her1981

I see the horse is still being beaten...

If you can eat carbs responsibly and still lose, eat them. If you can't, don't. It's simple. It's YOUR body. You don't have to do or eat anything you don't want to. Do what works for you. Just make sure you get your Protein. Case closed. ✌

Now, conventional wisdom says doing "what works for you" is probably how you ended up needing bariatric surgery, but I'll leave that alone.

8 hours ago, KrisZ said:

Keto is great for losing, but can you eat that way for the rest of your life in maintenance?

I can! I love how it makes me feel and the results I get following a ketogenic diet. I actually prefer my keto meals. Grains and sugar make my joints hurt and my feet swell.

I am so carb sensitive that I can't lose at all if I eat carbs. 170 pounds down and still can't touch a carb without gaining. Do what works for you.

For containers, I just use the gladware ones. They're cheap and you can just toss em if you don't want to be bothered with upkeep.

If you have a cooler, pack shakes, string cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese (in the individual cups), P3 snacks...

My hunger never went away... it's a constant struggle. Even now.

@@VSG Angel Better stick to your plan then! I was down 100 pounds after 4 months or so, and then things got REALLY slow.

LOL at your transformation diss... I was a "slow loser" from jump. The first 2 weeks after surgery I was only down like 9 pounds. I was pissed! But stay the course and in a few months you'll probably be down 100 pounds...

@@kmorri I follow a low carb diet, so I'm not entirely sure what the deal is. And actually, my diet is no different than it was before. My portions are just greatly diminished with fewer cheat days.

@@Inner Surfer Girl My overall cholesterol is 234, but the ratio was still under 5, so no meds are needed.

I walk about 3 miles a day and do some strength training when I feel like it.

@@LowBMISleever That's what they asked me. No family history and I don't eat a lot of red meat. I suspect it's the dairy, so I'm gonna try to cut back and see if that's it. My good AND bad cholesterol went up, but my triglycerides went down.

So I had my one year post op appointment. They did full labs and my cholesterol was normal in the beginning and now it's high. How can it be and I've lost 156 pounds? I am truly baffled!

Congrats to you. I was the exact same way. Getting under 400 was big for me. Once I got under 300, I was in total disbelief. Celebrate each and every milestone!

That's amazing! Congrats!

Even with the sleeve I've had to stay low carb to lose. I can't tell you how frustrating it is. At a year out if I eat carbs (even a few) I gain like 5 pounds in one day. Yes it's Water weight, but then it takes me 2 weeks to re-lose it. Talk about maddening!

I was low carb before surgery, but my stomach was a bottomless pit, so I couldn't lose enough.

For lunch, I had/have a salad pretty much everyday. I pre-cook chicken breasts on Sunday and then eat them everyday with a combo of veggies and a lite dressing. It's not exciting, but it gets the job done.

@@B1essed1 I would agree that the losing process is easier, but the willpower, mental, emotional, social stuff is not. Even still, I have no regrets.

The awkwardness for me comes when people ask how much I've lost. They start trying to figure out how much I started as most people don't guess that I was over 400... And I don't really want them to know, so of course I make up some other number.

Or when people ask me how I'm losing all this weight. I don't disclose all my personal business so, it's tough for me.

Also in my noisy stomach after meals. It waits till I'm in meetings at work to make THE MOST noise!

@@Daisee68 hijack anytime! I am just so annoyed lately by all things related to weight loss.(except bariatricpal, lol), I've had to hide various weight loss groups on fb cuz I just couldn't take the foolery anymore. I think the bonus here is that I can choose what I want to look at.

I lost XXX pounds and I didn't even have to have surgery to do it!!

Every time I see/hear it, I can't roll my eyes hard enough! Why does it matter?? Surgery is not the easy way out! You still have to watch what you eat! I am living proof. I just want to say, "so, good for you and stfu"!

ugh! OK, rant over.

@scampbell33 Premier Protein now has a banana flavored shake. It's great!

http://shop.premierprotein.com/Premier-Protein-Bananas-and-Cream-Shake/p/PREM-715023&c=PremierProtein@shakes

Regarding carbs and fat, I think you have to monitor your body's response. I found that after surgery I couldn't and still can't tolerate carbs and lose weight, thanks to insulin resistance and metabolic impairment.... even with a 500 calorie per day intake.

So while the nutritionist made certain recommendations for me (80 grams of carbs per day), in the end, I had to craft my own plan (30 grams or less). Do I eat crackers? Yes, sometimes. Do I lose weight if I eat them? NEVER!

Only you can truly determine what's going to work for you.

Ditto @@Inner Surfer Girl . The broth saved me because I just wanted flavor. Maybe ask your nutritionist for a pre-op diet you can actually eat on. It's not much food, but it's enough to keep you sane. I used it because I found myself struggling on liquid only.

Thanks all for the encouragement. I'll continue to encourage her as well.

Still 280.....I'm not giving up though!

A couple weeks ago, my sister in law was at my house going through my old clothes to see what she could fit and was saying how great I looked. I told her how great the sleeve has been for my health and really my overall happiness. She goes on to say, well idk about getting the sleeve because I don't want all that loose skin.... I'm thinking ok, you'd prefer to walk around with all the fat-filled skin???? And for the record, other than my arms, I look pretty good. Then she goes on to talk about all the stuff she doesn't wanna give up.

Keep in mind, she's about 5'3 and 380 pounds. I'm pretty sure she has sleep apnea. She falls asleep at the drop of a dime and is tired from doing virtually nothing. You can hear her breathing when she's just sitting or standing still. She's bottom heavy and her legs are like tree trunks. The don't appear to bend.

Anyway, she got into a car accident and couldn't fit in the machine for the mri. She called me talking about how mortified she was, and asked me to help her lose weight. So we talked about eating right and what she can do to get started, but she has not made a single effort to improve her eating habits - talking about how "expensive" it is to eat healthy. I went to see her yesterday and she had just eaten an entire bag of chips and then ate a Chipotle bowl and then fell asleep within 10 minutes of eating it. I just sat there in awe.... So after she was asleep for about 30 minutes, I just left.

I shutter to think that was me a year ago. I wonder if I was ever "that bad". I probably was. It was so hard to watch. I'm glad I made the choice to get sleeved.