Non-Timeout roll call!!

Well, I hope we won't have to resort to it!  Although I would love to see my scale move downward, and rapidly too.  Wasn't that fun when we were losing steadily?  But that's over for me, and has been for a long time.  I just don't think I have the "guts" to do all-liquid again.  I couldn't even do it for the 10 days after my surgery that I was supposed to.  I thought it was 7 days, and my doc yelled at me for starting on soft foods too soon! Carlita

It's weird that when I was forced to be on all liquids due to my hernia problems and the accompanying hospitalizations, I mourned food.  I had really hit my stride with my behavior modification and WLS.  I was eating right, enjoying salad, not missing carbs at all.  I was actually angry that I couldn't eat.  I knew that I had adopted a healthy eating pattern and I wanted to continue it. I still feel that way.  I am lucky that I have figured out what works for me (I don't do sugar or carbs and fortunately, I don't miss them). If I would need a "Time Out", I'd like to think it was because for some reason I spiraled out of control and needed to get back on track, but, even then, I think I'd opt for protein loading, upping the water, upping the exercise, etc. before going to all liquids. Time will tell.  Right now, I'm just keeping on with what I'm doing....maintaining my loss. Though I am painfully conscious of the bounce back.  I read enough about it here and it makes me very concerned and keeps me diligent. Karen

I am going to make an appointment to have my thyroid checked.  I lost all the weight I needed to lose and then without changing a thing the scale started to move up and will not budge back down no matter what I do.  My hair is falling out some again.  I am tired all of the time no matter how much sleep I get.  I am moody and freezing cold all of the time, and my hair and skin are really dry.  I have had issues with dry, scratchy eyes.  When I google my symptoms hypothyroid comes up.  I am eating very healthy and exercising several times per week.  So there is no reason for the few pounds of weight gain except possibly my thyroid is off.  Thyroid problems run in my family.   So, when I get tested and if my test come back that I have a problem, I noticed you do not use the generic.  Do you find it doesn't work as well?  Just trying to go into my appointment with as much knowledge as I can so I can get this fixed up if it is in fact my thyroid causing me problems.  Any information would be helpful. Thanks Melissa

Hi Melissa, My thyroid problems were discovered after my third failed IVF attempt (I also have PCOS).  I finally got pregnant after the clinic fixed my thyroid....hypothyoid affects infertility. Anyway, I digress.  I have always been on generic, however, many people have told me that their doctor's recommend pure thyroid hormone, not generic. I stopped losing weight at about 9 months post WLS.   In January of this year, I developed pain in my joints (finger, thumb, wrists, knee, etc).  I also got optic nerve swelling.  I went through tons of blood tests and my PCP found that my thyroid was off (hypothyroid).  He prescribed a higher dose of generic.  I never followed up after six weeks, but recently noticed the joint pain return.  I called for a blood work script, and sure enough, my thyroid is still hypo.  My PCP confirmed this on Monday and switched me to synthroid...non-generic.   I am on a high dosage...he described it as a dosage that he would expect for someone twice my weight.  Anyway, like you, my hair has been falling out and I am really diligent with my eating and the weight will not budge.  I'm really hoping that the fact that my thyroid was off will explain the non-movement in the scale.  I also have little stamina. I think you should get tested.  Keep in mind that "acceptable levels" for TSH are .5 to 5.5, however, many, many patients find that the optimum TSH for them is between .5 and 1.0.  Keep this in mind because it is possible to have hypothyroid symptoms and still be in an acceptable range. My levels one different occasions have been 13, 9 and most recently 8.75 in January and 5.75 this past week.  My doctor wants to get me down to between .5 and 1. Hope this info helps.  Please email me and let me know what you find out.  Thyroid is supposedly very underdiagnosed. Good luck! Karen

Thank you for sharing your experience and info with me.  I will keep it in mind when I go to my doc in the next couple of weeks.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Those symptoms really are pretty consistent wit hypothyroidism and fortunately it is easy enough to diagnose and treat!!

I'm not currently on the TO plan, but I have been considering it to give myself a "jump start."  I'm 18 months out from surgery and it is much harder to get my body to lose weight now.  I find that, if I want to keep losing, I need to switch up my routine every 3-4 weeks.  Otherwise, my body "settles in" to whatever I'm doing and holds steady within a 2-3 pound range.  So I've considered the TO plan as a way to shake things up, intentionally confuse my body and modify my metabolism.  I'm not sure, however, that my body will tolerate TO because I work out 6-7 times per week for 60-70 minutes per session; TO might not give me enough energy to be able to work out at that level and I enjoy my work out time.  So just considering it, but not acting yet.  My sense is that some of folks who are doing TO are using it to detox themselves from carbs.  I know that once I allow the number of carbs in my day-to-day diet to increase, that I start craving more carbs.  I also know that once those carb cravings start, I need to significantly reduce my carb intake or things will quickly get out of control.  So if the TO plan helps people reduce their carb cravings, it may be a good thing.   That all being said, I do agree with the posts that one of the goals of WLS is to learn to eat healthy, rather than continuing cycles of unhealthy methods to lose weight.  So I think that whether TO is a reasonable choice for some folks depends on the individual and why they are doing it. 

Anyway, just wanted to offer my two cents.  For now, I'm sticking with a good mix of real food, lots of fluids, and lots of exercise!

Kellie

I would agree that if it helps to detox from carbs, that's a good thing.  I just don't like to see anyone going crazy with anything.  I'm a big moderation person.  I think obsessing over things like this can be unhealthy, and obsessing can definitely be a part of the obese person's life.  We obsess over losing, gaining, and everything in between.  Better to get away from obsessions if possible.

I have been diligently reading everyone's posts about "time out" and it is just like everything else things can be useful or can be overdone.  We had the surgery to improve our health and help guide our eating patterns/ change our relationship with food.  Some people who have the surgery exchange one eating disorder for another, as Willow referred to with it defining themselves. Exercise is a very healthy thing for us to engage in, unless we use it (as some do) in excess working out 2-3 hours a day.  Watching what we eat and being mindful is another tool to help us, unless we sit and obsess incessantly about it.  Coming to this website can be a source of support and information, or it can be a way for some to facilitate their eating disorder and obsessions about food/control of food.  Many have seen that the "time out" can be used as a detoxification from sugar/carbs or a means to regain control over eating habits.  Or one can go "crazy" and think it is a quick fix or an elimination of a problem only to return to the same poor habits.  Some have been concerned about the terminology "time out" as a negative reference or punishment and any time we use something as a punishment it is going to affect us negatively (such as, I ate like a pig, now I have to work out for 2 hours rather than , I allowed myself to indulge in that dessert, so to balance the scale I will fit in an extra workout). The actions are the same, but the intent and thought process leads to different perceptions and ulitmately different thoughts and feelings.  Personally I could call the "time out" instead .... "regroup plan"  "glutton interruptus" "return to basics" or "sugar/carb detox" and we can use the tool appropriately or not. I really appreciate how so many people are here to support each other toward better/healthier activities.