Records from WV finally received

Yes!! I have been waiting it seems like forever to have my records sent from WV to a Bariatric Dr. here in IA. Well, I have an appointment now in Dakota Dunes,SD on December 1st. I am excited. I need a follow up with physician as well as maybe even a nutririonist. I write down every day what I eat. The good,the bad and the ugly.... I have done this for a while so, I will take that along with me. Of course it is 1.5 hours away so, I am hoping for no snow. I am 5.5 years out. Does anyone else that far out still do follow up appointments or did you quit at a certain point?
I haven't taken the time to post lately but I still get to check out the post while working.
Just wanted to share my news.
Have a great evening :)
Jenn

Hello my friend :)

Good news JENN... happy to hear you will be seeing someone :)
Sorry you have such a drive...I am scheduling to see a nutritionist also since moving away from my bariatric and other Dr.'s...have been struggling and just not doing as well...I so need this board and support...

Will follow your lead and start documenting my daily intake...like you said...the good, bad and ugly...being honest is crucial!

Keeping in touch...

Hugs...

Heidi

Heidi,
Great to hear that you to will be seeking a nutritionist. I think I am just more cautious having to write down every bite that enters my mouth.
It was good to hear from you and keep in touch!

Jenn

I'm not 5.5 years out - but am 4 years.  I still write down what I eat every day.  The difference between what you are doing and what I find works for me is that I write my food consumption plan at least one day ahead and I do better if I write it down for two or three days ahead.  Since we know little or nothing about "tummy hunger" but know a WHOLE LOT about "head hunger", whether or not I think I'm hungry is of no value whatsoever in determining whether or not I eat.  I know how many calories I need to maintain and that's my limit.  I watch my carbs to - try to have around 135 for good brain function.  Do I every overeat - C'mon I'm human - but 99% of the time I stick to my plan.  I may modify it when the day comes, but I stay within my calorie limit for that day.  Every body's body is different and this may not work at all for you, but it works great for me.

So glad you are going to hook up with bariatric professionals in your area - well, more or less in your area.  S N O W is why I moved from Indiana to Florida.  As far as I'm concerned, the most evil four-letter words in our language are SNOW and COLD  LOL 

I wish you well

Thanks for your reply.......So how do figure out how many carbs that you need and what the right amount of calories you need for yor body? Most people I know who have not had the surgery try eating less than 20 carbs a day to lose weight. So, for us who have had surgery how do we know how many we need. As you see it is a good thing that I do have an appointment soon, right?  You are so right, I do need to plan and right down a day or so ahead. I think I will try that too. I think someone in an earlier reply had said the plateau busting plan was not nutritionaly good overall for long period of time but that confused me because is it not essentially the way we should be eating? Several small meals a day with protein first and no drinking 30 min prior to and after meals and taking multi-supplements? i just want to remind you guys again how blessed I am to have found this site.
Thanks,
Jenn

Jenn - I have found that using LiveStrong.com/user/thedaily plate and then registering for mydailyplate has been an enormous help both in planning my food for each day and for knowing how many calories.  One of the features there is entering your height, current weight, and level of exercise - the level of exercise is very general.  It will then provide you the information how many calories you can consume to either lose 1 - 1 1/2, 2 or 2 1/2 pounds a week. (Or how many to maintain).  It is not geared specifically to us bariatric patients.  I ususally ate a little under my allowed amount and usually lost faster than their projected date (patience has never been one of my virtues LOL)  Recently I have seriously rethought how many carbs I eat a day and my conclusion does not necessarily go along with bariatric guidelines.  There is strong research to indicate that cutting carbs down to the level I had been interferes with healthy brain function.  At one time, my bariatric surgeon's nutritionist told one of my friends that the brain needs a minimum of 135g of carbs daily just for normal functioning.  She just told me that recently - since I've been maintaining, but she was told that as she was in the process of losing.  I do know brain cells need twice the energy as any of our other cells.  Now 135g seems like a LOT of carbs to me when I had been striving to keep it much much lower - so at this point I don't go over 135g.  In NO WAY am I a qualified dr or nutritionist (what do psychologists know about such things LOL)  so PLEASE DO NOT USE ME AS AN AUTHORITY  I am simply sharing with you what I am doing.  At 5' 0' to maintain my goal weight of 112 pounds, my daily calorie allowance is 1511 calories.  I stay just a few calories below that and it is working fine for me.  And to do that, I have to write my plan and follow it whether I happen to find it easy or hard on any given day.  That's what work's for me but every body's body is different so we each need to experiment and listen to our bodies to learn what's best for us individually. 

The no drinking rule (no drinking 30 min before, during, or 30 min after a meal) is because liquids fill up our tummies but do not satisfy for long and we can soon feel hungry again.  It also can wash what we do eat through faster without giving our body's time to absorb the nutrients.  Some people do best with frequent meals other's do best with three meals to get their daily calorie consumption.  I have found that I do best with three meals and a morning and afternoon snack.  Again, that is an individual thing.  Yes we need to get our protein in AND our water.  For me, that isn't a problem so when I eat it isn't significant.  For others it is - just know your body.

Hopefully your new bariatric professionals can answer these questions for you.  Follow exactly what they say and that way if you have any problems they will know exactly where you need to make adjustments.  While our needs are virtually the same, lap band, by-pass and vertical sleeve patients do have a few procedure-specific guidelines.  Also, different physicians have their individual guidelines as well.

I wish you well in your quest. 

You are very helpful and  I do appreciate your comments. It gives me the I know I can do it attitude.
I will check out the LiveStrong.com.

Hang in there Jenn and be like a bulldog - don't give up demanding answers until you get the help you need.  And never ever doubt that you can do it!!!!!!