Hi All,

It's been three weeks and two days. I thought the weight would be flying off post op, but it's not really. I entered the surgery at 292 and today, I'm 276 and have been here for about a week, sometimes going up a little but coming back down to 276.

I'm not doing great at tolerating food, which rolls me into slider territory with quest bars and extra protein shakes.

I know I need to restock on eggwhites and maybe some fish so I have compliant, healthy, protein packed foods at the ready. I'm working out and going on long walks with my dog consistently. feeling a bit disheartened by getting on the scale and seeing that number over and over.

I'm using myfitness pal... logging everything... I'm also in a bit of a piss poor mood. insatiable, deprived, eating rando protein and plateauing. open to hearing ideas.

Hmmmmm, I'm not a fitness coach, but do you think you are working out too much? If you are not able to eat many calories, and then these long walks and work outs, you will stall some. I am sure you already know muscle weighs more than fat, so there is that as well. You may be building muscle, so do not see a decrease in the scale.

Do your clothes fit more loosely? Maybe that could be a victory to keep positive and help up your mood.

Best regards

Di

So what are your macros?

And your body isn't going to just drop weight quickly and all the time, that isn't how it works. Slider Quest bars? Extra protein shakes? What does that even mean? Quest bars at 3 weeks are not really needed, I only used those if I had no time or had to run errands and had an erratic schedule going on. This journey takes some planning. Start some pureed foods, some real food protein - you will be better satisfied. Greek yogurt, ricotta cheese, refried beans, etc.

At 3 weeks I doubt you are consuming very many calories, but you don't say how many grams of protein you consume or if you are drinking at least 64oz of liquids.

And there is a common stall around 3 weeks anyway. You are not healed, there is still inflammation and this takes time. You need to relax this isn't a race, all changes are long term here, enjoy the scenery along route. Stay off the scale for now and concentrate on the habits until you get a routine and figure out what works for you. It is very individual for all of us. The walking is the best thing right now.

Hmmmmm, I'm not a fitness coach, but do you think you are working out too much? If you are not able to eat many calories, and then these long walks and work outs, you will stall some. I am sure you already know muscle weighs more than fat, so there is that as well. You may be building muscle, so do not see a decrease in the scale.
Do your clothes fit more loosely? Maybe that could be a victory to keep positive and help up your mood.
Best regards
Di

clothes *do, fit more loosely... but not loosely enough, maybe? maybe I need to just drastically reduce my expectations.

real talk: I had the surgery because my diabetes was completely out of control and now my blood sugars are normal, I can drink wine (we're talking 300 calories here, people... I burn it off in less than one walk) and I don't feel sick for the first time in years. there's something about losing a boatload of weight that's so appealing though and I'm not sure this surgery has made that easier?

16 pounds in 3 weeks isnt bad at all, I wouldn't think. Especially considering most people gain a few lbs after surgery from all of the IV fluids etc. I dont think i would get too upset yet.

16 pounds in 21 days is really great! That’s just about where I am too (I’m going to hit 3 weeks tomorrow). Multiply that out - 16lbs in 21 days means 23 pounds in a month. Even if that decreases proportionately to your decreasing weight, you’re still talking about 50lbs in 3 months - that’s amazing!

Maybe next time you meet with your team/NUT you can ask them to set benchmark weight loss goals for you. That way you’ll have realistic numbers to be shooting for and can check in with team and recalibrate strategies if you’re not hitting those ###?

This will not be popular but I would put the wine away. At only three weeks post op you are not able to eat enough to meet your nutritional needs. Alcohol has zero nutritional value whatsoever.

I am eight months post op and eat between 800-900 calories a day. I cannot imagine 30 percent if my intake coming from alcohol. It isn’t all about calories, it is about what you feed your body too.

Good luck on your journey!

If you are following all the rules your doctor gave you, getting plenty of fluids, exercising ,some of those fat cells temporarily sitting there holding water will empty up and you'll lose weight. See they are still hoping you'll eat enough fat they can refill.

I hit a plateau in the second week and it lasted 2 weeks. I found that I needed to eat real food and not supplements and stay to 5 bites only of high quality protein and veggies and only 1-2 carb bites a day. The weight started sliding off after that. I switched from mostly water to Powerade zero which seemed to help as well. I also found that when I obsessed about entering my food to the app that I thought more about food than just eating when I felt hungry. Think about the things you are doing and change one thing at a time for a few days and see if that helps. If not, change something else.

On 8/19/2018 at 11:23 AM, nevertoolate said:

I can drink wine (we're talking 300 calories here, people... I burn it off in less than one walk

I hope you realize that to burn 300 calories with just walking you'll need to walk, at around a 3.5 mph pace for a full hour straight without stopping. Drinking wine when you are only 3 weeks out is just daft. You are not healed, there is a reason why they tell folks not to drink for a minimum of 6 months, and it's not just extra calories.

I see SO much wrong with your current process. 3 weeks out you should still be on pureed foods, no protein bars or soft solids yet and I would have doubts with any doctor or nutritionist that's approved drinking wine this soon out of surgery, but that's assuming you asked your doctor or nutritionist if you can drink wine yet.

What Matt said. You burn about 100 calories per MILE. (Regardless of how fast, you just burn the calories faster running than walking.)

Are you walking three miles? If not then the 300 calories of wine is more than you are burning walking. Just sayin.

On 8/19/2018 at 8:01 AM, nevertoolate said:

Hi All,

It's been three weeks and two days. I thought the weight would be flying off post op, but it's not really. I entered the surgery at 292 and today, I'm 276 and have been here for about a week, sometimes going up a little but coming back down to 276.

I'm not doing great at tolerating food, which rolls me into slider territory with Quest bars and extra Protein Shakes.

I know I need to restock on eggwhites and maybe some fish so I have compliant, healthy, Protein packed foods at the ready. I'm working out and going on long walks with my dog consistently. feeling a bit disheartened by getting on the scale and seeing that number over and over.

I'm using myfitness pal... logging everything... I'm also in a bit of a piss poor mood. insatiable, deprived, eating rando protein and plateauing. open to hearing ideas.

“I thought the weight would be flying off.” Who told you that? To be frank, your expectation is wrong. Everyone loses at a different rate and for most of us it happens in a stair step fashion; meaning, lose some, plateau for a bit, then lose some more. You’re only 3 weeks out. The first few weeks are impacted by all the fluids that were pumped into your body during surgery, which is why many programs recommend staying off the scale during the first month or so. And many experience a stall 3-4 weeks post-op that can last 1-3 weeks. During this period, keep the faith and continue to follow your surgeon’s plan faithfully.

Why are you drinking wine already? Does your bariatric surgeon condone imbibing so soon post-op? The fact that you’re rationalizing it because you’re exercising is concerning. The last thing you want to do is eat or drink additional calories because you’ve worked out, because in almost all cases, people overestimate how many calories they’ve actually burned off.

What are you eating? Please provide your total calories and examples of what you eat for each meal so we can provide feedback /suggestions.

Weight loss happens in the kitchen, not the gym.

I lost just under 14 pounds my first three weeks, and I was walking 4+ miles a day and very strict with my diet. Now I am down 51 pounds at four months post-op. It is happening, it will continue to happen, so long as you do everything you are supposed to. Best wishes!