Shemy-away

Welcome to all the new members!! Well, I'm here in the hotel waiting. I don't know how I will even sleep. Tomorrow at 630 am I will be at the hospital. If ican remember I will update everyone on my progress. As of this morning I was 262 And my goal Is between 140 and 160. keep me in your prayers please.

The way my husband can't stop staring or can't keep his hands off of me I feel like we're back in highschool!

I'm 2 weeks out. I feel the same way. I wondered why did I have this surgery if I have to be a carb nazi for the rest of my life?
No suggestions for you I use MIO but it's starting to taste really sweet to me now. I may have to cut back. I like Vitamin Water.< /p>
and if i have to drink another Protein Shake i'm gonna lose it

Good luck today!!
Sent from my iPhone using VST

The way my husband can't stop staring or can't keep his hands off of me I feel like we're back in highschool!

I'm happy for you!! I have to admit, when I saw your title I was like, OMGoodness, what did B do to her???
What a great way to apply the song to yourself!! Good luck tomorrow!!

Im on my second stage but no meats for me
I can only have yogurt, cheeses, eggs, and Beans.< /p>
Surgeon said no meats until 30 days.
But at least I can have Boca burgers!! It looks enough like a hamburger that I may psyche myself LOL

http://fattyfightsback.blogspot.com/2009/03/mtyhbusters-starvation-mode.html
Here's a great article on starvation mode and why it's just not true for obese to super morbidly obese people.:
MTYHBUSTERS: Starvation Mode
There are a number of nutritional myths running around out there on the web. Mythbusters is one of my favorite shows and misinformation annoys me, so I decided to do a series of articles on each myth examining what is and isn't true about it. (Plus stealing the Mythbusters title makes me feel like Kari Byron, or at least like I could be her mother.)
So let's start by examining the whole "starvation mode" idea that you see all the time in articles about dieting. I picked this one to start with because I'm now tracking my food on My Fitness Pal and the number of people there screaming "starvation mode" is about 10x higher than most of the other weight loss boards I go to. They annoy the heck out of me, so I want to "answer" them in a permanent way vs. just arguing with them over and over on the boards there.
So what is the Starvation Mode Myth? It goes like this:
"If you don't eat enough, you won't lose weight!"
Okay, so all I have to do to lose weight is ... eat more food! Wow, isn't that awesome? If I stall out at 800 calories, I'll just go up to 1000. And if I stall at 1000, I'll go to 1200. If that doesn't work, how about 1500? 1800? 2200? Oh wait, when I ate 2200 calories, I weighed 223 pounds. Okay, that's not going to work.
But what if I just don't go below the magic "1200" that "everyone" says "no one" should go below? That must be what they mean by "starvation mode," right? If I stay at 1200, I will lose weight but if I go below that, I won't.
The problem with this idea is that, if it were true, no one would die from starvation and obviously people do. Clearly, even if you eat what is obviously too few calories to be healthy, such as an anorexic does, you will continue to lose weight.
So where did this idea -- that not eating enough calories makes you not lose weight -- come from?
It started with the famous Minnesota starvation study. Some normal-weighted men agreed to live on a compound where their exercise and diet was strictly controlled. For portions of the study, they were on a "starvation diet" which is defined as 50% of the calories your body needs to function.
For me, these days, that's about 750-850 calories a day. So I was on a starvation diet up for the first four months after my surgery. Yet I lost weight just fine during that period -- better than fine, really. Most of the people on The Biggest Loser are also on starvation diets, from what I can tell. They may eat a lot more than I do but they also exercise strenuously 6-8 hours a day. So they are often below 50% of their calorie expenditure for the day. They seem to lose just fine too.
How can this be?!
The answer lies in what actually happened to the Minnesota guys when they were on their starvation diets.
Like most of us on a diet, their metabolisms did slow down. In fact, after they'd been on this diet for a while -- we're talking months, not days here -- their body fat percentage got to a point below what is considered minimal to live on (about 5% for a guy, 6% for a gal). At this point, their metabolism had slowed down as much as 40%. But -- and this is the important point for those of us on a diet -- they continued to lose weight. Even with that big of a slow down in their BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate), they were still operating at a great enough calorie deficit to lose.
If this is true with a 40% slow down, it's even more true when the slow down is somewhere in the 14 - 22% range, which is more where if falls with normal dieting.
WARNING MATH CONTENT AHEAD:
Take an individual who needs 2,000 calories per day to maintain their current weight. Assuming calorie expenditure remains the same, they will lose (approximately) as follows:
