July 2013 Sleevers

[Patti K 98]

800 calories too much?! For your height/weight?!?! Your PA isn't doing you any favors. I would like to bash some of these "professionals" over the head with a cast Iron frying pan. I'm only an inch taller and a year younger than you and weigh less. My nutritionist wants me to fall in the 900-1350cal/day range. Many will say that we can't expect to have the same loss results as a "normal weight" person on a similar number of calories' date=' but I believe that that's a-not true for all of us and b-at least partially because having this surgery is basically just a physical alteration that allows us to maintain a VLCD ("starvation diet"), which can decimate our metabolism without significant care and effort regarding nutrition and muscle retention. I do not consider telling a 5'7" woman at your weight to only eat 500 cal/day to be good advice. I would consider finding another PA or doing your own research and going your own way.

My most successful experience with weight loss prior to surgery was a 115lb loss, primarily relying on calorie counting/macronutrient distribution using a bodybugg to measure my daily calorie usage. Through that experience and using that same technology while I lose weight now, I have learned that my resting metabolic rate is about 1900 cal at my current weight and that my average calorie burn right now is about 2500 cal. I believe dropping to 500 cal/day would not benefit you in the least...

Best of luck to you. The stalls do pass, as long as your are focusing on the things your need for your health.[/quote']

Thank you for that. I have felt awful for a week bow eating so few calories and pushing myself beyond tired. I hate that the two people who tell me "what todo" are obviously two people who never had to worry about weight EVER so of course they think if I am not losing it is too much calories. I wish I had a bodybugg! I saw them on Biggest Loser and always wanted one.

What I find interesting as well is that my program has allowed lettuce (iceburg only) for soft food stage and everyone else says they couldn't have til month three. Soft foods start at week 5 for us. And these same folks are eating some fruits and we can't have fruit until month two or three.

Hiw can so many different programs all be RIGHT?

[DagsboroDebbie 40]

Thank you for that. I have felt awful for a week bow eating so few calories and pushing myself beyond tired. I hate that the two people who tell me "what todo" are obviously two people who never had to worry about weight EVER so of course they think if I am not losing it is too much calories. I wish I had a bodybugg! I saw them on Biggest Loser and always wanted one.

What I find interesting as well is that my program has allowed lettuce (iceburg only) for soft food stage and everyone else says they couldn't have til month three. Soft foods start at week 5 for us. And these same folks are eating some fruits and we can't have fruit until month two or three.

Hiw can so many different programs all be RIGHT?

I sure understand your confusion. I'm so glad my doc & his team are so understanding & not locked into the same answers for everyone though as we are all different. Lettuce on soft stage sounds crazy & I wouldn't even think to try that. My doc moved me through the stages a little faster than some; but slower than others on this forum. I think you have to listen to your body. Don't add too many things at a time & be cautious so you can "read" the signals your body sends & know if added things are agreeing with your sleeve or not; then go from there - one meal at a time. Lots of good info here; but not all info is good for everyone. Best of luck.

[tbonner92078 0]

I was sleeved July 25th 2013. I am having MIXED EMOTIONS. Not sure what im feeling about it. I am HAPPY that I have had it done because I wanted it SO BAD but idk. Im still battling with WORKING OUT my portion sizes have cut down tremendously im struggling with my Protein and Water intake. I feel fine as far as health except I am constipated from the Vitamins. I just need a WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT. PLEASE HELP

[kw2walker 211]

I was sleeved July 25th 2013. I am having MIXED EMOTIONS. Not sure what im feeling about it. I am HAPPY that I have had it done because I wanted it SO BAD but idk. Im still battling with WORKING OUT my portion sizes have cut down tremendously im struggling with my Protein and Water intake. I feel fine as far as health except I am constipated from the Vitamins. I just need a WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT. PLEASE HELP

You can do this! I sip all the time lol I even keep a water bottle in yes in my bed. I fear dehydration. I set mini goals. I sip as soon as my feet hit the floor. It does add up. It also helps keep the pipes moving. I have had to take a stool softener once. That was around week three. Since then all is good. I manage about 50-70 g of Protein daily if I miss my mark with food I have a Protein shake.

This is a new way of life for us. I find when I try some new food I eat too fast ouch. So I have to get that behavior under control.

I have discovered that I can go all day and not eat but what tells me to eat is a raging headache. So I do small things to get me in the game. I pack my lunch. I find easy to eat things.

I hope this has helped. I was sleeves July 22, 2013. I have not regrets. I wish I had planned better with my clothes otherwise I love my sleeve.

