MrsSugarbabe

Today is the first time I've logged on in several months. Not sure what happened, probably just got too busy during the day (since I am usually online during my work day) and got away from it.
November will be 4 years for me. My weight has been holding fairly steady for about 2 years now, but have yet to get to goal; still about 50 lbs. left to lose to get there. I have not given up on trying to get to goal. Having trouble getting kick started again though which is a bummer. Still exercising and am still healthy. Even made it through 2 surgeries last year without gain weight - gall bladder removal and shoulder surgery (not full rotator cuff, but close).
Every day that I don't give up is a successful day.

If you want to start losing weight again.... It's pretty simple. 1) stary under a 1000 cals a day (i don't know where someone said 3500, that's ridiculous). 2) Plan your meals 3) Portion your meals before it hit the plate. 4) ONLY eat what is on the plate, never go back for more. 5) log your food (like many have said). 6) Only eat at the table, if you eat in front of the tv or in a car you will over eat. 7) NEVER eat and drink. 😎 Move Move Move......

you're probably in the infamous three-week stall, as a couple of others suggested. Those typically last 1-3 weeks. Nothing you can do other than stick to your plan and stay off the scale if you need to. As long as you follow your surgeon's plan, the weight loss WILL start up again.
as for worrying that you're eating too much, stick to what you're supposed to eat. You likely had some nerves cut during surgery, so your stomach isn't talking to your brain just yet. Thus, you're unlikely to experience a "full" feeling for awhile. Also, for many of us, "full" feels different than it did before surgery, and it can take awhile to recognize the new "full" cues. So you need to follow your plan rather than your brain for awhile. Weigh/measure and log your food - and stick to the plan.

Orchid, if you lightly spray olive oil on the inside of the container prior to putting your Tomato based contents in it prevents the staining. Just found this out myself recently!

They have a lot of good options and their produce is usually cheaper than other stores, at least in my area. Also, their Protein Powder is pretty decent for 170 calories a serving and 30g of Protein.

I'm really enjoying the Earth Grown Veggie Burgers from Aldi's (they come in Thai, Asian, and Black Bean Chipotle). I also love, love, love Beyond Burgers. I put all on Brownberry Sandwich Thins or the Aldi's equivalent and make up sauces for them (since the only one I put ketchup on is the Beyond Burger. It seems wrong on the others)
I also love Aldi's Fit & Active 20-calorie bars (see pic below)
Light & Fit Creme Brulee (one of their seasonal flavors, so it's not always available) is a favorite, too.

I’m also buying the Healthy Choice dressings. They’re a great marinade for chicken or just on salads. I also love the Torani sugar free syrups for coffee or in plain Greek yogurt.

Just crack an egg. I could prepare the ingredients myself but this is great for when I’m lazy. I use an egg white instead of a whole egg.

I love most flavors of Greek yogurt, but my absolute fave is this Caramel Apple Pie yogurt. Has chunks of baked apple in it and it really hits the spot!!

Wholly Guacamole individual packets, Shrimp, Flounder, Mushrooms (sauteed)...nothing sweet has pleased these new taste buds.

I agree on healthier swaps but another tool is to divide up the candy into separate little baggies. If you have the willpower to let yourself have 10 M &Ms or 3 pieces of sour candy a day then you can look forward to that tiny treat but stop and really enjoy that tiny portion. Honestly if you had a big portion you stop really tasting it after a few bites anyway. This could be a dangerous path for some but it works for me. NEVER eat straight from a box or bag, always put what you are going to eat into a separate dish so you can visually see how much you are eating.

I think the oral fixation thing is probably a good place to focus (also talk to your dentist and find out if you clench/grind your teeth - the clenching action can sometimes be an unconscious tension reliever, though also ruins your teeth). But I’d go in a different direction with the candies - I don’t think you need to find a low-calorie candy substitute, I think you need to ration.

Portion out a reasonable allotment of one week’s worth of candy into a mason jar or other glass/transparent container, and then put a bag of grapes in the freezer. As the week goes on, every time you eat a candy, remind yourself that this is all you get this week, and eye up the jar to see if you’re cool with the pace. When your craving is low enough to be diverted, grab a grape out of the freezer (or a cherry, or something else of similar size).

