Hello,

The therapist told me he's never met a patient that regretted having the surgery--I may!

I had a sleeve Feb 23. I've had a hard time transitioning to soft foods, so am doing a a combo of liquid and some soft food (scrambled eggs, etc.). I'm having fewer then 1,000 calories/day (around 800).

I lost weight on the pre-surgical liquid diet and a little bit the 1st week when I ONLY had calorie free vitamin water the whole week because I couldn't tolerate even thin liquids. Since then, I've only lost ONE POUND.

I'm more hungry than I was pre-surgery, I don't eat large amounts, I never fever feel full when eating, I start sweating and get lightheaded when eating (dumping syndrome without the bowel movements), and I end up belching until I vomit if it's anything more than the protein shake.

Any advice? Am I doing something wrong?

800-1000 calories seems high for less than a month out from surgery, but I'm no expert on that. How many grams of protein are you getting in that 800 calories?

How much are you exercising and what sort of exercising are you doing?

Are you working out at this time? I am asking because that is a large number of calories to be intaking less than a month out. I was only at about 400 around that time.

Also, what type of foods are you eating? Protein-rich foods tend to be low in calories. It sounds like you are either not tracking your meals properly or weighing them to know how much you are eating.

It could also be a stall. That can happen.

Edited March 18, 20188 yr by Sleeve1stFitNext

I'm having the same problem. I had my sleeve Feb. 26th. I initially lost 13 pounds (plus 10 on the pre-op diet), and the scale hasn't moved in 2 weeks. I've had a lot of complications (severe diarrhea, bad dehydration, and now I have a bladder infection most likely from the stupid catheter they insisted I have, so the antibiotic is causing diarrhea again). My blood pressure has also been low so my surgeon had me come off my BP meds and one was a diuretic. I was thinking I was retaining water and that's why the scale hadn't budged, but when I was I needed the ER on Friday, trying to determine why I wasn't peeing anymore, the ER doc said I wasn't retaining water.

i can't get the shakes down without being in severe pain so I know I'm not getting in enough calories or protein- maybe 300 calories a day. So why am I not losing?

I'm sorry you're going through this too, Voltar0. You're not alone. It sucks!

37 minutes ago, Sleeve1stFitNext said:

Are you working out at this time? I am asking because that is a large number of calories to be intaking less than a month out. I was only at about 400 around that time.

Also, what type of foods are you eating? Protein-rich foods tend to be low in calories. It sounds like you are either not tracking your meals properly or weighing them to know how much you are eating.

It could also be a stall. That can happen.

Let me start by saying that I was told to have this surgery because of autoimmune medical issues and side effects of steroids NOT that I was an overeater. The whole journey to approval was doctors saying that this is hormonal and less so a result of behavior. I gained 40 pounds on 2 weight loss medications.

I'm not really eating meals or solid or pureed foods. My post op plan says to consume 3 protein shakes/day and I usually only get one. I don't usually get 800 because I can't tolerate anything. I'm vegetarian and am making an effort to eat mostly protein with low calorie/fats.

Pre-op I lost 15 pounds in 2 weeks on a liquid diet of fewer than 800 calories. AND I WAS NEVER HUNGRY--EVER! Now I dread eating and never feel that full feeling--just sick. I feel more hunger now. I feel better when I don't eat, so I hardly ever do.

I was told only walking. No other exercise is allowed. I walk a lot since I live in NYC. I still have severe pain in my umbilical incision with certain movements.

So, I actually don't eat 800 calories/day, however, that is extremely calorie restricted and should result in weight loss even without the surgery.

