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Well Okay!

CarolElaine

CarolElaine

Member
I had my meeting with the center's nurse yesterday and have been formally introduced into program. The diet plan I need to start for next six months, the exercise program, and all the rest. Overwhelming. I am so lucky that my husband came with me. His being there really helped.

I have a newfound apprecation for all of you that are further down the road than me, have had your surgeries and are working on your new lives with the changes you have had to make from your old life styles.

I know I have read Tom saying several times that the road is hard but in the end the results are worthy. I did tell the nurse about this wonderful forum and how helpful I have found not only particpating in the posts, but reading them had made in helping me understand all the twists and turns in this journey.

I hope I am up for the job. I also hope I can ask questions as they come up!
 
H,i Yes it is overwhelming at first and then frustrating because of the wait. Which is where I am now the waiting phase and I too have heard a lot say its worth it the end I can't wait too find out! In the meantime this is a great site for support information and even blowing off steam, so hang on for the ride its a roller coaster of ups and downs but when the rides over your glad you did it instead of just watching. sandra
 
It is good to hear you are on the track with where too start now. It does seem a little overwhelming, one of my daughters went with me to my visits, she was a great help too, we all need support people along this journey, this forum has really helped me out with everyone here having gone through or going through what I am it is great help, I can't always make it to my support group meeting every month. Sounds like you have a few months to think about which WLS your having but remember those 6 months will go by quickly, let us know what you decide. Hang in there you are st the begining of your journey and we are all here for you. :cool: Tom
 
I suppose what I find the most daunting at this point is not the surgery, but the 1600 calorie diet. Diets being part of the reason I am where I am now. I have a hard time sticking to them, part because of my work routine and part because of my rebellious nature. That I can work on. But it is still quite tough. I hope there are locations for recipes to make this list a little more appealing.
I have the added issue of not really being able to do all the walking yet because my ankles and lower back are so painful, lots of walking makes it worse the next day. I do have water therapy scheduled for a short while. I have to keep saying to myself baby steps.

But Oh I still come back to that diet! I would love to hear about other's coping techniques with dieting. I have never been really good at it (once I had a very long fast-to detoxify-that helped out some) but I have always found dieting really difficult. The added kick for me is if I do get too terribly stressed out at all my migraines start. So I need to get back to yoga and mediation. All by itself that is good to have in your life.

So thoughts and comments anyone?
 
Yes I understand that terrable word "diet" well get rid of it!:D Start thinking about a Meal Plan because that is what you will be doing from now on, making a plan of what you want to eat and when you want to eat them:eek: Once I figured that out life was easier. I tried following a 1200 calorie a day meal plan and I never made it I was closer to 1600 to 2000. So pre surgery I looked at it as a diet and I was a complete falure at it, post op I went meal plan.

My thoughts are, and this is how I eat today. I have 5 to 6 meals a day and I really don't plan any more it all comes natural now, but at first I planed. Meal 1) breakfast- scrambled egg(s) 1-2 sausage links or one patty (turkey) and wheat taost w/butter or jam etc.. 2) mid morningk snack- protien bar/shake (200 cal 20 gm protien) 3) Lunch- Sandwich (3 ozs meat 1 oz cheese) mayo, mstard etc... piece of fruit, chips or crackes optional 4) Mid day snack- protien bar/shake (200 cal 20 gm protien) 5) Dinner- 3-4 ozs meat 1-2 servings vegatables 1 serving potatoe, rice, corn or other starch 6) Nuts, yogurt, popcorn, yogurt or cheese n crackers etc... You should be a ble to portion that out to about 1600 calories a day and feel satisfied. Today I eat less food than the meal plan I layed out but there is a lot you can do with that and if you don't feel you need a snack skip it and have some iced tea, crystal light etc... and all your snacks don't have to be a shake or protien bar I just like them because they are quick on the go food and they taste good to me. I hope this helped a little bit. :cool: Tom
 
I see what your meal plan was and you said that you ate toast and popcorn and I thought that those things were off limits, that's what I was told in the hospital. I would love to eat a piece of toast now and again only if I know it won't hurt my pouch. I am really reluctant to try alot of things just because I don't know how they will affect me, but talking to other people who have gone through what I have gone through makes me feel alittle more at ease. I see you are almost at your goal weight so you must be doing something right. I am at a stand still and I don't know why I have been at 250 pounds for a week and a half now and I am getting worried that I am not doing something right, maybe I'm not eating enough because my meals consist of fruit and salads, I don't drink a protein shake which I should, but I have tried in the past and I can't drink much of it and I just end up throwing it out so I just try to get away without it. I know I should be consuming some kind of protein since I haven't been eating any meats, but I just need to try harder I guess. I work crazy hours and most days at work I just eat an orange and drink water and that's just about it, but it seems I still should be loosing and im just stuck here.
 
Hi Babydoll, we all hit plateaus once in a while and you may have hit one, that's to be expected while your body catches up with what you are doing. Your doing great you've lost 45 lbs so far that's wonderfull:D Make sure you are getting at least 60 grams of protien a day, and eat your protien first with every meal, those are two of the key points to weight loss.

I tried wheat bread, rice and crackers after 8 weeks, I was very carefull and made sure to toast my bread and use whole wheat or multi grain breads or tortillas, I would only try half a slice of toast, with rice and potatoes I started with a tablespoon, I still don't have more than a 1/3 to 1/4 cup servings of those. I stay away from sandwiches now and make my own wraps with lunch meat and cheese with mayo and horse radish. I eat fruit sometimes but no more than half an orange or apple etc... watermelon though is to good and I still don't know how to portion it out:rolleyes: I love popcorn too:eek: and luckily I can still eat corn in all forms I just make sure to eat that last and limit the quantity.

