former_vbg

So, another question. I have what some might consider an unusual liking for dill pickles (always have liked them). I just looked at the jar and it said Calories: 1. Now, I realize there is lots of sodium in these which can cause water retention, but just using this as an example wondering if anyone has used anything like this on their "fast days" as somewhat "freebies". There is another food I can't think of the name but I think they have next to zero calories but most taste like cardboard, but is very crunchy. Something "cakes"

Perhaps start by logging what you eat now? Then you will have an idea how many calories your at.... Then that might be your feast day calorie goal. (I would not make it under 1200... but thats just me) Then go for 500 on fast days. Good idea. I just looked at the package of pepperoni slices I finished eating and it said 140 calories for 14 pieces (7 servings per bag). I started on that bag last evening for my "snack" and finished it this morning. LOL I am a lot like a guy in my eating patterns in that I can eat the same thing over and over and over again and not care as long as I like it to begin with. It doesn't matter whether I eat the food for breakfast, lunch or dinner. hehehe... So, in some regards once I figure out what I am going to eat, then, it shouldn't be too hard to stick to it.

Thank you for sharing your stats, thank you. That's also quite impressive. I don't have a smart phone, so won't be able to use that app but I have always known that one must be diligent about being aware of what is being consumed. Sigh....

Very interesting, so I just did the calculation and it says my TDEE is 1872. BMR is 1362. I own a small horse farm and so whether I want to or not, I am out doing chores morning and night without fail. Winter time I am MUCH less active as I don't care for the cold much. Summer time I am much more active with mowing, fixing fence and all kinds of other things on the farm. That said, I work in an office and you would think that a person would have so much excess energy physically doing almost NOTHING but work at a computer and attend meetings that I would have energy at the end of the day but that's just not the case. Anyhow, thank you Georgia for that link. Very interesting and enlightening. I am certain you are right about VSGrs can't aren't likely to have as much success w/out some monitoring on the non-fast days. Total daily energy expenditure or BMR. Basal metabolic rate (the amount you burn if you do NOTHING). Here is one link. There are several calculators online. You can google it to find different ones to compare. Mine is around 1375! Which is why as VSGers we could never eat 2000 plus calories a day on non-fast days and not gain. Well, unless you are really really burning cals like some are. I'm not! . http://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/calorie-calculator-tdee-bmr-bmi/

Very interesting Georgia that you are experiencing the same thing as me in that low carb no longer works for getting off the regain. If you don't mind, when you get back to the 5:2 plan, I would be curious to follow your progress and your strategy.

Hey, I just noticed that under my picture there is a caption that says "LAP-BAND patient". That wasn't there before the website change. I've never had the lapband surgery. I had the Vertical Banded Gastroplasty surgery 15plus years ago but had the sleeve surgery 2 1/2 years ago. I never registered on this site as a lap bander. Sorry, I know that's off topic, but if anyone knows how to fix this, I don't see anything in my profile to do so.

Yeah, I have heard that can happen to people who have gone through WLS. What is a TDEE?

Thank you for that link. Very interesting. I like how they worked their way into the science behind the 5-2 plan. While I don't doubt that this Mr. Mosely lost the weight he says and had the improved blood results, I have a hard time wrapping my head around how weight loss is possible eating "whatever" someone wants on the 5 days of non-fasting. I think I saw some people post that they still try to limit their caloric intake on the non-fast days. I also found his website http://thefastdiet.co.uk/ I haven't gone through his site yet, although, it appears he is trying to make some $ from this but to his credit he does have a lot of helpful links in there along with recipes for the non-fasting days and such. I found this soup one intriguing although whether I will ever get around to making it remains to be seen seeing as how much I hate cooking and by cooking, that means just about anything that can't be unwrapped and stuck in the microwave. Yes, I know that's lazy but my lifestyle (job and other responsibilities) is also extremely hectic so its not like I just don't want to make time- its finding the time. Anyhow, enough about that. I am even more intrigued now. I also sent it to my friend who lives in Germany who isn't obese, never has been, but since living abroad for the last 5 years, she has gained 20# with all the festive events with the wines and such over there. She's very much analytical minded like myself so I'm curious if she will try this. Anyhow, thank you guys. All very helpful posts! Now I need to figure out my own strategy since I have never looked at calories since surgery and always focused on low carb eating, I need to look up some different foods to keep me in the 400 to 500 calorie range that would be easy for me to stay on track as well as not being empty calories. I'll continue to watch what you guys post on what you eat and pick up some things from that too.

