BLERDgirl

I find it helpful not to look at a specific number as a goal. For me the goal is wellness. That means eating right and exercise. It doesn't mean restriction, deprivation or dieting. I plan for occasions where their will be cake or ice cream. I plan for movie nights. I make room in my life for a well rounded menu. I don't ever think in terms of cheat meals or diets. I approach every day trying to do better. I'm always on the lookout for new things to do and try.I will have to try to look at it that way as well. I am the kind of person where one slip leads to a landslide! But then again, planning has never been a strong suit of mine. I will definitely be taking your advice here! I've learned that planning is my friend. I log my food at myfitnesspal each and every day. I even plan and allow for having cake at a party and things like that. It makes me more conscience of what I'm eating instead of deceiving myself into thinking it's just a small piece or a little bite. I also work out 5 -6 days a week or more even if it's just a 30 minute walk.

Nope just the general no eating after 9pm the day before surgery. On the one had it's nice, because the 2 weeks full liquids post op was challenging enough. On the other hand it give folks a nice boost towards that initial weight loss.

No not at all. I think I was eating that at 4 week. I didn't go up to 800 until 3 mnths and I only recently went up to 1000. I'm a little over 9 mths out.

It varies per doctor. I didn't have a pre-op diet at all. Some people have done months, other weeks.

Doctors speak in generalities based on statistics of large populations. But YOU speak for YOU. Your individual strengths and desires determine the amount of weight you'll lose. Don't worry, I need to lose 210+ lbs to get to a healthy BMI, so I'm taking the journey right along with you. 207 for me. That's too big a number to focus on. I just focus on the next 10lbs. When I lose that, the next 10. My current goal is to lose 10 more by August. After that I'd like to be at 100lb+ by my 1 year anniversary.

Please feel free to include me in this. I know there aren't many who are trying to eat as natural as possible and/or are vegetarians.

Call your nutritionist. I was allowed yogurt on full liquids which would be the same consistency.

Anything can be taken in, it just depends on how much work needs to be done. Depending on the clothing it can get pricey. I have a few suits that are fully lined. They would have to practically be remade to take in. It involves taking out the lining and readjusting both the garment and the lining. I'm going to dry clean them and sell them. On the other hand I have a few summer dresses that would be relatively simple to take them in. One is a sort of fit and flare style that can be taken in on the bodice and sides inexpensively.

I don't do low carbs. I look more at the source. As other have mentioned complex carbs are good for you. I also allow myself more carbs before and after a workout as your body uses the fuel. Most of my carbs are coming from Beans, whole grains, nuts and dark green veg. The carbs I limit are those that come from breads, pastas and white rice.

I find it helpful not to look at a specific number as a goal. For me the goal is wellness. That means eating right and exercise. It doesn't mean restriction, deprivation or dieting. I plan for occasions where their will be cake or ice cream. I plan for movie nights. I make room in my life for a well rounded menu. I don't ever think in terms of cheat meals or diets. I approach every day trying to do better. I'm always on the lookout for new things to do and try.

My weight was over 400 when I stared. I knew going in this was for the long haul . I'm 9mths and nearly 100lbs down with no preop diet. I think it's entirely possible., it just takes commitment .

Read labels. I've been vegetarian a long time and I still read labels. A lot of meat subs are heavily proceeded and carb heavy. Morningstar & Boca are the 2 biggest culprits. I rarely eat either of those brands. I do eat a lot of Greek yogurt (fage 0%) and eggs. I also eat beans, nuts (cashews, pistachios & almonds mostly) and I supplement with unflavored protein powder. I try to combine proteins when possible. I make my own protein drinks with protein powder, yogurt & whatever fruit or nut butter to flavor. I may have black beans with a sunny side up ragged & shredded cheese for a meal. I also eat seitan & tempeh

Link? IIRC that's the amount your body can absorb per hour. This works just fine for my eating habits That said this is also why it's important to have bloodwork gone every few months. Any spike in your levels can be caught & dealt with before they reach dangers levels.

Ditto. Even on full liquids adding a dash of sriracha to my veg broth was tolerable.

It does sound a bit like you are trying to justify going off track. Perhaps it's time to revisit what you are eating. You may need to increase your calories just a bit or switch up to find more filling foods. I''m all for stepping away from the scale, but I would continue to monitor my food. I only weigh myself once a month but I still maintain a food log. At 9 mths out most days are in the 800 -875 range, but there are occasions where I go up as much as 1,000 calories. However I know that for me, eating in the 1,000 range on a daily basis is not a good idea until I hit maintenance. Weight loss happens in the kitchen, not the gym. You cannot exercise away a bad diet. I worked out 3 - 5 days a week for years and was over 400lbs. I was a flexible 400lbs, but the weight loss only bounced between a 35 -50lbs loss and regain.

