gingy

Thanks Debbie! Love the "hope to see less of you" comment!!! good stuff

I'm 3 1/2 weeks post-op and my weight is not going down quickly at all. I'm getting discouraged when I compare myself to others that are the same amount post-op as me. Everyone else seems to have lost 20+ lbs. I'm eating 600 - 650 calories a day. I get full very quickly. I eat 40-60g Protein. I'm walking daily and my calorie deficit is 2100, but the pounds are just not coming off. So I started tracking not only my calories, but also my fat and carbs. It appears that I'm getting somewhere between 40 - 90 g of carbs a day.... which make up the most of my average daily calorie intake by fat, carbohydrate, and protein. So today I decided to start low carb and so far my protein makes up 52%, fat 34 % and carbs 14% of my avg daily calorie intake. I'm hoping this makes the difference and the pounds start coming off. I'll take any suggestions, advice or confirmation that you can give me! Thanks, Gingy

I cut out the Crystal Lite altogether because I just didn't like the "ingredients". Too much artificial stuff. But sometimes I just want something other than Water... ya know? But it's like once a week. So not too bad.... (i tell myself). Splenda is the only sweetener I can handle. If I have too much of the others, I tend to get migraines. Not sure why. No diabetes here... so I'm ok there. Down 20lbs. now!!! YAY!!!

No doubt, it's been pretty easy on low carb. I love meat and I love veggies.... so I eat as much of them as I want. Of course my tummy doesn't want a whole lot at a time. And you're right, going to a restaurant is not bad at all. I get some meat, a green vegetable and I'm set! I have not had any bread, Pasta or starch and I'm ok with that. I do crave a sugary drink every now and again. Yesterday I did, so I got an unsweet tea from Chick-Fil-A and added splenda. I guess that's alright every now and again?!?!?!? Thanks again for helping me out... I feel fortunate for finding something that works for me fairly quickly!

So my husband and I booked a trip to Cancun today! I'm excited - I really am... but not so excited about wearing a bathing suit. Really hoping to lose a lot more weight before we go. I know my husband loves me and my body no matter what size I am (or so he says)... but I can't help but feel that he's looking at all the nicely shaped ladies behind his dark sunglasses, instead of me. When will I feel comfortable with myself? When I reach my goal will I finally be comfortable and have some confidence? I sure hope so!!! Just thinking out loud...

Great advice! Just needed reminding, i guess

Since being banded on March 24th, I've had great restriction - even though I have not had a fill yet and my band is empty. I eat 6 times a day... about 1/2 cup to 1 cup at a time. My body tells me I'm full and there's no mistaking that full feeling. I attribute most of this to having gastric plication surgery at the same time as lap band. Before my surgery I could eat like a bottomless pit. I hardly ever felt full and when I did I loved that full feeling. I ate to get stuffed, most of the time. Then would be eating again in less than an hour... just because the food was there. Now I hit that full feeling and want to stop because I feel awful if I don't. Then I don't eat again for 3 hours. I'm scheduled for my first fill on May 9th. Not sure what to expect. I'm barely getting enough calories already... so if I start eating less... not sure how to get in enough calories each day. My weight loss has been slow, I feel... but I'm done worrying about that. At least I'm losing and not gaining! So if anybody is thinking about having the gastric plication with the lap band... I recommend it! Have had a good experience so far! Gingy

supposed to help with long term weight loss. keeping it off. you always have a good amount of restriction with it. it's nickname is "the sleeve killer" because people are opting for this rather than the sleeve. the idea is faster loss, more loss and a better chance of keeping the weight off way down the road. -- WE'LL SEE!!!

gotta say this low carb, more Protein and more calories thing is working for me! every time i weigh, the scales are down a little more. usually just like .2 or .4 tenths of a pound.... but hey, i'll take it. cause i know those add up over time to weight LOSS!!! thanks again everyone for the great suggestions gingy

My doctor at Duke told me about it when I went in for my first consult. I googled it, researched it and read as much as I could. Then decided "yes, I want that!" I don't know many others who have both... just a few. But I'm very pleased so far.

good luck with everything! can't wait to hear what you find out!

think i mentioned this before... but i was banded by Dr. Portenier at the Metabolic and Weight Loss Clinic in Durham. he is great!

i was banded by Dr. Dana Portenier at that same clinic. love him!!! sorry this does not answer your question... but did want to let you know that Dr. Portenier was/is great!

i love avocados! good idea... thanks! and no i haven't done refried beans since low-carb. it was a previous thing. sticking with mainly veggies and meat. thanks ladies!

yes, i have a list of food i'm not supposed to eat yet. it's mainly stuff that crunches, plus Pasta, rice, bread and hard to chew meats. i can have pork, but i have not tried it yet. i love veggies and seem to eat a lot of those, but they don't pack much of a punch. i will do what you suggested and add more Protein to my daily intake and try and up my calories. i do feel sluggish... like my tank is empty. i'm also irritable a lot... so maybe filling up with the right things will help my energy, mood and promote weight loss?!?!?!?! like right now it's 11:17pm at night and I'm starting to get hungry... probably b/c I didn't take in enough protein throughout the day, eh? thanks again!

