I had VSG surgery 5/2020, I stopped completely losing weight in November 2020, and I have not lost any since. I have been put on Saxenda, and Phenteramine (at different times). I fluctuate between 165-170. my height is 5'2. I stated at 210, so I have successfully lost 40 # but thats it. I am NO WHERE near where I thought the surgery would allow me to lose. I feel like a failure. I only consume about 1000 calories a day. I started CROSSFIT but have stopped since about a month ago. I'm just over it. I'm over trying I'm over the whole thing. I'm so frustrated and mad at myself for even allowing myself to have the surgery.

So my question is has anyone else been through this and if so what did you do about it and get successful results. I don't know whether I need to do a VSG to RNY conversion. I don't know if I even have that option to be honest.

For my height to be at a normal weight I would need to be at 135 but I would love to lose another 20 lbs.

Hi Mom of 3:

im a mom of 3 and 5’ 2” so can sort of understand your frustrations. However I’m only about two weeks out from surgery. You have lost 40 to 45 pounds — that is amazing. I hope to lose that much in the next year as well. Others on this forum can probably give you some tips, I know there are bariatric coaches who will be able to help and give you ideas.

who gives a d*** what your supposed “normal weight” is supposed to be. You are brave to have taken this step and with your experience you can probably help a lot of newbies like me.

this is a great place to share your thoughts because everyone is so encouraging.

hang in there - you’ve got this!

Have you had a reliable body fat test to see where you are at: you may be leaner than you think. Also, before you tried CrossFit, were you exercising? What does your diet look like? There are a lot of variables in this.

I am 5ft 3, and stalled on weight loss pretty quickly. I’m relatively surprised at how few calories I can eat to not gain weight— everyone says 1200 calories for weight loss, but I can’t go over 1000 or the weight creeps on.

i don’t have a good answer for you, but you’re definitely not alone.

My wife is in the same situation. One year out, 20lbs down. She eats like a bird. Healthy and incredibly low calorie count. She did prior to surgery too. I personally don’t think she needed it, but she felt like she did. She’s pretty muscular so I think a lot of her weight just isn’t meant to come off. She has had multiple tests and specialists and other than severe anemia (a dozen Iron infusions so far and it’s barely crawling up) nothing seems to be wrong. It sucks, I know.
The worst part is when doctors and people assume she isn’t following the plan, isn’t exercising enough etc…. (How many of you reading this are making the same assumption?)
We should have known because her calorie count was sub 1000 prior to surgery, did a daily personal trainer thing for several months etc and never lost. Smaller stomach hasn’t changed much for her to be honest. One doctor told her if there was a famine she would be one of the survivors. :/ I guess the two of you could hang out if that happens.

Edit: I forgot to add that she has tried several medications that supposedly help with weight loss.  Since a lot of these work by suppressing appetite they clearly won’t work in her case, but that seems to be all they can figure out to try.  

Oh goodness yesssssss I follow the damn plan, I do everything I just don’t get it and it’s so frustrating!!!! Tell your wife IM HERE AND I SEE HER! ❤️

Edited June 14, 20215 yr by *MOM of 3*

12 hours ago, Officially Not Fatty Matty said:

My wife is in the same situation. One year out, 20lbs down. She eats like a bird. Healthy and incredibly low calorie count. She did prior to surgery too. I personally don’t think she needed it, but she felt like she did. She’s pretty muscular so I think a lot of her weight just isn’t meant to come off. She has had multiple tests and specialists and other than severe anemia (a dozen Iron infusions so far and it’s barely crawling up) nothing seems to be wrong. It sucks, I know.
The worst part is when doctors and people assume she isn’t following the plan, isn’t exercising enough etc…. (How many of you reading this are making the same assumption?)
We should have known because her calorie count was sub 1000 prior to surgery, did a daily personal trainer thing for several months etc and never lost. Smaller stomach hasn’t changed much for her to be honest. One doctor told her if there was a famine she would be one of the survivors. :/ I guess the two of you could hang out if that happens.

Edit: I forgot to add that she has tried several medications that supposedly help with weight loss. Since a lot of these work by suppressing appetite they clearly won’t work in her case, but that seems to be all they can figure out to try.

Oh goodness yesssssss I follow the damn plan, I do everything I just don’t get it and it’s so frustrating!!!! Tell your wife IM HERE AND I SEE HER! ❤️

19 hours ago, Soon2bFit21 said:

Have you had a reliable body fat test to see where you are at: you may be leaner than you think. Also, before you tried CrossFit, were you exercising? What does your diet look like? There are a lot of variables in this.

