Jump to content
×
Are you looking for the BariatricPal Store? Go now!

Any February Sleevers?



Recommended Posts

2 hours ago, FluffyChix said:

I know this is such a bone of contention here. People who believe that moderation is gonna keep them slim and without regain v. us hard line hard-assers. I just think in reading this that it's playing with fire. Thank GOD for your new sleeve. But know that all magic comes with a price. Time flies by. If you don't take the chance to re-organize the way and WHAT you eat now during the time when your tummy is tiny and the damage is limited to 124 cals...you will become a statistic and will be back here in 2-3 years saying, "Help me Obiwankenobe. Help me! I've regained 60lbs and crave carby stuff and sugar all the time. Please help!!"

That's my fear for you.

A much wiser choice would be to make that same recipe using something like cauli rice, or zucchini noodles, or broccoli. Or even try some of the Birdseye Frozen Pasta that is made with lentils and zucchini. They have a mac and a cheese variety already.

You don't have to white knuckle diet. But making simple no-brainer substitutions can let you have your cake and eat it too without future consequences and while learning new tools for lifelong maintenance.

Sorry for butting in and adding my unpopular 2 cents. :(

I have to say I pretty vehemently disagree with you on this. I do not have a goal of eating perfectly. I do not need to eat perfectly in order to be successful. Being perfect is unrealistic for me, and I think unrealistic for the vast majority of people.

I am succeeding in my goal of making much healthier choices. I have been craving mac & cheese for weeks. I have been tempted by it on a dozen different restaurant menus (I eat out very frequently for work). I resisted those because I knew that restaurant versions would be particularly unhealthy. The version I made last night only had 3 ingredients, and 2 of those, fat free evaporated milk & Protein Pasta, were better choices then I would have made in the past. The three ingredients also let me know exactly what the calories and macros would be. I also knew that I had the calories to spare. Before the mac & cheese I had only consumed 290 calories that day, so I had 414 yesterday w the mac & cheese. And in the 7 days prior, including work travel and an Easter buffet, I averaged 236 calories/day. Once I was full last night, I then threw out the rest of what I had made, so I couldn't go back to it today.

@FluffyChix I read the meal plans and pics and recipes of what you are eating, and I think, "oh that would be a bad idea for me" For ME, the portion sizes are too large, and the timing of meals is too frequent. But I didn't get on your threads and tell you "you will become a statistic and will be back here in 2-3 years saying, "Help me Obiwankenobe. Help me! I've regained 60lbs and I am eating large portions and am hungry every 2 hours"". Because I know that just because something wouldn't work for me, doesn't mean it wouldn't work for you.

There is no one size fits all answer to losing and maintaining weight. Everyone has to find what works for them, and what they can maintain long term.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

50 minutes ago, sillykitty said:

I have to say I pretty vehemently disagree with you on this. I do not have a goal of eating perfectly. I do not need to eat perfectly in order to be successful. Being perfect is unrealistic for me, and I think unrealistic for the vast majority of people.

I am succeeding in my goal of making much healthier choices. I have been craving mac & cheese for weeks. I have been tempted by it on a dozen different restaurant menus (I eat out very frequently for work). I resisted those because I knew that restaurant versions would be particularly unhealthy. The version I made last night only had 3 ingredients, and 2 of those, fat free evaporated milk & Protein Pasta, were better choices then I would have made in the past. The three ingredients also let me know exactly what the calories and macros would be. I also knew that I had the calories to spare. Before the mac & cheese I had only consumed 290 calories that day, so I had 414 yesterday w the mac & cheese. And in the 7 days prior, including work travel and an Easter buffet, I averaged 236 calories/day. Once I was full last night, I then threw out the rest of what I had made, so I couldn't go back to it today.

@FluffyChix I read the meal plans and pics and recipes of what you are eating, and I think, "oh that would be a bad idea for me" For ME, the portion sizes are too large, and the timing of meals is too frequent. But I didn't get on your threads and tell you "you will become a statistic and will be back here in 2-3 years saying, "Help me Obiwankenobe. Help me! I've regained 60lbs and I am eating large portions and am hungry every 2 hours"". Because I know that just because something wouldn't work for me, doesn't mean it wouldn't work for you.

There is no one size fits all answer to losing and maintaining weight. Everyone has to find what works for them, and what they can maintain long term.

You are right. I made an assumption. I did not read in what you wrote, that you had made a healthier version of the mac n' cheese. Those are the changes I was alluding to and which in my view set us up for long term success.

