rjan

Yes! Me too! Last summer in Missouri, I was sitting outside all the time and loving it. Normally I can't take it.

On the other hand, I'm much less cold tolerant. But I just bought a space heater and some better winter clothes.

Yes! Me too! Last summer in Missouri, I was sitting outside all the time and loving it. Normally I can't take it.

On the other hand, I'm much less cold tolerant. But I just bought a space heater and some better winter clothes.

Yeah, that happened with me right after surgery and still sometimes does a year later, though to a lesser extent now.

Normally, your body stores excess sugar in your liver for quick access when your blood sugar starts to drop. When you're eating a lot less than your body needs, you tend to have very little sugar stored in your liver, so it's harder for your body to compensate when your blood sugar starts dropping. (By the way, this sugar is stored along with a lot of Water. This is the reason why you can lose 5-10 lbs in a week when you first start a diet - you could never lose that much fat in a week. It's also why if you binge on carbs, you may gain 3-4 lbs the next day - even though you probably didn't eat 15,000 calories of pizza. It's mostly water weight in your liver.)

I do what qianmij suggested - keep a lot of little (healthy) Snacks around. It's funny, because I was absolutely not the snacky type before - I liked to wait for a full, hot meal.

My first stall started after 4.5 weeks, and my worst one started after about 2 months and lasted 3 weeks. Stalls happen to everyone. Telling you that probably won't erase your anxiety though...
I remember my really long stall after 2 months was at exactly my lowest adult weight, where I had stalled out for nearly a year when trying to lose weight "normally" in my 20s. All I could think was that I must have reached the lowest I could ever get, so why did I bother to get my insides cut open? But I kept at it, and after losing almost nothing in my 3rd month, I lost 12 lbs in my 4th month.

Just keep trucking on! As long as you don't use it as an excuse to ruin your diet, the weight loss will return!

Yes! Me too! Last summer in Missouri, I was sitting outside all the time and loving it. Normally I can't take it.

On the other hand, I'm much less cold tolerant. But I just bought a space heater and some better winter clothes.

The first few weeks after surgery are pretty miserable. Your body has been put through a huge shock, and is adjusting. You're all swollen and healing. Things definitely do settle down within the first few weeks or months, and it will get way, way easier.

One issue is that your stomach starts out really swollen - its capacity may be only 1/4 cup now, even though it may be more like 1 cup after the swelling has gone down. This makes it hard to even fit enough Water and/or food in right now. Later you will be able to eat/drink more at a sitting, and you will start to feel more satisfied.

Another problem is that it is particularly difficult to get enough Protein in at first, especially on the liquid diet. And yet your protein needs have actually gone up, because protein is essential for healing.

For me, the first couple of weeks on the liquid stage were absolutely miserable, and I was starving all the time, even though I also felt full and couldn't consume much. This went away completely once I moved on to real food and started to get enough protein in, and also because the swelling went down and it was easier to even do things like drink my water.

People vary a lot with these things. I could drink Water more than others at my stage. Perhaps because I've always been a big water drinker. Even so, I remember being annoyed in months 2-3 when I'd go out and exercise in the sun and be really, really thirsty, but could only drink 1/4-1/2 cup of water. I think you're well within the range of normal.

I had a stall that started after 2 months and lasted 3.5 weeks. It sucks, but it's totally normal.

The liquid stage is HORRIBLE. No matter what you do, it's going to be a slog. But in the grand scheme of things, it's over pretty quickly. Just keep telling yourself it will be over soon (even if it seems like forever).

When I was on full liquids, I started whisking an egg into my broth. Basically, this is what egg drop Soup is. I was also making Protein pudding with sugar free pudding and Protein Powder. Things like this have enough substance to them that they feel just a little bit more like real food.

Since you're able to eat so little, it's likely that your stomach is particularly swollen. It takes something like 2 months for the incision on your stomach to heal. My stomach capacity was always a bit higher than others at the same stage - but I definitely remember hearing from others who couldn't eat that much at first. Personally, I remember how annoying it was in the first couple of months to go out for a walk and get really thirsty, but not be able to drink Water very fast - 1/2 cup of water doesn't do it when you're super thirsty. Plus I often had pain after eating, which was usually relieved by burping. Stomach capacity increases over those first few months as your stomach heals and the swelling goes down.

