Two weeks post-op and 26lbs!!!!!

Wow, I have been staying off of the scale since it was an agravating thing to watch. But I had my two week post-op appt with Dr. Fang on Tuesday and I had at that point lost 16lbs. Well, he said that was great and I was right on schedule! Now, here I am 5 days later and I have lost 26lbs. Its amazing to me. And I'm a bit concerned...am I losing too fast? Not that I am complaining. Just concerned! Finally found a protein shake that I LOVE! Yes, and I found that drinking the lowfat chocolate milk with it makes it soooo worth taking! That was my hardest part, trying to get those down. My mom, who has been terrific, went to Hi-Health and found me a whey based product called xrated. It comes in two flavors, a very very vanilla and a double chocolate! I am the worst person when it comes to anything fiber tasting or smelling, I gag on my flinstones vitamins for goodness sakes! But this whey based shake product is awesome and like I said, if you like chocolate milk, get that lowfat chocolate milk, fry's has the best generic brand!, and mix then together. I have finally gotten to the point that I can now drink them twice a day. WOOHOO!!!!! So, sorry I missed you guys today...didnt have the transportation..maybe next time. If anyone out there has an opinion about how fast I am losing, please by all means let me know...... By the way, feeling great, but having problems eating alot, hungry all the time! Not sure whats going on with that...just got a sore tummy for the most part and dont feel the greatest...but I did start my walking, have a friend from the church come by when she can....which I am so grateful for cause I wasnt walking at all! If there is anyone out there that lives in the east valley and can actually drive..lol...I will walk with you, have a nice neighborhood here, you'll just have to come over here since I dont have transportation......let me know....would love someone else to walk with. Hope everyone is doing great! Cant wait to meet some of you! Take care and have a great week! Sharon

Wow: 26 pounds. Good for you. Keep in mind your weight loss will slow down but don't worry it will continue. Everyone is different. I am averaging now at 7 1/2 weeks post op about 5 pounds a week. Watch what you eat. I imagine Dr.Fang still has you on the purree stage. Keep getting your water and protein in which is so important. Sounds like you are doing great. Hope you find someone to walk with. Pam

Sharon, Congrats on your great weight loss! I wouldn't worry about losing to fast at this point. I lost 21 pounds plus the extra 15 i put on from surgery the first week. I was a little worried too, but the doctors said it was fine. Were you retaining a lot of water before the surgery? That could be a reason for the big loss also. Enjoy it! It is a great jump start! And it will slow down. I am around week 15 now and averaging just over 5 pounds per week. That average gets less each week though You may be feeling some head hunger. We all go through that. Your stomach/pouch isn't really hungry, but you are used to eating so in your head you think your hungry. At this point your pouch won't know when it is hungry or full that is why it's so important to measure your food and try to eat three times a day. I think I was around 2 months out before my stomach started to growl to tell me it was hungry . It takes some time to build up to the 3 ounces per meal that is why it's important to drink the protein. If he head hunger continues you may want to seek some professional advice on how to deal with it. My doctor required me to see a behavioral psychiatrist for 6 sessions before my surgery. They can give you great tools to deal with head hunger, and food issues. I chose to continue seeing her after my surgery I liked her so well. Welcome to the losing side, and congrats again on your great weight loss.

Thank you for your response. I'm not really having head hunger, honestly, I'm hungry, reason being, I cant seem to be able to get one meal in a day, let alone 3! I am taking my two protien shakes every day which is good since I cant seem to eat anything.....My stomach does nothing but growl all day long...and emberrassingly so, very loudly..lol..... I think I just need to figure out something that I can eat in order to get those three meals in every day. Anyway, thanks again for your response. Sharon

you welcome. I know it is hard. I was only able to eat about once day for the first three months, and then very little amounts. Maybe 5 or 6 bites. Anymore and it would come back up. My doctor advised that the stomach wouldn't know it was hungry or full for at least a month while it was healing. So it sounds like your healing fast, and that should be a good thing. I changed to the Profect about month 1. They are nasty, but they are only like 3 ounces and they have 25 proteins. SO you get a lot of protein for very little drinking. You might want to try those if you haven't already. Just avoid the peach nectar one. It is the worst tasting in my opinion, and i've heard others say the same. But if your having a problem getting enough in they might be something for you. I still drink them on occasion when I can't get in enough protein.

Hi Sharon, I found that when I needed to get in a meal and wasn't hungry that I could manage oatmeal. It isn't that much and it goes down easy for me. I tried a bean burrito from Taco Bell, I asked them to put in a little chicken and that worked out great. I couldn't eat the whole thing! (You don't eat the tortilla) The beans are easy to swallow as they are already pureed and the chicken is so tender it doesn't take much to puree in your mouth. Have you tried instant mashed potatoes? These are things that when I know I need a meal they are easy to fit in. Best of everything in your recovery. You are doing fantastic! Hugs, Gina in Kingman

Weigh 2 go on the weight loss Sharon! No amount is ever too much! Just kidding....enjoy the ride! As for feeling hungry? Sometimes our bodies are so used to being stuffed all the time (pre-surgery lifestyles of the morbidly obese) that we think we're hungry when we're just "not full". I ran around as a newbie thinking I was starving when my surgeon finally helped me resalize that I was just fine. Hunger is something we have rarely experienced per say and yet I"m sure you'e getting very few calories in. Good for you though for pushing the protein. As long as you keep your protein grams upwards over 60 grams per day then your health will not suffer. Just think of your new pouch like it's in infancy and it needs to progress to the toddler stage, child stage and finally adult stage. Be careful with the chocolate milk. Though you've chosen one that is lower in calories....there is still natural sugar in it that can take you to the double digit sugar count; thus puting you in danger for dumping and/or lactose intollerance and eventually too many calories for a drink. I'm on the East side and would love to walk but have myself on a disciplined agenda with my p.t. right now. How about checking over on the Chandler support site to see if anyone lives in your neighborhood? You can join the site (all are welcome to join) by going to www.yahoogroups.com (it's free) and follow directions. In the Search window type : Chandler_WLSSupport and then there are just a couple of extra steps. Be sure and read the back messages and check out the files for tons of good information. We have members from all over the place... Hang in there sweetie pie! It won't be long before the baby steps can become giant steps on your weight loss journey! Huggggzzzz, Joyce p.s. you've got my number if you need me!