over_and_over_again

You look incredible and you sound like you have a ton of perspective on the entire experience. Win!!!

I was sleeved on December 4. I lost 20 lbs pre surgery, and am down 20 lbs post surgery. My body fat seems to be dropping, but the scale is not moving. The losses feel slower than I was expecting, but I have also been doing more social eating than I had been doing in many months. So that's on me. I am back to Protein Shakes and veggies for the moment in order to get the scale to move again.

I haven't really had complications. Learning to eat slower has been a challenge, and learning that I still do not cope well with access to snacky foods (even ones considered healthy) was a bummer, but unsurprising I suppose. All in all, I am very happy with my decision to get the surgery, and I believe that I will reach my goal weight, however slowly.

It sounds like she isn't ready for purees, and/or she is eating too fast. What happens if she takes a bit of something and then, say, waits five minutes before taking another bite? And then really, really pays attention to signals from her body that she should be done? I get a tingle at the base of my stomach when I start filling up. Once I feel that tingle, I absolutely have to stop eating.

I hear you. My motivation to get the sleeve was the same - I think I have spent my entire adult life losing and gaining the same 70 lbs.

If you are weighing and measuring and logging, maybe increase exercise. Or talk to a doc.... perhaps there are other medical issues going on.

Are you tracking every bite that goes in your mouth? Is it possible that you are underestimating the number of calories you are consuming? What is your daily menu?

Your stats look pretty amazing to me - you've lost almost 80 lbs total and you are 40 lbs away from your goal weight? That is awesome. You may have to run a tight ship to get the last 40 off, and it will be slower, but you seem to know what you are doing!!

It seems to vary depending on how much you weigh and how much you lost pre-surgery. I started my pre-op diet at 240. I was 219 the day of surgery. Now, one month later, I am bouncing between 206, 207, and 208. So I've lost around 12 lbs in the first month. I imagine that it is more than some, less than others.

Are you hitting Protein and Water targets?

I was taught that a weight loss stall is three weeks without changes to scale weight or size. I am just at week 4, and have lost about 12 or 13 pounds since surgery. So by the definition that I am using, no I haven't had any stalls. I have had days I did not lose anything on the scale and days that the scale bounced upward instead of down. And then I have stretches where the scale shows a pound down every day. Pre-Surgery or post surgery, weight loss before and during the week of my period is impossible. It just does not happen.

I think something that helps me stay sane is that I believe weight loss is not linear. On a given day you can eat exactly the right amount of calories to lose, drink all your Water, and exercise, but the scale the next morning may not give you a loss. But if you stay the course over time, you absolutely will lose weight/fat/mass.

Lucky you for that exercise clearance! I am looking forward to working out, especially almost 40 lbs lighter than I was when I started the pre-op diet.

I think the advice to revert to the previous stage is great. I'm on purees, but have been experimenting with soft meats because I was tolerating everything with ease. i guess I went too fast; my tummy hasn't been feeling right for the past day. This morning I went back to full liquids in the form of a Protein Shake, and I feel right again. Baby steps!!

I was four weeks out on Monday. I'm getting between 600 and 700 calories per day, with one or two weird days when I was ravenous and hit mourn 900 calories of Protein Shakes, yogurt, and refried Beans. I expect that when I am allowed to start exercise that is more vigorous than walking, my calorie count will increase. That's at six weeks, so not long now!

I am a month out, and learning the volume that I can/should eat is one of the challenges for me. I've found that if I overdo it I get the mouthful of saliva, maybe some hiccups, and a general feeling of unease or anxiety. I haven't vomited, but I think I have been close. It's very unpleasant and unnerving. I am now using a bite timer to slow down, and I am paying very, very close attention to the merest hint that I am full. It's usually after two or three bites of a denser Protein, and maybe five bites of something like Greek yogurt. The moment when my brain wants one more bite but my stomach is satisfied but not overfull is the moment when I walk away from the food.

I got really, really scared a couple of days before surgery. The morning of, I was fine while distracted by all of the prep work but once on the table in the operating room I was freaking out and wondering if I was crazy to be doing this and perhaps should get up and walk out.

I still cannot believe I let someone cut me open and take out most of my stomach, but am glad I didn't leave. I am one month post-op, and although there were little hiccups (literally) and frustrations over the past month, I feel like this surgery may help me establish the normal-ish relationship with food that I have always wanted.

Why are you eating and drinking that way?

I am going to have to really think about how much (little!) I am eating when I am in the grocery store and adjust the volume of food that I buy. Last week I bought eggs, a few pounds of chicken, a couple of sweet potatoes, and maybe three zucchini. I was worried that it wouldn't be enough for the week. Now I am whipping up Soup and purees to freeze because there is no way I can get through it when a bite or three of something fills me up. And my fridge is full of bowls that have a half portion of something in them .... a quarter cup of Greek yogurt or an ounce of chicken that I couldn't finish. I am going to have to change my stockpiling mentality! This is a bizarre experience.

Drop the toaster pastry, the sandwich, and the chips. Replace with an egg or two in the morning, tuna or chicken or other lean Protein at lunch, and a similar dinner. The lack of nutritionally dense food, especially protein, is probably making you hungry and slowing weight loss.

Dr. Ariel Ortiz at OCC is phenomenal .The staff and experience was excellent.

I was sleeved on 12/4. The first night was rough - I had some dry heaves. I got over those within 24 hours. It has been very smooth and uneventful ever since. I get the required fluids and Protein down with ease. I did find the full liquid stage much harder than the pre-op full liquid stage. I believe I was actually hungry; not head hungry or suffering from acid. Things improved once I moved to purees. I've added some soft foods in prematurely because everything has been very easy to tolerate physically. And my body seems to like the real food better than the shakes. My weight loss all but stops when I am on full liquids, but picks up when I eat real food.

My challenges: I am really having to modify the speed with which I eat. i am a super-fast eater. It really does not work with the sleeve. So I am using a timer between bites and at the merest hint of discomfort or fullness I stop eating. Protein fills me up after a couple of bites. I can eat higher volumes (like, 5 bites?) of Greek yogurt.

I miss vegetables. I'm eating pureed veggies, but I would kill for a salad or some steamed broccoli. And I want to exercise. The doc said I should wait six weeks, but I am antsy and my recovery seems to be going well. I might ask whether we could cut off a week or two of wait time.

I started at 240, was 219 on surgery day, and am 209 today. When have I ever lost any weight in December, much less 11 lbs? I still kind of can't believe I let someone cut me open and take out my stomach, but I think this was a good decision.

Best to everyone who is recovering!

I'm having surgery on the 4th. I'm finally nervous about it. I think it's the right thing for me, and hopefully it will help me solve my lifelong yo-yo situation (exactly how many times can a person lose the same 50 or 60 lbs??). But.... I'm afraid nonetheless - of the surgery itself, of the recovery, of having unexpected, grim, life-long issues that I do not currently have, etc. Ugh. I want it to be over and done!!