AnnieD78

Truly curious. My dietician and program is very moderate. It seems like a lot of people end up following something close to Keto after surgery though. Wondering if anyone else here isn’t focused on carbs?

On 02/14/2020 at 10:49, Cheeseburgh said:

I had my surgery one year before you minus one day. My starting weight was less than yours but percentage wise our loss rate is probably not far off. I looked back and in February 2019 I lost 40 pounds from my surgery weight (204). I was frustrated it wasn’t coming off faster but I dug deep and tried even harder because I refused to fail. I Lost another 30 pounds over the next 6 months and met my initial goal of 130 at one year.

It’s so easy to give up when you feel like you are doing everything right but the weight is still coming off slowly. I viewed it as a make it or break it point for me. I know if I had given up I would have not stuck with the long term changes I’ve made and I probably would not have been able to even maintain that weight.

The less you weigh the easier it gets to do physical activity which really helps in weight loss and confidence. Take full advantage of the next 6 months to keep your head in the game and be determined. You can do this if you want it bad enough.

Don’t settle for less than your goal weight, you will regret not knowing your full potential.

Thanks for this!!! It has been nice to get back into the gym, honestly. Even though I injured my neck last week/ 😂😅🤦🏻‍♀️

The part i am still SO SO co confused about is food and macronutrients. My dietician does not say no to anything, in moderation. Which is what I do. But prior to surgery and my whole life I have been on really extreme diets like Keto or whole 30. So moderation feels wrong or like cheating. Really struggling with my mental relationship with food right now.

On 02/03/2020 at 15:59, Hop_Scotch said:

When you average out your weight loss it isn't necessarily slow, though it may seem so in comparison with some others who have quite high losses.

How many calories are you currently eating?

If three classes equate to 1350 calories per week, why not average that out to an extra 200cals per day added to your current calorie per day total... for example if currently eating 800cals per day eat 1000cals.

You could try the dietician's way for 4 to 6 weeks see how you go? Note that initially you will likely gain weight but that should only be temporary.

Update: I did as my dietician suggested and lost 3.6 lbs last week. 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

I just wanted to update — I upped my calories as per my dietician suggested and lost 3.6 lbs this week. Totally counterintuitive but our bodies are much smarter then us. 🤣😂

On 02/04/2020 at 23:30, Sheribear68 said:

I find my best workouts are in the mornings after I’ve fasted for at least 12-14 hours.

today I killed a pretty advanced noon class and I was 17+ hours fasting then.

I guess I just need to look at IF options first. I always go to my class on an empty stomach. I just mean if I don’t have a Protein Shake within a half hour after it’s over I feel really ill. When I’ve tried IF in the past my window was 11am to 7pm but that would not work with a 6:15 am orange theory class. I’m sure there are many different ways to incorporate IF into my eating plan tho.

Do any of you do orange theory or CrossFit or workouts that burn 500 calories? I’m interested in trying intermittent fasting but my workout is at 6:15 am and I can’t imagine it would be healthy to not at least have a Protein Shake after. Or do you just do IT on days you don’t work out?

On 02/04/2020 at 16:02, FluffyChix said:

    

Ok, more chaffle experiments. This is my best yet! I call it my Lo Lo Chaffle! 42cals; 4g protein; 2g fat; 2g carbs; 2g fiber; 0g net carbs; 0g sugar. I had it with PB & Blueberries and a hard boiled egg. So tasty. Still full and I ate around 11:30pm.

Oh and it actually tastes like bread! No eggi-ness at all!! Zero. Zilch. Nada.

What is the recipe for this one?? It looks like a “real” waffle. I’ve only tried a chaffle once and it just tasted like straight up cheese to me.

Trying not to feel defeated but it’s hard! I’ve lost slowly right out of the gate. HW was 285 in August , currently 218. surgery was 8/14. I have had zero complications, have felt pretty darn good from the start. Always met my Protein and Water goals.

