What do you make of someone like me???

*chuckle*

I always assumed my wordiness was the Texan in me. 

If you want to express yourself like I do, you are going to HAVE to start using way more words. 

:}  But you gotta make up at least half of them, like Dr. Seuss.  Keeps it interesting.

I think it was a great thing to bring up babygirl!  We learn so much, us! 

Do you just think I am a freak of nature?  Or do you say "Tsk tsk...just wait until that weight starts piling back on and don't come crying to us!" ??  OR, is it that maybe there is more than one way to skin a cat? lol

"I will take Freak of Nature for $200 Alex."

Totally kidding.  I'm really glad you put this out here.  I've found that I've been putting too much pressure on myself to be "good' and count everything.  One whole side of my family is just waiting for me to "gain it all back" & haven't even congratulated me on the weightloss.  And being so freaked out about it, I'm putting too much pressure on myself to be "good". 

I think there are many ways to succeed at WLS ... anything who thinks they have the ONLY answer is a bit self-centered and conceited.  Good grief!  Look at how many post-op plans are out there!?!?!?!?!?  I think we all have to do what is best for us.  And, your way is looking very appealing to me right now.

Again ... thanks for posting.

Thank you so much...I am glad I was able to help. 

Perception is a funny thing Brandilynn.. and for all you tease me about my years of education, I'd easily throw away several years of useless book learning for your innate intuition and way with words! Of course I would not be so judgmental to say that she does not care about her health.

I can only speak from my own reality, and for me, as a nutritionist, I know what those foods do to my body, and I can't un-ring that bell. I can't pretend that moderation would give me the longest life or the most energy for everything in life or that there is no cost for trying to do moderation and have some cake once in a while.

Even small amounts of those foods really do have a cost in the body. I can't pretend there is no cost after my education in nutrition. Knowing what I know, I can't possibly see things the same way when it comes to food.

My mother also thought that way.. that those foods gave her pleasure and she didn't want to live a life without them.. that it would be terrible to live a life without her favorite foods. She was on weigh****chers till they day they rolled her out of her cube, covered in vomit from the indian food, blue from lack of oxygen.

Her last words were "Oh my god", and she had a look of shock on her face, clutching her chest and then shortly afterwards passing out. I wonder what her last thoughts were... if she knew she was dying and if she was afraid. If she was happy that she has that last meal, or if she would have given up that food to say goodbye to her daughter and son and boyfriend.

I wonder if she knew she was going to die so young, or how much her boyfriend and her children and all her friends miss her, if she would have still thought that those foods were worth it. I'm sorry if this sounds morbid or overreacting to you.. but for me these choices are nothing short of life or death choices. This is in no way an attempt to try to get you to change your mind, or your beliefs, or anyway judge you for your thoughts and beliefs.

I am merely sharing my point of view that you might be able to look through my perspective for a moment. If it doesn't resonate with you that's OK. I share this with you also so that you may understand why some people may appear to be "carb nazis" or diet zealots... it's because we have watched the pain that some food choices have wrought on ourselves and people we love; it's because we care.

It may not be relevant to you, and it may not always be said in the best way, but I believe that most people on OH, when they share their perspective about food choices, have the best of intentions, and I believe you do as well.

Sorry for another book!

I think everyones Journey is different...for me its been slow...and I exercise a lot, and eat low carb, low calorie, 99 % of the time.
I am never one to condem another for their eatting or exercising habits...I am curious...can you tell me what you ate on a typical day while you were losing weight?

I found these two entries on the Lightweight board (I quit posting on the daily menu thread because what I ate or just the fact that I didn't calculate calories seemed to freak people out) and they are pretty typical for me.  Funny enough, one entry was from a day I ate a cupcake for breakfast! lol 

Hey there Lightweights!
B:  Starbucks tall non-fat, full sugar Toffee Mocha
B:  Syntrax Nectar Cappucino shake
S:  4oz coffee w/ cream & sugar
S:  handfull of white cheddar popcorn
L:  1/4 of a chicken, veggie & fried rice bowl at Ghengis Grill (lunchdate w/ my handsome hubs!)
S:  Syntrax Nectar Cappucino shake
D:  1/2 of a sandwich on whole wheat with smoked ham, Havarti cheese, tomato slice and mayo with a few Classic Lays
S:   3 Ritz crackers with Havarti, summer sausage and dijon mustard


Happy Thursday everyone!!
B:  Starbucks tall non-fat full sugar Toffee Mocha
B:  yummy cupcake from party last night and 4oz coffee w/ cream & sugar
S:  2 deviled egg halves made with real mayo
L:  slice of Havarti cheese and slice of Black Forest Ham and handfull  white cheddar popcorn
S:   Syntrax Nectar Cappucino shake
D:  1/2 lb snow crab legs with drawn butter & tartar sauce and 1/2 a small baked potato w/ real butter
S:  Syntrax Nectar Capucino shake after workout

I think we are all different and we each have to find what will and wont work for each of us..

some of us lose better and feel better eating low carb, others dont feel good doing that and feel much better eating higher carbs.

each one of us has to find our balance with our own bodies and what will work with our own metabolism.

