deedeemuffin

It could be so many things from exercising & not getting enough calories to fluid retention. I had a problem Week 3 where I was gaining, but I have nerve damage in one of my legs that causes that one leg to swell up & retain fluids. I got clearance to take my water pill & my weight was back down. Examine everything that you are doing/eating. If you don't find anything off then keep pushing on. This is a huge change for our bodies & sometimes they fight back a little. Best of luck to you & hang in there!

What a long, strange 6 weeks this has been. It seems such a long time ago that I was laying in the recovery room in horrible pain. This process has not gone at all how I have expected. My first 2 weeks I dropped 37 pounds. Then the scale didn't move AT ALL for 3 weeks. 3 weeks in a row I got on the scale to just get the exact same number. It was so discouraging. Today I got on the scale & I was down 5 lbs. Finally I am moving in the right direction again. I thought that I would have lost more by now. I do recognize (even with a 3 week stall) that my weight loss average is a pound per day over the past 42 days. That is a lot of weight. I also have finally broken through one of my biggest mental fears. I have been in the 380's many times in the past few years. I have never made it into the 370's. With my 3 weeks stall I was afraid that I was doomed to stay in the 380's. Well, today I am in the 370's. Over the past 6 weeks I have learned many things but there are 2 major lessons that I have taken away. The first is not to compare my weight loss to others. That is the most self-defeating behavior. If I looked at just my weight loss, I would be happy. When I compare myself to others is when I start to stress myself out & feel discouraged. The second lesson is to just follow the program. If I eat healthy, incorporate exercise & listen to my body then I will lose weight. It might not be the way that I expected, but it will come off. I am just starting this new journey. I need to be strong & have faith in myself & the process.

I'm glad that you've found something that works for you! I think that is really the key to all of this. Funny, how people who have the same surgery are so different. For the first 2 weeks all that I could do was suck on ice chips. Now it hurts my sleeve to have anything too cold. I have to have my water room temperature & hot liquids are the best. LOL

Honestly, it's hard to not get depressed. Just try to prepare yourself mentally. Know that when the stall comes it will end and we have all been through it. Good luck!

At 5 weeks out if your NUT has cleared you for more foods then you should try them. Your body probably needs more than your giving it right now. I know that I would be starving right now if I wasn't eating veggies. Everybody has to do what's right for them. Listen to your body. Best of luck!

If you like peanut butter & or just want to get a good amount of protein out of a meal this is great. It's also almost like a sweet treat. Just mix together a 6oz. container of your favorite plain Greek yogurt, 1 packet of whatever calorie free sweetener that you use regularly & 2 tbsp. of PB2 powdered peanut butter. It gives you 145 calories, 23g of protein and 13g carbs. If you want less carbs just use one tbsp. of the PB2. It doesn't taste quite as good as the 2tbsp. though. So glad to have this in my food rotation. Try it!

I got this as a gift from my boyfriend's sister. She is a very healthy eater herself. I had put it in the cabinet & recently couldn't find it. Turns out my bf had taken it & hidden it because he thought it was some Nutella like treat that I wasn't sharing. Boy was he disappointed when he found out what it really was. LOL. Anyway, I need to order a bunch before I run out. I am LOVING this stuff!

PB2 is powdered peanut butter. You can add it to things like yogurt or protein shakes or mix it with water to make peanut butter that has 85% less fat calories than even l-f pb. A lot of websites sell it. I'm sure you can Google it & get all the information you would ever need. I think that it's awesome!

I haven't tried using regular PB. Way too high in calories, carbs, etc.

Dana, I would encourage you to just take a trial class at different yoga studios in your area. I am by far the very largest person in any given class. I am usually surrounded by skinny, limber people. There is a real difference between yoga at a yoga studio than yoga in a gym. It's a totally different atmosphere. I found 2 yoga studios in my area. At both the other students were accepting, friendly & encouraging. Also, the instructors would always help me to modify a pose if needed. I chose one over the other because of pricing & their schedule was more compatible with mine. My instructor is like 5 feet tall and maybe 90 lbs. soaking wet. She makes me feel so comfortable though. There is a HUGE difference between yoga at a gym for exercise & being part of a group of people that practices yoga. I would really encourage you to give it a try!

Great tip, thanks! I will check this out tomorrow!

My surgery was November 27th. So, as of Tuesday I will be 6 weeks out. I have been cleared for all foods...even solid meats. My office is so anti-milk, though. It's weird. They want my Protein shakes to be either RTD or made with Water & less than 4 grams of carbs per shake. I think the shake you make sounds great. I think that I am going to give it a go with more "real" foods. I will use healthy options, though. I think that I am less likely to cheat if I am having more reasonable food choices. I see my NUT again in 2 weeks so, I think that I will give it a try until then & see how my body responds. I am also returning to Yoga tomorrow which I love. Thanks for being here to help!

It was almost like losing my mind. I was a total space cadet. I couldn't drive, because I couldn't concentrate. It was awful. Never again!