My dietician wants me to up my calories to 1200 a day, which I have been able to do sporadically. I was on a 3 week stall but just lost 1.6 lbs. She also does not care about carbs. She’s like... eat them. Wants me to reach around 90g of protein and 125 g carbs.

I started at orange theory fitness (high intensity interval training) and have been going 3x a week. They are hour long classes and my average calorie burn is 450 per class. They are very difficult.

When I started this I wanted to be 180 lbs. that is still 30 lbs higher then “normal” BMI. Now I just want to get below 200. Will it happen for me??? It’s just so frustrating bc it seems like for some people the weight just melts off. I guess this shouldn’t be a surprise bc by the time I decided on surgery, and after a lifetime of yo yo dieting I had a hard time losing even 10 lbs.

On 02/03/2020 at 08:41, Hop_Scotch said:

1200 calories seems high at this post op stage. What type of workouts are you doing?

This thread may be of some use to you, hopefully you will find some relevant support and information there.

https://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/429817-the-slow-losers-club-support-thread/?tab=comments&comment=4838422&embedComment=4838422&embedDo=findComment#comment-4838422

High intensity interval training. It’s an hour long class, average calorie burn per class is 450. 3x a week. It’s a mix of high intensity cardio and strength training. I mean... do I trust my dietician who has been working with 100s of weight loss surgery patients for years and years and years?

This has been a source of heart ache ever since my gastric bypass surgery on August 14, 2019.

Right out of the gate I was losing at a slower rate then average And definitely slower than a lot of the folks here or in other Facebook communities.

My starting weight was 285 and this morning I weighed in at 2:18.4 pounds. I am 5’6” and 41 years old.

Since the beginning I have met all Protein goals and on fluid goals and I have had zero complications from the surgery. All in all I live a pretty normal life considering I had my insides rerouted. Starting in January I added Orangetheory fitness to my regimen which is an hour long HIIT class. I go three times a week and It’s hard. Like very hard. I burn on average about 450 cal per class.

My dietitian wants me to be around 1200 cal right now especially since I added the workouts. I have had starches and grains and that makes me nervous because I’m a lifelong dieter but my dietitian has zero concerns about carbs. Obviously she wants me to to be making healthy choices around carbs like fruits and vegetables, whole grains, etc. which I do. When I asked her point blank about carbohydrate goals for the day she said 125 g.

I’m just feeling a little defeated this morning. I am almost 6 months out from surgery and was definitely hoping to be below 200 pounds right now and now I’m wondering if I’ll ever get below 200 pounds.

I guess I just am looking for support or stories of people have gone through similar rate of loss and have continued and meet their goals. My doctor told me at six months it becomes much more difficult to lose weight. But for me it’s
Felt hard since the beginning.I used voice text to write this so I apologize if anything sounds crazy.

I’m a slow loser, too. Many times over the past 5 months I’ve thought maybe this just won’t happen for me. My dietician wants me to eat close to 1100 calories, and I do my best to get as close as possible. I always reach Protein goals, probably not quite as great with Water. I also started going to Orange Theory fitness 3 days a week, which are 1 hour long high intensity interval training classes. Im hoping that helps to keep the weight loss moving, but who knows. I’ve been hypothyroid since I was 18, a chronic dieter since I was 14. By the time I had surgery I could barely lose any weight from dieting, even when I eliminated a lot of food groups. My last diet was a functional medicine diet, no sugar, no grain, no starchy anything, no dairy, no fruit. All protein, vegetables and healthy fat... in 12 weeks I lost 5 lbs. So, if I really think about it, it makes sense that this would go slowly. It’s a miracle I’ve lose 65 lbs at all, really!

