Berry78

Wow! A pound a day is great! You are definitely in the above average group I do want to let you know that for most people the scale will bounce up a few pounds here and there. When it happens, don't panic, because its just water weight.

Our nutrition postop is about meeting goals. -60+g of protein (or your doc's recommendation) -64+oz of fluids -Taking your vitamins -Keeping your calories counted and controlled.. -Exercise (unless contraindicated) These are all forever. But, real food is better than "fake" food, so don't use shakes unless you have to. Chances are, you're just in a stall unless the scale doesn't move for a month and your measurements don't change.

Smoking and drinking this soon could irritate the stomach. That's what might be off plan. I don't worry too much about the coffee (but combined with these other things, it could be "the straw"). Drinking, eventually, isn't usually a problem. Ask your team how soon you can start. The typical answer is 6 months to a year postop.

It is disturbing to hear a surgeon say a bypass has a 50 percent chance of making GERD worse. From everything I've read, it's simply not true. A bypass usually fixes GERD, and in a very small percentage it doesn't.. like 5%? You can look around for more info. As for the smoking, I really couldn't say. But, if he isn't a surgical candidate, maybe he can still join you in a lifestyle improvement. My hubby did just that. He started when I was 3 months postop, and has been working hard at improving his diet. He has lost about 40lbs in 3 months!

You are in the "three week stall". Usually lasts for a week or two. Stalls will happen regularly. It's a normal part of the process, and doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong... and there is nothing that will fix it. When your body is ready, the scale will move again. The average weight loss for the first month is 15-25lbs. So you are already there! I lost 17lbs myself.. totally normal.

I also think they'll find the cause in bloodwork. Also, think about any prescriptions you are on.. they may need adjusting too.

I do believe this is common. You have a TON of swelling and irritation all in that area. You don't have to move as quickly through your diet progression as outlined. As long as you are meeting your goals (protein and fluids), you can stay on thin liquids + protein shakes for several weeks.

It gets better. I am 6 months out and eat about as fast as I ever did. I make sure not to give myself too much food (especially when I'm really hungry), because it's easy to overeat if you eat quickly... and that hurts. I have noticed that I actually eat less at mealtime than I would because the stomach seems like it can both fill and empty quickly. If I sat there and ate for 20 minutes, my tummy would probably have emptied 2 or 3 times during the meal! (Or at least it seems that way). Basically follow your stomach's lead.. but the better you chew meat, the more you'll get out of it, nutritionally.

Ok, I'm responding without having read the other responses. If you lose the same as the average patient postop, you will get to 183lbs. That's only 21 more pounds. If you lose a pound a week, you'll have reached goal by 6 months postop! I personally think you'll do better than average... but you're right on track.

Your stomach is not healed. The initial scar tissue isn't completely in place until 6-8 weeks postop. Leaks can still happen until 9 weeks postop. Smoking will slow down the healing process. Your stomach is still tender, raw, and swollen at 3 and 4 weeks postop. Please follow your doctor's plan for the first 9 weeks. If you wonder about the veracity of my statements, feel free to ask your team. Edited to add... I noticed you are a bypass patient. Leaks may not be as much of a concern for you (I was thinking sleeve), but ulcers and strictures ARE a concern, so you don't want to irritate your pouch. Again, please ask your team.

I couldn't say whether its normal since I didn't break my diet during the healing period. The thickest thing I ate for the first 3 weeks was yogurt. Pizza? Salami? These are not just dangerous to an operated-on stomach, but should largely be off diet for the duration of your weight loss period. And if you hope to keep the weight off, those types of foods have to be limited long-term. This is a hard time. You are trying to recover from major surgery and learn a new lifestyle, all at the same time. 20% of patients regain a significant amount of the weight they lost in the first year postop. For good long term results, you have to work on what goes on your plate, not just how much.

If you have pcos or thyroid issues (or diabetes), it can make the losses happen slower. But, at 2 pounds a week, you'll lose 100lbs in a year, which is great! Stick to your program, and next time you see your primary care doc you could ask to be tested for these things if you haven't been already. You are a good candidate to put the scale away except to check it once or twice a month.

Usually the sugar free jell is permitted (zero carbs). But, the pudding is quite different. At 12g carbs per half a cup, it might be too many carbs for your program. Ask your team about what is permitted and target carbohydrate numbers. To give you an idea, I was consuming about 45 carbs for the day on the preop diet, and that may well be at the upper end of what most programs allow.

