STRUGGLING! I'm so close to my goal but really struggling with the last 3.5kgs. I've lost 26.5kgs (59lbs) in 20 weeks. Although I'm nearly there I'm terrified that I'm going to start self-sabotaging. I've been literally walking my butt off and being so, so careful with what I eat but now the thought of maintaining this huge loss is seeming like a massive mountain to climb for the rest of my life. I've been here so many times before, not with weight loss surgery though, but we all know that the surgery is just a weight loss tool and can be circumnavigated easily. Anyone have tips on how to get that last bit off and keep it off?

18 minutes ago, lindabalseca said:

Thank you I'm trying really hard and have been compliant...you look amazing by the way !!!

Thank you, that's very kind. You're going to do great and change your life forever.

Thank you, that's very kind. You're going to do great and change your life forever.

I hope so I just turned 50 last month I need a do over!!

I have been struggling for a month now. I was sleeved on 4/18. I feel like I'm eating too much now. How can I tell if I stretched my sleeve already?

4 hours ago, lsnowten said:

I have been struggling for a month now. I was sleeved on 4/18. I feel like I'm eating too much now. How can I tell if I stretched my sleeve already?

I think we all eat more than those first few weeks post op as the sleeve is made very small as there is bound to be some natural stretch. I think the types of food make a difference to the stomach. For instance I eat a heap of salad and it crunches down to almost nothing and is virtually made of water. I can fit a huge bowl of salad in. Proteins are way more dense, meat, fish etc and I can only eat a small portion of these. You will know that you are stretching your stomach if you always feel really full to the point of being uncomfortable after eating. Try to divid your meal in half. Eat the first half slowly and then wait for 20 minutes. If you still feel very hungry then pick at the other half. Really listen to your body so you don't eat for the sake of it. I hope this helps. Good luck.

10 hours ago, Brit in Oz said:

That's what scares me the most. How do I stop losing weight? If I want to level off at goal weight I will have to eat more calories and that's where the devil is. Eating more calories is dangerous for me because I might just get carried away. I suppose I just have to think about how good I feel right now and that anything I could eat will just not be worth it.

You have to turn eating into a scientific endeavor. You have to think and plan.

The trick is to know ahead of time what you will be eating, not "oh, I just ate that 650cal sandwich, let me write it down"

Do it the other way. "Let's see, it's 8pm and I'm hungry, what can I still have? Oh, I didn't eat my full serving of chicken. I'll go finish that". Or "I get unlimited nonstarchy veggies, so even if I've eaten everything on my list, there are always those."

Do you have pets? How do you feed them....or maybe how should you feed them? If you take Fuzzy to the vet, and Fuzzy is a bit chubby, the vet will say to feed him this much of this food. You can wake up in the morning and know exactly what Fuzzy will be eating for the day. Why should your diet be any different?

My personal plan:

Breakfast: 4oz cottage cheese, 4oz fruit

Lunch: 1 egg, 3oz black beans

Snack: 1oz almonds

Dinner: 4oz tuna on a bed of spinach.

Lets say I was at goal. I'll add 3oz of sweet potato at dinner.

Still losing?

4oz sweet potato and 2oz nuts.

Still losing?

4oz sweet potato, 2 oz nuts, 6oz beans...

Etc.

Eventually I'd get my calories up high enough. Did I overshoot? Take something back off...

Once things are holding steady, then count the calories and see where I'm at. 1800? Now I can toy with the idea of that 650cal sandwich since I know what my calorie budget is and where it will fit in.

18 hours ago, lsnowten said:

I have been struggling for a month now. I was sleeved on 4/18. I feel like I'm eating too much now. How can I tell if I stretched my sleeve already?

I was sleeved the same day. I have always been a slow loser (which I like cause it lets my body adapt) and I have plateaued several times already. I also felt like I was eating to much when I wasn't losing. But when I calculated it up, I was only getting between 600-700 cals. When I bumped it up to 800-850 I started losing again. It is not always about eating too much in the beginning it can be about not eating enough. Keep track of what your eating, are you eating to many carbs? I don't do well if I eat over 35 carbs a day. I do low carb, high protein.

I have days that I feel like I could eat all day long (but I don't, I stick to my plan). But then I have days that I can't eat a thing.