Hi all! Just checking in. I’ve had a slow and steady loss that has included a lot of multi-week stalls. I’ll be 5 months out on Dec 14. I just had a 3 week stall and when I got on the scale today I was down 4 lbs, for a total of 64 lbs! I’m excited but I do wish it had happened more rapidly for me. I’d like to lose at least another 40 lbs. I don’t know why people think surgery is the easy way out, I have had to work for every pound. If I’m not eating enough, drinking enough, getting all my Protein and logging my food I’m not losing. And even then there are stalls. I just started doing Orange Theory fitness, it is REALLY intense but also a great workout. It’s an hour long HIIT class. My goal is to go 3 times a week. I went before work this morning and I’m feeling pretty darn good! Hope everyone is feeling great!!

On 12/10/2019 at 16:28, mr.sean said:

I no longer know what to eat, since I've found I can eat a little bit of almost anything. And guidance from my program has dropped off a lot.

Every day, I've been eating some variation of:

Sous Vide Egg Bites from Starbucks

A Medium Iced coffee with milk and splenda

salad with grilled chicken and Italian dressing (about half)

2-3 low-moisture part-skim mozzarella string cheese sticks

1-2 low-fat greek yogurts

If I put away too many of the very-easy-to-digest yogurts and string cheese, I can easily hit 1000 calories, which worries me.

Obviously listen to your nutritionist, but mine wants me eating at least 1,000 calories a day.

Just feeling a little down. And I knew this stall would be coming, my nutritionist warned me and I’ve seen stuff about it all over Facebook. I’m about 3.5 months out from surgery and have been stalled for almost 2 weeks. It’s so frustrating. I keep food journal diligently and I meet Protein and fluid goals (the vast majority of the time).

My nutritionist recommended upping calories to 1100-1200 but I’m scared! I’ve gotten to 1100 a few days over the past couple of weeks, but mostly still in the 900 range.

I’m already a slow loser so the stall just makes it feel like I will never get the weight off. I just want to get into the 220s so bad!! I’ve been at 232 for 2 weeks.

Any tips on what you’ve done to break through stalls? Or do you just ride it out?

On 12/05/2019 at 07:13, Bastian said:

34kg/75lbs down 17kg/37lbs to go to reach my goal weight.

I don't eat any junk/sugar at all. No sugar-laden cereals or sweets or takeaways. My appetite is def back but can only manage really small amounts. I know my surgeon made my sleeve 1cm internal diameter then, of course, I had to have an emergency bypass a week later so I think I have ended up with a teeny tiny incey wincey minuscule pouch!

Wow! You had to have an emergency bypass? How come?

Glad to see everyone is doing well! I’m a verrrrry slow loser. I try not to compare myself though because I know everyone’s body’s and journeys are different. I’m down a little over 50 lbs. I’d like to lose about 60 more.

I’m struggling with animal Proteins, they really don’t sit well. Soft foods are still the safest bet. I’m honestly not following my plan too closely because all I’m supposed to be eating right now is Protein (from animals or Beans or yogurt/dairy) and veggies.

I stalled for 5 weeks 2 weeks after my operation. And then again more recently. What has helped me is upping my calories, which was my nutritionists suggestion.

I need to start exercising, I tried Orange Theory and signed up but now I’m scared to go back. I almost starting crying during the class bc it is so overwhelmingly difficult. Lol.

So does anyone still have gas pain? My surgery was August 14. I have pain in my mid-back, chest and side. I’m assuming it’s gas. Just thought it would be gone by now? This week was my first week back at work and I have been walking even more than normal. I take gas-x every single day.

Hiiiiii. Super slow loser here. It’s really disheartening when you’re eating like 600 calories a day. I’m meeting Protein and fluid goals. I lost more in my 2 week full liquid pre-op diet then I have since surgery. Surgery was 8/14, I’ve lost about 16 lbs. In one month! 😢😢 Total loss including pre-op is 32 lbs.

