Erynn Z.
Still going
Apr 05, 2010
It's been a little over a week since I started the DS Reactivation project. So far it's been a LOT better than I expected. I'm afraid to weigh today (the urge comes and goes,) but last Wednesday I weighed 194 (SHOCKER to be in onederland that soon after starting!) and Saturday morning I weighed 190.5. I haven't seen weight come off that quickly in a very, very long time, much less while eating tons of fat and around 3,000 calories per day!
There have been two slip-up days. (Well, one slip-up day, and one fooled-by-labels day.) The genuine slip-up was Saturday night, at a friend's birthday BBQ. I had marshmallows, a s'more, and a ring pop. I tracked everything and stayed accountable in Bites and Vites, and got back on track Sunday.
Yesterday was my learning experience/fooled by labels day. I got in 19 net carbs. However, 6 of those net carbs were due to 3 Atkins bars. (one for breakfast, and two more in a right-before-bedtime binge.) I should have known that since healthy, complex carbs like quinoa make me gain like nobody's business, the hidded carbs in the bars would affect me, too. There are 10 unaccounted-for carbs per bar, which MOST people do not absorb. Unfortunately, everybody's different, and some people can absorb them, just like with Dreamfields Pasta (which I also fully absorb.) After the bedtime binge, my stomach started gurgling and I got gassy. Today I'm super bloated, my morning BM, which has been dependable since I started low-carb, was not right, and I don't have that ketosis-taste in my mouth. I feel fat and icky.
Lesson learned. Back on track today. It's a process, I will get there.
Overall, I'm doing well at getting rid of my fat and calorie fears. Yesterday I roasted a 20-lb turkey that had been in our freezer, and I tried turkey skin and dark meat for the very first time! Crispy skin is amazing!!! Dark meat wasn't so bad, either. I still freak out on days when fitday lists my calories at more than 3,000 and my fat at more than 200g, but I'm getting better with it, as long as my carbs are on track.
I think I'm going to try making a batch of low-carb fluff (SF pudding mix + 1 pt heavy whipping cream, whipped until fluffy.) The pudding box has 24 carbs, and the heavy cream has 13 carbs per pint, so I'm hopeful that I can portion the fluff out in servings of 2 or 3 carbs each. The beauty is that it would be both total and net carbs; no hidden or non-digestible carbs whatsoever. That's really how I need to roll with sweets, I think.
Anyway, onward and downward!
0 comments
There have been two slip-up days. (Well, one slip-up day, and one fooled-by-labels day.) The genuine slip-up was Saturday night, at a friend's birthday BBQ. I had marshmallows, a s'more, and a ring pop. I tracked everything and stayed accountable in Bites and Vites, and got back on track Sunday.
Yesterday was my learning experience/fooled by labels day. I got in 19 net carbs. However, 6 of those net carbs were due to 3 Atkins bars. (one for breakfast, and two more in a right-before-bedtime binge.) I should have known that since healthy, complex carbs like quinoa make me gain like nobody's business, the hidded carbs in the bars would affect me, too. There are 10 unaccounted-for carbs per bar, which MOST people do not absorb. Unfortunately, everybody's different, and some people can absorb them, just like with Dreamfields Pasta (which I also fully absorb.) After the bedtime binge, my stomach started gurgling and I got gassy. Today I'm super bloated, my morning BM, which has been dependable since I started low-carb, was not right, and I don't have that ketosis-taste in my mouth. I feel fat and icky.
Lesson learned. Back on track today. It's a process, I will get there.
Overall, I'm doing well at getting rid of my fat and calorie fears. Yesterday I roasted a 20-lb turkey that had been in our freezer, and I tried turkey skin and dark meat for the very first time! Crispy skin is amazing!!! Dark meat wasn't so bad, either. I still freak out on days when fitday lists my calories at more than 3,000 and my fat at more than 200g, but I'm getting better with it, as long as my carbs are on track.
I think I'm going to try making a batch of low-carb fluff (SF pudding mix + 1 pt heavy whipping cream, whipped until fluffy.) The pudding box has 24 carbs, and the heavy cream has 13 carbs per pint, so I'm hopeful that I can portion the fluff out in servings of 2 or 3 carbs each. The beauty is that it would be both total and net carbs; no hidden or non-digestible carbs whatsoever. That's really how I need to roll with sweets, I think.
Anyway, onward and downward!
Starting Monday: Initializing Reactivation
Mar 25, 2010
Monday's the big day when I start following my DS reactivation plan hardcore, and officially throw everything my NUT told me out the window. (I'd have started already, but this weekend we're moving from Traverse City, MI to Elkhart, IN, and I can't be strict while we're eating out all the time.)
The plan is as follows:
1) Fat is not evil, fat is my friend. This is difficult for me to wrap my head around. Eat meat, then fat, then low-carb veggies,
not meat, then veggies, then fruits, then grains.
2) Stop worrying about calories. If most calories are coming from fat, I won't be absorbing most of them.
3) LOW CARB IS KEY. Not good carbs, LOW carb! I'm starting with Atkins to reset my attitude toward carbs. That's right, for the first 2 weeks, 20g or fewer net carbs per day, slowly increasing the carb amount until I reach goal and then equilibrium.
4) Post on the daily "Bites and Vites" topic to stay accountable and on track
5) The DS board is there for support; I won't be afraid to ask for support anymore. It's okay to need help!
