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I am sure you have just reached a stall period, don't let it worry you, EVERYONE has gone through it, or is going through it, as it is raised as a topic here every few days it feels like. Your body is trying to adjust to the new you, new routines etc. so even if the scale has stalled (or even goes up a bit) you may be loosing inches etc. Over the last year I have had a few stalls and it is frustrating but part of the process. It also gets harder/slower as you get closer to your natural weight as there is less to loose. When it has happened I have upped my exercise (an extra walk or longer walk, more time in the pool etc.) to try and give the body a little nudge to get loosing again not sure if it helps or not but makes me feel better. Try not to stress and just keep up the positive changes you have made. It is seriously not that long into this part of your journey.

Ugh. Getting back on track after vacation is harder than I thought it would be. I have no desire to cook and I'm craving snacks and sweets like crazy because I know they're in the house. I had done a thorough job of getting all the snacks and candy out of the cupboards leading up to surgery, but with the kids home all day for the summer, I've bought some things for them, and we also brought home stuff from our trip. Resisting the temptation when it's just in the next room while I'm working is HARD, especially because having a snack was often the way I would deal with avoiding a project for work that I didn't want to do (I work from home). Add on top of that the beginning of hunger returning and an increase in how much I can comfortably eat in one sitting and it's a battle. Plus the weather has been miserably hot so if I don't get out to walk first thing in the morning, it's not happening. Needless to say, my weight has bounced up a pound this week. So frustrated!

Legit! Losing weight and fitting things better, ive been HOT!😂😂

In my case, I was referred by my primary care doctor to the weight management center that is affiliated with the hospital and everything else was done through them. But I know it can be different depending where you are. In my case, my surgeon, dietician, and behavioral therapist were all in one office and I went to the hospital to have my labs drawn and my barium swallow and EKG. I did not have to do a sleep test or endoscopy based on whatever criteria they use for that. My insurance required a certain number of visits with the dietician and surgeon, but I'm not sure now what the requirement was because I had been going to the center for a long time on medically supervised weight loss before switching to surgical, so I had long since met those requirements.

Hello 👋 it’s good to hear everyone’s progress. Things have been mixed for me as my husband died suddenly 65 days ago. Shocking to say the least. So I’m not quite sure how I’m doing really. however, my surgery has been life changing, physically I’ve never been so fit. I’m down 30kg and only 3kg from goal but have been in a plateau for around 5wks. Despite the emotional turmoil I have pretty much managed to stick to the programme, only wavering twice when I simply did not care enough to stop myself eating too much rubbish. The reassuring thing was I stopped and got myself back together. I want to be healthy, so am putting the work in. Walking and exercise, (strength, cardio, yoga - on Apple fitness) have given me a focus. When I feel lost and overwhelmed by grief I go walking. Rather that than gorge myself silly then feel even worse, as I would have done prior to surgery. There’s never a good time for a spouse to die but I’m glad I was well on in this weight loss journey as I’d be in an even worse position had I not been. My husband would be proud and happy. ❤️

I got pregnant with pcos, but that was way WAY before I ever thought about weight loss surgery, so I can't help you with any of your questions, really. I had so many losses that I had to do treatments to get pregnant with my daughter (got pregnant with my son naturally). Never was able to get pregnant again after my daughter, and I just recently had a total hysterectomy (including ovaries) now that I've lost all the weight I want to lose after my surgery, so I won't be having more babies. I second what @ShoppGirl said...posting on 1 or 2 existing pregnancy and pcos threads is definitely the way to go to hopefully get some answers.

