Hey Guys .... need help please

Hey Everyone -

I am 2 weeks and 2 days out (Lap RNY) but haven't noticed any difference in clothes size or weight size. I drink AchieveOne for protein and ISO pure or EAS shake.

I just don't seem to be losing inches or weight.

Maybe I am doing something wrong.

I had 1 cup of Egg Drop soup for dinner last night.

I drink liquids in like 10 minutes. (well except the ISO pure which tastes nasty!) I do my vitamins but not always 64 oz of water.

I feel like a failure and again a diet that didn't work but now I am stuck with this new stomach and I will always just me Matty the Fatty (what my mother calls me).

Not sure what to do or what I am doing.

I am glad to read that this works for some people. I guess just not me.

Please help me!


Best always,
Matthew
301-787-2910

Matthew,

It's easy to for me to say, but don't worry that this will work for you. We all have been where you are. I felt the same way. I wasn't losing near as quickly as most others seemed to be. It is easy to become frustrated.

My advice is to follow your program and walk as much as you can.

You are not a failure, you did this for all of the right reasons and you will succeed.

Let us know how we can help.


Life is great, Rick

Matt are you saying that you havent lost any weight since surgery???  Thats almost totally impossible with RNY, unless there is some kind of issue.  If this is the case, you better contact your surgeon first thing Monday.  Dont want to be an alarmist, but I wouldnt mess around with it. By the way, what part of Maryland are you in?  I was born and raised in the DC suburbs of PG County and moved to South Florida 4 years ago. John

Matthew, We had surgery on the same day -- I had my Lap RNY on 12/20 also.  I can tell you that I lost weight since surgery, but I really slowed down in the past four or five days.  I went in at 411, peaked at 431 two days after surgery, took about 7 or  8 days to get back down to 411, hit 398 on New Years day, stayed there until yesterday, then went down another pound.  Today, I was the same as yesterday. I think its way, way too premature for your to feel like a failure.  I have to confess that I, too, have some concerns about my procedure.  To me, it seems like it all went too well.  So many people write about how sick they are for weeks, how much they dislike the thought of eating, etc.  Well, for me, the only time I was really nauseous was when I had motion sickness in the car on the way to surgery, and EVERYTHING I see looks good -- you name it, it looks good and it smells good.  But, I had my 2 week checkup yesterday, and the surgeon thought the amount of weight I lost was just fine.

I also was allowed to move onto pureed foods, and that is a whole new ballgame from liquids.  I too could slurp down a cup of soup in 5 minutes, or drink a bottle of water in like 20.  And, since I was allowed to have things like fruit juices, I did.  Now, I'm really trying to watch it, and be careful about what I eat.  But, with the pureed foods yesterday and today, half to 3/4s of a cup of food makes me feel full for three or four hours, and I really don't want anything else.  I just had my lunch, against my better judgment, about 4 1/2 hours after having breakfast.  I didn't really want it, but I too am trying to get my protein intake up to the 90 grams a day I am supposed to have. I think another reason why I'm not losing much weight at the moment is because of activity level.  I didn't really have much pain with the surgery, but I still feel somewhat weak and I have not been getting the amount of activity I need to get my metabolism going.  It's especially hard right now where I live in the midwest, because we have deep snow cover and it's been extremely cold, not nice weather for going out and strolling around, and I'm afraid of slipping on ice and hurting myself.

