let me reintroduce myself

I am Tia ,I had my RNY on September 30th .I had Dr. Velcu at Geisinger Wyoming Valley. I have lost 23 lbs. since surgery. I feel like I am doing a bad job and I need help.

I read here because everyone seems very supportive and friendly ! And OMG it is drama  free ,that is a definite plus.

I am asking all of you guys now for any help you can possibly give a newbie.
Thanks in advance for any help and support,

Tia 

Hi Tia - welcome to the PA Boards.

The first couple of months following surgery can be very emotional - we expect great numbers in the loss column but that doesn't always happen. Your body is going through a lot of adjustments right now until it understands that you are not starving yourself to death and are trying to nourish your new body.

Just some questions - are you on solid food yet? What are you protein goals for the day? Are you getting in enough water? Walking? In the beginning its difficult to get all of your proteins in because we're just not hungry and our new pouches fill up so quickly. Do you log your food and water intake so you can track what you're doing? All of these things are key in getting yourself on track for the rest of your life, because this is for a lifetime.

23 pounds in a month and a half is wonderful. Every pound counts so congratulations on losing that much so far!! Are you weighing yourself every day?? For me that's a big no-no - I only got weighed at my follow-up appts for the first 9 months because I've seen from others how much your weight can flucuate those first few months. If you're weighing every day put the scale away or have someone hide it from you and try to weigh only once a week, if that.

You're going to be just fine - and you'll get a ton of great advice from the folks out here, so please don't beat yourself up - you're not doing a 'bad' job - you're learning!!

Take care and hope to see you out here often - Kathy

Thank you so much Kathy, I will happily answer the questions you ask.

The first one is yes I can have solid foods,

My first protein goal is to reach 60 grams, I do not have a problem with eating because I do get hungry, growling and pain hungry.

I absolutely suck at logging my intake. I change drinks lots during the day,due to taste issues.I also have trouble with eating appropriate portions,( i eat smaller ones)so I am not sure how to log them in.

I do not weigh myself , my hubby does it and weekly(i cant read the scale due to low vision)He just tells me that the scale is moving in the right direction.

I will ask my NUT tomorrow, I just like to ask people who seem to be doing so well.I am not sure how to correct the issues I am having,so I am getting frustrated

Well we're all different but I am surprised that you're experiencing 'real' hunger this early out - at this stage it might be 'head hunger' - we're so attuned to just eating when we want and thinking we're always hungry that sometimes it really hard to get out of that mindset - remember - they can operate on our stomachs but not our heads!! LOL!

Its okay to change up liquids as long as you're watching sodium content of other drinks - lemon juice or crystal light in water helps a lot of people who just don't like or can't tolerate water. I've always been a huge ice water drinker but for about 3-4 months after surgery I couldn't stand the cold hitting my pouch, so I had to drink it room temperature (blech), but am now back to my ice water.

If you're not sure of portion size you really should measure - go by the guidelines the NUT has set for you or if you're not sure what they are ask them to write them down for you. You don't want to push your pouch this early out.

One more thing - how often are you eating? With your new stomach you should be eating very small portions every 21/2 to 3 hours - or 6 times a day - breakfast; snack; lunch; snack; dinner; snack. That way your system knows you're constantly feeding it and won't try to hold on to the calories because it thinks you're starving.

All in all it sounds like you're doing just fine - just need some tweaking right now. I know logging can be a royal pain in the arse, but until you're sure of your portion sizes and what's going into your system you really should do it. Looks like you're pretty computer savvy - try creating a simple log sheet on your PC and logging your foods in there. That's what I do and it does help to keep you on track and make sure you're getting your proteins in.

Don't get frustrated!! You have nothing to be frustrated over at this point - 23 lbs is awesome and you lost a lot of weight pre-surgery, so count that as well - I sure do!!

OK. I an gonna start bu saying I am trying to answer everyone individually because you all took the time to respond and help me individually. With that said I apologize if i miss someone or something.

