I Just Need Advice

I had my surgery on 6/15/18 and I weighed 315 lbs. I am currently 268 lbs so I am down 47 lbs a little under two months and I have been at a stall for the past two weeks. Just out of curiosity how long do stalls usually last?

Now on to the subject that I need advice about. My nutrionist says I should only be eating 1/2 cup for a meal and I should be eating 6 small (1/2 cup) meals a day. First off, I measure everything in ounces, I don't see how you can manipulate steak or chicken into a 1/2 measuring cup and it truly be 1/2 cup? Can someone explain this to me? Also, although I am only a little over 7 weeks out I can sit down and eat 4-5 oz meals. Typically this is how my eating goes in a day:

4 oz of scrambled eggs w/ diced ham and shredded cheese for breakfast

2 1/2 to 3 hours later I eat a snack of Dannan Fit & Light Greek Yogurt

2 1/2 to 3 hours later I lunch that is 4 or 5oz of smoked turkey or 4oz of chicken salad or maybe in 1 scrambled egg with cheese and 3 sausage links

Usually my afternoon snack goes to pot because I am to busy at work or if I can manage to catch a break I eat Turkey Pepperoni about 17 - 34 small peices or some string cheese, but these days are far and few between.

Several Hours after 5 pm I eat dinner and that is usually made of up 4 oz of meat and maybe 2 tablespoons full of carrots or green beans, some type of veggie.

Does this sound like normal eating for someone that is 7 weeks out?

Yes I get 80-120 grams of protein a day and my carbs are usually under 30 grams but according to the nutrionist I can have up to 60 carbs per day.

I don't know why I just feel like a complete failure.

I posted my dinner last night on Facebook and boy did I get a bunch of bad comments. For the first time I ate Mac N Cheese, I was way under on carbs before I ate it and I did not go over my 60 carbs a day limit but you would have thought I shot someone by the way those people reacted. I know to stay away from carbs but I was fat for a reason and I'm sorry but you can't just stop all bad eating habits, in addition to having this tool you need to be able to eat things you love in moderation.

I just want some opinions please. Good advice, I don't need to be shamed or called out please.

Thank you for your time and input.

Apparently, the rules have changed a lot since I had surgery 12 years ago. Here is my humble (only 4 pounds over my lowest weight and still doing well) opinion.

In the old days, I was not told to keep my carbs under 60. I was only told to get the protein in. By the time I got the protein in, I did not have room or desire for much else.

It is normal to have stalls along the way. With the amount of weight you have lost so far, I think a stall right now if normal. Also, some stalls last longer than others. For me, adding more fat in my diet would help me get out of the stall. The diet police are going to hate this. But, my go to food during a stall was a piece of greasy KFC fried chicken. And yes, I ate the beaded skin!

Don't get discouraged; it will start moving down again. It takes your body time to adapt to the changes that took place. You have lost a lot of weight in the first few weeks. Good for you!

For me, I got discouraged because I would lose quite a bit of weight before I can see it in my clothing sizes. It seemed like I would lose 20 pounds or so, and then all of a sudden, I would be down one or two sizes.

At seven weeks, I think you are eating okay. I don't remember when I could get beyond half a chicken nugget at a time. It seemed like forever, but it probably was not.

At 12 years, I don't think much about what I eat. However, I do still concentrate on protein most of the time. However yesterday, I had mac and cheese at lunch. My top weight was 236, low weight was 116, current weight is 120.

Wish you the best. You will make it and it will be worth it.

Caroline

Thank you Caroline

Honestly for 7 weeks it sounds like a lot of food. I don't think I could eat that much at 7 weeks, but it's hard to remember (I'm 15 years post-op).

For early post-ops, I was always inclined to provide this advice - it's the 30/60/90 rule. By 30 days post-op you should be getting in 30 grams of protein, 60 grams by 60 days, and 90 grams by 90 days, with ultimately getting in about 120 grams of protein. Obviously you're way past that.

