Berry78

Aww.. y'all are so sweet! I love reading you guys' posts too!

Thanks!

Oh, and Fruits and Veggies has a bypass, which typically means losing weight faster, but the scale stops moving sooner. It isn't unusual for people with bypasses to slide into maintenance at 10 months postop. So time is more of the essence in this case than with a sleeve patient.

On the board we see 3 week stalls break ON THEIR OWN all the time. It's when things are staying the same (scale and tape measure) for over a month that I start getting concerned. My personal preference is to call it a stall if it lasts for a month or less and breaks on its own.. more than a month, and it usually needs intervention.. that's a plateau. Keep in mind, if someone only eats 400 calories a day, long term, it's anorexia, and they WILL lose weight. Doesn't mean it is a good idea, but it means that there is no true end to weight loss. (Think of concentration camp victims). The "end" that we talk about is when the new set point is reached and the caloric intake/expenditure aligns. We can control intake, but the body has lots of tricks up its sleeve to modify expenditure. That's why calories in doesn't always seem to equal calories out.

It does sound like you've found your maintenance level. Take the calories back down to 1200 to keep on losing. I see your goal weight is 120lbs, but at 5'5.. it could be asking a bit much. Surgery CAN take people that low, but it USUALLY doesn't. A typical result for someone with your stats is to lose maybe another 5-25 more pounds, then plateau. Strive for the best (I.E. 120lbs), but you might want to wrap your brain around the idea that it may not happen. The surgery has ALREADY been a success.. so we're not talking failure here. We're just talking about keeping a healthy outlook in case the scale doesn't cooperate. Ultimately, when the scale stops moving, you have 2 choices. 1. You can keep on pushing... keep your calories really low, and exercise. The scale WILL continue moving when you do that. The question is how hungry you'll be, and how difficult it will be to maintain. 2. You can be satisfied, and not worry about it. Find your sweet spot (maintenance calories), and just live your life.

Ok, so I looked up your stats. You've lost 39% of your excess weight, which IS lower than average, but you still have time! How long was your preop diet? (What happens preop can be an indication of what happens postop). Since you are petite, I urge you to pay special attention to your calories. Aim for 800-900 a day if you don't exercise (I usually recommend more, but I suspect you need more severe restriction). If you do exercise, go up to 1000, but not more than that (unless you are running marathons).

Wow, what a whirl-wind! Did insurance cover the procedure? How did you get it done so quickly? Congrats on the good results so far!

Oh man not looking forward to it. I vomited all of one time so far, and since we don't drink with our meals, it was heavy and thick, and no fun to bring up. (You'd think it was peanut butter or meat... but, no, it was cottage cheese!). I'd recommend staying on a full-liquid diet throughout a stomach bug. That will help you stay hydrated and your stomach won't have to work so hard bringing things up.

If your weight hasn't budged in 5 months, then it sounds like you have reached your new set point. Going forward, weight loss will be similar to preop. Try not to fret, since you still have your sleeve to help you From the numbers, your ideal weight is 100lbs less than your surgery weight. (Important question.. did you lose weight right before surgery? If you did, that impacts what I say next). To be considered a medical success, you need to have lost 50% of excess weight within 18 months postop. So that would be 50lbs. Having only lost 37 this far.. if you don't lose more, then surgery DID fail you. So let's try to get over this hump, and make it a success story. (The good news is that 208 IS a lot better than 245, so at least there's that.) Step 1. Go back to basics. Try to prepare as much of your food at home from single-ingredient items as you can. Fast foods and processed foods are how many of us gained weight to begin with. I believe there are hunger-inducing additives in many of the products. Step 2. Make sure you stay up on your medical stuff. If you have low thyroid levels it can cause problems with weight loss, etc. Step 3. Count and measure everything. Try to stay around 1000-1100 calories a day, 60g protein, lots of water. Exercise will help at this point. No added sugar and no white flour (getting rid of those two things will basically knock most processed foods off the "ok" list). Example meal plan: Breakfast: 4oz cottage cheese and 4oz blueberries Lunch: 1 egg (cooked how you like) and 3oz pinto beans and 2T salsa Snack: 1oz peanut butter on celery Dinner: 3-4oz hamburger patty with 1/2 cup green beans or canned spinach. Calorie free beverages only.

