Pureed diet for 5 days and have gained weight!

Hi everyone. I had my lap band done 8/11/09. I followed the liquid diet pretty stringently and lost 20 pounds.  I am now 5 days into the pureed phase of my diet and I've gained almost an entire pound back! I feel like there is no restriction from the banding yet (that will be in late Sept.), but I've been measuring food and trying to eat only at most a cup of food.  I'm afraid that even though I'm eating  high protein and limiting portions, plus exercising 5 days a week, that I'm going to regain a bunch of the initial weight loss. I'm feeling pretty depressed right now--and it's not even a pound at this point! Has this happened to anyone else?

You are doing everything right. A pound of weight "gained" could be anything:

Two cups of applesauce weighs a pound. Does it contain 3500 calories? NO! It's not real weight gain if it is the weight of the food in your stomach.

It could be a pound of water weight due to menstruation. A pound of unexcreted poo--constipation could be the culprit behind "weight gain"! 16 ounces of pee in your bladder, even.

Weight can fluctuate. Typical weight loss involves loss, loss, loss, jiggle up or down for position, possible stall or plateau, then, if you keep up with the good things you are doing, the stall breaks and it's loss, loss, loss again. It never goes down, down, down forever. It's always a bit of a muddle because the human body is very complex and is trying to protect itself from starvation.

Don't just weigh and measure, too--count your calories and write them down! You can survive on quite a low calorie diet for a long time, depending on how much extra fat your body has to break down and live off of.

Don't be depressed. You are experiencing a normal event. Just keep up the good work, and results will follow. Think of it this way: you would have to eat 70,000 EXTRA calories, above and beyond your body's needs, in order to regain the 20 lbs. you have lost!

Thanks so much for your help. One of my major downfalls is that I can't help but focus on the numbers.

I'm measuring and doing things correctly, but I wish I could have the first fill now instead of waiting another 4 weeks. It seems like I can eat anything without any restriction, nausea, etc. I'm forcing myself to only eat the amout the NUT stated and then filling up with water after the 30-45 minutes have gone by.

Anyways, thanks again for your reply and I will keep your advice in mind.

Hi,
     I'm experiencing the same thing, except mine is two lbs, uhg! I had my surgery on 8/28 and just got into the creamy soup stage 3 days ago. I too, wish they would tighten the band right away, but I guess there are reasons why they don't. (wish i knew them, lol). 
 
I'm hoping when I get to the "mushy stage" next week end I will begin to loose more. When I have done the Atkin's diet in the past, scrambled eggs, and egg salad did wonders for helping me loose. I will keep my fingers crossed for both of us. Hang in there
Michele

Thanks for your posting. I did manage to lose another few pounds after a few days on the pureed stage. Now I keep fluctuating between 1-2 pounds and I can't seem to get past this plateau. I've still got 16 days to go before the first fill--I CAN'T WAIT!!

Are you also like me, feeling like there is no restriction? If it weren't for the pain where my port is, I would wonder if the doctor actually put the Lap Band in! LOL

Anyways, good luck to you too. Let me know how your diet is progressing next week.

Lori

Hi Lori,
             I think we are a mirror image of each other, lol. I don't feel any restriction anymore either. The first week I wasn't hungry, but that since has changed, bummer. I don't get my first fill until Oct. 7, long time to be good, but I am going to try like h_ll.

I'm also making a real effort to walk & I rode my bike for the first time yesterday. I'm hoping the added activity will help too. Good luck, it's nice having someone just a little ahead of me to compare notes. I will definitely keep in touch! Michele