but you have lost a lot so it must have been a lot".. ONCE AGAIN!... W...T...F?!?!? I know he meant it as a compliment, but seriously...what kind of compliment ends with you must have weighed a lot? I just said yea I was pretty fat and went back to what I was doing. lol Why can't people just leave it alone, stop commenting on people's bodies. Or, just simply say you are looking good. Or something basic and simple like such? Again, the compliments are nice and build confidence but I think people need to understand what classifies as a compliment and when they actually crossed the line to rude. Rant over...thanks. 😁

My post-op programme didn't limit anything - no calorie goals, no protein goals, no fluid goals even! I learnt all that by being on this forum. I was told just eat as you feel. Seems just basic common bariatric sense to me now to get my protein in first, veg second, fruit third and then other carbs after that. Even now at almost exactly a year out I don't reach 50g carbs or anything like it most days. Other than weekends, when I *choose* to drink some alcohol. So many ways to skin a rabbit, LOL.

Today is a day for everyone to celebrate themselves! Post one accomplishment, achievement, baby step, thing that made you happy! Toot your own horn and celebrate something no matter how big or small today! It can be weight loss, personal achievement, work achievement, walking in a store, going outside your comfort zone or whatever you want …. Here’s mine: I am finally down 10 lbs from surgery after my adventures and dropping fas (Saturday I was half a pound above surgery weight due to ivs etc), and one pound from loosing 100 this calendar year! I celebrate my body is healing, infection clearing snd all the fluid is leaving so I can smile at the fat loss finally showing up on the scale. your turn!

I am 40, I've lost more than half my previous body weight (231 lbs to 109), and was carrying a LOT of weight in my chin. I almost looked like I had a goiter it was so bad. My skin tends to go in spells, I am essentially "done" actively losing weight and am in maintenance now, and I found that when I stalled my skin would catch back up, and then I'd lose more and it would look saggy. While I don't think I'm ever going to look as good as if I had never been fat, I'm hoping that now that I'm basically going to stay put, it will get to a point where I am no longer self conscious about it and won't need to have surgery. My belly, though...that's a different story, unfortunately. I look like a deflated balloon.

yup stay off the scale... you will stop loosing weight for a bit throughout the journey. They are called stalls. typically at your 3rd week is where you hit your first one where you probably wont loose any weight for a couple weeks. Just stick to the program and it will come off

Stop weighing yourself everyday. Try to cut back to once a week. Everyone fluctuates all the time, I can easily gain 5 lbs in a day and by the next morning it be completely gone plus some. Also, you will experience "stalls" at times. You won't loose weight and may even gain a couple lbs over a week or so. It also will pass. Just stay focused and follow your plan and you will loose weight. Best of luck to you!

I had recently bought slim fast and I didn't know Amazon has all the stuff I need before my wieghtloss surgery. Slim fast isn't something that helps so I gave them to my sister.on Amazon I found the protein 2 o waters because my adopted sister is going through the same kind of thing only I think hers is the sleeve. I am so excited to be going through this journey because I waited 20 years for something to happen like this. I was once very skinny when I was a kid due to lots of health problems especially diabetes I gained alot of weight always hunger thirsty etc..I'm still training my brain to say no on certain things. It def works so far. I lost around 50 pounds since last year or was it forty pounds and I'm trying my best to loose it the diets working that im on I eat more veggies rather then candy. What are your thoughts on sugar free candy I think there are additives in it I cut those out as well.

Hi all fellow bariatric buddies. Sorry to hear about everyone’s hair loss. I started Collagen powder 2 days after surgery as it was suggest by the nurse as one of many supplements I have to take. I wouldn’t know if I loose hair as I never brush it. Short curly shoulder length hair. But I do use a lot of hair products in hair. I am still on soft/liquid foods. And can’t eat eggs on their own. Nor can I still stomach coffee(haven’t had it in 12yrs). Is there any foods you loved and can’t eat now? I have become sensitive to eczema. I have been able to stop my 5yr medication for reflux. I tried a sip of hubbies coke no sugar 4 days ago. That was a mistake🤮 Im still loosing 1kg (2.2 pounds) a week. And can now get 3 of 4 wedding rings on.

