A little confussed

Ok... I guess I am doing well, but the last few days have had me worried. BUT.. let me start this off by saying I have OCD and should most likely send the scale home with my GF. Time line... 8/19/2007 I weighed 349 lbs. 8/30/2007 date of surgery. 9/17/2007 I weigh 305 lbs. On 9/6 I had my drains pulled, the first week all I really ate was eggs, cheese, tunafish (with fat free mayo) with 0 trans fat triscuts, and fish. My surgeon also alows me to have peanut butter, Taco Bell meat, Wendy's chilli, deli meats and a bunch of other things. So Tuesday last week I tested the waters with Taco bell meat and chesse. All went well, I can do about 2-3 oz's of this. And on Friday I tried Wendy's chilli. The chilli was fantastic, I was able to eat 80% of a small over the course of about 20-25 minutes. So, Saturday morning I mad some chilli (real basic, 96% lean ground beef, onions, sodium free sauce and seasoning. I put fat free sour cream and 2% cheese in it when I ate it). So I had about 5 oz's for dinner Saturday and about the same sunday for lunch. Saturday menu - (100 oz of water) Egg and cheese Taco Bell Meat and cheese (2 oz) 3 crackers and cheese 5 oz's of chilli Sunday (100 oz of water) Egg and cheese 5 oz of chilli 2 crackers with peanut butter 3 crackers with cheese Now, On Thursday I weighed 304, Saturday 307 (Friday night alone I had 60 oz of water, total for day was about 140 oz's) and on Sunday I weighed 305. I really havent lost any weight since Thursday and I am slightly worried I screewed up by eating some of the food on my menu, or too much of it. Anyone have some thoughts to share with me?

Chris, Step back from the scales. If you chart your loss on a Bi-weekly basis The line would show a steady drop. If you chart it daily, it can be a bit of a roller coaster. For the truly crazed, they could chart it hourly, And have many incidents of rapid gains. Yes? It’s not a straight slide down the scale, But more of a stair-step action. “Stalls” or “Plateaus” are very common, But in your case, I don’t even see evidence of a “Stall.” Below is “Re-posted material, But I think it contains the info explaining how one can have an 8 pound gain even while maintaining a caloric deficit. ------------------------------------------------------------- The “Stalls”(lasting less than 3 weeks) are normal/typical. It’s really not even considered a true “Plateau” until it hits 4 weeks. Two of the major contributors to slowed loss seem to be- (from reading the Boards for 5 years) Too many Higher Glycemic Carbs, And Not “Enough Calories?” The “Not Enough Calories” is the one that is very counterintuitive But, It’s fairly easy to explain….. AS the body starts to eliminate fat And Ketones from the body it goes through the liver Before moving onto the kidneys for elimination, They chemically trigger metabolic changes. This is what most people mean when they say “…the body senses…” If your body “senses” too low of a caloric intake, Hormones release signaling the liver To hold on to some extra energy, “to make it through the Famine.” This will create a stall or plateau. Upping the protein calories  (but not from fats) Signals the Liver to “turn loose” of more stuff for elimination. This is why blood tests often show elevated liver functions As we drop the weight. There is a typical cycle between losing and storing in the liver That happens for most folks. That accounts for people losing inches and having loser clothes When the scale shows no change. Up your water intake to increase elimination As well as your calories.  Keep the Protein % high And the Carbs below 20gms a day And your body will drop into Ketosis And the weight will start coming off again. Our bodies use glycogen for short term energy storage. Glycogen is not very soluble, but it is stored in our muscles for quick energy  -- one pound of glycogen requires 4 lbs of water to keep it soluble, And the average glycogen storage capacity is about 2 lbs. So, when you are not getting in enough food, Your body turns first to stored glycogen, Which is easy to break down for energy. And when you use up 2 lbs of glycogen, you also lose 8 lbs of water That was used to store it -- Voila -- the "easy" 10 lbs that most people lose in the first week of a diet. As you stay in caloric deficit, however, Your body starts to realize that this is not a short term problem. You start mobilizing fat from your adipose tissue And burning fat for energy. But your body also “realizes” (chemical/hormonal triggers) That fat can't be used for short bursts of energy -- like, to outrun a sabertooth tiger. So, it starts converting some of the fat into glycogen, And rebuilding the glycogen stores. And as it puts back the 2 lbs of glycogen into the muscle, 8 lbs of water has to be stored with it to keep it soluble. So, even though you might still be LOSING energy content to your body, Your weight will not go down or you might even GAIN for a while As you retain water to dissolve the glycogen that is being reformed and stored. Stay the course, and don’t be impatient with The natural order of things. Nature, Even the seemingly Un-Natural Nature of WLS Follows a schedule That may not adhere to your wishes and desires. You can’t Push the River! Hope this helps some… Best Wishes- Dx

 

Dx, Permission to use your post as resource material for my WLS Support Group??

Any time... My stuff is just "gloomed together" info from the net and local library. No new info, just some analogies poked in to make it make more sense. Glad it's helpful... Best Wishes- Dx

I would try and get a few mixed vegetables in too.  Try spinach by itself another day.  Buy the frozen mixed vegetables and the spinach and add alittle water and cook in the microwave.  Very easy and it last for days.  Just do small amounts.  Like Mom said "eat your vegetables".  Brian

I have not even had surgery yet but my Doc and my nut would flip if I mentioned half my menu was coming from Taco Bell or Wendy's.   You dropped 40,000 on a surgery and you are having someone else prepare your food? Just curious if this is common because fast food was a signifcant player in me hitting 386.

Many Doc's recomend TB meat and  Wendy's chilli... very very very easy to digest and has protein in it.

I learned something knew, thanks.  How do you order the TB meat or do you just order a burrito and take meat out?

I just order meat only please. They have a special little tub to sell it in. It cost me like 2 bucks and lasted me 3 days before I tossed it out ( and still had half left over).