I want to know who is eating normally? I was sleeved 3/21 and I eat like a regular person except very small amounts. I can not do no sugar- artificial sweetners make me cramp and yes I have tried all kinds. I am not losing as fast as others and feel really depressed about it. I walk 6 days a week 30 min/day. Before surgery I never exercised so some days I feel like yay I am making progress but then there are days like today when I realize I am not having to buy new clothes yet. Yes they my clothes are getting really loose but not hanging off of me. I know I totally sound like a whiner buy I just wanted to know if there Are any more sleeves like me that haven't turned completely healthy with their eating.

Ok,but how much have you lost?

xxo

What do you mean by "eating normally"?

Most of us have instructions to eat several small meals a day, to not have beverages with food, to chew slowly, to eat Protein first followed by healthy veggies... not really room for other stuff. I eat a variety of foods but i don't think most people would consider what I just described as "eating normally" - especially the no beverages with food.

I am sorry you are depressed, it is easy to get caught up in comparing yourself to others. It helped me alot to think in terms of percentage of excess weight. If you have 50 to lose, losing 25 is half way there. It isn't fair to compare yourself to someone who has 200 to lose for example.

I have done great, am thrilled with my progress, 85 pounds in just over 5 months - couldn't be happier. However, if i get caught up in comparing, i read lots of people talking about how awful it is to be basically the same weight i am now! They are STARTING where I am at now and I feel like i have already scaled a mountain.

Anyway, my point is really that this is an individual journey. We all lose at different rates. Some are steady, some seem to do it in sprints and then have a stall. If you are following doctors instructions, and avoiding snacking while following the "rules" the weight will come off.

At about 6 weeks out, I upped my exercise intensity as I had been walking and wanted to kick it up a notch. That has worked great for me and I am loving a more intense routine.

Oh, and I took me longer then 6 weeks before I needed new clothes! Honestly, the first 35-45 pounds seemed hardly noticable but now people say they do a double take when they see me. I was wearing 26-28W and then one day, I was in 22Ws - I somehow skipped right over the 24W! Now, I am wearing 18W and it is incredible how much smaller that is then the 26Ws I was wearing just a few months ago!

Sometimes you just can't see the progress, but it really is happening.

I'm depressed too! I was sleeved 4/16 and at first the weight just came off. Now 30 lbs later I'm stalled. I thought I would keep losing and losing. This sucks.

I just logged on here because im feeling the EXACT same way. I have lost 63 pounds since my surgery feb 1st and thought that I was doing really well. At my recent dr's appointment I realized I had only lost 4 pounds in 4 weeks. I have never felt so horrible about myself as I did when I realized that. Im just over 3 months out and a pound a week is not what I was hoping for. The main reason im so upset is because I too have upped my excercise. Pre-op I never excercised, now ill ride 10 miles on a bike and walk 2. I was expecting a LARGE loss after including this workout, but obviously not. On top of it all, im hungry ALL OF THE TIME! The surgery definetely didnt curb my appettite one bit, but I do eat much smaller portions.

I can relate to this.

BUT I know I do not only eat Proteins.I eat a little of the food my family eats which is veggies,Protein and something like a tiny piece of sweet potato.Every now and then I have a bite of noodles.Some days I have a slice of toast.My calories are still super low and I cannot understand why did I lose wieght so much faster when I did a 1600 calories normal eating plan.I did exercise a lot more then though.

I have come to understand that I have to learn to eat normal in the first year of this journey....the moment I diet I will fall off it again.Falling off means cheating is involved and I am done with all that.

Every time I start exercising for a few days my weight really just stops going down.So,the muscle must weigh enough to do that for a little while though.

Dont worry,my coach tells me every day...slow and steady is real and permanent.Do what is normal for this far out with your sleeve and you will lose weight.

So,slow and steady is good not bad.Frustrating but not bad.Just keep on chugging away at the Water and the exercise.

Good luck to all of you!

O and 63 in such a short time is good,it really is.Remember the body does need time to ajust after big losses.

And I am still wearing my same clothes and not a single person has commented about my weit yet...which means they dont notice it yet.

