Pete-TheTimeIsNow

3 minutes ago, Spinoza said:

Just checking in again. Today I reached my 'ideal weight' of 147. Never ever in a million years did I think that I would do this. Almost 14 months post op. Still losing very very slowly. I really want to hear from my November 2021 buddies. I hope you're all as happy as I am with your surgery. Onwards and downwards!

Congrats! That's quite an achievement! I am 20 lbs away. Getting there!

On 8/9/2022 at 12:30 PM, geilli1048 said:

I am noticing my restriction less and I'm hungry more lately. Starting to think about food like I did pre-surgery. Has anyone else dealt with this? I'm trying to keep my cravings under control by sticking to plan.

Same boat. Sometimes I work really late, and around 8-9 pm, the hunger monster attacks.. :). I started having a fat free, Protein yogurt, this didn't cut it. A bit later, I started adding some granola, because "I don't eat enough carbs during the day"... and it went downhill from there.. :), weight loss went down to ~1 lbs / week.

Had to stop, and go back to basics. Now, when hungry, and still have some ways to go before bedtime, I eat an omelet (even if it's 9 pm). After I started doing this, weight started going down again.

3 hours ago, Peonie said:

I've just come back from a two week trip to the US, didn't weigh while I was there, did lots of walking but totally gave myself a break with the eating and managed to put on 3lbs while I was there which was my first gain since my operation. I've managed to lose it again fairly quickly now I'm back and on plan and have just hit the 7 stone loss mark - 98lbs, which has put me dead on 200lbs - can't wait to get under that.

Love reading everyone's stories!

200lbs, the magic number! Congrats!

11 hours ago, ForMyOhana said:

To focus on the bright side, I'm 2 weeks under 300.

Congrats! I've been a slow loser from the start. As long as it moves in the right direction, all is good.

On 4/30/2022 at 8:26 AM, Spinoza said:

The restaurant only does a tasting menu so there are about 8 courses to get through.

8 courses, ouch!

Wife wants to go to a Brazilian restaurant they opened nearby, where they bring platters and platters of meat to the table in trays. I guess I'll bring the food scale along!

On 4/3/2022 at 4:30 PM, Spinoza said:

Edited to add - I am on around 1000 - 1100 calories a day now. Maybe a bit more at the weekend when I have a glass of wine.

And I am on 4-6 small meals or Snacks a day now, very variable. I always make up my calories at the end of the day so I'l have cheese or hummus or nut butter if I haven't got to 1000 by bedtime. Protein is no problem because I like to snack  on deli meat or meat I cook myself and cut up for my tub in the fridge. I have a meat tub AND a cheese tub, LOL.

Missed this part. Thanks for the info! Even this far, I am still trying to figure out what to eat..

3 hours ago, Spinoza said:

My main issue remains getting enough fluids would you believe. I get hungry and eat without thinking that I will need an hour (more usually) afterwards to let that settle so I can drink. And then I get hungry again and have to eat RIGHT NOW. I have tried loads of different strategies but I think my work is to blame - it's so busy and immersive that my coffee goes cold and my water bottle just sits there. What I often end up doing is drinking two or three glasses of diet coke after my evening meal and before my supper - I seem to have no problem getting *that* in!

Have you tried a Crystal Light or one of the other flavor enhancers? Sometimes I struggle to down plain Water, but I'm able to drink these more easily. I also up the water with the Protein Shakes. I blend the Protein shakes with ice, and that makes another 20oz (and makes the shakes less sweet).

Awesome results all around. How many calories are you all eating at this time? Meals per day? I haven't found my groove yet.

4 minutes ago, Lanitele said:

Hello everyone! Happy to see that you are doing well! My surgery was on November 24, I lost 57 lb, which is 70% of my weight loss goal. Felling great, no issues at all. I had couple stalls, the last one was almost three weeks long. Last week I noticed that I can eat bigger portions of solid foods without feeling restrictions. Do you guys feel less restrictions too? How much of solid food can you eat at once, like one cup or less?

Restriction is still there. Don't have to wait between bites. And not having to super-chew the food either.

My doctor's guidelines call for food weight instead of volume (which, TBH, doesn't make a lot of sense ). They call for 4-5 oz max weight. For example something like 2 oz of Protein, 1 oz of vegetables, and 1 oz of carbs.

I would guess that a volume limit would correlate more with the new limited volume of the sleeve.

On 3/3/2022 at 2:25 PM, LilaNicole20 said:

we're not supposed to be using straws I thought?

I think it depends on the doctors' instructions.

My surgeon told me to avoid them during the first 1-3 weeks, because, excess gas in the stomach could put pressure on the staple lines, and cause a dreaded leak.

After the 1-month post-op, he said that I could use them if they didn't give me discomfort.

I know of people that haven't used them again, and others that have used them since day 1 post-op. YMMV.

I put them in a blender with ice, and drink them with a straw.

25 minutes ago, rgwtwins said:

I had vsg 11/17/21. I have lost 40 pounds in total. Only 28 since surgery. Now I have been on a stall for almost 4 weeks !! Any advice?? I am beside myself …

HW 256
SW 244
CW 216

Welcome to the club.. :), I am going on my 3rd stall.. I go through 2 weeks stalled, and the next week the weight comes off.. rinse and repeat.

