dropdeadweightdiva

Admit this may be a long one so I apologize upfront for that!
I was ridiculously out of control in my eating habits therefore I was also crazy worried about my ability to make the change. I did begin changing my habits before surgery. I began walking short distances as the 8 stairs up from my basement had me huffing and puffing. Initially I dreaded having to walk the 3 blocks to pick up my children from school. For almost 2 decades I never really dealt with hunger because I often ate so consistently I don't think I ever allowed myself to get hungry. I woke up and thought about what I would eat for Breakfast, after Breakfast i focused on lunch but had Snacks, etc... I literally ate from wakeup, to my head hitting the pillow and often got up to eat more before I actually fell asleep. I remember eating 2 footlong subway subs in a sitting, and this wasn't a one time marathon thing; driving to 7-11 at midnight for junk food and then eating most of what I thought I would eat over 2-3 days. So I get it completely. Frankly I was scared sh**less that I would fail, or sabatoge myself along the way. Shortly before my first meeting with my center I had gestational diabetes but it went away immediately after my pregnancy. I admit when I am pregnant I am completely in control and anal about what I put in my mouth so lose weight throughout them. Of course post nursing forget about it! So after finding out I had no choice but to switch to formula I actually managed to become a full blown diabetic in about 5 months. It was a flurry of chocolate, fries and slurpees! My point being you and I are very much alike in being obsessed with food 24/7. So if I can do it anyone can do it!
I found out I had become a diabetic at my first appointment at my bariatric center, March 12, 2013. That was the day the light went on for me, even if it was dim when it started. I walked 15 minutes that first day and I hated it lol. That night I completely lost all control of my sanity as every emotion under the sun came out over every little thing. For a second I thought OMG I am pregnant!! But no, apparently I am an emotional eater so now instead of eating, all of a sudden I was feeling everything and it was completely overwhelming. For this reason I strongly recommend trying to get at least 2-3 days of healthier eating out of the way prior to your liquid pre-op. The mental part of this is by far the hardest, so getting a small advantage before really does help. So expect to be very hormonal when you start out.
Tricks of the trade pre-op.. I chewed a lot of stride gum especially during my liquid diet (3 weeks), lifesaver, that is my biggest thing to this day, although no I don't promote it post op as we all know it is a no no and I was 6 months out before I tried it. I drank a lot of low calorie fluids and I planned ahead for meals (before liquid pre-op). For the first little while I kept junk out of the house. I have kids so that's hard, so I chose to buy things they like but I don't, like all dressed chips, or cotton candy ice cream.. My fave thing being a large cup of lite hot chocolate with fat free hazelnut Creamer in the evening as a treat and it kept me pretty full.. so I would do it at my peak struggle time. I started keeping fruit that I really liked around, cherries and raspberries and I would go to town. Not ideal but it was certainly better than the alternatives.. smart pop was another fave pre-op.
No I was not perfect I had bad days, still do, but I started to convince myself that it didn't have to be a bad day.. instead it was a bad couple hours and then I let it go, guilt has no place on the road to success. It will not motivate you, it will only make you feel worse!! I made a list of all those things i wanted to be able to do post op... and a list of all those things I never wanted to feel or have happen to me again. That was emotional, then I put them up in a cpl places around the house where I thought they would most benefit me. I also included a list of the consequences of failing to follow my liquid diet. Number one of course being a cancelled surgery!
So I actually made it through all 3 weeks or 22 days as my nutritionist miscalculated lol. A ton of gum, broth to break up the sweetness, I was allowed 2 cups of raw green veggies/day added garlic salt or seasoning salt.. no dressing allowed! It makes you an idiot about a week in, prepare to write things down as you won't remember them. Drink tons of fluids as the day 3 headache is a nightmare and will likely last a cpl days and nothing will touch it but hydration so stay on top of that.
Post-op hunger concerns... I have hunger, boy do I experience real hunger. Now I am not trying to scare you, I didn't experience hunger like this until about 7 months out. So I have had a lot of time to work through better choices and options when I am hungry, the nice thing about being early out is that it won't take much to reel in said hunger if you are one who feels it. Have a cup of broth, some greek yogurt and boom it's gone for another couple hours. Also remember that your intake is soo limited that it is okay to feed it. Sometime just choose to feed it with fluids. That is the biggie, learning to decipher head hunger from actual hunger from thirst!! Once you get that straight your life will quickly become much easier. So pay attention to what each of them feel like, not as hard as it sounds I promise. Further out you can eat more, and I fall off the wagon the last time I was off for almost 4 weeks, stopped exercising too. I gained 5 pounds. The difference is that this time the weight gain actually scared me, having been a 'normal' size for a bit now I got comfortable and this was a well needed reality check. Now considering how much I was eating 5 pounds was kind, so the surgery really is just a tool. You still need to fight those demons for life but when I think about how much weight I could have gained in that same time period preop.. no comparison. I also dropped those 5 pounds during my 'taking back control' week. But what I didn't do is beat myself up for it, I went on a fabulous food vacation and when I landed back in reality I dealt with it. No guilt, just moved on and smartened up. So being kind to yourself is something that gets easier as you go through this process. It's also one of my favourite NSV's..
Sorry so long I admit I am horribly wordy... hope that helps alleviate some of your fears

