Chimera

I am starting to move away from the word "stall" and have adopted 'pattern' instead. When I had my first 'stall' last year I did not lose any weight for weeks, but the clothing sizes changed in a big way - it's like my body was reconfiguring itself even though the scale did not budge.

My pattern now seems to be losing small amounts every week - with a larger drop post menses - much like stair steps. When I look at the trend overall (I track each Saturdays weight weekly) it has been down every week except 3 times since surgery.

I think this was one reason I would gt depressed at weekly Weight Watchers weigh-ins before ever considering surgery - if I did not have a good week a few weeks in a row, then I would beat myself and start the same binge/gain cycle all over again. I am working very hard to be my own best cheerleader nowadays - not perfect, but mindful. Working on taking good care of myself and my health

Gastric bypass has a tiny bit higher loss percentage - but the sleeve is very close behind, with many less complications. For some the weight doesnt fall off overnight - some lose faster. I am not at goal but am super happy with my choice.

I love this thread and re-read the whole thing everytime it is updated with another post. Let's see my own breakdown of this process and my losses so far - I keep this info on my profile page so I don't forget how far I have come on those blue days.

Start weight of 318, 5'3" 48 female

4/13/11 - attended hospital seminar with my husband and family

6/20/11 - first month of medically supervised weight loss

Managed to lose 30 lbs in about 11 months

5/8/12 - Husband has VSG

5/21/12 - my VSG - lost 14 lbs on pre-op/Atkins liver shrinking diet for a total of 44 pre-op lost. Surgery weight 274

8/12 - 3 months post op I was down 50 from surgery weight

11/12 - 6 months out I was down 70 from surgery day

2/13 - 9 months out I was down 86 from surgery.

As of today I am at my ticker weight - I tend to keep that updated regularly.

My husband is down 134 lbs. now from 318 (yes we had the same start weight) to 184 lbs.

I have a rough goal to be 180 by the end of the semester - 160 by the start of fall semester, and 140 by the new year - which will put me at goal of a healthy BMI - so that is about 19 months after surgery - not including pre-op loss. About 5 lbs a month - and I will take it - sure I wish it moved faster but never before have I ever thought that anything I have done would "stick." We both are engaging in healthy exercise, get more movement through fun family activities (skiing, walking, aquarobics, etc), and make good choices now with what we consume. Our Dr.s and nutritionists think we are doing great.

It feels so good to finally know how to eat and take care of myself properly I dont care if it takes me the rest of the time I am alive to get there - by jove I will get there eventually!

You can have yogurt at a week out? or am I reading that wrong? three weeks of straight up liquids here - even creamy Soup seems problematic to our nutritionist. I would have been thrilled to be able to get that much liquid in that early - sounds like you are doing great!

I would not worry unless you start drinking liquid frappacinos or milkshakes haha. When you start solid food you will come to know what restriction feels like and it is serious business You are full very, very fast.

That does seem like a lot for pre-op - you are doing great with your loss so far. Though my surgeon has us do Atkins induction, I think many folks have 2-3 shakes a day, with one lean Protein meal and some leafy greens - maybe a bar as a snack here and there. Some folks are just shakes - which seems so cruel!

Our bodies can only absorb so much Protein at a time - even excess protein will be stored - as a material we want to get rid of i.e. fat, if we do not burn it off. I would worry more about composition of meals rather than calories at this point (even Atkins pre-made stuff does not have enough protein and too many carbs for me - sounds like the shakes could be Premier - my favorite) - the object of a pre-op diet is to shrink your liver down do they can maneuver during surgery - best of luck!

Yay you two! I am lucky to get get to see these lovely folks at our support group meetings every month I am so happy that you have decided on the surgery - i know it has been a wonderful choice for my husband and myself (maybe someday I will drag him to a meeting - I think he is still traumatized after all those WW meetings lol.)

As few as possible and as much Protein as I can get.

Ideally, I would be able to keep it to less than 40 a day - on busy teaching days I really enjoy having a vanilla latte with 1/2 the normal amount of vanilla - less sugar but I still count it as 39 carbs. So realistically I am more like 60-70g of carbs per day - mostly from dairy. I stay away from processed carbs, anything made with flour, rice, etc.

