question

Do any of you take a 24 hour fast of just liquids on occasion?  I am doing it today to try to get the scale to move down. Haven't moved down in a week and am up a pound today.

I am down 2 dress sizes though!

Jeane

I havent tried that but was told we will have weeks without weight loss. I had a stall for 4 weeks but lost over 20 inches total. I have gone since oct 10th  size 26 to size 18/20 (18 top 20 bottom). Give it time. I gave up on the scale  it's EVIL!!!

Absolutely not!  It is very unhealthy for our bodies.  I did do it preop but never postop.  You can damage things beyond repair!  Your body is jusst trying to catch up...give it time!  And you are losing inches so that is a good thing.  Don't get on the scales more than once a week.  You will appreciate it more then.

Great news on the dress sizes going down!

I have not done a liquid fast or anything other than my pre-op diet.

It is natural and normal for you to have plateau's during your weight loss.  Your body will know when its time to get going again.  Be patient and try not to focus so much on the number.  I know that is hard to do, but recognize other things that will keep you motivated, like changing sizes, measurements, energy level, etc.

Good luck to you!

Here's the problem.

It is much easier for me just to not eat anything than to try to regulate the portions and not binge.

I ate breakfast yesterday and then just drank water, protein shakes and cranberry juice until today at lunch.  I was at a meeting and we had lunch so I took the top off  the sandwich and ate most of the bottom with the turkey and cheese and tomator (didn't finish all the bottom bread) and I ate the fruit cup.  I trashed the cookie, but it looked SO GOOD!

Now at 3:30 I am hungry.  i am at the office now and will be until 4 but when I get home I intend only on having a protein shake and cranberry juice this afternoon and then after my Finance meeting tonight having another protein shake.

I am obsessed with the scale, I know I am.  But what really bothers me is that even after my first fill I don't feel satisfied between meals.  I know some of it is head hunger.    That has always been the way I have relieved stress.

When my husband is home I will eat meals with him, but when he is not I intend to do protein shakes and cranberry juice.

I need to get below 229, I am up 1/2 pound from where I was last week!!!

Jeane  

I can not speak from a banders point of view but what I can tell you is that by NOT eating you are sending your body into starvation mode and it will eventually start to eat itself.  It will eat your muscles and you can not regrow or rebuild them.  Your heart is a muscle!  You can and will cause permanant damage to yourself if you do this often.  It is not worth it to me.  Your weight will flucuate and you will have "water" gain.  They juice has a lot of calories in it that are not needed.  Please talk to your doctor or nutritionist.  I have a lot of friends that have done themselves permanant damage by doing this.  Please be careful!

Thanks, Tammy:

I am going to call my Dr. office tomorrow.

Blessings,

Jeane

Please let me know what they say!  I worry about my family and you are part of that!  I amnot trying to scare you...but I don't want you to hurt yourself.

I see what you are saying.  Try your best to make new healthy habits.  Portion your meals out and put the rest away.  Don't let yourself binge.  Maybe making the meal more special to you will make it more satisfying.  Set a place setting at your table, napkin, glass, placemat, the works.  Get everything ready and sit and savor every bite.  Chew slowly.  Make your food last longer so that you don't feel the need to have more and over do it.

If another trouble is eating too much of the wrong thing, set yourself up with a list of healhy (er) snacks to choose from and have a few on hand in the cubboards to reach if you feel the need.

I find that when I fuel my body at regular intervals (3 meals, 1-2 snacks, milk) I feel my best and it really does curb my wanting to eat badly or too much.  I also know that when I go too long without food I get kinda cranky.  It's like my body has really adjusted to the intervals now.

This all takes time.  Be patient and keep working hard at it.

As a sidenote, I'm not sure if you are using the word bingeing in the eating disorder bingeing manner, but that is serious business.  If necessary, schedule an appt with an eating disorder counselor or your nutritionist to go over the emotional aspect of your eating and ways to curb excess intake.  I will admit that I was a binger prior to surgery.  It's not that I ate so bad (well other than my frequenting fast food establishments) it's that I ate WAY too much of it.  I would sit down to a bag of cheese popcorn!  The whole bag.  Or half a bag of oreos.  Etc. Etc.  I would make myself sick doing it.  It was not healthy.  Thankfully, knowing my demons, I just stay away from that stuff altogether.  Because I am literally not able to stop.  If I do feel the need to get some chips, I try and make my own (pita chips) or get a 99 cent bag, eat a portion of it and then put the rest of the bag in my work kitchen with a "free" sticky on it.  But for me chips and bad snacks are so much of a temptation that I try to avoid at all costs.

I think the trick is to know what your triggers are.  Really sit down and focus on why you do what you do.  And that's where getting a little help might be in order.  If you are unable to recognize the triggers - get someone else to help you!  There is nothing wrong with that.  YOU'RE worth it!

As for juice, it is loaded with calories and sugar.  My surgeon prefers that I don't drink it at all, but should I choose to have it as a treat we are limited to 4oz's of LIGHT juice.  Like the oceanspray lite cranberry.  It takes just as good to me and gives me my juice fix.  I drink juice maybe once every couple of weeks just for the sweet taste.

Good luck!  We are here for you!

Hi lauren:

I do drink the light cranberry juice.

I do fine with breakfast but usually have my bad time at lunch (if I eat late like today) or after supper.

A nutritionist from my insurance is supposed to call me next week so I hope to get back on track.

A binge for me in not eating "bad" foods but feeling out of control and eating too many things or too much of one things.  I never feel sick from over eating.

Jeane