BlackBerryJuice

I had an opportunity to talk to a dietitian yesterday and I asked about low-carb vs. other low-calorie diets for weight loss and she said research has shown that low-carb is more effective in the short term, but at 6 months, the progress is the same whether you are low-carb or just watching your calories and eating healthy. Now, I wasn't asking her in the WLS context, but still, it's something I'd like to explore once my final exam is done tomorrow and I have more time. GT, did you ever have your thyroid checked? My main ideas for you are either 1) starvation mode (eating too little and your metabolism slowing down to a halt to match) or 2) hypothyroidism. The first is easy to fix - just try to eat more. I eat 1000-1200 a day and am losing at a pretty quick rate. The 2nd would obviously involve a medical diagnosis.

Thanks...It's not quite what I meant, though, I was interested in the source the book itself used for that statement, I have no doubts that the original poster quoted it directly from the book. But realistically, I could release the "All-Sugar Diet" book tomorrow and write all kinds of crap in there, if you know what I mean. I was wondering if the book itself has some sort of reference - they are usually grouped by chapter in the back. I obviously wouldn't expect you to list all the references for the chapter here, but if you end up interested in this and look into some of them and find some legit evidence to prove or disprove it, I'd definitely be curious to hear about it. P.S. What's with this creepy "so-and-so started a personal conversation with you" notification that this site gives when someone quotes your post? I wasn't sure what to expect when I first saw that....lol.

Congrats! It's amazing, isn't it!? I'm 2 days away from 2 months out and am down 33 lbs - I lost this weight last year and it took me EIGHT months and way more working out.

Good thing you found out before and not after the surgery! I think the idea of writing on your belly is really good, as well as talking to the surgeon about it right before the surgery to make sure s/he's 100% sure about the type of surgery that is to be performed.

I think I'm in the minority on this site in that I don't care about my carb intake. Don't get me wrong, I'm not inhaling bags of gummy bears or anything, but to offer an example, I just had a snack of a delicious ripe banana and when I have lunch in about 2 hours, I'll definitely have a few bites of rice or naan bread with my butter chicken. I will also most likely have more fruit later on in the day (probably try this Korean melon I bought the other day). I just try to make most of my carbs whole grain or fruit sources. I have lots of energy - I take 3 hours of dance classes in a row on Wednesdays! - and I have lost as much weight as other folks around my size who are watching carbs, and even more in some cases. I also eat quite a bit more calories. I haven't counted for a few weeks, but I'd estimate that I range between 1000 and 1200/day. Experiment with your food intake to find out what works for YOU in terms of weightloss and overall well-being. I could NEVER do the 30 grams of carb/day thing, my brain wouldn't function as well and I'd feel weak and cranky.

Yeah, in my opinion, the fewer people you tell before you get the surgery, the better. You don't need all the unnecessary stress of having to politely listen to everything random people will tell you. EVERYONE in our society is an "obesity expert," particularly people who are thin and come from families where no one is overweight. Now that I've been sleeved, I understand how some thin people fail to comprehend why we can't make healthier choices 100% of the time - it's very easy with the sleeve. I just wish they would shut up about the fact that if THEY can, so can everybody else. At least no one has been rude and condescending so far, by the sounds of it, but I would prepare for these reactions, as well, there's guaranteed to be one or two idiots you'll encounter later on.

Did they actually reference that statement in the book? I'm curious as to the source, because it sounds like a truckload of BS to me. It's artificial sweeteners, NOT sugar, that upset the GI tract and cause diarrhea, bloating, cramps, and flatulence.

This is a favorite of mine, from a Middle Eastern cookbook. It tends to be a hit at parties. It also seems to work out every time I make it, which can't be said for some of the other recipes I've tried. The dough is phyllo, so it's not very heavy and won't expand in your stomach and make you uncomfortable. You can make a big pie or just make a bunch of little single-serving triangles (like spanakopita). The ingredient list is long, but a lot of it is just spices. Ingredients: 4 small or 3 large chicken breasts 2 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp cinnamon; another 1 tsp set aside for later 1 tsp turmeric 1/2 cup chicken stock some olive oil 2 leeks, chopped a handful of chopped parsley (about 1/2 a bunch) a handful of chopped cilantro (same) 2 jars artichoke hearts (canned in oil), chopped 200 g feta cheese, crumbled 2 eggs phyllo dough sheets (about a dozen for a large pie) butter, melted (about 2-3 oz) Bake chicken, covered at moderate heat with spices and stock, about 30 mins; chop the chicken into small chunks, reserve about 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid for later. Stir-fry chopped leeks with olive oil (about 10 mins, until they are soft). Combine chicken, reserved juices, leeks, parsley, cilantro, artichokes, feta cheese, egg, and the extra cinnamon in a bowl; mix well. Be careful not to let the phyllo dough sheets dry out (I roll them back up every time I take one sheet). Melt the butter; use a pastry brush to spread butter all over the sheet. Put the sheet into a greased baking dish, so that the edges hang over. Continue until you have about a dozen sheets, arranged all around the dish. Scoop the filling into the dish; fold over the edges of the pastry sheets. If the pie is not fully covered, butter up a few more sheets and arranged them in the middle so everything is covered. Brush the top of the pie with butter. For a large pie, bake for 20 mins at a moderate-high temperature (I usually go for 350); then for another 20 mins at moderate temperature (e.g. 300), until the pastry is golden.

As soon as I saw "like Chipotle," my eyeballs nearly fell out of my skull. My boyfriend went to the States a few weeks ago and I actually made him bring me back a barbacoa bol. The customs officer was amused.

With the shoe size, is it just the width or also the length that goes down? I was just complaining to my boyfriend a few months ago that I seem to have gently progressed from size 9-9.5 to size 10 in shoes. I'm 25 and haven't grown vertically since I was 11 or 12, so I speculated that it was due to weight gain. I can barely squeeze my feet into a 9 these days, and only a few years ago I regularly wore size 9s. I'm also not that tall, so size 10 is really large.

Try bodybuilding.com - they have an exercise directory. I also have the Women's Health Big Book of Exercises, although I got it right before I headed to Mexicali, so I haven't really looked through it. I'll start reading it once we're done with this bootcamp in November.

I'm in the exact same boat - brutal sore throat (can barely speak), feeling crappy overall, AND just got my period this morning. I feel like I have a fever, but I don't. Did I mention I also signed up for unlimited bootcamp starting tomorrow AND I have a final exam on Friday covering everything we learned in the last 6 weeks? I popped some ibuprofen for the period cramps and in hopes of making my throat less sore. If you have a lot of chest congestion, one of my favorite things is Robitussin - it really liquifies everything (including mucus in your nose, so it won't be as plugged).

I actually find that when I try sweets (don't care for other kinds of junk food), while they go down easily, I get taste fatigue very fast. My boyfriend got a ton of candybars as a gift the other day and I thought, why not have a few bites of a Mars bar. Well, the first bite tasted good, the second one was a-ok, and after the 3rd one, I was in the mood for a cucumber instead. Same thing with Dairy Queen soft serve and other sweets I used to enjoy. I have a few bites and they start to taste gross. There's no way I could eat 2 candybars right now, even if I might have enough volume in my stomach (thank god). These candybars are still in the house and while mentally, I want some, I recall the experience, and go for carrot sticks or a few slices of pear instead.

I just got my boyfriend and I an unlimited 1-month bootcamp pass. We can't go more than 3 days a week because he has soccer and I have dance on 2 other days, but this Monday we're starting this challenge with the goal of attending a minimum of 2 sessions a week.

I heard in class last year that basically everyone who lives north of Atlanta should be taking vitamin D supplements.

Good to know - I was asked this same question by a friend a few days ago and couldn't give him an answer.

I don't think you'd make a great candidate for surgery. It wasn't that long ago that the "overweight" BMI cut-off was actually 27 and not 25. This little change is partially to blame for the "obesity epidemic" in the US - lots of people magically became overweight overnight. When I had a BMI of 27.5, I wore size 10 (I'm 5'5"), so if you are around my height, you are probably in the size 8-12 range, which is a perfectly acceptable size for an adult woman, especially one who's gone through childbirth. I think your focus should be on gaining muscle mass with weight training so you can speed up your metabolism and firm up, and getting quality dietary counselling from a nutritionist, as well as focusing on body image issues. I really don't think you are as fat as you seem to think. You certainly wouldn't have any medical indications for getting WLS.

I have 1 or 2 protein bars/RTD shakes a day; as far as whole food sources, I like sashimi, eggs, and cheese (including cottage cheese).

BTW, you can make it at home - they usually sell dry mix at Asian stores (might even be able to find it at a big Walmart in the International section), all you need is an egg. I like the Kikkoman brand: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51MKauvxLQL._SL500_AA300_.jpg They also have a Hot & Sour soup mix. Very tasty and really hit the spot when you want something savory. Which brings me to my next point, which is that they do, unfortunately, have MSG, so if you are sensitive to MSG, it probably isn't the best choice for you.

Tempted to call BS on that one. If this really worked, Rogaine wouldn't have a market. And you can't really grow hair during chemo - chemo kills rapidly dividing cells in your body (aimed at cancer cells, but this includes hair cells as a side effect). Once you go off of chemo, you'll start growing hair again, horse shampoo or not.

I think it could definitely fly in a large city, where the clientele is big enough. I definitely wish I could go to normal restaurants and have a small serving - it seems the only places that serve small amounts are overpriced French restaurants. Something affordable would be nice.

I'm thinking of buying some protein bars as I seem to get unpleasant sensations from my protein shake for some reason. I used to be obsessed with Zone bars, but I feel like they are not high enough in protein and a little too coarse in texture for me at this stage. Can someone recommend a softer high-protein bar? Doesn't have to be low-carb.

Just wanted to update on my search - Zone bars sit well with me; they are bit higher in carbs than other bars, however. A good bar I found that has a decent nutrition profile (180 cals, 20 g protein) and tastes good is Myoplex Lite Chocolate Peanut Butter.

It could be also an esophageal spasm. On the upside, if you have a stricture, they should be able to fix it without having to cut you open again - just go through your mouth.

While I didn't experience anything like that, I would keep in mind that you are on your 2nd day out and your stomach has been cut, stapled, and burned multiple times only a little while ago. Sounds like the big picture is fine (i.e. no leaks), so just give it some time. How much do you swallow at one time? Maybe you are swallowing too much at once and putting pressure on your stomach. We all experience swelling at different rates, so you might just be one of the unlucky ones with more stomach swelling than most.