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So we are at the middle of the week - how are we all doing? What is something that has gone well so far/or something that you are looking forward to? Anything you'd like to learn from/improve on? My week has been okay so far! I have a driving lesson and then I am getting my hair cut, which I am in desperate need of as my fringe is in my eyes 🤦‍♂️ I am trying to increase the amount I am eating, which is proving difficult, but I'll get there! I also start with a personal trainer tomorrow which I am excited about!

Congrats! Welcome to the post-op club! I will be 2 years post-op next month. I can't believe how fast the time has flown! I am now at 132 pounds and feeling the best I have in years. To be honest, I have not had many issues so far, the most difficult one being my hemoglobin and ferritin levels were down to 8 and 5 respectively back in February. So my nutritionist said I needed to start iron (nature's way ultimate iron) that and along with iron infusions for 5 weeks brought me up to hemoglobin 13 and ferritin 22. To be fair, I've been anemic most of my life, but a gastric bypass makes iron harder to absorb as it is. I have a membership to the YMCA. I dance and I love Zumba and Pilates. I've also started Vinyasa Yoga. My biggest chunk of weight came off last March after a 3-week stall. I don't have dumping syndrome as much. I like to stay active and now that I have way more energy it is doable. It's been a year since I'm off of CPAP. Prediabetes gone, A1C at 5.5. Inflammation is nonexistent in my lab draws. I love buying smaller clothes and I love this new me. Maintenance has been fairly easy, I keep in mind that I never want to be obese again.

Unfortunately you can stall many times while you are losing. Each time it is just as frustrating, They will break. I wonder if you are making too many changes and just need to stay your coarse for a while. Remember a stall occurs when your body needs to take reassess and take stock of your current needs in regards to metabolic rate, digestive hormones, etc. The weight loss and duet is quite stressful to your body and it too needs to take a time out, shut the door, and take a breath much like we need to do mentally in stressful times. Certainly getting your iron levels and any other deficiencies sorted is important. It may help as the deficiencies might be adding to the stress your body is under. All the best.

Two months?! No, my diet changes week to week. Second week after surgery, I started full liquids. Third week, pureed foods and things like soup, yogurt, pudding, applesauce. Later this week I can start with soft foods: eggs, white fish, mashed beans. The week after, I can try tuna, salmon, chicken, cooked veggies. The week after that, I can try beef and pork. Every doctor has different post-op directions.

Definitely a gamer here! I love the Zelda series, mario, and animal crossing. Stardew valley and Diablo 3 & 4 get their hooks into me and suck me in for a few weeks at a time. My true love though, is World of Warcraft. I've been playing it off and on since release. I'm not up with current content though, I've only played classic era the last few years. 🙂 I have to say, I love dual monitors! Lately, when in a flight or waiting during raid prep before we do anything, I turn on a step aerobic video and get some movement in at my desk to kill time! It's how I justify still playing games post surgery!

I started losing my hair 3 weeks out and it hasn't slowed a bit. I've lost about 50% of my hair and have some noticeable bald spots now. I want to dye my hair dark - will the hair dye affect anything? I figure it's totally unrelated since the Hair loss is hormonal and my hair isn't actually DAMAGED and shouldn't break. My hair looks thin and stringy. I am kind of thinking about shaving it totally off even though I would look ridiculous. I don't know what to do. Every day there are clumps in my shower drain I have to remove. Yes, I've tried all the supplements and special shampoos and blahblahblah. I've come to accept it's just going to happen and EVENTUALLY it will stop and everything will regrow... but it's been almost 6 months of this! Prior to surgery, I'd been trying to grow my hair out from a staggered forward bob and it's taken almost two years, so I'd rather not cut it... but when the new hair grows in, will it looks all patchy and uneven in length? Maybe this belongs in rants and raves. lol. Any thoughts on the hair dye?

My surgery is April 8 as well. One more week.

sooo...let me be a cautionary tale for you. after my plastics i was so itching to go back to running that i did just that, at about 2-3 weeks post (i was told to wait 4-6 weeks). and wouldn't you know, i busted open my stitches in 4 different places. doc told me to wait another 4-6 weeks. and what did i do? i went running again, 2-3 weeks before i was supposed to. and yep, busted them open AGAIN,..only 2 places this time, but still. so because of my stupidity, i extended my recovery time by a good extra 3 months, and probably made those areas that re-opened more scar-ish looking had i not been so eager to move. but i get it, i was so upset about not being able to move like i wanted to, i would seriously ugly cry some days. though this may have been because of the hormones or recovery or the pain or the fact it was winter and dark, lol...in any case i was miserable for what seemed like a really long time. sooooo...take it easy, try not to worry about not being perfect in the exercise or food department (cuz i mean, you aren't 100% right now, how can you expect to give 100% ??) but yea, easier said than done. i know. p.s. full disclosure: i am currently nursing a double "proximal hamstring tendiopathy" a.k.a. yoga butt...been suffering from it for like 2-3 months now. physio told me to rest it, meaning stop doing forward folds and splits...but i mean basically EVERYTHING in yoga involves some variation of a forward fold or split! needless to say, i have not stopped and am totally in pain. AND i have a shoulder injury from falling on it a month ago and have not been resting that either. so yeah, if you don't want to end up like a sack of injury like me, do as i say, not as i do! ha! (i made a new years resolution to cut down on exercise this year, but as we can see, it is not going well. le sigh,) good luck! ❤️

