Why so slow???

[SummerEssence 130]

12.3 lbs if your on your 3rd month, so question what do you expect to lose 20lbs each month? Seem
Like your doing GREAT!

[SummerEssence 130]

Maybe lower your carbs to half. This might help, but with the ok from your doctor or nutritionist of course.

[temkins 71]

I'm a slow loser as well. Many of us are excited with first 20-25 lbs gone super-fast and easy, just within days post-op. In fact, that weight is nothing but Water. Our body requires more time and efforts to burn fat cells. And even so, it will first try to burn muscles, not fat. That's why it is important to focus on Protein and physical ex, specifically weights. I'm 10 months out and now every pound requires more and more efforts. Surgery is not an ultimate solution, but just an instrument which helps you eat less.

Also, try not to focus on food so much. Your meals description indicates, that you are too much into food. You should definitely pay attention to calories and fat/carbs/prot levels, but do not stay enslaved by the fridge, as this is exactly what brought all of us to surgery. Food is a fuel, not an excitement.

Personally, I'm still on my 4 Protein Drinks, which gives me around 700 calories and 120 grams of protein per day. The rest 500-600 calories come from fruits and veggies, which give a lot of water, good carbs and Fiber. Plus I'm trying to burn about 200-250 calories in the gym every day.

[Frustr8 7,886]

You didn't write this to me, rather my,BARI bud Crazie,Connie but there are partcles of wisdom here I also can use.I am on the immediate glide path to surgery it will be September,5th, I know from my Pre surgery attempts to,lose, I have the BMR,of a depressed slug so I will also,be a S-L-O-W,loser bit even if I don't win speed,records I will still lose. Took me 6-7 months to lose 35 lbs from my high weight, in the long run it shouldn't matter if it takes 18 months instead of a year. I will be becoming thinner, more fit, more healthy and I wouldn't have that without this major surgery. So I still shall be a winner too.

[CrazieConnie 27]

Everyone’s different, the day of surgery I was 325lbs and I lost 33 pounds in the first 3 months so I think you’re doing great! I compared myself too much to everyone else and thought I was losing too slow but my surgeon said I was losing what I should 🤷🏼‍♀️

Thank you!!

Sent from my SM-N950U using BariatricPal mobile app

[CrazieConnie 27]

Everyone’s different, the day of surgery I was 325lbs and I lost 33 pounds in the first 3 months so I think you’re doing great! I compared myself too much to everyone else and thought I was losing too slow but my surgeon said I was losing what I should 🤷🏼‍♀️

Thank you!!

Sent from my SM-N950U using BariatricPal mobile app

[CrazieConnie 27]

You didn't write this to me, rather my,BARI bud Crazie,Connie but there are partcles of wisdom here I also can use.I am on the immediate glide path to surgery it will be September,5th, I know from my Pre surgery attempts to,lose, I have the BMR,of a depressed slug so I will also,be a S-L-O-W,loser bit even if I don't win speed,records I will still lose. Took me 6-7 months to lose 35 lbs from my high weight, in the long run it shouldn't matter if it takes 18 months instead of a year. I will be becoming thinner, more fit, more healthy and I wouldn't have that without this major surgery. So I still shall be a winner too.

Thank you so much... And that's what I have to remember is I'm losing!! Slow or fast, I'm losing.... And I'm happy about that!

Sent from my SM-N950U using BariatricPal mobile app

[CrazieConnie 27]

Thanks everyone... I am thankful for the weight I have lost already and I know that without the surgery I wouldn't have lost that much... And yes I do need to stop comparing myself to others... Thanks everyone!!

Sent from my SM-N950U using BariatricPal mobile app

[Orchids&Dragons 9,046]

48 minutes ago, temkins said:

Personally, I'm still on my 4 Protein Drinks, which gives me around 700 calories and 120 grams of Protein per day. The rest 500-600 calories come from fruits and veggies, which give a lot of Water, good carbs and Fiber. Plus I'm trying to burn about 200-250 calories in the gym every day.

Off topic - but - Yours is the first post I've seen of anyone relying totally on protein drinks for their protein. May I ask why? I was afraid that I was depending too heavily on supplements, but you seem to be doing fine.

[CrankyMagpie 509]

My surgeon's nutritionists would tell you your problem is that you're having Snacks. They are very hard-line opposed to snacks; I'm pre-op (don't even have a firm date yet), and I already have heard them repeat "three meals per day and no snacking" multiple times. (I kind of hate these nutritionists. But that's my issue, and we're talking about you.)

Lots of other teams seem to be more moderate in their approach, and ultimately, as long as you're doing what your doctors and nutritionists tell you and making progress (at whatever speed), I feel like that's a good definition of success!

37 pounds down must feel really good! Are you having an easier time getting around? Wearing loose clothes that used to fit too tight before the surgery?

[TakingABreak 2,733]

4 minutes ago, crankymagpie said:

My surgeon's nutritionists would tell you your problem is that you're having Snacks. They are very hard-line opposed to snacks; I'm pre-op (don't even have a firm date yet), and I already have heard them repeat "three meals per day and no snacking" multiple times. (I kind of hate these nutritionists. But that's my issue, and we're talking about you.)

