LifetimeLoser

NUT says about 30 grams...I don't know what I believe.

Another thing we have in common! I used to be quite obsessive about the gym back in the day. It is definitely something all fall prey to. According to my trainer, there are worse things. I don't like being obsessive about anything, but the gym makes me feel good. STRONG. POWERFUL. Lifting weights makes me feel even better. I stopped really caring about the scale and am excited to see my trainer again to see if I gain any muscle. I'm just waiting...only two more weeks! I can still eat about 2 0z. of dense food now...so I don't think it will change much. Are you going to join a gym and get a trainer???

what an awesome post! It really helps those, like you said, who do everything right, but don't see the scale move as fast as some of those losing weight much more quickly, not eating right and not exercising. It doesn't seem fair sometimes. I just try to remember that just because someone is losing massive amount quickly does not mean they aren't losing muscle and the whole goal is to lose fat mass.

no you won't have to sip forever. when I work out I can drink 32 oz of water or more in a 2 hour time frame. I am 8 weeks post op and I used to have to sip, sip, sip. Now I don't have to sip...now granted I can't CHUG...and I know what you mean by chugging water. I miss doing that. It is almost like I don't have the same feeling of satisfaction as when I drink small amounts. but my sips are much larger now.

awe...pretty girl!

sweet!!! I love the active wear!!!

there is a definite difference! Did you take pics from different angles. I couldn't really see a difference between my pre op and one month pics until I looked at the one from me behind. I guess that is where I lose my weight first!

100g is definitely not too much Protein. I would say don't drink/eat more than 30g at a time. http://www.marksdailyapple.com/dear-mark-how-much-protein-can-you-absorb-and-use-from-one-meal/#axzz2NgebWeWM

you are not alone

I'll have to try that...sounds yummy

love it

I'm only 5 weeks post op, but I notice the more weight I lose the more active I get. The more active I get the more energy i have. The more energy I have the less I am at home on the computer. That is my reasons as to why I am not on here as much as I used to be in the beginning. I think people who are vets are probably just living his or her life! They are out enjoying things and doing things they never used to.

on average less than 40 grams.

I joined the gym on monday and have been going consistently since then. It has made me extremely tired and I have finally felt my hunger again. It has definitely been a difficult past few days. I'm tired, hungry, and I think I am dehydrated. I still have some things to work on as far as eating goes. I go too long without eating and let myself get famished. By the time I eat, I am so hungry that I kind of want to just stuff my face. Of course I can't, so what I end up doing is taking a huge bite (and then I remember and get afraid) and slowly chew and every once in awhile I will swallow. I have to work on eating every 2-3 hours. I know it isn't an excuse, but sometimes I get so busy that I don't get a chance to. The other thing I am failing on is giving my body enough water. I get my recommended dose, but I don't think it is enough. I still feel thirsty. I haven't really been carrying around a water bottle all day which is what I think I need to do. Oh and I definitely still need to work on my half hour before and after no drinking rule. I am getting better, but it is sooooo hard. Well, back to the hunger. I keep feeling hungry and not quite satisfied. Except today (because I ate some chicken at chili's) I have been averaging about 600 calories...so I haven't necessarily been eating more food. I really think it is the cardio and weight lifting that is making me feel like I need more food because my belly feels full, but just doesn't feel like it is enough. I am going to put more effort into drinking water ALL day long instead of what is convenient. I am hoping this puts a dent in things.

Thank you!. Yes I have noticed the same thing about drinking and eating.

wow that is wonderful.

