Why am I not seeing any difference?

[Peggy D 123]

I know the surgery will work as long as I follow my surgeon's plan but, now at 12 days post-op, I'm just not seeing any change. Maybe it's because I lost 44 pounds from the time of my first visit on April 25 to the day before surgery. I'm still on Clear liquids plus 3 Protein shakes a day for another 2½ weeks & then I get to advance to puree. As of yesterday I'd only lost 3.8 pounds from my pre-op low & that only after I was allowed to add the Protein Shakes on post-op day 8. It took a week to lose the 5 pounds I gained in the hospital. And today I gained 0.2 pounds! How can that be when all I "eat" is sugar-free plus the 3 Protein Shakes a day?

I've had my husband take pictures every couple of weeks & I can hardly tell the difference from when I had my first visit with my surgeon on April 25 & now. I have lost a total of 47.8 pounds in that time but, other than some shirts are looser, I don't see a difference. I wear elastic-waist skirts or pants I've made for years & I have not even had to take in any of the elastic. I have lost about an inch, one measly inch, in my bra band measurement. I mean, I’ve lost about a third of what I need to get to my goal of 155, shouldn’t I see a difference?

[LifetimeLoser 208]

Give it time. You might not see a difference because your mind needs time to adjust also. We are also our own worst critics. It can't be helped. I'm sure if you showed other people they could tell you the differences.

[suejersey 263]

It took people at least 5 months to notice a difference for me! I was like, huh?! The changes that I saw in myself each month were subtle (I took pictures, too) but when we have a lot to lose, those 10 - 20 pounds don't show up as much as when someone only has 20 - 30 pounds to lose.

Don't weigh yourself every day (if you are) do it once a week and forget about the scale for the rest of the week. See it as a reward for your work during the week to check that scale once a week. You will have a more accurate account and not as much of a rollercoaster of up and down. .2 could be a few serious farts LOL!

And by all means, stop rushing yourself! You are only about 2 weeks post op. I know we all want to see buckets of weigh falling off and before you know it, it will be a few months down the road and you will be amazed at how much you have lost, but give yourself time. Focus on LIVING not waiting for the weight to come of. It WILL, but in the meantime LIVE don't wait. Keep on or start walking (exercising), look for interesting recipes to try, go shopping in your closet for things you haven't been able to wear.

It will work. I think the majority of us who have had the sleeve done think we are going to be that ONE PERSON who the surgery doesn't work for. But I know you can do this. Know why I know? Because I thought I was the one it wouldn't work for, and as you can see, it is working! Just wait till you are almost 11 months out like me it is the best feeling possible. And I am just someone who tried and failed miserably at losing weight many times. Now I am healthier, stronger and happier than I have been in ages. Meet me back here in 11 months and give me an update

[MissErika 65]

Give it time. You might not see a difference because your mind needs time to adjust also. We are also our own worst critics. It can't be helped. I'm sure if you showed other people they could tell you the differences.

This exactly ^ but also remember that you may still be swollen from the surgery. I gained 10 pounds from the operation and it takes awhile to drop all the extra fluids and gas. Your body is still adjusting so keep your head up!

[No game 14,436]

You need to figure in your total loss up to today too. In normal weight loss you will hit plateaus and stalls you were chugging right along losing weight until you had surgery. The weight loss does not reset or start from scratch once you've had it because you were already changing and making wiser choices. some people eat junk up until the point of surgery therefore you see big loses out of the gate. Does that make sense?

[marfar7 1,528]

And you see yourself everyday so ur not gunna see a difference for a LONG time. After my laphband, I went from 248 to 144 in 2 yrs. I never did see a difference in the mirror. But when I look back at pics, I'm amazed that I was ever that fat!

I just posted about friends not telling me I looked like I was losing last week. While I've only lost 17 lbs post op (7 1/2 weeks), I went from 174 to 156 and I thought people would for sure be able to tell, since I lost 2 pants sizes. Nope. no one has said a word.

The only one who notices is hubby who calls me "Skinny Minnie" but I'm not sure if he really notices a difference or he's just trying to make me feel good!

Keep checking back with pics and I guarantee that you'll soon see differences... Good luck

[endless80 697]

When you have a ton of weight to lose there is fat inside of your body that surrounds your organs. You're losing fat there are well and it wont be all that noticable (but much easier on your insides!) For most people who are large I hear the threshold of when people start noticing you're losing weight is around 65-75 pounds.

