Tony B - NJ

Think about this as a whole body approach. We are not just trying to cut calories and lose a little weight, we are looking to lose weight, change our lifestyles and get more healthy. I have watched a lot of Dr. Vong and while he says he is anti exercise, I really think he is referring to doing cardio for an hour a day because it is hard to compensate for all the calorie loss. That said, I don't think he or any doctor is going to tell you to not exercise at all. You have to get the body moving and assist with the calorie deficit, build muscle and get healthy. Walking a few miles a day is NOT cardio and it must be done to get the body in shape and help lose weight and build muscle. In the sense that someone said that exercise does not prevent loose skin I agree but exercise DOES build muscle which can fill some of that void that the fat vacates. I walk nearly 5 miles per day and ride bike weather permitting 3-4 times a week. I have lost 105 pounds in 8 months and 14 inches around my waist. It is working so I am going to continue it. Part of this whole process is weight loss and feeling physically better. Exercise is crucial in that process.

So, I hate to be a wet blanket here and I know everyone is trying to be supportive, but to get major weight loss surgery and after a year being only 22 pounds lighter seems to me to be a bit of a failure....I am just being brutally honest. Part of supporting people is to sometimes tell them the truth and try to get them to take action. If I were in the same situation, I would go back to a low calorie, high protein, low fat, low/no carb diet and get exercising ASAP. The fact is, there has to be a calorie deficit and it we are gaining weight back, there is an issue with that deficit. Maybe we are not counting all our calories....maybe we are not counting at all......maybe we are doing ZERO exercise......maybe a lot of things but what we do know is that it is not working and we are gaining weight. It is time to reevaluate EVERYTHING and get back to what made weight come of in the first place.

That is what I do. I eat and then eat a little something later to deal with the hunger. I find little snacks that are sensible really help a lot between larger meals. And...of course...water first to make sure it is just not thirst.

I don't think I will ever forget about having the surgery. I like you get uncomfortable after eating if I eat even slightly too much food. I guess this is something I have to live with but the alternative is that I could have not had the surgery and still been carrying an extra 100 pounds of body weight on me. I understand it is a life change and if I have to feel a little uncomfortable after over eating, then I will be more careful about how much I eat. I find that like you I don't get full for very long and end up grazing on some snacks later. I find this an issue in the evening. I try to keep some nuts and fruits around or some diet friendly chips like Snacklins around (yucca based chips, less than 100 calories per bag) to help with the hunger without killing my calorie intake.

I just think you are thinking that you are going to be incapacitated after the surgery which is most likely not going to be the case. Most people need a week or two at the most and are up and around. Should you be picking up small children? NO. But you are not going to be bed ridden and not be able to do most of the things you do now after a week or so.

After a few months passes since the surgery you will be fine going out to dinner. You just will not be able to eat quite like before. Instead of a large app and an entrée, you may be limited to just the app as your main course or skip the app and order a main. I frequently ask the restaurant to hold the rice or potatoes since I will not eat them or swap the heavy carbs out for a vegetable. I really enjoy going out to dinner and as time moves on since surgery I enjoy it more and more.

I am 8 months post op and just went through a 3 week stall. Increased exercise and really concentrated on recording my food intake as well as increased walking. I am back to losing. I am not stopping until at my ideal body weight. For years I thought it was impossible to be at ideal weight. After 105 pounds and 14 inches off my waste, 5 inches on my neck and countless other successes, I am going to push through stalls and refuse to settle at a weight my body tries to settle at. I am getting to less than a 25 BMI.

