Berry78

We have virtually identical stats and your surgery was 9 days after mine. Since I seem to be on schedule, you have to be too! If anything, you may want to increase your calories a bit. I eat around 1200 each day... so you can probably increase if you want. Otherwise, stalls happen. Do not decrease your calories. You are doing great!

9/15: 218lbs.

In what freaking world is 800-1000 calories maintenance level???? ? ?????????? ????????? I'm sorry for my language, but for the vast majority of the population, maintenance level is somewhere between 1200 and 2500 calories. This includes sub-5'0 tall, 70 year old women. This thinking that people can and should consume less than 1000 calories for extended periods of time (even beyond weight loss)... where does this come from??

Oh man that suuuccckkkksss.... My hubby is in the army, and was in intensive training for 4 months, back in 2008. Within the first month he developed achilles tendonitis. He pushed through the rest of the 3 months of training, but when he came home it took like 6 months or a year to be pain free. Even now his tendon is thickened and prone to reinjury. Sooo.. moral of the story.. do everything your doc tells you to (including wearing the boot at night if that is part of your recovery) and give that sucker time to heal. My hubby couldn't stay off of it, so made it that much worse. My 17yo daughter just got a diagnosis of a partially torn tendon in her ankle (not achilles). It's been bugging her for 9 months and we finally got news of what the problem is. (She slipped when going down a mountain trail last winter.) She's likely looking at surgical repair. ... Same story... didn't rest it (cuz we didn't know), and it didn't heal.

I saw where you had your surgery in Mexico. So I recommend you talk with your family doctor. You can get a referral to a GI specialist that might help you figure out what is going on. Have you been keeping up with your yearly bloodwork and everything?

Maybe describe your symptoms... Have you spoken with your surgeon?

Oh man, you are going to be sooo bummed when that 3 week stall comes your way! Yes, you're a guy, and guys tend to lose a pound a day at first, but it'll slow down soon enough... just know it's coming so you don't pull your hair out...

Ok, so I converted kilos to pounds for us in the States. You lost 21lbs in the 17 days between the preop diet and the first week postop. That is definitely significant! I find when people drop so much, so quickly, they usually get a nice long stall on the back end of it while their bodies catch up. 3 weeks sounds about right, so as soon as you can increase your water you should start seeing that scale move again. Don't fret, you're doing great!!

I love the swimmer physique.

Oh no!!! What happened?

If it came down to it, I would bring a cheese stick or an ounce of nuts, something along those lines to work or school in my pocket. You can eat those things in just a couple minutes in the hall during a restroom break. (Once those foods are on your plan). A protein bar.. etc. Vitamins are really important. At the very least get some Flintstones or Centrum. They don't have to be bariatric-specific. Something is better than nothing. Your doc can help you figure out more specifics.

It's helpful to look at what happened before surgery to give an idea of what you can expect afterwards. Before I dig into that, how are you doing meeting your fluid and protein goals? So, about how calories were you eating before starting any of your preop diets? What kind of preop diet(s) did you do and how much did you lose?

So, I remember looking up athlete body types a few years back. My focus was on comparing sprinters to long distance runners. I came across an interesting website that shows bodies from many different sports. http://physicalculturist.ca/the-body-shapes-of-the-worlds-best-athletes-compared-side-by-side/ Since we are all here to remake ourselves, I figured it is a good time to ask whether you would be influenced by the finished physique of those in a chosen sport. I know I would be. In college I had a dancer friend. Ballet, modern, etc. Her FEET! I never would want to do what she does (though I admire HER for it).

I set up a dartboard with #s ranging from 150 to 215, and my dart hit 173

Contact Johns Hopkins Bayview Bariatric Center. They can tell you whether they take your insurance and whether your insurance covers the procedure. You don't have to go through Hopkins.. it's just the biggest name in MD (and where I would have gone if I didn't go to Mexico).

Just keep in mind that your journey is YOUR journey. Not everyone makes it all the way down to "thin", but the scale (or even clothing size) shouldn't determine how you feel about yourself and journey. This journey should be one of self-discovery. By the end of the first year or two you *hopefully* will have learned what normal portion sizes look like, your own weaknesses and triggers, and in general, how to navigate the world of food in a healthy way. The only failure possible is if you don't bother trying to learn anything new. Same old habits bring same old results.

