McButterpants

I weigh once per week. In the beginning when the weight was coming off really fast, I weighed every day, sometimes more than once per day. Then when I hit the dreaded stall between weeks 3 and 4, I became obsessed with the scale and it not moving. My husband hid the scale from me and it was a welcome relief that I couldn't weigh myself any more than that. For me, weighing once per week works - I can see the progress in my clothes - even though the scale wasn't moving during my stall, I was losing inches. I wish you great success!

Yep, it's been 8 years where the hubs and I have been the same weight. It was embarrassing! He didn't realize how much weight I had gained since we met - I always kept my weight hidden from him. Right before surgery I told him my actual weight - he was floored. I cried. I can't wait till I weigh less than my son!!!!!

I lost about a pound a day early on - don't expect that to continue, it will level off. I hit a stall between weeks 3 and 4 where I didn't lose anything for 13 days. It sucked, but I lived to tell the story. Keep on walking! I believe that helped me recover from surgery more than anything. Best of luck to you!

Don't you wish you could join her "Perfect Club"? Not!!!!!! Fell off her roof - karma????? Maybe next time Mrs. Buttinsky has an opinion she'll fall down a well. (Just kidding of course) Hope you're doing well, sweetie!

According to my doc, walking is the best medicine early on. I was doing about what you're doing at the same stage. Walking helps you recover from the surgery and it also burns fat. And it's great for your mental health. I wasn't cleared to do anything else other than walking until 6 weeks (last week). Since then I've added the elliptical to kick up the cardio and I'm still walking. My goal is to do a total of 3-5 miles per day using both. I am also starting some strength training to try to firm up the muscles. I say, if you're doctor OK's it, keep on walking!!!! And, congrats on that weight loss! You're doing great.

You get a lot of bang for your Protein buck from lean meat if you're cleared. You can puree it - canned chicken was a staple for me early on (puree with chicken broth). I could eat eggs early on as well. Fat free refried Beans with a little cheese on top set well on my new tummy. Greek yogurt or regular yogurt will give you some protein as well (my doc didn't want the fruit on the bottom when I was at your stage). I hope things get better for you soon!

You could experience many stalls during the journey - long and short. You just need to work on the things you can control: Your Water intake Your Protein intake Exercise Your protein is important so you don't lose lean muscle mass. Your lean muscle mass is what burns calories - so many folks that have WLS lose this. My last doc's appt showed I had lost some lean muscle mass and she doesn't want me to lose more. I have lost 5% of my body fat at 6 weeks. In order to not lose the LMM, you need to eat protein and once cleared, exercise and start lifting light weights (I'm not suggesting turning into a weight lifter - light weights with 20-25 reps per set). Walking and cardio are good for burning off the fat. You should do both once cleared. I don't know if it's going to be a long-term thing or not, but right now I log everything that I put in my mouth, including water. I have to or I'll snag a bite of something here and there and that grazing is what got me to 256 pounds. I set exercise goals for the month and track to that goal. There's a thread on this site January Fitness Challenge - you put in your goal, then update as you want to on that thread. And finally, I again suggest hiding the scale. Bring it out once a week or so - some will suggest weighing every month, some only weigh at the doc appointments. I read where someone even put their scale in the car trunk and brought it out once per week. My husband hides our scale and brings it out on Thursday, my weigh-in day.

I walked...a lot...immediately after surgery. I worked my way up to 60-75 minutes on the treadmill. At my 6 week follow up I was cleared for all exercise including starting to do light weights.

My stall lasted 13 days and it sucked. My husband hides the scale from me and brings it out once per week - that has saved my sanity. I was driving myself crazy weighing every day and sometimes more than once a day. More importantly, you need to figure out a way to get in more Protein and Water - those are the two most important things for you now. More important than the scale. 60 grams of protein is not a lot when you consider a shake should have 20 grams. Have you tried unflavored and putting in pudding? What's approved on your diet? If you're having trouble with sweet shakes, try the unjury chicken Soup and add some chicken (if you're allowed). For water - I couldn't stomach plain water after surgery. I started drinking Propel Zero, Vitamin Water Zero and Powerade Zero (all zero calorie drinks and approved by my doc). That saved me from getting dehydrated. You can also try some decaf green tea or other warm drink - sometimes you can tolerate warm better than cold. Things will get better for you soon! Hang in there.

I'm at 7 weeks post op... There have been times I get so bored with whatever I'm eating, I just stop. Those times eating is a chore. I've been frustrated at the fact that it takes me 20 minutes to eat 1/2 an egg. I've also had times where I'm completely satisfied when I finish eating and don't have that feeling of "I'd like more." The range of emotions has been surprising to me - I wasn't prepared for it. I also realized AFTER surgery, that I had emotional issues and attachments to food that I didn't realize I had. Hang in there! It will get better - this is becoming my new normal.

Yes, Sassy Pants is correct - HYDRATE the day before.

I chuckled at your post - my son had to go to the ER a couple of weeks ago and they put in an IV. He freaked out. He was quizzing the nurse - "Can you tell me what you're going to do before you do it?", "Why are you doing that?" "What does that do?" He even wanted to hold my hand while they were inserting the needle. (He's 14, it was sweet that he still wanted Mom.) I can say, I don't like needles either. I look away when they get close. It helps. I told the nurse that it was a little uncomfortable about 20 minutes after she put it in and she said, "It's OK, we'll adjust it if it isn't comfortable." I was scared to tell her. You'll do just fine - it's one more step you have to endure. You got this - Feb 18th will be here before you know it!

