feedyoureye

Daisy! I am so sorry to hear this... I remember when you had it done, and you would think that would be better by now... you had it done in Mexico if I remember... is there a way to talk to the Doc and find out what he has to say? In your research, is this a common problem? Tried acupuncture or other things yet?

Bikerchick. You came to the right place! Some of us are still slogging on here... and the company is good in the Vets forum! What you are experiencing is pretty normal for most of us. We are working together to get the answers we need to stay happy and healthy.... and hopefully close to goal!

Part of being a vet is not just getting to goal, its going though all the stages of the surgery maturing. 6 months is still quite early in the stages. Like lsereno said... you will be able to eat more later on. Some people don't start to get hungry again for 4 years! Others are hungry from the start. Just use your Protein drinks to get in enough protein, and work on developing a well rounded eating plan. I personally have always eaten 5-6 meals/snacks. I used Protein Drinks and bars for almost 2 years. I sometimes still will if I need to. With a small stomach, you may have to eat between meals. Just plan it, keep it healthy so it doesn't turn into grazing. Your hunger and ability to eat more WILL return. You will find that is a main topic among the vets that are here. Many have not gotten to goal after 2 years... others have gotten to goal and gained back some of the weight. These are the main topics of Vets here. Some are still trying out how to maintain... how to stop losing... when to say enough. ... and by the way... Congratulations on losing to goal!!! That is fantastic! As you are finding out, you are not at the end of your journey, so listen in, it helps me a lot and at 2 1/2 years, I am not through with my journey either!

I have found that exercise makes me feel better (I have arthritis too), it changes the shape of my body, my hip waist ratio, and adds a FEW more calories to my expenditure column I eat some of those back... On some days that might be 200+ calories extra, some days 0-100 extra.... I find that those extra calories DO help me to stay full and satisfied. I have 4 days a week I do regular exercise, I usually find something to do on two others, and total couch time on the last day. That day that I am on the couch, I am eating 1200... and its not really enough. If I throw in a pile of veggies, and do all the cooking myself, its better, but I really need more than that to maintain without hunger... and I am still trying to slowly lose a little more. I think your Nut is right about the weightloss part, but the size/shape/body composition part, and the health part shouldn't be underestimated. I find myself looking for something to do, someplace to walk so I have a few more calories to round up my intake/hunger needs. When I was eating more calories following the TDEE eat more plan, I was not hungry. That was great!.... By the way, I will be 60 next week, and the body is not getting any younger... I find the exercise (moderate! Walking, dancing, gardening, and some weights- I will only do things that I enjoy, never been a sporty person) helps keep me in the game.

I did fasting diets a few times though the years,I have fasted every other day (water only) for weeks, lose 3- gain 2..... And I have done carrotjuice/orange juice fasts... two weeks while living in India, lost 15 pounds.... but neither of these are long term plans. I may try the 2-5 fast-diet... not ready to quite yet....I'll let you be the test subjects for a while!

http://youtu.be/z93R45gV02Q

Not a bad idea

I have had my nose pierced since 1975. When i came home, with my hand over my nose... my mom shook her head and looked worried. After a couple of days my dad said "Its not that I love you less, its that I might take you out to dinner less!" He was serious. Years later, he told me he doesn't even notice it any more, and who cares. I got a tattoo for my 55th birthday, my dad really does not like that, but when I showed it to my folks, they said how many do you have? I said that was it, and they said they were sure I must have had more before, a really... no big deal. I say do what means something to you... the rest will shake out. At least that is what happened for me....and with the nose ring, the only pierced noses you saw at the time were in National Geographic!

Sounds like a tough week ladies! Chin up! Most of us know how to maintain, its just that most of us have called it a stall in the past! I don't mean to make light of it. This whole weight loss, weight gain, maintain thing is still pretty much a mystery at times! Glad I'm alive, glad I have some tools, and loving life is the tool that REALLY pays off.

Globe, you have been eating at TDEE for 5 weeks? You are supposed to gain a little if you do that... when you quit gaining at your tdee(usually by 8 weeks), then you make a cut of 20%, that when you start losing and go below your original plateau- and you shape changes...thats the story anyway! As the "eat more/lose more" posts say, not for the impatient! It is super scary to trust the plan too, gaining is NOT what anyone here wants to do! I know your super frustrated, I can be too and I am only 20 pounds from goal and I do not do half as much stuff as you do! I think find some joy in life, I worry about how much stress and anger and frustration you have... I know I have to have a place of joy going on, when all else fails, life is still at least a little sweet...

Strange, Just wonder if you have seen the Dr. and how your doing?