I will happily answer any questions and try to help you the best that I can in your journey. 40 year old female, 3 kids, 143 pounds gone. It is a hard and trying process but the best decision I ever made!!!

I started at 287 lbs. I focused the first 6 weeks on drinking and healing. I started taking Calcium citrate, Vitamin D and a prenatal Vitamin daily once I was allowed to do so. Recently I stopped taking the Calcium as my nutritionist and I decided that I consume a fair amount of calcium naturally on a daily basis so the extra is just not necessary for me. As far as boosting the weight loss...Initially to get my Protein in I used the typical shakes, bought skim milk powder and unflavoured Protein Powder to add to things. But worry less about Protein for the first little while and more about getting in fluids because if you don't you'll find yourself dizzy, ditzy and the headaches are pretty unpleasant and will linger if you don't sip sip sip. lol I live in Canada so my access to some brands is more limited... I started out just walking on a daily basis and just increased the time and intensity week by week. Now, for me, walking is more of a nature thing as it doesn't bring my heart rate up enough to be effective the way I want it to be. But to start walking is a great way, just fill your ipod with music you love and that makes you feel good, and has an upbeat tempo to help keep you paced. Considering how early you are in this stage of your journey, right now worry less about the scale and more about healing and adjusting to your new diet.

Admit this may be a long one so I apologize upfront for that!
I was ridiculously out of control in my eating habits therefore I was also crazy worried about my ability to make the change. I did begin changing my habits before surgery. I began walking short distances as the 8 stairs up from my basement had me huffing and puffing. Initially I dreaded having to walk the 3 blocks to pick up my children from school. For almost 2 decades I never really dealt with hunger because I often ate so consistently I don't think I ever allowed myself to get hungry. I woke up and thought about what I would eat for Breakfast, after Breakfast i focused on lunch but had Snacks, etc... I literally ate from wakeup, to my head hitting the pillow and often got up to eat more before I actually fell asleep. I remember eating 2 footlong subway subs in a sitting, and this wasn't a one time marathon thing; driving to 7-11 at midnight for junk food and then eating most of what I thought I would eat over 2-3 days. So I get it completely. Frankly I was scared sh**less that I would fail, or sabatoge myself along the way. Shortly before my first meeting with my center I had gestational diabetes but it went away immediately after my pregnancy. I admit when I am pregnant I am completely in control and anal about what I put in my mouth so lose weight throughout them. Of course post nursing forget about it! So after finding out I had no choice but to switch to formula I actually managed to become a full blown diabetic in about 5 months. It was a flurry of chocolate, fries and slurpees! My point being you and I are very much alike in being obsessed with food 24/7. So if I can do it anyone can do it!
I found out I had become a diabetic at my first appointment at my bariatric center, March 12, 2013. That was the day the light went on for me, even if it was dim when it started. I walked 15 minutes that first day and I hated it lol. That night I completely lost all control of my sanity as every emotion under the sun came out over every little thing. For a second I thought OMG I am pregnant!! But no, apparently I am an emotional eater so now instead of eating, all of a sudden I was feeling everything and it was completely overwhelming. For this reason I strongly recommend trying to get at least 2-3 days of healthier eating out of the way prior to your liquid pre-op. The mental part of this is by far the hardest, so getting a small advantage before really does help. So expect to be very hormonal when you start out.
