Pissed off! Need to vent

[A New KK 104]

I am 2 months post op. My nutritionist told me to stop weighing myself because I was going crazy and go by how my clothing feels.

Now I'm pissed off because I think if I was weighing myself more frequently I would have seen how slowly I was losing and done something sooner.

I exercise in the pool 1 hour a day 6 days a week.

I am getting in my Protein and most of my Water every day. Only had a minor cheat with alcohol for the Boat Parade.

I went to my primary doctor yesterday and even though I"m down 3 sizes in pants and 2 sizes in tops I have only lost 17 lbs post op.

I'm happy with the smaller sizes and am telling myself to be happy but I have to admit I'm a little pissed off. I lost more weight before I did the surgery. I lost 25 lbs in 6 weeks pre op and only 17 in 8 weeks.

I usually have 3 oz ricotta cheese with Protein powder mixed in for Breakfast, lunch is organic turkey breast with a little cheese to total 3-4 ounces together and dinner is usually a bean and meat chili with some Protein Powder mixed in.

I'm thinking of doing Protein shakes for a couple of days to see if that gives me a boost.

I am not having any form of sugar and the only carbs I had were a week ago when someone posted that they ate hash during their pureed stage. I didn't think about hash having potatoes until I ate a portion. I used that for 3 meals just to use it up but am not buying that anymore.

Any suggestions? Thanks

[Elode 8,093]

You're not eating enough. If you're exercising that much and eat so little you are putting your body into starvation mode so it's going to hang on to whatever it has. Might sound crazy but try to eat a high carb, fat day. See if you don't drop weight. Not high sodium!

[MANH 4]

You also may be losing fat but gaining muscle which is heavier, if you are doing that much exercise. If you are dropping clothes sizes consistently then I wouldn't be overly concerned about the number on the scale right away as long as it is decreasing, however slowly. I know it's frustrating but it may just take some time. Keep up the good work!

[Daisee68 2,493]

Agreed. Try to get a little more balance in your diet. Carbs won't kill you. They just need to be good carbs. And when is the last time you lost 3 pant sizes in 8 weeks? Just sayin'. Don't be so hard on yourself.

[2goldengirl 2,076]

I agree, you may not be eating enough. Do you track your food in something like Sparkpeople or MyFitnesspal? How many calories are you getting? An hour a day pool workout (depending on whether you're swimming laps or doing Water aerobics) can burn a LOT of calories. Your body has also had to heal from surgery.

I disagree with the adding muscle argument - you aren't eating enough to gain muscle, the best you can hope for is to keep your lean mass while you lose. You actually need a calorie surplus to gain muscle.

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

I started at a higher weight than you but in my first 8 weeks I lost 28 pounds and I remember thinking it as slow, especially since I wasn't eating much. Then when got to 12 weeks I started losing pretty rapidly, at 6 months I was down 90lbs. 8 weeks out you are still healing.

I'm also not sure working out 6 hours a week in the pool and making that huge of a calorie deficit is helping you at this point. I was going to gym and my weight loss was slow, As soon as I stopped and went to walking 60 minutes a day, my weight loss picked up.

You didn't post your macros, grams of Protein, carbs, and fat, so it is hard to give food advice without it, or daily calories.

You might want to cut back on all that cheese though, that is more cheese than I eat in a week.

[ShrinkingPeach 1,291]

Dropping multiple sizes would indicate loss even if not in pounds. Inches lost are still a victory and progress. Watch that you are not eating too little as stated before. Protein is key, it keeps us full longer and it repairs and builds muscle.

At times for me the inches change then the pounds will go. Sometimes it happens together, sometimes not. As long as progress is happening hang in there!

[jeaniebobeanie 33]

KK, right there with you. I'll be 8 weeks in a few days, and I'm down a whopping 15 lbs. Eating 800-900 calories a day, 70-90 g of Protein, drinking 70-90 oz of Water. Logging everything to the gram in Cronometer and wearing a Jawbone UP3 to track my calorie burn. Loss should have been faster...but it's just not. Both my surgeon and NUT sort of shrugged their shoulders and - this is the kicker - the surgeon just said "the human body is such a mystery..." AAAAARGH!!!

