Elizabeth21

Im a bander so I won't give advice except:
Don't ever ever ever give up on yourself. You are worth recovery !!

I agree with the others in that getting your Protein and Water up, might make you feel better, which in turn might make it easier for you to get your Protein and Water in. You need to figure out what Proteins you CAN handle. Obviously you are able to eat a fair amount if you are getting in 900 calories. It's just the wrong things you are eating. So try out various forms of protein prepared in various ways and maybe you can find things that you can tolerate that let you get you protein in and cut back on some of the other things you are eating that you shouldn't be.
Don't limit yourself to just plain chicken. Get something marinated or with some sort of yummy sauce. My husband makes delicious chicken makhani in our slow cooker, for instance! Or maybe try some pork with chile verde sauce! sauces can have some carbs in them, but it will be less carbs than an english muffin for sure!
I have meat for lunch and dinner every day and I never have the same KIND of meat twice in one day. I eat meat loaf, turkey kielbasa, the above mentioned chicken makhani, Jack Daniels pulled chicken, pork with chile verde, flavored poultry sausages my grocery store sells, shrimp, tuna salad, turkey chili..... There really are so many options! You just need to figure out what works for you.

It sounds like you're in kind of a vicious cycle - heavy work schedule/commute making you tired, which impairs your judgment about eating, and less protein/hydration makes you more tired. Can you take an extra day off work to give yourself a long weekend, and really get rested up, along with doing some basic walking for exercise, and eating well?
Also, maybe during your commute you can listen to some positive affirmation type stuff (you can find things online with a google search, or even record your own), as well as keeping Water or other beverage handy for sipping while commuting.

I went through having an aversion to drinking Water as well. Even though my surgeon told me not to, I started counting the herbal tea I was drinking toward my 64 oz. of Fluid. Then I started increasing non-caloric beverages throughout the day. Drinking stopped being a chore when I wasn't limited to Water. Now I'm back to enjoying water. Thankfully, my aversion was temporary.
When you make a mistake, it is important to acknowledge it, but it is also important that you move on. Looking backward takes your focus away from your present and future. Regret and recrimination take up energy that should be put to positive use. Please forgive yourself for your mistakes and concentrate on not repeating them.

You are in a tough period of time, adjusting to eating regular foods. I am guessing your hunger/feelings of overeating are related to thirst or a bit of acid - both very normal at your stage. Both thirst and acid "feel" like hunger.
I had to switch to herbal teas. At the stage you were at, Water tasted weird and hurt my tummy. The crystal lite and other stuff gave me diarrea due to the fake sweeteners, so plain herbal teas with a bit of Stevia saved me. I learned this from my brother was going through a caffiene free trick and I had some at his house. Hydration should be top priority.
If you can consume 900 calories a day, you should have no problems meeting Protein targets.. right? But, if you are eating alot of dense Protein you will feel really full. So, I suggest you step away from the guilt, step away from the shoulds, and just start following your plan. I know that sounds like stupid advice, but that is how we do it... one meal, one day at a time.
I love exercise, it has helped me become the physical and mental person I am today, but I gotta tell you as it relates to weight mgt, food consumption is way more important... so rather than seeking perfection in all, how about doing "pretty good" on the food part and getting stable on that.
Do you need ideas/specifics on meals for the stage you are at?
You can do this girl - it is really really hard to change your brain - but you can and will be successful!

I recently posted an article titled “The Biggest Loser:” Irresponsible Weight Loss Surgery Comments? . We received many fantastic comments from our concerned members. I've decided to follow up our article with an Open Letter to Dr. Robert Huizenga or Dr. H as he's known on the show. The letter will also be sent to the shows producers and staff members.


