2/4 had the bypas...have a question or two

I had the bypass last Monday 2/4.  I was 299 at weigh in before surgery.  I've been at 288.6 for the last 4 days.  Is this normal? I'm not sure as to why type of weight loss to expect so soon after surgery.   As for eating I'm doing well.  I haven't had any problems with liquids or puree foods.  I've even ate part of a chicken breast and didn't puree it but took very small bites when eating. I'm bored out of my mind though.  Not being able to drive is driving me up the wall.  My roommate came down with the flu the day after surgery so she hasn't been home to make sure I don't get sick.  My mom left to go back to Louisiana on Sunday so I'm home alone and it's getting pretty boring.  Anyone have any ideas of what I could do to keep me from losing my mind?  I've walked around the complex, around my apartment.  I've read books, watched movies, I'm just going insane. Ok my rant's over.  Any help or advice as to what to expect is greatly appreciated. :)  Also, how do I get one of those weight trackers. Thanks! Jessica

Do you take alot of pictures?? What about making a scrapbook?? Those are always fun!!

Hi, Jessica! Welcome, and congratulations on your successful surgery!  It's wonderful that you've lost pounds already, no?  Sometimes after surgery it takes a while to heal up and get all the swellling down and whatnot, so I'm sure very soon you'll step on the scale and see a big drop.  I had extra recovery time when I had my Lap Band last month, and here are a few things I did: had friends over to play cards used my computer to watch all the television shows I'd missed these past few months had my own "Classic Film Series" via netflix.com ("Fiddler on the Roof"! Yea!) read books and magazines did a jigsaw puzzle shopped a LOT online!   did my taxes (ugh) wrote real, actual pen-and-paper letters to family reorganized my jewelry (I have a lot of jewelry from my grandmother -- amazing stuff!) made some Easter earrings for friends and family with beads from Oriental Trading Company (see "shopped a LOT online!" above) organized some recipes for when I could eat real food and made some meal plans listened to music playlists my daughter made for me (she goes to university in England) figured out how to do one of those weight trackers (LOL) You can go to tickerfactory.com and select a Weight Tracker, then follow the steps for that.  Once your tracker's complete, right-click on the picture of your tracker and select "COPY."  Then come back over to this site and open User Settings.  Scroll down to Signature, and then PASTE in your tracker in that box.  Ta da!  Cheers,

Kim, Thank you so much for the kinds words, ideas and instructions on how to get a Weight Tracker. :)  I think I'm just frustrated right now and probably for no real reason. Jessica

slow weight loss is normal at the start, did you have a RNY ?  if so - eating a chicken so early is a big no no with my doctor , I am almost 2 years out and I never got a solid meat for weeks... but listen to the doctor he knows best. take care and enjoy the recovery time :)

I had the RNY in August. I lost about 6-9 lbs right after surgery and then it stopped. I actually gained a couple. I had it on a Thursday, was released Sunday afternoon.  But when I went back in that very next Thursday for a complication, I had gained 3 lbs.  I was only eating purred food - chicken, pork, etc.  I didn't really start loosing till about 3 weeks after.   I lost 22lbs before surgery and I've lost 88 since.  Don't worry! And boy how! I know excatly what you mean by stir crazy. I ended out 6 weeks because of the complication.  My mother -in -law came down from Seattle to be with me for 2 weeks.  I think I would have lost my mind completely had it not been for her company.

You cant drive? sheeeeeeeeeesh I would go crazy too! I dont really have a lot of suggestions because I cant stand being stuck around the house! :-) As for the weight loss - here is what I learned you will not lose every day you will not lose every week sometimes the scale wont move for a few weeks sometimes we lose inches instead of pounds it took time to put the weight on, it takes time to get the weight off its not a matter of when you reach the goal you set, just that you reach the goal you set and most important patience patience patience! The first two weeks post-op I didnt lose anything... then I lost like 2-3lbs. I never lost daily the scale seemed to move in chunks for me! :-)

Jessica -

First of all CONGRATULATIONS!!!! And welcome to the Loser's Bench!

I hope that it will help to know that you are in the hardest part of this journey and it truly gets much better from here on out. That said, I understand you need some help getting through these first few weeks.

Your mini-stall is very normal ... I know it's hard, but it will soon pass and you'll start losing again. BELIEVE ... It is going to work ... I think we all are secretly afraid that we are the one it won't work for, but it will. Your body is just taking a breather. If you read my profile, you'll see that I had very similar issues about 10 days out from surgery.

I have a few resources that I have found that have been real lifesavers for me. The first one, www.thinnerself.com helped me see how my personal progress, based on my age, hieght, weight, date of surgery, surgery wieght, activity level, current weight ... statistically stacks up against others with the same demographics. WHEW!!! It was such a relief to realize that I was not only doing just fine, but great. I think you will find the same thing. The next thing I found will be more help to you when you start to add foods back into your regimen ... It's an online food tracking database. There are several. I favor www.mydailyplate.com. www.fitday.com, www.sparkpeople.com and Weight-By-Date Pro are all good things to look at. You can plug in what your needs are and see if you are meeting your nutrional goals. It helps me to see patterns and to see when/where I need to take corrective action. The last thing, is really important for the long term I think. It a book and workbook called the Beck Diet Solution by Judith Beck. These are not a diet, but a program to help you retool your thinking. I think that the surgery can help you to strip off the weight, but you need something more to help you take off as much as possible and to maintain the loss once you get there. This book and workbook will give you plenty of food for thought and believe it or not, a lot of it is really relavant to us.

I hope that some of this information helps.

Hang in there. It really is going to get better, sooooo much better and it is sooooo worth it.

I look forward to getting to know you over the course of your journey.

All the best,

Barb

Barbara,

Thank you for all of the helpful information you provided me.  I will definitely check it all out.  I know I just started my journey and have a long road ahead of me.  I'm sure I'll have many bumps in the road and many questions along the way.  I look forward to sharing my experiences with everyone and getting to know everyone as well.

Jessica