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Hey guys, brand new here. Halfway through my bariatrics process, and just a general question, hopefully from people who are around my same size? Started this process at 373 pounds. Goal weight to achieve was 345.6 pounds. Im currently at 337 pounds and still dropping, as I cut everything out of my diet first day after consult. Started fasting, portion control, intake control with what I was choosing to eat, and hitting the gym 5 days a week for resistance training. I am 6ft tall. Mainly posting to see what process yall went through in how much expected weight loss. I know all bodies are different, but trying to get a better idea to compensate for loose skin. Still have 3 months to go until im scheduled for surgery due to insurance requirements, and im not stopping now. Im ready for the better side of me I can find. Any information is greatly appreciated! Currently looking at getting the gastric sleeve done.

@SpartanMaker is on point as usual. 😊 Many surgeons initially patients on a fairly general supplement regime to begin usually including a multi vitamin, calcium and iron. There are variations. Some may include vitamin D and/or vitamin Bs as well. However, your regular blood tests, medical history, type of surgery all will influence what supplements you’ll need before surgeon, post surgery or in the long term. Plus some surgeons have restriction on swallowing tablets in the initial weeks post surgery which will dictate how you take the supplement (gummie, patch, …). While sleeve surgery usually does not usually require long term supplementation due to malabsorption you may be someone whose body reacts in a way that means you will need specific supplements. Or it may be discovered you are lacking in a particular vitamin, or your diet is lacking in certain nutrients. Another consideration is if you also have gall removal with your surgery or after as that can result in malabsorption issues in some. For example, I had a sleeve I was required to only take a multivitamin and a Vit D/K. My pre surgical blood work and subsequent 3 monthly tests (actually I was having more as my GP was monitoring them too) showed I wasn’t lacking in anything. At around 8 months my surgeon okayed going off the vitamins. The regular blood tests did eventually historically show I had a drop in vitamin D in winter (when I hibenate and bundle up). Consequently I take a Vit D/K (as a mouth spray) in winter. My gall was removed two years post sleeve and I now have issues absorbing protein and certain medications. Yes supplements are expensive especially if you are taking a lot & taking them long term. Finding a balance between economies and quality can be a challenge. I do recommend looking for a reputable brand (ask for referrals from your doctor, dietician, pharmacist or people here like Alex Brecher) as it is an industry in which quality and standards are not defined nor monitored like with prescribed medications.

Weight will fluctuate but should not be that big of a difference, I would toss the scale you have and try another one. But then again, I don't weigh myself very often, I wait for my post-op weigh-ins because it is the same scale, same place, same lack of dust, etc. If your scale is on wood one day and carpet on another day you will see a different weight too. On the first floor or the 7th floor, it can make a difference, and don't forget with vs. without clothes. These are typical differences. My scale is about 10 pounds off from my doctors office. Remember that there are NSV (non-scale victories) that you should be focused on too, like the size of your clothes, how well you walk now than before, if you measured your waist, thighs, arms and the rest, are they going down in numbers? Celebrate the 43 pounds that you did lose and look for your win that you did have. You should remember that your body is different than others, and your wins will be different than others as well. I know you have other wins you can share from this last week post surgery. Mind work is just as important as physical work.

I had been part time following the pre ops diet and cutting down on my food sizes a few weeks before I got news of my operation date : may 26, the same date 5 years ago I knew I was going to gain weight because of pregnancy complications. So the first two and the half weeks I just did more pre- ops eating (modifast in 4 different flavors) . They are quite tolerable. I usually had a normal (small sizemeal) in the evening with the kids. Now starting last Sunday, (18 may) I am on a full water fast for 5 days. Meaning my fast ends today at 19:20. I have my modifast oatmeal ready should I really need to eat something at that hour. Tomorrow Saturday I shall be on liquid pre ops meals as prescribed. Sunday will be another day on liquid only in preparation for my operation on Monday. I tell you what this is my body and I am determined to get it back. The operation is not a magic pill. It is just a tool in my toolbox. The way I think about food and how and why and when I ingest it- that to me is the magic. I am focusing very much in discovering my cues and knowing what triggers my eating habits. I am learning to say no all together when I am invited to that snack moment at work to eat what so ever what when I truly know I do not need it. - I am learning to say ’No’ and knowing it will be okay. I take it a minute at a time. We shall get through this and we will not turn back. I want to be able to jump into every photo without cringing I want to feel good and run about with my kids without feeling pain, exhausted and above all guilty. I am doing this for my boys and then for myself. We will be alright guys. We got this.

