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I agree... losing the 5 lbs should not me the issue. The main reason for the pre-op diet is to shrink your liver to prepare you for the surgery.

Hang in there. Sure hope it goes well for you.

You have to remember that for the average sleever, you can expect to loose around 75% of the weigh you need to lose. For you, at 5'8" and with the weight you have already lost, you have passed that 75% right now.

And according to the BMI charts... You are no longer obeses and you are only 3 points away from being consider overweight.

A huge milestone for your 1 year anniversary. You should be very proud of yourself for getting this far.

68 lbs... Amazing. If you do the math... 68 lbs in 1 yr equals out to 5.66 lbs lost per month... which equals out to 1.41 lbs per week. The average weight loss when dieting is 1-2 lbs per week. And if you have sustained that for a whole year... you are way ahead of the curve.

Awsome Job... CONGRATULATIONS!

I went through the same crying spells you are having now. Your hormones are wacked out of alignment and everyting is emotional. The pre-op diet phase probably didn't help much either because probably you went into surgery feeling like you could have eaten off your arm.

I promise you... it will get better. When your new stomach heals enough to eat more solid foods, you'll feel much more like yourself. Just remember the reason you had the surgery.

Stay positive, and if you can, we're here for you...

I used to think it was easier for me as a single person to eat quickly prepared foods. But since my surgery, I found that to be exactly the oposite. I rarely eat out at a fast food place anymore. I prepare meals and Snacks with whole foods so much more often (at least 80% of the time). It's more of an awareness to keep sugar and fat out of my daily routine that keeps me eating 'clean' foods.

This problem will also depend on how far you are out from your surgery. If it's in the early stages post-op, I would definitely be concerned.

Best to call your doctor's office just in case.

My fears were overwhelming before my surgery, But then I thought about the regret of staying at my current weight (or even worse, continually gaining). If you are anything like me, the weight issues were much more than just some extra baggage. It was also affecting my overall health.

Since my surgery, the weight loss has been a gift. It's only been 2 months and many of my medical issues are now reversing themselves (already). And it's only going to get better.

Everyone has a different story. Mine is that I had to choose between being physically unable to live a normal life and eventually be wheelchair bound, or get my life back in control and do something about it.

This was the best decision I could have made.

Keeping good thoughts for you... good luck.

Cereal is one of my favorite quick foods that I now have to re-think when I fix a bowl. I used to have a full bowl, but after surgery, it took an act of God to get down even 1/4 the amount.

I'm now 7 weeks out and can eat some of the lighter types of cereal like Rice Chex. I stick to whole grain cereal. I measure out 1/2 a cup and use skim milk. I try not to get into trying to eat it all, just eating until my tummy says "OK... that's enough".

It's no longer how much I eat, but rather that I'm glad I can eat this stuff again.

Try oatmeal or cream of wheat... a bit watered down at first. You'll gradually eat more solidly at the weeks/months go on.

Hang in there.

Slim Fast Ultima has to different types. Read the ingredients. One of them has 9 OR 10gm of Protein, the other has 20gm. The second is low in low in sugar, 2gm, but it also has 9 gm of fat.

For me, I tried the powder Protein mixes, and unless you can mix them with other things that tastes good, like lots of fruits, yogurts, etc... the powders are horibble. BUT, you will find the powders also have low sugar AND low fat.

Since you are in your pre-op phase, you need to go by what the doctor recommends. The purpose of the pre-op diet is to go for as low sugar and fat as you can. The purpose is to shrink your liver for the surgery.

READ THE INGREDIENTS...

pills are many times too large, even several weeks post-op. So if you don't have gummies or liquid, what I've done is mill them in my coffee grinder. I take a multiple, calicum and a B-complex. I also take prescription meds and I just grind them all and add it to a tablespoon SF applesauce. Goes down smooth and you don't have to worry about them not being absorbed into your system.

Great question.! I'm wondering the same thing. I'm 6 wks out and I've been on a stall for almost 3 weeks. Though my doctor doesn't seem to be worried, and says the same thing. That I'm not eating that much and can increase if I wanted. Never thought I'd hear someone say to eat more before.

I wonder if I may be stretching my stomach or something. But since I write down all my meals, I can't see how that would happen because I eat comparably only 3-4 oz of food at each meal. It's not fun to watch the scale stand still let alone gain when you know you are eating next to nothing.

If anyone has and answer, please let us know... thanks

I had thoughts just like you. I could give myself a million reasons not to finally go through with WLS. Not sure if I could handle it. Not sure if it could handle me...

