feedyoureye

ShouldBlittler, so sorry to hear about your moms illness, and sending best thoughts to her and the family. My mom is getting up there, becoming frail.. I just hate to see her going... I try to give her my love, and want to see her happy. What more can we do? Get thee to the Dr! You sound depressed on top of all the stress of your obligations. Not sure if now is the time to stop antidepressants or pain management... You have a lot on your plate, you deserve to feel pleasure in your life again... your kids need you as an example as well! Please take care of yourself.

When I reached my lowest weight post VST(which was still in the "overweight" BMI) I had many people ask me "you are not going to lose anymore are you?" And "You don't still think your fat do you?". And really I felt I looked pretty good. I look at picts from before surgery, and I can't even recognize myself! I knew i was fat, but just didnt really want to believe it...and had a heck of a time finding cloths I liked... mostly because I was looking for cloths that made me look 85 pounds lighter and they just didn't do that! I look at photos of myself when much younger, when i thought I was so fat... I weighed 20 pounds less than I did at my lowest after surgery! My body image has often been screwed up. I can look in the mirror one day and think woohoo! And the next....FAT!!!! While I was actually obese I worked on loving myself, trying to eat healthy and 4 years before surgery took up dancing and walking... trying to get more healthy, so my head is not as crazy as it once was... but it is a struggle at times! Looking at photos really helps put things in perspective....and trying on the old cloths just for a reality check.

We are so hard on ourselves!

log and weigh. If I don't, I gain. I also log my exercise as well with fitbit. I can now tailer how much I eat to how much I exercise.

I have had some "dizzy spells" mostly when I lean my head back or lay down in bed. I did get blood work and my potassium was low. My doc said eat a banana every day. I asked if taking potassium was ok (always thinking calories!) and she said no...eat a banana. I do eat them sometimes, but keep a bottle of Water with flavor and a potassium pill dissolved in it in the fridge... just a swig a couple times a week. She said you can get TOO much potassium. I also take a beta blocker, and that contributes to low blood pressure... I don't believe there is any "getting off" of that med... the heart is more likely to go into fibrillation without the drug present. Check with your doc, you may have something different than I.

Congrats! I was lactose intolerant the first 4 months, after that I was right back into it. I missed it soooo much! I really like this peanut flour.... http://www.netrition.com/protein_plus_peanut_flour.html 1/4 cup 110 cals 16gms of protein! I mix it in shakes, make peanut sauce for tofu and veggies, bake with it....

I have always checked in, but have just had my nose in a couple of threads, didn't even look to see if anything new had been added forum wise! I was just a little tired of the newbie questions for the 100th time, I do try to answer now and then, people did it for me and I appreciated it so much...but as far as self interest, I get more support and practical advice talking to other vets. Thanks for being here sleeve vets!

Just to be clear, I eat 1350 plus the calories I burn during exercise... which may be from 100-450 more a day... So I may eat from 1350 If I do very little to 1800 if I exercise a lot (for me- dancing, weight lifting, some extra walking or heavy gardening such as shoveling and moving dirt, pruning and such). myfitnesspal and fitbit tall me how many calories to add...

one is from when I was eating more, the other was from this week, after I made the cut to lose 1 1/2 pounds a week.

One of the studies in the article said after 6 years the factors were still in place. Longer studies need to be done. OUCH. However, I think this knowledge is power for sure... I don't like that I am predestined to be more hungry and need less fuel to maintain, but I sure feel like I have more of the story of why my body acts the way it does! Im not sure I want to eat much less... I have made a cut from my 1530+eating exercise calories to 1320+Exercise- I seem to have lost a pound or two...still watching to see if it stays off... I really felt much less hunger on the higher amount of food, that first level was supposed to put me at losing 1 pound a week.....NOT. The new lower lever is supposed to get me 1 1/2 pound loss a week.... still seeing if the numbers go down or level out or go back up. After 3 1/2 months of upping my exercise and eating at these two levels I have only this week lost the 2-2 1/2 pounds. So there ya go. I just went back to my last 5 fitbit weekley reports (I have only been using it that long) it tells you how many cals in and cals out...It looks just like what these reports say... according to thei calculations, I have been eating between 4000-6000 calories less than I burn every week.Of course taking this report into consideration, that 4000 end is probably just maintaining.