I kinda figured my calories were way too low... but I eat 6 times a day and I don't know how to add anymore calories in yet. Unless I eat something unhealthy... which I'm trying to stay away from. Guess I need to find higher calorie foods. Can anyone tell me some things that you eat? I've been eating: can chicken (white meat) tuna deli turkey cottage cheese string cheese sticks grilled chicken breasts (like at restaurants) edamame soy Beans green beans broccoli refried beans Thanks for your help and replies!

Rachael, You are absolutely right. And you quoted my husband to a tee. He said the same thing about I didn't put the weight on overnight. 16 lbs is something to get excited over and I have called each pound "forever" pounds... a pound I will keep off "forever". So i guess the slow weight loss will help me better with the forever... help me to learn to eat right over a long period a time so I have a better chance of being successful. Thank you! And you are doing great too!

Thank you. Started using FitDay last week just to see how many cals i'm taking in. It's hard not to compare... and hard not to get discouraged. But you are right... cause I know everyone is different. I'm just soooo ready to see some more positive results instead of being stuck in a rut. I've never been good at the whole patience thing Thank you!

day 7 was a big turning point for me as far as pain, spasms, cramps, gas and all. then i had a set back around day 10 or so. then day 14 was another turning point where i started feeling even better. on April 11 i started my menstrual cycle and then i felt bad again... felt like my insides were coming out. after about 24 hours of that, i felt better again. now i'm on soft foods and i feel much better. so i've had ups and downs... but day 7 was my biggest day of pain lessening and me feeling better.

hmarko, no i didn't experience what you did. sounds like you went through so much. i do get full very quickly even without fluid in my band. that's nice. it's hard to get in the calories i'm supposed to get in each day. i think that's the plication. so far i'm pleased!

Thank you! I'm starting to really enjoy my new life... but I gotta tell ya, it was a rough first 2 weeks. I went today to my 3 week post-op appt. and i FINALLY got the ok to stop the liquid diet and eat soft foods. I feel human again I did not gain or lose before surgery. I maintained my weight. Which is surprising, because I purposely ate some of the foods I knew I'd never get again I get my first fill in 3 weeks. Really hoping for great results with that! So glad you found me... was feeling kind of alone. Stay in touch!

so nice to meet you! please let's do stay in touch! sounds like you have been through so much, sorry to hear that. looks like you've had great weight loss! i love hearing those stories i'm ready to start losing a little more rapidly... hoping that happens soon. thanks again! gingy

I'm only 3 weeks post-op. My husband was very supportive and wanted me to do this. But now that I've had it done he has not handled it well. He said night before last that I have "caused a huge divide between us". His reasoning is because my emotions have been all over the place, but mostly I've been a little on the depressed side. I tried to explain that recovery, pain, doing all liquids, being hungry, not being able to eat, etc., etc., is what's making show signs of depression... he wasn't buying it. He says I always want something and then when I get it, I'm never happy. So yet again, I feel he's making this my fault, making me feel bad about my decision to have this done and not being supportive throughout the WHOLE process.... the good, the bad and the ugly. Good luck to you! I've been dealing with this same man for 20+ years... so I can handle it. But I wish you all the best Gingy

Congrats on the upcoming surgery! Don't be nervous... everyone is different and heals differently. I have a 3 yr old and 5 yr old and still had to be mommy during the recovery. I'm sure that didn't help either. Yes, I was uncomfortable and had pain issues, but it was tolerable with my meds. sleeping was very hard for me that first week. Eating is non-existent. My doctor wanted me to do 3 weeks of all liquids. Yes I've cheated some, had cottage cheese 2% and refried Beans. But I'm not supposed to. The thing that helps me most is getting in the 60-80g of Protein a day. I use the whey Protein and mix it with Skim Milk. 1 scoop of Whey Protein is 23g of protein. That's 1/3 of your daily requirement. When I first wake up in the mornings, my body is telling me right away to drink some protein. I feel awful until I do... from the very first sip, I start feeling better. I sip on that 1/2 c. skim milk, 1/2 c. Water, 1 scoop protein solution for about an hour. It takes me that long to drink it. (8 oz. total). I drink water throughout the day and have Soup a couple of times and maybe some 2% cottage cheese (1/2 c.). I was suppose to do a week of an Atkins-type diet to shrink my liver, but I didn't have a full week to do that. I found out on like Monday that I was having surgery on Thursday. Good luck to you. Please keep me updated! Gingy