bigtom1948

Into day 5 of OptiFast and it's getting a little less hard to bare weight loss seems to be slowing down and my gut is basically empty except for some animal that growls a lot . 9 days to go and I have developed ketosis breath that even I can detect. Peppermint toothpaste helps tone it down but ketosis breath comes as a byproduct of fat burning and comes out in your breath and also in your urine. It happens when you don't have redily available carbs to convert to glucose the stored fat is metabolized from the liver and from muscle first and then from those adipose tissue deposits we'er all trying to shrink down to somewhere near normal size. Once we can eat normal food even though in modest amounts the breath should return to normal. I have noticed good night kisses are a bit quicker than usual. Good luck to all of us and I guess you all can expect those pangs of the first few days to wane as the body becomes used to less food coming in.

Yeah it does sound strange but once you get below about 1,000 calories the body shifts to starvation mode and weight loss can actually slow. Weird Huh?
You want to avoid very low calorie plans in weight loss because you can set your set point too low and then you'll gain more weight than you may expect when you establish a new normal intake point for yourself with your dietitions guidence.
To get an idea of the amount of calories you will need try this site:
http://www.freedieti..._calculator.htm
just remember to put the goal weight in the calculator to reflect how many calories you need to maintain the goal.
You can also put in your current weight just to see approximately how many calories you needed to maintain that size.
Good luck and a 2-3 pounds a week is less likely to result in regaining than 5 or more we all didn't gain overnight and even with the band we shouldn't expect to lose it too fast.

Both my daughter and her husband went through the same frustration and doubts that you describe and they didn't lose much and occaisionally slipped back the first couple of months after surgery. He started out at 425 pounds and she at 380 pounds. They were lucky that they had each other to push them along and continue the exercise even when it appeared hopeless. My son in law found his sweet spot after the third fill and my daughter on her forth. My son in law has lost 150 pounds as of last month and my daughter's weight has dropped 125 pounds as of last month. They look great and they say that they feel great. They certainly have more energy than a year ago. As of now there weight loss has dropped to 1-2 pounds a week they eat modest quantities of food but don't deny themselves a taste of the good things (except for my son in laws problem with keeping down bread and lettuce). They both say its the best thing they could have done for thier future lives together and I believed them so much that I had the band put into myself on the 10th in the sure hope and desire to do as the children have done.
I'm coming up to that mushies stage where everything will go down easily and the potential for taking in more calories than I expect will be high. Knowing that doesn't make it any easier and I am sure that the demons of dispair are near my doorstep.
As said earlier it's bandster hell till the sweet spot is found on the band and I look to my kids for inspiration. I'll make it and SO WILL YOU. You were doing everything right pick it up again, don't quit the race for your life so early. You are important, you are a winner, you are loved by your family and friends and everyone here wants you to succeed too.
Sorry but that is as bad a scolding as I can muster I am far too humbled by my own past failures and my hope for a thinner future to yell at anyone. I've offered you the inspiration of my childrens success and all of my encouragement...because if I doubt or stumble on this journey I too would want a kind hand to lift me up, plant my feet on the path and cheer me on to be the winner I always wanted to be in this the longest and hardest battle of my life.
So, with our chins up our feet on the path and with tears of hope glistening in our eyes we'll both move towards the prize and ya know what I'm sure I'll see ya there. Good luck, don't lose hope.
Best Regards
Tom

I havn't seen the meaness that some of you have written about in this thread. I don't see flames or overtly devisive comments. I hope that I never do. If you do see someone being that preditory then it should be reported useing the little yellow triangle at the bottom of the posting. Because offensive, derogatory or hurtful posts really don't belong here.
I do think that some folks are somewhat careless in the composition of thier responses. As said earlier in this thread its sometimes problomatic to convey intent in the text. This is especially true for the casual writer who may unintentionally offend the reader. I try very hard to write clearly and use the emoticons to support the intent. Even then, I sometimes make gaffs The emoticons, although not perfect, are useful.
It's really unfortunate that most of us have fallen away from writing personal notes or letters to other folks. Its a skill honed with practice to a keen edge in hope that the reciever of the missive is not unsure of the intent of the sender. But, even with that there are players that like to lace thier prose with double meanings. I don't think that happens here. I believe it's just the lack of writing style and the use of sloppy syntax that we have nowadays.
Most of the posts and responses are folks trying to be helpful and can be used or ignored at the will of the reader. I have seen some of the responses that appeared overly clinical while others seemed dismissive but all were trying in thier own way to be helpful
I know I want encouragement and understanding when I am lost, afraid or need help and therefore I try to encourage and praise in my response to posts. I do not have the right to criticise other folks requests for help as failings when I have so often failed myself. It's just not right to do that. So to all of us in the journey, rally round, be brave, love yourselves and others and thus we all can move forward.
God Bless
Tom