I finally had to go shopping for jeans. I have went up and down so much over the years I had a HUGE range of sizes so I have been just working through the clothes I had in my closet. Well 2 NSV's this weekend: 1, I have shrunk out of all the stocked sizes, which means I am officially the smallest I have been in my adult life! 2, Size 16 fits loose! 14 is uncomfortably tight but did (barely) button! (Started my journey at a size 26)

For me it’s numb to the touch. I can’t really feel much pressure from my own fingertips when running them across my skin but it is also an uncomfortable feeling when standing and walking as well. Not painful just feels like my legs aren’t mine if that makes sense.

because I like to over share sometimes (lol) and just give people a window into a true reality of a very large persons journey struggling with bad habits, eating disorder, anxiety depression etc….… I have decided to show a general weight progression for my weight loss journey so far….it has been far from drops all the time, even when I was doing the right thing! My high weight was July 2021 when I tipped the scales at 456. I am starting the rest of my story in January 2022. I was taking Ryselbus for a bit and was back down to 440. It was at this time that I doubled down to start doing the mental work on my stress eating, emotional eating, binge eating and other disordered eating which had gotten me pretty immobile and huge. During feb, march and April I avoided the scale, focusing on my relationship with food, the triggers contained in my relationship with other people who had made me turn to binging and life in general. Also in some changes in portion size and being able to stop when full (which was hard for me) but April 24th I stepped on the scale and was 426. I felt like I had made progress on me for the first time in a long time. May 8th I was gradually down to 421, then my body did the first drop on may 9th (which I have learned is normal pattern for me) to 414.6 I went up about two pounds and down about two pounds for another couple weeks until finally dropping so to 405.6 May 27th. June I really worked hard on dealing with fast food addiction and some very deep emotional hurts along with work stress and financial stress. My weight varied from 412.6 down (yep, gained!) to 403 at the end of the month. I was gaining, I was loosing, I was struggling to eat better and not loose my head to anxiety and other emotions. Sometimes I won, sometimes I lost. The whole month tracks up and down and up and down until I started to find my way towards the end of the month and the struggle became easier. June 30th saw my surgeon for first consult. I was 403.2 that morning on my scale July 4th I celebrated my own independence by leaving 400s with 399.6… I had started doing a lot of portion control and making healthier choices. Had nearly eliminated fast food. You would think I would be on a better path, but no, my body was still going to frustrate me. Even though I was eating a consistent diet, my weight decided to go on a joy ride and spiked back past 400 to 411.8. I was devastated and disheartened. How could I gain when my calories were in control and I was not eating much junk??? Emotionally I struggled and dug deeper into my past, my present and what I wanted for my future. I made some emotional breakthroughs and slowly the scale slid down, leaving the month at 396.4 Then August 3rd, 399.9 lbs, my nutritionist appt where I got my surgical guidelines and it threw me for a loop. I was told three weeks of either 1) 4 protein shakes a day and a light meal of lean protein and steamed veggies or 2) 50 total carbs a day….. that morning I had what I thought of a healthy smoothie breakfast with split pea (protein/fiber), berries and a banana with ice… I did the math on the carbs. It was 108 for my breakfast… could I do this?? with my struggles with disordered eating I knew I needed baby steps to get used to anything. Carb counting seemed to give me more variety and feeling of control. I started tracking all foods and reducing my cab count throughout Aug….. a miracle happened to my body as my mind relaxed with the guidelines given to me. The weight fluctuated, but trended truly down. I ended august at 376.3 by September I was (mostly) living with 50 carbs a day.. reading all labels and looking up food, paying attention to portion. Funny thing is my calories only dropped about 200 from my pre carb counting diet, but I was even more stringent with what I would consume… I was ready for my surgery when my surgeon was finally able to schedule ! By making my new habits my new normal, I was down to 365.6 at the end of September. A few hiccups delayed my surgery scheduling (mostly an uncommon complicated insurance issue ) but I kept moving with my new normal… I finally got my date of Nov 3rd, so October was go time. The time to double down and follow things to a T so I could be in the best shape for surgery. My body wasn’t as cooperative even with me doing right as I hoped, but with perseverance I dropped more weight. During the last week in October with changing nothing I went from 362 to 353. My body just finally released the weight… surgery day 351.4 ! Will do a post op so far in a bit…

