NtvTxn

I am 7.5 lbs from my doctors goal and I'll continue to lose another 5 - 7 lbs. My question is how do I stop losing and maintain? I've asked Tiffikins because she's the expert around here, but I thought maybe others would have some idea about adding in some more healthy calories. Right now my protein is great, all food.....55 - 70 grams per day. Calories are low, 500 - 700. I am never hungry, I do get an "empty" feeling though. More food is not really an option I don't think....I don't have room. Thanks!

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Skinny - the string bean we all know or have known in the past, but I guess everyone's definition is different. There is always somebody skinnier and always someone richer, right???!!!!! If you figure out how to "feel" normal sized, share that with the rest of us.

Unfortunately our surgeons operate on our tummy and don't finish up with our head. I have been at goal for 3 years, maintaining for 2.5 years and STILL do NOT see myself like others do. I've been in size 4's and 6's for a few years now and I still will hold a pair of jeans up, fresh out of the dryer and think "NO DAMN WAY can I get my fat @$$ in these" and then I do.....I never have to lay down on the bed to button and zip them. I'm called skinny, tiny, thin and still, the fat girl inside giggles and wants to ask, "Are you talking to ME??" I don't know if it will ever change and I don't know if the fear of waking up 25 lbs heavier will ever go away. A doctor told me though "A little paranoia is good" It's nice being normal sized, even if we don't feel like it, we can look around and in our head, we know we aren't the biggest girl in the room. You are not alone, I think the head games are something we all struggle with. We are women, we critique ourselves and focus on the thing (s) that bother us. Others don't even notice and that's all we see. Take heart, you are more than likely the ONLY one seeing what you do!!! Good luck and happy Thanksgiving!

Laughed out loud!!!! They're are all funny, but the ammo shortage really cracked me up!! To entertain myself I thought up bad answers to frequently asked questions posed to WLS people: "Is the food OK?" (asked because you ate so little) Oh, yes, I haven't had food this good since the Turkish prison. "Isn't weight loss surgery the easy way out?" Yes, it is. I was going to shoot everyone smaller than me to make myself look average but there is an ammo shortage. You wise guys got any?

I'm almost 3.5 years out and I've been maintaining for almost three years. Life is 'normal'. I just finished ice cream, this is the most "normal" I've ever been....I THINK!! No guilt about anything I eat, maintenance is easy for me. Everything I eat is logged and I stay within the calories I need every day. Today I had a half cup of 1% cottage cheese for breakfast. I wanted Protein because I knew I was meeting friends for lunch at a pizza/Italian restaurant. I had three small pieces of Canadian bacon and mushroom pizza. This is an oval pizza cut into small squares. For dinner I had 3 oz of round steak cooked in 98% FF cream of mushroom Soup. The soup, plus a can of Water, makes GREAT gravy!!! I had .25 cup of my cottage cheese, a fourth cup of 'gravy' and and eighth of a cup of green Beans. I just had a 1 serving of home made ice cream. All this will come to less than 1300 calories. Before bed I'll have 1 cup of skim milk to make sure my protein is 60 or above. This is great 'ice cream'. A little mini hand crank maker, we use skim milk, although my recipe calls for whipping cream. It whips up good, nice and thick and tastes delish. Calls for a half cup of sugar, I use a little less, egg beaters rather then 2 whole eggs. vanilla. Love it.....what is life like. It's good!!! I've just made lifestyle changes that I can live with forever. It's as simple as that. Just wait, you won't believe what your life is like a year from now!!

does she KNOW you've had surgery??!!! I have a couple of family member, both who should ask for my doctor's name and phone number......who don't even acknowledge that I have lost 85 lbs. ONE of them has never said a word, the other did at first, then stopped. I FELT bigger than either of them, but I suspect, even though we are all built a little different, we were all three about the same size. I don't care, but I find it amusing! Have fun!!

I'd say no. What does your doctor say? Remember, you have a gut full of staples. You are swollen and healing. The first week I was on Clear liquids, week 2 & three, full liquids. Dr. D said "nothing that won't go through a straw"

I don't like yogurt, Greek or otherwise, but my husband has gotten hooked on it. His favorite, and it's also reasonably priced is Lucerne, Plain Greek Yogurt. He adds a stevia and I change it up for him, right now I have some granola for him to add. Some times he'll add Grape Nuts, some time mini choc chips. Sugar is not a concern for him, but it's 10.9 grams per 8 oz serving.

I reached goal in under six months. I've been maintaining for almost 3 years. For the first time in my life I eat without guilt. I enjoy food, I mindfully eat. Nothing other than carbonation is 'off limits'. I may choose NOT to eat something, or choose not to it something often, but making wiser choices is much easier. I have a dashboard, just like my truck does. I weigh every morning, I weigh and/or measure my food, I log my food on my fitness pal and track calories and Protein. Just like on my truck, if something is 'off' I know it and know it's time to change something for a few days. I cannot become complacent, I know me, it's a slippery slope. Ten pounds can appear in the blink of an eye, not so easy to drop at this point after WLS, although i don't know first hand, I have a good idea. Losing one or two pounds, not a big deal. Lowering calories by 100 - 150 per day, will send the scale in the other direction and it will all be good in several days. This is what works for me....again I say, I am never deprived, but everything is counted in MFP, I have ice cream, a jr. dip, once or twice a week. No guilt, this new normal is nice.

