Rogofulm

Why are you eating off plan? Think about why you had surgery in the first place. To stop the madness, right? Please take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to change your relationship with food. If I may be so bold, it sounds like you could use a professional counselor to help you get to the bottom of this. In the meantime, make a decision right now to start following all the rules. If you do, I promise it will change your life for the better. And once you detox from all the crap you've been putting in your system, it get so much easier. Good luck, I wish you all the success in the world, but you'll need to put in the work to make it happen.

If you're hitting all your Protein and Fluid goals and getting 600-700 calories, you will lose weight. If you're eating any non-green-veggie carbs, I'd cut them out, and definitely no sugar (including fruit juices). Just keep staying away from the "bad foods" and you'll start dropping weight soon. And remember, the inches should still be coming off, even when the scale doesn't budge. Hang in there, you'll be okay!

What a transformation already! Keep it up!!!

Yup, just keep sipping. You don't want to get dehydrated. During the first couple of weeks, fluids are even more important than Protein. Try to get in the habit of sipping continuously. IT will serve you well down the road. Good luck!

Went to the store to try on pants and discovered that I'm now a 32 waist. Holy crap! I haven't been that size since high school, and even then, only occasionally for a short time after a crash diet. BTW, that's down from a 46-inch waist. Did I mention that I love my sleeve?!!!!

After 10 months I'm still on Pantoprazole. Don't know if I still need it or not, but I never have any acid problems. I just got my last refill, so I may change to generic omeprazole (Prilosec, Nexium) when that runs out. Or I may try to go with nothing.

Congratulations, great job!!! So what kind of bike seat do you have? Even my soft sofa hurts my scrawny butt. Keep up the good work!!!

I weigh myself twice a day – first thing in the morning, and last thing at night. My night time weight is always higher, but it still gives me a preview of what to expect in the morning. I've been pretty obsessive about numbers, so it helps me stay on track. Speaking of scales, since you were just sleeved this month, let me give you a heads-up about what to expect so you don't freak out when it happens.... If you haven't already, you will soon reach The Dreaded Week-3 Stall. It's perfectly normal, and just about all of us have suffered through it. You're not crazy, and your doctor didn't screw up. In fact, you might not lose any weight for two weeks or even longer. But don't worry – after that, the pounds will start falling off if you stick to your program. And, the inches will continue to come off even while the scale isn't budging. Here's a good article that explains why it happens and why we all have to go through it. Hang in there. Pretty soon it'll be in the rear-view mirror and you'll be dropping weight again! (Apologies to BP regulars who have seen this repeatedly, but it's a big deal to those who are going through it!)

I bought two 24-ounce Tervis Tumblers (and handles) at Bed, Bath & Beyond; one for work and one for home. At least 45 minutes after Breakfast I fill one up with sugar-free, decaf Crystal Light (or generic) iced tea (Mio works too) and sip it all morning, finishing up at least 30 minutes before lunch. At least 45 minutes after lunch, I fill another and sip it all afternoon. Then, at least 45 minutes after dinner I fill my last one at home and sip it all evening. That's 72+ ounces of Fluid every day! If I have to go somewhere, I bring my tumbler in the car with me. And if I'm hungry and it's not mealtime or snacktime, I drink even more. Remember, after weight loss surgery, hunger is usually thirst in disguise. If I'm going to a casual party where there won't be anything "appropriate" for me to drink, I bring along more Crystal Light in a cooler. Between the iced tea, coffee (yeah, I know), and my Protein shake, I'm easily getting in 120 oz. of fluid per day. Try to make it a daily routine to help you meet your fluid goals every day. Good luck!!!

It's too soon. And it probably wouldn't feel good anyway. Most doctors recommend waiting 6 months. And after that, only in extreme moderation. When we have WLS, we all need to learn to Celebrate in different ways. Birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays are no longer reasons to eat and drink whatever we want. I won't lie, the first few are tricky. But, if you stick to your program, they get easier. Once you detox from all the old foods, it becomes much easier to resist them. And soon you begin to feel so virtuous about making good choices, that the simple act of resisting the food and drink you used to have becomes motivation in itself. And as people see you doing it, they are impressed and (hopefully) give you positive feedback. Good luck, you can do this!!!

