genepha

Yeah!! congrats!

omg Olivia - I feel so much better after reading your post. Even though I know that weight loss won't be a non-stop event and that some stalls are normal, I am starting to feel bummed about not losing my goal for month 1. I wanted to lose about 25-27 pounds and I've been stuck at 23, although I still have 2 days to go! I've had about 650 calories today and I was really talking negatively to myself about eating too much today. I plan on having about 300 calories for dinner and snack so that fits in well with 1000 calories per day. I've also increased my exercise and have been walking, doing yoga, hip-hop, etc. every day this week and yet I'm stuck at -23. Grrr! Oh well, my body will release the pounds when it's ready! p.s. -23 is about what I lost in the first 3 months after having the lapband....talk about frustrating!!!!

Jodie, I wish I could help but I am also in the midst of a plateau. I expected it to happen when I went from full liquids to mushies. I've lost 23 pounds since my surgery, almost 4 weeks ago. I lost 20 pounds quickly but have really struggled with these last 3 pounds. I've gained a pound or two back, then lost it, then found it, then lost it again. Jeez, it's annoying! I'm hoping it's just the usual 3 week stall that so many people experience. I have increased my exercise level and I am making sure that I'm getting my protein in first, then any carbs. Unfortunately, at this stage I can't eat fruits or too many vegetables yet, although I did have a tiny bit of lettuce today. I think your body is just in shock and is trying to hang on to every calorie it can find. My body usually holds on to calories for about 4-5 days and then I lose weight for 2 days then back to holding on. I'm sure I have messed my metabolism up from all the dieting and losing and gaining weight over the past 20 years. Maybe it's time to try a different activity - like bike riding or yoga, that might jolt your body into letting go of some weight! Good luck!

Wow! You look fantastic. Can't wait until I'm a size 16 again. I totally agree with you about being a size 10-12, the perfect size IMO!

Olivia, I can't help you in this department as I've had endometrial ablation so I don't have a period anymore. Hope you find out soon what's causing this to happen.

I guess no one can really answer this unless they've had both procedures. I have had 2 WL surgeries; lapband and gastric plication. My restriction with plication is very good and quite different than with the band. I noticed it yesterday when I was eating chicken, I felt full in my stomach, not my chest. I used to get horrible, sharp pains in my chest and throat if I ate too much with the band. It is a huge relief to NOT experience that kind of reaction to eating. I also do not have any reflux, which was a big problem for me with the band. Acid reflux was actually a big concern for me and Dr. Billy before I had the plication as I experienced so much reflux with the band. I have been on Pepcid since the day of my surgery and I'm sure this has helped. I think I'm doing great with the plication but as "they" say WLS, any WLS is a tool. I have to do my part to make any surgery work. I exercise daily and eat "right" most of the time but you have to be confident in your decision. I think everyone who had plication considered VSG, I know I did, however, I just couldn't get over the idea of 85% of my stomach being removed. If plication didn't exist I would have most likely done the sleeve if I could have gotten over that idea. I also spoke with 2 different doctors who do not like the sleeve and feel there is too much risk associated with the cutting of the stomach so that made me nervous. I chose the surgery that was best for me at the time, that may change later but right now I'm very happy with the plication and I've lost 23 pounds in a little over 3 weeks! genepha

At 3 weeks (+ 1 day) I am able to start soft meats. I was allowed to add potatoes at Day 10 along with cheese, Peanut Butter, bananas, some crackers (graham, low fat Ritz), Beans, hummus, oatmeal, cottage cheese, etc. After day 21 I was allowed to add moist meats. I have started with chicken. I haven't eaten red meat in any large quantity in about 20 years but have started to eat tiny bites of it if it is in chili. I prefer ground turkey meat anyway but haven't tried it yet. This morning I had about 1/3 of a pre-made GNC Protein shake (about 55 calories). I am including a picture of my (leftovers) dinner tonight before I ate it and after. I had a business meeting today at macaroni Grill and ordered Skinny Chicken (330 calories) with roasted veg: potatoes, tomatoes, mushrooms (300 calories). I wanted to order off of the Kid's Menu as they have grilled chicken and broccoli (which I can't eat yet) because it was more appropriately sized but felt weird doing that during a business meeting. I switched out the Pasta for the veg. I don't think it saved calories but pasta isn't allowed yet. For lunch, I ate about 1/3 of the chicken and about 2 small potatoes and 2 bites of halved grape tomatoes. I ate a little less than 1/3 of the food for dinner tonight. I'm satisfied, not stuffed. I hope this helps those of you that have recently had plication and for those of you considering it. There's not a lot of information out there so when I was researching it would've been nice to see an example of someone's daily food intake. take care, genepha

