I’m trying, I really am… but in the last 24 days I have had my period or pre-period symptoms (major cramping - nausea - fatigue) for 12 days and I have no idea how long this round will last. It started the day before my surgery & lasted 7 days and this week it came raging back.

Between the surgery recovery, the pms and the heavy cycle I’ve been drained. I’ve been as active as I can, staying close to the house. I’m trying to drink as much as I can… I get close, but don’t always hit the goal and I never exceed it.

Most food turns my stomach… so I’m doing my best but the last few days (when my period has been super heavy) I’m lucky to get 1/2 my Protein in.

I’m worried about my follow up next week… being scolded for not doing better or more. My teams super nice so I don’t know why I’m stressing - but I am.

I can see my clothes getting baggy, changed in my body and the scale is showing some loss. But I feel like my results should be better if I were walking more, drinking more and hitting my protein goals.

Can anyone tell me if they fell short of their goals the first month and still did ok in the long run? How long did it take to get the hang of this?

I’m not giving in to cravings… no junk. (Considering the raging pms - that’s a big win alone). I am trying to stay positive but with my hormones in overdrive I guess I’m just looking for some reassurance.

Thanks in advance.

our clinic didn't give goals. There are so many things that affect rate of weight loss that you have little to no control over - like age, gender, starting BMI, metabolic rate - that it's really kind of pointless and can be discouraging to those of us "slow losers". If we stuck to the plan, stayed active, and our general weight trend was down, we were good.

even though we didn't have goals, I lost 16 lbs the first month, and ended up losing 100% of my excess weight, over 200 lbs.

Thank you @catwoman7. I appreciate the reassurance. I think I was prepared for most of what I have encountered through surgery/recovery, but I was not prepared for my cycle going haywire and how that could impact how I progressed.

I’m trying, I really am… but in the last 24 days I have had my period or pre-period symptoms (major cramping - nausea - fatigue) for 12 days and I have no idea how long this round will last. It started the day before my surgery & lasted 7 days and this week it came raging back.

Between the surgery recovery, the pms and the heavy cycle I’ve been drained. I’ve been as active as I can, staying close to the house. I’m trying to drink as much as I can… I get close, but don’t always hit the goal and I never exceed it.

Most food turns my stomach… so I’m doing my best but the last few days (when my period has been super heavy) I’m lucky to get 1/2 my Protein in.

I’m worried about my follow up next week… being scolded for not doing better or more. My teams super nice so I don’t know why I’m stressing - but I am.

I can see my clothes getting baggy, changed in my body and the scale is showing some loss. But I feel like my results should be better if I were walking more, drinking more and hitting my Protein goals.

Can anyone tell me if they fell short of their goals the first month and still did ok in the long run? How long did it take to get the hang of this?

I’m not giving in to cravings… no junk. (Considering the raging pms - that’s a big win alone). I am trying to stay positive but with my hormones in overdrive I guess I’m just looking for some reassurance.

Thanks in advance.

I still struggle to hit my water and protein goals. Some days I hit them, others I fall a little short. Give youself some grace. My doc's office is staffed with a whole bunch of people who have never had weight loss surgery. I respect their advice but I also have to remember that they've never been in my situation. Also, I'm VERY tall for a woman and I realize some of the advice they give is tailored to to the average person.

Instead, I try to listen to what my body needs. I also try not to compare myself with others because my situation is unique. Instead, I focus on my habits.

I'm sending good vibes your way. That time of the month is the worst.

I had surgery 9 months ago and didnt hit my goals until at least 6 months along. I had so much nausea and vomiting that taking the extra vitamins and calcium was tough. So I rarely did. I never ever got enough water or protein. Then on the 6th month I saw the right person and got the help I needed. Two doses of the right PPi a day. My husband was so worried for me. Since then I have gained strength and can do loads more. My body tells me when its time to rest and sometimes take a day off.