25 minutes ago, Arabian78 said:

I'm having the same problem. I had my sleeve Feb. 26th. I initially lost 13 pounds (plus 10 on the pre-op diet), and the scale hasn't moved in 2 weeks. I've had a lot of complications (severe diarrhea, bad dehydration, and now I have a bladder infection most likely from the stupid catheter they insisted I have, so the antibiotic is causing diarrhea again). My blood pressure has also been low so my surgeon had me come off my BP meds and one was a diuretic. I was thinking I was retaining Water and that's why the scale hadn't budged, but when I was I needed the ER on Friday, trying to determine why I wasn't peeing anymore, the ER doc said I wasn't retaining water.

i can't get the shakes down without being in severe pain so I know I'm not getting in enough calories or protein- maybe 300 calories a day. So why am I not losing?

I'm sorry you're going through this too, Voltar0. You're not alone. It sucks!

Sorry, Arabian. I keep belching foam and to the point I vomit.

I feel for you!

If you have other hormone issues have you talked to that doctor about this? I ask because the reduced calorie diet can cause decreased levels of leptin, thyroid hormone and norepinephrine, the drop of which can cause your metabolism to slow down. This particular issue may not necessarily be something your surgeon may be aware of so it may be worth broaching with your specialist (who may be able to prescribe something that may help).

Edited March 18, 20188 yr by aNYCdb

Thank you!. They're generally aware of my issues, but I was going to bring some of this up at my 1 month on the 27th.

On another topic...does anyone experience bad breath after the surgery? My husband mentioned it because I've never had an issue before...

3 minutes ago, Voltar0 said:

On another topic...does anyone experience bad breath after the surgery? My husband mentioned it because I've never had an issue before...

Yes, it's not a surgery thing per se, but you get either what's known as "keto breath" when you are are on low calories diets where it smells like acetone or some variation on an unpleasant breath. Those dissolving breath tabs that you put on your tongue work great to fight them.

Edited March 18, 20188 yr by aNYCdb

Thanks again. I've had Keto breath before, but it was usually sweet...not like "rotten meat" as my husband described it....

Oh well. Time to up my water intake too.

Rotten meat is what you get when you mix "Ketosis" with ultra low calorie diet. My wife is similarly missing the abnormally sweet breath I had a couple of years ago when I was on Atkins.

Thanks aNYCdb...amazing job on the weight loss so far...I'm jealous!

Fingers crossed, so far so good. Feeling hungry (pretty much all the time) has always been my Achilles heel and I'm really hoping this provides a permanent solution for that.

If you're not getting 800 cals your body may be in survival mode. Just a thought but your doctors will likely be able to sort it out. Good luck.

Hello,
The therapist told me he's never met a patient that regretted having the surgery--I may!
I had a sleeve Feb 23. I've had a hard time transitioning to soft foods, so am doing a a combo of liquid and some soft food (scrambled eggs, etc.). I'm having fewer then 1,000 calories/day (around 800).
I lost weight on the pre-surgical liquid diet and a little bit the 1st week when I ONLY had calorie free Vitamin Water the whole week because I couldn't tolerate even thin liquids. Since then, I've only lost ONE POUND.
I'm more hungry than I was pre-surgery, I don't eat large amounts, I never fever feel full when eating, I start sweating and get lightheaded when eating (dumping syndrome without the bowel movements), and I end up belching until I vomit if it's anything more than the Protein Shake.
Any advice? Am I doing something wrong?

I lost weight the first week post op and then nothing at all for the three weeks following. It was torture and I regretted my surgery at that point. Now I’m much farther along and I am in a much happier place. I can eat like a normal person just very small portions. So far the weight loss pattern for me is: lose 12 lbs in a week, stall for 3 weeks, lose 12 in one week, stall again. My surgery was 1/17 so I’m 8.5 weeks post op and I’ve lost a total of 24 lbs. Have a feeling I’ll be stalled for another 2 weeks before I lose anymore. We are all different and lose differently so don’t stress too much.

Sometimes the 3 week stall happens earlier. Especially if dieting before the surgery. The stall generally lasts 2-3 weeks. Hang in there the scale should start moving any day now. We all go through it. Yours is just occurring a bit earlier in the game.