hellohealthy

I recently went to the OB/GYN to ask about an IUD and they recommended Skyla, which is smaller than Mirena and lasts for 3 years. They said it's a little easier to implant in women that have not had babies.

The whole portion thing is strange.
Last night I went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant with my husband and another couple. I always order the shrimp fajitas and I eat about 5 small shrimp, some of the peppers and onions and a sprinkle of cheese.
When you look at what is left on my plate I probably ate 1/8th of that portion.
I also had a bit of their fresh salsa which is my favorite and 3 tortilla chips.
Of course I felt like I ate way too much but my pouch was fine. The group ordered Sopapaillas for dessert and I was so proud of myself because I abstained! I actually felt good about what I ate but part of me scolded me for those darn chips.
If you think back to my portion and compare it to what I used to eat! I would have eaten all of my shrimp fajitas including the soft tortillas and had dessert. My friends were actually perplexed that I was full on that little bit of food.
We had a whole conversation about how you really can survive on a lot less food than you think. They asked me what my menu looks like in a whole day so I pulled out my fitness pal and showed them that I generally eat between 900 and 1200 calories a day and the types of food I focus on. They could see that I have been tracking for an entire year and the nutrition I focus on.
My friends are very good ones who have been so very supportive throughout. I moved states in the spring and I miss my walking buddy so we got caught up last night. She was doing so good before I left but has been stress eating and put on a few pounds. She is overweight but not obese and is trying hard to get back on track.
Anyway, it is so weird the way our heads now think about portion size. I know that 900 - 1200 calories is not normal for someone who hasn't had WLS but when I have a 1200 calorie day I always feel like I ate way too much that day.
Go figure!

Does anyone feel like they eat too much at times? I swear at dinner I ate what felt like the equivalent of half a cow, but at lunch I had about 4 bites of chicken and was full.
I feel like I'm struggling with portion sizes. Anyone have any advice?

My NUT told me Decaf is fine

You actually cannot stretch your pouch however as the swelling goes down you have more room in there.
also down the road, there is something that happens in which your brain allows you to eat more as well, so it is important that what you are eating is healthy and that you keep Portion Control in mind.
I am 10.5 months post op and I can eat about a cup of food total. When you think of a cup of food, you think of it all chewed up. So if you are eating a salad you can actually eat more than will fit in a cup before chewing.
As long as you are not eating longer than 30 minutes and sticking to your plan you should be just fine. There has been several studies done on whether the pouch stretches. The consensus is that it does not but we tend to get more comfortable eating more than we should. Listen to your stomach and stop when you are full, don't eat beyond that.
Also watch for slider foods that make you hungry again too soon. This becomes important when the hunger hormones come back for us RNY folks. Slider foods for me are things like Soup, yogurt, pudding.....

Anyone interested in being email pen pals? For added support and stuff. Maybe once comfortable we could exchange addresses and send each other little goodie boxes!

I track everything via myfitnesspal or I would not know this.
My main focus is obviously Protein. My goal has been set for a minimum of 70 per day, 1 gram for every inch I am tall.
I have found that if I stay around 1000 to 1200 calories per day and limit my good carbs to around 85 to 90 max, I lose on average about 2.75 pounds per week which is good for how far along in the process I am.
I will say that I try to focus all of my carbs on good carbs like fruits and vegetables. Occasionally I will have a small amount of potatoes or a bite of rice and it doesn't bother me. If I have a day where my plate is not balanced well, I will stall out and it will take me a week or so to get back on track with weight loss.
I am 35lbs from my goal and have lost 110 lbs.

I am not there yet since my surgery was just yesterday but this is something my therapist and I have talked about extensively. It is, unfortunately, very common to transfer your food addition to another addition. (Some even still have food addiction but in the opposite direction and become anorexic .) The fact that you are aware of it is a very good thing, but you might check in to some addiction counseling to make sure you are dealing with it upfront. That's my plan anyway to continue with my current counselor.