Congratulations on your decision. Unfortunately I don’t have that insurance but do you usually need a referral to see a specialist? I suppose If you were to call a surgeons office and ask to schedule they would let you know if you really need to wait until you see your primary. Then again if your appointment is soon it may make sense to just wait anyways so they can give you a recommendation for a surgeon if you don’t have one in mind For me, it was the surgeons office that let me know what all the requirements were. I have seen them vary slightly from one person to the next. It depends on insirance but also varies by the program as well as your medical history. For my Sleeve the requirements were a 6 month medically supervised weight loss attempt, psyc eval and a nutritionist appointment. Ooh and you will need medical clearance for surgery which depending on your health may be just routine lab work or it may be additional appointments like a cardiologist checkup. They may also require you to sort out the sleep apnea thing and make sure that the cpap is working to treat your sleep apnea sufficiently if you do have it but i’m not 100% certain on that (just seems like I heard something about that). I am currently pending a revision and this time he required an ekg that he didn’t ask for last time. I guess maybe since I’m a little older. They wanted the labs to be drawn within a month or less of my surgery date so I scheduled them and the ekg at my primary doctor at two weeks out from my surgery. Listing it out it seems like a lot but you will have a While to get it all done and they should walk you through it step by step.

Hi fellow people! Can anyone share their success stories with losing weight, when being diagnosed with PCOS? I was diagnosed with PCOS almost 2 years ago, and I did the surgery back in January and now it’s being almost 7 months and I’m over the mini to start and try to get pregnant. So I’m wondering if anyone has success stories with PCOS healing, periods being natural again and on time and conceiving fast and easy if they could please share. thank you so much!!! .

Do you have any idea of the kinds of temperatures you could be looking at so you can plan around that? We generally go to Cyprus in mid September and the temps can be mid-40s. Have a look at Superdrug for Lanacane anti-chafing gel https://www.superdrug.com/health/medicated-skin/medicated-skin-treatments/lanacane-anti-chafing-gel-28g/p/687900 I would also have a look for some mozzie repellent too as you don’t want to be bitten to death! Lots of stores are having a sale now, especially as our summer has been a complete washout. Have a look at Roman - 60% off sale plus use the code EPIC for a further 15% off everything (got to love a discount code 😉) The Next sale began at the weekend, Tu has up to 50% off brands, George (Asda) have their sale on plus Debenhams always have some sort of sale on! Thin, floaty things are always a winner as already mentioned by others. Thin tops and loose shorts are good for daytime, just be careful on sitting on hot, plastic seating outside cafes etc as you can end up leaving the skin off the back of your thighs behind (definitely speaking from experience with that one 🙄) A hat is a must as well as some high factor sun cream to begin with. Tescos dry oil is pretty good - you don’t end up feeling horribly sticky with it; Boots have sun cream and after sun that has insect repellent already in and doesn’t stink. A pack of one a day over the counter antihistamines are really useful if you suffer from prickly heat (or if you don’t normally but start with it on holiday) Take it with you as it’s generally expensive abroad, same with paracetamol. More importantly, have a totally wonderful time and revel in your fantastic weight loss to date!

I’m trying to smile more … hope everyones doing ok

tomorrow July 10 😌 Weird because 1200 calories for the past 2 weeks and liquid diet 24 hours before the surgery. This is gonna sound nuts but I hope that my liver isn't a fat gigantic thing... so embarrassing. I had gastric sleeve back almost a decade ago and managed to regain the weight. It's the same surgeon for this gastric bypass.

Hmm, that is true actually! It feels as though we have skipped Summer here 😅 I shall hold off from buying anything just yet, as I am conscious of how fast the weight loss is right now! I think I am suffering a bit from imposter syndrome right now - I feel like a fraud if I were to buy smaller sizes if that makes sense! Like my body won't actually ever fit into them (which I know is insane, given that I am and have lost weight) but my brain hasn't caught up yet. I have heard nothing but good things about M&S - I may create a holiday wishlist on there! I admit I have never even worn those kinds of trousers before! But I think that was just due to me not feeling like they'd suit my shape!