Matt, I know that I did the right thing by having this surgery.  I peaked a few years ago at right at 500 lbs, and I am 100 lbs less than that right now.  I cannot possibly see how I can do anything but lose weight in the years to come.  I may or may not ever get to 180, but I think it would be really, really hard not to lose a significant amount of weight, based upon the volume of food we can eat after surgery.  I know I'll never go up to 500 lbs again.  My lunch today consisted of 1/4 cup of chicken salad, 1/4 cup of fat free humus, and 1/4 of a mushed up banana.  My god, put that all together, and that would have been the first bite of an appetizer for me pre-surgery!   Now, I'm stuffed!  Same story for fluids -- pre-surgery, I could have slurped down a 2 litre Moutain Dew or Pepsi on the 20 minute drive to work, now, it takes me all day to drink 2 litres of fluids, and most days I fall short, somewhere in the 40 to 50 ounce range. Look, I think it's hard right after surgery -- you're dealing with pain, nausea, weakness, fluid retention.  One thing that comes to mind is, are you having a lot of high-sodium soups, etc.  Because, believe me, fluid retention can really pack on the pounds.  I am really sensitive to sodium, and blow up like a balloon if I eat about 400 to 500 mg of sodium a day.  I even tried to convince the internal medicine doctor and my nurses in the hospital that I needed to be taken off of the high dextrose, high sodium IV's and put on lasix the second day, because I was just blowing up like a balloon, and they didn't want to believe me at first, until I went up like 10 lbs in 12 hours on the second day with wide open IV's.  It was a real relief to get back on my lasix, which I take regularly, and start getting the fluid off, because I was getting to the point I couldn't breath well due to fluid retention.   Just realize, though, tha****er retention weight is NOT the same as fat -- it goes away, quickly, with proper treatment.  If you have problems with this and don't take lasix, avoid sodium and drink a lot of pure water, tap or distilled. I think each day will get better.   You and I both have to do the same things, like get ourselves up out of our chairs and get moving, watch what we eat very carefully, and realize that we've been given probably the best opportunity for real weight loss that modern medicine has come up with to date.  Just have some confidence that this will work out in the long run, I do, and believe me, I'm not the most positive person most of the time by any means, I usually look on the dark side of things. Hang in there, buddy, you're not alone, and you will get through this and get to a point where you lose a lot of weight. Dan

When I had my original RNY, I felt like I wasn't losing fast enough.  Luckily, I kept in contact with another man who had used my surgeon a year earlier.  He had lost weight slowly for the first 6 months post-op and then lost a ton of weight in the next 6 months. We're all a little different.  You may experiencing a little of the pos-op depression.  Just hang in there and you'll be fine.  Also, once you start eating solid foods, you'll see how much the surgery helps you.  It's much more than a diet;  you simply can not eat much at meals once you have the surgery.

Matty the fatty...is NOT who you are...or WHAT you are!!!!  Don't ever let anybody (even your mother) insult you like that.  You have taken the drastic, life altering and INCREDIBLY brave stand...by having this surgery.   You are down...you feel defeated...and you feel that this is an option for everybody else..but not you...  Give it time my friend...give it time.  Like Jim said...  call your surgeon/nutritionist to question it...  However, each of our bodies adapt in different ways....allow your body to let nature take's it course.... Matt... I am in Maryland also...and I (all of us) are here for you...  You are not Matty the Fatty..... You are Matt the Man!!!!

Matt, Could Be very normal… First, did you lose a bunch, or even some in preparation for surgery? Liquid diet for a week or more? If that’s the case, you could already be at a typical 3 week-out stall. Your body is storing water to move your glycogen to your muscles And if that’s the case, you could see a "Gain" even when showing a caloric deficit Second, some have huge problem eliminating fluid retention from the hospital IV and inactivity accompanying early surgical pain. Are you walking some? That’ll help your lymphatic system move the fluid on through. More rare- Any swelling, tightness or increasing pain on your abdomen or torso? You could be retaining internal fluid between tissue layers. A Super-Seroma so to speak. If that’s the case, the doc needs a call first thing. If it is fluid retention in just about any form, don’t cut back on water. Staying nice and hydrated actually allows the body to get rid of retained fluid faster. It seems counter-intuitive, but that’s how the system works. Hang in there and keep an eye on your general mood. Post-op depression (from all surgeries, not just WLS) IS VERY COMMON. If you find yourself feeling down about feeling down, Call the doc and ask for something to get you over the hump. Anesthesia and surgical shock to the system can be a Brain-bath that screws with balanced brain chemistry. Hang in there. So many who started out thinking- "What the Hell did I do to Myself!?!" Are the same that a year later are thinking- "Why the hell didn’t I do this sooner!!??!?" Best Wishes- Dx

I find that I lose weight much much better when I walk.  Personally, I walk an hour 3 to 4 times per week at a Wal-Mart/Sams Club.  When it is nice outside I walk outside and when it is too hot or too cold I walk inside.  Try to find someplace like this for you to walk.   Chad