gwbicster

Hi all! I must admit I've taken a bit of a hiatus from this Site for awhile, as work got busy and the school year got more involved. Pleased to say that I have survived my first year on a new job and also my one year surgiversary is coming up next week, so I feel like I have become comfortable with this "new journey" and the "new me" has become the only me I can really remember! My weight loss has slowed over the past several months, and although I had an emotional reaction to this at first (addiction to the scale moving can be as severe as our former addiction to the food was) I've really come to peace with it. I also see my body changing and am getting a lot of comments from colleagues (and even the occasion student, believe it or not!) so even if the scale is not moving, I know I'm turning fat into muscle and that is not always reflected in the numbers. I feel super healthy and am thankful to God for this incredible transition! I do feel the appetite coming back pretty strong lately, and my fear always is, perhaps the "honeymoon" period is ending, and the gherlin is coming back. I know it differs for everyone so I don't exactly know if this is the case or not, but I do know that if/when this happens (or is happening) I will be stronger than it and maintain my body approximately where it's at, give or take a few ounces. My question involved the anti acid and betablockers that I've been taking since shortly after surgery. The surgeon at my last visit over Spring Break said I can stop taking them, but I'm a little bit afraid of this. I never experience reflux of any kind, but I do know that the reason I started taking them was to help me control my hunger. I'm kind of afraid if I stop taking them that my hunger might not be as manageable as it is now. They are covered under my insurance so I feel like they are a worthwhile expense if they help the hunger even a little bit, but I'm also not sure if long term use of these medications might also be bad for me medically. I'd love for the community to weigh in on their thoughts about this and share your personal experiences. I'm about at the end of my most recent three month doseage. Should I call in the refill or is it a better idea to say goodbye to these helpful little pills? Thank you for your opinions, and all the best to my brothers and sisters here!

My official opinion on the protein chips is that they require a dip of some sort. Of course when I enjoyed them with a little whipped cream cheese they were considerably more tasty lol. Another poster suggested fresh salsa that sounds like a winner as well.

I went through a period like this a couple months ago at almost the same interval and asked the exact same question (you can find the thread here if you search). Fortunately, it was just a stall, and the weight loss picked back up after I made a couple of small tweaks to my routine. Granted I'm losing slower than I used to, but it's still going. Knock on wood and praise the Lord! I hope your stall is short and you handle it (emotionally) well.

My chips finally came, at least the BBQ ones did. To be honest I don't really like them, certainly not as much as I like the Enlightened fava bean crisps for a snack. Of course, these only have 2g net (4g total) of carbs per bag, and 130 calories, while the Enlightened crisps have a lot more (like 450 cal per bag, which makes it dangerous for me, as it's hard just to eat a few). And I have to admit I do like the 21g of protein they pack. I have a case (8 bags I think) of these, so I will give it a while to see if my taste buds adjust. They don't have a very strong taste at all, they just don't do much for me. They don't taste "bad" but taste more like nothing. This morning after eating a bag for breakfast, I had to fire up some bacon (yay!) to "wake up" my taste buds. Oh well, I guess that's more protein, win/win. I'm waiting for the case of sour cream flavor I ordered to come in, so let's see if I can find a flavor I like. Fellow bariatrics, do any of these other flavors have a stronger flavor, or all they all weak sauce like this?

It's been pointed out to me the slow weight loss is better because it allows your skin time to recover. We shall overcome! Stalls suck, but they are going to happen, no matter how much we want them not to.

I can't add anything that others haven't. All I can say, 100% for sure, is It gets better Hang in there champ!

I just ordered some BBQ and some sour cream and onion (they are a little cheaper) as part of my subscribe and save order on Amazon. I will let you know what I think. The cheddar ones looked darned appetizing as well, maybe I'll try those next month. I was doing the fava bean crisps from Enlighten and ordered a case of the garlic and onions but I'm kind of getting sick of those. Maybe if I can enter these chips into my rotation it'll spruce things up! I've been good this year so I think Santa has no problems ordering these for me

I live in Florida and for years have been making fun of these locals who break out their winter coats the moment it gets below 70. Well the lows have been in the high 40s this week and I find I am absolutely freezing. I'm using the heating in my house for the first time in over 5 years. I have conversely noticed that I can set the AC much higher than the meat locker temperature I kept it at before surgery. Good with the bad I guess.

I think I know the answer to this, but just checking with the "experts". Early on I was much more militant about separating my eating and drinking. Lately I find myself occasionally taking a sip or two of liquids especially if it's something that is (too) dry. I assume this is just as bad of an idea as it was shortly after surgery? That it's a bad habit that can lead onto the slippery slope? Just checking.

That's the funny thing. Maybe because it's "taboo" but when i do have a couple sips, I feel MORE full. Maybe not for the longer haul, but at the time I eat. I feel much more satisfied. Yes, I know it washes the food out (although I find less so when I eat super "solid" meals like whole cuts of meat). The hunger seems to be under control maybe due to my use of Famotidine and Pantoprozale and just being busy this time of year (I am a music teacher). I feel guilty because I know what I am doing is wrong. But then again that's part of how I got here in the first place. I know, I know, time to seek counseling... Thanks for your feedback!

