Guidlines

Jul 12, 2014

I am going to give different guidelines that worked for me and also mirrors what Pete did. Please know that there are a million variations and what is most important is to work into a plan that is highly effective for you and sustainable. 1. Basic rule- for every 10 calories, at least 1 gram of protein. This is averaged over a day. This means when I have protein shakes I get more protein for less calories, and it frees up the ratio a bit for other selections. But by the end of the day if I ate 800 calories I would want to see at least 80 g of protein. 60 grams might have been from shakes and accounted for 320 calories, so you can hopefully see what I mean about it freeing up some choices for veggies or something throughout the day. this rule of thumb worked great for looking at nutrition labesl and quickly determining if it was an Ok choice though. 2. Get at least 80 g protein a day, and in my case I averaged 110+ during the weight loss phase. This is the number one thing you can do to keep hunger at bay aside from perhaps carefully managing your carbs. 3. With all that protein your kidneys will need A LOT of fluids! I consider 80 ounces to be a bare minimum, but in my case personally at least 150 ounces. (I am tall and prone to low blood pressure.) 4. Don't skip fiber. Look for food choices that pack a lot of fiber, minimal calories, and net carbs that are low. My go to choice during the weight loss phase was a serving of Fiber One cereal with almond milk- under 100 calories and kept my blood sugar stable throughout the night. I would eat it right before bed, but only because I am hypoglycemic. I need at least 30 g a day, but I think the average person can go 20-25?? 5. Eat protein first, then green leafy veggies. Of course, this is when your sleeve is healed enough. 6. Wait at least 30 minutes after eating before you drink. Keeps you full longer. 7. In my first month calories started at 300 and up to 600 by the end of the month. By the end of month two I was around 800. Most people here do try to stay at 800 or below. I eventually added calories (per my program) without an issue, but I am also 6'2'' and exercised a lot during the weight loss phase. 8. Manage your carbs carefully. This is a hot topic on the board. You can see a poster on this thread who keeps it under 25 and it has worked brilliantly for her. Many on the board shoot for 40. I need more due to the hypoglycemia so would average about 100 net carbs per day. Pete, if I recall correctly, was higher than 40 but similarish to my numbers. My carbs are high quality complex carbs- veggies, fruit low on the glycemic index type stuff. I did an occasional Torani low carb wrap for a sandwich, but in general ate very little bread. I skipped pasta, refined white carb, and white carbs like potatoe and rice almost completely. My carbs were all about adding fiber and nutrients to the diet. 9. Exercise daily. I assume you are out of shape due to the recent surgery (so was I and everybody else pretty much or we would not have needed surgery)... but find something. I started walking at first. Once able I worked the elliptical. My normal routine turned into either a 4-5 mile walk or an hour on the elliptical. On the weekends I would do both on one day. I took one day off a week. Pete is a rockstar with exercise- dramatic change in him and he is pretty darn buff now. He would have to fill you in on his regiment though. Not only does it burn calories, but it served a critical function for me- giving me somthing to do at night and away from food. I am a night eater and this is a dangerous time of the day traditionally for me. 10. Weigh and track everything. I use myfitnesspal.com, and so does Pete. Feel free to friend us there- I go by idateacher2 over there. I cannot emphasize enough how much this one habit will help long term. i get at first it is a pain in the ass, but it only takes a minute here and there and this site makes it super easy. They have an app for the phone that is free too. Use it. 11. If going out to eat, before you go pull up the nutrition info if you can. It is SHOCKING how horrible it is- even for things that would normally be ok. This way you will know what to order when there and avoid consuming a ton of calories without realizing it. 12. Go to support groups. I did NOT want to do this at first, but I made the decision at the onset of the process to follow the suggestions the bariatric team provided me no matter how stupid I thought it was. Remember, you may want to fight the advice they give you- but whatever you were doing got you into this mess. Open yourself up to changes suggested even if you think it is stupid. Lecture over! 13. When eating wait at least 2.5-3 hours before you eat again. Simple rule, but powerful. 14. I ate 3 meals and 3 snacks. Meals would be about 30 net carbs, snacks about 15. Whatever you choose to do with carbs I would encourage you to avoid consuming a big number in one sitting. It floods your system with insulin, which in turn stores calories to fat, and triggers cravings/hunger. Some can't do snacks- it begets grazing. Figure out what works for you. 15. If you fall off the wagon, crawl right back on. Learn this very important skill! Analyze what triggered you to fall of the wagon so you can make a plan to avoid it in the future! 16. If what your doing is not working, adjust. If for example you are eating 1200 calories and not losing, adjust! Just because I could lose weight at 1200 calories does not mean everyone can. Pete, on the other hand, was still losing at near 3000 calories if I recall correctly because of his exercise regiment. Others gain at 1200. Adjust, adjust, adjust! 17. Purge your house of all junk food and trigger foods. I used to think it wasn't fair to my family, but they were 100% on board. Later in the process I realized it wasn't fair to them to keep it in the house... it is not meeting their nutritional needs anymore than it doesn't meet mine. 18. Make a list of things to do instead of eat. When you are battling cravings, boredom, whatever- go to the list and do something off it. I am a big bordom eater or eater when I do studying, grading type stuff. I had to have a plan to deal with this. If you google "things to do instead of eat" you will find all kinds of lists that are already done for you. Good luck and stay the path- you will not likely make goal in 6 months, but you will if you stick with it. We have several regular posters who lost 200+ pounds and many more that did but simply do not post anymore.

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