February 2019 weight loss buds

[taylormomto6 74]

Was it dumping? Or like me, not chewing enough and not eating slow enough?

[Everything 388]

Yes, rushing. But honestly I feel like I can never get more than a few bites down.

[froufrou 678]

I think I figured out the restriction during pms vs restriction after. I think I was going for slider foods and carbs! I just ate a Quorn veggie pattie and there's definite restriction! I must pay more attention.

[taylormomto6 74]

Froufrou- it’s certainly a learning process!

Today I decided to give salad a try. I used a mix of baby spinach and spring mix, a few peas, red onion, sprinkle of cheese and 1 1/2 oz grilled chicken with a T of breannas cilantro lime dressing. It has set well and one plus is that it took me a while to eat it. It was delicious! I think I’ll be doing a salad each day from now on. Hopefully it helps with bathroom issues as well.

[Dubchild 42]

When you guys talk about getting in 600-800 calories are you talking about net calorie intake? Or are you taking into account physical activity? I’m routinely around 1000-1100 a day but subtracting for exercise and steps I’m around 730-850

[Recidivist 1,141]

21 hours ago, taylormomto6 said:

Recidivist- I’m noticing the skin mostly in my arms so far, but I know it’s going to bad. I try to remind myself that I didn’t look good in clothes or naked at my high weight, at least I’ll look good in clothes at goal, lol. It’s not like I was running around naked proud of the way I looked at 268lbs, so no change there.

20 hours ago, Sheribear68 said:

I ate at 10 am (7oz milk and 5 almonds) then again at 1pm (leftover steak bites-2 ounces weighed- and 1/4 cup cottage cheese) then I ate AGAIN at 4:30 (7oz more milk) then had a Pilates class after work and friggin ate again at 9pm (1 ounce Brie and 5 baby shrimp).
Just logged my food and I consumed almost 800 calories today, which is a record post-surgery.

TaylorMom: I'm sure that men and women lose weight differently and have different saggy skin issues. Aside from the stomach, I'm worried about what my man boobs will look like when I lose all the weight. I can also already see that I'm going to have a fierce neck wattle. I'll think about plastic surgery down the road.

Sheribear: It sounds like you are eating less than I am--my portions tend to me larger. And 800 calories in a day is still success! My nutritionist told me not to even worry about calories for the time being, because the pouch will not let us consume too many. And by the way, I am still never hungry, and I still have to force myself to eat. It has become a chore.

[Gottajustdoit 220]

3 hours ago, taylormomto6 said:

Froufrou- it’s certainly a learning process!

Today I decided to give salad a try. I used a mix of baby spinach and spring mix, a few peas, red onion, sprinkle of cheese and 1 1/2 oz grilled chicken with a T of breannas cilantro lime dressing. It has set well and one plus is that it took me a while to eat it. It was delicious! I think I’ll be doing a salad each day from now on. Hopefully it helps with bathroom issues as well.

Taylormomto6--you are courageous. I've wanted to order a side salad as a meal, but was afraid the lettuce would be too hard on my pouch or I'd only get about two pieces in. Was it a tiny salad, or about the size that would come as a side salad in a restaurant? The cilantro lime dressing sounds really yummy.

Dubchild: My nutritionist told me that I should be eating about 600-800 calories a day. Not sure if it's the same for men and women. Oddly, no one on my medical team has stressed exercise at all (that is, they haven't asked me about it or said I need to do it to burn calories). I am at a computer 8 hours a day and have to force myself to take a break at lunch and walk around. I'm trying to get 5,000 steps a day in but sadly, a normal day is way less than that. Oof. I really hate exercising.

[sld215 9]

Hello all of you February 2019 fellow surgery friends. I have been reading your post just kind of sitting back and comparing your experiences to my own. I had my surgery on 2/15/19. I am a 63 year old woman who is 5’6” and my HW was 228. My SW was 225 and my CW is 202. I have always hovered around 205-212 and in the best of times or the worst I cannot loose weight no matter what program I try. To be honest, as much as I would love to be thin my main reason for having this surgery was because of extreme sleep apnea. I went through a sleep study and got on a CPAP which I tried for a year and a half. I woke up every night with a horrible stomach ache that would last 2-3 hours. My doctor and I went through every type of head gear and face mask they make. Long story short, nothing worked. I wake up in the night gasping for air and anxiety which sends my BP off of the charts. I thought if I could loose the weight that would possibly cure the apnea and hence, the anxiety and finally keep the BP down. In August of 2018 I called the Bariatric doctor to schedule a consultation. At that point I weighed in at 205. My insurance required my BMI a minimum of 35. I just missed that. As ridiculous as it sounds, I deliberately gained enough weight to qualify and I started my journey.

On 2/15/19 my weight was 225 so my first 20 pounds was going to take me to the weight that I was when I made the decision to have surgery. I got back to 205 on 3/24 which was just a couple of days past 5 weeks. That’s when I started to get excited. Now everything is gravy and real weight loss from this point. So today is April 9 and I am at 202.6. It has taken 16 days to loose 2.5 pounds. Yikes!! So slow! Especially when I read others journeys. I am doing everything right as far as Protein, Water, activity, etc. I’m hoping that my body sat at 205 pounds for such a long time I’m just sitting on a hump with a bit of a stall.

