desertmom

this week,in prep for our looooong weekend in a hotel,I started adding a bit of carbs to my diet again. Am only on about 60 now but boy does it make a difference.Not a positive one either...lol The bags under my eyes are back,I am sluggish and dont feel like exercising.My weight is up 2 pounds whixh I know is water as my cals were still 800.But it had to be done now. It is not unhealthy carbs either but about 30 more than usual.Edamame beans for one.And more tea with milk.Well,that seems to account for most eccept the breaded (light) chicken I had twice which would be a lot of the carbs I suppose. At the hotel I will not be able to stay carb less,I know that.I do not eat eggs (just dont sit right in my tum) but add protein powder to it and fibre and it works.I want to be able to relax and not make an issue out of the eating this coming week.Just be for a few days but I dont want to get back 5 pounds heavier.I not be taking a scale and maybe the hotel will not have one. I dont know why I am so afraid of this holiday.I have done so well on all the others but for some reason tis has been bugging me a lot.Maybe because my food choices when eating out recently wasnt the greatest.And maybe because I know it.And maybe because sometimes I feel like not making great choices ALL the time.But I will just have to pull myself toward myself and get on with it.And maybe going to the gym when Im there is a good idea to just burn some cals before flopping down for the day! And maybe it is because I want to lose as much as possible before the big one in December when all the critical family will see me.Who knows! But I want to enjoy getting away from it all and I want to feel in control,something I havent ever felt faced with buffets before the sleeve. So taking some protein powder along is a good idea.I might even be able to ask the chef to make me some pancakes as I really love them and they keep me full for hours and hours.And some edamame to snack on while everyone else eats rubbish. I now fit properly into a size 16 and even bought a new bathing suite. Anyway,tmorrow I will read this again and remind myself of all the good things about the sleeve.And the fact that no matter what,it is a good fight I am fighting here.

I am really glad you are doing well now. The band was and is and will always be a bad idea.I had one for 7 years and it was a nightmare for a huge part of that time. There is a lot of horror band stories out there but more than that,we dieted ourselves thin,vomited all the time and would end up fat again.I have an online blog in a british forum of that time in my life and I stayed at 800 cals for 2 years after the band,exercising lika a total maniac and could only get to 198 pounds,ever.I had to be unfilled completely then and just gained it back.More than that my surgeon kept on telling me my pain was psycological. I hope your teeny tiny tummy serve you well for the rest of your life and that there will come a time when the horror of what you went through will be only a distant memory.

Isnt is just amazing how different we all are? Thank goodness my sleeve,just like the band,tends to not like eating in public.lol I order what I want.Eat at most 4 bites of the Protein and voila,I am full.Sometimes I really want more but I know I just cannot.They remove the food and I am not tempted anymore. Should I have had some of the carbs in between I believe I would have been able to eat more but I dont want to be able to do that.Restaurant food,no matter which end one it is,is always more fattening than the food we mindfully prepare at home so a little is already more. We are going on a long weekend and I have been thinking about this all week as of course I am tempted to just relax and be for a few days. But my new life motto is protein first,lol, so it will stay that way. The cocktails I dont know about!Lying on the beach all day,just chilling....what am I going to do?If there was a freezer in the mini bar I would have taken some sf popcicles with,couldnt care what anyone thinks. Anyhow,I love eating out now more than before as I dont have to worry too much about the self control thing I never had before.and thank goodness I cannot tolerate even a little bit of sugar anymore,dont know why I just cant. Enjoy the caviar!

I want to revise my goal for Jan. Previously I said I wanted to be 185 by then (was 208 then) but I am now 192.So I think I will drop it with 10 pounds and try for 175 by 1 January 2013.Will revise again if needed.

Mmmmm...I really also believe in balance.But I have definite triggers. Like rice,bread,crisps and Pasta.So,all carbs.Try not to eat them anymore but I do eat complex carbs like sweet potato.Actually,those are my only triggers.I dont do sugar,dislike chocolate,now cannot stand ice cream.But I do crave something nice since surgery,just havent found that nice thing yet.Maybe a good thing too. Going on a mini holiday this week and somewhat concerned about hotel food for 4 days.I sometimes do lack good judgement.My stomach is acting up this week,fel if I have gastritis again so maybe this will save me from eating rubbish and too much. O my,I sometimes do wish I was like the rest of my family.They just eat.Whatever they want (mostly good foods though) But they never overeat,ever.It use to drive me nuts at how little they would eat when we went to a buffet...lol.But I was the one that shouldnt have wanted value for money..lol

Hi,I can almost do that now at 7 months out.They say we will still get to a point where we are going to wish we could eat less..lol Dont worry,the eating really is fine if you just learn to really taste and treasure what you can eat.

