Berry78

Dude, I wouldn't come in here if I went through the front door to the forums. But since I prefer the back door, there are no warning signs... To the OP, sorry for barging in here, but I've seen it all. My husband has an 8 incher when he weighs 200lbs, and about -2 inches at 300lbs. (And I don't mean 6 inches, I mean it has retracted into the abdomen, leaving just a little hole visible). I'm sure you will be quite pleased when the scale starts moving.

*Fingers crossed* for you.

One of those food intolerances.. mine is protein shakes....

A cup of uncooked oats has 10g protein (makes more than a cup prepared). 2 cups of beans has 32g protein 1 oz nuts has 8g protein I probably can squeeze that much food in... maybe... But, honestly, I was hoping to get some nice veggies on board... The thing is, that my hubby (normal sized stomach) can eat 2 cups of beans and a cup of spinach at once for dinner. No problemo. That's 35 grams of protein in one meal. He can eat all those oats for breakfast, plus an ounce of nuts in it.. that's another 17g. One more ounce of nuts for a snack and he has met his goal for the day. Lunch can be protein-free veggies and fruits. But for me, it'll take 2 meals to eat the beans, and another 2 meals to eat the oatmeal. That's 4 meals, and I've only gotten in beans and oats, and possibly an ounce of nuts!! Us bariatric folk HAVE to have more concentrated sources of protein. (And I can't do shakes).

Wow, that's some big font!! Ummm.. lemme go read what you were asking again.... Ok, so you are about 9 months postop, but want to start cooking and baking, but don't want to use a bunch of sugar or caloric sweeteners.. Well, they do make splenda for baking (my mil has this big bag of it running around). But, honestly, I'd rather see you put real sweetener in, then limit how much/often you eat it, then go with all this artificial stuff. Once you are creating baked goods.. carbs are just part of the deal. "Sugar Free" pies and ice cream STILL aren't good for ya In fact, if you bake with real sugar, butter, the works.. then you kinda KNOW it's a caloric nightmare, and can choose to eat just a little bit. Once you put in the fake stuff, or replace sugar with applesauce, then suddenly it "seems" like it has fewer calories, and is healthier, so it's ok to eat more. At least this is how it works for me! I do recommend having someone you can give the "extra" to when you bake something, so the whole cake isn't sitting around the house, staring at you.

I know this is a typo, since your heaviest weight was 240. I don't know how tall you are, but assuming a normal BMI for you is at 150lbs, then you could expect to lose 58 pounds, and you have lost 55lbs.. just about exactly as expected! Congrats!!

You've lost about exactly 65% of your excess weight, just as expected! Congrats!!

You could have expected to lose another 10lbs, so it's true that you lost a bit less than average. Age, very well may play a part in that. So happy you have gained health (which IS the most important thing!).

You count from your highest weight, not surgery date weight. Assuming 145 is accurate (I don't know your height), then 65% of excess weight loss IS losing 45 pounds. Congrats! Your surgery performed as expected!

Brenda, you've lost pretty much exactly as expected. 303 down to 210 is awesome!! Surgery typically only gets you down 2/3 of the way to a "normal" bmi. It did that for you!! Congrats!!

I've been enjoying reading up on the Blue Zones. Here's a pretty good article that explains the similarities pretty well: https://www.consciouslifestylemag.com/blue-zones-diet/ An interesting note. Of the 5 Blue Zones, only one was Vegan, and the study showed that the Vegans that also consumed fish (Pescatarians) actually fared slightly better than the regular vegans. Even so, Big Macs and French Fries didn't feature in any of those Zones' diets Whole, unprocessed grains, beans, nuts/seeds, fresh produce, fruit, red wine, purple veggies, very small amounts of dairy (averaging 1/2 cup a day or less), 2-3 eggs per week, meat featured at most once a week. Fish a few times a week. Olive oil is ok. No added sugar or white flour. A bit of honey is ok. They drink coffee, tea, water, and wine. No fruit juices, vegetable juices, soda, etc. etc. Sweets happen on special occasions... not daily. I love this! I'm already all about the single-ingredient shopping, so of COURSE I'll like it! Lol! So many parts of this plan just seem right. Now that I'm able to eat a bit more, I think I'll find I can meet my protein goals with 8oz beans, an ounce of nuts, and a 3oz serving of fish each day. They recommend no more than 12oz of fish a week, so that can take care of 4 dinners. The other nights can be eggs, cottage cheese, and meat. The hardest thing is to stop putting milk in my tea and coffee...

