Over a month now

Hi fellow "May Babies" -

My surgery was now 7 weeks ago, and I have a lot of the same issues as most of you. while I've had a pretty big weight loss (40+ lbs) in these 7 weeks, I did have a 10-day stall where I did not lose a thing. Everyone loses at a different rate and in a different way, we need to ALL remember that. During my stall was when I went down 3 dress sizes. I, too, had several sizes stashed as "just in case a miracle occurs" bins in my garage, so i haven't bought too many clothes, but I'm almost through all fo those clothes. I actually have a pretty good amount of clothing to last me until I lose another 20-25 lbs, I hope.

I have challenges with gettign in my water and protein every day, as well as enough food. I try to make sure that I try to eat 3 x a day, 2 protein shakes, and water in between all of that, but I get busy at work and while I'm chasing around my son - if I can just get thr drinking during those ties I'd probably at least meet my water goals.  I keep trying every day and try not to get discouraged if I don't make my goal.

I eat most things, but my faves are ricotta cheese with splenda, modified chicken taco salad ( no lettuce), scrambled eggs with melted mexican velveta, and my morning protein shake which consists of Vanilla Protein powder, ice cubes, and Trop 50 w a 1/2 banana or a few chunks of frozen Mango blended. I sometimes change the protein shake to be choc peanut butter (no sugar added peanut butter) banana or Vanilla hazenlut or something, but I miss fruit so much that my AM protein shake is usually fruity.  I also try to have an adkins Carb Control or EAS Myoplex Chocolate or Strawberry ready-made protein shakes in the evening, though I often just don't feel like I have room for it.

I have been having a lot of tenderness and pain in my new stomach area, and today after I called my surgeon's office for the second time this week they told me that I may have a hernia or have strained my healing incisions. I have to take it easy and for now until I see my doc, I'll have to rely on pain meds to keep me comfortable. Big bummer, becuase I'd like to start riding my bike and lifting light weights to change it up a bit. I also want to play some tennis, but that will have to wait for a while becasue with this pain there is no way I can run (and bouce around like that!).

I am most amazed that I suddenly no longer snore - I was as loud as a jackhammer for years, and now nothing. I still apnea, but not as often and shoudl sleep with my CPAP more often - I'm trying. Its hard to use when I wake up with my mouth incredibly DRY, though, but I'm trying to do it more.

That's it in a nutshell - it's great to hear from everyone as to how you're doing and what challenges you are having. I wish each and every one of you success and good luck, and dont' hesitate to message me if you'd like - friends are what keep us all going and I'm always open to new ones!

Happy 4th!

Sandra 

Hello All!!! I would like to say congratulations to each of you!  I am needing some advice.... as you can see I had RNY May 5th, 09.  My losing is horrible. I do all that I am supposed to, or at least I think I am. On the 25th My PCP increased my insulin so now I get to poke myself 8 times a day, with blood checks and shots. I know that I am losing inches this I can tell, but I am so tired and crabby and I am constantly fighting the battle to graze. I am so disgusted with my weight loss. I have tried to increase my walking to only have to increase my pain medicine (bulging disc), to having to increase my fiber cause I cannot poop.
What I am asking is if someone or all of you could tell me the following.......
1. What do you eat?
2. How much do you eat at a time?
3. How many times a day do you eat?
4. How many calories a day?
5. What are the portions of what you eat?
I guess I really need something to follow! I have the owners manual, I follow it but I am  still miserable.
I hope that I am not asking to much. I am really desparate!

I am by no means an expert, but this is what works for me. I am not overly concerned with losing super fast, but I am concerned with feeling well while I am doing the losing. I can't stomach the protein shakes, so I get all my protein thru the food I eat daily.

1. What do you eat? Meat (chicken, ground beef, bacon, ham, roast, steak), cheese, eggs, yogurt, fruit (watermelon, strawberries, cantloupes & grapes so far and only small amounts) peanut butter, tuna
 2. How much do you eat at a time?  About 1/4 to 1/2 cup at each meal depending on what I eat.
3. How many times a day do you eat?  Breakfast (8-9am)  Lunch (12-1pm) Snack (3-4 pm) Dinner (6-7pm)
4. How many calories a day?  about 750-800 cal a day
5. What are the portions of what you eat?  1oz of meat at a time 

I log all my food and exercise on sparkpeople.com. It calculates it for you and is super user friendly..

