KT1981

I'm almost 6 weeks out and can drink fairly normally now. I mean, I'm not sipping. Like you, I LOVED water pre-op, and would chug a 16.9 ounce bottle of water with no problems. I definitely can't do that now, but I can take drinks, and I'm really only thirsty first thing in the morning when I wake up. I keep water by my bed and start taking drinks right away. I feel mostly okay with it, and have heard it gets even easier to drink "normally" as time goes on.

My surgeon's office said they don't even really start looking at losses until around 4 to 6 weeks post op because bodies are healing and sometimes people don't lose anything at first!

Totally normal! Most of your poor tummy was just yanked out through a hole in your abdomen- it's not very happy! I had the spasming for probably 4 to 5 days, then it turned into rumbling, and now, 5.5 weeks out, it's fairly normal. You just had major surgery- rest and work on those water goals. It can certainly be hard to get it in! Keep trucking! I can now take normal drinks without issue so am no longer sipping.

I was on Prilosec and Reglan, and had Zofran as a backup... some days it didn't help. I was fine for a couple weeks and THEN the nausea hit. It coincided with my ability to advance my diet. I gave myself a few days of whatever I could tolerate (a sip of water, a sip of broth, maybe a sip or two of protein) and it let up within a few days. I felt mine was simply that my stomach wasn't quite ready to advance my diet yet. After a few more days of healing I was able to advance with no further issues. I will say that I've noticed I can give myself a wave of nausea if I fill my stomach too full of water or another liquid. Other than that, no issues! Good luck. Remember it's only temporary!

At 5 weeks out from surgery, I'm allowed 300 to 400 calories per day. At 3 months post op I can bump up to 500 calories "depending on workouts". This seems crazy low compared to others I've read about. I feel hungry all the time, I'm barely losing 2 pounds per week, and it's really hard to advance my diet and meet my minimum 60mg protein with only 400 calories. Workout days are rough, too, when I'm burning 550 calories per day and only taking in 400. There have been days I've cheated and eaten up to 550 calories on workout days because I'm starving. What are everyone else's caloric goals for this stage?

That food log looks like where I am now, which is my problem. Basically all your protein is coming from shakes. I'm cool with that, but I'm supposed to be advancing my diet, which puts me back in the position of trying to stay below 400 calories but get in 60g of protein - and work up to 80g! I made an appt with a dietitian tomorrow so I can get some more insight on this concern! Thank you for taking the time to give me some samples!

I am definitely going to start including more veggies! I had steamed green beans last night and they were glorious.

I should add that I am not allowed fruits, nuts/seeds, or carbs that don't come from vegetables or dairy. It really limits my options. It's basically a ketogenic diet (from what I know of the keto diet). I do like fish, which I can eat more of than I am currently. But even the examples you show are outside my allowance, with the 400 calorie max right now. I could cut a few things out, of course, but then I'm back to struggling to get that 60g protein minimum!

I genuinely have no idea what I'm experiencing. I'm on Prilosec (prescription) for 6 months, so I'm assuming it's hunger?? But I've just had the sleeve (4.5 weeks post-op) so shouldn't I not be dealing with this much hunger? It's a lot. I feel this "hunger" for 30 minutes to 2 hours every day. Not in a row, just combined throughout the day. It feels hot (but not like the burn of acid) and is squarely where my stomach should be. It doesn't rise into my chest/throat. It feels like my stomach wants to rumble (like out of hunger) but I don't think it ever actually has. How do I know the difference? I am 4.5 weeks out from VSG and told to take in 300 to 400 calories per day. (I've taken in as many as 550 on workout days when I'm burning that much in my workouts). Thoughts?

