:crying: Okay so I came here to vent since most of you know where I'm coming from. I had surgery May 21st and went in weighing 257. I came home weighing 244 and then when I started on the mushy stage and the eating what other eat just in smaller portions stage I have gained back weight and back up to 250! Leaving me with 7 lb weigh loss. I've been gettin my protein and calories in and still no results. I'm walking and working out with my wii and about to start my zumba work out soon as it comes in Friday. My parents are telling me they hope it wasnt a waste of money since I had already had lapband and it was a waste. Trouble at home with my husband and just staying depressed now. Any advice on the stall greatly appreciated. I fill like I'm in this on my own right now...

I trust the more experienced will step in with this one, but maybe you hit the stall early?? My vote would be hang in there and keep on as you are, keep track of everything and eventually it should start dropping off.

Good luck

Kathy

Thanks and I am.. I'm keeping up with my food and excercise on that myfitnesspal.com

I don't know about the stall, and I know all docs require different post-op diets, but it seems really early to me for you to be able to "eat what others eat, just small portions." I was on a liquid diet for 3 wks post-op, soft diet for 2 wks, then regular diet starting on week 6. Going this route, I lost quite a bit at the beginning.

Are you limiting carbs and calories (from fats, high calorie liquids, sweet tea, ice cream or junk food)? I also had a band, and got very good at "eating around it" by consuming high-calorie things that slid right through it (cheese dip, milk shakes, etc). Even with a small tummy, it's possible to eat things that help the fat hold on for dear life.

Once I started on mushies, I kept to pretty much Protein only for the first couple of weeks (refried black Beans, meat from corned beef hash, tuna pureed and moist). Even when I could eat a regular diet, I started out slowly with adding a few things here and there along with my mushies and Protein drinks.

It sounds like you're doing great with exercise, so keep it up. If you follow the food rules to a T, the weight will eventually start coming off again. Our bodies are genetically engineered to hold onto fat when we cut calories, so it might be taking yours just a little while longer than usual to get with the program and shed the lbs. I know it's frustrating to have gone through all of this and not see better results. But I have faith that you'll be successful and will see the scale moving in the right direction before you know it.

I'm not sure what guidelines you have for calories/carbs/proteins, and every program is different. I was still on full liquids at 3 weeks into my post-op diet so I can't help you with that part if you're already eating solids except always eat Protein first, then low carb veggies. You're doing fabulous with exercising so keep it up.

My guidelines for losing were:

4 meals a day consisting of a minimum of 15grs of protein. No Snacks.

600-800 calories

60gr + protein

30gr of less of carbs

steer clear of calorie or sugar filled liquids

Adhering to those guidelines the first 4 months gave me 80lbs lost.

The 3 week stall is pretty inevitable it seems like most go through it.

A few things to look at maybe is to ensure you are getting in enough calories, and Clear Liquids especially with your exercise regimen. If you are eating a lot of slider foods that are higher carb, it can slow down losing. I know once I started adding in more carbs, my loss slowed significantly. Now that I don't limit carbs, and eat a well balanced diet, my loss has stabilized and I'm maintaining.

If you're following your program, have faith, and the scale will move. Also try taking some measurements. Once we start working out, our muscles get little tears/rips in them. To heal, they retain Water thus sometimes we don't lose weight even when we are doing everything "right". You could be losing inches because fat is bumpy/lumpy and muscle is lean and more dense. Your clothes may start fitting different, and you might see changes that aren't scale related.

Hang in there, the scale will move ! ! !

Besides all of this the acid reflux/heartburn is killing me.. It never goes away.... I've tried over the counter stuff and tums and no luck.. Does not getting enough fluids have anything to do with this weight thing??? I just noticed I started this bottle of water at 8am this morning and im not even half way done with it.... Thanks for all the insite... I think I'm going to go back to the mushy and liquid stage... Like I said earlier I'm keeping up with the excercise and food part on th at website.

Hey there...are you logging your food intake at a site like myfitnesspal. I can't tell you how much of a help this has been to me. Can you give us examples of what you're eating on a normal day?

For the acid reflux/heartburn are you taking a PPI?

Over the counter stuff like Tums, Pepcid complete and Rolaids can actually make your acid issue worse. Zantac may help a little, but it won't stop it from overproducing.

Prilosec 20mg Over the counter may take a 7-10 days to kick in to give you relief. I'm not sure how long Prevacid OTC takes to kick in, but these 2 are the only true proton pump inhibitors that will stop the acid production. All the other stuff will only soothe the symptoms once it's out of control.

And, yes not getting in enough Fluid can contribute to slow weight loss. You could be retaining Water if you aren't drinking enough.

If you're staying within your calories/carbs/protein goals, then maybe increase calories by 100 a day, and see if that helps get the scale moving.

Try not to be discouraged. You aren't even one month post op. I didn't lose weight fast either, but it eventually came off.

Tiffy gave you all the good advice about how many carbs and calories to have per day. Some of us are just slow losers, but I don't know anyone who hasnt' had the sleeve work for.

I'm just going to copy and paste my reply to Gatormom on the same subject:

Hi Gator...I'm only 10 weeks out from surgery, so I'm still pretty new at the sleeve--but I'm not new to dieting/weight loss. Let me offer a guess at what I think is happening that may help you feel encouraged...Looking at your ticker, I see that you lost 25 pounds pretty quickly. When we restrict carbohydrates and/or cut calories drastically, we will almost always see an initial rapid weight loss followed by a brief "stall". Here's an explanation of why this may happen:

"When we restrict energy intake too much too soon in order to lose weight quickly the body is forced to use up stores of carbohydrates and breakdown Protein in the muscles. As both carbohydrates and protein hold Water in the cells a loss of these macronutrients also results in a net loss of water. As a result rapid weight loss can often be made up of 75% water loss. After the energy systems stabilize water is regained because some of the protein and carbohydrate stores initially lost are replenished. The water is drawn back into the cells thus gaining back a little weight.

It can be very confusing when one week you lose 4 pounds, the next week nothing. However remember that gaining protein in muscles increases lean body weight. More lean body weight increases our metabolism and helps burn fat faster!"

Take a deep breath and keep doing the right things. Even though you are frustrated because you aren't seeing the scale move, I feel pretty certain that if you are eating 800 calories a day, your body is still burning fat as it replenishes some of the initial water loss from the beginning. Start adding some exercise to what you are already doing, and I think you will begin to see a more steady loss real soon.

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Okay so I came here to vent since most of you know where I'm coming from. I had surgery May 21st and went in weighing 257.

Wow! I too had my surgery on May 21st and weighed 257. I'm going to weigh myself tomorrow on my three week post-op date.

I know I'm not losing like gang busters. I am kinda scared to see the number.