Hi MsMarilyn -

I m also not ean expert and I am very much just not starting to really regulate what I'm eating and introducing new structure. at first, it was all I could do to get in my water, Protein, and fod, and I always fell short on at least one of them.

1. What do you eat? Meat (chicken, ground beef, slowly stewed or cooked meats), Fish ( this is a big one for me and I eat fish at least 3 mels in a week, usually more like 5 inclusing tilapia sauteed in Pam and a lot of sashimi) cheese, eggs, yogurt - very little but workign on increasing it, fruit (watermelon, strawberries, raspberries, nectarine, blueberries,cantloupes & grapes so far and only small amounts) peanut butter - reduced sugar, tuna, refried beans from taco bell, ricotta w/ a packet of Splenda in it, string cheese in hot mozzarella, canned green beans and an occasional small piece of potato or cracker (but any mor ethen 2 makes me dump a little)
 2. How much do you eat at a time?  About 1/4 to 1/2 cup at each meal depending on what I eat.
3. How many times a day do you eat?  7AM protein shake, Breakfast (9-9:30am)  Lunch (12-12:30pm) Snack (3-4 pm) Dinner (8-8:30pm), protein shake right afte I exercise, usually at 7:30
4. How many calories a day?  no idea, I don't count. then again, I don't eat greasy, fried foods, loads of cheese, no sugar, bread, pasta or rice - so it can't be a lot
5. What are the portions of what you eat? around 1-2 oz meat and a little bit of something else.


Hope that helps!

1. What do you eat?  Normally I have 1 to 2 shakes per day just because I am not usually hungry enough to eat 2 meals a day, also with food only there is no way I can get the protein I am suppose to have (over 70g a day)........ Type of foods I eat.  Chicken, hard boiled eggs done as egg salad (eggs cooked other ways have made me sick not sure why) Steak, shrimp scampi (love it) Lunch meat, string cheese, 98% fat free beef hotdogs with chili and lowfat cheese.  SF pudding with protein added, shakes, SF fudgesicles and popsicles and SF oatmeal.
2. How much do you eat at a time? When I eat food I eat 1/2 cup at a time or less
3. How many times a day do you eat? I always have a shake for breakfast, Lunch I will have a shake or lunch meat and a string cheese and for dinner I will usually have what the family has without the carbs.  I will sometimes have 2 snacks a day if there needed to hold me off until the next meal
4. How many calories a day? 500 to 650
5. What are the portions of what you eat? When I eat food it is 1/2 cup total per meal, shakes are 8oz

1. What do you eat? I eat about anything that I want, just in much smaller quantities than I used to (and of course no sugar or white carbs)

2. How much do you eat at a time? 3-4 oz at a time. Sometimes more, depending on what it is.  Salad I can eat two plates full, last night I ate the meat of a whole lobster.  Just depends.

3. How many times a day do you eat? Breakfast, snack, lunch, dinner, and snack

4. How many calories a day? I eat between 700-1100 per day.  I also exercise 3-5 times a week and notice that I feel a lot better since I upped my calories to closer to a thousand per day. 

5. What are the portions of what you eat? I eat mostly protein with a little carbs or veggies.  I haven't been good at working fruit back in to my diet yet and don't eat nearly as many veggies as I used to.  I have a snack every night, whether it be decaf coffee with SF torani syrup or SF pudding with whip cream.

I lost 20 pounds the two weeks prior to surgery and have lost almost 45 pounds since.  Most of it I lost the first two weeks after surgery and I am losing slower now but I feel a lot better and have more energy. 

I track all of my food on the dailyplate.com which is a free website to use.  It is great and gives me what I want for a calorie goal for my weight and to lose four pounds per week.  I don't actually lose that much but it gives me a goal.

I think we are all different and as I said I lost most of that right before and after surgery. I believe it was mostly water weight and now I am losing real weight.  It didn't come on over night and it's not going to go away over night. I am happy with a couple of pounds/week now. At first I was discouraged, but I'm over that now.

Good luck to you all.  I enjoy reading how we are all doing.

Hi, I'll be 7 weeks out on Wednesday.  Had my very first really sick experience last week. Ordered an omelet at a restaurant and it came with a very small potato cake which I ate. I've had no problems with potatoes but this must have been deep fried. I spent the next 45 minutes thinking I was going to throw up at any minute, though I didn't.  And I felt queasy for the rest of that entire day.

