Greenephoenician68

I’m 16 months post op & 130 lbs down. At Drs goal but want to lose another 15. During my journey experienced many stalls for no reason at all. For 2 MONTHS stuck at 160-161. Back & forth. Then all of a sudden dropped to 155. Did nothing different. Just followed the course. Since this stall happened later in the journey didn’t stress as much as I had in the beginning. Remember. When you stress it raises cortisol which can create weight gain. For beginners I’ve always suggested to take measurements, try on clothes vs always jumping on scale. For me that was very hard habit to break. Used to weigh daily. Finally during losing process I was able to pick the same day each week- Wednesday- & weigh then. When you get to goal you should weigh yourself more frequently so any weight gain can be addressed immediately.
I have great program were we had weekly support group meetings & we still continue now with zoom meetings. It’s so important to reach out to others like this so keep doing it. I’ve learned so much by sharing & with our therapist who leads group. Biggest lesson. Stay the course. It works!

When my weight loss slowed quite a bit, I was advised to add strength training. Not as a way to burn calories but because adding muscle tissue raises your BMR (the base rate of calories needed to keep your bodily functions going). I am NOT the athletic type so weight training was new for me. The pandemic hit right around then so I ordered a set of dumbbells from Amazon and found a very basic, easy, beginner's routine on YouTube that I could do consistently. It's a 15 minute whole body routine and it's not too strenuous. My weight started dropping again almost immediately. And it kept dropping until I was below goal. The investment of 15 minutes, three times a week, has paid off enormously.

I had my surgery 8/24. I had a hard time getting out of the 160's. I bounced back and forth between 164-168 for about 3 weeks. All of a sudden, I weighed myself, and I was in the 150's. I only weigh myself once a week, sometimes a bit longer. I was doing it every day, and getting frustrated. If I gain, or lose a few pounds I don't panic over it. I just keep doing what I am supposed to. Now I am at the point, where I have been in the 140's bouncing back and forth between 140-142 for the past 3 weeks. My goal is 135. If I stay at the weight I am now, I would prefer it. I am too skinny (blv it or not). I look awful. I almost wish I was back in the 150 range. I feel that is where I looked best. Don't lose faith. It will just happen naturally as long as you are doing what your supposed to.

Here's a question. If you're stressing and panicking over being stuck and doing everything humanly possible to set your diet to a complex level of restriction....how will you feel when you actually DO reach your goal? You will. Then you'll be faced with how many of these restrictions you can live with long term and the resulting weight fluctuations of adjusting them. You're kinda setting yourself up for an unsustainable emotional rollercoaster, IMO.
My advice: slow and steady wins the race. Make good choices you can live with. It's not all about the number. It's about adapting to healthier eating you can live with and reinforcing those habits. Make them livable, or they'll burn you out.
Stuff that cause your weight to be wonky.... different amounts of carbs in your diet causing saved glucose in your liver. Heavy exercise depleting your glucose in your liver causing you to lose a ton of water.....then a week later the Water and glucose is replaced. A bad battery in your scale. Crappy sleep. Temperatures that make you retain water more and less. Soooo many things.
Don't be a slave to the scale. Find new good habits that work and just be patient. You've got this. You will eventually lose again if you don't freak yourself out so much that you do something crazy. LOL.
Wishing you the best.

losing the last 5-10-20 lbs or so is always a BEAR. It took me FOREVER. But we're not the only people it happens to. I distinctly remember sitting at Weight Watchers meetings years ago (way before surgery) rolling my eyes at these normal weight or slightly overweight women bitching and screaming about how hard it was to lose 10 lbs. Now I totally get it!!!

It's not uncommon for a stall to last 1-2 weeks. No reason to go back to purees. That doesn't make you lose weight faster. It just aids the healing tummy by giving it softer, easier to digest food that doesn't hurt the healing staple line etc. Just make sure you're eating what you're supposed to be eating according to your surgery center's instructions. Usually high Protein, low carb, veggies, and stopping when you're satisfied, not full. No grazing.

