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ElizabethB
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Weight Loss

When we started this journey towards Bariatric Surgery in January George weighed 336 lbs. His surgery was August 7th. Two weeks prior to surgery he weighed 316 lbs.

One week after surgery he weighed 302 lbs.

After his hospital stay for a hematoma he weighed 312 lbs. That was Monday of this week. This morning he weighed -

Get Ready

298 LBS

:-() :clap: :bouncey:

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Nothing like a surgery for shedding a few pounds. I lost over 20 pounds after a medical procedure last year. So far I've been able to keep them off.

Congrats!
:)

Roger

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rainbowgardener
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That's great, but it is all a little strange:

In three weeks from before the surgery to after the surgery, he lost 14 pounds.

Monday this week was 8/18. So from 8/14- 8/18, while in the hospital, he gained 10 pounds back in four days?! Certainly the hospital would not be over-feeding him.

Then between Mon and Friday he lost 14 pounds?

Anyway sounds like it is going well, congratulations!!! :clap: :clap:

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ElizabethB
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RBG - he was not over fed in the hospital.. He was on IV fluids the entire time and received 6 units of blood, 6 units of plasma and 3 units of platelets. :eek: His body finally processed all of that. He still has a hematoma the size of a softball.

Had the hematoma not occurred he would have been below 300 last week.

Dr. said that George will experience very rapid weight loss. As he loses weight the bulge from the hematoma will become more pronounced.

We are both happy to be back on track with our routine.

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Much of the weight loss will be fluid loss (water weight). You are both doing a good job you just have to stick with it. Make sure he sticks with his exercise program and to increase the repetitions and intensity as he loses the weight. While it is possible for someone of his size to lose up to 20 lbs a week at this stage, it is better to concentrate on not on the loss but on the process. As the weight comes off he should move better and move more, walk farther and be much less out of breath,. Counts your success by what he is able to do more of. Walking farther, lifting more, less short of breath with activity, less insulin.

The exercise is important because when people gain weight, they do gain muscle to support that weight. When you lose the weight you want to keep as much of the muscle and burn more fat. Exercise will increase his metabolism so he burns the calories more efficiently. Eating a more balanced diet will be hard to get used to, but over time will get easier and seem more natural. "treats" should be limited and still counted toward the days total calories and should be reserved when the milestones are reached, not just weight loss milestones, but things like distance walking, biking, hiking, kayaking, skiiing, swimming, or any physical activity he could not do before. For those of us who don't enjoy going to the gym to sit on a stationary bicycle or lift weights, exercise needs to be disguised in another activity. Some activities should be decreased from the list, time spent watching tv, on the computer, or fishing (unless he walks to the water).
It will be important when he plateaus to remember that the body will make adjustments and that is why exercise becomes important and why slow weight loss is actually better than a fast one. If you lose weight too quickly, you get fast results but the body will think it is starving and reduce metabolism to conserve fat for a rainy day. Usually on plateaus, I found sticking to the diet especially hard. I plateaued pretty much every 6 weeks. During that time, I would take a break from the routine. I would continue my exercise, but not increase anything like I would not add additional weights in weight training or walk further. I did my walking by time instead of distance. I walked 20 minutes out, which forced me to have to walk back home. I would aim to go a little further in the 20 minutes and over time my distance would get better. I had to schedule exercise or I would find an excuse not to do it. At least George does have you and you can do the exercises together. Since I could predict my plateaus, on the 6th week, I would not weigh or keep a food diary. I would still eat what I would normally eat, I just did not write it down. I would resume it on the week after. Sometimes, I would gain, but I would start losing a lb a week again which was my goal.
I had a boring diet 200 calories for breakfast, 300 calories for lunch, 500 calories for supper. 100 ounces goal of fluid for the day. I figured out I needed 1 cal per pound to maintain my weight. I had to 3500 calories a week than my maintenance to lose 1 pound. It was hard for me to maintain my weight because 1100 calories was limiting and I counted calories because I did not want to spend any more time exercising to get more to eat. I ended up gaining again because, it was not something I could commit to forever. You can figure out how many calories you need to maintain your weight by figuring out how many calories a day you eat and divide that into your weight in pounds if your weight is stable. To lose 1 pound you would have to eat 3500 calories less than your daily maintenance. In the beginning people are eating 3-4 times or more the number of calories they need to maintain an ideal weight. If they just eat what they need for an ideal weight then they lose weight very fast in the beginning but slow down a lot the closer they are to their goal weight.

