r/BariatricSurgery

Heyy! I’m 21F 2 weeks out from surgery trying to keep up motivation with the LRD by looking at success photos, read stories, etc!

I’m so excited to get the surgery, I just want to feel like a normal 21 year old that can go out without constantly thinking about my body!! Or share clothes, not worry about being bigger than my peers in uni or have tobe conscious about the space i take up sitting in a lecture hall beside my friends.

Has anyone in their 20s, particularly early 20s (but all are welcome lol!) have positive experiences? Are you glad you got your procedure done at your age? Anything you’d do differently?

Does anyone know any sugar free options for gummies? im not a big fan of candy, sweets or deserts but i love gummies and i cannot for the life of me find any sugar free options in store. does anyone have any ideas? TIA <3

PS
i have no adversity to any foods whatsoever, i was able to start eating foods pretty soon after surgery, so gummies are definitely ok for me to eat sugar free in small quantities, i had no symptoms like nausea, dumping syndrome or anything of the sort also my procedure was gastric bypass 6m ago im down to 130 from 189, no exercise, starting weight lifting soon to tone up a bit

Y’all! This sounds stupid but I don’t know how to dress myself. I’m still dressing myself and picking out clothes like a plus sized person. I’m also still wearing some of my 2x and 3x clothes and caught myself in the bathroom mirror at work the other day and realized I looked ridiculous because I was swimming in the top I had on. How did you learn to dress yourself or find your new style?

Hi all,

I'm still in my pre-op era, but I'm getting closer to my surgery date and closer to commiting to the gastric sleeve and the lifestyle. So I was making a list of NSVs to look forward to and had a question for people who lost weight.

I've had a dark neck and armpits since childhood (my aunt would literally try to scrub "the dirt off my neck" in the shower), I learned when I got older, that it was called acanthosis nigricans. I don't have prediabetes or diabetes. I have lost weight multiple times in my life and I dont remember if my neck pigmentation improved.

I love my current physical appearance very much, but the stark contrast between my face/neck and my chest is still an insecurity of mine. Has anyone had acanthosis or darkened skin that improved with weight loss?

Thank you!

I'm having the sleeve surgery on June 2nd. I just had my pre-op appt this morning. I'm supposed to be on the pre-op diet for 14 days ...I was just told this today and per the calendar, should have started it yesterday.

I'm starting it tomorrow.....but my anxiety is worried that it won't be enough

Anyone with similar experiences or advice?

Hey everyone!
So I had surgery Feb 17th and since then it's just been down hill from there, I was able to eat foods but for whatever reason my stomach does not like ANY type of liquids and if I do drink liquids I am able to get down at least 10oz in a day at most. Any other liquids? My stomach HATES, protien shakes send me to the bathroom, Gatorade makes my stomach burn. I'm already on 40mg of omeprazole and I have to take it twice a day. I can't take my vitamins because same thing my stomach feels like it's going to explode when I take them. My stomach handles food well but liquids is just my issue right now.

Because of this I've gotten so bad that I had to be put on a TPN so I can get all my fluids/protien/vitamins this way. It's been a month now that I've been on it but I haven't seen ANY improvement with my stomach and I'll I'm being told is that I need to wait for my stomach to heal or settle down but not much else. So my question is, has anyone else experienced this and how long were you on TPN? I'm not sure where else to take this because all my surgeon keeps telling me is there is nothing wrong mechanically and just need to wait for my stomach to heal.

HW: 355 lbs
SW: 318 lbs
CW: 228 lbs

I spent two days at Universal Studios Orlando and Islands of Adventure. Rode everything I wanted. I fit on every ride (but almost didn’t fit on Hulk - I fit one hip in but the other hip was slightly lifted, but it worked). I even rode Velocicoaster THREE times!! I walked over 30,000 steps the first day and over 29,000 the second day. I’m so tired but am already recovering a lot quicker than I ever would have in the past even when I was previously this size.

I work out regularly and increased my walking in preparation for this trip and it paid off! Also, I did not know how many stairs are in the queues at Universal!! Wow. SO MANY STAIRS. Some rides had 2-3 flights of stairs. But I was able to keep up with the people in front of me every time. It felt so good not to struggle and just be able to enjoy the rides!

