I've only lost HOW much!?

Rhondajs

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Oct 25, 2016
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Yes, I understand that when you are a lightweight it's the percentages and not the weight lost that counts. I have 120 lbs to lose. I'm 9 weeks out from a VSG to a DS. I have had bumps in the road-low iron levels that knocked me on my ass for weeks and caused me to get infusions. But my day of surgery I was 238. 9 weeks later I am 226. I can't seem to alter how fast i lose weight. exercise, eating like a DSer, etc...nothing seems to work.

is it because i'm a stage II DSer? is it just because I'm a lightweight? I'm at a loss here.
 
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I can imagine how frustrated you must be. I'm so sorry. Whatever "it" is I don't think it'e because you're a lightweight.

I haven't looked back through your posts... how long is your common channel?
 
Revisions always seem to lose more slowly. Just work it as hard as you can! I know several people with 2 part procedures who did make it to goal but they worked at it. If you know you are eating right, I would encourage you to increase your activity level as well.
 
Keep the focus on the fact that you are in fact losing. Everyone loses at a different rate. Right now you are on track to lose about 70# over the year. You might also take a look at the information on the 3 weeks stall (do a search for the thread) to gain more insight into what is going on with your body at this stage. It is still early in the journey.

You might also take another look at your food to make sure you are hitting your 3-month goal of 90 grams of protein and <50 grams of carbs and at least 64 ounces of water (more is better) daily.
 
I don't know about the DS in two parts, and I know you are losing slower than you would would like, but you did loose 12 pounds in 9 weeks. If you do that over a year, you;'ll be at 60 pounds. I know it's not fast, but it is 60 pounds.
 
Yes, I understand that when you are a lightweight it's the percentages and not the weight lost that counts. I have 120 lbs to lose. I'm 9 weeks out from a VSG to a DS. I have had bumps in the road-low iron levels that knocked me on my ass for weeks and caused me to get infusions. But my day of surgery I was 238. 9 weeks later I am 226. I can't seem to alter how fast i lose weight. exercise, eating like a DSer, etc...nothing seems to work.

is it because i'm a stage II DSer? is it just because I'm a lightweight? I'm at a loss here.

I can totally understand your frustration!! I'm almost 8 weeks out from my revision (or conversion, as my Dr prefers). I was 268 day of surgery, and now fluctuating the last week between 249 and 251. It doesn't help that my husband, who has the metabolism of a the energizer bunny, had a virgin DS 2 months before me to correct diabetes, dropped 60 pounds in 3 months, and is within 7 pounds of his goal!! But my Dr and NUT reminded me that bc my conversion was 5 years after my sleeve surgery, I don't have as much of the metabolic synergy that virgin DSers have. And he didnt touch my sleeve because it was fine and there was no significant stretching. They also reminded me that they warned me during my consultations that revision weight loss is much slower.

So here are some things I'm doing to keep me off the crazy branch, though I do climb up there occasionally:
1. Instead of being upset that I can't buy the smaller size I want to be in, I went back and pulled clothes from the first time I lost weight with the sleeve that I had outgrown. Over half of them fit really nicely! This boosted my morale and showed me that I'm losing something somewhere.
2. I cant stay off the scale, sorry I live there! BUT, I measure myself once a week and that's helped my psyche tremendously!! Measuring my wrists, neck, waist, thighs and hips..oh and calves. I can definitely see the difference.
3. A hair cut! Because my hubby said he could tell I've lost weight in my face, I cut my hair much shorter for the summer. Almost immediately I got positive feedback from everyone.
4. Trade as many carbs for fat as you can. I've noticed if I explode in calories, the more fat I have, and the fewer carbs, then the scale will move faster. It's hard but some days, I've gone as low as 20 carbs and 100 grams of fat.
5. I was a slow loser with the sleeve as well, though I did lose almost 90 pounds before I started regaining. I went back and compared my rate of weight loss then versus now, being 8 weeks out. It's about the same. For me that says, this is just how my body works, the difference is that I have a stronger tool that will help me keep it off longer (as long as I do my part)

I'm not a vet at this, but i'm definately in your shoes. Maybe some of this will help you. Good luck!
 
