JamieLogical

Are you saying you haven't lost any weight since surgery and you have now gained 2 pounds? If that is the case, I think you definitely need to have a talk with your surgeon and/or nutritionist. While everyone loses weight at a different pace and you shouldn't set deadlines for your weight loss, the scale should generally be trending downward over the course of a couple of months. If it's not, there must be a reason and your surgeon or nutritionist can help you get to the bottom of it.

What the heck? There is no deadline for losing this weight. Are you sticking to the program? Are you getting all your protein and water in? If so, you are doing okay. At 6 weeks post-op, your "working out" should consist of brisk walking and that's it. Talk to your surgeon about when you are cleared for strength training and more intense cardio.

@@rydersmama I listed out the stretches and strength training I do in my original post here: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/363681-beginners-guide-to-running-for-the-obese/?hl=%20guide%20%20running

@jt925 I'm sorry the responses you got were so unhelpful. I hate when people read the topic and spout off before even bothering to read the actual post. I hope you were able to get the answers you needed from your surgeon, since you couldn't get them here. Please don't hesitate to ask questions here in the future though! This site can be very very useful sometimes. It's just sort of a mixed bag once in a while. Maybe, moving forward, be conscious of what you put in the topic and how that might be interpreted by people and what kind of responses it might attract.

There are specific types of stretches for specific types of knee pain/weakness. So maybe do a little bit of research about the type of sensation you are having and find stretches that might benefit you. I'd be happy to try to help some if you can describe what you are feeling. Another thing you can do is some strength training on you off days. That can help build up the muscles that support your knee. I have a whole list of ST exercises I do for my knees if you want me to send you that.

Hmm. Have you talked to your plastic surgeon about it? I had a lot of nausea after my plastics, just from the pain meds and anesthesia. But I was physically capable of eating and swallowing. Of course, I had my plastics before my VSG, so I am not sure how it might have been different.

At 6 weeks, you are still healing. I promise it will get easier over time. You will regain some capacity and your stomach won't be as sensitive.

Actually every plan is different when it comes to the number of meals/snacks. While grazing is never a good idea, my nut had me eating 5-6 times a day. Definitely follow your nutritionist's/surgeon's plan!

Can you be more specific? What type of surgery did you have? Where is the pain? How long does it last?I had panni abdomen and breast.The pain is when I eat anything or drink Water. Is it a pain in your throat? In your stomach? Is it deep inside or in the muscle?

It is INCREDIBLY important, whether you feel hungry or not, to eat on a schedule and measure your food in the early weeks post-op. DO NOT rely on any signals from your body for anything at this point.

I'd be curious to know what they define as "reagain". I've seen it defined as as little as 20% of excess weight. I think you inferred they meant 100% of excess weight. Did they give any specifics? In any event, your success with the sleeve is completely on you. It's not a magic bullet. It's a tool. It's up to you to use that tool correctly. Is it possible to regain weight post-sleeve? Yep! It's possible you won't ever even reach goal. But as long as you stick to your plan, make real and lasting changes to your lifestyle, and remain determined and diligent, you can lose the weight and keep it off long term. Despite what society thinks, WLS is not the "easy way out". It's not easy by any means. It requires constant effort and vigilance.

Can you be more specific? What type of surgery did you have? Where is the pain? How long does it last?

@@goplay94123 Not sure what your course is like out there, but our JP Morgan Chase race here is actually 3.5 miles, so longer than a 5k.

@@LowBMISleever Did you have your gall bladder out? I've heard high fat foods can cause problems if you had your gall bladder out, but I had no issues with full fat cheeses post-VSG.

I lived off of ricotta bake in my soft foods stage. You really shouldn't be worrying about calories and fat in your early food stages. It's not possible to eat enough to do any damage. During the food stages, you should just be worried about Protein, Water, and getting enough calories to live!

