You Want to Know my Secrets for losing 90 lbs and keeping it off for over 2 years??
OK, I will play and pay it forward! Hope this helps all of you newbies.
My secret is not so much of a secre****ch your snacking!
I can be a terrible grazer. Thanks to my sleeve, I don't worry much about portion control, but if I allow myself, I could eat every hour on the hour. I was very frustrated at the start. Then I made a mental pact with myself- take it one hour at a time. I followed many of the common sense rules like protein first, never drink before during or after meals, and water, water, water! So, I made myself a schedule. I woke up and had a protein coffee at 7. At 8, a drank a cup of water, at 10 I ate a hard boiled egg, at 11 more water, 12 was lunch, 2 was water, 3 was a snack, 4 was water, 5 was protein and gym time, 6 was water, 7 was dinner, 8 was water, nine was snack or hot tea, and I was done. After awhile, I found I wasn't as "hungry" as I though I was. As time passed, it was easier to not dwell on grazing. Gum also helps tremendously.
I also want to share that not everyone has to count carbs to lose weight. I never counted carbs. I did focus on protein first, so I rarely had room for much more. I ate fruits and veggies once my surgeon cleared me to a full diet. I rarely(to this day) eat bread, cake, cookies or much of refined carbs. I do eat pasta and rice, but not on a daily or even weekly basis. I rarely have potatoes. But these are my choices, not my surgeon's or nutritionist's. Yes, they gave me guidelines, but the best advice I got was to try everything once, and if it agreed with me, have some, if not then don't eat it. The reason I avoid refine carbs is because I just feel so uncomfortably full that I can't enjoy any of the other food, and that it's just not worth it to me. Oh, I'll have a bite, but that's about it. Another very good advice was NEVER to eat until stuffed. This was easy to establish since my biggest fear is stretching my sleeve, and secondly when I have eaten too much, I throw up! So I like avoiding this as much as possible :)
Another thing I did during my losing stage was to allow myself a glass of wine or a couple of bites of dessert when DH and I went out to dinner, or it was the holidays, or we were celebrating a birthday. Life in moderation, is what I call it. Just don't make it a daily habit. But I didn't want to feel deprived either.
I found that I love to exercise, something I never thought I would say. I reached the point that I was worried to stop exercising, for fear that I would put the weight back on. Not so! I had a nasty fall over the holidays, had knee surgery, and I have not been allowed to do one stitch of exercise
since then. I'm happy to report that although I did put on a few pounds over the holidays, it was from holiday indulgences! Since then, I have lost the extra pounds(by controlling my grazing), and I still have not returned to the gym. I miss the gym terribly, but I miss it for the way it makes me feel, not the fear of regaining.
So, for those of you that are so new and questioning if you did the right thing, can you keep eating this way for ever or will you have to, do you have to live at the gym, etc.- the answer is no. Life takes a normal rhythm. You eat less(like a normal weight person), you stress less, and you enjoy life more. As long as you keep the fundamental rules- proteins first, limit refined carbs, water, water, water, and add some exercise to your day, you should be good. Caution: don't think you can go back to eating the way you did before surgery, nor should you want to. It got you to the weight you were. Do you really want to go back there? Establish healthier habits early on, and they really do become second nature!
Best of luck on your journey, and if I can be of service, just ask!
Adele
My secret is not so much of a secre****ch your snacking!
I can be a terrible grazer. Thanks to my sleeve, I don't worry much about portion control, but if I allow myself, I could eat every hour on the hour. I was very frustrated at the start. Then I made a mental pact with myself- take it one hour at a time. I followed many of the common sense rules like protein first, never drink before during or after meals, and water, water, water! So, I made myself a schedule. I woke up and had a protein coffee at 7. At 8, a drank a cup of water, at 10 I ate a hard boiled egg, at 11 more water, 12 was lunch, 2 was water, 3 was a snack, 4 was water, 5 was protein and gym time, 6 was water, 7 was dinner, 8 was water, nine was snack or hot tea, and I was done. After awhile, I found I wasn't as "hungry" as I though I was. As time passed, it was easier to not dwell on grazing. Gum also helps tremendously.
