how did surgery save you money?

[KimA-GA 540]

ok we all know that bariatric surgery and the process leading to it is expensive. I couldn’t have afforded mine without some good insurance and financial assistance from my family to offset the costs..

But those of you post op, how has the surgery SAVED you money??

for me, I spend next to nothing on lunches (down from about $8 average a day) because I bring it from my home now and my total grocery bill is going down, saving even more. I was able to buy some new very cheap bras because my boobs have deflated but now getting to be more standard sizes… also am not stopping off for “treats” which probably is another $10-20 a week…. and bought work friendly shirts from Amazon for $20 rather than a specialty plus sized store for $30+++

[Starwarsandcupcakes 1,931]

Definitely the not paying the “clothing tax” anymore. Also, no double seats on flights, less in prescription costs, and my personal favorite- better car fuel economy! It’s crazy but instead of filling up every week I fill up every 2 and I’m driving the same amount or more.

[liveaboard15 1,292]

before surgery i was buying fast food 3 times a day... sometimes more. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. constant Snacks, gas station food ect... Now i just go grocery shopping and eat less and dont ever go to fast food places anymore.

[St77 86]

I kissed my love of Cheesecake Factory goodbye. It's expensive and honestly, there isn't anything that sounds remotely appealing anymore, even if I could tolerate the food there.

Doordash and Uber eats miss me, but I'm not going back to that habit either, so that's a lot of money saved.

[SleeveToBypass2023 2,085]

When we go out to eat, my meal tends to last me 3 days because I can't eat as much as I used to. So I get more for my money that way. Also, I don't eat fast food at all, I'm not buying junk food from the store, and I eat way less in general, so the food I DO buy lasts longer.

[NP_WIP 274]

I paid for my surgery, but knew I was investing in my health and it will make up for it. So far our grocery trip is lasting almost 3 weeks and if I wanted I can make it to the month, since I can't have produce/fruits yet, and 1lb of Protein is good for 10 meals, so I'm freezing some portions and my husband is eating from the protein I make. My blood pressure med is back to 5mg so my prescription of 3 months is going to last 6, have not been out to eat since Oct and even then I had started to only eat half of my portion and taking the rest home. I stopped drinking few weeks before surgery so we no longer have 2 boxes of beer in the pantry, no unhealthy Snacks, or bread that goes bad.

On the other side, my self esteem is coming back awd with that the wanting to shop lol but I have some clothes that do not fit and are new that I will wear till I hit the 100s, will mainly need bottoms, but once goal weight is hit, all bets are off [emoji1787]

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[pintsizedmallrat 470]

I can buy bras at Target now instead of dropping almost $100 on "extended sizes". Ditto on clothing.

I don't drink the fancy drinks at coffee places anymore, and drip coffee is less than half the price.

I used to have a crazy Coke Zero and energy drink habit and at $2-$5 a pop, that was getting pricey...and now I carry a refillable water bottle.

[GreenTealael 24,967]

I no long have to buy super expensive but flimsy bras! I was a 44H so if I wanted anything remotely appealing it was going to cost a lot and often the underwire would break too soon.

[Arabesque 6,687]

The grocery bill went down though because I went from not eating lunch & morning & afternoon tea to eating them it wasn’t as much of a drop as I expected.

But boy oh boy replacing clothing was an expensive process. Was being very careful & buying very little as I was losing predominately just to supplement my old smaller sized clothing. I got caught because when I was at about goal I started buying more thinking I’d stabilise but I kept losing & dropped two more dress sizes. Had to be refitted for bras three times, twice replaced my knickers, twice replaced pyjamas & have shoes that are smaller than what I used to wear but bigger than what I wear now. The additional cost not many talk about.

Plus it’s so exciting to be able to buy beautiful clothes, underwear & shoes in small sizes & things that are flattering & fit properly. Addiction transference??? 😁😁😁

Donated a lot of things, gave away a few shoes but still have quite a few clothes & shoes that are one or two sizes too big. Just in case.