I rarely get more than 60 gms of protein a day and if I had not found protein yogurts that I could stomach, I would still struggle. My calorie count is about 650 to 1000 a day. I am lucky that I have no hunger. I dont count my liquid intake but its probably less than it should be but I am ok with that. Its not a biggy with my team either. I am not dehydrated

I can walk anywhere I want to now as before I would need a walking stick to go the shortest distance and be puffing like an old train. I may have had a slow start but it has not affected my weight loss, other than having more stalls when I have not been able to eat enough.

Every persons journey is different. Its hard not to compare yourself to others but it does no good in the long run. I didnt exercise until month 6 and I knew I didnt have enough strength to do more than keep my home clean and go shopping. Now most days I have too much energy

This surgery makes your hormones go stratospheric. Even at my age I knew my hormones where out of whack. My poor hubby couldn't understand why I was so short with him. I was just like when I had PMT again. My team were never bothered about my progress, just helpful

I hope you get through your period quickly and get the right amount of ppi for the nausea. You will then gallop along

Don't be so hard on yourself, rest and take it easy, think about exercise when you are feeling better right now you need time to heal. You are seeing results which is great, you are on the right track. The first few months are the hardest where we don't feel like we are drinking enough or eating enough but you most likely are providing you are not getting dehydration symptoms etc. Your Hormones will be all out of whack for a bit too so hang in there do your best, rest and look after yourself you will be fine.

P.S I did zero exercise and still hit my goals

Given the fact that you have just had major surgery be kind to yourself. Your body is still in healing mode and exercise should be eased into. I gave myself 6 weeks before I felt comfortable in going for walks. Sadly this operation is notorious for making hormones go haywire and mucking up our periods. It may take them a little while to settle down again though it would be sound to let your doctor know that they are doing.

As for reaching the fluid target you are trying to get there and you will, eventually. You said that your team is super nice time for some of that to rub off on yourself. Just breathe.

ok, breath. My surgeon was ok if I didn’t meet my goals as long as I was making an effort & slowly but surely getting closer. I just couldn’t eat or drink more than I was through the stages: you can only do what you can do while you are healing & recovering & your tummy is being sensitive & fussy.

The hormonal flush can be a b*tch. You’re losing weight (yay!) but your stored oestrogen is being released into your blood stream causing things like you’re experiencing almost like a punishment (boo!).

I didn’t exercise either apart from the initial short anti blood clotting walking/strolling). Remember trying to walk on my treadmill in the second month because I felt I should do something but the extreme lethargy hit so I stopped (I almost fell of my treadmill I was so tired one day). Even now I just do some stretches, more for my oozing discs, some wall pushups & a few sit ups. Probably wouldn’t burn 10 calories LOL! But you need to do what exercises & level of activity that works for you when you are ready & able.

On 09/10/2022 at 09:51, heartofmercury said:

I still struggle to hit my Water and Protein goals. Some days I hit them, others I fall a little short. Give youself some grace. My doc's office is staffed with a whole bunch of people who have never had weight loss surgery. I respect their advice but I also have to remember that they've never been in my situation. Also, I'm VERY tall for a woman and I realize some of the advice they give is tailored to to the average person.

Instead, I try to listen to what my body needs. I also try not to compare myself with others because my situation is unique. Instead, I focus on my habits.

I'm sending good vibes your way. That time of the month is the worst.

Thank you… ❤️

On 09/10/2022 at 14:17, summerseeker said:

I had surgery 9 months ago and didnt hit my goals until at least 6 months along. I had so much nausea and vomiting that taking the extra Vitamins and Calcium was tough. So I rarely did. I never ever got enough Water or Protein. Then on the 6th month I saw the right person and got the help I needed. Two doses of the right PPi a day. My husband was so worried for me. Since then I have gained strength and can do loads more. My body tells me when its time to rest and sometimes take a day off.

I rarely get more than 60 gms of protein a day and if I had not found protein yogurts that I could stomach, I would still struggle. My calorie count is about 650 to 1000 a day. I am lucky that I have no hunger. I dont count my liquid intake but its probably less than it should be but I am ok with that. Its not a biggy with my team either. I am not dehydrated

I can walk anywhere I want to now as before I would need a walking stick to go the shortest distance and be puffing like an old train. I may have had a slow start but it has not affected my weight loss, other than having more stalls when I have not been able to eat enough.

