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Showing results for 'three-week stall'.
Found 17,501 results
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February 2024 Surgery Buddies?
kissabeth replied to NickelChip's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
Ooof, yeah. So I weighed myself several days ago after uh... my digestive system decided to clear itself (took a while). Just to see. I LOOK a lot thinner already - I'm just over 2 weeks out - but I just wanted to see. And the results were lovely. BUT. I made the mistake of weighing myself in the couple of days after that, and of course it jumped up a bit, and I realised that I will make myself crazy if I do it every day. A lot of processes are reorganising in there! If you've started solid foods (I'm allowed soft solid foods, and that certainly makes for highs and lows!), that's going to make things jump around a lot, I just think the number has to be less important than it once was. I know weight loss is a lot more complex than the first law of thermodynamics, but if you're up and moving around at 750-900 calories a day, something is being converted to the energy you're using, and maybe having lower weight loss numbers here is a good sign - you're doing consistent resistance training, so you're retaining or gaining (dense) muscle instead of eating away at it, while dropping the (lighter) fat. Good job with the 6x week exercise - that's awesome -
Girl Scout Cookies
NickelChip replied to brandycsiz's topic in General Weight Loss Surgery Discussions
I told everyone the reason I wasn't leaving my house during the two weeks of my liquid diet was so I wouldn't risk catching Covid, but I think a close second is to not accidentally run into the local Girl Scouts and their addictive boxes of delight. Thankfully, I no longer personally know someone I need to order from. But given that I've had nothing but protein shakes and jello for going on a week, I might seriously consider selling my soul for Thin Mint right now. Or a carrot. Seriously, anything crunchy right now would do. -
The textural aspect of purées can be a challenge for a few of us. Add in the changes to our taste buds &/or sense of smell & it can be extremely frustrating. Soups were my friend too. Plus yoghurt, thin instant oatmeal (made with milk), runny scrambled eggs (try poached). Mashed hard boiled eggs (mayo) were okay too. Even had some baby food a couple of times. I wasted a lot of food I puréed & couldn’t tolerate - puréed tinned fish was the absolute worst. Blah! I was glad I wasn’t interested in eating. Do stick to your plan. In a week or so you’ll be on soft food which is so much easier & purées will be only a bad memory.
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3 years PO & Struggling!!
SleeveToBypass2023 replied to Brii K.'s topic in Gastric Bypass Surgery Forums
Everything @NickelChip just said. This, this, this!!! Also, just be careful with the fruit cups and bananas. Other than that, looks good. I personally would incorporate a little more meat in there. I eat red meat once or twice a week. There's also keto bread, keto slim bagels, and keto blueberry muffin mix at WalMart (I use all of them and love them). Blueberries and strawberries are also fantastic, as are apples in moderation. Avocado is another go-to (personally, I love avocado toast in the morning). Smoothies made with almond milk, collagen powder, greens, and fruits of my choosing go a lot farther for me than a protein shake. Mostly because you want to get your protein from foods you're eating instead of drinks and snacks. I love Propel water, and I also love Gatorade Zero. I eat almonds (plain, smokehouse, hickory smoked, mesquite, all the things). Put a handful of almonds, some meat sticks or cubes, and cheese cubes in a container or baggie and you have a delicious, compliant, protein packed snack. I usually do that and also take mixed fruit (I'll slice a small apple and add a few strawberries and a handful or so of blueberries and that's my 2nd snack of the day) with me to work and it gets me through (I'm a clinical medical assistant so I'm on my feet a lot). -
Plateaued - Already (7 weeks)???
SomeBigGuy replied to Cj975's topic in Gastric Bypass Surgery Forums
That does sound like the basis for the diet I'm on. They told me to work on getting 64oz of water per day as top priority, then around 60-80g of protein next. Next it was to prioritize some unsaturated fats (fish, poultry, and lower carb veggie protein options). From there, they told me to keep carbs under 10g per serving, and under 55g total for the day (not quite as low as keto). Then try to keep saturated fats low where possible. I'm a 6'1" male, so they had me try to target 800-1000 calories per day during the weight loss phase, and work toward 1200 after about 6 months. You may want to check with your doctor or nutritionist to see if they have a recommended range to target. I learned the hard way while I was sick with Covid over the holidays that its really easy for excess calories to be hiding in small things. But overall, just keep up with what you are doing. There will be a stall within the first couple months, and a second stall a couple months after that, so just mentally prepare for it. Both will last 2-4 weeks and will likely have a slight regain in the middle of it. It doesn't take much fluid retention to make the number on the scale go back up. Remember that a 16oz bottle of water is literally 1lb. It's not fat, so it doesn't count. if you're drinking a half gallon / 2L of water a day, that's 4 lbs sitting there, but it doesn't count as "fat weight". It is jarring to see a 4lb fluctuation on the scale, but you're not losing progress, it's just water that your body isn't done processing yet. Think of the weight loss more like stair steps rather than a straight line. You can push through it! -
February 2024 Surgery Buddies?
LisaCaryl replied to NickelChip's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
Thank you so much for mentioning this podcast. I had to go to town to have blood drawn this morning, and I started listening to them. I started with the finale, and oh my gosh, they made me cry. When one talks about the best part of the journey so far and describes the thoughts she had as an obese person. I just lost it. I'll be 69 years old next week, and when I think about the hours of my life lost in "obese thoughts," it really hurts. Things like "Am I the largest woman in the room?" "What will the poor person next to me on the airplane think?" "Will I be able to sit at all comfortably in that chair?" "Will I break that plastic chair?" "Do I have to find sturdier beach chairs?" "What are they thinking of me?" etc... the thoughts have been never-ending and all-consuming at times. I'm going to go back and listen to more of their podcasts. Thanks again! @NickelChip Yay on the weight coming off again! So exciting, I'm really happy for you. I can understand the not being interested in food. There are times I even dread it. I try to shop for things that I like and they sound good in the store, but when it comes time to eat, I'm usually apathetic about it. Good luck with your vacation. I found some protein bars I like, but they will melt sadly. In case you haven't tried them, they are https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C4V2ML1C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 -
Hey all, I got VSG in August 2022. I've lost over 150lbs and just found out I'm 5 weeks pregnant (first time!). I've spoken to my surgeon, nutritionist and obgyn, but no one had a solid recommendation for prenatal. My surgeon said to take 2 prenatal vitamins which will give me what I need, while my obgyn said to compare my bariatric multivitamin to prenatal and if possible, stick with what I've been using. I do have a prescription for folic acid that I take daily which is why I assume the obgyn is not entirely worried about the prenatal itself. They also discussed making sure there's not too much iron which could lead to constipation. Anyways, could you guys share what you did or what was recommended to you? I currently take bariatric choice once daily multivitamin. Would also love to know what your daily regiment was (ex: prenatal, calcium chew, etc). Thanks so much!
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Unable to exercise due to dizziness and fatigue after surgery and Covid
SomeBigGuy posted a topic in Fitness & Exercise
I have a question for folks that may have experienced this. I'm not convinced it is 100% related to my surgery since I had some of these symtpoms, albeit milder, prior to my surgery. I felt like the dizziness and general weakness went away the first 4 weeks following surgery, and I was able to walk 2 miles easily without stoppoing, and 4-5 miles a day with minimal rest. I was really looking forward to going back to the gym once I was cleared to lift weights. However, I caught Covid, and was mostly stuck in bed for 2 weeks over Christmas and New Years, around the time I was working in solid foods again. Since then I'm barely able to walk 1 mile without stopping, and even then I need to rest for over an hour to feel right again. It's gotten progressively worse, especially in the last two weeks, to the point that I don't feel comfortable driving when the vertigo and extreme fatigue hits. It's to the point that I'm falling off my treadmill if I go more than a half mile. It went from being somewhat disruptive previously to debilitating now. Luckily I work from home, but even that is starting to get disrupted. Over the past year I was evaluated for heart issues, had 3 MRI's, a CT scan, echocardiogram/ultrasound, had my carotid checked, been to two opthamologists and tried two different pairs of glasses, checked out by a Neurologist and Neurosurgeon, evaluated by an ENT, went to a hearing and balance specialist (no Menieres disease, inner ear crystals, etc), normal BP (between 110 and 130 systolic, and 70-85 diastolic), Blood Sugar has returned to my pre-diabetic levels (92-98 fasting, and no higher than 130 when checked 2 hours after eating). Pulse Oximeter is showing O2 staying between 95-98. CPAP was re-titrated to treat sleep apnea following the weight loss. Blood labs showed Total Cholesterol and LDLs somewhat high, but decreasing steadily since my surgery in November, High levels of Iron and Calcium though, but everything else plus thyroid were normal. Heart rate has dropped from pre-surgery rate averaging around 80-90 bpm down to 40-55, but my PCP wasn't able to determine why. My father and grandfather (currently 92) both have a normal heart rate between 45-55 for their whole lives, so maybe that one is hereditary. Thanks for reading and any advice is appreciated! -
Needing some encouragement
NickelChip replied to K Ramirez's topic in General Weight Loss Surgery Discussions
I am also a slow loser and was diagnosed with PCOS in my 20s. I'm also 50, so perimenopause probably comes into play, too. While I've lost 48 lbs in the past 9 months, only 22 of that is post-surgery (almost 3 months). It's frustrating for sure. First, though, 13 lbs in a month is great, even if you hoped for more. And it really shows in your photos. Second, your body retains fluid for several weeks after surgery, so it's hard to say what's really going on. But most importantly, this is a journey that will take 12-18 months. You're only 1 month in. And while your doctor can talk about trajectories and averages, each person is unique. Each body does what it wants to do when it wants to do it. Try not to focus on the scale (hard, I know). Focus on your health, developing good lifelong habits, and nonscale victories like loose clothing, getting off a medication, or improved lab results. Just because you started off slow doesn't mean you won't make it to a place that makes you happy. -
March 2024 Surgery Buddies!
TS3209 replied to Pines's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
I had sleeve done on March 27th. I was amazed how well it went, really no pain. The first 10 days were a breeze. But then, everything started tasting overly sweet. I couldn’t drink protein drinks or protein water without gagging. Not getting my liquids. I was very dizzy and nauseous. I ended up severely dehydrated and had to get IV’s at home for 3 days. Turns out my blood pressure had dropped and no longer needed the meds. This caused the dizziness and led to the nausea. Even though I only lost 30# between pre-op and 2 weeks post-op, it was enough to no longer need the meds. IV was removed 2 days ago and I stopped BP meds. Appetite back, still having a hard time with protein drinks, but am doing high protein yogurt and chicken. If you are on blood Pressure meds, check your blood pressure! -
Whoa, be careful with the salt, It will dehydrate you more. If I could suggest something, get some cranberry juice and get as much down you as possible. Its great for bladder issues. Lots of us are not allowed food for a few weeks and I know that until I got onto real solid food and anti nausea tablets that I suffered terribly.
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February 2024 Surgery Buddies?
NickelChip replied to NickelChip's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
2 week post-op appointment today and the doctor approved me to add cooked veg and fruit to my menu! I am so excited to have some veggies! I was also told I can drop one of my protein shake supplements as long as I hit 30g protein from my food, which I have been able to do most of the time since starting soft proteins. -
January 2024 surgery buddies
Marcia91 replied to Pink fridge's topic in Gastric Sleeve Surgery Forums
That first week is the worse for some reason our brains want all the old food we used to eat all the time. Stay strong. -
March 2024 Surgery Buddies!
Tymilynn replied to Pines's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
I've learned so much reading all of your posts. I'm scheduled for the sleeve March 28th and am getting pretty nervous. The liver shrink diet has been brutal and I'm shocked at the amount of weigh lost in 13 days with 1 to go. I changed the batteries and had a friend get on my scale just to make sure it was working properly. I started the diet at 191.3 and my scale reads 177.8 this morning. Is that normal?? I knew I'd lose a little but that's over 13 pounds! I've stuck to the diet which hasn't been easy but I've done it. Have any others lost this much in less than 2 weeks on this diet? -
Did you have a gastric sleeve leak and if so what caused it ???
FifiLux replied to KII's topic in Gastric Sleeve Surgery Forums
I had one as a complication after sleeve surgery and it was found a month later when I collapsed at home and had to go by ambulance to hospital. The cause was suture failure. My symptoms then were weakness (could barely stand), fever, nausea with vomiting and abdominal pain. It is a rare occurrence so if you are not suffering with any of these I think you don't need to worry, you are just causing yourself unnecessary stress when you are already going through enough to deal with following surgery and coping with food planning etc. I also had other complications post surgery with pancreatitis and abdominal abscesses so basically anything that could go wrong did, I ended up spending three months in hospital over a period of four months. They closed the gastric leak by using clips and mesh via gastroscopy but that failed, twice. I now have a tube coil like thing that was inserted in order to drain fluid and hope that the hole will then have time to heal and close. The only information I was given in advance of the surgery about it was that it could happen but the surgeon did not go into detail and just said she had never had a patient have a leak, guess I am her exception if she will admit it to others in the future. No other details given to me such as cause/effect/symptoms. -
Optifast 2 week Pre-Op diet
mareeamos17 replied to nmccarthy's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
hi i start my optifast on 11th March for two weeks i am sleeved and having a mini bypass due to major reflux. when I did the optifast pre op diet before I also had soups, deserts and bars. it made it easier following the diet with a variety good luck with your journey -
I've lost half of the weight towards my goal!!
NickelChip replied to ChunkCat's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
That is such an accomplishment! You look so much more vibrant now, and very happy, too. Extra energy must feel amazing! I finally have some energy kicking in 4 weeks post-op, but I wouldn't call it extra. I didn't count on how tired I would be, like dragging through the morning every day and needing to close my eyes by the time noon arrived. I finally feel back to normal, though. Which without caffeine (I've been told no to caffeine still) is saying something. Sounds like you're on track to reach your goal! -
Bad pain any time I eat
Arabesque replied to K Ramirez's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
So you’re in your third week which generally is purée. Can you give us an idea of what you’ve been eating. Yes, some take longer to heal & therefore need to move through the stages more slowly so move back a stage for a few days. Like the purée you’ve eaten is still too thick for you yet. Try thinning them with water, stock, milk, etc. Some allowed foods can still be too heavy for our tummy yet & you may experience discomfort though I wouldn’t say pain as you’ve described. And yes, eating too quickly can cause again discomfort. You can even have the foamies if something is too heavy, coarse or you eat to quickly but you’ve haven’t experienced that. I’d still check with your surgeon or go to a hospital because you really shouldn’t be experiencing pain as strong as you’ve indicated. -
How Can I tell I’m Hungry?
ChunkCat replied to SpringCleansing's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
One of the biggest adjustments I had to make post op was to eat because I needed to, not because I was hungry. I actually never lost my hunger post op, but in those first few weeks when all you can consume is liquid, it is a struggle to get everything in. As soon as I moved to purees I started eating something every 3 hours when I was awake. Everyone's interval is different. Some can do just 3 times a day, but for me if I got over the 3 hour mark I'd start to get shaky and irritable and completely crash, it was clear I needed food, even if food was just a shake or a protein yogurt. I'm 6 months post op now and this has eased and I can go a little longer, so I follow my hunger cues more now and mostly eat at normal mealtimes with snacks if I'm up late or up early. But in the early months I just couldn't do that. -
I did the same - I had my husband take pictures of me every month on my surgery date until I hit maintenance 20 months later. It's much easier to see your progress if you can refer back to previous photos. You can't always tell a difference from month to month, but comparing photos to ones taken three or four months earlier - yep - you can definitely see the difference! Plus it's great having photo documentation of your journey! Congrats, by the way - you're doing great!
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I can fixate on a food/drink for a few weeks/months then almost never eat it again. It’s challenging so I try to switch things up before I get to that point. Since you have a narrow palette at the moment, I would suggest logging/tracking your meals to make sure you are not missing any important micronutrients. If you have access to your dietitian or nutritionist, ask them for help to balance your meals. p.s. I use an airfryer for most meals because it’s more convenient.
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February 2024 Surgery Buddies?
Fujigal replied to NickelChip's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
I have a total of 4 weeks preop diet. The first 3 weeks, daily, I could have 2 protein shakes, 2 low cal, low fat, low carb snacks, 3 oz of lean protein, and one cup of non starchy vegetables. Also at least 64 oz water. I lost 22 lbs. this last week I can have 5 protein shakes and at least 64 oz water. I’m on day two of that and I have been very weak, shaky, and sometimes nauseous today. Hoping for a better day tomorrow! -
Help, pre-op mistake :(
NickelChip replied to TwinkleToes87's topic in Gastric Sleeve Surgery Forums
I think you need to take a deep breath and try to calm down a little. You've lost 9 lbs in a week. Your liver will be okay. It's good to take the rules seriously, but it's also good to be realistic about how much damage can be done by any particular action and not overcompensate by doing things that seem healthy (water) but might not be (making yourself sick). Two scoops of ice cream is not the same thing as a gallon of ice cream The better question to be asking yourself right now might be why you decided to have the ice cream, and why two scoops instead of one. Understanding behaviors, especially self-sabotaging ones, will be important for long term success. It can also help you find good alternatives. If you absolutely love ice cream on a hot day, consider getting the Yasso frozen yogurt bars with 5g protein for a summer treat when you're able to have them again after surgery. Or if it was because you thought you'd never have ice cream again, I suggest evaluating the rules you plan to follow in the future and make sure they aren't unnecessarily restrictive, as that can cause failure. Or if you just wanted something cold and sweet, stock up on no-sugar added popsicles, which are great for getting in your liquid. Point being, make this a learning experience to do better next time, not a reason to punish yourself or get worked up before your big day. -
I believe you'll need and appreciate the 7 days off. Although I felt good a couple days after surgery, I was seriously tired and lagging for quite awhile due to lack of calories, body healing... Etc. If you have the option, I would say don't rush it. Most take 2 or 3 weeks if not more since it is a major surgery, and recovering from it is a little different from other major surgeries because you can't really eat (and some can't drink much either right after surgery) so there is that major body adjustment as well.
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January 2024 surgery buddies
Suep1960 replied to Pink fridge's topic in Gastric Sleeve Surgery Forums
That sounds really good Marcia.. I start soft foods next week and will try it out..
