One Month Self Imposed Exile Complete

  It is one month from my surgery and I am back, to an extent.  For the love of God, this was a rough start to my journey.  And I know it is not going to be easy.  I have had two catastrophic surgeries, (not related to weight) and I know how to fight back to regain health.  But me, oh my, this is soooosoooooooooooo   different. 
  I am blue all of the time.  It feels like I am not losing.  At my two week I lost 12 pounds and it just sounded so, well, little.  I follow the program to the T, every day and great protein and water intake the NUT said.  I walk at least a mile every morning.  I have this nagging voice in me that thinks I Will be the one that is the statistic that the operation does not help.  Ahhh.   Go away little voice. 
     I know you are the wise ones.  Did anyone start this slow ?   Tell me it will get better.  I have this huge holiday party on the 20th, friends from high school and college and I don't think I will look as amazing as I envisioned when I thought of six weeks out.   I will look amazing, but I wanted to show the difference.  Perhaps I will buy a larger tiara to make myself feel better. 
   I will wait for thoughts to come from the boards.  Manna from Heaven.    Natalia

12 pounds in 2 weeks is great! The surgery is a tool not a magic trick! The weight will come off - but it takes time! Some weeks you will loose 2 pounds some weeks it will be 20 - just all depends on your body. Part of you looking amazing for your party is having a great attitiude! Which it sounds like you do! Keep up the great work and all will come in time!

Liz

Natalia, you are setting yourself up for failure if you keep telling yourself that this weight is going to miraculously fall off overnight. The surgery is a tool that you have to work in order to make it work. If you're doing everything the doctors and nuts want you to do the weight is going to come off, faster than anything you've ever experienced before, but its not going to happen overnight. This isn't a fad diet - this is a LIFESTYLE and LIFE CHANGING surgery, and you must adapt yourself and commit to making these changes for life, not just for the short term or to look good for a party.

Liz is right - 12 lbs in 2 weeks is wonderful - and I would bet that you gained weight in the hospital - most of us do - all fluids, but even that has to come back off and doesn't overnight.

You are not going to be a bad statistic with this unless you do it to yourself. And if you're getting this upset over the lack of weight loss already what are you going to do when you hit a big stall? And you will - trust me - again, we all do. Mine lasted one entire month - maybe longer - and yes, it was frustrating, but I did what I needed to do and the weight is coming off again.

This is a very long, exciting, committed journey - sometimes frustrating, but more often than not extremely rewarding and in the end your health and well-being are going to be so much better for it.

So listen to Dr Boe, listen to the nuts - listen to your body. You may not look like a totally different person by the 20th, but you will have lost weight - you will feel better - you may even have dropped a size or two by then. But don't set yourself up for disappointment by thinking you're going to walk into this party looking like a super model already - that is not going to happen, but you can walk into the party feeling better about yourself overall, and believe me, people will notice.

Kathy

Lots of good advice from smart people, so far.

You need to get that party out of your head, RIGHT NOW.

This is not a race my friend, and our bodies work on their own schedule, not one we impose upon them.

That said, if you want to increase your loss, walk more! It's always, always, always a good idea.

And you can tell that little voice in your head to shut the he// up, too.

I lost 9 pounds my first week and two pounds every week for the next 16 weeks.  I thought that was slow, but at least it was moving in the right direction.  At 6 mos. out I was down 75 pounds and at a year 100 pounds.  I've only lost another 4 pounds in the last six months.  What I learned was to take every day as it came and to do my best.  Sometimes I falter - but it does work.  Keep doing what you've been told to do and you will be a success.  I consider myself a success, although I am not where I wanted to be - I am very happy with where I am.  I do hope to lose a few more pounds - but have realistically acknowledged that even if I don't lose another pound, I am much happier and more importantly healthier than I was prior to the surgery.

Thanks for the wisdom  I want to say that I absolutely am aware that this is not going to happen overnight.  I know what a commitment this is to change your lifestyle.  I was simply wondering if anyone else had started slowly out there.  I wasn't complaining, just hoping to find some support or advice from someone that went through this part.   I have been on the program for almost 6 weeks with the 10 day liquid pre op and I had personal goals.  I wanted to at least strive to accomplish those.  I NEVER intimated to be a supermodel, and would never want to be anyone except me.   I am sorry I miscommunicated my concerns.  Mea Culpa.

12 pounds in two weeks is not slow.  How many other times were you able to lose an average of 6 pounds a week?  That's more than 2 bags of sugar from the grocery store that you no longer have to lug around with you.

As far as the advice...Norm is right...walk walk walk and increase the exercise as much as you can.

Also....be prepared for a stall anywhere between now and 6 weeks.  Yes...you will probably STOP losing weight this early out. It is bizarre.  However...your body is gonna realize it's not getting it's "normal" amount of food and calories, believe you are starving, and hold onto everything for what it is worth.

The best advice?  Keep doing what you are doing.  Focus on your daily activities and eating...and taking care of yourself.  Everything else will fall into place.

Bound and gag that voice in your head.  It doesn't know what it is talking about.

Pam

I see you have already gotten great advice and encouragement from the others and there isn't really much I can add.  Just wanted to offer my support and let you know you are not alone in any of this.  12 pounds in 2 weeks is great -- I know it's easy to want 12 pounds to come off each day, but in a more realistic world, 12 pounds in 2 weeks is great!  This is not a sprint to the finish line -- more like a marathon that you need to be able to maintain for life.  The weight will come off -- as long as you keep on doing what you are supposed to be doing.  Enjoy your party knowing that you have already begun to change your life for the better and that there is so much more to look forward to every step of this journey. 

Lisa :)