Keep checking in with your doctor regularly to make sure they aren't worried that it's something serious. But I think that as long as you stick to the diet and don't let the annoyance of your healing body give you a reason to get too off track, you'll probably find this issue gets better over the next month or two. Once you can eat more at once, I think you won't be hungry all the time, and you won't feel like you're so focused on food all the time either.

I was starving during the liquid phase. Once I moved on to purees, I was able to get more Protein and the hunger stopped.

If you can only eat a few bites, it makes sense that you are getting hungry quickly. I was able to eat more like 3/8-1/2 cup at 3-4 weeks, so I didn't experience that.

How much are you actually eating? I mean I'd say go ahead and eat again in 30 minutes if you feel hungry. You're probably still not getting enough protein.

I believe in listening to your body; I think it's an essential thing to learn after WLS. Some people will come on here and tell you about how it's probably just all head hunger and you need to ignore it. If you tended towards emotional eating before, then that may be good advice. But I didn't have that bad of a problem with emotional eating - I was simply pre-diabetic. Once my metabolism healed (which happens before you lose the weight), I was able to listen to my body again and trust it.

It was the 2nd week after surgery, when I was on the full liquids diet.

It kind of sounds to me like you aren't getting enough Protein. You haven't exactly listed out everything you eat in a day, but let's say you're having a Protein Drink and a couple of servings of meat and/or nuts a day. That's probably about 40 g of protein. You should be getting at least 60, and as much as 80 if you're a big exerciser.

If you're particularly carb sensitive, then sure, cutting down on the fruit and nixing the bread and oatmeal will help too. But try and focus more on upping your protein first. In fact, if you're eating enough protein early on, it should be difficult for you to fit much of that carb-y food in your tiny stomach.

Don't starve yourself! If you're hungry, then eat. Just choose protein rich foods. It's tempting to keep cutting and cutting when you're in the middle of a stall (and stalls happen to everyone, particularly a few weeks out from surgery, despite what your doctor may say.) But if your body is lacking nutrients, it's going to hang on to every ounce for dear life. If you're hungry, then your body is telling you it needs something. Most likely, that's protein.

The liquid stage is HORRIBLE. No matter what you do, it's going to be a slog. But in the grand scheme of things, it's over pretty quickly. Just keep telling yourself it will be over soon (even if it seems like forever).

When I was on full liquids, I started whisking an egg into my broth. Basically, this is what egg drop Soup is. I was also making Protein pudding with sugar free pudding and Protein Powder. Things like this have enough substance to them that they feel just a little bit more like real food.

The liquid stage is HORRIBLE. No matter what you do, it's going to be a slog. But in the grand scheme of things, it's over pretty quickly. Just keep telling yourself it will be over soon (even if it seems like forever).

When I was on full liquids, I started whisking an egg into my broth. Basically, this is what egg drop Soup is. I was also making Protein pudding with sugar free pudding and Protein Powder. Things like this have enough substance to them that they feel just a little bit more like real food.

Pre-surgery, the only way I could reliably drop weight is low carb. That's essentially what you'd be doing if you went full liquid - with Protein Shakes and broth, you're not going to be getting much carbs. But it's rough on a full sized stomach. So you might as well use lots of veggies and plenty of Protein to fill in the corners. Don't get me wrong, you'll still be starving for about 3-4 days. Every time you're hungry, eat some veggies. If you're strict and keep your carbs under 30 g a day, the hunger will fade.

That's actually rather similar to me - At 6 weeks out I had lost 23 lbs total. I'm 40, starting BMI 35. Now, 9 months out my BMI is 26 - almost to goal. It will keep coming off, don't worry!

(And don't take the point of view that the weight you lost before surgery doesn't "count". People who lose more before surgery will lose a bit slower afterwards because they already lost all their Water weight and their metabolism has already started adjusting to the new reality.)
The main point of the surgery isn't those big losses - only some people get those, and those people are more likely to be men, tall, young, or have a larger starting weight. The main point is that the weight will keep coming off reliably for months and months and months!!! (In contrast, with a typical diet, people will usually stop losing after a month or two.)

I hear that....I was friggin miserable after the surgery. Even while the doctor is telling me what a good patient I am for getting up walking a lot and I'm thinking, "really? This is doing well? What did I do to myself!"
But it gets better really quickly! The gas pain will mostly go away in a few days to a week. Then you'll probably be really miserable about how little you can eat/pain when eating and drinking for a while. But that will pass too, as you move out of the liquid stage and your insides heal.
It took about 3-4 weeks after surgery before I started feeling like this was actually a great decision. Hang in there!

