Back To Basics??

how do I get back to basics? Is this for ryn patients only? I'm almost three years out and have gained 10 of the 40 I lost back and never got close to goal. My goal was to lose 100 lbs and only lost 40, been screwing up since the very beginning. How do I get back on track? I'm back to eating just protein but my restriction is not what it was and I'm constantly hungry. Help Please

Would you expect your teenage son to be satisfied on a diet of baby formula?

Your pouch is not a baby anymore.  It is a fully grown sleeve and you need to feed it correctly.  It is not going to be satisfied with sipping protein shakes like when it was a new baby sleeve.

If you want to go back to using your sleeve to lose weight you need to do several things. 

Make sure you have a digital food scale and measure everything you eat.  Track everything you eat or drink in My Fitness Pal.  Have an excellent bathroom scale and weigh every single morning.  Wear a fitness tracker everyday.

Determine how many calories you can eat per day to get to your goal.  A good estimate is your goal weight times 10.  So if your goal is 150 then you need 1500 calories per day.  To lose weight I subtract 500 calories per day and lose a pound a week.  It will take time to lose the weight.

What I would do is take two weeks and follow Atkins Induction plan.  You can look it up on the internet but follow if faithfully and you will lose at least ten pounds in that two weeks.  After that you can go to "basics".  Dense protein, a few leafy vegetables and very limited carbs.  Track, weigh and measure.  No bread, potatoes, rice, corn, chips, cereal, fruit, noodles, pasta, cake, cookies, candy, pie or sugar.  Your meals will be beef, pork, fish, eggs, cheese and salad or non-starchy vegetables.  Keep carbs under 50 a day.  My Fitness Pal will track that number.

Avoiding the scale is a big cause of weight loss failure.  Start over and use your sleeve to help you get to your goal.  It is not easy, but it is so worth it.

Hi,

I'm so sorry to hear your weight loss surgery wasn't more successful.  Its a lot to go thru, and the low weight loss must be disappointing. 

You can get back on track.  I wish you the best of luck with it.  I remember how hard it was to lose weight before the surgery, and I imagine that is how it is for you.  For me, the surgery changed my physiology so the weight became manageable.  I wish you the same success.

What I'd recommend is:  first of all - low carb - If you eat carbs, the cravings can overwhelm your will power.  During weight loss, I kept my carbs below 25 grams per day.  This meant that all carbs were coming from dairy and low carb veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, cabbage, salads, etc.   You may need to white-knuckle it for the first few days, but then it should get much easier. 

Second,  follow the rules for VSG - Meals should consist of 3 to 4 ounces of dense protein plus all the low carb veggies you can eat.

Eat dense protein first.  Avoid liquids with meals.  Eat slowly.  Take small bits.  Under-eat your sleeve. 

Weigh your food and log everything you eat in My fitness pal or another tool.

Third,  cook interesting foods so they will help you resist the junk food.  For example,  I can tell myself, "No, you can't have that pizza, or that lasagna, or carrot cake, but you can have the crack slaw, or the pulled pork, or the chicken in spicy peanut sauce, etc."  I find this so important, so I don't feel deprived.

Good luck,

Please let me know how it goes.
Carol

I have a blog post that explains it in detail if you are interested. Feel free to check it out-