What's on the menu today, RNYers?
This is such helpful context, Louise! My NUT was zero help on calories in my appt this afternoon (I will give an update tomorrow) but I like reading your history and how you went about this. Sorry to hear about being off gluten and grain and dairy. But what you fill up on sounds really high in protein and healthy.
Funny - we are the same height and I am always curious what weight equals what size. 149=size 6, for example. My current goal is 170. I may revise that down if I ever reach it :)
Thanks again for the info - and way to go on reaching goal and being so active!
It sounds like you definitely did everything right, Louise. I appreciate your sharing your story. Your description of how you eat now: "I pretty much eat meat, veggies, beans, and fruit with liberal amounts of good fat." sounds like exactly what I am trying to get to. Whole foods, prepared well, focused on protein, with as little processed foods as possible. And I can really empathize with your statement about losing 30-50 pounds over and over, that sounds exactly like me for the past 35 years sadly enough.
Your history is amazing, and inspiring! Thanks so much for letting us know how you've handled your post-surgery life. I keep wishing I'd done this years ago, but it is what it is, and I'm determined to make the best of it from this point forward.
Thank you for the well wishes also. I find posting here helps me stay accountable, and I'm enjoying the camaraderie I've found with most people here.
Surgery: RNY on 12/18/2013 with Jay M. Snow, MD "Don't mistake my kindness for weakness." - Robert Herjavec, quoting Al Capone
I certainly don't have it all figured out! That is for sure. But I try to stay honest and just keep making the next right decision. I actually am loving how I eat. I don't do protein shakes, mainly because of the allergy problems but I find that if I use shakes at this point, it just means I hit my protein goals too easily and end up having more room for sweet potato fries. Eek. So I stick with real food. I like to cook so that works for me. In the early months I used lots of processed high protein foods, shakes and bars and high protein tortillas. but now I am really not eating any of that (mostly because of the allergy stuff) but I actually like it a lot. Stinging nettles are in full bloom around here and I am eating lots of those in eggs and soup. Yummo! And dandelion greens, like seriously the most amazing thing ever, sauteed with garlic scapes and a poached egg on top. Asparagus just came up as well. Life is good in the food department! I have been less active this month mainly because I have just been busy putting in the garden (which isn't exactly inactive) and because it is too muddy in the mountains to hike. But I am gearing up.
Sometimes I feel sad for myself that I didn't do this years ago, that so much of my life was spent in so much pain. But the truth is, I don't know that I was ready. so yes, i agree, it is what it is. And maybe this was the exact right moment for us both! It is good to have others along for the journey.
I am loving it too--and I love to hear a girl who digs stinging nettles and dandelion greens because those are such healing foods! And I'm with you on the hiking--no treadmills for me. Being in nature is the best! I know what you mean about feeling sad about not doing it earlier, but we were just finding our way! And we still are finding the best path for us. Maybe it's not entirely orthodox and what others insist is The Way--but it's Our Way!
I can't believe how much energy I have these days and I put my b12 shot on automatic refill so I won't forget to call it in. I was feeling lethargic if I went past 30 days.
I was trying to stay below 800 calories but now I'm ok as long as I don't go over 1,000. I have better protein numbers and I'm still losing at least 2 pounds a week. I'm about 30 pounds away from my personal goal so I think it's ok for me. Today my calorie count was lower than usual but I definitely think it's a good idea to fluctuate the calorie count from day to day so our bodies won't know what to expect. I remember that tip from watching the biggest loser.
Nothing exciting in my menu. Will be eating cauliflower pizza for a few days until it's gone. Excited my mom is coming to town this weekend for a few weeks. I have lost almost 15 pounds since she last saw me. She has been thrilled for me through this journey.
Tomorrow is weigh in day for me. Hoping for good numbers...
Time since surgery: 5 months and 2 days
B: 8oz unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 1 scoop mint cookie protein powder
L: cauliflower pizza with turkey pepperoni
S: 10 oz unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 1 1/4 scoop mint cookie protein powder
D: not sure yet, grilling pork chop for the fam so prob 2 oz of pork chop and 2 oz of fruit or veggie
S: 1/2 vanilla Greek yogurt, 1/2 peeled gala apple, 1 T chocolate pb2,
663 cals, 85 g protein, 29 g carbs, 23 g fat
V: on track
E: need to get with it
W: need to get on it.
That could totally be my menu! Looks awesome. I will post tomorrow about my doctor visit today, but the net net is that yes, I will be increasing calories. And carbs. I am so scared! LOL! But look how awesome you are doing with 1000 calories and still losing 2 lbs a week. Great idea to mix it up.
I'm happy for you that your mom is coming to visit! How fun! My mom saw a pic of me the other day on FB and texted me "Do you think maybe you're losing too much weight?". LOL! I told her I am fine. She is also so excited. What mom wouldn't want their child to live longer? :)
Remind me if you mix the Pb2 with water to make a paste for the apple? I am now supposed to incorporate fruits, and apple + pb2 sounds scrumptious.
I posted something about severe restrictive caloric diets the other day. I posed the question: when conventional wisdom is that slow weight loss benefits maintenance, why is the bariatric community encouraging 600 calories a day for rapid weight loss? Someone replied that conventional wisdom does not apply to obese patients, but I have scoured the research to prove it. I will hear out my surgeon and his NUT at my three-month visit, but I feel more energetic and content with 800-1000 calories. I am willing to take longer to lose the weight if it means I more easily transition to maintenance. Maintenance is the reason I opted for surgery in the first place.
