Need some guidence

Hi All... this is my first post but have been reading here for a week or so. I had my VSG on 4/20/15 and have been losing very slow. I have Hashimoto and hypothyroidism and maybe thats to blame a bit. I started at 240. Lost 10 pounds during pre op and my weight lose since then has been the following.
Week 1: -9lbs,
Week 2: -0 
Week 3: -4.2 
Week 4: -3.2 
Week 5: -0 
Week 6: -0  
Week 7: -3  
Week 8: -2  
Week 9: +2 ugh!!  
Total lost in 9 weeks since VSG is 18 pounds. 

I feeling like I'm doing ok with eating. I watch my carbs and try to get my water in.
I haven't began to exercise much becasue of an injured knee. 
Is this slower than usual? Im just starting to get really discouraged, esp. with the gain this week.
Anyone here have a similar start? Any suggestions on what i might do to speed up my loss? 

Thank you!!! 

Okay, I'm game. BUT.... I need to know a few things first. What is your allotted daily calorie intake? How much are you really taking in each day - do you know? Do you weigh and measure ALL your food? Do you track your food intake in some way (e.g. My Fitness Pal, Livestrong, etc...)? What are your macro nutritent (carbs, protein, fat) goals each day?

Let's start there and continue on.

Thank you, Kairk for your reply... OK, lets see! I was only told to have 1000 cals a day with about 60/70GM of protein a day. I was never told a carb or fat expectation, however i do keep my carbs below 40/50 gm a day. I try to get my water in but struggle and usually am between 40-50 oz a day... Im working on this!! I don't measure or weight. I usually just eat until im full... I'm probably getting about 4/5 oz of food in. At 9 weeks out now, i feel like my hunger has returned and i occasionally will  have about 2 snacks a day. I haven't eaten anything real bad... maybe a hand full of pretzels, yasso bar or a protein bar. I use My Fitness pal to track most days and usually get between 1000-1200 a day. 

Am i doing this ALL wrong?? I really appreciate your input! 

I am a few days shy of three months post-op, and my surgeon and dietician are pleased with my progress so far. I weighed 276 on the day I checked in for surgery and I weigh 225.6lbs now. Aquick look at my last 14 days of MyFitnessPal stats show that I log between 650-800 calories (888 today, because I had half an avocado split between lunch and dinner), 65-80 grams of protein, under 30 grams of carbohydrates (all from dairy and vegetables) and I don't eat until I'm full because fullness is incredibly uncomfortable to me. On a good day I drink 90+ oz of water, but I won't go to bed until I get in the minimum 65oz even on my 'worst' drinking days. My excercise is walking my dogs 45-60 minutes a day, I don't currently do any weightlifting or more strenuous cardio(this is an area where I need to set goals and keep myself accountable). 

My surgeon and dietician didn't give me a super strict range of calories or grams of protein/fat/carbs to aim for every day, so I took it upon myself to research the habits of the successful veterans on this site and elsewhere to figure out a diet plan that I felt would work for ME. If you feel that what you are doing now isn't working, try a few tweaks on your routine - even if it's as simple as pushing yourself to drink 20 ounces more water per day - and see what happens in another week or two. 

I say this with a very gentle tone- but you REALLY need to weigh and measure. I think there is a terrific chance you are eating more calories than you think. For example, you indicated you keep your carbs under 50, yet eat pretzels... those two details do not mesh. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying you must be low carb or anything, but rather what you think you are eating and what you are actually eating could easily be the culprit. It is woth the time to measure, weigh, and track. Hunger can be triggered by carb cravings or acid. If you have not tried an acid reducer it may be worth a shot if appropriate for your situation. You calories overall are also a bit high. I am 6'2'' and started under 800 cals in month one and did not hit that calorie level until about the 5th month if I recall- and I exercised vigorously for a minimum of an hour a day 6 days a week. 

Oh, and stay away from processed food. Eat from the perimeter of the grocery store- fresh produce, fresh protein type stuff. Pretzels do nothing for you nutritionally, but do spike your insulin levels and trigger cravings. Research the glycemic index and select foods low on this list :)

BeachHopper, I wrote a long reply last night but my IP went down and my reply was lost. So I'm going to try again.

I'm going to be blunt, not harsh, just blunt. I also have some new information because of Hislady's post and your reply. As I suspected you are not a tall person and that it an issue. I also don't think your body hates you! I think you need to learn to work with your body!

So here are some steadfast guidelines I think you need to follow to optimize your weight loss.

