Hello

I know everyone is different, but I would really appreciate any comments as to when you finally stopped losing weight after your surgery?

I am nearly 8 months post gastric bypass, but have at least another 2st 8lbs to lose before I hit my goal (my goal is to be outside of the obese category for my BMI). Whilst I would love to lose more than this, as long as I lose another 2st 8lbs I will be happy as my reason for undergoing the surgery (other than for my own health) is because I want to undergo IVF.

The further out of my surgery I get the more I am consciously limiting my calories and food, because I am just so scared of the weight loss stopping and I am finding it a struggle to shift 1lb a week. Which is making me worry that soon my weight loss will stop. I would say I am eating maximum of 800 - 1,000 calories a day.

Any info would be much appreciated.

Edited October 19, 20232 yr by Jennifer26
Amendment

That is such a worthy cause for weight loss, I wish you nothing but success!! I haven't had surgery yet so I can't comment on when losing stops. But I do know you need to be careful not to cut your calories too low after surgery. It will trash that newly reset metabolism and make weight loss even harder. I know it is counter intuitive but you have to fight that instinct to go so low. I'd advise a good heart to heart talk with your surgeon and dietitian. There are options to boost your weight loss if it stops (like meds), but if you keep your calories too low your body is going to start thinking it is starving for real and hold on to every pound to protect you. ?

I didn't stop losing until I was 20 months out. But after the first year it was S-L-O-W going - like 1-2 lbs a month some months. 800-1000 calories sounds fine. I don't think I'd cut any more than that unless you're under medical supervision, like we are the first few weeks after surgery.

I started at a lower weight than you & I reached goal at 6 months. I kept losing for another 11months or so (albeit very slowly). I wasn’t trying to lose more & in fact I was eating more & more. The lower weight was where my body wanted to be - my new set point which is the weight my body is happiest at.

Your set point is the weight your body will gravitate back to & is easier to maintain. It is reset through the surgery but it may not be reset to a weight we want. We used to have much higher set points which is why many of us used to lose & then regain it back or struggled to lose at all.

You mentioned you are eating fewer calories in an attempt to lose more. Remember you will have to continue to eat fewer calories & be more active to maintain a lower weight. This is not always sustainable & can impact you long term (including slowing your metabolism).

Have you spoken with your team - surgeon, dietician? They should be able to advise you on how to best get closer to your ultimate goal.

I stopped at 10 months, when I reached my goal weight, but things really slowed down those last couple of months... 1 or 2 pounds a month.

I see that your goal weight requires you to lose another 40 lbs. I don't want to be discouraging, but that's going to be hard given the front loaded trajectory of weight loss surgery.

Keep going, but there is a limit. It will be increasingly hard to maintain 800-1000 calories... and no matter how low you keep your calories, the body eventually stops cooperating.

Congratulations on all of your hard work and tremendous success!

First off, congratulations on the weight you’ve lost so far! You should be proud.

I am about seven months past surgery and I’ve hit my goal. As others have said, weight loss is very slow. I’ve only drifted down a pound or two in the last 2 to 3 weeks.

It’s important to realize that you are still losing weight, so you are still working towards your goal. Some things you can do is take a look at how clean are your calories? Are you eating good, healthy food? Eating right keeps your body in-tune in all areas…keeps all the systems working harmoniously. Makes you feel good and keeps your MIND on track.

Another thing you can do is look at your exercise. Keeping muscle is important as it burns the fat and cardio will help you in your daily calorie reduction. It doesn’t take much to energize your body to help burn even more calories.

And above all else remember, slow loss is still a loss!!

You have a great reason to get to your goal. Have the IVF team said you need to be at 175lbs ? Huge congratulations on your progress so far. You need to have a little patience now. The easy part has ended and the work begins for you.

I started at a similar weight to you almost 2 years ago. I have just upped my cals from 1200 to 1500 a day. I am still loosing but at a micro pace. I had a 3.5 month stall, a stone ago. I keep thinking I am done and then chunk ! the scales go down again. If I am truly honest with myself, I love the continued weight losses but my family and friends are saying whoa stop.

my weight stabilized just a little after one year post post mark, but this was due to a months-long effort to stop weight loss by slowly increasing calories.

reached goal at 7 months post (consuming sub-800 cals a day). upped calories after that lost another 10+lbs until around 14 months post when i stabilized (around 2000 cals a day)

BUT this is NOT to say i stopped losing and/or gaining forever. i am 5 yrs post now and i have recently lost about 10 lbs in the last few months. it really just depends on one's metabolism and food consumption...the trick is to figure out what your sweet spot is (given your current activity level)

I had a sleeve 23 months ago and I honestly I think I have only just stopped losing now. It was half a pound a month or less for about the last 4-6 months, but still a downwards trajectory. Just really really slow! Totally believe that my body has found its new 'set weight'.

In the last 10 months I've lost 10lbs. That was faster earlier in the year and then really slowed down, obviously. In the 13 months before that I lost 130lbs. ?

Best of luck to you OP - you still have loads of time to hit your goal weight!

Thank you to everyone who replied to my post, all of your thoughts, comments and encouragement is great appreciated.

I lost 2lbs this week so I am hoping it continues. I am eating healthy foods and continuing with the exercise. My diet has changed radically from pre-surgery, it is quite shocking the difference (not just in terms of calories and portion sizes, but also the quality of food I eat).

I am keeping myself motivated towards my goal of IVF. Thank you all again xx

On 10/22/2023 at 6:45 PM, Jennifer26 said:

Thank you to everyone who replied to my post, all of your thoughts, comments and encouragement is great appreciated.

I lost 2lbs this week so I am hoping it continues. I am eating healthy foods and continuing with the exercise. My diet has changed radically from pre-surgery, it is quite shocking the difference (not just in terms of calories and portion sizes, but also the quality of food I eat).

I am keeping myself motivated towards my goal of IVF. Thank you all again xx

I hope your weight loss is going well. My daughter is 28 and had to go through IVF for various reasons. I think if you stick to a plan you will continue to lose as long as you need to. Bariatric surgery, is one tool for weight loss. If you continue your hard work you can do it. Good luck,