It may be 'just a number' to some, but to me, it goes far beyond a number. It's part of my dashboard, that number let's me know what's going on 'under the hood'. That number is like a red light coming on in my truck. It lets me know if something needs to be checked or changed. Like you, if I don't see a certain number, or less (in my case it is 142 - 145) I take action, not a big deal, all I have to do is cut calories by 100-150 and the extra pound or two is gone in just a few days. It's as easy as that. I cannot become complacent, in my book, that is a slippery slope and I know how quickly I can slide!!

Not only will recovery take longer, you'll lose your hair!

I lost my mom when she was just a couple of years older than I am.....my entire life, at least from when I was in jr. high, my mom wore an 8, she always seemed so small, at least compared to me who at that time wore 14's, and that gradually increased. I was wearing 16's when she passed away. I think that is one reason I was soooo excited and so intent on getting to a size 8, I knew what an 8 looked like!!! Again, congrats. How tall are you? We are just about the same size, I weighed 143 this morning, I've been maintaining between 143.5 - 146.5. I was down a little today, but it's always up and down a little different each morning!

I don't find it difficult at all, but I do keep a watch and mindfully eat. I will still occasionally over eat, it is always when we're eating out and the conversation/company is good. I don't feel like I'm on a diet EVER, for the first time in over thirty years. I do track and do weigh and I know what I need to maintain, THIS week I've been under every day and have lost two pounds. It is just as important for me to track my calories so I don't lose as it is to track them so I don't gain. I have up days and down days, but all in all, it's normal, at least it is my new normal. Anybody who doesn't make some lifestyle changes, I'd like to hear from them in ten years, if they can get a sleeve and do nothing else, ever, more power to them. There is a reason we all found ourselves sitting in the waiting room of a bariatric surgeon. It wasn't because we woke up fat one morning.

I do NOT miss being or feeling like the "biggest girl in the room"

Compared to giving birth to a child, this is nothing. Going through cancer treatment, I saw my mom and mother in law both do that, this isn't even even close. Laproscopic surgery is really something. I had my tonsils out not quite 30 years ago, to me, it hurt more. I had very little pain with this surgery. I only took pain meds after being discharged, at night for less than two weeks. The 'worst' is when you sneeze, cough or laugh. Have a pillow near-by and hold it against your tummy if possible!! Turning over in bed at night, wasn't comfortable, which is why i took the pain medicine at night. I sleep on my side, so I had a nice flat pillow to put under my tummy.

Why? Not one health issue, though some day that might have been factored in. Why...because I'm totally, 100% shallow. I wanted to have fun shopping for myself, for the first time ever! Mission accomplished. Shopping, even just going to try on clothes because I can.....is fun! An added bonus, well, there are many of them, but it is wonderful to not be the biggest girl in the room, and many times I am the smallest girl in the room.

I was never a big candy eater prior to surgery, but I find myself really enjoying my choc Calcium chews. The brand is Bariatric Advantage.....they're like little Tootsie Rolls! I take four per day.

I took three or four back to GNC and my husband ended up using one or two others. All of them grossed me out!!! I gave up and got the Protein bullets from GNC. I'd gotten a sample in my goodie bag when I was discharged from Forest Park.....let me assure you, it wasn't good either, but it was 3.5 ounces!!! Easy compared to a shake that seemed to keep "growing" as I had to keep adding ice to make it drinkable and the three days after discharge that I did finish one.....it literally took HOURS!!!!! The little bullet, I'd hold my nose and take a few sips in the morning, again at noon and finish it up in the evening. 43 grams of protein, all I had to do was rinse my mouth out after my sips. Just like taking medicine when I was a kid. LOL I never lost my hair (I also took Biotin) and my labs were always good. Good luck!!!!! Protein is important, I was determined to find something I could get down!

congratulations!!! Do NOT poo poo 5 pounds. Celebrate every pound, not everyone will reach goal as fast as I did, we are all different and I really was very rigid with myself!! In my very humble opinion, changing behaviors, mindful eating.....planning what we'll eat and not just eat on the fly. Logging, weighing ourselves and our food, none of it is too time consuming and it all keeps me aware of how far I've come and I don't ever want to get complacent or forget what it was like yo yo dieting and failing for about 30 years! You can do this, it IS possible, never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd weigh in the low - mid 140's. I definitely underestimated what can be done with our new little tummy!!!! Like I said, celebrate each pound, each non scale victory. My favorite one is waking up and realizing I have a collar bone!!!! Good luck and feel free to ask me anything!

