Escape_Pod

I find that my motivation needs regular "care and feeding" - going to a bridal show sounds like an excellent way to get your head in the right place! You've got a lifetime of healthy eating ahead of you with your soon-to-be husband, and this is a good time to get both of you on the right track. Can you find some healthy treats that appeal to you more? I find that most of the time I can find low-carb, sugar-free substitutes that will make me happy without sucking me into the carb/sugar vortex (and I'm VERY prone to getting sucked in). I make no-flour, sugar-free oatmeal chocolate chip Cookies, that taste great, and I can make 6 and still have some left on the counter after a couple of weeks. I even found myself a sugar-free low-carb recipe for pecan pie at Christmas so I could enjoy some without getting off track. It's good enough even my husband will eat it! Those are still treats, and not necessarily low calorie, but they're things I can truly enjoy in moderation without ending up on a binge. Don't suffer with foods you don't enjoy, find some you DO. There are some great recipe sites out there.

There are a couple of factors here to think about. One is swelling - some people swell up worse than others post-op, which affects your ability to get anything down. The other is lack of sensation. When most of your stomach was cut away, most of the nerve endings were cut as well, so until you heal, your ability to feel full will be disrupted. So, take it slow, measure portions, and don't try to progress too quickly. You'll feel much more restriction as you begin to move to more solid food.

I'm 2+ years post-op, and I still start most mornings with a protein hot cocoa, made with almond milk (I watch carbs), a scoop of chocolate protein powder, some unsweetened cocoa, and a dash of salt (to cut the artificial sweetener taste). I waited a couple of months before having coffee again because the acidity is hard on your healing sleeve, but I drink coffee most days too.

I'm definitely in the sugar addict camp as well, dang-it! When I start eating sweets or simple carbs, just like the pre-op days, it's not uncommon for me to eat to the point of nausea and then keep eating, to eat to the point of discomfort, and beyond. I simply cannot do moderation, and I've regained a lot of weight trying to pretend otherwise! I know that's not true for a lot of folks, though, and I think the key is to figure out the reasons why you struggle with food and what you're willing to do about it. I'm just very grateful to have found a few blogs that provide me with the support I need in living my life without sugar (and peanut butter...) There are so many folks willing to tell you you're doing it wrong, and doomed to failure.

I find that the mental energy to "keep at it" is something that needs tending. Changing your life is hard work, and after the initial thrill of rapid weight loss, fatigue can set in. For me, at the moment, small goals help, and it's beneficial to take a few minutes a day to focus on what I'm doing, what I hope to achieve, and why. Sort of a daily mental reset. Some days it's a stern talking-to in the mirror, some days it's more of a zen meditation, some days it's journaling, some days it's a soul-searching review at the end of the day. I really envy those who seem to hit their groove with this process, find something that works, and simply stick with it. For me it feels a bit more like fighting zombies ... there are always more zombies.

Sigh.... I am having to come to terms (AGAIN!) with the realization that I'm simply not one of those people who can eat junk in moderation. The combination of old habits of food as comfort, plus the physiological impact of eating carbs (I'm sensitive to them, so eating sugar / carbs makes me want more ... a LOT more) is a deadly combination. It's as if the pre-op me has returned, and she's kicking my a$$. Honestly, I think this is a battle I'll be fighting forever. The good news is, when I can dredge up the motivation to fight the cravings and urges, at least I'm not fighting raging hunger too. Head hunger yes. Honest physical hunger, no ... not if I'm eating well.

Dr Sharma's great, he's on my regular blog read list. One of the things I love about him is that he urges his patients to aim for the healthiest lifestyle they can enjoy. As he says, your "best" weight is the weight you can achieve while still enjoying your life and your diet. Sure, you can diet your way down to a lower goal, but if you're not happy doing it, you're not going to maintain it long term!

For the first few weeks post-op, I set up a chart for myself to keep track of things until it became more of a habit. I kept track of when I'd taken pain meds, vitamins, and ounces of water. It will get so much easier as the internal swelling goes down, but my advice would be to focus on the water at this point. You do NOT want to get dehydrated and have to go in for IV fluids. Can you set a timer to remind yourself to keep sipping? It's probably going to take some time to build up to several mini-"meals" a day.