1. Accurately log and track your food intake daily.

2. You must weigh and measure your food. End of subject. Here's why: You say you are logging into My Fitness Pal, but you are not weighing and measuring what you eat. So in reality, you don't really know how much  you're eating each meal, each day, each week. I'm going to guess that since you aren't weighing and measuring and simply estimating you are eating far more calories on a daily basis than you believe you are. Numerous studies have shown that people (especially overweight people) who estimate their portions substantially underestimate their portions. You also mention you are eating between 4 and 5 ounces  per meal. How do you know this, if you aren't weighing your food?

3. I will not tell you to change your plan, but I will tell you that by 9 weeks out my plan called for 80-100 grams of protein per day. Protein is important for a couple of reasons. Mostly, protein will help reduce the amount of lean muscle tissue that is lost during rapid weight loss. Lean, dense protein will also help you fell satisfied for a longer period of time, thus keeping hunger at bay. Another reason for eating protein is that it will help you maintain your metabolic rate. You might want to consider upping your protein to at least 80 grams per day.

4. Starvation mode is outdated thinking. Yes, we know that long term calorie reduction will lower your metabolic rate over time. We also know that maintaining and adding muscle mass will raise metabolic rate over time. You can "google" starvation mode and find whatever data you want to support your own beliefs. However, there are reputable and clinically reviewed studies that have shown that Starvation Mode is bunk. While maybe a gruesome analogy, if starvation mode were true the victims of Hitler's camps not starved to death because their bodies would have held on to each calorie they were fed.

5. The types of calories you eat do make a difference. Carbohydrates and sugars are easily converted to usable energy and are also easily stored as body fat for later energy use. Most of us WLS patients are so whacked out from years of dieting that many of us are carb sensitive. Carb sensitivity can cause bloating, mild to raging hunger, and most importantly slow weight loss. So, while you may think pretzels, and protein bars, and Yasso bars are not "real bad", I'm going to suggest that they are not foods that are conducive to weight loss.

6. I do believe that counting protein, carbohydrates and calories is important during weight loss. I think keeping your calories between 600-800 per day, eating protein at least 80 grams of protein, and keeping calories low is a method that has worked for many people. Yes, there are outliers who eat more carbs or more calories, but they are not the norm. I don't think you need to count fats because following the protein, carb, calorie method the rest of your calories will be from either fat or protein.

If I were designing a plan for you it would be pretty simple. Since you are on the shorter side, I would really stress keeping calories as low as possible. I would recommend that you eat 600-800 calories a day, 80-100 grams of protein and limit your carbohydrate grams to 40 per day. Drink at least 64 ounces of clear water each day in addition to whatever else you are drinking.

I want you to be successful and happy with your VSG. I'm not coming down on you one bit. I think you were sincerely reaching out for help and this is what I think will help you.

I wish all the success you want! Please feel free to keep in touch. I'm always a PM away.

Thank you, Kairk ... really, thank you! I appreciate your advise and will definitely start to implement your suggestions. I can see now that the way i have been doing things are a little off plan.  I am excited to readjust my plan! I have already printed out your reply.  Again, thank you for the time you put in your reply. Its such a wonderful feeling to know that people are so willing to help others that are struggling. xx

I'm going to respond but keep in mind that this is based on MY experience, MY doctor's advice and somewhat on MY opinion: 

1.  1000-1200 calories is way too much at 9 weeks out - cut back to 600.  Max should be 800-900 and that would be months from now. 

2.  Water needs to be at least 64 oz. a day.

3.  4-5 oz. of food?!?  Really?  That's too much - I could only manage 2 oz. at 9 weeks out and I was eating more than most people I know.  

4.  Cut out anything that isn't pure protein.  No pretzels or bars.  Period.  Your hunger is returning because you are eating carbs.  Stop it. 

5.  Eating until full??  Don't do that - if you feel "full" then you over did it and pushed it too much.  Eat a set amount and then STOP.  

6.  Don't fret about exercise.  At this point it really has no impact on your weight loss.  It's about what you're putting in your mouth at every meal.  And frankly, you are putting in too much and eating some of the wrong foods right now at this stage of the game.   

It's early days - you can turn this around!  Keep on tracking your food, up your water, cut back the calories and eliminate those carbs.  The only carbs you should be getting right now are from dairy (yogurt, cheese, milk) and a bite or two of veggies.  

Thank you, Tracy D. I will definelty be making these changes and start a better plan for myself. I truly appreciate your advise!!