squeaker31

I was tracking pretty consistently post-op. My GOAL is to not feel I have to track all the time, so I just feel comfortable and confident in my choices. But the last few weeks I have not tracked and I see my progress has slowed. "Checking in" with my fitness pal will probably always be a part of my success to make sure I'm being real with myself. I'm squeaker31 on MFP as well.

Abrad - While I'm certainly not where I want to be fitness wise, my advice is start small. Like really small if you have to, especially so close post-op. I personally have found that my energy is increasing as the weight comes off, even the small fitness progress I'm making really did not feel possible pre-op. And definitely counseling has helped as well!

Great topic. I am only 4 months out and am losing but I also feel like it's too easy now lol. I feel there are habits I'm "getting away with" maybe now. I do eat out sometimes (small portions but full fat meats and cheeses), I snack on nuts, and don't exercise enough. But I also know sustainable changes happen gradually so I'm prepared for this journey to be challenging for the long term. And the previous poster is also right, pre surgery my struggles with portions ... I can't imagine finishing even one serving of what I used to eat 3 or 4 of. And i pack a healthy lunch and Snacks every day for work, it's just automatic when pre surgery I was always too tired or too busy or running to late to take the time. I look forward to more habit wins and am ready to face the head challenges.

Thanks for this topic. It looks like experience varies greatly. I know maintenance will always be a challenge whether I get pregnant or not. But my biggest worry with getting pregnant too soon after surgery is that I will "waste" prime metabolism time or something. I am not having any problems keeping food down or getting enough nutrition. All the way through to now (3 months) I have seemed to be able to eat more volume and types of food than others. So I'm not as concerned about baby but about continuing my success through and beyond pregnancy.

I also had only 24 hours. And did not do any dieting pre-op. Some insurance requires months of tracking and dieting with the office but mine didn't. Right or wrong I let myself not worry or "diet" for a few months. I was more in observation mode. I watched my food choices and tried to figure out my triggers. And imagined what it would be like not to have those crutches. It was the first time in my entire life I didn't beat myself up over what I was eating. I just got my head around it all, grieved for my friend of overeating and knew that help was on the way. Had my last diet Pepsi ever the night before my liquid day lol. I am only 3 months post op but for me personally I don't think not dieting before has made sticking to the plan any harder. But lots of people swear by it and it makes sense to give yourself small habits to start so it's not so overwhelming post op.

Interesting link. It is a little confusing, there's not much consensus in the "regular" dieting world so why is there one "right" plan after surgery? I suppose they can show their plan works and keep it simple.

I'm curious about others goals for fat intake? My NUT recently said 35g (after I hounded her for a specific #) and looking back at my MFP I'm going over that. Typically 45-55. I eat mostly chicken and turkey for meat and low fat cheeses but it seems to add up. cheese sticks are a great portable snack but I admit I also typically have cheese at meals. I also eat nuts, not more than one serving a day. I guess I don't know how big of a deal it is if I'm hitting my calorie goals, but am I sabotaging myself with fat intake? Does anyone just do low carb and not count fat?

This is an interesting topic. It's a fine line between establishing your boundaries and asking for support ... And dictating others behavior. My parents continue to suggest buffets where I don't have much information about what's in what I'm eating. And I was initially annoyed. Especially when I was on soft foods, I felt like they didn't consider my needs. But one of my goals with this surgery was to feel normal so I should be able to eat successfully anywhere without making a fuss. I can make good choices and with the amounts I eat I can deal if there's more fat and calories in a sauce or something that I realize. At home with my spouse there has been minimal friction. He's on a different shift and we cook separately. But I do find myself wanting him to get my surgery honestly lol. I am morbidly obese but he is also obese now. And has high blood pressure. I feel I need to resist this urge and tend my own garden. Ultimately I want him to feel successful and healthy which is what I'm starting to feel but it's not my choice, if he wants to diet "naturally" or get surgery it would be up to him.

I have seen multiple posts about having a limited time to get weight off. My doc has never mentioned this. For those who got this advice do they say why? It seems a lot of factors would come into play. Motivation fatigue, less weight to lose so not as big of movement, easier to eat. But I can't think of any biological reason this would be the case really. Aside from your body adjusts to the low calories? Any insights? I'm confused. I am taking the approach it is a marathon and I can't expect all my behaviors to change overnight. My eating is going well and exercise is better but not where I want it to be. This "time limit" idea freaks me out and seems like the opposite of what people say about sustainable weight loss. Permanent and slow changes are the way to go.

I am using my fitness pal and tracking everything, even though my NUT wouldn't give me numbers at first to shoot for. She finally did today and I am going over her recommended fat intake most days even though I am eating lean meats and reduced fat cheeses. She said to stay under 35g of fat. I'm eating low carb and trying to get in Protein. Rf cheese sticks and turkey sticks add up though. I'm under 1000 calories most days and well under 40 carbs. I am really not losing much and I don't know if it's because of too much fat. Or just normal stall my clothes do fit better. I've only actually lost weight one out of six weeks after my first 2 weeks that I lost a bunch. Just curious if others have tracked their fat intake. Seems hard to stay that low. I probably could add a Protein shake meal back in I do tend to choose cheese as my protein snack it's just such an easy to grab protein and pretty low calorie. But I may need to suck it up and let the cheesiness go lol.

To clarify I'm hitting 45-55 g of fat most days not under 35. But not like way over.