If you are talking about our fast days? I personally try to make my calories dense protein and non starchy veggies on fast days so carbs don't really come into play as far as watching them..As a matter of fact unless I'm seriously blowing it I still watch my carbs on all days, as I'm pretty sure all the other 5:2 people here do.. My question on carbs was not specific to the fasting days or not- was just a question in general. I have always had success with keeping my carbs low. One thing I haven't been able to understand though is prior to my surgery (2 1/2 yrs ago), I ALWAYS had success doing the Atkins diet. Ok, so obviously it didn't has lasting effects but I've tried the Atkins style of eating over the past few months with little or NO success which has me absolutely befuzzled. My bloodwork is all in check, don't have any health issues, etc., so I'm just trying to assess how to approach the 5:2 plan. Atkins style of eating has always been my preferred method simply because I HATE cooking, HATE preparing food, etc., and so if I can get by with just eating meat products and other low carb foods, it was super easy for me to follow. You guys might laugh but I have no problem snacking on Pepperoni slices and the like. Yes, high in salt content I believe. My point is that for whatever reason the Atkins style of eating doesn't work anymore like it did pre-surgery. Admittedly I need to incorporate more veggies and such. Just trying to figure out my strategy so I don't get frustrated and quit. I need to take off 20# of regain.

So, I'm curious. I've been watching the posts here- haven't tried this yet. I see everyone mention their focus strictly on calories but never carbs. I realize its about clean eating, but there are lots of foods that are not poor choices can be low calorie but high in carbs. Various fitness bars come to mind but there are other more traditional foods- just can't think any at the moment.

Good grief, never mind then. I was just looking to get support from others who are doing well, experienced, just getting started, etc on this plan. I've done my own googling on this but hearing what works/ didn't work for others was all I was looking for.

Since the move to this new website, I for the life of me haven't been able to find the official 5-2 group. Can someone tell me where this is at?

Please give us a little more information. Things like: 1 What was your start weight? 2. What is your goal weight? 3. How are you measuring your food? Carbs? Calories? 4. Based on how you are measuring/ monitoring your food intake, how many carbs/ calories are you taking in on a day? 5. What kinds of foods are you eating? Give us some typical examples.

Just curious for the low carbers on something. For years, I have always had success doing low carb and could get into ketosis within 2 to 3 days with ease. I have about 18# of regain and for the life of me I can't get into ketosis anymore. I have the sticks so I know this, but even more frustrating it doesn't have the weight loss effect it did prior to surgery. Just curious if anyone has any thoughts on this.

Loved your story! I think everyone here can relate to the loss/ regain scenarios you described and the frustrations it all entails. I just wanted to tell you that I can tell from reading your post that I really think you will do well and I look forward to the day when you can come back on here and post a NSV (non-scale victory) about being able to glide under one of your race cars to fix something with little or no blocks needed because you were so thin! My little brother loves race cars also. Don't ask me what kind but if I were to guess I think they are Sprint cars. He goes to Indiana for some national event there every year. Best of luck to you!

I'm not sure when you had your surgery but the weight most CERTAINLY can come back on. This is ONLY a tool and a tool is only as good as the person using it. That said, if someone wants to drink their calories or eat slider foods, then the tool will not work as intended. If you eat the dense Protein and healthier foods then yeah you are going to keep things under control. It requires ongoing vigilance and the further out you get from surgery the more difficult it can become. Maybe not for everyone but for lots of people. The same thing for those who did not lose near the weight they hoped in that first year or yr and a half from surgery are going to have a MUCH more difficult time reaching goal. It's just a fact and if you read the stories of people who have gone/ are going through that, you will see them talk about their struggles.