I also want to share that not everyone has to count carbs to lose weight. I never counted carbs. I did focus on protein first, so I rarely had room for much more. I ate fruits and veggies once my surgeon cleared me to a full diet. I rarely(to this day) eat bread, cake, cookies or much of refined carbs. I do eat pasta and rice, but not on a daily or even weekly basis. I rarely have potatoes. But these are my choices, not my surgeon's or nutritionist's. Yes, they gave me guidelines, but the best advice I got was to try everything once, and if it agreed with me, have some, if not then don't eat it. The reason I avoid refine carbs is because I just feel so uncomfortably full that I can't enjoy any of the other food, and that it's just not worth it to me. Oh, I'll have a bite, but that's about it. Another very good advice was NEVER to eat until stuffed. This was easy to establish since my biggest fear is stretching my sleeve, and secondly when I have eaten too much, I throw up! So I like avoiding this as much as possible :)
Another thing I did during my losing stage was to allow myself a glass of wine or a couple of bites of dessert when DH and I went out to dinner, or it was the holidays, or we were celebrating a birthday. Life in moderation, is what I call it. Just don't make it a daily habit. But I didn't want to feel deprived either.
I found that I love to exercise, something I never thought I would say. I reached the point that I was worried to stop exercising, for fear that I would put the weight back on. Not so! I had a nasty fall over the holidays, had knee surgery, and I have not been allowed to do one stitch of exercise
since then. I'm happy to report that although I did put on a few pounds over the holidays, it was from holiday indulgences! Since then, I have lost the extra pounds(by controlling my grazing), and I still have not returned to the gym. I miss the gym terribly, but I miss it for the way it makes me feel, not the fear of regaining.
So, for those of you that are so new and questioning if you did the right thing, can you keep eating this way for ever or will you have to, do you have to live at the gym, etc.- the answer is no. Life takes a normal rhythm. You eat less(like a normal weight person), you stress less, and you enjoy life more. As long as you keep the fundamental rules- proteins first, limit refined carbs, water, water, water, and add some exercise to your day, you should be good. Caution: don't think you can go back to eating the way you did before surgery, nor should you want to. It got you to the weight you were. Do you really want to go back there? Establish healthier habits early on, and they really do become second nature!
Best of luck on your journey, and if I can be of service, just ask!
Adele
Thank you so much! Your post addressed many of things that are going on in my head right now. Almost 2 weeks post-op and I'm having a little regret right now. I know it's a stage as I've seen it talked about many times on the board, but it does make it hard. I like your idea of the schedule. I do better when I eat on a schedule, and I think it's time I get myself started.
Congratulations on your loss and thank you for your tips!
Congratulations on your loss and thank you for your tips!
I know how you feel and I still have a little regret having it but as time goes on it is easier. I told the doctor that he took away my best friend..FOOD. It is hard to know how much you like something and would love to eat it and can't have it. Even the things you can have you can't tolerate right off or at all. I find eating frustrating, I know I can get down the "bad stuff" but i am not doing it, that is what got me where I was. I find a schedule hard to follow with my job and I don't stress myself if I can't get everything in but the one thing I did was count protien and found drinks to fill up the lack of protien. I still concentrate on the protien.
I like reading about ones that have kept the weight off for years because I believe our biggest fear is that we are going to gain it all back like we have seen others do, but we have to remember we are not the "others".
I like reading about ones that have kept the weight off for years because I believe our biggest fear is that we are going to gain it all back like we have seen others do, but we have to remember we are not the "others".
wseymour
thanks for your post. it was very useful to me as I didn't use to be a grazer, pre-op I kind of ate too much at dinner/evening/night because I did NOT snack in the afternoon. but now that I can't do it, I feel I was starting to graze and did not lose much last month.
your post confirmed what I was feeling... I have to cut down on snacking.
thank you so much for sharing, you veterans are super inspiring and helpful!
your post confirmed what I was feeling... I have to cut down on snacking.
thank you so much for sharing, you veterans are super inspiring and helpful!
SW 215=98 | GW 137=62 | CW: 116 lbs = 52.5 kg | 5'4 | lost: 99 lbs=45 kg | goal: 7-9 mo.
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