Finding_Stacy

I want to up date everyone about my bariatric surgery. I met with my surgeon Dr. Pod yesterday. I told him that it would be my birthday tomorrow and I wanted good news.
I wrote you all about a week ago saying I had Achalasia. My endo. Dr. gave me this info and lead me to think I could not have my bariatric surgery. Well I have good news. I have to have surgery on my esophagus it is called Heller myotomy. Dr. Pod is going to do that surgery and if all goes well he will do the sleeve. If I have a lot of inflammation he will not do the sleeve at that time. I will have to wait 6 to 8 weeks for my esophagus to heal. Please pray that he can do both surgeries at the same time.
I AM SO HAPPY THAT I STILL GET TO HAVE THE SLEEVE.
Thank you all for your support, you are wonderful!

I saw my NUT today and was wondering the same thing. Yes, she said its normal, liquid will go through as soon as swelling goes down.

YES!!

Great progress! Who knows what things affect us for a day or two--hormones do some wonky things.

Up until this morning, I haven't lost in a week. I dropped a pound today and was so happy to see the scale moving again. I know it's my body readjusting itself, so I'm not worried, but of course, I'm thrilled to see the scale going down again. So far, I've lost 24 pounds since my surgery day, April 24th, and 38.1 pounds since April 15th. I don't think I could ask for better progress.
Isn't it crazy to watch people eat and think that was just us not too long ago? Hell, yesterday, a Subway commercial had me pondering my existence a month ago. How did I eat an entire footlong in one sitting???

Up until this morning, I haven't lost in a week. I dropped a pound today and was so happy to see the scale moving again. I know it's my body readjusting itself, so I'm not worried, but of course, I'm thrilled to see the scale going down again. So far, I've lost 24 pounds since my surgery day, April 24th, and 38.1 pounds since April 15th. I don't think I could ask for better progress.
Isn't it crazy to watch people eat and think that was just us not too long ago? Hell, yesterday, a Subway commercial had me pondering my existence a month ago. How did I eat an entire footlong in one sitting???

3 weeks post op VGS, 2 weeks post op gallbladder . This week I am hungry ALL the time. Suppose to be on pureed diet, 1/4 cup 5-6 times a day. well I realized its been more like 1/2 cup meals of what ever. Wasn't given too many specifics at 2 week post op buy NUT, other than make sure it is pureed! so as I look in my food journal there are some random items. I also notice in the evenings I am finding myself "craving" things.
I am drinking nearly 60+ oz of H2O daily. Was told not to worry about supplements/vitamin intake right now or protein/calories
No real weight loss since second surgery. Only down 22 lbs in 2 months.
I have had the regret and thoughts of what have I done since surgery but was feeling really good this past weekend. Lots of energy, did some gardening, house cleaning and other activities.
Anyone with thoughts or helpful suggestions please comment

I think it's head hunger, I've been struggling as well and also 3 weeks out.
I recognize it as head hunger and find myself thankful that I had the surgery because I know I can't give in to those cravings. Also, if you are pureeing any carb type stuff, go easy on that, it can make the cravings worse.
Good luck!! Try to distract yourself, for me the head hunger chills out if I keep myself busy.

60g is typically the minimum to get in, so adding an extra shake in (or even half of one) wouldn't hurt. Don't be surprised if you don't see any sort of energy boost. Protein Shakes aren't really an "energy drink" in that sense. The lack of energy is due more to the low calories, little to no carbs, and the healing process. Protein & carb counting should be the focus at this stage. Don't even worry about calories. Down the road you can review your diet and you may get to the point to where you do need to up your calories if you get into a stall.

I'm 14 days post-op and hit 65-70 grams of Protein, 72 oz of Water, and 550-800 calories. I've been thinking too about adding another shake in. It scares me how easily I can drink water and shakes again. I mean I'm happy but thought there'd be more restriction this early out.
Now, tonight I made tilapia and broccoli and there were all kinds of restrictions happening after eating 2-3 oz of fish and one small piece of broccoli, but liquids seem to go right through me. I stopped needing to sip by the fourth day. This is normal, right?