Tricks of the trade pre-op.. I chewed a lot of stride gum especially during my liquid diet (3 weeks), lifesaver, that is my biggest thing to this day, although no I don't promote it post op as we all know it is a no no and I was 6 months out before I tried it. I drank a lot of low calorie fluids and I planned ahead for meals (before liquid pre-op). For the first little while I kept junk out of the house. I have kids so that's hard, so I chose to buy things they like but I don't, like all dressed chips, or cotton candy ice cream.. My fave thing being a large cup of lite hot chocolate with fat free hazelnut Creamer in the evening as a treat and it kept me pretty full.. so I would do it at my peak struggle time. I started keeping fruit that I really liked around, cherries and raspberries and I would go to town. Not ideal but it was certainly better than the alternatives.. smart pop was another fave pre-op.
No I was not perfect I had bad days, still do, but I started to convince myself that it didn't have to be a bad day.. instead it was a bad couple hours and then I let it go, guilt has no place on the road to success. It will not motivate you, it will only make you feel worse!! I made a list of all those things i wanted to be able to do post op... and a list of all those things I never wanted to feel or have happen to me again. That was emotional, then I put them up in a cpl places around the house where I thought they would most benefit me. I also included a list of the consequences of failing to follow my liquid diet. Number one of course being a cancelled surgery!
So I actually made it through all 3 weeks or 22 days as my nutritionist miscalculated lol. A ton of gum, broth to break up the sweetness, I was allowed 2 cups of raw green veggies/day added garlic salt or seasoning salt.. no dressing allowed! It makes you an idiot about a week in, prepare to write things down as you won't remember them. Drink tons of fluids as the day 3 headache is a nightmare and will likely last a cpl days and nothing will touch it but hydration so stay on top of that.
Post-op hunger concerns... I have hunger, boy do I experience real hunger. Now I am not trying to scare you, I didn't experience hunger like this until about 7 months out. So I have had a lot of time to work through better choices and options when I am hungry, the nice thing about being early out is that it won't take much to reel in said hunger if you are one who feels it. Have a cup of broth, some greek yogurt and boom it's gone for another couple hours. Also remember that your intake is soo limited that it is okay to feed it. Sometime just choose to feed it with fluids. That is the biggie, learning to decipher head hunger from actual hunger from thirst!! Once you get that straight your life will quickly become much easier. So pay attention to what each of them feel like, not as hard as it sounds I promise. Further out you can eat more, and I fall off the wagon the last time I was off for almost 4 weeks, stopped exercising too. I gained 5 pounds. The difference is that this time the weight gain actually scared me, having been a 'normal' size for a bit now I got comfortable and this was a well needed reality check. Now considering how much I was eating 5 pounds was kind, so the surgery really is just a tool. You still need to fight those demons for life but when I think about how much weight I could have gained in that same time period preop.. no comparison. I also dropped those 5 pounds during my 'taking back control' week. But what I didn't do is beat myself up for it, I went on a fabulous food vacation and when I landed back in reality I dealt with it. No guilt, just moved on and smartened up. So being kind to yourself is something that gets easier as you go through this process. It's also one of my favourite NSV's..
Sorry so long I admit I am horribly wordy... hope that helps alleviate some of your fears

Marybeth, love love love your post!! Especially your coin purse analogy, gotta remember that one!!