I'm definitely not a probiotic expert. Probably just take the one you have until its gone, then next time look for something with different strains.. or buy a second kind soon and go back and forth. You'll probably want to take 8-10 thousand cfu's since you are trying to fix a problem. 1000 is for maintenance. I like taking them with meals. That's a bit of a debated topic, and I guess I should look to see if the empty/full stomach thing really matters.

This is worse than I originally thought. Keep switching it up until you can find a solution. Some more ideas: Stop protein shakes completely. Try eating a zillion tons of fat. Olive oil/vinegar salad dressing, etc. Try enemas every day or two Work your way up to 3-4 quarts of water a day Spinach and banana smoothies Probiotics Hopefully something can help...

Even though it's true that 95% can't keep it off... what if you are in the 5%? After all, you haven't taken THIS path before. I say give this lifestyle change a real chance at avoiding surgery. If it works, that's perfect! If it doesn't, surgery can always be a backup plan. Surgery should always be a last resort.

Ok, I have spent a couple hours perusing the internet, and have found some interesting info. Basically, several nutrients usually need the acid and enzymes produced by the stomach to be broken down and later absorbed. Protein, calcium, iron, vit. B-12... (and several others). The body loves back-up systems, and protein absorption appears to have one. Even though protein is usually broken down by the stomach acid and enzymes, people that have had their entire stomachs removed (complete gastrectomies) can still effectively absorb protein through their intestines. Despite this fact, protein deficiency at one year postop has been shown to be as high as 38% in RNY patients, and a whopping 52% in sleeve patients. Yes, you read that right. Sleeve patients may well be MORE at risk of protein malnutrition than bypass patients. I believe this is due to sleeve patients' tendency to not worry as much about their macros because they didn't get a "malabsorptive" procedure. I did find a study that showed protein consumption greater than 60g a day was associated with minimal lean body mass losses. From that study, it looks like 60g a day should be the minimum protein consumption for bariatric patients (DS patients need much more than this). http://bariatrictimes.com/protein-and-the-bariatric-patient/ To give an idea, 35kcal/kg for me is 2500 calories if I were at goal weight. More like 3500cal at my current weight. Which means that we all are at risk of protein deficiency if we consume the RDA of protein during the first year or two postop. I did keep seeing 2 answers as to how much protein we need. One is 60-80g/day. The other is to multiply your weight at 25 bmi (in kilograms) by 1.1-1.5g. So for me, my weight at 25 BMI is 159.5lbs. Which is 72.5kg. My protein range should be 80g to 109g. I don't know which range is "better". It may have to do with the carbohydrate consumption as in the quote above. If we are eating 100g of carbohydrate, then we can eat the lower amounts of protein. If we aren't eating that many carbs, then we need the higher levels. Since 80g shows up in both estimations for me, I figure that's probably the ideal amount for me (especially since I do get more carbs than many bariatric folk). But for those that are eating 50g or fewer carbs a day, I highly recommend multiplying your 25bmi weight in kg by 1.5 to figure out your protein goal. If it's different than your program's recommended goal, then discuss this with your team.

Oh, wow! Thank you so much, Jess, for sharing your experience. Guess I did well by spending the extra $$ on citrate! (The chewables are out of sight, but at least I'll actually take them!) If the lack of acid affects calcium that much, I bet other nutrients have similar issues... including protein. I'll see what I can find out....

The posts were made the same day. I think she's legit. To the OP, hopefully everything is feeling better.

http://www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/digestion/smallgut/absorb_minerals.html Here is the answer. Calcium is absorbed in the small intestine. If small quantities of calcium are consumed, it's absorbed in the upper small intestine (the part that's bypassed for RNY). If large quantities are consumed its absorbed further down. So it seems like sleevers don't need as much calcium as RNYers.. but I'm sure I don't have all the facts, so please follow your doctor's plan.

Fabulous!

You'll want to describe it to your doc. I don't think it sounds like acid in that location. Mostly it's bowels and spleen over there. Any problems with constipation?

Since you are petite, a normal bmi has you weighing between 110lbs and 145lbs. We typically aim for the upper end of the range unless you become a distance runner or the like. 140 seems like an excellent goal, and since you are only 6 months out, I feel sure you'll reach it. Even losing 1 pound a week will get you there before your 1 year surgiversary.

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I guess I should clarify.. if you put breaded chicken nuggets into the nuwave, its like they were baked in an oven.. NOT like they were microwaved. (I have kids.. no nuggets for me). Thanks for the tip about adding a bit of oil..I'll try it out!