Hey ho.. anybody willing to advise please?

[wannabeanewme]

Hiya folks.. :wave_cry: well its been a while but need to vent and need advice...

Cutting a very long story short - I'm stuck, need motivation, need help and advise as over the last 6mths, my weight has yo-yo'd, my health has been crap and I don't know what to do any more

Since my banding in May 09, have gotten to my lowest weight in a longggg time - which was 15st 8lb (yayyy) but atm, as I write this.. am now 16st 8lb :cry: I feel ashamed, disgusted in myself and a failure. My darling OH says he still loves me and will try and help me as much as he can but I feel like it isn't enough.

Since end of March, I've been on 4 different doses of anti-biotics due to illness and during this time I slept a lot, ate maybe 1 proper meal and a couple of cereal grain bars a day because thats all I could manage. my weight was static for a while but still had a slow loss - maybe a 1lb every 2 wks. Now I can't shift anything and am so disheartened. I have smaller portions, don't eat crap but know I need to increase my fluids - this has always been a sticky point for me.. my exercise is my exercise bike and a specific exercise plan done for me way back in the begining which used to work.. I'm meant to be going to see my surgeon in 12 days time and am scared to go because of this plateau and horrid feeling of disgust in myself and failure to continue to lose weight..

I really need a kick up the ass but know thats only a short term thing.. has anyone else had similar issues after illness? If so - how did you manage to get back on track?

 

[Kizzy70]

Still waiting for my surgery so unable to advise, just wanted to send you a big hug xx

 

[Mazza]

Hi Mands

Lovely to see a post from you but sorry you are feeling so low.

Going to see the surgeon may be a blessing in disguise as he (or she) is he best person to advice or reinforce what you can do to get back on track.

I would always advise to go back to basics. Starting with having 3 small meals a day, protein, textured, low fat /sugar and plently of fluids.

Good luck xxx

 

[wannabeanewme]

Hiya Mazza..thanks for posting.. I'd thought about going back to pot noodles, cup-a-soups, scrambled egg on toast kind of thing but OH said that might cause me more difficulties as in I'd get to reliant on 'soft' meals and not be able to manage anything more substantial.. I really don't know what is going to be best.

Maybe I cheat and have soft for lunch and maybe a 'normal' meal for evening.. ho hum..

 

[Tamgredan]

Hi Mands, firstly you deserve a massive WELL DONE on shifting over 70lbs! that is amazing!

Secondly, even though i cannot advise on getting back on track after illness, what i can advise on is how to get re-motivated!
Whenever i feel like im loosing my motivation i read my diary, look at the inspirational pictures on this forum and spend quite a bit of time watching the very sexy ladies on MTV as i would die to look like them! usually thats enough to kick my butt into gear. Just remember why you had to operation to begin with, i bet you set yourself some goals???? they are still goals and with what you have lost already, they are a stone throw away!

You are not a failure, you have done amazing well and im sure everyone goes through the stage you are at.

Maz knows her stuff, and going back to basics is an excellent starting point. Do you need another fill? whats your restriction like? Maybe a fill will kick-start you again?

Good luck, and keep posting as we are all on this journey together!

 

[voodoo]

I'm thinking the same as Tam, if you're gaining - eating or able to eat lots - there might be a loss of restriction, how long since your last fill? I don't know if the NHS does them as often as private hospitals (monthly if needed) BUT you must remember you've been ill! It could have affected your band, stomach shrinking/fat loss causing your band to loosen? I hope your surgeon can help you, just look at what you HAVE already lost!
xxxx sharon

 

[Miss hungry]

:grouphugg:I'm sorry you are struggling, I think Tams advice was spot on. I just wanted to say.. I feel for you, Iam finding this journey much harder than others seem to, battling those food demons is so hard. Hopefully seeing your surgeon will help you. xxxx

 

[flutterby1966]

Are you eating enough of the right sort of food. I know it is early days for me; however I did find during the first few weeks when I wasn't eating enough, or when i wasnt eating enough protein - the weight loss came to a standstill. Also if you are eating the same types of food day in - day out it doesnt help. Maybe go back to basics...try out new recipes / different foods / jump start things by increasing your consumption and offsetting that by increasing your exercise. But at the end of the day - you have already done great to loose so much; just turn over the page, put the blip behind you, and look forward to the next chapter xx

 

[wannabeanewme]

Hiya folks.. wow.. thanks for your replies..

