Hello All! My name is Amanda and I had gastric bypass on 12-07-2010. I am excited to be on this journey, however, I am terrified that I am going to mess it all up. I'm scared to even eat, and scared that I will chose the wrong things to eat. I've been doing soft foods like my MD instructed, but now that its time to start incorporating "real" food, I'm a little terrified. I started @ 384 lbs and am down to 344 so far, but now I guess I have hit a plateau?? I havent been able to lose anything in about a week and a half and it is driving me CRAZY! I don't know if it had anything to do with my menstral cycle or what. Whatever it is, its really starting to depress me big time. Maybe I'm not eating the right things, or drinking enough....grr I just dont know whats going on. To all of my bypass family out there, have you had any of these issues?? What do you eat? Also...can you eat Salad??? I LOVE salad, but my Dr said no to salad, and I dont know why. Anyone know why he may have told me no to Salad???
Hi I'm rosey and i had my surg on Nov 30 2010..ive been lurking and gathering info from all the posts on this subject..i too am wondering the answers to your questions as i have similar feelings and fears.so you arnt alone rosey
gotta make this quick - i'm at work. let's start with the plateau. first of all, make sure you're getting in your liquids and protein. and that you're exercising. if you're doing everything your doc told you, it's VERY POSSIBLE to hit a plateau. Your body has to adjust to the HUGE weight loss you've just accomplished [seriously, hon - when was the last time you heard of someone dropping 40 pounds in 5 weeks??? that's a HUGE amount of weight in a short time]
about the salad - sometimes that's the stuff that gets stuck. i STILL have trouble with raw spinach. just picture a small bit of lettuce leaf gently draped across the outlet from your pouch. and everything else piled on top of it. you'll be in the bathroom tossing for sure [great visual isn't it?? sorry if i've grossed you out!]
BUT that doesn't mean you can't have raw veggies. try tomatoes and cucumbers diced up and mixed with a little hummus. or salad dressing of your choice. or some shredded carrot [not a lot - carrots are carb-y].
thinly sliced meats - deli turkey, deli roast beef, thinly sliced chicken cutlets or pork cutlets. you can have a wee bit of gravy on them to keep them moist.
gotta scoot - but more later. and i'm sure someone else will chime in - you both are doing GREAT!
Second, almost every WLS patient hits the first stall between 4 and 8 weeks post-op. Read this: The Inevitable Stall
By Diana C.
A "stall" a few weeks out is inevitable, and here's why.
Our bodies use glycogen for short term energy storage. Glycogen is not very soluble, but it is stored in our muscles for quick energy -- one pound of glycogen requires 4 lbs of water to keep it soluble, and the average glycogen storage capacity is about 2 lbs. So, when you are not getting in enough food, your body turns first to stored glycogen, which is easy to break down for energy. And when you use up 2 lbs of glycogen, you also lose 8 lbs of water that was used to store it -- voila -- the "easy" 10 lbs that most people lose in the first week of a diet.
As you stay in caloric deficit, however, your body starts to realize that this is not a short term problem. You start mobilizing fat from your adipose tissue and burning fat for energy. But your body also realizes that fat can't be used for short bursts of energy -- like, to outrun a saber tooth tiger. So, it starts converting some of the fat into glycogen, and rebuilding the glycogen stores. And as it puts back the 2 lbs of glycogen into the muscle, 8 lbs of water has to be stored with it to keep it soluble. So, even though you might still be LOSING energy content to your body, your weight will not go down or you might even GAIN for a while as you retain water to dissolve the glycogen that is being reformed and stored.
Breathe, and fuggedaboudit for a few days.
Salad is tricky - some people do fine with it, some can't tolerate those types of veggies at all. I would wait until at LEAST 3 months post-op to be sure you're healed before trying something like that.
Last edited by jillybean720; 01-18-2011 at 05:48 PM.
Hi its me rosey again..ty for the info..it makes sense. i do have a few questions tho if you all wouldnt mind answering. I had my surg nov 30th,im now on nonmushy foods..my concern is not what im eating but how much and how often..i dont want to stretch my pouch out,it deff lets me know when one small bite more is to much.i cant eat anything with sugar in it or im in the bathrm..mostly the amounts ive been having is about 1/2 of a cup..im eating 3 meals aday and 2 snacks,a sample day is:
breakfast 1 egg or cream of wheat
lunch cottage cheese or chix or fish 1/2 c or 4 oz
dinner chix or fish sweet potatoes,or vegies
for snacks sm can v-8 small piece of cheese,peanut butter 2 crackers,sf jello or popsicel,
i figure im eating about 600 cal aday..im feeling well,but concerned that what im doing is the correct thing for me..ive lost 72# thats befor surg and after,im exercising now altho its difficult for me as im handicapped(my legs are paralyzed and i use a walker and wheel chair to get around..i guess im looking for some positive reinforcment and suggestions. it took me a long time to come to this decision and im so excited to be on this journey,i just dont want to mess things up so any help or reassurance from you that have allready traveled this road would be so appreciated..thanks rosey
are you hitting your protein goals? for the first 6 months or so, those of us who'd had gastric bypass are told to consume 60-80 grams of protein a day. every doc has different instructions, and some of us were 'extra special' and had to consume 100 grams per day [that was me].
