Hello,

I am working on losing 15-20 lbs to be safe for surgery. I have participated in dieting prior to this journey and was successful, but for some reason it seems 1,000 times harder right now. I am almost 31 has my body just slowed down? **YIKES** I am on the verge of breaking 300lbs and I would like to get into the 200's!!

Here is what I am doing and I would love any constructive help/tips:

-Drinking A LOT of Water

-Logging on MyfitnessPal

-Try to eat frequently with focus on Protein

-I DO NOT like meals.I normally eat something about every two hours. Today I had a fat free latte and 1oz of turkey Jerky, a bit over two hours later I had a half sandwhich with low fat cheese and turkey breast

-Work out videos at home.

-I participate in more physical activity than I used to.

- I was a vegetarian, but I am using turkey as a crutch to loose this 20lbs on my own- I struggle with this daily!

-chewing 20 times per bite

-eating slow

-I average 1500 calories a day

-70g of protein, all though I should be eating 90

What I know I am doing wrong

-sometimes I am fearful of making an unhealthy choice, so I spend what feels like forever deciding what I should eat. Before I know it, my blood sugar is low and we all know what happens from here.. I then make real poor decisions about nutrition.

Should I replace a meal with a Protein shake? I would love to hear your suggestions, please be gentle. I am going through a lot and I prefer kindness.

Thanks for reading and sharing your strategies with me.

Sannah

Shakes pre-op sure made the post-op transition smooth already had found shakes I like and felt good going in to surgery not starved. I did 19 days of two meals replaced with shake and one good meal and lost 20 lbs.

My surgeon had me on 4 bariessential shakes a day. Ends up being about 800 calories daily. I lost 23 lbs in the 2 weeks pre-op. You may ask your surgeon if they have a a prescribed pre-op diet.

i think a Protein shake would be great when you are in one of those times where you need to eat & your blood sugar gets low.

outside of that.. maybe plan your meals a bit better?.. spend 1 day making your meals for the whole week or figuring out what you can make from the leftovers of one of your meals... sorta like what rachel ray does on one of her tv shows... she'll take a couple chickens & make 'em last for the whole week & it only takes a few hours to prepare everything. you can get bento boxes to help with portion control.. or maybe that STAX system from reshapethenation.com.

another thing you could do is keep a rotiserie chicken on hand, along with some salad mix, so you don't have to make poor choices. but i guess that goes back to meal planning..

if you wanna go back to your veggie thing.. one meal that could last for a long time would be eggplant lasagna.. eggplants are really low in carbs and you can use seitan or some other meat substitute if you want to & make a yummy lasagna... all low carb. have a side salad.. and you've got several meals there. stuff like turkey meatballs & zucchini Pasta could be good, too! by zucchini pasta, i mean you get your potato peeler & make "noodles" from your zucchini with that. no actual pasta! cause you can make a lot for the whole week. my ex boyfriend used to make a giant salad mix & eat that throughout the week.. and.. again, if you wanna do the veggie thing, you can make "green smoothies" and those can be a meal. there's lots of recipes for 'em, but most are banana & a handfull of spinach & some berries of your choice, sweeten with stevia to your taste & there ya go. you can add Protein powder, too... or whatever you want.

-Drinking A LOT of Water

-Logging on MyfitnessPal

-Try to eat frequently with focus on Protein

-I DO NOT like meals.I normally eat something about every two hours. Today I had a fat free latte and 1oz of turkey jerky, a bit over two hours later I had a half sandwhich with low fat cheese and turkey breast

-Work out videos at home.

-I participate in more physical activity than I used to.

- I was a vegetarian, but I am using turkey as a crutch to loose this 20lbs on my own- I struggle with this daily!

