SummerTimeGirl

I will be 50 in May and a few months ago thought I may be going through the start of it due to my period being almost two months late. But my doc ran a battery of tests and it showed I'm still not even close to Peri-menopausal. LOL

I tried that BEFORE I contacted my nutritionist and told her so. I tried everything in Nov and Dec. Didn't up it by much, but I was around 1000 a day. Tried more, tried less, etc. She said based on my food logs it just seemed that I was being very inconstant with my protein and carbs. I was also logging net carbs and she wanted me to log total and keep it around 50 but definitely not more than 75. And that's not been a problem. Neither has keeping my cals around 800. I don't feel hungry. Occasionally some days I do feel like I need a lil more and so I have something like a low fat yogurt tube, cheese, or turkey pepperoni, a few whole wheat crackers.....stuff like that. It's usually on days I did more exercise or when my period comes around (or at least it did last month).

UPDATE: So as per my Nutritionists suggestions that I listed above in my last post, for the last 3 weeks I've been strict with logging my daily food intake, keeping my protein AT LEAST 60-70 grams a day and my carbs around 50 and my calories around 800. I've also been trying to keep my water intake up. In the beginning I was unsure of what exercises I was gonna do. I was trying to think of things that would work my entire body, help build muscle (esp. in my legs and arms), but also wanted to do cardio. Combining all that was also a suggestion of my nutritionist. She didn't want me just doing cardio. Last week I made sure to do the treadmill and/or exercise bike several times a week. I also contacted a trainer that I saw online and asked for some advice based on my situation and he in turn sent me some info and suggestions that he said he has all his clients start off with regardless of their abilities. So this week I started that program. It consists of 3 days (Mon, Wed, Fri) of weights and in the first week and one day of cardio for 25 mins. The reps and sets stays the same for the weights for the 4 weeks, but the cardio is slightly increased as the weeks go on. By week two I will be up to 2 days of cardio for 30 mins. But to be honest, I plan on doing the cardio on the two off days from the weights starting in the first week. Maybe more. I've also been tossing in some work with weight bands. Anyway, prior to all of this I was consistently weighing in between 246 and 248. Despite having gotten down to 241.2 on Oct. 25th. So since sticking to this I did get down to 239.4 on Dec. 19th. HOWEVER, I have been consistently weighing in each week since, between 240 and 241. So, the gap from my lowest weigh in is at least a lil closer than what it was doing before. But still not sure why I'm not actively just losing still when I have at least 50-60 more pounds to go! My nutritionist said she wanted to see me if things didn't improve after a few weeks so I'm unsure as to whether I wait it out a lil longer or contact her now. I may wait since I just this week finally got some sort of exercise program going. The first two weeks after talking to her I did not so I wanna give it some time. Oh and, last month when I checked my inches on Dec 4th, I had only lost .25 since the previous month. That was it!!! Well yesterday when I checked my inches I had lost 3.7 more (two of which were from my stomach and breast)!!! So, maybe things are starting to go in the right direction again and I should give it a little more time. I am hopeful and sticking to the plan. Guess we'll see.

Absolutely outstanding!!! Congrats to you and thanks for sharing all that good info about what you're doing and what's been working for you.

Great idea. I was also gonna suggest that. Lots of pantries, churches, etc. Definitely look around. Especially this time of year many places have things like hams and turkeys they're giving out too. And absolutely no judgement. Many of us have been in your shoes at some point in time in our lives and some still are.

What phase are you in right now? May help us all give better suggestions. I think at 3 weeks post op I was still in the FULL LIQUID stage. Possibly moving into the PUREE stage but I know each person and plan is different which is why I asked what stage you are on. Having said that, in my LIQUID stage I was consuming: Protein drinks, broth/cream soups, sugar free popsicles, sugar free jello and pudding and yogurt. In my PUREE stage I ate things like ricotta bake, refried beans mixed with a lil shredded cheddar and sour cream or a little spicy guacamole, yogurt, cottage cheese, eggs, etc. Some of these things are just as inexpensive as Ramen and will most likely meet your protein needs better and keep you full longer. But of course if you've already bought what you could and can't spend anymore for now then it is what it is. Just keep some of these other suggestions everyone has given you in mind for when you can make an additional purchase of food in the future. I wish you the best of luck!!