But we are still normal human beings and I would love to see the person that still does all of these things 5 years down the line.I am not talking about eating and drinking now but about eating food that is normal.It is after all normal to eat out and no one never ever eats BBQ or hamburger again.Or maybe saying no one is a bit strong maybe I should say very few. It is finding a balance to NOT over eat again.To not eat when we are not hungry.To not self medicate with food when we are emosional.If we do not find this balance sometime soon in our journey, we will be blindsided by life at some point in time. People that find the balance between healthy eating and having the occasional thing that is thought to be "not on plan" by others,are usually also the people that take long term responsibility for their lives and does not ever make the excuse that old habits have been sneaking up on them.They have healthy balanced habits in place.Like normal people. If I have to confess my eating here it would be to say this.I am 80% good all the time.About 20% of the time I eat things that people would strongly disapprove of and that is why it is never mentioned..lol.However,I eat no sugar.Cant stomach stuff with sugar any more.And I dont eat crisps,the little suckers are to many and goes in too easily and fattening.I dont eat normal ice cream anymore,sad but I hate the taste. However,I do have the odd hamburger,we have BBQ all the time,Im South African,its in our blood to BBq anything.I eat a taco once every 2 weeks.and on and on. I think I have been wildly successful in changing my habits as I didnt diet or lc from day one.Not the fastest weight loss but not slow at all. Experience,withe the stupid band,have taught me that our heads are more adaptable than anything else. The life changing event of surgery gets old like anything else in life and if we dont have great habits in place by then,we will struggle in the future. If you cannot track and count calories and have the self discipline to not eat out of meal times one shouldnt eat and drink (and one sip or 2 is not the same). I also "dumped" for the first 5 months,not in the traditional sense but in having tiredness overcome me to the point of putting my head straight down on the table for a nap,sweaty and thinking I am dying. It stopped at six months or I havent eaten anything again that could do it.Dont know. This is a journey for life.We each have to find what works for us.And for me a looong stall and some little gains have been the best lessons ever. This is my opinion and we know what opinions are like..lol..and because we each have one that is different,we each need to find our own new normal.

Besides all off the above,which is spot on,when I dont drink enough,like for the past 3 days,I get puffy and a little swollen (under my eyes and my fingers) for no reason other than I havent had enough to drink.I am not even dry to the point of feeling it on my lips. It is not like I didnt drink,just not quite the same amount as usual,say 500ml short for the day.I do not over water..lol..as I can also feel it then so I suppose I do in general drink a little less than others. Reading this thing about the liver made me decide to make a greater effort with the Water.

Hi You did nothing.Bowel obstruction is a,not too common anymore,complication of abdominal surgery.Most ofthen though people get an illeus where the intestine doesnt start working immediately after surgery again.This usually resolves with meds and doesnt take too long. Bowel obstruction needs different treatment but you did nothing wrong. Do try to speak to your dr when he does rounds again to ask 1.what exactly is going on and 2.what the treatment is and 3. How long he thinks this should take. Then,just try to use the time to rest and relax and do what they tell you to do. Have you been readmitted or have you been in hospital since surgery? Good luck and keep us posted.

