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ugh...confession time

LisaLisa

LisaLisa

Member
While I was under strict diet guidelines of pre and post op surgery, I was a model patient. If you give me rules, I'll follow them. Now I've gotten to the "mushies" but my guidelines are not as clear. I feel like I'm eating too much and too often, and of course I am plateauing. I'm down about 25+ since my surgery 14 October and feel like I'm screwing everything up. I've also fallen into the pit of "she lst 68 lbs in three months!" That means I'd have to lose 50+ to make that number. (Right now I can hear Ryan saying everyone has their own journey and don't compare yours to anyone else's.)

I'm sure you will tell me to follow my dietician's direction, but they don't really fit my life. For example, I'm to eat breakfast, then have a protein shake after two hours (bleck!) then have lunch, then have another dreaded shake, etc. I have my cafe mocha shake first, then do some kind of breakfast, then have to have another (!) shake. It's like my schedule is skewed compared to dietician's recommendations. I've been keeping track of my protein and I feel comfortable I'm hitting the mark with it and water, but...I have no plan. I take a combo of refried beans, yogurt, cottage cheese, avocado, applesauce, string cheese, and a shake or two etc for lunch when I go to work, but it seems like too much. I guess I have to suck it up and start tracking all my food, just like I did when I was on WW and countless other diets. Whaaah.

I have started incorporating walks, yoga, and light strength training, but as we know, it won't make a difference on the scale. I took my measurements at one month and will do it again at 2 months. Maybe that will perk me up?

Sorry, I guess I'm just a big baby, but if feels like I'm failing so soon after just starting. :(
 
You aren’t failing because you’re still here, making sure you’re getting all your protein, water, and sounds like you’re keeping in line with the mushie phase. When do you move onto the next phase? It is incredibly difficult not to compare ourselves to others. I’ve been weighing myself almost everyday (even though I know I shouldn’t), I only haven’t the past 2 days because I started my period and who needs that crap?! You’re doing amazing, and I know that you’re going in the right direction ;)
 
Lisa, sometimes when you are on a diet it can feel like you are eating more than you did before because the reality is that you are probably eating lower calorie foods, especially if you are eating more fruits and vegies instead of high calorie non nutritious food. As long as you aren't feeling like you overate and are feeling uncomfortable you are probably fine. But it wouldn't hurt, and it would ease your mind if you do tracking for a while. In the beginning I was surprised how low my caloric intake was for the day. You will probably find that after a while you will be more confident in your healthier eating choices. Regarding the shakes, there are plenty of ways to get more creative with the shakes so they taste better to you. I've done a lot of searching on the internet and in facebook groups and have found different concoctions you can make or add unflavored protein powder to different foods. The group "Bariatric/WLS Friendly Recipes - Low Carb & Low/No Sugar" on Facebook has a lot of good ideas.
 
I can relate about when you get to the point that we have to venture off and start to eat on our own if you. I will say that as much as I hate keeping track of what I eat I do use both the scanning application in FitBit and MyFitness Pal to keep track of what I eat and it makes the tracking easy because I now tend to eat just the same things over and over Monday-Friday. On the weekends I will change it up a little but not too much because as much as something sounds good i find that it does not agree with me. With the FitBit app and My Fitness Pal it will let me know the breakdown of carbs, protein etc. When I was hitting plateaus it was largely in part when I was not tracking what i was eating and falling into the cycle of "well i am eating what I should be or I am doing well" reality is totally different, I was just lying to myself.
 
The fact that you ha e lost that much since surgery alone, I'm not surprised your body is giving you a bit of a stall. That is a lot in a month.

Also what are they expecting you to be at as far as protien right now? It does seem like the amount of protien and food you are trying to take in at basically a month post is a lot.

I was off protein for awhile as I couldn't tolerate it but even at that time I was only expect to hit about 45 g a day and was lucky it I was getting in a half cup of food a day as well. I am coming up on 3 months post (and I will admit, I dont measure food, never have as can't eat much) and really still don't eat much. I am a bit of a stall currently but only lose 8-10 pounds a month and I am ok with that.

