Berry78

I agree with Tony... you'll absolutely lose muscle, but that will come back quickly once you can eat more calories and hit the gym. I've read a few articles about people losing weight and gaining muscle. It seems they lose weight first, then start building. Maybe @BigViffer can help set us on the right path..

You do lose a lot of water weight at the beginning of a diet, it's true. The postop period is almost a "start over". Everything is thrown into chaos with the shock if the surgery, IV fluids, lack of calories, and many people can't make their fluid goals for the first week or two, so there is dehydration. The body cycles through fluid unbelievably quickly. So when a person puts on 3, 4, 5 pounds overnight, it's just fluid. Maybe they were dehydrated, and now it's replenished, or perhaps they're storing extra because of stress (like Drop said).. there are lots of reasons for it.. just part of the process...

It's probably a normal part if the healing process, but it's always good to keep an eye out for signs of a problem. Get a good thermometer and keep tabs on your temperature. The first week, low fevers (up to 100F) are common and normal. If you get a higher one, call your Doc. 102, call your doc and go to the ER. Usually fevers (if you are going to have one) happen in the evening, so take several readings throughout the day.

I would love to hear of some cases or studies where healthy people underwent caloric restriction and didn't lose weight. (Controlled, measured, counted environment.) Shoot, I have a family member that has a pituitary gland problem. She is only 4'8 and has all kinds of hormone/metabolic issues, and even she could lose weight on an 800 cal. diet. She just couldn't stay on it. Regardless, we can control the "calories in". The invisible part is the "calories out". The body can choose to burn 4000 calories a day, or 800 (just throwing numbers out for example... I don't know the actual limits). THIS is the mystery piece that makes it seem like the math doesn't work. I think they are still trying to figure out how to get the body to keep the metabolism up under caloric restriction.. and so far, bariatric surgery works the best.

In a weird way, it is possible.. but it's only because the body can now pause and work on healing (now that it's getting some materials to build with). This might be the key to the notorious "3 week stall" that it seems everyone has... the first 2 weeks are just liquids and the third week has a bit more substance.

My calories were MUCH higher than average during the healing phase due to my reliance on milk and dairy for protein. By 14 days postop my caloric consumption was 800 or 900. At 8 weeks, it settled around 1100, and I'm doing 1100-1200 now, most days. (Today I only made 800). The first month post, I lost 17lbs, which seems about average for a sleeved female.

I briefly thought the same thing. Man, did those pounds pour off during the first week of the liquid diet. But, all I had to do was remind myself what always happened on a diet. The pounds pour off, then at some point I'd get to hungry, or lose interest, and go off diet. No sooner would I do that then all that weight would pile right back on. Have you done diets before? How did they turn out? And if you haven't ever actually tried a diet, then I'm surprised you've gotten to this point in the surgery process. Usually doctors like to know that you've tried diets before.

Fingers crossed you get your bypass soon. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that your sleeve was shaped in some strange way that made it extra bad for you. It's terrible that you've had to live with it so bad for so long!

Thank you for asking for clarification. Weight loss occurs because of limited caloric consumption. (There is a theory that the surgery will lower our bodies' set points, but that is really just a theory. So we'll stick with talking about limited calories.) I have seen twice now where a patient almost immediately after surgery was consuming maintenance level calories (2000 and 1500). Neither of those patients lost any weight until they could lower their calories. One was on medical nutrition (in an IV), and the other had faulty information from their nutritionist that was demanding she eat too many calories. The "honeymoon period" is the time of rapid weight loss after the operation, but it varies from person to person. In general it lasts for 6 months or a year. I am 7.5 months postop, and have noticed the amount of food I can consume is continuing to increase. At 8 weeks post-op, I was eating about 1/2 a cup. Now it's double that. If I were to eat whatever I wanted (thinking that I can "only" eat 1/2 a cup of food), then over the last 5 months, my calories would have doubled. So we can do some math: 900 calories at 2 months postop is pretty typical.. so now I'd be eating 1800, maintenance, and the scale would stop moving. The "honeymoon" lasts as long as the person can keep their calories low enough to keep on losing, or until they hit goal. Some people are weight loss resistant, and don't lose, despite low calories.. but they have a hormone, metabolism, or some other type of problem. The bypass does keep the body from absorbing a portion of the calories consumed. This results in a little more weight loss on average compared to the sleeve (and the losses happen faster). So, I mentioned that people could lose while eating pizza. This would be true as long as the amount of pizza was low enough to not go over the daily calorie goals. But, eventually we would be able to eat a whole pizza in a day, split into several meals.. and we're right back to where we were before surgery. Shoot, I could finish off 2 large pizzas now, if I were so inclined. (a slice an hour, for 16 hours..) That would be about 4000+ calories... And that's only 7 months out! This is in theory.. I'd never actually do such a thing...

Ok, Tony. I see where you are coming from, and all of us have to navigate this journey in a way that works for us. Sounds like you are doing well with your healing and tolerating things.

This actually reminds me of a conversation with my doc. I said that I'll need her to draw my labs. She asked if I had a list from my surgeon. I didn't, so I said "I could google it". She said that was ok, that she could find it.. left for about 10 minutes, and came back with the info. Doctors hate Google!

