mon_jam74

Jennie-o taco seasoned ground turkey mixed with some fresh or canned veggies is so good, even when reheated. Sliced deli meat is also convenient.

Watch the calorie count on the chews. I was taking the Bariatric Advantage, but it added up to 100+ calories/day that I'd rather eat in the form of food. Just make sure you track those calories.

You'll drive yourself crazy trying to figure out the logic. Just eat until you're satisfied. One more bite will probably make you uncomfortable and you'll definitely know you ate too much. Sounds like you're doing fine.

That's awesome!! And, yes, it's totally possible. My surgeon's office has an "In-Body" machine that tells me my body fat, Water, etc... breakdown. I'm totally focused on the body fat loss even though they (the surgeon's office staff) seem to only be concerned with the weight. I went from 38% fat to 33% in 4 weeks. I also lost 7 lbs but I can totally see the possibility of losing the fat without losing the lbs on the scale. In the last 4 weeks, my intracellular water (that's the water in the muscle) went up also. That's a good thing because your muscle needs the water to recover and build. So, you may not see the loss on the scale but you could be losing fat and gaining muscle and intracellular water. Keep it up! Exercise will transform our bodies more than only cutting calories will.

Wow! I must try this! Does it reheat well?

Calorie/protein tracking- give it a try. I know you're feeling restriction after a few ounces of food. It seems impossible that you can be eating too many calories. I had the same thought process. And, I WAS over eating. I think you're at about 5 months out, right? I was eating 800 calories or so then. I started to slack off on tracking at about 6 months and noticed the lack of weight loss at 8 months due to it. I use My Fitness Pal. It's free and very useful. And, if that still doesn't work, you'll at least have a food journal for your dietician to look at to see where you can make changes.

Being anxious is normal. It's great that you're realizing these issues regarding food now. You're probably much more prepared for this surgery than you realize!

I started losing mine about 3-4 months out but it started to regrow immediately. Now at almost 10 mos out, I have a lot of 1-2 inch hairs. They're a lot harder to deal with than losing the hair, but I'm happy to know the hair is growing back.

It's good that you're thinking about all of this now and not going into surgery blindly thinking that it will solve all of your food related issues. Most insurances require a psych eval before surgery. Did you discuss any of these issues? That's what the psych eval is for. However, I know many just see it as a "check in the box" to get to surgery approval. I highly suggest you read Geneen Roth's book "When Food is Love". It's a great read that I only read recently (I'm almost 10 mos post op). The food "addiction" will not go away with surgery. Early on, you will not physically be able to eat much but you will want to and be suffering emotionally. This can cause you to sabotage your weight loss by not following Drs orders (and finding lots of excuses to justify it). Within about 6 mos, it will be easy to stop losing weight and start gaining if you're not in the right mind set with food. So, start working on it now. As for your lack of support from family- As you read Roth's book, you might realize that the approval of others is overly important to you. You need to make the decision to have this surgery for you and not for the approval of others. If they truly care about you, they will support you regardless of what they're saying now. If you're not sure that surgery is the best for you right now, then postpone. It is truly a life changing procedure. There are opportunities for great results but it will require many changes that you must be ready for. If it helps, I don't regret the surgery. I only regret not doing it sooner.

I don't need chews so I think I'll try the citracal. Every calorie counts! Thanks! I went with Bariatric Advantage because my surgeon's office sells it. It's good to know there are options that have worked well for others.

I've been using Bariatric Advantage Calcium Chews. I've been told that I need 1500 mg calcium/day (as a woman). Anyhow, each 250mg chew is 20 calories. That adds up to 120 calories per day. I would much rather be using those calories in food! Any suggestions on lower calorie calcium citrate options?

I hit a "stall" between 7 and 9 months. I was exercising a lot and getting my protein. I wasn't tracking my calories however. So, I reverted to some of my poor eating habits- mainly, snacking and justifying it because I had worked out. I went back to tracking my calories (1200/day) and continued my exercise (boot camp class 1 hr, 5x/wk) and the weight started coming off again. This may not be the case for you, but it wouldn't hurt to think about your eating behaviors. It's so easy to revert back to those poor behaviors when it seems the critical time period post surgery (for me, the first 6 months) has passed.

This is the best post I've read on here thus far. Thank you all for your honesty! I was really worried when I hit about the 3 month post op because my food restrictions were no longer very limited. And now, almost 9 months post op, I see that food is becoming my best friend and source of comfort and entertainment all over again. I've just purchased and downloaded "When Food is Love" and am determined to gain back control over what I eat and why. I've accepted that it will always be a struggle and I will always have to be conscientious of what I eat, but I also know I need to stop seeing food as anything more than nutrition for my body.

I suggest tracking your calories. Depending on how much milk/yogurt/fruit you're using in each shake, each one can easily be 200-300 calories and high in sugar. Add the soup and carnation, you could be at 1200 calories/day. I'm just estimating with the info you've given so my math could be wrong. But, for your reference, I'm almost 9 months out and on 1200 calories max/day. At less than a month, I was taking in 400-600 calories. It's great that you're getting so much protein but the advantage of the shake powders (syntrax, etc) is that you get a lot of protein with little sugar and minimal calories.

Just downloaded new app yesterday and it keeps freezing.