Regarding your question about WLS apps, I personally haven't used any specifically for weight loss surgery, but I have found that using a general fitness app like MyFitnessPal can be helpful for tracking water intake and weight loss progress. It's user-friendly and has a large food database that can help with tracking your nutrition as well. As for tracking water intake specifically, have you considered using a water tracking app like WaterMinder or Plant Nanny? They're both simple and intuitive, and can help remind you to drink water throughout the day. Also, you might want to check out https://smartengines.com/ - it's a platform that I use for scanning documents and images, but it could also be useful for tracking your progress by scanning and digitizing before and after photos, or even your weight loss journal. Just a thought!

Hi Bariatric Family,

I have been battling Obesity and battling Eating Disorder for over 10 years. I tried the Weight Management previous years before. I had a personal trainer, I was going to the gym, and I cut back on my calorie's intakes. Overall, I was able to lose 125 pounds. I was able to maintain and not regained the weight loss for 5 months the most. I was not able to lose any more weight I reached a Plateau!!! I spend more hours at the gym and ate food being mindful of calories intakes. I eventually, regained all 125 pounds I loss and regained additional over 100 pounds extra weight that I had to battle with ongoing.

I was wearing a Size 4X and 5X in jackets, a Size 5X to a Size 6X in pants, blouses, and clothes in general.. I always had to utilize an extension seat belt riding in the car, and this was my reason avoiding taking an airplane. I was almost 400 pounds. I decided to have the "Gastric Bypass Surgery" this surgery was the right fit for me because I needed to lose over 100 pounds. On February 6, 2020, I had the Gastric Bypass Surgery. I had no side effects and I did not have any complications. I followed my Bariatric Surgeon guidelines and per instructions very "Important." I had a License Dietitian they give us support and guidance what food to avoid after the Bariatric Surgery (Post Op). The Dietitian is there to continue to assist us on our weight loss journey success. It is "Important" to follow your License Dietitian guidelines per instructions too!!

My Weight Loss journey was a new amazingly transformation. I loss almost 180 pounds my 3 years Post Op was on February 6, 2023. I have not regained any weight back and continue to lose 2 pounds to 3 pounds a week. I wear a Size 12 in pants, a Size small in shirts (tops), a Size medium in skirts and dresses. My coats and jackets are a Size small/medium. I am enjoying each day abundantly of joyfulness and continuous great success on my weight loss journey success until this day. "By the amazing grace of God made it possible." I am always delighted to share my "True Testimony" to inspire and genuinely helping others to overcome their battling with Obesity and overcome their battling with Eating Disorder.

I continue to apply my Bariatric Surgeon guidelines and the License Dietitian I was receiving assistance from years ago their guidelines were always to eat in smaller portion and in moderation. I am very mindfully (aware) of healthy food to eat than food with high calories to not eat. I have adapted extremely well with my healthy eating patterns. I am delighted and continuing enjoying my amazingly new transformation every day! I keep my "Mindset" continuously motivated, discipline, fully committed, and strongly mindful is the key to not regain any weight back. This how you avoid weight gain and prevent setbacks!!!

I have a compassion for helping others in a positive way (that is what I do). We must continue to support and edify one another. If someone had a setback (regained weight) and need advice well, I support them how I am continuing to have weight loss success, then be supportive and give them guidance in helping them to reach their weight loss goals.

Our Weight Loss Journey is a Lifetime and a Lifetime Commitment for the rest of our lives. I would like to thank you kindly for taking the time to read my "True Testimony."

Respectfully,

Cece

Pouch reset is really a bs type stuff. But if it would help you, do it.

For me personally- counting calories never worked. What works for me is a clean Keto type diet combined with intermittent fasting. Unfortunately it's a slow process. Exercise can help with blood circulation, overall health, but in reality, eating, proper for you diet contributes to90% of the weight loss.

Clean as real food, some fat and low carb veggies. After eating like that for 2 weeks - my pouch starts showing real restrictions in qty I can eat. When doing Keto yo lose weight- getting protein is important, plus making sure you don't get too much fat - you want to burn your own fat. I can't count " net carbs" but I need to count all carbs. Some fiber, SA, etc actually get converted into BS in my body and kick me out of ketosis. (I have a bs/ ketones meter). I eat when I'm hungry, trying to eat slowly, so my body can register full signal. IF I'm hungry in between meals - I just eat more proteins with some fat.

When I eat "whatever" including breaks and sweets - my pouch loses the restrictions. I'm not sure if it's because of insulin or sugars or because "the whatever foods" are more slider foods.

Me, too!

I started trying to lose the weight I gained after surgery. I did it because I was ON A WALKER!

i went to my doctor to get a SHOT for the pain. "Mo, ma'am! You are going to physical therapy."