I'm 9 months out, and I am very, very happy with where I am at. I had my surgery March 11, 2020. I've lost a total of 52 pounds since I started - 48 pounds since the surgery date. SW: 208 CW:156 GW:149 and I'm 5'5". This means I lost about 90% of my excess weight, which studies show is a very typical result for a patient like me who started out with a relatively low BMI (35).
Of course I would still like to lose those last few pounds and officially make it to a normal BMI, but I am very happy with where I am now and would still consider it a resounding success if I can maintain at this weight. I am big boned, and people tell me that I look like a completely normal thin person when I am clothed. You can certainly tell I have lost a lot of weight when I am naked. Even at my heaviest, I never had big breasts or thighs, so most of my lose skin is on my arms and belly. I am very happy not to have saggy breasts. The belly skin makes it so pants that fit great when I am standing feel uncomfortable when I sit, but that's a minor annoyance.
I was very strict with my diet for the first 3.5 months. At that point, I had to have another surgery and was feeling bad for quite a while, so I was not so careful and more carbs and some sugar crept into my diet. However, I continued to lose well through that time. At this stage, it feels like I am learning how to maintain, although I am still losing a pound here or there. It is true that your appetite comes back at some point, and sugar definitely increases my appetite a lot. However, I had been having really bad problems with hunger and sugar before my surgery - I was about to get diabetes, and that is basically why I got the surgery. Right now, the techniques I was using before surgery to try and keep my hunger under control actually work. I eat pretty strictly during the week, and get about half my Protein from my wonderful morning Protein Powder latte. I still eat a lot of eggs and cottage cheese - luckily I have always like them. During weekends, I eat more freely and allow myself to have some sugar. I don't count calories anymore since month 4, but I still weigh a couple times a week. I plan to keep this routine up for the rest of my life, and I think it is very doable.
I kept a detailed weight chart. I did not record every up and down - I only recorded a weight if I had lost from the previous recorded weight. For the first two months, I lost about 3-4 pounds a week. Then I had a 1 month long stall, which was really nerve wracking because it was right at my lowest adult weight, where I'd gotten stuck with weight loss before. There were lots of ups and downs during this period that are not recorded on this chart, but still freaked me out. After I finally broke through the stall, I lost at a 1.5-2 pound per week rate during months 4 and 5. Since then, I've sort of slowly slid into maintenance with a total 7 lb loss over months 6-9.


Before - my 40th birthday Dec. 2019

After - Nov. 2020

After Oct. 2020 (I'm on the left)
Thank you so much to BariatricPal and all the amazing posters here, especially for the long term members who provide a great outlook for how things will change as time goes on!!!!

Ok, maybe not the best compliment, but definitely the funniest:
The first time the Kid's boyfriend (now ex) met me, I overheard him tell her "Whoa, your mom is hot". He was 15.
I was all "awwww" and "ewwww" at the same time. 😂😂😂😂

I haven't told anyone about my surgery except medical professionals. I had family visit when I was 2.5 months out and they didn't know about my surgery. I had lost over 100 pounds since the last time they saw me. They obviously noticed that I had lost weight but I made it pretty clear it was not a topic for discussion.
I was farther out from surgery than you are now, so it was probably a little easier for me since there were more foods I could eat. I cooked things that I could eat (or at least I could eat some parts), like BBQ chicken and ribs (with a choice of regular or sugar-free BBQ sauce) with veggies on the side, chili, scrambled eggs and turkey sausage, salad and wraps with grilled chicken. You can serve sides like rice, potatoes, Pasta, bread and just not take any for yourself, or take a small portion and push it around on your plate. You can put out Snacks for your family and not eat them, or just eat a small portion, or just grab a yogurt for yourself while others are eating chips. My family not only didn't feel like I was serving diet food, but they actually raved about how great the food was during their visit.
It might not be as obvious as you think it is that you're eating tiny portions. If you take tiny bites and chew for a long time between bites, a small portion will last a long time, and unless your dad is paying really close attention to how much food is on your plate, it will look like you're eating plenty. I think it's harder to see portion sizes in a bowl than on a plate, so foods like Soup, stew, or chili work well. I am a terrible liar so I don't like to say things that aren't true, but my opinion is that you have a right to privacy about your own medical history and if you have to lie a little to keep it private, it's not wrong. That said, I find it easier to tell the truth but not the whole truth -- I'm tracking my food, going low-carb, cutting back on sugar, trying to eat more slowly, drinking more Water, all of which is true and helps to explain my weight loss and changes in eating habits.

