Congrats on your surgery and welcome, Sarah!

I am 19 yrs post op and have never heard this. The majority of people who use protein powders mix them with water so they do not add and consume more calories. As long as you are tolerating your shakes you should have no problem. As you get further out, your goal is to get your protein from regular foods and steer away from the shakes.

I also find Weigh****chers is the best way to lose any regain and to maintain. I am 10 pounds over my goal and using Weigh****chers to correct that. Also moving and getting as much exercise as I can.

I lost 20 pounds on WW early this year (in approx 5 months). I started with the in-person meetings and now do them on zoom (still weekly mostly even though I am back to lifetime range). The newer plan appeals to many of us. Also, I post on OH every day - in a VSG maintenance group and on the RNY daily menu thread. I need all of this to be accountable.

Hi Ali,

Sorry for the delay in responding, I don't get on here very often. Congrats on your decision. I absolutely have no regrets! I'm still amazed at how much better I am. As far as the skin, the only issue I have is some sagging. I started using L'Oréal Revitalift a few months ago and I feel like it has helped a bit but the face is no different than the body I guess when it comes to extra skin. My hair has thinned significantly. I have naturally wavy hair so it doesn't look much different but I can tell when I try to put it up in a clip.

I was really concerned about my age, as well as the fact that I had never had actual surgery. I've had "procedures " over the years but never been cut on. God really blessed me tho. I apparently had some blood pressure issues in recovery. I guess it took awhile to get my pain under control but I don't remember that. When I was finally awake and in my room, I felt fine. I spent two nights in the hospital because of some wonky blood work. It's been fine ever since. I think I may have taken a total of three pain pills overall. I had no problem getting around. My daughter slept in the recliner for more than a week because it hurt her to lie down. Not so for me. I truly never had any problems after recovery.

The hardest thing for me was the lack of energy/fatigue. I mean serious fatigue. My daughter told me her energy returned around the eight week mark. It turned out to be the same for me. I think once I started eating real food again, the fatigue "wore off", lol. I'm not crazy about the extra skin but I haven't had any problems with it. I'm not sure I would go through any removal surgeries. Spanx and a good bra do the trick for me. I was wearing sizes 24-26w and now I'm actually in a size 18w in most things. I bought some tops in an xl. I haven't worn that since my twenties. I breathe easier and it turns out I'm not lazy, It just became such a chore to move so I didn't. Now I even do a bit of yoga.

All this to say don't be afraid. It's truly the best thing I have done for myself AND for my family. I am involved in my life again. Good luck on your journey. You got this!

God bless,

Jinxy

Hopefully you are more comfortable now. It can take a few days after any abdominal surgery to have a bowel movement, but you don't want it to take too long. Taking painkillers for many days can really cause problems there.

The weight loss per month and time to goal depends on many factors: At minimum your starting weight, how low the goal is, and how well one adheres to plan. I started at almost 220 and weigh 120 now. I lost 31 pounds in the 4 months prior to surgery and most of the remainder in the 6 month period following that, though I didn't reach 120 until 8 months after surgery. I stayed on plan pretty religiously. Monthly loss:

• pre-surgery: 31
• Month 1: 20
• month 2: 12
• month 3: 11
• month 4: 7
• month 5: 7
• month 6: 5
• month 7: 4
• Month 8: 3

Being active on OH is one of the most important things that helped me lose originally, lose regain from last year and for continued maintenance. Good luck!