Susanne

No, it's correct - I dug the box out of the trash and it's confirmed :-(

No you didn't - believe me, you didn't. In order to really gain 3 lbs, you would have had to eat an additional 10,500 calories in those 2 days - that's an additional 5250 calories. If you need 1200 to maintain, that means you would have had to eat 6450 calories each day. Impossible! What you have gained is Water weight - chicken tenders, fries and the like are loaded with salt and salt makes you retain water. Even the bear claw - a sweet baked good - has over 400mg of sodium. Later today, tomorrow or if you are unlucky then even the day after you'll start having to pee a lot, and then it is gone again. It is not possible, to actually gain or lose that much weight in such a short amount of time (other than stomach content and water weight) - especially not with a sleeve. No worries, these 3 lbs will be off in absolutely no time

So, yesterday we made some very delicious pulled pork in the crock pot. Just 2.5 pounds of pork tenderloins that was on sale, 8 oz. of BBQ sauce, chopped onions and garlic and 6 hours on low. It was so good, and even though pork tenderloin is probably one of the leanest cuts of meat, it was super moist and juicy and it actually "pulled" itself when I tried to get it out of the pot. Now, my non-sleeved, non-obese husband needs a bit of carbs on the side and I thought I'd get the Trader Joe's Corn Bread mix out. Hubby was nice enough to volunteer doing it and 40 minutes later the house was filled with the beautiful smells of BBQ pork and corn bread. The corn bread was cut into 9 chunks, and I wanted to eat half of it but I ended up eating one whole piece. I mean, it's just one piece, not even a big one and pre-surgery I would have probably munched my way through 2 or three (ok ok, the 2 of us would have eaten the whole pan). When it came to logging the food, I checked on MFP...Trader Joe's Corn Bread prepared - 1/9 is 290 calories. 2...9...0...calories, for one serving of corn bread. Kids, cover your ears...WHAT THE MOTHERFATHER BULLCRAPSHIT IS THAT???? 290 calories for a simple piece of corn bread, no cheese added, no butter on top, no nothing but the required ingredients. This is absolutely insane! Now, don't get me wrong, at the moment, I kinda eat what I want. I believe the small amounts I am eating allow me to NOT have to look for low-"everything" items but allow me to eat normal food for people NOT on a diet. But my a$$ is that calorie rich or what? And it is a piece of bread on the side - something that we would have munched otherwise with some greasy fatty foods! At least I had my nice and lean pulled pork tenderloin with it, but this is just outrageous to me. It's like eating 3 tablespoons of butter! Geez...

Yes, under Goal/Your Goals and select Custom

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you - this will be the best journey you ever did - I am sure about this! Good luck!!!

There are a couple of things that seem to point to problems: First, you feel exhausted - I think you really have to eat more, no matter how counterproductive that feels to LOSING weight. Just do it - what do you have to lose? (Pun intended) Second, you start feeling depressed - depression is not good at all when trying to lose weight. Find something positive - it's not the weight loss YET. For me, the fact that I don't HAVE TO eat anymore in and of itself is a major advantage. You said you walk/run 2 to 3 miles every day. Were you able to do that before? Is that an accomplishment that you have reached after surgery? If yes, go and run with your new physical fitness. Third, you said you don't care for food or eating anymore - this is not good in this situation. Especially this early, you have to care about what you put in. Your body doesn't "make" you eat anymore, it is now your brain that makes you eat so you MUST care. Since you didn't get any guidelines for eating other than "Stay away from starches", here are the guidelines I got from my nutritionist: Week 2 to 6: http://www.bananatummy.com/2010/11/food-for-week-2-4/ Week 6 to 12: http://www.bananatummy.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/6-to-12-Week-Meal-Plan.pdf (this should probably be what you are looking at) Someone said something about the "scrutiny" in the replies. I don't consider my answers scrutiny at all. If you write a C paper in college and you ask your instructor how you can get an A paper next time, what do you want him to tell you? Does "You are doing great, keep doing what you are doing" help you improve or does "Let's look at what you did so far and find things we can work on" help you more? Yeah, you don't want him to say "You are dumb, that's as good as it gets for you", but no one did that here :-) I hope this helps and I sincerely hope that you can get off the C paper and next time you see the doctor, he'll give you a B or even better, a nice A on your weight loss.