I do have trigger foods, but they are not the same foods i used to call my favourite foods prior to surgery, I used to love bacon, mashed potatoes, and while i still "like" these foods they dont call my name anymore, i can go months with eating none and not crave them, i dont even crave chocolate have not had any chocolate for almost 1 yr and dont crave it.

i might eat low carb most of the time, but i still love food and its not just fuel to me either, so i will induldge in christmas and thanks giving and prob other times as well, but I also know that when im done doing it  im probably going to have to deal with a few lbs of weight gain and as long as i am vigalent enough to get it off again im ok with that.

so no i dont see you as a freak, i see you doing maintenence and whats working for you, like me im sure if there comes a time for you that you need to tweak things, you will...

I started out tracking but didn't do it very much and it was just a bit around months 3 - 4. I never went low carb, specifically. I made sure I got in 65 g of protein and so much of it was syntrax nectar but I didn't worry about "protein first" and would have a few crackers.

I did have stalls but learned to ignore them, I just stopped weighing myself all the time.

now, I have binge eating disorder which went away for about a year and then came back. I work on that but I find that worrying about calories, carbs, etc, tends to make it worse.

some foods I don't keep at home (triggers, we all tend to have them) but I put no food off limits if I want it, I get some. I think it makes sense to go OUT for a desert anyway, make it an occasion.

I am sure there are people who assume I am going to gain it all back but I don't think so. time will tell!

but those *****alize people are different and we all have to figure out what works for us, well BLESS them!!

Great post and wonderful thread that has sprung from it. You have achieved what for many of us is the holy grail of weight loss - the ability to eat naturally what you want without calculations and record keeping and without the slide into gradual grazing and overeating that many of us fear. YOu have done well. I would really like to get to this point but I accept that I might never be able to eat in this manner.

My surgeon gave me  a 50 page book of post op instructions with specific requirements on calories, carbs and protein. I decided I would be an idiot to have my stomach chopped out and then do anything other than follow these instructions to the best of my ability. Doing so necessitated keeping a food diary (simple little notebook). My main focus seemed to be making sure I got enough protein. If I did that and stayed away from high sugar high carb items, the rest of it sort of fell into place because by eating the protein and trying to have some balance with a few vegetables or bit of fruit, the sleeve restriction kept me from eating too much of things not on the program. And while before wls I was drawn to sweets and desserts like a moth to a flame, somehow the lack of ghrelin plus the forced change in habits resulted in those cravings shriviling up. I do have a bite of chocolate once in a while or a bite of a dessert if I am served it as a guest, but thus far it stops there. Doesn't send me into a carb binge. But even so, I still journal my food though i have been at goal for several months because i find i still have to push the protein to make sure I get it. I am actually 13 lbs below my surgeon's agreed goal but in our recent conference he said that it was totally fine and stay with it as bmi is normal. Somedays I find my calories at the end of the day are only 800 or 900 and my favorite remedy is a blob of peanut butter so I track these things to make sure I get enough as much as to avoid overdoing.

So yes, I think your achievement is wonderful and wish I could be the same and maybe someday I will. But for now, I live in fear of regain and have too many memories of having lost weight and the subsequent "freefall" of post diet regain that ghrelin levels caused. My surgeon says regain usually occurs during the second or third year after surgery and since I am in that time frame, I am most comfortable maintaining a vigilence by simply tracking protein, carbs and calories and will probably keep doing that for at least another year or two. maybe forever.

So if I comment to a person who is struggling with stalls or regain and who asks for help I do suggest that they start food journaling again and eating like they are a few months out of surgery and count and watch the carbs. I don't think that makes me a carb nazi - just a person who is reporting what seems to work and trying to help. And for the record, while I was rather  a slow loser, I had only one very brief stall of less than a week and my weight loss was steady and regular and actually a little faster after 6 months. I reported previously that I had a resting metabolic rate test and i need only 936 calories to maintain my weight if i sleep all day. Add in a few hundred for normal activity and its not much. People really vary in this regard and some of us just have to monitor more carefully than others to maintain.

So thats one former fatty's take on this topic. We are all different and while there are a lot of doctor's detailed programs on losing the weight after surgery, there is not much on the maintenance phase - hence the creation of this group. Each of us is finding our way day by day. Glad your path is working well for you.    Diane

Ok, here is some perspective for everyone. I'll let you into my 'other' online life...my cycling forum. Take a peak at this thread, normal, everyday women who watch what they eat. You'll get an idea of what 'normies' eat on a regular basis...

Cycling forum