So I’m 28 days post op and my weight has been stuck on 287-289lbs and it’s driving me crazy. I was 316lbs on the day of surgery. I know that the stall is inevitable but the fear in my head is concerned that I’m screwing up somehow.

I haven’t been getting the proper amount of proteins in as I’m so sick of the premier protein drinks but I will try harder. My calories are usually at 450 (without the protein drinks). I miss some of my vitamins on occasion.

I’m a single mom to two young boys so although I try to cook everything from scratch, I don’t get to do that all the time because that would mean cooking two separate dinners! I have gone to Farm Boy and Whole Foods where they had some healthy alternatives but they are frozen. It has low fat and super low sugar. Do I need to worry about carb or sodium or calories or is it enough that I make sure it’s low fat and sugar? From the info book I got from my surgeon, they only specify the fat and sugar content but I feel like maybe that’s why I’m not losing right now? I’m just so scared to mess this up. I also don’t feel full a lot of the times so I’m paranoid of stretching my pouch. I have been tolerating almost everything so I want to make sure that I’m making the right choices.

For exercise, I have been walking daily. I also started a kickboxing class but was then told by my surgeon team that it was not allowed until 6-8 wks post op! I didn’t know and was doing sit-ups and stuff...so I’m scared there are other things that I’m doing wrong.

Any help would be much appreciated!

Eating out and pre packaged foods at whole foods can sabotage you when you can't track properly. You may just have to cook those separate meals or they eat what you eat. I know easier said than done, but this is the life now.

Carbs are tricky, ask your NUT where they want you but high sodium will make you retain water weight.

Walking is amazing and free I would wait until you get a green light for stuff like kickboxing

Check in with your bariatric team for details on specifics because they will have a plan in place for you to follow for success.

Safe journey!

Your boys can eat meat/protein and vegetables that you cook for yourself - just add a side dish of pasta and a fruit. There is no reason to cook two separate meals. Use ground turkey for spaghetti sauce, and you skip the pasta. Bake a chicken and feed yourselves for several meals - chicken fajitas or tacos, and you have the meat and low fat refried beans. Just get creative with adding things for them.

The three most important elements after RNY gastric bypass surgery are to meet your daily protein, fluid and vitamin requirements. Food is secondary because your body is converting your stored fat into the energy that drives your body. Thus you lose weight.

Weight loss is achieved after surgery through meal volume control. You begin at 2 ounces (1/4 cup) per meal and gradually over the next year and a half increase the volume to 1 cup per meal. With this minuscule amount of food, it is next to impossible to meet your protein daily requirements by food alone, so therefore you need to rely on supplements such as protein shakes.

Many experience problems drinking protein shakes. I hated them. But in the beginning I drank them, three 16-ounce protein shakes a day, in order to meet my protein requirements. You do not have to like protein shakes only tolerate them. There are many varieties of protein shakes available today. Experiment until you can find one you can tolerate. I used Muscle Milk Light (Vanilla Creme) powder blended with water and a half a banana. That worked for me. But on the opposite end of the spectrum, you might try premixed Isopure.

Your daily protein requirement is met by a combination of the amount of protein you obtain from food combined with the amount of protein from protein supplements (protein shakes, protein bars). Right after gastric bypass surgery, the volume of food you consume is minuscule (2 ounces) per meal. But as you get further along, the meal volume increases. Therefore you have a very important option available to you. As a result, you can begin to reduce your reliance on protein shakes if you concentrate on consuming high protein meals. I went from 3 protein shakes a day, down to 2, down to 1 and eventually none when I reached 1 cup per meal at a year and a half post-op.

Because you meal volume requirements are fairly small, you have the option of cooking up a pot of food for yourself and consuming it over several days. I found that softer foods (such as chili and soups) went down much easier than harder foods (such as steak and chicken). Therefore I relied upon these. So as your food options expand and you reach the solid stage at around 2 months post-op, then you may want to take this approach. I have included a few recipes at the end of the following article.

http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

Usually low fat means higher sugar. Most recent studies advocate high fat, high protein, low carb. I cook for my family, I just eat the meat. I cook up a whole broccoli or whole cabbage and have that as my own vegetable. Keep individual meat patties and individual pieces frozen chicken then whatever vegetable you made for yourself. You could cook a pack of patties or chicken all at once and veggie, then heat up portions for yourself.

16 hours ago, Pink nova said:

So I’m 28 days post op and my weight has been stuck on 287-289lbs and it’s driving me crazy. I was 316lbs on the day of surgery. I know that the stall is inevitable but the fear in my head is concerned that I’m screwing up somehow.

I haven’t been getting the proper amount of Proteins in as I’m so sick of the Premier Protein drinks but I will try harder. My calories are usually at 450 (without the Protein drinks). I miss some of my Vitamins on occasion.

I’m a single mom to two young boys so although I try to cook everything from scratch, I don’t get to do that all the time because that would mean cooking two separate dinners! I have gone to Farm Boy and Whole Foods where they had some healthy alternatives but they are frozen. It has low fat and super low sugar. Do I need to worry about carb or sodium or calories or is it enough that I make sure it’s low fat and sugar? From the info book I got from my surgeon, they only specify the fat and sugar content but I feel like maybe that’s why I’m not losing right now? I’m just so scared to mess this up. I also don’t feel full a lot of the times so I’m paranoid of stretching my pouch. I have been tolerating almost everything so I want to make sure that I’m making the right choices.

For exercise, I have been walking daily. I also started a kickboxing class but was then told by my surgeon team that it was not allowed until 6-8 wks post op! I didn’t know and was doing sit-ups and stuff...so I’m scared there are other things that I’m doing wrong.

Any help would be much appreciated!

I feel your pain on trying to find something that checks all the boxes:

-Low Fat
-Low Carb
-Low/no added sugar
-Low Calorie
-High Protein
-Low Sodium

I use the Gardein meatless options for my staple freezer food. I always keep something in the freezer as my "go-to" meal. It's hard to always shop fresh and eat fresh all the time. I'm usually pretty good, but everyone needs something that is handy and doesn't expire in a blink of an eye.

As far as your weight loss is concerned, you are probably at the infamous 3 week stall. I would consider increasing your calories here soon, you say 450 (without protein shakes), but how much with the shakes? At 4 weeks I was eating close to 800-900, and at 6 weeks closer to 1000-1200 probably. For me, I didn't break my stall until I increased my calories. Also, you are exercising, which would be another reason I'd increase my calories. I always suggest to folks on a stall, to make sure they are logging all food consumed.

I keep the hash brown squares $1.78 at WalMart in my freezer. Fry up a couple and add to my protein and vegetable for Tomkitten. We have a tossed salad every night, I put mine in a small dish on the side, he can dowse his with as much dressing as he desires . We have scrambled eggs, he can have one of the potato squares bicuits or toast on the side.

I honestly think you are overthinking. You are losing 1 lb per day! Stalls are completely normal. They will happen over and over again, and do not mean you are doing something wrong.