OutsideMatchInside

Normally I would agree with this but she has chosen to be in the spotlight and the "celebs" that are in the spotlight for WLS set the tone for the rest of us. While I normally wouldn't care, she and her story has affects all of us and how people see WLS.

A stopped clock is also right 2x a day.

A calorie is not a calorie. There is so much science that dispute this. There are different metabolic responses to different foods, that is just pure science that can't be disputed.

Well honestly a properly formed sleeve won't stretch from carbonation from soda. Just even thinking about that in a scientific context sounds ridiculous and like an old wives tale. So telling people that soda will stretch their sleeve is idiotic in my opinion. I gave up soda years before having surgery and I think it is terrible and pox on society but I don't think it will stretch a sleeve, science and logic just don't support it. You would be more likely to stretch your sleeve with steak than with soda. Liquids don't even stay in your stomach long enough to stretch it, they immediately pass through and anyone that has had a live swallow test pop-op can confirm this. Steak and any other dense protein takes a very long time to pass through your sleeve and a long time for your stomach to digest. Just by the sheer amount of time that dense protein is in your stomach, it would stretch your stomach, except with a properly formed sleeve and restriction, you can't eat enough steak to stretch your sleeve. The reasons people shouldn't drink soda is because soda is trash, especially diet soda. It is a gateway to other stuff, and if people are drinking soda they are probably doing worse. Sleeve stretching is a myth perpetuated by WLS failures and medical malpractice. It just doesn't happen with a properly formed sleeve and people need to stop using it a s crutch to support their bad habits and failed food plan.

@Delta_35 I keep telling myself I am going to stop posting here because for me the site is basically useless. I want to stay involved in WLS community I think remembering where you came from and helping others is a good support method to stay on track. Yet, I'm not even 2 years out, I don't really consider myself a Vet. I have questions and issues I could use help with but there are virtually no successful Vets to ask. Even fewer that started with a BMI as high as mine (61). My issues and the problems I have are unique to being that large and losing so much. I have no community here I can talk to. It is basically just like being in the real world, alone with a unique experience. I like answering questions because most responses are from people less than 6 months out that have a really skewed view what post-op life is like so it is the blind leading the blind. Still with no real active community for WLS Vets, might as well just chill with my Keto friends. This isn't just a reflection of this board, this is a major long term issue with WLS patients in general, long term, they just aren't active in the WLS community. Everything is just for newbs and I also think this is why so many people fail long term, there is no long term support, just immediate post-op and that is what all information is geared for. Also, Bella is always trying to take someone to task for what they say but as soon as someone gets on her case, she wants to play victim. She is one of the most passive aggressive internet characters I have encountered in a long time.

@Delta_35 My concern is that with do many people qualifying for surgery now that seem to be obviously bad candidates and failures that it will skew statistics and make WLS seem less effective than it is meaning long term, surgery may not be covered by insurance or harder to maintain. I had an evaluation but it was a joke. I was prepared for surgery but no one prepares you for the end. The losing phase is easy, the end and loose skin is tough.

You still never said what you actually eat. What are your daily macros? Do you weigh all your food? Get a food scale Give up the splenda, switch to Stevia, a stevia from the health food store, not the fake stuff in the grocery store.

Your metabolism might be higher than you think, unless you had it tested you never know.

@Blue Door I had it tested. I see you are in Illinois. You can have it tested in Sports Medicine cheaply at any of the local Universities. I also get DEXA scans so I know my exact lean mass.

Yep pretty much, I wrote exactly what I meant and I am glad you understood it as I wrote it. You can't love someone more than they love themselves and you can't fix them. If her friend is eating that bad when they are watching, what do think they are doing when no one is around? Her friend has to live in their body and they have to make the right choices. You can take an addict to rehab but you can't make them get clean. Her friend has been to rehab and still is using. The program that her friend is in, isn't offering the right support, and that everything in moderation idea is fail. The friend is losing right now because they are 2 months out, but by the time they are 6 months they are really going to be pigging out. It is pretty obvious her friend is not only a food addict but also has a high pain tolerance. That is the only way they can eat like that, it has to be painful. and not stop. Someone that dedicated to screwing up, is not going to stop. An intervention might actually make worse because the friend will secret eat. She can't save her friend, her friend has to do the work. I say this as a friend that tried to save a friend. I have a friend, well actually not anymore but that is a different topic, that had RNY about 3 year before I had the sleeve. Flash forward I am 1 year post op, and still losing and they have regained, after never even getting close to goal. I went through my entire kitchen, all my cabinets took pictures of everything I eat, provided links to stuff to buy, provided meal plans, recipes, cooked live and let them watch me cook healthy recipes. They never made it one week eating right. Eating right, losing weight isn't their priority. And this person ASKED for my help and still wasn't motivated. You have to be highly motivated deeply on a personal level to be successful at weight loss, no one else can do it for you. OP cannot save their friend, they are spinning their wheels. Go volunteer with the Girl Scouts, they actually want the help.