How do you switch your mindset to maintenance mode? My bariatrician told me at my last appointment that he doesn't want me to lose any more weight. I've lost a grand total of 117 pounds (77 of that since my VSG in October 2025) and am now sitting in the normal BMI range.

He told me this two weeks ago. My first week on maintenance I gained .2 of a pound. My initial reaction was to be upset, but I reminded myself that was GREAT! I was still in my healthy range and I didn't want to lose anymore. But since then, I've lost four more pounds. I don't want to lose anymore (never thought I'd say that!) and am working on hard on getting my head into the right place with this. I think my problem is two-fold:

1- The personal goal I had set pre-op is still a few pounds lower than where I am right now. I'm VERY happy where I am, but the completionist in me wants to hit that number that I set at the beginning. I know I need to listen to my medical team and follow their instructions. They know what's best. They helped me pick that goal and told me then that we would adjust it up or down as needed, but there is still a big part of me that feels like I haven't "finished" until I get to that specific number.

2- Also, I've NEVER eaten to maintain my weight. Since my early teens, I've either eaten to lose weight or just eaten everything. I'm worried that not seeing the scale go down will ultimately be a discouragement- even though I don't need it (or really want it) to go down anymore.

What has worked for you in making this shift in mindset?

For those curious about the hard numbers. I'm currently 49 years old. I was 260 when I started this journey in August 2024. 220 on my surgery day in October 2025, with a goal of reaching 140. My doctor told me to start maintaining at 147, and today I'm 143. I've gone from a BMI of 44, size 22 pants, to a BMI of 24 in a size 6!

All righty, I’m excited and have been trying to mentally prepare for the past six months.

Would you guys recommend any good YouTube journeys to watch and how I can prepare for it.

My husband is supportive but my family isn’t, so I’m doing this with myself, for myself, and with my professionals. I’ve been lurking on here for some time and now that it’s getting slowly closer I just wanted to reach out since some fear has been showing up especially at night.

I’m very excited and looking forward for the rest of my life but I can’t pretend it won’t suck for a few months. I’m thinking; books, movies, some things to distract me in bed for a week, working from home the following week. Should be ok right?

Look forward to your comments!

i got surgery six days ago, an i am struggling. i can’t get enough liquids in and i’m barely getting protein in. i have had people tell me that this is “the easy way out” and i just want to give them the biggest “fuck you” ever. this is in no way easy, i know that my future self will thank me and that i will be okay eventually, but it’s just so hard for me right now and i just need to rant. i don’t have anyone in my life that has gone through this so it’s super hard to express my feelings without getting misunderstood. my husband is being so supportive but it’s just so hard because he is eating normal food while i’m over here struggling on a full liquid diet. i have a support system, but i just feel like no one actually understands how hard this is unless they’ve gone through it. i feel so lazy because all i’ve been able to do is sleep and sit on the couch but i know that my body needs this because i’ve just gotten major surgery. i know it will get better, i just needed to rant.

I want this for so many reasons. But one of them is for pain reduction in my joints. I can't handle the pain anymore, it's excruciating. Has anyone had pain relief from this surgery?

It probably sounds silly, but in my early 40s, I've finally been able to do my very first push-up. I was an active kid, played soccer, swam, and lived life on a bike, but a simple push-up was a bridge too far.

Just excited and wanted to share!

I am really struggling to find protein snacks/shakes/powders that don’t suck. I’ve started to think people are just lying. I don’t like built bars, Dave’s protein bars, barbell bars, all the protien city flavors I’ve tried, protien sodas, fair life shakes, clear/flavorless protein makes everything like chalk, I loathe Greek yogurt. I am trying to supplement my protein in some way but meat & cottage cheese is pretty much all I eat for protein. Since surgery eggs make me nauseous too. Please help😭😭😭

In about five hours I’ll be in surgery. My heaviest ever weight was 530 lbs. When I scheduled all of this, I weighed 460. Today I weigh 413. Wish me luck. I’m nervous but also excited and very ready for this to be over and I can start my new life.

Had my initial consult with the bariatric surgeon’s office. As it turns out, ny insurance does cover surgery provided I go through some counseling, a psych evaluation, and 6 months of nutrition and weight loss classes/consultation.

I’m so incredibly nervous but excited. I know my food intake throughout this process has to change so that I am successful post-surgery!

Any help, encouragement, or helpful tips would be greatly welcomed!