It looks to me like your estimate of 800 calories burned on a daily basis seem like they are very high - 5600 calories per week. 30 minutes elliptical is approximately between 350 and 500 calories x 5 days = 1750 - 2500 calories Weights are hard to guess, but I believe it is more like 300 calories for 30 minutes (you didn't state the duration) = 900 calories This calculation would put you between 2650 and 3400 calories burned per week. Please don't get me wrong, I am not trying to put down your workout, I thin k it is awesome and more than most of us her do, but I am just wondering if the amount burned is accurate. Only you know how much you exhaust yourself with your workouts. In some other post, I saw someone who said they burn 1000 calories per workout and there too, my warning signs went "BING BING BING" because it seemed very exaggerated - not in a sense that the person was bragging but that the calculation from the machine or calculator or list was off. Now, riding a bike very hard for 2 hours, that I believe burns 1000 calories - but calculated down to a 30 minute interval, this is "just" 250 calories.

Liquids always worked fairly well for me, not sure why. I only had the restriction that I could take 2 to 3 swigs, then had to wait a few seconds, then another few swigs. I guess 2 to 3 times my mouth volume = my esophagus volume. I believe there are people who - even at the same Bougie - can take a lot more than others....

I am always struggling with the amount of calories burned. Sometimes, I get some ridiculous number by the treadmill or online charts of 1000 calories burned. That's a lot. And I mean A LOT A LOT! How do you guys handle eating calories back? I have found that most web sites and even heart rate monitors grossly exaggerate the amount of calories burned for overweight and obese people. The problem is that even if you enter your weight, the calculation usually assumes a much higher muscle to fat ratio. When exercising, muscle (or lean body mass) is what burn calories while fat is just along for the ride. If you enter that you weigh 200 pounds it usually assumes a body fat of maybe 20% and tells you what your 80% lean mass (160 pounds) burned. Most of us are closer to 40% or over, so we are getting a burned calorie surplus of the difference because we only had 120 pounds of lean mass burning calories. For those values, we are burning 25% less. Now, in all honesty, I started at 263 pounds, and with that I was well over 50% fat -- see where I am going? So, if I go to the gym and do their weight machines (at Snap Fitness, not something like Curves - real weights) and then spend 40 minutes on the treadmill...what can I realistically burn?

Well, from what I see he didn't say that he is disappointed, he just looked disappointed and then asked what the problem may be. It seems like lolli is actually following the guidelines she was given weeks ago, but I do believe that as time passes, your guidelines and the diet should change. Your nutritionist told you a couple of weeks ago that you are doing good - but since it's now several weeks later, did you adjust your plan? I believe most of us have a plan for weeks 0 to 2, 2 to 4, post 6 weeks and in my case, foods and portions changed significantly. I do believe you should up your calories and I believe you should try and eat more solid foods and rely less on shakes. This was perfect for a few weeks after surgery, but 6 weeks out you should start and eat at least more mushies if not real food. Ha, I just posted on my blog about this (http://www.bananatum...or-not-to-diet/). I am not following too specific a diet either, I do follow general guide lines but that's about it.

I can tell ya how much I CAN'T eat, 4oz. of lean pork sirloin steak (sans anything else). How do I know? Well, I just tried to have that as my left-over lunch and it was followed by about half an hour of extreme discomfort and a lot of rumbling in my stomach! I am 11 weeks out

I went back and forth in my mind whether I should reply again or not, but I kinda have to. So, you really think lolli is doing great? Do you really think she should keep doing what she is doing? I know you are probably just trying to cheer her up, but in all honesty - she isn't doing great and with pretending she is I believe we are doing her a great disservice. I don't think she wants a pep talk but tips and suggestions on how to do better and improve weight loss. What the doc says is most likely not just "his opinion" but it is probably based on medical research, years of experience in the medical community and with his patients. No, his words are not the law but I don't believe he is just talking out of his a$$ either. Pretending we are doing great and doing the same thing is what got most of us to morbid obesity - this journey is all about change, moving into a new direction and figuring out what to do and how to do it.

