heidikat72

I usually try to avoid replying to these posts about weightloss just a couple days post op being too slow, but I think it's important people get a realistic picture and not just see posts from people with massive weight loss the first week or two. Yes, some people lose a lot the first two weeks, others, like me, don't lose anything the first two weeks. You are only 12 days out!!! You just had MAJOR surgery and your body is trying to heal - that is the only thing you should be focused on right now - healing. You were also pumped full of IV fluids in the hospital and likely weighed more at discharge than when you went in - it takes a while to clear that excess Fluid. Please try to avoid comparing weightloss to anyone - it is a recipe for dissappointment. There are a ton of factors that go into the rate at which we lose - gender (typically men lose faster than women), genetics, how much excess weight you have, how long you have been obese, how much you lost leading up to surgery etc etc etc. So forget about the scale for now, just focus on following your plan - getting your fluids and Protein in, walking etc - the weightloss will come - it will not be linear nor consistent, you will have many stalls along the way (and yes they ARE frustrating, but they end).

I think you gave a good response. Why would you want to regain your health only temporarily? Unless someone has walked in our bodies for any length of time/struggled with obesity themselves, they don't understand. And that's ok. You can't control whether she "pities" you or not - just live a great, happy healthy life. maybe in time when she she's how happy and healthy you are and that you certainly don't pity yourself, she'll come around. and definitely start practicing that strut now!

I can definitely relate. I had read on here so much about the 3rd week stall before surgery that I was totally prepared for that. However I was not prepared for what actually happened - which is not losing even a tenth of a pound the first two weeks post op! Very frustrating! Just remember that you are healing right now and that is the primary focus the first month. Also, you were pumped full of IV fluids while you were in the hospital so most people leave the hospital weighing more than when they went in. The weightloss will happen if you stick to plan but it won't be linear or consistent in any way. you'll have weeks you don't lose a thing, weeks you might even gain a little, weeks you lose a little and some weeks you may post a big loss. but over time the trend will be downward. So instead of the 3rd week stall, i had a delayed start!

A. you just had major surgery. your body is focused on healing not weightloss right now. B. weightloss is not linear. do not assume that because you lost at x rate on y calories that now you will lose at double that rate. you will experience stalls and slow downs along the way. we all lose at different rates and most do not lose in any sort of consistent fashion from week to week. as for whether you are doing something wrong...are you meeting your Protein goals provided by your surgeon? are you meeting your Fluid intake goals provided by your surgeon? taking your Vitamins? not eating more than the prescribed amounts for the point you are at post-op? sticking to high protein foods and avoiding empty calories? if the answer is yes, then you are not doing anything wrong. you just need to be patient and let yourself heal and the weightloss will come. and by the way, averaging 4lbs a week is pretty damn good.

the sleeve was first done as one stage of a two stage process for DS. usually in very high BMI patients for whom undergoing everything in surgery was too risky because of the amount of time under anesthesia. it's actually fairly recent that doing sleeve as a stand alone has become common. for many high bmi patients they may never get to a "healthy" BMI with just the sleeve restriction alone so they may end up getting the DS later on. although many high BMI patients do reach their goal without needing to add the DS. In my specific case, my surgeon wanted to start with just the sleeve and see what happens - he said I may need DS later on but that the majority of his patients were happy where they ended up with just the sleeve and since I really didn't want the malabsortion issues, I agreed with him. Ultimately, what surgery to get is a very personal decision between a patient and their surgeon.

talk to your surgeon. it could be nothing - as in just a normal leg cramp, it could be low potassium as mentioned above, what you want to make sure it isn't is an early sign of a blood clot. so best to talk to the surgeon and describe in detail what you feel, where, when etc. and keep getting up and walking often.

As far as items to eat - check out the blog the world according to eggface - she has an entire post of puree phase ideas. Some things that got me through: greek yogurt (just make sure it is a flavor that doesn't have bits of fruit), cottage cheese, ricotta bake (from the blog), refried beans with melted cheese, pureed tuna/salmon/chicken/egg salad using plain nonfat greek yogurt instead of mayo.

Did your surgical team provide any guidelines on amounts? You cannot rely on full signals at this point - your nerves were cut and won't be signaling properly. Plus, the point is to learn not to eat until feeling full since at that point, you've really eaten too much. Check in with your surgical team for guidelines. Mine indicated to start out with no more than a 1/4 cup of pureed food. And honestly initially I couldn't even get that much down without it feeling like it was stacking up into my throat which is not a pleasant feeling so I would do about half that and then go from there. Eat very very slowly - what will seem like ridiculously slowly.

I wasn't cleared for anything other than walking for 6 weeks.