Hmm. That's what my NUT had me on at that stage as well, so I don't have any real advice. I do know that "full" for me post-op was more about feeling uncomfortable, nauseous, and kind of getting cold sweats. I try to avoid that feeling at all costs.

The OP is talking about drinking alcohol BEFORE the liquid diet starts. Seems to be a bit of confusion there. If your surgeon gave you no restrictions for prior to the start of the pre-op diet, then I don't see why you couldn't drink alcohol.

Are you weighing/measuring your food. How much are you trying to eat in one sitting right now?

I was initially scheduled for 4 weeks off work. I had a complication where I had soft-tissue swelling in my lower back, which made it very painful to sit in my desk chair, so I actually ended up working half days for a while once I got back to work. I would definitely recommend 6 weeks off if you can get it.

@ There's no shame in modifying the program if you have to. As long as you keep pushing yourself and you get where you are going eventually. I don't feel like taking the extra two weeks to finish C25k was any sort of failure on my part. I eventually got to where I was running a 5k race every month, then I got to where I trained for and ran a half marathon, and now i am training for a full marathon! It's all about challenging yourself, but if you push too hard too fast, you risk injury or set-backs. So you have to find the balance that works for you.

Mine was around $11,000 in all for airfare, recovery house, extended tummy tuck, breast lift with implants, all over lipo, and fat grafting to my butt. But that was back in 2011, so I am sure the pricing has gone up since then and airfare is always a wildcard depending on when you go. In the US I would have probably paid closer to $30,000 and the surgeons in my area aren't exactly the bee's knees, so I might have ended up traveling anyway. Did you have all the procedures at once, or were they split up? Everything you've listed is exactly what I want done. I'd love to knock it out all at one time. How did decide how much fat grafting you wanted for your butt? I think I want a moderate size butt, but I'm not really sure. I don't want it too big b/c I think it'd be a struggle to find pants that properly fit. I did have them all at once. It was kind of a marathon surgery and it was A LOT to recover from at once. Not positive I'd do it all at the same time again if I had it to do over, but I made it. As for the fat grafting, I left that up to Dra. Cardenas. She is an expert in that sort of thing, so I deferred to her judgement. And I was, of course, somewhat limited by the amount of fat I had to lipo from elsewhere. In the end, pants fitting did become somewhat of an issue. Between the tiny waist from the tummy tuck, and the larger butt from the fat grafting, it was hard to find pants that fit well in both areas. There are some specialty jean shops (PZI comes to mind) that are meant to accommodate "curvier" shapes.

Oh, if you are only a couple days out from surgery, no wonder the scale is going up. They pump you full of IV fluids and you probably have a lot of internal swelling going on!

If you continue to eat that way... waiting for some food to digest then eating a little more, you are essentially "grazing", which is one of the ways WLS patients regain weight. You want to try to avoid that. Once you are all healed up, which you should be at 3 months out, you want to try to confine each "meal" or "snack" to about 20 minutes of eating. Then wait 30-40 minutes before drinking. Then don't eat again until your next scheduled meal or snack. At 3 months out, I was eating 5-6 meals/snacks per day. Trying to get about 10-20 grams of protein in each time. I didn't have much room for vegetables, which is why I was diligent about taking all of my vitamins and supplements.

If minor fluctuations are going to cause you anxiety, it's best to just stay off the scale completely. Or if you want to be able to track progress over time, designate a specific weigh in day each week or month. Make sure the conditions of your weigh-in are the same every time. I always did mine in the morning, after I'd peed, before I ate/drank anything, and completely naked. Weighing once a week or once a month will not show the day-to-day fluctuations so you won't be driving yourself crazy.

@@My Bariatric Life Definitely have to take everything you read on the internet with a grain of salt. There are all sorts of reasons for people to post false reviews. Or maybe they even did have legitimately bad experiences, but are prone to exaggeration. It's so hard to tell. I think that's why it's important to try to get into direct contact with multiple past patients and try to find as much out as you can, the good and the bad, and try to sort through it all to make the best decision for yourself.