12 Days post op; only lost 4 pounds. :(

imposgi: Sounds as if you are challenged with realistic expectations and reality? I will send u a mix of things that may help. Forgive me I cn not undo formatting w this new OH site so it may look strange… Your rational brain realizes you are 'bloated', *just FYI I and many gain after leaving the hospital due to IV fluid, trauma to body from surgery etc sometimes 20#!!! OR MORE1 Your rational mind knows this is 'not a race' and 'things won't happen overnight' & I bet it also knows this is not even about weigthloss or the hunkametal (the scale). *Consider practicing that mantra or positive affirmation, this is Not A RACE THIS IS AN Opportunity TO LEARN GROW AND BE Healthy IT IS ABOUT FOREVER! Your emotional brain says I can not NOT worry, I am depressed, this is challenging, I do not want to be patient! You are not alone; these are typical battles between our thoughts and feelings. I believe we all have control over our worry, worry is about fear; trying to tap into the emotions feel them and move through them helps me. to worry is a choice, that we do have control over, we may not have control over the sale but whether we worry and obsess about it we can control....For me I know happiness and success will NEVER EVER come from an external source (person, object, number on the scale). It can and will ONLY come from internal self-discovery and love. Loving ourselves this moment as we are is the key. Shame, guilt, fear only keep us stuck and lead to self-sabotage. Wls is a beginning; it is not the end (of our lives, wt challenges or emotional issues), the first step in a million mile journey to finding our authentic self. I he posted this over and over because we all seem to be challenged with unrealistic goals at times...

Those that have goals that are health focused and functionally focused do the best (vs. those that are scale or weight/number focused). I am such a firm believer in not allowing the scale (or hunkametal that it is) to rule or dictate ones life/thoughts/feelings any longer, I agree we want to lose wt but gaining our health and ability to function in life are far more important than any number the scale can read; otherwise if it never reads the number we think, others say, a chart suggests we fail and that is simply not true!!! Most of our lives we have set RIGID, UNREALISTIC WEIGHT LOSS GOALS for ourselves that are BOTH UNATTAINABLE and CHRONICALLY DISAPPOINTING and lead to DEVASTATION & the slippery slope of self-sabotage...Review the UNDERLYING lifestyle change such as exercise, food choices, self-awareness/monitoring, avoidance of emotional eating, adherence to living self responsibly in a CONSISTENT way that is the foundation to our long-term success. For me I keep telling myself daily that***THE GOAL SHOULD NEVER BE A NUMBER*** These choices are what makes WLS work long-term and not be another failed diet attempt (and believe me it is for MANY! So I use that fear to keep plugging along)...It is a wonderful tool to build the foundation and sadly one that has ways to be defeated/broken down as we all can discover (grazing etc). Consider writing all the 'supports' of diet/exercise/lifestyle changes, coping skills etc for non-emotional eating (i.e through individual therapy, support groups) you have worked on, now where do you need to add reinforcements? You now are seeing it can collapse and the WLS tool if not used properly/consistently can be defeated w/o the extra supporting structures...Like having only one wall of your basement in place before putting the house on top.. what happens? it can crumble w/ the weight of the house (your life/the worlds challenges), but if you have the 4 walls in place (food choices/planning/healthy and consistent choices, exercise, self awareness/monitoring, support); then the WLS tool can just reinforce that foundation and make the house stand strong for a long long time!

Most people who have WLS look forward to all the ‘wonderful’ things they want to happen to them when they reach their goal weight…  

~WHAT PEOPLE FAIL TO CONSIDER IS THE LONG JOURNEY FROM WHERE THEY ARE PREOP TO WHERE THEY WANT TO BE…

~NO MATTER HOW INFORMED/EDUCATED YOU ARE NO ONE CAN PREPARE FOR THE DIFFICULT ADJUSTMENTS..MANY FEEL THERE IS SORT OF A ‘MAGIC’ TO WLS.

~MEANING ‘MAGICALLY’ THEY WILL SURVIVE SURGERY, RECOVER, MAKE ALL THE LIFESTYLE ADJUSTMENTS NECESSARY TO LIVE A NEW LIFE.

~IT IS A RUDE AWAKENING WHEN YOU RUN INTO OBSTACLES ON THIS PATH….

Clothes, comfort with self, increased social activity, no more isolation/loneliness, improved health, enriched relationships…and much more.

~#1 LOST FREEDOM OF CHOICE WITH FOOD EARLY POSTOP

~THIS CAN BE EMOTIONALLY PAINFUL IN DIRECT CONTRAST TO PREOP WHEN ONE COULD EAT WHATEVER, WHENEVER IN WHATEVER AMOUNTS THEY WISHED…

`NECESSITATES GRIEVING PROCESS…..

