3 years PO & Struggling!!

[Brii K. 1]

Good morning!

I had gastric bypass on 4/12/21. My highest ever was 293. I had surgery at 262. My lowest at my year mark was 135. Found out I was pregnant extremely fast after hitting my lowest and cannot budge out of the 150-155 range and I’m getting discouraged.

I'm eating between 66 to 120 g of Protein depending on the day. My fat intake I think is too high at around 70g, my net carbs range greatly between low 30’s to 100 g depending. My calories also vary between 800’s to 1200’s and I need to find the best range for losing weight while exercising now

I started working out with the treadmill while concentrating on strength training and core workouts to help tummy skin shrinkage.

I still have my restriction and often cannot even eat more than 4-6 oz a meal. I eat what I can of some fruit and veggies but mainly I’ll eat protein Snacks like Catalina crunch, some small stuff from Atkins, Kodiak cake snacks sometimes. To name a few. I also drink a Protein Shake once a day which is either of the brand Ryze or Iso100 with 12oz of Fairlife low fat milk. Just to paint a picture.

I work in corrections on night shift so there isn’t much moving around at night. But…I’m here to ask for advice and recommendations to help kickstart weight loss again. I’m miserable!!!

please help if you can.

Edited May 23 by BriiKopff

[toodlerue 452]

Wow! That seems like a lot of food at once! I’m only able to eat 3-3.5 oz of food at once or I’m so full I’ll puke it up! So I have to eat 5 small meals a day.
How much does your surgeon want you to eat? I’d stick to that if I were you.

[Brii K. 1]

Just now, toodlerue said:

Wow! That seems like a lot of food at once! I’m only able to eat 3-3.5 oz of food at once or I’m so full I’ll puke it up! So I have to eat 5 small meals a day.
How much does your surgeon want you to eat? I’d stick to that if I were you.

The up to 4-6oz is meals. Mainly it’s my dinner meal. My Snacks are usually no more than 2oz of weighed portions and depending on the food of choice, it’s not a lot visually either.

I just moved and don’t see a PA for potential new surgeon for post op care until the first week in June. My previous nutritionist through them was also not very helpful with guidance either. The first one I had for the first 2 years was helpful but the new one isn’t/wasnt.

[NickelChip 1,211]

My suggestion is eat more vegetables and drop the packaged, processed Snacks and Protein Shakes altogether. You are no longer healing from surgery or dropping a ton of weight quickly, so you don't need 120g Protein, or even 100g anymore. If you can eat 3oz chicken breast twice a day, plus a serving of Greek yogurt and fruit for Breakfast, you've hit your protein needs and then some. Get your protein from lean meat, Beans, nuts, and seeds (not as much from dairy). Have a leafy or non-starchy vegetable at every meal. Eat fruit for dessert and raw veggies and nuts for snack.

[Brii K. 1]

2 minutes ago, NickelChip said:

My suggestion is eat more vegetables and drop the packaged, processed Snacks and Protein Shakes altogether. You are no longer healing from surgery or dropping a ton of weight quickly, so you don't need 120g Protein, or even 100g anymore. If you can eat 3oz chicken breast twice a day, plus a serving of Greek yogurt and fruit for Breakfast, you've hit your Protein needs and then some. Get your protein from lean meat, Beans, nuts, and seeds (not as much from dairy). Have a leafy or non-starchy vegetable at every meal. Eat fruit for dessert and raw veggies and nuts for snack.

Will the packaged Snacks be fine once in awhile as a quick go to when out and about though? They’re easy to buy and package up for work mainly.

my Protein Shake is my go to for a Breakfast drink that I have when I take my handful of Vitamins and medication I require to take. Once a day.

any veggie and fruit recommendations?
I’m very picky and mainly will eat raw carrots with hummus or ranch, peas and broccoli with a cooked meal, apples, halo oranges, sf fruit cups like the peaches and pairs, bananas, grapes for snacks.