Ok, I just got the revision packet from the surgeon's office I have been considering for my revision surgery. Overall, the packet is pretty standard, asks all the standard stuff for your background- but on the first page it states that there is a non-refundable $500 fee to cover costs NOT COVERED by insurance. They say it is to pay for them to submit the insurance approval, post-op (support group) and misc. fees. I'm sorry, but even though this Dr. is FACS, ASMBS and I have check his state licensing board (no negative remarks), and has lots of people who have talked well of him. I don't know if this is a new fee to recoup costs that he doesn't get from the negotiated rates from the ins. companies, but it doesn't sit well with me. Anyone ever heard of this?

I'm so sorry to hear this. When did you have your surgery? How much total did you lose when you were at your lowest? Was there something major that changed in your life that triggered this? Have you tried doing the 5 day pouch test? If not, you can google it and find plenty of sites that explain how to do this. It's helpful for people to try and get back on track. I have struggled myself. I had my surgery a little more than 2 yrs ago and my lowest was 121 as of last summer. I lost my job in Jan this past year and my weight got up to 151. Fortunately I have started going back down and am now 139 and continuing to go back down. I've gone back to focusing on just dense protein and uppinc my exercise. Not saying its easy because its not. Just offering some suggestions and that your not alone in your struggle.

NP. I was actually successful for 5 or 6 years for the most part. If I'm honest, I can't really blame the surgery for its failure. I allowed myself to get derailed by being in a relationship with a man who had horrible eating habits and never really got much more than a beer belly (even though he didn't drink). That's another story entirely though.... The sleeve has been awesome though!

VBG is not stomach stapeling. It is vertical banded gastroplasty. There were about 2 common techniques used for this procedure. The most common was to use a mesh banding to create basically a ballon the same as the band that people are still getting today. The other was some sort of silicon ring. I had this surgery back in 95 and had the mesh. The basic difference between the VBG and today's band is that today's band is adjustable, the VBG was not adjustable. Either way, the VBG was not successful for most people and stats say today's band is not very successful either.

Thanks. I wish I had the time to try to do that. I know there are some folks on this board that are from the KC area, but we are all so very spread out in the city that it seems nobody can ever agree where to meet. Oh well. I like this site and I like the support I get here. Have a great day!

Yes, that's how I know I am not welcome. I had my surgery in Denton, TX. There aren't nearly as many WL surgeons in KC as there are in the Dallas and surrounding areas. There are probably 4 or 5 reputable ones and outsiders are not allowed.

I wish there was a support group in the Kansas City area I could join. Since I had my surgery in TX, none of the support groups through the local surgeons will allow people to attend that weren't clients which I think is crappy. I'm not into WW, so this site has become my support group which is good but it would also be nice to have some local people to connect with and be able to share about the challenges we all face regardless of what stage of the journey we are all on.

Girl you are SOOOO right! I know that despite how hard I worked to get this weight off that it could come back pretty quickly if I don't watch it. I'm still struggling to get the 12# that I have put on from reaching goal. While I'm thankful I have a tool to help me and w/out this tool, I would be in a bigger world of trouble. That being said, I'm still having to work hard to get this off. I've been out of work since January and I go from being really good for awhile and then I go through a series of job rejections which sometimes triggers an emotional thing where I revert back to old habits. I still make myself weigh everyday. I know that doesn't work for everyone, but I feel that is the only way for me to stay accountable. Denial is how I got where I was and I need to know where I stand everyday whether I like the # or not.

That is awesome! I'm in the same boat as you. I have about 15# to lose right now to get to my original goal weight of 120#. I had actually gained 18# and like you the clothes I had worn at goal weren't fitting so well. It's easy to slip and think it's still ok but its not. There is also part of the old me that gets into this "I'm always gonna be fat" mindset, so you feel like giving in or up/ whichever. Like you said this was just a tool. I never forgot that, but the first year or so, it was so much easier to drop the weight. Now that we have moved well beyond the "honeymoon" phase, it can get frustrating when the scale doesn't move as quickly. My schedule doesn't allow for me to visit a gym, but I live on a small farm outside the city and so with Spring here, I hope that more activity gardening, mowing and working outside will give me some of that extra activity I need to facilitate getting those #'s off. It won't give me the cardio that I really need, so I will just have to be extra diligent with my food selection. Ahhh.... I wish we didn't have to work so hard at this but we do. That's just our new "norm".