I recently had Gastric Bypass surgery, 9/30. So far I have only lost 5 lbs. The nurse at the doctor's office said that people typically lose 15-30 lbs in their first month. I am getting really disheartened as I am following all the rules and I am exercising. Any suggestions? Or any similar situations?

Generally in the hospital individuals gain some weight from the fluids they pump into you. So before you can begin losing weight you must first lose this additional weight. During the first few weeks your body is in recovery mode. So don't become too stressed about weight loss. Just relax, follow the guidelines and let the magic happen.

I lost very slowly my first several weeks too. Now I'm 8 weeks out and suddenly 40 pounds are gone. I understand that feeling of wanting it to just melt off instantly, especially after seeing the insanely fast loss some people experience. But trust me, even though it doesn't really seem like it, in 6 months you will be AMAZED at how much is gone. Keep your chin up.

I had my surgery a week tomorrow started at 273 came home weighed 281!!! But today I am at 263!!! I'm excited but don't plan on a ten pound per week probably estimating 30 pounds for the month. Don't worry wait til the end of the month then check.

Here I am 2 weeks out and still sitting at only 5 lbs. The scale won't even budge. I am disheartened to say the least. But I am not going to give up. I refuse to give up. I am still on my liquid diet. Getting closer to soft foods. Hopeful that it will all turn around.

You cannot measure your future success by your progress at 2 weeks out. You also can't measure yours against someone else's for the same period either. Nor can you compare your own weeks loss and expect them to be the same each and every time. I've had several weeks where I lost nothing. I'm sure I'll have more.

As your body held onto its weight in its own fashion, so too will it lose it on its own terms. Your assist in this is to continue to do your part, and eventually it will happen.

I'm nearly 11 weeks out and from the outset I gave myself at least a year to let my body do what it will. I'm simply a passenger studiously following the rules, serving in the most important supportive role of my life. If then, after a year I'm not fully satisfied with the results, then I'll reevaluate my eating habits, exercise, Vitamins etc. to see where I can streamline the process to make it more productive. Right now, I don't break any rules. I simply don't allow myself to stray from the course in any way. That's my way of easing any underlying doubts I may harbor about not working my tool to its fullest.

It took a year to get through the approval process, and it'll take another year to hopefully reach goal, and then after that, if I'm ready, I'll begin considering some plastic surgery. If nothing else I've learned the monumental value of patience involved with this surgery. I will reach all my individual goals, but only in their designated times.

Good luck!

You cannot measure your future success by your progress at 2 weeks out. You also can't measure yours against someone else's for the same period either. Nor can you compare your own weeks loss and expect them to be the same each and every time. I've had several weeks where I lost nothing. I'm sure I'll have more.

As your body held onto its weight in its own fashion, so too will it lose it on its own terms. Your assist in this is to continue to do your part, and eventually it will happen.

I'm nearly 11 weeks out and from the outset I gave myself at least a year to let my body do what it will. I'm simply a passenger studiously following the rules, serving in the most important supportive role of my life. If then, after a year I'm not fully satisfied with the results, then I'll reevaluate my eating habits, exercise, Vitamins etc. to see where I can streamline the process to make it more productive. Right now, I don't break any rules. I simply don't allow myself to stray from the course in any way. That's my way of easing any underlying doubts I may harbor about not working my tool to its fullest.

It took a year to get through the approval process, and it'll take another year to hopefully reach goal, and then after that, if I'm ready, I'll begin considering some plastic surgery. If nothing else I've learned the monumental value of patience involved with this surgery. I will reach all my individual goals, but only in their designated times.

Good luck!

Thank you. I hadn't looked at it that way. I know I need to be patient. I know my body has been through a major adjustment as well. I think I am just being too hard on myself and expecting too much out of myself.

I am about three weeks out and I started the day of surgery at 271 and I am at 259 right now. Not doing to badly but I am hungry and I am just eating what I want in extremely small portions. Hoping that this is all worth it I am getting very discouraged.

I had surgery 9/24. Was 263 day of surgery. Gained 14 pounds from 3 days of iv while in hospital. Weight today is 243. I eat around 500 calories a day now. I'm not very hungry still. I do get plenty of water in.

