AZhiker

Maybe the key works here are "went," "walked," and "ran." They are past tense. Exercise has got to be part of your daily lifestyle now. By this time you should have incorporated an hour of exercise each day into your life. Then you have to look at your carb intake. I'll bet it has slipped upward. Are you still logging all your food? If not, it would be good to go back to logging and measuring. Honestly, the research says that the most weight loss is achieved by those who follow the eating plan AND exercise. The exercise won't move the scale on its own, but it does build lean muscle tissue which has a higher metabolic rate than fat. Another tool is to explore is intermittent fasting or limiting your daily caloric intake to only 6-8 hours per day. This can be a very powerful tool, as it puts your system into a different metabolic pathway that helps burn fat. There are extensive conversations in the intermittent fasting thread about what others are doing. You also need to make sure you are getting your fluids in, and getting quality sleep. They are essential for weight loss. It's about going back to the basics and tightening things up, as well as adding some new tools. 5'9" at 200 pounds gives you a BMI of 30, which is still in the moderately obese category. The thicker fat on your abdomen will go with more weight loss. To reach the upper end of "normal" BMI you need to get down to around 162-164. You've done an amazing job so far. Restart the engine and take it through the final stretch!

You need to take the medication to protect your surgical site. 6 months is not going to hurt you. Please follow your surgeon's instructions. If you get an erosion or ulcer, you could be on the meds a lot longer. These healing tissues are very fragile and need to be protected until they are fully healed.

Just take it slow and don't feel like you have to rush to advance the diet just because the doctor says it is time to do so. As long as you are getting your fluids, protein and vitamins down, you can advance at the rate you can tolerate. If it is uncomfortable, back up. Thin the food down, change the food, and/or change the amount. You may only tolerate a Tablespoon at a time. That is OK. Just listen to your body.

Our staff was eating lunch outside today at some picnic tables. Most are overweight. Two of us who are normal size were sitting at one bench and when a late staffer came, the immediate consensus was for the "skinny" ones to move over and make room. Ha!!!!!! I was one of the "skinny" ones!!!!! It is just sooooo weird getting used to this new classification of body size. Surreal, actually. All my life I have looked at "skinnies" from the fatty vantage point - sometimes with envy and mostly with sadness that I was not one of them. Now I am looking from the opposite view and it is just so different, especially since I still think of myself as fat in my mind, but others see me now as skinny, and maybe with envy, resentment or sadness. It is going to take some time for this to all sink in.

I've gotten the cold shoulder from my sis-in-law. She has gained some weight in the past couple of years, and I think my weight loss has threatened her in some way. I never mention it and she is the only relative who has not commented or asked questions about how I lost weight. A couple of overweight co-workers are acting the same way. I honestly down play my weight loss, I never bring it up to anyone, and I do not believe I treat anyone any differently, but I definitely see some changes in the attitudes of others.

Ditto what FluffyChick said. I would not be eating cream of wheat at your stage. Save those grain carbs until you are closer to goal. I am almost 8 months out and just now adding in grain carbs. For me, it is still fluids and protein first, then veggies/fruit, and last of all (if I have room) some whole cooked grains.

schedule with surgeon

Same here. I almost walked out of the pre-op room! It's OK to be afraid. Courage means being afraid and still doing what you know needs to be done. This takes courage. You cannot try to look at the whole picture. God is the only one who knows the future - not us. We have to take one day at a time. The first day post op, the second day post op, the third day post op, etc. Before you know it , it is the first month post op, then 6 months and you can hardly even remember the surgery because you are enjoying your new life so much. Kind of like child birth. Lots of gals want to back out at the last minute! But you go through the scary process and have a beautiful new life on the other side. You are going to have a beautiful new life on the other side, too, but going through the surgery is the first step.

All good advice, Mikey. However, when in ketosis, I have too much energy to sleep more than 6 hours tops, and even that is with me waking up through the night wondering if it is time to get up yet. When I eat more carbs (training diet) I sleep better. Sleep is sooooo important for so many metabolic functions, but it is a conundrum with having so much energy from low carb eating.

I use a natural vanilla flavored one for my smoothies and yogurt. But that's pretty yucky in soups or broth. So I found that pea protein really complements the flavors of soups, so I use it in savory recipes.

Best wishes! Your relationship with food will change and it will be better!!! You will still cook and BBQ, but it will be healthy. Right now your relationship with food is a dysfunctional one. It is not helping you. Once it becomes a real partnership, it will be fun and exciting, and without the guilt and remorse. You are not losing a part of yourself - you are discovering a whole new you! Looking forward to hearing about your progress.

Go for it! If I had my druthers, I'd have both of my pathetic looking, tiny, shriveled, waist hanging boobs lopped off and get some nice youthful implants!

Thanks for the balance. The body is amazing and mysterious!

When I do IF consistently (16:8) I know I am in a mild state of ketosis for most of the day. I feel great and have lots of energy. So I think if the goal is to achieve an acidotic/ketotic state, there are many ways to do it, as stated by other posters. The high fat will not work for me, but I don't need it when I do IF. Throw in a 24 hour fast once a week, and I've got all the ketosis I need to gain the health benefits (except for my bones, I fear.) PS - sorry for the italics. My computer is going a little bonkers today for some reason.

A few weeks ago (before starting this insane idea of a triathlon), I was IF'ing 16:8 every day and felt great! So much energy and mental sharpness. Happy mood. Oh, the wonders of acidosis! Now, I am reading that acidosis greatly accelerates bone loss. Hmmmmm..... maybe why I went from normal DEX scan to osteopenia in such a short time. I have also been eating a LOT more, including carbs, and not doing IF anymore, as I prepare for the IE (Insane Event.) I am clearly NOT in acidosis, and feeling it. I feel sluggish, lower energy, depressed, and my bowels are in hyperdrive from all the intake. I am eating more than is comfortable, and rather than having more energy, I just want to curl up in bed. So the dilemma - return to IF after the "IE" and risk more bone loss with acidosis, or continue to eat breakfast and feel crummy. My feeling is to return to IF and just keep walking and biking regularly, along with weights, stairs, stretching and hope that maintaining my weight instead of losing will also maintain my bone health, while making me happy and more energetic. This has been an interesting experiment, for sure. I definitely do not like eating as much as I am now. I definitely feel better with IF. I definitely can walk, ride a bike, and hike while doing IF. I just can't swim, bike, and walk all at the same time while doing IF. And I definitely don't like changing my entire eating plan, just to accommodate IE. Two more weeks and IE will be over, I will have my little participation medal, and I will be very proud of myself. Then it is back to activities I can perform with IF as my friend instead of my enemy.

I could never handle the high fat part of keto. Since surgery, I definitely have fat malabsorption and if I eat too much fat, I pay for it in the bathroom. I also had fatty liver disease prior to surgery, and from what I've read, hitting the liver with even more fat is probably not a good idea. Poor liver is working hard enough to break down all the fat from the weight loss process. Maintaining a low carb approach is still a good plan, but for me the priorities are protein and then veggies, but without the high fat of keto.

Chapul cricket flour is available on Amazon. I think it is over $40 per pound. That's why I raised my own in the past. It is excellent for keto and a very nutritionally dense, high protein supplement for anyone.

The entry point for me was to attend an informational seminar. Then make an appt with the surgeon. My insurance required 6 months of dietary supervision by my PCP. Meanwhile, I was required to have an endoscopy, cardiac clearance, a psych eval, lab draw, and nutritional consult. Ended up getting a sleep study as well, which determined that I had severe sleep apnea and this increased my co-morbidity risk factor. The week before surgery, there was another required seminar by the hospital to inform of the surgical and recovery processes. Then surgery, post op followup at 2 weeks, I think. Then 2, 4, 6, 8, 12 months. Then every year for 5 years. Labs done at 6 months, 12 months, and yearly.

awesome! You look great!

Thanks for explaining. I was thinking that folks were doing this every day, and that didn't make sense. But this certainly does. Basically, it is a 24 hour fast, which is good to do intermittently.

Got it. Thanks for the info.

So I can see OMAD being used as a tool for maybe once a week? Like doing a 24 hour fast once a week. Or as an alternate day (or 5:2) technique IF... IF... IF... at least 500 calories can be consumed. I agree that a protein shake would have to be part of this, and I still don't see how the vitamins can be done well, as calcium needs to be separated from iron by at LEAST 2 hours - 4 hours is better.

Please help me understand 1) how anyone with WLS can do OMAD and get their nutritional needs met? I know I could never get more than several hundred (maybe 500 tops) calories in a one hour (one meal - stretched out) period. 2) How do you do your vitamins with OMAD? 3) How do you not feel really uncomfortable with eating OMAD - with fullness and restriction? I am not trying to be negative in any way, but I just don't understand how it is nutritionally possible.

.

LOVE the goat yoga!