Close to 2 years out and need help VETS input appreciated

I have had success with my sleeve. I have also been slipping (bad). It's a LIFESTYLE change the sleeve can't do the work if I don't! It's frustrating I have been at 230 for months. I need to get back to basics and due to moving out of state I missed my one year followup in the fall and probably need bloodwork etc I am VERY tired. 

For those of you 2 years or more out to lose what calorie range would you recommend, and carb grams less than 30... or even lower? I have a followup with a WL surgeon here to help me with bloodwork etc in a few weeks but would love input from you all here. 

I feel like I am hungry so much more often. could I have stretched my sleeve? I hope I didn't ruin my sleeve :(

Also the BIGGEST question, in MEASUREMENTS how much volume of food do you eat in a meal... 1/2 cup etc? 

Any words of encouragement and inspiration would help. Sleep and exercise has been lagging also changing that. I went through an out of state move, a separation and now marriage counseling so there's a lot going on and I really need to  take care of myself but due to not taking the time in support groups and followups I feel sort of clueless too. It's not easy anymore like it is in the beginning, but that's ok I am willing to do the work. Please share your knowledge and stories!

THANK YOU!!!!!

Since you aren't at your goal weight (or I'm assuming a healthy weight for you), you must go back to weight loss mode.  You know what that means:  80 grams of protein, 40 grams of carb, 80-100 oz. of water per day.  AND 7 hours of sleep per night 

It's doubtful that you "ruined" your sleeve.  The culprit to your increased hunger is that you have slipped "badly" (your words) and I'm sure it's with carbs.  Carbs will make you HUNGRY - super hungry!  You have to cut those out immediately.  

I'm just a bit over 2 years out and I can eat 1 c. of food - or to make it simpler, I can eat about 3-4 oz. of dense protein and 1/2 c. of some veggies.  Can I eat more?  Sure!  Just because you CAN eat more doesn't mean you SHOULD eat more.  

You'll probably have to white knuckle it for 3-4 days to get over the worst of the carb withdrawal...but you can do this!!  

Do you recommend 3 meals a day..no snacks or with snacks?

Depends on if you are a diabetic trying to control your blood sugar with food and exercise.  That would be me...and I have to have to do a small snack because I routinely go 6 hours in between my meals.  

I think that this far out it's entirely possible to get all your nutrition in 3 meals with no snacks.  I would recommend that course of action.  I'd do it if I could.  

I will try that as well thanks so much again!

These are great please feel free to reply anyone else that also has some useful input. Also what does everyone think on coffee?

I second Tracy's advice, I think it is perfect. A few things I might add in: if you don't have a food scale, get one. If you don't have a myfitnesspal.com (or similar) account, open one up and start tracking calories, carbs, and protein.

Whatever your trigger foods are, get them out of the house. If you tend to be tempted in certain situations, find a way to avoid those situations. Examples: I had trouble avoiding the vending machines at work. So I stopped bringing any cash with me to work, and now I have no way to pay for that Snickers bar I start to crave every afternoon. If people leave something like cupcakes or candy in the staff lounge, I leave it alone for an hour or so, then make sure I am the only one in the staff lounge while I take that stuff and throw it in the trash (yes, really).

And finally, coffee. I think as long as coffee is black, it is great. When you start loading it up with milk and sugar -- or artificial flavors and sweeteners -- I think it is problematic.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/427532-is-coffee-good-or-b ad-for-losing-weight/

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/12/upshot/more-consensus-on-c offees-benefits-than-you-might-think.html

yes and sleep is playing a very big role because I am too exhausted to exercise and mess up most with food being too tired to prepare it. It's not a good excuse but I need to get a handle on all of that. I wonder if some of my headaches are from putting splenda in my coffee. WEll that's gone! THANK YOU!

You can't outrun a bad diet, so focus on your food choices first. That is most important. Worry about exercise later, and don't stress about the fact that you aren't exercising right now. You can lose weight without ever exercising. Quadriplegics can lose weight, so can you

And there are tons of easy choices that are healthy and sleeve-friendly: sliced deli meat, cheese sticks, and tons of stuff from Trader Joe's! Seriously, go to Trader Joe's and check out their pre-grilled chicken, their turkey hot dogs, frozen turkey meat balls, burger patties, refried beans, cans of tuna, bags of peeled hard-boiled eggs  -- there is tons of stuff that all you have to do, at most, is heat it up in the microwave! I am the laziest "cook" ever and I swear by Trader Joe's.

As far as volume goes, I wish I could help but my program calls for weighing food, not measuring by volume. My typical meal is about 4 to 5 ounces depending on what I am eating. Dinner might be:

1/2 can sardines (2 oz) +

1 egg (1.5 oz)

+ 1.5 slices avocado (just under 1 oz.)

All that together will fit into a one cup container. And that will definitely fill me up. But if I ate a cup of potato chips, I would barely notice I had eaten anything and could keep chowing down on them almost indefinitely. So for me, the path to success is to stick with high-protein, healthy foods, weigh my meals, and stop when I've reached my weighed-out portion -- or when I am satisfied, whichever comes first. And be absolutely anal about tracking everything I eat.

Ok I am on myfitness pal! Logged all day so far... also I am reminding myself to SLOW DOWN when I eating I tend to rush