It seems like people here have one of 2 problems...either they can barely hold anything down or they can eat just about anything they want. Either way, it is really hard. Note that in my original post I sais that it took me 4 hours to eat 10 chicken nuggets & have my drink. That's half a work day! I had to take very small bites, chew very well & take a lot of breaks. Totally the wrong thing to do to myself. I am glad this page helped you, though. This is a HUGE adjustment for all of us. I am just glad to have found so much support when I posted about being so down myself. We'll get there...I don't know when, but we will.

I am hearing this a lot. The reoccurring theme seems to be my plan is very restrictive & that may be why I am having such a hard time sticking to it. I have to say the week of water I was WEAK & shaky. I was dizzy. I couldn't drive. I could barely get up. I called the doctor & they wouldn't clear me for anything else. Thank God that is over!

I have to say that I have not had that pain eating yet, but maybe if I start eating more food rather than liquid I might get a full feeling. I have a feeling for most of us every day is a fight for quite awhile. Maybe even the rest of our lives, but I did not fight today. Tomorrow I will!

I too find myself comparing myself to others on the boards especially. I also have been in the 380's probably at least ten times over the past 3 years. It would usually take me 2 months instead if the 2 weeks it took this time. I think I have a fear that my body won't let me go below 380. I think that when I get into the 370's it will be more real that this is really working. I will definitely keep my psych & nut appts. I have had victories. I am losing weight differently this time. The ONE pair of jeans that I own are now too big at the waist. Maybe I need to start writing down my NSV so I can look at them when I am feeling down.

My instinct right now is to eat how you're describing. It is just contrary to my surgeon's offices plan. I am one of those people who feels the need to do things "perfectly". When I don't, I just throw it all away. It is something that I am working on. Maybe the plan they have is not the right plan for me. I night need to adjust my thinking...eating healthfully & mindfully but not as rigidly as my worksheet says to do. My surgeon is Dr. Wayne Weiss & I am in New York. The Hudson Valley area. I know my surgeon's office has a support group meeting twice a month near me (many more not so near to me). I have just been afraid to go. Afraid that I'm the only one doing badly.

You are absolutely right. There is definitely some fear involved. I know what is at the root of some of it, but not quite sure how to let go of that particular fear. I'm hoping maybe the psychiatrist at my surgeon's office can help me with that. I definitely appreciate the prayer. I will take all the prayer that I can get. It's hard for me to ask for it outside this board since only my very immediate family & one close friend know about my surgery. I didn't want people to judge me.

Yes, all my surgeon's patients have the same post-op diet. It is Phase 3 for them. They give you a sheet. Phase 0 was 1 week of water only. Phase 1 was 2 weeks of protein shakes & water. Phase 2 was adding some soft protein & veggies. Frankly, I thought Phase 3 was going to allow me to eat more "normal" food, but portion controlled. Less than 20g of carbs per day is Atkins Phase 1 all over again for me. There was a reason I only lasted 6 weeks on THAT diet!

Thanks. When my boyfriend got home from work tonight I broke down & told him how I was struggling. He was truly shocked. He told me how he was so proud of me & was noticing how my body had been changing. He said he had no idea that I hadn't lost weight in 3 weeks because he was just thinking how my face & stomach were noticeably thinner. My doctor cleared me for yoga this week. I told my boyfriend that I missed it but it really wasn't in the budget this month. He told me to go & he would pay for it. So, I will be going to a Gentle Stretch Yoga class tomorrow morning.

Thank you for breaking your rule of never posting again. I truly appreciate it. The book you recommended sounds interesting. I do have a Nook, although I am a little new to the technology. (it was a Christmas present) I would love to hear how you could share the book with me!

I definitely feel like it would help if I had more freedom in my food choices. Your program sounds so much more reasonable. My program says no more than 6g of carbs per meal/snack. Do you know how hard that is? The alarm for the vitamins is a good idea. Probably taking them out of the box they were shipped in would be a good idea too..

Yes, the program my office uses is very rigid & "diet" like. When the nutritionist gave it to me this week I thought that I was going to cry. I really thought that at this appointment I was going to be cleared for most healthy foods & just need to watch my portions. As far as how anyone can help...just replying & sharing your experience is help. I am not a person who usually asks for help & am not great at it. So, I guess this my attempt.

I will be 4 weeks out tomorrow. My boyfriend's family does their Christmas on Christmas eve so I had 2 days of holiday meals. Christmas Eve I had 3 one inch cubes of cheese, 2 slices of pepperoni & 2 crackers. Two hours later at dinner I had 2 tbsp. of squash, 2 tbsp. of green beans & 2 bites of filet mignon. On Christmas Day for breakfast I had 2 pieces of bacon and about 1/4 of a cup of an egg & cheese casserole. I didn't have anything until dinner time. Then at dinner I had 2 bites each of stuffing, mashed potato and green bean casserole along with about 1/2 a small slice of turkey with gravy. Three hours later I had a sliver of chocolate cream pie. It is really amazing. What is a usually a 2 day food extravaganza for me was reduced to a about 2 small salad plates of food. Part of me was sad at first. Especially when it came to the filet mignon. I can usually eat two huge pieces of it, but this year after 2 bites my stomach started to hurt. It was my first time eating beef since surgery. Looking back today, though, it was such a better holiday. I had so much more interaction with family and friends. I wasn't obsessing about food the whole time. I wasn't in a lethargic food coma & this is the first holiday where I haven't gained weight.