Discouraged...

Hi All, I'm two months out...down 52 lbs.  The last two pounds I've been playing with for the last 3-4 weeks. It's driving me crazy and I'm so discouraged about the whole darn thing.  I guess I need to start writing down everything I eat and counting protein, carbs and fat. (I so didn't want to do this as it triggers the perfectionist in me and then the obsession, etc.) Any suggestions?? My knees are not doing well.  I try to walk any amount of distance and it feels as though they will freeze in place.  I made an appointment to see an orthopedic doc for this Thursday.  My PCP put me on Tramadol for pain, but it really plays heck with my digestive system - but without some sort of pain relief, I'm basically inmobile at this point.  I'm hoping the orthopedic has some new suggestions and maybe even orders some physical therapy. I know I need to get some excercise in somewhere - I belong to the YMCA, but even the water classes in deep water is causing a lot of pain. Another question is that though I'm drinking 50+ oz. of water daily (usually get in 64+ during the work week, weekends I slack off) I'm only urinating once in the morning - ocassionally I'll need to pee one other time.  I'm thinking I'm holding a ton of water.  Water pill?  I have a call into my surgeon to discuss further. Sorry to be a downer today.  I just had these great dreams of weight flying off of me these early months and to have everything come screaming to crawl this early just plain SUCKS! Any encouragement, suggestions or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.  Luckily I see my therapist tomorrow - I call it Issues & Tissues, if my therapist has the tissues, I've got the issues! Take Care, Jana

Hi Jana,    I have been tracking my food intake on TheDailyPlate.com for a little over a month now and it has made all the difference in the world for me. Give it a try... Good luck with your knees... Lori

I stalled for basically all of month 2.  Its not uncommon to have a stall, but it can drive you bonkers.  If you are holding water your hands and feet and ankles will probably be swollen, are they?  I'd be careful with a diuretic because its VERY easy to get dehydrated in the first few months after surgery.  At 64oz a day I still only pee once or twice a day - I upped it to 100oz recently because of this.  It seems like it takes a lot of water to efficiently burn fat and get rid of the toxic byproducts of fat burning.  Before you go on diuretics I would suggest drinking more.  If you are dehydrated you also retain water more, oddly enough.  Also, instead of tracking everything at this point, I'd suggest just tracking protein and maybe calories if you really want to.  And watch your salt intake, that can really make a difference.  My point is, 52lbs in 2 months is great, better than I did with my month-long stall.  You will continue to lose, and your body will take breaks sometimes.  It has a mind of its own.  Usually when we stall we seem to lose inches instead of weight on the scale.  Hope you feel better soon, and sorry bout the knees!

You are so right on!  My surgeon called back and said that unless I'm congested and/or my ankles were swollen, no water pill.  AND to up my water consumption by 50%, which will be right around 90 - 100 oz. You're brilliant (or at least very well versed!)   Doctor said my weight loss is right on target.  He also reminded me of the deal I made with him (I make this deal with all my doctors, including the high-risk pregnancy doctor, infertility specialist, etc.) that if he (the doctor) isn't in a panic, then I don't get to panic.  He also told me to get back on Celebrex (arthritis medicine that isn't great for your pouch) by breaking the capsule and eating it with yogurt since my knees are causing such a problem. I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one stalling this early out.  Your weight loss has always been an inspiration to me and you obviously snapped out of it and went on to succeed. Thanks for your response!

Umm, brilliant.  You were right the first time I'm glad your doctor got back with you and good luck getting all tha****er in.  Its a struggle early out but its gotten easier for me.  I can get 100oz in now if I remember.  The problem is remembering to drink (and sometimes to eat) when you get really busy with other stuff.  Best of luck, and I hope the celebrex helps.

Hi, Jana!  I hope it helps to know that many of us "stalled" shortly after our surgeries.  Our bodies get confused by all the changes, and our self-preservation mode just kicks in and says "Wait a gosh-darned minute, I'm not giving up another OUNCE until someone tells me what the heck is going on!!!"  After a few weeks of realizing it is not, in fact, being starved to death, your body will give up the weight.  Trust me on this one.   If this is really getting you down, I'd suggest only weighing yourself once a week or even every other week.  That's what I did early out because the slowness of the day-to-day weight loss (or lack thereof) made me super cranky!  I started weighing myself daily about 9-10 months after surgery, which my weight loss slowed down from 10-15 pounds a month to 7-10 pounds a month.  I really had to work on changing how I thought about my weight when I started weighing myself every day.  Instead of focusing on the daily number, I focus on how I'm doing over a 6-month period.  If my weight is still trending downwards, I figure I'm doing alright!   I definitely lose better when I'm staying adequately hydrated.  For me, that means drinking 80-100 oz. of non-caffeinated fluids each day.   Regarding your knees, hopefully your doctor will be able to offer some suggestions.  You may need physical therapy to help strengthen your leg muscles and hip flexors.  I did some PT last year for my knees and it really helped.  I do still have occasional pain, but it's manageable without NSAIDS.   Good luck on your continuing journey -  Kellie

Thank you, Kellie!  I thought my body got the message when I did the typical 3rd week stall, but I guess it just didn't quite believe me back then and will probably need to be reminded again and again down the road. Yes, the doctor told me to up my liquid consumption.  I'm not quite sure how I'm going to get that done without staying up all night to drink more water, LOL, but I'll figure it out. The surgeon told me to start my Celebrex again - break the capsule and sprinkle it on yogurt.  In his opinion, the pain of my knees outweighs the risks of taking the medication.  I'm hoping for some physical therapy like you had to help manage my knees.  The overall plan is to get me on Celebrex and whatever else I need and have this weight to fly off of me so I can get off the NSAIDS asap; but I've got move to get the weight off!

Hi, Jana. I am also quite a perfectionist and worried about the tracking and resulting obsessing. Kelli and Jenn gave you good advice, that also worked for me. Stay off the scale, and consider giving it to someone to hold for you if you can't. It does prevent the discouragement. I actually called a friend in hysterics the first time I hit a stall, telling her it was the beginning of the end! I will never live that down! Tracking, which was really scary to me, was begun by creating a spreadsheet where I could track water, vitamins and list what I ate with only protein noted. A few months in, I suddenly wanted to know about calories from fat, so I began to look at products before I bought them and made good choices right then. It was only a couple weeks ago when I got the urge to use MyDailyPlate.com. Since I didn't have to figure out the nutritional values, I was able to just glance with interest and not get obsessed. I hope this helps. I would be willing to email you the spreadsheet to help you not be perfect in setting one up. As for the slowing down of the loss, ask yourself what your option is. You will reassure yourself by remembering that this about life changes, not just weight loss. You really have two choices; continue as is because that's the only or best thing to do, or start overeating and void the choice you made to turn your life around. This way of thinking will get easier as you get further out, so try to just trust for now. You have already done a great job. -Julie

greetings jana! i don't have much to contribute to all the great advice you've already gotten here, except to say -- oddly enough, i DO drink a lot of water over night! i take a couple bottles of propel with me every night and every time i wake up during the night, i drink some. most nights i finish both bottles.  (although, perhaps this says something about my sleeping patterns LOL -- does everyone else NOT wake up frequently during the night?) hang in there - you're doing great! deb

Are you waking up frequently because you have to pee all night?  or are you just restless?  I sleep pretty deeply, especially now that I've lost some weight.  I seem to lose all my weight in my sleep so I take it very seriously!!  My husband however, wakes up a lot, drinks a lot, and usually has some food during the night.  He is a light sleeper, and sleep-deprived in my opinion.