Every persons journey is different. Its hard not to compare yourself to others but it does no good in the long run. I didnt exercise until month 6 and I knew I didnt have enough strength to do more than keep my home clean and go shopping. Now most days I have too much energy

This surgery makes your hormones go stratospheric. Even at my age I knew my hormones where out of whack. My poor hubby couldn't understand why I was so short with him. I was just like when I had PMT again. My team were never bothered about my progress, just helpful

I hope you get through your period quickly and get the right amount of ppi for the nausea. You will then gallop along

Thank you! I felt like I was failing because initially I was feeling “on track” with my goals and then I was seeming to get no where near them. My team has always been helpful and kind… I’m just stressing I suppose because I don’t want to fail at this. But I have to remember I’m barely a month out and that’s still fairly early in the process.

On 09/10/2022 at 14:32, SleeverSk said:

Don't be so hard on yourself, rest and take it easy, think about exercise when you are feeling better right now you need time to heal. You are seeing results which is great, you are on the right track. The first few months are the hardest where we don't feel like we are drinking enough or eating enough but you most likely are providing you are not getting dehydration symptoms etc. Your Hormones will be all out of whack for a bit too so hang in there do your best, rest and look after yourself you will be fine.

P.S I did zero exercise and still hit my goals

Thank you so much! For some reason it’s so much easier to say those things to others than myself. I think my hormones have just gotten the best of me lately.

On 09/10/2022 at 20:32, Possum220 said:

Given the fact that you have just had major surgery be kind to yourself. Your body is still in healing mode and exercise should be eased into. I gave myself 6 weeks before I felt comfortable in going for walks. Sadly this operation is notorious for making hormones go haywire and mucking up our periods. It may take them a little while to settle down again though it would be sound to let your doctor know that they are doing.

As for reaching the Fluid target you are trying to get there and you will, eventually. You said that your team is super nice time for some of that to rub off on yourself. Just breathe.

Thank you… obviously my hormones have been a much bigger mess than I even realized because I’m sitting here crying like a baby for no reason. Lol. I just saw my endocrinologist and he was super happy with my progress and I need to remember I have had more progress in the last year (and especially the last 3.5 weeks post op) than I’ve had in my entire adult life. Thank you (and everyone) for helping me to take a moment - breath and give myself a little grace while my body does what it needs to heal.

On 09/10/2022 at 23:38, Arabesque said:

ok, breath. My surgeon was ok if I didn’t meet my goals as long as I was making an effort & slowly but surely getting closer. I just couldn’t eat or drink more than I was through the stages: you can only do what you can do while you are healing & recovering & your tummy is being sensitive & fussy.

The hormonal flush can be a b*tch. You’re losing weight (yay!) but your stored oestrogen is being released into your blood stream causing things like you’re experiencing almost like a punishment (boo!).

I didn’t exercise either apart from the initial short anti blood clotting walking/strolling). Remember trying to walk on my treadmill in the second month because I felt I should do something but the extreme lethargy hit so I stopped (I almost fell of my treadmill I was so tired one day). Even now I just do some stretches, more for my oozing discs, some wall pushups & a few sit ups. Probably wouldn’t burn 10 calories LOL! But you need to do what exercises & level of activity that works for you when you are ready & able.

Thank you! The fatigue is unreal and the hormones are definitely not doing me any favors! Thank you for your kindness and making me smile (oh my gosh I go from tears to giggles in the blink of an eye. It’s emotional whiplash over here).

I really appreciate you all taking the time to help me out, I was feeling a bit defeated between physically feeling so bad and the emotional upheaval. My stress levels were through the roof, my family was getting on my nerves (more my hormones than their fault), our house is getting some work done on it and it’s going much slower than planned because I’m only able to do so much at a time - so I was stressing about it. I was just overwhelmed from every angle feeling like I was falling short everywhere.

I think I’m going to write on sticky notes all of the good advice given and put them around the house so the next time I am feeling like I’m falling short I can have a reminder it’s all going to be ok, I just need to listen to my body and breath. ❤️