[SleeveToBypass2023 2,598]

Right off the bat, I say drop your carbs to no more than 50 or 60g per day, get rid of the packaged Snacks, and make sure your fluids are where they need to be every day. On days you work out, you need more calories and carbs and fluids. On days you don't, you need less. Make sure you change up your work outs, too. And keep in mind a couple of things. Muscle weighs more than fat, and you've had a kid. It may not be possible for your body to get where it was pre pregnancy.

[SleeveToBypass2023 2,598]

Also, grapes are sugar bombs and bananas are higher in sugar and carbs. I would limit those. I love strawberries, blueberries, and apples. You only need 60-70g of Protein on non work out days and up to 90g on workouts. No need to go as high as you are. I like meat and cheese cubes for a snack, almonds, sugar free Jello, and if I really want to splurge then Keto brownies. The packaged Snacks should be a RARE treat since they have a lot of other unhealthy things in them. Better to have fruit and other compliant snacks. Meal prepping is your friend.

[Brii K. 1]

5 minutes ago, SleeveToBypass2023 said:

Also, grapes are sugar bombs and bananas are higher in sugar and carbs. I would limit those. I love strawberries, blueberries, and apples. You only need 60-70g of Protein on non work out days and up to 90g on workouts. No need to go as high as you are. I like meat and cheese cubes for a snack, almonds, sugar free Jello, and if I really want to splurge then Keto brownies. The packaged Snacks should be a RARE treat since they have a lot of other unhealthy things in them. Better to have fruit and other compliant Snacks. Meal prepping is your friend.

Thank you for this. I plan to go food shopping this weekend. I’ve been away from the house for 7 weeks for training for work. So I’ve had minimal access to make meals and refrigerator for cold snacks so the processed right now has been my go to.

[NickelChip 1,211]

1 minute ago, Brii K. said:

Will the packaged Snacks be fine once in awhile as a quick go to when out and about though? They’re easy to buy and package up for work mainly.

my Protein Shake is my go to for a Breakfast drink that I have when I take my handful of Vitamins and medication I require to take. Once a day.

any veggie and fruit recommendations?
I’m very picky and mainly will eat raw carrots with hummus or ranch, peas and broccoli with a cooked meal, apples, halo oranges, sf fruit cups like the peaches and pairs, bananas, grapes for Snacks.

I would say prepackaged foods are fine for popping in your bag when you go out in case of emergency, but for work, you might want to figure out a better option because that's multiple days every week.

Personally, I like baby carrots, red peppers, snow peas, and mini or English cucumbers. Mushrooms are good, but they make me feel ill right now (too dry). If you like ranch dressing, get the container of ranch powder from the dressing aisle and buy some low or non fat cottage cheese. Put the cottage cheese in a food processor or blender and blend it until it's totally smooth. It'll look like pudding, sort of. Add in about a Tbsp of ranch powder per 16oz container of cottage cheese. This makes a fantastic and really healthy dip. I bought a set of parfait cups from Amazon like these: https://www.amazon.com/CRYSTALIA-Breakfast-Container-Colorful-Set/dp/B09N8K6CZ5. I put the veg in the big section and the dip in the small section, and then I store them upside down so the dip doesn't get all over. You can make up 4 days' worth at one time for convenience.

Instead of the Protein Shake, could you make a green smoothie? You could do a frozen fruit blend, a handful of baby spinach, and a serving of Greek yogurt (thin with Water to your preference). I like to add a squeeze of minced ginger that comes in a bottle in the produce section. I get a blend of frozen peaches, strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries that comes all in one bag and is so tasty.

[Brii K. 1]

10 minutes ago, NickelChip said:

I would say prepackaged foods are fine for popping in your bag when you go out in case of emergency, but for work, you might want to figure out a better option because that's multiple days every week.