How frustrating! Weight sometimes comes off in inches faster than it shows on the scale. And when I was in the losing phase, it was more like a staircase than a slide. You might be on one of the landings while your body takes a break.
What did you say your common channel is?
 
Thanks so much for the support! I saw my doctor and nut yesterday. The gave me contradictory information, which as someone in healthcare and a patient, is deeply frustrating. Makes me realize that I know more than they do about my body. My doctor said that even though I'm almost 11 weeks out, the team isn't worried that I've only lost 12 pounds since surgery. I did have an iron infusion because my levels bottomed out, and they are considering the first 11 weeks as just an adjustment period. From this point forward they are wanting me to focus more on weightloss. My doctor wants me to focus more on exercise.

Now, it is important to note that when I started gaining my weight back with my VSG, I was running half marathons and marathons to keep weight off. I was chained to exercise machines for 1-2 hours 6 days a week, and on my long run days, 6-8 hours. I also lived on protein shakes and a very low carb lifestyle. Despite all of this, I gained weight and I felt like a huge failure. My family even told me I was a failure to my face multiple times.

The will to exercise is not a problem. I currently though have NO energy. None. Sure, my labs are all in within normal limits now, therefore I should be bouncing off the walls. NOPE. I barely get through my shifts at work. With this said, my doctor wants me to exercise more. My nutritionist wants me to not eat so much protein and eat more veggies and fruit. (WTF??) They both want me to see a therapist to work through my food issues and on continuing fear that I'm going to not succeed with this surgery. I already see a therapist and am working through this. But when you have family and doctors confirming that I did indeed gain all of my weight back...how am I supposed to take it? I don't see the doctors for a few months and I've cut ties with my family for the most part. I think that's what I need more than anything. Boundaries to heal and to let my body do what it needs to.
 
I don't understand the nutritionist's advice and I wouldn't expect anyone to recommend exercise who knew about the exhaustion related to iron infusions. I have benefited from Dr. Hess's quote, "fat is your friend." It will have side effects, but it has helped me. I'm talking eggs cooked in lots of butter, olive oil poured liberally when cooking, bacon, sausage, KFC, cheese -- any way you can add fat to what you eat. Vegetables are fine, white carbs are evil (but your brain needs some)and sugar must be completely banned. It goes against everything you've been taught about dieting, but fat malabsorption is why you had a DS. The quickest way to stop losing weight is to allow sugar to come back into your diet. Liquid sugar and sugar combined with carbs are the worst. Juice, sugar added to coffee, candy, pastries, desserts...you don't get a pass on these foods just because you had a DS. Sugar=stall. If I were you, I'd have several small meals of fat and protein, between similar larger meals with tiny amounts of carbs and see if it helps. Eat more often (I eat 5-6 times a day), but concentrate on smaller protein and fat meals mostly without carbs. (Shhh. Don't tell the nutritionist. She'll have a heart attack.) If you are up for a daily walk or a little yoga, fine, but give yourself some time to recover from this enormous change in your body and physiology.my surgeon advised me to eat more ice cream if I need a sweet snack. The full fat kind.
 
They both want me to see a therapist to work through my food issues and on continuing fear that I'm going to not succeed with this surgery. I already see a therapist and am working through this. But when you have family and doctors confirming that I did indeed gain all of my weight back...how am I supposed to take it? I don't see the doctors for a few months and I've cut ties with my family for the most part. I think that's what I need more than anything. Boundaries to heal and to let my body do what it needs to.

Try not to take what others say or what they do (or do not do) define you. You are not your weight, the number of hours you run, or the time you put into the gym. Your self-esteem cannot be based on these things. Follow the DS "rules" of high protein, low carb, and plenty of hydration and you will be fine. Get in some activity- there is no need to spend hours in the gym if you do not care to spend your time that way.

