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congrats!

Please accept my heartfelt sympathies on your loss.

I was never keen on the baby food idea--just pureed stuff or mushed it up really well. Some foods that will be good for pureed and mushees are homemade chili (that you can puree when you're there), Greek yogurt (plain), laughing cow soft cheeses, referied beans (good with the laughing cow cheese), protein shakes (Premiere Protein are good), unflavored protein powder in crystal lite, SF flavorings for water

agree, the cramps could be from dehydration--get in 64 oz of water minimum...more is better!

I'm a vegetarian but not a vegan. Curious: what are your primary sources of protein and how many grams do you average per day, if you don't mind me asking? Thanks!!

Sorry to hear about the celiac disease! Where did you read about consuming lots of calories on 5:2? I don't think that is necessarily true...

I lost 1.6 pounds following my first fast day on the 5:2 plan! At nearly 6 months post-op, and as a notoriously slow loser with hypothyroidism, the most weight I have lost overnight since week 3 has been 4/10 of a pound. And I definitely don't lose every day. So this is quadruple a typical loss! I am trying not to get ahead of myself but am very excited that I've found something that my body is responding to. I couldn't believe it when I saw the scale this morning! I know this might not sound like a lot to some of the faster losers, but for a slow loser, it's a LOT. My RD was very supportive of trying this plan as she is a firm believer in shaking up calories and carbs/protein from day to day so that the body does not go into homeostatis. Will post about how the rest of the week is going. My next fast day will be Thursday. I did 501 calories yesterday and felt fine. I am planning to eat 800-900 calories today ("feast"/normal eating day) and will be going to the gym to bike and do core strengthening Water aerobics. If I could lose even 3 pounds a week consistently, I would be over the moon. Interested to hear eveyone else's experience.

http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/88259-52-intermittent-fasting-thread-open-to-all/#entry917658

Sorry to hear that, OregonDaisy. Do you think it could be because you are so close to goal? I know losing can crawl to a snail's pace at that point, no matter what you do. Or didn't you just have a major injury? That can cause inflammation and Fluid retention but hopefully just temporary. Hope you feel better soon, and heartfelt congratulations on your impressive accomplishments to date. P.S.--I have actually heard of people doing the fasting 3 days a week or essentially every other day....

I think it's a possibility, or you can wash food out of your stomach faster and not feel full for long. I can definitely tell when I'm not ready to drink after a meal. The thought of it makes me feel uncomfortable. So it's not difficult to be compliant. My surgeon only requires 10 or 15 minutes to stop drinking before you eat and half an hour after eating to drink. I find that I can stop drinking about 5 minutes before eating if needed (like when eating out) and I'm fine. But sometimes I wait 45 minutes after eating to drink.

Loved your blog title. Your perspective is good! This too shall pass.

I have wondered if he chose the lapband because it's not an anatomically altering surgery like VSG or GBP--I think his spokespeople even touted how it's "reversible." That might make sense, depending on what his political aspirations are. Plus he didn't want to be away from his political duties for long and it is the shortest recovery time. However, I understand what you are saying and when I heard that's what he chose, I was wondering if anyone counseled him on VSG as an option.

I am almost 6 months post op and I think that my hair loss may be slowing down slightly. I have tried Nioxin and L'Oreal strengthening shampoo (the one that JLo advertises--lol), and I think the L'Oreal shampoo may actually be helping more and it doesn't give that weird tingly feeling like Nioxin. However, I also noticed that my hair seems a bit coarser. I used to have a lot of hair but the strands themselves were fine, if that makes sense. Because I had so much it didn't really "look" fine. But now the strands seem thicker and coarser. Anyone else?

Nooooo--I am so the opposite! I hope that I can get to goal without anyone noticing. LOL! It's funny how we are all so different.

At first I did better with G2 at room temp and warm drinks like hot tea. I hope that you feel better soon.

