I'm struggling with the journey right now. This tool is amazing, but like everything else in my life, I am sabotaging myself. God forbid I be happy or succeed at something. GRRRRR.

I am almost 5 months out and have had a respectable weight loss so far. Struggling with Water consumption, exercise and smarter food choices. Pretty much everything.

My day -- I fill up a 32 oz water bottle in the morning and this lasts the entire work day. Around 9 am I have a Premier Protein shake. At lunch I usually have a Protein Bar or cheese/almonds. Then for dinner, either "lunch" again or lean protein from my family's meal. Not a terrible day plan, but notice the lacking 64 oz of water and exercise. And actual real food.

The counselor I see has also had WLS so that helps some. I guess I'm just looking for words of wisdom from others who have struggled and found their way, reiterate why the rules are necessary. Tough love (but not too tough!)

Thank you, fellow sleevers!

@ - I have tried finishing a 24 oz bottle of Water on the way to work (45min drive), refill and finish another before first break at work, another before lunch & one more before I go home. I see it on my desk and even if I don't get all 4 done I refill and drink on the way home. I live in Florida, its hot - even in the A/C.

Can you walk at work? I know if you are crunching time it is a way to accomplish a little exercise along with hydrating (carry the 32oz bottle of water everywhere!).

this is just a suggestion -

@@jane13 I wish I could just chug water! It's the sipping that is making it so difficult - especially when I finally DO go for a walk in the heat. I was in your beautiful state last week for vacation and it was still hard to get my Water in even when biking or swimming. I'm working on the art of sipping though.

I think the lack of real food is going to bite you in the butt later. This is the time to lay the foundation for later eating habits and that means eating real food too (as you know)! It is easy to feel like it isn't worth the trouble since I am guessing you are at that stage of ZERO appetite. The question is, when that appetite returns, will you be eating chicken, fish,, turkey etc and veggies or will you be grabbing sliders? Truth is that Protein bars can sort of become sliders for people - tend to go down easy and be very carb heavy even with all that protein in them.

Did your doc/surgeon give you any guidance as to meal content/timing?

My NUT had us eat FIVE mini meals a day. She didn't call them 2 Snacks and 3 meals - they are all mini meals because they follow the same exact pattern, small portions of protein, veggies and if still hungry fruit and if still hungry other carbs. The meals are spaced "about" 3 hours apart. i wound up modifying to 4 minimeals a day but same principle. It was hard working in my Water with that eating schedule - it became like a job to schedule in water. There are phone apps to remind you if something like that would help. I also hated plain water my first year post op so did the crystal light or iced herbal teas type thing. Have you tried doing something to make water more appealing?

You are doing well, and you are taking good advantage of this "window" of low appetite but just need to keep moving on and building up skills that will help you in the long run.

I also think you will want to be exercising when your weight loss slows down, but I figure fix one thing at a time. I would start with the real food thing.

I think you need some food variety. Are you familiar with eggface's blog? Tons of good food choices and recipes. Click here.

Have you tried experimenting with different water temperatures? I had a hard time getting my water in too, until I realized that the easiest thing for me to drink is ICE COLD water. I bought a double-walled thermos style bottle that keeps my ice frozen all day long at work. I fill it first thing in the morning with ice and water from my fridge at home. Then again partway through the morning with water from a drinking fountain (ice is still there from the morning) and then partway through the afternoon from the drinking fountain again. I do MUCH better with the ice water than I was doing with just my plastic water bottle before. Even though the plastic bottle started with cold water in the morning, it quickly got to room temperature and I slowed down a LOT on my drinking.

Have you tried using a (GASP) straw? I hear it really helps with the Water consumption. I do it, and I know a lot of others that do, too.

And what everyone else said.

@@Babbs I can't believe you even suggested that!! I just blindly follow the no straw rule, while blatantly ignoring other rules. WTH. I love Water - plain, with fruit wedges, with flavor, ice, no ice. Pre-WLS I could drink 100+ oz / day with no thought. Yes, I think using a straw would definitely help me!

@@CowgirlJane When I do eat real food, I tend to make fairly smart choices. You are correct that with not much hunger it doesn't seem worth it to actually make something. Plus my picky kids aren't huge fans of the food I like. My husband is much more open than he used to be. Four or five mini-meals scares me because of the food/water rules. You are absolutely right I need to use this time to get a life long plan moving for future success! Thanks!!

@@Babbs I can't believe you even suggested that!! I just blindly follow the no straw rule, while blatantly ignoring other rules. WTH. I love Water - plain, with fruit wedges, with flavor, ice, no ice. Pre-WLS I could drink 100+ oz / day with no thought. Yes, I think using a straw would definitely help me!