Fun discussion topic! My reasons for WLS were to get rid of diabetes, apnea, asthma, high cholesterol, and borderline blood pressure. At my next checkup I expect the cholesterol numbers to be normal, and then ALL of those diseases will be gone. But, even more importantly, I want to live a longer and higher quality life with my wife and daughter. (Looking better is okay too.) I set my initial goal at 154. That's exactly one pound into the "normal" BMI for my height. As I approached that, I ran across an "ideal weight" calculation that put me at 148. Okay, that seemed doable. But when I got under 150, I realized that I liked being below that nice, round number. And then I learned of a rule-of-thumb that doctors use to calculate "ideal weight". That calculation put me at 142. Since I'm an analyst, I quickly noticed that the halfway point between those two numbers is 145, which just happens to be exactly 120 pounds down from where I started. How perfect is that?!! So now I'm at 145, and have no desire to lose any more weight. In fact, I'll be happy to remain anywhere below 150. I just have to figure out how to do that.....

Congratulations! You may have reached The Dreaded Week-3 Stall a little early. It's perfectly normal, and just about all of us have suffered through it. You're not crazy, and your doctor didn't screw up. In fact, you might not lose any weight for two weeks or even longer. But don't worry – after that, the pounds will start falling off if you stick to your program. And, the inches will continue to come off even while the scale isn't budging. Here's a good article that explains why it happens and why we all have to go through it. Hang in there. Pretty soon it'll be in the rear-view mirror and you'll be dropping weight again! (Apologies to BP regulars who have seen this repeatedly, but it's a big deal to those who are going through it!)

Congratulations! You have probably reached The Dreaded Week-3 Stall. It's perfectly normal, and just about all of us have suffered through it. You're not crazy, and your doctor didn't screw up. In fact, you might not lose any weight for two weeks or even longer. But don't worry – after that, the pounds will start falling off if you stick to your program. And, the inches will continue to come off even while the scale isn't budging. Here's a good article that explains why it happens and why we all have to go through it. Hang in there. Pretty soon it'll be in the rear-view mirror and you'll be dropping weight again! (Apologies to BP regulars who have seen this repeatedly, but it's a big deal to those who are going through it!)

My gurgling mostly stopped several weeks after surgery once the swelling had gone down. Now it's only occasional.

Can you tell me how long it was before you were no longer diabetic (or taking meds if you were)? Hi @@Tonia43! Prior to my surgery I was taking pills and giving myself injections daily for diabetes, and sleeping with a CPAP machine. In less than 3 weeks, I was done with all of them! By then I had lost less than 20 pounds overall, so that just goes to show how much our diseases are related to what we put in our mouths. And at my last appointment my A1C had dropped from 13.3 to 5.7 and the endocrinologist declared my diabetes completely under control. For the record, though, it's not recommended to go off diabetes meds without a doctor's blessing, or to stop using the CPAP without a follow-up sleep test. Good luck with your decision, I'm thrilled with mine!!!

Hi @@JamieLogical, I agree with @@erp and several others about taking advantage of the first year (honeymoon or not) to get to your goal. Everyone's goal is their own, with or without advice from their doc/nut, and there's no "right answer". My doc's philosophy is that we're doing this for our health, and everything else is just gravy, so if your health is good and you feel good, that's one thing. But... You also have this tremendous opportunity to push beyond the "I'm tired of this, so where I am is good enough" point. If you settle for "good enough", you may always wonder what your true goal might have brought you. (Kind of like spouses, right?) So I'm really glad to hear that you want to push on!!! Pick a number, re-focus on it, and drive towards it. Once you get there, see how you feel. If you want 5 more, go for it. If you're happy. That's great too. But don't stop short because it's "good enough". I aimed for the top of my "normal" BMI. Once I got there, I realized that I never wanted to get back to "overweight" again, so I lost 5 more. Then I was at 150 and decided that I wanted to stay below that, so I pushed to where I could touch 145. (It was also exactly 120 pounds down, which sounds way better than 115!) So now now I'm there and guess what? I don't have the desire to lose any more. I'm thrilled with where I am and just want to stay between 145 and 150, which leaves me with a 5-10 pound buffer for the "normal" range. And people who told me to stop because I was starting to look too thin 20 pounds ago, now tell me how healthy I look at this weight! You're always so full of wonderful advice, so I hope you'll take this from the heartfelt place from where it is offered. Good luck, I wish you nothing but the best – wherever you decide to go!!!

