Food irritation, confussion xpost (thought you vets could help) :-)

I posted the other day that I was going to 'tweak' my eating plan. I done a lot of researching eating plans for the VSG and none of them had the restrictions that I am on. I am restricted from foods I have always eaten and feel so deprived that I know when I do get to them that I am going to over do it.
I know from me having PCOS that carbs are my eneny. I acknowledge that, I understand it, but I don't have to like it.

So me and my husband were talking and I have a thought/question.
How can we NOT loose weight if we are only consuming 600-800 calories and exercising (with limiting carbs)?
I use to eat EASILY 3,000-4,000 calories a day and not exercise.
Now I consume 600-800 a day. I have extremely limited my carbs and I exercise 1 hour a day for 6 days a week buring around 300-600+ calories a day.
So I guess I am wondering why it should matter what meat my protein comes from???? I am not frying it!

Is it okay to have a bite of the thing we are craving once a week or once every two weeks? I just can't see how depriving ourselves is a good thing. Isn't that what makes diets fail? They go without for so long and then over do it with the item that was kept away?

Yes- I am doing good so far but dag blasted I am SICK of chicken and turkey! I put pork in my diet yesterday and I stayed fuller longer AND I got closer to my protein goal for the day. I felt better all day and had more energy.

I am going to have a very long talk with my surgeon and nutritionist Tuesday. I think I am loosing my mind and I know I can't be the only one. I even thought about just doing the Atkins diet straight up for right now; especially with so much restriction.

I am not trying to say that we should throw our eating plans out of the window but I can't stick with this eating plan if it is going to drive me crazy.

Is anyone else in a similar situation or have been in a similar situation? Has anyone not exacty 'followed' the doctor's eating plan and still lost the weight?

So for my plan, any type of protein (beef, pork, bacon, eggs, cheese, chicken, turkey, greek yogurt, shellfish, regular fish) is fine, and was during the WL phase.  I never worried too much about fats, except I do use mostly low-fat dairy products.  But I cook my proteins in butter or olive oil, etc.  I log it all, though, including what I cook things in, but mostly pay attention to protein and carbs.

When you ask about, is it okay to have a bite of the thing we are craving once a week or once every two weeks, I can only speak for me.  If that thing is a baked good or sweet of some sort (sugar/flour), the answer is usually no.  It's a trigger for me that sets up even stronger cravings.  If I'm going to have a bite of dessert, I HAVE found that a bit or two WITH MY MEAL doesn't create the cravings, as opposed to eating a dessert type thing a couple hours after a meal.  Probably because the sugar content doesn't spike blood sugar when a small bite is eaten with an otherwise protein-loaded meal.

I hope this helps!

That is a good point about eating that 'thing'with my dinner and not by itself.
Thanks!

I agree with the poster above...When I was losing I ate all kinds of protiens and didn****ch fats either. The only thing I watched was carbs. I would eat any variety of meat that suited your fancy so long as it wasnt dipped in oreo crumbs first! ;-)

Atkins would be fine...

I didnt really follow what my NUT told me to do...

I am a VET at dieting...I KNOW how to DIET...I am a fricken PRO at it! I know what should work what was supposed to work..problem was no matter how compliant I was.,..I would NEVER lose a pound becuase of the PCOS.

So with the sleeve there was no way I was following so low fat processed carb diet from my hospital hand out...Im sorry Im way to smart to be eating 100 caolorie packs of refinded flour Thank you very much!

So I did very lo carb and for the first time in my life *deiting* worked thanks to my sleeve!!!

I am now more or less in maintenance. I am fine where I am, but Im ok if I slowly lose another 5-10 lbs but Im not in a rush. I like how I look...never thought I would be one to say that.

And so to also answer your question..I think it is important to make changes you can live with but at the same time make sure you take full advantage of the losing stage.

So mix it up is my vote! Check out the eggface lady blogs, avoid the crappy carbs till you find your happy place and then revisit if you chose...

Hope this helps..now go eat some bacon lady!!!

You will get great responses on your questions here!  I'll just chime in on one subject that I am a freaking expert at:  Do NOT give into the temptation to have sugar or simple junk carbs!  At least not this early post-op.  When you are a little farther out, if you stay away from the garbage food, you may very well lose your cravings for it.  I certainly did.  When you have lost all your weight and are maintaining easily, if you occasionally want to have a bite or two of unwise food, give it a try ... but beware -- it may very well set you up to crave more of the same.

I've told my story here numerous times, but I'll tell it again:  I lost easily, without a single problem, 115 pounds in less than a year.  I also have PCOS and have severe back problems so didn't exercise much.  No matter.  The weight came off just fine.  I maintained without any effort at all, too, eating protein first and veggies next, with a few complex carbs if room.  No cravings, no problem.  I had resigned myself pre-op to never again eating desserts or drinking soda.  Didn't matter.  They were the enemy, not my friends.  

