Globetrotter

Oh yes, definitely. I noticed some time ago that I need to keep my daily fat grams high, between 20-25, or I wouldn't lose at all. I went back to 600 for 2 days and instead of losing almost 2 pounds like I was doing on 800, I lost half a pound. I just don't know what to dooooooo! I can't switch nut's, as my nut is a part of my surgical package and surgeon's office. Plus, being in Iraq I can't exactly shop around for a new nut. And besides, regular nuts don't comprehend the whole WLS thing and the real metabolic differences etc.

There are some things in life to which "you get what you pay for" applies. For me personally, I didn't have the option of using my insurance and had to go private pay. So my pre-op, during-op, and immediate post-op issues all had to do with how I could spend that much money on myself. It's not that I didn't think I was worth it, it's just the enormity of the cost made me realize the enormity of what I was doing, I guess. I'm 3 months out and have lost about half what I should have by now so I haven't had that moment of shock or disconnect that some folks describe. In the first weeks following surgery when I saw my scars I freaked a little, realizing that I had major surgery. However the quality of my experience was so top notch I never gave it a second thought, as far as pain-complications-etc. were concerned. I don't even remember them putting an iv in. I was just chatting with the anesthesiologist one minute, and waking up in my room the next.

So yesterday I ate only 600 but the day before I ate a little over 800. This morning I weighed myself and was down almost a pound in two days so, who knows which calorie level did it. Maybe it was the drastic change from 800+ to 600. I have no idea if I should eat 600 today or 800. Ideas?

I was not a grazer before surgery, now I'm a grazer! In order to get in the recommended amount of Protein I have to graze - my stomach isn't large enough to eat all of it in just three settings. A typical day for me looks like this; Breakfast - protein shot 2 turkey/cream cheese roll ups Snack - 1 oz Jerky lunch - 2 oz chicken salad Snack - 1/4 green apple dinner - 2 oz chicken salad Dessert - 1/4 green apple 7 different pieces of food, eating 5 times a day. I could combine lunch and the after lunch snack I suppose, I'm just too full though. I guess I eat just about every 2-3 hours. The above menu is approx. 600 cals., 70+ grams protein, super low carb.

Well imo you are lucky, here is a list of the fabulous fashions you can actually wear and look good in as a HW - low rider jeans, low rise anything. Pencil skirts, bias cut skirts. Pants or skirts with detailing around the hips like pleats or pockets. I don't personally care for them but if you were so inclined you could wear bell bottoms/flares without looking like a squash. With my wide hips, flat butt, big chest, and narrowness between my shoulder blades, nothing ever fits correctly regardless of the size. The only time in my life a button down oxford shirt has ever fit well was when I took it to a tailor.

I've been eating more, in the mid 700's, and it seemed to spur some loss, about a pound every day and a half. This morning was the first time in a week where there wasn't a pound loss so I'm going back to 600 for a few days. My carbs today are 10 grams

So I got a response from my nut and surprisingly she just totally ignored what I was telling her; that I was not losing at 600 that I AM losing at 700+. She just repeated that I should be at 600 OR LESS, that I should cut out the almonds (!!) and that I should be eating fruits and vegetables while getting in no less than 80 grams of protein. I don't think she has done the math because I have configured and re-configured by calories and there is no way to get in that much protein, keep the cals at 600 or less, and be able to eat fruits or veg. I just don't know what to do anymore and the one person whose guidance is "official", my surgeon, has disappeared!! Very low today.

Update: This week I have pretty much stayed above 700 daily, I even changed my daily caloric target on my food tracker to reflect 700 rather than 600. I don't know if it is a "true" result of this new plan, or a result of finishing my cycle but, I've pretty much lost a pound a day this week! I don't know now whether I should stay at this higher calorie or return to 600, am afraid of "tinkering" with it too much. I'm at my 3 month post-op, I was supposed to have lost 75 by now - so far, only 46 and 20 of those were in the first 2 weeks so I've only lost 26 pounds in 2 1/2 months. =(

Oh there's nothing wrong with jeans & a tee, I'm from NorCal, I know all about the denim "uniform"!=) Regardless of my size though, even when I was in single digits in high school, pants just don't fit my body comfortably and my legs are too short and hips too wide to look elegant in trousers. I am just eager for options; when you are really big any kind of dress just looks like a mu-mu. I look forward to wearing dresses with fitted waists, and having a waist!