I make a point of drinking all day long.. so when I am eating I don't crave fluids. My suggestion would be to have a decent sized drink about half an hour before you usually eat. Also if you find yourself craving fluids while you eat maybe have a yogurt or something that consistency during your meal so you kind of feel that texture but it will fill you up at the same time. I know for me I have learned that when I fall off the wagon onto the carb express I can eat a huge amount of food, especially chips and crackers..As much as this surgery is a tool it's not a cure and we still have to fight the head games. Also when I overdo carbs my head hunger jumps into full effect and I find myself drinking less than I do when I am focusing on Protein. So as much as I am not one of those 'no carbs' sleever.. I am aware that carbs are the devil, lol So just be aware of the carbs in the form of breads, Pasta, crackers.. i don't count carbs in yogurt, shakes etc as a rule in my daily intake.. I do still have a shake every morning for Breakfast and I add a scoop of Fiber to it and you will be surprised how much heavier that sits to help tide you over for the morning.. I also drink a butt load of nestea green tea zero and Powerade zero.. Agree with your doctor to move more but the thing people tend to forget about is weight training.. cpl days a week .. i can set you up with a program that takes 20minutes.. muscle burns fat so it really is an essential part of the process while you are trying to lose.. Also try to stay off the scale and take your measurements instead.. much more reliable tell as the scale will stay still but the inches will move..

I make a point of drinking all day long.. so when I am eating I don't crave fluids. My suggestion would be to have a decent sized drink about half an hour before you usually eat. Also if you find yourself craving fluids while you eat maybe have a yogurt or something that consistency during your meal so you kind of feel that texture but it will fill you up at the same time. I know for me I have learned that when I fall off the wagon onto the carb express I can eat a huge amount of food, especially chips and crackers..As much as this surgery is a tool it's not a cure and we still have to fight the head games. Also when I overdo carbs my head hunger jumps into full effect and I find myself drinking less than I do when I am focusing on Protein. So as much as I am not one of those 'no carbs' sleever.. I am aware that carbs are the devil, lol So just be aware of the carbs in the form of breads, Pasta, crackers.. i don't count carbs in yogurt, shakes etc as a rule in my daily intake.. I do still have a shake every morning for Breakfast and I add a scoop of Fiber to it and you will be surprised how much heavier that sits to help tide you over for the morning.. I also drink a butt load of nestea green tea zero and Powerade zero.. Agree with your doctor to move more but the thing people tend to forget about is weight training.. cpl days a week .. i can set you up with a program that takes 20minutes.. muscle burns fat so it really is an essential part of the process while you are trying to lose.. Also try to stay off the scale and take your measurements instead.. much more reliable tell as the scale will stay still but the inches will move..

I started at 287 lbs. I focused the first 6 weeks on drinking and healing. I started taking Calcium citrate, Vitamin D and a prenatal Vitamin daily once I was allowed to do so. Recently I stopped taking the Calcium as my nutritionist and I decided that I consume a fair amount of calcium naturally on a daily basis so the extra is just not necessary for me. As far as boosting the weight loss...Initially to get my Protein in I used the typical shakes, bought skim milk powder and unflavoured Protein Powder to add to things. But worry less about Protein for the first little while and more about getting in fluids because if you don't you'll find yourself dizzy, ditzy and the headaches are pretty unpleasant and will linger if you don't sip sip sip. lol I live in Canada so my access to some brands is more limited... I started out just walking on a daily basis and just increased the time and intensity week by week. Now, for me, walking is more of a nature thing as it doesn't bring my heart rate up enough to be effective the way I want it to be. But to start walking is a great way, just fill your ipod with music you love and that makes you feel good, and has an upbeat tempo to help keep you paced. Considering how early you are in this stage of your journey, right now worry less about the scale and more about healing and adjusting to your new diet.

I will happily answer any questions and try to help you the best that I can in your journey. 40 year old female, 3 kids, 143 pounds gone. It is a hard and trying process but the best decision I ever made!!!

