DISAPPOINTED & ANGRY

[MDB9/16/14 34]

I am so disappointed in my weight loss. Or should I say lack there of !! I was sleeved 9/16/14. Weight of surgery was 221. Today October 13- 208.4. I HAD LOST down to 205.4. Once I started puréed - I gained. No loss in 3 weeks or more. Instead - it's up and down : down 2.6 then up 4 - 5. I did not go through this for THIS. I am devastated and afraid : yep - one more failure !!! Another very painful and expensive failure for things to STAY THE SAME. Forgive me y'all - not a good Monday. I literally don't want to put one thing in my mouth. Sad - very sad. Everyone says - give it time, it will come off. Well.... When? Losing faith rapidly ????

Edited October 13, 2014 by MDB9/16/14

[Jacqbult 112]

I too would be LIVID! Call your surgeon....see what they say. I would think that your loss would be more so early on.

[MisforMimi 760]

Have you ever lost 12 pounds in 3 weeks previously? Is it the TOM? Are you, could you be retaining Water? Could you call the NUT for some perspective? I would also think for this that have had many attempts, I would say the body/metabolism needs time to catch up and that you've entered dreaded 3 week stall. Everybody had it, or so I've read here. There is actually a physiological reason for it.

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

Boy, that was dramatic. Maybe if you hurry, you can get your old stomach back.

Seriously ... in less than a month post-op you lost 15 pounds.

FYI, my surgery weight 8 weeks ago was 216. One month (30 days) later, I'd lost 10.4 pounds. And I was thrilled. Thrilled! I cannot remember (decades ago?) the last time I lost 10.4 pounds in 30 days.

Also consider this: About a month ago, I gained four pounds in two days. And then two days after that I stepped on the scales and had suddenly lost 8 pounds, for a net loss of four pounds in four days. It's not typical. But it happens.

I would suggest that with the purees you've taken in some salt and maybe also have some constipation that's causing a temporary weight gain.

Don't go off the deep end every time you get on the scales and see they've gone up or haven't gone down--especially if you're eating/drinking what's recommended by your surgeon.

Give yourself a break and appreciate that you / we will NOT lose our overweight in a straight downward path.

(Also google "three week stall" if you don't know about that. Happens to almost everyone.)

[Sleevarilla 169]

Break up with your scale. You're investing wayyyyyy too much in what it tells you on a daily basis. Pay attention to your body. You just had major surgery, give yourself a break and some time to heal. Throwing tantrums and pity parties won't make things better .. get tough, get strong and take control of yourself and be perseverant. Stalls won't last forever, although they can last for weeks. This is YOU throwing up your hands and assuming failure, it isn't the surgery that's failing.

[Sleevarilla 169]

I too would be LIVID! Call your surgeon....see what they say. I would think that your loss would be more so early on.

Just ... no. No on many levels. I see that you haven't had your surgery yet so you haven't experienced the normal stall at week 2-3 post op.

[JamieLogical 8,683]

First of all, it's normal to stall out at week 2-3 for a while. Second of all, you have lost weight overall since your surgery, correct? I am 6 weeks post-op as of today and down 17 pounds total. Is it frustrating to see others who lose like 40+ pounds in a month? Yes! But I am losing weight. I am sticking to all my nutritional guidelines. I am doing my approved exercise. I know I will eventually get to my goal. When I was upset about my "slow" loss last week, someone who has been at goal for over a year now told me she doesn't even remember how much weight she lost in these early weeks, because once you've been at goal for over a year, does it really matter how fast you got there? That really put things in perspective for me.

I had been treating this whole thing like my "diets" of old, where it always seemed like I was in a race to lose the weight as fast as possible. But VSG is forever. It's not a diet. You don't get to goal and then just be "done" with it. This is a lifelong journey, so if it takes me 12 months vs 6 months to get to goal, how much is that really going to matter in the grand scheme of things?

[Roo101769 742]