I agree with keeping carbs to under 50 grams per day because that's what helps with the weight loss. Also remember that simple carbs (i.e., the mac part of mac & cheese) turn into sugar, which is 100% absorbed in our system. Try to focus more on complex carbs vs simple carbs.

How are you doing with water? Are you getting a minimum of 64 ounces of water a day? How about vitamins? Many of us early on have trouble balancing getting in all your water and vitamins, while still having room for protein and food. Your stall could be because you're not getting enough water since you don't mention anything abou****er).

You're absolutely not a failure - when was the last time you lost 47 pounds in less than 2 months?

You make a statement in your post about "I know to stay away from carbs but I was fat for a reason and I'm sorry but you can't just stop all bad eating habits, in addition to having this tool you need to be able to eat things you love in moderation." I take issue with this and I'm sorry but you CAN stop bad eating habits. You have to work at it. You could have chosen not to eat the Mac & Cheese, but you did make that choice. You will be able to eat things you love in moderation, but I suggest waiting until you're at goal, because if you continue to eat the things you love in moderation, you may never get to goal.

I speak from experience. I started at 320 and lost 100 pounds in 5 months (another 5 months to lose the next 50, and then 3 more months to finish with the final 25). I have maintained my 175 weight loss for just over 13 years (I'm 15 years post-op). Just so you know, I eat whatever I want now so long as I get my protein in. Yes, I eat mac & cheese, and pasta, and pizza (like you said things I love in moderation). But I'm at goal and have been for years. While I was getting there, I didn't touch any of that because I knew my first (and at the time only) goal was to lose the weight.

Having WLS is all about choices. The only way for the surgery to be successful is to change your eating habits. No matter what you will lose weight, but will you lose as much as you want within the timeframe you want? That's where changing habits come in. I understand it's a process, but you have to be all in - 150%, not just part way but saying that you can't just stop all bad eating habits. You actually can. You have to make the choice.

Not shaming or calling out - just stating a fact.

Are you weighing your food to teach yourself portion sizes? If so, it's a good idea, keep on. But is it really necessary, probably not!

You are trying to make sure you run out of fat before you run out of weightloss, right? Looks like you are doing well. The truth is that the closer you get to goal the slower the pounds come off. And each pound you lose is a higher percentage of your body weight. Does that make sense? It's not that hard for a 400lb person to lose 40lbs. But it's really hard for a 100lb person to lose 10lbs.

There are easier ways to do this. Just eat protein first and always. Forever. If you are eating something carby, make sure it is just a bite or 2. Here's the secret. Don't eat any carbs till you are 10% below goal. Right now your philosophy should be just lose the weight. Every carb you don't eat is a personal victory. No one is perfect but every time you choose a bite of steak, you win. Once you hit that lofty goal, you can find out what you can tolerate in the carb department. Going 10% under gives you a few pounds of wiggle room to play with.

Try hard to develop carb avoidance now. It will serve you well for the rest of your life. A few people can eat protein + whatever forever. A few people get the free ride and can eat as they please forever. But half of us never lose ALL we wanted to lose and we still have to be very careful about what we eat. No way to say where you will end up. I hope you have the DS that lets you eat as you please. But those are rare so don't count on it.

There are hysterical people on some of those FB groups. Try not to take them too seriously. You already know there are too many mean people on this planet. And some of them had the DS too.

First, weight loss is a staircase and not a slide. You shouldn?t be alarmed by a 2 week stall. Diet soda is the one thing I gave up totally, because I saw it affect my weight loss.

Second, no one is perfect in food choices. None of us. You recognize the choice wasn?t a good one. Give yourself a break. 95% compliance is excellent. Your brain needs carbs. 60/day worked for me and all these years out, I still keep them to a minimum. I also learned DS gave me a quick ?spanking? with foul smelling farts and quick-onset diarrhea if I had bad carbs.