I will happily answer any questions and try to help you the best that I can in your journey. 40 year old female, 3 kids, 143 pounds gone. It is a hard and trying process but the best decision I ever made!!!

Admit this may be a long one so I apologize upfront for that!
I was ridiculously out of control in my eating habits therefore I was also crazy worried about my ability to make the change. I did begin changing my habits before surgery. I began walking short distances as the 8 stairs up from my basement had me huffing and puffing. Initially I dreaded having to walk the 3 blocks to pick up my children from school. For almost 2 decades I never really dealt with hunger because I often ate so consistently I don't think I ever allowed myself to get hungry. I woke up and thought about what I would eat for Breakfast, after Breakfast i focused on lunch but had Snacks, etc... I literally ate from wakeup, to my head hitting the pillow and often got up to eat more before I actually fell asleep. I remember eating 2 footlong subway subs in a sitting, and this wasn't a one time marathon thing; driving to 7-11 at midnight for junk food and then eating most of what I thought I would eat over 2-3 days. So I get it completely. Frankly I was scared sh**less that I would fail, or sabatoge myself along the way. Shortly before my first meeting with my center I had gestational diabetes but it went away immediately after my pregnancy. I admit when I am pregnant I am completely in control and anal about what I put in my mouth so lose weight throughout them. Of course post nursing forget about it! So after finding out I had no choice but to switch to formula I actually managed to become a full blown diabetic in about 5 months. It was a flurry of chocolate, fries and slurpees! My point being you and I are very much alike in being obsessed with food 24/7. So if I can do it anyone can do it!
I found out I had become a diabetic at my first appointment at my bariatric center, March 12, 2013. That was the day the light went on for me, even if it was dim when it started. I walked 15 minutes that first day and I hated it lol. That night I completely lost all control of my sanity as every emotion under the sun came out over every little thing. For a second I thought OMG I am pregnant!! But no, apparently I am an emotional eater so now instead of eating, all of a sudden I was feeling everything and it was completely overwhelming. For this reason I strongly recommend trying to get at least 2-3 days of healthier eating out of the way prior to your liquid pre-op. The mental part of this is by far the hardest, so getting a small advantage before really does help. So expect to be very hormonal when you start out.
Tricks of the trade pre-op.. I chewed a lot of stride gum especially during my liquid diet (3 weeks), lifesaver, that is my biggest thing to this day, although no I don't promote it post op as we all know it is a no no and I was 6 months out before I tried it. I drank a lot of low calorie fluids and I planned ahead for meals (before liquid pre-op). For the first little while I kept junk out of the house. I have kids so that's hard, so I chose to buy things they like but I don't, like all dressed chips, or cotton candy ice cream.. My fave thing being a large cup of lite hot chocolate with fat free hazelnut Creamer in the evening as a treat and it kept me pretty full.. so I would do it at my peak struggle time. I started keeping fruit that I really liked around, cherries and raspberries and I would go to town. Not ideal but it was certainly better than the alternatives.. smart pop was another fave pre-op.
