FindingCarrie

So I am 14 weeks Post op, and things are going great. However, I have had several stalls, which get discouraging. I will go 2-3 weeks and not lose a pound, and then drop 5 lbs in one week! So weird how the body works. When I am feeling disappointed in the slow weight loss, I do side by side photo comparisons of before and after. Here is one that lifted my spirits today. When you see yourself every day, you don't always see the huge changes that are taking place. Don't always count on the scale to show you your victories! Use photos and body measurements as well. You will need them at times when the scale is not moving.

My vitamin D was slightly low 6 months post op, so I am now taking a vitamin D supplement as well. My iron was very low prior to surgery and those numbers look great now. Everything else looks good.

My starting weight was 254.

I am 9 months post op, and down 72.5 lbs. My weight loss has slowed down quite a bit to the point where I am only losing about 5 lbs per months now. I still have 30 lbs to go to get to my goal weight, but slow and steady has proven to be good for me. I am finding that I don’t really have any loose skin. I think that is for several reasons. First, I have been losing at a slow and steady pace. Also, I work out every morning before work. This includes cardio and weight training. Finally, I started making my own body butters right after my surgery to specifically target loose skin and stretch marks. I slather it on every day. The pictures I am attaching show me prior to my surgery, at 3 months post op, and then this morning at 9 months post op. I still have a ways to go, but I can definitely see a difference at each phase. It helps to compare these pictures because I have been feeling a bit discouraged lately with the scale moving so slow.

Depending on what type of food I am eating, I can eat more than a cup at times. If I am focusing on my protein first, then i can really only eat about a cup. If I eat bread, rice or pasta, or any foods that I really shouldn’t be eating, then it seems like I can eat more. That is why i just try to avoid that stuff all together.

You look awesome! I have 30 more lbs to go to goal also. It is dropping off much slower now! We will get there soon! [emoji2]

I had my sleeve done on January 17, 2017. I also had a fairly severe hiatal hernia repaired at the same time. I had the gas pains for about 4 days after getting home, and I was back to work full time exactly 1 week after my surgery. I was tired and a bit uncomfortable, but I had no problems going back to work that soon. My recovery has been quite uneventful, and I have had absolutely no problems. I am down 72 lbs at this point, and have about 30 more to lose to be at my goal weight. The weight loss has slowed down significantly at this point, but my eating has also not been perfect. I do still have a lot of restriction, especially if I eat my protein first like I am supposed to. If I eat things I am not supposed to, like chips or bread, they go down way too easy and don’t fill me up, so I avoid them all together. I have not had caffeine since December, except for a couple of coffee here or there, and I don’t really eat any carbs, other than veggies. No foods with extra sugar, and definitely no candy. I was able to get back to my full workouts about 4 weeks after surgery, and get up at 4am every day to workout before I go to work. I feel great, and don’t regret for a minute the decision that I made to have the surgery.

Dr. Weiner wrote a book called A Pound of Cure. You can buy it on Amazon as a hard copy or for a kindle. It basically explains how you should eat 2 lbs of veggies and fruit a day, with some of those veggies being beans to help with protein intake, but not cut out meat all together. I find this has been easier than cutting out meat all together.

I just tell people hat I don't eat that stuff anymore! Seems to suffice. I have told most people about the surgery, but not others. I was just talking to my husband the other night about how I feel like I am being deceptive to people when I don't tell them the whole truth. However, I have decided that when I tell people that I don't eat bread, pasta, rice or sugar, I am not lying...and it is not easy! When I tell people that I don't drink caffeine anymore, it is the truth...and it is not easy. When I tell people that I get up at 4am to work out before work, and then come home and ride 10 miles on my bike, I am not lying, and...it is not easy! I am 7 months post op, and even though I have had a perfect recovery with no issues, it has not been easy! I am down 68 pounds, and still have 56 to go to my goal. I have to celebrate that instead of worrying about what others might think, or beating myself up about not telling the whole truth. The truth is that I have changed my eating habits, and I do exercise every day. They stop asking after a while, and I have noticed that they just comment on how great I look now. If they want to speculate on whether or not I am telling the whole truth, then I say let them speculate! I know how hard I am working, and I don't need to explain it to anyone, or feel bad about not sharing all of the details. I got enough to worry about on my own without taking on their baggage. You'll be fine Redo2017! Just hang in there and let them talk! [emoji3] It does get easier, and you will be eating more normal very soon. You will just eat less, which aligns with telling people that you are watching your portion control.