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ElizabethB
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Imafan -

So true. I am having a hard time getting it through my Love's hard head that he must exercise daily for the rest of his life.

We do not count calories.

In order of importance:

#1 Water - 97 to 100 oz. per day. sipped slowly - no straw - for ever
#2 Protein - 96 grams daily
Nutritional protein - from food
Supplemental protein - pre made protein drinks - 30 grams per 11 oz. drink - Premier Protein.
#3 Exercise - 20 to 30 minutes per day - no exceptions

George made me laugh yesterday - he asked me to tell him what was wrong with his ankles. He was making a funny. For the first time in forever he actually has ankles. The other funny was that he could see his ankles!

We celebrate small victories.

This morning he weighed 287 lbs. :-() :clap: :bouncey:

No later than Monday we will start a soft food diet. I may start introducing soft foods with his pureed food over the weekend. George is so ready for food that he can chew - and chew, and chew.

Thank you all for your kind words, encouragement and happy thoughts.

You are O:) !

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ElizabethB
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After my last post George made the mistake of getting really pissy with me. I came to a full stop. I stopped preparing his breakfast and lunch. I still cook dinner but I do not prepare his plate or measure his food or remind of when he is supposed to eat or drink whatever.

Result - he has stalled at 285 for 3 days.

We had a very civil conversation this evening. I will resume monitoring his habits and preparing all of his meals and he will be nice.

I love my old man more than I can express. On the other hand he can be the most stubborn, pig headed old fool.

-wall- Sorry for the rant. My love can make me nutz:

We start again tomorrow.

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rainbowgardener
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You go, girl!!! :D

I think it is terrific that you can clearly see a lot of George's human flaws and still love him (after all these years .... ). We need more of that.

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As his enabler, you cannot be blamed for George's failures. He does have to learn that he is ultimately responsible for everything that he eats. Stop measuring. That should be his job. He should also be part of the meal planning. It is amazing when you have to think about what you are eating, you actually spend more time than ever thinking about food, but it does kill time.

Also realize that once the water weight is lost about 10-20 lbs., weight loss will slow down. The closer he is to goal the slower the weight loss will be. At 287 lbs he needs about 2900 calories to maintain that weight a day. He would have to eat 3500 calories less to lose one lb. If he is eating about 2000 calories a day it would take about 4 days to lose one lb. If he is able to exercise to burn off at least 450 extra calories a day, he may be able to lose another lb in a week. A lb a week is the better way to go to try to keep the body from going into starvation mode and lower metabolism. Week 2 and 6 are the usual plateau weeks.
Increase the intensity of exercise as it gets "easier" longer walks, faster, add more aerobic exercises like biking and swimming.
On plateau weeks, increase exercise duration, so the body does not lower metabolism to compensate for the "starvation". Complex carbs are good since they won't cause insulin spikes and feed the cells steadier. Just keep going, it is going to be a long haul, but worth it in the end.

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ElizabethB
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RBG - So true. Love is not hearts and flowers. It is walking through life hand in hand regardless of the obstacles in your path. Yes I do recognize G's insecurities. I try to encourage him to be assertive rather than passive aggressive.

I am no O:) to live with. I am assertive. I am also more patient. I do have my limits. Push me too far and I dig my heels in like an old mule. Watch out baby - trouble has arrived.

Imafan thank you for all of your excellent information.

I really appreciate the support.

My best therapy is LMFAO .

Additional therapy:

I have recently joined a cooking forum that has monthly challenges. The current challenge is Boeuf Bourguignon. So I will prepare and submit my recipe for the challenge. I plan to cook on a Saturday then bring my pot of lusciousness to Mom's house for a family gathering.

I am also working on a craft project. My sister is going to the British Isles next summer. I am making a journal for her from what would typically be considered junk. I do crafty stuff but a journal is new to me. I am very pleased with the progress on that project. I did not know that I had a bit of an artistic twist. I have found my inner child and love finger painting.

Finally - what we are all about. My fall garden did not get planted early enough. Oh well. I planted anyway and hope for the best. In my 2 boxes I have 8 tomato plants, 6 broccoli, 2 basil, 6 cauliflower, cucumber, spinach, kale and mustard greens. I have 2 long pots of lettuce sprouting and a tray of 4" pots seeded with basil, parsley, thyme, sage and dill to be transplanted to larger pots and kept under the patio cover over winter.

