I’ve had slow weight loss after gastric sleeve-5 months.  I’m just a few days short of being five-months out from having my gastric sleeve surgery.  My recovery from the gastric sleeve surgery itself was rather easy as far as I was concerned.  I was up and about within a few days and didn’t really need to take pain meds after one day home.

Gastric sleeve itself was not the hard part, but how my body reacted to the surgery is another story.  I was in my fourth month out before I began to feel more myself.

After surgery I spent a lot of time throwing up my first three and half months.  I was one of the lucky ones (said sarcastically) whose body did not like what happened to it and my hormones went haywire.

It was like I was pregnant again.  Both times I’ve been pregnant, my body reacted like it has with this gastric sleeve surgery.  According to my doctor, this reaction is due to my hormones.  This surgery can throw your hormones way out of whack.  Lucky me, right!!

The Hard Part Of Slow Weight Loss After Gastric Sleeve

I couldn’t stand the smell of a lot of foods, especially meats.  This resulted in me not being able to eat with my family, neither the food or with them on several ocassions.  Nine times out of ten, I had to have different food than they were having.

When I did manage to eat, I usually had to run to the bathroom to get rid of what I had just ate.  And my body really didn’t like the medications I have to take daily unless I had something in my stomach.  And still, I may have had to make another run to the bathroom to get rid of what was in my stomach again, including the meds.

But time does heal and I’ve all but gotten past these problems.  Ocassionally, I still have the challenge with my meds, if I don’t have enough food in my stomach, but that’s my fault.  I know I need to eat, at least some crackers, but I can be stubborn and not feel like eating.  Like I said, paying for that is my own fault.

Slow Go After Gastric Sleeve Surgery

For many who go the weight loss surgery route, the weight just falls off.  For others, including me, losing weight is slow.  I had an inkling this may happen to me.

I’ve always tended to lose weight slowly.  And my pyschie really hates it.  I want to lose as fast as I know other people do, but my body doesn’t work that way.  So I am just patiently doing what I need to do and keep moving forward.  My body may not always cooperate, but I’m determined to meet my goal.

I’m down 45 pounds which is 62% of the weight my doctor wants me to lose.  He’ll be glad to see that when I go in this month.

For my own goal, I’m at 50% as I’d like to lose another 40 pounds.  I’m not expecting to ever be the size I was before I had my babies, but healthier, yes.  That’s been my goal since I started this process and that’s where I’ll keep heading.

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Beginning To See The Changes

Since the gastric sleeve surgery, I’m beginning to see the changes of my body with my own eyes.  Anyone that is overweight and lost some weight, knows how hard it is to accept that you may be smaller.

You tend to continue seeing and thinking of yourself as being the same size as when you started losing.  You may be the last person to see the changes even when people are telling you that your clothes are now way too big.  LOL—which has been happening to me.

Many of us that fight our weight have clothes of different sizes in our closet and drawers.  I’m no exception.  I had two sizes in mine—the one size that I started out in and the one I’ve been wearing.

A few weeks ago, I had a beach weekend with a good friend of mine.  Everytime we were ready to go out somewhere, she’d look at me, shake her head and tell me I needed different clothes.  What I had on were too big.

And when your best friend is telling you that, you need to pay attention.  Afterall, that’s what friends are for, right—honesty.  It made me really start to take a hard look at the clothes I’ve been wearing.

The clothes from that weekend now hang off me and are way too loose.  Soooooo, that means, I’ll be doing some shopping here soon.  I say this while rubbing my hands together 😊.  What fun!

Eat, Drink and Be Happy

After gastric bypass surgery, you can no longer eat and drink at the same time.  You want the food, particularly protein, to fill you up, not the liquid you are drinking.  This is something I’m not used to doing and I’m still working on.

I’ve always been a big water drinker.  I carry some type of filled water bottle with me all the time, even before I had gastric sleeve.  I don’t have any trouble drinking the 64 oz. of water, that is required, per day after surgery.

The water cup I usually carry is for 20 ozs., so I just make sure that I drink that full, at least three times a day.  A little more and I’ve got the 64 ozs. covered.

I like my water to be ice cold and the cups I use help with that.  I use double insulated cups that keep my drinks hot or cold.  And if you are clumsy like I am, you want one that has a lid that is leak proof.  One of the cups I use is this one.

However, I can’t use the straw.  Straws are a no-no after weight loss surgery as they can contribute to too much air going into your stomach.

Some Changes I’ve Experienced

Something that has changed for me is my taste.  Foods that have been favorites of mine, now turn me off.  For instance, I’ve always loved potato chips.  Not anymore, I can’t stand the taste of them.  Instead, I find myself craving other foods I’ve never really wanted before, like olives. 

I’ve eaten olives before surgery, but it was never very often; probably not even once a year.  I could take or leave them.  Wellllllll, now I have to keep them stocked in our refrigerator.  The olives taste good to me with some cheese, a few grapes and crackers.  Great snack or meal for me.

Other foods that I keep in stock are eggs, cottage cheese, canned chicken (for salads and chicken salads,) diced chicken, celery, cream cheese, peanut butter and low carb tortillas.  For a great snack, I put cream cheese on celery and then sprinkle “Everything But the Bagel” on top.  Excellent!

There are lots of recipes to be made with these ingredients that my stomach accepts.  And I need to eat protein, so this list also helps with that.

After bariatric surgery, you are only getting around 800 calories a day.  These calories need to include 60-80 grams of protein and then 5-25 carbs which should be good carbs.  With only eating 2-3 oz. of food at a time, protein comes first.  Protein has become my go to food and keeping ready to drink protein drinks in the frig come in handy. 

I’ve never been big on the taste of protein drinks, so I doctor them up.  This really helps me be able to drink them, whether they are ready made or I make them in the blender.

One thing I do, is put an ounce or two of hot water in my cup first and add a teaspoon of instant coffee to the water.  Add ice and then the protein shake.  If I’m blending the drink myself, I just add the instant coffee to the blender.

Other times, I’ll add a few strawberries and/or blueberries or a half of banana to help with the taste of the protein drink.  Then the drink actually tastes like a treat.

Final Thoughts

At this point in time after having gastric sleeve surgery, I still have bad days and good days.  Would I still get the surgery?  You betcha!  In a heartbeat.  The bad days I’ve had throwing up don’t take away from how much better I feel healthwise.

I’m beginning to be able to do things I couldn’t for a long time. Now, I can bend over and tie my shoes without losing my breath or breathing heavy.  Something you know about if you are overweight.  It’s wonderful.

I can also cross my legs again.  I know that may not seem to be a big deal, but to those that can’t do this one simple thing—its BIG!

When I look in the mirror, I see a smaller belly and waistline—another good thing.  I also see a smaller neck and slimmer chin.  All good things, no matter the timeline.

And I’m halfway to my goal, so I’m not doing too badly in my book.  Even if the weight keeps coming off this slowly, it will still be gone, right?  I’m in this for the long haul anyway!

If you have any questions or comments, I’d be glad to try and help.  Or if you just need some encourgement on your own journey, just let me know below.  I will definitely get back to you.

Stay Awesome!

Cher

Relevant Reading:

What is Bariatric Surgery?

Questions About Bariatric Surgery

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