I love reading all of your stories and hope I can join you in the winners circle at some point.

Edited April 10, 2019 by sld215
Grammar

[Dubchild 42]

Sld : in my pre screening they discovered I had severe sleep apnea ( November) I was having about 40-45 apnea’s per hour. Having lost about 55lbs now I was retested on Friday and I’m down to .8 per hour... doctor said I don’t need the machine anymore and we can re test in a couple months! I wish you all the luck in the world

[sld215 9]

Oh my gosh!! That is so fantastic. I was shocked with 55-57 apnea’s an hour. I hope I have those same results as you did. You give me hope. Now I just have to win the battle with my weight loss. I am trying to be patient because there is not much more I can do and I know eventually the math will win. I am averaging 450-500 calories a day with activity so something will have to happen sometime.

[taylormomto6 74]

Gottajustdoit- I didn’t have any iceberg lettuce in the salad. I’ve read that one is hardest for most to digest. The salad was a little smaller than most side salads, of course it’s really tiny once it’s chewed up, lol. I ended up eating a salad for dinner as well but I used skinny girl poppy seed dressing, it has less calories than the other one.

[Sheribear68 3,200]

Okay guys. Another long day so I’m going to try to hit a few points then collapse in bed again.

I count my calories as total.
It’s too rough to count calories out because many days I get in 10,000 steps by noon at work, but I don’t really count that as exercise steps.

Besides, I’ve been doing that for over 25 years and I got really really fat in spite of getting 20,000 steps/day. 🤣🤣

My doc and Nut didn’t give me any calorie goals, but it freaked me out that I got close to 800.
That’s a slippery slope I want to avoid at all costs.
They did tell me to shoot for 60gm Protein and keep daily net carbs under 30-40.
Keeping the carbs down is super easy because I don’t eat any unless it is part of a vegetable and my sleeve can’t hold that many veggies. I guess I also get a few carbs from my dairy, but it’s pretty minimal.
Getting in enough protein can be a struggle, but I’m working on it.

After such a hungry day yesterday, I struggled to get food down today.
Made a scrambled egg with 1/2 piece american cheese and tried to eat it at 11am.
Got in 3 bites and my stomach started spasming and it felt like I had swallowed 3 rocks.
So I put that away and a few hrs later I had a handful of almonds and 1 ounce Brie.
Almost had to force myself to eat dinner at 7, but I finally did.
So far today is way under 500 calories 🤷‍♀️

Oh and I eat salad on the regular.
Granted, it’s just a few forkfuls, but I eat it.
Missing salad was one of the very worst things during those weeks of not being able to have solid food and it’s one of the first things I went for.

[Everything 388]

8 hours ago, sld215 said:

As ridiculous as it sounds, I deliberately gained enough weight to qualify and I started my journey.

I gained 30+ pounds in 2018; 1. because I stopped taking diet pills after 20 years of taking them off and on, 2. I was in an accident and sustained a pretty bad back injury and mild head injury - couldn't walk at first so exercise was limited; 3. My mom got critically ill with ovarian cancer, I was her caretaker - she died in December; and if you want to add more stress - 4. My husband and I were both unemployed for about 5 months last year, after moving to Florida for his new job (which didn't work out because the project he was relocated for got put on hold and they no longer could afford to keep him).

So - by the time all of that was said and done, I was already 25 pounds heavier. I decided for my back pain, depression and general health I wanted to explore this surgery. So I did gain about 5 pounds just to hit the BMI mark because I knew once I stopped those diet pills my weight gain was really just starting. I did have to be self-pay, but overall I'm sooooooo much better now than I was a year ago in pretty much every aspect. I start a new job this month (well, my old company is hiring me back - very generous), which I'm so happy about having quit my job last year to care for my Mom. There is so much more to this whole background/story, but anyway, sometimes you have to do what you have to do! I know now I made the right decision. We are also buying a new house so I'm out house shopping pretty much all day these days after being renters for almost a decade. Things are good in my life, no complaints.

Sounds like you made the right decision too... So happy your sleep apnea has improved!

On another note - I love salads and have no problems with lettuce. Spicy food seems to be a problem for me.

[sld215 9]

Everythinganna: Wow! Your story is so inspiring. Stress is an awful thing and it’s amazing how much it has to do with our everyday health, weight, sleep and existence. I’m so happy for you that things are on track for you. Btw, I am so sorry about the loss of your Mom. I hope that 2019 continues to be positive for you and you have continued success in all you do.

I just had my first salad this week. It was the most refreshing delicious food I have tasted and I was so happy I was able to handle it. It was a treat and I had to make sure I got through my Protein before I enjoyed it. Also, I don’t seem to have problems with spicy foods so far. Actually my only problem so far has been how slow the weight is coming off.
What has your weight loss progress been? I know we are all individuals but it amazes me how we are all doing basically the same thing and our results vary to such extremes.

[froufrou 678]

I am having such a hard time with Protein. When I eat it I am getting the slimes and throw up. I chew and take my time, but it still happens and I am finding that I'm going for more carby foods just because I seem to be able to tolerate them better and need the fuel. I'm not sure what to do.