AZhiker

Paper tests and discussion about motivation, triggers, and warning signs to watch for after ward. She told me all about transfer addiction, which I had never known about. This has been really helpful, because I have found myself wanting to shop impulsively lately. I remember what she said and can recognize that I just want an endorphin high like I used to get from food. We also talked about creative outlets and other ways to deal with food addiction/desire to eat, in healthy ways. I found the session to be very informative and helpful.

Well, I do have to say that my original turkey neck (and arms) seems to have shrunken up somewhat over the past few months, so I'm going to give it more time. However, I am looking into having my upper eyelids done. They have always been droopy, but now it's pretty bad. I consulted with a surgeon yesterday (well reputed) and he said he could do it in the office under local anesthetic for $2000. Even if my insurance didn't pay, that is still pretty reasonable, I think,

I was in a meeting at work today. Looking around, there was only 1 other person who is smaller than I am - she is a naturally tiny little thing. The others may have filled out cheeks and younger looking skin, but I never want to go back! Along with the smooth skin, there are also filled out butts, bellies, arms and thighs!

That's just about what I do, too.

I asked my doc today about it. She said that there is most likely fat malabsorption, due to the surgery, but that all my liver enzymes were fine, so not to worry. She also said that the more frequent, loose stools are probably due to the increase in carbs. The small bowel that was removed is responsible for most the digestion and the body has to relearn how to digest and absorb. She said it WILL happen, but just takes time, and not to worry. Just be sure to get my protein and vitamins in,.

I, too, think I look a lot older with the saggy facial skin, but people tell me I actually look younger. Go figure. I just try to smile a lot more, to make sure all the wrinkles look like smile lines and not old lady lines!

I hear you 100%. It seems like we are all in the same boat. (And the boat is still afloat!!!! )

Told only my husband, my kids, my brother, and 1 trusted co-worker who helped by trading some work days with me so I could get enough time off. There are some hospital employees who know because of my required follow ups (lab), but no one else - not even my parents. I just did not want to deal with judgement and everyone's opinions. When asked how I lost the weight, I say, "This is what I am doing (present tense):" and then go into my mantra about healthy eating and exercise. Honestly, many people have asked, but they have all been moderately overweight - not morbidly obese. What I tell them about diet and exercise is exactly what they should be doing, as they are not candidates for surgery anyway. NO morbidly obese people have ever asked at all. So I don't think I am being dishonest. I have never been asked point blank about whether or not I had surgery. And interestingly, of all the people who have asked, I have not seen a single one actually change their lifestyle. It really does take commitment and maybe hitting the bottom before real change happens.

I love your attitude and perseverance. You WILL be successful! But please tell me that you are not eating as low Protein as you can - that's a typo, right?

Sounds like you need to be scoped to be sure you haven't developed an ulcer or erosion

I make pumpkin "custard" all the time. I substitute monkfruit sweetener for sugar and do not use a crust. You can use a gluten free crust if you like, but why have the extra carbs? I often cook up sweet potato and use that for half the pumpkin. It give a richer flavor.

I worry that the long term effect of low calorie intake is malnutrition. We have to be sure every bite is as nutritionally dense as possible and that we are faithful with our vitamins. I know I have some malabsorption going on, especially with fats, and I am already osteopenic. I agree that I could happily consume under 1,000 cal/day and feel satisfied. Like you, I could actually lose 15-20 more pounds and still be the normal range, but I would look terrible, and honestly, I am building my size 10 wardrobe and don't want to get to a smaller size - too expensive!!! I am getting back to my 16/8 or 14/!0 window and adding in 1 day of 24 fasting per week. But I want to continue exercising to do some more triathlons and backpacking trips. So it will be an adventure to see how to do that with the IF. I do not want to give it up again like I did last month to train. That was not a happy place. I felt sluggish and more hungry, and just wanted to eat all the time. I think slipping in an extra protein shake, an extra yogurt power bowl, and/or a bowl of protein soup is the way to go. They go down easily without leaving me uncomfortable. It is definitely a journey and I'm glad there are others like you who are on it with me! It's so good to get ideas and feedback. I cannot imagine going this alone.

Wonderful! Congratulations. You can start adding small amounts of healthy, unprocessed whole grains: Quinoa, brown rice, millet, sorghum, teff, amaranth, steel cut oats, buckwheat..... Cook and serve with meals. You can also add in small amounts of higher carb veggies like sweet potato, beets, carrots, butternut squash, pumpkin. Just make everything healthy and nutritionally dense and you will be fine.

You basically just had a full carb meal. That drives up your blood sugar, resulting in an insulin spike which dumps your blood sugar back down and shoves all those calories into fat storage - not fat burning. Cereal should wait until maintenance and fruit (especially high carb like banana) should really not be in your menu yet, either. Where is the protein in that meal?

I totally get it. The body dysmorphia is real and normal. Sometimes I feel a little lost - like where did the "other me" go? Where is she? But she is here in a new funny looking body. It really does take a while for the brain to catch up with the physical changes. But nothing beats a size 10 over a size 24!!!! I am trying to learn how to embrace and value all my new sharpei wrinkles and folds. I think I look really old, but others say I look younger, so go figure. Maybe it is because I have a lot more pep in my step now - not dragging myself around on limping knees. Hang in there. You will gradually morph from the 267 mentally fat girl into the little girl you really are and were really meant to be! You are a butterfly that has just emerged from the lumpy old cocoon. You have to give it time to let your wings dry!

