Fluffnomore

I have BCBS of IL and mine was approved in about a week. I don't know whether time of year has anything to do with that, or if that's normal or not.

Search for 3 week stall on the forums. About a million posts will come up. Your body is adjusting, and most of our bodies seem to pick right around this time for the first "stall." Don't worry.

I generally try to stay under 100 carbs a day. I know that I am not losing as quickly as others, but it is only in this crazy world of WLS that a pound a week is slow. I work out and I want to make sure that I have enough energy. I think we all have a tendency to completely lose our minds and my main focus has always been "What will be sustainable long term, but get me to my goal?" That said, I would say it's more that I don't shy away from all carbohydrates, than that I indulge in sliders.

I hate to tell you this, but I have had some form of diarrhea most mornings since having gallbladder surgery 5 years ago. We didn't know if it would change after the sleeve, but so far, it hasn't. Pretty much daily, after my morning coffee. However, it doesn't stick around all day. What I would say is that you can't count on anything working correctly gastrically in the first few weeks, so give it a while and see how it goes.

What did your surgeon say? I'm pretty sure that my restrictions were no more than 20 pounds for 6 weeks. I think you may find that 15 pounds + stairs is a lot at first. I think that you should plan to wear the backpack over both shoulders, not just slung over one; that was the instruction I had when I had my gallbladder out so that I didn't strain the incisions on either side. These are only opinions, though...

I'm dying to do a CrossFit Total again. I was sick this week and missed it. I'm thinking about going in and doing it on my own, but my box is open limited hours. Maybe next week. After a week totally down from upper respiratory crud I did pistol work and a 5K row last night, and I'm plain afraid to go in for partner work this morning. The warmup yesterday was hard to do. So, I think partner would be ramping up too fast, and I have to sing two masses for Easter tomorrow. I'm that weirdo who does CF but pretty much internally groans every time I see a workout. That said, I liked Fran and Cindy, from the standpoint of feeling really good about finishing them. Is it just me, or when we start talking about this do we all just blah blah blah? Cfmama, to your point…I think it is rare for someone who has been doing CF for a while to get WLS, but I also know there are plenty of us who come at this from different mindsets. Part of me thinks that if I had just been able to make a switch to adopting Paleo and limiting calories in the summer, the surgery would have been unnecessary. On the other hand, it was really helpful to me to "reset" with WLS and have to mindfully approach eating in a completely different way because I physically had to. I don't know if I could have lost 60 pounds without going through surgery, and in some ways it is pointless to wonder. The coaches in my box would have preferred that I didn't have surgery; one in particular has two family members with failed lap bands and was skeptical. But now, being almost 6 months out, they have remained supportive and are proud of the loss I've had. Now I just need to keep building strength and mobility! The best result for me is that while I have been this weight before, I have never been this weight before WHILE being physically active. For whatever reason, this combination is working and will (I hope) have good longterm results.

Good luck!

I wasn't anywhere near as experienced with CrossFit as you are when I went in for surgery. But I had been doing it for about 2-3 months. I had to be out for a strict 6-7 weeks before I was able to start up again. I wasn't even in the books for most of the workouts, or even CF total, so I can't speak to that. Our starting weights are kind of similar but I am 5'5" (you must be taller.) I was 44, and around 238-243 when I was approved for surgery. I may have dipped to 235 or so, but I really didn't lose a single pound doing CrossFit from August until October, when I was sleeved. However, I'm at 182 now, so it's close to a 60 pound loss. My weight loss is maybe not as rapid as some, but I am happy with it. I strive to work out 3 days per week, and I try to swim occasionally too, but February-April are my crazy months at work and I am just coming up for air now. The goal is to get back up to 4 days a week in the next couple of months. The biggest thing that I have noticed is that I am wearing smaller clothing than the last time I was this weight. I'm getting into size 12 jeans and 14 dress pants. The last time I was this weight, I was strictly in 14W and 16. So I really do think that has everything to do with having been working out beforehand, and since. One other note is that I am okay with the rate of loss; I eat well and probably more calories than some WLS patients, because I expect this to be a lifetime thing. The exercise is a key part of the plan, in my opinion. Good luck!