[Peggy D 123]

I guess I'm not explaining myself well (story of my life). I AM talking about the total of 47.8 pounds I've lost since April. That's a third of what I needed to lose & I'm still wearing the same clothes. I may weigh less but I'm still the same size! It's the same size I was in April & the same size I was just before surgery & the same size now, 12 days after surgery. It's not my subjective perception it's objective measurement.

I wasn't surprised to gain weight in the hospital & I only gained 5 pounds, less than what I was told to expect. I also didn't expect to really start losing weight the first week after surgery since I was only allowed sugar-free, caffeine-free Clear Liquids - no Protein. I did lose the 5 pounds gained in the hospital, but that's it.

I wasn't weighing myself daily until my NUT suggested it to try & track down what would cause me to gain weight/retain Fluid pre-op. By weighing daily I could compare what I ate the day before to what the scale said the next day. We did determine that broth, any broth, any brand, pre-made or powdered, causes a reaction. So I've been making my own, but maybe that's a problem, too. When you're only allowed sugar-free clear liquids & 3 Protein shakes a day there aren't too many changes I can make.

[No game 14,436]

Well to that I say what size are you wearing? because quite honesty once you get into sizes in the 20 and up range it takes a significant amount of weight loss to move from one size to another (up or down) the sizing starts changing faster once you get into say 18 or 16 it drops quicker with lost weight in those smaller sizes.

[JessicaAnn 564]

Well to that I say what size are you wearing? because quite honesty once you get into sizes in the 20 and up range it takes a significant amount of weight loss to move from one size to another (up or down) the sizing starts changing faster once you get into say 18 or 16 it drops quicker with lost weight in those smaller sizes.

I agree. I started n a tight 24. It took losing 53lbs then all of a sudden I'm in an 18 the next day. The body works in strange ways!

[Bufflehead 6,358]

And you may be able to fit into some smaller clothes without even realizing it. I thought I hadn't lost any sizes and was still wearing the same clothes. I went for a visit with my PCP and when I was getting ready to leave, she pointed at my lower half and said "you need to buy some new trousers, you are swimming in those things!" -- so I bought some pants two sizes smaller, hoping they wouldn't be too small. As it turns out, they were at least a size too big. And these were the exact same brand and style of pants as I had before, just in a smaller size, so it wasn't some sort of brand or design difference. You may want to give some smaller clothes a shot if you haven't.

But yeah, it does take a while to lose sizes when you just start out. But once they start going down, they go down fast!

[No game 14,436]

See this just popped up today!

http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/92905-when-do-you-start-dropping-sizes/#entry975352

Just keep doing what your doing and all will work out

[chinamama 104]

Also we stretch our clothes out, even though I was wearing a 24 at my largest, when I went to go buy new jeans the 26's wouldn't fit. I blamed it pm walmarts cheap clothes and lack of vanity sizing. Same now with my 18's every time I wash them they shrink, the difference is I don't re-stretch them out as much when I wear them. (Really need to replace them, but refuse to buy anything more until I can get into a 14!)

With pictures.... Are you taking the pictures in the exact same place, and framed by a doorway or refrigerator? Even if you have to put a spot of tape on the floor to get the same perspective.

[Peggy D 123]

I've made my own clothes for years. I have no idea what size they would be, but a 4x t-shirt I was given a couple of years ago was "snug" to say the least. I bought a 5x dress on clearance last summer & have never worn it, it's still too snug. And the clothes I am wearing are the same ones I've worn for 5 years or more, a couple I know I made 15 years ago. I haven't adjusted the patterns I made since I don't know when.

The pictures have been taken in the same place, at the same distance, same everything. I'd post a couple but they're naked & I don't want to subject anyone to them.

[mytime2shine 229]

Hang in there. The weight will start coming off. Like most everyone who's posted, I for sure thought I was the one the surgery wouldn't work for. Seems like the scale just crawls down ever so slowly but as I look back @ the big picture, I'm down 53 lbs. like u I thought I wasn't changing sizes, until I went to buy a new pair of jeans-- picked up my 'normal size', they were too big-- tried next smaller size, still too big... Next size down & they fit. I was so ecstatic, had to buy them!! A couple of weeks later & they are feeling a little big--- of course my old mindset automatically thinks I've stretched them out but NOPE... ????????