I started CrossFit about 8 weeks out from surgery busted my booty day in and day out sometimes doing CrossFit anddddd speed walking..... I get that there are a lot of variables! Trust me I follow the dang plan. I log everything I get what I need and watch my macros! I’ll post my INBODY below!

Inbody ??

What about metformin? It doesn't work by curbing appetite and I know it works well at helping weight loss for a lot of people. I take medications that increase weight through a variety of mechanisms and my doctor put me on metformin. Bonus is it's really cheap.

My wife tried metformin with zero luck but her insulin and a1c levels are normal to begin with, but Dr have it a shot anyway. She also did Saxenda and ozempic which are the appetite suppressants, also no change. again her calorie count says that wouldn’t work but it goes back to likely not being believed by the doctor, which I get. I’m sure a lot of people say “I don’t eat much” and it’s not true either intentionally or from lack of self awareness (I said it too and really believed it).

11 hours ago, Officially Not Fatty Matty said:

My wife tried metformin with zero luck but her insulin and a1c levels are normal to begin with, but Dr have it a shot anyway. She also did Saxenda and ozempic which are the appetite suppressants, also no change. again her calorie count says that wouldn’t work but it goes back to likely not being believed by the doctor, which I get. I’m sure a lot of people say “I don’t eat much” and it’s not true either intentionally or from lack of self awareness (I said it too and really believed it).

My insulin and A1c levels have always been normal but metformin was suggested to me because I take medications that increase weight and there's evidence it helps in those cases. Also, it can help if you have PCOS or other conditions and it can just help with weight loss for other people, although the effect is moderate. So does topamax, but the side effects can be... a bit much. I take it every day to prevent migraines. Again, it's pretty cheap, since it's available generic. I'm sorry your wife has struggled so much.

Omg I took topiramate as one of my attempts to reign in back pain (didn’t work) and the side effects were insane. When speaking I would forget simple words or substitute complete nonsensical words. “Hey I’m running to the mirror to pick up groceries do you………ummm…………… need anything?” kind of stuff. It was scary until I figured out what it was.

Her doctor suggested she try it and she was “helll no” lol

5 minutes ago, Officially Not Fatty Matty said:

Omg I took topiramate as one of my attempts to reign in back pain (didn’t work) and the side effects were insane. When speaking I would forget simple words or substitute complete nonsensical words. “Hey I’m running to the mirror to pick up groceries do you………ummm…………… need anything?” kind of stuff. It was scary until I figured out what it was.

Her doctor suggested she try it and she was “helll no” lol

Yeah, I had a lot of work forgetting at 500mg but I'm now at 300mg and it's fine.

I also can sort of relate. I had surgery on July 9, 2020 and have been in the same size pants since the first week of February. They are loose but it's still very frustrating and disappointing. I work out daily 5 to 6 times a week 30 to 45 minutes and sometimes twice daily. And I don't take walks, I do cardio, HIIT, weights and Tabata. I was 213 day of surgery and am 143 last time I stepped on the scale. I have had issues with my period and bled heavily from January 25th until I got an IUD a little over a month ago. Problem is the IUD has caused more eating and even a taste for sweets again which I lost after surgery. I plan to have it removed next week. Surgeon's office said I'd be at goal by my July appointment and I'm 20 pounds from it. My body does not like being as thin as I like it to be. It's always been this way and I've had to basically kill myself over exercising and not eating to get to near the weight I'd like to be. I wonder if it's just genetics for some people. I'll see what my surgeon says in 2 weeks.

Weight loss is an important way to improve or maintain health, but it is not the only way. Can you forget about weight loss for a while and work on finding a healthy diet and regular exercise that you can stick to and even enjoy for the long term? Focusing on weight loss can be counterproductive since failure leads to giving up, when the ultimate goal is improved health and vitality, not dress size. For me walking, bicycling and dancing are so much more enjoyable than CrossFit, so I would be much more likely to continue them, even if I don’t lose weight. The same thing applies to your diet. Work with a nutritionist (if you can) to come up with a sustainable diet plan. It may be that your doctor’s weight goal won’t be attained, but if your health and happiness improves, you win anyway.

Could therapy help? Have you given it a try? Can't hurt...