I should add - I log everything I eat (including the couple of fries I had and the corn muffin bits). I watch my carbs very closely - I limited mine to 30 per day and realized my low energy because of it. I am around 50 carbs per day (OK'd by doc) and min of 80 grams of Protein and feel better than I have in years. Carbs aren't necessarily bad - bad carbs are bad. Carbs of the complex variety are OK and a great source of Fiber for those of us that have constipation issues - low glycemic fruits and vegetables and whole grains are great in moderation. Bad carbs like refined sugars and flours should be limited. I don't say "never" because that's unrealistic.

I'm with Jdub above. It took me a few days before I felt OK on the pre-op diet. Your pre-op diet sounds like the one I had. I drank lots of decaf green tea to help me get thru. I also tried to walk about 45 minutes per day. Don't worry about the scale - you're putting your body thru a lot with this diet. A few weeks ago you were taking in a lot of food and now you're down to probably 500 calories. It's just trying to figure things out. Best of luck to you!

I actually went out for BBQ this weekend - I'm 7 weeks out and approved for all foods now, no restrictions. I looked at the menu trying to decide what I wanted - everything looked and smelled so good. When it came time to order, I said, "I'll just split my husband's meal." He was totally OK with this because I literally ate what shredded pork fell out of his sandwich. I had a couple of fries. I had about 1/4 of the top of corn muffin. I left totally satisfied and happy that I could enjoy food that my family ate! You will be able to enjoy most of the foods you had in the past...just in much smaller quantities. Let them eat BBQ!

Fluff is right on...You may not feel restriction right away. I didn't. I'm still trying to figure out what full feels like and I'm almost 2 months out. I measure and weigh religiously. Another thing is wet food vs. dense food. I was surprised to find out a couple of weeks ago that I ate 1/2 cup of chili (I was allowed to eat as much as a 1/2 cup, but had not done so to that point). I panicked - did I eat too much? How could my sleeve allow me to eat that much? Then I realized, the chili is wet and some of it probably slid thru the sleeve. The next day I experimented with chicken - I ate only chicken and could only get 1/4 cup down before feeling the restriction. The chicken was much more dense. You're probably seeing the same thing with yogurt - you'll probably be able to eat more yogurt than say scrambled eggs. My doc made of point of saying, "Eat what's on the plan in the portions you're allowed. Remember, you don't have to eat it all. Stop if you feel feel or restriction." I have found that there are times I will do a hiccup and burp at the same time, that's a clue that I'm getting full. Other times I my nose will run. Sometimes I feel a "poke" not a pain, but a feeling in my stomach. Once I feel any of these things I stop eating. You guys are doing great - it's all a learning process. Just listen to your body and stick to your portions.

I think it's a normal fear and I also think it's an irrational fear. I have the same thoughts myself. I think it's our natural reaction to dieting, failing, beating ourselves up, then dieting, failing, beating ourselves up. Wash, rinse, repeat. Follow your plan, exercise and let your body do the rest. Best of luck to you!

How exciting for you! You'll do great. Send us an update when you're able!

At the three to four week mark, I became so moody - I'd bark at my husband or son at the drop of the hat. I was angry - pissed off, really and I couldn't identify why. It lasted for about a week and now it's gone. Right now, I feel at peace. I'm sure there's another round of rage hidden inside of me, we just need to take it one day at a time. Hang in there...

Ahh the Great Carb Debate... I agree, not all carbs are created equally. Carbs are not evil, but bad carbs are...bad. I got to 256 pounds because I ate bad carbs and lots of them. Sweets, breads, even bad vegetables (yeah, I'd sit down to a big bowl of sweet corn topped with butter and salt and think I was eating a healthy snack) were my drugs of choice. The more I ate them, the more I wanted them. I decided (on my own) at about 3 weeks out I was eating too many carbs, so I cut down on them. I cut them to between 20-30 grams per day. I started working out harder that week also. Wow, double whammy to my system and I really started to feel drained. Back came the daily naps and really low energy. I didn't link the two together (the low energy w/ the reduction in carbs) because I thought I was getting sick. A couple of weeks later, the lightbulb appeared over my head!!!! I introduced some foods that were complex carbs (a tablespoon of fat free refried Beans, a 1/4 cup of fruit in my shake, things like that). All of a sudden I felt better at 50 carbs per day. I had more energy. My need for naps is disappearing. I'm getting in my 80 grams of Protein and 50 grams of carbs fairly consistently now and I feel great. I'm not saying that is your mix - I had to play with the numbers until I found my correct formula.

I could be because it's that time of the month. Seriously, don't stress over the scale. It's so not worth the anxiety it creates. When you look at how many calories the body burns just being, it's a lot more than you're taking in right now. There is no way you are not losing fat - that's what you want to get right of. You are burning fat, but there are so many more things going on with your body. You could be at the beginning of a stall - I went thru a stall for 13 days between weeks 4 and 5. The scale did not move and it was hard to get thru that. That was when my husband hid the scale and I'm so thankful he did. I knew the stall was going to happen because I've read a thousand threads about it. I wasn't mentally prepared for it. I will be ready for the next one and I know there will be a next one and one after that and one after that, and so on.

I just threw up in my mouth a little...

Hey, Roo. Great job on the recovery! Keep rockin' that sleeve!

The simple answer is "You didn't gain 5 pounds in one day." In order to gain 5 pounds (in any period of time), you would have had to consume 17,500 more calories than you consumed. Probably not possible with your new tiny tummy, right? You just had major surgery and your body is trying to figure out what you did to it. Your brain wants the scale to move, which it will, once your body figures things out. I have a couple of suggestions - 1. don't weigh yourself every day. It will drive you crazy. My husband hides the scale and brings it out once per week. I've read some docs don't want you to weigh the first month. 2. Stick to your plan - the plan provided by your doctor or NUT. They know best. There is no way you're not losing weight. 3. Be patient - you didn't gain this weight in a month, you can't expect to lose it in a month. Hang in there, sweetie. This isn't a spring, it's a marathon.