Calories Expected
Loss
Per Week Actual Loss 2,000 0 pound 0 pound 1,500 1 pound 1 pound 1,000 2 pounds 2 pound 500 3 pounds 2¼ to 2½ pounds
As you can see from the table, once you go below a certain calorie level, you aren't getting the weight loss you'd expect. This is because your BMR will go down more if you eat only 500 calories compared to eating 1500. But, as you can see, you are still losing more than if you were eating 1000 calories.
This is a lot different than the "no" weight loss that the "starvation mode" myth touts.
The other important point to note about this study is that it was performed on normal-weighted men. When starvation studies have been done on the obese, they find that the impact of the starvation diet is much less. Our bodies have fat stores designed to get us through a famine (i.e., a diet) and when we have a famine (i.e., a diet), those fat stores get used. The drastic slowdown of the metabolism doesn't happen until those fat stores are largely gone -- which takes a lot longer for the obese than for those who only have to lose 10-25 pounds.
So why are we told not to go under 1200 calories a day, unless under a doctor's supervision?
Mostly because, the more you reduce your intake, the harder it is to get the nutritients you need from food. If you are on a very low calorie diet (as I am), you need to see your doctor(s) regularly, get labs done regularly, etc. Not to mention, Vitamin supplementation is a must. Doing what I'm doing on your own can be dangerous, as you may not know or noticed the signs of a Vitamin or mineral deficiency. Don't forget: some vitamin deficiencies can kill you!
Another reason not to go below a certain calorie expenditure is that human beings are not machines and, unlike the guys in the Minnesota study, we aren't living on a compound with our activity and food strictly controlled. As a result, when we reduce our calories substantially, there is a tendency to subconsciously (or even consciously) reduce our calorie expenditure. Combine this with our tendency to under-report what we eat and over-report our exercise, and you can see where we can get into trouble.
As an example, one Saturday I did a killer two hour workout. After which, I came home and took a three hour nap! Obviously my calorie expenditure that day was lower than if I hadn't taken the nap.
Now, I still lost weight that week. But if I was only eating 500 calories for months at time, I doubt I'd be able to have done that workout to begin with -- I'd still be doing the 30 min. low intensity workouts that I started with. Plus, I might also be taking naps a lot more than once in a while. Both of which would have impacted my weight loss because they would have decreased my calorie expenditure.
Eating more over time has allowed me to exercise more so that, as a result, my rate of weight loss hasn't gone down as much as it could have as my calories have gone up. Plus I'm happy because I'm fitter and healthier.
In the end, it's important to consume enough calories that you have the energy to perform the daily activities you want to and to keep your body healthy. Otherwise, it's self-defeating. After all, the point of losing weight is to be healthier and to get our lives back. It's not to starve ourselves to the point of malnutrition and have so little energy we can't go out and do fun things.
If you want to learn more about starvation mode and read more details about the studies I alluded to, here are some good articles on it:
Are You In Starvation Mode or Starving For Truth? (some typos but the best summary article I've seen)
The Starvation Myth (where I got my table from)
The Truth about "Starvation Mode" (lots of research is discussed)
And here's an article from the other side... Tom Venuto is a big proponent of Starvation Mode and avoiding it. Yet even though the tone of his article makes it sounds like he disagrees 100% with the articles above, about 90% of what he says is exactly the same:
Is starvation mode a myth?- No! It's very real and here is the proof

I guess for me... one of the best was when my ex saw me at an event, chasing my 2 year old niece around... I was told, he stood there and stared for about 5 minutes... LOL.... When he finally walked up to greet me... he just stared w/ that fish mouth thing going on!!!
Also, my students call me pretty more often now...

LOL, Naw girl~~ I Love me some Ms Beyonce~~ :wub:

I'm getting sleeved in 2 days, and I am 33. I wish to all the gods that have ever been worshipped that I could have had this surgery at 20, and saved myself the last 13 years of struggle, diets, tears, health issues, missing out, feeling out of place, self loathing, and missed fashion opportunities. I wish my 33 year old skin were 20 year old skin so it would bounce back so much faster. I wish my relationships haven;t always been strained by my horrible body image, and many many health concerns. I'm doing this now, so that the rest of my life will be free. You should do it now, if you're mentally ready, so that you have a long life of health and freedom.

