alindsey

176.6 this am!

I feel for you because I couldn't go to the bathroom either. However, mine got severe enough that my colon was removed and then there were complications with that surgery which ruined my whole life plan. It's been 15 months and I've been through about 20 surgeries so PLEASE take this post seriously. I wouldn't wish what has happened to me on my worst despised enemy. These are the things that I've experienced and learned after being stuck in the same situation. First of all, be real with yourself. Are you REALLY TRULY drinking the 64 oz of Water a day that you are supposed to be? BELIEVE ME, I KNOW that it's hard but you've just got to sip on it all day, every day. That's a HUGE factor in it. Next, your diet. Choose foods that meet your requirements but also help aid naturally in this department. Like for instance, fruit that have seeds in them or a pit naturally stimulate bowel movements just the same as exlax. And you can google all the different foods that help. Vegetables are definitely in my own option, the way to go. Next, I wanted to answer your question. Everyone is different and even our own same bodies act differently from time to time out of the ordinary but not everyone has to or needs to have bowel movements daily. I know a lot of people do but it doesn't necessarily mean that just because I might only go twice a week that something's wrong with me. And YES, you are eating so much less than before so think about it, you had your bowels FULL with food that sits inside of you going through its process so every time you eat another big meal it just pushes all that waste further and faster down causing you to go more. But now you've got the same size bowels with MUCH less food sitting and going through them. Now it may take a few days or so until you need to go. In theory if we were all out there working hard physical labor jobs our metabolism should be working much faster but in today's world, the only way to get that is exercise. Which brings me to my next point, have you been working out? What you do is not really important when it comes to exercise. What matters is the effort being put into it. Like swimming just sounds fun but it's my form of exercise. So, step it up in that area also and if you are STILL having problems after all this then talk to your Dr about a prescription drug to help you go. I use to take it and it worked great. It's called Linzess. I know you do Fiber too and I don't know which kind you use but I recommend Miralax. I hope this post will help someone out there. Believe me, if anyone understands... It me!!

Thx for sharing!

All I eat ---> Protein Shakes, eggs, cottage cheese, grilled chicken, tuna with mustard and boiled eggs and the occasional veggies like squash or broccoli spinach etc....I'm 5 weeks out but I'm super happy and satisfied I don't need much variety like before!

July 13 I was 179.2

Goal 165!!!!! Ambitious I know it but hey I'm gonna try!!!!!!! ????

I think one HUGE mistake I have made is eating fat free refried Beans (which I love). I can only eat 2-3 tablespoons but since they are loaded with carbs...I guess it adds up if I eat them several days a week. And yes, I have just realized that the yogurt I eat daily has 15 carbs!! So...out that goes. Sounds like eggs, cheese, chicken and fish for me from no on. Trying to stay away from sugar-free foods because of the apartame. Let's see what the next week brings!

You can do it!!! The struggle is tough but I try to focus on how full the meat makes me and not think about yogurt and oatmeal and refried Beans cause I love them to!!!! Lol we will just keep keeping on! It's exciting to realize poor choices and move away from them. Makes me feel like I'm really changing and really doing this!!! Good luck Hun! ????

I said I was going to walk a hour

in the am and a hour in evening after surgery! I was lucky to do 15 min twice a day lol due to energy levels! But now I do a hour to a hour and a half a day 5 and a half weeks out! You just don't know how you'll feel after so it's hard to set goals! Every little bit helps though.

I'm having a hard time with the carbs staying close to 30. My NUT said I can have between 30 and 50 grams daily but since I am stalled, I have tried to keep it closer to 30. Today it was 41!! Not happy....I am going to have to rethink my soft food choices.

It's hard in the beginning I was getting like 50-100 I quickly realized Beans were a bad choice in the carb department! As well as some Protein powders I was using that had to many carbs in them. I stay away from potatoes, oatmeal, yogurts and other carb rich foods. Also sugar free foods caused me to stall also but I'm in love with my no carb Isopure Protein Powder so I enjoy that as a treat! I do once a week carb cycling by allowing myself like 50-100 carbs that day in yogurt, nuts, Beans or oatmeal just for a little trick-a-roo to my metabolism and to avoid stalls!

How do you keep carbs under 30 grams? I find it almost impossible to do. Usually I am between 50 and 70.