I talked to mu Nut about the hi=hunger and it is definitely hunger. I do have head hunger as well. from what I am reading here i am lucky I am hungry because otherwise I would not eat at all.

I do OK with the things I am supposed to drink, the issues with changing is I do don't consistently measure .I am not positive how much I am taking in . I do much better with my fluids though. I am ALMOST sure I get in more than the minimum.

I know the basic portion size for my meats and things like that, What I don't know is what to do when i do not finish a portion. It seem**** or miss whether I can finish something or not.I have tried to eat that leftover portion later , but that rarely works. For some reason i don't think my pouch likes left overs...lol

no I am not eating often enough. I am currently looking for a schedule to follow. I will just have to ask the NUT tomorrow....

Thanks for the input and help
Tia

I understand - you're getting a lot of good advice right now - so just relax, take it in, and see if any of it will help.

Leftovers - ugh. I still cannot eat most leftovers, particularly meat - it just gets too dry and I still have to be very careful and very slow with chewing any kind of dense meat (beef, mostly, but chicken can also cause me grief if I"m ont careful).

A schedule is good - I'm great at it during the week because I'm at work and in a routine - weekends are different because I do forget to eat sometimes if I get busy and then all of a sudden I start to feel bad and realize I haven't had anything in about 5-6 hours.

Again, its a never-ending learning process and we're all learning together!!

Hi Tia,

I am not sure why you think 23 lbs is a bad start, because we are all different.

I would like to suggest, if you have not begun doing so, to take your measurements monthly, as oftentimes on this wacky journey, the scale does not tell the whole story.

The other thing I will ask here is, are you following your rules, you know what you were told by your surgeon's office to follow when you had your surgery?  Are you getting in the full amounts of protein?  water?  are you at the very least walking daily?  Are you on vitamin supplements and taking them?  These are all the things necessary for losing weight. 

I am not saying you are not doing what you are supposed to be, but I do know some people think, well if I am supposed to take in this amount, if I take in less, then I might lose quicker, which is not the case, as your body will go into starvation mode (which it does sometimes anyway) and so it does not allow the weight to fall off as quickly.  Sometimes, depending on whether we were yo-yo dieters, our metabolism's are not great to begin with, feeding our body what we are supposed to post-operatively is the key to losing.  I have not met anyone yet that had this surgery and did not lose their weight, some of us are slower than others, but if you do what you need to, the weight will surely come off.

I wish you success and please come back and share your journey with us.

Laureen

Thanks Laureen,I Think 23 lbs. is bad because of the issues I am having following my guidelines. I  am unsure if I am getting what I need because of the log issues I am having. I do walk daily but I do not think I am doing enough.

I do take my multi vitamin faithfully, I have never missed one. My other vites will be started tomorrow( it is just how my program works).

I took measurements pre-op and checked one time, It did not reflect much so i never looked again.

Thanks,Tia

Not sure what you mean "log" issues, are not you not logging your intake, it is a good habit to get into, because you can look back and figure what you might be able to do different. . .  try Sparkpeople or Fitday.com, both good sites for keeping track of what you are doing.  As for the measurements, it can be slow going in the early stages, but then at about 2 - 3 months you will be amazed at the numbers.  Physical activity can be tough in the early days, especially if you have aching joints, back and the like, but try to increase your activity a little at a time, park further away, take the steps (if possible) instead of an elevator, if you are walking, add a block or two every other day, you will be surprised at your ability to do more over the course of a few months.

I call them log issues because I was great at it pre-op. post -op I suck. I write things down a lot of the time,but I do slip daily. usually forgetting how much i was not able to eat. So if i had chicken for lunch i may not remember to log i had less than half left.Isn't that cheating if I count the whole 3-4 oz portion?Maybe i am just anal about it.
Today I did try my exercise tape again and I got in a mile in my living room ,so things are looking up !

Thanks
Tia