Well, ****fire! I tried every diet, and then surgery. But EXERCISE? ?

They got me on my feet. Got rid of my limp - which was in my head! ? And got me in the gym.

yeah. Then the pandemic. So I stayed home for a year and a half. Gained the COVID-35.

Every time I tried to go back to the gym, a new mutation broke out, I finally made exercise a part of my routine.

I only weighed at the doctor's office, and one day my doctor complimented me on losing weight.

Wait! What? ?

Nothing succeeds like success.

I'm doing Keto now, but this is the first week I plateaued One more week, and then I'll be looking for a change. Im also back in 12-step, which was my first success back before surgery.

I'm finally ready to do whatever it takes.

Be very careful when trying to borderline dispense medical and mental health advice, we all vary.

I was put on a host of psychotropics at the height of my complications from my gastric bypass, I gained 80 lbs and there is no way in hades, that I ate myself to that weight, threw up dozens of times a day and still had reactive hypoglycemia and severe hypotension, like scary low blood pressure and literally no registerable levels of ferritin, the bs and no matter how faithful I was in taking my vitamins, I couldn't absorb them to save my live, so my psychiatrist at the time when I had a nervous breakdown in 2007 put me on a ton of psych meds, and in 2008 when I tried to commit suicide because I couldn't take care of myself, let alone my kids, I lost the will to live.

I had a documented history even prior to rny of potency and longevity of meds in all therapy classes including 4 epidurals almost 30 1/2 years ago when in labor with my son and the meds in them NEVER worked.

I still have issues now 21 years post rny, 12 1/2 years post reversal of potency and longevity issues with meds, even though I can get the side effects of them, I'm hard to anethesize as well.

IF a psychiatrist deems a medication is worth a shot in a patient, especially patients who have severe depression issues, weight gain won't be an issue, if the patient loses the will to live and their depression becomes fatal to them.

I learned the hardest way possible that being fat, even fat after nearly dying from gastric bypass complications was not the worst thing to happen to me, the hardest way possible.

My 20 year post rny sister who wasn't nearly as compliant, can travel, climb mountains, eat a whole chipolte, 4 slices of dominos and all she had to do was pick up intense exercise about 12 years ago at 8 years post op to keep her weight off, and she only had to be compliant for one year to lose it.

So if I'm not enough of a bariatric unicorn, so is she, so is my 350 77 year old father who can drive and ride motorcycles, I can't do any of that stuff or work any longer.

I'm not anti wls, I know it saves lives and extends the quality of lives.

But sometimes psych meds and meds in other therapy classes that cause weight gain, too. Even if a patient eats next to nothing.

I have social media associations with major long term gramma grads like me who found having rny be the best thing to ever happen to them and are still compliant to the letter and have never strayed, but she would never food or fat shame another bariatric patient.

I'm not on those meds anymore they didn't help and I've been off of them for a long time, I have hypothyroidism too and not surprisingly am allergic to Synthroid.

So I take the weight cycling, do I recommend it? No. But you aren't walking in my or any other person's shoes. There's days I can eat but rarely like a normal person, other days, more frequently than one would think, it hurts to eat at all.

People need to be careful how they phrase things on here, it's one thing to speak for yourself on what you choose, but it's not even me that I'm mad at certain directions this conversation took, which was originally about CBD oil, it's the fact as a gramma grad rny and gramm grad rny reversal peep, I do have to try and help talk into patients who need a reversal to save their lives and fear getting fat again and think they would rather be dead.

On the flip side I get patients who want a reversal because they miss eating so much they are suicidal, too and I have to gently explain reversals aren't done for that reason and there is no guarantee that they could eat normally again, that most patients who end up feeling like that, do end up losing their surgery regret when they can do so many new things that they couldn't do without the weight loss.

So no one needs to defend weight loss surgery to me, I'm not anti weight loss surgery, at all, even though in my case I wouldn't do it again.

But in cases when patients come up on here and bring up meds and people say their experience with psych meds was different on meds notorious for weight gain but they didn't gain weight, please don't come off with a moral superiority complex.

No one isn't saying you can't be proud of your weight loss but you are playing with fire with other people's psyche's who are vulnerable and again, could benefit from certain meds even if they gain weight which they may not be able to control and that's not because they're less compliant than a patient who doesn't gain weight.

It helps no one but one's ego when they pull stuff like that.

I'm not usually this harsh on here, but again, it's a life or death situation for someone who may read those comments that can make them feel like they shouldn't take meds because of the potential of weight gain but REALLY need them.

Just saying be careful how you phrase things on here...

Peace...