Our starting stats are similar. I also CrossFit, and swim. I lose about 5 pounds per month at this point, punctuated by longish stalls. In February I increased my calories to 1200 per day and I eat up to that when I have a big workout. It knocked me out of a longer stall at that point. Even though my weight loss is not what some would consider impressive (which, incidentally, doesn't bother me overmuch because comparisons are kind of pointless) I have also been keeping track of my measurements. I was a tight 16W or 18 when this started, and I am wearing a 12 or a loose 14 now. The difference is becoming quite noticeable. I'd keep at it. I think we all have little catchphrases like "I didn't get this surgery to…" but the fact is, you got the surgery to turn your life and health around. It's a long term game, not a short term one. You're doing the right things and the weight will follow. Maybe not at the rate you want it to, but it will.

Two of my good friends, who know about my surgery, came to a special event of mine the week before last. After that event, I got a number of comments like, "You are so full of surprises!" and "Your transformation is incredible!" and it left me going, "Huh?" They were "blown away" by my "newfound confidence and poise." I turned this over and over in my head and finally realized, that they had never seen me get up and speak in front of a crowd before. But in fact, this is something I do frequently and I have never had a problem with it. So THEY attributed my "ability" to do this to my weight loss. I've had conversations with them about this before…that after a few weeks out, my WLS was not the determining factor in my life. But for them, it's possible that my weight was something that they had worried about or commented on and so as they observe me getting thinner, they attribute my comfort level and successes to that entirely. My point is that we don't always know what's going on in others' heads, in how they perceive us and what their baggage is going into it, even when we've known them a long time. To be clear, they were both aware that I am a performer and lead a couple of nonprofits that require public speaking. It's not like this was dormant and then came out after weight loss. But somehow, THEIR perception of me has been evolving. Another friend who has known me for longer recently shrugged and said, "I don't see any big change, you know; you just look like yourself again." This is after 50+ pounds. Of course there is a change. But again, it all has to do with her and not with me. And it's also possible that this friend just relates to me more closely and doesn't SEE me so much. If it were me I would probably let it go unless she threw me a softball (like the friend who lost 10 pounds) again.

When I traveled at 5 weeks I stuck to: scrambled eggs, chili, meatloaf, soup. I had some RTD Protein shakes and some Protein powder. I did this as a road trip so there were Cracker Barrels and Wendys everywhere (if you're comfortable being somewhere like that. I liked knowing that I would know what I was getting.) I had just been cleared to soft meats at that time; I don't know what your diet is like.

Great news!

First, I think stalls are quite normal, and I wouldn't place too much emphasis on it as long as you're not gaining. I'm almost 5 months out and at 1200 calories a day, and it actually has helped move things along for me better than aiming for 800 (my goal up until a month ago.) Now, I exercise regularly and I think my body was just hanging on to everything for dear life until I increased my intake. I was losing less at 800 calories than I am at 1200, and I log everything meticulously. My doctor's office and I discussed this in January; they advised me at that time to eat up to the amount I was burning if I could so that I didn't put my body into starvation mode. So, at 800 calories, if I have a 500 calorie work out that day I should eat 1300 calories total. At the 1200 calorie per day goal I am usually right on track. If I eat less and have an 800 calorie day, great…but a couple of times it's been 1500. Also fine for my amount of activity. And it seems to help (like Kennedy says) if I don't eat the same amount every day. I think you just need to mess around with this within reason and find what works for you. I remind myself that the weight loss is not about the short term; it's about what is sustainable in the long run for me. I lose about 5-6 pounds a month, so if I keep this up I have about 5-6 months to go until I reach my goal. I am just fine with that.

It's crazy. I have a good friend who was sleeved 4 months before I was. My rate of loss has been a bit faster. Don't know why. We both exercise, I'm pretty sure she is eating reasonably. Take the surgery types away from the equation and imagine if I gave her crap about her rate of loss, and told her constantly she must be doing something wrong, or she must be sorry. It's the opposite! We do not discuss the differences in our experience unless we are dealing with a specific question. And when we do discuss, it is in the most supportive and loving of ways. In the end, we are both losing our excess weight, and it doesn't really matter who gets there first. So your friend's insistence on "telling the truth" is just crazy. If YOU are happy with your experience, then as a friend she needs to be.