I count them meticulously!!! I have zero carb Protein Powder I mix with almond milk with has 1/2 a carb in 8 oz. and for my meals I eat chicken, eggs, tuna, pork loin, ground chicken etc all that have very little to no carbs. The carbs I do get come from green veggies but I'm usually full from my 2-3 oz of lean meats so my carb intake is low. To which I contribute loosing 30lbs in 5 weeks Oh and there are a few carbs also in my Fiber gummies also but I have to have my fiber lol

Stop all artificial sweeteners they stop weight loss. Try eating 20 gms of Protein every 2-3 hours drink 3-4 liters of Water a day. Count carbs. Keep it under 20 if you can. Try and walk 30-60 min a day. Hills if you can find them. This got me out of my stall! I'm 6 weeks out down 30lbs from 207 to 177! These are just tips that got my stall to quit! Good luck Hun!

The poop won't come lol every 2-3 days I can go a little but have to take laxatives to really go! I take stool softners and Fiber supplements everyday. Any other advice to get more regular? Is the small amount of food just gonna slow me down and I'm never going to go everyday again because there just isn't much food going in!? HELP!!???

No. You can never drink alcohol or eat greasy bread and be healthy..... Just my opinion as a nurse and person who has struggled with my weight forever It's sad I know!!!! Some say it's ok to cheat every once in a while that you need it to keep from binging. I also disagree with that once I cheat I want to cheat more! I think it's best to say good bye to eating crap for forever!

Your appetite will come back! Enjoy not having it!! Use it as a tool!!!! Good luck!

Thanks for your response!! I am hoping that my recovery is as good as yours. Fifteen days out I have to start traveling for business and I'm hoping I will be up for it. Any tips on Protein shakes and Vitamins that helped you would be appreciated. I'm excited to see your success and hope I will be posting the same results soon

The 7th day I was allowed to add on Protein Shakes I took one premier chocolate shake which is 30gms Protein in the blender with two scoops zero carb Isopure Protein powder which is 50gms protein (80 gms total!!!!!) and blended it with lots of ice and 2 tablespoons PB2 because I love Peanut Butter flavor! This made about a 16oz smoothie I drank all day long. I'd drink 2-3 oz every couple hours give or take! It's so yummy and satisfying! I'd sip it and Water and concentrate on walking for the entire second week. Doing it that way made it easy for me! Now I have added in eggs lean meats cottage cheese some veggies etc I've adjusted the shakes also because I can drink a entire shake pretty quickly and 80gms protein is way to much at once. Now I use Atkins vanilla 15gms protein and one scoop Isopure 25gms protein. Or do a half Atkins half almond milk plus isopure mixture. PB2 is a must have also.

Congratulations! My surgery is two weeks from today. I am excited and nervous at the same time. I would love to hear how your first few weeks after surgery went as far as energy level, being able to get your Water in, etc. My SW and your will be the same as I have to get to that number before the surgery.

I'm excited for you! It's truly a exciting thing! The first few weeks are tough mentally and physically! Your tired sore and your body is just freaked out!!! I never got to hungry but I did feel weak! Walking 15 min a day was hard for me but I pushed myself 15 to 20 then 30 plus mins a day! I was prepared for the weakness and soreness I was however not prepared for the emotional aspect of it all!!! I mourned food I was angry dad and SUPER irritable! I had two melt downs and cried for no reason and was just restless! This all got better around day 7-8 when I got some Protein shakes in my body! I had zero trouble with Water I drank 3 liters a day pretty early on I never messed with Soups just shakes and water for almost 3 weeks. Cream of mushroom was ok I ate it once and some broth but shakes were satisfying! I also tried sugar free Jello crystal light and pop sickles but found the fake sugar crap made me have extreme cravings. I recommend staying away from anything sugar free! Once I stopped the Jello and Popsicles my cravings stopped! It's tough but soooooooo worth it! You'll have your ups and downs but in the long run there are so many more ups than downs!!! Good luck to you! Let me know if you have any other questions !

These are the happiest of days when I get up,strip down, and step on that scale to see a drop in lbs!!!! It's the best feeling, the feeling of success and accomplishment for all my hard work!!!!

HW 207

SW 200

CW 179

5 weeks out!!!!!!

I can honestly say the new way I eat now is satisfying! I'm back working out pretty hard! I'm full most of the time except for night time cravings! But I must say going to bed hungry every night is a small price to pay for this weight loss! I can eat this way the rest of my life!!! I'm so encouraged right now and pleased with my decision. All the hard times are so worth it. I'm now 29 lbs away from my goal of 150 or 49 lbs from my super goal of 130. I'm undecided about being less than 150 I'll have to see how I look when I get there I don't want to be to skinny I want to build muscle weight lifting also! Be encouraged yall! Good days do happen it does get better and it is all worth it!!!!