As I said in my reply to Maz - I have considered going backwards to be able to move forwards.. the reason for the 4 doses of anti-biotics from end of March thru to mid august - was an 'unknown viral infection'.. had bloods done for thyroid, glandular fever etc but all came back clear - apart from a lowered immunity but I doubt my inability to lose weight would be down to that?

Overall my diet is varied. I'm a 'lucky bander' - I can still tolerate rice and pasta but limit them to once a week, mostly vegetable based meals - I love my veggies and salad.. have casserole once a week, have nothing fried at all - everything is oven cooked but cant tolerate potatoes unless its mash which I limit to once every 2wks, tend to have chicken or mince occasionally a sausage or a rasher of bacon, love pot noodles and cup-a-soups.. as an example of the kinds of meals I have - tomorrow we're having chicken fajitas - of which I'll have 1 tortilla wrap, cut in half to make 2 small fajitas and have 1 spoonful of the chicken, peppers, onion mix on each half with lettuce, cucumber and more peppers to bulk it out for me, thursday is toad in the hole with veg, friday is casserole, saturday is chicken and pasta with honey and mustard sauce, sunday is gammon with loads of veg.. you get the idea..I don't eat from a 'normal' sized plate - I actually use my grand-daughters small plate for my meals, have 1 spoon of each veg and a quarter of the amount of whatever else (no more than 175g in weight). breakfast is a yoghurt and either an apple, cored and sliced - or a granola bar, lunch is sometimes a 1 slice sandwich which I make into an open sandwich with lettuce, low fat flavoured mayo (usually garlic mayo or mustard mayo) instead of butter with sliced ham, chopped peppers and 3 slices of cucumber on the top or a cup-a-soup (love the thai style chicken or minestrone)

My exercise is exercise bike, twice a day for 15 mins each time. I went to a site called arthritis.about.com and found a range of exercises suitable for somebody suffering osteo-arthritis (as I unfortunately do) and with the advice there - wrote a list of things I can do:
side bends, side leg raises, torso twists, left to right twists (left hand to right knee and vice versa), ab crunches and as my OH has a multi gym - I use the rower for 5 mins a day on there too.. So it's not as though I don't know what am meant to be doing - or what I should do.. I have been doing this lot for the last few days now and one golden rule I stick to - no drinking within 30mins of a meal either before or after.. my other rule is nothing to eat at all after 9pm

Sorry for the long post but thought if you all had a better idea of what I had already been doing..maybe you could understand why am soooooooooooo frustrated and angry that the weight isn't going anywhere I know have been ill and know my body needs to recover from that as am only 12days off having finished the anti-biotics but I truly am at a loss.. my restriction is definitely there - as I find if try to swallow something without having chewed it enough and it sticks..then end up bringing up bile and whatever the offender has been or if am stressed - I struggle to eat properly. I think I have 5ml in a 9ml band but not 100% sure on band size and last fill was back at the beginning of the year and even then had to push for that as I felt restriction wasn't there.. Am so scared of going back and weighing more than I was when I was there last.. feel so ashamed as it would be the first time in the 2yr 4mth - that I've put weight on :cry:

well.. guess should think about going to bed and trying to sleep.. another long day ahesd of me.. but am determined to keep on top of the exercises if nothing else.. determination ~> maybe.. stubborn ~> definitely.. my Dad wouldn't have given up on anything (God rest his soul) so why should I? Thanks for being here for me.. as said.. sorry for the long post.. rant over.. but all advice is being heeded...

 

[Mazza]

Ok Mands, sorry if this sounds harsh but your current diet is very carb heavy which could be the problem.

Carbs are a dieters enemy, well at high GI ones are. As you know carbohydrates are foods that turn to sugar inside the body. The carbohydrates that create the highest amount of sugar very quickly are called high glycemic and are sugar and carbohydrates such as bread, pasta, potato, and rice. Other foods such as vegetables (apart from potatoes), nuts and lentils turn to sugar very slowly and are called low glycemic.