and there was NO WAY that i could get down 4 oz of chicken or fish at a meal [still have trouble with that one!].
so, a quick and dirty estimate of your protein intake - assuming you have an extra large egg for breakfast - is 6 g + 25 g + 25 g plus maybe a little more for peanut butter and cheese - and that would put you on the LOW end of protein intake.
double check with your doc's office about the protein. and you're getting in enough NONCALORIE liquids, right?
I am pretty good at this point about getting my protein in without shakes, but I still use them. I went from a huge milk drinker to milk lactose intolerant (I can still do cheese and other dairy, oddly) so I never thoughtit would be a problem. Then I struggled to find a protein I liked. On days use it, I use gold standard mixed with soy milk. 30 mg right there.
Listen to what the doc says about the order you eat your food, too. Protein first, then veggies, then grain or starch IF you have room. I often can only do the protein at meals, so I drink a lot of V8. V8 and a piece of sharp cheese is a great snack. It is the only time I drink with food and I don't really count it as drinking.
Thankyou for the helpful comments..i stopped the protein shakes after my 6 week chkup,i was told i could get what i needed from reg foods..i can see where i might need to rethink that.. as far as the 4 oz of meat that was a ruff guess and i should be measuring more accurately. i find that meats sometimes give me a feeling like i have a big rock in my tummy..i do eat protein 1st, and drink lots of fluids,esp decaffienated ice tea.. i miss not being able to gulp down liquids when im thirsty.anything with sugar in it gives me a terrible reaction i guess thats a blessing in itself.what is a typical day of foods for you and amounts? i sure apprecaite the help ,i guess i just need reassurrance rosey
how much protein are you supposed to be getting? you're only two months out - and at that poiny, there was NO WAY i could eat 4 oz of protein at a sitting. there were a couple of dieticians who said that i should be able to, but the doc said that they were wrong [always made me wonder why he referred us to them, but .... ]. so, i went with what the doc said.
at about 2-3 months, i was consuming about 15 grams of protein every 3 hours. a protein shake in the AM, then an egg later and a piece of cheese later. then maybe a little chicken [deli chicken or turkey or ham] and/or cottage cheese. throughout the day. and a couple of tablespoons of veggies [cucumber, tomatoes, peppers, whatever worked - i stayed away from leafy things because they got stuck]. no crackers, bread, pasta, rice. whatever carbs i had were things like chickpeas and shredded carrots.
that feeling you're describing 'the rock in your tummy' must be pretty darn uncomfortable. i'd probably want to get rid of that, myself.
and in between - tea and water. tea and water. tea and water. don't even try drinking anything with sugar in it.
right now, the most important part is getting your protein and water in. anything else is a bonus.
i'm only a couple of days out but have already managed to get in 60-80 g of protein each day thanks to the protein powders. i have a cup of choc milk (choc unjury/skim milk) in the morning-28 grams right there. Also-I bought a chx broth flavored unjury that also has 20 g protein-and it's really easy to drink (just like chx broth). I especially like it since it's a warm drink which feels really good. I could also heat my choc milk too I suppose. This morning i added a little bit of peanut flour (ground defatted peanuts from TJs) which added more protein and yummy PB cup flavor.
I suppose if you have an aversion to the protein powders that this won't help-but I really like them. I had protein shakes all the time pre-surgery.
I should add that my surgeon called me this afternoon and said he forgot to tell me not to worry about tracking protein and calories yet . . . .I guess he was a little too late! But it's nice I can chill out about it if it doesn't happen.
Jiffy-it was nice that he called himself to check on me. Actually-I'm allowed to be on full liquids-but I've had mixed results with sf pudding which makes me afraid to try cream of wheat (neither are really liquids but they're on the list). But the unjury chx broth, protein + milk, cream of chx soup, and jello are my staples at the moment. I'd almost rather NOT eat (not really hungry)-but i'm starting to get light-headed and weak so i'm making sure i'm getting in some protein and calories. I'm starting to get the urge to chew-but I'm noticing it when I get bored. Also-the jello sorta helps with that-you can sorta chew it . . .
Post-Op Roux-en-Y
I don't know if it had anything to do with my menstral cycle or what. Whatever it is, its really starting to depress me big time. Maybe I'm not eating the right things, or drinking enough....grr I just dont know whats going on. To all of my bypass family out there, have you had any of these issues?? What do you eat? Also...can you eat Salad??? I LOVE salad, but my Dr said no to salad, and I dont know why. Anyone know why he may have told me no to Salad???
rosey 
But it's nice I can chill out about it if it doesn't happen.