Hi. I’m 6 months post op and have started to have pain in the upper stomach area. I’ve had the upper gi and barium swallow test, everything is normal. I space between eating and drinking. No matter what I eat after 3/4 bites I immediately get full. That’s for another day now my main concern is the pain I feel. It’s uncomfortable in any position except lying down on my side. My question is it ok to do a detox to cleanse my stomach or what should I do to remove this bloated painful feeling in my stomach?

Yes, I have type III lipoedema as diagnosed by two GP and a specialist consultant plus confirmed by my bariatric team and a cosmetic surgeon and in addition other female family members have the same condition. Before my sleeve I was at stage 3 but now I am, thankfully, closer to a stage 2 appearance wise. I have been prescribed compression clothing in the past but it just helped ease the pain/heaviness, I did not see any physical improvement. I have prescriptions for drainage massage which does help a bit. It is on each leg but not as pronounced in the upper area now that I have lost weight and is not an issue for me the way the lower part is, from just above my knees to my feet. I just did not see the need to go into all of this personal information to ask the question I did above. About the machines I am having my doubts as the more I read about it, people have to keep going to maintain the losses they may be achieving which then means it is not sustainable as far as I can tell and becomes a money pit. I will be postponing my appointment this weekend, for other reasons, and unless I come across some startling new information I will probably not reschedule.

I weighed myself out of curiosity. I wanted to give it an entire week but I couldn't wait! I lost 5.6lbs! I don't think all of it was fat, but my body was so inflamed. I can tell a difference! I am 6lbs away from my pre-op BA surgery!

I'm wearing a new pair of jeans that are a size 14 (uk or size 10us) I have NEVER been a size 14 in my life! When I was a kid, I went from a kids 6 to a juniors 11 to a 16! Even when moving to the UK as a teenager and taking into account size diversions, I've never been this size. I'm not supposed to wear jeans to work, but my manager was so happy for me, she let me today! (I guess also because my last week is next week) but still. It's been an amazing 7 months! Three years ago, I lost my stepfather, two years ago i lost my mother and I was at my lowest point mentally and couldn't imagine light at the end of that tunnel, and now I'm happier and healthier than I thought I could ever be again! Thanks to everyone on this forum as well when I've spiraled and you've kept me inspired.

HOLY ISH! A year already?! Time has flown! I still remember the beginning of your journey and those first posts—wow, you've come so far and done so incredibly well! I'm seriously so proud of you!! I totally agree with @SpartanMaker—maintenance is no joke, and exercise really does make all the difference. Weight lifting has been key for me too. It helps so much with maintaining, even more than cardio sometimes. Build that muscle and you're burning calories just by existing. Cardio is still super important,! I’m still figuring out maintenance myself, but my workouts have been consistent and even through my 2month spat of not being able to get my nutrition in control, making sure I kept up with exercise has been key I have been consistently doing this and its been great: 35–45 minutes of strength training, 5 days a week, At least 30 minutes of cardio daily (treadmill, dog walks, biking—whatever tickles my fancy), 2 lower body days, 2 upper body, 1 full body and one day a week my doggy and I do a 5-mile walk (she gets a walk every day, but that’s our long one). You’ve been so fabulous through this whole process, and I can’t wait to hear about your continued journey!

Today's win ? Returned to weight lifting after what seems like a 200 year hiatus. 🤣 Nothing extreme or crazy....very light weights with lots of reps. Injury avoidance is key concern. Other win is the overall feeling like I have things dialed in and the cruise control is activated. The positive feels from this are so welcome. The last 6 years or more have been chaotic and hellish at times. Things are slowing down and falling into place. Sure the scale is giving lower numbers every week, but the real improvement has been with the pure simplicity of returning to the initial advisements of the professionals at my bariatric center.