I think you listen to your body and follow your own gut. You want to establish good healthy eating patterns - not try to force feed yourself to meet some goal that is uncomfortable for you. IMHO, I say you eat until satisfied and stop. Eat 3 meals a day with no snacking. Get in your protein and all your fluids. As long as you have energy and feel good, why muck it up? Your volume will naturally increase with time. Everything I have read and heard is about maximizing the first 6 months. That is where you will lose the most and after that it will start to slow down. My doc and NUT did not give me any specific caloric guidelines - just protein and fluid requirements. And of course the timeline for food type progression. And strong encouragement to get exercising. The rest was left for me to work with - and like most, I could only take in about 500 cal/day at 7 weeks. It's all about lifestyle modification at this point.

No, the light color is not fat, but rather a lack of bile which helps digest fat. The floatie/frothy stools are evidence of fat malsorption.

At 7 weeks I was taking in about 500 cal.day. I did not get up to 1000 until about 7 months out.

Yes, you can mix it with anything, but porridge should not be on the menu until much closer to maintenance,

Pea protein is not sweetened and is good with soups and broths. You can find unsweetened whey protein at Spouts. I can't remember the name, however. It does have some natural vanilla flavoring, but nothing artificial. It goes well in smoothies and yogurt. Bone broth is the highest in protein as far as broths go. I think the chicken/beef/turkey combo flavor is the best. It has 10 gm protein per serving.

I agree that eating outside the timed window is quite uncomfortable. I get hungrier and feel slugglish. I can't add more fats, as I simply am not absorbing them. They are going right through. I think I am not producing enough bile. My stools are very light colored and obviously full of fat. Something to check with my doctor about. I've tried adding volume, but that is too uncomfortable as well, and I don't want to force it and end up overeating once the "honeymoon" is over. It's an odd dilemma, isn't it? Who would have even thought that one day we would be discussing how NOT to lose weight?!?!?!?!?

Of course you can mix protein powder in with a smoothie. It's one of the best ways to get your protein in. My smoothie recipe: 1 c skim milk, 1 scoop protein powder (vanilla flavor), 2 Tb nonfat plain Greek yogurt, 1/4 c. frozen greens (spinich or mixed greens from my garden), 1/4 prickly pear juice (home harvested - lots of antioxidants), mixed berries (strawberries, blue berries, black berries). This has about 35 gm protein and is pretty low carb. Your recipe seems to have a lot of higher carb fruit and not much protein. You can mix protein powder with anything you want. I also mix it in with my yogurt, and in soups (I use a pea protein for soups, as it blends in with the flavors really well.)

I had a good foundation of walking already established, but had not swum or ridden a bike in decades! I only had 2 months to get ready. So I started swimming - oh my goodness! With losing weight, I also lost my buoyancy! My legs sank and I couldn't kick hard enough. With a rotater cuff injury in my right shoulder, I just resigned myself to breast stroke rather than freestyle, which was utterly exhausting. I tried to swim 2-3 times a week. The first time, I nearly drowned twice! I tried to ride my daughter's bike, but because of stiffness in my hips and knees, I simply cannot swing my leg over the saddle and I couldn't get it over the bar, either. Pitiful. So getting on and off was a challenge and I didn't feel safe. So I bit the bullet and bought my own bike - a hybrid with a step through frame (ie: girl's bike). It is wonderful. It is very ergonomically correct for me and very comfortable. Most of all, I can get on and off safely. I bought the brightest possible strobing tail and head lights, and attached a water bottle to the handle bars with a long straw so I didn't have to reach down with one hand for a water bottle. I started riding - 5 miles, then 7 miles, then 10 miles, then 15 miles - at least twice a week. 3 weeks before the event , I did all three on the same day - spread out over the day. 2 weeks before, I did all three again on the same day, but more or less back to back. On the day of the event, I did fine. I was more mentally stressed than physically stressed. I was not exhausted or overly tired at all. The biggest hurdle was nutrition. I had to up my calories per day, and that was pretty hard. I had to give up intermittent fasting, as I needed the breakfast time to get more calories in. This was not comfortable and I felt like I was over eating the whole time. I could not use high carb stuff or energy drinks, as I was a afraid of dumping. The best thing I finally settled on was to drink a protein smoothies several hours before the event (300 calories, 35 gm protein.) Then water and RX bars throughout the event. Each RX bar has 210 calories and 12 gm protein. I think I ate 3 of them and it was fine. My stomach was not overloaded and I was comfortable and had plenty of energy. Now I see that I have a lot of room to improve my swimming stroke, my biking technique, and also maybe experiment with race walking. (My orthopedic doctor forbids me to run on my artificial knee, in order to save it for as many years as possible.) With a baseline level of fitness now, I think I may do a couple of these triathlons a year, just for motivation and to see if I can improve my times. It was definitely a milestone for me, and actually a lot of fun.

I use RX bars because 1) they are gluten free, and 2) they have enough protein to slow the cab absorption. I cannot eat the high carb stuff for fear of dumping, but lots of water and the RX bars seem to work for me. I will be doing a distance ride next month and will train using the RX bar plan.

I hear you. The snacking and bad habits are what have me worried, too,