Newbie (Slow loser)

The trick was if I ate anything with flour or sugar, the hunger came back. With no sugar, no flour, and no fruit, I had zero hunger. As long as I had zero hunger, it was really easy. I did not add apples until after 18 months and below goal. I did not add any other fruit until well into year three.

Weight loss surgery does not make you lose weight. What makes the weight come off is low calories.

Are you on a PPI (medication to reduce stomach acid)? Most surgeons prescribe one, and if yours didn't, I suggest you ask them about it and mention that you're having a lot of problem with hunger.

White Dove,

Thank you for the detail regarding your post op diet! I was sleeved on 2/6/20-so still on liquids only for a couple more weeks. What brand of ice cream machine did you purchase to make protein shakes into ice cream? That sounds wonderful to me! I love my premier protein shakes so thankful they have improved the taste over the last few years!

Love your thoughts on throwing food away....this has always bothered me and I will just really need to get over it. Why should I use my body to take care of the excess? No more! :)

"I need to be ok with putting food away or throwing out rest if I can not finish and not just keep it around till I feel a little more room."

Yes! Keeping foods around and taking another bite once you begin to feel less full will hinder your progress.

I wasted a lot of food my first 6-9 months. I felt bad about it, but it takes time to learn what you can eat. I think you need to give yourself permission to waste a little food while you're learning. Weigh/measure everything and you will begin to learn how much of different kinds of foods it takes to make you feel full. I record everything I eat almost every day, but even on the occasional day I take a break from that, I still measure.

There are a lot of foods I measure not to watch the calories, but just so I don't try to eat more than I physically can, and waste food. For example, from a calorie perspective it doesn't matter if I accidentally serve myself twice as much steamed broccoli, but it I try to eat that much my stomach will complain for an hour!

One thing that can make measuring less of a chore is if you dedicate special plates, bowls or cups for the things you eat most frequently. You'll learn to use the decorations for measuring things. To the bottom of the yellow daisy is a quarter cup, to the top of the blue ring is 3/4 cup, etc. I know that a heaping spoonful of a dry powder substance with my regular spoons is 10g. It reduces the number of times you have to go to the scale, or wash out a measuring cup.

Also, smaller plates (e.g. the size of a saucer) and bowls really help. Sorry if I mentioned this before to you; I forget who I've suggested what to!

The weighing, measuring, planning, recording all seems like a lot of work when you're right after surgery, but it all becomes second nature soon. Some things I eyeball, because they're very low calorie and I'm never tempted to overeat them. For example, I will eyeball 100 ml of unsweetened almond milk (only 13 cal for my brand). I will also eyeball a teaspoon of sunflower seeds because I'm not that fond of them, but I couldn't trust myself to do that with peanut butter! Even the things I eyeball, I double-check my measurements occasionally to re-callibrate my eye!

Holy Smokes. I have to just admit.. I went into this so uneducated and unprepared. I will now do the work I should've prepared for. So much more preparing and planning. I CAN NOT trust my eyes. No eyeballing for me as I still have "fat eyes" with "Fat brain" ugghhh.

Definitely a learning time. I will change!! I am determined. I appreciate the insight. VERY helpful.

Have you checked the OH Post-Op Planner? It was accurate for me.

As the saying goes, this is a marathon, NOT a sprint!! Just keep following your plan and you have a great shot of losing it all.