My surgeon and nutritionist also stressed that whey protein isolate is the best choice because your body absorbs it most readily - important particularly in the early post-op months when you're healing and consuming very little. At more than 2 years post-op, I often use a variety of powders for flavor, texture differences (particularly in baking), and satiety (I find casein-based proteins leave me feeling full longer). In the early post-op stages, I think the key is to find a protein supplement you can tolerate. And remember, may people find that post-op they no longer like the same protein supplement they thought was wonderful pre-op. So, don't stock up. I'd advise having a variety on hand. Bonus points if you have friends in the post-op community who will share samples of products they use!

Thanks for sharing! Emotional / stress eating is something that's come roaring back on me a couple of years post-op, so I'm working on strategies to manage it better.

I've been struggling with staying on track for some time now, and I've regained more than I care to admit, so I'm reading everything I can get my hands on to try to help myself. Part of my problem is sugar issues - I consider myself an addict, and a small slip can send me spiraling into days (or weeks) of off-track eating and snacking. The rest of my problem is what feels like flagging motivation. I think back to those weeks, even pre-op, when I was SO DETERMINED. I had all the motivation in the world, and nothing could derail me. Making good choices felt easy (once I detoxed from sugar AND CARBS). I find myself wondering what happened to that person, and how to get her back in my life! One of the best reads I've come across is Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard. It's not geared specifically towards weight loss, but it takes a look at the psychology behind change and motivation, and the conflict between rational desire for a long-term goal, and emotional desire for immediate reward. It also discusses something called "solutions focused therapy", which gets at an issue that's frustrated me in the past when I've sought help for eating behavior problems. It's all very interesting to delve into the WHY of my emotional eating, but it didn't help me much with what I cared about - what to DO about it. I got a lot of info the authors of this book call "TBU" - True, But Useless. Solutions-Focused Therapy focuses on figuring out what success looks like, and on what's worked in the past, and how to build on it. Anyway, I may not be paraphrasing it very well, but I highly recommend it. It's been out long enough that you'd likely be able to get your hands on a copy through your local library without there being a lengthy hold list.

There's no monthly fee required with the Flex. There's some kind of premium service you can pay for, but I'm not missing it, whatever it includes. I don't believe the Withings Pulse will require a monthly fee either.

I've had a FitBit flex for a few weeks and I love it! Heart rate monitor would be nice, but you're never going to get a decent reading from something on your wrist I don't think. I bought the flex because I wanted something on a wrist band. I was also tempted by the Withings Pulse, but it wasn't out yet when I got my Flex. It does have an altimeter, which the flex doesn't, but it also doesn't appear to be designed to wear on your wrist all day like the Flex.

Coops, when you reach goal, there's gonna be a party all over the world, there will be so many of us celebrating with you!! My 2 year surgiversary was last week, and I'm further from goal than I was a year ago, but I'm regaining hope that I can get there. The support and ideas here are a huge part of my success plan.

Welcome back Coops! Georgia, looks like you're making great progress with 5:2 - congrats!

I don't know if this is common, but I see huge weight swings depending on my carb intake, even if it's higher fiber carbs (like Quest bars). I can see gains or drops of close to 10 pounds over the space of 7-10 days depending on how I'm eating. I think it's very much like the rapid drops most of us experienced on the pre-op diet, because super high protein, very low carb flushed fat out of our livers and changed the way our bodies retained fluids - you simply need more fluids on board to process carbs is what I've always read. So most of my up and down swings aren't really indicative to me of weight gained or lost, unless I've been consistently eating the same diet, more or less, as far as carb / protein / fat balance. Long term trends, yes, I'm most definitely up. (a lot, unfortunately). But day to day the scale's pretty meaningless. I think that's actually become a problem, because when I'm bingeing, and my weight starts to climb, I deceive myself into thinking it's not "real" gain. Uh huh..... Tell that to me with a straight face now that I can't wear last year's cute clothes. Sigh... Anyway, my point is, if your carb percentage is very different from day to day, I'd guess for many people that's going to mess with your scale number and you'll see swings like I do.

I can find PB2 at Whole Foods or Fred Meyer (also QFC - same chain). Try the health food / gluten free aisle.

I'm a total convert for the Extra Dessert gum flavors. They do help me postpone eating when I start to get the munchies and it's not quite meal time. I buy in bulk - you'd actually laugh if you could see my desk drawer. However, I think it has the unfortunate down side of reinforcing my bad habit of wanting to chew on something when I'm stressed or bored. I'd probably be better off using those calories for something else - it can add up.