This isn’t really a rant or a rave. More just a topic that I am curious to hear others thoughts on. I had my psyc eval this morning and it got me to thinking….a lot. On one hand I was extremely irritated that I feel like we are being discriminated agains to have to do a psyc eval to begin with while on the other hand I question whether a one time appointment is enough and we should be required to do more. First let me say that when I say that it should be required for us to do anything I do not believe that insurance companies should be the ones dictating ANY of this. I think that doctors should be making medial decisions, period. With that being said they are involved so should they be allowed to require a psyc eval for one surgery and not another? Not ANY others as far as I know. I mean all the hoops that are required for weight loss surgery, I haven’t done anything like this for any other surgery It really feels like discrimination. How is it that in this day and age they are still getting away with it.? On the other hand are they on to something and is the evaluation really enough? For those of us who have been through it all would you have benefitted from ongoing therapy to deal with all the life changes and some professional help to change the disordered eating behaviors that most of us have to some degree? Should this be a requirement? Or perhaps they should just have to educate us about therapy and provide access to it for those who choose it. Or instead of the evaluation beforehand require one visit post surgery just so we could see what therapy is like and we can decide if it worth it. Maybe the surgeons should be required to have a therapist on staff that can handled their patient load. Should the doctors step up and require more of their patients than the insurance company does (if they believe it’s beneficial)? Is that even allowed? or should all of this be the patients decision? Just something to think about

I was on HRT but still had some breakthrough menopausal symptoms before surgery. After surgery, the hormonal flush got rid of all of them to the point I was considering dropping the HRT or at least reducing to a lower dose. But once I lost the bulk of my weight the breakthrough symptoms came back … strongly. Actually I had to go up to a higher dose. PS. I developed some absorption issues after my gall was removed two years after my sleeve surgery. One thing that was affected was the absorption of my oral HRT. My GP prescribed a patch instead and everything settled again. Something to keep in mind if you have a bypass or any issues with absorption.

I was in the same spot you are up until last week. I stopped losing at 7 months, gained a few pounds and watched the same 2-3 pounds up and down for three months! Then, at 10.5 months lost 8 lbs in a week. I completely understand your frustration. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I continue to lose now. Its very frustrating! Have you gone to your dietician or surgeon and at least confirm all is well? I did and even talked to the clinic psychologist (I was becoming angry about it). Just know it will eventually break, I know hearing/reading this doesn't help like losing pounds does but... But you'll start losing again.

I do, I alternate upper body and lower body everyday for 6days. Plus cardio. I change up my weight lifting too. I am kinda thinking that I may need to cut down to 4days weight lifting and do two cardio days or 1 cardio day and 1 rest day....I did read somewhere too that we can over work out bodies and then it just stops changing...Might have to do something like that. Thank you!

Do you change up your workouts? I’d read somewhere years ago that you need to change them every 6 weeks or so as your body gets used to what you’re doing. Can you change your reps/sets? The amount of weights you’re using? Try something completely different? I had to keep doing this and it did work for me so maybe it’s something that could work for you too? I remember I stopped working out for a couple of weeks and dropped 7lbs 🤷‍♀️ Our bodies are weird!

If you don't want to stay off the scale for a week, which I'll admit I can't do either, just remind yourself each day that the number does not define you and that it isn't the end of your weight loss journey. Plateaus and small upward movements are common and normal throughout the process. It's temporary. You're still eating too little for it not to be. You're only 6 months in, so you have at least another 6 months ahead of you to lose those last few pounds. It will probably get harder, but it will happen! And you've done an amazing job in such a short period of time.

Is this the same if you’re on HRT I wonder? Pre-HRT I would have quite happily stabbed hubby just for breathing too loudly and I honestly thought I was going mad - anger, tears, emotions all over the place. Really weird when I’ve generally been relatively sane previously! HRT has calmed all that down but I’d be interested in hearing from menopausal weight-droppers 🤔

