bitingcat

Bright horizons - I feel you. Just turned 46 and have never been able to lose more than 20lbs without doubling that with regain. OP - I empathize. My hormones are wac - to the point where I had a surprise hysterectomy 3 months post op. And I told very few people - husband, bestie, and best sister. My nieces figured it out, but are super supportive and swore not to tell their mom or grandma. My own kids only told about that hiatal hernia part and said I'd prefer they didn't mention it. With all the hysterectomy nonsense coming right after wls, I've barely shown my face in church for months. So even though I'm not a fast loser (and nowhere near goal) it's obvious something changed. I legitimately claimed illness, but my best backup is my husband who finally tried low carb out of solidarity and fear of following me under the knife. Being a man, he's lost almost as much as I have post surgery. I also, like you, can claim PT - shortly before surgery I was diagnosed with an overstretched and partially torn tendon in my ankle. The threat of *four* separate surgeries has been motivating and every pound I've lost has seriously helped it. She's been great and coming up with non-straining exercises. Back on the dark side, it's been the coldest, rainiest winter on record in Seattle and I'm still trying to recover from the latest bronchial infection. And trying to fix my hormones and the lingering anemia. It's just so much to deal with, isn't it? I just want to yell, "Major problems need to max out at three!" But like you, I need to exercise to lose weight - this infection has me going backwards again [emoji31]. But I'm going to try PT again tomorrow - first time in a week and a half - and managed to do a little arm work and leg work today, even though it left me prostrate on the couch for the rest of the day. I got my blood draw for hormones today (yay!) and need to schedule that appointment next. I'm 9 months out of the sleeve and about 3 months out from hyst- seriously, does that pain *ever* go away?! So most of my "honeymoon" was blown being wildly anemic/recovering from surgery. I've only lost maybe 8 lbs since the hyst - but the surgeon said I'm regaining some muscle. Don't feel guilty. 70 lbs lighter since surgery allowed me to take a birthday trip to Vegas, learn to kayak, be able to walk with a small brace instead of an orthopedic boot, and fit into cute (mostly still plus) size athletic leggings from Lucy and Athleta. I even dropped from double wide to just wide shoes. Like me, you have serious health problems most people can't imagine living with. You're doing what you need to do to get the shot at becoming a more healthy you. And don't let anyone ever make you feel bad for that. You know how to lose weight - enjoy your honeymoon and your real shot at keeping it off for good [emoji4][emoji106][emoji322]

I thinned my refried beans out with bone broth. As I progressed, I topped them with melted Trader Joe's lite cheese and a dollop of reduced fat Greek yogurt. Delicious [emoji39]. My (almost adult) niece agreed when I fed them to her after she had her tonsils out. Ah - and don't forget that hummus is also puréed beans, though I usually cut that with yogurt.

Wow - this thread has become a party! Good work y'all ! I feel you all on health problems and surgeries - the hysterectomy kicked my ass. I was so wildly anemic going into it that what little weight I lost was all muscle. My diet also got crazy due to extreme bloating and nausea. So I'm pushing 9 months out from the sleeve and trying to find a new double post-op normal. I've only lost about 8 - 12 lbs in the last three months and it's mostly just bounced around 208 +/- 3 lbs. I'm trying to convince myself I'm rebuilding muscle, but it's hard. I'm also *way* more hungry now that I can 1) eat real food 2) have really increased my activity level and 3) obviously have way more room in my stomach. (The rainiest Seattle winter on record isn't helping, either.) On the good side, my honey took me to Vegas for my birthday and I've lost enough weight to be able to walk around, play in the pool, sit at normal dinner tables, and buckle my airplane seatbelt. So that was awesome. Of course I also discovered I can put away a half bottle of champagne over the course of a dinner, though thanks to my sister's awesome ordering skills, I feasted on shrimp skewers (hold the grits); steak and eggs (hold the fried potatoes); and "can I get just a plain grilled chicken breast with a side of sliced avocado?" I also drank a couple of skinny margaritas (good tequila, fresh lime juice, and just a hint of agave) and vodka with soda water and a twist of lime. Having said that, I need to keep the careful meat based ordering and save the drinking for rare occasions. For the time being, I need to start tracking again and hitting my macros. I also need to keep focusing on gut health - good fats, cultured foods, low sugar, fiber, probiotics. And as always, I need to take my vitamins, get some sun every day, and try to get my cortisol and hormone levels under control. So the honeymoon's over, but the sleeve's still there; it's time to regroup and get back on the wagon. How about a challenge to track at least 4 days a week? And to keep trying a new activity a week till you can find at least two outdoor things you like? We just got *folding* kayaks and are try out this summer. So far it's been pretty fun. Good luck everyone! Oh - and if you need a laugh, here we are trying to kayak with our cats. fallingin.MP4