Most people get sick of liquids. I didn't even have a pre-op diet and by the end of the first week I was sick of liquids as well. However I knew this is what I signed up for and I just sucked it up and powered through. I changed up my shakes as much as possible and sometimes I had veg broth with unflavored Protein powder to give myself a little variety, but I stuck to my diet. I'm 9 mths now and don't even think about how badly I wanted to chew until I come across a post like this. Hang in there!

Call your nutritionist before changing your diet. I had 2 weeks of full liquids. What got me through was using the unflavored Protein powder and adding it to broth or soup with no chunky bits. I was able to still meet my protein needs and stay on track. It was a welcome change from milk based, sweet shakes. Mash potatoes were allowed on the soft food stage, but I never ate them since it's all carbs, no protein. I could only eat 2 ounces so I wanted to make sure every bite counted.

Take the miralax. My doctor put me on colace from day 1. By day 5 (my 3rd day home) I had my first BM and I have been regular ever since. I was on colace for the first 30 days post op. Sometime your body needs that jumpstart right after surgery and while it's adjusting to your new eating habits. By the time I was done with colace I had incorporated foods back into my diet that would allow my to go naturally. I was adding fresh spinach to my Protein shakes about a week post op. I preferred the Protein powder over ready made shakes. I just toss a handful into the nutra-bullet along with everything else. It's was blended up and liquefied. I still got my protein, but also enough fiber to stay regular.

Yes indeed. I've just changed my approach. Since I try to eat as clean as possible most of my sweets are in the form of fruit. However, I have had chocolate of all forms: milk, white and dark. I also drink hot chocolate, especially in the winter. I have had cake and pie on occasion in small portions. I can't use artificial sweeteners so I put raw honey or regular sugar in my coffee and tea. The different is I use it judiciously and I don't need to have something sweet every day. I try to plan ways to safely incorporate these things into my daily eating. One big thing I noticed was once I gave up processed foods, my craving for sweet decreased greatly. I think no longer eating a heavily processed diet enables me to be satisfied on smaller doses of sweets.

I tried both stevia sweeteners which are processed with xylitol and/or maltodextrin and stevia herb which is simply the dried stevia leaf powdered. I liked them both, but it turns out they are an allergy trigger for me. The stevia plant is in the rag weed family and I'm allergic to ragweeds, so I cant have either. I sweeten my food with either raw honey or regular sugar. I just use them sparingly.

I use the Isopure unflavored. I actually prefer it over the flavored ones. No sugar, no carbs and not a bunch of junk to trigger my food allergies. I add it to my protein shakes in the morning that I make from scratch with Fage 0% greek yogurt. I also add them to soup, coffee, and teas both hot and cold. It's a nice added protein boost.

Water aerobics, walking, biking, kettleball

There is some thought that the body cannot absorb more than 20 -30 gms of protein per hour. That does not mean we don't still need to get in a min of 60 gms a day. It just means spacing it out so we are gradually getting it in throughout the day. Typically my morning protein shake come in at between 31 -38 gms of protein. However, I tend to drink half before my workout and the other half after. This way I fuel my body pre workout and during recovery post workout. lunch is then anywhere from 10 -20 gm of protein. My afternoon snack may be another 5 -10gms and my dinner another 10 -20. This enables me to get in 75 - 100 gms of protein each day.

All VERY good points. A few other things I started doing in anticipation of WLS that made post-op life easier. Start exercising even if it's no more than a daily 30+ minute walk Practicing eating slower. Take smaller bites and chew ALL food until it dissolves in your mouth. Increase your protein intake. Try to make that protein come from as "clean" a source as possible. (not processed foods). Start drinking water or increase the amount of water you drink.

The "best insurance your employer offers" may not have be the one you need. If you want surgery in the US you want insurance that covers WLS. Before you switch read the fine print and find out what types of WLS it covers just to be safe. Surgery in Mexico is a good and safe alternative as long as you do your homework. Several successful sleevers on these boards have gone that route. Do a search for Mexico. You will find many usernames. Most of great about chatting and answering questions. You mention you feel off the wagon due to not watching what you ate. Please keep in mind that even with WLS you have to watch what you eat in order to get the most benefits. It's a good habit to get into now as you contemplate the lifestyle changes that come with WLS.