I realize this is an older thread...but it is still near the top of page and I suppose the "most recent" of it's type ? A pile of stuff has occurred in my life since I was active here on B,Pals. My 10th year sleeve anniversary is coming up later this year. Lost a ton of unwanted weight as a result of the sleeve. Daily trips to gym were the norm. no longer drank beer, but found that sugar free mixers and high grade tequilas and vodkas made for some FUN fuel for many adventures. Storm clouds loomed heavily over my marriage. Some unresolved issues resurfaced in a big ugly way. It appeared divorce was most probable. The storm finally broke....my ship hadn't crashed on the rocks... my wife still my first mate, ally, friend and lover....marriage was stronger than ever. 6 years ago she received a diagnosis for stage 4 breast cancer. Immediately stopped drinking when that diagnosis was delivered. 4 years ago she succumbed to the evil hell of cancer. She fought it with superhuman strength and courage. I will live the rest of my years in awe of her bravery and grit. It has been an incredibly tough go of it since. Her unshakable faith stoked my own faith. That is what I leaned on heavily....and will continue to do so. Early last month, the anniversary of her death was approaching. I was filled with this feeling of guilt in addition to the ever present loss & grief. The guilt was spurned by the realization that I had taken zero steps towards what she had told me to do...afterwards. She was clear that she wanted me to live. I was going to work every day and that was the extent of it. I'd maintained zero friendships and seldom contact my family, other than our son. The hurricane damage had been repaired on the house, yet I'd done nothing towards moving stuff back into the rooms that were repaired. Was living off take out and drive through garbage because I couldn't bring myself to cook...painful memories of meals made & shared together. ENOUGH. That was the word that hung heavy in the air. I could almost hear it as if she'd spoken it loudly. ENOUGH, GREG...IT IS TIME TO MAN-UP I began taking inventory right then. I vowed to not let another year go by with me still living in a bubble...not treading water, but sinking. I have remained alcohol free since quitting those six years. Clear headed and no monsters to address there. Good. Doctors appointment for annual checkup had revealed several things....top of which was my blood panel looked like trash...precisely because that is what my diet consisted of....pure trash. There had been some weight regain...but nothing that I felt like would be too difficult to lose....if I would get my arse in gear and make the lifestyle changes needed. Things were going okay on my job, simply because I'd let it be my focus...the only thing I rallied for. Spent way too much time there. Immediately scheduled some vacation time off and road tripped to visit family Visited my wife's grave....our gravesite and did so with a different feel....loss and missing her....but, feeling more stable for the first time since losing her. She'd forced me to sit down, months before passing, and listen to her on a certain subject matter that I was avoiding. told me to live...how to live....wanted me to continue on with all aspects of life and was very descriptive. She would make ongoing instruction in the months ahead. I couldn't speak in reply...just nod that I understood. She was so brave that she could accept things and love me enough to coach me how to live....afterwards. I was too much of a coward to discuss it....just sat there and listened and acknowledged. She would KICK my arse if she saw the state of low I'd been to. One day, perhaps, I will be able to show her that I heard her and rallied. That time will be at the end of my days, however. Until then, there is much life to live. RESETTING THE SLEEVE WAS EASY: I simply swapped over to strict keto. After two weeks I felt much better....after a month I no longer wanted the crap foods and I no longer wanted big meals. The smaller meals reset things for me. There is a noticeable restriction and feeling of full that occurs now. I haven't finished a meal in a month...unless it was a 1/2 sized meal. Sipping water all day...cutting off prior to meals and 30 mins after. Zero sugar intake an damn few non-fiber carbs. Supplementing with vitamins, iron, potassium and calcium. Moving more....but still not ready for the gym and all the people. Slowly feeling emotionally more "awake". Keto, with an eye on the overall daily calorie intake is how I live now. I don't see changing that. By the time that 10th surgery anniversary arrives, I suspect I will be at my all time lowest weight since college. The sleeve is still there. It just needed me to treat it right and not override it with trash food.

