Question:
What can I do to start my weight loss. To me it seems way to early to be not losing .

I am 21 days since my surgery. I haven't lost any weight in 7 days. i am so upset and concerned. Having trouble with a lot of things. Not getting enough fluids,protein. I have a lot of problems with my back and low back pain is bad. Have only managed walking about 15 minutes a day. I am getting so worried and upset over my weight staying the same? My leg muscles actually hurt.I feel so alone. :(    — REANY (posted on December 2, 2009)

December 2, 2009
Your weight will start to drop off once you have increased your fluid intake. That is very important for two reasons: 1)It helps to lose weight, 2) You will get dehydrated and end up in the hospital with an IV stuck in your arm. As hard as it is just sip sip sip all day long. Set a minute timer for every 5 mintues and sip slowly, but often. You aren't expected to take "A Lot" of liquids in at one time, but spread over the course of the day, it should be close to at least 48 oz+. I used a protein shaker for protein and a sports water bottle to measure my water intake. Broth, s/f pops, crystal lite s/f, tea, soup with nothing in it, is a good source of liquids, clear liquids anything you can pretty much see through or get through a straw (but don't use a straw, it causes too much air). As for your back pain, take your post op pain meds your were prescribed. Take them before the pain sets in. It should be every 4 hrs. Don't wait until you are hurting to take it, that only makes it harder to go away. That will help with that. And try to walk as much as possibe. Walking is the key to a speedy recovery. You don't want to risk getting blood clots in your legs from not walking. But if you take your pain pills, increase your proteins, liquids and walk you should see results soon. Hope this helps. Don't forget to set the minute timer. That is so important. ;-)
   — Kristy

December 2, 2009
Your story sounds just like mine...did. Please don't get discouraged. I have a terrible lumbar and could hardly walk across the room...much less for 15 minutes a day. I am almost 8 months out from surgery, and have now lost 80 pounds. The more weight that comes off, my back has less pain and I can get around better...hence even more weight is lost. See? It will come off...perhaps more slowly for us because we can't walk it off...but it WILL come off. My sister who has no trouble with her back had the surgery a couple of years ago and lost an average of 15 pounds a month. I only lose 9 - 10 pounds a month. But, not at first. It was very slow at first. Just keep eating right...you'll see!
   — Brenda Ashcraft

December 2, 2009
Hi, Kristi is so right!! But hopefully your back pain is not from geting enough fluids. You are normal to stall right now but you need to drink constantly. I use the timer trick also, at work I used my cell phone alarm and hit the snooze button so it keeps going off every 5 or 7 minutes just on vibrate so it didnt disturb anyone else. I stopped it 30 min before lunch and had another alarm to start 30 minutes after lunch. It becomes natual after a while. Walking 15 minutes a day is better than nothing keep trying to add a minute each day. If you leg and back pain is bad you need to call your doctor you may be dehydrated already! How many ounces are you getting in a day?
   — ToniLee

December 2, 2009
Hi! It sounds like you may be dehydrated. You own't lose any weight while you are. You have to force yourself to drink. If you are dehy. the you have to consume even more fluids to regain what is lost. IUt tookme 3 weeks of drinking 80+ ounces to get rehydrated. Talk to your clinic or nut about this. Hugs, Kim
   — gpcmist

December 2, 2009
Marsha, hang in there, almost everyone has a stall during the first 6 weeks. It is discouraging but it does not last. I am 1 year post op down 118 pounds at my goal and I stalled twice during the first 6 weeks. Water was the key for me. Buy a Camelbak water bottle with a straw, they are designed to not allow you to suck too much air, I showed them to my doctor and he now tells his patients to purchase one before surgery! They come in a 24 ounces size and make it very easy to track your water intake, I drink at least 3 of them a day. Also, the first 6 weeks you will not get in your full protein for the day, we just can't eat that much yet. Stick to your doctors recommendations. I ate a lot of refried beans with cheese and salsa and cream soups, I bought the unflavored protein powder and added it to the cream soups. Also soft cooked eggs were great and I don't know where you live, but in Utah at Smiths they have a high protein yogurt (Carb Master) there are many great flavors and they actually taste good. You can do this, and a year from now you will be shocked at your progress!
   — brindledanes

December 2, 2009
You need to call your Dr. You may be dehydrated and that could be effecting your kidneys and causing the back pain. I had c-diff and ended up dehydrated and needed iv fluids to get back on track. Don't wait, call your Dr and let them decide how to proceed. Thats why you have a Dr! Good luck. It does get better. I promise.
   — Nancy W.