I am just getting my eating back on track after dealing with some acid issues but here is what today's food looked like:

Breakfast- half a protein shake
Lunch- half a sandwich(half slice cheese, ham 1-2oz, 1 slice bread)
Dinner- 3/4 taco. (Part of a soft carb sense shell, cheese, beef and a touch of lettuce and a touch of sour cream just to tale the dryness off). And a kids carton of milk.

Had a snack of some crackers in-between lunch and dinner because I usually eat lunch around 11-12 and then dinner between 6-7 which goes to long with out food. My plan says no snacks but because of the acid issues lately which seem to be worse with out having a snack in-between meals I have been allowed a light snack. Dietician says no snacks, doc says have a snack. Even my doc says do what is best for your body. The recommended plan isn't a one size fits all plan.

If your not hungry don't force it. Eat until your full and stop.
 
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You aren't failing. There are many people who have difficulty with some of the guidelines, and I don't think it's a failure if something doesn't work for you. I ate only a few different things during puree phase, and even into the soft food phase. I didn't do a lot of variety until I started eating regular food.

Meet your protein goals and stay very well hydrated. It seems like you are doing those things, so you are going to be fine. You don't need to get too wrapped up into the timing of it all.

As far as tracking goes, I think it is helpful early on to get a good feel for the calories and macros of certain foods, but I think moving toward intuitive eating is a good plan. That being said, lots of people track for the long term, but that isn't me. How much you eat is significantly less important than what you eat. I tracked for two months, but now I don't, and I'm still losing weight.

Of course, as you mentioned, each person's journey is unique, and there are many people who have lost less than you have in the same amount of time, and there are people who lose more. There is no normal, except what you are experiencing.

Take in good quality protein, stay well hydrated, and continue moving forward to real food. When you get to real food, add in new things slowly and try to make good whole-food choices and high quality protein. Continue to meet your hydration goals, and when released to exercise, start working in some resistance exercise. You'll get there, my friend.
 
Hey, Lisa. A few things. Listen to the "Ryan" in your head LOL It IS a personal journey and we are not all the same. You're not failing, you're finding your way. It is harder once you get to real food and the specific instructions stop. If we were masters of responsible meal planning, we wouldn't have needed WLS. I am a HUGE advocate of meal planning and tracking. I totally understand why you don't like to. It is a pain in the beginning but like sportsdad said, once you get your regular foods in, they just kind of pop up in the apps. No more searching, scanning etc. Which saves a LOT of time. That's what worked best for me. Finding a few standard meals that I rotate. If you like refried beans, slow cook some chicken in salsa and add an ounce or so to a few ounces of refried beans with a dollop of avocado and you have an actual meal. That is still one of my standard go-to lunches I take to work and I'm long past mushies! You can add protein powder to your food instead of drinking a shake too. If I never drink another protein shake, it'll be too soon. You are not going to have it all figured out at 1 month. But you will figure out what works for you. And 25 lbs in a month is amazing. You're doing great.
 
You all are too kind, and today on Thanksgiving, I am especially thankful for you!

I think what I felt I was doing wrong (yes have analyzed this to death) is that instead of doing the shakes, I was trying to substitute high protein foods and that made me really feel like I was eating too much--and I may have been. I've tried to find a shake I can deal with...to follow the plan but have found that Genepro protein in my coffee with a cup of milk and a bit of Fairlife Hazelnut creamer (the bomb!) gets at least one less shake in my life.
 
LisaLisa said:
You all are too kind, and today on Thanksgiving, I am especially thankful for you!

I think what I felt I was doing wrong (yes have analyzed this to death) is that instead of doing the shakes, I was trying to substitute high protein foods and that made me really feel like I was eating too much--and I may have been. I've tried to find a shake I can deal with...to follow the plan but have found that Genepro protein in my coffee with a cup of milk and a bit of Fairlife Hazelnut creamer (the bomb!) gets at least one less shake in my life.
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While it is important to follow the guidelines early on, we also often need to make personal adjustments. Everyone doesn't fit into the same box, and it looks like you are making adjustments that work for you. The worst thing to do is to keep doing something that is overly frustrating as we tend to compensate too much the other way.

You are going to do great!
 
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