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You look absolutely amazing!! Congratulations on the weight loss. I don’t know how you do it with all the traveling. I think it takes some time for us to adjust to actually seeing ourselves thinner even after we have lost the weight. Even losing 45 lbs now I don’t always see myself thinner. Then I look at my English bulldog who also weighs 45 lbs and remind myself that I lost that much weight lol 😂 When I look at it that way it makes me see it differently. I am 18lbs away from my weight the surgeon wants me at but it is very slow going now. Some days I fluctuate between the same couple pounds instead of going down and making any real progress. Orientation at work already has given me a cough and stuffy nose. Too much time hibernating at home. I am anxious though to see if all the moving 8 hrs a day will get the weight dropping faster. I hope everyone continues to beat the scale and stay positive!! It looks like everyone is doing great!

I'm also in the "what to do for the birthday Struggle Club! My surgery is 7th of October and my birthday is tomorrow 25th July. My dr put me on a 12 week milk diet (1.5litres of milk with semi-skimmed milk and 1 salty drink a day) to quickly lose weight before my surgery. So I don't want to jeopardise that and have my usual slices of cake from my favourite bakery. It's also my friend's wedding on Saturday. I can't avoid the wedding are ask people to do something that isn't food related. But I can control my birthday and avoid temptation. I made the decision to go out and get my nails done and go to a comedy club instead! I'm not much of a drinker so the club won't be a temptation and I can't eat while getting my nails done! Next year, I'll be thinner and probably more in the mood to celebrate anyway.

Thank you Yes, I have been getting support from the weight loss clinic in the hospital. I met with the in-house psychiatrist and he in turn referred me to one of their psychologists for PTSD and it has helped me. I actually see them both again (separately) at the end of this month as I will be doing some EFT sessions starting the end of the month.

I will be having my surgery on June 26. My current weight is 326. I am so happy and ready to move forward with my weight loss

Hi everyone. I thought I would pop this on here, and someone who is feeling incredibly frustrated and let down by the whole waiting process. For context; I am waiting for a gastric sleeve date, after almost 5 years on the waitlist with the NHS based in England. Ironically, I could've paid for private surgery almost twice over with the amount of tax I've paid since waiting! I have been 'at the top of the list' since October last year, and have done everything they have asked of me - kept my weight below my initial weight at the beginning of my consultations; diet change; lifestyle change; everything to try and help eleviate some of my PCOS symptoms whilst I wait. I'm just feeling so ticked off today. I missed a call by a couple of seconds whilst I was driving to work, and had a gut feeling it would be from the hospital I'm having the surgery in. I tried to call back, but typical, it was a number that didn't receive incoming calls. I tried for 20 minutes to get through to the right department (had the phone put down on me when I was put through to the wrong team, and asked to be put back to the switchboard?). When I finally managed to call through to surgery admissions, I was advised that because I didn't answer the phone (despite LITERALLY not having a number directly to call back on), they had already called someone else and given my slot away. Livid and heartbroken do not come close to how I felt today. I am so exhausted of the waiting game, even moreso when there's been several times I've had appointments in person cancelled at the last minute, after travelling 2 hours there and back; cancelled phone calls at the last minute; zero in-person physiotherapy despite being told for over 2 years I would receive them. I now have to wait - god knows how long - for the next phone call, that heaven forbid it's unsafe for me to answer my phone at that point in time. Has anyone else in the UK had anything like this before? I just can't believe they wouldn't give me a chance to call back as I did, or call me again within a couple of minutes. I'm self-employed, and as the spring/summer months approach, I may lose out on a lot of work and earnings with surgery recovery, which is why next month would have been perfect. Any support right now would be great. I'm feeling so deflated and worn out by this.

Im from London. Semi skimmed milk with 2 tablespoon skimmed milk powder. I use Hartley 10 cal jelly pot. I've been doing normal because I lost weight fast and because il lost weight in last 3 weeks in liver reduction diet when it's just soup and yogurt.

Hello! My surgery is scheduled for 7/10. I am having the gastric bypass. I'm on the pre-op diet right now. Doing well but am so weak from this diet. Last night I could barely finish my evening meal - got nauseated and just felt terrible. This is a revision surgery. I had the VSG 2914, lost 100. Foot surgery and the covid lockdown started my regain of 80 lbs. The surgery is to fix my hernia and hopefully get rid of my acid reflux. I am hoping to lose but more importantly to maintain my weight loss. I'm currently on 3 hbp meds and 3 acid reflux meds. How do I complete the settings about my surgery, weight, etc.?

