2 wks post-op & no weight loss!!?!?

It's 2 wks. today since my surgery.  Had only one minor problem in surgery - my surgeon attached intestine, looked away, and when he looked back, my intestine had torn away!  He said I had soft tissues, which is rare, but it happens, so just reattached it.  Surgery was about 4 hours instead of 2.  Anyway, I was home in 2 days, with very little pain.  Had about 24 hours of nausea, then a couple of days of diarrhea, and now things are running pretty smoothly.  I'm a little tired, and now a little depressed because the scale isn't moving.

The day before surgery, I was 274.  At my one wk. post-op visit, I was 272.  This morning, I'm 275!!!!!   Before anyone says anything, I'm following my surgeon's plan to the T.  2 or 3 meals a day, measuring and weighing every single thing I put in my mouth.  My food yesterday:  2 oz. fat free cottage cheese for breakfast, 1 egg fried in cooking spray.  Lunch was homemade tuna salad with egg, light MW, sugar free pickle relish, and a little onion, plus 1/2 small banana.  Dinner was 1 oz. of meatloaf, and 1/2 cup of spinach.  Had 1/4 cup SF/FF pudding an hour or so later.  Drinking lots of water, a little iced tea with artificial sweetener.  No coffee, no carbonated drinks, nothing sweet at all.

All of these foods are allowed on my plan.  My doctor wants us to be weaned off protein shakes by now, and getting protein from our food instead, which I'm doing.  I'm not snacking.  Taking 20-30 minutes to eat.  Chewing everything to mush.  So far, no issues with any of the foods I've eaten.  About halfway through my meal, I'm beginning to lose interest, but I'm finishing what I'm eating because I know I need it.  Taking all my vitamins.  Started walking yesterday, but somewhat limited in how much I can do because of arthritis.  Will continue with walking, though, as much as possible.

AND NOT LOSING ANY WEIGHT!!! WHAT THE HELL????  Am I eating too little?  Too much?  I don't see how it can be too much, but. . .

I guess I should call my NUT and run this by her.  My surgeon is out of town until next week. 

Has this happened to anyone else?  Any ideas for me?

Beth

Rose,
I havn't had my surgery yet but I am on the two week liquid diet and am having the same problem so I feel for you. It feels like you are doing something wrong when you aren't. Did
you have a pre-opt diet and how did that go?

Every Dr's plan is different and this one is way different from mine.  I couldn't eat a whole egg for at least a month or so, got too full.  I am still on shakes because I can't get in enough protein to keep my levels up without them even though I eat 4 protein first meals a day. 

I'm sure if you are following your plan, you will be fine.  You will lose.  If it makes you feel better, call the nut. 

 Happy to see you back on here!  Been wondering how you are doing.  Sounds like you are doing everything right and keep your chin up. I am only just over 3 weeks post op.  I have decided to get weighed once a week at this point as it is a real mind game and always has been.  I know that you/we are consuming so little calories but it takes our body a little while to adjust.  Have to remember that the surgery itself is a huge blow to the body in terms of the chemicals and trauma and it takes time for all that to heal and for the chemicals (anaesthetic, pain meds, etc.) to filter out.  That is another reason why it is so great to keep well hydrated.  I have been tracking my intake on a wonderful free program called myfitnesspal.  You sign up (it is free) and enter your foods and it calculates protein, carbs, calories, etc.  You can enter foods and it does all the work.  I highly recommend it as it is a great way to check to make sure you are getting all the nutrition you need. 

Take time to heal and the weight will start to come off....it has no choice now!  There is light at the end of the tunnel finally so stay positive and give yourself the time to heal from this.  

Keep up the great work and the exercise will become easier as the weight melts off you.  Keep smiling
Nancy

Okay.. This is becoming my standard post... See below:

Just remember.. the first 6 weeks post op are for healing. Any weightloss during that time is a bonus. Your body just went through a MAJOR overhaul for how it processes food. It doesn't know what to do and is trying to figure it out. It's learning to walk again. So just go with it. You will lose at your own pace. Don't compare and don't stress. Follow your dr's food plan, sip fluids, get in protein, walk, exercise... it will happen. Just relax! We are too used to instant gratification which is why we get in this predicament in the first place. This journey, in my humble opinion, is about learning to enjoy, to savor, to slow down our wants and needs. We move too fast and expect it all NOW. Not only is it about our bodies relearning how to process food, it's our mind learning how to have a new relationship with food. The body will do it self fine, it's that pesky mind that gets in the way. Focus on today, focus on what you have done, follow your plan, let the rest unfold. Trust me. It will happen. {{{hugs}}}

Hi Mellissa,  What a great post!  I am 3 weeks post op and I have lost 19 lbs, so I  do not have any complaints. You are a wise woman and I appreciate you sharing your wisdom! Thanks.