Georgia, I can see your food diary now, and I just saw your before / after shots on VST - wow!! Awesome job!!

Here's a link to the 5:2 thread : http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/83317-the-52-diet/

I'm glad all that tracking is helping someone (lol). But I can't see your diary! Not sure if it's private by choice or by accident... Those protein bars can be deadly. Sometimes I'll pack a flavor I don't particularly like if I think I might be out and about longer than expected and miss a meal. Then I have a good choice if I'm super hungry, but I won't much on it just because it's there. Weird... I know...

I think PB2 is an acquired taste, but it's like anything else for me - once I get used to it, I don't miss the real thing. I add a bit of salt to mine, and use almond milk as the liquid. It's thinner than real PB, but tasty, especially with an apple. I seem to do better with it than with real PB - that's a real trigger for me, and even the single-serve packs of JIF are dangerous for me. I also use PB2 in protein shakes, protein cheesecake, and other recipes. I'm a bit of a pb fiend... You can also try peanut flour. It's basically the same thing as PB2, and comes in light or dark roast, higher or lower fat percentage, but there's no sugar in it. You can add stevia, erythritol, etc. to taste. I think they're pretty similar in terms of price per pound, though, and PB2's much easier for me to find locally - the peanut flour I order online.

Interesting ... definitely sounds worth a try! Honestly, I find the 45 minutes after a meal the toughest of the day - I have the hardest time stopping eating. Did gum for awhile but I'm thinking that might have been counter-productive. At work is the hardest, so at the moment I'm trying out finding work that gets me away from my desk until it's time to drink Water again. So, I'm afraid for me that masking the hunger isn't usually what I need. Part of it's habit, part of it's a tendency to eat for comfort when under stress, part of it's the physical side of sugar and carbs. When you mentioned using a timer, that rang a bell with me, because I've used a timer as a way to help get through the 45 minutes after a meal. Sometimes I think a part of it is just a tendency toward obsessing with something, and the key is to make sure that something isn't food. Thanks for sharing - I really do think it's a matter of trying a bunch of strategies to see what helps you (or helps you for now?), so the more strategies we can share, the better for everyone. I'll add this to my list of things to try. Oh, and huge kudos for being off sweets for 3 weeks! I'm sure you must be past the most dangerous stage, so it should be smoother sailing for now. I'm only 10 days out, so my "on-track-ness" feels a bit more fragile. I keep swearing I'm going to start using the other kitchen at work - it's smaller, and gets less traffic, so the donuts and pastries and chocolate folks bring in doesn't end up there ... kind of like the candy-free aisle some grocery stores have started.

I agree, you'll have a hard time finding a sense of full. Part of it is definitely the food stage, the liquids don't stay in your stomach long, though you may feel a difference based on the thickness of the liquid (broth or water vs. protein shake). The other thing to remember is that your surgeon just lopped off most of your stomach, and it takes several weeks for those nerve endings to begin to heal. So, it's extra important to measure at this stage so you don't overdo it. Go slow, and drink small amounts.

I think you can lose weight and maintain without exercise, but it all depends on your priorities. If you can find a way to increase your muscle mass, you'll burn more calories just sitting on your butt all day than you would without it. My nutritionist pointed out that when you're eating super low-cal in the early post-op months, your body is working to try to conserve energy. The smartest thing it can do is to reduce your muscle mass, because muscle requires more calories to maintain, so if you're not getting some exercise to counteract that, you're losing muscle as well as fat, and you'll end up with a lower resting metabolic rate than you would otherwise - that means fewer calories in maintenance! For me, I'd rather get some exercise and have a little more breathing room in my caloric budget, but that's just me. I like to remember what Dr. Sharma says - it's about creating the healthiest life you can enjoy. If you're unhappy doing what you're doing, you're unlikely to stick with it 10, 15, 20 years down the road. I'm lucky that I've found a form of exercise I love, at least in the summer. I love hiking up mountains so much, it gets me out of bed at 5am on a Saturday. And though it's hard work, I really adore doing it. I get my heart rate WAY up, for hours on end, but that's just a side benefit. I'm not out there because I need / want to exercise. I'm out there because I love hiking up to the alpine lakes. The exercise is almost secondary. Unfortunately, it's pretty limited seasonally. I need to keep trying to find something I love so much to do in the winter time.