It is really nice you want to help and save your friend. I wish more people had friends like you but the reality is. Food addicts are just like drug addicts. They have to save themselves, no one else can do the work for them. Someone eating like that so soon after surgery is a full blown food addict. There is no helping him. If fear of the ICU and death isn't holding him back, nothing will.

I don't eat yogurt, all of it has too much sugar, the nutritional value doesn't make sense. I will never allow peanut butter back in my house. Too calorie dense, too little nutritional value and too easy to snack on. PB2 is no better it has sugar. I was buying pure peanut butter powder but my local grocery stopped selling it, and I haven't bothered to order more. Coffee ( I live off Coffee) Hot Sauce Penzey's Spices (lots of sugar free high quality spice mixes, most store brands have carbs) Flavor God spices EatMeGuiltFree Brownies (everything else they sell has bad macros I like the blondies) Halo Top Ice, haven't purchased any in about 6 to 9 months but I like it A White fish you like Stevita Stevia in liquid (only sweetener I will use) Water Drops Stevia always keep a protein bar in my purse.

Or just buy Syntrax Nectar fruit punch! Thanks for sharing

Never crushed my pills. Swallowed huge metformin pills within 24 hours of surgery.

@Newme17 Well it seems like a lot of people that never boost their calories fast enough have to maintain on 800-1000, because they keep their calories low for a whole year or whatever. So their RMR, maintence level is 800-1000 and they don't have anywhere to go to run at a deficit. By keeping a normal metabolism, you have some place to go. I'm eating 1400 and losing slowly on purpose (easier on my body at this point), but I could do to 1200 for a couple weeks if I wanted. I ate at 1900 for weeks and didn't gain anything and lost 2lb I think. So keeping your metabolism up, gives you wiggle room. If you ruin it you have no where to go later on, and will regain no matter what.

That doesn't look like a 4 but okay. It just makes it seem like surgery is the easy way out, She will be like Carnie wilson and gain it all back. and then some.

60 is like the bare minimum you need to live not the optimal level. I peg my protein goals to my lean mass. Everyone doesn't have the same goals post op as others. I want to maintain as much muscle as possible with as little effort as possible because I like to eat keeping my proteiname high has kept my metabolism high and my muscle mass up. Everyone stalls though. I lose a lot of inches during my stalls so I enjoy them. I've been stalled bouncing around for 2 months but I lost a dress size and 1/2 a shoe size in that time.

Well the amount of time you can only eat very little is pretty short. I find that I enjoy being social more because I am less focused on food and I can talk and socialise more. Forums don't really offer an idea of what post op life is like because 98% of the post are from newbies.

Well my RMR is 1900 ish. So eating 1400 is still a large daily deficit. I can maintain at 1900 to 2000. They days I was eating that last summer I was burning like 1000 calories a day walking so I had to up my calories but I was still running a huge deficit. I just don't even have the time to eat 2000 calories a day. It is a huge time sink

This is complete BS, because they have you continue to take all your regular meds. The rules for sleevers are not the same as the rules for RNY but these practices use a once size fits all approach. You can take a regular vitamin as long as it is high quality. I suggest a soft gel one, easier on your body and absorbed faster. Making food addicts take vitamins that taste like candy is idiotic.

Have you really been eating 700-800 calories a day for a whole year? You kill your metabolism with low calories. If your calories are that low, your calories for carbs are way to high, Eat only dense protein for a week. NO carbs. See what happens. Then keep your carbs to under 25. Only eat real food. NO protein bars, no shakes. Just dense protein. Also find some place to have your RMR tested so you know how many calories you can eat.

Did you make this Tune and Egg Salad yourself? Real mayo doesn't have sugar. It is just Oil, Eggs and seasoning. Any pre-made Tuna or egg salad you purchase is going to have sugar in it. Eggs made me sick early on, like the first 3 months. Horrible gas, pains, everything. I'm fine with them now. I would put money on the eggs over the mayo.

I'm glad you took it in the right spirit. It seems like he is just trying to always make you feel less than so he has the upper hand. Our culture is against counseling, and also against most medical intervention and with good historical reasons (Tuskegee experiments, etc), so we have more kick back on surgery, and are less likely to seek counseling. I doubt you ever get him to couples counseling, You just need to live your life for yourself, you will be happier and so will your children. An unhappy family isn't really a family and if Mama ain't happy...

I think 100 grams of protein a day is great. It is how I can wear a size 8 at over 180 pounds, I am mostly muscle!

The best waist trainer is my sleeve. If you have to get a waiste trainer wait until you are over a year out, or you are risking GERD. I'm 20 months and I had dinner with some high waist compression leggings on and I had to slide them down because I can't eat anything if I have pressure on my sleeve, sometimes even my bra can be too much.