But it wasn't until I started having physical limitations that kept me from walking in a grocery store without crying from horrific back pain after only a 5 minute walk from the parking lot into the store. I got to the point where I was using a handi-capped plaquard in order to get close to the front door of the store, so I could ride around in one of those stupid go-cart to go grocery shopping.

On top of all of that, I had an extreme thyroid condition, hypertension and pre-diabetes, (none of which was getting any better either). I had lots of swelling in my legs daily that created permanent red marks circling my shins. I think it was either the beginnings of lymphedema or some kind of ulceration that was happening.

I went to a Chiropractor, an Orthopedic specialist and a Pain Management specialist with 3 years of medical care. The chronic pain I was experiencing was getting worse, not better. I finally had to do something.

I knew in my heart that if I lost weight, some of these issues would get better. So I finally made the commitment and I'm very happy to say that after all the hard work I went through these last three years, it pales in comparison of what has happened in only the last month since my post-op.

It took several months of planning, and along the way, I slowed down my eating habits before my pre-op and managed to lose 18 lbs before my pre-op. I lost 5 lbs during pre-op and an additional 20 lbs. post-op.

What more important is that some of the horrific and painful physical issues have gotten better. My diabetes issue is gone, my hypertension is just about gone and will be med free soon. My thyroid, well, that will always be an issue, but it is better under control and less dosage on the meds.

My back pain? WOW!... I haven't had to take a muscle relaxer or pain meds since the surgery. The swelling in my legs is gone. It's much easier to walk around. And even though I still park close to the store, I can now walk through the store with no problem. I still feel the stress, but it's not enough to stop me from walking.

If I had any doubts before the surgery, I must have been out of my mind, because the results have been more successful than 3 years of physical therapy without the surgery.

So... for me? This was a no brainer. Wheelchair bound, or freedom of walking. WLS was the best thing I could have ever done for myself and for my health.

Hope this is a help to you.

Update...

My stall broke yesterday... My scale went down one pound. YEAH! Hopefully this will continue beyond the one pound.

I saw my doc for my 1 month post-op and told him what happened. He said this is totally normal. Of course it's really not very reassuring when your goal is to drop the pounds. But he said this will happen from time to time, and even if you are not losing 'weight', you are probably losing 'inches'. As long as you are on track with your progress, the weight WILL come off.

Anyway, he said Water, Water, water... and the subliminal jab at the forever in the back of your mind... 'EXCERCISE'. This is not so easy as it seems. Especially if you have physical challenges to begin with. My physical efforts have been reallllllly slow at getting up the enthusiasm. My spine specialist is waiting until my second month post-op to put me in a PT regemine. I'm sure at that time things will pick up.

Til then, walking in the water is my form of excercise.

WOW! I am sooo relieved to know that I'm not the only one who has stalled. I thought someone was playing a little dirty joke on me after all the work with the pre-op/post op.

I'm 4 wks out and I'm doing all the right things, but I've stalled since 2 weeks ago. Energy is still a problem too, but that's actually getting a bit better. I just could not understand why I wasn't losing if I know I'm eating next to nothing every day.

Hopefully, we will all start losing again and then we can all do the happy dance.

Swimming is also great for those who have spine issues. I have oestoarthritis in 2 vertebrae and one facet joint that is litterally frozen and does not flex much at all. I use Water weights in the deep end and do water jogging in place of normal laps. Basically that is running in place while I hold the waterweights down with my hand. I'm almost always vertical and try real hard not to hyper extend my spines. So regular lap swimming is out. I can acutally do more damage if I'm not careful. For those of you who have severe back pain, be sure your doctor or therapist knows what you are doing in the water. Water can really be your friend when you have physical limitations.

July 7th is my surgery date. At this point, the pre-op diet has left me exhausted. But it's worth the effort in the end.

I'm also doing mine in Mexico... $7500, plus plane and hotel for the first 2 days before I go into the hospitl... so an extra $1000 for that. Plus, with an extra 2 days, I get to do some site seeing before the surgery.

Definitely worth it. If I had tried to have the surgery here, I'd never be able to have the surgery. The insurance God's deamed that to be so.

My health is a whole lot more important than a denial from my insurance, so BLLLAAAAHHH on the insurance companies out there that don't get it.

My surgery date is for July 7th. I'm on day 3 of my pre-op diet and sooooo hungry at time, but OK at other times. I'm excited and scared at the same time.

I'm brand new to this site, just signed up today. Hopefully I'll get some great feedback on my journey to a healthier me.