`REFUSING TO GRIEVE LEADS TO ‘CHEATING’ WITH FOOD INTAKE (WRONG FOOD, TIMES, AMOUNTS)

~#2 DEALING WITH TRIGGERS

~PLACES, TIME, EMOTIONS

~#3 CONTROLLING CRAVINGS

~EATING IN RESPONSE TO A CRAVING SETS YOU UP FOR SELF SABOTAGE

n#4 WEIGHT PLATEAU

n1ST FEW MONTHS RAPID WT LOSS..BEGINS TO SLOW..CAN STOP COMPLETELY FOR A FEW WEEKS…

nNEED TO CONTINUE ROUTINE AND NOT GET DISCOURAGED/DEPRESSED

n#5 EXCESS SKIN! 

nA tool to CHANGE YOUR LIFESTYLE! 

nAs you progress on your WLS journey toward your ultimate goals of health and weight maintenance you will encounter both internal and external challenges.

nHow you deal with these challenges depends mostly on your attitude.

nYour attitude depends mostly on your choices, because attitude itself is a choice!

nYou must learn to effectively cope, self-soothe, problem solve & process feelings without food.

nTo relearn healthy habits, self responsibility and accountability.

nYOU WILL NEED TO CHANG E YOUR LIFE & MIND to be successful long-term, otherwise this too can be a 1 year failed diet attempt!

nNow is the time to define a new relationship between you and food.

nDispel old beliefs. REFRAME!

nLive in balance.

nChanging old unhealthy habits into healthier ones.

nFinding happiness in your mind and life.

nFind non-food rewards.

nLoving your life makes you successful at any goal.

nLife happens stop making excuses : Holidays, celebrations, stress will always come how will you cope?

nBreak out of your isolation.

nIt takes extraordinary courage to consciously limit food choices for the rest of your life (and potentially limit social opportunities built around meals).  

nFor many patients, life after WLS means treating food as a fuel, not as a source of drama, excitement, comfort or a central life focus: i.e. eating to live rather than living to eat.

n While some procedures may be reversible, for most patients WLS is a lifetime commitment, requiring a lifetime of major lifestyle changes.

nSURGICAL SUCCESS REQUIRES THAT THE PATIENT INITIATES AND MAINTAINS DRAMATIC HABIT AND ATTITUDE CHANGES…..

nCHANGE IS INEVITABLE  STRUGGLE IS OPTIONAL! 

HIBERNATION

Summarized from:

Weight Loss surgery: Finding the thin person hiding inside of you second edition by Barbra Thompson P. 198

"Hibernation syndrome can be experienced within 2-4 weeks after surgery, when the body realizes that it will not be getting the nourishment that it is used to receiving and reacts to that. Your body just wants to stay immobile until the old food supply returns, you will feel extremely tired, lethargic and often depressed. This comes at a time when you are beginning to recover from the traumatic effects of the surgery. The pain is usually gone and the energy was just starting to return....The best way to deal with this if it affects you (not everyone gets it) is to recognize the symptoms and know it is normal. Then start exercise so that the body "figures out" it has ample energy/fuel stored and does not have to be fed constantly. This will pass within a few weeks."

Hibernation Syndrome   After WLS, you may be feeling tired and become depressed. When you are several weeks post op, and are either on a liquid diet or you are eating many fewer calories than you were pre op, this depression and inactivity can become more pronounced. All you want to do is sleep, you may have crying spells, you may begin to believe that the surgery was a mistake, or you may think 'what in the world have I done to myself?'   All these feelings are completely normal and, to a certain extent, are to be expected. The low number of calories you are eating produces what many of us call the 'hibernation syndrome' and your depression and feelings of despair, are a direct result.   During the weeks immediately following surgery, our body starts to notice that we are not taking in enough calories. It doesn't know we've had WLS, or that it's the year 2007. 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. You can see the practical value of this as our bodies have been living through famines, snowstorms, and other periods of unstable food supply for centuries.   This stage can last several weeks. Our discomfort is compounded as we are, at this same time, trying to recover from major surgery, adopt new eating habits, and deal with a liquid or soft diet. To get out of this stage, our body has to say to itself 'gee, this famine is lasting a bit too long. If I keep conserving my energy with inactivity, I will starve to death. I'd better use my last store of energy (the remaining fat and muscles in our body) to hunt up some food'. At this point, our body will switch from getting energy from food, to getting energy from our fat (and muscle too if we don't eat enough protein) and that is what we want.   In order to deal with this difficult transition period, tell yourself that you're right on track; this is exactly what is normal and to be expected. Tell yourself that, in a few weeks, this will pass, and you will feel like a completely new person. We all seem to turn the corner about 4-6 weeks post op. Then, your mood will lighten and, with your weight loss starting to add up, you'll feel more positive and have a better outlook on life. Just keep telling yourself that you will not always feel this way! You WILL be back to feeling like your old self. Just give it time!

it is common postop to c/o Depression possibly related to grieving the loss of food, dereased metabolism, hormonal surges from estrogen being released into the body from rapid wt loss/fat breakdown....

Bariatric Times • March 2007

Psychology Perspective http://bariatrictimes.com/displayArticle.cfm?articleID=03071 2-14_Bauchowitz_MAr