squeaker31

I totally agree with you on carbs. I am not trying to be strict low carb/ Atkins but certainly the scale stalling and being hungrier .... Carb snacks are probably playing a role. I made the same observation that carbs maybe should not be off limits for me but shoud not be a part of my daily intake. I already have low carb meals in place and that's been relatively easy. I save my cards for treats like protein bars and sweet snacks. But that's what they need to be - just occasional treats.

I had stopped tracking my food initially because I was becoming more confident with my choices and routine. But I started to feel like I was letting extra Snacks slip back in and comfortably eating more at meals ... So I tracked today and was at 1500 calories! And I showed some restraint I mean I didn't stuff myself or make myself feel ill at any point. Not shocked I guess I knew it was still an uphill battle post op. But a little disappointed that it was so easy to get that high. Gonna have to do some serious work on eating signals. Cravings and boredom eating seem to be my downfalls. I am adding some significant cardio to my plan with a spinning class two days a week but probably not enough to overcome the extra calories. I guess I don't have a question since I know what I need to do but any experiences or general words of wisdom are welcome!

Thanks all! I feel torn about tracking. For my life of dieting (been overweight since third grade) I feel like I've been obsessed with food. Whether I'm "on track" or "off track" it's a huge part of my mind ... But not in a positive "mindful" way. So I want to not have to track. And be confident and comfortable with food. Maybe I will get there one day ... Or maybe my mind is resisting the reality the way an addicts does lol. It may be that I can't be like other people who can have "one drink" (metaphor I'm not a drinker lol). I may need the daily accountability. And that is good advice to track always, every bite and then let it go. Not second guessing just learning from it and staying with what works and your limits.

I am almost 5 months post op and have definitely been experiencing hair loss the last month or so. It's not noticeably thin anywhere but i brush several times a day and use a hair roller to control the mess from it. I wanted to do highlights and color as one of my mini goal treats to myself but will treating it make hair loss worse? Has anyone had any experience with color while still losing hair?

It was recommended to me on here to try Water over ice post op and it definitely helped me get more fluids in. I still prefer ice water, it settles much better for me. It's been a challenge to drink enough when I'm at work or out and about but I found this awesome thermos by Hydroflask. It was 30 bucks but so worth it. It keeps ice all day and doesn't sweat so I can easily carry it around.

I have been making a big effort to drink enough because I can tell by my skin in not staying hydrated. But I find I am more tempted to eat more when I'm filling my tummy with fluids all day. And it's more comfortable to eat. I'm finally understanding why you don't want to drink with meals. But even if I space it by 30 minutes I seem to have more "hunger" and more room. Anyone else find this?

For those post op: Does looking at before and after photos always make you feel good? Did they always? Did it matter how close you were to your goal? I am 5 months and almost 70 pounds out. And I was trying to find some good photos to illustrate the difference in myself to make me feel good. It had the absolute opposite effect lol. It's like um you look terrible now and looked worse before. I felt more ashamed at how bad things had got. I am a high BMI patient. I know surgery doesn't fix self esteem which I think is part of my life long weight struggles. I thought I was more overweight than I was in middle school for example and eventually my body matched my opinion of myself. So I want to feel better and I want to make sure my negative attitude doesn't sabotage me. I know very thin people who don't like the way they look so I know it's not always tied to being "normal" weight range. Anyway I am in counseling but I was just wondering if others could share their self image journey after surgery.

Congrats! There is a pregnancy after vsg section on here too.

I was also a diet Pepsi addict for many years. I have been temporarily successful on other diets but never gave up diet soda. I drank it all the way up to the pre surgery liquid phase. I haven't really even been tempted post op. I probably could handle a few sips but it's more mental for me now. One habit change I never made before and am making now. What I have been drinking is Vitamin Water zero over ice always. Helps me get in my water and I really enjoy the different flavors. The only thing I have done is spike maybe 1/4 of my drink over ice with the diet energy drinks my husband gets. For a little caffeine boost. But I am a little worried that's becoming habitual I just hate coffee! But the carbonation doesn't seem to bother me. Only once I didn't let it sit long enough or stir it and I felt real discomfort.

I wish I knew the answers to any of those questions lol. I had to press my nutrition team for calorie goals because I too didn't know if I was doing okay. I didn't have any problems with food agreeing with me and I pretty quickly found it easy to eat. So I sometimes think I eat more than is typical in the "honeymoon" period. But I am hoping that just means more practice at good habits and I will have less trouble with re gain. We will see. I aim for 800 - 1200 calories a day and try to choose lean protein.

I still have several sizes of underwear in my drawer lol. I had to get rid of a few bigger sets last week when they started falling down at work haha when I was wearing a dress!

Yes lol my fitness pal app is what I meant

I also have a goodwill bag going at all times. I have gathered two bags of stuff so far. If I try it on and I don't like it or It feels baggy it goes into the bag. My closet has been in rough shape because I was outgrowing sizes the wrong way at such a rapid pace. I'm so glad it's shrinking! Had to try on a few things before something fit for work today, but it was a better feeling than last year at this time lol when I still had to do that because I was too heavy for what I wanted to wear. I'm able to shop from my old clothes still and a friend gave me some so I haven't had to buy any. I will probably start stopping by goodwill to keep an eye out for good deals in my size or upcoming size. I'm very short though so I might have to buy a few petite/short pants from the store when fall hits. Hard to find those secondhand.

I'm get about 1000 calories a day. I don't track everyday but a couple times a week to make sure I'm staying at my goal. My goal range from NUT 800 - 1200 and I find I'm almost always exactly at 1000. I don't find it difficult to reach enough calories so I'm calorie conscious even on days I don't track to make sure I stay under.

