New here, need encouragement...

[bren 1]

Hi everyone

Today is my first day here, someone from OH invited me, but their profile was gone by the time I got the message, so I don't know who it was. But anyways, doesn't matter, I found you all.

I had the sleeve almost 1 year ago, and have lost 80 lbs. That would be great, but I still have 70 to go and I've been stuck at this 80 lbs for a couple months. I have a real aversion to dieting, having done that all my life, but I can see that now if I want to continue to lose that I need to get over that and start being aware of what I am eating.

So today I started tracking in the daily plate. I was wondering if anyone could tell me how many calories I should be eating at this point? The DP says 1414 to lose 3 lbs a week, but that seems high to me. But what do I know, since I am quite stalled.

PS, I had my sleeve in Mexico, Dr. Alberto Aceves.

[Elisabethsew 50]

Welcome! Congratulations on making it past the half-way point on your weight loss journey.

I think it's best to stay in the 900-1200 calorie range and tracking what you put in your body on sites like the daily plate can be an eye opener. For me, sticking to 3 meals a day seems to work best.

Lately, I have been having a 17g Protein (200 cal) bar (Atkins) for Breakfast an hour or so after a large cup of coffee (14 oz) and my vitamins/meds. Salads go down easily so I toss some lettuce in a bowl and add 3 oz of drained tuna, chicken, or turkey, a few grape tomatoes, and 2 tablespoons of chopped walnuts. Walden Farms make a refrigerated line of 0 fat/0 carb/ 0 calorie dressing that are to die for. LOL. For dinner, I have poultry or fish and some steamed veggies and a starch. I get the protein in first. By the time I do that, I can only take a few bites of the veggies and maybe a bite of the starch.

If I am hungry in between meals (rare), I opt for fresh fruit. I also find that drinking really fills me up so bottles of Water and crystal lite are always nearby.

Keep posting and letting us know how you're doing.

[Oregondaisy 2,020]

I do believe the paperwork I came home with from Dr. Aceves office said to try to stick with around 800 calories per day. I am not hungry so I usually have a Protein Drink for breakfast and lunch and some sort of meat with a few veggies for dinner.< /p>

[bren 1]

I'm sure you're right Oregondaisy, I seem to remember that 800 cal number, and I was able to do that no problem for the first 6 months or so. I think I have fallen into some bad habits but I feel ready to go back to a more structured regimen.

Doing the Dailyplate today was an eye opener for sure. I did around 1000 calories and I went back to the old standby of Protein first. I realize now that I had resorted to slider foods and lots of them. Today was tough, but it felt good!

Thanks both of you for the encouragement!

Bren

[Oregondaisy 2,020]

I am glad you found us here. I really think this board is so much easier to navigate. There are a lot of people at OH, but I find it difficult to follow the posts because of the way it is set up.

It's really easy to fall into the snacking mode. There is so much junk food at my job, it's very difficult to ignore it. Even with the sleeve, it takes willpower not to give into

eating in between meals.

Luckily for me, if I don't watch what I eat, it doesn't take long before my pants won't fit. I refuse to go out and buy bigger size pants.

I do better telling myself I am on a diet. Some people say it's not a diet, it's a new way of eating healthy. That does not work for me. I can eat healthy foods, but in order for me to stay away from snack foods, I have to tell myself "no, you're on a diet" I am not far from goal weight because I only gained back 15 lbs when I had my band removed, but I know I will never get where I want to be if I eat in between meals.

Edited June 16, 2009 by Oregondaisy

[Elisabethsew 50]

Bren,

It sounds like you're "on the way back" to healthy eating and losing weight. Excellent!

[roseyandmusic 5]

What are slider foods?

[Oregondaisy 2,020]

Slider foods are soft foods that don't stick with you for very long. Some of it is still healthy though, like cottage cheese or yogurt.

Somebody please correct me if I am wrong.

[Malaika 50]

Slider foods are soft foods that don't stick with you for very long. Some of it is still healthy though, like cottage cheese or yogurt.

Somebody please correct me if I am wrong.

I'm sure they will ... LOL ... just teasin' ... I'm still learning all this stuff and appreciate all the "lingo"

[MacMadame 81]

Slider foods are soft foods that don't stick with you for very long. Some of it is still healthy though, like cottage cheese or yogurt.

Somebody please correct me if I am wrong.

You aren't wrong, but I think of it slightly differently. My slider foods are foods that I can *always* eat no matter want because they *always* go down.

So Protein bars are a slider food for me.

For me, I have no issue with dieting. I'm actually pretty good at it. Maintenance scares me more and is more difficult.

However, if you don't like being "on a diet" think of it a "retraining your body on how to eat". Because that's something we have to do.

I look at what normal people at a normal weight do. And they definitely watch what they eat and cut back at times. So we are going to have to too!

[Elisabethsew 50]

Slider foods can be good or bad. An ice-cream shake slides right on down as does chocolate, pudding, etc., which are all "empty" calorie foods. Fat free yogurt, low fat ricotta, etc., are sliders that have positive nutritional value.

Foods that go down easily (not sliders or solids) for me include salads, tuna salad, and some forms of Pasta. Solids are the hard Proteins and I include hard cheeses in that category (for me). I can get a piece of tilapia down easier than a solid piece of cheddar cheese. LOL.

[Malaika 50]

Foods that go down easily (not sliders or solids) for me include salads, tuna salad, and some forms of Pasta. Solids are the hard Proteins and I include hard cheeses in that category (for me). I can get a piece of tilapia down easier than a solid piece of cheddar cheese. LOL.

I probably could do - but given my choice, I would much rather have cheese than tilapia -- I LOVE cheese ... hey ... what about tilapia with cheese melted on it? MMMMMMMMMMMM ... My theory is almost anything tastes better with cheese on it! LOL

[bren 1]

Hey everyone, guess what!!!!! After the scale being stuck for 2 months, just 2 days of tracking my food on the DP and I lost a pound! I tell you, this has really helped because I would put in what I was about to eat, see the fat and calories and carbs, and then it was like whoa, no wonder! Then I would tweak it until it looked better.

As to the slider foods, I think there are good ones (cottage cheese) and there are bad ones (chips and icecream). I had gotten into the habit of bad ones. Sure it was great to eat whatever I wanted and not gain weight due to the restriction, but I had stopped losing it too. Maybe I wasn't ready and needed my brain to catch up with my body, I dunno. But I do feel ready to carry on now and I am so jazzed about that one pound!

So that is 81 pounds lost, 69 to go! :confused1:

Bren

[Elisabethsew 50]

Way to go, Bren! You can also plan a few days worth of food menus using the planner.

[MacMadame 81]

Hey, I use the food diary that way too. I put in everything I plan to eat and see how it adds up and then make choices for the unplanned part that balance it. For example, if I put in all my food I bring to work (snacks and lunch) and my breakfast, I can see that I would have to eat 40 g of Protein for dinner to be okay. THAT is not going to happen, so I'll change out some Snacks. Or, if my calories are higher than I want, I'll eat something lower calorie for dinner.