Question:
Just over 1 year out have lost in 5 months need help!
I am just over 1 year out and have not been losing in over 5 months. I am trying to restart my excerseing. But feel lost in the food dept. I have lost 100Ibs but have at least 50 to 60 more to lose. I feel I have lost my way. I know I have to stop the snacking and get back to at least 80 grams of protein a day. My nutrionist told me to stay between 600 to 800 to keep losing. I feel hungy all the time and crave sweets. Could any give me a example meal plan to get me going again. I asked my nutrionist and she did have one to give me. She just stated the above and only eat three fruits a week. I feel I know what to do in my head but can't seem to get the meal planning down. I know I can do this but any help would great. — wendyt (posted on September 21, 2006)
September 21, 2006
Sorry to hear about your issues, but personally I think you need to find a
new diectican. 600-800 calories are not enough to keep you going after a
year. You should be around 1100-1250 depending on what activities you do.
You stated that you are restarting your excercising program. Why did you
stop? The 3 most important areas of weight loss from Gastric ByPass are:
eating, drinking and excercising. If you don't do these three then you
most likely will not lose. The next most important thing you need to do is
go to your local support group. You absolutely need to be around others
who have had WLS. Being a group support leader for one the largest groups
anywhere is that those who say they don't need support group meetings will
lose weight, however they also after 18 months will put on around 40-70 lbs
of weight. First thing you need to do is find a new dietician.
Good Luck
— Steve Cohen
September 21, 2006
Get a new nutritionist pronto. What kind of nut. doesn't have a meal plan
to give you? That's her job! And I agree with Steve, that's not enough
cals if you're exercising. Your body will go into starvation mode.
Getting in your protein will curb your hunger.
— platypus
September 21, 2006
Try to imagine that you are a recent post-op and that you are working on
establishing an entirely new relationship with food. Consider this as a
plan, then, not for addressing past mistakes, but for moving forward toward
a healthier future.
What has worked for was to start every day with two cups of coffee and
then, 20-40 minutes later, a soft-boiled egg (around 7 a.m.).
My mid-morning snack was a protein shake. (Now, by the time of protein
shake was done, I would have about 40 grams of protein in me).
For lunch, I would suggest a salad with some cheese or maybe some meat or
beans (just be careful and count the carbs in them). Having an afternoon
salad was filling, the crunching and chewing was a good distraction and it
was a good source of fiber. Many afternoons, I would also have a protein
bar (very dense) and then have the salad for supper.
For my mid-afternoon snack, i would pre-measure some nuts (almonds or
peanuts). Once again, I'd get a little protein, some good fiber, have
something to crunch that would take a long time, and not be killing myself
with carbs. If didn't have a protein bar for lunch, I would have it as my
late afternoon snack.
Supper was usually a small serving of meat (hamburger withouth the bun,
half of a chicken breast) along with a very small (no more 1/4 cup serving
of a low-carb vegetable).
I tended to save for evening my calcium citrate because it was a something
to chew that was a distraction from feeling as if I needed to eat
something.
When avoiding late night snacking was burdensome, I would drink
concentrated Cyrstal Lite and would usually have a second protein shake at
night.
Hope this plan helps.
And, if it is at all possible, think about attending some support group
meetings as you can draw tremendous strength from others who are
experiencing many of the same struggles you are.
— SteveColarossi
September 21, 2006
You might want to check out this group, it is a Back on Track group and it
has great information and support.
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/OSSG_Back_On_Track/
Wishing you the best! Anita
— ALF
September 21, 2006
A couple of suggestions, read up on "Calories in - Calories out. Get
into an exercise program. The reason that you may be craving is eating
carbs. Check out Good Carbs - Bad Carbs. Other words, get back to basics.
If you exercise allot and only eat 800-900 calories, your body could go
into starvation mode and won't let go of anything. My biggest suggestion -
Get back to basics and join a support group.
— jk_harris
September 22, 2006
Okay - I'll go a little radical 5 months is a very long stall for having
wls, and you are indicating you are snacking. That's a big problem that
you have to get under control. Seriously - this is the BIGGEST reason why
people don't lose enough or they regain it all. I don't *want* to scare
you, but the reality of it is that if you have that much more to lose and
you haven't lost in 5 months, you are on a very slippery slope. So what is
radical? Well, first, the question is: Have you stretched out your pouch?
If not, you have nothing to worry about. If you have, you need to cut
back on your intake drastically for the next few days. Shrink the pouch
back. Second, quit snacking. The sugar is what is compelling you to eat
more. I know what I'm talking about because I am reactive with sugar too.
The only way out is to fight your way out of this and get rid of the sugar.