I learned very quickly that I needed eat slowly. Not so much to eat less, but to avoid being utterly miserable from eating one bite to many. Eating slowly allowed me to recognize the warning that I was reaching my limit before I got there. Cuz it totally sucked when I got to limit.
So I timed myself.
I took one bite, set the timer on my watch for 2 mins. If after 2 mins I was ok to take another bite, I would; if I wasn't, I'd wait another 2 mins. If by the 3rd time I still wasn't ready, then I was done. Yes, my meals took forever in those early months!
As I progressed, the number of bites between pauses increased, as well as the total amount I could eat in one "sitting". I can't remember when I stopped relying on the timer, but eventually I did, as I just naturally paused between bites.
P.S. The timer was also helpful to remind me to eat. Lots of times I would forget I was even in a pause and if it wasn't for the timer, I would probably have just not eaten anymore.
P.P.S Another thing I did was pre-portion what I needed to eat. I wouldn't put more on the plate than I knew I could (or should) eat.
Good Luck! ❤️

I agree with not going back to a liquid diet. Just go back to the way you're supposed to be eating. Protein first, then non-starchy veggies, and then an occasional small serving of fruit or whole-grain carb if you have room and/or really want them. Track your food. Make sure you get all your fluids in. You haven't gained anything yet, so just pick up where you left off.
if you must snack, keep things like sugar free Jello and sugar free popsicles around. I also mix ranch dressing mix in plain Greek yogurt and use it as a dip for raw veggies, which I keep cut up and in the fridge. I also usually have grapes around most of time.
it's tough to rein yourself in, but you can do it!

I (who am only six months out) would say no to the liquid diet. I think you need to go back to focusing on Protein and Water.

Right here with you! - Some foods go down easier than others. I have to constantly remind myself even if I'm extremely busy to CHEW and to SLOW down between bites and to enjoy - we gastric surgery people in the first few months can only eat a few bites during a sitting - might as well chew those bites and enjoy right?
^ ill be reminding myself this each and every time. If I go to fast *like i did today without realizing* it all comes back out as fast as it went in. When that happens I barely reach 400 calories for that day because it just ruins my appetite for the whole day. So eating slowly bite by bite and chewing is certainly the way to go!

My sleeve is scheduled for this Thursday . They said Clear Liquids 2 days prior . Not sure how I will be able to manage that . Guess I will just sleep lol

My doctor gave me what he called food Bootcamp:

Yes!!! I did end up doing that and it was so much better!!

Plain broth is gross to me, instead I cook a can of chicken noodle Soup and just strain it and toss the chicken and noodles out. So good.

Thanks so much for all of your responses! They are helpful. I called the clinic and found out I can have sugar free jello...yay! But you all are correct in saying on the 3rd day it gets better. It is Day 3 for me and my appendages are still in tact (I haven't chewed anything off yet).

I was 62 when I had surgery and it was the best decision I've ever made. My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner and avoid the arthritis and joint deterioration. I ended up having a knee replacement and may need another one down the road. 5 decades of abuse and the joints just can't take it any more. Don't wait that long.
Please read "The Obesity Code" by Dr, Jason Fung. He explains it all so well, and relieves you of the guilt and lack of will power. There is no will power when biology is calling the shots.
BTW, one of the best predictors of successful weight loss surgery is having a first degree relative (parent, child, or sibling) who had a successful surgery.
I LOVE my reclaimed life. I can do anything I want - hiking, long distance biking, and even completed a triathlon within a year of my surgery! I have maintained my weight and am actually under my goal weight right now. I have been gluten free for years, but am now also following a whole food plant based diet. I've never felt better or stronger, and I eat an enormous amount of food, am never hungry, and basically eat whatever I want within the WFPB guidelines. I'm not saying you should do this, but surgery gave me the jump start. Once I reached goal, I felt free to explore other options without the cravings and over eating that would sabotage every other effort. WLS has given tremendous freedom over food. For the first time in my life, I feel like I control the food instead of the food controlling me.

I was much heavier than you (low 200s from college until about age 30 - with a short stint of being 150-ish, which I wasn't able to maintain for very long), and then a gradual increase after age 30 until I was over 300 lbs. On the other hand, I was like you in that I could never maintain a loss. I'm in my 60s - and for YEARS I basically gained and lost the same 50 lbs. I could never keep it off for more than a few months before it headed back up. And I had 200 lbs to lose - no way was I going to do that on my own if I couldn't even keep 50 off. So I finally just leveled with myself and admitted I couldn't do it on my own.

you are much lighter than I was, so your experience might be different. Ultimately, only you can answer that question. It's very tough to lose and maintain weight - even with WLS it's no walk in the park. But no way could I have lost mine - and maintained it all this time - without that extra boost that WLS gave me.

My sleeve is scheduled for Dec 4. For some reason I do not have to do the pre-op 2 week liquid diet. Only the day before my procedure.