I didn't lose that much for pre-op since I was on a sodium filled cruise two weeks before surgery.
So, I look at it this way.
A lot of my weight loss, post surgery, should've been during pre-surgery. When we're dropping 15,20,25 pounds, that's not fat we're losing, that's mostly Water weight. You probably dropped it previously and now you're burning fat. Plus, you still have the swelling from surgery. I know I do and I had my surgery the same day as you.
Just remember, it doesn't matter if you're losing slower now, because soon, you may start losing faster while someone else is in a stall. In the end, what's important is consistency and focus to make it to goal and beyond. I'm sure you're doing better than you think, it'll be okay

I'm so disappointed in myself! For 3.5 months I've eaten so well, counted every carb and stuck to my diet with little to no problem. I do Keto, so usually I'm very strict with my diet but I've never "craved" foods since I began eating again after surgery. I actually feel satisfied 90% of the time. Until yesterday that is....
I went to the beach with my family (first time since surgery). This last week was a HUGE win for me with my weight loss, 9 lbs, that's huge for me because I'm a slow loser. I've officially lost 53 pounds in almost 3.5 months, I'm under 200!! My weight loss has gotten faster oddly, I had a very slow start right after surgery. I've been elated and motivated, so what the heck happened yesterday? I'm not kidding: I ate 3 Twinkies, a small cheese tots from Sonic, a corn dog, 4 Cookies, fruit (more than my usual) and 2 ice creams! I mean seriously, it went down like butter. No belly aches, no dumping, no restriction!! I just enjoyed the glee of being with my family. I have resisted foods I loved with little to no problem, but these foods I would never choose to normally eat (except the ice cream N cookies). Now I was there for 8 hours on the Water. I swam with my 5 year old and chased him up and down the beach, I played in the sand and walked for miles along the coast. I'm not worried about the calories or that I will gain. I'm worried that I have ZERO idea why I did it!! I wasn't craving anything in particular. I'm worried because I threw all caution to the wind and ate merrily like I forgot my life has now changed. Now while everyone else was enjoying their Sonic cherry limeades and cokes, I stuck to my water but only because I enjoy it! I just really can't understand what made me do that and that concerns me because I can't fix something when I don't understand the problem.
I'm just frustrated and disappointed, confused and feeling defeated. I thought I had conquered my demons and moved past this. I thought I was strong enough to resist temptation. I do every day!! My cabinets are full of junk (cookies, chip, crackers, Cereal, candy) for my son and I don't even care. And FYI, I don't even like corn dogs!! Wth was I thinking?? I know people get cheat days but this wasn't that!! I didn't plan to cheat or even think about anything I was putting in my mouth. This wasn't a cheat, this was nonsense and like I left my brain at home!!
This has only taught me that even if my stomach is changed, I have a LONG LONG road ahead to truly be "changed". And there was NO restriction with those carbs, NONE! So for those of you thinking of being stopped by your tool, don't get too caught up in that happening. YOU truly have to be the one to resist and think about everything you put into your mouth no matter how much fun you are having or how relaxed you are. The struggle is REAL!!!

This really does suck. Not the magic bullet I had hoped for. I'm so hungry all the time. And feeling down in the dumps now. I don't even know what's going on with my bowels. It's all a blur!! Hope you feel better soon. I really do!

And also, I was 'healthy'. Even though I was a 61 BMI, my blood pressure was always 115/62, sugar's 75-80, and my cholesterol is 130. I thought I was healthy until I went through this. My liver showed signs of getting ready to riot. My gallbladder got destroyed by 37, filling with stones, which in turn caused me to have pancreatic attacks I knew nothing about until they opened me up.
This surgery saved my life, weight aside.
Even if you're healthy now, you're just running on borrowed time. There will be a point your body will begin to back pedal out of exhaustion, and your numbers will start climbing.

Oh boy, pancreatitis is no joke. I had no idea I had so many pancreatic attacks in the past until they opened me up. I guess when you have gallbladder attacks it can trigger pancreatic attacks. My doctor had the hardest time getting my gallbladder out during my vsg surgery, and he even dropped two stones inside me, which is why he left my main incision open for my husband to pack twice a day. He said getting my gallbladder out was like wrestling an alligator--and my stomach was stuck to my pancreas because it was so sticky from the many attacks in the past.
I'm telling you, all this was because of a fatty and enlarged liver. I thought the gallbladder hurt the liver and pancreas, but I now believe the fatty liver is what took down my gallbladder and scarred my pancreas. If you look up the symptoms of a fatty liver, you'd be surprised how it has affected our bodies without us knowing, blaming other things for those symptoms. I also believe thats why we're dropping weight faster after vsg, opposed to dieting before. A fatty liver makes our metabolism sluggish, causing us to gain weight, feel tired, depressed, and achy. But within two weeks of a low calorie/low carb/low fat diet, our livers shrink back to a healthy size, melting away the fat that was on there so it can properly do its job. And one of its jobs is giving us back a healthy metabolism.
I hope you feel better soon, I truly do. I can't imagine how miserable you've been feeling :-(

Hahaha, I wish I liked them more because they're so good for me. It seems whatever stage I'm in, I crave what the next stage offers. For instance, I'd sell my neighbor's wife for a grilled chicken breast and garlic green Beans.
Soon Stacy, soon.

