Sixteen Days Post-Op
Weight: 272.4lbs (my scale)
I had my 2 week post-op check up 2 days ago. I wish my scale weighed the same as theirs! So pardon if it seems like I haven't made much progress. Both the doctor's scale and the one at mom's weigh lighter than mine. So I'm switching my reported weight to my own scale which reads about 5 pounds heavier but...apples to apples.
I got kind of depressed toward the end of week 2. I'd dropped weight so fast week 1 then dead stop. I returned home on Wednesday of last week, 2 days into Week 2. My weight hadn't budged in 2 days and didn't budge again until the end of week 2. I know I'm addicted to the scale and I shouldn't weigh every day but I can't help it. I need reassurance that this is not just another exercise in beating my head against the wall going nowhere. I've been so strict with following the rules. It crushed me to see the scale at a dead stop this early in the process.
Then I looked back on my food tracker. I was barely making 300-500 calories/day intake. Makes sense. My body went into starvation mode and until I can get my calories up closer to 800 I'm not going to see much progress. That theory was further reinforced when I had my 2-week nutritionist appointment. He reassured me not to expect much weight loss, if any, for the next 5 weeks. Right now the important thing is healing.
I'd started back at the gym (just walking on the treadmill and riding the stationary bike). I burned more calories at the gym than I'd eaten that day further reinforcing the starvation metabolism. So since Monday (my 2-week appointment) I've really concentrated on trying to get more calories in anyway I can. My weight loss has slowly begun to occur again...about a half pound/day. It's not the 2-3 pounds/day I saw initially but I'll take it!
I also got my diet increased from full liquids to pureed food. He said I could eat anything I felt like as long as I pureed it first. Monday went fine. Last night not so much. He'd said pureed ground meats were fine (no steak, pork chops etc. that can't be pureed fine enough). So I cooked an actual meal for the first time in almost 2 months. So excited! I made a Mexican dish using ground turkey and pureed it as fine as I could get it. I don't know whether I just didn't puree it enough or I ate too much of it (about 3 oz over the course of an hour) but I was in agony for the first time since my surgery.
I'm not sure whether it was my new pouch or pressure on the hiatal hernia repair site but excruciating pain right under my sternum and radiating to my back. Origin site would suggest the hiatal hernia repair but with referred pain it could be either. I'd also had burning after my liquid multivitamins (very acidic) and liquid Iron so it could be that too. Either way I'm going to have to take a step back, stop pushing the limits so hard and be kinder to my pouch and abdomen so they can finish healing.
My other concern is how quickly I wear out. I go back to work next week. At least I was smart enough to get my schedule adjusted so I only work 3 shifts in a row instead of 6 but they are 12-hour night shifts and right now I have to rest every 3-4 hours. It's a learning curve I'm going to have to conquer before next week and I'm worried.
I had my 2 week post-op check up 2 days ago. I wish my scale weighed the same as theirs! So pardon if it seems like I haven't made much progress. Both the doctor's scale and the one at mom's weigh lighter than mine. So I'm switching my reported weight to my own scale which reads about 5 pounds heavier but...apples to apples.
I got kind of depressed toward the end of week 2. I'd dropped weight so fast week 1 then dead stop. I returned home on Wednesday of last week, 2 days into Week 2. My weight hadn't budged in 2 days and didn't budge again until the end of week 2. I know I'm addicted to the scale and I shouldn't weigh every day but I can't help it. I need reassurance that this is not just another exercise in beating my head against the wall going nowhere. I've been so strict with following the rules. It crushed me to see the scale at a dead stop this early in the process.
Then I looked back on my food tracker. I was barely making 300-500 calories/day intake. Makes sense. My body went into starvation mode and until I can get my calories up closer to 800 I'm not going to see much progress. That theory was further reinforced when I had my 2-week nutritionist appointment. He reassured me not to expect much weight loss, if any, for the next 5 weeks. Right now the important thing is healing.
I'd started back at the gym (just walking on the treadmill and riding the stationary bike). I burned more calories at the gym than I'd eaten that day further reinforcing the starvation metabolism. So since Monday (my 2-week appointment) I've really concentrated on trying to get more calories in anyway I can. My weight loss has slowly begun to occur again...about a half pound/day. It's not the 2-3 pounds/day I saw initially but I'll take it!
I also got my diet increased from full liquids to pureed food. He said I could eat anything I felt like as long as I pureed it first. Monday went fine. Last night not so much. He'd said pureed ground meats were fine (no steak, pork chops etc. that can't be pureed fine enough). So I cooked an actual meal for the first time in almost 2 months. So excited! I made a Mexican dish using ground turkey and pureed it as fine as I could get it. I don't know whether I just didn't puree it enough or I ate too much of it (about 3 oz over the course of an hour) but I was in agony for the first time since my surgery.
I'm not sure whether it was my new pouch or pressure on the hiatal hernia repair site but excruciating pain right under my sternum and radiating to my back. Origin site would suggest the hiatal hernia repair but with referred pain it could be either. I'd also had burning after my liquid multivitamins (very acidic) and liquid Iron so it could be that too. Either way I'm going to have to take a step back, stop pushing the limits so hard and be kinder to my pouch and abdomen so they can finish healing.
My other concern is how quickly I wear out. I go back to work next week. At least I was smart enough to get my schedule adjusted so I only work 3 shifts in a row instead of 6 but they are 12-hour night shifts and right now I have to rest every 3-4 hours. It's a learning curve I'm going to have to conquer before next week and I'm worried.
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