@@Alicia Richards You will be just fine. I had surgery at 8 am and the next morning at 8 am they weighed me. When I saw that I'd gained 9 lbs. I was furious. I had just spent 2 weeks losing 15 lbs. on a liquid diet and now had to lose this same 9 lbs. all over again ... what?! I heard, "Oh it's just the fluids we've been filling you with post surgery. You'll lose it." Well of course I will as I have no choice, but I still had to lose it! I find it funny (not laughing funny) they neglect to tell you this when going through all those months pre-surgery. Anyways at almost 6 months post-op and 81 lbs. down, I can laugh at it now. The surgery will do its job so long as you follow your plan. Here's some very sound advice to take to heart:

Follow Your Plan

Too many people treat bariatric surgery as if it is simply a diet and turn their head to the intensity of the operation. A smart friend quipped that if we woke up with a giant bolt going through our leg we would get it, but since there are Band-Aids on our belly, we think it’s nothing. Your internal surgical wounds must heal – this is no time to go to the mall, out to dinner, visiting friends and on vacation.

Sew what?
In terms of food, you must stick to your surgeons program for post op food stages. You need time to allow the tiny pouch cut and sewn from the fabric of your giant floppy stomach to heal itself closed. We have all glued something only to have the seams pop open. The liquid and soft food stages are to avoid stressing pouch seams and give your stomach a break from the process of digestion.

Is ice cream a puree?
Sirloin steak is not a soft food. Ice cream is NOT a puree. You can’t eat popcorn, raw carrots or celery ten days after surgery. People ask if we think they could have a pork chop, we say ‘no’, they eat it anyhow, then tell us ‘they didn’t have a problem’. No alcohol for a year… non negotiable… but people push back saying their surgeon said five weeks was okay. Folks… we know better and we are trying to help you.

General Tso? NOT your friend
The post op dietary stages are not a suggestion, they are a requirement for you own safety. You cannot eat Chinese food the week after surgery because you ‘chew it well’. A ‘craving’ for Orange chicken landed one support group member in the hospital! It’s a very bad idea to push. Being ‘released’ to ‘regular food’ does not mean what you think it does, but you already know that. How long until you can have pizza again? “Pizza is not a food for someone having obesity surgery.” (that’s a quote from Dr. N on My 600 lb Life) Every single week in our support group, these actions land new post ops in the hospital.

Sip sip sip sip sip…
If you had a back injury, you would not tile your kitchen floor the same week. Yet, people think nothing of making a trip to a theme park when they should be at home resting and taking in fluids. People ask us ‘Do you think I would be able to go on a cruise two weeks after my sleeve?’ (Nooooo!) As high as 30% of post ops are dehydrated enough to land back in the hospital with a Fluid IV. Not drinking enough Water after surgery can cause heart damage. Dehydration is the most common bariatric complication, yet it’s largely avoidable. Stay home and heal… drink hot water, cold water, broth, Diet Snapple, herbal tea, eat sf ice pops and Jello. (We have a free bariatric water app called HY, click for GetHyApp.com)

What’s eating you?
If eating is a compulsion that you cannot control, ask your surgeon to suggest someone for you to talk to. A therapist can help you come to conclusions about your life – you talk, they listen and even after one chat you’ll often have a clearer truth of why you use eating as comfort. Knowing what drives you can help you deal with your eating issues to better work with your surgery.

Vitamins are critical
It is impossible for you to have your stomach surgically removed or reconfigured and take in the nutrients needed to run your body. While your surgeons group has mentioned Flintstones, that is so you will possibly take something instead of being one of the 67% of post ops who take nothing. They are not optimal and won’t prevent long term problems like broken bones from simple falls and losing teeth, but may keep you from dying in the short term. The idea behind supplements is to prevent issues from grabbing you in twenty years when it’s too late to change the path. Take them!

Protein from food? What a novel idea!
Yes, yes, yes, we’d all like to get our protein from food and that’s what you want to hear. However, if you are unable to take in 70 grams of protein per day, you can either weaken and lose your hair or you can figure out another way until you are able to learn and eat the right foods. Protein drinks make up the difference between what you can eat and what you need. They are not simply a tasty beverage for your enjoyment for you to be all picky and ridiculous over. They are the antidote for your disease of morbid obesity. Morbid means death and obesity surgery only slows and reverses the disease IF you follow your plan.

I had my surgery last Wednesday (October 21st ) and as of today I've lost 20 pounds. It's different for everyone though.

@@Alicia Richards You will be just fine. I had surgery at 8 am and the next morning at 8 am they weighed me. When I saw that I'd gained 9 lbs. I was furious. I had just spent 2 weeks losing 15 lbs. on a liquid diet and now had to lose this same 9 lbs. all over again ... what?! I heard, "Oh it's just the fluids we've been filling you with post surgery. You'll lose it." Well of course I will as I have no choice, but I still had to lose it! I find it funny (not laughing funny) they neglect to tell you this when going through all those months pre-surgery. Anyways at almost 6 months post-op and 81 lbs. down, I can laugh at it now. The surgery will do its job so long as you follow your plan. Here's some very sound advice to take to heart:

Follow Your Plan

Too many people treat bariatric surgery as if it is simply a diet and turn their head to the intensity of the operation. A smart friend quipped that if we woke up with a giant bolt going through our leg we would get it, but since there are Band-Aids on our belly, we think it’s nothing. Your internal surgical wounds must heal – this is no time to go to the mall, out to dinner, visiting friends and on vacation.

