Re: Weight loss - help from the other side

[Guest guest]

I had an appetite almost from the time I woke up in recovery. That

was about noon, and then later that afternoon they brought

in " dinner " consisting of Ensure and apple juice. I had no problem

getting that down (with my zippie bag) and asked for more. Over the

next few hours I had two more Ensure and a number of juices.

So I didn't spend three days without food as some have reported. I

also was motivated to get nutrition, as I am a fairly lean guy

(5'10 " 150 lbs.) and I couldn't stand to lose 10 pounds.

As it turns out I lost about 2 pounds in the first 5 days when my

mouth was banded shut, through all the swelling, healing, etc.

Remember you go about 18 hours without anything, as they instruct

you to not eat after 10:00 pm before surgery and your first food

doesn't come until " dinnertime " in the hostpital. Most people, I

think, will lose a pound or two if they go a whole day without

eating.

After that my weight stabilized as I was getting plenty of calories,

mostly from Ensure and fruit juice. An Ensure Plus is 350 calories

and I was taking 5 of those per day, and lots of fruit juice. I'm

sure there are alternatives to that diet but I wasn't on the liquid

diet long enough to really explore other options.

When they took the bands off (day 5) and put me on a " no chew " diet,

the weight came right back. Lots of mashed potatoes, thicker soups,

pastas, rice, refried beans, fish, tuna/chicken salad, etc.

Now (day 18) I am on a " soft chew " diet. I'm eating more now than

before the surgery. All the weight is back on. I'm still taking an

Ensure in the morning (I had extra after the liquid diet). I

actually like that stuff.

Jay

> I'm sitting here on day 5 (or is it day -2), and I've lost 7

pounds

> so far. I was in decent shape before, at 5'10 " and 167. At this

> rate I may end up losing as much as 10 pounds in the first week,

and

> I'll have a full day with no nutrition when I get redone on

> Tuesday. My bride is really concerned that I won't have enough

> energy to recover as well from the second round since my weight

loss

> has been so dramatic the first week. So, a couple of questions

for

> those who are truly on the other side.

>

> First, how much weight did you lose the first week? As a

percentage

> of your overall weight might give me a better idea of where I

> stand. Second, how many calories were you taking in on a typical

> day? I find myself full throughout the day, and am having

> difficulty drinking anything more. It's not only that I'm not

> hungry, but my stomach feels as full 3 hours after my meal as it

did

> when I finished. Any hints on how to feel more hungry?

>

> Dammit

[Guest guest]

> I'm sitting here on day 5 (or is it day -2), and I've lost 7 pounds

> so far. I was in decent shape before, at 5'10 " and 167. At this

> rate I may end up losing as much as 10 pounds in the first week, and

> I'll have a full day with no nutrition when I get redone on

> Tuesday. My bride is really concerned that I won't have enough

> energy to recover as well from the second round since my weight loss

> has been so dramatic the first week. So, a couple of questions for

> those who are truly on the other side.

>

> First, how much weight did you lose the first week? As a percentage

> of your overall weight might give me a better idea of where I

> stand. Second, how many calories were you taking in on a typical

> day? I find myself full throughout the day, and am having

> difficulty drinking anything more. It's not only that I'm not

> hungry, but my stomach feels as full 3 hours after my meal as it did

> when I finished. Any hints on how to feel more hungry?

>

> Dammit

I lost 7% of my total weight over the first week, and managed not to

loose anymore after that.

However, it's not that I wasn't hungry, I was simply bored to getting

liquids. So, at some point, I stopped listening to my stomach.. (bad

idea... I know now..!!)

Ray

[Guest guest]

Yikes! Could the June surgery group be jinxed? As you may recall,

I had my surgery (upper/lowe/genio) on June 7th, and had it re-done

two days later. I lost about 10 lbs. within the first three days

and have managed to maintain my current weight since then. I started

out at 130 lbs, and am now 120 at 3 weeks post-op. For the first

week, I had absolutely no appetite. It was a struggle to just take

my liquid antibiotics.

Hopefully, the second surgery won't be as bad as it sounds like they

don't have to do any more cutting, only re-setting. Best of luck

with your second surgery. At least you know what to expect now.

Oh, and no more of those mile long walks right after surgery!!! Just

kidding.

Shayna

> I'm sitting here on day 5 (or is it day -2), and I've lost 7

pounds

> so far. I was in decent shape before, at 5'10 " and 167. At this

> rate I may end up losing as much as 10 pounds in the first week,

and

> I'll have a full day with no nutrition when I get redone on

> Tuesday. My bride is really concerned that I won't have enough

> energy to recover as well from the second round since my weight

loss

> has been so dramatic the first week. So, a couple of questions

for

> those who are truly on the other side.

