Globetrotter

@ ribearty, what is HCG?

Thank you very much Gamergirl. Yes it will be tricky to adhere to such a diet but I have to try, probiotics, green superfood powder, flaxseed, coconut oil, protein shakes, sardines in olive oil, tuna, and as many greens as I can get at the difac plus ots of green tea even though I HATE green tea, blechhh. But I have to try, having been recently diagnosed with an autoimmune disease.

I am gluten free but need to go even further.

Has anyone here with an autoimmune disorder looked toward diet to ease symptoms? Cutting edge discoveries (seriously like in just the last few months) are starting to link GI issues + autoimmune + neurological disorders. Something never paid attention to before is something called "Leaky Gut Syndrome", wherein proteins leak into the blood stream, and the body attacks them, creating autoimmune issues. I am about to start on something called GI Protect, if anyone else has been on it or something similar, please pm me.

Hello my friends, I have returned I was medevac'd to Germany (Landstuhl) for various reasons, I took my tablet along instead of my laptop, good for travelling light, bad for VST app! VST on the tablet SUCKS!! After much patience I could get to the page, but could never click over to another page. Anyway, it turned out that I did not have a hernia, which will be interesting because that was the reason I applied for worker's comp, so I don't know what they will say now that I didn't have to have a surgery ... And, it is now no longer a matter of weight loss vanity, regarding my diet, it is now a matter of sustaining my mental and physical health. Although I will still follow the timing of 5:2, I will now also be attempting to do something called the Wahls Protocol, which will be difficult to achieve out here but I will try. It calls for huge amounts of leafy greens, Omega fatty acids, as close to 0 transfats as possible, and concentrated amounts of B and D Vitamin. I need to eat some form of Probiotics every day, flaxseed or another Fiber every day, my B and Omega Vitamins every day ... Has anyone here ever heard of something called "Leaky Gut" Syndrome? It is on the cutting edge of discovery that is happening right now, connecting GI issues + autoimmune diseases + neurological disorders.

Ever see the musical movie, "Chicago"? "He had it comin', he had it comin', he only had himself to blame! If youda been there, if youda seen it! You would have done the same!" lolol If you really need and want and gotsta have the bacon ... http://www.foodiefiasco.com/?s=bacon I can't wait to try this, the minute I have access to a kitchen!

Here is a link to a scientific research study showing that high Protein breakfasts lead to long term reduction in ghrelin response, that satiety lasts longer with pure protein, and that ghrelin is glucose dependent, fascinating!! http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/83/2/211.long

I am 3 years out, I have recently been doing the 5:2 method to reestablish weight loss, I've had some regain in the past year due to trauma and stress. Has anyone out there been on "regular" calories (<1200 a day) and then decided to go back to severe low cal, or even go back to liquids/mushies? I don't mean a 5 day pouch test reset, but an actual return to post-op eating as a means to rejuvenate their weight loss? As I have examined my weight loss history I have discovered that, even though my exercise was diligent and my food tracking was faithful and my carbs remained low - as my calories increased, my weight loss slowed down to a crawl and then stopped altogether. The only time I lost reasonably well was when I was 800 or less cals a day, 40 or less grams of carbs a day, and 70g's Protein. Now, it could just be a coincidence that I was eating that way when I was losing the best, it could easily have been just a result of still being in my honeymoon phase ... thoughts, ideas, opinions?

@ MichiganChic - sorry I didn't respond to your questions - I have 60 pounds to go until goal, so, it's not an insignificant amount. Today I went into my online food tracker (FatSecret) and looked over my entries for the months that I had the best weight loss and sure enough, even though some days were a lot less and some days were a lot more, I averaged out to about 800 cals a day and, more importantly, less than 40g's carbs. I've decided to do Reverse 5:2; so instead of 5 days on food and 2 days off, I'm going to try 5 days off food 2 days on. So I will have Feed Days on Mondays and Fridays.

Lynda - thank you for being brave enough to buck! That's all I wanted, to just discuss it. Chimera - that is absolutely incredible and just what I needed!! Who was that incredible veteran all star?? I have done 5:2 ADF for 23 days now, with no results. I am going to switch it up to 5:2 In Reverse, and see what happens.

GeorgiaGeorgiaGeorGIAH! GeorgiaGeorgiaGeorGIAH! (sung to the conga line tune) yay! Were you completely naked when you weighed? Before a shower? I take any advantage I can get, lol. Eating day since it is my Monday (it's Sunday), 2 scrambled eggs, .5C roasted potato, tea w/milk. a double chocolate mocha frozen Protein Shake Whatever Protein they offer at dinner, plus whatever greens they have for salad, 2 TBSP caesar dressing. Flax seed in my shake, Vitamins and probiotic pills.

Oh sorry, missed the bit about timing - it looks like I should be there by Tues or Wed of this week, and will probably be there for at least a week. Today's food - 2 sausage patties, a hash brown, a biscuit, grapefruit juice. grapes, prime rib, herbal tea, pickles, garlic naan bread. While I'm traveling it will be Protein Bars (most easily portable) and after surgery shakes, for ease of, uh, digestion ;P And of course I'm talking to you Swizz, I'm a big girl, and I'm surrounded by soldiers all day who throughly enjoy giving verbal flayings

Yes, I know, I know I can be prickly and thin skinned, and every single person's concern here is absolutely correct. I suppose sometimes the analyst in me just gets the upper hand; I asked if anybody had done this, and whether they got results from it, that's what I wanted to know. Yes, I know I am irritable, I am short tempered right now, I am under a lot of stress but I would very much like to keep this thread from turning into a let's-flame-globe session. My original question was a valid one, if it upsets people too much or they can't answer it, I will take it down.