-chewing 20 times per bite

-eating slow

-I average 1500 calories a day

-70g of protein, all though I should be eating 90

girlfriend

you seem to be doing everything to the "t" - nothing seems to be wrong

comments "from up above" concerning Protein shakes look good.

drinking plenty of water is a great start, getting in as much protein as you can

chewing continueously, eating slowly, keeping track of food/drink w./my fitness plan

being more active

Keep doin' what you are doing - is my comment

you will get into twounderland soon than later - congrats on all of the above

good luck with WLS

speedy recovery

Hello,

I am working on losing 15-20 lbs to be safe for surgery. I have participated in dieting prior to this journey and was successful, but for some reason it seems 1,000 times harder right now. I am almost 31 has my body just slowed down? **YIKES** I am on the verge of breaking 300lbs and I would like to get into the 200's!!

Here is what I am doing and I would love any constructive help/tips:

-Drinking A LOT of Water

-Logging on MyfitnessPal

-Try to eat frequently with focus on Protein

-I DO NOT like meals.I normally eat something about every two hours. Today I had a fat free latte and 1oz of turkey jerky, a bit over two hours later I had a half sandwhich with low fat cheese and turkey breast

-Work out videos at home.

-I participate in more physical activity than I used to.

- I was a vegetarian, but I am using turkey as a crutch to loose this 20lbs on my own- I struggle with this daily!

-chewing 20 times per bite

-eating slow

-I average 1500 calories a day

-70g of protein, all though I should be eating 90

What I know I am doing wrong

-sometimes I am fearful of making an unhealthy choice, so I spend what feels like forever deciding what I should eat. Before I know it, my blood sugar is low and we all know what happens from here.. I then make real poor decisions about nutrition.

Should I replace a meal with a protein shake? I would love to hear your suggestions, please be gentle. I am going through a lot and I prefer kindness.

Thanks for reading and sharing your strategies with me.

Sannah

Hi Sannah,

I lost 23 lbs prior to surgery. I did this in two months, I was shocked. The doctor wanted me to lose between 15 and 20! I totally cut bread OUT OF MY DIET when we were home. When we went out to eat, I would NIBBLE on a small piece if brought to the table before the meal. I totally stopped eating chips and salsa at Mexican food restaurants. The 'hot sauce' is the best part, all you need is something to 'dip'. After my husband got a stent in his heart, he started getting an order of corn totillas to replace the fried chips. I did the same thing, except I would make ONE tortilla due and not an entire order of 4 or 6! I totally cut chips out of my life prior to surgery. I am not an exercise guru, but hubby has an Airdyne bike and I started riding it a LITTLE prior to surgery. Not a lot, nothing like he does, but I'd ride it for about ten minutes 3x's a week. When you go from nothing to 3x's per week, even ten minutes is an improvement! I have never been a 'coke' girl, so no sodas was nothing to me, IF You drink them. Stop, even surgar free is not good for you and carbonated drinks are a no no, so now is the time to stop. You said you drink FF lattes....you need to ck the sugar. Unless it's SF and FF, it's probably something you might want to consider them off limits. Things like that are a 'treat' AFTER you reach goal. That's all I can think of, I thought of my two months prior to surgery.....from the time I commiteed and went to the siminar until the day of.....my chance to start making life changes. You can do it!!!! Good luck!

A couple more things! READ LABELS!!!! Look at calories, fat and sugar!!!

Salads are fine if you are using FF dressing, otherwise, the calories add up fast with the dressing, cheese, croutons.....not to mention some who put bacon of some sort on it as well. Beware!

I keep a bag of frozen chicken and also a bag of shrimp on hand. Both easy to cook and both high in Protein. A can of tuna with 2 TB of Lite mayo is 13 grams of protein per 1/4 cup. I put the tuna on Special K crackers. 17 is one serving, you probably won't eat 17. One can of tuna makes 1/2 cup. More in protein and more than 2 servings if you add an egg and a couple of pickles. 1% Cottage cheese, I call it the Breakfast of champions. 13 grams of protein per half cup I believe!!!