Thank you @ShoppGirl @Bypass2Freedom and @JennyBeez for you lovely, thoughtful words. I really do appreciate your comments. The clothes came - the shift dress that I thought would be OK is massive and the jumpsuit that I thought would be too tight fits perfectly so go figure 🤷‍♀️ Annoying though when you buy the same size from the same brand and there are massive discrepancies. So, dress is going back and I’ve ordered a couple of things from the sale at Roman for less than half the price of the dress I’m sending back 🙂 @ShoppGirl I have to say that my hubby is being fully supportive. There are obviously times when I want to smother him with a pillow but not over this. He is onboard with what I am trying to do so no complaints from me over that. He just wants me to feel good about myself and get some confidence back I think. I did take your advice and ordered some new, dressy shoes (backless so if my feet do shrink again, it won’t matter!) I hope that the metabolic changes from the op really do kick in and work in tandem with the other changes we make. I know the op is a positive thing that we’re doing both for our physical and emotional wellbeing. @Bypass2Freedom Definitely seek food to ‘soothe’ when in meltdown mode. It is difficult to lose weight and keep if off. I hate, with a passion, those that patronisingly say “oh, you just have to eat less and move more”…OH REALLY?? 🤬🤬🤬 Well tell my metabolism that you arsehole. Continually dieting just screws your metabolism up, I’m sure of it. I’m hoping that the op acts as an internal reset button so my body stops acting against me and works with me for a while. I do know I need to stop being so harsh on myself…old habits and all that 🙃 @JennyBeez Yes, to camouflage, yes to self-sabotage. I know what started my weight issues and disordered eating. Food was used as a punishment when I was growing up (amongst other things) I won’t go in to detail as I don’t want to trigger anyone but I have undergone counselling etc. I did lose approx 100lbs around 12 years ago and then immediately started with Rheumatoid Arthritis which threw a massive spanner in to my works! My focus went from weight and gym visits to meds, hospital visits, X-rays pain and tests. Weight went back on, Osteoarthritis decided to join the party and then recently Fibromyalgia because why not?? Did I choose any of that? NO! Looking at it all dispassionately, I can see that I was angry with my body - I’d done the major weight loss, I was at the gym 5 days a week because I loved it, I was happy with myself and then I felt that I was kicked in the teeth without rhyme or reason. I know that WLS won’t make everything go away but hopefully it will make things easier to handle and get me moving once again. I miss the gym like you wouldn’t believe and I’m just hoping that I can get going to it once again for my physical and mental health. Working on my mindset is definitely a work in progress.

Lol this made me smile. Im literally an outgoing person but lately Ive been quiet and to myself …. (Not fully seeing my weight loss like everyone else does is added to my sadness). Im trying to be patient

The thing that scares me about staying away from the scale. Is that I did that while I was 300lbs because if I didn't know my weight then I wasn't gaining so it didn't matter, I am a size 4 right now which is INSANE, so I really couldn't imagine myself losing anymore weight anyways but I was hoping for the last 2.4lbs dang nabbit! I am not mentally prepared for the scale to go up let alone 4lbs in less than a week. Thank you so much for the words, it has helped. I know it cannot be me. Its just really disheartening to see it going up almost every day

I will be honest. This is not making me feel okay, I have only been on this journey 6months and I didn't think this would happen this soon, I am weight lifting and my body composition is more muscular. I just am not ready to go up.

It's easy to forget that "weight" and "fat" are not the same thing. You can burn fat and go up in weight, and it's normal for daily weight to fluctuate by several pounds. You've been really lucky so far that the scale has gone down consistently, but you're getting to the 6-month mark and that's when the surgery's fat burning effect starts to slow (not stop, but slow). In the past, you were burning enough fat quickly so that even if you went up in weight from water or the food in your digestive track, you wouldn't see it on the scale. Now, though, you might only lose a small amount of fat in a week, so you could see the scale become a little more erratic. It's totally normal and you aren't gaining fat. It's also very common to hit a stall around 6 months post op as your body recalibrates. You'll probably see slower weight loss once it breaks, but you'll still see the scale go down for many more months. And if I just base it on my own experience, you will experience this type of thing the closer you get to a number that feels important to you because the universe is like that. The moment I dropped below 200 lbs, which was such a psychological milestone for me, my weight bounced back up and it took another 10 days to get back into the 190s again. My third month post-op, I stalled and only lost a total of 3.8 pounds. The following month was my best month so far for weight loss. So don't read too much into a little wobble on the scale if your habits have been reasonable. If it takes 3500 extra calories to gain one pound, unless you can identify some really bad choices that would have led to a 14,000 calorie surplus this past week, it's not anything you're doing. Just keep following your plan and ignore the scale.