Dear Dr. Huizenga,
I am the founder of BariatricPal, the world’s largest online community for weight loss surgery patients and potential patients.
I am writing to you today regarding your role as an expert on “The Biggest Loser.” I am asking you to please stop publicly portraying weight loss surgery in a negative light without any explanation. Most recently, during the Season 16 Finale, you stated that losing weight using methods used on the show were far healthier than turning to weight loss surgery. The implication was that bariatric surgery is under no circumstances the best choice for individuals struggling with obesity.
I am asking you to stop making comments like this. You and “The Biggest Loser” have a significant amount of influence on America. The season finale attracted 5.4 million live viewers, with untold millions watching the show at a later time. Given that one-third of American adults are obese, it is almost certain that many viewers have obesity.
“The Biggest Loser” reaches out to this audience throughout the show. Contestants, trainers, and health experts like yourself directly address viewers who need to lose weight, offering encouragement and tips. As you know, positive gestures like this can motivate people to change their lives.
Unfortunately, the derogatory comments about bariatric surgery can have just as much impact, but in a negative way. Your statement at the Season 16 finale of “The Biggest Loser” and similar ones make weight loss surgery sound like a shameful, dangerous, and ineffective choice in all cases, with no further explanation.
According to the Weight-Control Information Network (WIN), 4% of men and 8% of women in the U.S. have extreme obesity (BMI over 40). That translates to about 20 million American adults who are potentially eligible for weight loss surgery. This figure does not include the approximately 60 million Americans whose BMIs are between 30 and 40, and who might be eligible for surgery due to the existence of a co-morbidity.
Not all of these individuals are eligible for and interested in weight loss surgery, but many are. BariatricPal alone, for example, has a quarter-million members who are weight loss surgery patients or who are considering surgery.
For weight loss surgery patients, your comments can be hurtful. Weight loss surgery is not the “easy way out.” It is a tool to help control food intake. Eligibility criteria include a requirement that patients be committed to the strict dietary changes necessary to lose weight after bariatric surgery. I and millions of other weight loss surgery patients who have successfully used weight loss surgery as a tool against obesity worked hard to get where we are today. We do not deserve for you and your colleagues to suggest that we have cheated to lose weight.
Comments that groundlessly condemn weight loss surgery can harm potential patients just as much if not more. Eligible candidates might decide not to get the surgery in part because of your position. First, your comments can lead to a feeling of shame for even considering bariatric surgery to fight obesity. This is unjust, since the post-surgery diet is strict and requires a lifetime of attention, just as “The Biggest Loser” contestants must modify their own diets for the rest of their lives to maintain weight loss.
Secondly, your comments on the show seem to imply weight loss surgery does not work. While there are patients who do not respond to surgery, and complications are always a threat, the scientific literature overwhelmingly agrees that weight loss surgery is a viable option for the treatment of morbid obesity.
Furthermore, the scientific community largely agrees that weight loss surgery can improve health and metabolic parameters. To varying degrees, methods such as gastric bypass, adjustable gastric band, and gastric sleeve have been linked to improvements in diabetes and other obesity-related conditions, such as hypertension, sleep apnea, and dyslipidemia. The UK’s healthcare system, known as the National Health System or NHS, is so convinced of bariatric surgery’s effectiveness, safety, and cost savings potential it covers bariatric surgery procedures.
Unconditionally stating that weight loss surgery is the wrong choice is particularly unfair given that “The Biggest Loser” contestants do not always achieve or maintain their goal weights. An article on Today.com, which is owned by NBC, looked at initial, finale, and current weights of selected contestants from the first 11 seasons of the show. Of the 56 contestants they highlighted, 20 were within 10 pounds of their finale weights, and 8 had gained back at least 40 pounds since the finale.
These results are impressive but not perfect. And, “The Biggest Loser” is not for everyone. So far, only hundreds of individuals have been lucky enough to have the opportunity to lose weight on the show. For a few others, losing weight at one of the Biggest Loser resorts is an option – but not a practical one for most people. At $3,000 per week, it could take $50,000 or $100,000 or more to reach goal weight, not including time out from work and life.
Weight loss surgery may be the only practical choice for people who have work and family obligations, and who live within a budget. People struggling with obesity do not choose weight loss surgery because they think it will be easy. They choose it because they have no other choice. Nothing else has worked for them. For me and hundreds of thousands of other weight loss surgery patients, it worked.
Because of this, I ask you again to please stop publicly attacking weight loss surgery without explanation. You and I and everyone else who is connected to obesity knows what a terrible disease it is. We should join forces in fighting it. Let’s work together to get the greatest possible number of people healthy, and not work against each other with derogatory and divisive comments.
Thank you for all of your hard work and commitment to fighting obesity. You have established yourself as one of the most influential health experts in obesity, and I hope you will use your voice in a positive way. Thank you for considering this.
Sincerely,
Alex Brecher
Founder, BariatricPal