Hi Sannah,

I lost 23 lbs prior to surgery. I did this in two months, I was shocked. The doctor wanted me to lose between 15 and 20! I totally cut bread OUT OF MY DIET when we were home. When we went out to eat, I would NIBBLE on a small piece if brought to the table before the meal. I totally stopped eating chips and salsa at Mexican food restaurants. The 'hot sauce' is the best part, all you need is something to 'dip'. After my husband got a stent in his heart, he started getting an order of corn totillas to replace the fried chips. I did the same thing, except I would make ONE tortilla due and not an entire order of 4 or 6! I totally cut chips out of my life prior to surgery. I am not an exercise guru, but hubby has an Airdyne bike and I started riding it a LITTLE prior to surgery. Not a lot, nothing like he does, but I'd ride it for about ten minutes 3x's a week. When you go from nothing to 3x's per week, even ten minutes is an improvement! I have never been a 'coke' girl, so no sodas was nothing to me, IF You drink them. Stop, even surgar free is not good for you and carbonated drinks are a no no, so now is the time to stop. You said you drink FF lattes....you need to ck the sugar. Unless it's SF and FF, it's probably something you might want to consider them off limits. Things like that are a 'treat' AFTER you reach goal. That's all I can think of, I thought of my two months prior to surgery.....from the time I commiteed and went to the siminar until the day of.....my chance to start making life changes. You can do it!!!! Good luck!

Hello!

Thank you for the reply. Sounds like a lot of small changes allowed you to be successful. I am off soda and it was easier than I imagined. I am working on the carbs, which sounds like it helped you greatly. I do not like Pasta, rice is so so... But wholesome bread is something I like. Perhaps I can wrap lettuce around my sandwich half.

I appreciate the feed back!

A couple more things! READ LABELS!!!! Look at calories, fat and sugar!!!

Salads are fine if you are using FF dressing, otherwise, the calories add up fast with the dressing, cheese, croutons.....not to mention some who put bacon of some sort on it as well. Beware!

I keep a bag of frozen chicken and also a bag of shrimp on hand. Both easy to cook and both high in Protein. A can of tuna with 2 TB of Lite mayo is 13 grams of protein per 1/4 cup. I put the tuna on Special K crackers. 17 is one serving, you probably won't eat 17. One can of tuna makes 1/2 cup. More in protein and more than 2 servings if you add an egg and a couple of pickles. 1% Cottage cheese, I call it the breakfast of champions. 13 grams of protein per half cup I believe!!!

I have read labels for years... A tool that has came in very handy! Thankfully I do not like salad dressing. If I desire something on my salad I use a very little olive oil and a small amount of lemon. Perhaps, cottage cheese is a good thing for me to try!!! I have not had it since I was a child!!! Thanks for the mention.

I am an avid coffee drinker! I drink straight espresso, add milk for latte and if I want flavor I have SF torani on hand. I know i will need to cut out or go decaff for surgery. I am okay with this, as I have done it before while I was pregnant.

girlfriend

you seem to be doing everything to the "t" - nothing seems to be wrong

comments "from up above" concerning Protein shakes look good.

drinking plenty of Water is a great start, getting in as much protein as you can

chewing continueously, eating slowly, keeping track of food/drink w./my fitness plan

being more active

Keep doin' what you are doing - is my comment

you will get into twounderland soon than later - congrats on all of the above

good luck with WLS

speedy recovery

Thank you kindly for the encouragement and support! This journey is hard!!! I am so dedicated and ready for these changes, but feel challenged by the little weight that is falling off, for what feels like big changes.

Great news is I had the metabolic screening my body is functioning at 94%. So my metabolism is working!! Per the tips and suggestions I am getting I am going to make some more changes!!! I am sure I will get into twowonderland!!! SO EXCITING!

shakes pre-op sure made the post-op transition smooth already had found shakes I like and felt good going in to surgery not starved. I did 19 days of two meals replaced with shake and one good meal and lost 20 lbs.

Hi!