I had my surgery April 7th. I have lost a total of 67 pounds. Roughly I lost 30 pounds in the first few weeks, then stalled for 5 weeks through May. So through June and July I have lost about 37 pounds. I don't know if it's a "good" pace or not but my weight has gone consistently down each week, with the exception of my period weeks sometimes it will only go down 1lb or 0. (Also to note, my starting weight was 310 and I'm 5'4''. My official "excess" weight was about 160 pounds I think. So "lbs" lost vs % lost ... I don't think my pace is as good as others with as much as I have to lose. But I haven't tried to compare a whole lot, I'm happy with the down direction lol).

Thanks for sharing ladies! No guarantees it sounds like. But there's hope I could continue to lose and avoid GD. I have been reading articles that say your genetics and other factors outweighs compliance at the beginning after surgery. Then as time goes on it flip flops for maintaining your loss and forward progress. Makes sense but frustrating! And everyone reacts differently to pregnancy. There's so much we still don't know about our bodies!

What you are seeing as the limitation is the benefit! What's better than feeling satisfied with less? There are some people who either by choice or by bad reaction can't eat certain foods after surgery. But many people can still have treats on occasion and eat every type of food they want. The sleeve helps you with moderation. I'm about five months post op and I do sometimes get bummed when I go out to lunch with friends and can only eat a couple bites lol. I frown and they ask "oh don't you like your food?" And I say " no I really like it lol and I can't have any more". But I take it home and get to enjoy it for a few days. Immediately post op I did wonder if I would enjoy eating again. It's a learning curve to eat so you're comfortable and not overfull. I thought the surgery maybe works because eating sucks lol. But with recovery and learning the discomfort has lessened and I enjoy eating more now that I did pre op. Because it doesn't come with guilt and second guessing and regret! How much I can eat depends on the type of food but 1/2 to 1 cup is about the range. Glad you're asking yourself the right questions good luck with your decision.

I am almost 5 months post op and have definitely struggled with this. I am working on that type of anxiety and negative self talk among other things in counseling. I have been successful so far, not even half way to "overweight" lol but I am happy with my pace. But I still feel like ... I am faking it. I don't really deserve this or haven't really earned it. And before I can stop it I will blink and be back to my old habits and weight. But that is the exact kind of negative thinking that helped me yo yo "diet" my way to over 300 lbs. I try to focus on the healthy habits I do have that are now automatic. Like packing meals and Snacks to work ... I had a hard time keeping up with this so I ate out a lot. Now I do it every day no issues never too busy or tired. So I look forward to more changes that seem hard now becoming automatic and just part of me. And to know that "me" is okay!

Did anyone have a comparison to how much they gained in a pre surgery pregnancy? We are starting to try even though it hasn't been a year yet. It took us 3 years the first pregnancy. I have lost 65 lbs post surgery and am 30 lbs down from my weight when I got pregnant before. So I still feel healthier. For that pregnancy I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and I ate right on plan to limit carbs so I ended up losing like 10 pounds until the last month where I gained 20 so only 10 pounds while pregnant. And lost it right away post partum. I am hopeful and maybe delusional that I can so the same again and it won't totally sabotage my loss. I'm healthier now too so my blood sugar is better already though I will probably still get GD.

I agree with tracking ... To a point. For me I tracked every day at the beginning. And if it keeps working for you great. My goal with tracking is to keep myself honest and be confident in my choices. So if you track and you see that you are where you wanna be and where your NUT wants you ... I would give it some time to get results. The body's reaction to surgery and weight loss is so crazy. And you can drive yourself crazy analyzing every factor. If you really do experience consistent weight gain then maybe it's time to do detective work. But stalls and fluctuations definitely seem part of the process! Good luck! FYI I had a five week stall which finally broke on its own. I was assured by my NUT that I was on target so I just kept plugging away and finally got results.

I agree with easily deconstructed meals. Casserole style meals are not totally phased out but when we are eating together I make something with protein separate from the starch and veggie. And I pre make on the weekends as well.

I don't know if I'm imagining it ... Or does water go right through me now?? Is that possible lol since there's no reserve room in the tummy. That tube shape .... Lol. Anyone else?

I feel your pain! I saw people posting about stalling for several days .... I was stalled starting at the three week mark ... For five weeks not a pound lost. It did break! Lost about six pounds in one week finally then 2 - 4 pounds per week for a good clip of time. I had been tracking using MFP and I was second guessing everything! But I didn't really do anything to break the stall. I was at a moderate activity level and following my NUT guidelines. I agree with others your body needs to adjust itself. We put it through a lot with surgery!

Are you tracking your intake? I'm still new to the process but I have found that snacking is more effective for me. I don't really eat large meals. When I have attempted not to snack I found I did not save any calories because I are more at meals. Eating low fat Protein every couple hours works for me so far. My dr office is not great with the support and follow up NUT so I didn't get any direction on snacking policy. But to me if you are hitting your nutrition goals does it matter how? Slippery slope I suppose to grazing? But overall I think diet is still very personal even after the sleeve. There's no one size fits all consensus and diet for "normal" people so why for us? I'm not saying don't follow any guidelines but find what you can be successful on.

I also struggle with this. Calories I am well within range but even choosing lean meats and cheeses my fat tends to go over 45-50. I do eat some nuts as well. But I eat so low carb I don't know how much to worry about it. My percentage goals are 40 carb 30 fat 30 protein. I a goal of 950 calories that was closest to what my NUT said. 40g fat and 71g protein. The carbs limits at that % are over 100 but I don't really use that goal.