OutsideMatchInside

@VSG4Mag Cod, any white fish turns to mush in your mouth, yeah you can easily eat 4 ounces of it. That is how I transitioned off shakes to all real food, fish was really easy to eat and process especially if you bake it and it is very moist, Honestly a lot of people have issues with food and have a lot of restriction because they aren't eating and drinking. You have to use your sleeve for it be usable. If you don't drink all day early on and don't make efforts at eating because you think it hurts, then people just let the swelling get out of control. Then they can't eat. Even now, if I go a day or 2 without eat, (sick with other issues allergies whatever), My restriction goes tight and I have to work my capacity back up. I have to be able to "eat" and drink before I could leave the hospital, so in less than 24 hours post op, I had a 4 ounce protein shake, some jello, tea, and a few spoonfuls of broth. My program will NOT send you home if you cannot keep food down. They will not send you home to starve and dehydrate like some of these programs. Eating in the hospital with the support of the staff took a lot of the fear away about eating. Knowing that I could eat that soon post op and it was not only okay but encouraged helped a lot.

Never if you measure your portions and eat dense protein

I 16/8 fast, so I eat all my protein in an 8 hour window. I eat 4 to 6 times a day, it just depends on what I eat. The best defense is a good offense. Eating multiple times a day prevents you from over eating and helps you resist temptation because you know the next meal is around the corner. Also if I only ate 3 meals a day I would NEVER meet my protein goals. I can eat 20-30 grams of protein at a time. 3 meals a day would not get me to protein goals. Even though now I can eat larger portions it is uncomfortable, 4 ounces is the most comfortable and that is always around 20 grams. So I have to eat more than 3 times a day to his 120 grams of protein.

I missed this thread last week. First I want to say that it is really nice to have someone actually post what they are eating. It is really helpful. What app is this? I am guessing My Fitness Pal because the nutritional information is all wrong. The calories on the ground beef seems low, depending on how lean it is. HOW CAN YOU EAT 6 OUNCES OF BAKED CHICKEN?!?!!??! i can't eat 6 ounces of baked chicken at almost 2 years. I would have to eat it in 2 sittings, and if you are doing that, cool, but I could have never at 3 weeks, I also don't understand how you can eat Quest bars that early. I had issues with them even at 3 months, although I have noticed the new formula (the change it like every 6 months) is a lot softer. I think you are underestimating your calories, and your portions, unless you are dividing them into 2 meals are just too large. 1000-1300 calories isn't the issue, neither is your "lack of activity" as other people have said. The Quest bars give them up, that is too many carbs in a day. Give up the diet tea too. The fake sweeteners in those alone will make you stall out. Carbs also make your liver larger, so just eating a lot carbs can make you gain water weight. All I ever did really to lose my weight was walk. If you walk 10-20 minutes 2x a day the first 6 weeks, that is good. The point is to heal, not lose weight, and not to over exercise. Being active is enough. TLDR Drop the protein bars, swap them for Premier or other low carb protein shakes Giive up the Ground beef Keep your calories to 200-250 at a time 5 times a day Limit your protein (chicken, fish, whatever) to 3 ounces at a time, Keep your net carbs 0-25 Walk every day. Also are you using a scale to weigh your food? You are either over or under estimating it and I am not sure which. Scale, not measuring cups or spoons. Scale. Only a scale is going to be accurate, everything else is a guesstimate.

@xoxococojay That was the issue I had with low carbing before surgery. I would always eat too much even though my carbs were low, my portions were nuts

@JerseyJules I know it might seem like forever but the amount of time you only consume very little food is really short in the big scheme of things 6 months to a year and they you can really make a pretty decent dent in food. When I was 6 months, 4 ChikFilA nuggets would fill me up, then at a year it was like 8, I can eat 12 now pretty easy if I want (I had a day I was like 800 calories in the hole and it was getting late). While that might not seem like a lot, once you adapt to a new norm, it really is a lot. Hang in there

Well you picked the wrong things. Early on you want moist soft foods. A baked piece of fish, grilled or sauteed shrimp. Chicken or tuna salad. Crab cakes Chicken is one of the hardest things for me to eat still, because chicken breasts/wings are just dry and dense. Steak and Pork chops are easier because of the fat content. If you want to enjoy food, you have to learn your sleeve and work with it. I had to go out to lunch at around the 5 week mark. I ordered a chicken salad sandwich with a soup and a salad. I ate almost all the chicken salad none of the croissant, had a few spoons of soup, and pushed the salad around. Enjoyed the great convo with friends and had a great time.

Not good for us. We need something that absorbs fast and that is designed to absorb slow. Even the guys at my supplement store knew this was a bad choice for us. Syntrax Nectars however are perfect for WLS patients and the flavors are delicious.

I never had nausea. That shouldn't be your concern, energy should. You will have bursts of energy then you will get tired very soon. A nurse? you would need a month to 6 weeks of, especially working 12 hour shifts. Unless you are a phone nurse, this is pure insanity.