How far out are you? From about 6 weeks to 8 or 9 weeks I didn't do well with crisp tender or raw cruciferous veggies like broccoli or cauliflower, but now at almost 6 months out I do fine with them. I would take a break from any foods you can't tolerate for a couple of weeks and then try again (at home of course and a small amount that is chewed very well).

My RD recommends that people make their own pizza using the lite Flat-Out flat bread, which is low in carbs, high in fiber, and has a good amount of protein. I believe she crisps up the flat "bread" in the over first and then adds a little tomato sauce, cheese and protein. It's not something that necessarily appeals to me but it's a good substitute if you really have a hankering for pizza--and you could work it into a low-carb/high protein way of eating. I think you could probably eat about 1/3 to 1/2 of those at your stage post op but it depends on the person. One strict rule my surgeon has is that once you are on solids (after 6 weeks), you can eat for 15 to 20 minutes and that's it. Anything you didn't finish in your meal gets put away or tossed. Sometimes when people say they are eating something like half a sub or a piece of pizza it's because they nibbled away at it for 45 minutes or an hour. That goes beyond a meal and qualifies as grazing. It's also important not to drink with or right after your meals or food will get washed down your stomach and you will feel hungrier sooner.

That is awful. Did they say why it happened? Was your surgeon training another surgeon or a fellow in the procedure? I hope that your surgeon talked with you about it and not just the anesthesiologist. Sending you positive, healing thoughts.

Today was a non-fast day (following a fast day) but oddly, I wasn't hungry until about 4 p.m. I just ate a small ramekin of vegetarian chili. Wondering if today will be my second fast day for the week (Mosley, the author of the 5:2 plan says it does not matter if your 2 fast days are 2 days in a row or spaced apart--he does usually do his on Monday and Thursday though). I think it's important not to go crazy with empty calories like wine/alcohol and carbs on the non-fast days. Excited to see where this goes!! :)

Your body is definitely healed at a few months out. My bloodwork is good and I'm doing this with the blessing of my RD and surgeon. I'm not sure how familiar you are with this plan or if you read any of the links, but the fasting day is not a complete fast--it's a 500-calorie day for women and 600 for men. You are creating a weekly calorie deficit by doing this but you are also getting your body to stay out of homeostatis by mixing up your carb/calorie/protein intake from day to day (something my RD highly recommends, especially for slower losers). I agree that if someone is losing steadily at a good rate that there's no reason to try this plan. But for those of us who are slow losers and are looking for a way to do something different to get different results--it can be an excellent option.

no complications for me--very glad I did this

Sorry that you experienced this! Most people who criticize the surgery are doing so because they don't know a lot about it. I probably would not engage them. But a good response is that only 5 percent of people who lose weight thru nonsurgical means are able to keep the weight off long term. Most regain it and usually extra on top of the original weight lost. Also, at your height/weight, your BMI is 41.2, and anyone at or above 40 BMI is considered morbidly obese. So you actually are in that range. You are considering this surgery for yourself and your decision about whether to do it definitely needs to be based on your best interest.

Basically it's a way to prevent your body from going into homeostasis (and creating a caloric deficit) by having 2 days a week when you eat fewer calories than the rest. For women it's generally 500 cals on the "fast" days and 600 calories/day for men. On the other days, you eat normally. For me that will be about 800-950 calories. I am aiming for 50-60 g of Protein on the fast days and 60-80 g on the higher calorie days. There's another thread I started about it here with some links to very helpful info on the WWW: http://www.verticals...ll/#entry917658 Also, there's a group on this forum focused on 5:2 but it's a closed group--so you can see the posts but can't post to the group: http://www.verticals...ing-the-52-way/ Click on Group Discussion on the RH side to see all of the threads http://www.verticals...y/page__st__200

Pureed lentils are fine! They are good pureed with a little Greek yogurt and spices.

Wow, what an amazing journey you have had in such a short time. Wishing you all the best!