When I'm feeling blah about my job and really don't want to be there, I try (but don't always succeed) to think about making my client's day a little better by doing the best job I can. Or if that doesn't work for me, I try to think of it as.... my boss paying me to train for my next job! Seriously!
Please don't think I'm always successful at either trains of thought, sometimes they work, other times they don't.

I have a friend who is an alcoholic. She described her addiction by saying that the idea of not drinking as much as possible was never an option. One drink just made no sense to her. Well, if you substitute food for a drink, you have the same addiction. I know that I never looked at a bowl of Pasta and thought, 'oh I'll eat a little...no need to eat it all.'
So when someone says to you, just walk away from the table, it's like telling an alcoholic to just have one drink and walk away. They can't do it and neither can we. The difference is that a drinker can stop drinking. We can't stop eating. There is no addiction like food addiction...and I include drug addiction as well. As horrific as it is, you can stop taking drugs...you can't stop eating.
I just wish the world understood this and stopped with the fat hating. I'm not that far out where I've forgotten what it was to be the biggest person in the room. It's not pleasant and I have great sympathy for those battling this addiction.

Hey, my ex primary care doctor suggested that if i would just buy the right cookbooks I wouldn't need the sleeve. She is my EX PCP for a reason.

Are you hungry, or just rumbley in your tummy? The rumbley may be acid, or your tummy just talking back. 10 days out and I still don't feel hunger, but I do get a gurgley sensation before I take my omeprazole. On day 2, I had to make an effort to drink my shakes and Water.< /p>

Good for you....be glad you can get in all your liquids. It's a a wonderful "problem" to have. I could, too. Like Elode said, you will not feel the restriction until you are on solids. I watched the barium liquid flow right through my sleeve into my intestines within seconds when they did my fluoroscopy leak test, so it doesn't stick around long enough to give a full sensation. Seriously, just relax, be grateful you feel so good and enjoy the journey! You lost 28 pounds for schit's sake...took me almost 3 months to do that.

You probably won't feel restriction with Water, you may have to wait until your eating food with some density. It's a little (lot) to early to be worrying about failure. Be thankful you can get all your fluids in, a lot of people have issues with fluids early on. Relax!

There's no race or prescribed amount you are supposed to have lost. Everyone loses at different rates. Some are fast losers and some are slow losers. When is the last time you lost 37lbs in 2½mths? Don't compare yourself to others. Continue to follow your program and you should be fine.

Don't be discouraged. Just my perspective here, but you've already lost ~30% of your expected weight loss in 2 months! That looks like progress to me. In 6 or 7 months you'll be where you want to be. I'm sure it gets tough, but stick with it, and you'll do great.

You're averaging 4lbs a week which is double the norm for nonsurgical weight loss. I'd say you're doing good. If you're having other health issues don't be so hard on yourself. 9 weeks isn't that long. Be patient & allow yourself time to heal. Are you doing any exercises? Once the doctor clears you for that, you'll see more progress. Chin up! It's a journey, not a race

If you're failing I'm missing something. Your body is going to need to adjust. If they want you to count, use MyFitnessPal. It might not be the calories but the ratio of Protein to carbs. Make sure you're getting your protein in. I think you're doing great. Don't lose heart. You can do this

I don't understand doctors that tell patients they aren't losing enough. It does nothing for the self esteem. Some patients are slow but steady losers. You haven't gained so that's a big plus. YOU ARE NOT A FAILURE! Counting calories isn't that difficult. Did he give you a calorie guideline he wanted you to fall in? I use MyFitnessPal. My basic rules are 700 - 850 calories per day, Try to keep carbs under 50, Protein at least 70gm and get my 64 ounces of fluids in each day. I also try to keep my carbs to Breakfast or lunch because those are the hours of the day I am most active.
So take a deep breath, and get back to work. You can do this!

