NeedaBreak4Me

I am very strategic about my Protein, i usually try to get my protein as high as i can during each meal, so i don't have to eat large amounts to meet it, i try to be as creative as possible with my meals so i don't get bored. So, i will make a lamb salads, or slow cook meat with beans/legumes, roasts with veggies, chicken salads, fish etc I try to add non meat Proteins, nuts, cheeses as well to change it up and increase the protein amount Eg, you could make a lentil and lamb salad, add greek yogurt to dip the lamb in, sprinkle some seeds/nuts, add some feta... awesome.. thats practically a quarter of your daily needs just there! Eg. I make an open taco bowl... lamb or turkey mince, old el paso taco seasoning/sauce, red Beans, white beans, onion, tomatoes, capsicum, fresh corriander.. cook it all up, then put it ontop of a "salad" of iceberg lettuce, tomato, corriander, red onion, capsicum... its yum! I find Mediterranean and middle eastern recipes do this very well

We don't have premier here. Why don't you get your Protein from food? Having the right protein rich foods you can easily meet your target when you add it all up... i have not relied on shakes since i was on soft foods. Some examples for the normal food stage inc brands available to us... Primo sliced turkey = 7.8g, 44 cal Red lea chicken leg = 14 g, 118 cal Red lea Chicken wing = 8g, 80 cal Red lea chicken thigh = 13.7g, 135 cal Coles Basa fish fillet = 22g, 153 cal Coles 100g lamb = 21g, 250 cal Coles beef hamburger pattie = 17g, 200 cal Coles 50g silverside, 22g, 56 cal Stringers = 7g, 80 cal Babybel cheese light = 6g, 50 cal

For me when this occured... it was the PPI that was causing my reflux!! It was my body's way of rejecting it. I stopped it completely and after 2 days it was completely gone never to return.. thankfully!

Hmm it could possibly backfire if you blatantly ask, she is only 24, still young and sensitive. Maybe try and get her involved with your journey... - ask her for her ideas on healthy recipes - ask her to come along on walks, when you notice she is puffed out, explain how you are glad you are fitter. (Don't mention you noticed she is puffed out though) - go shopping with her and when she gets upset about clothes not fitting, explain how you used to feel that way prior to wls. Use calculated opportunities to explain the changes to you mentally, physically and mentally. Engage her in your journey, speak to her about your feelings and when she sees how simple it is to still enjoy life without food & makes the connection with what you have told her, might choose to improve her health.

I should probably clarify what i mean by long term, 12 months is relatively safe, beyond that being at extremely low calories can cause the following: Fatigue Anemia Cardiovascular issues Gallbladder issues Increased cortisol Ferility issues Psychological Vitamin deficiency Loss of muscle mass Malnutrition Reactive hypoglycemia I know some of these are resolved with weight loss, but they can also be brought on by having extremely low calories for years.

@@TracyBar Yes it probably was me. When losing weight it is important to slowly build and adjust your calories as you get closer to goal. The aim is to increase it as you lose weight to enable you to maintain at a reasonable amount, this way your metabolism functions properly when you are further out. Reality is that we need calories to function, our organs need a surprisingly large amount just for basic function. Having them low long-term can cause a number of health issues because of this. I was the same as you, i could eat like a rabbit and exercise like an athlete only to lose a couple of pounds. What i have learnt is that i was doing things in extreme, and the body doesn't like that. I found the key is to eat well majority of the time and to keep exercise moderate, 3-5 days, 3 days of higher intensity (actual work out, cardio, resistance training, weight training) & 2 days low intensity (long walks, swim at the beach, bike ride or other social type exercise that gets you off your bum). The more moderate approach worked much better, my body didn't panic and wasn't over exerted and wasn't stressed at the fact i was over exercising.

@@BabyLurve24 I agree.... some can not do this, this is why one needs to exercise self control and choose to only have that small portion. I have been dealing with my emotional eating for around 8 years now, i have taught myself not to binge, to only eat when i am hungry, stop when i am satisfied, not full. Its a process, one needs to deal with the reason they overeat from the start and manage their disordered eating. I simply do not believe in replacing one eating disorder for another, because that is exactly what it is that got us here, disordered eating. For me, allowing myself to enjoy food without guilt when i have exercised self control majority of the time has helped me improve my disordered eating and is doing less damage to me psychologically... no guilt, no remorse, no putting myself down or getting angry with myself, no judgement.... it takes a load off your psyche.

Yes, i actually thought the same.... its like wow i have a normal tummy only smaller... this is awesome! I actually allow myself to have treats, i am a big believer in everything in moderation, but i do balance it out. Eg. I brought myself a box of my favourite expensive chocolates, i allow myself 2 chocolates every Saturday. Thats my reward for behaving from Monday-Friday & Sunday. I allow myself to have popcorn at the movies, and if i am eating out i am a little less strict with the carbs. So i basically do the right thing 95% of the time, but during the "bad" 5% i don't feel guilty, because i don't binge or go nuts with portion sizes... I think the key is allowing the treat but in a measured amount. Popcorn - recommended serving (child size) and thats all, not the whole box. chocolate - 2 pieces and thats it (not the whole block) This way you never feel deprived and it teaches you good habits and relationships with food. But, i will add this disclaimer.... i can do this because i am close to goal... if i had 50kg or large amounts of weight to lose, i probably wouldn't do it too often till i was nearish to goal.