[ms.sss 14,981]

i always seem to see both the bright AND dark side if things, so here goes.

1) at first i saved alot by not ordering full on meals at restaurants...just ordered an app or shared. then, i saved cuz when i did order a meal, it would last a couple days as leftovers. But now, i find i order a lot more dishes/plates when we go out cuz i wanna taste everything, and force my fam an friends to go to pricier restaurants.

2) also, saved by cooking more meals at home because of the birth of my love for cooking/baking after surgery. BUT the healthier, more interesting, and better quality ingredients are more expensive!

3) +1000 on not having to pay more for high quality larger size bras and underwear. BUT minus 2000 for me now buying sooo much more now that i can fit into regular size stuff. i mean i had like 3 or 4 good bras in rotation before. now i have like 20+...all of which i barely use cuz im braless most of the time.

4) not having to get a dress made for a special/formal occasion. i could never find a cute outfit in my size so often resorted to a dressmaker. now i have an abundance of choice off the rack....BUT now i would buy one off the rack even if i had nowhere to wear it to.

Now for stuff i just spend more money on, period:

a) regular clothes & shoes. i have probably spent 3x more on clothes since surgery (4 years and counting), than i did in the entire 15 years prior to it.

b) vacations/entertainment/fun stuff to do: i go out and do way more now than i did...confidence does that to you , and is costs, man.

c) PLASTIC. SURGERY.

d) Beauty and medi-spa treatments. maybe age also has a contributing factor to this, but seriously my vanity is high maintenance. i didn't care as much when i was bigger, but now its like monthly appts.

e) Reflux meds.

Sorry, i am realizing my post is not in the spirit of this thread. i should probably start a sister thread to this one as this one is more uplifting while mine is more of a semi-downer.

BUT: i do want to say that despite extra costs of whatever, i would do it all again a million times over. wls was def in the top 5 best decisions i ever made.

Edited December 10, 2022 by ms.sss

[qtdoll 534]

I used to be a Uber Eats addict & would spend $30 per order easily. I've made 2 orders in total since my surgery & they were to feed other people. I've easily saved hundreds since then!

Also, fitting into straight sizes & not needing to spend a ton on a bra is AMAZING

Edited December 10, 2022 by bbykitty

[Tomo 1,158]

My sushi bill at restaurants. Major savings. Before I could (and did) easily spend over $100 buying sashimi and/or sushi at a restaurant. Now I get full on either 3 pcs of sashimi or 3 bites of sushi (not even $15 since I can't finish a roll).

[Esi 179]

I would have said groceries…but the food I eat, along with Protein supplements, is better quality and more expensive.

Restaurants: there’s the savings! The one day a week we eat out, my meal costs half of what it used to.

[msleo88 22]

ok we all know that bariatric surgery and the process leading to it is expensive. I couldn’t have afforded mine without some good insurance and financial assistance from my family to offset the costs..

But those of you post op, how has the surgery SAVED you money??

for me, I spend next to nothing on lunches (down from about $8 average a day) because I bring it from my home now and my total grocery bill is going down, saving even more. I was able to buy some new very cheap bras because my boobs have deflated but now getting to be more standard sizes… also am not stopping off for “treats” which probably is another $10-20 a week…. and bought work friendly shirts from Amazon for $20 rather than a specialty plus sized store for $30+++

Definitely food. I use to eat out a lot. Also prescription meds. I think my clothing budget is what I mostly spend money on now [emoji1787]

Sent from my SM-A716U using BariatricPal mobile app

[STLoser 1,087]

My husband is a very frugal guy and he was thrilled at what a "cheap date" I became after surgery. Now that he's had it too, we are able to split meals all the time and it's so cheap to eat at nice restaurants. We usually end up having enough leftovers for another meal even when we split an entree. It's great!
Also, I can shop at thrift stores and spend so much less on clothes and I love that!

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