I was going to suggest the blog mentioned in the post above - Eggface has an entire post devoted to puree stage ideas. I had a lot of greek yogurt, cottage cheese, the infamous ricotta bake, refried Beans with melted cheese, pureed tuna salad/chicken salad/salmon salad/egg salad (using plain nonfat greek yogurt instead of mayo). Those flavored tuna pouches got me through the puree and soft foods stage and still are a convenient on the run item to keep in my bag and for when I travel. I used a black and decker mini chopper to make my purees - basically a miniature food processor. Only costs about $10 and was the perfect size for a pouch of tuna or small can of chicken and a tablespoon or two of yogurt. (During puree phase that would be 2 or 3 meals for me)

thanks for the reminder - that's been on my list to try! adding it to the plan for next week

Starting about a week post op my brain was seriously messing with me!! Crazy dreams about food - foods that I hadn't eaten in years or even since childhood - so obviously not something I even liked all that much but suddenly my brain was telling me I wanted that. Recognize it for what it is - head hunger only - and fight the temptation. When I would wake up from a dream where I was eating something I'd just have a serious talk with myself, reassure myself and go back to sleep. If a craving hit me while I was awake - I found an activity to do to reset my brain. I had a solid week of intense head hunger and then it eased off. I'll still get weird cravings once in a while but I recognize it as just that, remind myself that my health is way more important and do the brain reset. You are doing well with Vitamins and Protein - work on getting those Fluid levels up! Stay strong, you got this

the only delays should be two hours between taking anything with iron and a calcium supplement (iron and calcium compete for absorption). And depending on how many/how much calcium you are taking, you may need to spread those out so you aren't taking more than 600mg at a time.

haven't really had that issue with food but at work, the office is so cold that my hot tea was getting cold before i finished it. Mr Coffee makes an eletric mug warmer. I think it was less than $10.

I typically use the following blogs: the world according to eggface the bariatric foodie also a lot of blogs about paleo eating have bariatric friendly (or easily adaptable to bariatric friendly) recipe ideas

Your nerves were cut during surgery so don't rely on any "fullness" cues to tell you to stop eating for a while - at least a month. Stick to the measurements from your practice's guidelines as far as how much to eat at a time - don't go over. However, if you start to feel things "stack up" into your esophagus, stop and wait for the next meal. Also, I'll often even now get a single hiccup or my nose will start running - weird but that is now my cue to stop eating because another bite and i'll end up miserable. For now, as long as you are meeting Fluid and Protein goals and taking your Vitamins, you'll be fine nutritionally. also, initially - i just always assumed it was head hunger and when it came over me (it was intense day 7-20) I started an activity. Preferably for me an activity with my hands - hard to eat and knit or color at the same time! I just needed something to distract and reset my brain. For a lot of us, eating is a boredom activity so we have to learn to combat the boredom in another way. Hang in there! There's a lot of new feelings to sort out during this phase but you'll figure it out!

press a pillow firmly against your abdomen while coughing. the pressure helps hold things in place and hopefully it won't hurt as bad.

I respond similarly to how your son responded for you. I simply say I wasn't very hungry but it is delicious so I'd like to take the rest home for later so can you please bring me the box? and smile sweetly

Hope it all settles down soon! At least now you know and have a plan so I'm sure that is at least a mental relief!

yep so much this. had no problem at thanksgiving. struggling right now. grew up kinda poor and christmas was less about the presents and all about the food and treats and family traditions of certain items. From baking cookies with mom after finishing my homework - like seriously a different batch of cookies every night for about two weeks! To making fruitcakes and fudge with dad and mom and all the other special items and meals with the whole family pitching in to prep and cook together. And getting special treats (candy) from my mom's family in england that we only got that one time of the year. Christmas was all about decorations and indulgent foods. Having the onslaught of holiday treats being brought in at work this week hasn't helped (since everyone places them on the file cabinet next to my desk and all the co-worker gifts of cards and candy. So far, I haven't indulged at work and my great nieces are getting an nice stash of candy to divide between them. but it has taken every ounce of willpower and a lot of getting up and going for a walk around the building!

Sometime before surgery I made two lists on my phone. List 1 was all the reasons I was having the surgery. List 2 is a list of all the things i'm looking forward to being able to do as I get healthier. In the tough times/weak moments (even still) I pull out those lists and remind myself why I'm doing this. Helps get my head back in the right place. At parties and so forth - since you're on liquids make sure you always have a Protein shake or Water in your hand and whenever you feel tempted to snack, drink. Also focus on being the social butterfly in the room and talking to people, mill about so you aren't standing next to the same cookie tray/yummy appetizer tray etc letting it tempt you for any extended period of time. And to encourage quality time with family rather than being a hermit, suggest going out and doing an activity - even just taking a walk through the neighborhood, going to see christmas lights etc - anything that isn't focused on food.

While fortunately I didn't have an issue with whey isolate, my nutritionist recommends soy isolate (specifically the isolate) for those that can't do whey.

I struggled with fatigue for the first couple months actually. I wish I could say there was a magic "fix" that I did to get over it but I really just had to power through it and once I forced myself to start exercising more, that seemed to help break it. At 8 days post op - you are extremely low calorie intake and still healing, it's ok to rest. You will eventually have your energy level return and be even greater than it was.