Curious Questions ....

On Dec. 1st, I started back on track of trying to lose 40 lbs of regained weight. I have gone through some tough times in the last 2 1/2 years but I'm on track today. :) I have been looking at some of the post on here and have a few curious questions?

1. Do you all eat vegetables with your lunch and dinner or do you just eat meat?
2. How many calories are you taking in while still trying to lose weight? I'm 5'3'' and 61 years old. I'm wondering if 1200 is too much for me?
3. What is bullet coffee? I noticed some of you drink this. :)
4. What is Fage?
5. Anyone have any suggestions on what I could drink that is hot, no caffeine, low in calorie? Thank you so much for your input and suggestions.

Welcome back to the fold; 40 lb will be work, but it is do-able.

1. Do you all eat vegetables with your lunch and dinner or do you just eat meat? - Yes, I usually have a salad with some meat and cheese in it for lunch and some kind of meat and veg for dinner. We only need so much protein, whether we are trying to lose or maintain, and veg is a good high bulk, high nutrition, low calorie filler.
2. How many calories are you taking in while still trying to lose weight? I'm 5'3'' and 61 years old. I'm wondering if 1200 is too much for me? - 1200 would be a good start, bit lower if you can do it; metabolisms after our obesity adventures can be quite variable and individual. When I am looking to lose, or avoid gaining when activity levels go down (like when recovering from orthopedic or plastic surgery) I drop my intake by about 20% from my maintenance level as a baseline starting point.
3. What is bullet coffee? I noticed some of you drink this. :) - aka "Keto Kool Aid. or Keto Soda Pop, it is butter. coconut or other oil added to coffee yielding a high calorie low nutrition drink analogous to soda pop - i.e. junk food. You don't want to drink this stuff if you are trying to lose weight (or most any other time, for that matter.)
4. What is Fage? - it is a brand of Greek yogurt.
5. Anyone have any suggestions on what I could drink that is hot, no caffeine, low in calorie? Thank you so much for your input and suggestions. - other than tea or decaf, not really (not quite my thing.) Broths maybe.

Regarding number 1 on veg, this doc has a philosophy that is quite different from normal bariatric dietary practices (like protein first, etc.) that has some merit -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_aahPETzH0

His basic message is that some increase in our eating capacity is normal as we progress over the months and years, and his "veg first" approach addresses this issue. It does make some sense to fill in that increasing capacity with high bulk low calorie veg rather than increasing intake of meats and fats. It's not for everybody, but is worth considering how else to fill in that capacity that we find ourselves with and keep our calories under control. I don't buy into everything in his plan, but there are some good ideas in there.

Good luck....

Thank you so much for your input and suggestions. I watched the video.... made things so clear for me especially the part of eating lots of quality vegetables instead of smaller amounts of food. Also, the part on exercise where I should focus on high intensity instead of long periods of low intensity. This makes sense and I will have to work up to that point. Thank you again!!

I can answer a couple from my perspective:

1. Generally I eat a small portion of veggies with my meat. But when I am trying to decarb and kick off a bit of weightloss I do CAMAW or AMAW. You cab search the RNY forum for detailed information but CAMAW is basically meat, fish, poultry and dairy only and AMAW is meat, fish and poultry only (no dairy).
2. I am 5'3" and 63 years old. I need to drop under 800 calories to lose weight.

Congratulations on getting back on track! I post bullet coffee and Fage yogurt a lot on my menu thread, so I will address these two questions:-)

1. Bullet coffee comes in many different variations. I drink 8oz coffee with MCT oil and cream, I do not use butter. I use MCT oil to help with my energy levels due to chronic pain. For me it is not "junk" it is an important supplement that helps me get through my day.

2. Fage is a brand of Greek yogurt that comes in 0% fat, 2%fat and 5%fat. If I can find 5% fat I will use this over any other. The higher fat content keeps me satisfied longer. I usually add a small amount of fruit, monk fruit sweetener and nuts. Sometimes I mix in almond butter.

Hope this helps.