Then about a year and a half post-op, I had to have spinal surgery, had complications, spent over a month in the hospital and a nursing home where they could NOT figure out how to feed my sleeve.  I lost over 25 pounds in that month and was terribly emaciated.  Once I got home, the doctor (who knew nothing about my history of morbid obesity and binge eating) told me to gain the weight back any way I could; she suggested I eat lots of ice cream.  Well, I'm an obedient child and did what the doctor said.  

Now, two years later, I am 30 pounds overweight again and back on the junk food.  The cravings are back, the battle with food is back, and this time I just can't manage to get it under control again.

All that to say, the foods you "loved" in the past, if they were junk carbs and sugar, are NOT worth it!  Stay as far away from them as you can!  I can almost guarantee that the cravings will go away pretty soon.

If, by telling my story, I can convince one person to stay away from garbage food, I will feel that my struggles are not in vain.  Please take good care of yourself, and best wishes on your journey :-)
--Dorothy 

Oh my goodness! Thank you for sharing your story.

Thank you Dorothy!  I'm convinced.  I am currently in maintenance and have upped my calories, yet continue to lose slowly.  I had to go to Braum's the other day to pick up a few things for DH lunches and their ice cream is wonderful!  I picked up the peanut butter cup for DH who does not have an ounce of fat on him and then picked up some frozen yogurt for me.  I had a little that night and it was like crack!  I've been craving it ever since.  I'm rationing it but I will NEVER buy that stuff again...it's way tooo tasty and addictive for me.  Gotta figure out those trigger foods and let 'em go!  Thanks for sharing.

Deb

So it's difficult for us to comment when we don't know what your plan is. We know that every doctor has their own plan.

I remember when I first started out I was envious as to what other people were eating. My Doctors plan was liquid up to the first six weeks. I seen others that were eating chicken and beef after two weeks.

Now I look back and I think my doctors plan was great. I'm sure I would have not been able to tolerate chicken and beef that early on.

The plan I was on really concentrated more about getting the protein in. There was no cap on Fat and/or carbs. Although the foods that we were allowed to eat didn't contain much if any carbs for the first 5 months. Pasta, Rice and similar foods were not allowed until month 6.

Now with that being said. It's important that you take advantage of your honeymoon period. The first year to 18 months when your sleeve is the tightest. After that period your stomach is not as swollen and you can fill it with more food. It's important that you develop those good eating habits of not eating until you are full and eating the right protein enriched foods that will keep you satiated the longest.

So yes you can have have those foods that you crave but they come at a price. And they can slow you down and you don't achieve the maximum results. You have to sit back and ask yourself is it worth it. If your like me and carbs is your demon. That one bite is going to turn into many.  Unfortunately those foods are usually sliders and they go down fast and easy.

Regarding the 600 - 800 calories a day. I take it that you are in a stall. You're doing everything right but it's damn frustrating when the scale doesn't move. I think we've all been there. I remember at one point I was in a 6 week stall. It was very frustrating...but it does pass.

The only advice I can give is stay the course...If you do, your hard work will pay off.

I really don't see the issue with eating other forms of lean protein.  My doctor's plan is considered very restrictive, yet all forms of lean protein were on it.  I did keep my calories in the 600-800 range and cabs under 40 grams while losing and I do think it was important for my weight loss to be pretty strict about it.

As far as having treats once in a while, well that is up to you.  It has more to do with head games than with losing weight.  I know that from me, staying focused and not introducing "treats" until way into my maintenance phase was the right thing to do.  Carbs trigger me to eat more carbs.  There is really no such thing for me as just a little treat.  The next hour or the next day, I will crave a little more of that treat or another one like it, and then I find myself dealing with the "head games" and I would rather not go there.

It can be really frustrating to be following your low cal plan and not lose weight. If you stick to it you will lose - it just may be that there is not loss on a daily basis.

Not sure what your eating plan is but by all means eat lean pork, fish of all kinds and beef or lamb as your dense protein. It sure doesn't have to be chicken or turkey.  Tofu and eggs are fine too. And tuna salad with low fat mayo is good. I would avoid the bacon but thats about it.

I agree you gotta find an eating plan that works. When I craved a sweet during weight loss phase I ate some grapes. So sweet and readily available. Yeah they have some carbs but are low calorie and kept me from eating the white carbs that are so killer. Dietician approved.

Everybody experiments a little with eating plan, but i stayed withing the calorie/carbs/portein limits and ignorred fat since with so low calories you can't be getting much fat.

If you really want a sweet, have an atkins endulge bar which has 10 g protein. calories kind of high but much better for you than some gooey dessert.   hope you get this worked out.     Diane