I need some help! - Page 2 - ThinnerTimes

MiladyB · 11-13-2007, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SueRN

I dont' see anything about exercise. That is going to be a key factor in weight loss and maintenance. Also, I noticed that you are eating a lot of processed foods...watch you sodium intake as that could make you retain water. You also don't want to restrict your calories too much. You should be eating at least 1200 Kcal/day. You can throw your body into starvation mode which can slow weight loss down. It is possible to make your goal by Jan but don't put too much pressure on yourself. The weight didn't come on over night, although I swear there were mornings that I know my ass was not that big when I went to sleep, and it's going to take time to get the wieght off. Especially as you get closer to your goal. I was actually down to 158 but was not able to maintain that. My body has never really let me get past the 160 mark. I'm 172 now and working on getting back to 165. I've talked to a lot of people and it seems like gaining 10 lbs post op is pretty common. Keep up the good work, get a regular exercise routine, and you'll get there! Sue

Thanks Sue. I'm having more processed food today because I have to go to work. I'm an RN and I need to find a meal that is quick to heat and easy. I don't normally eat as much processed food unless it is a work day. I've been getting in 1200 calories a day but it hasn't been the right food. I know that and recognize the need to change the foods I am eating.

I totally agree that exercise is important. I'm getting it in but I have to admit that is also an area that I need to get more consistent with. I do wear a pedometer and work on getting in 10,000 steps a day. I don't always get it but I do try to get close to it. I was taking a 3 mile walk at least 4 times a week before my plastic surgery. I'm just having some trouble getting back into it. I'm just off from medical leave, lost ALOT of blood with surgery and my stanima is coming back slow.

Thanks for the suggestions though. I know you are right on target!

I won't be too hard on myself if I don't make that illusive 150. I honestly feel good about myself and how I look and feel but I also know that I need to change my behavior if I want to at least maintain.

SueRN · 11-13-2007, 01:02 PM

It always seems that those last 10 lbs are bitch. I know how it is to get stuff that is easy to transport to work.I work out everyday doing cardio and 3 days a week I do weights/resistance training. I'm getting better at not focusing on a magic number. I wear a size 4-6 in pants. Tops, the sizes are all over the place. I'm 172 and in a size 4 so the number on the scale does not always reflect your success. That's what I keep telling myself as I try to talk myself out of going crazy to get back in the low to mid 160s! Being aware of what you are eating is what it going to help us get to our goals and keep the weight off. you go girl!

LisaBoston · 11-13-2007, 01:17 PM

My podmate, maybe your body is happy at that weight? I never expected to get to 150 and thats where my body wants to be...regardless of what I do. I do go up and down 5 pounds from day to night, but more often I go down 4 pounds and then put back the 4 (morning weighing only).

As you know I was only on the scale weekly or biweekly during my weight loss period, now I weigh everyday. I think thats important at our stage.

What would be so wrong for you to accept 155 as your weight? Dr Ford took away 10 pounds and you didn't loose any weight after the tummy...what message are you supposed to hear from your body. How do you feel? Does those few pounds make that much of a difference? Just a few things to think about!

Oh, and remember that everyone is different, but I eat WAY more calories than you do......most days its 1200 plus, although I don't count as a rule ( I do check every so often!) My fat content is higher too for many days - I try to keep to the good fats, but when I eat red meat the saturated fats are too high, but thats something that I am aware of.

Muscle weighs more than fat........so its not always in the numbers!

electrichoney · 11-13-2007, 02:56 PM

Beth and everyone -- I have a question for you all regarding the issue of goal weight. I've seen a lot of people post here on TT about goal weights, how depressed they are that they haven't reached their goal yet, how hard those last 5, 10, 15 pounds are to get off, etc., and it's started me wondering about how important the actual number on the scale is at the end of the process as compared to the vast improvement in health, quality of life and self-esteem we've gained as a result of our surgery. Beth, I don't mean to discount your feelings about goal *at all*, but I just wonder how much those last five pounds matter in the grand scheme of things when you think about how far you've come? Are they worth feeling horrible about yourself because you don't lose them? You look and feel wonderful, so why should an arbitrary number rule over you?

