Alpaca55

I’m looking up recipes to pickle my own veg - I think that might be the solution - I hadn’t realised they are a minefield of not so good stuff... I happened upon this recipe - https://www.hackingsalt.com/making-salt-free-dill-pickles/#.XH_k5qSnwlQ

Dear FC... no one has explained that to me before! Thank you for the clarity- it certainly helps enormously!! 🤗

I live in London, UK and would really like to meet anyone going through this process. I am self-paying so I don't get any support from the NHS and it's starting to feel a bit isolating. I'm SO grateful to this forum! I don't know what I would do without it. It's been so informative and supportive. 😀

I’m 63 had my surgery on 10/31... will be 4 months on Thursday - slow loser - just 39lbs but I have atrial fibrillation and hold water like a camel ! Might be the beta blockers ... but I feel so much better and much more mobile... my aches and pains are not as debilitating and my face and neck and boobs have shrunk! So I’m patient and just keeping the focus on Protein and Water 😊

Hello Anad... thank you so much for you post! Yes I will definitely see if I can attend the group! I am slowly losing weight and also inches... I’m definitely not a fast loser but I’m ok with that... I have binge eating disorder and am petrified that I will sabotage my weight loss ... are you any closer to deciding whether you’ll have the surgery? 😊

I’m self pay so the support isn’t really there. I pay separately for psych support and dietitian (who I wasn’t keen on) ... xx

Thank you FC! Yes, you are right - electrolytes may have a part to play so I've started taking zero carb electrolyte sports supplement which dissolves in water. Tastes quite nice too! I hadn't thought about the electrical storm though - I will discuss with the electro-physiologist next week while they are wheeling me in the Cath Lab... How do you recommend me increasing carbs - maybe just up to 30g for now? should it be things like broccoli, spinach, tomatoes and a strawberry or two? I'm trying to remember my Atkins days - which were about 8 years ago! I was really in the groove with Atkins - I was so strict with myself that I never cheated and stuck with the '72 version. Perhaps I've messed up my system a bit with that diet?

WOW! WOW! WOW! I am SO pleased for you FC! You truly deserve this victory... what a great weight to wake up to before your yearly check up!!! I'm getting more in the zone too - still a struggle - I'm thinking that I've reduced my carbs too much as my AFib has been particularly playing up over the last week when I reduced down to about 20g carbs and 600-700 cals. I think AFib can be triggered by low carbs. But I want to stay on that rate as I does make a difference - much better than when I was on 800-900 and nearer to 50g carbs. Or, maybe I need to switch it up again? who knows... I have a catheter ablation procedure next Friday with one or two nights in the hospital ... hopefully that fixes things. I'm starting to see a difference in my shape which is lifting my spirits... Love to all you guys - I don't know what I would do without you! xx

I wish the first words my surgeon said to me after the op wasn't “you’ll never have to diet again!” I’m still angry- what a ridiculous comment!!! ... I’ve had a steep learning curve since my op on 31/10... overall weight loss to date is 49lbs... and each day I’m trying to figure out what really works... I’ve cut right down on carbs to about 20g... I try to get a minimum of 60g of protein... I’ve dropped calories down from 800-900 to 500-700. I don’t eat more than 3.5oz of protein at each meal and don’t have much room for veggies... I eat pickles - beetroot, gherkins and pickled onions with my meals - approx 1.5oz... it’s taken me this long to start ... eventually ... to get into a groove! I’m a slow learner! Next focus is to increase water - I drink about 50oz which I need to work on! It’s so hard all the time... I have to keep away from all snacks or sliders ... I can easily eat them mindlessly... I follow @FluffyChix’s posts as she has the right AR attitude that I need to keep me on track ! It’s as hard as hell but we will all get there if we can keep in the zone 🤗

Well done FC... I am following your progress like a hawk as your planning and understanding of this whole crazy weight loss journey is inspiring. You attack it like a single minded Uber focused missile and I’m taking a page out of your book on trying to be more AR! 😉 thank you for sharing what you do to this community! I am certainly more informed as a result! 🤗

I'm trying to wean myself off the scales - I am on them every day and because of all the fluctuations which I'm hoping is water weight! - it's driving me nuts! I can't work out what's causing the changes every day but it's so depressing... I checked with my NUT and psych support and both have told me to continue to weigh every day as they say it will help me keep focused and accountable...! But, it feels like a constant struggle... I've started asking naturally thin people what their weight fluctuations are like and they have them too!

So, I thought I'd share with you my overnight success!!! I experimented yesterday by keeping my calorie intake down to 603 calories! It was really hard and I felt starving most of the day. Drank lots of protein water (88cals) and had a couple of coffees in the morning with protein shake (181cals), just half a tin of salmon mixed with cucumber and pickles (beetroot and cucumber) for lunch (148cals) and then just some berries (strawberries, raspberries and blueberries) for dinner with a cup of 39cal hot chocolate drink at bedtime. This morning the scale has dropped by 3.2lbs!! That's the most I've EVER lost in one hit since just after the op in November! Clearly, my metabolism is so shot to sh*t that I have to keep cals and carbs down lower than the recommendation from the nutritionist! She wanted me to do about 900cals per day. I'll continue this way for a few days and see if my weight still responds in this way or whether it was a fluke!