I'd say it was when someone mistakingly assumed I was my oldest son's girlfriend. I'm going to live off of that one for YEARS!

I chose to only tell a few of the closest people to me and it has nothing to do with being embarrassed about having surgery. I am proud of going to such lengths to take control of my life.
I just know myself well and I put a lot of pressure on myself to succeed in everything I do. I decided not to share this with everyone because I didn't want lots of questions from people around me during the losing phase. I had a feeling it might be a little more difficult than I anticipated and I was correct. I didn't want to feel that people were watching me closely or what I eat, how fast I am losing, etc. I knew it would make me feel pressure and I didn't want that. I feel that I will eventually be more open about it as I am successful and feeling more confident in my journey. A good part of the struggle is mental and I chose to only tell people I knew could and would be emotionally supportive to me.
Hope that makes sense.

I think most of us get that. I'm just below goal right now, and still expect to see high numbers on the scale every morning, we have had years of training in 'thinking fat', tiny tummies, and smaller waists don't re-train our minds.
In fact my scale weighs in stone and lbs, and I am so used to the higher number being how many stone I am, that my mind still swaps the number round because that is the way it has always been!!
You will succeed, and the great thing about the sleeve is it works weather you trust it or not!

Hi Bethany1987,
I had my surgery March 6, but I had to comment and tell you that your picture is too cute

I can't wait for all of you who's dates are coming up to join me on the loser's bench!! I've been waking up lately full of something, I didn't know what it was. Then it hit me. I'm happy. For the first time in a long time my happiness is radiating from the inside out instead of me trying to force it from the outside in. This is such a great feeling! I hope each one of you feels the same way

Hi Evenyone
I am reposting this because I have been asked a lot about what I ate and what Protein Drinks I like.
I have been asked so many times on this board about what Protein drinks are good and some sample meals that I used during the first month and things I did after the 1st month. These are very valid questions and I know when I first started out I had all the same questions. Again this is long so please print this out if you would like.
Protein Drinks.
My all-time favorite is:
Premier Protein Drink. It comes in 11 oz. drink boxes already mixed. There are 30 grams of protein in each box, 160 calories per box, 1 gram of sugar and 5 grams of carbs. The flavor I buy is Chocolate—that is all I can find at costco. I get mine at Costco and I understand that you can get them at Sam’s Club too. You can order these on line at Costco and Sam’s club. They are also available at this Web Site. Breakfast and nothing else and it has been almost 3 years since my “sleeve surgery.”
The next Protein Drink that I have tried is called:
Matrix 2.0 Mint Cookies made by Syntrax. You can check this out on this Web Site.
nectar, variety pack, you get 13 single servings in a variety pack.< /span>
The cost is $22.95. This is the Web Site and they are made by Syntrax also.
Isopure. It does NOT taste good to me—I know that some people like it. I call it Isopuke, and it reminds me of pond scum. I have been told if you buy it at a GNC and don’t like it and still have your receipt they will refund your money if it hasn’t been more than 30 days since you purchased it from them. I guess they will do that with protein powers too—ask before you buy what their policy is about returning something if you don’t like it. So if you want to try it remember this. There always seems to be a GNC in most Malls.
This 1st month after weight loss surgery is going to be the hardest one to do. You just get tired of what they want you to do. It is for a reason—the doctors know what they are doing. You need to let your new stomach heal from a major surgery, so that is why you have to do these things the 1st month.
You should try to keep your calories at 800 per day and no more than 20 carbs a day if you want to lose weight. The 1st month you really don’t eat a lot. So in the following months keep track of everything you are putting in your mouth.
You can track what you eat on this site. I found it to be very helpful to write down EVERYTHING I was putting into my body. If I didn’t write it down I was going over 800 calories per day and would not know I was. It does take time to keep track of it—you are worth the effort, but once you get the hang of it you will know what 800 calories really are. When you exercise this site helps you figure out the number of calories you have burned and that allows you to eat more than 800 calories. It is an easy site to use and it if FREE. broth. I used and love “Better Than Bouillon.” It comes in a jar and it is like a paste. I like it because it tastes great and you can make single servings. It is located with bouillon cubes and Soups in the grocery store. I had chicken and beef. I also made some home chicken Soup and strained everything out of it and just had the chicken broth. I would try to have ¼ of a cup of it for part of my meal, but sometimes it was just too much for me. Remember you have a new smaller stomach and it is swollen and can only hold about as much as the size of your thumb.

