Apple1

Wow, you sure have had a rough few weeks with the illness. It is weird that you mention leg soreness because I had two days of it last weekend. I thought at first it was just from my running, but I had never experienced that type of all over soreness before. I ended up taking an ibuprofen on Monday night and it went away. I did have a larger BM Monday morning (TMI) and felt instantly back to normal. I sure hope the antibiotics take care of everything for you. Do you still have your gallbladder? That can be an issue sometimes. Feel Better.

I wanted to share this information on the thread. I thought it was great. The Five Pillars of Healthy Eating "A Common Sense Approach To Nutrition" 1) Plant-Centered - Center your plate and your diet predominately around plant foods (fruits, vegetables, starchy vegetables, roots/tubers, intact whole grains, and legumes (beans, peas & lentils). 2) Minimally Processed - Enjoy foods as close to "as grown in nature" with minimal processing that does not detract from the nutritional value &/or add in any harmful components. 3) Calorie Dilute - Follow the principles of calorie density choosing foods that are calorie adequate, satiating and nutrient sufficient. 4) Low S-O-S - Avoid/minimize the use of added Salts/sodium, Oils/Fats and Sugars/sweeteners 5) Variety - Consume a variety of foods in each of the recommended food groups. The Principles of Calorie Density 1) Hunger & Satiety - Whenever hungry, eat until you are comfortably full. Don't starve and don't stuff yourself. 2) Sequence Your Meals - Start all meals with a salad, soup and/or fruit. By starting with the foods that are lowest in calorie density, you begin to fill up for fewer calories. 3) Don't Drink Your Calories - Avoid liquid calories. Eat/chew your calories, don't drink or liquefy them. Liquids have little if any satiety so they do not fill you up as much as solid foods of equal calories. 4) Dilution is the Solution (the 50/50 guideline) - Dilute Out High Calorie Dense Foods/Meals - Dilute the calorie density of your meals by filling 1/2 your plate (by visual volume) with intact whole grains, starchy vegetables and/or legumes and the other half with non-starchy vegetables and/or fruit. 5) Be Aware of the Impact of Vegetables vs Fat/Oil - Non-starchy vegetables are the lowest in calorie density while fat and oil are the highest. Therefore, adding non-starchy vegetables to any dish will always lower the overall calorie density of a meal while adding fat and oil will always raise the overall calorie density of a meal. 6) Limit High Calorie Dense Foods - Limit (or avoid) foods that are higher in calorie density. These include dried fruit, high fat plant foods (nuts, seeds, avocados), processed whole grains (breads, bagels, crackers, dry cereal, tortilla's, popcorn, etc). If you use them, incorporate them into meals that are made up of low calorie dense foods and think of them as a condiment to the meal. For example, add a few slices of avocado added to a large salad, or a few walnuts or raisins added in a bowl of oatmeal and fruit. In addition, include about 30-60 minutes of activity a day (including some aerobic, resistance and flexibility exercise), aim for a BMI of around 18.5-22 and get enough sleep, rest, relaxation, recreation, fresh air, pure water, etc and enjoy life!

Yes scale it back. We all heal at different rates and your stomach doesn't seem ready for denser food.

9/29/17 164.7 The scale is moving again

I wasn't eating any solid proteins until 4 weeks post-op. It could be your stomach just isn't ready for meat. Go back to what was working well for now. Are you following your plan? I know everyone's plan is different.

I have been thinking about this a lot lately and I think a tummy tuck and breast lift will be my reward. I want a flat stomach and perky boobs...lol...

My blood sugar only got really low 45ish right after surgery and it only happened once. It has been great ever since. Maybe eat a little more often. I have never heard of it going back up once the fat burning kicks in??