I recommend you stop and take stock of the big picture. Yes, you'll lose weight for 6 months eating pizza. The surgery will do that for you. BUT, after this "honeymoon period", if you haven't changed WHAT you eat, your ability to eat more and more is going to lead you to eating too many calories, and you'll start regaining. By time I was 3 months postop, I could already eat 2 pieces of pizza. That was the first time I tried it postop. It is a slider for me (and a weak point). I had to decide right then and there that pizza has to be limited to 4 times a year (once a season). That's it. That way I can still have it, but it doesn't figure in my day to day meals, and won't impact my monthly caloric intake. Here is the nutritional breakdown of two slices of Papa John's Chicken and Veggie lighter choice pizza: (from a large) Half my daily calories, almost all my daily sodium, all my carbs, but only 1/4 my daily protein. Too bad I don't have the vitamin breakdown, but it's not gonna be good. Pizza is junk food, and needs to be thought of that way.

They ARE quite rare, and when they do happen, it's usually very small, and with appropriate treatment, they get better. The main thing YOU can do is to follow your postop diet to the letter (and if it seems like it progresses too fast for comfort, you can always go slower than the diet).

Ok, so it IS time to take stock. I went through your other posts, but didn't see where you said much about you. What are your stats? Height, starting weight, current weight. I think you said you used to take Metformin, but stopped. You may want to talk to your doc about continuing it because it could potentially help with weight loss during this phase. While you are talking with your doc, you may double check when the last time you had your thyroid levels tested and how they were. Tell us about your diet/exercise routine.

I'll pile on with my own advice. (It's funny how everyone has a different system). I haven't started going back to the gym quite yet, but when I do, this is my plan: Weight lifting: You want to have at least 2 days of rest for every day of work. You HAVE to let the muscles recover and rebuild, and it takes more than a day to do that. By keeping the workout days to the following schedule, the muscle groups each have 2 and 3 days for recovery. I separate upper body from lower, mostly so I can get out of the gym in a reasonable amount of time. Monday and Thursday: Upper Body Tuesday and Friday: Lower Body I like the "Body for Life" system of start with 12 reps at a very easy weight, then progressively increase weight and decrease reps until you are at maximal effort with 4 reps. The 12 easy reps IS a warmup for those muscles, so no extra warmup is really necessary. You sit and do each rep right after one another, no real rest in between. So for example: 12 reps: 5lbs 10 reps: 10lbs 8 reps: 15lbs 6 reps: 20lbs 4 reps: 25lbs Keep a journal of what you do each time, so you can modify the weights based on how you felt. If you can't finish 4 reps at the highest weight, then you keep doing the same routine until you can finish it, and feel like you could have done more. The next time, start a bit heavier at the 12 reps level. Here's the important thing: When you start a weight lifting program, begin with the lightest weights available. If the whole thing is too easy, just increase the weight the next time you go. That way there is very little risk in hurting yourself. With a very light weight, you can concentrate on doing the lift with the correct form. Cardio: I do a 15- 20 minute cardio after lifting on weight days, and 45 minute cardio on non-weight days. I set my exertion to my optimal heart rate. Always best to err on the side of too little exertion than too much, especially at first.

Nice home made broth (slow simmered with plenty of meat) go easy on the seasonings. You can freeze in ice cube trays, and pop them out into a gallon zip lock bag. Then you just heat up what you want. You can also freeze the meat (strip it off the bones so it's ready to go), and when you get to purees you can just throw a bit in the blender. Since you will only be eating an ounce at a time, maybe freeze the meat into little quantities too.

The tastes keep evolving. I was eating lots of yogurt a few weeks postop, but now I can't eat it at all, it's all just too sour (except one particular brand: Oui).

Rice is especially bad for me. I had about 1/2 cup once, and the next day I had cravings I hadn't had since surgery. I really need to put that stuff into the "never eat again" category. I have exchanged regular pasta for bean noodles. Acceptable on my plan, and doesn't cause cravings. I used to LOVE Ezekial bread, but I just tried it again for the first time, and it tasted like cardboard. A little sad, but probably no big loss.

Apple juice is a clear liquid. It's good in an emergency, but try and make a plan with your team if it keeps happening. You don't want to invite reactive hypoglycemia to the table. (The sugar will bring up your blood sugar, but without a slower-digesting carb, it'll probably crash again). Are you diabetic?

I haven't changed the food I fix for other people. I just don't partake of the mac and cheese or tater tots. I do try and fix healthier options, but for those that don't want it, they get what they enjoy. I eat my own thing. No biggie. I was about 3 months postop when my hubby decided he wanted to start a diet too. Watching me drop 50lbs (without my pressuring him to join me) was just the incentive he needed to get started. My recommendation to the OP is to just do her best to assure her partner, and not worry about whether her partner changes anything for herself. The more normal things can remain for her, the more quickly she'll want to join the "get healthy" lifestyle. But if she feels pressured about it.... it isn't gonna work out well. She may never "come 'round".. but you love her just the same, right?

Lol @ imagining you running the field with a bunch of guys piled on your back!

Welcome! Are you getting your surgery soon, or are you just beginning the process?

Fear of eating and regain is super common. I think most of us have felt it at least a little, and many of us feel it a LOT. But, if you don't eat, your body is going to take what it can from your muscles, organs, and bones. Meeting our nutrition goals is the only way to keep the machine running. 64+oz fluids 60+ grams protein vitamins/minerals These are your minimum requirements, forever. Do you have a nutritionist you can talk to? He/she can help you make a plan for how to reach all your goals.