>

> First, how much weight did you lose the first week? As a

percentage

> of your overall weight might give me a better idea of where I

> stand. Second, how many calories were you taking in on a typical

> day? I find myself full throughout the day, and am having

> difficulty drinking anything more. It's not only that I'm not

> hungry, but my stomach feels as full 3 hours after my meal as it

did

> when I finished. Any hints on how to feel more hungry?

>

> Dammit

[Guest guest]

Whenever I didn't feel hungry and didn't want to go through the

bother of eating (drinking), I'd pull out taco puree. I blended

beans, taco meat, corn, raw onions, and raw sweet peppers together

into a sort of dip-like consistency. The smell of the onions and

peppers always got my mouth watering. After a few whiffs I was

ready to eat.

Oh, and I lost 10% of my bodyweight the first week, but gained a

pound, half a pound a day the second week and third until it all

came back. I don't think you have to worry about being too thin

yet. Thinner than you'd like, maybe, but not dangerously thin.

Kris

> I'm sitting here on day 5 (or is it day -2), and I've lost 7

pounds

> so far. I was in decent shape before, at 5'10 " and 167. At this

> rate I may end up losing as much as 10 pounds in the first week,

and

> I'll have a full day with no nutrition when I get redone on

> Tuesday. My bride is really concerned that I won't have enough

> energy to recover as well from the second round since my weight

loss

> has been so dramatic the first week. So, a couple of questions

for

> those who are truly on the other side.

>

> First, how much weight did you lose the first week? As a

percentage

> of your overall weight might give me a better idea of where I

> stand. Second, how many calories were you taking in on a typical

> day? I find myself full throughout the day, and am having

> difficulty drinking anything more. It's not only that I'm not

> hungry, but my stomach feels as full 3 hours after my meal as it

did

> when I finished. Any hints on how to feel more hungry?

>

> Dammit

[Guest guest]

Thanks Kris!

Thin isn't the question here. My bride is an RN so she's seen what

sick really is, and has even done stints in the OR. She's concerned

that if I lose too much I won't have enough reserves left to recover

as well in round 2. The good news is I ate like a pig yesterday

(even had some of my mom's good green chile) and I gained back 2 of

the 8 I'd already lost. So, I'm only down <4% so far.

See you all on the other side!

Dammit

> > I'm sitting here on day 5 (or is it day -2), and I've lost 7

> pounds

> > so far. I was in decent shape before, at 5'10 " and 167. At this

> > rate I may end up losing as much as 10 pounds in the first week,

> and

> > I'll have a full day with no nutrition when I get redone on

> > Tuesday. My bride is really concerned that I won't have enough

> > energy to recover as well from the second round since my weight

> loss

> > has been so dramatic the first week. So, a couple of questions

> for

> > those who are truly on the other side.

> >

> > First, how much weight did you lose the first week? As a

> percentage

> > of your overall weight might give me a better idea of where I

> > stand. Second, how many calories were you taking in on a

typical

> > day? I find myself full throughout the day, and am having

> > difficulty drinking anything more. It's not only that I'm not

> > hungry, but my stomach feels as full 3 hours after my meal as it

> did

> > when I finished. Any hints on how to feel more hungry?

> >

> > Dammit

[Guest guest]

Good luck Dammit -

I don't think the issue is being hungry - you figure out how many

calories you need per day and make sure you get those calories,

period. Just like taking your antibiotics or whatever. Every two

hours you eat something, take an Ensure, etc. but you need to take

the nutrition whether you're hungry or not.

Jay

> > > I'm sitting here on day 5 (or is it day -2), and I've lost 7

> > pounds

> > > so far. I was in decent shape before, at 5'10 " and 167. At

this

> > > rate I may end up losing as much as 10 pounds in the first

week,

> > and

> > > I'll have a full day with no nutrition when I get redone on

> > > Tuesday. My bride is really concerned that I won't have

enough

> > > energy to recover as well from the second round since my

weight

> > loss

> > > has been so dramatic the first week. So, a couple of

questions

> > for

> > > those who are truly on the other side.

> > >

> > > First, how much weight did you lose the first week? As a

> > percentage

> > > of your overall weight might give me a better idea of where I

> > > stand. Second, how many calories were you taking in on a

> typical

> > > day? I find myself full throughout the day, and am having

> > > difficulty drinking anything more. It's not only that I'm not

> > > hungry, but my stomach feels as full 3 hours after my meal as

it

> > did

> > > when I finished. Any hints on how to feel more hungry?

> > >

> > > Dammit