I track my food and I'm averaging 800-900 calories a day. I exercise at least one hour six days a week.  I'm generally between 60-70 grams protein  but I'm doing awful with my fluids. I really can't drink anything before noon because it makes me naseous and with not drinking before and after meals, it doesn't leave much "free" time to drink fluids, even having a water bottle in my hand all afternoon. 

I've lost 30 pounds so far but still haven't dropped a clothing size which is depressing.  I could probably go down a size, but my old clothes still fit me so I haven't bought anything new yet. 

The hardest thing for me is that I just don' t enjoy food anymore.  Eating is more a chore than anything else. I accelerated to solid food very quickly and have already added salads and fruits back into my diet with no problem, which has helped, but there is still no real enjoyment in meals.  Will that get any better?

I totally LOVE that I don't enjoy food anymore!
Makes eating so much less important (other than because I need it to live).
All of the things I enjoyed before, are things I have no desire to eat now...weired huh?
I want/crave the things my body needs to live (protein chicken & tuna mainly).

It is truly amazing in the last two month's I have not once craved a Dr Pepper! And before I had to have Dr Pepper in my veins to function!

Around 7AM, for breakfast I usually have a protein shake, now with a half a banana and 1/2C skim milk blended in.

Snack - 4 oz. weigh****chers yogurt with 1/2 C sliced strawberries around 10.

Lunch is chicken or tuna salad, about 1/4C, plus a slice of cheese; or 4 small "mini-quiche" bites (see eggface's blogs on this site); or a scrambled egg and piece of cheese and one slice of pre-cooked bacon.

Dinner is similar to lunch, but I was told by my NUT to eat more veggies so now I start with 1/4C vegetable soup. Also started to put deli turkey (1 oz.) on 1/2 of a whole wheat wrap, drizzled with some non-fat raspberry salad dressing with a couple of lettuce leaves.

Snack after dinner is a protein shake, or a frozen protein/ice milk shake with fruit mixed in (see also eggface's blog), or a SF jello pudding with a tablespoon of unflavored protein mixed in.

Also during the day I mix up 20 oz. of water with a scoop of Strawberry Unjury powder and a single serve packet of crystal light lemonade for an extra 20 grams of protein as I sip my water.

The only things I have been sick on are pills that got stuck - twice. Threw up foamies and was sick for about 1/2 hour. Haven't tried either fried stuff or sugar. Don't want to test the limits.

Have eaten in restaurants - quiche one time (ate the top - ate a little too much); a shrimp scampi appetizer the other time - ate about half, husband finished the rest. Ate 3 bites of salad from his plate with no problems.

Don't drink with meals. Just came off a two week stall with no loss, then lost 6 pounds in 5 days. Go figure. 

Total calories range from 650 to 950, usually around 800. I get anywhere from 70-100 grams of protein (need 78 per day) according to NUT, try to stay between 60-80 carbs and watch the fat in stuff.

Just cleared for exercise and do either water aerobics, pilates or weights every day now (for the last week.) I feel great and am thrilled that this surgery is working although it is never fast enough, is it? Previously during a two week stall I would have cracked open a bottle of wine and ordered pizza; neither of which are options now.

Down 15 pounds prior to surgery and 26 since (approx. 6 weeks) for a total of 41 pounds so far. Down 2 pants sizes - 3X (22/24) to 1X (18), which are now getting big on me. Good thing I clothing in every size available!!

Love this forum and reading about where everyone else is. I'm setting no goals, just following directions and sitting back to enjoy the ride!

I am just shy of 7 weeks, and feeling great!  I have lost 29 pounds since surgery, and 50 since starting a 6 month weight loss program with my Insurance Company.  I seem to be losing the inches in the last week.  A few co workers (from different departments) have made comments about me melting away.  I was VERY open about my surgery and program, so they are all aware of my journey.  Most are aware of my struggles, so they are a great support system for me.  I had a hard time eating my protein early on, but am getting better at it.  I am a slow steady loser, but I will take it.  No long stalls (thank goodness) for more than 4 days. 

Early Morning Snack - Cream of Wheat
Breakfast -Protein Drink (I drank a Click for the first time today, they are the bomb)
Mid Morning Snack - LF Cheese/Ham
Lunch - egg salad, or chicken salad with Miracle Whip no mayo
Afternoon Snack - LF Cheese/Ham
Dinner  - Chicken or fish, veggie if room

If anyone knows a better schedule, please feel free to help!  And as for the Click drink, it does have Caffeine, which I didn't realize until i was flying around today, but boy it tasted good, and not like a protein drink!

Our journey started with the first step!