Need suggestions!!

When I went to my 1 month appt on Tuesday my Dr told me I needed to eat more. (I had been really depressed, afraid I was going to gain weight and was only eating 500 calories a day). So I have been eating what I am supposed to for the past 2 days and the scale says I have gained weight. This is exactly what I didn't want to happen. I don't understand what is going on here. I have not been eating a lot of fruits and vegetables....because I was afraid to. I tried applesauce and it was fine. I tried peaches and they weren't so fine. I have had a problem with throwing up different things so I have tried to stay away from raw vegetables and I don't like cooked veggies. I just don't know what to do. I don't want to do the wrong thing. I read my labels and I have tried my best. I have failed at every other diet and I can't fail at this. I am not trying to be depressed but I feel myself going there again. Any suggestions?

Stacey, right now your body is going through some major shock. you need to concentrate on protein and a little vegs and friut. your weight can fluxuate daily. you would be better at this point to weigh once a week, not daily. i really eat very little than protein. i might get a teaspoon or 2 of something else with my meal. you have a lot of adjustments to go through, but you will do fine. hang in there. i am 3.5 months out and losing 2-3 lbs a week. it will happen! teri

Stacy I just told someone on the main board to THROW THOSE DARN SCALES IN THE GARBAGE!!!!! They will drive you absolutely NUTS!!!!! You just keep doing what your surgeon is telling you to do. Get your protein FIRST and then a few bites of other things. At your stage, I ate almost all protein. Keep your chin up, your body has been through a lot lately and it will take some time for it to adjust to all of this too. Hugs, Laurie

Stacey: Since I'm still pre-op, I can only share with you what I've learned through research and listening to what others have said here and other forums. During first couple months after surgery it is not unusual for your body to experience depression. It doesn't know we've had WLS, or that it's the year 2006. Our body is missing food, thinks this is a famine, and struggles to conserve our energy. The human body reacts like it always has in a famine; it makes us depressed--so we don't have the motivation to do anything, and it makes us tired--so we don't have the energy to do anything. In this way, we will conserve as many calories as possible and remain alive. (found this on another website and thought it was helpful) As for food. Protein is what your body NEEDS to heal and operate. So concentrate on that first, then add the other stuff if you're able. It's all a learning process and just takes time to figure out how you can make it all work for you. HTH Pam

500 calories a day put you into starvation mode, you need to get that metabolism up to speed. what i would do is keep water by the bed, when you get up at night, drink. when you get up in the morning... drink. soon after waking up in the morning get a high protein breakfast. get some excercise to speed your metabolism up. eat every 3-5 hours making sure to get lots of protein. drink lots of water. at your stage you should be concentrating on protein, water, avoiding carbs, taking your supplements and getting exercise. everything else will take care of itself. my weight fluctuated from day to day. some days it would go up, some days it would stay the same and occasionally it would go down. over time i lost a LOT of weight. you will too.

I agree with Laurie and Jay. First, throw away the scale. Second, drink, drink and drink more. Also, gaining weight doesn't mean failure after WLS. WHY? Muscle weighs MORE than fat. Therefore, you may come to a point where you gain, or stabilize a while. Gaining muscle is the only way to build your body up. Losing fat is how we expect to slim down, but at the same time, we need and must have that muscle tone to survive. In my first month post op I lost 24 pounds. That's not alot for a woman who weighed 310 and was at 265 at surgery date. But I now weigh 153 and can say that I went through ups and downs. You want to see what you weigh? Get on a scale that shows your BMI, BODY FAT AND BODY MASS INDEX AND BODY PERCENTAGE PLUS WHAT YOUR TOTAL BODY FAT AND BODY WEIGHT IS. That is a SCALE indeed. They are around. I don't remember who makes them but they are out there. I monitor my fat mass and fat percentage. Screw what I weigh. I could care less. Because mind over matter, what we want is to eventually be lean, and not full of fat, and by gaining weight you may simply be gaining muscle. So get on one of those good scales if you weigh at all. In the meantime, 5-8 meals a day, small portions, 60-80 grams of protein per day and that is according to your surgeon's directions, (mine was 60-70 but I learned more protein kept my hair from going away!) and drink lots of water. Eat good healthy proteins and keep AWAY FROM THE CARBS. CARBS ARE OUR ENEMIES. that will be after you lose to goal. To maintain. Just my help in what I see as not a worry for you, just eat more foods and proteins and drink more water. You'll be fine!!!!!!!!!!!! Stacey W

I know everyone keep saying "Stay away from the carbs" but they were ok for the 1st 4 weeks after surgery? My problem is that my pouch doesn't like a lot of things and sometimes mashed potatoes or cheese and crackers is all I can keep down. I have a hard time with meats like chicken, pork, eggs and I'm allergic to shell fish. I ate fish for almost 2 weeks straight and I don't want to look at anymore fish EVER!! It's hard right now. Hopefully all of this will pass. As far as the Tanita scale...I just threw mine away because it was reading 50 pounds lighter than I really am and I had a mental breakdown at the doctors on Tuesday. (It was UGLY) I bought a new one that only reads the pounds. I will try to stay off of it.

Scale Name is TANITA Weighing Systems. They are available online also. SW

Stacy , just be sure to get your protein and water in. i never limited my carbs, i ate mashed potatoes and crackers sometimes. But i was sure to make it protein first! cheese, cottage cheese, things like this are great sources of protein for you. Are you doing protein shakes? You cannot get enough protein from food, you won't absorb a lot of what you're eating. Also , my nut told me when you start incorporating carbs your body will plateau until its used to them again......just make sure it's good carbs from fruit or veggies. Your body is gonna lose, don't stress over it. We all go through stages like this and were all afraid to eat. Even after 2 years out i still drink protein the minute i get out of bed and just before i go to sleep. Just stick to the program and you'll do great. Hugs Linda