I have SWEET resting b**** face - especially if I haven't had my eyebrows plucked in a while . I try not to pull it out at church, though, which has been my problem of late. I haven't lost weight particularly quickly in the last six months - my husband went low carb out of solidarity and has lost almost as much - but have had legitimate health problems that have kept me out of the loop. So, a few hard months of anemia and a hysterectomy later, I'm back at church with people who haven't seen me for 40 lbs... I was looking pretty awful when I was there, so people I know better are just like, "You're looking much better!" As in, not deathly white or looking like you might pass out during the service. People who don't know me as well are ... what's the church version of wtf? While I did have a hiatal hernia repair along with my sleeve, I can legitimately say I've had a lot of health problems the last few months. When I explain my abdomen was so swollen I was basically living on protein shakes (which was true the two months before my hysto) they get way less jealous. Having my honey in on our low carb lifestyle also helps. I know I shouldn't be so weird about it - and I don't mind discussing the sleeve with my medical practitioners *at all* - but I only told my husband, one sister friend, and one actual sister. I swore my nieces to secrecy after they figured it out on their own, and if I'm not telling my mom or my two other siblings, I'm sure as heck not telling the general public. I need to focus on healing from my second surgery, getting back my health, and losing the weight I need to lose instead of a bunch of random people's uneducated opinions on weight loss surgery. Bless their hearts. Maybe my feelings will change when (God willing) I'm at a healthy weight and place. I'm intensely private but having survived two special needs kids to their teens, have also become very outspoken on autism and special needs education. (Quiet...quiet... "HAVE YOU SEEN THE LATEST RESEARCH ON AUTISM?!") I'm already prone to this with nutrition, so we'll see how it goes. Good work everybody!

This is a timely conversation. I'm around 7 months out and feel the same. Granted, I did have the hormone dump that just kept on dumping - I'm still recovering from the oh-so-fun hysterectomy that resulted from that - and am also on Wellbutrin. I second the labs - I'm supposed to get some this week and will probably need a second round for hormones. I'm female, but have had severely low (like, non-existent) testosterone in the past. Cognitively I know my hormones being out of whack make everything worse, but emotionally it just seems so hard to deal with. Low testosterone makes everything seem impossible. Stress/food cravings/anxiety are all things I associate with my cortisol, serotonin, and/or hormones being out of balance, though trying to figure out which is really hard. Seattle's "rainiest year on record" isn't helping me either - how's the weather where you are? Being active outside every day can help some and I've also had good luck with alternative medicine to try and manage my cortisol levels. You might need a little more or less of something - including the rx meds -or it might be time to try something different. That anxiety is a killer. I know it doesn't help, but looking at your numbers objectively, you've done great. I was sleeved only a couple weeks after you and would love to be down another 50 lbs like you are. Feels impossible at the moment. But I was cleared to restart PT (for a bum ankle) last week and need to drag myself there today. Just keep swimming, I guess, and pray for some sun. I hope you get the help you need.

My stomach was deeply confused during the clear liquid phase (this improved with time). My favorite things were strained miso soup with collagen powder, sugar free finger jello, and bone broth my husband cooked with a Parmesan rind for flavor and then strained. Surprising amounts of protein in those. When I was cleared for thin protein shakes, I really liked the Nectar fruits and unflavored. And my oh-look-I-need-hysterectomy surgeon cleared those as clear liquids for that surgery.

I'm 46 and have been on mild hormone therapy for years (I had way too much estrogen, very little progesterone, and no testosterone at all). Losing weight on the 6 mos supervised messed things up; going full keto for the pre-op sent me into a tailspin. After surgery we kept raising my progesterone to try and counter the massive weight loss estrogen dump, but after getting sent to the hematologist at my 4 mos post op visit, we started further investigation into my then constant heavy bleeding. Like, couldn't drive or leave the house and eventually needed a blood transfusion. Turns out I had large inconveniently placed fibroids that ruled out a uterine ablation and suspected (later confirmed) adenomyosis. Yay, me! So I spent my 6 mos surgeversary recovering from a robotic hysterectomy. I never thought I'd have two major surgeries in less then 6 mos. I still have my ovaries, so I'm trying to find a new hormonal equilibrium, but it is SO much better now. All the tiredness I thought was from wls? It was severe anemia. So get that stuff checked out at the obgyn pronto! Hopefully they can help you out with less drastic measures (hrt; ablation; etc.) but don't let it spiral out of control like I did. In my case, my uterus had turned into the Death Star and was using severely enlarged arteries to suck the life out if my surrounding systems. As my surgeon said, "It was evil and had to go." Best of luck![emoji106]

Okay - thanks for the replies. I was trying to be really generous with the 8-12 lbs a month. Outsidematchinside thanks so much for posting specific weights! It's good to see you did in fact keep losing - I can't even imagine losing 20 lbs in a month [emoji47]. (Or 10 lbs in a week.) But continuing to lose 7 lbs a month is still definite progress, and your overall progress is awesome [emoji106].