Now in the next 20 pounds it will become visible for sure and the size should go down.

xxo

I was sleeved 3/12/12 and I'm down 35lbs TOTAL. That is definitely NOT great for being 2 1/2 months out :/ and I'm eating "normally". Of course I get all my Protein in first (about 60g daily) and consume about 800 calories daily, with absolutely NO carbonated drinks. At my 6 wk post op check I was consuming 400-500 calories a day and was told by my NUT that I had to up my cals to break my stall....well I have only lost 5 lbs since then..Tomorrow I go in to see my dietitian, we'll see what she tells me now, maybe up my cals again (which freaks me out, sounds like too much). This weight needs to starts dropping! Ugh!

keepin it real

Thank y'all so much! I feel like I have total support unlike my "real life" lol. By eating normally I mean normal everyday food- just tiny portions. For example, we went to dairy queen and I had a half a taco. I drink with my meals cause I absolutely cannot handle food getting stuck in my throat. I don't drink carbonated drinks AT ALL. Yes I tried once without thinking and let me tell you I will never try that again. I have lost 30 lbs total since dos 3/21. I haven't been back to my surgeon because last time I went for a check up the nurse practitioner told me she was very disappointed with my weight loss and I must not be following the rules. At that time I was but I figured o well I might as well do what I want cause apparently it couldn't hurt. I started out with my 22's holding on for dear life and now my 20's are pretty loose but I haven't had to buy anything yet. I paid out I pocket and sometimes I wonder if I'm just sabotaging myself cause I'm not following "the rules". I def get in my protein but get hungry about every 3 hrs.

Thank y'all so much! I feel like I have total support unlike my "real life" lol. By eating normally I mean normal everyday food- just tiny portions. For example' date=' we went to dairy queen and I had a half a taco. I drink with my meals cause I absolutely cannot handle food getting stuck in my throat. I don't drink carbonated drinks AT ALL. Yes I tried once without thinking and let me tell you I will never try that again. I have lost 30 lbs total since dos 3/21. I haven't been back to my surgeon because last time I went for a check up the nurse practitioner told me she was very disappointed with my weight loss and I must not be following the rules. At that time I was but I figured o well I might as well do what I want cause apparently it couldn't hurt. I started out with my 22's holding on for dear life and now my 20's are pretty loose but I haven't had to buy anything yet. I paid out I pocket and sometimes I wonder if I'm just sabotaging myself cause I'm not following "the rules". I def get in my Protein but get hungry about every 3 hrs.[/quote']

I eat about every 3 hrs too, but I try to have something w protein. Ex. mozzarella cheese stick, or beef Jerky, or chobany Greek yogurt 0%, or special k Protein shake...oh and SF popsicles 15-25 calories are my fav (no protein).

keepin it real

If you started out with a small amount to lose, losing 35 pounds in two months might be a really good rate of weight loss! If you started out with 70# to lose - that is half!!! I can't see your stats, so I don't know if that is your situation, but consider thinking in terms of excess weight lost instead of just number of pounds. Some of the really big guys can lose like 60 or more in a single month!!! It is just not fair to compare yourself to others, especially if they have more to lose, are younger, etc etc.

I had a failed lapband that was implanted in 2001. i wasn't really successful with that, and while I can blame the band for it's failings, the truth of the matter is I contributed to that lack of stellar success because I didn't really know how to properly use the tool to it's full advantage. I can go on and on about that, but a couple of the things that really held me back was thinking I could still eat like people around me did, just small portions. Small portions - ha! i would go to a business lunch and not even be able to clear a spot on my plate before needing to hurl. It was awful and humiliating I now understand and keep myself out of those situations - early out, I need to eat REALLY small portions. A few years out, maybe it is different, but for right now I avoid social situations that are beyond my ability to manage the food. (It is easier though with the sleeve for lots of reasons and I don't hurl when I eat at a public event). Another mistake I made was believing some of the conventional wisdom at the time. I lost 70# in the first year, lots of exercise, trying to diet etc. I was told by a nurse and "experienced bandster" that if I didn't lose 100# in the first year, I had pretty much failed. What the !$%?? I fell for that and felt like a failure even after losing 70#. It is all well and good that a doctor is disappointed with your weight loss, too bad, makes his stats look bad? In my mind, the thing to do is follow the rules, follow the guidelines and your body will lose on it's own sweet timeline. So what if it takes longer then other people's preconceived notions?