@Dknal2 I'm just going to keep it 100, there are other issues in your marriage. Your husband is being fake with this weight thing. There is something deeper here and every time you post about it, I know that you know there is something deeply wrong with your marriage. You guys are just doing some dance about this surgery thing, but surgery isn't even the issue. The fact he wouldn't even take you to surgery and your son had to take you (correct me if I am wrong), should have been the sign you needed. Things are not getting better, they are the same or worse. Life is too short for this BS.

Sometimes it comes from jealousy but the longer I have been on this path the more I realize most people are straight up clueless about what is actually healthy. Most restaurants make 12 ounce steaks the norm, but that is 3-4 times the amount of steak you should eat at once. 3-4 ounces of steak is not a barbaric portion, that is a proper portion size. That is what everyone is supposed to eat. That is why is so annoying when people whine about only being able to eat a little bit for the rest of their life. No, you will actually be eating how everyone else is supposed to be eating. We are a society of gluttons and gluttony is encouraged at every turn. When you eat right around people that eating wrong, fat or skinny they know already they are eating wrong and you eating right it makes them self conscious. The more weight I lose with more results, people look at how I eat, everyone gets pizza, I get a chicken Cesar salad, and eating the toppings off a piece or 2 of pizza, everyone gorging on pizza looks at how I eat. Not because it is so different but because it really isn't terrible, especially to get the results I have. So now people are thinking, wow why can't I do that? How people feel about you losing weight is really complicated and they may not even know why they are in their feelings. Having your fat friend go healthy is just like having your party buddy get married or give up liquor. Now you lost your partner in crime. Not eating with your fat friends is the same thing. I was lucky post-op that I lived in a new area, where I did not know anyone. I never had to worry about how anyone felt because I never saw anyone for more than a few hours at a time. If I treated myself the every 2 to 3 months I hung out with someone I knew it didn't matter. My macros were still fine, and my idea of a treat is different than most people. I suggest people distance themselves from people they enjoyed their old habits with until they really have a good handle on their new lifestyle. Just like any other addict.

Don't stock up on anything. Do get a good scale Get an app to track your food. Try a few and see which one you like. Start weighing an tracking your food now, so it is a habit. @teacupnosaucer made great clothing and heating pad suggestions

Sizes go down slow in plus size sizes. So it wasn't that fast.

I found hydration and walking gets things moving better. Also in the beginning we are eating a lot less and just go less. The further out you get and the more you can eat as far as volume per day, the more often you will go. the first 3-6 months I could only go every couple days or so. Now its daily and sometimes 2x a day.

There is where I feel like Tinder gets a bad rap. People can only talk to you and you can only talk to them if it is mutal. So you don't have all these misses, only hits.

My inner thigh are my biggest issue and like my lower upper arms I don't think there is any help, the skin there is thinner than most of my skin and it is just stretched and wrinkled. Thighs make me saddest because I have never seen a good thigh reduction, not to the point that you can wear a bathing suit or something that shows all your thighs, it just seems like burning money, Not very hopeful but I'm being honest.

Try different temps. Cold hurt to me, room temp and warm were fine.

You didn't provide any details on what your definition of a slow down is. A Stall or are you just losing 5 lbs a month? You didn't offer your calories, daily macros or anything. DS is know for gas, really bad smelly gas. Again with not details on what you eating, and in what quantities it is hard to provide detailed help. I lost about 130 lbs by the one year mark, then in the 8 months since I have lost another 50. It slowed down, but I had lost the bulk of my weight (and so have you). I lost pretty fast then hung around the 250s for a while, then I dropped pretty fast to 220, hung out there for while, then hung out around 200 for a while, and now I am hanging out around 190 for a while. My body seems to take breaks from weight loss, but during the times the pounds are not dropping my body shape is changing and inches are dropping.

I doubt you have much with that BMI.

125 at 5'2 sounds about right. None of them have to carry your excess weight. I think people really don't realize how uncomfortable extra weight is. I never did until I lost it. Tell him you are losing to live a long healthy life, not for vanity. And yes, as someone said before we don't recognize a healthy weight anymore. When I watch old movies and see the size that women were in the past, I see how far off track we are.

I don't see it as a diet, it is a way of life. Thinking like that I don't have to have cheat days or cheat meals or diet. I don't feel like I am suffering or deprived. I legit don't like most carbs, didn't before surgery and still don't. I really enjoy just eating meat, veggies and the odd protein bar. I have a healthy relationship with food. If anything you said in this thread is true, then I am really happy for you, but I find it pretty hard to believe given your track record.

I eat 1400 to 1500 most days, and 1900-2000 when I am really active

Collagen protein is good if you want a boost for your hair in skin, but the collagen I take, I don't even count in my protein for the day.

Lots of people do. If you are going to snack, snack on dense protein only. no carbs, the weight will come off

Last Spring/Summer I mainly wore Walmart workout clothes around the house. They are great and once you get to regular sizes super cheap. One caution though, if you keep wearing the same sizes, you feel like you aren't losing. especially in those times when you are not dropping weight but are dropping inches. I suggest even if you can't afford new clothes, to at least go try them on each month so you can see your progress.