How much MCT oil do you use in your 8 oz drink? I have chronic arthritis pain, hard for me to do a lot of walking.... hoping this will help. I am thinking of putting it in my hot protein drink I have every morning. I think I may need to stay away from caffeine for now but I sure love my cappuccino coffee (k cup)! Which MCT oil do you use? I saw several kinds on amazon. Thanks for letting me know about this oil. Hoping it will give me more energy as well. :)

I settled on NOW brand and have worked up to 2 tbsp a day. I started with 1/2 tbsp and slowly increased it over a 3 month period. If you use too much too fast it can cause cramping. It didn't help me with pain but did help me with energy in the morning.

Hi allbygrace

I will let your fellow VSG'ers answer your questions on food since I had the RNY but I would like to share a list of other items the basic items that I think is key as well to losing regain. I had a regain and with getting back to the basics I was able to lose it. It won't be easy, take it day by day but YOU GOT THIS!

Here are some steps that helped me and I hope they will help you too! You may have several starts and stops but don't give up, don't beat yourself up. IT WILL CLICK!!! Our tool works if we work the tool and get back to the basics.

Planning/Preparing

Remember when we were preparing for surgery? How many meetings, classes and such did we attend? We were told the more prepared we were the better our chances were for success. And they were right. Go through the house, car and work place and get rid of trigger foods. Stock up on foods that will keep you on track. I removed every bad carb/sugar temptation and replaced it with lots of protein, veggies, grains and fruits.

Journaling

Get back to journaling. This will help you identify when you feel like eating, stress factors and any triggers in your life. Once you identify these factors, this will help you put tools in place to keep you from eating. It became clear I was not taking time for me anymore. I worked my day job and then spent the rest of my time caring for my husband. It was easy to reach for fast, prepackaged food. Since I purged my home I have to eat clean as there are no other options LOL

Use a tool to track you're eating and exercise like Getting Started with Health Tracker. Once I started to track ever bite and drink it became clear why I had gained.

Goals/Rewards

Make a list of goals for yourself. Make them realistic and small. Some of mine were move more, purge all junk from my home, eat more protein. If you didn't make a Weight Loss Surgery bucket list when you first had surgery do it now. GREAT reminder of all the things you can enjoy in life after losing weight.

Food

In general, a long term post-weight loss surgery eating plan includes foods that are high in protein, and low in fat?, calories, and white carbs/sugar. Important, vitamins and minerals are provided as supplements. (if you had a different surgery adjust this to your food plan).

Water

Water is our Best Friend. I have to say I never went back to pop or any bad drinks, however I was drinking tea like crazy. What is wrong with drinking tea? I was either using sugar or 3 equals and 3 sweet n lows per 32 ounce glass. I found once I started carrying one of the metal bottles of water to keep it cold I drank water all day.

MOVE!

I can't say enough about how key this was for me. The reason I kept my weight off for almost 10 years was no matter what, I kept moving. If I could not go to the gym I would walk. Grab a cart and walk all the isles at your local box store. I loved Zumba, bootcamp workouts, lifting weights. When I stopped, the weight started coming back. So for me I am starting slow to avoid injury by walking and using some of the workouts on my Demand TV. Find something you love to do and it won't feel like a pain in the *** to do daily.

Support

If it's an option "run" don't walk to a support group. Come here on OH daily for support and participate in one of the food threads. It helps you be accountable and also great ideas for food prep.

Keep me posted on how you are doing.

1: I don't eat that many things that aren't meat. Over the course of the month I'll probably have 1-2 servings of refined/processed carbs and maybe 4-5 servings of vegetables. I prioritize protein and aim for 4 ounces of it in each meal. Once I eat the protein, I don't have room/desire to eat more. I avoid processed/refined carbs. I don't worry about fat - i.e., I don't avoid it or seek it out. I try to keep my fat sources "healthy."

2: Rule of thumb is 800ish when losing weight. 1200 is probably too high.

3: Coffee with butter. (Although, as Kristi points out, it's really coffee with good fats, not necessarily butter! I'm not a coffee drinker so....)

4: A brand of Greek yogurt.

5: Why no caffeine? Herbal tea? My dad used to drink ho****er. Weird.

Thank you so much for your input! So helpful! The reason I try to stay away from caffeine, it tends to make my arthritis pain worse. That's just the way it affects my body. (ugh) Thanks again!