See I weighed my self day before surgery and day i got home from hospital. I was almost 10 lbs higher when i got home. I am only 10 days post op.

As far as the eating, WOW thats alot of food. My diet was clear liquids for the first week, and no i just started to add in protein. I am doing the Carbmasters Yogurt from Kroger, about 1/3 of it. with Special K protein water.  Every doctor is different, but if you are full half way through a meal then stop. I dont think i eat anything but broth twice in my first week. I am not hungry but I do get in my protein with unflavored added to my water, or sometimes Diet snapple rasberry tea.

Just keep doing what he says, it will take time.

I used thedailyplate to track your food for yesterday.  Here is what I calculated for you for yesterday:

Cals:  410

Fat:     16 g

Cholesterol 286 mg

Sodium 574 mg

Carbs 45 g

Fiber 5 g

Protein 32g

Sugars 13 g

I find it very helpful to track my food and know exactly how much protein, fat, calories, etc that I am eating.  At your stage I was drinking at lot of protein shakes and averaging 80 grams of protein a day.  Since you are not to be drinking protein shakes, it will be important to concentrate on eating high protein foods.

I believe that being aware of these things is the key to losing and maintaining the loss long term. I also make it a point to weigh myself everyday.  It can be upsetting, but I would rather be upset by a one pound gain than to ignore the scale and come back to a ten pound gain.

The other thing when I re-read your post is i'm amazed your diet is that advanced this far out. Every program is different, but I remember being on full liquids one week out. I don't think pureed came until 2-3 weeks out... but call the nut and follow your plan. I would get full after just a few bites. So eating a whole egg a week out does seem much. I was lucky to get a 1/4 cup of fluids in or shake.

Excuse the long reply  

Yes, run it by the NUT but let me throw in a new thought as I had a low weight loss the first two weeks. My surgery was 8/31 and I weighed 207 before surgery (I had lost 30 pounds on my own) and 209 the following day and then down to 208 on release from the hospital for a one pound increase. For the first two weeks, the scale barely budged. I stayed around 206 to 207 the first week. The second week I was about 205-206. That is only about 2.5 pounds! These are the issues that likely affected me and might be affecting you...

1. I was extremely constipated (doctor said this is not uncommon) and the scale only moved when my bowels decided to move. I was put on Senna as a result during those two weeks and even had to increase the dose before getting action and then the action was about 3 to 4 days apart. Scale would dip a little during action times.

2. I have a serious back issue along with osteoarthritis and cannot walk for long. I tried on day four to walk for 20 minutes and had to lay down from the pain for about 2 hours. Not good. Because of limited mobility (like you), my weight loss will be more gradual (per my doctor and NUT). I was told to find something that allows movement but little discomfort and stick to it daily. I can do "casual" gardening with special tools my husband made for himself. He's in a wheelchair so he has tools that I borrow to help me from bending over so far and that reach well under the bushes. I'm also standing and doing some pruning for about 15 minutes at a time for about 2 or 3 times a day. I'm also sitting on the sofa with a table in front of me doing all the folding of clothes. I'm using stretching movements and making it an activity instead of just barely moving. Doesn't hurt my back that way. I used to hate folding clothes so the hubby has been doing it but it is now my thing as I make it into a "sofa" exercise.

3. I had a salt sensitivity since about 30 years old. My daughter acquired it also at the same age. We bloat up if we eat Chinese food for example. You see, I was of normal weight until almost 40 when I had a bad car accident. I gained weight rapidly but afterwards you could not see the bloating from higher salt foods because I was already large all over including the face. You could see bloating when I was of a normal weight. After surgery and I was drinking all those protein drinks, the salt still added up to 1,500 to 2,000 mg's per day and I have found out for me, I need to keep it 1,000 to 1,500 per day or my weight increases! Guess what higher amounts of salt is in and you can't taste it? Milk products! Also, your tuna, relish, etc. have significant salt. Also, almost all "lite" products have higher sodium than the regular products to counter the taste difference. 

What I would recommend, since you are so good at tracking foods and measuring, is to log everything into the website www.myfitnesspal.com and see what your daily totals are for calories, fat, protein, carbs, etc. NOTE: to record sodium, you need to "customize" your settings to include it in the daily calculations. I have seen a connection to my losing on the scale and when I cut back on the sodium. It's just the way my body is.

Finally, I want to share what my doctor said about arthritis and WLS. He told me that overweight people often carry excessive amounts of "tissue fluids" everywhere and around the joints and WLS will help in the long run to reduce the joint pain by reducing these fluids. He did say it would take the bulk of the weight loss to occur before significant reduction in pain would occur. For me that would be about 50 more pounds. I'm now almost 5 weeks out and have lost only 14 pounds, ten pounds in the last three weeks. It's not bad but not as much as I would have thought.

Hope this helps.