The meal plan I posted below works real well pre op for meeting the strict calorie requirements and can work post op if you eliminate the starches or limit them in quantity make sure to eat your protien first. So just remember when you try any new starches like potatoes, corn, whole grain bread or sourdough, rice, start with no more thasn a tablespoon and eat it last with a meal you know that agrees with you so if it does make you dump you know not to try that again. Pasta has been my big no no starch, makes me dump every time except for the smallest quantities and surgary foods also make me ill. I hope that helps you out a little. :cool: Tom
 
CarolElaine-You can do so much with a 1600 calorie a day "diet". You could probably take your favorite foods and prepare them low fat or fat free and not feel deprived. If you like burgers buy extra lean ground beef and grill them or fry in a teflon pan without fat. Lean ground turkey mixed half and half with extra lean ground beef boosts the protein and cuts the calories considerably. You can make burgers, meatballs, meatloaf, chili and spaghetti sauce with the beef/turkey combination and save a lot of calories. There are also a lot of "veggie" burgers available that are low in calories and taste really good. Try the Morningstar Farms brand, I especially like the tomato basil pizza burgers which really pack a flavor punch. Just eliminating breads and fat will knock off hundreds of calories a day. Using a salad plate instead of a dinner plate really works because you can fill it up without feeling guilty. Fill half the plate with non-starchy veggies, 1/4 of the plate with protein and 1/4 with a starchy vegetable or some rice or low carb pasta. Try Dreamfield's for a great tasting low carb pasta. If you can't find it in stores you can buy it on line at netrition.com and I'm sure other sites carry it as well.

Read labels to avoid products that are loaded with sugars (especially high fructose corn syrup) and fats because they only add empty calories. Take one day a week to cook rather than buy prepared foods because you can better control what goes in there to avoid empty calories. You can make double batches and freeze in portions and before you know it you will have many entrees to choose from to heat and eat in minutes:) :) :) I posted a recipe on this site for Greek spinach pie, if you like spinach try it, it's delicious and very healthy!
 
CarolElaine, I too have been trying to stick to a 1200 cal diet pre-op and just the dietician handing me a list of things to eat freaks me out. Maybe I have that same rebellious nature. So I'm doing it my way, journaling helps to really see where the "bad" foods are and what to stay away from. I love mayonnaise, but at something over 100 cal a tablespoon, it's not worth it right now. Fast food puts me over the top any day I eat it, so I avoid it whenever possible, but it's just so darn convenient.
I love iced vanilla coffee. At McDonalds a serving is 180 cal or something ridiculous, so if I make it at home it's only about 30 cal with sugar free vanilla Coffee Mate.
Quitting sweets helped to curb my craving for cakes and cookies and stuff like that, so I lost 9 pounds after quitting sweets. I lost another 1.5 pounds after I started journaling, so I'm happy with what I'm doing, but it is definitely NOT a 1200 cal diet. If I can keep it to 1800 cal or less a day, I'm happy. Not going to beat myself up.
 
You are on your way. Do the best you can and stay as close to your calorie limit as you can. I think this will make it easier for you after surgery. I am a really good dieter, but not good at keeping the weight off long term. Hence yo-yo dieting for over 40 years. Come to the site for support. I am so grateful I found it. As always sending positives vibes your way.
 
Each day is different. I am lucky to have someone who supports me and helps with meal planning. Right now I have a larger problem looming and that is a more difficult one which is hard to discuss except here. My job has just been cut back and affording this has become perhaps not doable at this time. My family are looking at the costs hard and trying to decide what to do. I know that this is the right path for my health. As many have said hindsight is 20-20. I wish I had done this a year ago when our finances were more secure. In all the discussions held here I can only speak for me, but the economy is not in a improving situation. I work for a school and in my state the schools are taking the hard hits. Nothing to do with wls but everything to do with whether I can proceed.

Time will tell.

I do appreciate all the great input. Even if the surgery doesn't happen the dieting advice is excellent and helpful.
 
Hi Carol, I do believe things will work out for you, I am sorry to here about your situatation, hopefully this will be only a minor set back and things will get back to normal for you, please stay in touch and let us know how things are going. My thoughts and prayers are with you. :cool: Tom
 
sorry to hear about the additional problems you are having financially. This is an expensive surgery and I understand your hesitation. You are forunate to have family to help you. I hope you find a solution. Keep coming back here for support as well. I have only been on the site since June and there are some good and caring people here that have gotten me through some hard times. Keep in touch
 
Carol-I know what you're going through. I used to work in the automotive industry and had an up hill struggle with job layoffs for many years. I was and still am on disability at the time of my WLS and paying the medical costs has been a struggle. Plus, I had a hernia surgery in June 2011 which had a very large out of pocket cost. Luckily the hospitals I used have no interest monthly payment plans to make things a little more manageable for me. Another thing that helps is that I spend less than 50% of what I used to on food *LOL* It would be even less if I didn't buy bariatric specialty foods on-line. These aren't really necessary but I find them convenient plus being disabled it's sometimes very difficult for me to stand and cook. If I just shopped in a grocery store for all of my food I would probably be spending 75% less than I did before surgery.

Please make sure to keep us posted on how you are doing.
 
Thank you Pat and all. I have been thinking hard and realize this is just another hurdle to climb over. I don't know what will happen tomorrow, no one does. I will just love today. So with all that I happily sip my water, eat my tiny protein, nibble my fruit and not think about watching the "Cake Boss" quite so often!

Oh yes and study that 1600 calorie diet list more.....
 
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