That is MFP's goal for me.. I never reach it. I always go over their goal on Protein as well. They have some sliding scale numbers, as I do more exercise, the numbers all go up. If I don't move much in a day, they say eat 1200 and the other numbers are low too. I try to keep my exercise up so I have more wiggle room to eat. I don't usually eat back all my exercise, but most days I do eat some/most of it.

Slowing the heck down is your answer. You don't want any leaks at this point and I does take MONTHS for the tummy to completely heal... like maybe 6 months....

I feel more like "Me". I used to look in the mirror, and could never quite recognize myself there. I always bought new clothing, hoping I would look like "Me" when I put them on, but just didn't. I feel more like myself now, even with the lose skin and enhanced wrinkles...I am also in better shape than I have been for years...This makes me happier. That being said, when I got this surgery my Dr. mentioned that people can get depressed after getting the surgery, and they weren't sure why... chemical changes, expectations..?. and sometimes I do feel chemically depressed...just slightly but noticeable... I am still VERY happy I did the surgery, it has been a big part of me finding the strength to make my life better on the whole.

Honestly, sometimes I can't tell the difference between head hunger(emotional?), real hunger(what is that? Empty stomach?Many here eat so little, I would think we could experience real hunger a lot of the time!)and perhaps other kinds of hunger....craving some nutrient for a good reason...carb or more likely, high glycemic index food addiction.. Thats the one that gets me... if I eat more high glycemic index foods, I crave more. This was my prob in the past, pre surgery as well... having the sleeve is def an advantage, but those sliders go down pretty easy and in quantity if allowed. I have always eaten lower, but not low carb for the past 28 months, sometimes being good with the glycemic index...sometimes not. I had a gaining spurt at around 18-24 months, then got it under control by upping my exercise and mostly being more accountable for what I was eating. I have tried a few different approaches since the first of this year...eating more, tracking my energy expenditure with fitbit/myfitnesspal.... and managed to lose 5 of the gained pounds...this week I decided to eat under the Vegetarian/southbeach stage one program...(REALLY struggeled to get started on that...I didn't want to cut the bread and such...) which is a low glycemic index and higher Protein plan...and I just dropped 1 1/2 pounds the first day..., know its Water, but happy to see a different number. I am making this change because I have noticed increased hunger, and when I used this plan years ago, I felt a huge relief from hunger I had never felt before. After one day, I have very little hunger and it is easy to tell when I am wanting to eat for the insulin rush. That is only after one day. Here is my nutrition breakdown for the day yesterday if you are interested.

If your goal is 180,and you lose all the way to 180, then you will be at goal, and that will be 100% EWL. If your goal was 179 and you got to 179 then that would be 100% as well! getting to goal is losing 100%. If you get half way to goal, that is 50% EWL.

Good job girl!

One of my bird photos

At two years, I'm not done yet...I really do not want to get a DS if I can help it... wouldn't I have to gain back all of my weight to get qualified to get the DS? I'm not sure how it works. When I saw the Doc for the first time he did say something about getting a DS if I gained the weight back.... you are most welcome to be here... We hope we can be a voice of reason from our experience. ... best of luck to you...

Best of luck Jane, so sorry for your loss. You are doing the best thing by maintaining conscience.

Congrats lady! You have done so well and look great!

Although the old "calories in- calories out" message does seem to be at least partly content dependent, I am of the school that if you eat 800 calories of cake a day, you will still lose. However you wont be healthy, and the sugar will make you ravenous from insulin spikes which leads to more eating! What the Doc means ( I think) from "you can gain from drinking your calories" is if you drink milkshakes and high calories drinks they just slip on down... don't really make you full for long and you can eat again soon after...The idea here is eat healthy real food, Protein first, log your intake to make sure you are in the right calorie range, add in some exercise..choose nutritious foods!...my doc also allows Protein Drinks and at 2 year post surgery, I still fit them in now and then to up my protein... I have found from hard won personal experience, eating cake leads to eating more cake...and it does not really fill you up... hunger later leads to eating again... this makes it hard to keep in a calorie range to maintain or lose. I have to say I do eat cake now and then... but write it down and keep in my calorie range. At this time I am maintaining/losing(with a small l) ... and did this during the losing phase... in moderation and in the context of keeping track of what was going in my mouth. This might not work for everyone...I don't follow strict low carb, but go by calories in/calories out more with only slightly reduced carbs.

Look up "Three Week Stall" Many people have/had it. Do not believe that you can stay at the same weight or gain on 300-800 cals a day forever. Right?

Thats what it said alright.

I just saw an interesting medical lecture that says that underweight people who smoke have worse longevity statistics than overweight people who are fit and don't smoke. It also said many people who are underweight smoke. It is a dilemma, but if you lost weight for health reasons... you know what you have to do.... and hit the gym to get fit if you don't already. I know I know, easier said than done! Best of luck.