BLERDgirl

Are you keeping a food diary? I recommend people try it for at least 6 mths - 1 year. There are folks like me who always need a diary and others who do well without after a while. You have to plan you meals AND your Snacks. The good thing with a food diary is after you plan your meals, you then work your snack in. An occasional bite sized snicker won't kill you. A daily routine of them will. Especially if you are eating them when you haven't met your nutrition goals for the day. What works for me is first thing every morning I plan my food for the day. I think plan and afternoon snack. Sometimes I need it, sometimes I don't. Try the usual things: drinking Water, doing something physical. If you are then still hungry and not just having head hunger or bad habits creeping back then get a nutritious snack. I am one of those people who don't allow anything in the house I will binge on. It's a good habit to have. Some healthy snack ideas: 1 ounce of nuts - I buy single serving packs of pistachios, almonds or cashews. I ONLY buy one pack at a time because I will binge. Than means if nuts are the snack for the day, I have to go to the store and buy them. Once at the store, I make myself walk around the store before checking out. That way I get in a few steps and I feel like I worked for my snack. 4 ounces of yogurt, with chocolate Protein powder mixed in. I mix it, and put it in the freezer until it gets a pudding consistency. I also occasionally add a tablespoon of almond butter for that candy bar chocolate/peanut taste. ½ an orange Oatmeal/vanilla yogurt parfait. You can also add a few nuts and berries. oatmeal is good Fiber & protein and really filling. You can make this overnight and have it for Breakfast. I buy plain rolled oats with none of the sugars and fillers that the prepackaged stuff has. cheese and meat cubes. 1 ounce of each. Again, high protein and good fat. It will fill you and not derail your WLS efforts. If you still love snickers, save that for your once month or once a week treat. If you meet all your protein goals and you meet all your water goals then allow yourself one bite sized treat. The holiday's are coming up. if you don;t get a handle on this now, you'll really have difficulty. If your program has them, stop into a few support group sessions. Nearly a year out, I still stop in on mine from time to time. In fact I'm trying to figure out when I can make one this month. It's a good place to go for an in person tune up.

There's no easy answer here. Protocols vary from program to program. However the general school of thought is that most programs want to see at least an attempt to lose. My advice would be 2 fold. 1. Have a serious meeting with the nutritionist where they review her eating habits and also take into consideration her current activity level and any medical conditions. 2. If you have one of those nutritionist who only offer cookie cutter recommendations, skip the fad diets and just go back to basics. No diet food, just clean, basic, made from scratch food. No sodas and no more than one cup of coffee a day. Avoid processed foods and limits fruits to no more than one a day. Focus on dark green veg, and lean Protein. Walk for at least 30 minutes a day. If you can incorporate more physical activity do so. Drink Water until you can't stand it.

That's not necessarily a bad thing. Since we are all different, have different metabolisms and body chemistry, the best thing to do is read from reputable source and figure out what works best for ourselves as individuals.

Carbs = energy. My nutritionists is not concerned with carbs at all. As a general rule I don't look at the amount of carbs. I look at the source of the carbs. As such the only change I made is limiting the amount of processed, highly refined carbs. Typically this is breads, pastas, etc.... My carbs probably avg about 50 - 60 a day out of a 850 - 1000 calorie diet. My carbs are mostly from plant based sources such a Beans, whole grains and dark green vegetables. At a little over 11 mths in I have yet to experience a stall of any sort, or experience difficulties with constipation.

FYI - You can also "ignore users". However you need to be on the full version and not the app. Then just go to your profile, choose Manage Preferences and add the person you need to block. I don't use this feature often, but it's nice to have it.

I think my BMI was 67 or 69 when I started.

My program was more concerned with waiting at least 30 mins after eating. I wasn't told not to drink prior to eating. However I was given information similar to how it is explained in the video. A word of advice with these forums: Take everything with a grain of salt. It's nice to get differing opinions, but ultimately you should follow the advice of the folks you paid to do your surgery. If you are unclear, call them and get clarification.

It's just grin and bear it. I had 2 weeks full liquids and by the end of week 1 I was ready to throw Protein shakes out the window. I varied it as much as I could between Soup with unflavored Protein powder, kefir, tea with unflaovred protein powder and my shakes. It's hard, but a few months from now this will all be a distant memory.