Ok, i see what yo mean by eating normal foods. I eat dinner with my family. That is pretty much all homecooked, but we do occasionally have a restaurant meal or a frozen entree (at home convenience food). I personally have made the choice to basically avoid fast food but that is just because I eat so little - i want the good stuff! Of course, sometimes it is all there is available. Due to work and school, we don't tend to share other meals and Snacks. I veer off course from what they are eating then - especially the snacks. I have a Protein snack and they tend to have junk food or dessert or fruit for snacks. I moved all the snacky foods to a special cabinet that I just don't open the door. Before that, i was sampling chips or crackers or a cookie from time to time - and it wasn't what I really wanted it is just the visual cue set me off.

The drinking with eating thing... I am told that is a big deal. What is strange is that it has two problems that are almost opposites. First, it can make you too full (without you maybe realizing it) and an overfull tummy will start to lose its feeling of restriction. That is a bad thing, a little bit of stretching that happens over a period of time. The opposite problem is that a tummy that has had liquids shortly before eating seems like some "slider" foods go down too easy and you might overeat. We all have to make our choices, and I personally have found this one of the hardest changes to make but I have made it. I "failed" with a lapband and I have learned my lesson and more, again, my personal decision to be pretty strict about following the guidelines. In the past, I have always drank Water with meals. In fact, I have always drank a very large glass, with meals. I wonder in restrospect if that is how I made my stomach so big before surgery?

I think it is very normal to get hungry 3 hours after eating - I generally do. The key is to plan meals and snacks around that so you are not tempted to have BLTs (you know, bites, licks and tastes) or graze. A high protein snack like beef jerky or whatever you like will fill that stomach and make it easier to avoid snacky food.

This journey requires ALOT more planning then how i used to eat. Actually, I think that was my fundamental problem before. I would get over hungry and then not be able to resist eating whatever was convenient and/or have too big of portions. One time, since being sleeved, I came home famished after about 6-7 hours of not eating and I had been out doing trail riding with my friends - so exerting energy in that whole process (more then just riding, horse stuff takes exertion!). I came home and started to eat something and I realized I was just about inhaling it. I removed myself from the kitchen and gave it 20-30 minutes for my brain to catch up so I didn't over eat. It was really hard though because I was starving and when you eat fast, you don't give your stomach a chance to report to the brain that it is full. I really try to eat a snack now if I am more then about 3-4 hours since eating, especially if I have been exercising or otherwise exerting.

For what it is worth I have a few suggestions. If you don't journal your food (100%!) start doing that. If you don't weigh and measure - start doing that too. I am 5 1/2 months out and I eat about 1/2 cup of food at a time if it is relatively dense, a bit more if it is something that smushes down alot when you chew it. What this can do is make you really deliberate on what you are eating, quantity at a time, how much protein, how much water etc.

If you are already weighing, measuring and recording obsessively (I was) consider stopping that for a while. My nutrtionalist has me use tiny plate, my "bowl" is 4 oz filled to the rim and I eat with appetizer utinsils. Because I always use those, I can estimate serving sizes pretty well. It sounds crazy, but my weight loss rate picked up again AFTER I stopped recording food! The NUT felt I was eating "by the numbers" rather then listening to my body. Now, I try to stop when I am no longer hungry (not waiting until I am full). I don't know if I am eating more or less than I was before, but it is working.

My biggest downfall is I want to eat late in the evening. I know it is a bad habit, but I haven't been able to break it. What I do instead is plan a snack for it. I used to just try to resist and then I would eat anyway.... now it is part of my overall "daily plan" .

I truly believe that kicking the exercise intensity up is what is helping me keep losing now. I realize I could hit a long stall at anytime and it will bum me out.... everytime I see a slowdown in my average weekly weight loss (I don't worry about a single week, I am talking about trends here) I change SOMETHING up. So far, that has worked. I lost more weight in months 4 and 5 then I did months 2 and 3 and alot of that is figuring some of this stuff out.

So, I am sorry if this sounds like a lecture. I don't mean it that way, but I made alot of mistakes when I was banded and I am working hard to not repeat that. I am sharing what I learned from the school of hard knocks so hopefully others can benefit from some of my education without having to do it themselves.

No that Is excellent!!! I trail ride too and come in starved! I don't journal at all and I'm goin to try really hard to stop drinking with my meals. I am 5 4 and started at 258 and am now 230. I love tips and know that I am not giving my sleeve the help it needs to do its job. Thank you for givin me your thoughts!! Wish we were close! That's what I need is others aroun where I live but I find many people don't wanna talk about being sleeved in person?