Let me explain my perspective a little. This has been an interesting thread for me to read because I'm now at the point where my initial rapid weight loss seems to be slowing down and I'm trying to think more long-term. Goal weight is something I think about quite a bit, but mostly that's because so many of us here on TT talk about our goal weight. For me personally, though, I've never really set a goal weight per se, because (1) I've never in my life been successful at losing weight so I've never wanted to assume that I'd have any success from this process for fear of failure YET AGAIN, and (2) from the beginning my goal for the surgery was less about actual pounds lost and more about regaining my health. I basically had two objectives -- to control my diabetes and get rid of the sleep apnea. Beyond that, I figured any weight I lost would be all to my benefit because I'd be better off than where I started. And now, 8.5 months out, I *am* better off -- no more CPAP, my blood sugar is normal, and I feel and look better than I have in *years*. I know (or at least I hope) I'll keep losing weight as time goes by, but all this has gotten me to thinking about what point I'd be happy to end up if my weight loss suddenly stopped. For me personally, I have to say that if I stopped losing weight tomorrow, I could be happy where I am because I've lost 160+ pounds off my highest weight and I am so much healthier now than I was then. (Not to mention the HUGE gain in self-esteem because of a job well done so far!) My signature says "Goal 180?" because that's the weight I was in high school, but now I find myself just 75 pounds from that weight -- 75 pounds which I could, and probably will, lose over the next year if all goes well -- but still I'm thinking that maybe having a set goal is just another way to obsess about eating or not eating or gaining or losing or WHATEVER, just like I did when I was at my highest weight. I guess the bottom line is that I worry having a firm goal will feed into the unhealthy relationship I've always had with food, because eating will become less about nutrition and more about restriction so I can get to that goal weight. Does any of this make sense?

This is just me, of course, but again, I wonder how important that numerical goal is. Any thoughts on this would be welcome!

MiladyB · 11-13-2007, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LisaBoston

My podmate, maybe your body is happy at that weight? I never expected to get to 150 and thats where my body wants to be...regardless of what I do. I do go up and down 5 pounds from day to night, but more often I go down 4 pounds and then put back the 4 (morning weighing only).

As you know I was only on the scale weekly or biweekly during my weight loss period, now I weigh everyday. I think thats important at our stage.

What would be so wrong for you to accept 155 as your weight? Dr Ford took away 10 pounds and you didn't loose any weight after the tummy...what message are you supposed to hear from your body. How do you feel? Does those few pounds make that much of a difference? Just a few things to think about!

Oh, and remember that everyone is different, but I eat WAY more calories than you do......most days its 1200 plus, although I don't count as a rule ( I do check every so often!) My fat content is higher too for many days - I try to keep to the good fats, but when I eat red meat the saturated fats are too high, but thats something that I am aware of.

Muscle weighs more than fat........so its not always in the numbers!

Thank you for your words of wisdom, Lisa. If my body wants to sit around 155 I really am ok with that but what freaked me out was the fact that I was creeping back into the 160's. That I wasn't happy about. I was eating too many carbs. I know that is my downfall, my trigger foods and it is something I need to keep my eye on. I'm not one of those people who doesn't believe in NO carbs but I've been drifting back into eating the bad ones.

I hear you and I know what you are saying. For the limited times in my life when I was a more normal weight my body always seemed to want to sit at 150-155. I really do think that is my body's set point but I'm feeling the need to challenge my body here a bit just to see what happens. I want to make sure that this is where my body wants to be and that it isn't just the result of poor choices on my part. We shall see. If my body keeps drifting back to 155-160 I'll be ok with that. I'm not beating myself up for not getting to that magic number. Yes, I am wearing a size 6-8 in pants, size sm-med in tops and I do feel good. I'm not going to go in a downward spiral just because I don't see that magic number. I know that is the concern within my surgeon's office with their patients. They actually refuse to give us a "goal". I really had to pull that 155 out of them. *L*

Gina in NY · 11-13-2007, 08:16 PM

Sorry honey, but 900 calories is not enough for someone doing ANY exercise. At your height/age/weight, you'd burn about 1200 or more calories if you sat in bed all day. If you only eat 900, you're putting your body into a deficit from the get go. Add a few hundred burned in exercise, you have starvation mode.

And it matters A LOT what you eat. You must have carbs at this stage - but the wonderful ones - fruits and vegetables! Sweet potatoes are godly. Maybe look into low glycemic stuff, but really girlfriend, 900 is asking for trouble. You'll have more energy if you pump it up and if you're careful, you won't gain anything at all.

As I am in intense training, my basic calorie intake is 1000 plus whatever I burn working out. That can mean that some days I am eating 2000 calories. Scary, right? But it works when I do it. Only if I don't work out at all do I drop to 1000 calories, and that is only one day a week anyway.