So good to hear from you, Cass <3
I haven't lost anything in three days. I think my body is picketing this whole low calorie/weight loss thing and is trying to wait me out . Plus, I'm constipated again. I swear, this blows. I went out and bought my milk of magnesia and benefiber. I'm so done with this. I'm hitting the benefiber hard from now on.
How are you feeling, though?

I hit the stall at week 4. Never ate anything bad and always under 800 calories yet I would go up .5-.8lbs and down the same for about week before I lost 3 lbs in 3 days. From what I understand it's all normal because our body's are adjusting to the low calories.

Hi Finding_Stacy!
I think we must all be a little nutty in this first stage. We are relearning everything and experimenting to see what works and what doesn.t/ Or at least I am! Maybe I should chill and go with the flow and follow the program too! I'm weighing myself too often and I have been freaking out that if I eat just 2 Protein Shakes a day plus some low fat Soups and my Water I GAIN WEIGHT!! What the hec;s with that??? It's gotta be about metabolism and starvation mode etc, Today I ate a little bit of a soft boiled egg and it really filled me up. I bet our bodies are going through extreme changes. But I led myself to believe the sleeve would just do it for me and that is SO not the case.
Hope we can all switch to the long term mode - the really fast short term weight loss messed with my mind!! And I came to expect more. Thinking of you all on your journeys!

This is new to all of us. Currently, I'm pondering on why I can drink a Protein Shake (11.5 ounces) within an hour when previously (a few days ago) I could only do 2 ounces every half hour. Intellectually I know it's because of the stomach swelling going down, allowing for more room, but losing that extreme restriction makes me a little sad.
So, yeah, I'm a little nutty too.

No to bypass. I'm not a fan of malabsorption surgeries. I know some love them, I'm just not one of those people.
But there's nothing wrong with sixteen pounds a month, silly goose. I hope I'd be able to do that every month for a year, because that's a whopping 192 pounds in 12 months! I'd be at goal by my one year surgiversary.

I didn't lose that much for pre-op since I was on a sodium filled cruise two weeks before surgery.
So, I look at it this way.
A lot of my weight loss, post surgery, should've been during pre-surgery. When we're dropping 15,20,25 pounds, that's not fat we're losing, that's mostly Water weight. You probably dropped it previously and now you're burning fat. Plus, you still have the swelling from surgery. I know I do and I had my surgery the same day as you.
Just remember, it doesn't matter if you're losing slower now, because soon, you may start losing faster while someone else is in a stall. In the end, what's important is consistency and focus to make it to goal and beyond. I'm sure you're doing better than you think, it'll be okay

Wow, I'm glad you said that. In the beginning I could only get in a quarter cup, or 2 oz, but now I can get 4-5 ounces in--especially with Protein Shakes. The first time I ate an egg, I think I did three tiny bites and today I think I'm eating half to 3/4's of it. Maybe I can do more, but I'm still feeling around to what 'full' feels like.

Hahaha, I wish I liked them more because they're so good for me. It seems whatever stage I'm in, I crave what the next stage offers. For instance, I'd sell my neighbor's wife for a grilled chicken breast and garlic green Beans.
Soon Stacy, soon.

I was only on a liquid diet for 24 hours, then moved to puréed food, cheese, and eggs by the second day.
A typical day is 2 Protein Shakes a day, which is 2 carbs total. A half an egg, which is 0 carbs. A stick of vermont sharp cheddar cheese is 1 carb. A quarter cup of triple zero vanilla nonfat Greek yogurt is 2.5. This is what I had today, plus 70 oz of Water. It feels like a job, but today is the first time I met both my liquid and Protein goals.
So for today, 5.5 carbs--556 calories. Some days I'll drink a half of cup of fairlife milk, but not today