I practice what I preach here, I have a candy corn fixation and filled a mason jar with corn mid-October vowing this is all I have until NEXT HALLOWEEN. I’m maybe 1/5 through it. Somehow just knowing it’s there and that I’ve already accounted for it in my diet makes it less of a guilty pleasure/cheat and I don’t need it as much.

When I read your original post, the thing that occurred to me is not hunger or calorie snacking, but rather an oral fixation. When you mentioned boredom, that pretty much confirmed what I was thinking. It's kind of like what smokers have issues with. The ritualized habit of it, not necessarily the chemical addiction.
Without trying to speak in entendres, you need to find something else to do with your mouth. Honestly, I'm not trying to sound pervy. Give this a shot - buy some cherries still on the stem. When you want candy, pop an entire cherry in your mouth and remove the pit with your teeth and tongue. Eat the flesh of the fruit and spit out the pit. Then try to tie the stem into a knot with just your teeth and tongue.
In the beginning it will take forever! But it gives you something to focus on, it's a sweet like a piece of candy, and it has nutritional benefits. Win all the way around.

That's where cutting a Protein Bar into 8 pieces and freezing them come in. Then instead of popping candy, you pop a bite size "candy bar" in your mouth! And you get nutrition and Protein in at the same time.

Update - I have lost 3lbs. since my post last week. The 2 biggest things that have helped me get back on track is observing the 15 minutes before/30 minutes after meal rule for liquids and tracking all of my food on MyFitnessPal. Exercise is next on my to do list now that I've gotten the food situation under control.

Today is the first time I've logged on in several months. Not sure what happened, probably just got too busy during the day (since I am usually online during my work day) and got away from it.
November will be 4 years for me. My weight has been holding fairly steady for about 2 years now, but have yet to get to goal; still about 50 lbs. left to lose to get there. I have not given up on trying to get to goal. Having trouble getting kick started again though which is a bummer. Still exercising and am still healthy. Even made it through 2 surgeries last year without gain weight - gall bladder removal and shoulder surgery (not full rotator cuff, but close).
Every day that I don't give up is a successful day.

Today is the first time I've logged on in several months. Not sure what happened, probably just got too busy during the day (since I am usually online during my work day) and got away from it.
November will be 4 years for me. My weight has been holding fairly steady for about 2 years now, but have yet to get to goal; still about 50 lbs. left to lose to get there. I have not given up on trying to get to goal. Having trouble getting kick started again though which is a bummer. Still exercising and am still healthy. Even made it through 2 surgeries last year without gain weight - gall bladder removal and shoulder surgery (not full rotator cuff, but close).
Every day that I don't give up is a successful day.

I feel your pain and concur with what some of the others have suggested - return to your post-op plan and see if that helps you get back on track. Since you said you might not be able to find your papers from your pre-op/post-op days, I've attached mine. Every surgeon has their own recommendations, which there's nothing wrong with that. I found my surgeon's instructions reasonable and am myself trying to practice what I'm suggesting. November will be 4 years for me and I'm still not to goal. I have been maintaining, unintentionally, for about 2 years now; old habits die hard - the early days post-op were much easier for me than today.
Good luck to you on moving forward. Just remember - it's more about living a healthy lifestyle than the actual number on the scale. Don't forget to Celebrate the non-scale victories along the way.
GASTRIC SLEEVE INFORMATION - Generic.doc

Today is the first time I've logged on in several months. Not sure what happened, probably just got too busy during the day (since I am usually online during my work day) and got away from it.
November will be 4 years for me. My weight has been holding fairly steady for about 2 years now, but have yet to get to goal; still about 50 lbs. left to lose to get there. I have not given up on trying to get to goal. Having trouble getting kick started again though which is a bummer. Still exercising and am still healthy. Even made it through 2 surgeries last year without gain weight - gall bladder removal and shoulder surgery (not full rotator cuff, but close).
Every day that I don't give up is a successful day.

