Question:
Week after surgery and weigh loss is slowing???
Ok, I probably shouldn't be weighing myself everyday but I was curious. Right after surgery, I lost a pound a day ... about 7 to 8 pounds in the first week. Then I gained 2 back! Freaked me out a little! My surgeon had me on broth and gatorade the first week until the drain was removed and then liquids including cream soups, malt-o-meal ... basically runny, soft foods. I've been following the restrictions plus doing my daily walking and drinking more liquids than I can generally stand. I'm a little worried about the hiccup in what was a great pace of weight loss. Is this a normal plateau? Will it resume soon? I've heard your body does a bit of a screetching halt and conserves everything with drastic changes in eating habits ... not sure if this is related at all but I sure would like to hear if anyone else has experienced same? Thanks so much. - A (user name on OH ' heloize ') — heloize (posted on May 8, 2007)
May 8, 2007
Personaly I dont think this is the time to be stressing out about how much
you have or havent lost yet. Focusing on getting in your water, protien and
exercise should be it. I wouldnt touch the scale unless its at a set time
like once a week or (this is how I do it) only at the DR office. So focus
on what you need to get in and do and the body will catch up in a little
bit.
— lizzieleprechaun
May 8, 2007
You lose a little then your body stops and size changes a little. I weigh
myself whenever I feel like it because I get happy when I see the number go
down. I don't depend on it though. If I don't lose weight for a couple of
days I know my body is busy doing something else. Don't worry, get all
your water and protein in and you will do good. Hmmmm I really wanted
malt-o-meal but thought it had sugar. I need to re-visit the malt-o-meal
idea!
— Silkie
May 8, 2007
I lost 28 pounds the first week, then nothing for a month. My body just had
to catch up. Now I'm 8 months out and have lost 150 pounds. Just give your
body time to heal and catch up, it will all work out in the end.
— [Deactivated Member]
May 8, 2007
I didn't see any kind of difference until after the first 2 weeks. I had
no idea how much I had lost until after I went to the dr's office for my 2
week post op. The first week my stomach area was swollen, and holding
water. I was just focused on resting (after all we just had MAJOR surgery
done), and then getting in my protein drinks and walking as often as I
could. Don't worry about the weight! Sometimes you lose very little
weight, but lose a great deal of inches. Remember fat weighs the same as
muscle BUT muscle takes up less space than the fat pockets/cells do! Ergo
the inches lost! Take this time to rest and let yr body heal! Good luck!
— crystalsno
May 9, 2007
Hi Aleesa, thanks for writing and welcome to the losing side. Girl, you
need to breathe! Take a deep breath, and put a lock on the scales. You
are just beginning to recover from surgery. Obesity is a head game girl,
and you are playing right into your game. There is no plateau going on, a
week isn't a plateau at all. Your body is still "mad" at you for
what you have done to it. It will fight against you. Make a deal with
yourself, weight once a week, naked, in the early morning after you go to
the bathroom. Same time, same place, once a week. Reccord it on paper and
watch it go down. Sometimes it will stay the same but a plateau by
definition is the same weight for 3 months, not one week. Don't freak out
and dont' set yourself up to freak out. Enjoy the weight loss and the new
routine of eating. The head games are only beginning, and if you fall for
them, they will discourage your weight loss and try to defeat you. Get
your game on and get ready for the challenge of your life. Keep up with y
our basics, water, protein and exercise. Don't miss your viatmins and
calcium. Be stubborn about these things, and breathe! There are much more
wonderful things to be doing than worry or fear. It is a beautiful day,
why not enjoy the sunshine and walk the neighborhood for an hour instead of
thinking about things like plateaus. Take care, Patricia P.
— Patricia P
May 9, 2007
Hi, I too am losing very slowly, lost 6 pounds first week and then gained
3 lost 2 and gained 1. I guess it will take time to get it off. Good
luck!!!!
max
— flutterby52
May 9, 2007
I agree with the first response. After surgery you still have alot of edema
and fluid retention from all the IV's. Not to mention, that Gatorade is
loaded with sugar and salt. You will not notice the weight loss overnight,
it will take a few weeks to start noticing any changes. Try not to obsess
over the scale.
— jlw0423
May 9, 2007
I agree with one of the posters, especially being that I have a medical
backround. Whether or not you realized it, the hospital loads you with
fluid prior to discharge. This is especially true of bariatric surgery,
during those first few days you cannot drink enough and they do this to
prevent dehydration. Not to be crude but think about it.....you probally
have been peeing WAY more than you have been drinking right? Another point,
we all worry about being failures. Let's face it we wouldn't have taken the
drastic step of surgery if diets would have worked. Here's a laugh for
you....My first PMS time @ 1 month post op I gained 7lbs in just over 2
days!!! I was mortified! It wasn't until I did a little research and found
that was common after WLS because of all the estrogen being released from
those shrinking fat cells. By the end of my period I lost those 7lbs plus I
wanna say another 5 or 6lbs. Hang in there, it's not just you, and you
won't be a failure. Best wishes-Heather
— tazthewiz23
May 9, 2007
Hello,
I was the same way. I quickly lost 20lbs the first 9 days. Then I gained
back 2 and plateued for about a week. Then I was able to do more walking
and the weight started to come off again. I am 6 weeks out and down 35lbs.