Everyone has his or her own truth, based on his or her own experience. Maybe it's age and a few hard knocks, but I don't give a lot of advice on peoples' personal choices anymore, because I never know when a little "humbler" will come my way and I will be proven wrong. (The biggest one outside of WLS that I can think of, is other peoples' marriages. You just never know what someone else is going through until you have walked a mile in their shoes. But don't we love to criticize, as a general rule??) In any case, there's no excuse for being rude and hurtful. Good for you, for walking away.

I know we're all really bound by what the scale says, but I really believe that building muscle and cardiovascular endurance is the key to great results. One of the fittest coaches in my gym is 5'7", wears a size 4-6, and weighs 160. She is a wall of muscle. And oh my god, so strong! I decided early on that my physical fitness and strength had to be as important as my eating, going forward. So far, my result is that I have lost 54 pounds, and I am wearing a full size lower than I was the last time I was at this weight. I may not hit my stretch weight goal of 149, but the measurement of success is a lot broader than the number on the scale.

Eh, it sucks. I am shedding wherever I go. I have not seen clumps like yours, but every time I shower or wash it I lose 20-50 strands. Then I pick another 50 off my shirt and person throughout the day. But I also have long, fine hair. I see it in the ends; before this started I had a lovely blunt cut with fairly even ends; now the ends range from 1-2 inches in varied length. My hair is breaking like a mofo too. So far I have resisted the urge to chop several inches off, because the way things are going I don't think that would really solve it just yet. It's not really about Protein or supplements. It's the luck of the draw I think.

Totally agree. You did awesome! The first few times out are the hardest, but that's because you're still healing and getting the lay of the land. I go out all the time with my family and friends (I'm around 4 months or so?) and it is truly no big deal. Hasn't been a problem at all once I was able to have Soups. In fact, last night we were out and my DH jokingly said after the waiter had taken our orders and walked away, "Did you order your usual? Styrofoam container?" Eating out is great if you like leftovers.

Okay. Good luck.

Look, our stats are similar but our outlooks are a little different. I'm down 47 pounds (surgery 10/24) and I feel like it is AMAZING. I really don't care if someone who weighed more, or less, or the same is up or down by 10 pounds or 100 pounds, because this is MY weight loss, and I can't wear someone else's clothes or live in someone else's life. This is the only time in my life I have ever lost 47 pounds in 3 months and no one else's success can take that away from me. And I refuse to negate the hard work I have done by feeling bad that you have lost 52 pounds and I have *only* lost 47. Yes, for me the scale goes back up slightly pretty much any time I have a loss. I have been knocking around the 192 point for a couple of weeks. Some days down, some days up. But I know that in another month regardless of (and BECAUSE of) what I did today, I will probably be weighing in somewhere in the 180s. Amazing!!! So, let's make a deal that we will all suck it up, buttercup. We do not need to give in to the craziness that comes along with this surgery. It is ridiculous that any of us is upset by losing "only" anything. We're losing weight! Who's with me? AHHHHHHHHHH (think John Belushi leading the fraternity out in Animal House….)

You've lost 52 pounds. That is a huge drop. It is normal for our bodies to bounce around a little.

I'm not going to make my goal this month, but I did a lot of good stuff.

I really need to get my body composition tested. My observation right now, after having worked out both prior to and starting again 6 weeks after surgery, is that I am wearing clothes that I last wore when I was 15-20 pounds lighter. So there are some major changes. I still can see that I have fat to lose, but at some point it will be less about scale weight and more about fitness and body composition. If that means I stall out at 160-170 pounds but am in great physical shape, so be it.

191.6 Going in the right direction, if slowly!

I usually have some kind of a snack about an hour ahead of time. I'll usually do something like half a protein bar or a protein pudding that has a good ratio of carbs as well. Nothing big, about 100 calories. That pretty much gets me through the workout, whether CrossFit or swimming, both of which run about an hour.