SparkPeople

Hi, All! I recently sent this info about my use of SparkPeople to an OH member and thought that I'd update here also. I'd be interested in knowing what you think about my basic plan. My Nutritionist said to gradually add calories now to slow my loss as my weight nears 150 +/- lbs; my height is 5' 1.5". I've done this and feel fine, but haven't gone near the scale. LOL Here's the cross-post info... ....Using SparkPeople really helps with daily food monitoring, but I always weigh my protein anyway. It's the only way that I can be certain that I've actually eaten enough of it. My calories hover around 850, but that's my weekly average. Some days are much lower; some much higher. What I look for is the area that is "too low" at the end of the day. If my fats are down, I'll add about 1/4 oz of mixed nuts....Carbs-- 1 oz brown rice, 1/4 whole wheat pita...Protein-- cheese stick, etc. It's a balancing act on one hand and a calorie "trick" on the other. I have been lucky that I have not had a stall. My best guess is that my body does not "think" that it is starving so the starvation mode doesn't kick in. I vary the amount of calories that I eat and alway include 2 higher calories days. Emotionally, this causes a bit of anxiety because I don't want to miss the opportunity to lose weight during this year. To counter that I simply take a weekly average, which comforts me a lot. I had a 1,100 day last week, but my average was around 850 again. .... If you decide to try SparkPeople, I'd start a separate hotmail account because they send a lot of (good) info that you might not want to have to sort through on your regular site. You'll be able to add foods that are not listed in their database easily. I usually drink 64 oz of water each day, which can be logged in on the site. One thing that is very helpful to me is that I've been able to modify my nutritional goals on the site to read: Calories 1000-1100, Carbs 100-120, Fats 25-50, Protein 50-70 As these are goals and I am not at my maintenance weight my daily totals are lower than the above numbers, but not by much. My Nutritionist OK'd these ranges. BTW, I use the mantra, "It tastes like dogfood." to stop urges for foods that I should avoid. Hope that this helps. Keep in touch. Ro

I think the basic numbers are great but my nut. always has said 70-80 on the proteins so you could go a little higher there. Now that I'm on maintenance I'm supposed to have 1000-1200 calories so yours sound ok for slowing down loss. I have trouble with the fats because I use too many fat-free products and don't like to see the fat numbers add up so it is a struggle to get in enough fats daily and still keep my calories low. Molly

The 70-80 g protein is probably more realistic, especially in maintenance. I still have problems with the density of meats and cod. I was "sick" again last night after eating some yummy pork roast way to fast. DOPE! How about switching to Light or Reduced products? I know that nuts use up a lot of the daily calorie count, but they are packed with nutrients so I keep them in my plan. The PA at my Surgeon's suggested adding extra virgin olive oil to veggies to boost the fats. I sometime**** the Catamala / Katamala (?) olives, but they're addictive to me. I'm a bit resistant to upping the calories too much as I still have to loss more weight. My Nutritionist feels that the PS will be more successful, if I am not too slimmed down. I am still not in the overweight range! Soon, but not yet. Slowing down on purpose seems counterproductive. I know that it is best to start the slow-down now, but it is easier said than done. Ro

I just don't eat the kinds of foods that lend themselves to additional fat anymore. Used to eat sandwiches and toast where you could add margarine or mayo but that's over for me. My best bets are in where I use salad dressings such as on meats and the occasional salad. Gotta wait till i finish up my bottles of fat free ranch dressing. There are two more of them in my pantry so it'll be awhile. But stuff like that helps the chicken and fish go down so I keep using it. The low fat ranch is good and will help with the fats but I lament the higher calories. And I don't eat enough hot veggies to add olive oil to them. Am too busy working on the proteins. Nuts are too dangerous for me. Once they're open I can't stop till they're gone. So I only buy as much of them as I need for recipes and then make sure not to have extra. While I was losing I'd buy nuts and portion them out into small cups and did ok but I know that my willpower has weakened way too much for that tactic now. I'd just finish up one cup of nuts and then move onto the next cup so no more. This whole battle is going to be a lifelong daily struggle I can tell. Nothing in my brain has been fixed. Molly

I like the FF ranch idea for chicken and fish, as I still have some meat issues. The olive oil is for grilling veggies... very yummy. I think that the wrought iron pan may also up the iron in the foods that it is grilled on, but that might not be correct. I had to freeze my mixed nuts in snack bags and ration them out in 1/4 oz servings, as they are a trigger food; actually the real culprit was peanut butter. I still have a problem with the Bare Naked Granola! It's frozen too, but I'm leaving it that way until I can handle the urge to keep eating and eating. I have no idea why this food gives me so much trouble. I was never a big granola fan before WLS. Ro