Hi Friends. I was sleeved June 12. Overall I have done really well. Better than I expected actually. I'm down 103-105 pounds since I started the presurgery diet May 22. For awhile there I was losing about 25 pounds a month. I was able to get under the 100 pound threshhold for my birthday, and I was so happy/proud. But for the past month, I have been in a big league stall. I've lost maybe two or three pounds during that month. I'm still exercising moderately (walking on the treadmill every day, and swimming when I can). I'm not gaining, but I'm not able to lose more than a couple pounds before I retrace for a day or three. I also feel like recently, the restriction of the sleeve is wearing off already- I'm able to eat what seems like a great bit more than I used to. I'm really starting to wonder if this is just a longer stall, or if this might be "it". I realize everyone's "honeymoon" period ends at different times, but I thought mine would last more than 4 months. I think I realize the culprit- my daily 1/2 cup of Cream of Wheat (with protein powder) every week day. I really love it and it helps me to start my teaching day with a full head of steam and a full brain, but I realize that these are carbs that I'm going to have to cut out if I want to resume my weight losing ways. But I was also having this during the previous two months, and I was still able to keep up my 25 pounds a month pace. 9 of 10 of you are going to respond, duh, stop that dummy. I'm slowly coming to terms with it. I am not really doing a low carb diet, but I'm also not going hog wild with them. I eat things like a cup of split pea soup for lunch, or some days instead I have a small wrap with turkey lunch meat or tuna salad. The wrapper I use is Joseph's Flax Seed roll (very low carbs, and very small, 50 calories). There have been a few times I've had some popcorn as a treat. Once or twice a week I will have some hummus with celery or a carrot. I'm guessing most days I'm at about 1200 calories. I find I am able to eat more than 4 ounces of food now, probably closer to 7-8 ounces total depending on what I am eating (usually a mix of protein and something like beans or some veg). This scares me because it seems like the restriction is being lifted a lot sooner than I expected. Is this normal? Even if I don't lose another pound I'm still very happy I chose this surgery. I feel better and I look better. I'm off all my diabetes meds and my sugar is almost normal. I never would have been able to do this without this assistance. But on the other hand, I figure I'm only about half way where I want to be before the honeymoon is over. Am I going to have to be militant about this if I want to keep losing at a rapid pace? Or is this it? I was hoping that even though the weight loss would slow down eventually that I would be able to eat a little bit more like I am now, but still lose slowly. Psychologically I am starting to feel like a failure and a great big pig like I used to be. I realize I have to deal with the consequences of my actions, and now that it's not impossible to overeat anymore I need to have more discipline. But I'm not really sure if I'm overeating or not. Anyone else here do as well as I did the first few months and then hit the wall like this? Am i overreacting? Should I just keep what I'm doing (maybe sans the Cream of Wheat) and "keep the faith" like my Momma says or am I fooling myself? Please spare me the militant "tough love" but I look forward to some honest feedback. Frustrated- gwbicster

Wow that's fantastic! Even though we have lost about the same amount of weight, you have lost a much larger percentage of your total weight. I'm really impressed. They also say it's harder for females to lose than men. You've really stuck with it! I found during my stall that my pants were getting looser- weird! I guess a lot of stuff is shifting around down there....I feel like a human etch-a-sketch!

Yeah, I realized those were why I was deficient. And I did exactly as you suggested. And that's why I'm back on track.

I'm having a much better month. I've lost about 6-8 pounds so far this month. A couple things I did- I'm still eating my half cup of cream of wheat on the weekdays (SOOOO hard to give up), but I now eat BEFORE I get on my treadmill instead of after. I don't know if that medically makes a difference or if it's just a coincidence. I also am drinking more fluids and really upped the amount of protein powder I supplement foods with. The scale is moving again and I hope it keeps going!

Because it challenges your restriction? I'd much rather eat a softer food, but I know that I need to keep persevering with it at least one meal a day. Much rather have lunch meat or tuna than beef or chicken but I know I need to power through sometimes. Also, for me, dark meat > white meat (used to be the opposite), and I use gravy/mayo/butter/ketchup/BBQ sauce to lubricate the journey. Been there, and it's getting better. It gets a lot better. You did the right thing having this surgery. We all have doubt along the way.

Yes horse pills! I like them though. I treat them like hard candy. I've convinced myself that they are a little treat for me, and don't allow myself to chew them.

I've had to cut eggs out since my surgery- I've had to throw them up several times and they seem just not to agree with me. I tried them in all formats and I just can't do them anymore. Now I have bacon without eggs....it sucks but there are other ways to find protein. I am hoping at some point to be able to eat them again as, like you, I used to LOVE them in all forms.

Funny you should say this. I'm in the midst of a monthlong stall, but I feel like I'm getting smaller nonetheless. I thought it was just an illusion. Hmmm...

I take Milk of Magnesia nearly every day. The days that I don't, are not pleasant. I'm not wild about needing it every day. But I realize I'm not able to get enough fiber and I need it right now. Hopefully I'll be able to get enough fiber in my diet soon and will be able to wean myself off of it. It's been one of the only negative aspects of this journey.

That's funny because I am just the opposite. I vastly prefer drinking iced tea (my favorite) or flavored water to regular plain water. I used to love drinking water before the surgery, now, if I want to drink a larger quantity, it needs to be some sort of flavored version.

The PPI really helped me. What I thought was hunger was really excess acid. My hunger has been under control since I started taking it.

Stevia is natural. However few people take Stevia in a 100% natural state. Real pure Stevia foams up dramatically. Truvia, however, is a small part Stevia and the rest is chemicals. Since I don't like pure Stevia, I use Truvia despite the chemicals. I feel like it's a bit healthier than Splenda (gives me the runs) so it's my sweetener of choice.

I'm just about to get under 40 BMI. I'm currently "obese class 3". What comes after that- class 4? I hope to get under 30 by the time I'm at my set point. Great job!

Wow. What an inspiration! I am just nearing triple figures! I figure I'm half way home. The idea you lost three of what I lost....wowzers!