Congrats! I have been 2 pounds away for weeks now but I can't wait until I join you. I've only lost 30 pounds but I have a few fun nsv like my watch was on the last hole and tight enough to leave marks on my wrist but now it rotates freely around and around. I could tighten it but I love seeing the evidence of the weight loss lol. My wedding ring is getting dangerously loose too. I almost couldn't take it off for the surgery because it was so tight and I never take it off anyway but now I check it often because I'm afraid it'll come off on its own. Little things like that make all that we've done to get to this point worth it

When in doubt talk to a nutritionist and your surgeon like the others said. This is a long process. You didn’t get to your weight in two months and it will take time to adapt to your new lifestyle and your body to loose the excess weight. trust the process and you will achieve

No. That's got nothing to do with a PAP. Ways to find it are through blood work and classic symptoms such as irregular or non existent periods, skin tags, dark areas under arms and under breasts, predominant weight gain in the stomach area, inability to get or stay pregnant, major hormonal imbalances, insulin resistance, etc...

As @SmolGojira says, there are many factors that will influence how much loose skin you have on your face and body. But if one like me aren't too happy with the amount of loose skin they have, there remain non-invasive and minimally invasive things one can do to help improve the appearance of their skin. That doesn't mean, however, that you will be able to get rid of all your loose skin 100% dependent on non-invasive procedures. And if one has little recourse besides doing invasive, make sure you see someone who is reputable and whom you trust! Also remember that these things take time - it's not an instant fix.

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!

As @SmolGojira says, there are lots of factors that will influence how much loose skin you have on your face & your body. But there are non invasive & minimally invasive things you can do to help to a degree if you aren’t happy. First, give your body a chance to resettle after you’ve lost your weight. It can be quite amazing how your body almost reshuffles your remaining fat after you’re reached your goal. In maintenance you’ll be eating a broader range of nutrients including more carbs (multi/whole grain low processed carbs) which help too. Initially I had lots of fine lines running down from under my chin. I did a series of RF treatments & with time & a broader diet most disappeared. This year I had some filler into the sides of my face in front of my ears where I had hollows totally empty of fat & that gave a slight & natural looking lift to the marionette lines around my mouth. I’ve also had one session of derma pen to help with acne scarring but will be transitioning to the combined dermal needling & RF instead which supposedly is more likely to provide skin tightening. I also have dysport/Botox but that’s for my vanity wrinkles - LOL! You can try taking collagen & silica. But like derma needling, topical or ingested collagen will still take about 3 months for you to see any effects (the natural skin cycle). Topical skin products like hylaurinic acid, Vitamin C, collagen oils & such can help make your skin, brighter, plumper, even out skin tone & texture & generally give you a healthy glow which will somewhat distract from any laxity you may have. I believe the effects of many of these will depend on you - your genetics, how your body processes/absorbs them & how much your skin is in need. One bonus of the weight loss was the deep lines that encircled my neck (fat creases) are barely visible in some light. Best is I have a jaw line, cheek bones & visible eye lids (hooded lids no more), my neck is longer & thinner & I look like me because my face isn’t distorted by fat. Before you do anything though, educate yourself. Be informed on the possible benefits & side effects. Don’t get caught up with what a beauty therapist is selling, influencers are promoting or latest fad. I started seeing a cosmetic physician this year for my treatments & I appreciate her honesty & straight talking about treatments & products. She often says don’t waste your money doing that. Sorry for the long post.

I'm 44 and just over 6 months post op and I have, what my husband calls, a "turkey neck" now. No more double chin, but a lot of loose skin that isn't looking that great lol I have a lot of loose skin right now, and I really don't care about the rest of it, but the neck is driving me nuts. I drink over 90oz of fluids per day and take a collagen/biotin/keratin/hyaluronic acid powder every day. And it's not really helping. But it is what it is. It'll either resolve itself or I'll have surgery later on down the road.