Adding my info! 1. Pre op weight, BMI or measurements 249-250 lbs BMI of 44 2. Surgery type VSG in 2017 then RNY in 2019 3. Lowest post op weight, BMI or measurements and when it occurred 150lbs BMI 27 around 1 year post op 4. Maintenance weight, BMI or measurements and when it occurred 155 lbs BMI 27 around 18 months post op 5. Bounces (up or down) in weight, BMI or measurements and when they occurred I can bounce up and down 5-10 lbs depending on the season but my lowest was a 20 lb drop during an E.Coli infection 6. Methods used to maintain and what has/has not worked What works for me: Weighing daily/weekly, spot checking calories, low cal/keto substitutes, 90% disciplined eating and 10% debauchery. What does not work for me: gym membership as motivation, unsustainable diets and GLP-1 meds (as of now) 7. How your life has changed (losing vs maintaining perspective) During the losing phase I was very rigid almost never went off plan, now everything I want can be worked into my plan and I’m more relaxed. 8. Words of wisdom/cautionary tales/stories of beating the odds Cautionary tale: Don’t suffer in silence with reflux, push for answers and relief. Absolutely never compare yourself to anyone else. Don’t guilt spiral after a little weight gain, try to correct it as soon as you notice. A small gain is very likely in our population after reaching your absolute lowest weight. I remember when I first joined there was a some chatter about being absolutely perfect or you’ll gain it all back and it made me really anxious. Don’t be afraid to ask for help and other tools from your team. We are not quite the same as the never obese population so our bodies may play by different rules. Word of wisdom: Document your journey if you can. I don’t really remember what it was like to be in my obese body anymore, I only vaguely remember feeling bigger. Have other goals apart from losing weight. Once the newness of WLS wears off you may want to continue the momentum of achievement. If you want plastics (and there are no obstacles beside fear) definitely go for it. The recovery can be tough but it completed the journey for me and others I know.

For me, the pain wasn't bad. I needed liquid Tylenol for the first 3 days, a few times per day (tip: look for the ADULT formula because the child formula tastes horrible and is thicker, like gel). I had one incision that would give twinges for about a week, but it passed quickly. I did not experience gas pain. I found a weighted heating pad on my abdomen at night was very soothing. I was very tired and found it difficult to focus. If possible, don't tax yourself.I walked frequently, but not far. So I was moving around but not logging a huge number of steps. By week 3, I felt relatively normal. By the end of month 2, I was pretty much back to my old self with the bonus of quite a bit more energy, and I could navigate eating in restaurants without too much trouble (I went on a weekend trip out of town at around 8 weeks post op).

Definitely try and get some sleep! 😂 This is definitely the case! I know myself that I need to focus a little bit more on my water intake - then hopefully I shall feel a bit more energy! I have been back to the gym in the last week and started walking more, and I will be having a personal trainer come the 1st August so I know I am going to be putting my weight loss & health first! Which is surprisingly exciting haha.

Did you lose this weight on the liver shrink diet? If so, that diet is specifically designed to drop a big chunk of weight quickly but unfortunately the weight loss won’t continue to come off that easily long term. Only you know if you have given it your best shot at natural weight loss in the past but if you are like many of us here you have tried a number of times and nothing works to lose a significant amount of weight and keep it off. It’s your body and there is no shame in rescheduling if you feel like you need to give it one more try but also keep in mind that the biggest regret that many people list about bariatric surgery is not having done it sooner. Maybe make a list of the pros and cons and one of all the ways you have tried to lose weight in the past. Also keep in mind that pre surgery jitters are perfectly normal. You wouldn’t be sane if you weren’t at least a little nervous about major surgery. You are not alone.

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.

Congratulations on your weight loss. I hope your sweating issue has resolved with your being closer to goal. I have question though? Do you recall the name of the rx your dermatologist gave you for sweating? I have a similar issue which I know is exacerbated by my weight but even when I lost weight with the sleeve it was still an issue. It’s horrible to live with. I have seen every specialist and had every test I can think of. My dermatologist gave me oxybutwnin which was great for my bladder but did nothing for the sweating. I would be thrilled to know that thete is another option.

Estrogen is stored in your fat. As you lose weight it is released into your blood stream. This additional estrogen or estrogen flush causes your emotions to go haywire (like major PMT) & changes to your menstrual cycle (heavier/lighter, more or less frequent periods). Plus in general, this is a pretty emotional & stressful time. The surgery, the reduced eating, the structured eating, etc. all can mess with your emotions too. It does settle eventually though when differs person to person.

