blizair09

I weighed 397 when I started my six-month pre-op diet program in March 2016. I lost 99 pounds during the pre-op program, weighing 298 on the day of surgery in late September 2016. This morning, I weighed 211. I had the sleeve. I have no reason to believe that I won't get to my goal (180) within 1 year of the surgery. It is all about grit, perseverance, dedication, and how hard you are willing to work. If you want to succeed bad enough, you will.

I don't remember exercise coming up at all during my psych eval.

I'm a little confused. Do you already have a sleeve and are thinking about a revision?

This is what I have always thought about Levi's jeans for men. Why do you have to put the waist and inseam on the outside?!?

@SleevyNicks Great screen name!

I'd say that your calories are too low, especially given all of the walking you are doing. You can't live on 600-800 calories per day forever, and I'd be really leery of any medical doctor that encourages that. I'd have another conversation with your team and make it really clear how much walking you are doing. Good luck!

Keeping an honest food journal where you write down everything that goes in your body is so important. I wouldn't be where I am now without it. Good for you for getting back to it! Good luck!

Jeez... My brother (who was banded about 3 years ago) has regained almost all of the weight he lost (even though he claims he has only gained 30 pounds). When I talk about these last pounds I want to lose, he keeps saying "at some point, you're going to want to live." My response to him is that now, I am living. Some people will completely waste the opportunity they have been given. You see it on these forums every single day.

Congratulations. You look great! Keep up the awesome work.

No offense, but it sounds like your doctor is full of it. Follow your plan, meet your protein and water goals, and the scale will start to move again.

I really do hope that everyone will read your post and take it to heart. Thanks for taking the time to contribute!

The liquid phase of the post-op diet is certainly not the most fun part of the journey, but it is necessary to support your healing. How much protein are you taking in through your liquids? It might be possible to stave off some of the hunger by mixing more unflavored protein powder into your broth. Otherwise, keep having the liquids you can have at this stage. The next stage will come along soon.

My advice would be to meet your protein goals because that is so important to your recovery and to your progress. But, I would call your surgeon and get directions from him/her.

Great post! Keep up the good work!

Your ability to drink water in larger quantities will quickly build post-op. You might have to sip religiously to meet your water goals for a few weeks, but it won't be that way forever. Good luck!

Your "three week stall" has probably just begun a little early. I'd recommend staying off the scale for the first month. Your body has been through a lot, is trying its best to heal and adjust, and will naturally have some weird fluctuations for a little while. Right now, you should be focusing on meeting your protein and water goals. Everything else will come in time. Good luck!

I don't believe that you are allowed to delete posts, unfortunately.

I didn't practice this pre-op, and post-op, I just worked to make it a routine like everything else. In the early weeks, I simply wouldn't have anything to drink near me when I was eating. Now, it is just what I do. You get used to it.

There is a difference between snacking or grazing and spacing out a specified quantity of calories, carbs, and protein throughout the day. At 6.5 months post-op, each day I consume 1200 calories, 20 grams of carbs, and 100-120 grams of protein. I accomplish that by eating 7 times, approximately 2 hours apart. It would be no more calories, carbs, and protein than if I ate 3 times and supplemented that with a protein shake. People re-gain because they don't change their relationship with food, they eat and drink things they shouldn't, and they don't eat within specified parameters. They don't re-gain because they eat small, protein-dense meals 6 or 7 times per day. My advice to people has always been to do what your doctor says, but I know, for me, I could never meet my goals on 3 meals alone because my restriction wouldn't allow me to eat enough in only those 3 occasions. And I refuse to rely on protein shakes for the rest of my life...

For my appointment, the psychologist and I talked for about an hour and then I completed a battery assessment that took about an hour.

Congratulations. Awesome work!

I had surgery on September 28, 2016, and I'm still in my loss phase, losing in a similar manner to what has happened over the past few months. What is your consumption like each day? How many calories are you taking in per day? Carbs? Protein? How much water are you taking in per day? What are you doing for exercise?

Gotcha. A lot of people are told to get a minimum of 100 grams of protein. If that's the case, it's going to be hard to get it in 3 meals. I just didn't want people to read this and think that was doable without shakes, because the restriction of the sleeve wouldn't allow for that...

I'm curious -- how much protein do you take in per day? The reason I ask is because if you're aiming for 100 grams, it would be very hard to get that in 3 meals without using protein shakes.

At four months post-op, your calories might be a little low. At that point, I was averaging around 1000 calories per day. (For reference, I am 6'0", and at that time, I weighed around 230.) What is your carb intake on an average day? Protein? Are you meeting your water goals each day? At this stage of the game, weight loss is mostly about consumption, not exercise, so that's why I'm asking these questions to see if there is something about your consumption habits that might be affecting your progress.