I do not know what you are referring to here when you say "work through my food issues", but most of us getting WLS have food issues! Recognize your issues and work toward solving them for your own sake, not for others. I work with a dietitian in private practice and check in with her about once a month. I am a RNY to DS revision and my focus with the dietitian is on making long-term lifestyle changes. I do not weigh in, it is not a diet, she does not check my vit/mins. It is more of a check-in and report on how things are going. We problem solve together around the habits or situations that get in my way of creating long term success. Some of the challenges we work on include eating while traveling, finding ways to get in more protein during the day, reducing snacking at night, reducing stress/emotional eating, and finding exercise that is fun and works for me. These are my current challenges. The challenges seem to change over time -- it is a long process and change is hard! It is not a failure to seek additional help and support if that is what you need.
 
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What a nice thing to say to me! Thank you for posting this. I am going to print it out and read it every morning before I get out of bed. Truly. This was a nice thing to read.
 
I wasn't losing weight as fast as I thought I should either. I am a virgin DS and I was following all my doctor's and nutritionist's guidelines. In desperation, I cut out all grains--oats, wheat flours, corn products and I now allow no sugar in my diet at all. Lo and behold, the weight started coming off on a regular basis. I do eat more fat because I feel fuller for longer when I eat more fat. Plus, it helps keep me from constipation. I eat only non-starchy vegetables and try to keep my carb intake below 20 grams a day. Does that mean I will never indulge? No. It means I closely monitor the way I eat and it is making a difference in my waistline. I track everything that goes in my mouth on My Fitness Pal, a free app on my phone, and I make sure that I measure my portions (because I'm not good at eyeballing it. LOL). If I want a treat, I use a keto or atkins recipe. Most of them are pretty good. Plus, George Stella has some low carb cookbooks and recipes on his website that are really good. Today, for lunch I ate Chicken and Waffles. The chicken was breaded with almond flour and the waffles were made with almond flour and splenda. I used sugar free syrup. It was really yummy. I'm not doing without, I'm just changing the types of foods I eat to lower my carb count. It works for me and it took me awhile to figure it out. Keep trying. Eventually you will find what works for you. You've got this. It's going to be OK.
 
I wasn't losing weight as fast as I thought I should either. I am a virgin DS and I was following all my doctor's and nutritionist's guidelines. In desperation, I cut out all grains--oats, wheat flours, corn products and I now allow no sugar in my diet at all. Lo and behold, the weight started coming off on a regular basis. I do eat more fat because I feel fuller for longer when I eat more fat. Plus, it helps keep me from constipation. I eat only non-starchy vegetables and try to keep my carb intake below 20 grams a day. Does that mean I will never indulge? No. It means I closely monitor the way I eat and it is making a difference in my waistline. I track everything that goes in my mouth on My Fitness Pal, a free app on my phone, and I make sure that I measure my portions (because I'm not good at eyeballing it. LOL). If I want a treat, I use a keto or atkins recipe. Most of them are pretty good. Plus, George Stella has some low carb cookbooks and recipes on his website that are really good. Today, for lunch I ate Chicken and Waffles. The chicken was breaded with almond flour and the waffles were made with almond flour and splenda. I used sugar free syrup. It was really yummy. I'm not doing without, I'm just changing the types of foods I eat to lower my carb count. It works for me and it took me awhile to figure it out. Keep trying. Eventually you will find what works for you. You've got this. It's going to be OK.
Plus, NO ONE has the right to criticize you or call you a failure. You deserve to be lifted up, not brought down. You don't deserve the way they treated you. Whenever they ask why you walked away, tell them. Pull no punches. I've had to do the same thing with family members. Sometimes people treat family in a way that they would never treat anyone else--like being family gives them the right to bully you, to say or do anything they want with no repercussions. There are consequences to choices made--you need to let them know that when they treat you this way the consequence will be they will no longer be able to speak to you. Hang in there--you deserve better.
 

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