[gettingslim 86]

I feel like everyone is forgetting to eat carbs and fat. I have all natural sausage, bacon, eggs, and very occasionally a tiny bit of sugar. I have had a sixth of a whopper even. I was sleeved on july 25 and started at 391 and today I am at 341. I have lost 4.5 inches from my waist and alot from my face. I still have moobs tho im slowly working in a workout routine.

I do not count calories like alot of you guys though. I just eat every 2 hours and drink in between. I can have one slice of bacon and one egg for Breakfast. Eggs and bacon are great because the white is protien and the yolk is fat and the same with bacon only you can easily see tye fat on the bagon. Also be selective on eating meat fat because the new stomach sometimes has a hard time breaking it down. Chew really well. I also have doubts but I push through them because I know what the outcome is going to be.

[DagsboroDebbie 40]

I was sleeved July 25th 2013. I am having MIXED EMOTIONS. Not sure what im feeling about it. I am HAPPY that I have had it done because I wanted it SO BAD but idk. Im still battling with WORKING OUT my portion sizes have cut down tremendously im struggling with my Protein and Water intake. I feel fine as far as health except I am constipated from the Vitamins. I just need a WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT. PLEASE HELP

Be encouraged. You can do this. If you didn't work out before, it is a big change. Start slow; but start. Find something you like to do & if possible a partner always helps. I was sleeved on 7/16; so a little further out than you. Many of us take regular stool softeners, some use benefiber or other Fiber supplements. Everyone is different so same thing doesn't work for all. You have to discover what works for you. Where are you at with food?? That could be part of the issue.

[kimberlyu 12]

I'm six weeks out and have lost 35 lbs. I still can't reach my Protein goal - nor my Water intake goal. For a couple weeks I obsessed about it and then it hit me one day: Just do the best I can do and stop stressing over it. Now I eat what I can and I stop when I need to. I take two gummy vitamins a day. I drink all I can. When I've made a food mistake, my body tells me and I have to stand and walk around till it passes - or throw up. I'm not going to stress about stalls. I'm just going to do my best and not worry about how much or little I'm losing. At 500-600 calories a day, it will come off. I hate to hear people upset about how little weight they are losing. I can't remember the last time I was able to lose even ten pounds before surgery. I'm going to be happy with every pound.

[rphp 5]

I agree. I'm not eating anywhere near the same amounts or calories that I used to so I am bound to lose-and I have. I knew it would not be overnight. One positive thing is if I can exercise more, then slow weight loss is better so I can keep more toned and work that excess skin as best as I can. I am just not stressing about it.Here are some quick foods:

Justin's nut butter packets (sooo good), cottage cheese cups, avocado slices, oatmeal banana baby flakes with skim milk, plain tuna salad, skim milk w/ Protein Powder, blended Soups (lentil,pea,chicken), yogurt cups, babyel mini cheese rounds (surprisingly easily digested).

What do you all like for quick snack/foods?

[TonyaA 41]

It is a major lifestyle change and you have to take small steps and appreciate when you hit the goal. My surgery was July 24th, so I am six weeks out. Most days I have no problem getting my Protein in mostly because I still like the shakes and it counts towards my daily fluids. Ah, the fluids, I still struggle to get my 64 ounces in per day. I am doing good to get 50 down per day. As far as exercise, I walk around my small rural town when the humidity isn't real high. I have begun using my Wii Fit a couple of times a week. I have a goal of October 1st to return to the gym so I can start doing weight training and toning. I have lost 36 lbs so far and have learned to eat slower and to chew more. I bought my quick Snacks from Bariatric Choice online. A few of the items I have chosen are over the guidelines that my doctor/nutritionist set, but I am able to keep my calories under 700 most days and my protein over 65.

[DagsboroDebbie 40]

I'm six weeks out and have lost 35 lbs. I still can't reach my Protein goal - nor my Water intake goal. For a couple weeks I obsessed about it and then it hit me one day: Just do the best I can do and stop stressing over it. Now I eat what I can and I stop when I need to. I take two Gummy Vitamins a day. I drink all I can. When I've made a food mistake' date=' my body tells me and I have to stand and walk around till it passes - or throw up. I'm not going to stress about stalls. I'm just going to do my best and not worry about how much or little I'm losing. At 500-600 calories a day, it will come off. I hate to hear people upset about how little weight they are losing. I can't remember the last time I was able to lose even ten pounds before surgery. I'm going to be happy with every pound.[/quote']

Great attitude. We all need to grab this attitude & hold on tight. No stressing out. Just doing our best & keep moving onward & downward.

[Daydra 345]

I sure understand your confusion. I'm so glad my doc & his team are so understanding & not locked into the same answers for everyone though as we are all different. Lettuce on soft stage sounds crazy & I wouldn't even think to try that. My doc moved me through the stages a little faster than some; but slower than others on this forum. I think you have to listen to your body. Don't add too many things at a time & be cautious so you can "read" the signals your body sends & know if added things are agreeing with your sleeve or not; then go from there - one meal at a time. Lots of good info here; but not all info is good for everyone. Best of luck.

Speaking of lettuce... Why would we, as bariatric surgery patients with teeny tiny tummies that still need to manage to consume enough nutrients for an adult even consider eating it as any component of a meal (other than maybe to wrap a sandwich or something)? Lettuce has almost no nutrition, particularly iceberg. It's basically a filler only, which most of us absolutely do not need, particularly in the early stages (up to a year, maybe?).

[Daydra 345]

Thank you for that. I have felt awful for a week bow eating so few calories and pushing myself beyond tired. I hate that the two people who tell me "what todo" are obviously two people who never had to worry about weight EVER so of course they think if I am not losing it is too much calories. I wish I had a bodybugg! I saw them on Biggest Loser and always wanted one.

What I find interesting as well is that my program has allowed lettuce (iceburg only) for soft food stage and everyone else says they couldn't have til month three. Soft foods start at week 5 for us. And these same folks are eating some fruits and we can't have fruit until month two or three.

Hiw can so many different programs all be RIGHT?

You mentioned pushing yourself beyond tired, so I'll share my experience (I've posted this in another thread, so sorry to those that have already seen it). A couple weeks ago, I started to experience nausea. This made it really hard to get a reasonable amount of Fluid in, which in turn caused me to eat less so I could spend more time and effort getting my Fluid. Over the weekend before last, I felt like I had fallen over the edge into some real dehydration: increased nausea, headache, orthostatic hypotension. I called the doc and we did a swallow test, which revealed that I had a kink in my stomach. I got 2 liters of fluids as my lab results hadn't been received yet. We scheduled an endoscopy the next day to straighten it out. Doc was able to straighten out the kink, but also found torsion, that may need a balloon dilation or something after I'm completely healed. At any rate, felt way better for a couple days, but the nausea started again, accompanied by some (in my opinion) pretty severe fatigue. The best I can describe it is it is similar to how I felt when I became significantly anemic several years ago... weak, out of breath after completing simple tasks, light headed. I called my surgeon today. For now, I'll just take anti-nausea meds for awhile so I can get a reasonable amount of fluid and food until it's time to decide what, if anything, to do next. But here's the kicker... My labs showed that I was not actually dehydrated. Not even borderline dehydrated (a complete mystery to me, considering thirst and dry, sticky mouth, even if we don't consider other symptoms to be due to dehydration). After discussing this with my surgeon, she feels that the fatigue is due to not getting enough Protein and calories. I averaged about 800 cal for weeks 2-4, but then dropped to around 400 cal for the last 10 days or so. She said that at this stage (I'm 6 weeks out), fatigue is not normal.

So... to make a long story longer... Go too low, fatigue is inevitable and that is only going to play against your efforts. If you're experiencing fatigue, my advice would be to eat more (appropriately), not less.

Best of luck! I know that you'll totally get this worked out.

[Patti K 98]

I feel like everyone is forgetting to eat carbs and fat. I have all natural sausage' date=' bacon, eggs, and very occasionally a tiny bit of sugar. I have had a sixth of a whopper even. I was sleeved on july 25 and started at 391 and today I am at 341. I have lost 4.5 inches from my waist and alot from my face. I still have moobs tho im slowly working in a workout routine.

I do not count calories like alot of you guys though. I just eat every 2 hours and drink in between. I can have one slice of bacon and one egg for Breakfast. eggs and bacon are great because the white is protien and the yolk is fat and the same with bacon only you can easily see tye fat on the bagon. Also be selective on eating meat fat because the new stomach sometimes has a hard time breaking it down. Chew really well. I also have doubts but I push through them because I know what the outcome is going to be.[/quote']

My program, as you have read, says I am eating too many calories and those are from carbs. They want Protein first, non-starchy veg second. By that time there is no room for carbs. I get some in the veg but not much. My fat grams have to be half or less of Protein intake.

[crystalmendza 4]

I have a question I am now on regular foods but they told me to stay away from caffeine as a life long goal does this mean no tea?

[MWilliams42 28]

I have found caffeinated tea makes me more thirsty, there are a lot of GREAT Decaf teas out there that you can choose from. I've even switched to decaf coffee when I feel the need to act like I'm drinking a cup!