Day 2 - Calling all Vets - more questions for you all

Hi everyone. I decided to ask people on the RNY menu thread on Monday if they had a question for an OH Vet (Veteran) here what would they ask? I got great feedback and have 16 great questions that some of our regular posters wanted to ask the Vets here.

Here on OH if you are 5 yrs post op you are considered a "Vet." So everyone who is 5 yrs post op or more are welcome to chime in (RNYers, VSGers, DSers etc). I will ask two questions per day per post, today is Day 2. I hope that all the Vets out there will help us by giving us your experience, insight, knowledge & expertise to all of the pre ops, newbies, anyone post op who is struggling, anyone who is a lurker but does not post and for any Vet out there who may have had regain and is fuzzy about the "rules" and needs help.

Thanks in advance to all the awesome Vets!

When you reply to make it easy please just say "Response to Q1" or "Response to Q2" hope that works! Can you also include in your response how many years post you are, thanks

Question #1 (Q1):

How do you handle snacking?

Question #2 (Q2):

How do I know what my final goal weight should be?

Lets talk!

Thanks for taking the time to do this, Daisy! Also, you went in and made super thoughtful comments on everyone's posts which I know takes a lot of time! You rock!

These are some good questions!

I am 5 years and 3 months post-op.

Q1 (snacking): for me, when I am doing what I SHOULD do, I log everything into MyFitnessPal, including snacks. I normally plan my menu the night before and therefore I log everything and can adjust as needed. I know that plans vary and some people do six small meals a day, some do 3 meals and 2 snacks, some suffer with the urge to graze at night, etc. For me, by logging it, I can make snacks work. And I can modify what the snack is based on my macros. Maybe a day I have a car by snack like popcorn, I make sure to keep my other meals exclusively protein. Or if my snack is a high protein yogurt, then maybe I have a few crackers with my egg salad. I try to make it a balance and not go off the rails. Like you, I am a self-diagnosed food addict with entirely too much time devoted to food. I wi**** weren't the case - I wish I was "never hungry" and only thought of food as "fuel" but sadly, it's a daily fight for me.

Q2 (goal weight): my surgeon never gave me one. I chose 160 since the BMI charts said that is the high end of normal for my height. And I made it there. But as I said yesterday I have had some regain. I personally feel very good and healthy and comfortable at 175 and I am trying to get back there. My advice is don't let your medical practice tell you that you will be lucky to be under 200 or will most likely only lose 70% of your extra weight. You can do what you put your mind to!!!

I hope that Boar's head is sending you checks for all that Ever roast they've been selling. That's a daily meal for me.

I know, right?! I stumbled into being their accidental spokesperson! One day I saw a woman from my gym by the deli counter and I practically force fed her to try my chicken and now she's obsessed too lol! I eat it every single day. (Sorry Daisy, I know it's not in Canada!)

Great idea, Daisy. I'm not quite at vet status (I'm two months short of 5 years) but if no one objects, i'm going to chime in.

Question 1: I became hypoglycemic post surgery, so snacking is an important topic for me, as in I have to do it to keep my blood sugar stable. I try to plan my snacks out in advance. They are always protein forward, but have a touch of carbohydrate to keep me in balance. It also depends on what I'm doing later in the day. For example, if I'm going to a spin class I try to have an afternoon snack that has more carbs than usual. Some of my go to snacks. almonds (1 oz measured. I can't be trusted with a bag of unmeasured nuts); a latte with 1% milk (I usually don't advocate drinking calories, particularly in active weight loss, but when planned I can handle the extra calories); string cheese and lunch meat roll ups; 1/2 a small apple with nut butter; greek yogurt with a measured amount of nut butter (usually .5 tbs); 1/2 a quest protein bar.

Question 2: I worked with my surgeon. He never gave me a goal prior to surgery and we would evaluate my progress every 6 months. At one point my weight was too low and it was causing issues with my blood work so we re-evaluated a slightly higher weight. Also, because of the previously mentioned blood sugar issues, I'm higher than I would like. It's truly a mental issue to learn to be happy at the higher number, but my surgeon (who I still see every 6 months) has been invaluable to me in selecting a number that is healthy for ME, and not necessarily based on any standardized charts. This issue is something I struggle with every single day.

Question 1:

For a long time, I scheduled 5 small meals a day. I didn't really snack at all. One of those meals might be some almonds, one might be a very low sugar (and low sugar alcohol) Quest bar, one might be a protein shake....but I planned food carefully for 5 meals. Now here's the truth. As the years went by I wasn't always that careful. And when I wasn't careful I slowly migrated to slider foods, some sugar, and some "I can't remember what I ate" eating. By that point in time I was not logging my food intake either, and the result was regain. (How to deal with THAT comes in a different post at a different time!)

Question 2:

Many of us have been struggling with weight for a lifetime, even if we were not obese. In college I went to WW, and my goal was 120. By the time I'd had 2 children, I lost weight again and looked pretty good at 145. So entering the WLS process, I decided to aim for 145 (I am 5'4") - the same goal I'd had 25 years before. The reality was that when I reached 155-160, I was completely happy with where I was. I was wearing clothing in size 6-8 or S/M, I could complete a good workout pretty smoothly, and felt confident about myself. For me, then, the goal weight has shifted with age and normal changes in my body. This is not a 22 year old body. It's not a 33 year old body. I don't have to hit those numbers at 63 years to look and feel great. I had to discover that as part of the process though, not by some pre set notion. So my best advice is set a goal, sure, but be willing to modify it along the way.

For me, then, the goal weight has shifted with age and normal changes in my body. This is not a 22 year old body. It's not a 33 year old body. I don't have to hit those numbers at 63 years to look and feel great

Thank you for this Lynn. I completely agree and I look at my program pretty much the same way you do. I'm 55 and no matter how much weight I lose, I'll never look like I did back at 25. I can weigh what I weighed back then (and I do) but my body's shape is no where near what it was 30 years ago, lol.

Love this Daisy! Following, I am only 2-1/2 years out and not a vet. Vet advice is THE MOST IMPORTANT thing I have learned about being successful with WLS though. It is ... pure gold.

I quite agree. I'm 16 months out and it's kinda nice to know that at 5 or 10 years out, I can still be successful and what I need to do to continue my success. Thank you vets for responding.

Response to Q1:

My surgeon's plan for me allows for 3 (small) meals and 3 snacks per day, so I consider having a snack as a normal part of my day. I usually have 3 meals and 1 snack per day.

Response to Q2: I think goal weights should be discussed with one's surgeon, but not necessarily the same as the surgeon's goal, if that makes sense. My personal goal weight was lower than my surgeon's goal was for me. I hit his goal and then kept going until I hit my personal goal.