IcanMakeit

@@IcanMakeit - I'm going to try to stick to the new plan. I trust my surgeon and his staff implicitly. I mean his plan helped me lose 130 lbs, why wouldn't I trust him. It's just a bit scary after being low carb for so long!

@MarceMonster: Early on in the weight loss phase I was eating 700-800 cals per day and keeping my carbs in the 40-50 (net) grams range. Later this increased to 1000-1100 cals and around 60 grams (net) carbs. I am now working on raising my caloric intake to the point where I stop losing. I'm eating around 1250 per day and still losing very slowly.
@stacyg1: I think you should try your doctor's and nutritionist's suggestion for a month. It might be beneficial, but you won't know unless you try it. If it doesn't work for you, you can go back to your previous plan. A slow down or break in your weight loss for a few weeks is not a long term disaster.

My pet peeve was that in the beginning, I lost most of my weight from my butt and legs, just where I needed it the least. It took months before my waist was noticeably smaller. I realize that this is a ridiculous complaint since the weight eventually came off everywhere, but I was so disappointed in the way I looked early on.
Now my new peeve is that I have a great deal of loose skin and am not sure I can afford plastic surgery and have been denied by my insurance. After losing 140 lbs, insurance should cover some skin removal. This amount of loose skin does not look normal.

@MarceMonster: Early on in the weight loss phase I was eating 700-800 cals per day and keeping my carbs in the 40-50 (net) grams range. Later this increased to 1000-1100 cals and around 60 grams (net) carbs. I am now working on raising my caloric intake to the point where I stop losing. I'm eating around 1250 per day and still losing very slowly.
@stacyg1: I think you should try your doctor's and nutritionist's suggestion for a month. It might be beneficial, but you won't know unless you try it. If it doesn't work for you, you can go back to your previous plan. A slow down or break in your weight loss for a few weeks is not a long term disaster.

@@MarceMonster My surgery date was May 12 2014. I started at 244 in January 2014 and hit 104 this morning. My original goal was 135 (set by my surgeon and definitely too high for my height), was reached in December 2014. I hit my personal goal of 125 in January 2015.
I was fine all the way down to 112 lbs, but now I think I look scrawny. They used to say a good rule of thumb for weight goal is to start with 100 lbs and add 5 lbs for each inch over 5' (adding a few pounds if you have a large frame). That would put my ideal weight at around 115. I'm hoping after all this shakes out (after the normal regain), that I will end up about there.

@@MarceMonster I would definitely get a second opinion from my own nutritionist. Some people can eat that many grams a day or more and still lose weight, but I know I couldn't. You need to do what works for you, though.

I second the comments of @@Bndtoslv but would like to add the good news that even though people who have had bariatric surgery are prone to regain at the three year mark, most of us will not regain all that we lost, plus a little more as had happened to most of us in the past.
My unprofessional theories about the prevalence of regain are that 1) habits are difficult to overcome and many of us slowly return to our previous eating styles and levels of activitity; 2) our bodies seem to have a memory (those lurking, deflated fat cells?) and a preference for our former high weight and through hormones and hunger encourage us to eat more; 3) our bodies adapt to the surgical changes and restriction gradually diminishes in both RNY and VSG patients, and malabsorption of macronutrients diminishes or disappears for RNY patients.

Make it myself? That's crazy talk!
Actually that is what my husband and I concluded during the meal. We have a really good wok. What's stopping us from using it, other than inertia?

Couldn't you just dilute the Protein Shake to cut the sweetness? I never had this issue because I am unfamiliar with the concept of anything being too sweet, but it seems like adding extra Water would help.

As long as you protect your health and vitality, you can shoot for any weight that makes you feel good. Listen to your body (and your doctor).
Ps. You look fabulous.

Soft crackers? Sounds like an oxymoron. Maybe they did mean softened crackers. Even in the early phases I concentrated on Protein sources. I did not try starches except for mashed Beans.< /p>

Still at 105.

I'm watching this topic very closely.....BariatricPal is launching our own Bariatric Store within the next few weeks. We plan on stocking every flavor of Quest Protein bars, powders and chips as well as hundreds of other protein, Vitamin and Bariatric products.

As long as you protect your health and vitality, you can shoot for any weight that makes you feel good. Listen to your body (and your doctor).
Ps. You look fabulous.