Jello-- sugar free. I might have 2 tablespoons of Jello. That was something I had fixed and ready when I got home from the hospital.
I tried to drink 64 oz. of Water and sometimes I could get it in and sometimes I couldn’t. Do the best you can, and just sip it all day long. I would add Crystal Light to the water—it made water taste a whole lot better.
Apple juice, white grape juice, sugar free sports drinks, Decaf hot tea, also decaf ice tea.
Veggie broth or the broth from French Onion soup.
Sugar Free Popsicles if my stomach was upset this really seemed to help.

The 2nd 10 days.
This was much easier to do. If I didn’t mention it, it was difficult for me to swallow my medication so I would crush the medication up and mix it with about 1 tablespoon of applesauce and some Equal and mix my meds in the applesauce and take my medication that way. You will have creamy foods the next 10 days
I loved so many of the creamy soups. I used regular Campbell’s creamy soups that they had. I was only having about ¼ cup or maybe a few tablespoons of soup.
Jello was still good for me.
Sugar Free pudding, maybe 2 tablespoons full.
Yogurt a few tablespoons of it.
Frozen yogurt.
Applesauce a couple tablespoons.
A little cream cheese.< /span>
Sugar Free Fudge Cycles.
Premier Protein chocolate Drink mixed in blender with about 4 ice cubes and 1 cap full of Miralax. When you have a lot of protein you get constipated and Miralax works for that. It is tasteless and blends really great in the blender with the protein drink. I use the Miralx daily and it is NOT habit forming.
Soft boiled eggs or soft scrambled eggs—eggs didn’t work that well for me.
Low fat Chocolate milk.
Cottage Cheese.
Sugar Free Popsicles
Creamy Peanut Butter.< /span>

The 3rd 10 days and final part of the first month. Yeah the 1st month is almost over.
I could eat mushy food. This was more of a challenge than I thought it would be.
Mashed sweet potato or mashed yams with a small amount of butter on it.
Mashed up chicken noodle soup.
Mashed up homemade veggie soup.
Eggs that were soft boiled or soft scrambled.
Applesauce.
Cottage cheese.
Premier Protein Drink with miralax blended in the blender with 4 ice cubes.
Mashed up steamed carrots
Mashed up and blended a little tuna with a small amount of mayo.< /span>
Blended chicken breast with no skin on it.
Ham blended with a small amount of mayo.
Water with Crystal Light
Jello with fat free cool whip.
Yogurt and frozen yogurt.
Sugar free pudding.
Protein Bars chewed up really well—I could never eat a whole one—just a few bites.
Mashed potatoes and cream cheese mixed in with them.
Mashed black Beans they have a lot of protein in them. I would have about 1/4 the a cup and that is about 9 grams of protein
Sugar Free Popsicles
Hard Boiled eggs made into egg salad.< /span>

