Hey all. Like I’ve said before I am starting on this journey. I had my first consultation appt on Aug 31, 21. I’ve completed y lab work and psych appt. Psych has cleared me for surgery. I have my nutritionist appt after my 1st official WLS weigh in appt. I AM SO WORRIED that I won’t qualify. The doctor told me that I have to lose 15-20# before I could have the surgery. My thoughts were if I could lose weight that easily then why have the surgery. The problem… I’ve been watching what I’ve been eating, working out 2-3 times a week, eating low carb, low fat, drinking the 64 oz of water, 90g of protein, and the one meal a day; YET I’ve lost zero and gained 2. I’m starting to think I am cursed. My family has been helping me by not bringing crap home, making sure they are being supportive. What am I doing wrong? Has anyone else gone through this? I’m trying to stay positive, but I feel this is my last resort to living life. Please help…all advice is welcomed.

P.S. My genetics are baddddddd….. I want to be around to see my baby marry. She’s only 11 and I may not see it.

Don't freak out. There could be a host of reasons why you gained two pounds. Maybe your food's extra salty. Maybe you're under a lot of stress. Maybe it's almost time for the monthly visitor.

But do track EVERYTHING. Download MyFitnessPal or MyMacros+ or Baritastic and log LITERALLY EVERYTHING you put in your mouth BEFORE you put it in your mouth. Including water. Including coffee. Including the sugar and cream in your coffee. Including the oil you cook in. Including salad dressing.

Weigh things out—don't look at a piece of chicken and say well that's gotta be three ounces, get a $15 scale off Amazon or at Walmart and weigh it out. If you can't figure out how to track it, don't eat it. (You'll need to do this at some point after surgery anyway.)

Start "auditioning" protein shakes and protein waters. You'll be surprised how full they make you even pre-surgery, and most are 150-200 calories and give you anywhere from 20-40 g of protein. Start by substituting one meal with the protein shakes. Once you're past that, substitute another meal with a protein shake (add a little salad or something with just a spoonful of dressing if you're still hungry).

Drink a cup of water before you eat if you're prone to binging so your stomach's fuller.

You got this. It'll come off and your surgeon will say, yep, you're good to go.

I agree with weighing everything out and tracking everything that goes into your mouth. I have only ever been successful at losing weight when doing this. I like MyFitnessPal. The free version is fine, but it does have a lot of ads.

When you say "the one meal a day"... what does that mean? Are you only eating one meal a day? What are you eating the rest of the day? Were you told to only eat one meal a day?

Make sure you are getting enough fluids Water, decaf coffee or iced tea, crystal light or similar beverages, diet juice (5 calories per 8 oz serving) etc. I drank about 120 oz or more when I was trying to lose weight prior to surgery. It gave me something to do and kept me more full.

On 09/20/2021 at 00:33, vikingbeast said:

Don't freak out. There could be a host of reasons why you gained two pounds. Maybe your food's extra salty. Maybe you're under a lot of stress. Maybe it's almost time for the monthly visitor.

But do track EVERYTHING. Download MyFitnessPal or MyMacros+ or Baritastic and log LITERALLY EVERYTHING you put in your mouth BEFORE you put it in your mouth. Including Water. Including coffee. Including the sugar and cream in your coffee. Including the oil you cook in. Including Salad Dressing.

Weigh things out—don't look at a piece of chicken and say well that's gotta be three ounces, get a $15 scale off Amazon or at Walmart and weigh it out. If you can't figure out how to track it, don't eat it. (You'll need to do this at some point after surgery anyway.)

Start "auditioning" Protein Shakes and Protein waters. You'll be surprised how full they make you even pre-surgery, and most are 150-200 calories and give you anywhere from 20-40 g of protein. Start by substituting one meal with the protein shakes. Once you're past that, substitute another meal with a Protein Shake (add a little salad or something with just a spoonful of dressing if you're still hungry).

Drink a cup of water before you eat if you're prone to binging so your stomach's fuller.

You got this. It'll come off and your surgeon will say, yep, you're good to go.

This is excellent advice on all respects and I couldn’t agree more!

Also, I wanted to note that low fat low carb isn’t the best thing for dropping lbs quickly. I’d recommend keeping your fats up higher so you can reach ketosis. This will cause you to shed water quicker and jumpstart the fatloss if you are wanting to go the low carb route.

Thank you all for the good advice. To answer some of your questions: my team wanted me to substitute 2 protein shakes for meals. So I usually eat a sensible lunch since I work night shift and I’m not as busy vs day shift (I’m a nurse). I log everything before I even put it in my mouth. If I don’t eat it all, I don’t alter the entry’s. I keep the calories for it. I think the weigh gain was due to my monthly BFF. However, I’m still anxious and worried about having to lose this 15-20 pounds. I know I will probably lose most of the weight when I start the “liver shrinking” diet. I’m just being ultra tough on myself because I’m tired of not living due to the excess weight. I’m eager to see what the nutritionist has to say. I use my fitness pal app to log everything. I am going to buy a food scale tomorrow. I am a pescatarian so I have to be very aware of my foods to ensure I am getting my protein in my food as well.

when y’all were going through the beginning, were you nervous about the pre weight loss before surgery? How did you sike yourself out?

8 hours ago, Tysheena84 said:

Thank you all for the good advice. To answer some of your questions: my team wanted me to substitute 2 Protein Shakes for meals. So I usually eat a sensible lunch since I work night shift and I’m not as busy vs day shift (I’m a nurse). I log everything before I even put it in my mouth. If I don’t eat it all, I don’t alter the entry’s. I keep the calories for it. I think the weigh gain was due to my monthly BFF. However, I’m still anxious and worried about having to lose this 15-20 pounds. I know I will probably lose most of the weight when I start the “liver shrinking” diet. I’m just being ultra tough on myself because I’m tired of not living due to the excess weight. I’m eager to see what the nutritionist has to say. I use my fitness pal app to log everything. I am going to buy a food scale tomorrow. I am a pescatarian so I have to be very aware of my foods to ensure I am getting my Protein in my food as well.

when y’all were going through the beginning, were you nervous about the pre weight loss before surgery? How did you sike yourself out?

I was just told to “try to lose some weight” but it was pretty low key. Don’t stress about it. Stress makes it harder to lose.

That said, I had to talk myself down multiple times, convinced I was doing the wrong thing. I’m pretty sure it’s the right thing now I’m on the other side, honestly.