NurseGrace

I made the best guac yesterday so I thought I would share the recipe - its nearly identical to chipotle guacamole 4 avocados 2 medium sized de-seeded jalapenos 3 medium roma tomatoes 1 medium sized purple onion The juice of two limes SALT, guacamole is no good without salt half a cup or so of cilantro this makes a large bowl, maybe 4, or 5 cups, so feel free to scale down but my husband and I both love it on everything and I am early out of my surgery so adding guacamole to foods makes it more smooth and easier to eat. Lovely on a scrambled egg. I even put it in tomato Soup, as weird as that sounds its good. Of course we all know there is some fat in avocados so don't eat a mountain of it.

Wow, its been a long time since I darkened the proverbial door of bariatric pal, for some reason I lost interest when the site changed over but I think I need to come back to you guys, because I have been feeling really comfortable, but not in a good way. I'm about a year and a half post op, down about 90 pounds and for lack of a better word, really.... stuck? I'm probably not truly as stuck as I feel, but I've lost my steam and my weight loss as really leveled off to a halt. Things have been great, never really been sick from my sleeve, down around what I think society considers "acceptable fat" meaning I'm around about a size 14 or 16 depending on the brand, except there are always a few that run small in my opinion (I AM LOOKING AT YOU, H&M, SCREW YOU AND YOUR SIZE 18 DENIM) I've experienced some huge emotional losses that I don't feel like getting into because its not really important here and I had a huge win in my book because I did not GAIN, so that was good. I just need to get my focus back. I'm not 300+ pounds anymore so I think the months of losing 10, 15 pounds a month are gone. I think that this point I want to lose 30 pounds this year, and maybe 30 pounds next year and call it good. Anyone have any thoughts? tips? I feel discouraged. I cant mentally get out of 210-220 range. I bounce all over it but I can't seem to break 210. I would love to see 209 come up but that feels impossible right now to me for some reason.

bahaha my first reaction was to be a little bit indignant at this responce because it felt a little less than sympathetic but you make a good point! In the beginning I was tracking my intake pretty tightly, and while yes, I still track, not as well as I used to, especially on the bad days when its probably MOST important to keep tabs. I have trouble digesting Protein supplements and my doctor and I have sort of come to terms with the fact that I'm not going to be the 160 grams of protein, 35 carbs type of person, most days I eat fairly vegitarian, if not vegan and that is ok, but probably does slow me down. As for exercising I am really strugging with that. I have a membership, but I am in a depression and have not been able to make that a priority. I don't know why. My husband has been biking 35ish miles a day, I think I am going to join him for part of his ride. Thank you for putting the facts of reality in my face, I sorta needed it, not that I didn't already know them but sometimes you need someone to tell you what is what.

my experience was years ago, and I own that some of my problems were absolutely my own doing, but I also was not listened too and when the band needed to be removed it wasn't handled well, but lots of time as passed. TONS of people have bariatric surgery through them, do great, and have great stories so I'm not hugely invested in swaying people, but I will tell my story so people understand that ULTIMATLY its up to us as patients to get the care we need. I did NOT need to suffer for as long as I did, but I made choices that made me be not taken very seriously, like gaining weight back. I know its hard for them to believe I was throwing up daily when I was still managing to put on weight, but thats exactly what I did and it didn't help me case at all.

Nah, you'll be fine.

Oh man. This is a great post. For a while I had to take a much needed break (as I'm sure you remember) because I was getting so upset with the enabling that was going on that I was being inapropriate in how I was dealing with what I was seeing. So this is my second round of weight loss surgery, and I am getting very close to a huge goal of mine, much closer than I ever been before and its largely because I try as much as I can to be harder on myself than I have ever been. I think it's healthy to have limits, boundaries on what we find personally acceptable. For me, I had to draw some lines in the sand when people I used to binge eat with (close friends) and something miraculous happened. We fell off for about a year in part because of my issues with food, and more specifically how we were eating when we were together and a year later when we touched base and reconnected we BOTH benefited. She had lost something like 75 pounds and I was down 60 after my surgery, and we no longer have these issues. It's a little off topic but it sort of resonates with me and the whole enabling vs NOT allowing that sort of thing.

yeah my tummy area is starting to look a little deflated but I am just trying to view that as progress.

I was told either was alright, I think the right vitamin is the vitamin that you will take EVERY damn day.

Nah, I think you will be fine with this change, you might even lose MORE if you can poop like a regular human lol

Yeah, this happens. On the bright side though, you gained 20, not 50, not 70 or 100. You can still get this under control. Hell, you could lose 20 pounds by the new year if you wanted. I preach the gospel of myfitnesspal and measuring.

Team bodybug here, but anything like that will help

Basically if somethi g is less than 30 to 50 calories a day like water flavorings, chewable vitamins and stuff like that... I dont track that

In the begining I did not tell people what sort of surgery I had, and honestly you will be surprised to know that most people actually don't care enough look into your story. I was in-between jobs at the time so that was something I didn't have to deal with in the workplace but eventually I did let most people know what I had done, except for some particularly judgemental family members.

I admire your restraint. I may have smashed a platter of granola over his/her head for a comment like that.

If I were you, I would do and say nothing. They have gone out of their way in an attempt to be courteous and sensitive to what you are dealing with so I would graciously accept that, even if its not exactly what you had in mind. If they eat around you and act normal I would imagine that would be just has hard, just different.

I have about 25, 26 pounds left until onederland and frankly, I am considering resuming my Protein heavy pre-op diet for ten days to get there. I lost 20 pounds on that previously (the first time) and it wasn't so bad, I didn't even follow it to absolute perfection.... How stupid is this? I have a tattoo planned for when I get to that mark, its not weight loss related necessarily but its a tattoo I always wanted but always dangled in front of myself like a carrot. a few months back I decided that if I actually lost 100 pounds I would get it.

haha I am glad I am not alone. I have decided the route I am going is ONE calorie controlled meal per day and two Protein shakes... I use EAS soy because whey protein is very difficult for me to digest. It's very preop diety and I know its kinda silly but what the hell, I'm going to do it 5 days on, 2 days off (I work weekends, I am not doing that to myself at work) and so on, as long as I can tolerate it. Will report back lol....

agreed. Whether or not you lose your hair under this kind of stress has more to do with whether or not you are genetically predisposed to lose your hair under stress than anything you can do to prevent it.

Yep, don't do that. A small amount of sub-optimal food is better than nothing, which almost invariably leads to overeating, bad choice, or some combination of both....

There is no magic wand to weight loss. For me, the reason I did it was for consistency. It was something I lacked prior to surgery... I could do any stupid diet for a month or two, and then it was back to the same old same old. Now, I CANNOT have binge days, because I would be so uncomfortable I would be forced to vomit, and thats just not something I can subject myself too. It's hard to believe when your post op that you can have so much of your stomach removed and STILL struggle to get to goal, but that's how it is for most people. It's normal. Don't look into this surgery thinking your not going to have to fight and muscle your way through it.

Whatever dude, its not a big deal, its the choices you make every day, not the occasional slip ups. Don't eat cookies every day, and you will be fine.

yeah, my hair thinned a bit, so I bleached it blonde and ran with it. the bleaching process fries it just a touch so I still have the same volume I always had, no one notices but me... but it's coming back now.