I have a seafood fork that I eat with when I'm at home. I have several, I should carry one with me!! I also eat off a smaller plate, either a salad plate or a bread 'n butter plate. You'll eat sooooo little in the beginning, even the smaller plates will look empty, but a year, eighteen months out, it will look 'full' or more full. It's like tricking your mind. It is weird, at three+ years, I will some times ask my husband, "did i eat a lot?" My little plate will look full.

Cara, I may be an odd ball, but I do NOT struggle at all with keeping the weight off. No white knuckling here! I reached goal in six months and that was back in Dec. 2010. I've been maintaining for over 2.5 years. I would do this again in a heartbeat, I wish I had been 35 or 40 instead of 50 when I had VSG!!!! It's life changing, life altering - it's wonderful, every day is STILL is exciting to me. I've been on board and beyond thrilled since I woke up in recovery. It's fun, it's a wild ride and you will not believe how different your life is a year into this journey!!! I am pretty darn lazy, and by that I mean, I am not a gym rat, I am not a member of a gym and I do not do any 'formal' exercise. I park as far out as I can in parking lots, even in triple digit heat, and I do it on purpose, I go up and down our stairs more times than I need to. I have a 5 lb weighted ball that I toss around on occasion and I have even started doing 'wall' push ups. That's it. I know me, I have the attention span of a four year old. I did NOT want part of my weight loss to be due to my sudden interest in exercising....so I can honestly say, NONE of my weight loss was due to joining Curves, Gold's Gym etc. I DID know that I would need to make lifestyle changes that I could do forever, changes that would become my new life, my new normal. That is what I did and that is what I will continue to do. Age, boredom nor a twisted ankle will be a stumbling block and deal breaker!!! There are things I do that I call my 'dashboard' - just like on my truck. I watch my dashboard and if something needs 'changing', I know it right away.....not eight or ten pounds down the road. 1) I weigh every morning 2) I weigh and/or measure my food when I'm home 3) I log my food on line (my fitness pal, I keep track of calories and protein) Last but not least, I attend support groups. Most people go to one, I have four that I attend each month. I feel like I'm paying it forward. So many folks let ME pick their brains and ask numerous questions & calmed my fears early on. Now I am doing it for others. I am usually further out than most people at the support group meetings, so I seldom come across somebody to answer MY questions, but there are plenty for me!!! LoL There are other little things that I started doing prior to surgery and continue to do, at least most of the time. Keep in mind, a lot of our 'issues' are all in our heads!! I eat on a smaller plate, a salad plate or bread and butter plate, it's great for 'visually' seeing a plate that isn't all plate and a dab of food. I eat with a seafood fork most of the time. Little changes like that, also become habit and it is helpful. Good luck on whatever decision you make. Make sure to research, ask questions.....get on board, all of you, to make lifestyle changes. I feel like I eat like a naturally thin person, for the first time in my life, I am in control, food is not. Know that the doctor removes approx 85% of your stomach, after that, it is all up to you. This is a life time commitment, and like I said, I don't consider it work or time consuming, it's my new life. It is forever, there is no end date and it is worth every single change I've made. I still eat, nothing is "off limits" to me except carbonation, big deal, right???!!! There are things I choose not to eat or at least not often, but no hunger makes it much, much easier to resist when I need/want to. Again, good luck!!

I hadn't had a scale in my house for years and years, 2 months prior to surgery! I was only weighed at the doctor's office. Do you realize HOW much your weight can go up (it seldom was ever less unless I was a month into a new diet!!) when you go to the doctor two or three times a year??!!! Anyway, I got a digital, weigh* watch*rs brand scale from Bed, Bath & Beyond. It is very accurate, in fact I weighed the same at my three year check up on my bariatric doctor's scale as I did on mine, which was nice!! It is nutty, up and down, up and down, when it needs a new battery!! LOL

Keep in mind, your gut has a staple line in it. There is this progressive diet for a reason. Be very careful, besides, from day one, we need to put into affect, lifestyle changes, self control, make wise choices. A couple of months ago we made home made pizza. Several years ago we'd have eaten the entire thing. I ate 1.5 thin pieces, my husband ate three and a half, the other three went into baggies for 'later'. I put them in the frig and then decided that I DID NOT NEED or WANT to eat pizza again that week. I did the 'recipe' in MFP and realized how much cheese was on there and even though it was 2% mozzarella, it was still HIGH in calories. Sooooo, I did something that I have never done in my life, I got the pizza out of the refrigerator and threw it in the trash. You may not understand a non-scale victory yet, but you will at some point realize what a big deal this is!!!!! I have never felt so in control. This would not have happened prior to surgery, it makes it easier for me to make wiser choices if I need or want to!!! Even at three years out, I still have new and exciting things happening! The point is, be careful, leaks are more common the first five or six weeks, hence the different stages. Now the real work begins, the doctor did his job, now it's your turn. There is no end date, this is forever! You have a new normal, and it's great, it's life altering. You will not believe how different your life will be a year from now!!! Good luck!

Dallas