Apple203

Exactly -- it helps you with the meal you are eating. For instance, yesterday, my son got pizza and I had a piece. By the time I got to the crust, I was full, so no crust, and no second (or third or fourth) piece. That is the advantage of the sleeve, IMO. Tonight, I had steamed salmon. Did you know you can throw a frozen piece in a pressure cooker and its ready in 5 minutes?? The piece was over 6 ounces, and I ate until I was satisfied/satiated, which was about half of the piece. Shared some leftovers with my dog and saved the rest for breakfast.

I feel emotionally terrible that I had such a bad food day, so keep resisting! :-)

I'm evidently a slow loser, and its frustrating. So I rationalize that if I can lose even 3 pounds a month for the next 9 months, I'll be 160 pounds at the one year mark, and that is a respectable weight for a 54 year old woman. On a positive note, like others have reported, I'm in normal size clothes, it doesnt hurt when I walk, I joined a gym, my sleep apnea is better, etc, already.

What a timely topic -- I went off the reservation yesterday. Its honestly the first true binge I've had since surgery. I was at a conference, had a Think Thin protein bar mid-morning (I typically avoid protein bars), then I was famished at 1 when lunch was served and ate half a turkey wrap for lunch with 6 potato chips (there were no good options at this meeting), and by the time I got home I was in full binge mode. Not sure if the trigger was stress from the conference or carbs from the protein bar (22 g carbs), then half wrap and chips (39 carbs guesstimate). Day ended with 1,663 calories and 126 carbs, ugh!! Glad to read that this has happened to others, and I feel back under control this morning. Oh, and I tracked it all in its awful glory...

Ooooooooooo.... we had an extraordinarily stinky pooper in the office for about a year. I always wondered what the problem was, and now I think I know!!

That's great!!

I've had a very similar experience. I rarely felt any restriction until until I joined a gym a couple of weeks ago (2.5 months after surgery) and increased my lean protein from 3 ounces to 4 ounces per meal. Now I feel more satisfied (emotionally and physically) when I eat and the restriction kicks in. I also (finally) get the telltale hiccups that people talk about.

The reality is, you WILL be able to eat all of the bad stuff after about a month or so. Not sure I agree that burgers are bad, but with a roll and sugary ketchup, yea, they are. What are you going to do then? I ask because its hard, and you need a plan.

Maybe its been mentioned already, but the alarms and timer on my FitBit.

I got a front zip bra from Athleta and I really like it.

Those skinny gym women are in awesome shape. aren't they???

I was lifting weights and watching an advanced TRX class today -- kept thinking, damn, I'll never be able to do that!! But I probably will, just not for a while.

I haven't noticed more wrinkles, but there are definitely loose areas developing as the fat goes away in my legs and arms -- neither of which I considered all that fat before. My skin has been drier than normal, so I am using bio oil after my showers. @millerla4 You look great! Very inspirational!

Good job! I joined a gym last week and I'm really enjoying it, too. But I'm terrible at pilates

Its just something I stumbled across in my web wanderings Here's one link: https://www.livestrong.com/article/489271-minimum-protein-intake-per-lean-body-mass/ You'll find references all over the web.

Maybe. I am being hyper-vigilant with my diet until my appt to rule out the error being mine, as in, untracked morsels adding up.

Wow, I am sorry you have had such a tough time since surgery. FWIW, I don't think you should cut calories any lower. Feel better....

well, yea, but I may be wrong? :-) Its just what I've uncovered in research!

I am obsessively consistent on vitamins and protein, 12 weeks out, watching and waiting for hair loss... I did have pretty severe anemia a few years ago and lost a ton of hair.

^^ all of this, I am learning. Its not a sprint but a marathon, incluing maintenance. So its not 6 months but 6 years you gotta be looking at.

I think the ideal is 1 gram of protein per 1 pound of lean body mass, right? e.g., I am 190#s, 46% fat, 100 pounds lean mass, so 100 grams protein a day -- not 75% of 190, which would be about...150 grams-ish. There's no way a typical obese person would be 75% lean...

This is very true! I need to re-establish some regularity in that department.

DEXA and RMR tests -- so cool! My RMR (resting metabolic rate) is 1,512 calories a day, which, when combined with lifestyle and exercise is slightly lower than average, but nothing drastic. This puts my total energy output at about 2,122 calories a day, less than my Fitbit's 30-day average of 2,330. Either way, with my calories-in at 800/day (1200 on a WILD day, lol), I should be losing weight. DEXA confirmed that I am still fat -- 46%, to be precise. And that I have extremely heavy, dense bones (go, genetics), which is good news since I've been on Synthroid since I was 18 (is associated with bone loss).

Like I have a choice!! Set points... you know, my current weight has been the "floor" for me with weight loss the few times I've tried. Glad to hear your weight is on the move again -- that must be nice for you!! My RD got back to me and had all of the same advice: water, exercise, track, carb restrictions. And be patient, sigh. If I lose a mere 1# per week, I could hit my goal by the end of the year...

OK, just signed up to get a Dexa scan and RMR test tomorrow. :-) I was looking for just the RMR test, but decided to go ahead and get a baseline Dexa at the same time. Results could be alarming, LOL.