Personally, I like baby carrots, red peppers, snow peas, and mini or English cucumbers. Mushrooms are good, but they make me feel ill right now (too dry). If you like ranch dressing, get the container of ranch powder from the dressing aisle and buy some low or non fat cottage cheese. Put the cottage cheese in a food processor or blender and blend it until it's totally smooth. It'll look like pudding, sort of. Add in about a Tbsp of ranch powder per 16oz container of cottage cheese. This makes a fantastic and really healthy dip. I bought a set of parfait cups from Amazon like these: https://www.amazon.com/CRYSTALIA-Breakfast-Container-Colorful-Set/dp/B09N8K6CZ5. I put the veg in the big section and the dip in the small section, and then I store them upside down so the dip doesn't get all over. You can make up 4 days' worth at one time for convenience.

Instead of the Protein Shake, could you make a green smoothie? You could do a frozen fruit blend, a handful of baby spinach, and a serving of Greek yogurt (thin with Water to your preference). I like to add a squeeze of minced ginger that comes in a bottle in the produce section. I get a blend of frozen peaches, strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries that comes all in one bag and is so tasty.

I made this shopping list…any recommendations?

I also use iso100 whey Protein once a day if that to meet my protein and to take my medicine/vitamins. I was told it was ok once a day but to not rely.

I also don’t know how much fat to eat either.

[NickelChip 1,211]

So, let's say you aim for 80g Protein, that's 320 calories. 50-60g carb gives you another 200 to 240 calories. If you set a goal of 1000 calories per day, that leaves you with about 53g of fat per day. But if you track carbs and protein, the fat falls into place because those are the only 3 sources of calories. Oh, dry roasted or raw nuts are a nice source of healthy fat. And you can play around with your ratios of macros a little bit to see what works for you to keep you satisfied and give you enough energy.

[SleeveToBypass2023 2,598]

Everything @NickelChip just said. This, this, this!!! Also, just be careful with the fruit cups and bananas. Other than that, looks good. I personally would incorporate a little more meat in there. I eat red meat once or twice a week.

There's also Keto bread, keto slim Bagels, and keto blueberry muffin mix at Walmart (I use all of them and love them). Blueberries and strawberries are also fantastic, as are apples in moderation. Avocado is another go-to (personally, I love avocado toast in the morning).

smoothies made with almond milk, collagen powder, greens, and fruits of my choosing go a lot farther for me than a Protein Shake. Mostly because you want to get your Protein from foods you're eating instead of drinks and Snacks. I love Propel Water, and I also love Gatorade Zero.

I eat almonds (plain, smokehouse, hickory smoked, mesquite, all the things). Put a handful of almonds, some meat sticks or cubes, and cheese cubes in a container or baggie and you have a delicious, compliant, protein packed snack. I usually do that and also take mixed fruit (I'll slice a small apple and add a few strawberries and a handful or so of blueberries and that's my 2nd snack of the day) with me to work and it gets me through (I'm a clinical medical assistant so I'm on my feet a lot).

Edited May 23 by SleeveToBypass2023

[Spinoza 1,371]

OP you have done amazingly well. I know lots of us beat ourselves up lots of the time but honestly, to drop almost half your body mass after surgery, AND then regain only 15 - 20lbs three years later, AND to have had a baby in the meantime is unbelievable.

Third year regain is common - the norm actually. Trying to get back to your lowest weight ever might not work if your body has chosen a higher new set weight. It will fight you all the way. Forever.

Please cut yourself some slack. It might be helpful to ask yourself what exactly you're aiming for now. Is it a goal weight/BMI? Or a state of mind where you accept and Celebrate the huge changes you have made to your health and your life and now that of your baby. If you have a set goal, why is that better than where you are, and how much effort or angst do you want/need to devote to achieving it?

As a general observation processed and ultra processed foods (products with ingredients you don't have in your kitchen) are what make people obese. The sooner you can ditch those the better IMO. Freshly prepared food is less likely to cause regain. I am a big fan of Dr Matthew Wiener's book A Pound of Cure. Might be worth a read!