I was worried about losing too much weight too The thing is that they can suggest changes all they want but we already know how we are supposed to eat. If we could do it we wouldn’t be where we are now. Chances are you are not going to be able to stick to any diet for a full six months. I know I couldn’t. Also, the surgeries are known to help with sleep apnea and GERD depending on which one the dr feels is appropriate for you. I can’t imagine that being a reason to disqualify you. I have heard of a lot of people getting a hernia repair done at the same time as their surgery.

I was a teaspoon dipper or baby bite person too. My bites were just want ever was on the end of the teaspoon I dipped into my food. Don’t be afraid to wait longer between bites: a couple of minutes. Even eating 1/4 cup of food would take me 20 minutes or more. I would avoid the crackers and focus only on eating protein at this stage and any incidental vegetables like what might be in a soup you’ve blended. Generally any carbs should be left to the last thing you eat & only if you are able. So eat your protein first, then if you are able any vegetables then finally carbs you’re allowed at each stage (usually whole or multi grains not the more highly processed, less nutrient dense breads, rice, pasta, crackers). So if you were able to eat the saltines, you would have been able to eat more of the chicken salad & therefore more protein. There were many times I ate protein & nothing else for some meals for months. Congrats on your weight loss so far.

pro tip: for those JUST entering maintenance, you *may* want to hold off off on resizing your "important" rings...as you will most likely go through an "upswing" in the weight/size department. you also may not, but who knows??? my engagement/wedding rings where a size 6 and 7 respectively. when i hit my lowest weight, i was below the lowest of the ring measurement paraphernalia i had....so i actually dont know what size i was. at around 3-4 years post op, i was a 4....today, (almost 6 yr pi) i am aaaaaalmost a 5. i still haven't had my engagement/wedding rings resized, but mostly out of laziness...but i figure someday i will. anyway....long story short: maybe wait a year at most to do the deed and resize the important rings. unless u dont care about having to likely resize them again later, go for it! i myself am going to look into those resize bead things.... 😊

I wasn’t really given a post op diet specific to the gallbladder removal either but when I googled it a couple of sites had a post op diet specific to the removal and mentioned the high fat and as well as no caffeine, alcohol or carbonation And slowly introducing fiber. I assumed they didn’t mention itr since most surgeons do not allow any of these Early out anyways but mine does allow a Little caffeine. The latte shake has caffeine. I am truly hoping ir doesn’t cause many issues. Especially with absorption and cholesterol like yours. Mild but slowly increasing cholesterol and knee pain are my two comorbidities and what I hoped to resolve with the weight loss (the cholesterol runs in the family even for thin people though).. Also, if my bipolar meds do not absorb I have no clue what I will do. I don’t even want to think of what a disaster that could be. It’s day 8 now and so far I feel okay. Usually if I miss it two days pills in a row I feel different. My prescribing dr says that they are mostly absorbed by the stomach membrane so I shouldn’t notice much change with my revision since they aren’t touching my sleeve. I just didn’t know to ask about the gallbladder thing. I was in such bad pain when they told me they removed it I I honestly didn’t even want to worry about that part until I was feeling better. It sounds like I really shouldn’t even begin to jump to any conclusions though since you’re and your family’s experience were so different. Maybe more of a wait and see what happems sort of thing and why they really didn’t mention much about it.

I believe in my heart I may be the only one doing this to myself...or even able to muster up the courage to talk publicly about it. I'm not getting my protein in. I'm not getting my water in. I haven't been taking my vitamins. I haven't been to the gym in over 2 weeks. I eat what I want, to the point of making myself puke with intolerable food. I gave up. I drink alcohol. I'm lazy. NO i'm not looking for pity, i'm genuinely curious to know if anyone else is or has been in my shoes.. I'm almost 5 months post-op, down 40+ pounds. Losing 1-2lbs per week SOMEHOW. If you've been here, how did you get out of this fog? I'm petrified to address this with my doctor in fear of being judged. I'm in the closet with all this. Scared/anxious i'll just regain my weight over the next year. I feel im in concrete and have ABSOLUTELY NO motivation to change habits very disappointed in myself. Disgusted really. Recently went to a gathering and seen myself in pictures and I am way bigger than i thought i was. im just all over the crazy table!