I am about 4.5 months post op now. I am only 5 pounds from my goal weight and I am very active. I am currently training for a half marathon. I have been eating 1000-1250 calories daily since about 3 months post op. at 3 months post op I decided to change my diet to WFPB I eat HCLF I only eat 40-50g of Protein daily I started drinking my coffee at 2 weeks post op (allowed on my plan) I take 3 Flintstones Complete chewables for my daily vitamins I only log my foods 2-3 days a week now to spot check my calories I eat faster than I should I drink a little with my meals if I need to

That is so good to hear. You definitely look great in your photo!!

AW thank you @Newme17. We are sleeve sisters and I feel the same.

I used to weigh every morning like clockwork, but now I skip days and don't even think about it. I am so ready for maintenance, but I don't think my body is done losing yet. Until I can get my calories up over 1500 I think I will continue to lose slowly. I am not going to worry about it for now. I can't wait to see your post that you have hit Onederland!!

Really everyone just needs to research for themselves and decide what they can happily live with for life. We should enjoy our lives immensely and live them to the fullest. For me it has become a passion to be healthy and fit so I can enjoy my remaining years. I have young grandchildren to keep up with and another on they way in January. I am happy you are doing so much research @Berry78.

This is the biggest reason for obesity and type 2 diabetes in this country!!! Chicken and dairy are not good for us so the increase in eating these didn't help matters.

Every book I have read recently on the WFPB way of eating recommends not eating any animal products for the best health and disease prevention,( Proteinaholic, Starch Solution, The Cheese Trap). Cheese is concentrated dairy so it is even worse then just consuming milk. It contains a substance, Casomorphin,that is in the opiate class and is addictive. That explains why it has been harder for me to resist adding a little cheese then giving up anything else. I agree calorie restriction is a big part of the puzzle, but based on my almost year long experiment with low carb, higher fat and protein eating, if you don't get rid of the fat, you don't really get rid of insulin resistance, at least in my case. I was eating 900-1000 calories with most of my calories coming from fats and proteins. My bs numbers were excellent. I would stick with this diet for 3 months and then go off plan and eat some complex carbs for a few weeks and watch my bs numbers steadily climb back up despite still taking my 2500mg metformin and daily injections of victoza. Then I would get strict again and watch my numbers go back down and rinse and repeat. When I would go off the low carb diet, I wasn't eating a lot of bad refined carbs either, it was mostly whole grains, potatoes,and fruit. During this time I did lose weight. I was 255 and lost down to 208 before having my surgery. My A1C dropped from 11.1% to 6.2%. My total cholesterol and triglycerides went up, so much so, that my doctor wanted to put me on statins. I refused because my dh has been on them for years and suffered the side effects. All I was doing on the low carb diet was controlling my diabetes, and for some people that may be enough, but I wasn't satisfied. I was living in denial and sticking to that diet by my will power alone. Maybe if I had stuck with it and lost enough weight to get to a normal BMI my experiences would have been different, but that way of eating was unsustainable for me, based on my periods of non-compliance. I had come to the conclusion that I had two choices, stick to the low carb way of eating for life and keep all of the medications, or have WLS and go for the cure. Even after having surgery I was convinced I had to keep eating low carb. It is so liberating to know I can eat a healthy diet now without all of that fat. I really wish I had come across these resources sooner, because I honestly believe I could have cured my diabetes without surgery eating this way. I have read so many testimonials from people who have really cured their diabetes eating a WFPB oil free diet. So based on my experiences, if you are calorie restricting without eating low fat, you won't experience true remission of the diabetes. By that I mean, you won't be able to eat complex carbs, whole grains, fruits,and starchy vegetables, without a spike in your blood sugars to unsafe levels. This is my experience and I realize everyone is different with different levels of exercise and medical issues.

I'm sure right. Having an infection is a stress on your body and that could be it. Stalls are a pain.

I think Kate's struggles really help anyone who watches to understand the feelings of those who have struggled with their weight since childhood. Is your sister overweight? Maybe she will gain compassion. Keep watching. The show has the best writers ever!!!

Randal (Sterling Brown) is my favorite character on the show, but they are all great. His father was so good!!!