Sew what?

In terms of food, you must stick to your surgeons program for post op food stages. You need time to allow the tiny pouch cut and sewn from the fabric of your giant floppy stomach to heal itself closed. We have all glued something only to have the seams pop open. The liquid and soft food stages are to avoid stressing pouch seams and give your stomach a break from the process of digestion.

Is ice cream a puree?

Sirloin steak is not a soft food. Ice cream is NOT a puree. You can’t eat popcorn, raw carrots or celery ten days after surgery. People ask if we think they could have a pork chop, we say ‘no’, they eat it anyhow, then tell us ‘they didn’t have a problem’. No alcohol for a year… non negotiable… but people push back saying their surgeon said five weeks was okay. Folks… we know better and we are trying to help you.

General Tso? NOT your friend

The post op dietary stages are not a suggestion, they are a requirement for you own safety. You cannot eat Chinese food the week after surgery because you ‘chew it well’. A ‘craving’ for Orange chicken landed one support group member in the hospital! It’s a very bad idea to push. Being ‘released’ to ‘regular food’ does not mean what you think it does, but you already know that. How long until you can have pizza again? “Pizza is not a food for someone having obesity surgery.” (that’s a quote from Dr. N on My 600 lb Life) Every single week in our support group, these actions land new post ops in the hospital.

Sip sip sip sip sip…

If you had a back injury, you would not tile your kitchen floor the same week. Yet, people think nothing of making a trip to a theme park when they should be at home resting and taking in fluids. People ask us ‘Do you think I would be able to go on a cruise two weeks after my sleeve?’ (Nooooo!) As high as 30% of post ops are dehydrated enough to land back in the hospital with a Fluid IV. Not drinking enough Water after surgery can cause heart damage. Dehydration is the most common bariatric complication, yet it’s largely avoidable. Stay home and heal… drink hot water, cold water, broth, Diet Snapple, herbal tea, eat sf ice pops and Jello. (We have a free bariatric water app called HY, click for GetHyApp.com)

What’s eating you?

If eating is a compulsion that you cannot control, ask your surgeon to suggest someone for you to talk to. A therapist can help you come to conclusions about your life – you talk, they listen and even after one chat you’ll often have a clearer truth of why you use eating as comfort. Knowing what drives you can help you deal with your eating issues to better work with your surgery.

Vitamins are critical

It is impossible for you to have your stomach surgically removed or reconfigured and take in the nutrients needed to run your body. While your surgeons group has mentioned Flintstones, that is so you will possibly take something instead of being one of the 67% of post ops who take nothing. They are not optimal and won’t prevent long term problems like broken bones from simple falls and losing teeth, but may keep you from dying in the short term. The idea behind supplements is to prevent issues from grabbing you in twenty years when it’s too late to change the path. Take them!

Protein from food? What a novel idea!

Yes, yes, yes, we’d all like to get our protein from food and that’s what you want to hear. However, if you are unable to take in 70 grams of protein per day, you can either weaken and lose your hair or you can figure out another way until you are able to learn and eat the right foods. Protein drinks make up the difference between what you can eat and what you need. They are not simply a tasty beverage for your enjoyment for you to be all picky and ridiculous over. They are the antidote for your disease of morbid obesity. Morbid means death and obesity surgery only slows and reverses the disease IF you follow your plan.

Telling it like it is!

By the way, yesterday was 9 weeks post op, and I stalled all last week, so I'm still down about 43 pounds, which is far, far slower than many other people my stats who have had the same surgery. Still when is the last time I lost 20 pounds a month (um, never)? I consider myself lucky and whenever I feel impatient or discouraged about how much (or how little, comparatively) I've lost, I just remember that my body is going through a huge change, still healing, and it's working so, so hard for me. I knew before I started that there was a chance I might lose slower due to my hormone disorder. I knew it would not be overnight. So I'm just taking it one day at a time and trying to always be greatful that I've come as far as I have.

No numbers for me. I've tied my value and self esteem to those three little digits for too long. Follow your plan, be diligent with your protein, water, vitamins and exercise. 10 months and 200lbs later I can say that not stressing about stalls and frantic about every ounce would never have served me. Follow your plan and judge how you feel! God bless!