My nutritionists tell me that ketones are one of the fuels that our bodies and brain love the most - I think if i ditched my latte habit i could get back into and stay in ketosis - I state I love

80g of Protein, 40 or less carbs, 64-100 oz of calorie free liquid is my gold standard - focusing on lean chicken, turkey, fish, veggies, and fruit occasionally. I dont count fat grams, but they usually arent that high anyway. I still use Premier Protein shakes coming up on 9 months out - it is an easy way to get 30 g of protein in, and they do not taste as yuck as they did right after surgery.

It is pretty cool to have to try on everything now - before I just ordered the largest size available - usually 3-5x. The baggier the better - anything too close to the body was bad - now it is a whole diffferent ballgame

I had to have two blood transfusions during the hospital stay after my vsg (patients are normally released the next day - I had surgery on a Monday and came home on Friday). My hematocrit dropped to 18 (normal red blood ct for women is in 36-45% range) so they assumed there was internal bleeding.

I had to wait it out a bit for it to climb until they released me. Initially there was talk of going back in to find out where the bleeding was happening - I am glad I did not have to go through that one. I did finally get to find out my blood type (type O negative - universal donor and a good band haha) which I had never known. I had 2 pints over 2 days.

I cant imagine you would need to give blood unless maybe you have a rare blood type - this is the situation with my mom (B negative) - the blood bank calls her once a week I think lol.

I think most folks are on liquids for 3 weeks - then they are advanced to soft squishy foods. If you are on mushy food already - that is very fast progression.

My surgeon only has us on Clear Liquids the day before surgery - he has patients do Atkins induction rather than weeks of liquid - which is rough (I know I've done 4 months of Optifast before - 400 cals a day and shakes only).

The greatest motivator for me sticking to the liver shrinking, high Protein - very low carb diet is remembering my surgeon saying that if they went in and you had a big, fat, liver they would close you back up and cancel your surgery, or convert to an open surgery and open you up stem to stern....scary as heck to me lol.

I guess my liver was teeny haha. Lost 14 lbs in the 2 weeks prior on my pre-op diet. Cutting carbs drastically hurts, but the less you consume the less you want - honestly. Drink oceans of Water - it will help with hunger and you need to be hydrated - the last thing I did the night before surgery at midnight was to chug my drink - I knew it would be a long time before I could do it, if ever, again (I can - its a mini-chug) - ditch the carbonated, and I ditched drip coffee - it adds to my acid problem and can make me both hungry and dehydrated.

I now try and avoid anything with wheat - and avoid refined carbs as much as possible because if I don't I am head hungry all the time. Processed carbs affect the same areas in the brain that drugs like cocaine and heroin do - no wonder it is so hard to stop.

Good luck - it's an amazing journey.

I drink this brand exclusively

I would be shrieking for joy if I was under 200 so early out Not to worry ladies - it will come off! numbers over time is where you start to see those numbers add up. I was feeling a bit down this past month because I felt I should be further along than I am, when I am close to being 130 lbs down - when I think of it that is a pretty kooky way to feel. Instead I am working hard to follow my nutritionists instructions, move more, and keep my chin up.

This won't ever end for me - even at goal.

Show some LOVE while being healthy?
Here's how to make HEART EGGS:

Fold a thick cardstock or cardboard piece down the middle.

Place hardboiled egg on it's side, in the middle of the folded cardstock
...
Take a long wooden type piece that would extend most of the way along the carboard (a thin, clean, wooden paintbrush handle, a chopstick, thin dowel, etc) and place over the top of the egg so there is slight pressure.

Rubber band the ends of your stick to the top ends of the cardstock.

Place in fridge and after about 3 or 4 hours remove. Cut egg in half. Serve as a cute side to someone you ♥

Indeed

The scale numbers and measuring tape numbers are always in flux - of course they are all part of the mechanism of WL and feeling better. I think the sense of "I am finally going to be able to get a hold of this unsurmountable problem" is such a huge benefit. I have lost a lot - and i am not the fastest loser, but I know I will be able to get it all off now with the help of this fantastic tool.

Fantastic! That is a huuuuge milestone - that is the next big one for me too. Congratulations

I use all sorts of areas to measure progress - the WL and scale is but one - lets see:

I tend to measure change

Off meds

Off CPAP

Clothing size

Clothing Style

Shoe size even!

Improved ability to move - mobility is night and day from what it was

Arthritis pain is gone

Strength is improved

Our eating habits have gone from terrible to excellent - not perfect but a huuuuge improvement

We save money on groceries, meds, insurance - you name it.