It does slow down after the first couple of weeks and you tend to lose a
couple of pounds a week. Good luck and don't stress. Welcome to the
losing side.
— saveliephsol
May 9, 2007
I agree with locking the scale up. It will only mess with your head,and no
matter what the number is,it is NEVER enough. (am I right?) I am weeks
about 7 weeks out & I learned that painful lesson. It was messing with
my head & my gratitude was just not there & I was too focused on
the numbers. Just get your protein & water & vitamins &
exercise in, and you won't have time for any more numbers. If you do,call/
e-mail another WLS traveler to help settle your mind & get centered on
what is really important.I hope you feel better.I firmly believe that
togethe we can do,what we could never do alone...
— peacelovecat
May 10, 2007
Yes, that is a normal patttern for losing. I would lose five and then gain
two, but it was a downhill trend.
— Novashannon
May 11, 2007
wiegh yourself ONCE WEEKLY... not daily... I know that it is easier said
than done... I speak from experience... It is such a nice feeling to
finally see the scale move down vs up. But, you will drive yourself crazy,
as your body will tend to fluctuate DAILY with fluid shifts, hormone
changes, etc. Instead, at the early stage, what you need to be focusining
on is this.... #1 - water intake - very important as it will help you lose
weight, flush the metabolized fat, flush the protein metablites, wastes etc
out of your body, needed for good metablism - if you get dehydrated, you
will suffer greatly from anything from headaches, to nausea, constipation,
etc. #2 - Protein intake - focus on protein, protein, protein... did I
mention Protein? LOL... but it is true. #3 - Vitamins / supplements -
make sure you get them in daily... don't skip.. you may not feel the
effects of something being out of whack immediately, but trust me, you WILL
eventually feel it... some deficiencies can be easily reversed whereas
others take some time. #4 - Exercise - will keep the lean muscle mass that
you have as your body will want to use the lean muscle mass first as a
source of energy, you want it to go to the fat stores. This will also help
in increasing your baserate metabolism, meaning the more lean muscle mass
you have the higher metabolism you have, so will burn more fat even at
rest... gotta love that. It will also help in holding and pulling
everything in as you are losing and will help decrease the amount of
drooping, hanging skin that you will develop... so focus on these and the
weight will come off.... lock that scale up in the cupboard and only let it
out to see the light of day once weekly. Even if you don't see a downward
direction then, don't despair - you may have hit a plateau, be on the
upswing of a normal fluid shift, or take it as a warning to examine exactly
what you are doing in regards to your protein and water intake and
exercise. The people who I think are unsuccessful at this in the long run
are the ones who forget the basics and who don't occasionally re-examine
their behaviors. Meaning, are they slipping back into their old bad
unhealthy habits and don't do anything about this backslide. The other
thing to consider if you haven't already done it or are doing it is
counseling - either one-on-one, group, support meetings, whatever. There
are reasons that we ALL ran to food as a support, best friend, confidant,
etc... it was always there, always delivered and would never let us down...
but that 'friendship' had a high price, didn't it... so it now time to
thank it and say, you got me through some tough times, definitely caused
many more and it is time to choose the healthy alternatives. If you, we,
etc don't, then we are all doomed to fail.... good luck to you, me and all
of us... (I am off my soapbox now... LOL...) Happy Losing......
— Kari_K
May 11, 2007
hello there ,i just wanted to let you no i truely feel your pain. im 3
months into my wls. i had it feb 1,2007.i weighed 235. 5 days later apon
leaving the hospital i weighed 222lb. then a month later i drop 7lbs. and
then after that 3more lb. then it stop ive been weighing 212 bls since then
end of march.and not to mention i keep going from 215 to 211 constantly.and
it makes me frustrated and depresses. I hear
people who had the surgery and they lost 66bls in 6 weeks. or 40 bls in 2
months. but which is true everyone body is different. they have loose skin
where as i dont. i can say even though i only lost 23bls. in 3 1/2 months,
i drop 3 dress size. meaning. even though the scale is messing with my
head, i happy to see that the size 18 is too big and now im a 13/14. so i
can say im not loosing water weight, im loosing inches , which shows moore
then pounds on the scale. keep your head up. we will loose the weight is
just going to take some time. with in 6- 8 months were going to look like
new people. just amagin and keep up the faith. ok and may god bless you.
— yvettetas
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