Each time we eat a bowl of pasta, a couple of slices of toast or some sugary foods, there is a surge in the blood sugar level. The body panics "I'm not supposed to be dealing with this type of food. What is going on?" Our bodies are not built to consume high glycemic foods... they have only been around for a short period of time relative to our evolution.​

Insulin is secreted by the pancreas and encourages the sugar in the blood to move into the cells so that it does not harm the body, and so that it can be turned into energy. Because the pancreas is worried that there is this unnatural amount of sugar, it releases loads of insulin, so the blood sugar is now excessively low.​

Now the body is worried because there is no sugar around, so it thinks that it is not going to have any energy. Other sugar raising hormones are called upon to compensate, and so are we. This is when our bodies begin to scream "give me some sugary food to get my blood sugar up again." This is why you begin to crave foods that are high in carbohydrates after just finishing a meal an hour before.​

For what its worth I would consider a shake up of your diet. Ditch the rice and pasta in favour of protein and veg based dishes. For example your fajita meal, instead of the wrap cut in two and a spoon of chicken / veg have a few spoons of the mix and leave the wrap out.​

This is just advice from me on what works well for me xxx ​

 

[Josiegirl]

You have no idea how I feel for you Sweetheart. Your story is so similar to my own. One bit of advice that someone gave me that was very useful was The Five Day Pouch Test. Google it. This really does get you right back on track, once you have gone through the five days from liquids back to solids you really do start to feel the band restriction once more and as it is such a short time treatment you don't become reliant on soft foods. It has helped tons of people with your problem. It is well worth trying. There is a website for it and they do push a lot of foods that they sell but the basic advice is what you need and just use the same foods you used in the early days. Good luck with it, if you decide to try it and please let us know how you get on.

(((((Hugs)))))

 

[wannabeanewme]

Morning everyone..

Maz ~> thank you for your input. I hadn't thought my diet to be carb heavy tbh but will also take on board what jose said as well..I was diagnosed with I.G.T (impaired glucose tolerance) a while ago but blood tests at beginning of the year showed that it was well under control

think will combine both of you's advice but I do have one good thing to share..lol..

I measured my waist this morning.. it has been 44ins (down a huge amount from the start of my journey way back in jan 06 at 64ins)..

and now its 42.5ins

yayyyy @ me.. lol.. a small thing but means such a huge amount to me right now.. onwards and upwards.. things might have gone tat for me but with the support of you wonderful people - I KNOW that I can do this and get back on track..

:bliss: :bliss: :thankyou:

 

[Mazza]

Yay that waist will be wittling away x

 

[wannabeanewme]

Well ladies.. its been a few days since I posted n replied so thought would let you know how am doing..

made my own chicken broth with just veggies n chicken stock n 1oz diced chicken into it n blitzed it down, been having scrambled egg with a slice of ham diced into it, cup-a-soups and going through @ 2.5ltr of fluids a day, taking multi vit n hri water tablets as suffer badly from fluid retention due to osteo.. and when weighed last (yesterday) weight is now at 16st exactly.. but its also my T.O.T.M - and am aware there is normally an allowance for this but cant remember whether its 4lb or 6lb lee-way as it were to take into account.. so have done 2days of the 5 as per instructed.. day 3 had a sausage with some plum tomatoes, for one meal n had some grilled chicken n salad for my other meal n had a cup-a-soup as my light meal..today is day 4 and after having a lie-in, so far have had pint n half of fluids but not ate am going to have some tuna, lettuce, cucumber, sliced radish mixed together for dinner.. and see how I go..

Getting back to the T.O.T.M. 'allowance' as it were - does anyone actually know? lol..

in theory - taking the lower amount into account then am back well under 16st.. but will SRH take this into account on weds when I go if am still on??

Am managing to do all my exercises and my bike every day but where had my hernia repair op - one area of the stomach muscle is twinging a bit.. think its where weight is slowly coming down but it isnt able to 'shrink' back cos of the mesh.. going to go to GP bout that if it doesn't improve though.. Know weight IS coming down cos of losing an inch off my waist ( )

so overall - so fsr so good.. n just wanna say a huge ty to you all for being here n helping me through this.. Means a lot..