Third, you don't have to measure chicken or steak. Just use the old Weigh****cher standard of a serving of protein as the size of a deck of cards. At 13 years out, I eat 5-6 times a day, but they are all the size of meals you would give to a 3-year old. You don?t want to stretch your stomach. It?s part of why DS works.

Finally, the is a roller coaster ride of emotions. Just losing this much weight this quickly played with my depression and especially anxiety. I don?t know if this is the result of physiology changes or the disorienting way people treated me during weight loss. I know I stopped sleeping well during the greatest weight loss period and that alone affected my mood and emotional stability. Be nice to yourself.

Like everyone else I can see you are NOT a failure. It's an easy trap to fall into because, hey you probably have a lifetime of wight loss not working the way you wanted it to. This has all changed but it will take a while for you to understand that. Just don't give in to it when you feel that way. :)

I think you can safely equate 4 oz of a protein to half a cup. I think by 2 months 4 oz was a good size for me. Any more and I would get hiccups. foamies, and wish I could throw up.

I don't think the portion sizes are unusual for 7 weeks but the number of meals strikes me that I would not have been able to do that at 7 weeks. That is not a criticism. Over time I've seen people post that they can eat more than you have listed, everyone is different and a lot has to do with how your Doc did the surgery.

First rule of online groups. There will be people that think "tough love" is the answer to everything and even when many of us feel it is bullying that doesn't change their approach. There are 4 or 5 groups on FB that I'm aware of. If you find one not supportive enough look for another. A lot depends on who the admins are.

Stalls happen. Mine usually lasted a week to 2 weeks. I ended up tracking my weight every week but only recording my weight once a month. That showed me uneven but steady progress.

oops - more later. I forgot an appointment. You are doing great...

Back again. I just wanted to add that in the end I accepted stalls as just my body needing some time off. Different people try different things and one of the things I tried was a local variation of the Krispy Kreme donut day which via the extra carbs and fat is supposed to kick you out of your stall. Never did for me but I enjoyed trying. :) Although it did put me in the bathroom more than usual.....

Pete

Sounds like you're doing great!

I had mine surgery 11/29/18 and I weight every thing I eat still. At this time since I'm so close to my last goal weight I'm down to 35 carbs a day. Yesterday I was way under carbs and had a bowl of ice-cream... it was just really small 67 grams. Regarding your stall, the longest I've had is 15 days. When it happened I increased my water, increased my protein intake, and started walking more. Boom! Lost 4 pounds.

Have you started working-out yet? I waited until I had a big stall and was getting close to wonderland. That's because I didn't feel comfortable going to the gym at a bigger size. It worked out well for me. Weight training helps your metabolism a lot, also helps me burn fat.

Last bit of advise, don't post meals like that online... The food police are just a pain in the ass. Post your good stuff, or join the Black Sheep Barbaric group, we post bad stuff there. LOL

So you have an idea I'm almost 19 months out and here is my daily food log.

Breakfast: Premier Protein shake with cold brew coffee

Morning Snack: coffee and low carb protein bar

Lunch: 105 grams of chicken salad w/20 g of mayo, and 15 g dill relish & 90 grams of celery

Afternoon Snack: 65 grams of tomatoes, 85 grams of cucumbers, 10 grams creamy Italian dressing

Dinner: 4 oz steak, 30 grams of mushrooms stuffed with 28 grams of spinach & artichoke dip topped with 10 grams of mozzarella cheese.

Dessert: 2 servicing of sugar free jello and 30 grams of Reddi Whip topping.

That's 25 net carbs/115 grams of protein/70 grams of fat

I'm still losing and my doctor moved my goal weight AGAIN! He wants me to keep losing until my 2 years are done. He said there will be some re-gain no matter how hard I try, so he wants me to have a few extra pounds off so it's not such a big deal.

Hope this helps.

No big deal but you posted this in reply to my answer not to the main subject. I'm sure they will see it though.

:)

Pete