2 months post op & struggling

[GemmaLicious 25]

Is anyone else having problems shifting weight? I can't seem to get much under 16 stone. I know I've snacked on foods I shouldn't but still feel like I've made huge progress from the days of binging to fix the way I feel. Even if I have had some things I shouldn't they are still healthier choices than pre op. Things like low fat chocolate moose or reduced fat hummus with carrots. I'm not eating to fix the way I feel anymore and feel I'm eating a much healthier diet. I eat between 800 & 1200 caleries a day. Is this what I should be aiming for? I had my sleeve done on 1st April so about 2 months ago. I just feel I should have lost more than 2 stone. My weight hasn't really gone down since 2 weeks post op. It keeps fluctuating around the 16 stone mark. I've been more active than I ever have been trying to walk at least half an hour each day, gardening and even just walking around the shops to keep active when it's raining. My exercising is dependent on how much I can physically bare due to nerve damage pain in my feet plus I've had low blood pressure causing a lot of dizziness. I'm even working voluntarily without being paid at my friends garden centre to keep active. I've never exercised before so am happy with my efforts just not my weight loss. I'm dreading seeing my surgeon as I'm worried I'm not doing well enough. My start weight pre op diet was around the 18 stone mark and now around 16. Anyone else struggling? I was under the impression the first few months the weight would drop of before slowing down. What's your experience please? My dads friend had the bypass and does hardly any exercise at all but has lost significantly over a year and is still losing. I feel I'm failing, please help. Thanks

[TheCurvyJones 721]

I remember wishing I'd had bypass because I felt like those patients lost a ton of weight with minimal efffort... but I know more than a few bypass patients who struggle with their weight, so this is very individual. The best BEST thing you can do is not compare, because it will just frustrate you.

27lbs (I assume that is what 16 stone is?) over a 2 month period is nothing to sneeze at. Our bodies will do what our bodies will do. WE can't make it happen any faster than it's going to happen.

That said, at 2 months out, I was barely getting in 800 calories. I probably don't eat 1200 calories now and I am a year and a half out. If it were me, I'd take a look at the kinds of foods I am eating. I really only tracked Protein and carbs to keep them low, but I did find that I really like high fat meat-- bacon, beef, pork. I switched to lower fat, less dense meat like chicken and seafood and alternative Protein sources like Beans. It kept me eating a bit more often but it lowered the calorie count without sacrificing protein count. Watch your Snacks as well. A little here and a little there does add up when your sleeve is only 4 ounces.

I also find I do much better when I drink LOOOOOOOOOOOOTS of Water and I stop eating early at night. I know, fitness gurus. Our bodies don't know what time it is. But I personally do better when I stop eating by 8 and am in the bed by 11.

You're already active and moving, which is great. This is a lifetime job now. I know it's frustrating, but concentrate on today. Feel pride in the success you've accomplished so far. Take a look at your foods and your routines and see how you can shake them up, then measure it again in the coming weeks. Give yourself, say two weeks to see some kind of change.

How are your sizes? I find when I am not losing scale weight that I am dropping inches. Sometimes in weird places, like my watch will be flopping around my wrist or my shoes flopping off of my feet.

Hang in there! You're in it for the long haul! My first six months were so frustrating but I'm at the point now where this is my new normal and I love what I see in the mirror.

[Fluffnomore 1,235]

First of all, 28 pounds is nothing to sneeze at. When have you ever lost that much weight in a month or two? You are not starting from such a high weight that you would drop more, more quickly. Of my 60 pounds so far, the first half (or, almost 30) was in the first couple of months.

Second, you might want to focus more on Protein. I don't know what your overall diet is like during the day, but for me chocolate mousse (if it's not Protein pudding) and hummus are empty calories. I wasn't eating raw vegetables that early. It's not that I would label either food "bad" per se, but the thing is, we really are supposed to entirely change the way we're eating, and that usually also means changing the way we think about eating. For me, hummus and carrots would be a useless snack. I'd be better off with an ounce of full fat cheese or dense protein.

