LisaLouBop

I was eating veggies from the time I started soft foods, so I can't quite remember which ones were more or less filling. I do remember a lot of spinach (I almost always added spinach to my eggs), cauliflower (pureed cauliflower as a replacement for mashed potatoes is super yummy), artichokes (yes, WITH hollandaise sauce), tomatoes (a slice topped with crab salad was an especial favorite) and red peppers stuffed with seasoned burger and shredded zucchini. Other veggies like green Beans, asparagus, spaghetti squash and broccoli came a little later. As for portions, I used frozen veggies when possible and just pulled out however much I wanted. As for the fresh veggies, yes, I did have some waste, but like you said, maybe you can incorporate some of your veggies as your husband's sides so you won't have to throw them out. Once I could tolerate raw veggies broccoli, carrots, cucumbers and cauliflower dipped in ranch dressing or other veggie dip became staple Snacks for me. I never worried about fat content, so I just used regular ranch out of the bottle.
As for fruit, I added peaches, mangos and bananas to my Protein smoothies almost right away. I waited 3 months before I started adding strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, etc. because of the seeds. I also eat apples with Peanut Butter as a snack at least 3 times/week. Over the summer, frozen pineapple chunk were a refreshing snack. Turns out oranges freeze really well too. A client gave me a huge fruit box for christmas with tangerines, oranges and grapefruit. I ate the grapefruit (1/2 for breakfast) and I peeled, sectioned and froze the tangerines and oranges and they are still just as fresh as the day I received them.
The other thing that has really helped me cut down on waste since I am single and eat such tiny portions is my vacuum sealer. Now I can buy or cook in bulk and just vacuum seal and freeze individual portions that last as long as I need them to. I basically have my own home cooked frozen TV dinners available at all times.
Even though we had the same surgeon, I was given a Protein goal of 60g. This was always pretty easy to meet, and I probably get closer to 80g (with the help of a huge protein smoothie and Protein Bar most days). 100 would be tougher to hit.

Have you tried making ranch dip with plain Greek yogurt? Get the ranch powder and instead of mixing it with sour cream or mayo, use plain Greek yogurt. The ratios aren't quite the same so you have to play with the flavor, but just like your hummus or PB it's something great to eat with veggies without sacrificing Protein.

Love/hate. A necessary evil. I am starting to enjoy it....a little. It also depends on what kind of exercise. I find the treadmill soul sucking.

When I have lost weight in the past, I always stuck to a sort of "calorie cycling" model, where I would have really low days and then cheat days where I was really high. That definitely seemed to keep things moving. But post-sleeve, that's not really an option. I have to get pretty creative just to figure out how to get enough calories to sustain my exercise. Cutting back for a "low day" or adding more for a "cheat day" just isn't in the cards, unless I were to do something really crazy, like drink a milkshake or something really bad for me.
I will see what I can do about trying to add in some fruits or vegetables. It'll be tricky, but maybe it will help shake things up a little. Any recommendations for veggies that aren't very filling and would still let me get Protein in at the same time? Also, what do you do about preparing the right amount of veggies or storing the leftovers, since I will obviously be eating very little of them?

@@GreenEyes604
How did your doctor appointment go?

Adding to the chorus. WLS is a helpful tool. It does indeed work, however the long term effectiveness depends entirely on you. You'll have to change bad habits and attitudes about food and realize that you will have to work at it every day for the rest of your life. Be positive, and be committed too this and you can be a success!

My nut encourages fruit for Snacks as long as I am still meeting my Protein goals. One of my "meals" most days is half a Granny Smith apple sliced dipped in a mix of Greek yogurt & either PB2 or Peanut Butter Protein Powder. Since adding the half apple a day with skin, the Constipation has gotten so much better. I will also mix small amounts of frozen berries into my Protein Shakes sometimes too.

@@JamieLogical Sounds like you are doing really well on your plan, but let me throw this out there.... When I was losing and things would slow down, I noticed I could kick start the my loss when I would change things up. Eat stuff I hadn't eaten before. You are getting loads of Protein (more than I ever did) but not getting any (or very little) veggies or fruit. How about cutting back to 80g protein and using that extra sleeve room for more veggies and a little fruit? They contain nutrients your body may be lacking that just can't be duplicated in a Vitamin supplement. You won't be upping your overall calories, they will just be different calories. Our bodies can kind of get "nutritionally stagnant" after awhile and giving it something different to digest and utilize may stop the cycle and make it feel like it's OK to give up the fat. Just my thoughts and something I found worked for me.

I upped my Protein more than my nut recommended and my scale went down 2 lbs, I'm at 199 today. I've finally hit that all elusive onederland, it's has escaped me for 11 years. Now to see if I continue to lose with the increase in protein.

I would also like to see a sub forum just for slow losers, just so we can all commiserate without annoying everyone else I know another site I'm on (not as much as this one) has one that's called "Slow Losers Unite!" Anyone else think that would be nice to have our own sub forum?
What do you say, @@Alex Brecher?

I'm 59 and I would have done sooner. It's so worth it.