It really does not matter if I get produce or not. I just need to get my hands in soil.

Life is good. I am blessed.

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At least it got planted. I have garlic chilling, hopefully the garden will be ready when it is.

It is hard when you like to cook all that luscious high calorie foods to try to tone them down and have it still taste good.
I did actually keep some things long term although I had a hard time giving up others

I use full fat saltless butter, why bother with margarine when it has bad for you transfats and it doesn't taste as good. I just have to use less. I like to make herb butters for more flavor and whipping the butter increases the volume so it seems like there is more but the calories per teaspoon are less. I did try spray butter and pam, but it was not the same. Neither was Molly McButter.

I oven bake instead of deep fry. It is not as crispy but it does save a lot of calories

Instead of using oil, I marinate and braise more. I am using leaner, cheaper and tougher cuts of meat. I use less total meat and add a lot more vegetables. If you marinate, it flavors and tenderizes the tougher cuts and I can get more veggies and eat less meat at the same time. Instead of oil, I add some water or stock to keep things from burning and I use the microwave more for making meals.

To add flavor, you can add your favorite spices, however, I am not a fan of vinegar, lemon, or anything sour very much. I can't have a lot of spices either as it upsets my stomach. I do however, like fruit so I will pair peaches with porkchops and roasts, and pineapple for sweet sour dishes. I just skip the part with deep frying the meat. It tastes different but, I don't miss the deep fried and battered meats. Mandarin oranges in salads and with chicken. I am using stock instead of broth because I want flavor but I can't have so much salt. Broth has a lot less salt, and if you have time you can make your own.

I am not a fan of a lot of raw veggies so I eat a lot of stir fries. It actually uses more oil than I did before, but the oil is canola. Safflower would be lighter. When I do eat salad, I either stick it in my sandwich or I eat it with Japanese vinegar and splenda or plain. If I have to put dressing on a salad, I may as well have a small hamburger, for the same amount of calories.

Smoothies are good, they can be high calorie, but they are filling and nutritious depending on what you put in them.

I cut out most of my carbs. I really don't miss them. I usually only get them when I eat out, which is usually why I have dietary failures. It is hard to find healthy fast food. I was told however, that it would be better for me to eat more carbs, as long as they are not white.... I.e. whole grains. I have tried those and I can eat some, but I really don't like them so I would rather just skip it.
Complex carbs are supposed to keep you satisfied longer and the body has to work hard to break it down. My downfall, is that I am addicted to diet cola. While they don't have a lot of calories, they do have a lot of salt. I am having trouble switching as I don't like water, plain or flavored. When I cut my sodas, I end up cramping in the middle of the night because I end up not drinking enough for the day, especially when I take my diuretic. If I cut the soda, I just drink less, I don't really increase water intake by much.

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Gary350
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When I was young I could ride my bicycle 20 miles every day and loose 1 lb every day. When I graduated from high school I was 6'3" tall and weighed 160 lbs I road my bike every day to school. After 2 years in college I weighed 220 lbs from driving my car and not getting much exercise. That summer when school was out I road my bicycle 20 miles every day and 2 months later I had lost 60 lbs. I continued to ride my bike all summer and weighed 165 lbs when college started again.

45 years later I weigh 220 lbs I rode my bike 20 miles every day for 6 months and lost no weight. I started riding my bike 30 miles every day after 3 years I lost 1 lb. Riding my bike 30 miles ever day gave me a big appetite I ate 2 times more than I usually do and gained no extra weight. I got stronger and faster at first it took me 1 hr 50 min to ride 20 miles and 3 years later I was riding 30 miles in 1 hr 45 minutes. WHY is it so hard to loose weight when we get old.

I use to be able to pedal this racing bike 32 mph for 3 hours never slow down and not stop. Now the best I can do being out of practice is 15 mph for about 1 hr. WHAT do I need to do to loose weight??? I ate mostly vegetables all summer and lost 10 lbs then that 10 lbs all returned. Enema 3 times every day might work. LOL.

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's Cardio exercises work like this. Your goal is to do take a baseline heart rate. Warm up and start your aerobic activity like biking. You get your heartrate up to the goal for your age and keep it there at least 20 minutes before you cool down. This gives your heart the best workout.

