Major Observations here on VSG Main......

Have you ever noticed that nutritionists is abbreviated as "nuts"?  Coincidence?  I think not... I'm not sure about some of the advice given to these VSG patients.  It makes me angry to see that some are given really bad advice.  I would recommend that anyone considering this surgery go to a reputable sugeon with a tried and true plan and research the **** out of it BEFORE taking the plunge!!!  Thanks, as always, for your wisdom and observations.  I hope that some newbie reads this and plans accordingly.

Deb

I definitely agree about posting tapering off after 4 months or so. Has been true for me, even though I'm on OH several times a week. I try to respond to questions if a lot of other people haven't already answered, or I feel I have something unique to offer.

I'm probably in the minority in regards to my personal "plan," so I don't post much about that. I don'****ch my carbs. Just follow "protein first." Not much room for carbs after that, but I definitely do not do low-carb or very low calorie. However, I exercise intensely six times a week. I feel I've been very successful. My goal was 100 pounds by 6 months, and I'm at 95 pounds lost with less than a week to go. So, I haven't exactly achieved my goal, but I feel very good about what I've accomplished.

I haven't seen many people who have an eating/exercise plan similar to mine, so I don't talk about it much. Since the most vocal success stories seem to be the low-carb, very low-calorie, I wonder if I'd be doing (relative) newbies a disservice to talk about what I've done, since it goes against the traditional plan.

Before I the surgery, I assumed I HAD to do low-carb. My nut didn't think I needed to do that, and it turned out I haven't. Now, I'm only six months out, so I can't compare my loss to people who have met goal and maintained. But, maybe there are others who want to know if it's possible to achieve goal without doing low carb, very low calorie. For ME, it is. I can't say whether or not it's possible for anyone else.

I just wonder if there are any others out there like me?

Eileen

Eileen, it must be the PA air cause like you, my NUT also does not preach low carbs. She wants me to do a "protein first, veggies second, and whatever if you have room. (I don't eat to my sleeve's capacity). I do exercise 5 days a week though (which she stresses) and it works for ME. What we are doing may not work for everybody and for a lot of folks the "low carb" way of eating (I refuse to call it a diet) works. I got this surgery so I could eat so much less of the foods I like (was never a big junk food or sweet eater) so if I want a spoonful of white rice or bread (cant stand the brown stuff) I do. My weight loss may not be fast but it's steady and as long as the scale doesn't go up, I'm happy. The end result is that I love my sleeve and this was the best thing I have done for myself.

 
Hi Eileen,

I applaud you on your success !!!!

Please by all means tell your story !!!

The way I read your story is that you have basicly "traded" 6 times a week intense exercise for increased calories and carbs. Very cool...it's a good way to go. There are several on this board that have turned into atheltes post surgey...... That is basically what you have done !!!!

If you were to take away your intense exercise and ate the same..... what would your results look like????

frisco

 Thanks, Frisco! I can't imagine taking away my exercise! I've gotten to the point where I look forward to going to the gym. I could never understand why people liked exercise so much, but I guess trying to exercise with 95 extra pounds on your frame is pretty unpleasant. In addition, the exercise has changed my body so much.

I know some people here are not big fans of exercise, so my way probably wouldn't be for them. If I stopped the exercise, I think I would still lose, but MUCH more slowly. I don't track every day, but when I do, I'm usually around 1000 calories on an average day,  I definitely agree that the exercise allows me to be a little "looser" with my food plan. I have eaten pizza, had a small piece of birthday cake, some ice cream, etc. If I ever had to stop exercising (injury, etc) I'd have to tighten up my food plan big time. But, I guess that's what everyone has to do in order to lose and then maintain. Old habits creeping back  - no exercise or bad food choices - will get us all in the end.

Eileen

If you don't have much room after protein, aren't you low carb?  You may not track it, but essentially, you are low-carb right?  Sure some days may be higher than others. I say that because I'm not tracking my carbs. I eat protein first. I weigh my protein and keep track of the grams for the day.  That means that I'm not getting many carbs because I'm so full after protein.  I got this from my NUT and my friend who had the bypass 6 mths ahead of me.  I definitely consider myself low-carb because it is not sneaking into the ground beef, tuna, tilapia, salmon, turkey, and chicken. 

To a certain extent I probably am. I guess what I mean is that I don'****ch my carbs. The protein bar I eat has about 30 grams of carbs, I eat presweetened greek yogurt, I eat fruit a couple of times a day, I'll have a slice of ww bread or crackers with my tuna, etc. My protein goal is 50-60, which is lower than others here, so I probably have more room for carbs than others. I consider myself low-carb compared to people who try to keep their carbs under 40 grams of so. But, compared to the average person, I'm probably low-carb.
Eileen

Amen!!!  I still consider myself a newbie, almost four months out for me.  I love reading your posts because you tell it how it is.  The bonus to that is that you are speaking from experience and not just sugar coating things, which is funny in a way since we are all here because of bad habits and sugar was one of mine.  I don't want it now, nor do I want anything said to me that is sugar coated either.  I want the truth at all times no matter if I don't want to hear it, I need to hear it. :)

Frisco, thank you for continuing to be on here and posting for us newly sleeved people.  It sure has helped me through hard times and keeps me on the right path.

Thank you again,
Stephanie

Thank you for your post :)  I have to say, like some, I didn't read stuff that I totally agreed with.. but it's always nice to get the observations from a vet :D  I really appreciate your insight and support.  It helps newbies like me stay strong

Re:  "A lot of people have WLS really that weren't really ready for it or didn't give it an honest try."

I think there are many people out there who have binge eating problems prior to surgery, and don't address them... perhaps thinking that the surgery will cure all of their food issues?

I've mentioned this before, but I am SO HAPPY that I went into a binge eating program prior to having the surgery.  While I didn't lose weight in the program (they don't guarantee weightloss... they focus on mindfull eating), I did gain some priceless tools that I will use for the rest of my life.  I learned what triggered my binges, and put a plan in place to minimize them.  !  I also learned how to control my cravings.  Overall, the program is one of the best things I've ever done!  I continue to pracetice what I learned, and hopefully it will help to make me one of the WLS success stories :)