I am sorry to hear that, I really am. It must be disappointing to hear that you are not doing good. But on the other hand, I guess the doctor was just calling a spade a spade. He is a medical professional, what is he supposed to tell you? Would he really help you by telling you that you are doing great or even just good if you are not? From what you describe, he was not mean or rude, and I have to admit myself, if I am disappointed, you can see it on my face too - but it also means that he cares. I am only disappointed if something I care about goes wrong - otherwise, whatever... I remember that my surgeon told me that 6 weeks out, they like to see a result of 25 pounds and up. You are only slightly below that. I am sorry to hear you feel like crap now. I think there are cases where we need tender loving care and a pat on the back even if we didn't do a good job - but I think in this case, it may actually be a lot better if someone is givin' it to you the way it is so you can realize you have to change SOMETHING. Does your doctor have a nutritionist? Maybe you should get in contact with her - you mentioned something about that and she said you are doing good. Well, your eating should have changed significantly within the last 2 weeks, did it? You said you didn't have to go through any of the recommended classes where we all learned about the proper eating and nutrition after surgery - maybe you are really not eating right? Maybe you can voluntarily go to those classes. I know if I hadn't gone I would be fairly lost about what to eat and just having a calorie restriction would not work. Are you getting in 60g of Protein a day? Are you eating all your vitamines (Multis, Bs, Iron and posibly other)? Are you taking your Prilosec? Are you avoiding to drink you calories (aside from a possible low cal/low carb protein shake)? Are you eating foods that "task" your sleeve or are you eating soft slider foods? Are you journaling your food and exercise - you may not even realize that you are off your goals without that? Can you give a detailed list of what you ate yesterday? There are a lot of people who are very knowledgable about foods and nutrition after WLS and I have the feeling that that is exactly where your problem may be...you are eating too much, not enough or the wrong things. Exercise is good, but first and foremost at this stage, proper eating is where weight loss is at. Chin up, it'll usually get better but please take the time and analyze what you are doing - maybe with the help of this board - and together we can maybe get you on the right track to the magical land of losers!

SF means sugar free, so this was already used in this protein drink

Wonderful, thanks for posting this! Great job and keep it up! Slow loser my ass - this is a new person!

I was told I can (or better SHOULD) use the treadmill right away, starting with 15 minutes. First I thought I could do more since I am home all day but I realized quickly that with the few calories I managed to get in, I was feeling too weak to do longer and faster walks

Actually, I think it is even more. It is 8 servings of the evaporated milk which is 200 calories. The values probably change by brand (but I used the same as Tiff) because I only get 27 g of Protein. If I calculate it on myfitnesspal.com is: 1 envelope of SF Carnation Instant Breakfast (Chocolate): 60 calories 1 Cup FF Evaporated Milk (that's 8 servings): 25*8= 200 calories 1/4 cup FF powdered milk: 60 calories Total: Calories: 320 Carbs: 45 Fat: 1 Sugar: 40 <-- bad carbs Protein: 27 I already said this in a different thread, this is a high calorie, high carb item - and considering this, the protein count is actually quite low. I am sure it tastes awesome, but it's barely better than 2 cups of fat free chocolate milk. As someone in the other topic stated, each surgeon has their own nutritional guidelines, but I just don't think that this is something that should come as highly recommended because of it's nutritional profile...just sayin'

Image quality is a little uneven, I apologize... A thick slice of deli chicken and an easy over egg: 180 calories, 32 g of Protein -- MY CURRENT FAVORITE!!!! Mini whole wheat bagel with turkey sausage: 220 calories, 14 g of protein (nice breakfast sandwich on the go) Whole grain toast, 1 egg and 2 turkey sausages: 240 calories, 15 g of protein (didn't make it through the whole thing) Slice of baguette, 1/2 egg mixed with Eggbeater, 2 turkey sausages: 170 calories, 14 g of protein Other options are a mini bagel with 2 oz. of smoked salmon which should be around 180 calories and 10 g of protein - add a little cream cheese to extra goodie!