The sleeve is a strange thing.

Wishing you the best!

I'm still pre-op but you look fantastic.

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Not trying to be funny but how do you know how I look?

4 hours ago, Annette1270 said:

you look fantastic.

2 hours ago, MISSGOGETTEA said:

how do you know how I look?

@MISSGOGETTEA

I am pretty sure @Annette1270

was referring to the initial

poster!! - @Brit in Oz BUT even though

i can't see your pic, i know you

DO look fantastic too

good luck

kathy

Thanks you so much

I think Berry78 is spot on--you can increase your calories without adding "bad" food choices--just more of the good things. If you have a bit more cheese or nuts or veggies with butter or another piece of fruit, you'll definitely be adding calories without blowing the plan.

I'm still so early in the process I haven't thought much about maintenance--seems so far away--but I'm always happy to read good advice here for the future.

On 02/08/2017 at 9:54 PM, Berry78 said:

You have to turn eating into a scientific endeavor. You have to think and plan.

The trick is to know ahead of time what you will be eating, not "oh, I just ate that 650cal sandwich, let me write it down"

Do it the other way. "Let's see, it's 8pm and I'm hungry, what can I still have? Oh, I didn't eat my full serving of chicken. I'll go finish that". Or "I get unlimited nonstarchy veggies, so even if I've eaten everything on my list, there are always those."

Do you have pets? How do you feed them....or maybe how should you feed them? If you take Fuzzy to the vet, and Fuzzy is a bit chubby, the vet will say to feed him this much of this food. You can wake up in the morning and know exactly what Fuzzy will be eating for the day. Why should your diet be any different?

My personal plan:

Breakfast: 4oz cottage cheese, 4oz fruit

Lunch: 1 egg, 3oz black Beans

Snack: 1oz almonds

Dinner: 4oz tuna on a bed of spinach.

Lets say I was at goal. I'll add 3oz of sweet potato at dinner.

Still losing?

4oz sweet potato and 2oz nuts.

Still losing?

4oz sweet potato, 2 oz nuts, 6oz beans...

Etc.

Eventually I'd get my calories up high enough. Did I overshoot? Take something back off...

Once things are holding steady, then count the calories and see where I'm at. 1800? Now I can toy with the idea of that 650cal sandwich since I know what my calorie budget is and where it will fit in.

Thanks Berry78. My surgeon and dietician have a slightly different approach. They encourage me not to focus on calories but more on portion size and how the stomach feels otherwise you end up eating enormous portions (of the good stuff of course) and you stretch your stomach. This bariatric process is supposed to become second nature, not a scientific one. I guess I'll just have to be patient for this last 5lbs to come off. I'm finding mixing up my exercise routine is helping.

4 hours ago, XYZXYZXYZ1955 said:

I think Berry78 is spot on--you can increase your calories without adding "bad" food choices--just more of the good things. If you have a bit more cheese or nuts or veggies with butter or another piece of fruit, you'll definitely be adding calories without blowing the plan.

I'm still so early in the process I haven't thought much about maintenance--seems so far away--but I'm always happy to read good advice here for the future.

XYZXYZXYZ1955 I would be very very careful about adding in anything like butter or cheese. I have found that the foods that are really calorie-laden are best left out of the diet for ever otherwise you'll start getting a taste for them again and undo all the hard work. I have been walking and running at least 10kms every weekday and hiking 30-40kms every weekend with my husband. I don't eat ANY of the bad stuff, butter, cheese, pasta, rice, cookies, cakes, bread, deserts (except very low calorie ice-cream) and I haven't bought chocolate since my op. I quite literally used to be addicted to the stuff. I don't drink alcohol or sweetened drinks. I find I can't have the thinks I used to pig out on in even the smallest amounts, I have to cut them completely, otherwise I'll just go back to bad habits. I now have a real taste for salads, fish, meat, seafood, fruit and all things yum and healthy. I would never add any butter because it's an unhealthy fat. I do use a little Olive Oil in cooking though, which actually helps stimulate ketosis. Good luck on your journey. It will get easier.

I'm new here sorry to get you wondering.

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Not trying to be funny but how do you know how I look?

Oh I'm sorry if I'm confused you. I meant Britt from Oz. Sorry I'm new here. May even be my first post.

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