CathyMol

Yesss remember Water weight is huge!

I average about 1200 a day. My team wanted me to up my calories as I was running short on energy. I feel better now.

This week I had two consecutive lunches that were very, very salty. I gained a pound each day. In my case its just Water. It will slowly disappear. You will get used to these little fluctuations. I log all my foods and know my calories and Protein every day. I therefore know I am always in a calorie deficit. It really helps

I also had this happen during the 3 week stall which is about which point you are at. I went up and down those same 3 pounds for 3 weeks and then the stall finally broke. It was depressing to be doing everything right and not see any results but its actually normal. So do your best not to stress too much and just stick to your plan and you'll see results again soon enough. Take care!

unless you've eaten an extra 10,500 calories this week, that "gain" is either Water or intestinal contents (i.e., "poop"), or a little of both. Daily fluctuations are normal, whether you're dieting or not. If it's playing with your mind too much, cut back your weighing to once a week - then you'll see overall trends rather than the daily fluctuations.

Definitely be patient!! My highest weight was 295 & no one really noticed till I was down to 190. That's also when I finally started buying new clothes. It will take time but you will DEFINITELY see the results physically too!

Honestly, ignore what your dad said. He may not have meant it the way it came out, but he still said it. As for how long, everyone is different. It took around 60 pounds before I could see a difference, and another 10 before others really noticed.

First, I bet what your Dad said really hurt. I'm sorry he said that to you. I'm not sure what people are thinking when they hear the words "weight loss surgery." Sometimes I get the feeling they assume someone snapped their fingers over your body and now the excess weight is just going to melt off of you. If that were true, maybe..MAYBE you could see a difference in 3 weeks. But this isn't a magic bullet and you're not going to melt away. Your body has figured out how to store and hold that fat for many years. It's not going to let go so easily. I know this going into surgery (mine is scheduled for 3/13), but I'm sure someone will need to remind me when I'm a few weeks - and many months - in.
I'm so happy you can feel the difference yourself, because you're the only one who matters when it comes to this. Take care and good luck on your journey!

It took 65 pounds for me to really see the difference in my clothes and then it was like overnight, I burned through all the available clothes in my closet. Unfortunately, when you're bigger, it seems to take longer to feel the results. Now that I've lost 140, when I gain 5, I can FEEL it whereas before 5lbs was not even a blip on my radar. Give yourself some grace and stay the course.

If you're like me and carry your weight evenly all over your body, your weight loss is not going to be obvious for a while.
I'm 4.5 months post op and my husband can finally start to see it in my face. I've lost nearly 50 pounds since surgery.
The only reason why I know that my clothes are fitting differently, is because the skirt that I wear when I go to town, now needs a belt. All my other bottoms have either elastic or drawstring waists, so it's hard to gauge my size. I can see it in the t-shirt I took my picture in, the night before surgery - but there hasn't been much change in most of my clothes.

Everyone loses weight differently, for me it is first in my face/neck and waist, so it is easier for people to tell. I was told I was losing weight 1 week post op, and I had lost about 15lbs at that point, but I also retain a lot of Water. I also believe that those that see you more often will take longer to tell you about your weight loss. I'm 3.5 months post op and last week my husband asked me if I'm losing weight lol. Just hang in there, keep doing what you're doing, and things will move in the right direction.

I'm a little over 3 months out and I've lost 47lbs from my heaviest (32lbs from surgery date). People just started noticing just in the past few days. My husband of course noticed within weeks after the surgery even though my clothes still hid most of my weight loss. I tried to pay attention to all the non scale victories, like my ankles weren't swollen anymore, my shoes and slippers fit better, and my rings could fit my fingers in the first few weeks. I also was happier that my blood pressure was down and that my sleep apnea has gotten better and that happened almost immediately after surgery.

I am three weeks post Sleeve surgery. Today my father said to me, “when will I be able to tell a difference when I look at you?“ This comment stung because I have lost 40 pounds since beginning the process in November. However, I still have more than 100 to go. Despite losing the weight, none of my clothes, fit any differently, I have not gone down in size, and nobody has noticed the weight loss except for me. My question is, how far along after your surgery were you before people noticed you were losing weight?