Thank you all for your feedback and suggestions!
I hadn't thought about putting some Protein powder in it. That might be good since I gave up my creamer! I also started taking Omeprazole because I was noticing some more acid reactions even without coffee. I think that is helping. I gave it up completely for a couple of months, but, having given up so much else andwith these cold dreary mornings, it's a nice luxury to still be able to enjoy a cup.

It will get better. What types of things are you trying to eat right now? At 7 weeks I was just starting back on solid foods. It could be that the things you are trying to eat are still just too much for your sleeve.
In all honesty, I am five months post-op now and I still don't enjoy food the way I used to, which is a GOOD thing. Because "enjoying" food for me used to mean eating portions that were a good 4-5 times as big as they should have been. I do, however, enjoy the taste of many foods and even the experience of eating them. I savor them in my mouth for much longer, chewing them very finely. It get's frustrating sometimes that I can only eat a few bites, when something is really good, and I wish I could eat more. But the few times I do eat more than I should, I regret it pretty quickly. So eating can be very un-fun for me still. But I am able to enjoy it much of the time.

I don't keep track of meals vs Snacks. I just eat when I'm hungry...every 2-3 hours usually. It might be a Protein Bar, 1/2 burger, handful of nuts, Jerky, 1/2 Apple, couple orange slices, scrambled eggs, couple BBQ ribs, cup of Soup, edamame, small bowl of Brussels sprouts, chicken salad, etc. Which are meals? Which are Snacks? During the week I don't get any breaks at work so I'm basically nibbling all day. I probably eat more "meals" in the evening and weekends. I typically drink my Protein smoothie in the afternoon in between appointments. It may take me 1/2 hour or two hours to finish. I sometimes skip the smoothie on weekends because I've got the time to eat more. And I throw in an extra 32oz of Water to make up for the Fluid portion. Like you said, maintenance is all about balancing healthy choices and reality.

I stopped losing when I stopped losing. Not a whole lot you can do about it. I started eating at "maintenance" level as I approached my surgeon's goal. I'm now 23 pounds under that. I've maintained the same 4-5 pound bounce range for 5 months with little effort. Not to say that won't change as time goes by, but I'll take whatever comes. Basically eat whatever I want, whenever I'm hungry. I choose to eat healthy 90% of the time and total crap the other 10%. I drink a 30-40g Protein smoothie everyday so I have the freedom of eating veggies, fruits and whole grains, instead of just Protein with every meal. I keep mental track of my fluids to make sure I'm hitting 64oz. That's about it. 12 month labs showed no deficiencies and I feel great. Obviously my body is where it wants to be right now. After people get used to seeing you at your new weight, they will stop with the "too skinny" comments.
And although I've been blessed with a loss that exceeds any expectations I had, I would have been just as happy at 170.....10 pounds above my surgeon's goal. Because I felt good when I got there. My BP was normal and all of my aches and pains were gone. Since that was my ultimate VSG goal, everything else has just been frosting on the cake (mmmm...frosting ????)

Sorry I don't know our weights in pounds. (It's all metric here!) I'll use a converter.
I'm 112kg (and only 162 cm)
246 lb and 5 foot 3
He's 6 foot 2 and I have no idea of his weight (he won't weigh himself) but if I could guess he'd be 150kg 330lb?
He is a large build though (many people think he played rugby) and carried his weight much better than I do.
Yes he's very insecure, and has struggled a lot with depression in the past - still does.
We had another big talk. Eventually he did admit that he should have the surgery too, but just can't do it.
I think we may have turned a corner here.

There's a saying " You can't change someone's behavior, but you can change how you react to that behavior." You made the decision for you. Stop trying to convince him or change his mind. Don't let this be a constant source of arguing for you. Focus on following your program and doing well.

Want me to tell you how to lose a few hundred pounds really quick?

When you get on an airplane the steward tells you to put on your own oxygen mask before assisting others. Put yours on, then worry about his.