None. I was the model patient. I followed my doctor's recommendations to the letter. Mind you I did have to have some serious discussions with my nutritionist about what I could and couldn't eat. However, after speaking and explaining why I eat like I do we came to a compromise. In the end I had a painfree, uneventful surgical course and fairly fast recovery. Despite being on medication that slows my metabolism, I am losing steadily.

It will pass. I went through a stage where I literally just ate because I was supposed to. My appetite simply wasn't there. Just try and hang in there. Choose the thing you used to like the most that are still safe to eat.

Your program/nutritionist should provide you with a list of recommended foods.

I had tomato soup my first week out. I mixed it with unflavored Protein powder. I didn't have a clear liquid stage. I was discharged on full liquids. Check with your nutritionist as to what allowed. Don't skip stages without talking it over first.

The only thing I do fast food. Dunkin Donut wake up wrap with egg and cheese. I throw away the half of the torlilla not covered in cheese.

Don't drink when eating.

No continue with your eating plan prescribed by your program. It's not uncommon to have a huge initial weight loss. Between the all or full liquid diet, the trauma of the surgery, actually having a considerable amount of your tummy removed, it's not unusual to lose a lot in those first few weeks. However after that the common weight loss is 1 -5 lbs a week depending on a variety of factors such as age, health, how much weight you need to lose, etc.... My advice is monitor your eating and stay off the scale. Take your measurements so you can see those differences even when the scale doesn't move. Drink your Water, get your Protein in and exercise as much as you safely can.

Once a month or at the doctor's whichever comes first. Otherwise the scale makes me crazy. This way I focus soley on eating well and exercising. I didn't even replace the battery in my home scale until after my 6 mth f/u. I only did it then because I wouldn't see the baritric team again until my 1 year f/u. Even then if I had a medical appointment coming up where I knew I would be weighed, I wouldn't weigh at home.

My program drilled into us that the Calcium CItrate and Iron cannot be taken together as they cancel each other out. I never had to take a separate iron pill but I still wait at least 2 hours before taking my calcium so the little bit in my multi doesn't cause problems.

This one sounds weird, but my favorite lunch is black beans topped with a sunny side up egg, shredded cheese & a few slices of avocado.

Don't compare. There are simply too many variable that come into play with how fast or slow a person loses. The point is that you lose at a rate that is healthy for you.

Call your doctor. You may want to try stool softeners first because a laxative can sometimes cause painful cramping.

Find a bariatric center near you. Attend the information seminar and ask questions. Ask a LOT. Weigh the pro's and cons against your current health and your lifestyle. Higher starting weights take a bit more commitment to lose, but it can be done. I chose the sleeve because I didn't like the idea of rerouting my organs and I didn't think I would do well with permanent malabsorption. However I had already changed my eating habits and was exercising regularly when I had WLS. There is no right or wrong answer. Even though it is still not popular for some people even the lapband is a good fit. Most people here will be biased with the type of surgery they choose. You really need to do your homework and find out what's best for you.

That's no better than what's she's currently doing which is water and chicken broth. I can't stress this enough. A FEW DAYS DELAY WILL NOT KILL YOU. The point of this surgery is to change eating habits and adopt a healthier lifestyle. Why go into this way? laxative and relaying on sugar for energy is what people with eating disorders do. Please do not take this advice.

I am of the school of thought that any strenuous activity is exercise. I count gardening and walking as exercise. People get too caught up in traditional gym related activities and it can impede them from exercising. The key is to move more. Find something you love. If it's gardening do that. If it's dancing, do that. Just get your body moving!

For now walking is enough. Everything else should be a discussion between you and your doctor. I had a easy surgical experience. I walked in recovery, then walked regularly once home. After my 2 week follow up I started using 3 lb hand weights. By week 3 I resumed Water aerobics. The first month or so I probably went 3 times a week. Currently I go 5 -6 days a week. Listen to your body, double check with your medical team.

So good to hear. I am coming up on my one year anniversary. Since I have a longer weigh loss course than most sleeve pts I want to talk about what I can do to continue to lose during year two. I am determined to get to a normal BMI! I'm going to write out some questions to ask.