Today is the first time I've logged on in several months. Not sure what happened, probably just got too busy during the day (since I am usually online during my work day) and got away from it.
November will be 4 years for me. My weight has been holding fairly steady for about 2 years now, but have yet to get to goal; still about 50 lbs. left to lose to get there. I have not given up on trying to get to goal. Having trouble getting kick started again though which is a bummer. Still exercising and am still healthy. Even made it through 2 surgeries last year without gain weight - gall bladder removal and shoulder surgery (not full rotator cuff, but close).
Every day that I don't give up is a successful day.

@KCgirl061 nope not everyone feels or sees themselves the same way as everyone else. No one but you can know what your mind will or will not do. Personally, I've been heavy most of my life. When I was thin around 18 years of age, I thought I looked too thin. But now looking back, I looked great. Now, having lost 126+ lbs from my max weight, I sometimes see myself in the mirror and don't know it's me. I've seen someone at the gym walking near me in the mirror from my peripheral vision and I've side stepped to avoid running into them... only to realize that, it was me I was seeing in the mirror.

Body Dysmorphia is a personal issue. No 2 people are the same. It has a lot to do with what we expect to see, what we've gotten used to see and how we view ourselves outwardly through preconceptions about ourselves. Some folks have been overweight their entire lives and have never seen themselves as thin. Others were at one point and then gained... but they've been big so long, that that state has become their minds "norm".

Bottom line though, it's not really anyone's place to "get" someone else's viewpoint on their own body. Nor can we ever properly understand anything other than our own point of view, because no matter how hard we try, we'll always be trapped inside our own minds, relying on our brain's interpretation of all that exists. Everything that you know, is a translation made by your brain... Nothing more, nothing less.

Don't beat yourself up. Obesity is a multi factorial disease. It is caused by many things. Eating habits, activity level, genetics, gut microbes, hormones and who knows what else. The medical community can't even tell us exactly why weight loss surgery works. We just know that it is the most effective treatment that we have at the moment. Everyone is different. Don't compare yourself with anyone else. I also believe that stress is a big contributor as it affects our hormones and our genes. I still see my bariatric nutritionist at 20 months out and have no plans to stop because we have to be diligent and do everything we can to fight this disease. If you have access to one, I would highly recommend doing that because you are right, there is so much misinformation and information that does not pertain to us out there. Time and time again I have found her information to be spot on. She reels me in back to nutrition and away from the confusion. Also, I have said it before and I still believe that if we get to a point where we feel like we are loosing control, reaching out for psychological help is a good thing. It can't hurt and I've seen many people who said they were so glad they did. You can do this.

I definitely see the slower results issue this time around. For me, when I get on plan, I lose a lot quickly (5lbs, for example) and then gain 4.5 back even though I'm not doing anything differently than when I restarted.... it's frustrating.
I've actually started reincorporating shakes into my day, and working on mindfulness throughout the day. I've dropped 2Lb since last week, when I had stalled for 3 weeks...so I'LL TAKE IT!

I am currently working off a gain - about 15 down; another 25 or so to go... I am 6 years post revision to sleeve.
First, you do still have a sleeved stomach and I think it is possible to leverage it even now. For me, it takes FOREVER to lose weight now but I just can't care about that - I just have to keep losing or maintaining, not gaining. I am also working out and just getting toner, so I feel better. If I don't eat like a sleever, you wouldn't think I have a sleeve. I have always eaten half or less portions, etc - but I still have had regain that I am now turning around.
food wise, high Protein (dense protein first), veggies and really don't eat traditional carb sources like rice, bread, noodles. Don't eat alot of processed foods, skip fast foods, make your own meals and freeze them ahead. Find favorite easy to make "go to" foods - and keep the junk, sliders and carby food out of the house, or at least out of sight. Some people find food journaling helpful. Make sure you aren't drinking your calories.
Truth of the matter is that people regain post RNY also, after a certain amount of time it is less about the surgery and more about "compliance". I hate that, but it is true. I think your plan to tackle this is a good one, just don't be discouraged at the much slower weight loss this time around.

Maybe start by going back to the basics that you started with straight out of surgery. Go through the whole process again. I think one of the most important things for me is food prepping at the beginning of the week. To Ensure every time I go to grab something to eat it’s high Protein in Portion Control amounts and the only thing I’m drinking at the moment is Water and green tea. I’m struggling with 15 and I was sleeved in 2013. Good Luck