Things are great with me.... my size 12 jeans are loose! Woohoooo... so only 1 size to drop till i get where i want to be... which is a size 10 (i am 5'9.. so anything below that i look weirdly thin) I should get there in around 10-15kg time. Don't worry about the weight loss.... it will come... i am not dropping in big numbers, more like... stay the same for 1 week... drop 1kg-2kg, rinse and repeat... but i am finding that my body is starting to respond in a more predictable fashion that earlier out... Water is super easy, i am meeting my Protein requirements, able to eat socially without it looking like i have had wls, i am more confident, and have finally adjusted to my new tummy... it took a good 2.5 months for me. My new tummy is good so far, it likes everything except eggs, they turn me off now....

Hey girl Well, as an ex bander you WILL be able to eat more, your esophagus has damage to it because of the band, you will not feel the tightness that a virgin sleever has. I was able to eat half a cup straight out of surgery, and now i am in my 3rd, heading into my 4th month, i can eat around a cup of food. We as ex banders have a different experience than the virgin sleevers, we will lose slower, can drink, get hungry and eat more and generally don't have the restriction because of the damage from the band. And by damage i mean our esophagus is looser, our nerves in that area are not as sensitive too. When my surgeon explained this, it made sense, he suggested that i measure out my food... but for me i can not go above 800 calories ever because of my metabolism. 800-1000 at this stage of the game for you is sensible... in a few months you should work up to 1200 so you do not do any permanent damage to your metabolism, like i did! Seems to me your experience is normal ????

Hi AussieGirl - what happened with the lap band? You had sleeve surgery so just wondering why the band didn't work?I had the lap band and it failed after a few years, it kept playing up, everything would get stuck, even Water.. i started getting really bad pain near the port site.. i had port replacement and a band change and it was still causing issues, so i asked them to take it out... i couldn't live with the pain any longer as well as starving because nothing would stay down. I waited 12 months.. and during that time i gained weight, even though i was eating well and exercising, i had my metabolism tested and because of the complications i had reset my metabolism to a low point, so the doctor suggested that i get the sleeve to enable me to stay at that lower rate without being hungry... basically i can not go above 800 calories for life without gaining. It sucks.. and i might never get back down to my original weight... but i am finally losing... i am a slow loser, but i am hoping ill get there eventually. This is why i always advise people to increase their calories and not to starve themselves, because it can really screw up your metabolism.

Thank you ???? it was a strange thing... @@cindyw41

No issues stopping, for me my PPI was causing my refux! I went cold turkey with no issues, however the surgeon suggested that i have a bottle of gaviscon handy so that when i do start to experience a burn, it controls it until my body adjusts on its own

I had the lap band years ago, lost a lot of weight, got down to a 22-23 BMI.... and even then i couldn't imagine myself small!! It took a good 2 years for my brain to realise i was slim! Even when people comment that i was tiny, i didn't believe i was truly that slim. I remember just before i was sleeved, i saw this girl with a really nice body who was a similar build to mine , i had said to my friend, i would love one day to get that slim, my friend said... uh, you were thinner than her! So even when my brain caught up, obviously i still thought i was bigger than i was.

The best comeback ever is... lose weight, get healthy, look fabulous and ignore these people. If they say you are taking the easy way out, simply say.. i am making the right choice for me and my health. Then do what i do, imagine all the good comebacks in my head lol Regardless of how good your comebacks are, people will always say something, comment and add their 2 cents worth, unfortunately this is human nature, if you don't react or engage in it, you don't hand over your power to them, they get bored and move on...

just this week I noticed that the elastic waist on my work pants does not really touch me all the way around. so I am going to HAVE to buy new work pants, before I am in this situation. they used to be snug in the waist, with the elastic plenty stretched. wow. THANK God for the hips. I actually had to go shopping because my jeans that i had brought prior to surgery that were way to small now literally fall down and end up around my hips... they are a size 12! Woohoooooooo! What a waste though, they were the perfect fit and cut when they were actually fitting me.

We do not have methylated Vitamins in Australia, i don't know why... But i buy them from iherb, they normally arrive in around 3 days.

You should always try to take the methylated form in Vitamins, they are more readily absorbed into your system. I use the following multi, it has all the correct methylated vitamins in excellent quanitities. I have not had any nutritional issues since my surgery so far. http://www.lifeextension.com/vitamins-supplements/item02001/one-per-day-tablets

Its normal after being on liquids to want real food, and emotional eating is a big cause of cheating post surgery. This is why people are advised to stick to the plan and to deal with their psychological issues with food from the beginning. Don't be so hard on yourself, so you fell off the wagon, now get back on and stay on.... you have learned a lesson.. eating solids too soon = pain. You can understand now that your body is not ready, and you now know why doctors force us on the post op diet so we don't injure/hurt our sleeve. Valuable lesson.

@@heidiboo Yep, i am shedding like a cat! Ok maybe not quite, but i started losing hair around 2 weeks ago.. its not very bad, but enough to find hair on the bathroom floor, lounge, clothes and when i comb it in the shower i do get a decent sized clump. I have long hair, so i am sure it looks alot worse than what it is. I have been reaching my Protein and nutritional goals since i started solids... so i know i just need to ride it out

Oh my..... i am a little daft today lol I was innocently reading thinking we were talking about eating those pop rock candy thingies, i did not realise till much later that there were other uses for them other than putting them in your mouth! I obviously have a lot to learn regarding candy lol *blush*

So, does that mean since its not "technically" wine that i won't get drunk drinking the entire decanter? Darn....

If you are low in Magnesium you can get sore legs and cramps... i know when i am low, i get them.