Pam German's Weight Loss Journey

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Post Op Personalities | Getting started. | Silly Questions. | Not so silly questions | weight loss chart | What do I tell my children? | What do I take to the hospital? | What do I need when I come home from the hospital? | Little tips I've picked up along the way .... | Pouch Rules | HELP! I'm not losing! | Sample Gastric Bypass Diet.
HELP! I'm not losing!

You're a few months post op.  You can eat more and your weight loss has stopped!

There are basic rule that you will hear every time this subject comes up. They are, increase your protein, lower your carbs, drink more water and exercise more.  All of these things are correct.  I can't tell you exactly what will work for you.  I can tell you, what has and has not worked for me.
 
Please note.  This is based only on my experience and my research.  As was pointed out to me by a dear friend who is a long term post op, eating meat such as steak is not a good choice as it is hard for your body to process.  Others tell me they have had much success with Atkins.  There is a sample diet on the home page provided by a gastric bypass surgeon, and it shows a balanced diet of protein, carbs and fat.  That is the way I eat as well.  I suggest you follow your doctor's advice.  Most doctors do agree you will need extra protein and not getting your protein can cause damage.  As with all things, you can do too much of a good thing.  Use common sense and work with your doctor to come up with an eating plan that works for you.  Further, not getting enough calories will absolutely stall your loss.  This information came to me from my friend, Debra Reeves, who not only has had WLS and reached goal, but has stayed at goal for more than 5 years and has helped several other patients who have gone through WLS.  You must make your body think it is getting enough food.  Your body has to be "tricked" into buring fat.  When you drastically cut your food intake your body shuts down to conserve.  By eating a few bites of food every two hours your body is tricked into thinking it is getting more food and will continue to function and you will continue to lose.   So, never thougth you would hear this, but eat more! 
 
When you read high protein, low carb, you think  "Dr Atkins".  And the basic rules may apply. HOWEVER, you may follow the rules of Atkins and not lose anything.  Our bodies do not function exactly normal any more, so this is what happened to me.  I went on the "tub-o-meat" diet and before my first day was out I was in ketosis.  By the end of the week I could not pee unless I was peeing on a Keto Stix.  Every time they turned a lovely plum purple.  But no weight loss.  I was living high on the high fat diet and eating almost no carbs at all, but still no loss.  So I out in a call to the Atkins center.  It seems that your body will go into ketosis if it is burning off the fat that you are eating.  So a person who has had bypass surgery may eat too much fat, and use that for fuel and never touch the fat on your body.  Also eating all the fatty foods like sausage and bacon added a lot of extra calories to my diet.  So, I conclude the only thing to do is count.  Watch my calories, keep my carbs to below 40 per day, and exercise. 
 
One other thing.  They advised me the only accurate reading you get with Keto Stix is one taken 2 hours after dinner.  Morning and through out the day readings mean nothing.  So guess I can get my arm out of the toilet!
 
Bottom line here is eating healthy is always going to be the answer.          

It is very much worth mentioning here that pounds on the scale is not the only measure of weight loss.   The human body is a strange animal.  Though we may be losing weight, exercise could be turning us into a fat burning machine by increasing our muscle tone.  No, I am not going to say muscle weighs more than fat because one pound of anything weighs exactly the same as one pound of anything else.  But muscle is heavier per inch and much desired as it takes more fuel to "operate".   So your scale says you put on a pound or two this week.  Your body decided it likes the water you drank so much this week that it will hold on to it for a while, or your scale is just looking for a free trip out the bathroom window.  DO NOT FREAK OUT HERE!  Just relax!  This is not sliced chicken on a deli scale there are a lot of things working here.  I, for example didn't lose a pound for weeks but dropped a whole pant size!  Just keep doing what you are suppose to and your body will cooperate sooner or later.  If you need further "pep" grab a tape measure and begin tracking your inches!  

FOOD DEMONS!!
 
At some point in the game, usually at around a year post op, you realize if you are going to reach your goal, you are going to have to work hard for it.  The normal patient loses 70% of their excess weight with the surgery.  Beyond that is up to you.  Keeping it off is up to you.  If you have used your first year wisely, you should have developed better eating habits and better exercise habits and you can live with them.  However, your food demons of the past are still hanging around and still need to be dealt with.  Some of you are lucky.  You can't eat sugar or you will "dump" and that is the most sick you will ever be in your life!  But most of us reach a point where we can eat the foods we love and the foods that got us in trouble in the first place.  YOU MUST GET HELP FOR THIS!  You have to find out what you gain from eating those foods and learn to del with it another way.  You may find the urges are lesser now - probably because you are less depressed and feeling healthy from the foods and exercise you are getting.  But if you start to slip back, do not assume it will pass.  You CAN gain your weight back.  You CAN'T change your body back to the condition it was before surgery.  You can kill yourself not getting the protein and vitamins you need.  Not a slow, I'll die in my sleep when I'm 80 death.  A real quick road to the here after.    

Why are you exercising?
 
If you are really trying to reshape your body and tone up, I am sure there are many gyms you can join that can whip you into shape.  But, if you are exercising to lose weight, you just need to do enough to increase your metabolic rate.  That takes a brisk 15 minute work out every other day.  It can be walking, biking, swimming, or whatever.  But you only need 15 minutes every other day to turn on your fat burners.
 
If you are like me and you are now a bit weird in your shape you might want to check out Curves for women.  I am checking them out tonight and will let you know.