McButterpants

I will add to my post - I'm exercising on a regular basis...5-6 days per week, 60-75 minutes at the gym. Exercise is an important part of this journey to be sure. I started walking the day of surgery and haven't stopped since! Butterthebean has a great article in his signature line regarding stalls, why they happen. It's worth the read: http://www.dsfacts.com/weight-loss-stall-or-plateau.html#.Uv5a3xZCddg

You look fantastic! What a great success. Keep up the good work. Congrats!

Hi and welcome! I had a try a few shakes before I found one that I liked. Some were just plain horrible and I couldn't finish. Others I thought I could tolerate, then decided after a couple more times that it wasn't going to work. There are things you can do to change the texture and flavor - you can add some fruit (I whiz in some low glycemic berries or peaches) and you can add some sugar free syrups (I use Torani). You can try different temperatures - I will mix chocolate with some 1% milk and heat it up in the microwave (careful to not exceed the recommended temp on the label) for hot chocolate and I might even add some sugar free peppermint syrup. Or you can whiz in some ice cubes for a thicker, colder shake. One thing I would caution you on - when you do find a shake mix or drink that you like, don't over purchase. Once you have surgery, your tastes may change and that shake you loved pre-surgery makes you gag post-surgery. Best of luck to you!

I'm 13 weeks and your weight loss is similar to mine - I consider myself a slow loser, but I've come to terms with that. Comparing yourself to others will lead to unhappiness/disappointment, so I've tried to stop. I am just coming off a 12 days stall...It sucks, but it is what it is. I can't control what my body does, I can only control what I put in my mouth and moving my body. I figure my body will catch up when it's ready. I actually increased my calories by 200-250 the past few days and, surprise, stall is over. I was getting 800-900 calories per day. It could be a coincidence, but this is the 2nd time it's happened. I call it "feeding the stall". I also take my measurements - it helped with this latest stall to know that in the last month I've lost another couple of inches on my hips. Measurements will tell you you're getting smaller when the scale isn't budging. You're doing great - keep working your plan and start that shred; exercise will do your mind wonders as well. You got this!

Hi, I'm McButterpants and I'm a coffeeholic. I was self-pay, so I have a surgeon and what I call my local doc that is a bariatric surgeon that is providing my aftercare. The two are polar opposites when it came to reintroduction to food - the local doc being much more conservative than the surgeon. My surgeon required me to be caffeine free when he operated. I struggled with caffeine withdrawal, but go thru it and 2 weeks before surgery I was caffeine free. My local doc said no caffeine for 2 months, then we would address it. The reasons she gave me for no caffeine directly after surgery is the diuretic affect of the coffee, so you can get dehydrated quickly - a real issue right after surgery. Also the acid on caffeinated coffee can upset your new tummy. I honestly had one cup of real coffee per week before my two months was up - coffee helped me with some mild constipation and it always worked when other things didn't. At my two month meeting with the local doc she approved ONE cup of real coffee per day and made me pinkie promise to not go back to my old habit of 3-4 cups per day. It was a good compromise. Most days I only have one cup of real coffee. Best of luck you to you my fellow coffee-lover! Bean on.

I got dehydrated on Day 3 - I really struggled in the beginning with plain Water. It was like drinking liquid sandpaper. (Pre-surgery, I loved plain water - drank it all day with no issues.) I talked to the surgeon on Day 3 and he suggested drinking Vitamin Water Zero, Propel Zero or Powerade Zero - all zero calorie alternatives to plain water. I did Vitamin Water Zero and Propel Zero (couldn't stand the taste of the Powerade) and it helped greatly. I'm 3 months post-op and still can't do plain water, so I drink Propel Zero or water with Just Lemon or Just Orange mixed in. As far as drinking, I set the alarm on my phone to chime every 5 minutes in the beginning as a reminder to sip. In the beginning I didn't get anywhere near 64 ounces of water...I just did what I could. You'll do fine - you got this!!!!

For your job, 3 weeks is probably good. I work a desk job and telecommute full time, so I was able to rest during the day - you don't have that luxury. I was sleeved on a Thursday and worked 1/2 days the following week, again, a desk job from home. The following week I worked full days, but got tired easily - I was also walking about 30-45 minutes per day. By week 3 I was fairly normal, but got tired easily.

I have a sleeve of steel. The only thing that bothers my stomach is my bariatric Vitamins on an empty stomach. It bothered me at first that nothing bothered me. Does that make sense? I was scared that seemingly nothing is off limits for me. I would hear people say, "I can't eat steak, it upsets my stomach." Not mine. "I can't eat salad." No issues there either. "I can't tolerate sweets." Nope, no problems. It worried me because I wondered if I could control myself rather than my sleeve controlling what I put in my mouth. If I can eat anything, will I in fact, eat everything. The answer is no, I don't eat everything. The sleeve is doing it's job - it controls the amount of whatever food I'm eating and, for the most part, I've made good choices. I'm not eating crazy things or crazy amounts of things. So, while I used to be fearful of my sleeve of steel, right now, I'm thankful. I can enjoy all kinds of foods - while on vacation in San Fran last week I ate Chinese, Italian and a steak. I just didn't order my own entrée - my husband and I split every meal we ate out. It was wonderful and a little romantic.