It's so hard to give advice on specific things to say to specific family members because you know much better than anyone else what story he's likely to "buy" and how convincing you are at telling stories.
Saying you are sick is certainly one way to go. But for me, since I am not that great of a liar, I find it's best to come up with a story that is actually true, but leave out certain key details. So I would say something like you are on a strict medically supervised diet. Just leave out the surgery part.

I'm 9 months out, and I am very, very happy with where I am at. I had my surgery March 11, 2020. I've lost a total of 52 pounds since I started - 48 pounds since the surgery date. SW: 208 CW:156 GW:149 and I'm 5'5". This means I lost about 90% of my excess weight, which studies show is a very typical result for a patient like me who started out with a relatively low BMI (35).
Of course I would still like to lose those last few pounds and officially make it to a normal BMI, but I am very happy with where I am now and would still consider it a resounding success if I can maintain at this weight. I am big boned, and people tell me that I look like a completely normal thin person when I am clothed. You can certainly tell I have lost a lot of weight when I am naked. Even at my heaviest, I never had big breasts or thighs, so most of my lose skin is on my arms and belly. I am very happy not to have saggy breasts. The belly skin makes it so pants that fit great when I am standing feel uncomfortable when I sit, but that's a minor annoyance.
I was very strict with my diet for the first 3.5 months. At that point, I had to have another surgery and was feeling bad for quite a while, so I was not so careful and more carbs and some sugar crept into my diet. However, I continued to lose well through that time. At this stage, it feels like I am learning how to maintain, although I am still losing a pound here or there. It is true that your appetite comes back at some point, and sugar definitely increases my appetite a lot. However, I had been having really bad problems with hunger and sugar before my surgery - I was about to get diabetes, and that is basically why I got the surgery. Right now, the techniques I was using before surgery to try and keep my hunger under control actually work. I eat pretty strictly during the week, and get about half my Protein from my wonderful morning Protein Powder latte. I still eat a lot of eggs and cottage cheese - luckily I have always like them. During weekends, I eat more freely and allow myself to have some sugar. I don't count calories anymore since month 4, but I still weigh a couple times a week. I plan to keep this routine up for the rest of my life, and I think it is very doable.
I kept a detailed weight chart. I did not record every up and down - I only recorded a weight if I had lost from the previous recorded weight. For the first two months, I lost about 3-4 pounds a week. Then I had a 1 month long stall, which was really nerve wracking because it was right at my lowest adult weight, where I'd gotten stuck with weight loss before. There were lots of ups and downs during this period that are not recorded on this chart, but still freaked me out. After I finally broke through the stall, I lost at a 1.5-2 pound per week rate during months 4 and 5. Since then, I've sort of slowly slid into maintenance with a total 7 lb loss over months 6-9.


Before - my 40th birthday Dec. 2019

After - Nov. 2020

After Oct. 2020 (I'm on the left)
Thank you so much to BariatricPal and all the amazing posters here, especially for the long term members who provide a great outlook for how things will change as time goes on!!!!

I'm 9 months out, and I am very, very happy with where I am at. I had my surgery March 11, 2020. I've lost a total of 52 pounds since I started - 48 pounds since the surgery date. SW: 208 CW:156 GW:149 and I'm 5'5". This means I lost about 90% of my excess weight, which studies show is a very typical result for a patient like me who started out with a relatively low BMI (35).
Of course I would still like to lose those last few pounds and officially make it to a normal BMI, but I am very happy with where I am now and would still consider it a resounding success if I can maintain at this weight. I am big boned, and people tell me that I look like a completely normal thin person when I am clothed. You can certainly tell I have lost a lot of weight when I am naked. Even at my heaviest, I never had big breasts or thighs, so most of my lose skin is on my arms and belly. I am very happy not to have saggy breasts. The belly skin makes it so pants that fit great when I am standing feel uncomfortable when I sit, but that's a minor annoyance.
I was very strict with my diet for the first 3.5 months. At that point, I had to have another surgery and was feeling bad for quite a while, so I was not so careful and more carbs and some sugar crept into my diet. However, I continued to lose well through that time. At this stage, it feels like I am learning how to maintain, although I am still losing a pound here or there. It is true that your appetite comes back at some point, and sugar definitely increases my appetite a lot. However, I had been having really bad problems with hunger and sugar before my surgery - I was about to get diabetes, and that is basically why I got the surgery. Right now, the techniques I was using before surgery to try and keep my hunger under control actually work. I eat pretty strictly during the week, and get about half my Protein from my wonderful morning Protein Powder latte. I still eat a lot of eggs and cottage cheese - luckily I have always like them. During weekends, I eat more freely and allow myself to have some sugar. I don't count calories anymore since month 4, but I still weigh a couple times a week. I plan to keep this routine up for the rest of my life, and I think it is very doable.
I kept a detailed weight chart. I did not record every up and down - I only recorded a weight if I had lost from the previous recorded weight. For the first two months, I lost about 3-4 pounds a week. Then I had a 1 month long stall, which was really nerve wracking because it was right at my lowest adult weight, where I'd gotten stuck with weight loss before. There were lots of ups and downs during this period that are not recorded on this chart, but still freaked me out. After I finally broke through the stall, I lost at a 1.5-2 pound per week rate during months 4 and 5. Since then, I've sort of slowly slid into maintenance with a total 7 lb loss over months 6-9.