Because hunger is not the only thing that makes you eat. People eat because they are bored, lonely, depressed, upset, stressed - and ghrelin has nothing to do with those feelings. That stuff is all in your head. I believe this is partially why we get the psych evaluation... I am 10 weeks out and I do feel the restriction and it is a major tool. But in all honesty, I for example love nuts - and seriously, there is little to no restriction on nuts and I can easily eat ounce after ounce (with 1 oz. having almost 200 calories). So, if I don't control this, I can easily eat an additional 600 calories - 3 ounces of nuts are not a lot. You can also drink an almost unlimited amount, so milk shakes, juices, soda and certainly alcohol go into you like you are not sleeved.

I am planning on a blog post for this. Short version, I was in the same boat using TheDailyPlate for several years. My biggest gripe was that they never got the Android app to work. I have a huge backlog of foods, meals etc. but I knew it was time for a change. Bumblestich, no Android app from Livestrong... I posted on here and asked for tips and most people recommended www.myfitnesspal.com and I like it. I switched and actually made the effort of entering old data to the first of the year so I have a complete new start with all data for 2011. I am sorry that I am losing my weight, food and exercise data of the past, but if you are unhappy you need to switch - and the earlier the better. MFP is free, allows custom calorie goals (mine is 900 right now), it also allows you to set percentages for carbs, Protein and fat (and other nutrients too) and the Android app is cool. I mean, it is COOL! Or KEWL! Why you ask? Because you can actually scan your food with the camera of your phone. Scan the barcode and voila - there is your food. No searching, no picking the right one - barcode does it all. And yes, I am that much of a geek that it gets me seriously giddy to just think about it, LOL

I had Dannon light for a long time until I realized how many carbs it has. I am not "carb phobic" at all, and I even eat white baguette and white rice if I want to - but I don't think that the high carb count in a plain yogurt is "normal". If I recall correctly, it has 16g of carbs? That's twice as much as Fage 2% which has 8g, and to me that was an indicator that they must add something to make it taste sweeter and cut down on the tartness that is inherent to yogurt. After all, yogurt is basically SOUR milk. Does anyone know why that is?

I think the problem with this calculation is that it just works as long as you are normal to slightly overweight. From what I understand,pound for pound muscle and lean tissue are what uses up calories. In our bodies the ratio is majorly shifted to fat fat fat. They should make a separate BMR calculation for the obese Look at the factors it uses, weight, height and age. Our physique is (at least right now for me) way too out of whack to be used for this. This is applicable if you are closer to goal weight but not yet for most of us. Like I said above, I know if I eat 1500 calories a day, I'll plump up like a balloon and this actually says I can take in 1700 to maintain...LOL

Sheila, I am so jealous! I just shelled out $1.79 for a container of Fage! You did get the 2% or the 0%? Cause I believe it is the higher fat content that makes it mild and oh so delicious and creamy.

I liked to mix hummus with Greek yogurt, maybe add a little hot sauce. I was mostly missing hearty or spicy flavors...

I don't think the skin of the Biggest Loser contestants is fine at all. If you look real close, you'll notice that the contestants at one point don't take their shirts off for weigh-in. I am watching the last season (US) and it happened in episode 9 (which is probably week 9 too). I think that is the point where the man boobs and the belly flap would be too icky to show to the viewer :-) I have noticed that in every season and I haven't found another explanation for the sudden appearance of the shirt on the scale.