erp

I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. It was Clear Liquids for two weeks, full liquids 2 weeks and the 5th week add a Protein supplement.

^^This protocol is similar to mine- clear liquids, full liquid, then soft foods.

Santa Claus came today !!!!!!!!

Dressed like a UPS dude. Or actually a dudette.

^^^^I use Xtend when I am going caffeine free. It's not technically a pre workout.

I use Amino Energy by Optimum Nutrition or C4 by Cellucor when I want a caffeine formula.

Scivmtion now makes a version of Xtend that has a pre-workout mixed in........trying to find some....grrrrr. Has serious potential for being a good product.

Post where you find their pre workout. Not sure how many flavors you've tried. Grape Xtend is good, green apple is even better. Watermelon is just okay.

I am most proud of my dedication to getting and staying fit. I was an overweight and asthmatic kid who grew up to be an obese, sedentary adult. Since surgery, I now live an active lifestyle, exercising at least three days a week, going for walks, hikes and bike rides with my family, never feeling limited by my body to do whatever I want.

I don't go on a specific day so much as I go to the ones in the more affluent areas. The brands are usually higher quality.

No not exercise, per se, glute exercises specifically since it is a muscle that can be built up.

^^^^I use Xtend when I am going caffeine free. It's not technically a pre workout.

I use Amino Energy by Optimum Nutrition or C4 by Cellucor when I want a caffeine formula.

Let me start off that I have not been a model sleever for the past 3 years but in 2014 I reached my goal weight of 130 in less than an year. I was able to maintain it with eating clean/ low carbish diet for awhile until my weight settled around 135-138, and I was ok with that. Over the last 6-9 months I have gained 10-15 pounds and am not happy about it. I started to get more strict on my food with no increase of activity for the first 6 months. Never did exercise much from the beginning just here and there and I could drop 5-7 lbs quickly before. What changed? Now Im super serious about losing this weight. For the past 4 weeks I have worked out for 30-45 minutes 3-5 times per week. My food has been on point with one allowed cheat meal per week, which would consist of grilled chicken, green Beans and mashed potatoes for example. I have not lost one freaking pound! This is extremely frustrating!!! I cannot figure out what Im doing wrong?? BTW i start off my reset with a 3 day liquid diet. Could my metabolism be broken? Has my weight just settled here now? The things that I have always done just don't seem to work anymore. Even with increased exercise.I still eat very little and on a saucer or salad plate. Is anyone else going thru again similar? I really don't want to spend the money on a personal trainer and nutritionist but it's looking like i may.... TIA

Exercise mainly helps me maintain my weight versus lose. In fact when I'm dieting, I generally cut back on exercise initially as I want to do just enough to maintain my muscle mass versus going catabolic and losing muscle. Op you mentioned you are consistently eating low carb but that you eat around 70 grams of Protein, that's approximately 300 cals. At 1200 cals- something is amiss. Are you eating more carbs? What are your macros? If you are low carb--Have you tested your urine for ketones?

When I am in maintenance, my Protein is over 100 grams a days, I try to keep carbs around 100-120 and my fats are somewhere around 30 and I workout 4-5 days a week. When dieting, as I am currently (HS reunion is next month!), I cut carbs to around 50, up fats to around 50 and maintain or up my protein some. I cut my workouts down to 2-3 days a week. In the end, I eat less because the extra fat keeps me full longer. I also add a low dose EC stack (Google Lyle McDonald) to keep my metabolism going and I make sure my fluids and Vitamins are on point. I also test my urine to validate that I am burning fat or not and adjust my macros accordingly. Going with a modified Keto diet is my choice on this time as I am trying to lean out but I believe other approaches (e.g. intermittent fasting) can be effective as well so do what you prefer.

Regarding a "broken" metabolism all I will say is that yes there is metabolic adaptation and that once a diet is over expect to spend that equal amount of time reversing out of it. My current diet will run 8 weeks, I will spend 8 weeks afterward adjusting my macros back toward pre-diet ratios. I recommend reading more about metabolism at Eat To Perform or by listening to their podcast.