I know stall posts are all the rage and I definitely commented on a few the last few weeks. I was sleeved on 4/7 and lost big the first two weeks but had completely stalled for almost 5 weeks and I was stressing! Not even slow but no movement on the scale. But finally this week I am down six pounds from last week. Hope this helps someone else in the endless (seeming) stall point.

I don't know if anything broke my stall. My doc and nutritionist said you are doing it right keep going. I didn't actively try to change things up on my plan.

It seems like everyone is different on this. What they can tolerate (and what is a bad idea always/trigger food). I am 2 months post op and I have had a little bit of pizza. Maybe two bites with the crust and a little more of the toppings but still not the whole slice of toppings. I has also had a few chips (then a few more so the are on my slippery slope list lol). I also had some bite size chocolates which also settled fine and did not cause me to go on a sugar binge.

Especially so early! Usually the beginning of a program is the easiest/biggest losses. Can't slow down from zero lol.

Whatever your intentions Tonya, your questions did not come off as open minded knowledge seeking. Just because it has a question mark at the end ... they were pretty judgey. Did you think someone was going to answer "Yes I wanted to feel superior about myself." Lol. I don't want to be rude to you either just my perspective on why you got some negative reaction. And I agree that it's a very personal choice. It probably also depends on your support system. If you can be reasonably sure family or coworkers won't be supportive it's more incentive to keep focused on your journey and not their thoughts. There's probably very few people who got to the point of having WLS who haven't been told/advised/"helped" by people in their life (well meaning or not) what they need to do differently to be healthier. I did tell a few coworkers knowing that eventually most or all would know. It was just simpler for me and I trust them not to be snarky (that would not have been true at my last job lol). But one factor I didn't consider which sometimes makes me regret it is that I'm losing slowly. So far anyway. So partly I felt like the loss would be talked about so might as well be open. But now I feel like not losing dramatically is being talked about .... puts more pressure on me from others.

I have to agree with Tonya on the C-section comparison. For me personally c-section recovery went very smoothly, I was active pretty quickly. I heard that recovery from WLS was different for everyone so I was kind of counting on being one of the no-big-deal people ... no such luck lol.

Thanks for sharing your struggles. It was the weight I gained after pregnancy that finally put me over the edge to elect surgery. I completely empathize with the hormones and financial stress ... Fear of failure which leads to self beating up. And you know it but beating yourself doesn't help it only makes it worse. If you have any way to see a counselor I would do it. It's one hour that's just for you. You have been successful and "know" the right things to do. Remember your motivations and know that you have the power. Might need more tools. The sleeve is one. Counseling might be another. Good luck!

I have a one year old and recovery was really tough. The first week I had a lot of help. But after that hubby had to to back to work and I had a ton of pain when bending for diapers etc and lifting. And she had a hard time not understanding why I wouldn't get on the floor with her. Everyone has different recovery experiences but I almost felt like mine took so long because when I would feel a little better I would try to do what I could with the little one. Then had setbacks from pain again. I wasn't pain free until 4 or 5 weeks. Good luck and take all the help you get offered is my advice.

Me too almost exactly. Sleeved 4/7 and only 5 pounds since my first week. Docs say I'm doing things right and to keep going but I do not have the faith.

I am only a few months out but what I have found beneficial from the sleeve vs the other methods is that I am getting stronger messages from my body on fullness. I still have to listen to those messages and I definitely have work to do (ie I know I have snacked when I didn't really need to). I have had the experience where I can eat almost anything already without feeling sick so I am having to work my plan a little sooner than those who have physical discomfort eating. I can definitely see where it's possible to slip. Choosing a small amount of the right food does leave me satisfied though which hasn't been the case for previous low cal attempts.

I am about 7 weeks post op and not having trouble with most food ... It has really sunk in how much work I have left to do with my new tool. I knew going in but was knowing it is different than understanding lol. Anyway I still have a lot of behaviors to work on ... And I don't much trust myself so I'm tracking religiously. I also tend to get down on myself ... But I realized today that I have packed a healthy lunch and Snacks for work every single day that I have been back post-surgery. This is something I always struggled with before is preparing and not just rushing out of the house. But now it's habit and I don't even think about it. I'm looking forward to more of these moments as I stack up more wins! More things that seemed impossible before will just be part of my norm.

I have also found it very easy to eat over my calorie goal. I track everything though and it keeps me honest with myself. I agree on the dense Protein thing. Find choices that are more filling. Personally I prefer turkey Jerky to a string cheese for example I have found it goes way further for me. And the staple soft foods like yoghurt and cottage cheese don't leave me satisfied. And one day I splurged and had chips and I felt like wow, not worth it. They didn't fill me at all what a waste of calories. That's one of those slippery slope foods where you can get a lot in quickly. Eating better is still going to be a project even with the surgery restriction.

I have been seeing a counselor every couple of weeks for a while and now that I'm post op I think I will do weekly visits for a little while. It's definitely relearning a lot of things. Not just behaviors but attitudes.

What follow up support did you get from your surgical team? So far I had one nutrition appointment at 2 weeks, with other patients. And a PA visit where they basically signed my paperwork and looked at my incisions. They gave me handouts with most of the information. So far I'm underwhelmed. But maybe I'm expecting too much from the medical team, it's not like any other of my doctors take a whole person approach either. I can call the office with questions but follow up is spotty when I leave a message. I'm scheduled for a six week check this week. Just wondering what other peoples experience has been with their team.