AZhiker

Hi, K. Lee, and welcome. Do lots of reading and educate yourself. I chose bypass because I had GERD, and I know I'm crazy, but I'm a recovering sugar addict, and wanted the fear of dumping that comes with bypass!! I'm very happy with my choice. Diabetes is gone, high blood pressure gone, knees feel better, etc. Of course the same would hold true if I'd had the sleeve, I'm just happy I had bariatric surgery!!

Sent from my SM-N960U using BariatricPal mobile app

You are not ready for IF, or even TRE. You need to let your tool work for you and follow your doc's plan. You won't be ready for this until at least 7-9months out and only then if you are freely able to satisfy your Protein requirements with real foods and can also get in your daily Water amounts.
Congrats on surgery.
At 7 weeks, you just need to concentrate on getting your protein and water in each day and taking your Vitamins.

Exercise! It is empowering and something you can control - because goodness knows that is so much about all of this we can't control. Start with small goals, but get moving. The endorphins will do wonders for your mood. One of the best remedies for depression.

Triathlon. distance biking, hiking, swimming, riding my mule (was too heavy before).

So I see from another post you are 15 months out. So why only 500 calories per day, or is that your Alternate Day plan? As for Protein, I try to get at LEAST 60 gm per day, and sometimes up to 80. I had to give up IF temporarily while training for the triathlon, because I needed the morning to add more calories. I just couldn't keep the weight on.
I am now trying out a whole food plant based eating plan, which I am finding is wonderful. I feel great. But the volume of food is so large, that I had to go back to a morning smoothie to get in the nutrition. I am stuffed, literally, all day long. And still losing weight, even with the higher level of whole grains and starchy veggies. It takes me over a hour to eat a small "Budda bowl." But I do feel great. Daily IF is not going to work for me at this point, so I think I will just do a weekly 24 hour fast. The beauty of IF is that you have so many options and tools to use as your situation changes.

How many weeks post op are you? Personally, I could never get enough calories into a 4 hour period, as my volume is fairly limited, still.

Not getting out of breath when I climb a flight of stairs. 🙂

I started training for a triathlon when I was 7 months out (and finished it!!!). My challenge was to get enough calories in to sustain the exercise without losing weight. It's very hard when your tummy can only hold a little bit. I was already doing weights, a leg routine and lots of walking. My muscle mass was fine before and became more defined with the added swimming and biking. I had to drop the Intermittant Fasting because I simply could not get enough calories in an 8-10 hour window. So I started doing a Protein Shake for Breakfast. During the event, I ate RX bars (210 cal, 24 carbs, 12 protein) - good amount of Protein to balance the carbs, as I knew I couldn't eat a high carb load by itself - dumping would not be good in a pool or on a bike! I felt great afterward and am planning on a distance bike race next month and another tri in a few months.
I am transitioning to a whole food plant based diet, which has more carbs from grains and legumes. But I still struggle to maintain weight. I am stuffed full and never hungry, but still losing each week. As I increase my training, I will have to use more RX bars, I guess, to get some concentrated calories in.
I think it is important to keep your protein up. You don't want to skimp while you are training and increasing your workouts. I add Protein Powder to my smoothies, yogurt bowls, and Soups. I have no problem getting enough protein - just enough calories.

At least 6 months out, because the focus initally has to be on getting the nutrition in. By 6 months, I was very close to goal, but just couldn't budge the last 10-15 pounds. I think your volume capacity will determine what kind of eating window to use. If you can only eat a small amount at a time, you will not be able to get all your calories into a small window. From what I've read, for the greatest effect, the fasting period needs to be at LEAST 12 hours. 8 hours is better. Some people only eat one meal per day, which is fine if you can consume that much food all at once.

It is the INTERMITTANT fasting that kicks starts the metabolism - not just sustained, extreme caloric restriction. That could actually do the opposite.

Check out the intermittent fasting threads. IF is a very powerful tool. It took my last 15 pounds off lickety-split. There are several ways to do it. Probably the easiest is to limit the hours in which you eat. Skip Breakfast. Eat from noon until 6 or 8 pm. This means you are fasting for 16-18 hours each day. This puts you into a fat burning mode because the insulin levels are low for most of the day. After a few days, you will feel great and will not even miss breakfast.
Try to limit your snacking. Every time you eat something, insulin goes up and the calories go into fat storage. Insulin = fat. That is the simplest way to explain it.
Another IT technique is ADF (alternate day fasting). You limit your calories on 2 or more days during the week (do not have to be consecutive). Limit to 400-500 only. The eat regularly on the other days. This sort of throws a curve ball at your metabolism and can be very effective.
A third way is to do a 24 hour fast once a week. Skip breakfast and lunch one day and don't eat until dinner time the next day.
You can use any of these tools or combine them. Some folks use all three.

Today I had a Dr. appointment for knee injection an decided to try on a pair of my old size 14's and they fit!!! I am also now completely off my BP meds!