No I was not perfect I had bad days, still do, but I started to convince myself that it didn't have to be a bad day.. instead it was a bad couple hours and then I let it go, guilt has no place on the road to success. It will not motivate you, it will only make you feel worse!! I made a list of all those things i wanted to be able to do post op... and a list of all those things I never wanted to feel or have happen to me again. That was emotional, then I put them up in a cpl places around the house where I thought they would most benefit me. I also included a list of the consequences of failing to follow my liquid diet. Number one of course being a cancelled surgery!
So I actually made it through all 3 weeks or 22 days as my nutritionist miscalculated lol. A ton of gum, broth to break up the sweetness, I was allowed 2 cups of raw green veggies/day added garlic salt or seasoning salt.. no dressing allowed! It makes you an idiot about a week in, prepare to write things down as you won't remember them. Drink tons of fluids as the day 3 headache is a nightmare and will likely last a cpl days and nothing will touch it but hydration so stay on top of that.
Post-op hunger concerns... I have hunger, boy do I experience real hunger. Now I am not trying to scare you, I didn't experience hunger like this until about 7 months out. So I have had a lot of time to work through better choices and options when I am hungry, the nice thing about being early out is that it won't take much to reel in said hunger if you are one who feels it. Have a cup of broth, some greek yogurt and boom it's gone for another couple hours. Also remember that your intake is soo limited that it is okay to feed it. Sometime just choose to feed it with fluids. That is the biggie, learning to decipher head hunger from actual hunger from thirst!! Once you get that straight your life will quickly become much easier. So pay attention to what each of them feel like, not as hard as it sounds I promise. Further out you can eat more, and I fall off the wagon the last time I was off for almost 4 weeks, stopped exercising too. I gained 5 pounds. The difference is that this time the weight gain actually scared me, having been a 'normal' size for a bit now I got comfortable and this was a well needed reality check. Now considering how much I was eating 5 pounds was kind, so the surgery really is just a tool. You still need to fight those demons for life but when I think about how much weight I could have gained in that same time period preop.. no comparison. I also dropped those 5 pounds during my 'taking back control' week. But what I didn't do is beat myself up for it, I went on a fabulous food vacation and when I landed back in reality I dealt with it. No guilt, just moved on and smartened up. So being kind to yourself is something that gets easier as you go through this process. It's also one of my favourite NSV's..
Sorry so long I admit I am horribly wordy... hope that helps alleviate some of your fears