You just had major surgery. Your body is in shock and trying to figure out what you just did to it. Perfectly normal. My suggestion is to stay off the scale for a while - let your body and new tiny tummy recover. There's not way with what you're taking in that you're gaining fat - it's not possible (a pound of fat is something like 3500 calories). You're losing inches, I guarantee. Relax, sip and walk - be gentle with your body and new tummy.

I LOL'd at that!!!!! Thanks for the laugh.

I understand your concern. Rest assured, you're going to be OK. Consider yourself lucky. I had no real issues drinking and thought, "did they really remove part of my stomach?" I felt like I should be having more issues than I was. I had no issues post-op - no nausea, very little pain, and was able to take in fluids immediately. When I started on soft foods, same thing - nothing made me feel bad and was able to eat the approved amount of food with no issues. I kept reading about the issues other people had and thought I was the weird one. I'm 3 months out today - still nothing bothers my sleeve. But I have plenty of restriction - I can still only eat 2-3 ounces at a time.

Invite me when you do it - I'll be there to cheer you on!!!!!!!!

I've been losing...A LOT. It's horrifying what's coming out of my head on a daily basis. My hairstylist says she can see new growth - I hope so because this is getting old. I haven't seen any changes in my eyebrows. Thank goodness!!!!!!!

As a testament to Motherearth's post above...I haven't lost anything since 01/31/14...that's 12 days. I will add that while on vacation for the past week, I logged 35 miles walking up and down the hills of San Francisco. I walked every day. I was sure the scale was going to tell me I'm finally in Onderland. Not so fast....I'm the same weight as when I left. What the hell????? So this afternoon, I took my measurements - I've lost another 9.75 inches since mid-January, the last time I took them. My footprint on this earth is becoming smaller, even if the scale doesn't say so; I'm taking up less space. My husband started hiding the scale from me around Week 2 - I was weighing every day, sometimes multiple times during the day. I was obsessed. Then came the dreaded stall, a week earlier than expected. It lasted two weeks. I was glad he hid it and only brought it out on Thursdays. I've asked him to do the same now - after weigh-in tomorrow, it's gone for a week.

So I did my measurements today because I wanted to see some progress. I'm happy to report, I'm down another 9.75 inches from mid-January. (Total inches lost since surgery is 38.25.) I suggest everyone takes their measurements prior to surgery.

I had bad gas pains the first 5 days or so - about a week after, I still had that pain in my left shoulder, but it wasn't as bad as the beginning. Gas-X didn't help me much, but I did take them. The only thing that worked for me was walking, walking and more walking.

I do find myself looking at my face like it's not my own. My face slimmed down very quickly - I had to reintroduce myself to my jawline, which I haven't seen in many, many years.

You're still very early in the process - I agree, get off the scale. If you look at the numbers, there's no way you can be gaining - you're not consuming enough. You're body is just trying to figure out what you just did to it. It will hold on to Water some days and some days it will think everything is OK. Be patient and be kind to your body and your new tiny tummy. The weight will come off, but you need to recover first.

Awesome!

Try taking smaller bites and more time between bites - that may help with the uncomfortable feeling. It will get better. I promise!

I make a huge pot of chili and freeze it in bags - just pull one out in the morning and it's thawed. I also bake a lot of chicken breasts - prep time is minimal and it takes about 45 to cook. Buy steaks in bulk - season them, then freeze. Pull out the day before or that morning and they'll be ready to cook when you get home. For sides - since I don't eat a lot, I do frozen veggies or maybe roast some cauliflower or broccoli. On a rare occasion, bake a potato and have a couple of bites. I use Sundays as my prep day - I get ready for the week.

My husband and I had that conversation this morning - about the body hanging on. It could be. It was also interesting - I could see a different in his legs, they are more muscular. So, it could be I built some muscle. I agree on the scale - I need to put it away again. I have been weighing every day and that's not healthy for me.

Pre-surgery, my "Me Time" would be when my husband and son would leave the house for a baseball practice or something and I would be all by myself...that's when I would eat. I would eat food and sit in front of the TV. Horribly destructive behavior that I really didn't identify until after I had surgery. Now, my "Me Time" is at the gym or, if the weather cooperates, a nice long walk with the hubs and the dog. When at the gym, I put the earbuds in a rock out. On walks with the hubs, we talk - really talk to each other.

Yep, I'm in a stall. It sucks. It's lasted 12 days so far. I just got back from a week's vacation in San Francisco where I walked, walked and walked some more. Up and down those steep hills. I logged over 37 miles up and down those fu&^%ing hills. I was confident I would come home and be in Onderland, but it was not to be...202 the scale read again this morning, the same as it did on February 1st. I shall carry on, though. This is just another bump in the road. Today I will focus on my Water and Protein and will go to the gym. I will also say a prayer to the Scale Gods and ask for a nicer reading in the near future. Have a great day, guys!

Congrats! Keep walking and sipping!