New here - Introduction

Hi everyone!

I'm new to this group, but not totally new to the OH forums.    I had an RNY back in April 2008 and the OH board was instrumental in both my preop and postop questions, care, and even some friendships. 

A little bit of history and information on my journey:

I had surgery in April 2008, my starting weight at the time of surgery was 278pds.  Over the first 8 months I lost quickly and hit my 100pds lost mark near my 1 year anniversary.    My goal was 160pd, but I stopped losing at the 178pd mark due to my own fault.  I think I got caught up in the glory of losing 100pds and kind of just stopped trying...

I hit my 4 year anniversary last month and weighed myself at 192 pounds and started to panic.  I'd maintained at 178-180 for 3 years, but maintaining was no longer happening.   

3 weeks ago I decided to get back on track.  I bought protein shakes, I joined a local gym with my husband, I had a plan, a goal, and I was going to do this!    I had gotten myself back to 187pds the week previous to joining the gym and was feeling pretty proud of myself.    

That first week I counted calories diligently and worked out 4 times, I was rocking it!   I got on the scale and ...... I was 192.8 pds.        I spoke to the Nurse Pracitioner I work with and got the feedback that, "muscles weighs more than fat, you're having water retention from the weight lifting you did, etc".     I was still frustrated but satisfied with that answer... a counted calories for that week, worked out twice, and weighed myself ago....... I was 192.0       Dont get me wrong.. I know it was a loss... but c'mon.. I was at 187 BEFORE I started to *try* to loose weight again.      So.. I was irritated... and spent a week being irritated and frustrated.      

This morning I got determined to give it another go and I came and found my old friend, the OH board!!! :)   

I weighed myself this morning and was 190.8, so I've reduced some additional weight over the last week (even though I'm still not back to the 187 I was 3 weeks ago).     I'm still kind of mystified on what exactly happened 3 weeks ago when I started exercising and changing my diet for better and GAINED weight that I'm still working off - but determined to figure this out and DO IT! .. 

I'm looking forward to meeting / talking to many of you and joining in this journey together.  I'm determined to hit that goal of 160pds but know it's a marathon, not a sprint!

Today I went for a 45 minute walk outside, it was uphill/downhill and I got my heart rate going pretty good.   I have a 1400 calorie goal each day (plus some if I exercise).   This is supposed to result in a 1-2 pd loss per week.

My food today has been:

B:  NonFat Latte w/ 1 Spenda.    Egg McMuffin Delight (made with egg whites)  250 calories
L:  Large Chili from Wendy's (290 calories - 19 protein)
S: Protein Bar (210 calories - 14 protein)
D: Will be at work and one of my protein shakes.  (190 calories and 30 protein).
S: At home will likely be one of my Sugar-Free Pumpkin Muffins (made with pumpkin and box of sugar-free cake mix).  Approx 120 calories.

I'm drinking about 40-50 ounces of water daily right now and trying to increase it.  I'm also going to be trying to limit fast foods as much as I can (it's VERY hard with my schedule - work FT and PT job), trying to lower my carb intake some, and increase my protein even more.

Just wanted to add, my biggest, largest, by far challenge, is that I'm an emotional eater.  It's been my biggest battle during my weight loss journey.    I've recently been struggling badly with depression, anger, and stress for many different reasons so the desire to emotionally eat has been a huge and constant weight.  

Welcome Aboard!

Glad to have you here on the BOTT blog.  Your food looks really good today.  When i need to lose and not maintain, I cut my calories to 1000 a day with no more than 50 carbs a day.  I maintain on 1200 and gain on 1400.  If you exercise, do not add more calories if you are trying to lose, only add them when you are trying to maintain.  By logging your food and exercise daily, it will make you make better decisions and be aware of what you are eating that may be keeping you from losing.  I journal my foods on www.myfitnesspal.com.  It is a great app to use on your phone or computer.  I took 70 lbs. or regain back off in 8 months so I know this works, at least it worked for me.  Look forward to seeing you post.  Have a great day!

Thank you Tess - I appreciate your feedback and thoughts! .. :)     I've thought about lowering my calorie intake even more and have been doing some serious hunting through the forums of recipes on OH to make some game plans.    I know right after surgery I used to make mini-quiches to take with me and I *loved* them.   Of course at that time I wasn't counting calories, I was just staying away from most carbs.  

You are welcome!  Check out the recipes on bariatricfoodie.com and theworldaccordingtoeggface.com.  They both have awesome low calorie high protein recipes that are yummy!