I have not posted in over a year, but today I went on my annual zoo trip to Celebrate my new life. I had my surgery in June 2012 and I am 3 years post op. I had a rough first few months. I threw up a lot and generally thought I had made a mistake. However then the weight started to come off and I was able to get into smaller and smaller sizes. Finally my pouch and I figured things out. I am able to eat anything I want at this point. I feel like I finally eat like a normal person. I got my dream job about a year after surgery. I am really active now and completed my first triathlon in October last year.
I started out weighing 256 and today I weigh about 143. I went from a size 22 to a 2-4.
Please know that things get better and the weight will come off. All your dreams are possible!
I have added my official before and after picture that I take every year at the zoo!  

Cottage cheese and ricotta bake are two options.

I have been craving some weird things too: eggs, meatballs, beets and asparagus. My guess is I am missing a nutrient found in one of these foods.

I weigh once per week at home.

As hard as it may be, the more you walk the faster the gas goes away!!

As hard as it may be, the more you walk the faster the gas goes away!!

I was told 30 minutes.

Well it was a little early, by a few days, but the good news is, I am doing much better than I thought.
What a relief, talking to my Surgeon, getting reassured, and getting my questions answered! He made me feel a million times better.
I lost 10 lbs since I've been home, last Wednesday. My infection is doing great, he took me off the antibiotics which should alleviate my nausea and diarrhea. THANK GOODNESS!!! He prescribed Activia daily for me. To get my colon back in working order after these harsh antibiotics. I was glad to find no sugar added varieties.
My blood sugars have been so good, he took me off ALL my Diabetes meds. I stopped them myself at home, because my numbers were getting so low. No more Metformin, Glipizide, Humalog or Lantus! In his own words: " Your diabetes just left the building."
I can hardly believe it myself.
I had my Lasix reduced from 80 mg daily to 20mg daily.
I had my metoprolol dosage cut in half
I was cleared to start pureed diet when I feel comfortable in the next few days, and start my vitamins/supplements, which I purchased today at the pharmacy.
All in all, it looks like I am seriously on the mend. I was so glad to get my questions answered, and I feel a world of better now. I have some peace of mind, he told me I was almost out of the woods as far as leaks, and generally the only thing now that would hurt me is a trip to a buffet. LOL I gotta' say....food is the last thing I want. I'm just not interested in it. I eat because I have to, not because I am hungry all the time. Huge change for me.
Well...I just wanted to share this with you. Because I was kinda' worried beyond reason, and had to share all the very good news. I'm 12 lbs away from being in the 200's! I can't wait!
Hope restored!

If you are that depressed please please please go to your nearest emergency room or call 911! I cannot even imagine what it is like to lose over 100 pounds - you're amazing!! You've got this. Everyone stalls at some point. Just keep following the plan and you'll be fine. Thinking of you! ❤️❤️

I...don't even have words. I am so so sorry this happened to you.

My incisions are barely healed. I'll be 4 weeks post op tomorrow. I am this week only beginning to bend over, lift a bit more, sleep on my stomach, etc. totally normal!

I literally used my cell phone and charger and my toothbrush in the hospital and I used a pillow on the ride home.

Don't get into this you will drive yourself crazy. This is your journey, no body else's. Some people lose lots in the first few months and others less. You don't know what people's starting points are. Someone might lose 50 lb and their target is 150 so hey have lost 33%. In the same period another person might lose 30 lb and their target is 100lb so their lose is 33% too. If someone posted a 50lb loss and another 30lb who has had the most success? You don't know unless you know people's starting and finishing points.

oatmeal was on my list of approved foods at the puréed stage. I added Protein to it. I don't eat it regularly only because I get tired of the same things.
I do like a light yogurt with Protein granola in it. You can find some good granolas out there that taste great and have low sugar and over 10 grams of protein.
Unfortunately I cannot do eggs so I find other things.

I also love the synthrax nectar. We like the fuzzy naval.

Itching = Healing!!! It is such an annoyance, but I just reminded myself I must be healing really well then. All around the sites I used a non scented very easy on the skin butter (lotion) which helped bring the Itching down a notch.

I would literally dry heave every time I had to drink a shake - you're not the only one that found it hard. I just kept reminding myself about the end goal and that's what got me through!