September surgery buddies!!

[SpartanMaker 676]

3 minutes ago, nymisc said:

I had my four-week visit today and I am down 30 lbs. I am just so astonished. It took me a year to lose the first 30. This is not easy but so glad I did it. I went to IHOP with my littlest guy tonight and husband and had about tbsp of an egg white omelet. I am doing super well with the foods. My only slight issue is I am still tired all the time. I am vitamining up like crazy (new word?). I have not started exercising yet but I got permission to start to do body groove tomorrow. Here is hoping the next 30 comes easily. Hoping for all of your success.

Congrats! Sounds like you're doing really well!

I too get tired really quick, but I'm hopeful it will get better soon. I seem to feel a little more energy every time I go to a new diet stage? I just started soft foods today and am hoping that helps with the energy!

[Hope4NewMe 167]

7 hours ago, nymisc said:

I had my four-week visit today and I am down 30 lbs. I am just so astonished. It took me a year to lose the first 30. This is not easy but so glad I did it. I went to IHOP with my littlest guy tonight and husband and had about tbsp of an egg white omelet. I am doing super well with the foods. My only slight issue is I am still tired all the time. I am vitamining up like crazy (new word?). I have not started exercising yet but I got permission to start to do body groove tomorrow. Here is hoping the next 30 comes easily. Hoping for all of your success.

Congrats! 30 is a great number! I'm glad you are doing well with all the foods and even getting to eat out. Hopefully the energy will come soon and good luck with the exercising.

[Band2SleeveGurl77 3]

13 hours ago, nymisc said:

I had my four-week visit today and I am down 30 lbs. I am just so astonished. It took me a year to lose the first 30. This is not easy but so glad I did it. I went to IHOP with my littlest guy tonight and husband and had about tbsp of an egg white omelet. I am doing super well with the foods. My only slight issue is I am still tired all the time. I am vitamining up like crazy (new word?). I have not started exercising yet but I got permission to start to do body groove tomorrow. Here is hoping the next 30 comes easily. Hoping for all of your success.

Congratulations!!!!!! I ended getting a Vitamin iv treatment and not sure if it's the placebo effect but I have had way more energy this week. You are doing amazing!

[Slwhurst 86]

Ok guys types and tricks to breaking stalls!! AND GO!!

[JustAMomATX 24]

2 hours ago, Slwhurst said:

Ok guys types and tricks to breaking stalls!! AND GO!!

YES PLEASE!! I’m going on my third week of one so I’m right there with you. I’ve been hearing “just stick with the program” which I’m doing but surely somebody has some wisdom out here!!!

[Hope4NewMe 167]

I can tell you what my dietitian and exercise guide told me. There are 3 things to try, eat more calories, eat more Protein and make sure you are getting enough Vitamins. I seem to stall and even gain weight when constipated, so usually my stalls have been fixed by doing a laxative. Not every day though, like once a week. Good luck and if you find something that really works well, please share!

[nymisc 54]

4 hours ago, Slwhurst said:

Ok guys types and tricks to breaking stalls!! AND GO!!

You took the words out of my mouth. Having a week 5 stall.

[SpartanMaker 676]

4 hours ago, Slwhurst said:

Ok guys types and tricks to breaking stalls!! AND GO!!

Sorry for the novel folks, but maybe before getting to tips and tricks, let's talk a bit about what causes plateaus:

First, the most common reason for any stall, including the dreaded 3-week stall is simply that you are retaining more Water. There are a few reasons this happens, but around the 3-week mark it comes down to the fact that your body is adjusting to a low carb intake after converting from glycogen to ketones for energy. More water is needed to burn glycogen, so you were retaining more water pre-surgery than you are now that you're using primarily ketones for energy. At about the 3-week mark, your body eventually recognizes that the water loss is long term, so other mechanisms have started kicking in to start holding on to more water. This water loss due to the change between glycogen and ketones is the primary reason for "keto flu", and something that increases your risk of dehydration early after surgery.

The other "reasons" for plateaus really don't apply as much at the 3 week mark, but will become more important later in the process. Let's cover those too though so you're prepared:

1. As you lose more weight, your overall metabolic rate will slow down. People sometimes think fat is not metabolically active, but that's not true. Less fat means your metabolism slows down, even if you retain the same amount of muscle.
2. As you lose weight, it takes less effort to move, so the amount of calories you burn from activity also drops quite a bit.
3. As you progress, you'll be able to eat more and especially if you're not tracking intake closely by weighing and measuring your food, you can easily be eating a lot more than you think.
4. This one may be TMI for some, but you may simply be retaining more stool.

This is going to be hard for some people to hear, but I can tell you one thing it's not, and that's hormones. Yes, various hormonal processes negatively impact weight loss in a myriad of ways, but they don't overcome basic physics: if you eat less than you are burning, you'll lose weight. What these hormones can do if they're out of whack, is not good things like slowing your metabolism, increasing your hunger, screwing with water weight, or even fooling you into thinking you're eating less than you are.

