Rogofulm

I'm seven weeks out and down 47.5 lbs, which includes 11 pre-op. I too stopped losing around week three and thought something had gone wrong. Eventually I learned why, so now I try to let people know about "the dreaded week-three stall" which can last two weeks or more. No, you're not going crazy and your surgeon didn't mess up. It's explained pretty well in this post on another forum that I discovered while doing research on the phenomenon. http://www.dsfacts.com/weight-loss-stall-or-plateau.php

I agree -- try not to give a hoot about the other folks. Wear you headphones and just be in your own world. One thought, though... I don't know if there is a Planet Fitness near you. They call themselves a "judgement free zone" and that has been my experience. Most of the clients look like us, just regular people trying to get fit. My center doesn't have child care unfortunately. I don't know if other facilities do, but it would be worth checking out if there's a PF gym near you. Don't know exactly where you are, but I just checked their website, and they have lots of gyms in Michigan. As a bonus, they're also pretty inexpensive. http://www.planetfitness.com/ Good luck!

I have always resisted logging what I eat. Don't wanna; ain't gonna, was my motto. And guess what? All my "successful" diets eventually failed (Diet Center twice, Weight Watchers 3 times, Nutri System, self-starvation, and a 400-calorie in-patient stay in a hospital on a ketogenic diet.) I lost 100 lbs three times, and they all found their way home - and brought friends. So this time, I got on board with Protein counting. And then I discovering MyFitnessPal and now I'm logging everything that goes in my mouth, plus exercise. For me, not logging gave me permission to make bad choices - and not have any accountability for them. Logging forces me to be honest with myself. And logging in the early stages of this journey is really easy because you don't eat very much variety, so the food you usually eat are remembered by the app. Web-based logging has made all the difference. And since I hope that this is my last weight loss/lifestyle program, I plan to do whatever it takes to succeed. Even if that includes [gasp!] logging.

I cheated during my 2 weeks too. I had each of the meals I knew I'd really miss (it's a surprisingly small list). But in between splurging for one meal every few days, I had nothing but Protein shakes. I still lost 11 lbs. during the period, but I probably could have lost 20. According to my doctor's office, the main reason for the two-week pre-op liquid diet is to shrink your liver to get it out of harm's way when sharp objects are moving around inside you. The fact that it makes your journey slightly shorter is just a side benefit. On a related note, I asked my doc what each of the 5 holes in my stomach was for. The little one that's higher up than the rest was for the instrument that lifts the liver out of the way. Who knew?!

Cool site! I'm going for the 80% club!!!

I'm using the Viactiv Calcium plus D Soft Chews. The chocolate ones taste just like my Premier Protein shakes.

I'm sitting here drinking Water right now, and it tastes just fine. I'ts hard to lose your taste for something that's basically tasteless. I think you'll be okay.

Wow - 150! Congratulations!!! That's fantastic!

Congratulations! You're doing great, so keep it up!!!!

Looks like you and I are on the same track! Keep doing the right things and you'll be there soon. I have a friend who has waffled between 200.2 and 200.4 for the past several weeks. Talk about torture! Good luck!

I too enjoyed my Coke Zeros to the tune of 2-3 per day. In the 6 weeks since my surgery, I have not had any, and I don't miss them! I do have a cup of coffee in the morning to get me going, but that's it. Geof said that he worried about losing one of the small joys in his life. Well the small joys in your new life will be feeling better and more energetic (without needing caffeine all day long), burning through clothing sizes like a fish through Water, and receiving tons of compliments on how good you look..... Way better than a dumb Diet Coke, no? Good luck to all!

I'm 6 weeks out and have walked about 2 miles (35-40 minutes) a day for the past 4 weeks. The past two Saturdays, I did strength training at the gym. While not "strenuous", I don't find that they zap my energy at all. They make me feel good, physically and mentally (I've lost 46 pounds). While I don't have any hard evidence, I have to assume that they're helping with the weight loss and my general physique. I've never been a workout guy, so this moderate level of exercise seems to work for me. I'm kind of saving the "strenuous" activity for when I'm a little more fit and have a nasty plateau/stall to bust.

Also none. I want to avoid all non-complex carbs. A Protein Shake is all I need for Breakfast, at least for now. I'm afraid breakfast Cereal would start me down a path that would not end well. Guess I'm an all-or-nothing kind of guy. But if you absolutely have to have a cold cereal, probably a high Protein Kashi or something like that would be best. But you do get a lot of calories and carbs along with it. Might it fill you up before you can get enough protein in? Since your profile says you just had surgery last month, I'd check with your doctor or nutritionist.