Major picture spam incoming haha 1) Flexing because under the bingo wings I can see some muscles 🤣 2) The first pair of shorts I have bought since losing weight 3) An outfit I finally felt confident enough to wear!

Am I understanding you've lost over 60 pounds in 3 months and you think that's "not much weight?" By my perspective, you're doing fantastic and should be very proud of your success so far. I'm not sure where your expectations came from regarding weight loss, but I feel like maybe you had unrealistic expectations here?

So my update..... On Friday afternoon I sent my CT scan imaging and report from the week before to the professor who is giving me my second opinion on whether I needed further surgery. Within two hours he rang me to say that it is not a case that the clip should come out because it could impact my quality of life or a reaction but that it MUST come out asap as the area around it is infected and I have what is called a superinfection. It appears that one of the leaks from two years ago has not healed, it was just being held together by the clip and if the clip is removed the leak is there!! He wants to remove the clip and then put in a pigtail (coil tube thingy) into the hole so the stomach will heal around it and then the pigtail will either pass through in a few months or can be removed easily at a later date - this is what he did before to stop the other leak and it worked successfully. And just for clarification, his hospital are not the ones who fitted the clip, that was done by my original local hospital who did the sleeve surgery. Anyway it is a special machine that has to be brought on site to do the procedure so I will travel there (Belgium) at the weekend and have the procedure this day next week. I still don't feel great but the antibiotics are helping though I am struggling to eat (no interest) so have lost almost 3kg in the last two weeks.

Sorry, wanted to make one other comment here. Please don't approach your weight loss as something that will inevitably stall short of your goals. Plenty of us make it to goal and below, and have maintained this lower weight successfully. There are two things that will really up your chances here: You need to eat better and move more. If you slowly start making better food choices, you'll find you'll lose weight more steadily and be a lot less likely to regain. By making better food choices, I mean eating less ultra-processed foods and focusing instead on: Protein: High quality legumes Lean dairy Lean meats Carbs: Mostly veggies Some whole grains Some fruit Fats: Try to make this primarily monounsaturated fats This is not to say you can never have a treat, or have to eat only the above, but the more you focus on less processed foods, the better off you'll be. I also recognize that you can't make changes like this overnight. Take your time by just making small changes here and there until they become your new normal. Once those small changes are the new norm for you, it's time to make another small change. Keep at this process of making just small changes and eventually, your diet will be a lot better. In terms of movement, we now have lots of data to show that people that are successful in maintaining after weight loss tend to be very active. Once again, I know you're not going to be running any marathons tomorrow, but you absolutely can start small and focus on doing more and more over time. The CDC recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity per week, which works out to 30 minutes per day for 5 days. They also recommend 2 days of strength training per week. Some data suggests that formerly overweight and obese people need to do even more than this, so my personal recommendation would be to shoot for at least 300 hours of moderate-intensity physical activity or 150 hours of intense physical activity, or some combination of the two per week. If you are over 65, the CDC also recommends you do some sort of regular training to improve balance since this can have a dramatic impact on fall risk. I know that sounds like a lot, but again, if you start slow (even 5 minutes a day 3 days a week), you definitely can get there. For reference, moderate intensity physical activity is walking a brisk pace, or similar activities such as a slow bike ride. Intense physical activity is more like jogging or riding a bike up a hill. If you didn't work up a sweat, it definitely does not count as intense.

Hey everyone! My name is Kim and I'm headed to Costa Rica to have an RYGB done in two weeks. I'm mentally prepared. I think I've been getting ready for this in my soul for a LONG time. I'm just here to soak up all your wisdom!! A little bit about me: I'm a doula (semi-retired after 28 years), ESL teacher, seriously addicted crafter, travel agent, and singer in a yacht rock band. I'll be 58 this year and weight has been a struggle since I had my first son (1995) and got two depo shots 3 months apart. I went from 125 to 200 in six months and have struggled ever since. I got back down under 200 for a few months about 13 years ago, but I've been holding steady at about 275 for the last couple of years. My highest was over 300. I've tried dang near everything with adipex being the last effort. I love going to the gym and being active but I just can't DO what I want or need to do there. So this is where we are and this is the time.