I have shown a loss of 3 pounds this week, after no movement on the scale at all for almost 4 months. Im not sure why it came off now... I have been watching what I eat for a while pretty closely... I hope I am finding the sweet spot for mostly maintaining with a little slow loss towards my goal...1-2 pounds a month would be devine... but we will see. I love the fitbit... I wear it all the time, it logs how many steps and stairs you take a day, and shows the quality of your sleep as well. It sinqs up to myfitnesspal and you can over ride the steps if you were actually doing something with more upper body action, like dancing, lifting weights, gardening or such... it all feeds into your myfitnesspal and tells you how much to eat in light of how much activity you have done. It really spurs me on to take more walks when I find a minute or hour. I started bird watching, and walk all over in local parks and streets looking for birds and such. So fun!I have last years model, but this years also automatically uploads your info via your phone. http://www.fitbit.com/ they even have a scale that uploads your info onto the internet....I dont know that much about that....

One way to get more natural VitD in your diet is expose fresh mushrooms (the kind you get at the store)to the sun, gill side up for 6 hours... before you eat them. http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02935/Four-Unexpected-Food-Facts.html

I have not read the NEJM study yet, but one would hope that the reduction of ghrelin from VSG might help mitigate some of the hormonal back lash it talks about...

Nannie, did you read this article about weight gain? Its 8 pages long...but has some really interesting info.... http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/magazine/tara-parker-pope-fat-trap.html?pagewanted=1&_r=3&adxnnlx=1325167965-awQ/TLyuKlv21t2HqMl8kg

Slow here! Have not reached goal yet(my Doc would not set a goal either,I am going for the highest "normal" weight for my height), but on the slow boat and enjoying the view! I am taking the time to learn about my body, how it burns fat, makes muscles and loses pounds. I have not learned it all yet... but seem to be getting closer. lost 87 pounds, gained 18, stopped gaining, maintained and just this week... lost 3 pounds. Who knows if it will stay off, but I think at least part of it will. I have some idea why I gained. Trying not to repeat that... but we don't have control over everything in life. Thank you forum friends for all the continued support. Sorry I didn't see the vets forum sooner!

or raw coconut meat... can cause a huge Fiber ball in the stomach that can't digest or move through the pylorus..called bezor or something like that.. cottage cheese, tofurky and string cheese or hummus or cottage cheese....

Where the he[[ have I been!? I just found this vet forum. Why didn't someone tell me! OK, perhaps I'm a snob, but I think one year minimum! Of course anyone else can look... I was looking for vets from the first day I came on this site, after all they are the ones that have a real clue about the process and the complications that arise later on. Almost anyone can talk about puree recipes or what is the best brand of protein shakes and should!.... but weight regain, hunger, maintenance, and such, you really need to be a year or more out. I have learned a heck of a lot in the last year. (I am 27 months out)and I am pretty sure there is still a ton more to learn! I never reached goal, gained some weight, got back on the wagon, had a long stall, have lost a couple of pounds...started tracking my exercise too...still love the sleeve and do not consider myself a failure...I know I'm not alone here! Sorry Newbies! That wonderful feeling that you are in control of the food may not last much longer! And its not the end of the world! This journey is LONG as far as I can tell. Having vets tell their story, and tell the truth about the difficulties and strengths involved with the journey is valuable to the vets themselves, the vets listening in, and the newbies that want to see into the future a little bit. Most of us here are under 4-5 years out... what will the stories be when that is 10? I want to know!

For me writing it down is even more important than what I eat... When I write what I eat down I maintain consciousness about what Im putting in my body, and end up making better choices, planing for treats and planing ahead which all contribute to success. I also have started using a fitbit, which lets me know how many calories I am expending, and lets me know what my intake can be to still maintain or lose. After a 4 month stall.... eating less than I burn, I have started losing a little weight. At one time I swore I would never count calories again... but I have to, to be successful. Its just the way it is for me. I also work to really enjoy my life, and do lots of spontaneous stuff, keep busy learning new things and try not to get too hung up on equating the numbers on the scale, myfitnesspal and the fitbit with my self worth.