**UPDATE**
As someone said above, a watched scale never moves. But until this completely horrible, rotten stall was over, I was watching. Well, as of this morning, I'm down 2lbs. Granted, I may not lose any more this month, but the scale MOVED
My sister, who is on Weight Watchers and losing FASTER than me, recommended I cut out some of the strength training for a while and just concentrate on cardio. She also told me to try a little more fruit. Well, after 4 days of cardio and upping my fruit intake a little (along with my calories), it seemed to do the trick. Or my body just said "I give up!". Either way, I'll take it.
I love this thread so much. Makes me not feel so alone in my slow loserness. I know my grown kids, my husband and my sisters get tired of hearing it. It's nice to commiserate with others who understand. Keep on keepin' on, slow losers!

I too have slowed down to a crawl. When I was shopping for a WLS surgeon, one told me the human body is very good at holding on to the fat stores. It will do anything it can to keep them. It will lower our metabolism to a crawl to keep the fat. He explained how some people are baffled that they exercise and still don't lose weight. He said the body compensates for the extra calorie expenditure by literally placing you in a state of low energy for the rest of the day. Things like feeling cold at the extremities, not moving much at all. I have started to notice some of this is happening with me. It's almost like my body is only using the smallest movement possible to accomplish the task. I think what he was trying to say is we have to ramp up energy consumption all day long. I am going to be more mindful of this principle. That means maintaining a high energy output all day long. Yes, I can take a few breaks but I have to be moving most of the time. Does this make sense?
I think my metabolism is so efficient a preserving fat stores it has reduced my calorie expenditure to the absolute min. I have to fight that somehow. I was doing this for a long while but winter got depressing and its so cold outside. I was to the point of cleaning all my windows, vacuuming almost everyday, window shopping for 4 hours at a time and I did those things just to be moving. It got pretty funny. One day I even cleaned all the surfaces of the furnace and Water heater. I literally became a cleaning fiend. I figured I either go to a health club 5 days a week or I clean for 3 hours per day. I made my choice. Now I'm slacking on that. My house is just all clean, lol!

When was the last time you lost 40 lbs in 10 weeks, and recovered from a mild heart attack? Cut yourself some slack.
Your are doing great. As for the 3 week stall, I truly believe that stalls are merely the body getting use to the weight loss.

That's a normal loss. I was sleeved 10/23 and I'm down 48 pounds. fruit and veggie diet? That will make it come off slower. We have to eat differently after this surgery to lose. Good luck dear. Do some research and EXERCISE!

I was disappointed with my slow loss at first as well. I am almost 5 months out and only down 38 pounds since my surgery on Sept. 1. But, I've come to peace with it now. The weight IS coming off. The scale IS moving down. And why do I need to race? I will eventually get where I need to be.
Pre-op and the first month or two post op, I was thinking about this like I'd thought about diets in the past. I wanted to lose weight and get to goal as fast as possible so I could be "done". But with VSG, you are never "done". Your sleeve is for life. So what's the hurry?
Plus there are some big advantages to losing slowly. I don't constantly get asked about my weight loss and have to come up with lies to tell people I'm not comfortable discussing my surgery with. And, since I'm losing weight more slowly, I'm not having to constantly replace clothing only to have to replace it again almost immediately. Also, I think it's less taxing on my skin than if I dropped weight really quickly.

You said it. Eff em'! I went through 3 ½ mths of testing, surgery to place an IVC filter and another to remove it. I work out 5 - 6 days a week and keep a food diary to monitor everything I eat. If that's easy I must be living in bizarro land.

My answer to something like this?
"Cool!" and walk away.
or if you really want to poke 'em...
"You know, as I consulted my doctor, my therapist, my NP, the surgeon, my nutritionist, something was nagging at me and I finally figured out what it was... YOUR opinion. That's exactly what I was waiting for. So thank you."

Or kick 'em in the junk.
Your choice.

I didn't exercise at first either...too busy, too tired, too much to do, bad knees...etc....we can find all of the excuses we want. I joined the gym at our local hospital. At first I said there was no way I was going to get in the pool and let anyone see me in a bathing suit. Trainer kept telling me it was the best because of my knees. I took the plunge and got in the pool (guess what ....nobody cares what I look like!).....I walk the pool and stay in it an hour or more! It is open until 9:00 at night and 7 days a week.....low cost also. You can do it....just make up your mind.

Ditch that muffin.. eat a piece of chicken with your eggs.. or some other Protein.
Herbal teas are good to me, try those.
That is hectic. I can't even imagine a 3 hour commute.. the best idea then is to make one day your food prep day, and pack it all for the week. so all you have to do is grab everything and go.

oh, and as far as Water.. try making bone broth and drinking that..

I completely agree. I've lost 4 lbs (2 of those pounds came off just last week) since January 2nd, but my body has continued to change.

During my follow up visit, they explained it as your body catching up. Every 3 weeks or so, I've noticed that the scale stopped moving, but the inches kept going. I figured this was a logical explanation. She also said that that's the reason why most cosmetic surgeons won't operate on a WLS patient until they've stopped losing for at least 6 months to give the body a chance to catch up to the weight loss be it losing inches or skin tightening.

Our bodies get used to the changes we make, and our metabolism adapts. It's a normal, if infuriating process.

105 lbs in 10 months? That's amazing!!!!!
You must be so proud of yourself, what an accomplishment.
I've lost 43 since my journey began, the last 4 lbs have been since January 2nd - 4 lbs in 8 weeks... UGH..
I'm feeling your pain with regards to the stall.
I'm going to make it through this stall and so are you...

I bought 6 huge bottles pre-surgery and maybe mixed them into yogurt a few times. They have sat unused in my kitchen the last year since my surgery.