summerset

You're right but this is not how this board works. Post something about eating "off plan" and you will get the heat and/or the self-righteous standard sermon from certain users. It's 100% predictable. Some users are calling this - ahem - "tough love". If users continue to bother you with their style of writing put them on ignore. It's a helpful feature.

If it really bothers you, there is always the ignore function.

They look almost too cute to eat.

Seems like protein bars are an acquired taste. (I never understood the rave about Quest bars though - YUCK!) Have you ever tried Clif Bars?

This is less of a new life than you might think, considering that life involves way more than diet and exercise.

The first week I was in the hospital (seems like patients in Germany have to stay way longer after the procedure) and I was quite restless so I was on my feet quite a lot. Walking wasn't a problem and I felt quite fine but taking the stairs... that didn't feel too good.

I usually use vanilla. It adds a nice flavor. Skip the sugar if you're using a flavored powder. Otherwise it tends to get way too sweet.

Maybe your tummy just doesn't like mayonnaise anymore? Or it's too early for mayonnaise? I can remember dumping on a protein shake a few days after surgery.

I do have some experience with early dumping (like when I drunk protein coffee too fast) but the symptoms were only mild. I noticed some late dumping with being a bit jittery I think two times? Or maybe I'm one of the people who don't notice being hypoglycemic - I'm thinking about doing some testing out of curiosity. Never was dizzy or something so far. Eating is way better than before with the lapland. With the MGB nothing gets "stuck". Reflux is mostly gone but not entirely as it seems.

Girl, I love your approach!

Compare it with the success rate of non-surgical weight loss and you will agree that it is a very powerful tool. As for the fact that not 100% of patients are successful: that's the problem with literally all therapies and it would be kind of unfair to dismiss the power of WLS because not every patient reaches goal weight and maintains it without struggle. No pill, no procedure, no intervention will ever have a 100% success rate for 100% of the patients. Doesn't matter if you're looking at WLS, medication against high blood pressure, cancer, high cholesterol or whatever. WLS is a surgical therapy and it's very successful compared with every non-surgical alternative but of course it's not 100% successful. Patients are reacting very differently and it seems like nobody knows yet why some patients reach goal weight comparatively fast and without much problems and maintain without much struggle and with only moderate awareness about what they eat or not eat (that most people have to bring up, btw) while others never reach goal weight and have to struggle a lot or why some patients become lactose intolerant after WLS or why their taste preferences change and that of other patients don't. That's never a bad advice given the fact that lots of people had a sedentary lifestyle before WLS and ate less than ideal foods a lot of the time. Anyway why is it that people have struggled for years (even decades) making these changes, it never worked in the long run and all of a sudden it works? A miracle? "Hard work" suddenly rewarded? The patient "suddenly getting a grip" on something that he/she never managed to do for the last 20 or so years? Or is it WLS working very powerfully after all because by altering the set point and the hormonal situation all of a sudden it's possible to implement changes because hunger and fighting the bodies urge to remain at the higher weight is no longer making this a hopeless uphill battle? It's like throwing the teaspoon away you used, trying desperately getting the water out of your cellar and putting a strong pump to work instead to get the water out. One is a hopeless struggle, the other requires less work and gets better results anyway. Why not embrace this instead of scaring yourself and getting the pressure and stress up again with concentrating on "the hard work", "strict diet", "rigid exercise regimen" and the like? You can concentrate on that particular windmill again when you notice that non-obsessive awareness doesn't do the trick. (And I will stop fighting against a certain windmill again right now, btw and I don't think most users on here will miss it, lol ). Obviously there is evidence that WLS lowers the set point again - within the blink of an eye. That might be one of the reasons WLS is that successful compared to non-surgical methods: your body is not fighting your weight loss efforts. But it seems like you have only one shot. That's why revisions don't seem to be that successful when it comes to weight loss.

Don't refer to it as "just" a tool. It's too powerful (lowering the set point of the body and changing the expression of numerous genes) to be dismissed as "just" a tool.

Adding protein powder also tastes really good.

Having six meals a day can indeed feel like "grazing" because you're essentially eating about every two hours if you don't want to eat your last meal immediately before going to bed.

Interestingly enough there are studies that deal with set point theory and WLS and that the WLS procedure itself is obviously able to lower the patient's set point to a new lower weight making both losing and maintaining weight easier.

Seems like we have at least something in common, huh? LOL. Stop being ridiculous, please. My "honeymoon period" was over like 15 years ago.

This. Nothing more to say.

I think it's kind of sad that people keep continuing telling this themselves, like a self-fulfilling prophecy, but to each their own. Maintenance is not harder than losing. But of course when you're in the I'm-eating-only-600-800-cals-a-day-like-I-did-when-I-was-crash-dieting-in-the-past-to-get-the-rush-of-quick-weight-loss-and-then-started-bingeing-because-I-was-too-deprived-club I can understand why maintaining is harder than losing. I too can't believe how short sighted some people are - repeating the past mistakes over and over and OVER again.

Ah yes, but with all these new and excellent habits it should be a breeze anyway? Because you've already cemented these habits within that honeymoon period, remember? And wasn't that always the problem in the past as well that made maintenance impossible? Going back to "old habits"?

I use a liquid one. It's the best tasting stuff (though quite expensive) I have tried so far.

BTW, when reading some of the posts in these thread I wonder why some people on here needed WLS in the first place. They were obviously so good at implementing all these changes and new habits before surgery happened... it should have made that sideshow thing WLS unnecessary. Maybe with a longer waiting period all that excess weight would have been gone without surgery after all.

This. This. I have to search more than half-heartedly for a study that compares 5-year-or-more outcome between different groups ( e. g. the holy and mature 6-months-or-more waiting period with all the required hoops patients vs. the immature and evil patients without an extended waiting period and only quick education about post-op nutrition). I wonder if there will be significant and clinically relevant differences in regards to EWL after 5 years or more between the groups.

Thanks you and all available for kindle unlimited. Cool.

Yes, it seems very strict and is far away from the usual "lean protein, no carb" approach.

It's a big decision to have WLS. It's absolutely normal to have doubts and fear.