Be careful! Feed that beautiful body well, it will feel well and you'll lose the pounds you're meant to lose.

Good luck!!

MiladyB · 11-13-2007, 10:32 PM

Rhonda, I know where you are coming from. I really am not getting down on myself about not being that 150 pounds. I'm more upset about the fact that I'm slipping back into old patterns and that I've started to gain. I'm just being realistic that I need to change my ways BEFORE I get into real trouble. Sure I would love to get to that 150 pounds and I intend on giving it a good try BUT if my body doesn't want to go there, I'm okay with that. I really am.

Within myself I do see myself as a success. I really do. Like you my health was the biggest motivator to me getting the surgery. I started out diabetic, hypertensive, high cholesterol and with sleep apnea. EVERY single one of those co-morbidities is gone! How could I not see myself as a success. I look good and I feel good...so yes, that is what is the most important thing here for me but I look at that 150 as a challenge. Maybe I'll get there and maybe I won't. I just feel within myself that I can get there. IF I make some changes in what I am doing I think it is something that is realistic. We shall see, maybe my body will prove me wrong....it wouldn't be the first time I was proven wrong. *L*

MiladyB · 11-13-2007, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gina in NY

Sorry honey, but 900 calories is not enough for someone doing ANY exercise. At your height/age/weight, you'd burn about 1200 or more calories if you sat in bed all day. If you only eat 900, you're putting your body into a deficit from the get go. Add a few hundred burned in exercise, you have starvation mode.

And it matters A LOT what you eat. You must have carbs at this stage - but the wonderful ones - fruits and vegetables! Sweet potatoes are godly. Maybe look into low glycemic stuff, but really girlfriend, 900 is asking for trouble. You'll have more energy if you pump it up and if you're careful, you won't gain anything at all.

As I am in intense training, my basic calorie intake is 1000 plus whatever I burn working out. That can mean that some days I am eating 2000 calories. Scary, right? But it works when I do it. Only if I don't work out at all do I drop to 1000 calories, and that is only one day a week anyway.

Be careful! Feed that beautiful body well, it will feel well and you'll lose the pounds you're meant to lose.

Good luck!!

I'll be careful Gina, my dear. I do know what you are saying. Actually most of the time I do eat more like 1200 calories. And now that it is the end of today I found that I added in a few more calories than originally planned. So I ended up with just over 1000.

I really am not trying to cut back so much on the calories. I'm more interested in watching the kinds of food I'm putting in my mouth. Many times they haven't been the best choices, lately. I've been drifting back into having simple carbs when I should be eating more of the complex carbs. I really am not one that believes in totally staying away from carbs. I do try to make sure I get in fruits and vegetables. Today just wasn't the best example and was not really a "normal" eating day for me. I don't do well with breakfast and I work evenings so on work days I grab what is fast and simple. I do only work part-time, though...so I promise....tomorrow will look better and a bit more well-rounded when it comes to my food choices.

Thanks for caring and being up front and honest with me. I appreciate it and I do know where you are coming from.

Jeri · 11-14-2007, 05:25 AM

Beth,
I hadn't responded to this yet because I'm so new at this I don't know how I can help other than to give you my support.

You have been such a big help to me both in answering questions and concerns that I wanted you to know that I know you can do whatever you set your mind to.

SueRN · 11-14-2007, 06:09 AM

To goal or not to goal...that is the issue. I've seen so many thoughts about goals. I set my goal at 160 as that is the weight my body never seems to let me get below. I did get to 158 for about a month or 2. For me, I am very goal directed to help me focus and I knew that goal could be obtainable. I would love to get to 140. I'm 5'8". That is my fantasy weight. I was asked about goal weights during the pre-op counseling and teaching. First goal was to get under 200lbs, this is the goal I could live with. Trying for 160lb was my target. As we get closer to our goals, we need to re-evaluate them to see if they truly are obtainable. My new goal is to try to stay under 170 for maintenence. I got up to 175 and am on the way back down at 172. I started South Beach diet, which is the closest to the post op diet. But these are my goals. Other people may want to just get off the CPAP machine, or being able to walk up a flight of stairs without needed oxygen and a rest. Or to be able to play ball with their kids. As women, we have been so conditioned to look at the number on scale and that is hard to break. I have been working on body image this past year. I never saw myself as heavy as I was at 316lbs, but don't see myself as thin as I am. It's getting better as I get used to the new me. It's hard to get rid of years and years of programming. I think it's okay to set a number goal, but we do have to remember that the number on the scale does not diminish any success we have made so far.