How long was your stall. Sorry I know this post is old. But I’m in that slump now. Eating 1000-1200 calories. Drinking enough water. And getting my protein. Exercising. Still stay the same right now. Almost for 2 weeks now.

In the last 3 weeks, I've been dealing with crazy weird constipation. But my poop isn't hard, it's really soft. Just won't come out. TONS of gas. Bloated stomach. I was diagnosed with IBS-C about 7 months after my initial surgery (sleeve). I was on the 145mcg dose of Linzess for about a year and a half, and between that and Miralax (and every once in a blue moon, a combo laxative/stool softener) I was very regular. Pooped either every day or every other day for the most part. No bloated stomach. No real gas. Then 3 weeks ago, the constipation just went crazy and got really weird. Gas has been the most insane of my life. Stomach super bloated and uncomfortable. Linzess was increased to 290mcg and has done NOTHING. Miralax was increased. Added more Fiber to my diet and even a fiber supplement. Even started taking more laxative/stool softener meds. Added prune juice. And still, I've had a good poop exactly twice in 3 weeks and 3 small poops. That's it. Nothing is working. I drink 100 fl oz daily. I don't drink soda or anything with sugar. I honestly don't know what else to do. Any advice or suggestions? Oh, I've also added magnesium. I tried Colon Broom. Literally....nothing. I JUST WANNA POOP!!!!!

Thank you @SpartanMaker and @ms.sss. I have gotten two nights now of good sleep and feel much better. I have always been a bit of a night owl but 3 and 4 am was a little too late to get to sleep. Things are just taking a while to get back to something close to normal. I have been REALLY lucky and not had too much pain, nausea or spasms but the sleep issue was piling up on me. Next step I see the surgeon for a follow up tomorrow and talk to the dietician about moving to pureed food Monday. Changes, one ounce at a time!

It does stop sucking. The post op stuff is a beast.....a couple weeks removed from that and most everyone feels much better. First couple of days I distinctly remember the gasses causing some serious shoulder pains and other discomfort.

I would've had no trouble with a Disney trip 5 weeks post op.....other than hearing "it is small world after all" 17,000 times.

Yes its a very common symptom. Drink slow, tiny sips. Its a real chore until your internal suture line calms and water can trickle through better. Hot drinks thankfully worked better for me. Maybe a chat with your team might be beneficial. I was an outlier, I really struggled. It took me 3 months to get all my required water allowance in. You should hopefully feel a difference next week. Keep struggling through, its worth it. Once you can master this you will feel so much better.

You're actually not doing bad at all. You're averaging 11 pounds lost per month. That's above average. Typical weight loss is 1-2 pounds per week (4-8 pounds per month). So don't worry about the number on the scale. You're actually doing quite well.

I'm still really new at this stuff, but when your friend tells you that you need a smaller swimming suit, you need to pay attention. My boobs went flying last week, and I bought a size smaller, too big, bought another the next size smaller, fits! Is it strange and unnerving, you betcha!!!

Stalls are inevitable. If this is your first one then you have been lucky. Just follow your plan and you will get your weight drop eventually. You can't force it.

I found pilates great as my first exercise to do regularly post sleeve. I did it once or twice a week for six months and it helped build up my strength. I would have stayed going but the place closed down and I joined a gym instead (can't afford both) .

I have a ton of random stuff. Umm I have a home made flax “oatmeal” I mix with protein powder. I keep it in a canister near my coffee maker for “fast meals.” A scoop, add hot water from kurig, go. I make almond porridge when I need filling comfort food: 3 tbs almond meal, 1 tbs flax meal, 2/3 cup water. Boil till thickness I like, then take off heat, wisk in one egg and 1 tbs butter (beat like mad so the eggg e corporates without cooking and leaving pockets of cooked egg). I make a ton of crustless quiches and freeze slices. Quiche seems had, but it is super easy to make and often cheep. Its mainly eggs, milk, cheese, and stuff a veg and or meat in it. I use them to “dispose of leftovers.” I can make 4 in an hour and have breakfast for a month packed in my fridge.

I am a big fan of strength training. I lift 4-5 times a week, and do a dedicated run and Pilates on the other 2 days. I do legs (heavy) twice a week, back and chest, and arms (bis, tris and shoulders). I also do 30 minutes of cardio daily after my lifts (jogging, walking , jumping rope, agility/endurance training). While I love love love lifting, it isn't for everyone, and I would highly suggest that you don't force it if you don't like it, because chances are, you won't stick to it! Do something you enjoy. You can build muscle swimming, cycling, doing aerobics, whatever, do what you love! And don't overdo it with crazy macro/calorie counting. Eat well, move your body and have fun!