3 weeks out and 'not feeling it'

yep

Although I'm hitting 5 months post op this week, I can relate to how I felt at 3 weeks - completely frustrated! At the 3 week mark I had stopped losing for a good 2-3 weeks before I moved a pound. You have to keep in mind (it's very hard to) that although your body may feel ok, your insides just went through a major surgery and it is still healing and will do so for another couple months. It's great that you can fit in your protein - that's such a hard thing to do even at my stage. I have to admit that the head hunger will get you at that point, it did for me for the first 2 months. I thought how weird it was that I was feeling hungry but as soon as I put something in my mouth, I didn't want it. It could also be your old habits informing your brain that it should be eating - which is where the head hunger comes in. It's so tough to break that cycle, especially when you feel so good post-op. Follow your guidelines of what to eat and space it out during the day - maybe a hobby to get your mind off of it might help. I watched a lot of tv and I actually went to visit a relative at 3-4 weeks post to help with the stress of going through it all. It was driving me mad watching the family eating chips and pasta and I would just be eating my yogurt or pureed tuna... it was so tough. You will get past it though, I promise you that!

Going through the phases is really challenging at best. Especially with the holidays now it was mentally difficult for me, so I can only imagine how hard it would be on someone so fresh from surgery.

In regards to exercise... walking is great! Use your treadmill - 30 minutes a day is what they recommend at your stage - if you can do that long. Don't overexert yourself even though you feel good - I made that mistake at 1 month out and suffered for a couple days with pain. Your insides are still healing - give your body a nice break that it deserves to heal properly. I admit for me it was so hard to do. I thought because at 3 weeks out I should be doing more things to help myself, but the best thing I ever did for me was to let my body heal and do it's own thing. I didn't force my body to do what I "thought" it should because of what other people are saying they are doing. It's true everyone loses, heals and eats at different speeds. You're definitely not broken. Remember your body is saying WTF just happened! And now it needs to adjust to what happened to it and at every stage you go through a certain weightloss your body needs to readjust.

Thanks for sharing your story - I'm sure there are many more people out there who are in the same spot as you.

Thanks for taking the time to reply - I am happy to hear we are allowed to use the tread mill - i just did 20 minutes of very slow walking but i feel less like a couch potato.

Have you ever felt burning in your pouch - that is the 'hunger' pain i am referring to.  I think instead of eating when it happens i am going to just try water and see if that helps.  So many new feelings!

I haven't had the burning feeling before - maybe it's a form of heartburn? Maybe more water will help - it's trial and error a lot, but if the feeling persists, don't be afraid to ask the doctor or the nurse... I had my surgery at TWH and have the numbers and emails for the nurses and dietitians and in my experience they've been really helpful in answering those odd questions I've had. Fingers crossed it passes for you!

Hi Katie....don't worry, I went through that 3 week stall period too and always seemed hungry at that stage.  It felt so much better once I got into more solid foods but I still ate small meals every 2 to 3 hours (likely 5 times per day) to get in all the solid protein.  I relied on protein drinks to get in enough grams per day. Softer pureed foods are more soothing while your insides are still healing but really don't stay with you as long. Sometimes I felt like I was just starving but it was quickly satisfied and I had to learn to slow down my eating.  Things really do seem to take that 5 or 6 weeks to heal up, I needed a nap in the afternoon for quite a while too and I would get exhausted quickly.  Walking definitely helped me but it was spring time and easy to get outside or to the mall.  At this time of year you are lucky to have a treadmill to use.  Two or three short sessions throughout the day might help you - I did find that if I overexerted myself that early only (by  housework or gardening too much) I could really feel my stomach muscles protesting!  Keep at it....2014 will have amazing changes for you!

Thank you for the words of encouragement. It really helps to know i am normal.