So, with all that sciency stuff out of the way, what do we actually do if we're in a stall? Well, I think it depends on when it happens and how long it lasts:

• If it's early (a.k.a. the 3-week stall), just keep doing what you're doing and you should be fine. I know people don't like that advice, but as I said, it's just water, so don't worry about it.
• Later on, especially if the stall is lasting longer than 2-3 weeks. that's when I think it's important that you look closely at what you are actually burning, as well as really tracking what you are eating. If you don't know your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate), you should. The closer you are to goal, the harder it is to get the balance right between intake and output to make sure you're not eating too much, so fixing this starts with knowing your BMR and accurate food logging.
• There's a lot of anecdotal advice thrown around about "ways to break a stall", but there seems to be little scientific evidence for any of it. Most of it certainly won't hurt to try, e.g. breaking up your routine in terms of diet or exercise, but just understand that this change may or may not have had any impact. If it makes you feel better to be proactive, go for it.
• Longer term, there is one piece of solid advice that's backed up by lots of research: Even if you don't really like working out, do it anyway. Those WLS patients that make a regular habit of exercising for 45 minutes to an hour most days a week are significantly more likely to reach their goal and maintain the weight loss. (One caveat here: significantly changing your exercise routine can make you retain water and possibly even add muscle, so don't freak out if you see a stall or even a gain.)
• I'll take that exercise advice one step further and say you really should be doing some form of strength training. This is also backed up by lots of studies, but the great thing about strength training is that it makes your burn more calories even at rest (in other words, it increases your metabolic rate). There are lots of other benefits, but the metabolic benefit is the most germaine to the stall question. Those that do strength training are less likely to stall during weight loss.

Edited October 18, 2022 by SpartanMaker

[Hope4NewMe 167]

How is everyone doing? This group got really quiet and I miss new stuff to read. Do you guys go to different groups that do more talking? I just hit my 1 month yesterday and had my appointment with my dietitian and all is going really well. I was sad at 1st because I thought I wasn't hitting my Protein goal every day and then he told me that the goal was lowered after surgery. So before surgery I was supposed to hit 75 to 90 but after surgery it is 60 to 80. So I have been hitting my protein every day yay! I also finally found something that helps with my Constipation and that is Monk Fruit sweetener. My daughter got me into drinking tea in the morning instead of coffee and I added the monk fruit to make it sweeter since I wasn't using my Protein Shake as Creamer like I was for my coffee. Apparently it acts as a laxative and now I get to have my tea and also don't have any stomach issues. Its soooo much better. All of my incisions are almost all healed. Just one is is taking its time. Pain wise I feel almost back to normal and my energy is doing great. I'm slowly increasing my exercise and I'm so proud of myself that I'm walking a mile every day. I know that's not a lot to most people but to me it was a huge 1st step. I've always hated exercise so even to be doing it every day is a good step for me but a mile was my 1st goal. Now to hit 2 miles a day Hope everyone is doing well and please come back and post so I have something to read lol!

[nymisc 54]

1 hour ago, Hope4NewMe said:

How is everyone doing? This group got really quiet and I miss new stuff to read. Do you guys go to different groups that do more talking? I just hit my 1 month yesterday and had my appointment with my dietitian and all is going really well. I was sad at 1st because I thought I wasn't hitting my Protein goal every day and then he told me that the goal was lowered after surgery. So before surgery I was supposed to hit 75 to 90 but after surgery it is 60 to 80. So I have been hitting my Protein every day yay! I also finally found something that helps with my constipation and that is Monk Fruit sweetener. My daughter got me into drinking tea in the morning instead of coffee and I added the monk fruit to make it sweeter since I wasn't using my Protein Shake as Creamer like I was for my coffee. Apparently it acts as a laxative and now I get to have my tea and also don't have any stomach issues. Its soooo much better. All of my incisions are almost all healed. Just one is is taking its time. Pain wise I feel almost back to normal and my energy is doing great. I'm slowly increasing my exercise and I'm so proud of myself that I'm walking a mile every day. I know that's not a lot to most people but to me it was a huge 1st step. I've always hated exercise so even to be doing it every day is a good step for me but a mile was my 1st goal. Now to hit 2 miles a day Hope everyone is doing well and please come back and post so I have something to read lol!

Glad it is going well. Doing okay. I seem to have hit a stall this week, but I also started doing workouts this week. Hoping I will bump over this hump. I have Monkfruit sweetner, may have to give it a try. My biggest issue is Water right now. No issues with the protein.