Hey everyone! I had my surgery on the 9th! Everything went really well, I’m still a little sore, but it gets easier every day. The biggest challenge has been the protein shakes, while they were good at first, I have begun to have a dislike for them. Tomorrow is mashed potatoes, soups, and creamy peanut butter! Looking forward to that immensely. So far I haven’t experienced any nausea or vomiting. I already feel a change in my weight I’ve lost 25 lbs between my preop and post op diet. Once I start working out the weight should fall off. Thanks to everyone who greeted me and sent their well wishes!

I feel you on the going backwards thing, honestly, I'm at a point where I'm like, I should just start selling feet pics haha, kidding I will work on rewriting my budget and not buy as many protein drinks, the money for the drinks will be used for more solid pick, my friend has a Costco membership, and said she'd take me, I can buy some frozen foods in bulk to keep frozen for easy meals, I will see what recipes I can do and hopefully after a few weeks, I will be in a much better spot, thanks for the food ideas

Thanks for the information. I'm a Gym Rat, but my surgeon told me I had to wait 6 weeks before I go back to swimming and cycling, and I have a personal trainer working with me on strength training so I lift weights well. I'm getting in over 80 grams of protein with my protein water and doing a lot of walking and only 3 days post op now. It has been a wild ride so far, and the surgeon called me last night to see how I was doing and checking my glucose numbers and pain...that was a shocker, who does that? My surgeon does!! He is a people person, that's way cool! Anyway, thanks again for your support, and everyone's support. I'm starting my new life happy.

My 5 penny worth of advice for what its worth - Your stall will eventually break and untill you get used to them they are scary. Do your best to eat as well as you can afford. I dont know if the news is fake or not but I beleive eggs are expensive in the US but a few boiled eggs are always handy in the fridge, eat them like apples or squash them in mayo with tiny melba toast. As @Arabesque said pre cooked chicken is super easy to grab with a small salad. Salmon and tuna is good too. I love a chunk of cheese with a sliced apple and a few grapes with cream cheese is a delicious dippy snack

Unfortunately so many are struggling financially these days all over the world. Cost of living is skyrocketing everywhere & we have to do what we can to survive. I swear I go backwards every week. I am with @SpartanMaker in regards to meal prepping ahead. I love my freezer & my microwave. My freezer is filled with food I have cooked and frozen in single serve portions. I did this from early out from surgery. At most all I have to do is reheat the meal and zap some vegetables or make a quick salad. I can have a nutritiously cooked meal in 5 minutes or so. Easy peasy. As most workplaces have a microwave, grab a meal from the freezer & reheat it at work for lunch. For example pre cook some chicken tenders and freeze, then in the morning grab the chicken tender and pop it in a container with a few cherry tomatoes, some lettuce leaves, a few slices of cucumber, … done. I loved mince dishes because you can add lots of vegetables: meat balls, savoury mince, taco filling, etc. so you can eat as a complete meal or add to a taco shell or wrap if you want/can. And soup is great too for the same reason (protein & vegetables in one). And yes home cooked foods are often less expensive. For example I made pea & ham soup last weekend. I made around 18 portions (I wasn’t interning to make that much but 🤷🏻‍♀️) and it cost me $18.80 Aust (split peas, frozen peas, pearl barley, an onion and a ham hock) so about a $1 a serve.

I mainly rely on shakes because it's much easier, I work 2 jobs and I'm up and out by 6:40am, getting home by 10:30pm/11pm, its just easier to grab a shake while I'm driving to my jobs, I do have a more stable meals during the weekends and if I can, meal prep so I can have some food for my lunch break, I know that I need to eat more but some night I get home so exhausted, I only have enough energy to drag myself to bed, with my budget I can prepare for about 6 days, but those are usually for the work week Maybe not the best explanation, and maybe I could make an effort to cook more but I have 2 jobs for a reason, I'm broke and I budget out all my expenses to the cent

