Michael B.
Sorry I haven't kept updated:
Feb 07, 2014
I joined this site with the intention of being an active participant. Unfortunately, that hasn't played out. I found some support groups on Facebook, and neglected this site. But - I do want to give some updates and some observations/experiences, in hopes that they might help others on thier journey:
I began this adventure at over 360 lbs. I weighed on the first morning of my pre-op liquid diet and my weight then was 356.6 lbs. Surgery went well, with the usual feeling like I was going to explode with gas, and rejoicing with the angels when I had my first bowel movement!!!
I won't sugar coat my experience - it hasn't been particularly easy. Pain is a frequent part of my life - but not a pain of surgical error - but with my sleeve. Even when I eat slowly, I regularly hit a "wall" that just HAPPENS. Little to no indication of being full, then the very next bite - WOWOWOWOW!!!! Stop immediately! The pain usually goes away after anywhere from 10-30 minutes. Still, a very uncomfortable experience!
Second observation - stalls in weight loss are going to happen. I have broken rule #1 from day #1 - I weight every morning just before I step in the shower. Yes, this leads to what some call undue or even hurtful frustration. But it also helps me to correlate my daily activities, fluids drunk, calories & protein consumed, etc. with what the scales say my body is doing. I have a set of scales that measure body fat, bone %, hydration, etc. This reveals a lot to me.
I have also observed a few consistent patterns that were evident in my past dieting efforts:
1 - days with serious physical activity and/or exercise are always (100%) followed by a weigh in the next day that is either the same, or even higher than previous weight.
2 - If I don't drink my quota or better of water, the scales often slow or stop moving.
3 - If I fall short on protein today, tomorrow the scales will tell me by not moving, or even going up!
4 - Getting too few calories can often slow weight loss.
Also - there have been changes to my digestive system that have caused frustration and confusion for me... First - I use to be extra-ordinarily "regular" when it came to bm's. If I didn't have at least one a day, I got concerned. Now - I may go an entire week. At first I correlated that with not drinking enough liquids. But even with increased liquid intake - I still sometimes go a full week, even when I drink well beyond my "quota". To further complicate things, even if I take in a bunch of additional fiber (fiber cereal being one avenue), it doesn't really move things along - it just produces a lot of gas (for me).
I have yet to develop "hunger". I could go days without eating, if not for the fact that I start to get light-headed, mentally dull, and then just feel bad if I go too long (or just don't get enough protein and calories).
At my 1 month follow-up, I was informed that my vitamin D levels were low - so was prescribed D supplement for a few weeks - MEGA doses. Also was told my B1 was somewhat low, so I simply take an extra B supplement daily.
I no longer typically have the big energy swings I began with. Probably in part to spreading meals out a bit more regularly, and becoming more sensitive to the drops before it causes a problem.
Another fact of wieght loss - STALLS. You WILL, no matter how hard you try, how much you exercise, etc. experience stalls - times when you lose nothing for extended periods (or even gain a little). I hit my first at about 6 weeks. It lasted for 7 days. My next significant stall (longer than 2 days) was at about 10 weeks - it lasted for 5 days.
I just broke my most recent stall - and it was the most frustrating to date. Two weeks ago, I was just above 282 lbs. Two days later, I hit 276.7 (January 31). For the next several days, my weight bounced up to 282, down to 280, up to 281, down to 277, back up to 280... then back to 276.7 yesterday. This morning: 272.5. This is often how these stalls break - with a big drop in one day. Interestingly, this is the first that has seen so many gain/lose/gain/lose cycles.
And finally - here are the numbers so far, as of today - February 7, 2014:
Beginning weight (pre-op diet start - Oct. 28, 2013): 356.6lbs
Today's Weight (Feb. 7, 2014): 272.4 lbs
Total wieght lost to date: 84.2 lbs
Starting pants waist size: 56 inches
Current pants waist size: 44-46 inches (depending on the brand)
My "goal" (not set by my surgeon - he didn't set a goal, his intent is to get patients "healthy" - to a good BMI) is 200lbs. This morning in the shower, I thought long and hard about breaking under that (what some call Onederland). 195 would be awesome!
I cannot promise I will be regular here, or update this like I should - but I do intend to at least update from time to time, and especially when I reach my goal!