Jennifer

[Band2SleeveGurl77 3]

1 hour ago, Hope4NewMe said:

How is everyone doing? This group got really quiet and I miss new stuff to read. Do you guys go to different groups that do more talking? I just hit my 1 month yesterday and had my appointment with my dietitian and all is going really well. I was sad at 1st because I thought I wasn't hitting my Protein goal every day and then he told me that the goal was lowered after surgery. So before surgery I was supposed to hit 75 to 90 but after surgery it is 60 to 80. So I have been hitting my Protein every day yay! I also finally found something that helps with my constipation and that is Monk Fruit sweetener. My daughter got me into drinking tea in the morning instead of coffee and I added the monk fruit to make it sweeter since I wasn't using my Protein Shake as Creamer like I was for my coffee. Apparently it acts as a laxative and now I get to have my tea and also don't have any stomach issues. Its soooo much better. All of my incisions are almost all healed. Just one is is taking its time. Pain wise I feel almost back to normal and my energy is doing great. I'm slowly increasing my exercise and I'm so proud of myself that I'm walking a mile every day. I know that's not a lot to most people but to me it was a huge 1st step. I've always hated exercise so even to be doing it every day is a good step for me but a mile was my 1st goal. Now to hit 2 miles a day Hope everyone is doing well and please come back and post so I have something to read lol!

Congratulations on all your progress, that’s amazing!! I am officially 4 weeks out and can’t complain bc I’ve had very few issues. I also have one incision that is healing slow so that made me feel better to read that. My energy has improved this week and I’ve been doing IV Vitamins to help. The one thing that has been disappointing is how slowly I’m losing - i was expecting to be down at least 20+ by now. I haven’t had much energy to workout or exercise so that could be it - if anyone has any feedback I’d love to hear. This group has been amazing so hopefully we keep it up!

[SpartanMaker 676]

5 minutes ago, Band2SleeveGurl77 said:

The one thing that has been disappointing is how slowly I’m losing - i was expecting to be down at least 20+ by now.

20 pounds seems excessive, especially considering where you started. I lost 16 pounds the first month and was quite thrilled with that! I'm also a guy and starting from a lot heavier weight than you. I think the only people losing 20+ pounds in a month are a lot heavier.

[SpartanMaker 676]

2 hours ago, Hope4NewMe said:

How is everyone doing? This group got really quiet and I miss new stuff to read.

I had been thinking the same. Mostly I'm just doing my thing, trying to figure out how to live with all the changes I'm experiencing.

My challenges lately:

• I'm still not regular, with my guts bouncing between one extreme and another. I'd really like to find the right balance, but haven't found it quite yet.
• I'm struggling with Water more now that I have to not drink 30 mins before and after a meal. If I take ~30 minutes to eat, than means I'm not drinking for and hour and a half per meal, or roughly 4.5 hours out of the day with 3 meals a day. Add in a snack to hit my Protein goals (which I often have to do), and we're at 6 hours sans liquids. Some days I do okay, but I find once I get behind, it's almost impossible to catch back up.
• I'm still struggling to slow down my eating and chew better. I knew this would be a problem for me and it is. Thankfully it's not been too big an issue as my pouch seems to be surviving me not doing this quite as well as I'm supposed to.
• I'm trying to understand what both being hungry and being satisfied feels like with limited success. About all I can tell at this point is no pain and some pain.
• Some foods seem "different" than before. Because I'm never really actually hungry, I sometimes either don't eat at all, or don't eat very much, just because I don't like what I'm eating.
• I have the alternate issue sometimes as well. When I actually find I enjoy something, I find I can eat more than i thought and more than my team says I should be able to. (See previous bullets about trying to understand fullness). I'm not concerned, but on occasion I have found myself pushing the limits of this capability and paying the price afterward.

Enough for now. What about everyone else? What's working or not for you right now?

[Slwhurst 86]

I am 5 weeks post op and have been stalled for the past couple weeks. I guess I can’t really complain about that though cause I did drop 30 pounds in the first few weeks. Things got so much better for me as far as nausea when I decided to go against the plan of puréed food and just skip to soft food. My body tolerated that a whole lot more. Is it why I am stalled? Maybe… but in the long run I had to do what was best for my body. I was not getting the nutrients I needed to even survive. Hopefully I am on the back end of the stall and about to start dropping again. I have been super busy at work and at home. I did have an upset by losing a baby(puppy) but she was my baby! Life goes on though and we persevere! Y’all all keep up the good work! No one has left that I know of I think we have all just been busy in our own ways! And for those that wonder about the earlier dirty and sick posts that situation seems to be better since I moved to soft foods as well!!🤣

[Band2SleeveGurl77 3]

1 hour ago, SpartanMaker said:

20 pounds seems excessive, especially considering where you started. I lost 16 pounds the first month and was quite thrilled with that! I'm also a guy and starting from a lot heavier weight than you. I think the only people losing 20+ pounds in a month are a lot heavier.

I think it’s the silly things we put in our heads - thank you for sharing that it makes me feel much better