Hey @@Olarance75, In reading your posts, it strikes me that you may not be getting enough sustenance for your program to remain viable for very long. Looks like you're not getting enough Protein or calories to continue to resist temptation. If necessary, drink another shake (or two). Keep the Water going, try to get your protein above 70 grams, and your calories above 800. And stay away from all starches/sugars. And, as you said in a post, after 3 days you'll be able to resist them more easily. Good luck, we wish you great success!!!!!

Hey, of the dozens of times I've posted this message, I think this is the first time that I'm posting it for a duodenal switch patient -- and it's originally from a DS forum. Cool! Check out the link, and good luck..... Congratulations! You have reached The Dreaded Week-3 Stall. It's perfectly normal, and just about all of us have suffered through it. You're not crazy, and your doctor didn't screw up. In fact, you might not lose any weight for two weeks or even longer. But don't worry – after that, the pounds will start falling off if you stick to your program. And, the inches will continue to come off even while the scale isn't budging. Here's a good article that explains why it happens and why we all have to go through it. Hang in there. Pretty soon it'll be in the rear-view mirror and you'll be dropping weight again! (Apologies to BP regulars who have seen this repeatedly, but it's a big deal to those who are going through it!)

Congratulations! You have reached The Dreaded Week-3 Stall. It's perfectly normal, and just about all of us have suffered through it. You're not crazy, and your doctor didn't screw up. In fact, you might not lose any weight for two weeks or even longer. But don't worry – after that, the pounds will start falling off if you stick to your program. And, the inches will continue to come off even while the scale isn't budging. Here's a good article that explains why it happens and why we all have to go through it. Hang in there. Pretty soon it'll be in the rear-view mirror and you'll be dropping weight again! (Apologies to BP regulars who have seen this repeatedly, but it's a big deal to those who are going through it!)

Hey @@Olarance75, Way to kick off a truly inspirational topic!!! Reading confessionals from people who have been struggling, but have successfully found a way to get it back under control is the best thing we can hear. And I'm glad to know that the sleeve can, in fact, be reset to its original usefulness. I'm heading into maintenance and this is the best news I could hear.... so thanks!

All the damned time! As side effects go, though, it's a pretty tolerable one. In fact, it's even motivating because it's more proof that we don't have as much insulation, and we're not burning calories like we used to.

Guess I can't hold it back any more. I've hit my goal of 145 and stayed there for nearly a week. Now I just have to hold it until Memorial Day! Thanks! Rog

Click on the words "good article". That should link you to it.

Way to go, @@Stevehud! Keep it going!!! I'm down 120 too, so I've got to ask you... Have you had a blast losing it, or has it been no fun, or somewhere in between?

Congratulations! You have reached The Dreaded Week-3 Stall. It's perfectly normal, and just about all of us have suffered through it. You're not crazy, and your doctor didn't screw up. In fact, you might not lose any weight for two weeks or even longer. But don't worry – after that, the pounds will start falling off if you stick to your program. And, the inches will continue to come off even while the scale isn't budging. Here's a good article that explains why it happens and why we all have to go through it. Hang in there. Pretty soon it'll be in the rear-view mirror and you'll be dropping weight again! (Apologies to BP regulars who have seen this repeatedly, but it's a big deal to those who are going through it!)