This afternoon I had my one month check up with Dr. Fowler, although technically it is almost 5 weeks. According to his scale, I weighed in at 278. I weighed myself this morning and was 276 on my scale at home (which is a 1 lb difference from his...I already figured that out). So within a few hours I gained a couple pounds, but I'm not worried about it. I had done a lot of cardio and drank a lot before my afternoon appointment. I think I will stick to morning appointments from now on though because I don't like to see the number go up in a few hours ...no matter what the reason is. I was able to ask him some questions that I have been wondering. First, I had a 38 bougie used on my tummy. He said he always uses this size. He used to use anywhere between a 28 and 60, but over the years they have found that a 38 has had the least amount of complications. I was worried this was big and did some research on the net as to what the difference is between a 32 and a 38. Well, it is miniscule. Anyone who is worried that a 38 is too big has nothing to worry about. It is literally the diameter of a pen and a 32? Well just a smaller pen. Compared to the size of the stomach before it is a huge difference! I'm not worried anymore now that I understand how miniscule the differences are. I was also able to ask him about my calorie intake. It has been bothering me for some time that I am rarely hungry and get in about 300 to 600 calories daily. There are others who can eat twice as much as that and had surgery the same week. I was worried that I wasn't getting enough nutrition and that it might stall my weight loss. He basically told me not to worry about my calories. He said I wasn't losing weight super fast so it isn't even an issue. He just told me as long as I am getting my protein, water, and vitamins in that it basically doesn't matter. As to why I am rarely hungry, he said that was a sign that my body is still in ketosis. Yay! I feel so much better. I will not be forcing myself to get in more calories than my body wants anymore. I am just going to listen to my body. One more thing I have to work on is not eating until I am full. I want to learn how to eat until I am satisfied which requires me eating super slow. I still haven't mastered that one yet! But that is my goal as far as eating goes. I joined the gym today! Yep, I finally got down to it. I have had a gym membership pretty much my whole entire life except for the past two years. I canceled it because I just wasn't using it. Well, I joined. I actually sat in the car for a good half an hour just staring at the gym. I had a little anxiety about walking in there. Is everyone going to look at me? Are they going to be rude to me? Well I got over it. I just said in my mind I need to do this for me. I got signed up and did my 60 minutes of cardio. For me, it is so much easier working out in a gym setting. I hate working out at home. I love being able to focus on no one, but myself. I love blasting my music and tuning the whole world out. It is my peace and quiet time. I think that is why I used to love going to the gym before. It is almost like meditation for me. It was exciting and I am not even tired. So all in all, today was a good day. No, it was a great day! I am so looking forward to my weight loss with my tool and my newly added gym membership.

I drink a protein shake before I go in and then carry a bottle of water around with my while at the gym. If I didn't have a sleeve as a stomach, then I would probably do things a little differently. Back in the day...before all of this...I would have something like a banana to give me energy for my workouts and then after my workout...I had my high protein meal/shake etc. especially if I was lifting weights. This has what has always been recommended by my fitness trainers.

I understand your frustration. I posted on here a couple of weeks ago because I hit a stall for 2 weeks only 10 days post op. My NUT recommended replacing some of my protein with carbs like applesauce. I did that for only about a day because I, personally, don't want to add any carbs that I don't really need. The scale did to start to move again. I had surgery January 30th. I basically lost a pound every day for the first 10 days, then hit a stall for 2 weeks and then lost a lb every day. After being frustrated, I eventually just stopped weighing myself and took my measurements. I also took pictures right before surgery and 4 weeks post op. The scale doesn't always reflect size loss. At 5 weeks post op I am still eating between 300 to 600 calories a day. As some other people have mentioned, I don't think the calories are all that important. I mean I think there are many different paths to reach the same goal. I did ask my surgeon yesterday about it. He was not concerned about it. He told me as long as I am hydrated, take my Multivitamins, and get my protein in, then I have nothing to worry about it and don't worry about the calories I am also pretty much never hungry. He said that to him that means my body is still in ketosis. I guess the important thing is how you feel with what you are eating. How is your energy level? Are you still hungry? etc. This first month has been kind of figuring things out for me. I've realized that everyone has sort of a different approach, but most people end up losing weight. Some don't exercise, some eat lots of carbs, some eat no carbs, but for the most part everyone seems to be losing weight. It is an individual process despite everyone going through the same procedure. As a veteran dieter, I pretty much no what works best for my body. I have always lost the most amount of weight, consistently doing low carb like the south beach diet and I have pretty much decided that is what I am going to do and stick with it. I am not going to worry about the fluctuations in the scale because I will only be weighing in once a month and at dr./trainer/NUT appointments. I guess figure out what you want to do and stick with it! As far as exercising goes, I would put on some boots and just trudge through the snow. I know that winded me when I lived out in Lyons, Ny (in the snow belt...winter half the year). If the scale is going to depress you, then maybe you should let up on it a bit. Our bodies will fluctuate daily because of the redistribution of water weight...which is based on lots of things...sodium intake, water intake, muscle building, weight loss, ketosis etc. Good luck! Keep us posted. Stick with it and you will see the scale go down. when that day comes you will be ecstatic.

According to my surgeon, they used to use between 28-60 in size but now he only uses a 38 because it has less complications with success. Even if it was a 60 though compared to our old stomachs...very small

lanip00h