Congrats! I feel what you're saying. Before my surgery my diet for the 11 days prior consisted of 4 protein shakes a day and 4, 1 cup serving of non starchy vegetables. NO MEAT! Then after surgery my diet was 2 weeks FULL LIQUIDS, followed by 1 week PUREE, and 2 weeks SOFT FOODS, then finally normal foods. So yeah, between the 11 days pre-op and two weeks post of of liquid, that was almost 4 weeks of nothing but liquids (but for the veggies in the pre-op stage). The protein came mostly from the shakes in those stages. It seems almost impossible but it works. I was so happy when the puree stage came. LOL And YES, protein is VERY important!! Not only to keep you losing weight but also to help you not lose so much hair or at least to shorten to hair loss phase. I recently, and inadvertently, put myself in a month and a half long stall because I was so inconstant with protein and ingesting LESS than the recommenced amounts of it (plus a few other things I was doing wrong as far as my macros goes). So again, YES, protein IS important for many reasons.

ShoppGirl that's the one I was originally looking at before deciding on the used one. The weight limit is part of the reason why I also didn't buy it originally. At the time I was looking at it I exceeded the limit by like 50lbs!

First, congrats on your prior weight loss and sobriety!! Since altering your diet have you been tracking your food again? If not you may want to try that and go back to basics. Back to the way we're told to eat once we hit that "regular food" stage. Not sure what you were told but for me that means 800 cals a day, 50 grams or less of total carbs, 60-75 grams of protein, 64 oz of water and the carbs you do eat should be from things like fruits/veggies/whole grains. You don't know how many times I thought I was doing everything right until I actually started counting/using the food tracker app again. Since Oct 25th I've been in a stall. Thought I had my crap together and doing things right until I sent my nutritionist my food logs to ask for help and suggestions and she pointed out what I was doing wrong and where I was inconstant. So I made the corrections and things are already improving and it's only been a week. Anyway, I too suggest the therapist but maybe also the nutritionist to help you get on track again. She or he would have the best suggestion on how to help you get going again. Best of luck!!!

Wish I had a recommendation but shortly after surgery I got a used one off FB Marketplace for $50. I used it when I can't get outside due to weather. So, it was well worth it. And since I seem to mostly walk outside, I'm glad I didn't do like I originally planned and spend hundreds or more on a new one since I use it so infrequently.

My only real pain came from the one incision spot where they pull your stomach through. And even then it wasn't a constant all day pain. Mostly just when I tried to lay back/flat/on my back or side. For the first 3-4 weeks I pretty much had to sleep semi reclined because that incision location felt like it was constantly tugging/pulling if I tried to sleep normally. Aside from what they gave me in the hospital, I think I took the pain killer at night only so that I could be as comfortable as possible when "trying" to sleep. And that was just for a few days, IIRC.

Thanks! I was really hoping to avoid that sort of suit. The top anyway. I love the sun and also don't like the feel of that extra fabric on me. But, I just may have to.

Congratulations to you!! That's awesome!! Can't wait to be in your position one day!! Hopefully the issues with your gall bladder will resolve so that you can avoid surgery. I've already been having the loose skin under my arms, stomach and between my legs (the upper inner thighs) and I'm not very fond of it. Already dreading Summer and thinking about wearing swimsuit again. Before I used to wear the skirted kind of suit that comes in two separate pieces. Now who knows what I'll wear cause there's really nothing to help hide the flabby arms. I could always try those shorts to hide the upper, inner thighs and maybe even the skirts will still work but those arms, ugh! My legs, even at bigger size, used to look good. Now, eh. I haven't been fully naked in front of my husband, at least not standing up and walking around, in decades. Yes, I will get naked in bed and strategically drape the blanket over my stomach and stuff like that but yeah, I was hoping to one day be able to walk around naked or in some lingerie and not sure that will happen cause I have the same fear of his reaction that your partner had. Even though he's very supportive, loving, loves my body (big or small), etc. it's like, once you see that you can't unsee it and you don't really know how you'll react to it unless and until you do and I say that to him and he gets upset with me and tells me that would never happen. LOL Who knows, maybe I need to give him more credit. But yeah, I hope one day I can eventually get this extra skin removed (and I still have a ways to go with losing more weight too). Not sure I will be totally happy with my body unless that happens. But I am happy with so many more positive things that has happened with/to me since! So, I am grateful!

It surely varies by person, phases you're in, etc. I'm currently coming up on being 7 months out from surgery and have not lost anything since October 25th!!! So, that's 7 WEEKS for me! CRAZY long stall! But just spoke to my nutritionist over the weekend and hopefully things will start moving again with her help and suggestions.

UPDATE: So, on Friday I contacted my nutritionist. I sent her a lengthy message through my health portal online and attached a copy of my most recent food logs for her to go over. She quickly responded and told me the following info. First she thanked me for the included food logs with macros as they were very helpful. She was happy to see that I still log my food as it helps when trying to figure out what you could be doing "wrong". She said that, although she could see that I was trying to keep my protein up, I was still being VERY inconsistent. Once she looked over it all and averaged it out, she said my protein was drastically ranging from 49-98 grams a day!! Yikes! Didn't pay attention enough to that to see that myself. She said my carb intake was also inconsistent. She told me I was using the net carb amounts, but also getting the calories from the total carb amount. She wants me to keep the carbs between 50 and 75 grams a day but NOT over 100. At least not now. She said she understand the use of net carbs from a diabetic standpoint, but in my case my blood sugars are improving and my medication has decreased. Of course she said carbs should be from fruit/veg/whole grains. Which I was doing but in wrong amounts, I guess. I also had been lacking in the veggie department cause I somehow inadvertently was replacing veggies with these new carbs (i.e., rice, quinoa, etc) that months ago she suggested I add in. So yeah, was doing things sorta right, but not really. LOL She said it looked like most of my calories were coming from carbs and lacking in protein that your body needs to preserve muscle and continue to lose fat. She said there was no need to cut them out completely, and that that's not likely to be productive. She also told me to keep my calories down to about 800 a day for now too. Which I was usually between 800 and 1000. Most days, 900. And finally, when it comes to my fitness she said that walking (which is what I've been doing) is great cardio, but that's all. She suggested I start including some light weight or body weight strength training that's metabolic active, meaning I'll burn calories/fat and preserve muscle and strength. Often times including that helps get through stalls, she said. She told me to make sure there's variety to my activity. She told me to correct these things for the next few weeks and see if that helps. If not I will make an appointment with her and we can go from there. So, FINGERS CROSSED this works!!! I have made the corrections starting this past Saturday so we'll see. I have yet to figure out an exercise/weight plan. I'm having issues figuring out what exercises I should do with what I have here at home (weight bands and free weights).

Thanks for that and thanks for the info. It makes sense, I guess, when they explain it in that way. Hopefully soon things will move.

Yes. I got my period the day before. Things still went on as planned. Just let them know when you get there. They will give your these special underwear and pad to wear. Once surgery was done and a few hours went by, I put my own back on.

UPDATE: Since my last post I have made an effort to up my protein and drink more water. Wanted to see if that would trigger things to get moving. At first I THOUGHT things were moving in the right direction when instead of being around 246-248 I started coming in around 243 and 246. But then I got sick! I believe it's the flu. I also haven't been able to eat for about two 2 days in a row. Today is actually the first day in a week to where I felt ok enough to get up and do something. Anyway, even with being sick and not eating (not on purpose) I still only got down to 243.6!!! Like WTF is happening? Haven't seen my lowest of 241.2 since October 25th!! And obviously haven't gone lower than that since. I am feeling REALLY discouraged! And to make matters worse, it's not like I can say "Well the scale hasn't moved but the inches have" cause I haven't lost anything but .25, YES, ONLY .25, inches the last month!!! I'm not even sure what the hell else there is to do at this point. I'm sure no one has stalled this long. I mean, can I really use the "it's probably your body retaining salt/or water" excuse any longer? Can that even be possible after this long? I'm just not understanding. I have been eating like I normally have been for the last 4 months. Same types of foods and amounts with maybe a lil added carbs type foods (as suggested by the nutritionist) like beans here and there and stuff like brown/wild/multi grain rice, quinoa, etc. Not sure what else I can do. I have also been logging my foods again regularly and seem to be falling within my goals. My calories are usually between 800 and 900 (which my plans calls for between 800 and 1000 if still in the weight loss phase). Some days have gone slightly over. Carb, protein and fat within a good range too. I know the macros for someone consuming 1000-1200 calories a day roughly falls as follows: Carbs less than 75 grams (25%) Protein 75-105 grams (35%) Fats 45-55 grams (40%) Sugar less than 25 grams So for me still in the losing phase and staying around 800-1000 calories a day I've been staying as follows: Carbs 50 grams Protein 90 grams Fats 33 grams Sugar less than 20 but it's usually under 10 naturally, with what I eat. So I don't think I'm doing that wrong or being off on that but who the hell knows. I'm so ticked off with this and feel like I used to before the surgery where I used to do all the right things and still couldn't lose weight. I will be so angry if this is it for me cause I still have about 50-60 lbs to lose!!

Anyone try those Beatboxes yet? They have zero sugar and low calories. I tried them but it was right after surgery and my husband bought a few different flavors so I took a sip of each one. I don't remember which flavors I liked exactly but none of them were too bad. I may eventually try them again since I only had a sip of the ones I tried. https://beatboxbeverages.com/collections/zero-sugar

Looking on the packaging it shows............. OLD ONE: One serving......serving size is one scoop (7.2 grams) contains 30 grams of protein NEW ONE: One serving.......serving size is one scoop (11 grams) contains 11 grams of protein. Well that sucks!

Following. I just drug out what's left of my old bag of unflavored Genepro in hopes of upping my protein to break my month long stall. I also went onto their website because I may need to purchase more and also noticed the new stuff. Curious if anyone has tried it.

I'm seriously thinking of upping my protein again too. Especially since the surgeon recommended it for my hair loss anyway when we spoke last week. Wonder if it will jump start things for me too like it did for you? My activity is what it's always been. Just walking. Months ago I started weights again but haven't stuck to it like I have just walking. So just walking is what I do and have been for months. At least 5 days a week. Gonna have to make a conscious effort on upping that protein. Thanks!

Thanks!!! It is discouraging. I have just been walking every day (well, at least 5 days a week). So that has not changed. Been doing that for months. Don't think it's too much salt. My diet has pretty much stayed the same. The only thing new that I eat on the regular now, and it's not much (volume wise), is stuff like quinoa, brown rice, etc. As per the instruction of my nutritionist. But I have been doing that for months now too. No thyroid meds. Never have.

You all are doing great!!! Congrats!! I'm still at my same 69 lb lost since surgery/87 lb since March. Haven't lost a thing since Oct 25th and no idea why. Total inches lost last month (Oct thru Nov) was only 1.75 too when previous months had been close to 10 inches or more. I usually measure on the 7th of each month but checked a few measurements last night and it looks like there won't be much loss this past month either. Don't know what's going on. Never had a stall last more than a few weeks. I tried shaking things up by eating things off plan/lil more calories/lil less too. NONE of it worked.

UPDATE: Well, 11-25 was 1 month since I last had a loss on the scale. Inches didn't budge last month either. Only 1.75 inches total for the month. Not sure what the heck is going on but I'm not happy about it. Has anyone stalled this long? Don't know what to do. I even ate off plan several times to try and force a loss like I've heard others doing and that didn't work. My weight on Oct 25th was 241.2 and I have been weighing in between 246 and 249 on the regular since! So discouraging. Been going to the bathroom pretty normally too. But as a just in case I did take some laxatives for a few days and got things moving along but still, the lowest I got down to was 245. Now it's doing the 246 to 249 again. Sigh