Help, getting down on myself.

[Texgal2]

I'm 3 weeks post op and have lost 15 pounds since then. I've been so thrilled with watching the scale steadily go down and have been feeling great. I started the soft food stage and thank goodness because I was so sick of the puréed stage. It was great timing since I had to go out of town to visit family and I thought it would make meal time way easier. I was eager to jump back into the "real world of eating" to see how it would go. I have to admit I didn't really count calories, protein,carbs or anything else. A sample of what I had was a teeny tiny piece of cake, a couple of sips of gumbo, tiny piece of grilled fish, 2 fries and so on throughout the weekend. Definitely not "diet food" or what my Nut told me to do but extremely small portions of whatever I did eat. I thought how in the world could anyone gain weight on these portion sizes?!?! Well guess what, that is what happened!! Two pounds to be exact. I'm so incredibly disappointed! I went through this life changing surgery to get away from a lifetime of yo yo dieting. Now I feel like if I don't carefully count and weigh and discriminatingly pick what foods to eat I will never continue to lose weight. I realize I'm probably being very dramatic but I'm scared that my expectations of my new sleeve are just a fantasy. Any thoughts?

[SJME25]

I completely understand where you are coming from, I am only a month post surgery so I understand worrying about everything. I would use this weekend as a learning moment. I wouldnt stay down on yourself and just make better choices for yourself. You need to remember this is a lifetime lifestyle change and only take one day at a time. I would kick up your exercise and brush off the weekend and start again. We are human so we are going to make mistakes and if you continue to get down on yourself you might stay in the frame of mind and go back to old habits....Good Luck....

[JRay143]

I haven't made it to the "real food" phase yet. But, from the advice I've been told: you aren't eating for enjoyment now, you're eating for survival. Proteins first, always....then if there is room- you can try and squeeze the other stuff in. You're basically using this smaller stomach as a tool, but you still need to make smart eating choices always. Just like before when you ate French fries & cake, you'd gain weight..same thing is going to happen now.
Idk if this isnt anything you've ever heard before, but just thought I'd try and help.
Good luck with the rest of your journey.

[Matthewsiv]

Do not get on the slippery slope of carbohydrates.

Protein first and then vegetables.

No more than 4 ounces a meal , every 3 hours, 5 to 6 meals a day.

Drink lots of water.

I wish I had done the above as I thought I knew better and lost my way.

Good luck and follow the above.

[SethP]

Soft food stage is not real food. You should still be off of the refined sugars that are found in cake. You can have mashed potatoes but fried should still be a no no. No you dont mention it but what about your cycle? Is it getting close to your monthly? I have seen that many women retain fluids during that time period and see a weight fluctuation. I think you are over reacting a little and that you will see them 2 pounds disappear very quickly. Dont set yourself up for failure by sabatoging your "honeymoon" phase of this journey. You will lose the most weight in the first 6 months so take advantage of that and make some good habits. Godspeed on your journey.

[Texgal2]

I really don't want to come off as a whiny, ungrateful you know what but I wouldn't be in this situation if I was able to be compliant with an eating plan, as I suspect 95% of us. I don't want to say diet because I know it's supposed to be a life style change. It's beyond frustrating to be "good" for weeks, follow the plan and then not eat the prescribed foods in the tiniest of portions to just pack on the pounds. Even in my worst days of eating habits (pre sleeve) I wouldn't of gained weight with those small mis steps. Your right, this is supposed to be a tool to control portion control so who would have thought a bite of "this and that" would add up to 2 pounds?? WTH?!? I know the correct food plan, believe me it's in my head 24/7, that's not the point. No one is perfect and I was just hoping that if I detoured for a moment I wouldn't be setting the scale to the wrong side. Insert sigh here.

[Mbenson5]

It is probably just water retention from the salt in the fries. Don't sweat it, you can fluctuate a lot from day to day. You do want to be careful, because you are still healing. I also eat a bite here and there of what I used to have on a regular basis, and it never caused gain IF I went right back to healthy eating the next day. You have to stay on top of it, which it looks like you are doing. Best wishes to you!

[newu2014]

Not going to like this but are you disappointed in the sleeve or yourself? Three weeks out and you are picking at foods that you shouldn't even be thinking about eating. It's not a diet and you shouldn't be thinking about being "good" or "bad" it's a lifestyle change. It's one weekend, just a few pounds and possibly you are hitting your three week stall. I stuck to the plan and did not lose for 8 days during my three week stall. Use your frustration to your advantage. Get back on your plan, protein..protein...protein and drink water as much as possible. I stepped on the scale at day 9 and lost 3 pounds. I would recommend you track your food on fitness pal app so you know exactly what you are eating....you could be eating too much sugar or carbs even with the reduced amount of food. You can do this. You made a major change in your body but now you need to commit to a major change in your mind. Don't be scared, be strong! Good luck.

[raerie81]

I like many others stated here completely understand. I thought that the beginning would be the easiest and fastest part of my weight loss journey. It wasn't. I tell you when it was for me. When I got up and started moving despite some discomfort. Also, once I moved onto the more solid foods and was able to make my 62/62 protein and water counts that is when my weight started to come off faster and more consistently.
It's so much harder than I thought but the scale is still moving in the right direction if you are losing. My advice is to try and not compare your experience to others, be nice to yourself in ways you couldn't before, and always reach out like you did now when you feel you are alone or can't do it. This s a great place for that!