Admit this may be a long one so I apologize upfront for that!
I was ridiculously out of control in my eating habits therefore I was also crazy worried about my ability to make the change. I did begin changing my habits before surgery. I began walking short distances as the 8 stairs up from my basement had me huffing and puffing. Initially I dreaded having to walk the 3 blocks to pick up my children from school. For almost 2 decades I never really dealt with hunger because I often ate so consistently I don't think I ever allowed myself to get hungry. I woke up and thought about what I would eat for Breakfast, after Breakfast i focused on lunch but had Snacks, etc... I literally ate from wakeup, to my head hitting the pillow and often got up to eat more before I actually fell asleep. I remember eating 2 footlong subway subs in a sitting, and this wasn't a one time marathon thing; driving to 7-11 at midnight for junk food and then eating most of what I thought I would eat over 2-3 days. So I get it completely. Frankly I was scared sh**less that I would fail, or sabatoge myself along the way. Shortly before my first meeting with my center I had gestational diabetes but it went away immediately after my pregnancy. I admit when I am pregnant I am completely in control and anal about what I put in my mouth so lose weight throughout them. Of course post nursing forget about it! So after finding out I had no choice but to switch to formula I actually managed to become a full blown diabetic in about 5 months. It was a flurry of chocolate, fries and slurpees! My point being you and I are very much alike in being obsessed with food 24/7. So if I can do it anyone can do it!
I found out I had become a diabetic at my first appointment at my bariatric center, March 12, 2013. That was the day the light went on for me, even if it was dim when it started. I walked 15 minutes that first day and I hated it lol. That night I completely lost all control of my sanity as every emotion under the sun came out over every little thing. For a second I thought OMG I am pregnant!! But no, apparently I am an emotional eater so now instead of eating, all of a sudden I was feeling everything and it was completely overwhelming. For this reason I strongly recommend trying to get at least 2-3 days of healthier eating out of the way prior to your liquid pre-op. The mental part of this is by far the hardest, so getting a small advantage before really does help. So expect to be very hormonal when you start out.
Tricks of the trade pre-op.. I chewed a lot of stride gum especially during my liquid diet (3 weeks), lifesaver, that is my biggest thing to this day, although no I don't promote it post op as we all know it is a no no and I was 6 months out before I tried it. I drank a lot of low calorie fluids and I planned ahead for meals (before liquid pre-op). For the first little while I kept junk out of the house. I have kids so that's hard, so I chose to buy things they like but I don't, like all dressed chips, or cotton candy ice cream.. My fave thing being a large cup of lite hot chocolate with fat free hazelnut Creamer in the evening as a treat and it kept me pretty full.. so I would do it at my peak struggle time. I started keeping fruit that I really liked around, cherries and raspberries and I would go to town. Not ideal but it was certainly better than the alternatives.. smart pop was another fave pre-op.
No I was not perfect I had bad days, still do, but I started to convince myself that it didn't have to be a bad day.. instead it was a bad couple hours and then I let it go, guilt has no place on the road to success. It will not motivate you, it will only make you feel worse!! I made a list of all those things i wanted to be able to do post op... and a list of all those things I never wanted to feel or have happen to me again. That was emotional, then I put them up in a cpl places around the house where I thought they would most benefit me. I also included a list of the consequences of failing to follow my liquid diet. Number one of course being a cancelled surgery!
So I actually made it through all 3 weeks or 22 days as my nutritionist miscalculated lol. A ton of gum, broth to break up the sweetness, I was allowed 2 cups of raw green veggies/day added garlic salt or seasoning salt.. no dressing allowed! It makes you an idiot about a week in, prepare to write things down as you won't remember them. Drink tons of fluids as the day 3 headache is a nightmare and will likely last a cpl days and nothing will touch it but hydration so stay on top of that.
Post-op hunger concerns... I have hunger, boy do I experience real hunger. Now I am not trying to scare you, I didn't experience hunger like this until about 7 months out. So I have had a lot of time to work through better choices and options when I am hungry, the nice thing about being early out is that it won't take much to reel in said hunger if you are one who feels it. Have a cup of broth, some greek yogurt and boom it's gone for another couple hours. Also remember that your intake is soo limited that it is okay to feed it. Sometime just choose to feed it with fluids. That is the biggie, learning to decipher head hunger from actual hunger from thirst!! Once you get that straight your life will quickly become much easier. So pay attention to what each of them feel like, not as hard as it sounds I promise. Further out you can eat more, and I fall off the wagon the last time I was off for almost 4 weeks, stopped exercising too. I gained 5 pounds. The difference is that this time the weight gain actually scared me, having been a 'normal' size for a bit now I got comfortable and this was a well needed reality check. Now considering how much I was eating 5 pounds was kind, so the surgery really is just a tool. You still need to fight those demons for life but when I think about how much weight I could have gained in that same time period preop.. no comparison. I also dropped those 5 pounds during my 'taking back control' week. But what I didn't do is beat myself up for it, I went on a fabulous food vacation and when I landed back in reality I dealt with it. No guilt, just moved on and smartened up. So being kind to yourself is something that gets easier as you go through this process. It's also one of my favourite NSV's..
Sorry so long I admit I am horribly wordy... hope that helps alleviate some of your fears

