Honest about the struggle

[HethBo 4]

1 month post op and this experience has not been anything like I thought it would be. I didn't think I had unrealistic expectations. I did a lot of research and have spent way too much time on social media.

I knew I would have a rough go mentally for a few weeks and planned on having lots of nausea and struggling with eating. Ive had no issues with my eating (of course its all been liquids to this point.) But I didn't realize the depth of the mental/emotional aspect. It's hard to face your own demons and accept the fact that "this is where I am" and now it's time to fix it. I thought I had done that while deciding to have surgery. I didn't.

I also thought the weight loss would be steady for the 1st few months. I thought stalls would come around month 3. Mine hit WEEK 3. In fact I've gained 2 lbs this week. I'm still on puréed food. I've heard you're still losing even if the scale doesn't move. But I'm not. I take my measurements 1x a week. I've lost 1 inch from my stomach, chest, hips and legs over this last month. Don't get me wrong - losing is losing, but again, I thought I would see it quicker for the 1st few months.

It seems everyone talks about how much energy they have and how much they LOVE their VSG. I have NO energy what so ever. It's overwhelming for me. I want to be motivated and excited for all that is ahead. But I feel like I'm failing. Like I'm doing something wrong...

I'm trying to trust in the process. I'm trying to focus on drinking (no where close to 64oz yet) and eating Protein. I'm gagging down Milk of Magnesia. I am walking for 40 mins everyday. I'm trying to stay positive. I really am. Some days it's hard. Really hard.

Venting is done.

[VSGB2014 10]

Everything you're feeling is completely normal.

The first couple of months pretty much suck. You just had major surgery, you're sore, tired, hungry, trying to figure out the whole eating thing mentally and socially. And yes, I think all of our expectations about surgery were pretty much wonky. We hear about these massive weight loss numbers, and for some reason think we are going to be at goal and living happily ever after in 6 months. That's far from realistic for most of us.

The 3rd week stall is a completely normal thing that happens to 99% of WLS patients. And besides, weight loss isn't linear. If you look at it on a chart, it looks more like step on stairs than a straight line downward. We stall, go up, go down, and sometimes back up again. Then we have a whoosh, and boom...down 5 pounds. It's really strange!

Take it from someone who is almost 4 years out...it gets better. Once you get into more normalcy and into a groove, you'll start feeling better about your new lifestyle. I feel completely normal other than I get full faster than other folks. And it's not even as fast as it used to be anymore, unfortunately. Don't stress, and just go with the flow. Take this time to learn all you can about health and nutrition in order to be as successful as possible losing--and more importantly---keeping the weight off. I won't even go into what a complete pain in the ass that is!

Hang in there. I promise it will get better.

[sleevedshereen 524]

google 3rd week stall vsg and I promise you soooo many of us have had it! It's sooo stressful and disheartening but it breaks. My three week stall lasted for 3 weeks. I was 203 for 3 weeks, then ate kind of bad one weekend and had a lot of sex and boom...stall broken I was 199. I kept bouncing between 201 and 199 and stayed there for like two weeks, went to the lake for labor day, came back and I was 196.6 or something. It was awesome. I'm two months post op and see people posting like "average weight loss 7-10lbs a month" and i'm nowhere near that and it makes me feel crappy but I'm just a slow loser and I can't remember a time where I ever lost 32 lbs or even in 2 months! First month was rough for me too but I'd say around week 5 and 6 it got a little better. I'm still adjusting my eating habits and eating slower and chewing more and I definitely don't drink as much Water as I should. I need to be way better quite honestly. I don't count or measure what I eat...I should. I"m sure if I did all these things, my weight loss would be more but I'm doing what makes me happy. It will get better as cliche as that sounds!

Edited September 8, 2017 by sleevedshereen

[HethBo 4]

Everything you're feeling is completely normal.
The first couple of months pretty much suck. You just had major surgery, you're sore, tired, hungry, trying to figure out the whole eating thing mentally and socially. And yes, I think all of our expectations about surgery were pretty much wonky. We hear about these massive weight loss numbers, and for some reason think we are going to be at goal and living happily ever after in 6 months. That's far from realistic for most of us.
The 3rd week stall is a completely normal thing that happens to 99% of WLS patients. And besides, weight loss isn't linear. If you look at it on a chart, it looks more like step on stairs than a straight line downward. We stall, go up, go down, and sometimes back up again. Then we have a whoosh, and boom...down 5 pounds. It's really strange!
Take it from someone who is almost 4 years out...it gets better. Once you get into more normalcy and into a groove, you'll start feeling better about your new lifestyle. I feel completely normal other than I get full faster than other folks. And it's not even as fast as it used to be anymore, unfortunately. Don't stress, and just go with the flow. Take this time to learn all you can about health and nutrition in order to be as successful as possible losing--and more importantly---keeping the weight off. I won't even go into what a complete pain in the ass that is! [emoji14]
Hang in there. I promise it will get better.

Thank you!! Wonderful advice. 4 years is awesome!!

[HethBo 4]

google 3rd week stall vsg and I promise you soooo many of us have had it! It's sooo stressful and disheartening but it breaks. My three week stall lasted for 3 weeks. I was 203 for 3 weeks, then ate kind of bad one weekend and had a lot of sex and boom...stall broken I was 199. I kept bouncing between 201 and 199 and stayed there for like two weeks, went to the lake for labor day, came back and I was 196.6 or something. It was awesome. I'm two months post op and see people posting like "average weight loss 7-10lbs a month" and i'm nowhere near that and it makes me feel crappy but I'm just a slow loser and I can't remember a time where I ever lost 32 lbs or even in 2 months! First month was rough for me too but I'd say around week 5 and 6 it got a little better. I'm still adjusting my eating habits and eating slower and chewing more and I definitely don't drink as much Water as I should. I need to be way better quite honestly. I don't count or measure what I eat...I should. I"m sure if I did all these things, my weight loss would be more but I'm doing what makes me happy. It will get better as cliche as that sounds!

This is definitely an emotional ride. Now that I've vented, I am hearing more about the 3 week stall. If nothing happens this week, I'm trying a wild weekend . Thanks for sharing your experience!!