I totally agree with this. Don't stress too much about how much you have lost and if you look different or not. Focus your energy on healing and following the post-op diet. People lose weight differently. For me, I lost most of the weight on my thighs and lower body at first and for the first few months my face almost looked the same.
3 weeks is too early to see any noticeable changes to be honest and your body is still healing. That is also when most of us got the infamous three-weeks stall. At least that was the case for me. Good luck

I had my surgery in June 2015, and people didn't start noticing until October 2015, so four months. But I weighed well over 300 lbs, so I'm not that surprised that it took that long. *I* could tell, but I'm sure I still looked really heavy to others....it was probably hard to see nuances until I'd dropped a lot of weight (well, it was hard for ME to see nuances sometimes as well).
I just checked my spreadsheet - at four months out, I was down 52 lbs. So I had to lose over 50 lbs for people to start noticing.
Arabesque is right - take photos of yourself - or have someone else take them - every month. I had my husband take them every month on my surgery date until I hit maintenance. Sometimes you can't tell from one month to the next that you're looking thinner, but if you compare current photos to the ones from three or four months prior - yep - you can definitely see the difference.
just to add that I thought that was a pretty sh*tty thing that your dad said.

I’m sorry your dad is being unsupportive. It’s always hardest to block out hurtful comments by those we love. Did you point out how much you’ve actually lost?
It was early in the second month post surgery I think when a friend commented. I was wearing a more fitted dress that used to pull across my butt & tummy a bit in the past & now skimmed. I’d lost about 12kg ( 26lbs) in total. I was still wearing mostly the same clothes but they fit better. The only pieces that were verging on too big were those with proper waist bands everything else had elastic bands or drawstrings so could fit multi sizes.
However, importantly, my staring weight was less than yours (based on what you want to lose) so it took less weight loss to see any difference.
You’re losing weight from all over your body not just your torso. Try taking photos & body measurements - thighs, calves, upper & lower arms, waist, hips, breast & compare those too not just the scales & the size on your clothing tags. Remember the difference between one size & the next is usually 2 inches so, for e.g., your waist would have to be a good 2 inches smaller for you to need to drop a size (in a fitted waist outfit). General advice is if you lose about 10lbs you’ll drop a size but that really only applies to those in the healthy weight range & dropping say from a US size 12 - 10. If you’re smaller it takes less weight loss & vice versa.
Your dad will be changing his thinking in another month or so. Keep up your great work.

Give yourself space and time to heal. It's 3 weeks. At the size most of us are/were at surgery, weight loss ISN'T visible until months after. I know it's hard, but try to block out the voices of others, it's not helpful. Concentrate on healing, be patient, focus on the plan and distract yourself where possible. You'll be experiencing non-scale-victories frequently, so enjoy those as they come.
I honestly didn't get any "you're looking smaller" comments until a good 3/4 months after surgery. I was 130kg and wore my weight from head to toe, so even a ten kilogram loss wasn't a big visual change at that stage.

My surgery was 2/13 as well and I’m in the same boat. I’m just now able to drink some Water a little better but still only getting about 30oz. The Protein makes me sick so that’s not even come close. I’m worried about it.
I had to go back in fluids once too.
Then I see some people with no trouble at all.

My progress has been almost entirely built on routine; if I'm going to change my life I have to build a life that can be successful.
I told my husband once I know Future Me is lazy; Current Me has to prepare for that so Future Me has no excuses. So for instance, if I've already got veggies and things cut up for salads or dipping, Lazy Me isn't going to go for the less-healthy option that needs prep work!

I’ve found setting a routine of when I eat very helpful. Started doing it because I had no appetite or interest in eating but knew I had to eat something. I still eat to a routine almost 4 years later. I’ve never set a timer not even to remind me to sip fluids. I just eat to the time on the clock. I can eat earlier or later than those set times or miss a meal/snack (conflicting appointments, commitments, travelling, not hungry, etc.) but I don’t eat additional snacks/meals between those times.
Honestly, I really only ate two ‘meals’ a day those first two weeks. Sipped those shakes & Soups for ages as I diluted them for extra Fluid & so they’d taste a little better (they didn’t). Started my Breakfast shake at around 8am & my dinner Soup around 5pm if I remember correctly. On purées I began three meals a day & I added a mid afternoon snack I think from solid foods to ensure I was better meeting goals. My surgeon & dietician were okay with this as I was slowly increasing my intake every week.

I ate and pretty much still do eat every 3 hours! That’s a schedule that works for me and that’s about how often I really do feel hungry

I'm getting sick of the Protein Shakes, they're definitely too sweet 😭 I could get unflavored Protein Powder to put in broths, but im not sure yet. Ahh I'm craving cheese

@CathyMol Happy 53rd Birthday what a wonderful gift to yourself....better health! I can relate to the excited & nervous.

February 16. Nervous. Excited. Optimistic.