I love this show. I have it recording on the DVR because I like to get to bed by 9:30. I am going to watch last nights show tonight. I think the flaws of this family are one of the things that makes this show so great. Everyone can relate to the characters in one way or another. We all have things about our families that we might not like, but they are still family. Hurry and catch up so we talk about it on here..lol

You are in a stall!! My longest one lasted 2.5 weeks I think. I have heard some people have some that go 3-4 weeks. I was in a short stall for 12 days at 166.5. This morning the scale decided to move again 165.5. You could try some of the things people do like have a carb load day.... wait, no you can't do that because you already feed your body the carbs it needs... It will break. I haven't changed anything and my body just decided it was time to shed a pound.

I want to research this more as I have read this also. I am wondering if it is because of the high fat diet, high protein, low carb diets many WLS patients are following? Or is it because the person was too far along to have a lasting cure and their pancreas will no longer produce enough insulin?

Absolutely correct. The surgery cured me and I hope it does so for you. I was referring other success stories of people who have cured type 2 diabetes by diet alone. Sorry if that wasn't clear. I agree what works for one may not work for another. The best chances for success with any method, WLS or diet changes, come from people that have not had diabetes for very long or on insulin for many years, according to the statistics I have read.

@FluffyChix are you saying that low carb diets cure type 2 diabetes? If you are just saying that they help you gain excellent control of blood sugar then, yes I agree. The problem is you then must eliminate all of the healthy unrefined complex carbs to maintain this tight control. That can be very hard to do for many people, hence all of the complications so many people end up with.

I respectfully disagree. It wasn't just a temporary reaction. My bs would take days to come back down even on my medication, I doubt this would happen to a non-diabetic. Low carb diets do not cure type 2 diabetes, they simple mask the symptoms. I will agree that they improve the health of the diabetics following them because they help to control bs, For me low carb never was a cure, it was just a way to control bs along with taking 2 types of medications. Wouldn't it be much better to actually solve the cause and prevent it from happening in the first place? There are many examples of type 2 diabetics that have been cured or put in remission (how ever you want to say it) by adopting a low fat WFPB diet and exercise.. These people are now able to eat whole grains, fruit, and even potatoes as a part of a nutritious diet and no longer have any bs problems. If you are interested look for success stories following Forks Over Knife Diet, or look at the many success stories on Dr. Mcdougall's website, or Dr. Garth Davis, or Dr. Neal Barnard.

I haven't read his any of his stuff, but just the brief look I took tells me he is a low carb proponent. The problem is this country was never really on a low fat diet. Yes consumption of refined carbs along with continuing to eat saturated fats in animal products has led to the obesity problems and type 2 diabetes. I agree with that. The problem with low carb diets and type 2 diabetes is as soon as you eat any high carb meals your blood sugar will shoot up because you haven't really cured the insulin resistance you are just controlling the symptoms. I know because I tried it for quite sometime. I would be eating 20-30g total carbs daily and have excellent bs, but if I decided to have a piece of birthday cake or a bowl of brown rice, my bs could go as high as 160-180 easy. I was still very much insulin resistant. My body could not handle a meal with more than about 15g of carbs. Happily that isn't a problem for me anymore. I really hope you experience the same when you have your surgery.

I think part of the problem is that some normal weight adults are really type 1.5, but are misdiagnosed as type 2. There are a few different types. However, most cases of type 2 are related to insulin resistance which is caused by a build up of fat in the muscle cells which blocks the insulin receptors. If the insulin can't get in the muscles blood sugar rises. If you eat a very low carb diet you can keep your blood sugar at near normal levels as long as you stick to the diet and exercise. You haven't cured diabetes though because as soon as you eat something with high carb your blood sugar will shoot up yet again. Once you switch to a low fat WFPB diet and get the fat out of your cells your body can once again process carbs normally as long as your pancreas hasn't stopped producing enough Insulin. Calorie density would only apply to eating foods high in saturated fats. If I ate a bowl of whole grains with very little fat it would not be the same as eating steak or some chicken.