Inner Surfer Girl

Just one more thing to use if you feel the need to respond to the "Why don't you just do it yourself/You are taking the easy way out." debate.

Wine can make a difference. A good way to get an idea if it is to track your food (weight, measure, and record everything). Have you talked with your NUT? Increasing your Protein may help. But without knowing what you are eating, I wouldn't recommend changes without knowing more about what you are doing. Are you exercising? Are you eating healthy carbs, or are you eating a lot of starches? Are you drinking enough Water? (Even despite the extra calories in wine, you would still need to drink more water to offset the dehydration caused by wine.) Why not make an appointment with your NUT to check in and see what he or she recommends?

Actually, that is a typo. I meant a 3 in 1. Its a super-duper slow cooker that lets you brown meats, etc. and I believe also functions as a pressure cooker.

@@Inner Surfer Girl hey bud sheltered life here what is the above?? thanx kathy A vision board is a tool for helping you to envision what could be/what you want your future to look like. At its simplest, you can cut out pictures, words, phrases, and other images from magazines/print materials, and paste them onto a piece of poster board or paper. It is a creative way to gather thoughts and inspiration. For instance, related to weight loss surgery, you could cut out photos of activities you would like to do, clothes you would like to wear, places you would like to go, inspiring quotes or ideas, etc.

I agree that it helps to start small and find vegetables or fruits you can add fairly easily. For instance, I put salsa on a lot of things.

I eat a lot of green beans. I get those little single serve green bean packages and add one to my protein. I drink V8 on occasion. I slice up fresh tomato or cucumber and eat with cottage cheese. Add a tablespoon or two of a soft vegetable (like squash) to some of your meals. I love fresh fruit. You can add some fresh blueberries to your yogurt. I like a fresh sliced peach or a fresh plum as a "desert".

One thing I learned a long time ago was to look at fat, salt and sugar in packaged foods. When they reduce or eliminate one of these items, they have to increase the other two to compensate for taste. Low fat usually means higher salt and/or sugar; Low sugar usually means higher salt and/or fat( and Low sodium usually means higher fat and/or sugar. Also, high fructose corn syrup is in everything.

Embrace the Stall!

Are you still getting in all your protein and water? Have you talked to your NUT recently? I agree that just arbitrarily adding calories based on your estimated metabolic calorie burn rate isn't working. What does your NUT advise?

WOW and you have lost over 140 pounds in 5 months? Did you have a supervised diet before surgery? If so how much did you lose and was it a 6 month supervised diet?I am currently in the middle of my 6 month supervised diet and will see the Dr again next Monday. So far I have lost 20 pounds however lost 145 pounds on my own before the initial Dr consultation in June. No, I didn't have a supervised diet. I met with my nutritionist but there was no requirement. I just tried not to gain. I did adjust my diet pre-op by weaning myself off of caffeine and pop, increasing my Water, and trying to eat cleaner and focus on Protein.

How are you failing? You lost over 20 pounds in a month's time. It sounds like you need to recalibrate your expectations. As other's have pointed out, you can't compare your progress to anyone but you. Focus on getting in your Protein and Water, and stay off the scale.

You are correct. It was Dr. Weiss. I learned so much from him!

Actually, that is not true. It helps if you speak for yourself and not everyone else.

Not just sugar but high fructose corn syrup. It is in everything. My surgeon spent about 20 minutes of his time during the last group pre-op session I attended educating us about high fructose corn syrup. He said it's the main reason we have an epidemic of cirrhosis of the liver in the U.S.

It's a normal and necessary part of the process. Just focus on getting in all your Protein and Water, and stay off the scale. Embrace the Stall!

I too am concerned about growth hormones in meat and dairy. I am not obsessive about it but I try to read labels and buy local and/organic whenever possible. Fortunately, I live in central Kentucky and we have a wealth of local food producers.

I like Palmer's Cocoa Oil and Cocoa Butter. They have vitamin E and smell good. Nothing will really prevent sagging skin, but staying hydrated, eating right, and exercise will all help some.

Congratulations! What an uplifting post!

I made a decision at my first post-op follow-up appointment not to share numbers with people. I told my family that I wouldn't be sharing that information so they now know not to even ask that question. They can see my progress and I am pretty open and frank about every thing else. The number on the scale is no one else's business, and really isn't even mine.

I am a big fan of weighing infrequently. When I was at my highest weight my home scale didn't work for me so I had no choice but to weigh at the doctors. I think it really helped me, especially early out. Now that I have lost enough for my home scale to work, I weigh no more than once a week (or less often). I think the small, daily ups and downs are not a good indication of overall progress and I see too many people on here lose their minds over the number on the scale.

I agree, you have got to find a way to get your Protein in. It is absolutely critical for health, healing, and ultimately weight loss. I know we all had this surgery to lose weight, but you have to focus on health right now but not getting adequate nutrition can have severe consequences, the least being hair loss. You are recovering from major surgery. Have you talked to your NUT or surgeon? What is your protein goal? Even if you don't like food right now you have to find a way to eat. Have you tried Greek yogurt or cottage cheese? Are you cleared for soft meats like tuna, tilapia, or canned chicken? What about chili? Refried Beans? Protein shakes are not the only source of protein, but they do make it easier to get enough when you have such little room in your stomach.

Best of luck. The worst part of the whole experience for me was the anticipation and taking that last step into the unknown. I was fortunate enough to have a very easy recovery. The only advice I would give is to do everything you are asked to do, even if you don't think you can and to walk as soon as possible. Keep us posted.

When I volunteered at a local St. Vincent DePaul thrift store with my church group I was always approached about donating my clothes because they really needed large-sized clothes.

Congratulations!

I understand being upset and aggravated about the delay, but it will be worth it wait. You really do need to go into surgery as healthy as possible. Undergoing surgery is hard enough on your body, you really don't need to add any more complications.