I am 6 weeks out from my sleeve surgery and I am not losing!! I know it's because I am not getting enough protein and water in. I still have nausea every time I put anything in my stomach, especially water. My surgeon wants me to get 90 grams of protein every day. NINETY!! HOW? I am losing my mind but not my fat...so afraid this won't work for me...I just need to know I am not alone...

Hang in there. At this stage its all a numbers game and the simple fact is you are not hitting yours. MINIMUM 64 oz of water and 80 grams of protein. The trick is to always have a cup of something in your hand. Try different forms of protein. What worked for me at your stage was ISOPure Protein waters. They are thinner so you can get them down easier. They taste terrible but you can change up the flavors with MIO or any of the plethora of water additives you can find at your local grocery these days. There are several other companies out there now that have the thinner drinks that are not your basic chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry. An no those do not count as water.

Also how much are you moving? If you are not walking an hour a day by now you need to step up your game. It doesn't need to be an hour at one time it can be 4 sessions of 15 mins or 6 of 10 but you should be walking for an hour per day. If you are walking an hour a day find a way to add some resistance (either incline on a treadmill or pick up the pace).

Hey Connie,

First: Contact your surgeon for an anti-nausea pill. I was nauseous for about the first 8 weeks. I couldn't have stumbled through it without Zofran 8mg. Bodies react that way sometimes. Some of these kinds of Rx meds slow gastric emptying, but Zofran speeds it up. So it can help two ways if you can get your hands on it--faster gastric emptying means more you can put in there. Bonus in the early days.

I didn't hit my protein or liquids for the first five weeks. In fact, I didn't hit anything for the first month. I had a lot of complications and hospital admissions, and IV in fluids 2x outside of the hospital... Basically, it sucked out loud until nearly the 5th week when I finally was able to start getting in more than a bare minimum of 32-40oz of water a day and whatever couple sips of protein shake I could get in (included in that 40 oz)--which was why I ended up getting fluids so often.

I'm not going to say that it was healthy--I didn't start really healing well and feeling better until I started getting over 30g of protein a day and 64oz liquids, but I literally didn't eat anything for days and days in the first 4 weeks, drinking water was all I could manage(water made me sick, so that was also a struggle, and protein shakes made me sick too!). I survived it, but it was an ordeal. Also, my surgeon told me that I could include the protein shake and other liquids in my daily need at the start, but to separate them out later.

That said, the nausea can be a couple different things, if it's acid related, then it's not going to get better until you get the acid under control. I had to switch off the old acid-reducing medicine they put me on in the hospital and back to my pre-op one in 2 doses per day rather than one(Sleeve tummies don't like extended release). The day I got my acid reducer(PPI) sorted out was the first day I got to 30g of protein and 64 oz fluids. From there, it increased a little bit every day. Now I do very well drinking/eating, but I was way behind the menu transition curve, was still pretty much on liquids only until week 5.

If you think that you're having a harder time than most people--like if you're super far from meeting your goals--maybe you are having a harder time than most people! I think you should talk to your surgeon's office, explain things to the nurse, make them listen. I was fortunate in that although my acid was 'silent' for the most part, it gave me a wake up call(literally: I woke up while vomiting bile...) so I had something to wave around and make people listen to me. No one can argue against: Normal people don't wake up in a pool of their own bile. Gross, but it got the point across.

(Then after all that, I went into a stall that hung on like a fiend as soon as I started eating, which I assume was something metabolic due to how  long I had subsisted on less than 100 calories per day, but it's evening out now. I'm 2 days away from my three month surgery anniversary.)

I'd also recommend you write down your symptoms before you call, organize what you know about any triggering elements, and wave those details around until you get sorted out.

Good luck!

Early out I couldn't get 90 of protein via food.  I included mostly premier protein shakes (30gm)  to even come close.  I also used unjury protein powder to supplement my foods.   It is also very important to get your fluid goals in.  Plain water still doesn't set well.  I use lemon juice and stevia.  Whatever it takes.  Stay on plan the weight will come off.    

I know its frustrating.  I could eat very little at a time until the swelling went down in my tummy around the 7th week.  Let's hope you find some relief soon.

The way I got my protein in was to add unflavored protein powder to anything I could stir - sugar-free jello, sugar-free fat free puddings,  cream of veggie soups, plain greek yogurt, chicken broth, etc.  My tummy wouldn't tolerate sweet drinks after surgery, so I couldn't use the protein drinks most people rely on.

If you can't make your protein numbers, its probably a good idea to talk to your NUT or doctor.  The protein is important for healing.

hang in there.  It'll get better.

Carol

Darling first do not get stressed, that's a very important factor. Just try to follow your post op diet and don't get so hard with yourself, when you're stress it's very hard to lose weight... Go and take a nice long walk every day so you can help your body to activate your metabolism... and the best option is to get in contact with a nutritionist, he can guide you to get an exact and personalized diet that really works for your lifestyle and exact conditions... Blessings, and do not discourage, it's a long journey but I'm sure it will worth it!?