If you’re in the purée stage whatever you eat should be a thick but still a bit loose in texture or dollopy like yoghurt. If you want to blend or grind meat add gravy or stock to get the texture thin enough. Minced meats with a sauce or gravy like meat loaf, meat balls or bolognese without pasta are great in soft food. If you’re allowed potatoes they should be mashed. I lived on yoghurt, instant rolled oats, scrambled eggs, thicker blended soups during that stage as I found puréed meats unpalatable. Did even eat baby food twice. A lot of people eat egg salad (mashed eggs & mayo) in this stage. Think of a baby transitioning from milk (liquids) to thin cereals like Farex, baby food, etc. (purées) then soft foods like slow cooked stews, minced meat dishes, sausage, etc. Congrats on your weight loss so far.

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!

Temporary hair loss is very common after surgery. Your body is going through a lot is stress: the surgery, reduced food intake, weight loss, anaesthetic, hormonal flushes & changes, etc. The result is a temporary acceleration of your natural hair loss cycle. It actually can occur after child birth, periods of extreme stress, other more major surgeries, etc. The hair you are losing is dead & you were going to lose it anyway just not as quickly. You can’t stop it. Or slow it down. Some people will suggest adding additional supplements but this period of hair loss still lasts about 4 month -/+ regardless of taking the additional supplements or not. Those supplements won’t help hair that is already dead. As long as you’re taking the vitamins your team recommends & are meeting your protein & other nutritional goals, you don’t need to do anything else. Your new hair is still growing just at its usual rate & it is only this new growth that may benefit from the supplements. How much you’ll lose is very individual & you can’t predict it. You may lose more if it’s summer (when we usually shed more hair) or if you are in your 7 year hair shedding cycle (just went through mine again & was losing a lot more than usual). Try cutting off some of your length if you have longer hair. Many of us do this so the new growth reaches the length of the old growth more quickly. And shorter hair is always bouncier & looks fuller than long. I decided some temporary hair loss is a small price to pay for the benefits of your weight loss. Oh, and try not to stress too much - it only adds to the stress your body is already under which influences the hair loss. PS: You can update your weight by scrolling to near the bottom of this page. You’ll see a section titled Together we have lost… Add your current weight & click Update Your Weight. It will display the next time you start a thread or respond to a post.

For me, I can't really have another decent sized meal until I've used the toilet... This is coming from an RNY patient. Everyone's anatomy and post surgery results will be different. This is the reason why weight loss surgery results can not be replicated for each patient. One patient may have problems with one thing while another patient who underwent the same surgery won't.

So since posting I’ve not been very active and my issue with weight regain has gotten worse. I am now sitting at 270 pounds. That’s 100 total pounds regained. I am miserable. I am going to start a protein shake diet thing for a week starting tomorrow and really try to get active again, but as I mentioned before I am still on night shift and a student as well. My fitness pal seems to cost money these days and im absolutely not paying 20$ a month for that, I wish it was still free. Any tips is awesome, motivations, and even pen pals, I find not having anyone to hold my accountable is really a big problem for me as I tend to convince myself to do as I please (I get it, I need to hold myself accountable, but it’s nice to have a helping hand) thanks for all the comments