Of course no one is perfect. We wouldn't have arrived at the SMO ball if we didn't all have food issues or metabolic derangement of some sort. So to think that because of our surgery "everything in moderation and small portions is gonna work for us" is a magical notion. So yeah, I think eating "regular" mac n cheese would be playing with fire. Cuz you know, only eating 1 oz of food as your doing for 124cals seems to me like holy sh*t, that's pretty dense calories right there!

And I absolutely agree we're all different. I already know that my "huge portions" of 1/2c per meal with a massive daily calorie count of average 450-550 while walking 1 hour-10 minutes per day 7 days a week is STILL considered under-eating. I burn on average 265 calories from walking at only a 2.5mph pace and only consume 450-550 calories. So it's almost as bad ad your 236 cals per day.

And I do not consider eating every 3-4hours excessive. I do not consider eating 1.5-2oz of Protein per meal and 1/2-1oz of veg per meal having a total 1/2c volume per meal excessive either. Hell! I'd love to be eating 3/4c volume per meal right now. But just because I "can" doesn't mean that would be "wise!"

I'm following my RDs plan to the letter of the law--down to her portions and daily protein goals.

Also, I WISH my hunger had been extinguished from my RNY. Unfortunately, MY remnant makes 100% of its ghrelin still as a post surgery patient, unlike the VSG peeps. I look at y'all surgery as maybe having a bigger advantage from hunger sessation. (At least that's why my surgeon maintains.) I'm quite certain that's how you are surviving on 236 cals per day. Cuz that is a crazy ass number...just sayin. But then so is 450-550 per day burning 265 cals from exercise. But, ghrelin begins to be made again and stomach volumes stretch in the maintenance years (beyond about 2years). Then what's a person to do if they haven't learned to make healthier food choices during the honeymoon period?

Sorry for mis-understanding that you HAD made a healthier version. I'm all about that. But I didn't intuit that from your original post.

So I'll be sure to stay off your posts in future and avoid a lot of backlash for having a different opinion and approach than you.

Edited by FluffyChix

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, FluffyChix said:

And I do not consider eating every 3-4hours excessive. I do not consider eating 1.5-2oz of Protein per meal and 1/2-1oz of veg per meal having a total 1/2c volume per meal excessive either. Hell! I'd love to be eating 3/4c volume per meal right now. But just because I "can" doesn't mean that would be "wise!"

I'm following my RDs plan to the letter of the law--down to her portions and daily Protein goals.

That's exactly my point. Your plan is working for you. I can see that you are making healthy and smart choices. Just because the portions are larger and your meals are more frequent than mine, does not mean I think that you are on a slippery slope, or are in anyway endangering your long term success.

I also want to point out, that I didn't say that your portions or meal frequency was excessive. Just that they were too large and frequent for ME. That was the point I was trying to make. That even though I have seen you post what and how you eat, I never jumped in and told you that you'd become a statistic and you'd have a 60 lb regain. Because i believe that even though your meal plan is different than mine, it's not inherently wrong, just as I believe having one portion of mac & cheese is not inherently wrong.

41 minutes ago, FluffyChix said:

So I'll be sure to stay off your posts in future and avoid a lot of backlash for having a different opinion and approach than you.

I actually hope you don't stay off my posts. This board needs different perspectives. No one here knows everything or has all the answers. I don't want to live in an echo chamber.

But what I took issue with was the jumping to conclusions and the tone. You went straight to this dire scenario of regain. I'm certainly open to being questioned on my choices. I'll readily admit I could have made a healthier choice last night. But I reject the idea that this is a sign I'm playing with fire. I think everyone likes to be given the benefit of the doubt, and that's what you didn't do.

I hope you don't take this as any kind of attack @FluffyChix. I respect your opinions, even if I don't always agree with them :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

How are all the February sleevers doing? How about updates?
I'll be 6 weeks post-op on Monday. Everything's going pretty well except that my mid-section is still very tender. Not the incisions, they're healed, but about a 3-in spot halfway between by sternum and my belly button. Anyone else have that?


Hello, I experienced the same exact thing. It seemed everybody healed by the first week except me. And I was still very tender and even getting sharp pains on my right side. It was really annoying bc I wanted to start strength training by the 6th week but was still in pain. I could stretch or reach for anything without being in pain. I’m on my 8th week tomorrow. It’s better but still get that side pain if I bend down to get something. Hang in there


Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, amend68 said:


Hello, I experienced the same exact thing. It seemed everybody healed by the first week except me. And I was still very tender and even getting sharp pains on my right side. It was really annoying bc I wanted to start strength training by the 6th week but was still in pain. I could stretch or reach for anything without being in pain. I’m on my 8th week tomorrow. It’s better but still get that side pain if I bend down to get something. Hang in there

Thank you! How are you doing otherwise? Are you on solid foods?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thank you! How are you doing otherwise? Are you on solid foods?


