cygnusatratus

My favorite still has whey but it is blended with casein and egg white proteins. (Trutein) I know you can buy straight casein from some places but I haven't.

Sigh. I'm astonished at people eating ice cream and candy and still losing weight at below normal BMI. It makes me depressed actually. Yes I'm losing again after a 5 month stall but I'm eating very low carbs and under 1000 calories per day at a 35+ BMI.

Same exact thing here. Every meal is oddly different. It's definitely more on average than it was 6-8 months ago but no where near what it was pre surgery.

It's not a general day to day weakness, but whenever you suddenly low carb and dump Water weight, it's because your muscles are dumping stored glycogen that they use for quick energy. You do get used to it but in situations like my swim team where I'm using large muscle groups swimming laps for an hour you definitely notice the lack of glycogen stores. Burning fat for workout energy isn't as quick and easy process as but burning carbs/glycogen. Its why serious athletes "carb up" before a big race or game or event, even if they normally eat very clean. Yes I still plan on tracking my cheat days too. I'd expect to gain a lot of water weight from a planned cheat day (but then quickly pull it back off), and make sure my body realizes it's not starving and trying to conserve energy by slowing my metabolism. The sleeve pretty much keeps you from cheating too much on any given day. Honestly I think my problem is just the simple salty carb Snacks that dissolve into nothing and don't fill you up or satisfy you, like popcorn or crackers or pretzels. I need to stay very far from those because they just make me want more and they let me do it.

Ok so I'm back to obsessing. I'm tracking everything the last 4 days. I average 1000 calories with 50% fat, 35% Protein, and 15% carbs. I've dropped 5 pounds already. Sure it's Water weight from the carbs I had been eating but it's motivating still the same. I did miss my masters swim team last night due to a wicked migraine which was likely from carb withdrawal. I'm not looking forward to my next swim because I'll certainly be glycogen depleted and weak. I find that if I eat low carb for my meals I don't have that snack monster bothering me between meals as much the last couple of days. I'm also back to using a Trutein shake with unsweetened almond milk as one of my Snacks. I don't know how many calories I was eating before because I wasn't tracking. I can't imagine it was a heck of a lot more than this, but it was more and it was certainly a lot higher percentage of carbs than what it has been this week. I do plan to have a cheat day once every 2 weeks. I think it's good to keep the body from getting too used to low cal and keep it guessing on how much to burn. I got my profile details mostly fixed on the left by editing and re-saving them. I'll try to keep checking back now that I'm obsessing again.

Also idk if anyone else has this problem but my surgeon and weight loss details to the left <------- Are totally not mine. I went to my profile and it is correct there but not when I post. The avatar and username are correct but everything after that is not my info.

I think, at least for me there was a hope that I could (with sleeve restriction) live a normal life without being obese the way everyone around me always seemed able to do (without sleeve restriction). Meaning they eat normally don't log every item they eat in myfitnesspal or weigh every item they eat or obsess about carbs per day or grams of protein. I was just hoping that that the sleeve could be a tool to help me get there. I've eaten healthy for a long time before the sleeve and I'm not by any means overheating now. I was just hoping this would help me get to a more normal existence and relationship with food and my body and my health. Alas I'm realizing that despite the tool, I need to continue to obsess about carbs and calories and protein and water and such. I think with the sleeve and the obsessing I can get back on track much easier than with either one alone. I was just hoping I wouldn't need to do that obsessing part the rest of my life. I know many of us are in the same boat or we wouldn't be here. Sure some have really bad habits or extreme overheating behaviors that if cured would probably be fine without the restriction, but for me it's always been a case of I have to be an extreme dieter obsessed with nearly eliminating carbs and seriously cutting calories to see any reduction in my weight. So thinks for being here and listening to me. I'm really just mourning the loss of that dream to be able live like a person with a normal metabolism without the constant attention to detail. Alas, I realize it can never be so now I'm ready to start obsessing about my diet again.

Great question, and I'd also love to hear how much others can eat. I think I can eat too much (not that I do very often)- like easily as much as 4-6 oz dense protein, or 8 oz of other things like vegetables/salad. I also avoid bread, rice, pasta, don't drink pop, don't drink with meals, and get in about 75 gm protein a day. I think more in terms of volume, and I know I can easily hold a cup of food, maybe more depending on what it is. I wish it wasn't so, and I've been careful not to over eat, but it's just the way my sleeve is. I wish I had more restriction than I do, because I could easily eat enough to gain. Even so, I'm thrilled with my results so far, and I would do it again. Even though I can eat more than many, it's still much less than before, and pretty much like the normal population of people. The weight is not coming off like it did - no matter what I do. I agree that it's partly due to what we eat, but I think there is more to it than that. It's also got to do with age, activity level, genetics, and probably other things we don't even know about. Having said that, I think we can all get the weight off - it's just harder for some than others. This is about where I am. My surgeon uses a larger diameter sleeve than most because he has concerns about the safety of smaller sleeves, but he also said he staples very tight to the bougie compared to videos he's seen from surgeons that use smaller bougie sizes so ymmv. I need to measure and weigh my portions and I know sometimes it seems like I'm full a lot sooner than others, irregardless of food density, etc so who really knows what's going on in there. Plus the full feeling is a lot more tolerable than it once was. Which sucks a little.