December 3, 2009
I have severe lumbar spinal stenosis and facet joint arthritis, with a bulging disk thrown in for good measure. For two years or more, I have not been able to walk without pain. I thought that my weight (the highest I KNOW it went was 312 - but I wouldn't get on the scale after that, so it could have been higher) was the problem, and that the pressure of my stomach pulling on my back was what was causing the narrowning of the spinal canal. It was the main reason why I decided to have the surgery....to get out from under the pain. Like you, I couldn't walk more than 50 feet without having to sit down from both pain and breathlessness. In preparation for the surgery, I tried to begin an exercise regime, but the best I could do was 7 minutes on a stationary bike at intensity level of ONE. Well, 6 weeks after surgery, the pain had gotten so bad that I was using a walker to get from my bedroom to the bathroom or I wouldn't have made it. And, like you, I wasn't losing - but I was also throwing up a lot. After the third consultation with a different back specialist, who told me that I needed to see a "pain psychologist" (for heaven's sake!!)... I walked into my surgeon's office sobbing. He saw me, and was so concerned that he referred me immediately to a neurosurgical colleague of his, and luckily I was able to get in to see her right away. She set up a "game plan" for me. I was to get an epidural pain shot (which I'd been resisting), then, if it worked, I was to go to a physical therapist who specifically dealt with low back issues, and we would wait 6 or 7 months to see how the weight loss affected the pain levels. (Well, it also turned out that I had a stricture, which was causing the vomiting, and that, along with the lack of exercise, had thrown my body into starvation mode - and it was holding on for dear life to every single calorie it got. So, I had the stricture dilated, and that fixed the vomiting problem.) And I had the epidural, and within 24 hours, I was pain free!!! I don't know why I was so resistant to it. I went to visit my daughter, and felt so good that she got me a 2 week pass to go to her gym with her, and I started out slowly, but was going every day, and it felt good! When I got home, I bought my own gym membership, and I've been going at least 3 times per week, often 4 times. And I've built up to 30 minutes on the stationary bike at 16 miles per hour on the random hill program, and 30 minutes on the treadmill at 3 miles per hours on the weight loss program (variable inclines), and 20 minutes on the elliptical, and 45 minutes of physical therapy exercises, 30 minutes of weight training, and 30 minutes of swimming! Now, the sad thing is, the epidural shots are no longer working, and I am back to almost as severe a pain level as I was before. But I'm pushing through it, because I refuse to lose the mobility I've gained. And now, it looks like I'll have to have back surgery. We're doing an appeal, because the insurance company denied the specific procedure I want to have, which is called the X-Stop - a minimally invasive, relatively inexpensive procedure done under local anesthesia on an outpatient basis. And yet, they'll pay for a laminectomy and fusion which is at least twice the expense and has about the same success rate as the X-Stop. I've been through it all....and I could probably give you a lot of suggestions, and tips. Please feel free to email me, or make me one of your friends. Oh, and by the way. I am now 9 months out, and have lost 129 pounds, and am only 8 pounds from my surgeon's goal. So, yes, you will see results. Maybe with some extra help with your back pain, but I'm convinced that you can make it work.... Blessings to you...Erica
   — Erica Alikchihoo

December 3, 2009
If of all, how much have you already lost? I had to stop weighing myself, like you it was making me nutty. I had my surgery Aigust 13, 2009, so far I have lost 73 lbs. Drink your water, eat your protein, I have to supplement with protein shakes, and walk. Good luck, hang in there, I am not going to say, this is an easy surgery, it isn't.
   — FSUMom