I'm sooooooo excited to post today's weigh in!!! I'm officially in ONEDERLAND! Weight today is 199.1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm thinking maybe portion out a small part of the chicken (a percentage of what you would normally eat after your surgery) to enjoy, either after you eat the rest of your meal (like a dessert, almost), or during, just so you can have that taste, yet still be in control. Make the rest of the meal the main part of your meal, and not the chicken. But just make sure the rest of the meal is just as yummy, but still healthy, so you don't want more of the chicken than you think you should have. This has worked great for me, I still get my "treat", but not so much it will blow me off my track! Good luck!

My husband bought a new deep fryer and I made fried chicken for the first time since I started losing weight back in January 2014. Yes, it's still delicious. And yes, if I were able to do so, I would have eaten 2 pieces. Even with all that I have learned over the past year and a half, I haven't lost the urge to overindulge in my favorite things.
It's not a big problem now. I made sure to save up calories today for the chicken and my sleeve kept me to my planned allotment. But what about the future, when my restriction is less? Maybe it's too soon to be worried about this. I'm currently far below my goal weight and at this point I'm still following all of the rules that I set for myself. But I see so many women regaining after their second or third year, that I must conclude that regaining is not that hard to do.
It's too bad that this surgery was not a magic cure. It looks like I'm going to have to continue to log, count, plan, etc. every day, forever.

My husband bought a new deep fryer and I made fried chicken for the first time since I started losing weight back in January 2014. Yes, it's still delicious. And yes, if I were able to do so, I would have eaten 2 pieces. Even with all that I have learned over the past year and a half, I haven't lost the urge to overindulge in my favorite things.
It's not a big problem now. I made sure to save up calories today for the chicken and my sleeve kept me to my planned allotment. But what about the future, when my restriction is less? Maybe it's too soon to be worried about this. I'm currently far below my goal weight and at this point I'm still following all of the rules that I set for myself. But I see so many women regaining after their second or third year, that I must conclude that regaining is not that hard to do.
It's too bad that this surgery was not a magic cure. It looks like I'm going to have to continue to log, count, plan, etc. every day, forever.

..of weight loss surgery. I used to have trouble walking a single block because of the joint pain, extra weight I carried, and the shortness of breath. Today I walked from Manhattan to Brooklyn and back. No pain, no sweating like a pig, no heavy breathing.

My husband bought a new deep fryer and I made fried chicken for the first time since I started losing weight back in January 2014. Yes, it's still delicious. And yes, if I were able to do so, I would have eaten 2 pieces. Even with all that I have learned over the past year and a half, I haven't lost the urge to overindulge in my favorite things.
It's not a big problem now. I made sure to save up calories today for the chicken and my sleeve kept me to my planned allotment. But what about the future, when my restriction is less? Maybe it's too soon to be worried about this. I'm currently far below my goal weight and at this point I'm still following all of the rules that I set for myself. But I see so many women regaining after their second or third year, that I must conclude that regaining is not that hard to do.
It's too bad that this surgery was not a magic cure. It looks like I'm going to have to continue to log, count, plan, etc. every day, forever.

@@Djmohr - With the way sizing ranges from manufacturer to manufacturer, I have no doubt that when you hit your goal, some size 8's will fit. You're pretty tall so at 165 you'll probably be on the lean side of normal. I'm sure you look great already. You really have done well. You need to Celebrate your success.

I'm really wanting plastics, too. It's disappointing to finally be thin, but not be able to really appreciate it because of the prodigious amount of loose skin on my abdomen.
But on a more positive note, my husband and I just took a long twilight walk (well I walked, he used his mobility scooter) and both of us were amazed that I could walk so much further and so much faster than last year. I'm no longer 60 going on 82. I'm now feeling like 61 going on 45.

My nutritionist showed me examples of the actual serving sizes for the different phases. That was helpful. Otherwise, she didn't tell me anything I didn't already know and she recommended some sugary Meal Replacement shakes that I would never use.

I don't know if this qualifies as an NSV, but I ate popcorn last weekend and did not try to overeat it, nor did it lead me to start craving other slider foods. (Popcorn is one of the foods that I abused most often when I was obese.) I think if I keep dangerous treats to a minimum, I can learn to eat them occasionally and responsibly.

Congratulations on your great NSV and enjoy your new duds. But look out! You'll be surprised at how quickly you drop sizes as you near your goal.