okelly44

Hey Friend - how's it going? Looks like we've both lost about the same so far... I'm in the 240s as well. Kind of tough now that the initial loss is slowing. I have to work at it much harder now. (See my blog! LOL)
Started losing again with a very strict regimen of 800-900 cal a day. Hard to do, but I go a bit easier on Sat & Sun so I have something to look forward to.
Tired of waiting to be at the goal wait. Sigh. Want to be DONE already!!
So what's been tough for you? I notice that even with the sleeve i get hungry. I also notice that some old habits are tough to break, like cleaning my plate or putting more on my plate to begin with than I need. Especially hard is listening to my stomach instead of my mouth and stopping eating before I am too full. I really have to be super conscious of what I'm doing when eating or before I know it I'm painfully full and have consumed far too may calories.
Has the Herbal Life boost been helpful? I have found myself drinking more coffee because it fills me up and the caffeine kills my appetite too.
Well, good luck!!

I've been a vegetarian for 20 years - I eat fish and dairy though. (my vegetarianism had to do with animal cruelty so it's only wild caught fish and free roam dairy.) After seeing the documentary Forks Over Knives (highly recommend it!) I was ready to go totally vegan. But my doc explained that while I could indeed get Protein from Beans, for instance, the amount of Beans and the number of calories it would take to equal the same Protein in fish was much much more. Therefore, she thought weight loss was goal number one and I could go vegan after I reached my goal.
So, since I got my sleeve (July, 2014) I have had to make a big effort to get more protein. I drink 2 powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury shakes a day mixed with almond milk and sometimes add a Protein Bar. Of course, I eat a ton of fish for dinner and often tuna or salmon salad at lunch. Overall I am supposed to be getting 75-95 grams a day and so far I have had no problem at all. I also bought some Unjury Protein powder and add it to Soup or veggie smoothies to up my count. If I need a few more grams, I'll make my shake with skim milk instead.
I was always given funny looks when I told someone I was a vegetarian. Not too many 300 pound vegetarians out there! LOL! But I am proof that we're all not pixie sized hippies, not by a long-shot! Looking forward to someone looking at me and thinking "of course" when they find out I'm vegan.

I've been a vegetarian for 20 years - I eat fish and dairy though. (my vegetarianism had to do with animal cruelty so it's only wild caught fish and free roam dairy.) After seeing the documentary Forks Over Knives (highly recommend it!) I was ready to go totally vegan. But my doc explained that while I could indeed get Protein from Beans, for instance, the amount of Beans and the number of calories it would take to equal the same Protein in fish was much much more. Therefore, she thought weight loss was goal number one and I could go vegan after I reached my goal.
So, since I got my sleeve (July, 2014) I have had to make a big effort to get more protein. I drink 2 powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury shakes a day mixed with almond milk and sometimes add a Protein Bar. Of course, I eat a ton of fish for dinner and often tuna or salmon salad at lunch. Overall I am supposed to be getting 75-95 grams a day and so far I have had no problem at all. I also bought some Unjury Protein powder and add it to Soup or veggie smoothies to up my count. If I need a few more grams, I'll make my shake with skim milk instead.
I was always given funny looks when I told someone I was a vegetarian. Not too many 300 pound vegetarians out there! LOL! But I am proof that we're all not pixie sized hippies, not by a long-shot! Looking forward to someone looking at me and thinking "of course" when they find out I'm vegan.

The name is BariActiv. Each month 3 bottles are delivered to me and together they make up all the required vitamins: Iron, Calcium, folate, etc. there's also a nasal B-12 spray once a week. The Vitamins I take in the am, and the calcium + is 2x a day so I take it when I go to bed too. There's a company that sends them Pro Care or something? I'll check on it, but my insurance covers it.
My toughest battle is staying at 800 calories. My nutritionist said 800 is not detrimental but since I work out consistently, if I'm hungry I should feel free to eat more, up to 1,200 a day. I just can't bear that although there have been days when that happens, usually if I am out of town or not at home where I can usually control what food is available to me. Overall my calories are somewhere between 800 and 1000. I just feel like I am working so hard that if I'm going to suffer, I might as well go all the way out and get the weight off sooner rather than later. But part of me does wonder if this is indicative of the old mentality. Maybe I need to change to a mentality reflective of long-term lifestyle change rather than pressure to do so much so fast.
Sigh. But I have this fear that I need to make the most out of the first 10 to 12 months, when the weight is supposed to really come off the most. After that I am afraid my body will get used to the small intake and just maintain it as normal. So losing as much as I can at first seems important.

Thanks for this post! I am about 6 weeks out now and the first 3 weks I lost 16 pounds - 7, 6, & then 6 more. I knew this wouldn't continue, but I assumed at least I'd see 3 pounds a week or so. Especially since I've started back at the gym 5 days a week, I'm very active, and am eating maybe 800-900 calories a day. Sheesh! After 4.5 weeks when I suddenly saw no loss, I freaked and thought maybe I wasn't being stringent enough so for the last 10 days I have been absolutely strict eating almost nothing but Protein shakes, fish, and some steamed veggies. Absoultely no bread, sweets, or drinking Water less than 30 mins after meals. Even doing a food log religiously again. As I count it, I'm getting 800 calories or even less if you figure in the 350 calories I burn at the gym. But the scale is not budging!!
Some have told me to be patient - my body may be adjusting to the new low cal mode and hanging on to weight for a couple weeks until it realizes it won't starve. Then I'll lost a big amount all at once. (This did happen occasionally when I was taking weight of the year prior to surgery.) Others wonder if 800 calories is too little and my body thinks it's starving? Still others say weight loss is more like a step than a down ramp (drop, flat, drop, flat.) I know all this is very logical, and if I am as diligent as I would swear I am, then basic physics should apply at some point.
Still, it is so hard to accept for now. You hear all the stories of this 3-4 month honeymoon phase where weight melts off no matter what you do. That gives you the great motivation to stay strong when the weight loss slows down. So, of course, I'm panicking - my honeymoon ended after 3 crummy weeks?!!! WTH?? Already??
I kind of feel like this was all for nothing - but that's just the upset brat inside me pouting. Before surgery, I was trying to eat 1,200 calories a day and it took focus and hard work. Now with the sleeve, I am of course full much sooner, so eating less. But now shooting for 800 calories rather than 1,200, it's kind of the same struggle to stay on track, just a lower calorie count. Same fight, different rules. At the very least, I expected my weight to be dropping significantly and steadily. Otherwise, what's the point?
I'm glad to hear there are tons of posts on this, which I shall immediately seek out to help me feel more positive. I'm not giving up...I'm angrily determined but it does take a toll on my cheerful outlook.