Are you eating on a schedule ...

[Sunny702 2]

I was sleeved on 8/17 and am in my mushy stage now. I recently purchased the Protein shakes from costco so I've been forcing one down at around 6am when I drop my daughter off. After that .... I eat when I think about it. My scale really hasn't moved much (down 12lbs since surgery) & now that I think about it maaaaybe I'm doing this all wrong?? Maybe my body thinks it's starving & holding onto weight?

So anywho ... are you on a schedule? If so are you eating every 2hrs, 3 hrs? Are you eating Snacks?? Are you weighing / measuring everything? If yes ... how much / little are you eating at a time?

I'm going to a local support group next week. I look forward to learning more about the process.

Thanks in advance.

[emmas mom 4]

I was sleeved on 8/17 and am in my mushy stage now. I recently purchased the Protein shakes from costco so I've been forcing one down at around 6am when I drop my daughter off. After that .... I eat when I think about it. My scale really hasn't moved much (down 12lbs since surgery) & now that I think about it maaaaybe I'm doing this all wrong?? Maybe my body thinks it's starving & holding onto weight?

So anywho ... are you on a schedule? If so are you eating every 2hrs, 3 hrs? Are you eating Snacks?? Are you weighing / measuring everything? If yes ... how much / little are you eating at a time?

I'm going to a local support group next week. I look forward to learning more about the process.

Thanks in advance.

i was sleeved the 17th as well! I lost 15 lbs right after surgery and have been having stalls on and off since then. I have lost another 6 lbs in 2 weeks. I do 2 Protein Shakes a day. I get 42 to 64 oz of Water in a day. and I think I eat or drink around the clock. I actually do get hungry, so I much on string cheese, alot! Its a staple for me. I also eat babybell cheese, soft scambled egg w cheese, tuna, mashed potato, Soup, fish, I even ate really moist chicken with mashed potatoes. I get an average of 700-800 calories a day. I dont measure. I stop when I feel full. I am winging it honestly and yes I would love to drop lots of weight non stop, but, seeing everyones posts, I dont have high expectations any more. I guess slow and steady wins the race, so I say hang in there and enjoy the ride, the weight will come off,we just need to be patient. I mean we are eating Protein, lower sugar/carbs and alot less calories, so how cant we lose! I have cheated a few times, I ate 25 cheez its! and loved every one! LOL! Thats my weakness, but, i shake it off and get back on track! anyway, good luck! you will lose the weight!!!!

[Sunny702 2]

Hey Emma ... what type of Protein Shakes are you drinking? The thought of drinking 2 of the kind I have makes me want to blow chunks. lol

[minniekitty 44]

Hey Emma ... what type of Protein shakes are you drinking? The thought of drinking 2 of the kind I have makes me want to blow chunks. lol

Sunny, I hate the Protein drinks too. I've tried a wide variety of them with no luck. I did find one that I could tolerate, but it has 11g of carbs and 9g of sugar in it. I think that it's worth it, though, because I couldn't drink my Protein otherwise without gagging and/or vomiting.

It's from Trader Joe's. It's called Trader Darwin's chocolate whey Protein powder. At 17g of protein per serving, it isn't the best Protein Drink on the market nutritionally. It is, however, a lot easier to stomach. It doesn't clump as much as the other Protein Drinks out there, either.

I'm on the soft food phase, too, so I focus on high protein mushy food with low carbs (or high in fiber) to compensate for my lack of the other "superior" protein drinks with higher protein and lower carbs.

[emmas mom 4]

Hey Emma ... what type of Protein shakes are you drinking? The thought of drinking 2 of the kind I have makes me want to blow chunks. lol

LOL! Yup! I know what you mean! I have a few! I still really like dutch chocolate medifast. I bought ready made slimfast chocolate, its good, but, higher sugar/carb, 10g Protein, Day break chocolate Atkins, not bad. I also buy the equate version (walmart brand) of weight loss shakes, choco and vanilla. They are good, but, 10 g protein and higher sugar/carbs. The eas chocolate is ok, just needs to be cold! And the atkins strawberry banana is pretty good!

I bought the big conatiners of whey protein isolate in chocolate and that is aweful!!! it doesnt taste like chocolate and it has a weird Peanut Butter taste, so gross. I also bought a big container of body fortress vanilla, too sweet, and no good either, cant taste vanilla. So I bought the unflavored powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury brand, I havent tried that yet. I might add that to my ready made shakes to up the protein, since the ones that taste kinda good only have 10 g of protein and more sugar/carbs. I guess i will deal with that to be able to drink the shakes and get in protein! I bought SF chocolate Syrup, I added it to the whey protein isolate in chocolate hoping to help the flavor, but, it didnt work at all, so i might try to add the syrup to vanilla and maybe that will work, so I dont totally waste my money. I have been struggling too! Thats why I bought so many choices!!! I was curious how the jillian michaels brand tastes, but, I think I have to go through what I have first before i buy any more, I think my husband is ready to strangle me! LOL! Hope this helps!

[MeMeMEEE 206]

I don't know how i would put myself on a schedule - when I eat more I get less fluids in which isn't cool. The not drinking before and after turns a meal in to 1 hour 15 mins of no drinking - I tend to eat twice a day. How do you snack and still get your fluids? I can't do the Protein shakes, they make my heart race and make me feel sick. DId find a Protein Bar but again the time away from fluids.

Did you guys just force yourself to eat and drink faster or what? I just want to wake up and be able to DO it!

[Sunny702 2]

I'm trying to get it in where I can fit it in. Which isn't much .... I think I need to get myself on some sort of schedule so HOPEFULLY my body will get into the weight loss portion of things.

[treequeen 13]

I was sleeved 2 days before you and have lost 15#s so you are on track with weightloss.. I have had a 3 and a 4 day stall so far. Frustrating? Yes.. Can I live with it? Yes. As far as a schedule.. I have a shake for Breakfast, try to drink a bottle of crystal light..try to convince myself food is important between 12 and 1.. wait an hour, drink another bottle or two..try to convince myself to eat dinner around 6pm, wait an hour and drink some more. Some times I'll have an all juice popsicle for a snack. The hardest part is that I have No interest in food and don't feel hungry. I kinda hope it stays that way, but for this healing period, it's a pain.

[lsereno 2,525]

I eat and drink on a schedule and I have since surgery. It doesn't have to be exact, but I know what I need to do to hit my Protein and Fluid targets and I stick to that.

Here's a typical day for me at almost 4 months:

Sometime between 6 and 10 a.m., I get in my breakfast Protein (yogurt smoothie - 16 grams protein). I try to eat lunch by 2 p.m. and get another 10-14 grams protein. dinner by 7:30 p.m. latest- prefer to eat by 6:30. I try to fit in two protein snacks: in the morning usually a soy latte and in the afternoon a cheese stick or something similar with 8-10 grams protein. If I'm having a bad day getting food in for whatever reason (missed a meal or the snacks), I have a Protein Drink. I'm supposed to have them at night, but I've swtiched to having it late afternoon because sometimes at night I just can't get one down.

For fluids, I try to hit 5 cups by mid-afternoon (2-3 p.m). That leaves me the rest of the day and evening to get in the last 3.

If I don't schedule stuff, I don't hit my mark. My appetite has not returned full force and it would be too easy to just keep going without eating. And def. I wouldn't hit the Water target. I stil don't like drinking so much, but I do it for my health.

For example, here's my day so far today:

7:00: 1 cup Water during morning walk

8:30 Breakfast of yogurt smoothie

10:00 Soy Latte

2:00 cheese Stick (got busy and that's all I had time to eat)

5:00 Cup of unjury chicken Protein

Planned dinner: 2 oz. mongolian beef with a little veg

I've drank 6.5 cups of water so far at 6 p.m., so I'll get my fluids in today with probably 1/2 cup with my evening Vitamins and 1 cup sleepy time tea before bed.

I expect to not have to work it so hard as the months go by. What's a few months in the scheme of the rest of our lives?

Lynda

Lynda

[Indymom 132]

First off, I don't want to come across as "lecturing" anyone so don't get the wrong idea. But those of you who indicate you feel like you're "eating 'round the clock" or assume a certain number of calories without weighing/measuring anything . . . be very careful. That's a slippery slope you might be on. I have been measuring religiously so that (a) I don't overeat my sleeve and ( I stay within a reasonable range of my targets for the day (calories, fat, carbs and protein).

When I had my pre-op nutrition class, the nutritionist stressed the importance of measuring. Studies show that when someone is asked to eyeball a measurement of something, more often than not they go too high. Certainly I remember it from my Weight Watchers days when I was sure I was only eating an ounce of X or a cup of Y, and counted the points accordingly . . . but the scale didn't move.

As far as scheduling, I find that if I don't have a schedule I will either forget to eat or will not keep on track with my vitamins/meds, Protein, and food. Here's my typical day:

Between 7 and 8:30 - take morning meds, protein/decaf drink

9:00-ish - breakfast

11:30-ish - noon meds

12:00-ish - lunch

4:00-ish - pm meds

5:30-6:00-ish - dinner

8:30-ish - bedtime meds

9:00-ish - protein/decaf drink

[DoOver 17]

Just a quick comment for anyone who's reading through this.... if you are on liquid you don't have to allow 30 minutes before and after. That window is really only necessary after you get off the liquid. And yes, you need to get your self on a schedule. I had a 3 month window where I would have never hit my Protein for the day if I were not eating every 3 to 4 hours. Once my stomach healed, the drinking was not an issue. I was able to drink a glass of Water in 15 minutes to stay hydrated. But having the schedule for the eating was and is important.

I'm actually surprised there are so many folks who have had this surgery with no apparent training. My program had some weak spots, but overall you knew the rules by the time you were out.

[LeahG 16]

I have a schedule I stick to throughout the week, and I kind of fall of the wagon on the weekends (probably because I tend to sleep til noon)

Anywhos, my schedule:

7:30 - 8:00 Breakfast (I've been having a morningstar breakfast sausage, an egg and a slice of cheese which is 20g of Protein total and a little under 200 calories)

10:00 Vitamins and morning snack (cheese stick or 4 oz of yogurt)

12:30ish lunch (I usually just have lunch meat or bring some chicken...or leftovers)

3:00 Afternoon Snack (yogurt or cheese stick, whichever I didn't eat in the morning)

6:00 dinner

8:30ish Evening snack (I've been doing SF FF pudding and SF cool whip...yum)

I try and squeeze in all of my Water before I leave work at 4:00 because I usually won't get any more in at home. My docs rule is no drinking 5 minutes before a meal or 30 minutes after.