You can eat real food again, but the question I found is whether I want to. After losing weight like I have, I just don't want to go back there. I think of it as an alcoholic would think of drinking alcohol. If I indulge in many of the foods that got me to the weight I was, how long before a eat a little more and a little more and a little more. I really embrace the "life style change" aspect of this thing. I rarely eat red meat, almost never eat bread ( I totally love bread), eat a lot more vegan type meats and chickens, keep my sugars and fats to a minimum. Every once in a while, I will have something that I shouldn't like pizza, a hot dog etc but I make sure it is a small portion and I stop after that small portion. I have suffered too much to allow myself to relapse and gain back all the weight. It is a mental fight as much as a physical fight for us to permanently change our eating habits and keep weight off. I try not to think of "real food" in the context of what I used to eat. In the past I would have a huge appetizer at dinner out and then an entrée and sometimes dessert. Now, I may pick at my wife's appetizer or we split a small app. I eat a reasonable entrée, usually fish or chicken and by that time I cannot fit dessert. It is still enjoyable to eat out, but again, if you mentally convince yourself that you need a chicken wing or flat bread appetizer then a 16 ounce steak and consider that normal, then there is going to be roadblocks. Instead, a tuna tartar app and a piece of tuna at dinner is what should become real food for you.

That is so great. I remember a few months ago when I celebrated being OVERWEIGHT. It sounds a little insane for the normal person but we know what that all means. I am striving to become normal weight but the last 20 pounds are going to be a struggle. I imagine the last 20 will be harder than the first 100. Keep it up.

Stalls are super frustrating and depressing to be totally honest. I have seen more of them after I passed 6 months post op than I saw before that. My weight loss is down to around 2-3 pounds a month as I get closer to ideal weight. I do get frustrated but I know I have more to lose so I just stay the course and sure enough, it breaks and I get a couple more pounds before the next stall.

Not technically in Onederland but definitely in Onederland. Great job!

It only gets better. I really benefitted from doing squats in the morning. I do around 100 squats (I started at around 25 and built up) while I brush my teeth in the morning. It makes good use of time I would otherwise just be looking at myself in the mirror. I noticed my legs getting much more tone and it helped my knees and my stamina greatly.

Good recommendation Redhead_che.

I agree with this, and possibly even more because you are losing weight and may be seeing some increased mobility and your BP and Pulse may be improving at this point.

At that stage I was between 800 and 900 calories per day. I barely go in my protein and did the best I could to get in veggies.

What better way to ensure a calorie deficit than to exercise a little bit.

I think at this point I started exercising more and it did the trick. When I go into a stall or slowdown I notice I still lost inches due to the exercise then I see step changes in weight loss.

During the soft phase I really went for the tuna salad, chicken salad and egg salad. I still very frequently eat these 3 things because they are easy to eat for me. The tuna is my favorite because of the high protein. When I eat egg salad I usually supplement the protein with some Unjury Protein drink.

I agree with liveaboard15. Walking is pretty much all you can do to try to move things along. I am sure you can try some anti-gas from the drug store as well. This goes away eventually...if is not forever.

I do not agree with this at all. Exercise to me is critical to getting the weight loss to continue. If I take a few days off I notice it slows down and I get into a stall. Not to mention, you have to exercise for health as well. Finally, by exercising, you are also trimming your body down and losing inches in the right places. I think you Doctor would agree with exercise and no Doctor would say not to exercise...atleast walking.

Keep the faith. Get yourself moving and don't look back.

Just because you CAN eat up to 1200 calories does not mean you SHOULD. If you are hungry after having your protein, you should eat a lot of low calorie, low fat vegetables. Make sure you are drinking a LOT of water and make sure you are exercising more. As you lose weight, it is going to take more exercise to get the same benefit. If you are not exercising, start now. You cannot keep your weight loss going if you are not walking a lot. I walk a total of an hour and 20 minutes minimum every day, in 20 minute spurts to fit into my schedule.

Absolutely you can do all these things. At 8 weeks post op, I flew to Mexico, went swimming, kayaking, bike riding and snorkeling. I think you can do a lot more than you think you can do at this stage. You are heavier starting out than I was, so you may have more limitations but flying and walking around are definitely doable.

Same as MS.SSS. About 4 ounces of food at that point. Any more would cause me pain in my chest. Now, after 8 months I can do a little bit more but not much. 5 is normal for me, 6 is on the edge of hurting depending on what it is.

That is really pretty good for this stage of your post surgical diet. I find Tuna was always my best food to go down easily, stay down and have a ton of protein. I still eat tuna 4-5 times a week for lunch. I have always been a fan of tuna so it is not something I have grown tired of.