I am 8 weeks Post op today. Feeling great, with absolutely no problems to report. I have progressed through food to the point where I am able to even eat steak. I chew it really well, and only eat about 2oz. My last food to conquer is raw veggies, which I just got cleared for this week. I see a salad in my near future! [emoji3] I started my workout program this past weekend, and I have to say that being almost 50lbs lighter made it easier to get through. I do the BeachBody programs. Right now I started over with the 21 Day Fix workouts, and some of them are pretty intense. Even though the workouts are still difficult, I noticed hat I don't get as winded as I used to. Also, I track my heart rate when I workout, and before losing weight, I would max out at 180bpm. Now my max is more around 157. Not a bad improvement for just 8 weeks post op! I am eating about 800 - 1100 calories a day. I had stopped drinking my protein shakes because I was getting all of my protein requirements s from real food. However, now that I have started working out again, I drink one in the morning. I get up at 4am to workout before work, so not many other options for breakfast at that time of day. It takes all my energy to drag myself to workout, much less figuring out a breakfast to fuel my body. I am just pushing to get under 200 right now, and then I will focus on the rest. I donated 2 big bags of clothes this weekend. BEST FEELING EVER!! I dumped those bags in the donation bin and walked away like a BOSS! Great to know I will never need that size again!! HW - 255 SW - 231 CW - 208

My pattern for losing is that I lose about 4-5 lbs in one week, and then I go 2 weeks or longer without losing. I started losing hair around week 14, but now at week 16, hat has slowed down, and I think I am past the hair loss phase now...hopefully! [emoji3]

16 weeks out and I am down 59lbs from my highest weight, and 51 lbs since surgery! That in and of itself is a huge accomplishment! I just wanted to share an NSV that I haven't seen anywhere else in this site yet. I went for my 6 month dental cleaning last night, and they had to do very little cleaning at all on my teeth. They said that I had very light plaque buildup since the last visit, and asked if I had changed anything significant. I explained that I completely cut out all caffeine, breads, pasta, rice (basically any non veggie carb) and SUGAR! They said that is contributing to a cleaner set of teeth, so YAY for an easy dental check up! I never expected for my teeth to benefit from this surgery! [emoji23]

I agree! I increased calories and started dropping again.

Yes! These stalls are so discouraging! I am hoping that the slower loss will result in no loose skin for me too. So far so good. I am eating healthier than I ever have, so I am just trusting in the process, and progress will come. I am human though, so I do get discouraged from time to time. It's times like these when I whip out the pictures or the measuring tape to remind myself that the scale isn't the only tool to measure my progress.

I am just a little over 12 weeks post op now, and I am able to eat everything. However, I have not eaten breads, pasta, sugar, rice or processed foods in general, since December. I have also not had any caffeine since December. I have to say that I feel fantastic! I am doing my Beachbody workouts EVERY day, and I am loving the progress that I am making. My husband and I went on a cruise 2 weeks ago, and it was an interesting experience post op. I stuck to protein and avoided adult beverages, but I did allow myself to splurge on a small ice cream cone. It was strange watching people pile up their plates with food at the buffet, sometimes multiple plates, and I had absolutely no interest! I was actually kind of repulsed by it all. I am not judging others, as I certainly did my share of poor eating in the past, but I couldn't believe that amount of food people were eating. I am just intrigued by how quickly my relationship with food has changed, and how when I see others eating the way that I used to actually repulses me. I never thought I would look at food this way. Food has now become just something I need to live, not something I live to eat! So 12 weeks post op, here is where I stand. I have lost 51 lbs from my highest weight, 38.7 of which has been post op. I have also lost a cumulative total of 28.2 inches across my chest, hips, waist thighs, arms. TWENTY EIGHT INCHES!!! I have gone down 2 pant sizes (18 to 14), and 2 bras sizes. My wedding ring is so big now that they can't even resize it. It has to be completely re-made because of how many sizes my finger has shrunk. I have donated 5 bags of clothes I will NEVER...EVER need again. I have been limiting my new clothes purchases, as I am now dropping sizes very quickly. Fortunately, I just buy jeans from Old Navy, and you can typically find them for around $15 on sale. My scars are healing well, and I have been using Mederma to help them along. As far as skin goes, I don't have too much loose skin just yet, but I am starting to see that jello-y, almost post-pregnancy belly skin just below my belly button. I am hoping that firms up over time, but we will take it as it comes. This was absolutely the best decision I have ever made or myself! I can't wait to see how I progress over the next several months!