Happiness

I think the greatest measurement of personal progress is how much my husband (he's also vsg) and myself have improved our self esteem and feelings of self worth. We take good care of ourselves now - before I think we were both so beaten down by what we perceived as a lack of discipline, by how poorly society views and treats obese folks that taking good care had gotten to the point that it felt useless - I know I had gotten to the point I felt pretty worthless. My husband smiles all of the time now - it breaks my heart to know how happy he is. It is the best thing we have ever done this surgery.

So yes, scale and measuring tape is always out front - but the metrics of success are varied and bountiful

I am always having a hard time getting all of my liquids in - it is very inspiring to know you can have such a great loss by upping the Water and Protein, well done!

What are you eating? What does a normal day look like? I have hunger that comes and goes - the binge eating is very much better because i simply cannot binge, but I get to points that I do fixate on certain things and that is a sign of head hunger.

Thirst feels idnetical to hunger - so i usually drink first and it helps. Eating little bits every two hours also helps. The biggest one for me to stop cravings has been to eliminate processed carbs - anything with wheat/flour...by design those substances will light up the same receptors in the brain that opiates do - bread=crack pipe lol.

The fewer carbs I eat, I no longer feel hunger. I am still deep in my losing phase and am not anywhere near approaching an elite athlete, I will address the carb issue when I am able to do more hardcore exercise.

This is something from my blog that may help. A friend from my WL support group shared it.

Eight Signs of Emotional Eating

A lot of people ask, "How do I know if I am over eating for emotional reasons?" If any of the following statements sound like they could apply to you, then it's likely you are struggling with emotional eating.

1. My hunger comes on suddenly. Physical hunger comes on slowly. Hunger from emotional eating often comes on quickly and suddenly.

2. I crave specific foods-generally not carrot sticks or steamed broccoli. Cravings for specific foods usually unhealthy foods are signs of emotional eating. Often people like the rush they get from satisfying their cravings. The rush is fulfilling emotional hunger.　

3. My hunger feels urgent- I need a particular food right away and I am willing to walk out of my way, or get in your car late at night, or raid my kids Halloween candy to get it. Physical hunger, unless you haven’t eaten for a long time, is usually pretty patient. It will wait for food. Emotional hunger demands to be satisfied immediately.

4. My hunger is often paired with an upsetting emotion- if I backtrack a few hours or a few days I’ll usually find an upsetting event and feeling that triggered the urge. Hunger thats comnnected to an upsetting emotion or situation is definately emotional hunger. Physical hunger is not typically triggered by emotions.

5. My eating habits involve unconscious eating-all of a sudden I’m eating ice cream and I find the whole contianer is gone.

6. I don’t stop eating in response to being full- I keep wanting more of the taste of the food. Physical hunger doesn’t need to be stuffed in order to be satisfied. Emotional hunger on the other hand often demands more and more food to feel satisfied.

7. My hunger isn’t located in the belly- I crave the taste of a certain food in my mouth or I can’t stop thinking of a certan food. Feeling hungry in this way is usually a sign of emotional hunger or binging. Physical hunger is happy to get what it can, while emotional hunger usually focuses on specific tastes and textures.

8. After I satisfy my hunger, I am often filled with a sense of regret or guilt.Feeding your body what it needs is not something to feel guilty about. If you feel guilty after you eat, it’s likely because part of you knows you’re not eating just to satisfy physical hunger.

When you’re eating for phyiscal reasons, you are usually mindful of what you’re doing. If you catch yourself eating, “just because”, then its likely you’re eating for emotional reasons.

A friend who also had vsg and lost it all in 9 months (100 lbs) said that she could not tolerate Vitamins for the first 4 months after surgery. I could not do the chewables at that point so i switched to liquid multi's, which are usually the culprit for making me nauseated any time.

I would concentrate on getting your liquids in above all, then Protein. It could very well be the Vitamins. My surgeon has us wait 50 minutes after eating to drink, try waiting a bit longer. I found it common for both my husband and I to get sick when we started foods again, just take it slow and do the best you can. Honestly there were some days that I was lucky to get 200 calories in.

I think I lived on the proti Protein drinks that are gel you put in Water, sips of Protein shake, and Protein chicken Soup....I became lactose intolerant and extrmemly sensitive to artificial sweeteners at one point so I would drink weak herbal tea and a bi of regular gatorade to perk back up when I thought I was becoming dehydrated. It gets much better tolerating food, meds, vitamins etc. as you heal and get further out.