First of all...deep breath. You have not failed. Your surgery has not failed. The surgery is a tool to help you lose weight and you have. What you have also done is buy into the whole "I lost a ton of weight quickly after the sleeve" routine. I am not saying it doesn't happen, it certainly does. In fact, you see post after post after post on here saying as much. But what you don't see is how many post that they haven't lost as much or as fast. Is it because they failed? No, not at all. It is because each and every human is different. Our bodies are different and our metabolism is different. We all live different lives and do different things. Therefore it is completely and totally NORMAL that we all lose weight differently after VSG. I plan to write a blog or post about this when I hit my "surgi-versary" on 10/21. I too have been upset at times, but it was at myself. It took me a very long time to come to some kind of terms with the reality of it all. That reality is this...We ALL want quick results, a miracle for losing weight. We may research and know all the facts and numbers, but in our hearts we are praying to be the ones we read about. We ALL want to post big numbers lost in a short amount of time. We ALL want to finally be healthy, but mostly we want to be normal. We want to be accepted, by society and ourselves. We want all of our problems to disappear and our bodies to be what we dream of them being. But reality is it may not happen. Reality is we may only lose a little at a time. Reality is the surgery is documented as only losing up to a percentage of your excess weight, not every pound of that excess. Do some people lose every last excess pound? Yes, they do. But not everyone. I believe those of us who don't post that we have only lost a percentage and not all the weight feel guilt, or failure. I absolutely believed this would be my answer for my weight struggles, yet I still struggle. Does the sleeve do what is should? Yes it does. I am restricted in how much I can eat. Can I eat around it? Yep. Can I eat junk I should not? Absolutely. Has my restriction eased over the year? Without any doubt. Can I do better? You better believe it. Am I human and make mistakes? Do I try to do better? Every day for the rest of my life... I didn't want to "diet", but I know I cannot eat foods others do and lose weight. I really dislike exercise, but I know the sleeve will not lose me the weight alone. I know I have to do my part to put this body back into some semblance of order. I was morbidly obese and spent many years well over 150+ overweight. Rome wasn't built in a day...Today I am almost 100lbs thinner. I am over half way to goal. Do I give up because I am almost a year out and haven't lost all the extra weight yet? No. Never give up. Failure only wins if you give up. A year out I am very happy I did what I did. I am glad I had the surgery. Rather than focusing on the 70+ pounds I need to lose hit goal, I think of the 98lbs I lost to get where I am now! Sure I still want more from this, but getting my head in the right place has helped me accept where I have come so far.

[MDB9/16/14 34]

Thank you all so much. Yes - I was - as we say in the south "pitching a fit". LOL. - you all are absolutely right - when I do the numbers/averages - it's great. It really is. I just needed a good slap in the face ! As far as failures - that's a whole other story. I need to realize I'm only a failure if I quit trying . I love all your responses. And thanks so much again ❤

[Dr-Patient 829]

@@VSGAnn2014 My girl...you've got jokes this morning!!!!!!!! Cool. :-) But, in addition, great advice to the original poster.

[Babbs 14,671]

Good advice here. I mean really, you HONESTLY think with the amount you can eat right now it's possible for you to gain weight? Because it's NOT. You are in the dreaded 3 week stall that 99% of us go through, and your body is just adjusting. I stalled and gained too, and guess what? It ended and now I'm back to losing. I also know it wont be my last, and because of that, I only weigh once a week or so now. Stop driving yourself crazy and put the scale away and stick with the program. It will work, I promise

[Babbs 14,671]

Thank you all so much. Yes - I was - as we say in the south "pitching a fit". LOL. - you all are absolutely right - when I do the numbers/averages - it's great. It really is. I just needed a good slap in the face ! As far as failures - that's a whole other story. I need to realize I'm only a failure if I quit trying . I love all your responses. And thanks so much again ❤

Atta girl!

[MDB9/16/14 34]

Good advice here. I mean really, you HONESTLY think with the amount you can eat right now it's possible for you to gain weight? Because it's NOT. You are in the dreaded 3 week stall that 99% of us go through, and your body is just adjusting. I stalled and gained too, and guess what? It ended and now I'm back to losing. I also know it wont be my last, and because of that, I only weigh once a week or so now. Stop driving yourself crazy and put the scale away and stick with the program. It will work, I promise

Thanks - this is why I love this forum - you get help from people who've been where you are. My problem is, I compare myself to 3 others that I know closely who just blew it out of the Water. It's not happening that way for me. But as ALL of you have and are saying : we're all different. And... I did not know about the dreaded 3 week stall. What a relief to know about this.

One thing I would like to know, just for extra help is : ideas of what to eat during the puréed stage. And what most of you are doing to get your Protein in. Anything anyone could tell me, I would be very grateful ❤. Again, thanks for slapping me back into reality ????

[finediva 979]

@@Roo101769 Thank you for the honest and very well said answer. I have been at the exact weight for three weeks. I guess I'm stalled as I refuse to believe that I am finished. I am so happy to be under 200 pounds, but have no idea what to do to see even one pound loss on the scale. I am sticking with the program because I have absolutely no choice. But I admit it's tough to be getting the required Protein and Water and under 800 calories and still see no change.

[jjinWA 510]

Don't compare!!!!!! Best way I know of to get discouraged. We are all individuals with different ages, height, weight, activities, lifestyles, etc etc etc! Set your OWN goals and Celebrate when you reach each one. Make sure your goals are NOT based on reaching them in a set time frame. I have met several of my own goals, and am very pleased with how I am progressing. I did not make a timeline and simply enjoyed my accomplishments as they came along. My next goal... To reach 160. I am 175 now. I want to be in a size 10. I Will reach those goals, I am confident of that. I will reach those goals when my body is ready for me to get there, whatever timeframe that may be. Have faith in the plan and more importantly in yourself!