I loved water pre-op too and could drink it at any temperature. Post-op I found room temperature water to be too "filling". It sits heavier in my stomach somehow. So I switched to ice cold water all the time and it made it a lot easier for me. I can also do hot beverages with no issues. It's just that room temp water that doesn't work well for me anymore.

I think that the major circumstance that had made all of this food and Water juggling do-able for me is that I am retired. My deepest respect goes out to those of you who have to accommodate a work routine or the care of litle kidlets.

I do the five mini-meals, too, but have to be careful to keep the timing short, or it easily turns into grazing. I do have an assortment of Protein bars on hand, but I save them for when I am out and about. They are kinda like candy bars with protein, adds to my carb limit very quickly.

Colder beverages work for me, too. sugar-free popsicles and Jello count as Fluid. Sometimes I just don't want full strength Crystal Lite, so I will make up a gallon and put in a packet meant for one glass. I don't miss the straw as much as I miss the Pepsi I used to drink with the straw. Well, there is no turning back on that one. Lack of a straw will not stop the world from turning.

You sound like a good candidate for batch cooking. Having the right foods on hand makes this process easier. My boyfriend is the cook in this house (I do the clean-up) because he just simply is better at it. But he works 12 hour days, three on and then three off. On one of his off days, he cooks everything for the week, and we are fine with heating up the lefoivers.

He makes ups a batch of sandwiches for his work days, which means I always have meats and cheeses in the fridge for myself. He might make up a batch of Breakfast burritos to take to work, which means I have the scrambled egg and veggie filling for my breakfasts.

I wish you much success with your weight loss. Hugs from Chicago.

I, too, struggle with Water. I prefer to eat food so I'm probably not getting in as much Protein as when I was having two shakes a day. And my water consumption is also too low. I struggle to drink 32 oz while at work, although I do have coffee in the morning and tea at night. The mix in powder helps me a lot!

Even though I cannot eat a lot, my food choices aren't always that great. It's hard to make a meal for the kids and then find something else for me to eat.

I drink bottled Water. I find it easier to make sure I get it in and one 16.9 oz bottle isn't as daunting as a big gulp container. Four bottles and you have your daily goal met.

As far as food goes, I eat fish and steamfresh vegetables mostly. I buy the cod fillets that are individually wrapped. After it is unthawed, I season it and saute it in olive oil or coconut oil. One bag of vegetables will last me the whole week. I have grilled steak once a week, grilled, baked or sauteed chicken also.

I eat a serving of fresh fruit every day. On days that I exercise I have a GENEPRO Protein shake in the morning and I have an afternoon or evening snack of Fage yogurt with fruit.

On days that I exercise (5-6 days a week), I have approximately 1,100 calories, 80 to 96 ounces of water and 90 to 100 grams of protein.

I don't eat Protein Bars at all. I don't eat sugar free or fat free anything.

I hope this helps as an example.

I work in food service we can not eat or drink in our department. Very hard to get liquid in. Have to walk out of dept to break room to consume liquid. My food choices also aren't great there is a protein loaded "Fiesta dip" great on a spoon. It takes me 2 days to eat one thing of yogurt. 1 grilled chicken breast is 3 meals. Haven't figured it out yet but see Dr see 1st and nut on the 11th. Hope I get some help.

Ok. Water counts as most liquids.....crystal light, etc. I found the most TASTY bottled drink called Protein2O. It comes in a variety of flavors, 70 calories for full bottle, 15 grams of protein! My NUT said it's great because it's whey Protein.

I am five weeks post op. I eat three meals a day (2 TBSP protein, 2 TBSP veggie). In between those meals I drink protein. Usually one Protein shake (27 grams), and then throughout the day TWO of the protein2O drinks.

My calorie average is 598 per day. NUT SAID I SHOULD NOT GO BELOW 500 NET calories, so I need to aim for higher calorie foods and NOT increase the quantity. Otherwise, after I exercise I am falling below 500 calories.

Try a variety of foods, not just nuts and shakes. Try the Protein 2 O!

I'm with you. I'm 6 months out and sabotaging myself with junk food, no water and no exercise. I'm still losing very slowly but I'm sure I would be down a lot more than 52 pounds if I were doing the right things. Pretty much the only liquids I get in are sweet tea and coffee. For a while I had a water accountability buddy and I was getting my 64 in. That really helped. I think I need that again along with a food buddy to help me stay accountable with what I eat. I need to lay off the popcorn, Cheetos, cheese and crackers, chocolate, sandwiches... Oy!!! There's nothing I can't eat.