Finally, you might want to consider why you are snacking on foods you say you shouldn't. At 7 months out I will openly say that I experiment a little bit here and there, but at 2 months my bigger focus was on following the program to a T. I'm at 1200 calories now, but I work out pretty consistently. At 2 months I hadn't re-incorporated foods that were a slippery slope for me (and I still stay away from them.) In answer to your calorie question, my surgeon doesn't believe *any* adult needs more than 800 calories a day. I think that's a little extreme, but that number works for a lot of people. So...

In some ways I think that 2 month period is hard. We don't look SO different, we are still restricted on what is safe for the sleeve, and we are all impatient. This is a long game, though. Try to keep the faith and stick to your plan.

[pinky4652 38]

i had surgery april 2nd and feel the same some times i do snack but my cal intake is 600-800 a day... your doing a great job thats alot of weight gone!!!

[Terribj 208]

I agree with many of the comments here - track your Protein and your Water intake. I'm 2 months post-op and I struggle to eat 600 calories a day but I do get in my 65 g of Protein. It was recommended to me to keep sugar to a minimum and if you have a choice between (for example) regular Peanut Butter and low fat - eat the regular...Low fat foods have a lot of sugar in them and we know what sugar can do

You've done a great job so far - I would start to focus more on protein and Water and forget the calories (for now).

[Jeanne14 14]

Is that your weight loss since surgery or does it include pre-op weight loss? I had my surgery one week before you (March 24) and I have lost about 25 lbs. since surgery (plus 12 lbs. on the pre-op diet before surgery.) It feels like it's coming off slow, but an important thing to do beyond weighing yourself is to take your measurements. I can see the results more there. For example I have lost 5 inches on my hips and 4 inches on my waist, that is far more exciting than what the scale says. My clothes are very baggy and I can see the changes in my body. You have to be patient, it's only been 2 months for god sake! Beyond that I think the most important thing to do is to make sure that you are meeting your Protein and Water goals. Your doing great!

[msfitn2014 248]

Good luck, I think you are doing just fine, we all have struggles, Im sending huggssssss () your way!! Im going to focus on just being healthy and eating right....I know the weight will come off, just keep doing the RIGHT things and find you some good healthy Snacks to make it through the day....

[GemmaLicious 25]

Thank you everyone for all your replys and advise. It's really helped. I'm going to try all your suggestions and concentrate on Protein and also try eating less. I've been recording everything which I eat on myfitnesspal which has been very helpful.

That's my weight since starting my pre op diet. My heaviest weight was nearly 20 stone but I worked hard to get some weight of before starting the pre op diet. However I lost that weight slowly by just trying to make healthier food choices.

You're all right, it will come of just not as fast as I'd hoped. I guess it's much healthier to drop weight slowly especially to allow skin to hopefully bounce back. I made the mistake of telling everyone I was having the surgery so when I see anyone I think they're thinking I'm not loosing quick enough. Why I worry about what anyone else thinks I don't know, this is our journey.

Thankyou for all your responses

[mernak 0]

I am same haven't been loosing anything at all I'm so depressed I am in verge of giving up.

I eat nothing like I used to eat my op was march 19 I weighed 106kgs and today I weigh 94.7kgs haven't lost anything in weeks I face put on a kg.

my dietitian says to watch my sugar intake and up the Protein but with my time of month I'm even more bloated im so down

[GemmaLicious 25]

We'll get there I'm sure. I guess it's just good to try and stay focused as it's got to come of evenually. I'm feeling much more hopeful than when I first wrote this post. I've lost 3 pounds which means it's working just not as fast as I hoped lol.

[Fluffnomore 1,235]

My two cents again; others may disagree. As I get closer to my goal weight, I am lucky to lose 3 pounds in a month. It's much more likely that I hover at about the same weight for several weeks and then take off a pound or two, then hover, etc. There's not as much there to lose, as far as my body is concerned. And as I'm within 20 pounds of a reasonably low weight for myself, and 30 pounds of my college weight, things are getting stubborn. It's okay. It's not fun, but it's okay.