And I will tell you from experience that Snacks is not the problem. Snacks are almost necessary in the early stages to meet your nutritional goals. Unless you have a Bariatric NUT, which I'd be surprised if you do, they don't have a firm grasp on our stomach capacity and how our anatomy is limiting. I've had to educate my NUT on certain things. I'm not saying they all do, but they forget that the things that work for regular people who are dieting, or eating healthy, don't always work for us. There is nothing wrong with snacks to meet your goals.

I don't want to toot my own horn but I lost 100lbs 5 months post op, 128lbs overall. And I eat 3 snacks per day. My typical meal plan looks like this:

8:00a- breakfast
11:00a- snack
1:30p- lunch
4:00p- snack
7:00p-dinner
9:00p- snack (almost always is FairLife milk)

Obviously times vary, but very typical for me to have 3 snacks per day.

[CrankyMagpie 509]

I dunno, the nutritionists I have to meet with work with the bariatric surgeon, so I had kind of assumed they were bariatric nutritionists. I've never asked, though. (And honestly? I am not impressed with all of their levels of knowledge. The one seems pretty cool, and I at least like and trust her. The other two just have a bunch of rules memorized and don't listen and don't seem to know how to adjust to patients with different needs. I am having a lot of trouble separating their useful insights from their dogma.)

Anyway, it's reassuring that Snacks can be a part of a healthy post-sleeve lifestyle, so thank you! Really, knowing what I do about the amount of food that'll fit in a post-op tummy, I had kind of imagined Protein Shakes would be needed to hit the Protein goals. Maybe these nutritionists just aren't counting those as "snacks."

[TakingABreak 2,733]

5 minutes ago, crankymagpie said:

I had kind of imagined Protein Shakes would be needed to hit the Protein goals. Maybe these nutritionists just aren't counting those as "snacks."

In the beginning I would use Protein Shakes to supplement, but I don't anymore. On a regular day, I get 100% of Protein by food. I'm lucky that I like protein rich Snacks like Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, hard boiled eggs, ect.

I've also been on a 1,000 calorie diet since about 8 weeks post op. Goes to show, different strokes for different folks.

[temkins 71]

Just now, Orchids&Dragons said:

Off topic - but - Yours is the first post I've seen of anyone relying totally on Protein Drinks for their Protein. May I ask why? I was afraid that I was depending too heavily on supplements, but you seem to be doing fine.

After the surgery it turned out that I'm no longer tolerating meats. I can eat a little bit before my stomach riots, but that amount was far not enough to get my Proteins. I also tried Beans, tofu, cottage cheese, greek yogurts etc as a source of protein, but those have various negative sides, such as gas, fats, sugars and so on. Finally I realized, that I was now even more focused on foods, than I used to be before the WLS.

I decided to go back to shakes, but discussed that with my NUT first. Her only concern was that I might have psychological issues with relying on a single boring food, which might be considered as a low-quality life. Other than that, there are simply no solid arguments against relying fully on supplements. One may say that shakes are bad chemistry and not healthy. But we could say that about anything we get from a grocery store, right?

That said, my 4 shakes (Premier Protein, which I personally enjoy) provides over 200% of daily proteins, 100% of selected Vitamins and minerals (+ I'm adding extra post-bariatric vitamins as recommended by NUT), 20% of fat, 8% of carbs - with very low sugars, and just 640 calories. Basically, I take one shake (11 oz) as a full meal every 3 hours, starting from 9am. On the top of that I eat fruits and some vegetables in between, but mostly afternoon. If I want some Snacks late after 7pm, I crave berries or melon. So far doing fine.

If I go out with my family or friends, I'm not going nuts and eat whatever is served - my sleeve just doesn't let me go too far

[Orchids&Dragons 9,046]

4 minutes ago, temkins said:

After the surgery it turned out that I'm no longer tolerating meats. I can eat a little bit before my stomach riots, but that amount was far not enough to get my Proteins. I also tried Beans, tofu, cottage cheese, greek yogurts etc as a source of Protein, but those have various negative sides, such as gas, fats, sugars and so on. Finally I realized, that I was now even more focused on foods, than I used to be before the WLS.

I decided to go back to shakes, but discussed that with my NUT first. Her only concern was that I might have psychological issues with relying on a single boring food, which might be considered as a low-quality life. Other than that, there are simply no solid arguments against relying fully on supplements. One may say that shakes are bad chemistry and not healthy. But we could say that about anything we get from a grocery store, right?

That said, my 4 shakes (Premier Protein, which I personally enjoy) provides over 200% of daily Proteins, 100% of selected Vitamins and minerals (+ I'm adding extra post-bariatric Vitamins as recommended by NUT), 20% of fat, 8% of carbs - with very low sugars, and just 640 calories. Basically, I take one shake (11 oz) as a full meal every 3 hours, starting from 9am. On the top of that I eat fruits and some vegetables in between, but mostly afternoon. If I want some Snacks late after 7pm, I crave berries or melon. So far doing fine.

If I go out with my family or friends, I'm not going nuts and eat whatever is served - my sleeve just doesn't let me go too far

Thank you. By nature I much prefer fruits/veggies to meat so this kind of diet really appeals to me. And it's much less to think about!