catwoman7

Gabapentin seems to be prescribed a lot now. I know it's pretty effective - and they're probably prescribing that now due to the opioid problem.

I didn't really have a food funeral, but we went out to dinner at a couple of my favorite places the week before my two-week liquid diet because I knew it'd be awhile before I could have some of those foods again...

that's extremely common, and there's not much you can do about it other than keep on top of your supplements so it doesn't get any worse than it would otherwise. It'll stop - and then it'll all grow back! I started to lose hair around month five or six - and it lasted about three months.

you're losing at about the same rate as I did. People lose at all different rates due to all different factors, many of which you don't have much....or any...control over (age, gender, metabolic rate...). The only factor you really have complete control over is whether or not you're following your plan. As long as the trend is downward, you're good! (and by the way - your rate of weight loss sounds pretty normal to me!)

hmmm....maybe I should try that!

I haven't had a revision, but I've read that people normally don't experience as much weight loss as they do with a "virgin" surgery, but that probably depends on how much weight you have to lose. If you're only 30 or 40 lbs overweight currently, it's likely to be much slower going than if you still had 100 lbs to lose, I would guess... surgeons usually give you averages (and I'm referring to all patients getting WLS - not just revisions). As with any average, there are people who lose more...or less...than that. I think they just don't want to set people up for disappointment. I'm betting you can lose more than that if you set your mind to it.

I just scanned through a few sections of this - excellent resource! I love his concept of "best weight" and agree with him totally. Thanks for posting this!

yes - it depends on how fast you walk. I don't stroll, but at the same time, I'm not a "race walker", either. I used 2 miles per hour in my tracker to get that number (176 calories). But I don't think my tracker is any more reliable than the others. But as I said, I don't really think about the calories I'm burning since I don't deduct them from the calories I'm eating, so it's not a huge deal to me if this thing is off. P.S. I just realized I made a mistake in my above message. I put in 2 miles an hour for 60 minutes of walking. So to walk four miles would take me two hours - so that's 353 calories. How long does it take you to walk 4-4.5 miles?

yea that "what you are willing to do to maintain it" is a big factor, too. I know I could weigh less if I was willing to cut my calories back to 1200/day. Or become a gym rat and exercise two or three hours a day. And some people are willing to do that. But I'm evidently not. I can maintain my weight if I stay in the 1500-1700 calorie a day range and exercise moderately. That's acceptable to me, and not too tough to do day in and day out.

Trackers can vary a lot and I don't know how accurate most of them are. I just checked mine (sparkpeople). According to that, four miles in 60 minutes for someone at my weight (158 lbs) (I'm four pounds overweight according to my BMI chart) burns up 176 calories. However, I've never really factored in the calories from exercise because I know most trackers are inaccurate. I go more by the time I spent exercising. I like to spend 30-60 minutes exercising at least five days a week. The only time I really think about the calories is if I go a little over my maintenance range on a given day. If I've exercised an hour or so that particular day and only went over my range by up to 100 calories or so, then I don't worry too much about the extra calories. But I've never subtracted exercise calories from my food intake because I know "exercise calories" can vary so much depending on your size and what tracker you're using. It's just not all that reliable.

the "starvation mode" theory, from what I understand, is a bit controversial. Some don't believe it. And metabolism does drop, but I don't know that it's all that dramatic. When I weighed 373 lbs, I was averaging a bit over 3000 kcal/day. Now I can maintain my weight as long as I don't go over 1700 too often. So yes, my metabolism (or really - my need for calories) has dropped A LOT, but most of that is due to the change in my weight. For a woman in their 60's at my height and activity level, 1700 is maybe a little lower than average, but not much. I don't think my metabolic level was affected all that much.

If you're having issues with it, then probably - a lot of people have had those removed the last few years due to complications and have gotten the sleeve or bypass instead. But if it's not bothering you, I'd be tempted to ask for his rationale.

it's really trial and error. So many things can affect your calorie requirement. The tube idea might be good....strength training supposedly boosts your metabolism a bit because it builds muscle - and muscle requires more calories to function than fat does...