Wow! Congratulations!! Thanks for sharing your story. You have done fantastic. genepha gastric plication 2-7-11

Hmm well I started taking pepcid (a ppi) since I came home. No antibiotics though.

Yeah I think I'd be happy right now with anything that starts with a 1!!

Thanks everybody! So happy to be on the other side of the surgery. I am confident that I will make my goal with the plication. Olivia - You are doing great!! 15 lbs. is amazing. Lmom - Yup I agree! I feel much better at a size 10-12, to me that's a perfect size. (Plus my husband prefers me *chubby*) My reasoning for WLS was to get healthier, more active and to be able to do things with my kids that I couldn't do. When is your surgery??

I had my surgery 3 weeks ago today. My starting weight was 281 but I gained 2 pounds in the hospital so my official starting weight was 283. My weight today is 261. I've lost 22 pounds in 3 weeks. I actually lost 20 pounds the first 10 days then when I went onto mushies I stalled. I actually gained 1-2 pounds, then lost them again, then found them again, etc. I expected that to happen so I wasn't too worried. I also wasn't allowed by my dr. to do any formal exercise so I just increased my walking. I've been walking about 1 mile 3 times per week. I started slowly back at the gym on Friday (2-25). I did 10 minutes on the recumbent bike, 10 minutes on the elliptical and 10 minutes on the treadmill. I burned around 250 calories so overall, not a bad workout to start. I am going back to the gym today and plan on increasing my time on the elliptical to about 12 minutes but keep everything else the same. I'm trying not to rush it and get hurt. I injured myself pretty badly about a year and a half ago (I tore my achilles) by trying to do too much, too soon so I'm taking it slowly and easily this time around. I'm very happy with my progress so far. I have my 1 month check-up on March 8 and I'd like to be down at least 25 pounds (which is 20% EWL for me) but we'll see. My goal is to lose around 75-85 more pounds. With the band the lowest weight I got to was around 176ish. My hubby thought I was too thin at that weight but I remember being pretty comfortable in my own body. I believe I was around a size 12 at that weight so I'd be pretty content near that weight plus I have a whole box full of cute size 12 and 14 stuff waiting for me!! take care, genepha First Major Goal: 199 Goal weight: around 170-180

Olivia The broth from the Wonton soup is a liquid. I'm sure the wontons were soft but better to stay away from the doughy, pasta-y stuff right now. I'm eating soups, mashed potatoes, yogurt, pudding and I tried a tiny bit of an egg, so far I haven't had a problem with anything. I wouldn't advise against following your doctor's orders but it is strange how every doctor is different. Remember I had the band for 10 years and there was a point when I had to decide what was best for myself. I had to stop following protocol because it wasn't working for me. There is no one size fits all advice. Maybe call Dr Ortiz's office and see if u can start with drinkable yogurt or runny pudding??

I'm attaching a scan of the recommended list of foods for the mushy stage. Mushies for me started on Day 10 and continue through Day 20. At 3 weeks I can start adding moist protein, especially fish (which I can't eat due to allergies) and ground meats, especially turkey and chicken.

Day 10-20 Soft/Smooth Food 64 oz. of fluid 60 g. of protein

Water, popsicles, jello, crystal lite, broth from caldo de pollo (chicken soup), Isopure 2-3 oz at a time. I highly recommend Isopure because it's a protein drink (like a punch) and has 40 g of protein in 20 oz. I buy mine at GNC but I think u can buy it over the internet also.

One of my friends mentioned that she watches exercise videos through her cable. I investigated this and found that I also have some exercise videos available through my Video On Demand thru my cable company. Most of them are short videos (6-10 min.) to try out different exercise types. I tried Zumba, which I've been wanting to try. It was only a 7 minute video but I did it all and was pretty tired afterwards. I also did a 1 mile walking video with Leslie Sansone(?). She is well known for her walking DVDs. Anyway - they were both great and I feel that I got a pretty good workout!

