christopherM

I did not know either of those things! That's pretty cool. I also found an informative article about the causes of water retention. I was surprised to see that general activity during the day also has an effect! http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/187978.php

So, there's always a lot of talk about retaining Water weight, but not a whole lot of solutions to that. Are there any out there? Is water retention only caused by either not drinking enough and/or consuming things that dehydrate you (caffeine, alcohol, sodium)? Is there an amount of caffeine, alcohol, and sodium that tips you over into likely water retention or is abstaining from these forever the real goal? I'm curious to hear other folks' experiences with water retention and how they finally got the fluids moving through their system better.

As I was once told here, ignore the scale and embrace the stall. This is an opportunity for you to stay focused on your goal and continue to build good habits. Your body is adjusting - it will tick up sometimes, but you are going to be seeing consistent loss eventually. How long your stalls last could depend on your habits and/or your physiology. Just stick to the plan and the weight will melt off.

Stay off the scale! Seriously. Our bodies are in such flux in the weeks after surgery that the scale is not the best measure of progress. Follow your program and focus on getting in all of your protein and fluids. Thanks for the support. It's really tough to not want to micromanage the numbers side of it. I'll keep better focus on the plan and less focus on the numbers.

Piggy backing off this thread, but I'm 2 weeks out from surgery now and feel like I am stalling. The last 3 days, the pounds have stuck at the same number (give or take a couple). Earlier this week, I was able to eat a small bowl of tomato bisque. So I had one each day for a few days. Then I noticed the stall creep up and got paranoid I was stretching my pouch and reverted back to 3-4 Protein drinks a day to hit my protein cap and then could only end up downing about 50oz of Water as opposed to the recommended 64. Is this what is really hitting me? Being hooked up to an IV and constantly hydrated, the pounds were screaming off me. Now, at an average of 50oz of water, 700 calories, and 90g protein, I feel like I'm slowing down. Considering upping the calories, but if I gained weight this early, I would be pretty discouraged.

I was just sleeved on Tuesday. My gas pain was absolutely incredible the first 2 days. I mean, it'd be safe to call it agonizing, really. I couldn't believe I'd put myself in that much of a painful position. But when it dissipated, it felt incredible. Oddly enough, the walking did not help much with gas for me. But sipping did! Every time I sipped, it'd displace more of the gas and it felt great to get it out. I'm still burping a bit after I sip now, but the pressure is gone. Edit: I also used Gas-X strips.

Everyone asks the same questions. If you're an expert on the topic, most questions will seem rote and pointless. Ultimately, it's still going to help to see things re-surfaced from time to time. I, myself, wouldn't even have thought of looking for threads about hair loss because I haven't talked much about it with my surgeon. It's good to know that nothing really fixes it and it does come back.

Oh Christopher I'm so sorry. It's understandable to grieve and cope that way. I'm proud of you for coming out it and finding a better path. Life is hard. Thanks, Bella. I can't lie - it still makes me well up when folks are supportive in this way. It was, undoubtedly, the worst time of my life and not something I endeavor to repeat. Life is absolutely hard. And nobody gets out alive. Good thing there are always ways through it and people to help you get there.

Thanks so much for the replies, everyone. I would definitely call it a stretch goal, but not a stretch goal I can't/won't achieve. Though it's a stretch goal and I have to keep my expectations realistic, I'm committed for the long haul. I've been hitting the gym the last 2 months already. This is probably partly why I am so eager to finally hear how fast I can really get back in there. I really want to keep my current momentum regardless. I really appreciate the 6'+ advice, too! Since numbers game is different at our height, it's cool to see people who are going through it already and have success stories. This time next year, I want to be one of those success stories.

I was skinny as a rail up until about middle school. I gained a little bit, but was just fat enough to be considered a fat kid. Lovely. I lost the extra weight when I left high school and was on a pretty good trend. Then, when I was 25, my brother died. And so did my waist line. I was so incredibly depressed and sedentary that I spent most days just eating constantly until I was ready to drink my cares away. I specifically remember one phone call with my mother where I said I had noticed I was gaining weight because of how fat the back of my neck got. It bothered the shit out of me, but I was too depressed to care or figure it out. It took a few years for me to say to myself, "You're better than this."

Hey all. Technically, this is my first post, but I've been lurking for several months while I embark on this process. Currently, I'm a couple days away from my insurance acceptance letter. In this whole year-long process, I've been trying to read up on other experiences as much as I can. This means tons of forums like BP. The only problem is that I can rarely find other men my height (much less size) going through the same process. I've been extremely good about my pre-op weight loss and am down nearly 40 pounds (depending on if im clothed!). I intend on getting right back in the gym about 5 seconds before I'm "cleared." But I would really like some kind of context about what my expectations should be so that I am not super disheartened. I'm a planning and details kind of guy, so this ambiguity is kind of killing my vibe. I understand that nobody can be my personal dietician, but my goal is to lose 100lbs by my 3 month checkup. At the onset, this might seem like a herculean expectation. Bearing in mind that I am tall, have a lot to lose, and that my commitment to the gym has already been firmly solidified in my mind, is this reasonable? I suppose I would be happy with 80lbs, but 100lbs would probably bring me to tears. It's what I absolutely want out of myself and my situation. Am I nuts? Edit: To be clear, I mean 100 from my surgery date - this does not include the 30 I've already lost.

At the end of the day, you know that this is the best decision. You know that this will make you immeasurably healthier and happier should you really want to be. It's hard to imagine going forward and being successful at something without your go-to crutches. The great thing is that us pre-op folks have about a gazillion stories telling us that it won't be nearly as bad as we envision during our moments of panic. Keep your head up. You're on the right path. Don't look back.