Before - my 40th birthday Dec. 2019

After - Nov. 2020

After Oct. 2020 (I'm on the left)
Thank you so much to BariatricPal and all the amazing posters here, especially for the long term members who provide a great outlook for how things will change as time goes on!!!!

It's so hard to give advice on specific things to say to specific family members because you know much better than anyone else what story he's likely to "buy" and how convincing you are at telling stories.
Saying you are sick is certainly one way to go. But for me, since I am not that great of a liar, I find it's best to come up with a story that is actually true, but leave out certain key details. So I would say something like you are on a strict medically supervised diet. Just leave out the surgery part.

I'm 9 months out, and I am very, very happy with where I am at. I had my surgery March 11, 2020. I've lost a total of 52 pounds since I started - 48 pounds since the surgery date. SW: 208 CW:156 GW:149 and I'm 5'5". This means I lost about 90% of my excess weight, which studies show is a very typical result for a patient like me who started out with a relatively low BMI (35).
Of course I would still like to lose those last few pounds and officially make it to a normal BMI, but I am very happy with where I am now and would still consider it a resounding success if I can maintain at this weight. I am big boned, and people tell me that I look like a completely normal thin person when I am clothed. You can certainly tell I have lost a lot of weight when I am naked. Even at my heaviest, I never had big breasts or thighs, so most of my lose skin is on my arms and belly. I am very happy not to have saggy breasts. The belly skin makes it so pants that fit great when I am standing feel uncomfortable when I sit, but that's a minor annoyance.
I was very strict with my diet for the first 3.5 months. At that point, I had to have another surgery and was feeling bad for quite a while, so I was not so careful and more carbs and some sugar crept into my diet. However, I continued to lose well through that time. At this stage, it feels like I am learning how to maintain, although I am still losing a pound here or there. It is true that your appetite comes back at some point, and sugar definitely increases my appetite a lot. However, I had been having really bad problems with hunger and sugar before my surgery - I was about to get diabetes, and that is basically why I got the surgery. Right now, the techniques I was using before surgery to try and keep my hunger under control actually work. I eat pretty strictly during the week, and get about half my Protein from my wonderful morning Protein Powder latte. I still eat a lot of eggs and cottage cheese - luckily I have always like them. During weekends, I eat more freely and allow myself to have some sugar. I don't count calories anymore since month 4, but I still weigh a couple times a week. I plan to keep this routine up for the rest of my life, and I think it is very doable.
I kept a detailed weight chart. I did not record every up and down - I only recorded a weight if I had lost from the previous recorded weight. For the first two months, I lost about 3-4 pounds a week. Then I had a 1 month long stall, which was really nerve wracking because it was right at my lowest adult weight, where I'd gotten stuck with weight loss before. There were lots of ups and downs during this period that are not recorded on this chart, but still freaked me out. After I finally broke through the stall, I lost at a 1.5-2 pound per week rate during months 4 and 5. Since then, I've sort of slowly slid into maintenance with a total 7 lb loss over months 6-9.


Before - my 40th birthday Dec. 2019

After - Nov. 2020

After Oct. 2020 (I'm on the left)
Thank you so much to BariatricPal and all the amazing posters here, especially for the long term members who provide a great outlook for how things will change as time goes on!!!!