Everybody says that stalls are normal, and you just need to stick to the program, focus on Water and Protein.< /span>

I am going to be changing up my diet to something more similar to what I was doing when I was losing weight steadily. And will be bumping up my daily exercise.

21 hours ago, sgirlhoney89 said:

I'm 2 daya Post op and there's gas pains are no joke. I'm burping and passing gas but when I eat or drink the gas pain seems to get worse for a few minutes then goes away. I'm taking frequent small sips of liquid and when we eat I'm taking small bites of puree like foods Anyone experience this?

Sent from my IN2025 using BariatricPal mobile app

I read somewhere that post-op gas pain lasts ~2.5 days on average. So you are almost there. Other than walking and gas-x. For the first 2 days, I tried to wait and burp after each sip of Water. And if the pain got worse, I drank and walked some more.

As @Arabesque said, most of us are on just liquids initially. I was on liquids for 2 weeks before moving on to purees 3 weeks post-op.

After surgery the main focus is:

• Water, to not get dehydrated
• Protein, to avoid loss of muscle mass
• Limited Volume while the sleeve heals, to avoid stretching your stitch line, damaging it, and causing a leak.

In my case, I was on 3 days of just water (no protein).. then 4 days of clear protein (no milky shakes).. and then milky Protein Shakes.

Dr. said not to worry about calories, just water and protein goals. I was given a calory budget after 2 or 3 months..

Congrats on being Overweight! Yep, definitely funny to say. And yet, really great achievement.

1 minute ago, ShoppGirl said:

Can’t you change the seat? You can on regular bikes.

Yes, you can change it, it has a standard mount.

Just now, Valboosky said:

Ha! I ordered another seat right after my first ride.

The good thing is, it will accept any regular bike saddle, so I ordered a fat buy saddle.

LOL. The prob is the wife is skinny and uses it every day. And.. more importantly, I am just lazy..

Congrats on your progress!

I am doing strength training. Wife has a peloton bike, but I can't stand the tiny seat.. I'll try again when I lose some more weight.

13 hours ago, AnotherGuy said:

When you lose weight, you lose fat AND muscle. 

@AnotherGuy, great post! Stalls are super frustrating..

About losing muscle. One of my surgeon's goals is to avoid/reduce muscle loss. He says that if you are losing muscle, you need to up the Protein intake, to have a 'positive Nitrogen balance'. The basic idea is if you don't get enough protein, the body breaks muscle mass.

Every month he tests my body composition using an InBody scale (same one found in gyms), One month post-op I was losing weight, and he bumped my daily protein from 100 to 120.. one month later I didn't lose muscle mass (according to him ), and he bumped up my daily goal to 135g/day.

This is my report from 3-4 weeks ago.

I am 1 week shy of 3 months. Started at 260, have lost 35 lbs so far. I am a slow loser compared to others.

However, take this with a grain of salt, everybody loses at a different rate. Depends on gender, muscle mass, exercise, calory deficit, etc.

During the first couple of days post-op, I did the same. Had lots of gas from the op. So I walked a lot around the house. I would drink and walk, rinse and repeat.

I am almost 3 months out, and I am not sure I feel hungry, at least the same way I had before. If it's been a long time since I had food, I get a distant "I feel like I should eat something" feeling.. but not the gnawing feeling of hunger pre-op.

A new study came out a couple of days ago that found that chewing slowly makes you lose more weight, burn more calories. No idea how much.

I am close to 3 months out and have this same problem. I am eating at the same speed as pre-op. I (try to) make sure I chew to small bites, otherwise, I can get discomfort, but otherwise, 90% of the time I am not paying attention and scarf the food down..

I've found Tanita scales to be very accurate and consistent.

I also got a Withing scale, but it feels less consistent. Weighing 3 times in a row can give you slightly different results.

Indigestion could be caused by heartburn. Belching could be heartburn, or it could be caused by eating too fast. Some people experience this when they are full. Others have runny-nose, etc.

If they say anything.. you should just say: "You are eating ALL OF THAT?! Wow, good for you! that lot's of unhealthy calories!"

48 minutes ago, Tristenhilpert97 said:

Just a quick update... I will be 2 months Post op on January 8th and I am down to 336. I weighed 375 the morning of surgery and 408 on October 24th. I am starting to feel like I haven't lost enough weight since surgery? Only 39 pounds in 2 months doesn't seem like a lot. I have stuck with our dieticians plan to a t just not seeing the weight loss I expected.

Everybody will lose at different rates, depending on starting BMI, height, gender, muscle mass, etc. Some people lose really fast, and others at a steady lower rate.

Keep following your plan, and make sure you are meeting the daily Water goal. Water is essential to 'process' stored fat.

For reference, I'm approaching month 2, and I am losing a bit over 2 lbs/week.

Hey Dan, welcome to the forum.

Just keep following your plan, focus on protein/water intake, and ignore the scale for a few days.

Not familiar with gout, but if it is an inflammatory disease, maybe the extra weight could be Water retention due to inflammation caused by the gout flare-up.