I will happily answer any questions and try to help you the best that I can in your journey. 40 year old female, 3 kids, 143 pounds gone. It is a hard and trying process but the best decision I ever made!!!

I started at 287 lbs. I focused the first 6 weeks on drinking and healing. I started taking Calcium citrate, Vitamin D and a prenatal Vitamin daily once I was allowed to do so. Recently I stopped taking the Calcium as my nutritionist and I decided that I consume a fair amount of calcium naturally on a daily basis so the extra is just not necessary for me. As far as boosting the weight loss...Initially to get my Protein in I used the typical shakes, bought skim milk powder and unflavoured Protein Powder to add to things. But worry less about Protein for the first little while and more about getting in fluids because if you don't you'll find yourself dizzy, ditzy and the headaches are pretty unpleasant and will linger if you don't sip sip sip. lol I live in Canada so my access to some brands is more limited... I started out just walking on a daily basis and just increased the time and intensity week by week. Now, for me, walking is more of a nature thing as it doesn't bring my heart rate up enough to be effective the way I want it to be. But to start walking is a great way, just fill your ipod with music you love and that makes you feel good, and has an upbeat tempo to help keep you paced. Considering how early you are in this stage of your journey, right now worry less about the scale and more about healing and adjusting to your new diet.

There is one essential component that you left out. The body adapts to the reduced calories, and if too severe a reduction starts conserving energy in order to preserve life. I think it is natural to stall even if doing everything right. Our bodies adjust and then we start losing again.

First, I have the Lap Band so it may be different than by-pass or sleeve.....
I keep reading the posts on this forum, because, to be honest, I am not sure what "Maintenance" is...
I had surgery, which changed the way I eat, What I eat. and how much I eat....it was a reversal from what I used to do to get so fat....
So, for me to go on "maintenance", I would do what...? Change my new habits when it comes to food and eating???
I don't think I want to do that......
You could say, reaching any goal as far as weight was a "Perk" to learning to get rid of those bad habits and learning to live a new, healthier way....
But I will keep lurking to see if I learn anything....

254 June 2nd 2014 to 135 June 2nd 2015 119 pounds

What 100 pounds looks like

@@Cathyjo
The only way you will put on muscle weight is through exercise and weight training. You will feel stronger, if either of those things is not on your itinerary than instead you will lose muscle, and once allowed to begin exercise it's your best option to combat that. Losing muscle makes you feel soooo weak. It will slow the scale because muscle weighs more than fat, but it also burns fat so it's more than worth the gain or stall on the scale

I will happily answer any questions and try to help you the best that I can in your journey. 40 year old female, 3 kids, 143 pounds gone. It is a hard and trying process but the best decision I ever made!!!

I started at 287 lbs. I focused the first 6 weeks on drinking and healing. I started taking Calcium citrate, Vitamin D and a prenatal Vitamin daily once I was allowed to do so. Recently I stopped taking the Calcium as my nutritionist and I decided that I consume a fair amount of calcium naturally on a daily basis so the extra is just not necessary for me. As far as boosting the weight loss...Initially to get my Protein in I used the typical shakes, bought skim milk powder and unflavoured Protein Powder to add to things. But worry less about Protein for the first little while and more about getting in fluids because if you don't you'll find yourself dizzy, ditzy and the headaches are pretty unpleasant and will linger if you don't sip sip sip. lol I live in Canada so my access to some brands is more limited... I started out just walking on a daily basis and just increased the time and intensity week by week. Now, for me, walking is more of a nature thing as it doesn't bring my heart rate up enough to be effective the way I want it to be. But to start walking is a great way, just fill your ipod with music you love and that makes you feel good, and has an upbeat tempo to help keep you paced. Considering how early you are in this stage of your journey, right now worry less about the scale and more about healing and adjusting to your new diet.

I will happily answer any questions and try to help you the best that I can in your journey. 40 year old female, 3 kids, 143 pounds gone. It is a hard and trying process but the best decision I ever made!!!

15 pounds in 6 weeks seems pretty reasonable to me. I lost 18.8 pounds in my first 6 weeks, so not much more than you. I don't condone eating off your surgeon/nutritionist's schedule, but what's done is done and all you can do is try to stick to the plan moving forward.

I've found in my weight loss process(es), that I stall at a weigh that I've stayed at for a while. In other words if you were at 200 lbs for a while, when you get back down there, you might stall. I hope this makes sense.

Admit I thought I had reached my bodies decided base weight last August but the scale just recently decided to drop another 3 pounds.. So the closer you get to goal the longer a stall can last.. In August I was 9 months out. I also stalled for months 6 and 7 before it moved again for month 8. Just keep in mind that things will slow down as you go and what you think is a personal goal weight may shift as you progress and your body decides differently. In the meantime get a tape measure it's much more reliable than the scale.

Admit I thought I had reached my bodies decided base weight last August but the scale just recently decided to drop another 3 pounds.. So the closer you get to goal the longer a stall can last.. In August I was 9 months out. I also stalled for months 6 and 7 before it moved again for month 8. Just keep in mind that things will slow down as you go and what you think is a personal goal weight may shift as you progress and your body decides differently. In the meantime get a tape measure it's much more reliable than the scale.