If you want to lose weight you have to burn calories. The older you get, your body's metabolism naturally slows down. It takes a lot of work to reach your goal heart rate. Once you actually improve your cardiac output your heart rate will go even slower and it will take more effort to get to the goal heart rate.

It is possible to burn up to 600 calories per hour cycling if you can do the exercise at your target heart rate for an hour, not including the warm up and cool down phases. For some people taking medications,or who have fixed rate pacemakers this does not work, their hearts can't go that fast, they just get tired. They will still burn calories but not as much.

In the aerobic range the body will burn fat to get calories, instead of protein. That is one of the many reasons why lifestyle changes (ie diets), should be paired with an increase in activity. If protein gets burned instead of fat, the body thinks you are starving and puts on more reserves in the form of fat. Aerobic exercise burns fat and can actually adds muscle, that is why some people fail to lose or gain weight with exercise, because they are putting on protein weight.

A fat person actually has a lot of muscle too. It was needed to carry all the fat around. It is actually a workout just to walk when you are carrying around an extra 100 lbs your frame was not designed for. You want to preserve the muscle and burn the fat. As the weight is lost and you carry less, you actually have to work harder the closer you are to goal to lose the next pound.

Since knees and small lungs were not designed to carry an excess amount of body fat, the exercises at first need to be low impact. Cycling, swimming, walking. As the weight comes off, you can add weights to make the workout stronger. Walking should be at a brisk pace, not a slow walk. Jogging, and running are high impact and not always the best for some people with bad feet and knees.

Yoga does help though. You can actually work up a sweat doing that and it does improve flexibility. I took gentle yoga and I was never very flexible and I had to modify everything including using blocks since I can't sit on the floor. I will never be able to do a full lotus, but I did manage to touch my toes. It had been awhile.
Namaste

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ElizabethB
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The bariatric protocol that we are following requires 80 to 100 oz. of water per day FOR LIFE! More important than exercise, more important than protein. With a stomach the size of a medium banana hydration is critical. We have a friend who is 2 years out from surgery and ended up in the ER with severe dehydration. Water is also critical for boosting the metabolism and enhancing weight loss.

Sports drinks, sodas, coffee, tea are not allowed nor are they counted as water. George likes a cup of tea in the morning. Gets his system moving. The dietitian just OK'ed him for 1 of tea cup per day but NOT as a substitute for water.

We DO NOT count calories. The protocol requires x amount of nutritional protein, x amount of supplemental protein, x amount of non starchy vegetables, x amount of fruit and x amount of dairy.

We weigh EVERYTHING!

Eventually George will be allowed the equivalent of a slice of bread in processed carbs daily. Not having bread, pasta, rice, risotto, starchy vegetables, grits, polenta - the list of starches goes on and on - that has been a challenge for both of us.

I am very happy with our Bariatric Team. They have it going on!

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Water is important. I have to look up the kind of bariatric surgery George had. I am most familiar with bariatric bypass which creates a pocket about the size of a thumb in the stomach. Reducing the stomach capacity results in early satiation but I do know people who were able to stretch that pocket out within months of the surgery and others who initially lost a lot of weight but are putting it back on. That is why it is important not to think of it as a diet but as a life change.

I should probably try some of your diet plan. I drink diet colas and don't drink a lot of water. I actually have given up a lot of carbs and I really don't miss them. Even though you don't count calories, x amounts of vegetables and proteins are like diabetic exchanges and ww points they are similar to counting calories since they would have approximate caloric values. I had a hard time with points because it was easier to find caloric information on the food packages than exchanges. I just had to try to get the exchanges in for the day. I did struggle with the water, carb, and dairy exchanges. I am lactose intolerant and I don't really use a lot of milk except in cooking. Carbs was the easiest thing for me to give up. I don't really like water, I started drinking diet sodas so I would not feel so hungry all of the time, its biggest problem for me is the salt and eating out.

I don't like to do aerobic exercise so I could not actually have the amount of calories I was told I could have 1500 calories a day. It is hard to be on a 1000 calorie diet for life.

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ElizabethB
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Imafan -

From your post it is obvious that you struggle with weight issues. You are spot on about dieting. It is only good for short term weight loss. Only life changes can give you long term results.

George has struggled with weight issues since his early 30's. He was 35 when we met. I have walked with him through his attempts to lose weight for half of his life.

I am familiar with the pros and cons of most weight loss plans.

I would be happy to share our experience with you, give you some tips and tricks as well as recipes.. If you are interested send me a PM.

Take care.



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