Creekimp13

Constipation was tough for me the first four months or so. Things have recently improved a lot. Smooth Move tea really works...but be careful because it works by causing bowel irritation......so use only seldom and ask your doctor first. For those first couple of months, I kept a bulb syringe in the bathroom and did my own little soapy water treatment here and there when needed. It helped a lot. Even just a little bit of added moisture overnight....can produce amazing results. It gets better.

Woot! Nice work!

Had this happen today... When a clerk looks at your driver's license...does a double take and goes "Did you lose weight?"

This resource page has a bunch of awesome articles on diet, nutrition, recipes, etc. It's worth a bookmark. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/nutrition-basics/hlv-20049477 A lot of ya'll know I follow the Mayo Clinic Diet....and I wanted you to know my reason for this. Mayo Clinic is one of the best hospitals in the world. US News and World Report listed it as #1 Best Hospital in the United States in 2017 They are ranked first in the nation on Diabetes and Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, and Nephrology.... among many many other specialties. They employ a massive collaborative of physicians, researchers and scientists.

I have used the Mayo Clinic online diet:) It's very cool. Lots of cookbooks available, too. Awesome recipes:) I have not consulted with Mayo about post bariatric surgery diet since I did not have my surgery there. However, my team's protocol embraces low glycemic carbs and is fully supportive of my use of Mayo Clinic Diet after surgery. They are pleased with my results. I weighed 270 last June. On my 6 month pre-surg diet, I lost 36 pounds using Online Mayo Clinic Diet and a new Fitbit addiction to walking. I weighed 234 the day of surgery. Today I weigh 189 give or take half a pound. So, I've lost 45 pounds in the 5 months since surgery.....which I'm really, really happy with....because I eat a solid 1200 calories daily and feel like I can have pretty much what I want. That said...I don't crave junk anymore. I genuinely crave better stuff. I eat tons of fruit and veggies. A slice of whole wheat bread most days (in a half sandwich or as avocado toast). Lentil/chickpea pasta, lots of low fat protein on grill, lots of stir fries with lean meats or tofu and veggies served with no more than 1/4 cup brown rice (I rarely finish the rice or all the veggies), smoothies with lots of raspberries for fiber, spinach for greens, lots of diversity (I go around the kitchen and throw in a little of all the fruits, nuts and veggies to build good gut microbiota. I do the same thing when I make my veggie soup....all the veggies in the house go in there with cabbage, tomatoes and beans, and that soup is a staple in my diet. I do eat baked potatoes, beans, corn. (a half a baked potato has 80 calories and 2 grams of protein...top it with little lowfat cheese and chili and it's an awesome meal) My favorite snacks are home made dry meat and roasted chickpeas. And cans of mushrooms that I eat with a fork. LOL. And cupcake whipped greek yogurt. About the only thing that gets me in trouble these days are Yasso bars. LOL. Greek yogurt frozen bars....I love the chocolate ones. But even if I overindulge on them...how bad can you feel about 80 calories and 6 grams of protein? I'll admit it....I've made a meal out of a couple of Yasso bars. Maybe not brilliant...but once in a while...meh? LOL I do have a sweet tooth. Mayo Clinic diet allows for 75 calories of sweets a day. You can eat them daily or bank them for a special occasion. I love this because I can save up for literally anything I want to eat. But most of the time my sweet tooth is handled by fresh fruit. Melons are a favorite. Strawberries with a little chocolate sauce are another favorite. Fresh golden pineapple:) Figs! Sugar is a slippery slope for me, so I'm extremely careful about anything I eat with sugar. Refined carbs are generally not a part of my diet anymore. I don't buy them or bring them in the house. (but will occasionally have a bite of daughter's dessert at a restaurant and use those 75 naughty calories) No more white bread. No more white rice. No more crackers, candy, cookies, cake (save a magical bite here and there outside the house with witnesses) To boost protein in my diet, I often still drink one Premier Protein shake a day...caramel....in my coffee and tea. I do 12,000 steps per day religiously, and 3 cardio activities longer than 30 minutes each per week. If you have a Sky Zone near you, I STRONGLY recommend the trampoline work out...OMG...you burn a billion calories in an hour...it's crazy. I don't do the same cardio twice in a row...I mix it up. My week might go....Tuesday Sweatin to the Oldies DVD 1 hour.....Thursday Sky Zone Trampoline workout with bestie 1 hour......Sunday Water aerobics and free swim with family after at YMCA 2 hours (followed by lunch and library). Lately, I'ev been doing a shite ton of yard work too. Just about to go outside and till up more raised beds with my Mantis tiller:) Am very into the idea of planting cherry tomatoes, cutting them in half and sun drying a million of them! When I started out and heard you'd likely lose 60% of your excess weight in 18 months....I thought....OMG, I could weigh 210 someday! Awesome! That number was beautiful to me at 270. I'm 5 months out and weigh 189. I have 13 months to go...to lose 19 pounds and get to my goal of 170. (less than a pound and a half a month to stay on track) I really could not be happier with my results. I'm shocked and amazed daily. Best wishes to everyone! Be patient and stay the course:)