It's going to be hard initially....it always is. But the cravings will
give way eventually. Third, for me personally, there is nothing 100% off
limits, but I limit my intake of each thing. If sugar triggers you that
much (or even sugar free things) you need to concentrate on protein and get
away from sugar as a general rule. You might be able to revisit it after
you've gotten your weight all off, but you need to get cracking because you
don't have a lot of time left on your "honeymoon" phase. Anyway,
here is the most radical part: Use fast food to your advantage. What you
tell us - that you are hungry all the time - signals to me that you aren't
eating enough protein and you are eating too much sugar. So considering
most people can be lazy about cooking, go fast food and go for the protein.
What I do when I need protein is I get a McD's $1.00 double cheeseburger
and eat what I can of that. They are fairly small, but the buns aren't
huge (unlike Burger King) and there is a lot of compact meat there.
Anyway, those will kill my cravings pretty quick, and they are great for
when I'm in a hurry. DON'T build your life around fast food though. I'm
just saying that when you are feeling an insatiable craving coming on, run
to fast food and pick out something high in protein. Be it a burger, or
you could choose grilled chicken or a beef burrito, the point is to load up
on as much protein as you can. That usually always takes my sugar cravings
and knocks them down a few notches, and I don't get hungry for a very long
time afterward. The fat with the protein helps to quell my hunger for
longer periods of time. As for snacking - try to avoid between meals
snacks period. Many docs are different, and mine told me 3 meals a day and
nothing else. I rather like that because it keeps me from obsessing on
food all the time. If you just HAVE to snack, get raw veggies and dip and
have that. Go as low cal on snacks as you can. And last, but not least,
when you feel a sugar craving you don't think you'll be able to quell
coming on, force yourself to eat protein first. Who cares what time of
day it is- just eat the protein and pretty much fill up on it (thankfully
it won't take long). THEN have the thing you were craving. You won't have
as much room for it, but you'll still get a taste. Hopefully some of
these strategies might work for you. You need to take the bull by the
horns at this time and get in gear. I bulk of your journey is over, but
don't let that be it. You can turn this thing around and finish losing
your weight....You just need to get real with yourself and make a conscious
decision to change. Find a way that works for you and don't worry about
what everyone else does (including me). Get out off the dieting mode and
find something that works to keep you on track for life. For me, that
meant no more diets and nothing off limits. But I'm smart about that and I
don't make meals around my snacky foods. I keep my "triggers" all
around my house and buy as much as I want....and the appeal of it has gone
for me. I have control over what used to be a compulsion. Anyway, you
can have that control too - just don't keep trying to find what works for
you. You can do it!!!
— Dinka Doo
September 22, 2006
i am doing the exact same thing you are . I am down about 100 pounds and
had my surgery last nov and have not lost but maybe 3 pounds in last 5
months also . My e mail is [email protected]. e mail and we will
get this solved together . I have talked to a few about going back and
eating the puree phase or drinking the shakes for at least a week to make
sure pouch is shrunk back . e mail me . I need a friend that's going
through the same thing .
— losingit
September 24, 2006
1. RELAX, RELAX, RELAX. I had my surgery in May 2005 and I had a spell
where the scale just would not move. Give your body some time to adjust to
this new life that you've given it.
2. Get a new nut PRONTO in my personal opinion! 600 - 800 calories is not
enough to keep yourself going, thus you are exhausted and crave food. Your
body is starving. It thinks that you are trying to kill it by not giving
it enough nutrition, therefore it's holding onto everything you put into
it. Trust me. I went through the same thing and as soon as I upped the
calories to 1200, the scale began to move again. Barbara Thompson has a
whole section in her book that talks about this starvation mode thing ( I
also talk about it in my profile) if you would like to google her website.
3. I myself need to take my next piece of wisdom, but STOP LOOKING AT THE
NUMBERS! Yes, I know that's hard (I'll be honest, I get on the scale on a
daily basis just about) but remember there are a lost of factors going into
our numbers as formally morbidly obese people such as:
A. Our bones weigh more than the average persons due to the fact that
for years, we carried more weight than a "normal" person does.
Our bones are denser. We also have issues with extra skin (my docs
estimate anywhere from 10 to 15 pounds of excess).
B. What the magic number on the BMI charts are for "normal
people" aren't always going to be right for us. I'm in a situation
right now where my docs (gastric surgeon, back surgeon, PCP, OB/GYN etc)
are all telling me that I'm actually underweight for my frame. That's four
different doctors all telling me the same thing! They said that I should
have stopped at around 170 pounds (which according to the BMI charts would
have put me at still slightly overweight at 5 feet 8 inches tall) however,
I became obsessed with the numbers and I'm down to 152 pounds now (remember
that 10-15 pounds of that is nothing but excess skin which has no value
added to my body) and I'm paying for it. I'm getting better now, but in
the past several months, I've been hospitalized with dehydration, had
multiple health issues with malnutrition, heart issues, neurological
issues, multiple female issues and I've basically wrecked havoc on my body
which is thanking me by trying to shut down my kidneys, eating my muscles,
etc. DO NOT let yourself get to that point! A 100 pound loss is
EXCELLENT! Give yourself some credit and stop looking at those scales!
— Heather L.
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