[natex14]

Stop beating yourself up. Lots of people don't eat well on vacation. Plus, I will guarantee you that you didn't gain two pounds of fat, as someone else mentioned, it's water. You retain water from sitting for long periods and from eating salty fries. Items with sugar in them often have a lot of salt as well.

If I want a fry, I eat a fry. Some people are so good at this that they have the sleeve and then their lifestyle changes and they eat clean and the world is good. Most of us are not like that, we crave sugar and salt from time to time. I have noticed that if I want some sugar and I tell myself no, that is when I want a whole cake (not that I could eat it all). Then I eat too much sugar and I get mad at myself, call myself a failure and then eat some more sugar.

You have to stop that cycle. I'm not saying to go on a fry diet, but a lot of people on here have been successful with giving into some cravings from time to time. I counter mine with lots of bike riding, but I also am consistently under 1,500 calories a day, even with eating some sugar.

This is long term, don't give up, don't beat yourself, stick to protein first, and if you want a fry, have a fry, just not a basket of fries.

[Metread]

Your sleeve is still very new and healing. Introducing foods like that are not healthy. Also, you are setting the pace for how you will continue to eat. Don't slip in to old habits. You can have those foods in moderation later on, but right now you need to focus on learning how to eat again.

[ximmia]

You're being too hard on yourself. There could be other factors other than what you ate that contributed to your gaining a couple of pounds - did you drink enough water? Did you get your exercise? Is it almost your TOM? All these things can lead to retaining water which will lead to that weight gain. Don't sweat it.

You don't need a lecture so I'm not going to give you one. What I will gently suggest is that you're letting your negative voice creep into your conscious mind. You know, that negative voice that yelled at you before your surgery - the one that got you down and kept you there, or told you you're not good enough, or told you you were fat and nothing would ever work. That's the voice that's the hardest to get rid of and these two pounds gave it the perfect excuse to rear its head. What I would suggest you do is to recognize the negative voice for what it is, and then tell it to shut the hell up. You don't need it anymore. And expect it to put up a struggle. As you get rid of it, it will come back larger and larger as it knows you're trying to get rid of it. Think of a cat digging its claws into that chair and you try and pull it off. It's the same thing.

Now, next step is to forgive yourself. It's 2 pounds, it's not the end of the world. Find the reason for it, own it, forgive yourself and move on. Don't forget there are four keys to our new life - protein, water, exercise and attitude. Commit every single day and you'll find you give an antibiotic equivalent for your negative voice. It will get quieter.

And I'm an example. I'm up a couple of pounds and I'm not worried about it. My body is still changing. I'm building muscle like crazy. I'm happy and healthy and I know that when I'm ready I'll break my stall and plunge closer to my goal. Protein, water, exercise, attitude. That's what I live by and it works for me.

[dyberrah]

Not going to like this but are you disappointed in the sleeve or yourself? Three weeks out and you are picking at foods that you shouldn't even be thinking about eating. It's not a diet and you shouldn't be thinking about being "good" or "bad" it's a lifestyle change. It's one weekend, just a few pounds and possibly you are hitting your three week stall. I stuck to the plan and did not lose for 8 days during my three week stall. Use your frustration to your advantage. Get back on your plan, protein..protein...protein and drink water as much as possible. I stepped on the scale at day 9 and lost 3 pounds. I would recommend you track your food on fitness pal app so you know exactly what you are eating....you could be eating too much sugar or carbs even with the reduced amount of food. You can do this. You made a major change in your body but now you need to commit to a major change in your mind. Don't be scared, be strong! Good luck.

Very, very well said!!!

[candik]

Be careful not to graze but instead have small meals on regular intervals. You mentioned eating a small bit here and a small bit there throughout the entire weekend which may be part of the culprit. Also be very careful on what you are feeding your body at this stage since you are still healing. The one thing I have stuck to so far since surgery is that what I choose to eat must benefit my health and not my mental/emotional hunger. Cake, gumbo and fries will not benefit your health and isn't improved health the reason you began this journey in the first place?

[Kathysangels]

Hello Ximmia:
Have missed you lately - haven't seen any posts by you.

What you say is always so on the spot. You very gently tell people what they need to hear (I heard you a lot when I first started). You give advice in the tone of "someone who has been there". I so appreciate it when you take time to voice your thoughts and kind advice. Thank you for sharing.

As for Texgal2 - my advice is to throw away the scale. I made a big mistake and constantly weighed myself the first few weeks and when I went into the 3 week stall - for almost two months - I was so upset. Some of the people on this site (Tinman and others) gave me good advice to throw away the scale and start listening to my body - to eat protein and get in my liquids, but to otherwise eat what I feel I need including an occasional treat if that is what I need at that moment. The scale is the worst enemy - and it is definitely not your friend. I have only been weighed the last 4 months at the doctors office and just did what I felt was right; and it has worked so far!

Kathy