Was this hard for you? Did you have Snacks? Sounds regimented which is surely nice!!! Did your blood sugar stay stable? I think I can add in one shake, but two right now might leaving me feeling CRAZY since I am more of a grazer than a meal person. I would love to hear more about snacks and how you felt?

Best,

Sannah

in regards to things that are "sugar free".. you may not want to eat them, either.. aspartame is poisonous to your body & is actually made from genetically modified ecoli poop. yep. google it! lol none of the words in that sentence were good! "genetically modified" "ecoli" and "poop".. YIKES!

sucralose & splenda are 1 molecule away from being bleach.. so try to avoid those, too..

best "alternatives" i've found are stevia or swerve. swerve is expensive, but tastes like sugar.. it's made from fruit FIBERS, not the sugary part of fruit.. and it's safe for diabetics and has no calories, just like stevia... without the funky aftertaste. they make powdered swerve, too.. so you can still make stuff that uses powdered sugar.

My surgeon had me on 4 bariessential shakes a day. Ends up being about 800 calories daily. I lost 23 lbs in the 2 weeks pre-op. You may ask your surgeon if they have a a prescribed pre-op diet.

So you did all shakes? No food? I have a pre surgery insurance requirement of 6 months medically supervised weight loss. I am supposed to loose my 15-20lbs during this time. But basically I have two months, because I was seeing my PCP and now I am working with the Weight Management Institute on the 6 month diet. The Weight Management Institute, which is where my surgeon is told me about the 20 lbs. So far my surgeon has not mentioned a pre op diet. I am adding this to my list!! I want to be successful and have my surgery asap.. What a bummer it would be to be delayed because I wasn't able to loose my 20lbs!! Great tip!! Thank you!!

i think a Protein shake would be great when you are in one of those times where you need to eat & your blood sugar gets low.

outside of that.. maybe plan your meals a bit better?.. spend 1 day making your meals for the whole week or figuring out what you can make from the leftovers of one of your meals... sorta like what rachel ray does on one of her tv shows... she'll take a couple chickens & make 'em last for the whole week & it only takes a few hours to prepare everything. you can get bento boxes to help with portion control.. or maybe that STAX system from reshapethenation.com.

another thing you could do is keep a rotiserie chicken on hand, along with some salad mix, so you don't have to make poor choices. but i guess that goes back to meal planning..

if you wanna go back to your veggie thing.. one meal that could last for a long time would be eggplant lasagna.. eggplants are really low in carbs and you can use seitan or some other meat substitute if you want to & make a yummy lasagna... all low carb. have a side salad.. and you've got several meals there. stuff like turkey meatballs & zucchini Pasta could be good, too! by zucchini pasta, i mean you get your potato peeler & make "noodles" from your zucchini with that. no actual pasta! cause you can make a lot for the whole week. my ex boyfriend used to make a giant salad mix & eat that throughout the week.. and.. again, if you wanna do the veggie thing, you can make "green smoothies" and those can be a meal. there's lots of recipes for 'em, but most are banana & a handfull of spinach & some berries of your choice, sweeten with stevia to your taste & there ya go. you can add Protein powder, too... or whatever you want.

Thank you for taking time to share with me. I have thought about this planning aspect as well. I shall put this into action. I like to cook, but my husband is a meat eater (GALORE) and also does not eat leftover (CRAZY!!! Right?)

So, I don't like to cook much. I can only eat the same thing for so long. Also I can only freeze so much stuff. I like your angle with salads!! This is surely something I can and want to do!!! I will make a weeks worth and this should surely aid in health and weight loss!!

THANK YOU!!!

I feel like everyone gave me some REAL helpful insight into some options for changing!!! I am so very appreciative of your feedback! I have my list here of what changes I will make.

I bought a pedometer. I just try to get more steps each day than I had the day before. I'm also trying water exercise and yoga because I truly despise exercise and anything that makes me sweat. Good luck!