Atkins died on April 17, 2003, at the age of 72. Nine days prior to his death, Atkins fell and hit his head on an icy New York pavement. At New York's Weill Cornell Medical Center, where he was admitted on April 8, he underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain but went into a coma and died from complications. He spent nine days in intensive care before dying on April 17, 2003 A medical report issued by the New York medical examiner's office a year after his death showed that Atkins had a history of heart attack, congestive heart failure and hypertension. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB107637899384525268 His widow refused to allow an autopsy.

Jenn that is crazy amazing. Wow!

Sometimes I think perfectionist thinking gets a lot of us into trouble. Must be perfect. Must eat exact foods. Must measure perfectly. Must keep calories exactly under certain number....etc. (not saying these aren't good ideas, and not even saying they're not habits we should strive for) BUT.... How many times in dieting history have you started the day off perfect.... only to have one little slip up... (a stupid impulsive moment with a baby candy bar...grabbing a couple of hubbies fries that turned into a handful....) and you go....I've screwed it all up for the day. I am no longer perfect. Time to throw it all out the window and eat like a lunatic and try to be PERFECT again tomorrow. Is that familiar to anyone? I know I used to do this A LOT. "I'm no longer perfect...so screw it...lets go get take out." And see...I think that's dangerous. I think it's a mindset that has to change going forward. Little screw ups happen. Or they will happen sometime in the future. Coping with imperfection, being stable and ok with..."not quite, but getting there"...is an important skill that I didn't have for a lot of years. And it bit me in the arse....over and over and over. Feeling too fixated on perfection might not be entirely a good thing for some of our histories.

I waste time...hopelessly...online. I'm between mowing lawns right now:) Got everything done up by the house and waiting for Hubby to move the tractor to mow under in on the side of the barn. Got over 10K steps mowing this morning! Whew!

I can eat a lot these days. My restriction is still pretty good, but I could easily eat the wrong things and gain weight. What saves me..is not a fixation with a goal. What saves me.....is that my habits have changed. I'll come home after a hard day and what I really and sincerely CRAVE...is a bowl of sugar free oatmeal with cherries and pecans. I used to want bread, pasta, crackers, leftovers, frozen instant-food, candy.....now i want a packet of oatmeal and I'm good. LOL:) Friday night celebrations are no longer a bunch of takeout or fancy/fatty restaurants.....they're cooking at home with the hubby nights...and almost always consist of steak salads or crab leg boils with melon or strawberries w/chocolate sauce for desert. I don't want chips or sandwiches for snacks anymore. I want apples and hard boiled eggs. Honeycrisp apples. With peanut butter. LOL:) Another weird habit I've gotten into recently.....cans of mushrooms. LOL I LOVE mushrooms. They're like 40 calories for a whole little 4oz can of them. And 4g of Protein! And 4g of Fiber! I'll eat a little 4 ounce can with a fork. Yum! Weird snack.. (I REALLY like mushrooms) I also love frozen green beans with some garlic, some turkey bacon, and balsamic vinegar. I could eat this for a meal (in fact, I have, many times). Love them. Oh! and I make my own dry meat and baked chickpeas....which is like....WAY better than any crap snacks you can buy. And makes a great quick meal with a piece of fruit or a side salad. I just feel too happy with where I'm at...to feel like anyone should be discouraged or suffer. The big change is the habits. The numbers follow. Make sure your new habits...are ones you can live with and love for a lifetime.

Futuresleevie....if he's there after your surgery, and he starts to support you and root for your success......you'll know he loves you. If not....you'll know it was time to move on. Best wishes for a safe, effective procedure!

I'm not doing a sour grapes thing here where i'm looking down my nose at people passionately wanting to reach their goals....I think it's a terrific plan and a great hope. And Fluff...you go girl. Hit your goal and celebrate. I hope you do:) (and I'm pretty sure you will) But I'm not sure this..."MUST reach goal" all-or-nothing approach is realistic for everyone. I hate "all or none" thinking. There are degrees of success, and everyone defines it differently. And in reality, MOST people who have this surgery don't reach their goal. That's a fact. And not reaching goal...doesn't make you a failure. It make you human...and a work in progress. And that's ok. For me? I'm beating the odds. I really did not expect to lose as much or as well as I have. I'm kinda shocked. I didn't expect to enjoy getting into exercise or regaining so much stamina. It's been an awesome surprise. But you want to know the honest to God truth? The statistical average...60% of my excess weight....sounded pretty damned good to me when I started out. ANY improvement to lifelong eating habits is an accomplishment and progress toward a forever goal. ANY improvement to fitness and exercise habits is an accomplishment and progress toward forever health. ANY maintained weight loss is an accomplishment. Some is better than none. Most is better than All. My priorities are more about changing habits and feeling at peace with food and having balance in my life.... than reaching set numbers. Just different ways of looking at it, maybe?