So while I KNOW I'm creating a solid deficit, and I should be losing more, it just ain't happening. Which is why I had the g$#mned surgery in the first place.

Nothing to offer, except just to let you know you're not alone. Also, I needed to vent too, apparently.

[Proud2BMe 1,016]

Go on a modified pre-op diet of drinking Protein shakes for Breakfast and lunch and a normal small meal of lean meat and non-starchy vegetables. You should notice you will drop weight quickly.

[Kristin7676 32]

I am also frustrated at my lack of weight loss. My clothes all still fit the same as well so I know I haven't lost inches either. I am only 3 1/2 weeks out. I was 226 the day of surgery and week after was 215. I have been stuck there since. I am getting in 60 - 80 grams of Protein each day (the last week been closer or over the 80) The Water is a little harder. Before surgery I barely drank 32oz of any liquid a day. I am pretty steady at 56 oz now, sometimes I can get in another 8, but not once have I gotten to 64. I take all of my Vitamins that I am allowed at this point. I did have my right ovary removed at the same time as the WLS and I have PCOS on my left ovary. I also have hypothyroidism which I take meds for. Both of these I know make weight loss a little harder. I am only allowed walking at this point but I have been doing half hour to 45 min every day plus my daily steps. My fitbit tracks me between 7k and 10k each day for the last two weeks. I weigh everything I eat and track it in myfitnesspal. I know I am not getting enough calories everyday. first two weeks I never got above 400 calories a day. Since I have moved onto pureed/soft foods this week I have been able to up it to 600 - 800 calories a day. I am trying really hard not to be discouraged but it really hard when the scale just wont move and my clothes are all fitting the same.

[2goldengirl 2,076]

@@Kristin7676, you are definitely not getting enough calories for both healing from surgery and weight loss. See if you can't gradually up your intake. One really easy way is with avocado. It has the texture you're on at this stage and is a healthy fat. Half an avocado can up your intake by 160 calories, and it's full of potassium and B Vitamins as well.

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

You've gotten some great advice here.

What does your NUT advise?

Embrace the Stall!

http://BariatricPal.com/index.php?/topic/351046-Embrace-the-Stall

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

@@Kristin7676 Most people stall at 3 weeks.

[A New KK 104]

Thanks for letting me vent. I find the support here invaluable so I knew it was safe. I see the surgeon for post op tomorrow. I'm not cleared for veggies/carbs yet. I think I might do the 2 shakes/ small meal deal as Proud2BMe suggested. I don't know if I can get more food in. Digesting is still a problem. Most meals feel like I have a lead balloon left in my stomach. I can't walk for exercise due to severe arthritis in my right hip so I'm only cleared to jog in the pool which I do with weights. I am hoping to get cleared for weight machines tomorrow. The NUT said to wait until post op because I had gall bladder removed and hiatal hernia repaired when I did the sleeve.

[Kristin7676 32]

thanks for the advice. I don't see the NUT until next Friday. It will be the first time with her since I had to change doctors when they found the mass in my ovary during the first surgery. (was supposed to have in Nov but got canceled) My original doctor couldn't get me scheduled before the end of the year and I wanted my GYN to do the ovary surgery and they were two different hospitals. Thankfully the new doctors has a better nutrition program. Wished I was there the whole time. My first surgeon only required one visit with the NUT. The new on required 3 months of classes/visits. Wish I had gone through that but they fast tracked everything for me to get done by the end of year and they wanted the ovary out ASAP. So I just trying to read as much as I can and not stress to much about the scale until next week. I will try to add some healthy Snacks in between to increase the calorie intake. At this point I just doing 3 meals. I am almost never hungry so I forget to eat between meals.