Yup. Everything is going down good. Haven’t had any issues eating. Had shrimp cocktail this weekend and was great. How is your pain? Still there?


Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, amend68 said:

Yup. Everything is going down good. Haven’t had any issues eating. Had shrimp cocktail this weekend and was great. How is your pain? Still there?

Yeah, it's still sore but I see the doctor this morning for my 6-week follow-up. I'll see what he says. I'm still on very small portions of anything solid-about a tablespoon or maybe a little more. Hardly seems worth it to dirty the plate!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

How is everyone doing? What are y’all eating?! Can’t believe it’s been over two months now!


Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

How is everyone doing? What are y’all eating?! Can’t believe it’s been over two months now!




Hi! How are you??? I can't believe I've made the 60-day mark. Its bananas!!! I'm down 42 lbs which my doc said was good especially since I had my thyroid removed 3 weeks after the VSG. I look forward to everyone's response. [emoji4]

Sent from my SM-G955U using BariatricPal mobile app

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm doing well! I'm down 40 lbs a 11 weeks out. I feel really good too!

Weirdest thing though. Not a single person who doesn't know I've had surgery has commented on my weight loss. I'm at a quarterly meeting this week, and I definitely thought some of my colleagues would say something, not a peep!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm down 47# since mid-February, so I'm thrilled. Still can only eat minuscule (.5 oz) portions of solid Proteins (like chicken) but tolerating everything else ok. I've been exhausted for the last month and for the last week had dizzy spells, so the doctor has sent me back to the cardiologist that I saw before surgery. He thinks my blood pressure is maybe too low. I'll see the cardiologist tomorrow and see what he thinks. So far, no-one who didn't know I had surgery has commented on my weight loss, either, but I'll assume that they don't want to go where angels fear to tread!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I am down 41lbs since February. I eat a lot of baked chicken in small amounts along with drinking 2 Protein Shakes. I have gotten a lot of compliments about my weightloss but I haven’t told anyone about weightloss sx. I workout 5 days a week and I have recently started weight training.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I've lost 32 pounds since my surgery on 2/14. I feel fantastic! I'm three pounds away from my goal weight. Only problem...most of my clothes are way too big. It's a great problem to have, but I can't afford to buy all new clothes. I can sew, so I'm thinking about taking in many of my items. Or selling my stuff on Poshmark and using the profits to buy smaller clothes.

Well, it's not really a problem...it's just a challenge!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

64 days post op, and 35 pounds down. I feel like my weight loss is slowing down but when I somehow get busy and forget all about it, my weight seems as if it is suddenly dropping. Two weeks ago I started planning a weekend trip and picked out the outfits, and now one of the dresses is TOO big! LOL. I dug in my closet to find another outfit, saw something that wouldn't even button up back when I was pre-op and thought that there's no way it fits. It fit like a glove with some room to breathe! This surgery is truly a miracle. There are many ways you could slip up, sure, but it does 90% of the work for you.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

25 minutes ago, Polymorphing said:

There are many ways you could slip up, sure, but it does 90% of the work for you.

I think 90% is a bit generous. You've still got all the work of planning your healthy meals and keeping the craving monsters in check. For me, it's more like a 50-50 partnership

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

  • Trending Products

  • Trending Topics

  • Recent Status Updates

    • Prdgrdma

      So I guess after gastric bypass surgery, I cant eat flock chips because they are fried???  They sell them on here so I thought I could have them. So high in protein and no carbs.  They don't bother me at all.  Help. 
      · 1 reply
      1. NickelChip

        It's possible for a very high fat meal to cause dumping in some (30% or so) gastric bypass patients, although it's more likely to be triggered by high sugar, or by the high fat/high sugar combo (think ice cream, donuts). Dietitians will tell you to never do anything that isn't 100% healthy ever again. Realistically, you should aim for a good balance of protein, carbs, and fat each day. Should you eat fried foods every day? No. Is it possible they will make you sick? Maybe. Is it okay to eat some to see what happens and have them for a treat every now and again? Yes.

    • NovelTee

      I'm not at all hungry on this liquid pre-op diet, but I miss the sensation of chewing. It's been about two weeks––surgery is in two days––and I can't imagine how I'll feel a couple of weeks post-op. Tonight, I randomly stumbled upon a mukbang channel on YouTube, and it was strangely soothing... is it just me, or is this a thing? 
      · 1 reply
      1. NickelChip

        I actually watched cooking shows during my pre-op, like Great British Baking Show. It was a little bizarre, but didn't make me hungry. I think it was also soothing in a way.