If I went out to eat I found that a cup of soup was about the best thing I found that I could eat. I also felt like I was on display sometimes because family and friends would watch me eat. It used to bother me, but not anymore. I watched them eat and I thought to myself. “Oh my gosh they inhale their food and they hardly chew it.” I was always the last one to finish eating. That is OK too. At first I actually mourned the loss of food. Later on I was thrilled that I had the restriction of a sleeve because I was losing weight.
I found that chicken and fish were easier to chew and I liked them a lot more than red meat.< /span>
I said that chicken was one of the main sources of protein for me. I found Kirkland (Costco brand) grilled Chicken breast strips. It is already cooked and I would put one bag (1 pound) in the freezer and use the other (1 pound bag later.) It is really handy to have around and a quick meal to fix if the chicken is already cooked. We also ate more fish. I would buy Halibut or Sole—a mild fish. I would marinate it in OJ or crushed strawberries or blueberries all day. I would also marinate it in law calories Italian Salad Dressing all day. I would cook it in a pan with Pam spray and put garlic or rosemary in the pan when I was cooking it. I don’t eat a lot of red meat and I used to be a real red meat lover. For me it took too much chewing and it just didn’t taste as good as it used to. I will now have a small hamburger and only eat 1/3 to ½ because it just is too much food for me. Ham was something that worked well for me too. I found I could get a large think slice of from the grocery story deli and I would have it for a protein—I would slice off about 2 oz. of the ham. I also enjoy a Taco Salad and I make mine with chicken instead of beef. I love Shrimp and lobster too, so those are my treats that I reward myself with.
A typical meal I ate starting the 2nd month after WLS.
Breakfast: Premier Protein Drink with Miralax and 4 ice cubes in the blender.
Lunch: 2 oz. of chicken or ham with a small amount of cheese melted over it. I would have a bean salad—it has 4 different beans in it.
Snack: I would have about 10 dry roasted almonds and maybe 10 dried cherries
Dinner: 2 oz. of Chicken or Fish, steamed veggies of some kind.
Sometimes my husband and I would split a small baked potato
I put a teaspoon of butter and sour cream on it.
Snack: Some type of fresh fruit or a Protein Bar.< /span>
Carbs and what to eat and what NOT to eat
About the 3rd month after WLS I would add a little bread in my diet—I could only eat about ½ a slice of bread or ½ of a hamburger bun and they are the “thin” Buns that they have out now. They also make a thin bagel. You just have to look when you are shopping in your local grocery store for these things. Try to find Whole Grain carb products and if you can’t the do the whole wheat. Try to stay away from WHITE carbs. They are white refined carbs and that is how we got fat eating a lot of them.
Rice should be brown rice and only a small amount—NO white rice. Pasta comes is Spinach or Whole Wheat and you can have only small amounts of it.
banana – Medium size has 27 Grams of carbs—I stay away from the banana, and I love them, but I just don’t want to spend all my carbs for the day on a banana. I use a Mexican soft flour shell made of spinach or sun dried tomatoes for making a small sandwich too—you know they call them wraps.
Beverage: They do not want you to drink something when you eat—you need the room for the food so that you can get your protein in firsts. During the day I would have water or decaf tea for my liquid after I ate or all during the day. As I said the Crystal Light Individual packs and different flavors worked well in a bottle of water. It seems like it took me forever to eat and drink all the things I was supposed to be eating and drinking. I was always sipping on the protein drink and water.
supplements you should take.
It is important that you take a Multi-Vitamin. I had a difficult time trying to swallowing large pills. Look for an Adult chewable multi-vitamin. I also have the Chocolate Chewable Calcium that I buy at Costco. As time goes on it will get easier to swallow larger pills. Do NOT take the multi-vitamin on an empty stomach, it may make you sick.
My Primary Care doctor was very helpful and after I had been home 2 weeks from WLS, she had me come into for an office visit. She ran a full blood panel and made sure all my levels were ok. I knew my potassium was low when I left Dr. Aceves in Mexicali—they ran my blood test before I left and gave me a very detailed report about my surgery to give to my doctor here in the US. Dr. Aceves told me to have it watched when I got home. I now take a potassium tablet prescribed by my doctor and work on eating food high in potassium.
Starting the 3rd month
I started to eat more salads about here. I had a favorite and still eat it. It is Fresh Spinach, with slices of almonds, feta cheese, dried cherries, or fresh strawberries, a tablespoon of bacon and Paul Newman’s Light Raspberry & Walnut dressing on it. I sometimes add some of my Kirkland (Costco)
Grilled Chicken breast strips to it and then it is an entire meal in one bowl.
Chef’s Salad is a great one meal in a bowl thing to have and I just use any kind of dressing I want on it. This salad has lettuce, tomatoes, olives, sliced hard boiled eggs, turkey or chicken, and some ham sliced on it with some cheese. REMEMBER make this in a much smaller bowl than the normal Chef’s salad comes in. Sometimes I will add a small amount of Whole Grain dinner roll or some bread with it.
Stir Fry is a great way to get meat and veggies all in one meal too. I have a pan that works great on the BBQ grill and I do a stir fry on the BBQ in the summer time.
Have a sense of adventure and take some of your old recipes and see if you can convert them into a healthier recipe. Use veggies that you have never tried. Try some “rubs” on you meat located in the spice section or the grocery store and try to marinate some of your meats all day before cooking them—it really changes the taste of them.
Desert
I don’t want you to feel deprived. I learned that sometime just a bite or two of a desert really satisfied my need for it. Instead of the WHOLE piece of cake or pie, just a sliver of it worked for me to satisfy my need for it. When you want a cookie have just one small cookie and not the entire bag OK. Sugar free pudding with a small amount of Fat Free Cool Whip is good too. Use Splendia to make a desert that you like. So everything in moderation works.
Exercise
I was never a fan of exercise until I started to walk and I found out how much I benefited from it. Now I try to exercise 5 days a week. Find some form of exercise that works for you and do it. Start slow and then add more until you are comfortable with it.
I am sure I have missed a few things, and I will write those down as I think of them and make a Vol. 2 if I needed too.
These are just my suggestions, spice them up and make your food interesting and don’t get in a rut. This is not a diet, you will learn to adapt it and find things that work for you and that you like eating. This is a LIFESTYLE change. Make it work for you. You have the tool of restriction now use your new tool to your advantage. The fat doesn’t just melt off of you. It does require work and effort on your part.
Stalls—No weight loss for a period of days.
Be prepared you may have periods where you lose NO weight. We call those “Stalls.” You will panic and think for sure that you are the “one person this is NOT going to work on.” I know I was sure that was me. NOT true at all. Our bodies just do this. Mine lasted for 9 days—no weight loss at all. Just keep doing what you are doing and the weight will start coming off again I promise you. I can tell you not to panic but most of you will anyway—that is pretty normal too.
Hugs,
Suzanne
Sleeved 10/21/2008
Lost 105 pounds.

