Today I am 5w 1d post-op. I'm feeling great and am back to full activity. There are no more aches and pains and I've finally managed to regularly get in over 90g of protein without reliance on protein shakes.

At three weeks, I hit the dreaded stall but continued to lose inches. It was a little disconcerting for me to be in that position. Of course, inches are great but when I go to the doctor, they don't measure my waist, they weigh me to see if I'm on track. Nonetheless, I was prepared for it and had already made up my mind what I would do when it came.

The stall broke today so for 15 days, I was at the same weight. In those 15 days:

1. I increased my protein to between 90-115g per day.
   
2. I increased my water to at least 84oz. per day.
   
3. I increased the length and intensity of my workouts.
   
4. My total calories increased to around 850.
   
5. I increased my intake of carbohydrates.
   

As I said, I'm doing a good job of weaning myself off of protein shakes. Some would say that it's too soon but I'd rather get my protein through food than a shake. I've found myself in a predicament where I have to eat something every three hours anyway so I just get the protein in at each small meal (about 5 per day). My go-to sources are chicken, fish, shrimp, very lean ground beef, ground turkey, and low-fat cheeses.

Increasing my water was the hardest part because water temporarily fills me up so it takes longer than I'd like to get all my water in (and I'm past the sipping stage). However, if we jump into the Way Back Machine and go back to high school physiology class, we remember that we need water to metabolize stored fat. On top of my workouts, dehydration wasn't going to do anything for weight loss so I had to get in more. Some surgeons tell their patients that protein shakes count towards their water totals and since water is in the shake, it makes sense but I believe (and have always believed) that regular water is the best to meet water needs.

My workouts started off slow because my surgeon has a sort of vesting schedule for workouts. At two weeks, she only allows walking. At three, speed walking, and it progresses from there. At three weeks, I felt fine. I had no more aches and pains so I went ahead full speed. Pre-op, I was a runner and frequently used HIIT training. I transitioned back into those forms of exercise. I gave myself about 4 days to adapt and then increased the running by about 15-20 extra minutes (about another 1.5 miles). I also reintegrated strength training.

The increase in my workouts warranted the increase in my total calories. I was never given a calorie level to maintain by the NUT. In fact, she said not to count calories but to just eat according to the sleeve. The 450-500 calories I had been getting just is not conducive to long-term functionality and it was causing me to retain water. Over the course of a week or so, I increased my calories in a number of ways. For example, for breakfast, I would have a serving of turkey sausage crumbles. I started to add one serving of shredded mozzarella to it for an additional 80 calories and 6g of protein.

Lastly, I increased carbs. On my plan, I cannot have raw fruit or vegetables until 6 weeks out. I can, have canned veggies and fruit though. I found some "No Sugar Added" canned fruit that has 30 calories and 6 grams of carbs per serving (1/2 can). I started eating a few slices of the fruit (because I can't manage a 1/2 can) with my protein at lunch. I'm not 100% certain about the science behind this but since our bodies need glycogen and the need to glycogen is one reason that stalls happen, I figured introducing some carbohydrates through food would help my body get what it needs without prolonging the stall. I just started doing this over the last week and apparently it worked because I lost 1.2 pounds between yesterday morning and this morning.

As a final note, my surgeon's nurse practitioner explained that with the sleeve, they usually see stair step weight loss. She noted that most people will lose a large amount of weight and then level off for a week or two and then lose another lump of weight throughout the process. Although I'd like to see a weekly decrease in weight consistently, I'll take the alternative as long as my total body composition is changing.

My NSV (inspite of the stall), is that I'm back at The GAP! Here's to a fashionable fall.