there are these interesting topics with a variety of opinions and recently this has been one of them. Why shouldnt we eat and drink at the same time. again.This is a reminder to self,should I need it somewhere in the future,and I usually do! Everything in life gets old.We get use to changes and we adapt and we move on.That is the nature of the human being.Which is a good thong too.But too often we at that point forget.Forget what we are suppose to remember...lol I experienced this with the band.Strict diet to lose the weight.Then the surgery,the pain,the heartburn,the feflux the vomiting...it got old.And became part of the new habits. In that I did what was comfortable.Added some carbs,added some sugar and started eating WAY to often. Before I knew I was back where I started. Why shouldnt we eat and drink.Well,just as we should eat solid protein first,ALWAYS AND FOREVER,we shouldnt liquify food to empty our stomachs faster.It seems as simple as that to me.Do you have some people that will be super self controlled for the rest of their lives to track their food,to only eat 3 times a day?Well,maybe,but most of us have a problem with self control as far as food's concerned and is why we got fat in the first place. If my stomach is empty I feel like eating.Part of my old habits I suppose but This is me.The longer it stays full the longer I last between meals. Now,will I be able to eat normal foods when I am in maintainance.I believe so.I believe that small portions,controlled carbs,not too much sugar,and only 3 meals a day,with maybe 2 healthy snacks might keep me at my goal. However,should I not eat proteins first,I will not feel full quicker,I will be able to eat more and I will be able to gain more weight.And should one start flushing your food,you will not stay full,you will start eating more often and you will gain even more weight.Even now,when I eat protein and a carb my capacity is bigger.Dont know why,it just is. At the end of the day I am way more concerned about the habits I have to somehow get deep into my thick skull now to be able to live a thin life FOREVER,than what I am about losing weight. Do I eat food that is considered wrong to others,even now?Well,when I look on OH at the what have you eaten today threat I know I cannot post there.It will give them apoplexy.My habits might still seem atrocious to some.Here is a week day example and a weekend example. Weekday:Tea with lots of lf milk for breakfast.Lunch is now usually protein pancake with added fibre and chia seeds with sf syrup.And at 5 I eat a good 30 to 50 pods of edamame beans.Dinner is usually fish or chicken with a tablespoon of LC veggies.Then I have up to 3 sf popcicles after dinner.I still feel like snacking at night which is a very bad habit but have tried to focus it.I really have a breakout from this only once a month or so,which would mean a Weight watchers packet of tortilla chips. Now,this weekend.Breakfast coffee with milk.Lunch late (16:00) chicken snitchel (breaded) with mushroom sauce and slice of cheese with onion rings.Of the whole plate of food I ate 1/4. Took it home and did the same for supper.That was friday which is our sunday.Then yesterday I had coffee for breakfast and chicken and beef fajita for very late lunch (17:30) at Hardrock cafe.Ate about half of the protein and half a scoop sour cream with half a scoop of guacamole.That was bad as at 21:00 I ate 1/4 or a burger patty that my kid brought home from her meal. This is bad but it is what fits in with my life and that is not going to change.We are normal people,with a crazy routine and I am the only one in my house that would ever over eat.No one else have a problem with food.They eat a little and then they are finished.I am trying to start fitting my eating into my lifestyle which I cannot change at this time as it is not only me involved. Obviously that wasnt good enough as my weight is up a pound this morning and I've been wanting food since my eyes have opened.So what could I have done differently?For one,not skip meals because I know I am going out to eat.two,not eaten that burger thingy as I just wanted it when I noticed it.Meaning,no take away boxes for the kids anymore.They dont eat it anyway.And I just didnt drink enough water both days.But would I have chosen different food if I could?I dont think so.It is normal to eat nice food every now and then.Do I do this all the time?Absolutely not!Did I really enjoy going out?A lot!Did I drink when I ate?I never do. I might change my mind about all of is in future but for now.This is part of me learning what works and what will not work.I am going on a holiday in a hotel next week and will not gain.I will apply my rules to myself and will post how it went.This is in prep for a long hotel stay in December,which is a summer holiday for us.And I am scared of being overwhelmed by buffets every day.Thank goodness I seemed to have lost my sweet tooth altogether. The long term success of this sleeve and the fact that I already feel normal again,am over the whole surgery bit and live a completely normal life now makes me realize even more how important ALWAYS BEING MINDFUL of what,how and most important,how often I eat has become. To be satisfied with a little bit of food. To drink enough water. To not snack in between. To not feel deprived. To love healthy food. To be like a skinny person and have a balance. This is what I would like my life to be like.

hi I a so technologically challenged that I rather buy a new laptop than admit it might be me that just cannot work the old one...lol this is me day of surgery and me about a week ago.

From day one I never drank Protein shakes as I felt aweful after I had one.Headache,tired,nausea!I stayed without for the first week,then liquidized Proteins with fluids. However,when I needed to kickstart my weight loss 2 months ago I made peace with one scoop of Protein powder a day (26g). Weather it is a shake or pancake.And it really really works for me now.Instead of the 60g protein per day,I am at 80 spread quite evenly over the day (we can only absorb about 10g of protein per hour and whey protein leaves the digestive tract within an hour and a half usually) and my weight seems to be dropping at a very satisfying rate at the momentat 7 months out.