I'm just terrified that by eating more, I will stop losing weight and start gaining. I mean, that's the way it has always been for us, pre-surgery, I just can't let go of the fear that this isn't working, that I'm not going to just fail at this and gain and return to the misery. If this were the old VST forum there would ge a great sad-face emoticon I could put here. =(

I'm just terrified that by eating more, I will stop losing weight and start gaining. I mean, that's the way it has always been for us, pre-surgery, I just can't let go of the fear that this isn't working, that I'm not going to just fail at this and gain and return to the misery. If this were the old VST forum there would ge a great sad-face emoticon I could put here. =(

So - as many regulars here know, I was put on a 600 cal/70g protein regimen by my surgeon. I am 3 months post-op now and the weight has been coming off excrutiatingly slow. Recently I decided to shake things up and did 3 days of 800+ cals and then 3 days back at 600. It didn't seem to do anything and, in a moment of rebellion-sabotage, I said f*** it and started eating between 700-800 cals. Well guess what? I'm losing weight, better than before. It's only been 4 days of doing this but I've lost about a pound a day. The dillemma is this - should I go back to the 600 cals? If I stay at this higher cal. point, will the positives turn out to be short term? I understand that a shake up of cals can jump start the loss but if I keep on eating that, will it end up having an adverse reaction?

There are expletives I could use for what I think of the new site, but I won't. It is completely unusable for me now.

I don't want to burst any bubbles out there but low-carb is not the last word in VSG weight loss. I am extremely low carb, between 12-15 per day and I am barely losing a pound a week. I'm on 600 cals/70g protein a day with 30 min cardio exercise a day and nothing. To say I am frustrated is an understatement. Before you ask, I am on only 600 cals a day per my surgeon's instructions. I have no idea what to do, I've contacted my surgeon but he has yet to get back to me.

Hooray, Mini!! Now - where are the pictures?!! We need pic-chaws!!!! =)

I am at work 12+ hours a day so I check on the forum at work. I can't do that now, with the very first thing spashing across my screen are photos that members have recently uploaded. I don't want my computer screen filled with brightly colored photos of people in bathing suits and hospital gowns! Discretion is the name of the game.

Okay, so I'm feeling out the new vertical sleeve talk and the first thing I noticed is that it is very ...... feminine, in appearance now. Doesn't that leave the fellas out a bit? I'm willing to say that there are probably plenty of guys out there who don't mind the pink and dusty rose color palette, but the art icon next to each forum is of a distinctly feminine form, subtly suggesting that this entire site is really meant only for women. It would be a shame to start making male sleevers feel as though this isn't the place for them, they are already in the minority for support available.

So it's official then, I'm going to just focus on the scale numbers and how I feel in my body, tag numbers be da**ed! 129 is my goal and if that ends up being a "4" or a "12", so be it!

Yeah, I first knew something was wrong when my Mom, who weighed 117 pounds the day she learned she was pregnant with me, commented that she never wore smaller than a size 8 in her life!!! This is why I was perplexed for the longest time when I would read here on the forum about people saying they were 130-150 pounds and then saying some really small number size they were now wearing - 130 pounds at 5'3" in high school got me a size 8, but I recently went to the website of an upscale women's clothing store and looked at their size chart and according to them, the measurements I had when I was 130 pounds and a size 8 - would now get me into a 4/6!!!!!!! So really, the arguement people make now about hollywood being bad for making size 2 the new thin, is a fallacy. Taking into accound size inflation, a size 2 today is probably what a size 6 was 40 years ago. Wonder what size Twiggy was ...

Did you mean keep carbs low but protein high? I keep carbs very low, try to stay in the low teens on grams per day. Jerky, parmesan, oven roasted almonds, and greek yogurt are examples of snack/small meal foods that are great sources of protein while being pretty low carb. Fish, poultry, red meat, pork, tempeh, tvp, tofu, and yogurt are all excellent low carb bases for main course meals. If you look on the Glycemic Index of fruits and vegetables and select those lowest on the index, like green beans, then you will be selecting good low carb choices. When it comes to cheese, I believe it's the harder the cheese, the lower the carbs but I'm not 100% on that. If you are craving flavored drinks but want to stay away from carbs and sugar, tea is an excellent alternative. Any tea can be made hot or cold, sweetened or plain, caffeine or caffeine free. when I want that hint of creaminess without the carb cal price of milk, I use a little individual pot of creamer at 10 calories. Also your Protein shakes can take the place of milk and satisfy your urge for creaminess. Hope this helps!

Oh god, Reese's... they were my go-to pleasure pre-op. I could go through 2 bags of the minis wrapped in gold foil over a weekend. a Peanut butter chocolate sugarless low calorie candy needs to be invented IMMEDIATELY!! :drool:

OhMyGod, Chocolate Peanut Butter is the best flavor combination EVER. It is the perfect blend of savory and sweet, salty sweet. It has what is known as an "Umami" flavor profile. Other foods with umami are chicken soup and parmesan. Pre-op if I was living in the States, it wasn't unheard of for me to go through a pint of haagen daz choc-pb in a single evening!

I am a super slooooow loser, which is really depressing. I'm on 600 cals-70+g's protein-60+oz water. I try to keep my carbs below 15g's and my fats between 20-23g's per day. I exercise 30 minutes a day -treadmill. I'm trying to shake things up this week though, 700 cals one day and less than 600 for a few days following, see what happens. I lost 20 pounds in the first 2 weeks and 20 pounds in the following 2 months for a total of 40 pounds in 10 weeks. Wish it was more.

Yep, that's the bottom line - it's your money.