When I saw my surgeon last month he completely demoralised me by saying I was slow. I spoke to my psychologist about his comments and she can see how hard I'm trying. I log everything - on 3 different Apps (because I'm a freak about it at the moment!) and I am so strict with everything. My psych thought it was because I'm revision from band to sleeve - and I've had so many diets over the years that I've affected my metabolism. There's a great article on this https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/02/health/biggest-loser-weight-loss.html which I found really interesting. I'm so pleased to hear from others who are struggling with the slowness of the loss. But, I am losing every month - but only about 7lbs or 8lbs. And, I do feel hungry a lot of the time. But, am trying to eat no more than 900cals per day. I was thinking of trying to drop that down to 800cals to see if that made a difference...

I really miss having the support from one of these groups. I'm a self-pay and I can't access anything local. So, this forum is extra brilliant for me to feel connected to similar losers. Thank you! 🤗

I'm now, unbelievably, 11 weeks post op! where did the time go? I'm a slow learner and a very slow loser! ha ha But, I can confidently say that solid foods make such a difference! I was experiencing everything you have all said during the earlier days of post op. Now, as long as I have the right combination on my dinky little weeny plate, then by the time I've eaten the protein bit I'm really too full to eat much more. So, I am having some of the veg/salad on the plate as well just so that I don't get completely bored with plain protein. Still learning, and still very much in the 'OMG, I'm going to fail at this and do it all wrong'... I'm freaking out every damn time I eat something that isn't 'good'! I've become obsessed and guilt ridden because of my slow loss. But, I keep having to remind myself that the scale is going down, I did have a band before revision to sleeve and I am freaking old! ha ha It's a marathon not a sprint for me ... x

I’m the same! Finding it very hard to get the scales to move downwards! I was revised from a band to a sleeve at the end of October and revisions can find it tougher to drop the weight! It’s so depressing... just keep focused on protein and water and it should work! 🤗

I went to see the dietician yesterday and now feel more irritated, confused, depressed and defeated... She said: DON'T weigh food! DON'T count protein or calories or carbs! She said I just have to use the 'bariatric plate'. I find this (attached) completely confusing as I could load up the plate to many different amounts of food and types of food so how was that helpful. She told me not to get so hung up. She personally doesn't have a weight issue (or perhaps she does have a thin issue!), she had no empathy and just sent me on my way making me feel I was making a mountain out of a molehill! I asked her about the wisdom of using sugar free options as I am very suspicious of them as there has been so much written about the negative effects of splenda, sucralose, aspartame, etc ... when I was on Atkins, I kept right away from anything sugar free. But, she said it was fine. I've been told by my surgeon that my weight loss is too slow and disappointing, but as I have Atrial Fibrillation, I have to take beta blockers that slow down the metabolism and cause weight gain. I'm trying to be really strict with my counting and she said it sounded like I was making the right choices. But, she said that she and the surgeon expected me to lose another 16lbs by the end of this month!! She said my food choices look good so I should stop worrying... Feeling exasperated and down-hearted. VSG - Bariatric Plate.pdf

The surgery has certainly affected my moods and hormones. I get angrier quicker, am less tolerant, cry more easily. So I can relate to what you've said. It does get easier (so I'm told) and your weight loss so far is phenomenal!! Well done... Keep doing what you're doing!

It's so frustrating! But, you will start losing again... your body is just adjusting! I've had so many stalls and it's driving me nuts... but I'm just trying to be chilled and go with the process. Hope things move soon for you!

I had band replaced with the sleeve...

Hi Caryla... Good luck for Monday! I was sleeved at the end of October, I'm 63... Have had no problems except for having slow weight loss...😊

Thank you James - really reassuring to hear that... I won't throw myself off a cliff just yet then!

I'm still struggling to lose anything... it's painfully slow ... hope you get some movement soon! x

I feel for your frustrations! I'm losing so slowly that it's driving me nuts. I've just arranged to see the dietician again next week as I'm at a loss what to do next. Hope it starts moving soon for you! x

Yes I’m thinking it must be water retention because I’m not eating more than 800-900 per day. I will up my water and focus more on what I’m eating. It felt like the Surgeon was annoyed with me which made me feel really guilty. He just said beta blockers slow down metabolism. I know the sleeve is a great tool and I haven’t reverted to old habits of immediately turning to food - I went to a restaurant yesterday with friends for the first time and only managed about ¼ of the meal which I was really happy with - and it kept me full for the rest of the evening - didn’t even want a desert ! So, I know it’s the right thing to have. I just have to try and fix the meds. Thank you! 😊