My new supervised diet makes me tired

I had my 1st appointment with the dietitian on Thursday. I need to take off 40 lbs to get my BMI to what they consider safe.

The eating plan is not bad - similar to Medifast (which I did well with). I drink shakes every 3 hours or so, plus 2 lean & green meals a day (lunch and dinner). 4oz of lean protein plus all the non-starchy vegs that I want. I think this is a bit more restrictive that some other clients get, but she wants to get weight off me fast.

Yesterday I was OK with hunger, but I found myself really looking forward to dinner today.

And I'm tired.

I guess I can partly attribute it to 2 appts with Legacy in Portland this week, an eye doc check and a swim day on Wed. It is more activity than I had been getting. Plus the 2 days I drove to Portland, I didn't take my diuretic so as to not have leakage issues while at the doc.

I had planned to swim again today but was too tired.

I'm thinking the caloric reduction is having an impact on on my energy level. I remember this from the first week of Medifast ages ago, but wondered if anyone else is "faint from lack of food".

When I was on my pre-op diet it consisted of 3 protein shakes and a protein bar + non starchy veggies. About 600 calories a day. I was tired and stuck on stupid. After surgery I would eat the same or less amount of calories and would function well. It does get better and my energy level now is pretty much off the charts. I go and go and go and then crash for a bit and then it starts again. I am loving life. What you are doing now is tough but the end result is so worth it. I think my pre-op diet was the hardest part of this journey so far. I'm not into maintenance and I hear that is a journey. I wish you the best! You can do this!

Thanks Mo. I guess my pre-op diet isn't so drastic after all. Maybe she's stepping me down slowly - LOL!

I appreciate you verifying the fatigue and stupid. I just need to get used to it. My body is yelling "What the #$@&! are you doing, girl?"

I really appreciate the support I get from my medical team too. As much as I thought I knew about dieting, I got some great new ideas. Just to share:

1. Use a smaller plate. I ran out and got 2 at Target.

2. Eat with chopsticks to slow down. I can grab fajita meat OK, but my skills are not yet up to green beans.

I gave been on my pre- op diet for almost 2 weeks now, with 10 more days to go.  If your BMI is over 50, my surgeon wants you on the diet from the day you meet with your Nutritionist until the day of your surgery. So far I have gone through vacation, plus four day road trips to and fro, and a my granddaughter's 2 Nd Birthday party last night where they served a pasta dinner and 2 different cakes. I am on 2 protein shakes( I use premier protein or sugar free muscle milk) per day with 1 cup non starchy vegs and all the greens and raw veggies I can eat, plus 6 oz lean protien for dinner Ate steak, lobster, shrimp and scallops on vacation, and lean burgers and salmon( Ruby Tuesday) on the road. I am allowed one piece of fruit OR one Greek low fat yougart( 4 gr sugar) for a nightly snack. I really don't find it too bad. At the birthday party last night. I sat and ate a green salad from a bowl the size of a small garbage can( LOL) while sipping a jug of crystal light. I am old,( 66) fat( 310 lbs) and have cardio and pulmonary risks. I look at this struggle as stacking the deck in my favor so I can hopefully get to the looser's bench and beyond with a minimum of complications.

Forgot to say that I am scheduled for surgery Dec3rd, so I have 10 more days to go.

That's right - I do remember that your surgery go bumped up! It sounds like you did really well on vacation ad through parties. I loved the description of your salad bowl!

My ins requires 3 months supervised diet, so I'll be at this for a while.

I am very lucky, I have Medicare, with no pre approval requirements. Of course, that could mean I'm unlucky, because I am so old, WLS wise. I have only recently discovered that many practices will not operate on you if you are over 60 or 65 and/ or have a BMI greater than 50. As I said before, old fT and sick, what have I got to loose.

Well we're two old fat sick LUCKY ladies in this together. I'm also on Medicare and am 61. I had to retire early due to disabilities created by years of fatness.

My surgeon put me on the "sandwich" diet as he calls it.  (not sure why, there is no sandwich involved!) The first week is high protein, low carbs.  The next two weeks are clear liquids plus protein drinks.  When I was getting to the end of my second week on the liquid part, I found myself VERY tired. (yes, I did feel faint from lack of food)  I did ask while on the phone with the office if it was normal and she said yes, and if I needed to, I could add another protein drink.  I ended up getting past it and now I'm back on the high protein, low carb.  I meet with him again Dec 3.  My body protested and I don't think it liked the first week of the liquid part and held on to the weight.  Then I dropped several pounds.  He wants me to lose 33 pounds before surgery and at this time I don't know when I'll get to have it.  That is the really frustrating part right now for me.  Still waiting on final approval from insurance and they are taking their sweet time.  I will be 51 in January and my highest weight was 355.  I started changing my habits in preparation of getting the surgery even before I had my first consult with him.  I knew he would put me on some sort of diet before hand also.  The dieting has been easier than I expected....  just anxious to get on the books....  My mouth is constantly dry now too - even though I'm drinking a ton of water!!  weird!  Good luck with everything...  I'm only about 3 hours north of you - in the Tacoma/Bremerton area!

I've heard great things about your doc. That's a very interesting program and "sandwich" sort of makes sense once you explain it. LOL

I've been tracking my food for a week now, but only on the shake wagon 5 days so far. Keep up your liquids - I'm peeing like crazy and have already lost 9# of water weight. Now it gets harder with the water gone.