Olivia, You should go out and buy some Prilosec. You can get it at any supermarket or Target. It seems that most everyone who has had sleeve or plication is taking a PPI, at least for the first month. My dr. recommends 2 per day for the first 4 weeks. When I don't take it, I definitely notice a difference in my "hunger" pains.

Olivia, 12 pounds is great!!! Hummus is actually a great choice so I wouldn't worry too much about it. Liquids are hard! I was allowed to start mushies on day 10 but had to start 1 day early cause I got stuck with no liquids when my car broke down and I was fine. I just chewed and chewed and probably only ate about 1.5 oz. of chili. Are you taking a PPI like prilosec or pepcid? That seems to help with acid but my tummy still makes a lot of noise and seems very "active"!

Hi Melanie, Remember this is my second WLS. I had the lapband for almost 10 years so I have lots of experience with NUTs and food requirements and eating plans, etc. However, this is my first plication so I'm still learning too! My dr. gave me a folder with all kinds of great info including an eating plan. I also went to a pre-op class and a post-op class. I thought they were going to be a waste of my time, but I actually learned a few things so I'm glad I went. My experience with the band was very different than my plication experience. When I was first banded I experienced lots of hunger, almost immediately after surgery which freaked me out. So far, I've had more of an "empty" feeling, not really hunger. I do take a PPI twice daily and I think that's helping. Head hunger is still a problem. Luckily for me, my hubby is dieting right now and that is really helping me!! He wants to lose like 30 pounds which he will do by April as we have a big convention to go to in Las Vegas!! He's not really overweight and his weight fluctuates but not more than 10-25ish pounds. He is the heaviest he's been because he was trying to keep up with me before my surgery!!! I can send you what my surgeon recommends at this stage if you'd like. It's basically 60-80 grams of protein, 64 oz. of Fluid, eat protein first, seafood, and moist poultry are allowed at 3 weeks. Rice, vegetables and fruits aren't recommended until 12 weeks after surgery. Hope this helps! genepha

Melanie I'm not 10 days out. I was just saying that I started mushies at 10 days out. I don't eat much "solid" food yet so I think that's why I'm able to eat about 2-3 oz at a time. I'm supposed to eat every 2-3 hours which feels like I'm eating all the time! I'm not allowed to eat rice until like 4 months out as it really expands in the tummy. I just started eating a graham cracker and peanut butter and find it pretty thick still. I chew and chew it but it is a great snack!

I officially started mushies on Feb 17 - 10 days after surgery. My weightloss has stalled and I'm sure it's due to going off liquids only and adding in carbs. I expected it and I'm okay with it. Next week I'm allowed to go back to the gym to start cardio. I've been walking everyday and have worked up to 1 mile. To give an idea of what a mushy plan looks like here is my food so far: Bfast 1/2 a pre-made GNC protein shake Snack 1 graham cracker with about 1/4 tsp of peanut butter Lunch 1 piece of thinly sliced turkey, about 4 spoonfuls of chicken and veg soup (no vegs) and 2 spoons of mashed potatoes Snack (will be) 1/4 bottle of Isopure, 1/2 pudding blended w protein powder Dinner (will be) 3 oz of leftover soup, 2-3 tsp of potato Snack LF string cheese I'm trying to get in enough protein but I'm falling short so I'm going to start adding yogurt and/or cottage cheese for meals or snacks.

sorry - double post

Jodie I didn't sleep well until about day 10. My tummy is still tender and I'm 16 days out so it's hard for me to get comfortable. You will feel better once u get some good protein in you. Get some soup and blend it up if u r allowed to at this point. Protein drinks (isopure) and shakes will also help. 22 pounds is fantastic! Good luck!!

It was my understanding that most overweight ppl have hernias and most doctors will repair them as part of any WLS. I'm surprised to hear that your dr wouldn't just offer to fix it since he's already in there. There was a question as to whether my gallbladder wpuld need to come out during surgery and if so my dr would have removed it at the same time. Luckily it didn't need to come out but it was nice to know that it could all be done in one procedure.