I had surgery 8/18 -14 months post op.
Bad news:
The only thing that worked for me was working out at a gym 5-7 days a week towards the end. I did that for 3 months and lost the final 25-30. It was really hard but I was determined to get there. I lost weight slower and it was frustrating at times. My calories were in the 800 range.
Good news:
I don’t have to workout with that frequency to maintain so far, I just stay really active. I’m going to get back into a routine of 3 days a week because I know it will help in the long run.
You can lose weight without exercise but you can’t keep it off without it.
I wish it wasn’t true!

My surgeon's guidelines say a female 5 ft tall needs 50 - 60 gms/day. 5 ft 5 in needs 60 - 65 gms/day. 5 ft 8 in needs 65 - 70 gms/day. That would put you at about 60 gms/day.

Why are you getting bypass, Mikeyy?

Dr Chapman did a great job with my anxiety and surgery by Da Vinci robot. Some mild pain walking off the gas.

This is what I am doing... making green smoothies using Kale, Spinach, and mixed berries. Sometimes I use other mixed fruits. I add my Protein Shake to it if I want my protein... or Water when I don't. We need Protein first, then nutrients. I am doing a 2 in one most mornings. But I will not order them anywhere, they are always higher calories because they add more juices and or sugary fruits than I ever would at home. I am 7 weeks out and have been enjoying my smoothies for the past several days.

Sent from my SM-G955U using BariatricPal mobile app

So I see from another post you are 15 months out. So why only 500 calories per day, or is that your Alternate Day plan? As for Protein, I try to get at LEAST 60 gm per day, and sometimes up to 80. I had to give up IF temporarily while training for the triathlon, because I needed the morning to add more calories. I just couldn't keep the weight on.
I am now trying out a whole food plant based eating plan, which I am finding is wonderful. I feel great. But the volume of food is so large, that I had to go back to a morning smoothie to get in the nutrition. I am stuffed, literally, all day long. And still losing weight, even with the higher level of whole grains and starchy veggies. It takes me over a hour to eat a small "Budda bowl." But I do feel great. Daily IF is not going to work for me at this point, so I think I will just do a weekly 24 hour fast. The beauty of IF is that you have so many options and tools to use as your situation changes.

At least 6 months out, because the focus initally has to be on getting the nutrition in. By 6 months, I was very close to goal, but just couldn't budge the last 10-15 pounds. I think your volume capacity will determine what kind of eating window to use. If you can only eat a small amount at a time, you will not be able to get all your calories into a small window. From what I've read, for the greatest effect, the fasting period needs to be at LEAST 12 hours. 8 hours is better. Some people only eat one meal per day, which is fine if you can consume that much food all at once.

Check out the intermittent fasting threads. IF is a very powerful tool. It took my last 15 pounds off lickety-split. There are several ways to do it. Probably the easiest is to limit the hours in which you eat. Skip Breakfast. Eat from noon until 6 or 8 pm. This means you are fasting for 16-18 hours each day. This puts you into a fat burning mode because the insulin levels are low for most of the day. After a few days, you will feel great and will not even miss breakfast.
Try to limit your snacking. Every time you eat something, insulin goes up and the calories go into fat storage. Insulin = fat. That is the simplest way to explain it.
Another IT technique is ADF (alternate day fasting). You limit your calories on 2 or more days during the week (do not have to be consecutive). Limit to 400-500 only. The eat regularly on the other days. This sort of throws a curve ball at your metabolism and can be very effective.
A third way is to do a 24 hour fast once a week. Skip breakfast and lunch one day and don't eat until dinner time the next day.
You can use any of these tools or combine them. Some folks use all three.

Yogurt, Beans, lentils, seeds, nuts, whole cooked grains, dark leafies, broccoli, berries, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, butternut squash, beets.

The best thing I ever did preop was to give up the addictive substances. I knew I couldn't have them after surgery, and getting past the withdrawal and cravings beforehand made recovery much easier. So, I gave up caffeine, all alcohol, all sugar, all soda, all artificial sweeteners, colors, flavors. I hadn't eaten wheat (gluten) for years, so that was not an issue. By the time surgery came around, I felt clean and detoxed. I did not eat the Jello or popsicles in the hospital. I brought my own broth, herbal tea, and Protein Drink. Turned out they did have some great tasting gluten free broth that was fine.

I have been very depressed since I broke my ankle 2 weeks ago. 6 weeks of no weight on it was a devastating blow. I have been sitting here in a funk binge watching my 600lb life.
For the last 2 weeks I just kept thinking OMG I am going to stall sooo bad. My hubby kept encouraging me to get on the scale to keep up with my progress, so today I got past the fear of gain and HOLY CRAP 199 with my splint!!
I also bet another goal I finally weigh less than my hubby!!
This was the boost I needed today as they took my staples out and confirmed a month more of no weight on my ankle. Thankfully I'm not really capable of snacking or the last 2 weeks would have been horrible.
Aug 19, 2019 - 253
Oct 22, 2019 - 199

Also the pastas made from just chick peas or lentils are really good and a different way to get your Beans in.