Congrats on your surgery success! Weight gain during pregnancy is largely under your own control. If you don't eat too much, you won't gain much weight. You'll want to work closely with an OB/GYN and/or nutritionist to come up with your dietary plan. Since you aren't underweight, you don't need many extra calories. An average of 200/day over the course of the pregnancy (100 extra the first trimester, 200 the second trimester, and 300 the last trimester) should give you the right amount to grow your baby... you mostly just need plenty of vitamins, protein.. general nutrition stuff. This minimal caloric increase should result in only a 15lb gain, which will come right back off almost instantly. 15lbs isn't much, I know.. and your doctor may want you to gain more than that (always listen to your doctor!).. but at least this gives you one way to look at things, and something to compare the doctor's recommendation to. If the doc wants you to gain 30lbs, then you'll eat 400 extra calories a day (again, fewer at first, more later). (If you said you were a size 4, and struggling to maintain your weight, I'd be giving very different caloric advice..) Talk to a doctor before getting pregnant, so you'll know the plan and can start supplementing early if necessary. Good luck!

I totally thought "James" was a person, the lazy S.O.B!!! Was gonna say James sounds just like my hubby!!!

I'm not sure what you need help with.. But scale fluctuations are perfectly normal. It's just fluid or poop.. not fat. Glad to hear the eating is getting better.

Umm.. yeah... you do know that the only thing between you and certain death is a line of staples, right? Have you ever torn stapled papers apart? Not hard to do, right? How about lets start being cautious with your wounded tummy until it has time to heal. It takes between 6-8 weeks to form the first layer of scar tissue. Until that time, it's possible to create a leak at the staple line. That is why the postop dietary progression is usually 8-9 weeks long. Drink slowly, measure your purees.. keep it to 4oz. Just because you can consume more doesn't mean you should. When you get to solid protein, you'll feel the restriction.. but in the meantime do what you are supposed to do. Curiosity can kill, this early in the game.

I guess I'm fortunate in where I live. If I chose to, I could purchase a yearling calf directly from a farm where it had free run in a large pasture, and send it to the butcher. I did do that once, and got so much meat it took 5 years to eat it all! Lol. Ok, so the idea of eating gritty carrots.. not so much. But even if I thought that sounded like a good idea, I didn't see any studies that showed exactly how much b12 you can actually absorb by doing so. Have any of you seen where this was tested? But, wild fish and seafood have a ton of b12 in them, and our bodies do store excess for long term use. I'm willing to bet that this is where most indiginous cultures received this nutrient. All people had to live near water, so eating aquatic creatures would be a no-brainer. Ever see "naked and afraid?" The survivalists tend to get most of their animal type foods from the water. It's just easier! They do eat as many plant foods as possible as well, of course.

THIS is a huge thing for me. The concept that WFPB peeps need to take supplements at all. All those blue zone people lived before vitamins had become available in pill-form (I think). They, by necessity, had to get every single one of their nutrients from diet. Whatever diet I decide to follow, must, in principle, be able to provide everything a human needs without artificial supplementation. Now, I, personally, as a bariatric patient, will have to rely on vitamins for life because I can't eat the quantity of foods required to meet those needs, but as long as the diet could, in theory, uphold that mantra.. then it is an appropriate diet for the human creature.

Wow, so no one seems to know the REAL reason? Ok, so the surgery rarely gets people to a "normal" BMI. Period. I don't have the percentages exactly, but right off the top of my head... 5% go under weight, I think it's like 15% reach an ideal BMI, and the other 80% stay overweight or obese. Doctors don't like telling their patients that they have an 80% chance of still being "overweight" at the end of their journeys, so they get creative. "Let's not focus on the number on the scale", or "we don't set goals, everyone has their own journey". The average patient can expect to lose 65-75% of their excess weight. So for example: Starting weight: 300lbs. Ideal weight (top of "healthy" BMI): 150lbs Excess weight: 150lbs 65% of excess weight: 97.5lbs 75% of excess weight: 112.5lbs So this patient can expect to end their journey somewhere between 202.5lbs and 187.5lbs. If this patient went in, expecting to be 140lbs, like when she graduated from high school, she would be disappointed at the idea of 190. Of course, 190 is SOOO much healthier than 300! So the surgery is absolutely worth doing for her, but she'll be the one that freaks out when the scale suddenly stops "50lbs above goal". It's not a problem with the scale, her surgery, or her diet/exercise program. It's a problem with her expectation.

