JamieLogical

Congrats on your progress so far. It sounds like you are doing great, so no wonder you are happy!

I had to experiment with various protein drinks post-op, because my tastes for them definitely changed and some were less pleasant than others for my new sleeve. The ones I ended up drinking were EAS AdventEDGE Carb Control, which I bought at Walmart and Target. Another thing you can try to do is add unflavored whey protein powder to your soups and yogurts. Just be careful when adding it to soup. If the soup is too hot, it can cause the powder to curdle.

@@Bluesea71 I'll see if I can get my husband to take some photos of my TT scar tonight. It's funny to me NOW that people are so concerned about the scars, but I remember back when I was researching plastic surgery, how worried I was about the scars as well. Now I am so used to them and feel they are so worth the trade-off, that it seems silly to me that people who haven't gone through PS worry about them so much. My scar is a VERY small price to pay for my flat, tight stomach! As for implants, it's the same way. Like you, I was all freaked out about having a foreign object inside of me, but now they are truly a part of me and I was miss them DESPERATELY if I had to have them taken out. In fact, I need a revision due to the malpositioning of my left implant after my weight re-gain and re-loss. One of the surgeons I got a consultation from wanted to remove my implants entirely and wait at least 6 weeks before replacing them. The idea of just going 6 weeks without my implants had me in a complete panic!

It still sounds to me like you are probably not eating enough. I agree with the others who are encouraging you to weigh and track your food for a bit. It's not something you will/should have to do forever, but it would be a good way to just get a sense of how much you are eating and then go from there. I don't track my food with any regularity, but I will occasionally "spot-check" by tracking for a couple of days, just to make sure I really am eating around the amounts I *think* I am.

I can't help you with the rash, but I think the thirst could be a couple of things. First of all, are you getting all your water in? I know it can be really hard immediately post-op, just because it's tough to physically drink much at one time. Also, if you are 4 weeks out, you might be on solid foods now, which means no drinking for long periods of time before and after eating, which could definitely make you thirsty. Another potential culprit is acid. Are you on a PPI?

I feel your pain. I have only lost 2.2 pounds so far in the month of April, with just a few days to go. I've been working out 5-6 times a week. I am in Week 7 of my Couch to 5k training, now running 25 minutes non-stop! I just progessed to the next highest weights in my upper body strength training. And the scale won't budge! It's such a jerk! On the bright side though, I take my measurements on the 24th of every month, so I did that last week and I was down inches from several areas from my March 24 measurements. Still, that scale is a jerk!

Those EWL averages are just that, AVERAGES. There are plenty of people who lose 100% or more of their excess weight with sleeve and bypass. There are a lot of people who only lose maybe 30-40%. Either surgery is just a tool. You still have to eat right and do the work. If you are 100% complaint with either surgery, I have no doubt you could lose all of your excess weight. The main difference is that RNY is malabsorbative. So you are physically incapable of absorbing all of the calories you eat. The same exact patient with the same exact level of compliance will lose more with RNY, because of the passive element of the malabsorption.

I have't had to SEE my nutritionist post-op, as she is in Mexico and I am in Western, NY, but I corresponded with her frequently immediately post-op as I progressed through the food stages and I had follow-up phone calls with her at 3 months and 6 months post-op.

You are likely in a stall due to not getting enough calories to sustain your level of activity. If you can't increase your calorie intake, because you still just physically can't eat enough, then try reducing your activity some. I wouldn't advocate that as a long-term solution though, since decreasing activity can lead to muscle loss. You need to find the right balance of calorie intake and activity to where you are in that sweet spot of losing steadily, but not sending your body into "starvation mode".

Are you eating enough? If you are working out every day, you need to be getting enough calories to sustain that, otherwise your metabolism will slow drastically as your body tries to preserve itself.

If you were sleeved on the 7th, then you have probably hit the dreaded week 3 stall. You'll be fine. Keep getting in your water and protein and walking. Your weight is going to fluctuate from day-to-day by a couple of pounds. That's just a fact, as you retain and release water weight. If it's taking a psychological toll on you, then stop weighing yourself as oftern. Just weigh once a week or once a month.

I don't track carbs, for better or worse. Some people may say that has contributed to my slow rate of loss. But on the days that I have spot-checked my nutrition, I've been around maybe 25-45 or so net carbs? I always just make sure I get my 100 grams of protein a day, which doesn't leave much room for carbs anyway.

@@deedadumble You look great! Congrats!

That's exactly how I felt when I got my sleeve. I had lost 90+ pounds before that "on my own" and regained after my plastics. I tried to re-lose the weight a few times again "on my own" losing 40+ pounds again, but again regained. When I was facing yet another attempt to lose the weight this past summer, I realized that I needed WLS to keep the weight off once I lost it again. For me, it's more like weight MAINTENANCE surgery than weight LOSS surgery. But I knew I should get it while at my high BMI, since surgeons don't usually want to do WLS on a patient with a healthy BMI.

Yay!

@@Bluesea71 I too am a little skeptical of posters who seem to ONLY post about plastics and specific surgeons, but I like to give people the benefit of the doubt. I post a LOT more about my sleeve than my plastics, because I just had my sleeve in September and had my plastics 3.5 years ago. So the sleeve is obviously more "top-of-mind" for me. Maybe some of these posters who mostly post about their plastics do so because their WLS was a long time ago and with their plastics being more recent, that's what they think about more?

Really really focus on getting your protein in. You are less than a month out, so bread should NOT be an option right now. If you focus on your protein, you shouldn't have room for carbs at this stage.

Ugh! I would NOT want to be even the tiniest bit "awake" for plastics. Have you seen the videos of what they actually DO? Watch a video of a tummy tuck or breast augmentation and that'll make you pass out, even if the sedation doesn't! The best part of surgery, as far as I'm concerned, is being unconscious through the whole thing and having it just magically all done when you wake up.

Ha! I love that image. The recovery house I stayed in provided walkers, so I spent the first two weeks doing my little walks around the recovery house and back yard with a walker, all hunched over. By the time I was flying back home. I was walking upright like a human again.

Better to use the precious room in your sleeve for protein anyway.

It is perfectly normal to go through a period of stall or even a slight gain at this point. Keep following the plan. I assure you, you have not come CLOSE to eating enough calories to actually gain real weight. It's just your body adjusting. Stick to the plan. Get in your protein and water. Eat the things you are allowed to eat in your current food stage. And be patient.

I used Dra. Laura Carmina Cardenas of Beauty Enhance. I had a great experience with her. She treated me exceptionally well, visited me every day in the recovery house for the two full weeks I was there, and provided great follow-up care via email and phone. Website: http://www.beauty-enhance.com/ Phone: (619) 399-7449 Address: Av. Diego Rivera 2550 Zona Rio Tijuana Baja California 22320

My "running" is only 5 mph right now, so if/when I run a full 5k, my time will be over 36 minutes. But I have plans for ways to work on my speed once I finish the traditional C25k program.

Huge congratulations! That is a major milestone for all of us. For those of us who already got there, we all remember that as the BEST feeling. And for those of us who aren't there yet, we all look forward to how great it will feel. Cherish it!

The key is, it doesn't really matter how fast or slow you lose the weight, so long as you eventually lose it. In the grand scheme of your life is it going to matter that it took you 6 months or 12 months to reach your goal when you've been living a happy, healthy life for 10+ years? We are all in this horrible mentality from past diets where we feel like we're in a race to goal so we can be "done". News flash: we'll never be "done" with weight loss surgery!