WLSResources/ClothingExch

YOU ARE A HOT POCKET.

It may help to recognize that appetite is what's gnawing at you. Separate it from hunger (scrap head as extraneous), which is something to tend to. When you're driven to eat without being truly, physically hungry, do anything to redirect your attention. Take a walk. Rearrange a kitchen cabinet and, if you still feel an urge, rearrange another. Take a bath; it's relaxing and not a time associated with food. Reading or watching anything involving a screen are poor choices, as they are associated with eating. You don't "need" to eat, as you say in your penultimate sentence. I also notice that you, like most of us, are fond of imperatives -- "have to..." "supposed to..." and the like. Why pressure yourself according to some external rule book? Try shifting your vocabulary to "want to..." Having the choice and acting on it because it will take you where you want to go are far more palatable and productive.

Buy a food scale. There are those who haven't, but what does that have to do with you? You'll more easily plan meals and, if it makes a difference to you, truly feel that you're taking charge. My Fitness Pal is popular. There are others. Consider tracking more than Protein. You'll have proof of the new habits you're developing and, if you hit a period of slower loss (apart from expected stalls now and then), having records of your choices and quantities will help you tweak your program.

If 18 lbs in fewer than three weeks isn't good enough, you're going to be unhappy for a long time. You've done very well. Even if it had been five lbs in that time, lost weight is lost weight. As to the comment(s)* you've received: People are stoopid. That is not to say "tactless." It is to say "stoopid." * Here is a rhetorical question. Was it truly "people" or was it "person?"

There, now, of course I'm right. You've seen the light. The mortarboard isn't going to waste. Keep doing what you're doing and you'll have a boyish figure before you know it. You're good.

@@fatgirlsvelte, hello again. I came across this article today at sparkpeople.com and skimmed it quickly for a sense of whether its spirit is close to yours. Nothing that contradicts you popped out at me, so I'm putting it in here in case you or anyone else wants to take a look. http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/wellness_articles.asp?id=1626

@@debd80 I believe she should be told. She's not stupid; she'll figure out soon enough that something is going on. If you keep quiet, she's likely to find out anyway and may feel that your relationship is not as close and trusting as she's thought or that she's an outsider. When you talk with her, focus not on the surgery itself, but on the healthy habits you've been developing -- good food choices and amounts, exercise and what-all else. It's too easy at her age to fret about appearance. It would be sad if her confidence in her looks and body go south. If you do and eat healthy things together... Good health and habits make for prettiness and self-esteem. Keeping secrets in this regard is what makes for "touchy: subjects.

No, I haven't, but something occurs to me. When I saw your topic title, I immediately thought "reflux." Another possibility, I suppose, is that you picked up a bug of some sort. You're probably being asked every time you walk into a doctor's office if you've been out of the country in the past 21 days. Have you? Have you spent time with someone who has? I should say that I don't even recall why they ask the specific question, but, again, you may have picked up something new to you that may be either domestic or 'imported.' Is the ENT going to do a throat culture and whatever other test there is?

It has become worse -- 80 dead, per an item that went up on the CNN website half an hour ago.

@@Inner Surfer Girl, autocorrect needs some corner time. @@James Marusek, that just stopped my heart. Having heard no news in several hours, I started up my computer a little while ago and saw a headline that implied a traffic accident with far less loss of life and damage. I don't seek the hideous stories, but feel it almost a duty to know about them. The follow-up reports usually increase in ugliness and sickness.

Y'know, folks, a slower rate of weight loss may be a letdown, but thinking about it is known in the trade as 'maladaptive cognition.' In real-life terms, it means thinking things that aren't good to think. Lost weight is lost weight. Would you even be losing at the slower rate without the revision to sleeve? I'm not one of you and don't know if I will be. Having lost 115 in 15 (?) months at the start, I then regained about 65-70, letting an event derail me, not because of band failure. I'm finally seeing the NP on Monday (last time was about two years ago), positive that I have dilation, but won't know until the esophagram about erosion. In short, I'm thinking revision is what I'll need. I have yet to find out if my medical plan will cover it. I'd go for sleeve and would have to get past my own biases against it. With luck, at least some of he biases are based on ignorance of the procedure. Anyway, I really stopped in primarily to say that lost weight is lost weight.

I don't eat very low carb and don't know about ketosis, but because the subject came up in BP in the last day or so, I'm posting in case this is news. I'm not vouching for accuracy. WebMD.com is the source. A very low carb diet was identified as a cause of stinky breath. Further, "If you eat too few carbs, your body may have to burn fat for energy, and that creates acidic chemicals called ketones. These can make your breath smell fruity or like nail-polish remover. This is called ketosis, and it can become dangerous if too many ketones build up in your body."

Thanks, I was hoping for some info. Not a happy prospect. I appreciate both of you referring to the ketosis/ketoacidosis confusion. It's annoying that WebMD seems to be a culprit.

With the band loosened, it should correct itself over time, as you were told. Whether the band will work at well as it had or should have remains to be seen. Don't get upset now, just wait and see how things play out. I know of only one cause of dilation -- misuse of the band by the user. If this is the case and your band is serviceable once you start adjusting it again, eat the proper foods properly so that you don't ruin the band forever after.

May I? This is not "Bastille Day" in France. It is "la Fête nationale" and commonly called "le quatorze juillet." A proper greeting is "joyeux quatorze juillet!" What we have in common: Parades, fireworks, parties, et al.

You've proved my theory: Being subjected to extreme cold preserves healthy, normal emotions through summer.

What's the likelihood of a build-up to a "dangerous" level and what is the danger? @@ocgirl15, not I. WedMD is the source. Personally, I'm uninterestd in a very low carb diet. A variety of tastes, textures and colors works in my favor for not going wild with bad choices. I also need to feel like a normal person eating normal food as normal people do...normal shnormal. We each find our way.

What kind of "sick?"

@, if your doctor is thorough, he'll probably will order the full run of routine test and, maybe, an extra or two. I hope you find the solution easily.

I take it that "the only macro I have to track..." means that you were told to record calories and nothing else? The calorie sources may be a factor in your unhappy progress. It's up to you, of course. If you'd rather not go back in for more surgery, why not try tracking more than calories? You may discover wonderful areas for improvement that you wouldn't have guessed.. A lot of people use My Fitness Pal, which I'm told is simple to use. I got in the habit way back of using the tracker at sparkpeople.com. It's more cumbersome, but I don't mind. The 'recipe calculator' feature is a boon. The tracker has defaults and the option to add more categories, depending on one's concerns.

One possibility is that your thyroid has gone a little wonky, that is, not producing properly. Diagnosis is by simple blood test and, if you do have hypothyroidism, the standard med, synthroid (generic levothyroxine) works well. I don't know of hyperthyroidism may also be a cause. On the chance that you already take meds, your doctor will order blood work to see if the dosage needs to be adjusted. Hypothyroidism isn't desirable, but it is manageable.

I've come across more than a few people in support groups since my surgery who believed they were doing all the right things and getting poor results. In most cases they learned, after reviewing a week or two's worth of food trackers with the RD in their bariatric practices, that they had much room for improved food choices and meal planning. If you give it a shot, you may be pleasantly surprised. Which tracker are you using? Does it calculate your recipe ingredients and divide by number of actual servings?

It is funny indeed, but I wonder if it's real? I have no "real" bread in the house to soak and find out if will disintegrate or hold up. No matter what, your video is entertaining.

The others are right. This isn't something to delay. Whether it is related to surgery or not, you need to be examined.

@@Alex Brecher -- This is excellent. The OP in this topic is one of the most important posts on the site. @@fatgirlsvelte -- Honey, you're home!