Hello everyone! I'm checking in - @ShoppGirl- It sounds like you've really been through the wringer! You are a superstar for managing both chemo, a virus, and surgery recovery all at the same time and I hope you're being gentle with yourself and giving yourself lots of pats on the back! @Chatterbox - YES - portion sizes have gotten more flexible; for me taking an ADEK supplement has helped with the hair shedding; I've gone through that to a point as well and typically have VERY thick hair and I've noticed some extra shedding but even with that it hasn't thinned my hair dramatically. @Justarwaxx - You're doing great!! Please be kind to yourself! With increased activity level the calorie consumption does have to go up so you can keep up your energy! Now that I'm using my Fitbit I am able to better see my activity levels - I haven't hit 10k in a day but I got close a couple of days and my average went below 5k per day while I was sick as well (Gosh it's going around!) but I think the important thing is to LISTEN to your body, give it fuel, and just try to have more calories spent than you take in. I'm burning over 3k calories more days than not so if I eat a few carbs, a piece of bread once in a while, a half a sandwich, some veggies - that's ok. I think a lot of it is knowing and understanding the difference like so many have said on 'head hunger' vs 'physical hunger'. Usually at a given meal I eat maybe a total of a cup of food; I try to aim for at least half of each meal to be protein, then veggies, then maybe a little rice or other starch. I'm hit and miss on my food logging; I slipped for a few weeks and am trying to reset. I wanted to repost these recipes I used during the puree period because I don't know about ya'll but I tend to find things that work well and then totally forget they exist! Lately I've been doing lots of soups for myself and my family. I made an easy chicken noodle soup yesterday with half a rotisserie chicken breast, I steamed carrots and celery in the microwave until they were soft, sautéed some diced onion in garlic and onion with a little chicken broth, then added it all together with the cooked chicken breast cut up and more chicken brother. I threw in a small handful of egg noodles and let it all simmer. When I do something like a soup with meat I try to serve myself up a bowl that is heavy on the chicken and light on the veggies. You can do basically the same thing with broccoli, cabbage, and canned or fresh diced tomatoes. Fluids and healthy veggies with a protein is my go to; and I'm doing pretty well with my personal progress. You all got this! Don't get discouraged when you go through stalls; some weeks I will lose about 2 lbs and then the next week I might lose 6 lbs; it's all a process and the weight loss will slow and become more steady as long as you watch your calories, eat healthy at least 80-90% of the time - it's about getting your nutrients and staying at a calorie deficit. ❤️ Reposted recipes from earlier: "I'd say the hardest part for me continues to be the 'No drinking 30 mins before/after meals' but I use the Baritastic app to set a time. I also use the timer to make sure my 'meals' take at least 30 minutes. Want to make sure I don't rush and end up feeling poorly afterward. Things that have worked well for me during my puree stage include egg drop soup, chicken/tuna salad made with puree chicken or tuna, light mayo, and sometimes a bit of relish, and for added protein a boiled egg or two, with or without the yolks per preference. (Dill relish is healthier than sweet relish). I did allow myself 2-3 saltines with those, usually about 3.5 oz of the tuna or chicken salad makes me feel sated. Other recipes that have worked include the ricotta bake and unstuffed cabbage rolls, pureed low fat/0 sugar yogurt or cottage cheese with Genepro powder and cooked, strained strawberries or blueberries (I added a bit of 0% Milk to make it more of a smoothie), Riccotta pureed with either a bit of fruit or avocado, small serving of oatmeal pureed with fruit (test yourself with an ounce or two less than you normally eat for oatmeal because it sits heavy and often swells - add some zero or skim milk to make it thinner if needed. Other recipes include homemade no-noodle chicken soup of sorts with rotisserie chicken, chicken broth, and pureed carrots w/a little bit of onion powder or diced onion. I also made a homemade 'philly cheese steak' filling of sorts with some sautéed bell peppers and a bit of diced onion, some roast beef lunch meat, and cream cheese. Others speak highly of pureed refried beans with a bit of seasoning to taste more like taco meat, adding either a bit of mild salsa or a combination of onion powder and perhaps a bit of cumin. That's a personal choice, and definitely suggest going slow with your seasoning due to possible heartburn. You could add a bit of shredded low-fat/skim mozzarella or even low fat sour cream to round it out. Today I made 'chicken pot pie w/no crust' which was basically just cooked carrots and finely diced celery and onions with finely diced rotisserie chicken with a can each of 98% fat free cream of celery and 98% fat free cream of chicken. I haven't had any yet because I'm a little unsure about the celery, even cooked, but pureed and in a small serving I'm sure it would treat me fine. The Ricotta Bake I made was super simple and I know there are a lot of variations to the recipe online. I made my own marinara sauce by peeling about 5 smallish tomatoes, dicing them, and simmering them with a little less than equal parts water, Italian seasoning, and a bit of diced onion. The ricotta mixture was easy; just used 8oz ricotta cheese, 1 egg, 1/2 cup of grated parmesan (I used the shaker but fresh is better) and 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese. I put a layer of half the mix on the bottom of a buttered baking dish, topped it with 1/2 lb cooked and seasoned ground beef, then put the rest of the mixture on top. Poured about 3/4 of the homemade marinara over it then covered the dish with aluminum foil and baked at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. It's basically a no-noodle lasagna. The Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls I made were equally easy - I used a rotary grinder (Works SO well, bought on Amazon for around twenty bucks) to grate half a head of lettuce. Instead of canned diced tomatoes I once I again peeled about 5 small/medium tomatoes and diced them, adding to the skillet along with maybe 1/8 cup diced onion and another 1/2 lb of the ground beef. For seasoning the recipe I used just had me add a packet of Italian Dressing Seasoning mix. The family enjoyed it and after pureeing the ground beef a bit I found it fine to eat, although slowly and very well chewed. Both it and the Ricotta bake probably make about eight 1/3 cup servings with about 22g of Protein each.