This easter I got lucky, no candy at all. My husband does not give me candy anyway...my mom and dad did not this year. The restaurant we went to had the calories by all of the dishes,and that was a HUGE turnoff from so much of the food on the menu. I saved calories from breakfast and lunch, ate not to bad, split a smaller desert with the hubby, and wrote it all down in myfitnesspal when I got home. The writing down everything every day is what saves my s$$. It keeps me conscious. I was over a little, but back on track the next day. Small bump in the road. There was some candy at work, I ate some, wrote it down and had to do without good food because of it. Not a great tradeoff. It didn't even taste that good. I hope I learn by it and just say no in the future.

I know its really hard to do on vacation, but if you can write down everything you eat or drink... I get in trouble if I lose consciousness of what Im putting in my mouth... I eat WAY more than I think I do. I prefer being spontaneous while on vacation, but that attitude got me into real trouble in the past, and May of last year I regained around 10 pounds while on vacation and while food loving in laws were visiting for 8 weeks.. I ditched the food log, and the rest is STILL on my waist. Very hard to get rid of...and I have been trying and keeping track. Easier to keep track now then later....Have a great trip though!

Used to sound like water swirling/sucking down a big old drain! Finally went away after a few months.

Well said Jane, I noticed that only 4 people posted on this thread that are over one year out... I have to tell you guys, it will change. One way or the other. You can eat more, you will figure out how to cheat the sleeve, you will have your ups and downs, the issues that drove you to eat will still be there if you don't face them, and you will have the means to eat more quantity and types of food. Read the threads here made up of mostly people over 2 years out... regain for many, no regain for some, but I NEVER hear any regret about getting the sleeve. Only determination to keep on trying and building the skill and character to move forward into this new life, stepping up the exercise, dumping some of the carbs that have crept back in...renewing the strength with the support of other here, to go on and not succumb to old habits that got us into trouble in the first place. I myself eat just about everything. I do write everything down, I wear a fitbit to check how much I am expending and I go from there. I get hungry, I have head hunger too, I have gained a few pounds and have managed to level out and stop gaining, and start losing again s-l-o-w-l-y, talk about stalls! The sleeve is great, but it is not the final answer, it is part of the answer as people say over and over again here. I do have restriction when I eat certain foods, not as much with others. I have trouble getting in enough Water.... I am still a work in progress after 27 months. I expect that will be the case for much longer. Getting it off is not as much of a problem as keeping it off. best of luck to you. How far out are you? You really don't get restriction until later on...It's true that some are hungry right out of the hospital. Perhaps when the hormones thin out of your system it will be better for you. Eating well and lowering the carbs a bit help with the hunger too. When I eat sugar I want more sugar. Protein, helps bring about real physical satisfaction.

I choose to eat soy and gluten... I try to use non gmo whenever possible. YOu can find at Whole foods and some products at trader joes, and other health food stores. You need lots of protein with the sleeve, especially when you are losing to keep from losing muscle. Some studies show that Soy fights breast cancer, cholesterol and some other problems. It's not the devil. I would perhaps keep it away from babies, and moderate its use with small children because of growth studies. Other protein sources have their own problems as well. I would think using a mix might be the answer. Eating low fat dairy and eggs in the mix will round things out . Nuts, beans and wheat are high protein. Look for non GMO whenever possible. Fermented soy sidesteps some of its problems... such as miso, natto, soy sauce.

I have so been thinking of you lately! Sorry about the gain, but glad to see you back! I know, when I had to change my 1-5 pound gained UP... well... sad face. This sight is all about telling the truth though and people need to tell the truth so we all can get the benefit. I love the support this far out, from the peeps that have been through it! I have lost 1 pound... don't know if it will stick, but I am looking a little better... I think the small amount of weight lifting I am doing might be kicking in and shaping things up a bit. I only lift about 15-20 minutes twice a week after dance class. I am getting some muscles in my arms... and my waist is a little bit smaller looking...cant find my measuring tape for the life of me, Ill heave to get another. Anyway, its still a journey, and theres just not enough energy to supply a happy life and feeling miserable about gaining some weight....so I'm just trying to find my way to stay the same or lose if possible, and enjoy life at the same time. Cheers girls!

Im happy for all of you, but remember this thread is: Weight Gained Since Having Gastric Sleeve Surgery. Thanks gals!