Post about my daily menu

Two things...first, you can lose that much but that's one reason why you want to keep your eyes on the prize and not let yourself cheat at all in year one :)

Second, of course you can keep losing after the first year (didn't mean to imply you can't), but it is just a whole lot harder. You stop malabsorption, your hunger creeps back, and you have a lower BMI, so you have to reduce calories even more to create that deficit that results in weight loss. It is totally possible to keep losing but the more you lose in year one the easier you are setting yourself up for success in year 2.

I wish you all the best! The fact that you are here researching and asking questions before your surgery speaks to your commitment and readiness :)

Thank you kindly, JuniperBerry. I appreciate your response very much.

I know one person who continued losing very gradually for 7 years, and got to goal. I also know one person who won the Lottery big. Both of those things are just about as rare.

We all have a "screw it" factor. If we have worked really hard, for a long time, and haven't accomplished what we hoped, we say screw it. If we have a lot of weight left to lose, we give up. If not consciously, then unconsciously. If we keep trying to pay off those credit cards, but the balances never seem to drop, we say screw it. If the dog never listens and keeps peeing on the rugs, we say screw it. If the husband never mows the lawn until the grass is three feet high, we say screw it.

If you reach goal, you will fight like a demon to stay there. If you are a long way away, and haven't lost a pound in 6 months, you say screw it. I'm sure someone with training can describe the scientific reasons for this behavior. But I've seen it over and over again, and it's real.

Get a good running start going into surgery. Lose as much as you can. Change as many habits as you can. After surgery, make every bite count. Every bite, every calorie should be only what your body must have, not what you want. Do those things, and you'll do great.

Hi Grim,

Thanks very much for responding. I have lost 170 pounds more than once in programs, and more than once I lost over 140 on my own. I do have a quite strong will once I finally decide to act. I believe I blew maintenance due to my unwillingness to view myself as being still susceptible to obesity - I really wanted to completely divest myself of that persona and to view myself as a free, slender person who had never been fat; I didn't want to admit or acknowledge to myself that I was in fact still not free of that whole syndrome. That was a mistake, as it led to behaviors which were traps. I will strive never to make those maintenance errors again. I very much appreciate the warnings people have posted as this really gets to the core of where I have fallen in the past. Thanks Grim for your advice!

Sorry CarlRay for creating a detour in your thread, and thank you kindly for being patient with me.

yes - JB is correct - you can keep losing in the second year. I have lost 230+ lbs (although I lost 57 of it pre-surgery), and it took me 18 months. I lost 125 lbs the first year, and the rest the second year. So the weight loss slows down, and it gets tougher, but it can be done.

Thank you Catwoman7! I will do my best to put the pedal to the metal during my first year, but if I still have a bit to go when my first year rolls by, I really want to be wise and disciplined and smart about continuing to reach for my goal. Thanks for letting me know you reached yours in year 2! That is fabulous!

I was post-menopausal, hypothyroid, needed to lose 200lbs, and 56 when I had the surgery. 1st anniversary, stalls and all I was down 165lbs. Yes, the next seven months were harder, ups and down, and reached Goal/Normal Body fat status at one year, seven months (195 lost- so 30lbs in 7 months, much slower than the first year). Then went on to lose another 25.

It is not that nothing happens the after the first year, it just gets harder.

Coming daily to OH and staying focused makes all the difference. When I did this crazy thing called Weight Loss Surgery I said I was going to make it my job. I went to support in real life too...but real life support groups are once in awhile, OH is here for you daily.

Good Luck

NYMom! Thank you! That is fabulous! I am really happy that you wrote - it gives me a jolt of joy and hope! Thank you again! :)

Au-Contraire, you can do it! Mind over matter! I havent had my surgery yet either so I think we're in the same boat kinda. My doc said i must be down another 30# before they'll do the surgery. That was 8 days ago and I'm down 11# already. To run that marathon, you have to start with a single step, one step at a time until our legs are RUNNING! Ive cut out ALL sugar and most carbs. My carbs are under 20 a day and i use them on mostly veggies like mushrooms/tomato to add to my eggs and steak. protein mostly because after a few days, get excess carbs out of your system, most hunger pains diminish and try to lean more towards fish when possible. My basic daily menu is 1 egg, 1/2 cup tofu, 1 cup mushrooms, 1 medium small tomato, 1 tbsp butter, diced up and sauteed into a huge omelette. Lunch is 2 oz turkey breast lunch meat, 1 oz cheese, a whole cucumber. Dinner, 8 oz white fish in a baking dish, squirted with lemon than covered with something green like broccoli, green beans, asparagus, cucumber and baked, yummy! Every few days I'll switch to a steak so i dont feel deprived. I'm chair-bound so I youtubed chair cardio and found about 4-5 that work for me and push myself to do them as many times as I can. This is awesome and really works but the problem with us fat people are, we dont have the will power i guess to stick to this indefinitely but one day at a time we can. and when we reach that 1st goal weight, our docs will hook us up with that surgery that will give us the tool to help stick with diet plans like this. broccoli after the surgery is a no-no tho ive heard lol i'm down 11 pounds in 8 days in a chair, its possible!

Six months before my surgery, I gave up Diet Coke as well as all "white" carbs. I quit eating rice, potatoes, flour, sugar, cereal, bread, pasta, noodles, and pastry.

I learned to live on dense protein and low carb vegetables like spinach, lettuce, celery, cauliflower and broccoli.

After surgery, I followed my clinics plan. For my clinic there are never choices like cereal, mashed potatoes, or popcorn. Our program does not allow people from other programs to attend our support meetings. That is because people from other programs will come in and argue that things like cereal, potatoes, and popcorn are part of their guidelines.

The people in our program are unusually successful. One of the big complaints is from people who complain that they are too skinny.

I feel very fortunate to be part of a group that understands the nutrition needs and challenges of weight loss surgery patients. Most center prescribe a diet that a non-surgical patient will do well on. Those centers accept a 60% loss of excess weight as success. My center considers it a success if the patient loses 10, 20 or 30 pounds under goal during the honeymoon period.

At each group meeting and at each surgeon appointment, the we are educated about regain and how to best deal with it. Everyone on my surgeon's staff attends national meetings and continuing education. My nutritionist is very experienced in working with weight loss surgery patients and she recommends the eating that the vets here as telling you about.

When you talk with your surgeon, ask them to explain why regain occurs and how to avoid hunger and to maintain your loss after the first two years.