@"AB2B", my doctor suggested Miralax for Post-op, and I started taking it day 2 Post op, as soon as I got home from the hospital. I was taking it every day for the first 2 weeks, but now I take it every other day, or every couple of days.

@"Darkstarwon", I am 5 weeks post-op, and I have not found it too difficult at all. My husband and I are 'foodies', and the first couple of weeks were a bit tougher because we like to go out to eat at least once a week. Once I was able to start eating chicken, that made it easy to go out. I can always find some kind of chicken no matter where we go. The only difference now is that I used to be able to eat the entire plate of food served, and now...I can eat about a quarter of it. It doesn't bother me at all. I just bring the rest home, and pack it for lunch. I have lunch for almost an entire week off of one meal out. It just goes to show how oversized our servings are in restaurants! Also, cooking at home hasn't been too bad. I like to make meals in the crockpot, and I often double the recipe so that I can have lunches and dinners for several days. I even freeze a lot of it, to be eaten the following week. I also bought an air fryer, so that my husband feels like he is getting some fried food, but it is the healthy version. Finally, as I have progressed in the food that I am able to eat, I did that there are so many options that we can both eat. If I make a shrimp dish with rice for him, then I just eat the shrimp with zucchini noodles, or baked carrots, or some healthy side that is not rice. It is easy to just make a different side for myself, and then he doesn't feel like his meals are changing too much. However, I find that he is starting to eat more like me, and losing weight with me.

I just bought an air fryer after reading comments on here about them. It is wonderful! So easy to cook with, and much healthier than cooking with any oil.

I stalled for 2 weeks, and then lost 6 lbs since then. Stalls happen for all of us. Just stick to your plan. It is practically impossible to gain weight on the amount of calories we are eating.

They numbed my hand before inserting the IV.

I lost in my 1 week pre-op, and in the first week post-op, and then stalled for 2 weeks. I spoke to my doctor to try and figure out what was going wrong. Turns out that I was getting too much Protein through high calorie shakes, and not enough Water. I am now between 60-70 grams of protein and 75oz of water each day. As soon as I made those changes, I dropped 3 lbs right away, and another 5 after that. Making those minor changes jump started everything. Water is the most important part. It facilitates all kinds of vital functions in the body. Use Crystal Light, sugar free popsicles, whatever it takes to get those Fluid in!

At 3 weeks, I was eating cottage cheese, yogurt, applesauce, well cooked veggies, eggs, cheese and beans. At 3.5 weeks I was also able to add fish and nuts. By 4 weeks, I was eating chicken. I am 4.5 weeks out now, and I no longer need protein shakes. I can meet my daily protein goals by eating all real food. It was the chicken that really gave me a protein boost to get off the shakes. Also, I was told not to worry about calories right now. My focus is 60g of protein, and at least 64oz of water. The protein is no problem for me anymore, but the water is like a full time job trying to get it all in every day!

I was sleeved on 1/17/17. My consult weight was 246, and my surgery weight was 231. I am now down to 216. Only 15 lbs lost since surgery day, and that is because I was stalled weeks 2 and 3. Didn't lose anything! I am now losing again, but it is at a rate of about 2-3 lbs per week.

The struggle is real! I have no problems drinking, and can take fairly big gulps 4 weeks out. However, it still feels like a full time job to plan around eating, and to get all of your fluids in. I never drank a lot of water before, so this has actually been the biggest adjustment for me.

It will get significantly better each day. By day 4 I was not even taking any more pain meds. By day 10, feeling great. If you don't notice significant improvement with pain by day 4 or 5, you should reach out to your doctor. Also, if you have a fever, can't keep anything down, or are short of breath, you should reach out to your doctor. What pain meds were you sent home with?