Congrats, you've done an awesome job so far! I'm going to tell you now; transitioning to maintenance is HARD. It's scary to start eating more, it's hard to know how much to eat, and it can be challenging for some to eat all the food they actually should be eating. I would also STRONGLY, STRONGLY encourage to to work up to at least 1 hour of cardio 3 days a week and 1 hour of strength training 2 days a week if you are not already doing this level of exercise or more. The data is crystal clear here. Those individuals that get at least the amount of exercise I listed are significantly more likely to be able to maintain their weight loss. Scientists don't entirely know why this level of exercise is needed (it's almost double what someone that was never obese needs to maintain weight), but the most likely explanation at this point has to do with the fact that exercise affects your body in a couple of ways: Regular exercise changes the way the brain regulates hunger and metabolism. Simply put, most of us got as big as we did pre-surgery because our brains weren't good at telling us when to stop eating. Exercise seems to help change the way your brain understands and interprets these signals. Exercise also lowers stress and systemic inflammation, two huge triggers for overeating. Best of luck!

First, let's differentiate between a stall (what you're going through right now), and a plateau. A stall is just a temporary fluctuation in overall weight and is not indicative of an issue. Stalls are perfectly normal and to be expected. After all, your bodyweight is made up of lots of other stuff besides fat, so fluctuations are to be expected. More than likely, you actually have continued to lose fat the entire time, it's just being masked by a concomitant rise in some other component of your overall body weight. The most likely candidates would be fluid retention, or stool weight. Most of the time for a stall, I wouldn't recommend any adjustments since it's unlikely that there is really any issue with fat loss. A plateau is like a stall, but longer. I typically wouldn't consider it a plateau until you've hit more like 6 to 8 weeks without any loss. In that instance, it would be hard to argue the fat loss was being masked by something else. There are things we can do to work through a plateau, but IMO it's too soon for you to worry about that yet.

I am 1 year post-op today, and I have (pretty much) hit my goal! I can't believe it has been a year already, it has gone so fast. To think that this time last year I was having surgery (BIG shout out to Simon Monkhouse), and I was starting a new chapter of my life. I have learnt that I can adapt to change quite quickly, something I didn't think I was that good at previously. I think we shock ourselves at how quickly we can adapt to our new way of living post-surgery. The NSVs have been life-saving for me. Every time I am walking about, up hills and at a fast pace, I still catch myself thinking "I can't believe I can do this". Before this I would have to stop 3-4 times just on a short 8 minute walk as the pain in my hips and back was awful. Now I can jog and I can ride a bike uphill!! I feel happier in myself and in my day-to-day life, and while I may still have a long way to go in terms of being kinder to myself, I am learning to love my body. It is so nice to be able to just think less about what I am wearing, how I will look. I am grateful to feel smaller and to have people not notice me in public (as weird as that sounds). Next part of my journey is just to see where my weight loss goes, then to look into some plastics in the next year or so, but overall, my goal is just to keep living feeling this free ❤️

Usually people experience their first stall at around the 3 week mark +/- and they can last 1-3 weeks. However this isn’t a hard and fast rule. There are some who experience small stalls of only a few days. I was one who wouldn’t see any loss on the scales for only a handful of days and then would drop again. I noticed this simply because I weighed myself daily and recorded my loss. As you weigh once a week you may have missed a brief plateau at around that three week mark and you are having a larger more average length stall now. Your friends may not have noticed stalls if they weighed once a week or less frequently. The only thing you can rely on is regardless of how often you stall or how long there last they will break. Just stick to your plan & everything will be fine when your body is ready to start losing again. Is there a reason you are only eating one real meal a day and your other meals are shakes? At almost three months post surgery most of your nutrients should be coming from real food not shakes. A shake should only be to supplement your protein intake or as an occasional convenient meal alternative (work commitments, travel, etc.). I also wonder if that could impact your weight loss and the length of your plateau. Personally I never had another shake after the first 2 week liquid stage & was eating real food meals from week 3 post surgery. By around week 8 I was eating all meats (fish, beef, chicken, pork, lamb) & 1 or 2 vegetables for lunch and dinner and eggs or oatmeal for breakfast. This is when you should be introducing better food choices and eating habits for the long term. This would be worth a conversation with your dietician & surgeon.