How many diets have you tried and failed before? If your answer is none or just a couple, then maybe you don't really know whether you need surgery or not. Surgery should always be a last resort when you KNOW that you can't keep it off. Complications can and do happen, and so surgery MUST be risk-benefit assessed.

At only 11 days postop, peanut butter is too thick to eat on its own. You should ask your team if you can add it to a protein shake.

Great! Glad you'll be bringing the protein on board. Don't replace your meals, just add the shakes. You want to be consuming at least 1200 calories a day. In order to help more, I need a bit more info. Your height, weight, reason for the revision.. current caloric consumption, exercise habits.

I hope you're squeezing a protein shake or two in there.. because it looks like you're only getting about 14g protein! (Unless your fast food has meat..).

dessert = strawberry shortcake desert = sand

This is exactly what has gotten the wheels in my head turning for the last little bit. The gigantic HOW. Parameters for both men and women: -Ideal consumption during lengthy weight-loss phase: 1200 calories -4 meals, no more than a cup of food per meal (early on, have to "finish" a meal a bit later.. creating more, smaller meals). -60g protein goal. "They" say that women don't need this much, but that hasn't been studied in the bariatric population. - Limit animal products, protein powders and shakes, processed foods, and soy ----------------------------- Ok, so, 4 meals, 60g protein, means a goal of 15g protein per meal. 1200cal/4 equals 300 calories per meal. Meal 1: 1 cup of cooked lentils and .5T added fat: 18g protein, 280 cal. Meal 2: 1/2 cup plain whole milk greek yogurt with 3.5oz banana and .5oz nuts or seeds: 15g protein, 300cal Meal 3: 2 slices Ezekiel bread with 2T peanut butter: 16g protein, 340 calories Meal 4: 1/2 cup cooked Teff and 1/2 cup kidney beans: 14g protein, 300 calories Breakdown: 1 dairy, 3 legumes, 1 fruit, 2 grains, 1.5 nuts/seeds, .5 added fat. Whew! Made it with only 1 dairy. It would be easy to add another 100 calories by adding a tablespoon of fat to the 4th meal. But, if we were aiming for zero dairy, the day gets pretty boring. If you notice, there isn't really room for a green leafy veggie at all! Nuts and beans, and more nuts and beans... If you wanted to throw an egg in there, replace half the Teff with the egg, and you've upped your protein by 3 grams. Calories stay about the same.

I love the statue.. but where is her loose skin??!! Lol!!

I'm an all-or-nothing type of person. Either I'm paying attention to the minutia, or not at all.. and the weight came piling on when I wasn't paying attention. (My whole childhood and majority of adulthood).

Aw, come on. You're a tease! Inquiring minds want to know what you found out!

What does a typical day's meal look like for you?

Ok, if you've been checked for diabetes, then you probably need more salt. Check to see how much you are getting. Aim for 1500-2500mg. You don't want too much because we have trouble getting enough potassium, and too much salt messes up that balance.

What your Mom is experiencing isn't common. However, other complications happen fairly regularly that require revisions. So she's not alone in having to have a second procedure. I think virtually every revision I've heard of has gone wonderfully, and the patient is much happier with the result. We'll keep our fingers crossed that the same will be the case for your Mom. Try not to freak out. Surgeons handle these types of things all the time, and that's the important thing, right? [Hugs]

I agree with both of the above posts. It'd be best to get checked by your doc so you can treat what is actually wrong.

I'm sorry she's having this difficulty. Does she have trouble eating enough protein, or is it that she can't absorb it?

Y'all's food looks outstanding!

Ok, I see now. In order to lose weight, I must turn it loose, but when I do, my skin becomes loose, which makes it a loser in my book. So now I need to lose the loose skin, and after I do that, there is no way that I want to have to re-lose the weight that I already lost.