I remember Onederland as an amazing milestone and being able to jog a mile. My first 5k was a bucket list item checked off.

These days my favorites include empty space on each side of me in an airplane seat and days when my eating is on point and my "skinny clothes" fit well (I'm a chick so bloat is real). Lastly, I enjoy taking pictures with my friends. I am no longer contorting myself in all kinds of crazy ways (suck in stomach, rotate and push hips back, lean forward, neck out, chin tilted slightly down but look up- crazy, I know) to try and look smaller when a camera comes out.

I would stick to the protien shake in the morning but substitute lunch and dinner with lean ground turkey cooked with some light seasoning and like spice. Also, for a snack, I would have a Greek yogurt. You will end the day around 600 calories, and around 90 grams of protien.

Hopefully this will help you!

Best,

Sanju

4oz of lean turkey meat for proportion.

Best,

Sanju

I couldn't eat 4 oz of turkey in a sitting at two months out or even six months. That portion may be too much for him this early on. OP see how you do. You may want to start with 1.5-2 oz and take it from there.

OP, a couple of thoughts just based on my experience and not in any way facts, I found that 4 small meals worked well for me so adding an extra snack like a Baby Bel cheese and a few almonds or a cup of no sugar added apple sauce may make you feel more energetic. I also found that if I didn't get at least 64 oz of Water a day, my energy was gone.

I'm a huge fan of Protein shakes and bars but not when that is 2 of your 3 meals listed. If you don't add an extra meal or snack, then I would swap the bar for real food as Sanju suggests and see if that helps. Also make sure you are getting your Vitamins in and are eating some healthy fats and carbs. While it is important to focus on Protein early on, eating a balanced diet is also important for maintaining energy. Let us know how it goes.

Just curious if it's a GIVEN due to age, or if there's a chance skin can remain intact. Now I know there are TONS of factors (how much weight is lost, how big to start, how fast...) I'm just curious if anyone (women in particular) has not had a big loose skin issue.

I am over 40, lost over 100 lbs, and was overweight for 30 years. While I do have loose skin, the only place anyone can see it is on my upper arms if I wear something sleeveless or cap sleeved. The rest of my loose skin is completely hidden with clothing.

Compared to many, mine is minimal; just a little above my belly button, some sagging on inner thigh and where thigh and butt meet as well as my worst spot which is my lower belly or pannis. All that said, even with my excess skin I wear a size 4.

For what it is worth, I am 3+ years out, weight train 3 times a week, drink 60-70 oz of fluids a day, get at least 70 grams of Protein a day and lost my weight slowly and steadily (never had massive losses or had a stall).

Did you lose it all after surgury?

How do you stay toned after?

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My backside left a couple of years ago but I have built it up with heavy glute workouts. As others have mentioned, weighted squats are great along with hip bridges and the Roman chair. Given that pre-op my backside was my largest area, I will always look deflated without clothes on unless I have my excess skin removed. However when dressed, my overall shape is good, my backside is proportionate to the rest of me. Your outcome will vary based on how much you lose, where you carry your weight and what type of exercise you do.

I know many females use body slimmers but I'm curious if any men do as well and if it works. I'm interested not only looking thinner but to tighten the skin during the weight loss process.

I can't speak to a man's experience but I do think they help a little but ultimately excess skin comes down to a variety of factors; age, genetics, how long and how overweight you are. Additionally I found the appearance of my excess skin improved, tightened, over the course of a year.

I always love hearing from BariatricPal members about your great ideas for satisfying cravings with healthy substitutes. You might make them yourself with new recipes, or order a dish from a restaurant but with certain requirements, like bunless or without sauce.

I know a lot of substitutes, like portabello pizza for real pizza, and pureed cauliflower or turnip for mashed potatoes, and baked “fried” chicken with Fiber One or almond meal instead of breading and frying…but I know you all have a ton of excellent ideas that are WLS-friendly solutions for all those craveables!

Share them here, please, and we’ll all be able to satisfy our cravings a little more easily!

I shop when I have a craving. Empty fridge but amazing wardrobe!