Some discomfort is normal one week out, but terrible pain should be reported to your surgeon's office immediately. Give them a call. They can ask the questions that might uncover the cause. Good luck!

Here's the good news.... The pre-op liquid diet is harder than the post-op one. After surgery, you're no longer hungry. Use your Protein shakes to get through it, they'll keep you satisfied much longer than the salads and popsicles will. I prefer the Premier brand of Protein Shakes. I get them at costco, but I think Safeway may carry them too. They're not as sickly sweet as some of the others, and they have 30 grams of Protein for only 160 calories. Good luck to all of you!

That is totally normal. I went through exactly the same thing. Everything you swallow has to squeeze around a corner from your esophagus into your stomach. The corner is a tight spot anyway, but you have the additional swelling from surgery making the opening even tighter. In my case, that lasted about a week. The worst of the stomach pain eases after about 4 days post-op. The next discomfort I got was higher up in my esophagus. It's kind of like heartburn, or the sensation that what you consume is getting stuck halfway down the pipe. That one eases at about two weeks post-op. Hang in there, it gets easier and easier every day. And be sure to drink as much Fluid as you possibly can to avoid Constipation.

But hey, ain't it great to not feel hungry?!! You get to keep that one. Good luck!

Here's what's going to happen as time goes by........Those stalls that are so frustrating in the beginning.......they just tend to blend into daily life. Not such a big deal anymore. You will find that as you get used to your daily intake, they become more routine and less of an event. So do the weight losses. I pay very little attention to the scale and pretty much expect that my weight loss will occur in it's own time regardless of what I do. I no longer fret over "stalls". I eat about 700 to 1200 calories each day and concentrate on the Protein. I have noticed that even when I'm not losing lbs, I am losing inches. (stuff fits better). It's become slow and steady.....but it still keeps coming off. At 800 cal. ......it pretty much has to. I will eventually get to my goal, as will you.

Thanks for the wise counsel - that helps a lot!!!

This early out 700 calories is fine. I gradually increased mine. I was around 500 at 4-8 weeks out. 700 cals around 4 months out, 800 at 6-8 months, etc. I hit my initial WL goal at about 13 months out and now eat around 1300 cals. You will increase cals over time and find a balance.

Thanks so much - that's just what I needed to hear!!!

I had a little trouble finding my "shake of choice" too. First of all, I don't really care for the powders, and I tend not to spend the time setting up, using, and cleaning the blender. So I needed a pre-made shake. But most of the shakes I tried were too sweet, or just tasted awful. But then I hit pay dirt. The best shake I've found - by a mile - is Premier Protein, chocolate (Vanilla's no good). But the chocolate is creamy and delicious (at least until you've eaten nothing but that for a few weeks, then anything gets old.) I'm four weeks post-surgery now, so I've been drinking them for 5-6 weeks. They have 30 grams of Protein, 160 calories, and only 1 gram of sugar. I have one every morning for Breakfast, and another at night if I'm short on my Protein intake for the day. You can get them in boxes of 18 at costco. Seriously, give them a try. They saved my butt. Good luck!

I'm four weeks out from sleeve surgery and down 36 lbs. I was glad to hear about the 1-week stall at week 3, because I experienced the same thing. I have to start counting calories, because I suspect I'm only getting in about 700 a day. The folks on myfitnesspal.com go berserk when anyone goes below about 1200, and say that will cause your body to go into starvation mode where you'll stop losing weight and start consuming muscle. But 1200 doesn't seem realistic for those of us with reduced capacity. In order to get 70-80 gs of Protein in, there's no room for high-calorie food, at least at this point in the journey. But since I'm a newbie, I'd appreciate any guidance on whether or not the low calorie count will slow/stop weight loss as they say on myfitnesspal. Thanks!

Thank you sincerely to all who posted such thoughtful answers to my question! I meet with the surgeon for my first one-on-one tomorrow and this will help fuel our discussion.

Again, thank you very much!!!

Rog

I've had the info seminar and I'm meeting with the surgeon next Wednesday. Not sure what procedure I'll have, but leaning toward the sleeve. I have a friend who got the lap band 10 years ago and she has put it all back on. Another friend got the sleeve 2 years ago and is really struggling. She's gained back 35 and in crisis. My main worry is not the surgery, but regaining weight down the road, like happened with all my other big weight losses. Any advice from the long-term folks? This is the one aspect that terrifies me. Thanks!