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First month weight loss/exhaustion/starting work



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Hey All. I am three weeks and three days post op. I have lost 20 pounds and for the past three days I have stalled in my weight loss. Has anyone else had this experience?

Also, I am so exhausted I sleep 12-16 hours a day. I can't even imagine how some of you went back to work after a week or so. I'm terrified going back to work at six weeks. I'm so scared to go back to my old ways and not eat what I need. I work a very high stress job where I am not able to sit or take many breaks. Now I'm just ranting but it would be nice to hear some experiences. My doctor hasn't been of much help.

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It's one of the most common questions I've seen here...

Look for a thread called "Embrace the Stall"...

It will answer all of your questions...

Well, not all of them...

But it's got this one covered...

Well done!!

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Spend some time here...

Ask questions...

Out here or in PM...

The knowledge and experience around this site is invaluable...

Obviously, it's a lot of anecdotal advice and/or opinions...

But whatever you do, don't be afraid to ask...

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Did you have your surgery on Jan 26th? If so, we are surgery sisters. Where did you have your surgery? Does your Dr not have a NUT on staff? My Dr gave us what he called our second Bible that described everything about the surgery, what the eating phases are when to get the labwork done etc. My PCP, Psych Dr and others were very impressed by the material my Dr provided.

I also lost 20 pounds in the first 11 days and have been stalled since Feb 6th. The thread mentioned above is a wonderful thread to read and will help you to understand what your body is going through. Please feel free to friend me and ask as many questions are you like.

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I did! My doctor kinda sucks honestly. Maybe I'm just being pissy because I'm hating life but I get no help and have no idea who to talk to or go to for answers. You used a lot of abbreviations that I don't know. lol

I had it done through Bay Area Surgical. I'm suffering for the reputation of my surgeon... I picked an amazing surgeon he's just terrible with anything else.

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At my 2 week post appointment he said "ok I'll see you in three months."

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All I can say is it gets better. The fatigue improves as you can get more calories and your body adjusts. Stalls are frustrating, but if you follow your protein/nutrition guidelines you will lose weight!

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I'm 4 weeks post op today, surgery was January 21. I lost 18 pounds the first two weeks, then slowed to a crawl these last two weeks. Three pounds last week, two pounds this week. Still, down is down, but it feels like a stall by comparison.

My doctor performs a lot of sleeves and his office is very busy. When I see the doctor he is always very pleasant and thorough, and does not rush me out. On the other hand, if I have a question about something outside of my followup and I call the office, I usually get "You have a counselor and nutritionist, right? You should talk to them."

I have been more tired than usual, after work I find myself in front of the television or computer more than before, due to fatigue. I'm sure it will get better. I start soft foods today, so yay! Hopefully that means more energy.

I keep a food journal. Not an app, but a log I can actually write in, or scribble something that looks like words with a number next to it. I used to write in a journal, but I picked up the Biggest Loser spiral bound food journal and love it. It sits on my kitchen island and I fill it in at home. When I am out, I write what I eat on a piece of paper and stuff it in my pocket, then add it at home. That way I know what I am eating, and hold myself accountable. My nut recommended it, I have always done it when dieting, and I don't think I'll stop until I'm well into maintenance. I'm confident that as long as I am honest and keep a journal I will succeed.

These forums are helpful, and I keep going back to the stall post myself. I should probably print it and tape it to my desk.

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I did! My doctor kinda sucks honestly. Maybe I'm just being pissy because I'm hating life but I get no help and have no idea who to talk to or go to for answers. You used a lot of abbreviations that I don't know. lol

I had it done through Bay Area Surgical. I'm suffering for the reputation of my surgeon... I picked an amazing surgeon he's just terrible with anything else.

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At my 2 week post appointment he said "ok I'll see you in three months."

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So sorry that your Dr and office aren't more helpful. I am a bit surprised you had a 2 week visit and was told see you in three months from now. You didn't mention if you had gotten any booklets from your Dr about what your suppose to eat and what lab work is suppose to be done and what Vitamins you should have? If your interested I would be willing to email with you and share what my Dr has me doing?

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These forums are freaking me out. I feel like nobody has gone through what I'm going through. Not helping my anxiety. I have had no word on any labs or Vitamins. He just looked at me and said ok you're clear to start solids. I'm almost a month out and am still eating liquids and mush. The most solid food I can stomach is refried Beans with a little avocado and the occasional ritz cracker that's chewed to death. I get horrible stomach cramps and pain if I eat anything more than that. So I'm freaking out about starting back at work and I don't have any control of my food. I don't sit at all at work and generally log in 10k steps a day. I work retail and I cannot be off the floor to eat every hour.. My boss would flip and send me back out on leave. I have a sheet of paper with some food items on it and a diet plan of what to eat and when. Nothing very detailed.

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These forums are freaking me out. I feel like nobody has gone through what I'm going through. Not helping my anxiety. I have had no word on any labs or Vitamins. He just looked at me and said ok you're clear to start solids. I'm almost a month out and am still eating liquids and mush. The most solid food I can stomach is refried Beans with a little avocado and the occasional ritz cracker that's chewed to death. I get horrible stomach cramps and pain if I eat anything more than that. So I'm freaking out about starting back at work and I don't have any control of my food. I don't sit at all at work and generally log in 10k steps a day. I work retail and I cannot be off the floor to eat every hour.. My boss would flip and send me back out on leave. I have a sheet of paper with some food items on it and a diet plan of what to eat and when. Nothing very detailed.

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If you're thinking no one else had experienced what you are experiencing, your not reading enough here. Nothing sounds abnormal about what you're going through. Did you have labs drawn? If so review the result yourself, it's pretty easy to see if your numbers are in range, low or high. See anything concerning, ask your doc specifically since he didn't bring it up. Or ask here. If no lab were drawn, ask for them to be, if he days no, go to your pcp and see if they will order them for you. Take control of your healthcare, don't wait for the doc to direct you.

All because your doc said move to solids, doesn't mean you're ready. Progress through stages as you can tolerate them, but you have to try and incorporate solids. Can you keep a Protein shake with you on the floor at work? Drink that through the day and use your lunch/ breaks to try and get in a small amount if solid foods. And it sounds like you need to expand your diet a little. Early in my favorites were: Turkey meatball, mashed, in sauce with ricotta. Corned beef hash/ scrambled egg. sugar free puddings, Soups, etc.

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I'm calling on Monday. I was freaked out at another post of all these people going back to work after a week or two and yet I'm still here at four weeks feeling like crap. Lol

As far as work, no I cannot have anything on the floor not even Water. Plus its just too busy and there's constantly something going on. As far as food goes I get really sharp pains if I try different things. I thought the world was coming to an end when I had a bite of salmon. I found a new Soup that is good that's about it. I need to give my stomach a break from trying new things.

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Sorry, not much of a boss not to allow you a little consideration of trying to have a water bottle to sip on or a snack every hour or two. Your body will be changing and you may be getting upset

stomach / diarhea, to deal with. I pride you in wanting to go to work and hopefully work will

show you the respect you need to have a good working environment. Your Company is lucky to have an employee as you trying to get in better health and coming to work as you are adapting to the

changes! Good luck to you and I hope work wakes up and appreciates you!

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Re the exhaustion - I found for me personally on the days I did not get my Protein in and my Water, I felt very tired and lethargic. As soon as I upped my protein intake again and or the water I immediately felt better. If that doesn't work though make sure to discuss with your doctor

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      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
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      1. LeighaTR

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
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