Wasn't sure how to title this but what Im asking is what is your response when people acknowledge your weightloss? For example if someone who has not seen you in a while says OMG, you've lost so much weight, what have you been doing??" what do you tell them? Do you tell them you have had weight loss surgery?

When people ask me, "what's your secret?" to weight loss. I tell them I have been doing EVERYTHING. I diet, I exercise, I participate in a medically supervised weight loss program, I attend a monthly support group, I track my food daily using My Fitness Pal, I weight myself daily, etc. By the time I'm done, I have told them what they don't want to hear- that you have to work lose weight and keep it off.

I was just wondering if anyone else's goal weight still leaves them in the overweight or obese range according to BMI. My goal weight is 172lbs, which would put me at a BMI of about 29.5 (still overweight). When I get there, I might decide to keep going to 155lbs, which would still leave me overweight with a BMI of 27.5. Is anyone else in the same boat? Do you think we should be aiming for "healthy" weights?

Who's goal is that? My surgeon's goal (160-170lbs) left me overweight also. I can honestly say his goal deflated me. My inner dialogue was, "I'm going to do all this sh*t and still be overweight?!". I made own goal based on a healthy BMI, height/weight charts, and healthy body fat percentages. That left me in the 130s.

OMG, I am so jealous. Seriously, if I could do it over again, I would take a month. I was an overachiever and came back after 2 weeks. Unless there are serious financial reasons, no idea why I pushed myself for a job?!

30 days

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Did the scale steady go down each day or would you go days at the same weight then have a sudden drop? I'm 9 days post sleeve and each day have seen a 1lb or 0.5lb loss every day. I wonder how long I can keep up that pace.

One thing I can guarantee, is that your WL will slow down...eventually but whether you lose slow and steady (like I did, never had a stall) or lose large amounts and then stall for several weeks in the first 6-12 months doesn't matter. At 9 days post, you are just at the start of this new way of living. Follow your program and enjoy the loses whenever you have them.

WLS has had little impact on my social life when compared to other life changes I've had post-op like getting married, moving, etc. One thing surgery has impacted regarding my friends is that I am more likely to suggest an activity versus drinking and/or eating get together. Losing weight allowed me to confidently participate in my friend's more active lifestyles, e.g. to suggest hiking as an opportunity to reconnect versus going out to dinner.

What Kindle said. Also experiment with the temperature of the beverages. I couldn't handle really cold beverages in the beginning.

Great workout! I can't say you won't still be tired after a hard workout unless you never increase your intensity but you will be able to increase your intensity and more importantly you will look and feel better than someone who didn't workout before and after surgery. Keep it up!

I get the impression that for many, they see WLS as the end of a long journey. It is a process to decide if surgery is right for you, then which surgery to have, and finally you have surgery. Where the thinking is wrong, is that surgery is the end of the journey when in fact it is just the beginning. Your surgery will be with you for the rest of your life. Whether you lose 9 pounds or 19 in the first month is immaterial when you understand that surgery was just the end of the beginning.

Prices: 40 units of Botox and one syringe of Juvederm cost me $900.

I have been using Botox for 7 years. As such I only need to go twice a year to get it done. I started fillers a year and a half ago. That is still a bit of trial and error. First I did under the eyes as my weight loss gave me serious bags under them but I got overfilled. Now a year later, no more bags or overfilled look. Two weeks ago, I had my nasal labial folds done and I LOVE how that turned out. I recommend starting with injectables, you can still consider surgical options if you are not satisfied with the results.

It is my understanding that the recommendation to wait is twofold but both are related to better results from plastic surgery. First to ensure your weight is stable, I continued to lose weight for about 15 months post op. Second to allow your skin to tighten naturally on its own prior to having the procedures to address loose or sagging skin (tummy tuck, thighs etc). My skin continued to tightened up on its own for at least 18 months or so out.

Eslami has a free bimonthly support group run by his NUT (Valerie) and head nurse of Methodist bariatric program (Rondee). It is open to all WLS patients regardless of if you have had surgery with him. I highly recommend it.