Hello, I had my surgery back on 2/20, so I'm a little less than 3 months post op, so far I have lost a little over 50lbs(yay), I was just wondering, how soon do people start hitting a stall? I weigh myself weekly and for the last 3 weeks I have been at 266, I wasn't sure if this was too soon I've had friends and coworkers who's also done the surgery and they said they didn't start hitting a plateau until almost a year in My diet consist of a protein drink for breakfast, a snack around 10:30, usually a babybel or a sugar free jerky stick, lunch would either be chicken or fish with cactus, another snack around 3pm and when I get home (6pm) I do another protein drink, on days I have to work my 2nd job and get home after 10pm, I add a 3rd protein drink Work out, I still do my hour walk, unless I work my 2nd job, then it's only a 30 min walk during my lunch hour at my 1st job That has been my schedule for the last month in a half, so I wasn't sure if I need to modify anything or maybe increase my walking, any suggestions would be appreciated

Again, If what you're doing is working, then I don't see anything that needs changing. If you're in the range of 100-115 grams per day, then you're already eating what I'd call protein forward diet and about where I'd typically recommend for most people. Keep in mind what I mentioned, calories are king. You only lose weight when you eat fewer calories than you burn. Thus if you did want to add more protein, you'd have to do so at the expense of other nutrients. When eating as few calories as you are right now, dropping any more on carbs & fat could have negative effects on health. It's important to get sufficient essential fatty acids since your body can't make these (that's why there called "essential". Technically you can live without carbs since your body can manufacture glycogen from fats and protein, but the problem is that if you reduce these even further, you're going to also have to reduce your intake of fruits and veggies and these convey a lot of other benefits to you nutritionally. Here's what I'd ask your nutritionist about. The most up to date clinical practice guidelines from AACE/TOS/ASMBS/OMA/ASA say to focus on protein intake of 1.2g/kg of bodyweight. https://www.soard.org/article/S1550-7289(08)00163-9/fulltext I recognize that you are not from the USA, but I dare say these organizations have a significant level of money and experience going into these recommendations since obesity is rampant in the USA. For what it's worth, some recent data I saw showed that the USA does far more bariatric surgeries than any other country. In fact, it was roughly the same number of bariatric surgeries as the next 10 countries combined. An impressive but sad statistic. Protein is highly satiating compared to carbs & fats, plus protein takes longer to digest, meaning you'll be full longer. Being full longer equals less cravings and better dietary compliance. Protein has a small but meaningful effect on overall energy balance because on average, for every 100 calories of protein you eat, you burn about 20 calories just to digest it. This is way more than carbs or fats which range from 0 to 3 for fats and 5 or 10 for carbs depending of fiber content. This means the more protein you eat, the better your overall energy balance compared to eating the exact same calorie amount of other foods. Granted, this isn't a lot, but it all adds up. Higher levels of dietary protein help you preserve more muscle mass as you lose weight. (It helps prevent muscle catabolism which is a real risk when eating a very low calorie diet.) Because muscle is more metabolically active than fat, the more muscle mass you preserve as you lose weight, the more calories you'll burn, even at rest. Studies suggest anything above about 1.2g/kg (95% CI), is sufficient for most people to stave off catabolism, which is probably where the dietary guidelines linked above came from. You mentioned something about body recomposition, so I want to touch on that briefly. I LOVE the idea, but you need to understand it's extremely hard (bordering on impossible), to add muscle mass while on a very low calorie diet like you're eating right now. For most people, you actually need to be eating a significant surplus to add muscle mass, so I honestly wouldn't even try until you get closer to your goal weight. If you do decide to add mass, then yes, higher protein amounts than what you're eating now would be recommended (Roughly 2g - 2.5g per kg of bodyweight). This also would require a dedicated hypertrophy training plan though, and that's a bit out of scope for our discussion here. Best of luck.

Help! I have stalled for the last 4 weeks and haven't lost anything. I am 8 months post op.