On 08/29/2019 at 20:46, Deedee12 said:

AnnieD, this is my meal plan as well, EXACTLY that!! I do get full very quickly with dense Proteins like chicken and fish and have to finish my meals hours later. That plan has no Snacks before or after. I only do Protein Shakes for Breakfast when I am on the go to work and it takes me the entire drive to work. lunch and dinner is either plant Proteins such as lentils or refried Beans or fish or chicken.
I get roughly 400 to 500 calories a day. No grazing, no Snacks.
Break down of macros is typically 70g to 80 grams Protein Net carbs about 10, Fat 15 to 20, Sugar typically less than 10.
I definitely feel the restriction.

Sent from my SM-N960U using BariatricPal mobile app

Did you go to Cleveland Clinic as well? I haven’t really tried any dense proteins yet. The closest I’ve come is scrambled egg, and that I can only eat 1/2 off. But puréed chicken chili today and was able to get 1/2 cup down no problem. I’m ok with entire Greek yogurts, too. With ricotta bake I can only do about 1/4 cup. So I guess I am feeling restriction? Maybe just not as much as I thought.

On 08/29/2019 at 16:18, FluffyChix said:

Your satiety/fullness feeling will improve with denser foods. So like eating canned tuna will give you more satiety than yogurt. Cottage cheese will give you more satiety than either yogurt or Protein Drinks. eggs depending on how you eat them will give you a lot more satiety than other Proteins even. The wetter a food is, the more of a slider it becomes. So if you have trouble with meat sticking, one solution is "meat lube" to eat each bite with a low cal low carb gravy. And it goes down easier--cuz it's wet.

And by the time you work up to the final stage of lean dense Proteins, then you will or should have satiety in place after your appropriate size meal.

Right now I’m sticking to purées. And I’m still having a Protein Shake for breakfast. So that is probably why I don’t really feel the restriction.

On 08/29/2019 at 16:15, FluffyChix said:

Can you take a pic and post some of their examples of appropriate foods for your stage III? One doc's stage 3 might be another doc's stage 4 and so on...thanks!

Sure!

On 08/29/2019 at 16:09, gabybab said:

I'm 6 months out and can barely eat 2 oz of dense Protein and I get a very full feeling. I don't understand why your Dr would advance you to 6-8 weeks at 2 weeks. Personally I don't feel getting enough Protein in without shakes/high protein yogurt is possible.

Take it slow at your stage. It will be best to allow for the most weight loss.

Good luck!

I think you misread.... phase 3 starts 2 weeks after surgery. But it lasts for 6-8 weeks.

Actually today is day 15, I had it on Aug 14. My surgeon advanced me to phase 3 when I saw him last Friday bc I was doing so well with phase 2.

On 08/29/2019 at 15:26, FluffyChix said:

Please follow your surgeon's and RD's post op progression diet complete with quantities.

1/2 cup at 12 days is way too much food and can damage your tool, or cause complications.

Each doc does it differently. But at 12 days post op, I was on 1-2oz of food by volume. That is maximum of 1/8-1/4 cup by volume MAXIMUM at each meal. Do not exceed your rules hon.

You are early out. And the nerves were cut. So your pouch won't/might not signal satiety right now. I think I was 3 months out before I felt cues from my pouch that I was actually full. Until then, I just followed their volume guidelines explicitly.

Interestingly the only guideline is to have 3-4 oz of Protein for breakfast, 3-4 oz of protein for lunch and 3-4 oz of protein for dinner. My 1/2 cup (4 oz weighed) portions do meet their requirements. Thanks for sharing your experience regarding satiety. That’s super helpful to know.

I’m about 12 days out from gastric bypass. I had no problem getting down fluids during the all liquid phase. Now I am on soft/puréed, which is a little bit harder. But my concern is that I do get hunger pangs. And also that I never feel full? I’m really scared to overdo it and be in pain. So I have 1/2 a scrambled egg for Breakfast and then measure out 1/2 cup of food for other meals. Did anyone else feel like it’s hard to notice the restriction on soft foods? I’m hoping it is easier to feel on solid foods, when I get to that point.