I will be going to a military hospital called Landstuhl, all I know is it is near Rammstein air base and I assume visitors are allowed so long as they have some kind of id (passport, driver's license). How cool would that be!

I'll keep that in mind, I'm switching over to 5:2 from ADF, to see what happens.

I hear you, I accept the wisdom in the advice. However.. There is rather alarming research on the deliterious effects of intermitent (sp) fasting for women, all that great research out there on how awesome fasting is, has been done almost exclusively on males. Yeah, my body was made to eat. And eat and eat and eat ... If my body was so naturally self-caretaking, I never would have needed surgery in the first place, my wiring is different. If being of a severely low cal diet for say, 3 months, was as devastating as you make it sound, then why is it "okay" in the months after post-op? It's not like some magic fairy cloud of protection settles upon you during that time, or even that your body is different - after all they only removed some stomach, not a Roux-Y, not a DS. Please explain why doing it then is okay, and doing it now is not. Also, there's so much preaching on VSG, preach preach preach, to listen to your body, your body will tell you what it needs, blah blah blahhhhhh. Usually from people who have reached goal relatively swiftly. Well, my body has been talking to me for 2 years, trying to get me to realize that the only way I lose weight is on very low calorie and very low carb. Am I only allowed to listen to my body if it's giving me a message that the VST gurus approve? I am not a 6'4" male with male hormones, I am a 5'3" 31 yo female with the complex cocktail of female hormones. I am also not a noob, I'm a 3 year vet and I've tried all the things you try - without success. I know that I am under a fair bit of stress, obviously I am, look at me ranting, lol, but I posed this question because I really wanted to hear from people who had done what the question asks - not because I wanted to hear from people who haven't done it, but who have an opinion on why I shouldn't do it. know what I mean?

The medevac is for the hernia, the concussion has mostly abated. Right now I'm figuring out how to organize all of my work so that I can leave my team prepared.

How much are we really talking about here? I know that a person will look dramatically different/thinner, obviously, but can a person lose a decent amount of blubber via plastics? I still have a LOT of weight to lose, and I realize that I cannot substitute plastics for the work, but walk with me while I daydream ... If a person had total body contouring, TT, lipo, arm lift & lipo, thigh lift & lipo, etc. etc. etc. - could they concievably *lose* 20 lbs? 40?

Cheri - I understood every bit of your acronym Soup lolol!! I am a DA CIV, so am treated like a uniformed soldier for all intents and purposes, I have an AKO address, I will PM you with it. Protein coffee, how's that? Do you just mix chocolate Protein Powder with some coffee or do you use an espresso protein like Click? I like to make a dirty chai frozen Protein Drink. Today I've had scrambled eggs and cheese, half a sausage patty, tea with milk, a Protein Shake, and half a tiny salad with caesar dressing. I may or may not have a piece of turkey with some mustard, or a half a slice of pound cake with some tea, I'm not sure. This was the first day back with the difac so I went a little nutty. I have also decided to abandon ADF, even though I enjoy it, and instead do 5:2 like all y'all. I will fast on Mondays and Fridays, which probably sounds like the worst idea to you guys lol, but here my "Monday" is actually Sunday, and Fridays are actually my Saturdays. It looks like I will be getting medevac'd to Germany, how do you say protein in Deutch? Cheri I will PM you!

Oh man, Pookeyism, that is awesome! Thanks, this is exactly the kind of info I was hoping to learn! Is there a book you might recommend to educate myself on raw?

Not purely raw, I love my meat! But does anyone eat "raw"? If not, there are a bunch of very cool raw websites/blogs that have the neatest recipes that use really cool clever ways of substituting healthful foods for junk. A few examples include spiral cutting zucchinis to make them look like noodles, instead of eating pure carb pasta, and "not fish" *fried* fishsticks, and low carb gluten-free "burger patties" or "taco" salad. Anyway, curious to find out if any other sleevers are interested in eating this way, if you already are, and how that's working out for you ...

You're welcome ad2422!

I wonder, am I the only one who finds that "My Body gallery" really depressing? I always feel worse after looking at it, not better, not uplifted. Because I type in my goal weight and the women still look a little soft and chunky. and since I am a solid 30 lbs away from that, I still look chubbyfat. I typed in my current weight, and yup, those women look like they are walking the fine edge of chubby and fat. Then I typed in my pre-op high, which is over 100 lbs heavier than I am now, and I SWEAR TO YOU, I saw no difference between one of the pics there and the pic at my current weight. They looked the SAME to me. If you had shown me those pics and asked me to say how much heavier the one was, I might have said, "20 lbs maybe?" Not 100. I also typed in the lowest weight I've been since sleeve, when I was a total gym rat 7 days a week crossfit pilates maniac, and even that looks soft curvy and slightly chub. When do I get to stop being the fat girl!?!

Well, no, it didn't (sorry!) because I already declared, at the beginning of the very first sentence, that I am a meat eater and love meat. What I meant was, in addition to eating meat, just because the foods can be delicious, does anyone out there sometimes make raw recipes. It was really more of a shout out to people, since this is the food thread, to say, "hey, here are some resources for yummy alternative foods!"

How far post-op are you? I would hold off first acidic foods like tomatoes for the first 6 months.