1300 calories is maintenance level for a lot of us. I can maintain on 1700 calories, but that seems to be on the high end for female bariatric patients. I just checked my records, and at 10 months out I was averaging 1000 kcal/day. Maybe try eating closer to the bottom end of your current range for awhile (1000 kcal) and see if you start losing again. If you're walking 4-4.5 miles a day, than you're probably about as active as I was, so that part should be OK.

it's where you feel comfortable. Some people feel comfortable being a little on the heavier side - maybe 10 or 20 lbs overweight, and that's fine. It's really not a big health risk. I got down to about a 21 BMI and really didn't feel comfortable there. Every rib was showing, so I was embarrassed to wear clothes that showed my ribs (like tops with low necklines). I hover around a 25 BMI now, and even though I'd like to lose about 5 lbs, I do feel comfortable at this weight. Plus my doctor is one of those who prefers her older adult patients (which would be me...) to be in the 23-27 BMI range (to give us a little cushion in case we get sick), so she's totally fine with my current weight (although I do wish I could lose these #&% five pounds!!!)

you have to create a calorie deficit to lose, so if you've been stuck at a weight for more than a month or so, you might have to drop your calories a bit - or increase your exercise. calorie level is going to vary a lot between people. I would lose at 1000-1300 calories a day, but some people wouldn't. I'm taller than you - and fairly active - and also, things like age, metabolic rate, etc, all factor into how many calories you need a day. It takes trial and error to figure out how many calories you need to maintain your weight - or lose weight. it's important to know, though, that once you get to around the year mark - and especially if you're within 20 or so lbs of your goal weight, weight loss DOES slow down to a crawl. Those last 20 lbs were an absolute BEAR for me to lose. Like you, it was very slow going, with lots of stalls. But...I kept at it and eventually made it. So that might be what's going on for you, too...

the weight loss kind of depends on where you started (starting BMI is one of several factors that affect your rate of weight loss). If you started off at 600 lbs, then yes - 60 lbs in six months is pretty slow. If you started off at 220 or 250, then no, that's probably pretty normal. As long as you're trending down, you're good. as the above poster said, you should be able to eat solids by now - and should have been by a few weeks out. Check with your surgeon. Acid reflux does happen to a significant minority of sleeve patients. Winston said his eventually faded, but for some people, it doesn't. I'd mention that to your surgeon as well so they can get you on something for it. Untreated GERD can lead to more serious conditions, like Barrett's Esophagus.

I agree with all of this. Also, if you have gastric bypass, then you also have the malabsorption factor that helps you lose weight. That's pretty much gone once you hit around the 18-24 month mark. So that can make at least some difference as well. plus when you're losing, you have the constant feedback and reward of being down a pound or two (or more) every time you step on the scale. That can be very motivating. Once you're at your goal, you don't have that anymore. You pretty much stay the same, plus or minus a couple of pounds (that is, unless you start gaining again...) and another factor - people tend to have a lot of resolve the first few months or year after surgery. That sort of wanes after awhile. Diet fatigue, you might say. It eventually sets in for a lot people.

there's nothing much that will help with that, other than keeping on top of your supplements so that it doesn't get any worse than it would otherwise. Some people take biotin - although there are mixed reviews on that. Some say it doesn't do a thing. and yes - it usually does grow back.

yes - I agree with that 100%. And I suspect anyone who is more than a couple of years post-op would agree, too. Things change after that first year or so, and you have to really work at keeping that weight off, or it'll come right back on (or some of it, anyway - although a few people gain back every pound they lost)

that's actually pretty standard... I was not happy about it, either, but I used that time to REALLY research the surgery and post-surgery life, and I also met with a dietitian monthly who gradually changed my diet to something more akin to what it would be like after surgery, so it wasn't such a radical change when the time came. In retrospect, it was time well spent.

letting bad habits slip back in. You really have to be diligent for the rest of your life to keep it off.

although post-op pain is across the board and very individual, most of us really don't have much. Some do, but it seems like the majority really have very little. The only pain I had was in my abs - I felt like I'd done about 1000 crunches. So it was uncomfortable to get in and out of bed, but if I was just lying there - or sitting there - I really didn't have any pain. The nurses at the hospital made me use the morphine pump so I could get in and out of bed easier so I could walk, but if it weren't for that, I wouldn't have touched it. I was also sent home with a bottle of pain pills that I never bothered to open. I don't think you have a whole lot in the way of nerves in there.

I would mention that to them... maybe they can go a bit heavier on the drugs with you

I started where you were. It took me 20 months to lose all my excess weight. I think I weighed around 185 at the one-year mark. I can't remember if my surgeon had a goal for me or not, but he was elated with my progress. I can tell you that once you hit the year mark, stalls become more frequent and longer and weight loss drops down to nearly nothing. Like two lbs a month. I got discouraged so many times, thinking I'd never get to a normal BMI (even though my surgeon and dietitian told me not to get my hopes up because only about 10-15% of their patients made it that far), but I kept plugging away and eventually made it. SO...suffice it to say, don't give up hope yet! Just continue to follow your plan. If you go for more than a month or so and the scale doesn't move, then cut back a bit on calories and see if that gets things moving again. But long stalls and snail-pace weight loss are VERY common once you get into year 2. P.S. I think your surgeon is going to be happy with even 196. Considering all the weight you've lost, that's really not that far off the mark. But keep plugging away!