Yes,I did.Didnt realize it at first but I was also eating slightly more.I kept on increasing my activities to kick start the weight loss again. Then I revamped my eating plan,dropped some of the running and the weight's been coming off again. I didnt start exercising until 5 months out and went for it hard and fast. Now I play squash twice a week,pilates twice a week and gym once.But I know if I had been doing resistance training or weights I would not have been this flabby. Keep up with the exercise and I am sure after a time of re-adjustment,you will start losing again and you will not be quite as saggy as I am now.

I do drink before I eat.Dont find that a problem. But I have been looking at different boards for comments that people that has regained in the long term wrote. A few things seems to be similar in most of them.Drinking sodas is definitely one but drinking while eating is also definitely one.And I am not talking about the odd glass of wine with dinner.I do that myself once every few weeks.It seems to me that the habit of drinking while eating have some long term influence on regain. Of course they are eating more and more often and wrong,but I was just looking for other things they seemed to have in common.

Hi,we were sleeved 3 days apart. 2 months ago my weight loss stopped.I was eating good and exercising.But the weight wasnt coming off.I sulked and complained about it for a good 7 weeks weeks. When my rebellion about this surgery that wasnt working (lol) subsided I gave myself a good talking to and realized 1.I wasnt really tracking carefully.(the little bits and bops that went with the food,or the quick bite before dinner,or the extra milk in my tea,they all added a good few calories every day that I wasnt counting) 2.I had to drop my carbs and up my Protein. 3.i had to eat different foods.Was repeating the same foods all the time. 4.The choice was to do these things and work hard or stay at that weight,but I had a choice. 5.That I really was the only one to help me and being so mad about it want going to change it.I had to take responsibility. Since then I have lost about 15 pounds fast.It may be my plan,I want to believe or It might have been a mighty stall, which would mean your weight loss will start up again. In the mean time,maybe you should just work out your own plan.It does make us feel much better to be proactive about things.That way the weight will start coming off sooner rather than later again. Good luck and if sulky me can do this,so can you.You are getting closer and closer to that elusive onederland and it does feel great.Hope you join us there soon!

I've had a body composition analysis done recently.That showed that my bodyfat percentage will only start going into normal when I weigh 154.It took me 2 weeks of chewing on this but today I decided to lower my goal from 165 to 154.This might be why I still wear such big clothes.Size 18 (UK) and 16 US. No use stopping before I am really there,right? Will have to up the exercise again a little as I have become a bit lazy again since I stopped the running.I still think having an exercise buddy keeps you responsible for getting up and going to the gym.Mine isnt speaking to me anymore (I was mean to her after my sleeve and didnt realize she took it so personal until it was too late,sad but what to do about it now?Must confess I was mean to many people in the first 2 months post sleeve as I was very depressed but the others are all still around and had the insight to know I was going through a heck of a tough time,they've all forgiven me and her having had the sleeve,well.....) I should try and find someone else now! Its weekend here and food is a challenge as I dont cook over weekends and we socialize and eat out quite some over the weekends.I am busy making a super high fibre meatloaf,YES its possible..lol..quite low in calories and very low in carbs.This will be my go to this weekend when I feel like snacking. The weather is beautiful so it is a beach weekend!

Our surgeon was great and very efficcient but get info about anything from them was difficult.My friend today told me there is a phycician at the surgeon's practice as well and I might start seeing him.My guy is sweet and have known me for years but he is not to clued up about bloods and stuff for the sleeve. I decided that I havent taken asprin for so many years now anyway,having the band before,that I wont take it now.My motto is if in doubt,dont.Not always very brave but useful in cases like this...lol

take Asprin? I am getting a cold and I know Asprin C will help catch it quickly! Thanks for your help!

Hi,new day today and for sure a skinnier one! When I dressed this morning I kinda had a moment when I thought,not too shabby old girl...lol. Back on plan!