I'm a nurse getting ready to go back to working nights. Anyone eating at night? Is it stalling your weight loss!??? I'm so worried about eating at night I dunno what to do!?

What is carb cycling?

Once every 4-6 days you increase your carb intake to about 100 plus grams a day. With healthy carbs. Yogurt oatmeal fruits Beans nut butters nuts etc. (also workout hard on these days) then follow the next day with very little carbs then the next day with moderate amounts of carbs etc..... This boosts metabolism and gets you out if "starvation mode" There are lots of articles about carb cycling out there. It got me out of a stall and body builders do it. It works!

Everyday I'm worried I did this for nothing. I'm still on full liquids and feel like it's not good enough. I can drink a whole shake at a time and don't feel overly full! I thought I'd be full after a couple of ounces! Arrrgh.

I feel you. I'm almost 4 months post op and I've been in a stall and frustrated for a couple reasons. 1) I have no problem drinking a Protein shake in less then 20 minutes and have been this way since 1 week post-op. 2) I follow the nutritionists guidelines and eat my Protein and calories, consume between 65-80 oz of Water a day and haven't lost anything in 3 weeks.

I am In a Support group through the surgical office and have tried talking to them about it and it just makes me feel worse. I feel worse because people with a lower BMI (mine is currently at 53) have lost more weight in less time and people that had surgery the same week have lost more. When I ask what they are doing compared to what I'm doing I again feel like a failure. Some of the people are 6+months out and still at 300-400 calories a day. At 2 weeks I was told to move to 600-800 calories and at 6week 800-1000 and I tell people that and they are appalled. So I tried going backward in calories - back to 600-800 but I am hungry ALL THE TIME! I try to make good choices but this past week since I haven't lost anything in over 2 weeks I've just given up.

Anyway, just came looking to see if anyone else has any of these issues or thoughts since I'm apparently unique my my face-to-face support group and it discourages me so bad.

Try thickening up your shakes I do almond milk and zero carb Isopure powder! Full of protein. No carbs and very filling in a blender with ice! Fills me up at like 140 calories and 25 gms protein. I drink 2-3 a day with grilled chicken, tuna, pork tenderloin, or some type of lean meat every few hours. Or 1/2 cup cottage cheese. After 2-3 Ounces of meat I'm full. Ground chicken is also really lean and yummy and filling (I put home made taco seasoning on it)! I eat veggies a couple days a week but shy away from Beans and legumes as the high carb content stalls me I stay as low carb as possible except one day a week I allow myself carbs from nuts Beans and nut butter etc (carb cycling). Eating every couple hours keeps me from being to hungry. The lean meats keep my calories low everyday. Measure and record everything! Before I got a good scale I thought I wasn't eating much but turned out I was eating double what I should have been. Hope it gets better for you! Sorry your group isn't very supportive! It'll get better! You can do it!

HW 207

SW 200

CW 186

I'm 4 weeks post op tomorrow, have been 186 for a week now! I know because I started with a lower-ish BMI of 32 it's going to happen slow I'm just discouraged. Really thinking about going back to full liquids pretty much just shakes. I also need to step up my exercise. I'm bummed today!

Down to 180 today! Broke my stall!!! I started carb cycling and eating 20 gms of Protein every 2-3 hours no matter what!! It worked!

2 days post up. Can I drink skim milk with carnation instant breakfast. Not much choices 7 days post op. Suggestions guys? Feel pretty good, tummy sore and bad taste in my mouth.

Pretty much all I was having 7 days out was Protein Shakes Water and occasional broth or cream mushroom soup! I was full off my shakes though.

What do I do about eating on a 12 hour night shift!?? 7p-7a!? I'm a travel nurse getting ready to go back to work. My experiences is every time I work nights even eating healthy I gain. I do not want to gain anything back I've worked so hard!!! Any tips or advice is appreciated! TIA!

Whew! I thought it was just me getting frustrated with my scale. I had my 2 week post op on Monday and got the green light to start full liquids. The doctor said that once my calorie intake increases that the weight will come off. I was only getting in 300-400 calories during my 2 week clear liquid stage so I guess we'll see how it goes. I feel like I'm constantly reminding myself to eat these days. Why couldn't that have happened years ago??

Because you still had your entire stomach sending your brain hunger signals all the time lol

I eat 20gms of Protein every 2-3 hours on a schedule. Before I was kinda just eating whenever but since I've balanced it out and stick to schedule I've got out of a week long stall!

I'm on my 5th week, how long did yall wait to do core and ab workouts? Like planks, crunching, sit ups, and leg lowers????

Walk and exercise definitely!