Syry180

I am just shy of 10 months Post-Op. I started at 305; lost 30lbs in the pre-op liquid diet then another 40lbs in the 8 weeks post op dropping me to 235. An amazing accomplishment. As most of you know, after eight weeks, we’ve pretty much progressed to eating normal foods again. In the eight months since I have been able to eat normal foods, I have lost zero… now first off – this is the first time since I became obese that I’ve been able to maintain any significant weightloss but I know there is more to loose! I'm having trouble accepting that I'm doing everything right and that 235 is were my weight is supposed to be. I can’t help but think that I lost all the weight from the pre-op & post-op liquid diet and the surgery has just prevented me from putting it back on. What I’ve been doing in the past 8 months - Working out 5x a week - 40min cardio & 40 minutes of lifting weights - My daily calories are under 1000 - My daily carbs are under 40grams - I stop drinking liquids 30m before; 90m after a meal. - Every meal is a 4oz piece of grilled lean meat and some green veggies. - I have not had any fried foods, fast foods, starches or even a single piece of bread product since the surgery. I’ve gone back to the liquid diet a couple of times for a week or so and no change. I’m starting to get discouraged. Prior to the surgery, I felt like I was destined to be 300lbs forever; now I feel like I’m destined to be 235lb forever. Both times I know there is room for improvement but nothing I do changes my situation. What am I missing??

I've been hearing a lot of folks stating about increasing calories but everything from my doctor as well as nearly all VSG supplementary materials I've read stated once you've progressed to normal foods is to keep your calories under 1000k

Wow thanks for all the replies!!! to answer the follow up questions - I am 6'. I had originally been seeing a dietician for the first few months and after reading through all the great replies, I made a follow up call this morning. My dietician - after reviewing my meal plans (which haven’t altered much; the original meal plans are still on my fridge) she started asking about my workouts. I should have elaborated more on the workouts themselves before as she feels they are beneficial health wise but aren’t promoting weight loss; My workout routine has been 40min of elliptical; enough to get my heart rate up then the lifting is generally power lifting my chest, arms & legs. Quick back story- I had broken my back about 14 years ago as well as a pair of follow up surgeries, all of which were a large contributor to my weight gain. In the years following, any strenuous exercise, treadmills ets, were enough to lay me up for a few days; even a hike put me out of commission for a day or two. As you can imagine, I’ve been very cautious / afraid of hurting myself and was sticking to workouts I felt wouldn’t hurt anything but I thought were helping. After reviewing this, my dietician referred me to a personal trainer. I had a very lengthy chat with the trainer this morning as well; we are meeting up today. He agreed that my current workouts were definitely helping maintain my weight and not to disregard the accomplishment of keeping it off but it’s not prompting loss. He completely understood my apprehension (fear) of hurting myself. His focus will not be to get my scale moving again but to approach this as physical therapy sessions. With the weight I’ve already lost, it’s a huge relief on my lower back already. He wants to focus on strengthening my back, core / abs. In turn that will allow more vigorous workouts, which make sense. I’ve blown out my back nearly a half dozen times since breaking it and wouldn’t wish that kind of pain on anyone. I can honestly say I am more afraid of hurting myself then I was going getting the VSG surgery.

I'm two & a half months post-op and still have gas issues both in my chest and downtown. I've been back on normal food for awhile now and I'm still trying to figure out what is triggering it. I've started writing down everything i'm eating - not for weightloss (I'm already down to 225 from 305) but to figure out what is causing the gassiness. I thought it would have passed by now (no pun intended)

Good evening all, This is my first real post but I have been a huge fan of the site since I made my decision to have the surgery (6/15/10 - Dr Alvarez), there is so much great information on here! For those post-op; how soon after surgery were you able to workout? I've read that we are supposed to be up and walking as much as we can as soon as can (to help with the gasiness right?). How long was it before you could go for a good 20-30 minutes on an elliptical? How long until you were able to lift weights? My fiance & I enjoy going to the gym together, hiking etc but the issues my weight brings really limits what we can do (the creakiness my weight has added to my knees, back, etc). In reviewing the plethora of information from my doctor & many forums, the info was pretty vague. We've put together a good diet plan around the progressing stages of the post-op diet but we have been struggling coming up with any real expectations as to when we could start working out again. hehe, we both work in finance and can't help building out development plans - even if it's just a rough outline that will progress as I am progressing. Thank you for your time! Paul

weird, I'm the same day 6/15 with Dr Alvarez then heading back to Philly on the 18th. I'm not sure if you will run into problems trying to bring Protein powder on the plane. There was a great post not too long about for suggestions about flying. http://verticalsleevetalk.com/post-operation-vertical-sleeve-gastric-surgery-vsg-questions-answers/5731-traveling-4-days-post-op-questions.html

This is great to hear! I'm getting sleeved with Dr Alvarez in two weeks. I can't wait!

day 4 here of the pre-op diet here. it's definitely been a challenge. for the most part, I can get through the day ok; I'll see something good but the thought usually passes pretty quickly. The tough part was on the drive home (i ride a motorcycle) and passing a restaurant... it was the smell of food on the grill that really got to me. but i quick shrug, a sigh and I just move on. ended up going to the gym for an hour to watch the news on the elliptical. wish I could fast forward to the surgery already

day three of the pre-op diet here (doc wants three weeks of the pre-op liquid). Its no party but I just get through it. I've gotten used to carrying around two Siggs - one full of Water & the other full of chicken broth. throw in a couple of organic soy Protein shakes (zero sugars) and that's the day. I've been sitting right at 80g Protein & 800-900 calories for the day.

June 15th here with Dr Alvarez! Have three weeks of the pre-op liquid diet, am on day 2... surprisingly, it's not too bad... yet.. hehe

This is more of a general weightloss questions but as I'm having my VSG done in four weeks, I'll ask here :001_tongue: I've been struggling with back issues for the better part of the past fifteen years. I can't remember the last time I woke up and my back wasn't sore. This sounds like a Captain Obvious question, but those of you that had back issues, how much has the weight loss helped? It's been so long since my back didn't hurt, that I have trouble accepting that it might not hurt one day. :sad0:

Great info! Thank you all! :001_tongue: