ESG Progress Updates For Accountability

[BubblesCT 83]

53 minutes ago, Tex Slim 66 said:

Bubbles, great post, don't get stressed too much. We have all yo-yo dieted for decades and it is extremely frustrating and demotivating. There is a path out of this to a healthier and happier life. Keep looking at different alternatives and stay positive that you can change your future. Regardless of Vertical sleeve or ESG the procedure's impact of reducing your stomach size is going to help you get to a more disciplined and healthy eating/lifestyle. We will still support you regardless of which procedure and path forward you choose, in the end you need to select one that you believe in the most. AmyAlexis, great advice as always, your such a great influence on this forum.

For me, after a great first two weeks post ESG, I'm in a bit of a stall this week only lost one pound. I'm not changing my eating discipline and still don't "feel hungry" like I used to. I'm recognizing that my snacking and grazing was focused on different issues and the feeling that I can manage this now is much stronger following my procedure. Gonna keep on the right path and I will lose more in the weeks to come!

Wow that is so interesting how when you are not "In the Food" you have clarity as to the connection between self and food. That is really cool. It sounds like you have a breathe, a pause between you and the food, to make a better choice. Currently being "in the food" I do not have that separation between my emotions and behavior. The impulse and compulsion is so automatic.

It sounds like many people stall after a few weeks and then have a big drop. It must be the body holding on. Gosh the human body is so impressive. Hang in there, your body will let go of that weight, and BAM.. you will drop yet another size!

Thanks for the encouragement, I feel like you all are my second family. We all really get one another which is so helpful.

Sending you good vibes!

[BubblesCT 83]

YAY AmyA! I'm so happy for you. I like the removal of the negative, I'm a believer in the law of attraction. No need to call in any negative energy. First we think it, then believe it, then become it, so what we think should be as positive as possible.

I love hearing that you are not feeling hungry. 18 pounds down...Whoop Whoop! You guys are my inspiration. Thanks for always being there to share and support!

Feeling good after reading these posts!

[BubblesCT 83]

1 hour ago, AmyAlexis said:

Hi bubbles. It’s going really well. Last checked down 18lbs.
I know a lot of people here call it ‘feeling restriction’ but to me that feel like a negative. No one wants to feel restricted. But what I do feel is ‘full’ when I have eaten enough.
I used to feel full only when I had eaten way too much.
This was my goal, so I’m happy so far. Plus I have yet to feel hunger - another plus.
AmyA

YAY AmyA! I'm so happy for you. I like the removal of the negative, I'm a believer in the law of attraction. No need to call in any negative energy. First we think it, then believe it, then become it, so what we think should be as positive as possible.

I love hearing that you are not feeling hungry. 18 pounds down...Whoop Whoop! You guys are my inspiration. Thanks for always being there to share and support!

Feeling good after reading these posts!

[AmyAlexis 81]

41 minutes ago, BubblesCT said:

YAY AmyA! I'm so happy for you. I like the removal of the negative, I'm a believer in the law of attraction. No need to call in any negative energy. First we think it, then believe it, then become it, so what we think should be as positive as possible.

I love hearing that you are not feeling hungry. 18 pounds down...Whoop Whoop! You guys are my inspiration. Thanks for always being there to share and support!

Feeling good after reading these posts!

Happy to hear that Bubbles! 😀

[hope4momof4 162]

I totally agree with Bubbles. This forum has been a great inspiration for us all who are pre esg or whatever procedure. I also agree with Bubbles about how reading all your posts puts me in higher spirits. That is interesting how Tex after having esg is now able to take a step back and think about his food choices and not just automatically put things in his mouth. Yes, Bubbles I do exactly the same thing as you, it is really an automatic action that we never stop to think why? My kids are eating so I eat. My kids are snacking so I snack. Great that this procedure gives you the power to break that habit. Tex I’m sure you will get over your stall. Many have reported a stall after only two weeks. But all who have stalled have pushed through to lose weight again. You will get through this as well I’m sure. Make sure to get enough Protein (all who have reported a stall got through it, it seems after increasing their protein) and I’m not sure if you mentioned if you started exercising again. I hope others who have experienced stalls can chime in here and give you better advice than me. The main thing is that you’ll get over this small bump in your journey.

[hope4momof4 162]

2 hours ago, AmyAlexis said:

Hi bubbles. It’s going really well. Last checked down 18lbs.
I know a lot of people here call it ‘feeling restriction’ but to me that feel like a negative. No one wants to feel restricted. But what I do feel is ‘full’ when I have eaten enough.
I used to feel full only when I had eaten way too much.
This was my goal, so I’m happy so far. Plus I have yet to feel hunger - another plus.
AmyA

Love your perspective on this. Great outlook. Congratulations on losing 18 pounds. 🎊🎊🎊 You are doing beautifully. Would you mind sharing your meals for a typical day? Are you doing any exercise yet?

[AmyAlexis 81]

Hi Bubbles,

I thought I responded to this last night via my phone but guess it didn't take.

Here's a snapshot of a recent day of food:

Bfast: 4oz Fage Greek Yogurt with 1oz blueberries. I add a bit of real vanilla and stevia.

Snack- Protein Shake (Atkins. 15gms protein)

Lunch: 4oz 1% Friendship cottage cheese.

Snack: 1 tbsp cashew butter

Dinner: 1 turkey burger patty (around 2.5oz cooked). I like Shady Brook Farms but Trader Joes frozen burgers are pretty good.

1/4 cup spinach or 2oz brussel sprouts

Snack: Protein shake

Total cals are usually around 800/day.

I am walking on Treadmill but not enough- must. get. on. today. Waiting to go back to boxing 2x week after I have my one month followup with doc next week. She has to give the go ahead.

[hope4momof4 162]

Thank you AmyA! It’s very helpful to see what those who have had esg are eating post op. It is especially helpful to see what people who have lost 18 pounds in two weeks are eating!!😜😜 Wishing you continued success!!

[AmyAlexis 81]

Hey Hope! 18lbs makes me very happy- but Just to keep it real, It's been four weeks - entering my fifth today!

18lbs in 2 weeks would be crazy!

[hope4momof4 162]

9 minutes ago, AmyAlexis said:

Hey Hope! 18lbs makes me very happy- but Just to keep it real, It's been four weeks - entering my fifth today!

18lbs in 2 weeks would be crazy!

Still something to be proud of my dear. You are doing great!!!

[BubblesCT 83]

3 hours ago, AmyAlexis said:

Hi Bubbles,

I thought I responded to this last night via my phone but guess it didn't take.

Here's a snapshot of a recent day of food:

Bfast: 4oz Fage Greek Yogurt with 1oz blueberries. I add a bit of real vanilla and stevia.

Snack- Protein Shake (Atkins. 15gms protein)

Lunch: 4oz 1% Friendship cottage cheese.

Snack: 1 tbsp cashew butter

Dinner: 1 turkey burger patty (around 2.5oz cooked). I like Shady Brook Farms but Trader Joes frozen burgers are pretty good.

1/4 cup spinach or 2oz brussel sprouts

Snack: Protein shake

Total cals are usually around 800/day.

I am walking on Treadmill but not enough- must. get. on. today. Waiting to go back to boxing 2x week after I have my one month followup with doc next week. She has to give the go ahead.

Sounds like you have a nice food plan in place! If you have a Fitbit and want to be friends let me know. The accountability to make me move would be good. That goes for anyone out there looking for a fitness bud..

[hope4momof4 162]

On 12/13/2017 at 10:08 AM, BubblesCT said:

Sounds like you have a nice food plan in place! If you have a Fitbit and want to be friends let me know. The accountability to make me move would be good. That goes for anyone out there looking for a fitness bud..

I’d like to take you up on that offer Bubbles. I’ve been nagging my girlfriend to be my gym buddy and I’ve given up after she made countless excuses. This would be perfect but I have one question (please don’t laugh at my ignorance), how does a Fitbit work? It enables us to be friends and communicate even if we are states away? 😬😬

[Melesg 112]

Hi Everyone,

Down .6kg this week.
Biggest challenge - Christmas treats everywhere!! Have enjoyed a little here and there but no blow out or binge which I am happy with.
Biggest success - joining a gym. I am doing the c25k app program and have my session with the personal trainer this week to start resistance and strength training. I actually feel great during and after the interval running which is a total surprise to me.

Thought it might be helpful to document my day on a plate. Keep in mind I am over 3 months post esg;

Breakfast - 100g Greek yogurt, oats, walnuts and blueberries.

Snack - 1/2 cup white grapes

Lunch - rotisserie chicken (80g) and green salad

Snack - apple, 15 almonds, 1 square of dark chocolate

Dinner - vegetable Soup, 1 slice homemade pizza with thin base.

I try to drink 1.5 lt of Water and drink coffee, lots of coffee during the day. Occasionally a glass of wine or 200ml Diet Coke or mineral water as a treat.

I am trying to approach my food intake as "nutrition over no carb". I know that low carb gets results but I want to be healthy and fighting fit. My dietician reassures me that the fibre content in the fruit balances out the sugar and that the nutrients are worth the carbs.

I often eat eggs or have a Protein Shake for Breakfast, and meat and veg for dinner but the above plan is today's intake.

I am trying to stop eating after dinner for the night as this is a time I have always snacked in the past.

I hope to do 3-4 sessions per week at the gym and meet my 10000 steps everyday.

I am preparing mentally now for Christmas as there will be so much eating. I will try limit the holiday food fiesta to just Xmas eve and Xmas day and certainly enjoy the food in smaller portions. My strategy is to go to the gym each day (except Xmas day) over the next week to try counteract extra eating. I don't want to feel "on a diet" during the holidays but also don't want to unrail my progress.

For me, I was always the kind of dieter who fell off the wagon and then would say to myself - I will just eat what I want then start this new diet next week. It's exactly how I got so overweight. So I'm trying to avoid that way of thinking and just say - yep I really enjoyed my Christmas lunch and the Desserts but now it's time to get back to the plan. The old saying, don't make a bad day, a bad week, or a bad month.

I wish you all lots of luck over the next week at staying on track with reaching your nutrition and exercise goals. Remember - don't beat yourself up if you find this difficult. You just have to admit that you ate what you ate and have the mindset to ensure you get back to the behaviour that's going to get you healthy.

Mel xo

[hope4momof4 162]

Hey Mel, it’s great to hear from you. I was going to post a “Hey Mel, let us know how you’re doing” post but I’m thankful that you filled us in on how you’re doing before I had the chance to ask. Being more than 3 months out losing any amount of weight is great for sure!! Your meals sound very healthy and balanced. I’m sure that now with your added exercise program more weight will come off. Speaking of which, congratulations on the gym membership! A very wise choice and in all honesty the only thing I’ve purchased up to this point for weight loss that was money well spent.

I do have some questions about your meals for the day and your life now 3 months post esg— I hope I’m not being too annoying or intrusive.

1- Do you feel hungry at all eating what you’ve listed?

2- Are you eating those particular foods on the advice of your doctor/nutritionist?

3- How many calories is that per day?

4- Do you still crave any bad foods you used to crave pre esg?

5- If emotional eating was an issue for you pre esg (a major issue for me) has this procedure helped you with this or at least control it more?

6- Do you feel you can maintain this healthy eating in the long term? Can you see yourself eating like this in future years not just weeks or months?

7- How has your life changed now that your honeymoon phase is over?

Thanks Mel for any guidance you can provide me.

Wishing you love, health, and happiness!!

[Melesg 112]

Hey Mel, it’s great to hear from you. I was going to post a “Hey Mel, let us know how you’re doing” post but I’m thankful that you filled us in on how you’re doing before I had the chance to ask. Being more than 3 months out losing any amount of weight is great for sure!! Your meals sound very healthy and balanced. I’m sure that now with your added exercise program more weight will come off. Speaking of which, congratulations on the gym membership! A very wise choice and in all honesty the only thing I’ve purchased up to this point for weight loss that was money well spent.
I do have some questions about your meals for the day and your life now 3 months post esg— I hope I’m not being too annoying or intrusive.
1- Do you feel hungry at all eating what you’ve listed?
2- Are you eating those particular foods on the advice of your doctor/nutritionist?
3- How many calories is that per day?
4- Do you still crave any bad foods you used to crave pre esg?
5- If emotional eating was an issue for you pre esg (a major issue for me) has this procedure helped you with this or at least control it more?
6- Do you feel you can maintain this healthy eating in the long term? Can you see yourself eating like this in future years not just weeks or months?
7- How has your life changed now that your honeymoon phase is over?
Thanks Mel for any guidance you can provide me.
Wishing you love, health, and happiness!!

Absolutely, more than happy to answer any questions.

1. Yes I do feel hungry but it's still mostly head hunger. I think it will take me a long time before this changes. This is one of the biggest points the dietician and I discuss - strategies to ensure I am tuning into real hunger verses head hunger.

2. I don't have strict rules apart from fruit veg and Protein. General advice is to minimise unhealthy snacking but nothing is off limits at all.

3. I try stuck to under 1200 cal per day. I wasn't set a strict calorie amount after my esg.

4. Yep - still like the sound of bad foods but I find it easier to not have them. If I really want something I can usually wait a day or two and decide if I want it. I typically would then share it and make sure the rest of my day is healthy. If I really want chocolate I would now eat a small bar rather than a whole block. The old me would have gone on an eating bonanza, eating from dusk till dawn and still wanting more.

5. Definitely an emotional eater. I have to say I felt a little lost at the start and sad that I couldn't eat the way I did. I now feel much stronger in general when it comes to emotional eating. The esg definitely slows you down but you have to still stay strong. As there is no immediate barrier to how much you eat, you need to eat slower and enjoy the food now - not just inhale it . I was an inhaler unfortunately but those days are gone.

6. Yes! I could eat less now to really shed the pounds but I really think this is sustainable for me. The weeks where my weight has stayed the same I think have taught me what my maintained diet may look like. Adding a bit of bread here and a snack there pushes me into sustaining my weight rather than losing. But I honestly think it's sustainable. I no longer feel controlled by food the way I was before esg.

7. I think it's mostly still quite positive. I do find it hard at times to "see" my weight loss. Even though I am now buying size 14 clothes, I still take an 18 into the change rooms just in case. It can be frustrating not having the big numbers come off like at the start but I just think that that I was so lucky to lose 1/3 of my weight in the first weeks. It was a real kickstart.

There is certainly a mental edge to weight loss and I think most overweight people are pretty hard on themselves. We see every flaw in ourselves when I'm not sure the rest of the world sees us that way. We all need to peel away the layers that our obesity has covered and it can leave you feeling a bit exposed perhaps.

Overall, I would say I am eating about half what I was pre esg. My calories now come from mostly nutritious foods and I am more active. I don't think maintenance will be easy but I am told that rewriting your eating behaviour and sticking to it is the best way to make this work forever.

I don't see myself getting super slim but rather healthy. Not so much bikini ready, more like one piece tummy control swimsuit ready x