Doesn't for me. I feel exactly the same about myself as I did at 270. I like myself. I feel attractive. I have better than average self worth. I will concede that I feel better about my health, however. My health was a source of worry for myself and my family, and I'm happy to have taken action to correct it, and lessen the concern of those who love me. I also love being able to do more physical activities, get more projects done...I am enjoying being active:) I love that. So many things I've wanted to do....I can finally start doing. It's awesome:) I understand what the person was saying in the article. Every point they made......resonates with me as very true. To each, their own:) I dunno...I don't obsess about this ****. I like me. Whatever number the scale settles on is fine with me as long as my labs look good and I'm enjoying my life. Real changes that matter MORE to me than the number on the scale: 1. Creating and maintaining a forever diet that I genuinely like. Foods that are delicious and make me feel healthy. 2. Keeping fit. Getting my 12,000 steps every day and my 3 cardio activities every week. Doing them because they're enjoyable and fun. Keeping flexible and working my back and core to stay back-pain free. 3. Cutting out behaviors and foods that sabotage my health. Getting rid of refined foods. Getting rid of most white flour and white sugar. Getting rid of high fat foods. Eating LOTS of fruits and veggies each day. Increasing plant protein in my diet. Picking smarter cleaner fats. Keeping protein super lean. 4. I refuse to starve anymore. Starving always leads back to weight gain. I want off that merry go round. When I'm hungry, I'm gonna eat. F*ck starving. I can eat and make good choices, now. I trust myself. 5. I'm done being in a hurry. I don't "Need" to be any particular weight by any particular moment in time. What I "Need" to do is eat responsibly, exercise responsibly, not obsess, and enjoy my life.....for the rest of my life. 6. I can and do eat treats in moderation. My diet allows 75 calories a day for sweets and naughty items. I can use them daily, or I can bank them all week for a special occasion. It's workable and I never feel deprived. Life in moderation is balanced. It's a forever diet I can live with. 7. Most of all...being happy and healthy matter. Scale numbers and clothes sizes can kiss my ass. That said, I'm looking damned fine in clothes these days and it's fun to shop:) Meh...I liked the article. Rings true to me:)

I think you're codependent and in love with an idea of him.... that isn't true. Don't waste your love on someone who doesn't love you back. His actions prove how he feels about you. Here's a clue....no one who loves you would make you choose.

Jess, Jen, Mike, etc... Are exercise maniacs. I'm thinking that stellar results...and a lot of cardio.... are linked:)

This should be your clue. Give him his wish. Get your surgery. Get away from men who treat your feelings like an afterthought and emotionally blackmail you to get their way.

The only thing you're doing wrong....is lacking patience. If you currently weigh 182, and you've got 12 months of surgery effect to continue to lose weight.. If you lose 3 pounds a month...you'll get down to 146 by the end of 18 months (the time frame they say surgery helps to promote weight loss) You're getting there slower....because you're getting closer. Have patience and stay the course.

I spend a lot of time in my car for my job, and pretty regularly, if I don't pack a lunch I'm scrounging for something legal to eat on the road. Also, I have a lot of work lunches at restaurants. I know fast food is a trigger some folks don't even want to flirt with... but I thought maybe we could have a thread of coping strategies for restaurants and eating on the run? Can you post an experience of where you went and what you ordered to keep on your program?

My preop was Premier Protien shakes...5 a day. 800 calories.

I would do it over again...and I would have done it years ago. Please trust yourself.

I bought the weird jars of Gerber Toddler Turkey Sticks. (they look like Vienna Sausages) They're bland as hell....but during soft foods stage, they were a gentle snack with lots of protein. They're like...100 calories for a jar of them...and 9g of protein. I found them much easier to tolerate than real turkey or chicken at first. Wouldn't eat them now....cause...bleh! LOL. But during soft food reintroduction, they were wonderful.

Great tips, everyone! Keep em coming!

I don't think you're crazy. People are individual. When we look at risk-vs-benefit...we'll see different things. And we have different comfort levels. If this path is right for you....it's right for you. Only you know. Best wishes on a safe effective outcome:)

Congrats!

Doctors are not Burger King. You can't order it "your way"....cause you didn't go to medical school and your butt isn't on the line if an unstudied modification fails and horribly injures you.