I don't mean people freaking out about the week 3 stall or frustrated because they "only" lost 20 lbs the first six weeks. While I am curious what most people consider "slow", I mostly mean people at least 6 months post op, with significant weight to lose, and who averaged around maybe 8-12 lbs a month. Including stalls and everything, averaged over multiple months. And who preferably kept losing. I just keep reading these success stories of people losing unbelievable amounts of weight during their honeymoon. Granted, I have some serious health problems that have cropped up and have still managed to loose a around 50 lbs in a little under 6 months. And that was after taking over a month to drop back down to DOS weight. But every other topic on Slow Losers Unite seems to be, "OMG - I only lost x weight and have stalled at week 3!" Or it's evil twin, "OMG, I'm at under two months have have only lost x!" Make that the identical evil twin - even as a total noob I knew at two months your body was still a train wreck and you could really just stay on plan and hope for the best. I've seen a few comments about long term slow losing from old timers - but also heard rumors they've gone the way of the buffalo. Sorry I'm cranky and out of touch - I've been busy getting iron transfusions, a blood transfusion, an extremely invasive ultrasound, and trying to schedule and get ready for next week's hysterectomy. Take ALL THE IRON!!!! Give me some hope here, people - I'm almost at 6 months, coming up on my 46th birthday, and still have serious amounts of weight to lose. 50 more pounds would still put me at my overweight college self and would be kind of nice to not be in the obese range at some point in my life.

Can't recommend liquid only - I was really sick last month and was living on protein shakes and handfuls of well chewed peanuts. (There were no solids at all for almost a week.) Can definitely feel the restriction, pretty much stalled, and am having a hard time getting back to my previous protein consumption. No, I'm not a fast loser and am at about 5 1/2 months. Being on liquids and purees didn't help. And now I have to beat a peanut addiction [emoji12]

It took me well over a month to get back to my DOS weight. And everyone in the universe seems to stall at 3 weeks.

Gluten's a hard one to give up - I have a niece that's celiac and hang with the special needs mom crowd - loads of special diets. Consider digestive enzymes? Post-op I had massive problems with dairy and fat my sister/accupuncturist said it was gall bladder. More like yelled, "Gall bladder!" into the phone. You can also just eliminate wheat - there's really no reason to be eating it as a new post-op. I did recently add some low carb tortillas in occasionally which do have wheat. But most keto recipes don't use grains; neither does paleo. And I've recently started looking at Thin Healthy Mama baking blend as a no wheat way to work a little fiber in. And seriously consider the actual test for celiac. Avoiding gluten contaminated food is a whole other level. Maybe two. We have yet to explain to my MIL that "gravy" does in fact contain flour (and therefore gluten) and doesn't spring fully formed from the tail end of a turkey.. [emoji16] As for me, I'm preparing for a hysterectomy next week - apparently I have a few giant troublemaker fibroids jacking up my uterus. The surgeon referred to it as "ornery". [emoji848][emoji19]After needed a blood transfusion last month, I decided I agreed. So after I heal up from that, I'm hopefully just down to the PTTD and a few other things. Good luck to all you toiling on! [emoji16]

We're actually fairly close on numbers - I was sleeved about 2 weeks after you. Well, and am 45 [emoji16]. But girl, you have lost a TON of weight! Just this week I finally hit 50 down on the scale. After surgery, it took me almost a month just to get back down to my day of surgery weight, so I'm not a super fast loser. I AM get hungrier and able to eat more. Not starving, but definitely transitioning to real food. So yeah, I will eat part of a hamburger - but no bun. Cheese and turkey summer sausage - and no crackers. Chicken, verde sauce, and cheese topped with a dollop of Greek yogurt. Eating for protein really does make a difference for me. And the restriction is still there - I've had pretty severe anemia and couldn't eat very much for a couple of days. And man, my first piece of meat after was like, two bites and done. But I also see my grandma (diabetic) snacking on crackers all day and wondering why her health is failing and say, "Yeah, let's not do that." I had a blood transfusion yesterday, in addition to iron treatments, and the doctor is trying to fast track me for a hysterectomy. (Peri-menopausal + jacked hormones + weight loss is proving to be too much for my body.) I also have a bad ankle I'm hoping to get back to PT for soon. In June, I'll be 46. So there's no way on earth a healthy young thing like you can't stay on track if I can [emoji16]. September to summer birthdays! Even with surgeries, I'll keep trying [emoji106]. It won't be an instant miracle, but as long as it keeps going, I'll consider myself blessed. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Wow - that update ate some text! Well, OP already knows what I said about waiting 3 months and trying very small half flat sips for the probiotics. And talking to my NUT. And waiting like, a half hour between sips. Oh - and being really careful of the carbs - some are way more sweetened than others. As for the jello, some of the paleo crew make kombucha gummies for the probiotics. You might want to check those out - gelatin and kombucha probiotics are a powerful gut health combo. I just made very weak jello post-op using Great Lakes gelatin dissolved in water and then whisked into some flat kombucha. It was okay - I really, REALLY would not risk any carbonation right after surgery. I keep meaning to try some newer versions just for the jello and general gut health aspect, but haven't gotten around to it. Do you like kefir? The stuff in the states has had the carbonation killed off, but I did drink unsweetened kefir with a couple drops of flavored stevia post-op. Again, mostly for the probiotics. But it's not a bad yogurt drink, either. I have never been an unsweetened person, but tastes change and post-op, the sweet leaf berry stevia drops are pretty good. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

It took me almost a month to get back down to my day of surgery weight. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App