From what I've seen, about 5% - 10% of people regret their surgery long term.. which means 90-95% DON'T regret it. Short term regret in the first weeks postop is extremely common. The ones with long term regret don't hang out on message boards full of happy patients for long. It seems the majority of regret is fueled by physical complications or unresolved emotional issues. We've seen regret stemming from religious beliefs. Sometimes people find that perfect diet/exercise program that they are sure would have worked without surgery. And the biggie... "he/she wouldn't have left me if I hadn't had the surgery".

The second surgery is a good idea. Not familiar with the timing. 5 years does seem really long. You might want to ask some other surgeons their opinions on your case and go with the one you are most comfortable with. There aren't THAT many places that do DS's. So you won't be overwhelmed by choice. What State are you in?

For the most part, it stems from fear. Fear of complications, fear that YOU'll begin regretting it.. My own family did the same thing.. they just want what's best for us...

Running absolutely increases the metabolism and burns tons of calories. No question about that. You'll be a lean, mean, running machine!

Ok, in the above article, it's basically agreeing with you, @Mhy12784. But if you look at the part where he gained 20lbs of muscle, lost 50lbs of fat.. and his caloric needs remained essentially the same... What would have happened if he hadn't been working out, gaining the muscle? The loss of 50lbs of fat would have made his caloric needs go down by 100 calories a day. Then because he weighs less, his current muscles that are used to carrying the extra 50lbs shrink. I don't know how much they shrink.. but it's safe to say he now needs to eat... say...110 calories less per day. Not much, right? But if he doesn't pay attention and eats that every day.. 110x365= gaining almost 11 and a half pounds the very first year! As it was, he was able to maintain and even increase the amount of food he was able to consume as a lean, fit person, rather than a heavier out of shape one. Just for fun.. another article. https://www.google.com/amp/s/legionathletics.com/body-recomposition/amp/

Interesting article. http://articles.latimes.com/2011/may/16/health/la-he-fitness-muscle-myth-20110516

There is a direct relationship between lean body mass and basal metabolic rate. Men may have an easier time of it, but any improvements either gender can make will help. Lean runners also have high metabolisms, so there are also other ways to increase metabolism.

Thanks everyone... y'all are sure giving me the warm fuzzies!

I know everyone scoffs at calorie in vs. calorie out, but it's useful for illustrative purposes. Say we want to lose 2lbs a week. A pound of fat is 3500 calories, so a caloric deficit of 1000 calories a day should do it. (It's much more complex than this, but we have to start somewhere). How many calories were you eating (and maintaining your weight on) preop? Let's say it was 2500. Your body did change postop, but not in a way that would make it need fewer calories. If anything, it would need more calories after surgery to keep the same weight (faster metabolism). But, since we can't prove a faster metabolism, we'll just call it equal. So, your body still needs 2500 calories and the same amount of exercise as preop, postop. Consuming 1000 fewer calories.. means you'll lose 2lbs a week eating 1500 cals/day. What if you only ate 1800 preop? Then that's when people start seeing slower losses when they eat more than 800 calories. BUT, while the patient is trying to maximize losses, the 800 calorie diet keeps him/her from building muscle that will increase the metabolism. The muscles get smaller and more efficient, burning fewer calories. Then, when goal is reached, the patient finds they GAIN FAT on 1200 calories. Personally I was eating about 3000 calories preop. I am now losing an average of 3lbs a week eating 1300 calories. My math almost works: 1300+1500=2800. Where do I go from here? I start weight lifting to build/maintain my muscle mass. I want as much lean body mass as possible because that is what will allow me to eat more calories long term. I want to be sure NOT to drop any lower on my nutrition, because there won't be the nutrients required for building. The energy is present in my fat, but the actual building materials come from the diet. Think of a construction project.. building a skyscraper. You need diesel fuel/gasoline to run the machines, but you also need glass, wood, steel, carpet, etc. Our fat stores = diesel ... but we still have to eat all that other stuff. The potential problem with relying on vitamin pills and protein shakes is there are bound to be missing nutrients. Your skyscraper will never be finished if you're missing building components. Sure, the skyscraper can stand, and people can still go inside and work. But it just isn't complete without windows. If something more important is missing.. the foundation blocks.. you know something is wrong right away, and that is likely to get fixed. But what if it's a hidden supply that's important but not so visible. The reinforcing rebar? You think everything is just dandy, but the first big gale comes up (might take 15 years), and tips the whole dang thing over! Ok, I forgot what we were talking about, so I'll end this here and go take some fish oil.