This was me. I made the decision about a year and a half ago, and my husband was not supportive. The exact words were, "Don't you just need to try harder?". I'll never forget that crushing moment. I can tell you exactly what room we were in, where we were sitting, etc. But I did it anyway. I told him, "I'm doing this with or without your support". And I did. I attended appointments and seminars and made insurance phone calls without his support (and even without his knowledge most of the time). This summer I met all requirements and told him that my information was being submitted to insurance and I would likely have surgery this year. What a change. He could see how serious I was and did a 180. He wanted to help plan for the pre-op diet, for surgery day, and post-op care. He asked questions, watched videos, and wanted to attend pre-op appointments with me. The freaking day of surgery he admitted that he didn't want me to do this because HE was scared. He was scared of surgical intervention and the risks associated with it. He never believed it was a bad idea, and never believed I hadn't tried other options (we've been married nearly 13 years- he has seen me try!). He was just scared and wished there was another way, for my sake. But when it came down to it, he didn't want me to go through this alone, and he wants me to be healthy. (He is normal weight, always has been, and doesn't have health problems.) He has since been incredibly supportive. His lack of support greatly affected our marriage. It made me feel alone and concerned me for whether or not we'd end up another post-bariatric surgery divorce statistic. But we're back on track to our healthy marriage. Maybe try to hear him out a bit. Keep going through the process, but keep the line of communication open. Wishing you the best of luck!!

Your sensible answer made me feel better. You're right- the physical surgery did create necessary metabolic change, I just may have to work a little harder than others to pay attention to what I'm doing. Yes, if I don't measure, I won't stop when I'm expected to because I don't really feel a restriction. But as long as I can measure, I have the opportunity to keep losing!

I'm in the same boat. I feel like my pouch is too large and that I can take in much more than I should be able to and I'm terrified about it, actually. No real issues with restriction or intolerances. I'm short-ish (5'5") but all my height is in my torso, so I feel like I have extra room in there for my stomach to expand or something. This is the first time I've "said it out loud"... I'm disappointed and I'm scared it isn't going to work.

That's amazing! Congratulations! Can I ask what your starting weight was? At surgery date I was 265 and am only down about 22 pounds in the same amount of time.

I'm just over 4 weeks out. I lost 20 pounds in the first 4 weeks, BUT almost 15 was the first week after surgery. Then I had a stall/recovery period at week 2 and didn't lose for 10+ days. Now I'm losing at a rate of 2.2 pounds per week. I'm so sad and angry. Why isn't it falling off like everyone says? I'm eating 300 to 400 calories per day and aiming for 60g of protein per day (per my doctor's plan- at 3 months I get upped to 500 calories per day and should be near 80g of protein and possibly more calories depending on workouts). I can't believe it. 2.2 pounds per week?? That's what normal people lose, but I'M NOT NORMAL. I just had 75% of my stomach cut out and I'm restricted to starvation levels of calories. How am I only losing 2.2 pounds per week?? I had surgery at 265, and I'm only 5'5", so I have a lot to lose. Even now I have 95 pounds to go to get to a normal BMI and healthy weight. I just started really working out this week (20-30 mins daily of walking or biking and 2 specific arm exercises using light weights and lots of reps) so I know it's not muscle. I'm so sad about this. Please tell me I'm not the only one who isn't experiencing magical weight loss of 5+ pounds per week. I'd be so happy with like 3.5 pounds per week, but I can't even get to that. I feel like this didn't work and I've changed my whole life for nothing. If I'm only at 2.2 pounds per week now, what happens in 6 months when the honeymoon phase is over?! I'll never lose weight again! Also, I'm still hungry!!

Thank you for the validation! After some pity/freak out time, I'm feeling better but still scared things will come to a grinding halt altogether. I will check out the link!

The protein/caloric intake is something I'm confused about, too. I'm supposed to be advancing my diet, but the only way to meet my protein goal is to do 2 Premier Protein shakes a day, which basically uses all of my calories for the day, so I can't really advance. Even more confusing is that I'm supposed to be working up to 80g of protein per day, but am not going to be increasing my calories for another 2 months, and even then, I'll only get 500 calories (or possibly a few more depending on my workouts). I have a follow up in about 10 days so I'll ask for clarification on all that. I am having trouble even getting to 64 oz of water, so I will keep working on that. Thank you for the response. I really appreciate it! I will keep at the water intake!

Just wanted to say "hi" to everyone- I just discovered this site! I was sleeved on 10/17 and things seem to be going well, except I haven't lost anything in 10 days! I lost 15 pounds right off the bat (down 25 including pre-op diet) and now... nothing for 10 days. It's freaking me out even though I KNOW I'm still healing. Very glad to find this place of support and I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone!