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What types of exercises did yall do at 4 weeks p.o?

Im a little late to the party but how did it go? Being this is cold and flu season and it seems so many people are having symptoms which linger for weeks I imagine there will be others who will run run across this sinerareo. I hope you are recovering well at this time!

Hi - I’m Phil. I’m 54 yrs old and had a gastric bypass in 2011. I weighed close to 400lbs at the start of the journey and am currently 174lbs to I deem the process as a success. I have in recent years though developed a chronic weakness in my muscles - mainly legs, shoulders etc (I also have a heartbeat issue). I walk with a waddle and struggle to get up from a sitting position and struggle with stairs etc. I have had many tests including MRI (x 2), nerve conduction tests, many different blood tests and finally this week, a muscle biopsy. My neurologist cannot diagnose the issue - the biopsy is the last attempt. We met recently and he has now said that he thinks that I have ‘idiopathic myopathy related to chronic nutritional deficiency secondary to gastric bypass.; I am concerned about this since none of my routine bloods have ever thrown up a deficiency - in the past few years I have had many different blood tests in addition to the usual monitoring and apart from a mild case af low iron which is sorted now, I have not had any levels that have been flagged up as abnormal. So - I’m not here for medical advice as such - I just wanted to ask the experienced members - have you heard of many people who have experienced muscular issues (eg atrophy /stiffness etc) ? My research so far has not found any examples - apart from a few cases but they were down to vomiting which I have never suffered from. What do we think - any opinions on this? Thanks in advance. Phil

If you’re open to looking at other cruise lines my favorite is Holland America. I’ve been on carnival, royal Caribbean, and celebrity. I’ve always preferred Holland America. As a child/teen there were still a lot of kids around on break weeks but not as many as carnival so I actually developed some friendships during the cruises, and the kids/teen club was rarely full so I was able to do all activities. As an adult in my opinion the food is much better than carnival, the staff is amazing, and the ships are much less chaotic (especially on non school break weeks). Take a look at cruise critic and you can often find the menus for the Holland America cruises ahead of time. I went on these cruises pre surgery but they have always been accommodating to my dietary needs and preferences. Ultimately though a cruise will be an amazing vacation, have fun!

Yeah, I don’t know how people hit their protein goals without protein shakes. I’m lucky that I can tolerate clear whey protein pretty well, so can just have a few of those a day and I’ve hit my target. The meal plans my dietician has sent through just seem so unrealistic. The portions are DEFINITELY too large to finish and would still come under target. And then in my last meeting she lectured me for eating 1/3 cup instead of 1/4 cup portions, when in some instances the meals on the meal plan would be more like a full cup! Hard eye roll. At the moment, I’m relying on protein water and vitamin supplements, and trying to eat a good mix of fish, yoghurt, soy, veggies, and complex carbs. I have to say while the pre op and hospital care was pretty great, the post surgery care leaves something to be desired. But still skinnier than I’ve been in 15 years, and no major health complaints that I’ve identified.

Fully agree with @catwoman7 & @The Greater Fool. Your body will tell you what you need & when you’ve had enough. Don’t force yourself to eat more. Eat what you can or need, & pop the leftovers in the fridge. You might have some more of it later in the day (more like mini meals like @summerseeker does) or have it tomorrow which I do. For ages I was able to eat a recommended portion of rolled oats for breakfast 1/2cup dry oats). Then about three months ago, I couldn’t. Everyday I was putting leftover porridge in my fridge to finish the next day until I started reducing what I made. I eat - it’s 1/4 - 1/3 cup now. It’s just my breakfast though. Sometimes my restriction can kick in earlier than expected or I realise I don’t need another bite. Same with I have weeks when I’m not really hungry. Haven’t noticed any reason behind these times. Think it’s just our idiosyncratic tummies. Of course it could be something you’re eating. Like have you changed any of your food? Like are you eating more nutritionally dense foods or foods that are drier or more coarse? Have you added something extra to your diet? It may be a signal your tummy isn’t enjoying something new or not enjoying something you’ve been eating for a while. Our tummy can be fussy & temperamental.

I wondered if it was just the to be expected slowing or a prolonged stall too. Though I am leaning towards stall because your calorie intake is still low. Certainly too low to be maintaining for your activity level. (Though a little taller than you, I eat about 1400+/- calories to maintain at my weight & I really don’t exercise.) I slowed right down & the last kilo to my goal was a b*tch to lose. I was only eating a bare 900 calories like you but I did keep slowly losing for another 11 odd months (another 11kg) until my caloric intake equalised what my body needed to maintain. Have a chat with your surgeon & dietician. They know you & your needs best.

We all are able to eat more as we progress. It’s how we get reach the calories & nutrients we need to maintain our weight & for our body to function effectively. Though all because you can eat more doesn’t mean you should. How much you should/need to eat is an question best answered by your dietician. Some need more defined guidelines about eating & food choices. Check with your dietician as to what portion size, caloric goals, etc. are best for you & your needs (age, gender, losing or maintaining weight, activity level, etc.) & to ensure you are on the right track. Do you track your food. If not, it may be an idea to do so for a couple of weeks so you can review it with your dietician. PS Congrats on your weight loss.

yes that seems normal to me. Once I got to around the year mark my weight loss slowed down to a crawl. We're talking maybe two lbs a month. But I kept at it and it eventually came off... also, stalls late in the game seem to be more frequent and last longer. So many times I said "well, this must be it...", and then I'd end up dropping a couple more pounds.

Okkkkkk so UPDATE yall!!! I can't recall if I told yall that I had the UGI done and it came back normal supposedly right.... so how about today i had my endoscopy done.. come to find out what they found so far is that my sleeve had twisted! She said it could be from the way it healed. But I read that it could also be from the way the staples were placed. Have anyone ever heard of this happening? I know prior to the surgery before they drugged me she said i will check it out and if anything I will do a dialation because she said my sleeve is really tiny.. whatever that mean. LOL I thought everyone sleeved their stomachs will be the same size so did she make mine smaller... weird. Nevertheless when i was in the recover room drugged i faintly heard her telling me stuff and i just recall nodding. So now I have to wait until my follow up visit to find out more details and if she was able to actually fix the twist. I do still have some of the symptoms as in the original post I made but they haven't been that bad in the last 5-6 hrs so we will see. I did read there there is several fixes for this issue with one of them being bypass which I was trying to avoid. Mainly because of not being able to take anti inflammatory meds, scared for another major surgery and me keep being out of work to recover. I feel like she may suggest this especially if i keep having heartburn and acid reflux 🫤. She also ordered for me to get another UGI before I follow up with her.. not sure why though since the 2nd one didn't even show her anything smh. Btw have anyone broke out from taking reglan? I took ot for 3 days and felt veey down, tired and weird just not myself and i immediately broke out on my face and chest prior to this I have had no breakouts whatsoever. This have all been an experience and I will try to remain positive for better days.... excuse typos as I'm still coming down from the medication they have me on.

I'm so glad you posted this @mcipanda. I'm scheduled for gastric bypass on 3/29, and as it gets closer I try to visualize what is coming. Like you, I honestly can't wrap my head around nor visualize myself being significantly smaller. I'm also afraid of self sabotage and failing, you're not alone in that! I have struggled with weight since my teen years and am currently 46 years old. It's so hard to believe things could change for me and this is real! I keep reading posts on this forum and take comfort in knowing so many not only felt this same doubt, but they overcame it to reach their goals! Thanks again for sharing this, and I wish you well in your journey!

My dietician stressed to me that protein was the most important. So for my “meals” most of the time I only eat my protein source (chicken, fish, etc.) with no side so I can eat more of it. I add veggies and fruit more as snacks throughout the day as I’m able. Certain fruits are harder for me. Bananas (even though I usually only finish half) and grapes seem to work the best. My dietician also told me that to break your plate into 3 categories, protein, veggie and carb or starch and eat in that order. My protein size she recommended 3-4 ounces. I can tell you even now once I finish that much protein (and that’s IF I can finish it all) I’m full. I may have a spoonful of mashed potatoes just because I want a taste, but that’s about it. It’s way too much food for me still. By 8 weeks post op they wanted me at 60 grams of protein a day without relying on shakes. That was a really daunting number that I still struggle with. Even if I eat nothing but protein each day some days I don’t hit that. I do still add in shakes on workout days but not as part of my normal diet. So I see the 60 grams a day as a goal I’m working up towards instead of something I must hit every day. I can’t physically eat more than my stomach comfortably can handle. But I can choose items higher in protein when deciding what to eat. Tuna packets are small enough (3 ounces) and have a lot of protein (12-15 grams). I prefer the deli style tuna salad one by Starkist. I take that to work for my lunch most nights. I can eat the entire packet if I don’t eat anything else with it. Exercise was hard in the beginning. I started off just walking a couple times a week. I was eating so little that just carrying laundry upstairs made me light headed and fatigued. That has gotten better though and I’m slowly increasing the intensity of my workouts. So just take it slow, eat protein first and just listen to your body. Everyone is different on what we can handle when.

Had gastric bypass 10/3. Down 77 pounds total. 19 of that was before surgery. Anyway, I am barely getting in 600 calories a day at this point and can only handle about an ounce and a half of protein with a couple bites of veggies at meals. I have a very clear full signal and don’t eat past it. I haven’t had sugar or carbs since surgery and I intend to stick with that. I cannot tolerate cheese, nuts, butter, basically anything but lean proteins and some vegetables. I even struggle with fruit. I don’t have a dietician so I have no idea if I am on track or not with my eating so I just take each day as it comes. I am happy with my weight loss. As most everyone I wish it was faster. But I have only stalled once and that was at the 3 week mark. I am exercising some but with the low amount of calories I am eating it is hard to have a lot of stamina. If anyone has any pointers let me know. I also still rely on 1-2 protein shakes a day to get protein up to around 80 grams.

"I am eating around 900 calories per day with 30 minutes of exercise. Is this enough or do I need to revamp my calories down?" You might be experiencing an extended stall. Often when a person loses a substantial amount of weight in a relatively short period of time, we have reached a set point and our bodies need to catch up to the loss before restarting the next losing phase. If the stall continues much longer, I would definitely talk your doctor.

Hi, yes it helps tremendously! I’m just back from my appointment with the dietitian. She spent an hour with me going through everything I have in a day (so little). She said she was worried about not only my protein intake but also my fibre intake. She’s a different dietician than the one I saw before surgery who had given me a default 4 week diet plan. I will list the tips she gave (which I might post in another thread as well to help others): *my old diet plan listed a soft cracker and cream cheese for breakfast, followed by a plain yoghurt and then runny vegetable soup for lunch. Second snack was homemade applesauce with no sugar and dinner was soup with cracker. All of that during 4 weeks! The only changed were week two pureed veggies with minced meat. Third week same diet except breakfast with hard cheese instead of cream cheese and more meat. Fourth week was same diet but introduction of some harder foods … this was not exciting to say the least. The puréed stage literally killed me and guess what… it was neither dumping nor dehydration. I was severely constipated! The minute I had a proper bowel movement (I had had 2 very small ones before) the relief to cramping and nausea disappeared into thin air. I can’t explain it. so this new dietician is like: 1) Don’t worry about water. Keep drinking hot drinks like teas and coffee, just dilute them a bit more 2) cut a banana in three and have one piece as a snack instead of plain yoghurt 3) change the yoghurt into soy, almond or coconut in case you turn intolerant to lactose which can happen after surgery 4) adding meat to your puréed veggies too challenging? Add a slice of smoked salmon even in week 2. 5) have a yokult to keep your flora alive 6) drink a couple of protein shakes instead of a meal if too challenging… anyway, the flexibility was eye opening. She said don’t try to follow rules too blindly. As long as you keep eating pretty soft foods you are fine eating toasted bread with peanutbutter (creamy)! to say that I was in a shock is an understatement… cant wait to have breakfast tomorrow!

I work 60- 80% remotely. I took off a week initially but added two additional days and was back to work 9 days after surgery. I worked from home the rest of that second and the full third weeks. I often felt tired in the afternoon and planned naps to help with my productivity.

Checking in on how everyone is doing 2 - 2.5 months out. I’m finally getting my energy back. I had bloodwork done last week ahead of my 3 month checkin with my surgeon and just got the results back. All my blood panel and nutritional numbers are in the optimal range! In such a short time period I went from: - 6.2 A1C (prediabetic) to 5.1 (non-diabetic) -194 to 75 mg/dL triglycerides -134 to 96 LDL Cholesterol - 214 to 158 mg/dL overall cholesterol My protein, calcium, and all other nutrients are where they should beAnd I’m honestly just so grateful I’ve followed the advisement of my team and hadthe support of the folks here. Since my December 5 surgery I’ve dropped 2-3 sizes (3 top, 2 bottom) and 38lbs! Since I started this process on August 6 (my first consult) I’ve dropped 60lbs. Really excited for my appointment with my surgeon next week to use the InBody machine and see how that translates to body fat percentage across various regions of my body. A month into 2x/week personal training I am seeing huge gains in my strength and pulmonary capacity for HIIT. My one a day swims are back to my pre-surgery speed when I was swimming twice a day 5x week. I’m still tired most evening after 6pm and only halfway to my goal. I get frustrated with stalls and am not always perfect, but overall my only regret is not taking this step sooner. Hope everyone is doing well and sending some December surgery love.

Hey everyone, surgery was 10/24 and I’m down from 215 to 167. The last 4 weekly weigh ins the scale has bounced between 168-171 so I may be in a stall. I was in one after the first 4 weeks for almost 6 weeks. It’s annoying but I’m happy with my progress as I’m officially the smallest I have been in 20 years with all my yo yo dieting. I also know that I may be getting closer to my new size my body wants to be so the weight loss may stop. I’ve been trying to focus more on working out now. Before my surgery I lifted weights regularly. I know I’ve lost a lot of muscle these last couple months and I feel much weaker. So I’m trying to get back into that. Clothing wise I’m down from a size 18 to a 10. I haven’t really had to buy new clothes yet as I kept clothes from all my previous lose and regain episodes. I also wear uniforms to work every day which are provided so being that it’s winter my non-work clothes is mostly hoodies and sweat pants anyway 😁 Food wise it’s hit or miss. I have started to feel hunger signals again but my portions are still pretty small. My doctor never told me to track my food intake which I’m grateful for because I don’t want to feel like I’m on a diet. But I would rough guess my intake to be about 1000 calories a day. I still try to prioritize protein first which doesn’t leave much room for anything else. But I do try to snack on fruit or veggies throughout the day to get my nutrients in. Sugar free sweets and cookies have helped with any sweet tooth cravings I get. I have ate plenty of things with sugar at this point as I really don’t restrict anything, but I do try to limit it to just occasionally. I also struggle with feeling like I have to clean my plate, even when I start to feel full. So I try to start with a small amount to begin with. Then wait a couple minutes before deciding if I want more, and usually I don’t. I still eat really fast so pausing for a few minutes helps my stomach to catch up. I’ve been out to eat several times. Usually I just split a meal with my wife and it works out great. She’s not going to eat the entire dish and I only need a few bites. The weirdest part with food for me is that my tastes have changed. Foods I used to enjoy don’t sit well or taste as good. I used to drink black coffee every day, now it hurts my stomach so I’ve just quit it. I thought the lack of caffeine would be an issue but it really hasn’t been. I do occasionally drink instant sugar free cappuccino but not daily. Also hot wings used to be a favorite of mine and now they taste off. Same thing with a lot of spicy food actually. So while I wouldn’t say I restrict food, at least for weight loss purposes, I’m trying to learn how different things make me feel and structure my eating like that. Just like with overeating I tell myself while something might sound appealing, is it worth me feeling kinda crappy for the next 30-45 minutes? That helps to think of it like that. I have definitely overdone portions and regretted it. Hence why I try to start smaller to begin with. It’s hard when you have one bite left not to just eat it, but that one bite will cost you and it’s just not worth the discomfort for me. All in all I would say I’m feeling good and I’m happy. I’m starting to see myself as smaller for the first time. I’ll catch my reflection in a window or something and be like damn, is that how skinny I am? It’s a crazy feeling I’ve never felt before. I knew I was getting smaller because my clothes sizes were going down. But I’m just now really seeing it. I have more work to do, more so in the gym now than the scale, but I’m feeling accomplished and motivated.

It was like a switch for me. I was struggling to drink an ounce every 15 minutes. Toward the end of week 2, I was suddenly able to drink 2-3 ounces over a couple of minutes. For me, it's easier to drink earlier in the day. I start drinking earlier and more often.

Hi Possum , I don't get the print out until next week , but I will post the results if anyone knows how to translate them .Thank you .

Same! I’ve definitely felt practices like eating slowly, waiting a minute between bites, and stopping before I feel totally full have started to slip over the past few weeks. Anyone else having this problem? Also, I’ve started to notice hunger showing up, especially first thing in the morning and before lunch. I’m trying not to get too freaked out because I always knew it was likely to return at some point. It’s just hard not to interpret hunger as ‘bad’ after such a long time without it, you know?

I struggle a bit with this too, I originally said 180 because even though it seemed impossible to be that weight after 5 years, it still looked attainable with the surgery based on average results I saw online. Then I changed it to 160 because it's the lowest I remember being after puberty and I felt good, not toned at all but weight wise it felt comfortable. I just had my 3-month appointment, and I asked about goal weight, the RN suggested to wait until I'm at 6 months and see how I will feel if I were to choose my goal to be 30lbs from that weigh in, since from her experience that is what most patients say, but she did stress that the body can choose its weight and it can be lower or around what I chose. This goes on hand with my sister's experience where she is still losing past her goal weight even though she has increased her calories.

I put on lots after my bypass as I was on IV fluids for two days. My feet were very puffy. Leaving it for two weeks will give your body a chance to get rid of the extra fluid. Now might be a really good time to record your measurements. I do this on a monthly basis. Sometimes we lose pounds, At other times we lose inches.

I waited for my 1 week follow up and then my 2nd week follow up to weight myself. Then I was weighing myself daily but was getting obsessive so switch to once or twice a week since.

Hi! I had my surgery on November 16th and I have lost 57 lbs in 3 months. Sent from my SM-N960U using BariatricPal mobile app