I am reading the book Wheat belly right now and I am so alarmed by what is in the book that I doubt that I will be eating much of anything that contains wheat from here on out lol, Not that i eat it often anyway, maybe once a month.It took a few months to tolerate - I am a carb addict so I stay away from it.

The wheat that is produced now is so genetically modified that it is thousands of chromosomal iterations away from the parent strains, even from just a few decades ago ( the bread I grew up on in the 70's) - and it has never been tested for safety in humans or animals. Makes sense - genetically modified strains of wheat started rolling out just when the population was starting to gain weight at an alarming rate - when we have always stayed within a normal, healthy range in terms of body composition for thousands of years.

They eat what the people in the house who have had most of their stomachs removed eat ala lean Protein, veggies, occasional fruits in seaon, nuts, cheese, dairy, etc. If they want something that involves processed carbs - they go out for it.

The house is clean - it has to be...a loaf of bread might as well a heroin filled syringe lol.

Hang in there - pre-op diet is rough. My surgeon had us do Atkins induction which shrinks the liver just fine. I would make everyone eat away from me - plug my nose and if anyone wants bad food have them eat it elsewhere. For me controlling the food in my environment is KEY.

I think I would of had the bypass if I did it all over again. The reason is that I crave carbs and fatty foods so can eat a ton of them with the sleeve. I only feel full if I eat meat.

I here ya Moonsiren - I, like most folks round here loooove carbs and always overeat them - My NUT and Dr. recommend Protein first, then veg, then fruit - the processed carbs arent even included in that food plan so I try and not eat them, certainly as I am still deep into my losing phase. When I start to move towards more slidery foods or not enough Protein (ala I could live on one 2 pump vanilla latte and a greek yogurt a day - maybe throw in a cheese stick lol) I need to crack the whip and get back to measuring dense protein - ala baked chicken and turkey breast or hard boiled eggs (which feels very dense and filling to me still almost 9 month out).

My sister in law had a RNY 3 years ago and is down 150 lbs and has done great! She was the inspiration for my husband and I to have our own surgeries. I was initially set on a RNY as well and then found out my insurance covers the sleeve so that was what our surgeon suggested for us. I believe that what we do with our head and to inprove our health and lifestyle after surgery is where the rubber meets the road with any of the procedures. I've changed a lot - quit a 28 year 1-2 pack a day smoking habit that I never though I would be able to kick (26 months smoke free now - used Wellbutrin and nicotine patches).

It is still hard to do planned exercise for me - I do better with moving around where I am accomplishing something else as well - like gardening, vigorous housework etc. I will always be working on this one.

I am not sure why one would need your old stomach back either but I dont know much about it - I had heard that it is a plus of the sleeve that the 'blind stomach' is removed so that it cannot develop ulcers, cancers, etc - and the ghrelin producing area goes with it. I have heard that our restriction lasts longer than RNY - my sis seems to still eat tiny bits though. And folks with the bypass have restiction and in addition they malabsorb Vitamins and nutrients forever right? And the restriction eases up a bit for all of us after time I think - though never to the extent or volume capacity of our original stomachs.

I am glad to still have my stoma - I was afraid of having the bowel rearrangment with a bypass. if I ever struggle again I would jump on that table again in a heartbeat for it if I have to though lol.

So far so good - I think I am statistically on track and on time to hit my healthy BMI goal - it would be wonderful to do that by the end of the year. We shall see

I felt the same way after surgery. I had a very rough time getting stuff in - it's pretty standard post surgery.

Now that I am a ways out (8 months) I almost wish I could go back to that time looking at the ticker, how dramatically the clothing sizes drop, being taken off all meds, cpap, how people no longer even recongize who I am make every bit of initial pain, fear, and doubt worth it.

We had to really alter things around the house with our teenager - she can eat junk out of the house or on here and there if she has a friend stay over - but generally the house is clean food only. My husband also had the surgery so this makes things infinitely easier - but for those times when something yummy is being prepared and I cant eat it - make some Protein Soup or eat a string cheese and I am sated. Eating the old way (food addict - fast food junkies) simply doesnt work and doesnt taste the same at all. Hang in there - it is really hard but try to find thing your like and always have them on hand

Since this started my husband is 130 lbs down, I am down 126, and our daughter has lost 26 lbs from Protein first, no processed carbs, soda, etc. it is hard, but so worth it.

Sweet - I need to get one of those