I'm with you all. Notice I didn't say I consider the sleeve to be failing. I consider myself to be failing. I had hoped however that the restriction would allow me to keep losing past this point and it's discouraging that my body has chosen to make this it's stopping point and to make weight loss difficult again. I know I need to count carbs and calories again, and I know it's going to be a struggle. It was just so nice to lose and not have it be a daily struggle, a soul sucking up and down battle. I appreciate what the sleeve has given me so far and I appreciate that it will be easier going forward to eat less and harder to gain weight. But let this be a cautionary tale that the easy magic doesn't last very long and don't let small amounts of snacking creep in and don't let Carb Monster get his toe in the door because he's a bully and a party crasher and a homewrecker who's hard to evict and it's hard when the rest of your family loves him as much as they love you and want him to stay.

So my sig tells my story pretty well. 8 steady months of losses and I've been playing with the same 5 pounds for the last 5 months. People that hadn't seen me in a year were like "wow" but inside I'm so discouraged and consider myself a failure. I still have so far to go and the sleeve has stopped working for me. The restriction is still there and feels like it did at 6-8 months but I don't think it's enough or something. I'm about to go back to basics of low carbing and counting calories but my body seems to have settled into a 36 BMI comfort zone, WITH the sleeve and I'm really not satisfied with that when I had hoped for so much better.

Well I'm below 300 for first time in about 20 years and lost 103 so far. I'm averaging 7 pounds per month the last two months which seems slow but I can't deny 100 lost doesn't feel too shabby! I don't count calories, I try to get my protein in. I eat whatever I want now and whatever my family is having, I just eat less. I can eat a whole slice of pizza or a small home grilled burger or a sandwich on thin sliced bread. I stay away from sugar but eat whole grain pasta and brown rice. I ashamedly don't work out. I know I can lose much faster if I start tracking my calories, drink more water, eliminate even the bit of complex carbs I eat and start working out religiously but I'm not trying to set any speed records and sustainability and a sense of normality in my way of eating is important to me as well. I'll definitely be dipping into that bag of tricks as needed if the weight completely stops dropping or tries to reverse on me though. I have a long way to go but I'm still glad I opted for the sleeve over more drastic measures that are often recommended for super high BMI guys like me. If my restriction stays about where it is long term I'll be a happy camper. By the way I do get hungry but I know I'm over 1000 calories every day.

Depression setting in. I need to do better because I'm still far from goal and weightloss has seriously slowed to nothing. I gained weight in last week. I need help and advice.

Pretty much stalled now. Bouncing around within a few pounds. I had my 4 month checkup and all my values and vitamin levels looked good. I was surprised because I'm not great about vitamins or daily protein.

No idea what left side pains could be about. Right side pain could be gall bladder which is often an issue with periods of reduced fat intake.

http://m.obesityhelp.com/member/carmelita/blog/2011/03/31/-2/ Everything you ever wanted to know about bougie size

I haven't really been losing at all lately. I think I can eat too much and any type of food. The gnawing hunger type physical pain between meals is rough. I need to eliminate carbs. If I stick to dense protein I get full quick. But carbs like bread or snacks or pretzels or popcorn just seem to dissolve and take up no room. I'm still not overheating by any means but I think my metabolism slowed enough that I can eat very little and still be over 300 pounds FYI my surgeon uses size 50 French bougie with very tight staple line. For DS he uses a 60. He feels that smaller than 50 increases your risks of stricture and other long term issues. Sometimes I wish he was less conservative.

Still losing slowly. Idc, as long as it doesn't stop or reverse!

Zero hair loss here. Not taking anything extra or doing anything different. I'm a 40 year old man and (knock on wood) still have all my hair. My BMI is high and I haven't lost nearly as fast as some, but I'll take it. I barely ever work out which is likely the difference. it isn't easy when you're this old, this heavy, full of arthritis, and busy with work and family all the time. BUT: I now weigh about what I did 18 years ago. Next stop, high school weight.

I looked... Dec 22nd! I nominate you for President of the December Sleevers. Incredible.

What was your surgery date? Nice loss!

My signature is up to date. Losses have been slow but steadier last few weeks. I'm not counting calories or tracking food anymore, I may start again if I stall lol. I hate stalls.

So I was sleeved December 13th and I'm happy with my progress so far. My growing concern however is my slowly increasing stomach pain for at least the last month. Now maybe pain is the wrong word. It's a deep empty gnawing feeling that could be perceived as real hunger. It is centered on my abdomen a bit higher than midway between belly button and sternum. The only pre-surgery feeling I can liken it to is when I was extremely hungry and was way past a mealtime. I know the common response is "acid" and that may be the real answer but a few things make me question that. Over the last month, instead of weaning off my PPI I have actually increased to twice a day, switched from Prevacid to Prilosec, and added multiple Zantac 150 per day. None of this seems to impact what I am feeling and over time it just seems to get slowly worse. I never have acid reflux or burning in my throat or esophagus that I notice. I have "slimed" / vomited a few times since surgery from eating a few bites too much and the bile never burned my throat. Eating does not necessarily calm this feeling down as sometimes I experience it while I am eating or shortly after a meal. My pre-op EGD was normal and I've never had acid problems before. In fact my first month and a half post op was pretty darned easy and uncomplicated with no hunger or pains. I am seeing my doc in a couple of weeks for month 3 f/u and I'm going to see what they have to say of course, but I figured I would ask here as well. I don't want to have another EGD, and aside from this uncomfortable stomach, everything is going well. So has anyone had something like this and what did it turn out to be and what did you do to get over it, if anything? Thanks for reading!

Keep me posted on test results. I am worried that I have a post-op ulcer. The more I read about symptoms of ulcers, the more it matches what I am going through. (Location, timing, and type of discomfort). I'll be asking doc about it and maybe get some carafate.

Darn that February being a short month! Where's a leap year when you need one.

Yuck. Now I'm researching ulcers and H. Pylori... Fingers crossed on this one...