I guess it is because people want to see a steady loss and sometimes it isnt the case. My body seems to have a pattern. I will drop 2 or 3 pounds, usually on the weekend and then stay the same for a week, sometimes two and then drop again. I can expect there to be no weight loss the next weekend and I just wait it out and sure enough, by the next saturday, I will be down some. I dont think we have "control" of that. lilmissdiva has a boot camp to break stalls and I have been at the same weight for two weeks so I looked at it, thinking about trying it. It turns out that the bootcamp is what I already do everyday! I have not strayed from the basics so I am in bootcamp all the time! My hubby pointed out that one of the main reasons I had this surgery was to quit dieting all the time and just have a healthy lifestyle. He says trying this and that and bootcamps and all the craziness was doing the opposite of what I wanted. I was obsessing over every little carb, calorie, etc and he thinks like you do... We CANT eat too much and so as long as we eat our Protein first and drink fluids, we WILL loose the weight. It comes off when our body decides, not us. Nothing we do is going to change that. Now, if you have gotten away from eating protein and are just eating empty calories all the time, then I would say you need to eat right but if you are plugging along eating protein first, getting some fluids in to prevent dehydration, you will be fine and there is nothing you need to do or try to break the stall... Its just your body adjusting and you might as well get used to it. We cant control that part of it. Just my 2cents.

I dont find this hard to read, I don't think red is an issue. Its the cursive fonts that are hard and then to add bright colors on top leads to an immediate pass over.

My wedding day nov. 19 2011


March 11 2012

What a great story!!!

I can't wait for all of you who's dates are coming up to join me on the loser's bench!! I've been waking up lately full of something, I didn't know what it was. Then it hit me. I'm happy. For the first time in a long time my happiness is radiating from the inside out instead of me trying to force it from the outside in. This is such a great feeling! I hope each one of you feels the same way

Yep, being a big guy really sucks sometimes. I'm only 6' tall and was really surprised at how intimidated other people were by me when I was 375#. Once people got to know me and what a Teddy Bear I really was they typically were more at ease.
I can't say that I've ever had it thrown in my face so blatantly as you have but it still hurts none the less. Your sig on your message is a little confusing. You are yet to be sleeved? The date for surgery shown is 3/20/12? All I can tell you is that for me with 170+ pounds gone it DOES get better. People tend to be more considerate and just plain ignore me now rather than seemingly purposely avoid me.
One thing that I find MYSELF doing is being judgmental of other fat people. I find myself being grossed out and thinking "Why don't they do something about that?" Then I wake up and remind myself - "Hey BUD, that was YOU not too long ago."

Totally interesting... Anyone else find themselves doing this?

I agree! Way to go for recognizing and making the effort to change!!