From what I've seen, the guys that like big women, like big women. And vice versa. Since you are a larger woman that is looking to become a smaller woman, anyone you are likely to attract right now isn't going to be as interested later. Unless, of course, someone out there is on the same journey as you are (and for that, you did come to the right spot!). So, Walter has a point, in general, don't worry about dating too much right now, unless you aren't really looking for anything too serious. Shoot, well-established relationships frequently can't survive the upheaval that wls causes! Congrats on beginning your journey, good luck!

Everyone retains fluid from the IVs at the hospital. You might have gained as much as 10 pounds while there! It comes off gradually over the first couple weeks. Put the scale away for another week, then you'll likely see some change.

Hey, if you lose no weight from the surgery, then doctors should be beating down your door to meet the "wonder woman". So there's always an up side to anything!

Ok, the OP is 121lbs and over 5'8. She IS underweight, according to the BMI calculator. Nut butters isn't "crap advice" at all. It's excellent advice. A single ounce of nuts (small handful) has almost 200 calories. Eating 4 handfuls of nuts a day will add almost 800 calories! They also have some protein and carbs (and tons of vitamins and minerals). Absolute powerhouse. I recommend mixing it up because each type has different nutrient profiles. Cheese is also a dense caloric bonanza. Dried fruit is too. Ice cream doesn't have the nutrition we should all be seeking. Possible meal plan: Breakfast: 1 cup oats cooked into oatmeal with 1oz raisins and 1oz chopped pecans, 2T. heavy cream, and 2T molasses. (800cal) Lunch: 4oz hamburger patty with tomato pasta sauce (500cal) Snack: Banana with 1oz peanut butter (300 cal) Dinner: 4 oz Salmon with cream sauce (300 cal) After dinner snack: 6oz potato or sweet potato with 1T butter (250 cals) This is 2150 calories with just food. Drink some calories too (2 quarts of whole milk has 1200 calories). It takes a surprising number of calories to begin gaining weight.. read some articles on re-feeding anorexics. Of course you're not an anorexic.. but the concept is the same. If you notice, I didn't put any processed grains or sugar into the diet. You don't need junk food. Your body needs nutrition (vitamins, minerals, proteins, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats) to get all the building blocks with which to BUILD you up. Not knowing exactly how much you can physically eat at a time, I kinda guessed based on how much I can eat. Don't hesitate to go back and "finish" a meal an hour later. If you can eat more, by all means, do so! What is missing is veggies. They have so few calories, that it's hard to squeeze them in. Salad dressing, although full of calories, doesn't have much nutrition itself... the veggies have nutrition, but it takes SOOO much of them, that it's hard to justify salads. To clarify what I mean: A single large fresh tomato will fill you up. It has about 25 calories. Even if you add 100 calories worth of ranch dressing, you are still only getting the nutrition of 1 tomato for 125 calories. But, if you turn the tomato into pasta sauce, then you get 3 tomatoes squeezed into 1/2 cup sauce, 75 calories. Add some fat, and suddenly it has the nutrition of 3 whole tomatoes, plus the added fat, 175 calories, and it's only 1/2 cup, so you can pour it onto some meat for more calories and protein. Since we are working with limited space, we have to squeeze as much goodness into that space as possible.

Weight loss does seem to help the little guys come out of their hidey-holes....

I was too young to remember...

I use both laptop and phone, and its true that that stuff doesn't show up on the phone. I have to click on peeps' handles to get their info... and I do do that all tbe time to help give recommendations... I would like to see a change with the tickers. It is frequently hard to tell the goal weight from the current weight when people get really close to, or even past, goal. On my ticker I hopefully solved that by having starting weight in red, current weight in yellow, (matching my turtle), and goal weight in green, (matching the tree). Stop lights can never be wrong, eh? When I reach goal, I'll probably have to do something different...