Since the 13th I have lost another 3 pounds for which I am very happy. But today I had a fat day.Where I am not satisfied with my weight loss so far and I wished I could just enjoy anything I ate like I did before the sleeve.Silly really as I would allow myself "anything" if only I knew what that was. I dont find pleasure in food anymore.It is not fun to eat anymore.But then my little kid tells me that eating is not fun.It is nice to eat good food but it is not fun.Fun is stuff that you do,like swimming or dancing or playing a game...lol.And she is right. And maybe I feel like this because Im getting a cold again OR Or maybe it is because of this skinny woman at my kid's gymnastics who never speaks to me, that for some reason tonight, decided to loudly and in front of everybody say,O you've lost so much weight.I can even see it in your face now.Are you following a specific diet? To which I answered,yes very specific...lol Whereupon she said, o its very hard but its got to be done! In front of everybody!!! And goodness knows why that got to me so badly.of course everyone comments on the weight loss but this was just embarrassing for some reason.The be-atch in me wanted to say to her and maybe if you changed that horrid hairstyle of yours you would look so much better too.Its very hard,but its got to be done! But I didnt.and I have never been too sensitive about what others would say,goodness as a fatty Ive had to bite my tongue a few time in my life when people would make comments.So whats up with me now? Crazy thing is whereas I was just thinking about food today,I came home and actually had a packet of weight watchers crisps which I dont even like.So Ive been thinking of how I need to get over myself and toughen up a bit.I cannot let peoples comments get to me.Since we have this big family reunion in December (my housemate's family not mine) and boy are they a bunch of rattlesnakes (hehehe...she doesnt want to go if we dont go with her) of course they will make their snarky comments.I can bet top dollar that the extra skin on my arms will be mentioned a few times and my eating this little will be critized now,I have to not allow myself to eat "away" what I feel.Maybe,just maybe I should for once say these quick comebacks that come up in my head out loud.That might just shut people up.But I wont,because I am not like them. I suppose this is life and a good nite's sleep might just give me back my perspective.And tomorrow I might have a thinner day!

Lissa,this is Dubai.My dr might drop dead if I contact him again.....hehehe! Ok,will contact him tomorrow but wanted to take it now to help stop the cold!

Nooo,on OH they just said I could. More answers please!!! (I'll count them and see who wins....lol)

Hi My hair loss started exactly 4 months out and I am still losing more than normal,but less than before. Nothing has made a difference. I am blond,with fine hair.But no blad spots and no one can notice it but me.There is already some regrowth as I now have a lot of body in my hair that I havent had,ever! It feels terrible when you see it.(I gathered all the hair every night from the bath or shower..eeeew) but it isnt always as much as we think,well,I still have a tinish ponytail and you dont see my scalp. Just hang in there.It will pass.

Great advice from O.T.R sleever! Visualize yourself skinny!Remember what you want to look like!start telling yourself you can lose it ALL, when the little voice says I've lost a lot already,look better already.

Hi,this is difficult.. I know a lady,I think she was on this board as well,that decided not to go ahead with her surgery a few days beofre she was due. She has really made some great changes in her life.She has lost 70 pounds in the time that I have lost 100.she has cut some carbs,not all and has started making better choices for herself.She is convinced that she can make it this time as she is following all the rules we have to follow. At first I was sceptical about it.2 years ago when my friend had the sleeve I started seeing a behaviour therapist and started eating normal with exercise.I lost 65 pounds in 6 months and then I LOST NORMAL again.Just couldnt find my way back.The therapist left Dubai and that became my excuse. If I could have done it by myself I really would have liked not to have surgery.For me the thing is that now when I want to be really bad,I cant.I just cannot eat much and carbs or sugar and fat really doesnt sit that well in the sleeve.My head is accepting this more and more each day so I really have hope that I will be able to maintain my weight loss. All of us have to make the changes permanent.If not we will also regain,just like anyone that loses weight without the surgery. If your BMI is low,I would really think about surgery twice.Also,I would give myself a certain amount of time with a cut off date to accomplish some weight loss and make some mind changes.(I did that and had to then have the surgery) It is a life long struggle for every one.Skinny people have to be mindful of what they are eating all the time as well. The one thing I would say is that you and your wife have to be one the same page as far as eating's concerned.We so often enable each other to do the bad things rather than encourage each other to do the good things.My housemate have lost 30 pounds since I have had the surgery by just cutting out sugars and chocolates and exercising a little more.But all of us in this house of mine is on a serious health trip now as no one wants to be left behind. Even after the surgery I still think this is all in the mind.We have to learn to say no to ourselves and we have to learn to make better choices.And we have to learn that normal people SOMETIMES eat bad foods.But not all the time.And we have to learn that no one is perfect.If you eat something fattening now,it doesnt mean you have to keep doing that.The next thing you put in your mouth can be healthy.When you just eat healthy there is no diet to fall off of! Having said all this,I was 45 and fat and thin so often that I gave myself one last chance to change and when I didnt, I had the surgery. Good luck in making your decision and even now,try to make healthier choices as that might very well play a big role in the choice for your future. Ugg,I should have been a preacher...lol.But I am always preaching to myself as well when I write these things. I know that change is possible.But we each know ourselves and our inner battles. Please let us know what you decide as it is always interesting to know which road people choose to travel.