    • Clueless_girl

      How do you figure out what your ideal weight should be? I've had a figure in my head for years, but after 3 mths of recovery I'm already almost there. So maybe my goal should be lower?
      · 3 replies
      1. NickelChip

        Well, there is actually a formula for "Ideal Body Weight" and you can use a calculator to figure it out for you. This one also does an adjusted weight for a person who starts out overweight or obese. https://www.mdcalc.com/calc/68/ideal-body-weight-adjusted-body-weight

        I would use that as a starting point, and then just see how you feel as you lose. How you look and feel is more important than a number.

      2. Clueless_girl

        I did find different calculators but I couldn't find any that accounted for body frame. But you're right, it is just a number. It was just disheartening to see that although I lost 60% of my excess weight, it's still not in the "normal/healthy" range..

      3. NickelChip

        I think it's important to remember that the weight charts and BMI ranges were developed a very long time ago and only intended to be applied to people who have never been overweight or obese. Those numbers aren't for us. When you are larger, especially for a long time, your body develops extra bone to support the weight. Your organs get a little bigger to handle the extra mass. Your entire infrastructure increases so you can support and function with the extra weight. That doesn't all go away just because you burn off the excess fat. If you still had a pair of jeans from your skinniest point in life and then lost weight to get to the exact number on the scale you were when those jeans fit you, chances are they would be a little baggy now because you would actually be thinner than you were, even though the scale and the BMI chart disagree. When in doubt, listen to the jeans, not the scale!

    • Aunty Mamo

      Tomorrow marks two weeks since surgery day and while I'm feeling remarkably well and going about just about every normal activity, I did wind up with a surface abscess on on of my incision sights and was put on an antibiotic that made me so impacted that it took me more than two hours to eliminate yesterday and scared the hell out of me. Now there's Miralax in all my beverages that aren't Smooth Move tea. I cannot experience that again. I shouldn't have to take Ativan to go to the lady's. I really looking forward to my body getting with the program again. 
      I'm in day three of the "puree" stage of eating and despite the strange textures, all of the savory flavors seem decadent. 
      I timed this surgery so that I'd be recovering during my spring break. That was a good plan. Today is a state holiday and the final day of break. I feel really strong to return to school tomorrow. 
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • BeanitoDiego

      Now that I'm in maintenance mode, I'm getting a into a routine for my meals. Every day, I start out with 8-16 ounces of water, and then a proffee, which I have come to look forward to even the night before. My proffees are simply a black coffee with a protein powder added. There are three products that I cycle through: Premier Vanilla, Orgain Vanilla, and Dymatize Vanilla.
      For second breakfast on workdays, I will have a low-fat yogurt with two tablespoons of PBFit and two teaspoons of no sugar added dried cherries. I will have ingested 35-45 grams of protein at this point between the two breakfasts, with 250-285 calories, and about 20 carbs.
      For second breakfast on non-workdays, I will prepare two servings of plain, instant oatmeal with a tablespoon of an olive oil-based spread. This means I will have had 34 grams of protein, 365 calories, and 38 carbs. Non-workdays are when I am being very active with training sessions, so I allow myself more carbohydrate fuel.
      Snacks on any day are always mixed nuts, even when I am travelling. I will have 0.2 cups of a blend that I make myself. It consists of dry roasted peanuts, cashews, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, pistachios, and Brazil nuts. This is 5 grams of protein, 163 calories, and 7 carbs.
      Breakfast and snacks have been the easiest to nail down. Lunch and dinner have more variables, and I prepare enough for leftovers. I concentrate on protein first, and then add vegetables. Typically tempeh, tofu, or Field Roast products with roasted or sautéed vegetables. Today, I will be eating leftovers from last night. Two ounces of tempeh with four ounces of roasted vegetables that consist of red and yellow sweet peppers, sweet potatoes, small purple potatoes, zucchini, and carrots. I will add a tablespoon of olive oil-based spread, break up 3 walnuts to sprinkle of top, and garnish with two tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese. This particular meal will be 19 grams of protein, 377 calories, and 28 grams of carbs. Bear in mind that I do eat more carbs when I am not working, and I focus on ingesting healthy carbs instead of breads/crackers/chips/crisps.
      It's a helluva journey and I'm thankful to be on it!
       
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
  • Recent Topics

  • Hot Products

  • Sign Up For
    Our Newsletter

    Follow us for the latest news
    and special product offers!
  • Together, we have lost...
      lbs

    PatchAid Vitamin Patches

    ×