Goals:
1.) I want to meet my initial post-surgery goal of 164 (normal BMI)
2.) I want to be a voice of experience and help others. I want to be able to warn people, from experience, about the longterm consequences of eating in the mutated-RNY-way that so many of us are told to follow after surgery, and give people hope that they can reach goal after switching to the DS-board way, even years out.
3.) If the 2011 DS cruise doesn't happen during spring sweeps week, (My husband is a TV producer and can't take time off during sweeps,) I want to go on the cruise as a reward, and be maintaining at or below goal for it.
Yesterday was basically dress-rehearsal, and though I slipped up at bedtime, I made some progress with my attitudes toward fat and red meat. I found eating full-fat, low-carb food to be tremendously satisfying. I am looking forward to Monday, and this weekend I'll be skipping the lean salads and eating more like a DS-er (baconator without a bun, etc.)
If anybody from the DS board reads this, thank you for being my inspiration. Thank you for your kind words and encouragement during a dark time. Thank you for giving me my strength back. I haven't really felt like I could be a success since I stopped losing at 6-months out; but I think I can be successful now. I love my DS again!
0 comments
The plan is as follows:
1) Fat is not evil, fat is my friend. This is difficult for me to wrap my head around. Eat meat, then fat, then low-carb veggies,
not meat, then veggies, then fruits, then grains.
2) Stop worrying about calories. If most calories are coming from fat, I won't be absorbing most of them.
3) LOW CARB IS KEY. Not good carbs, LOW carb! I'm starting with Atkins to reset my attitude toward carbs. That's right, for the first 2 weeks, 20g or fewer net carbs per day, slowly increasing the carb amount until I reach goal and then equilibrium.
4) Post on the daily "Bites and Vites" topic to stay accountable and on track
5) The DS board is there for support; I won't be afraid to ask for support anymore. It's okay to need help!
Goals:
1.) I want to meet my initial post-surgery goal of 164 (normal BMI)
2.) I want to be a voice of experience and help others. I want to be able to warn people, from experience, about the longterm consequences of eating in the mutated-RNY-way that so many of us are told to follow after surgery, and give people hope that they can reach goal after switching to the DS-board way, even years out.
3.) If the 2011 DS cruise doesn't happen during spring sweeps week, (My husband is a TV producer and can't take time off during sweeps,) I want to go on the cruise as a reward, and be maintaining at or below goal for it.
Yesterday was basically dress-rehearsal, and though I slipped up at bedtime, I made some progress with my attitudes toward fat and red meat. I found eating full-fat, low-carb food to be tremendously satisfying. I am looking forward to Monday, and this weekend I'll be skipping the lean salads and eating more like a DS-er (baconator without a bun, etc.)
If anybody from the DS board reads this, thank you for being my inspiration. Thank you for your kind words and encouragement during a dark time. Thank you for giving me my strength back. I haven't really felt like I could be a success since I stopped losing at 6-months out; but I think I can be successful now. I love my DS again!
Back to Basics.
Mar 24, 2010
I love the DS board. I was feeling so alone in my skin for several years, feeling like a failure, feeling like nobody understood what my body was doing vs. what it was SUPPOSED to do. Well, the DS board knows. There are people there struggling like me, and there are people out there who have had fabulous success doing what I was told not to do. No matter what, there is advice and help a-plenty. It has been wonderful and inspiring to come back, and I'm ready to try again.
Atkins starts Monday, and practice starts this week, because we're in the middle of the move to a new state, so I can't do induction just yet. For the first time in years, I feel like I might not fail. C'mon DS, do your stuff!
0 comments
Atkins starts Monday, and practice starts this week, because we're in the middle of the move to a new state, so I can't do induction just yet. For the first time in years, I feel like I might not fail. C'mon DS, do your stuff!
3 years out - Underwhelmed.
Mar 14, 2010
Well, here I am again with weight issues, and more health quirks to boot!
The lowest I got down to was 176.5, last summer, on my honeymoon, by calorie counting. My "realistic" DS post-op goal was 170. I never made it. My personal post-op goal was a "healthy" BMI, which was 164 or so. Obviously, I never made it.
Since my honeymoon, I've gained 30 lbs, at least. I stopped getting on the scale after my naked early-morning weight was 204.
I need to find an eating plan that works without being too restrictive. This pretty much puts me in the same boat I was in before surgery. You might think, "Oh, it's only 30 lbs!" Let me tell ya, 30lbs is a LOT harder to lose now than it ever was before. I cut out all refined sugars and carbs, no exceptions, ate about 1800 calories per day (half of what I CAN eat,) and GAINED 7lbs!
Other DS-related annoyances:
1.) lactose intolerance. Never had it before, hate having it now.
2.) losing 3 jobs: one boss thought I was lazy for having wls, and two more employers edged me out for "odor issues".
3.) when I'm stressed, I fart. Badly. It makes holding a job either difficult or physically painful.
4.) extreme social anxiety, but that was already developing before surgery. #2 and #3 just made it worse.
5.) Fear of leaks in my system or developing a hernia.
Surgery wasn't ALL bad. I met and married my husband, a former athlete who would never had been interested in me pre-op. I got to know what it was like to lose weight with relatively little effort for 6 months. Kids don't stare at me in the grocery store anymore, which is nice.
Still, I wish I could have been one of those fabulous success stories. I tried, I really did. I'm still trying. It just sucks. Why can't I have what everybody else got?
0 comments
The lowest I got down to was 176.5, last summer, on my honeymoon, by calorie counting. My "realistic" DS post-op goal was 170. I never made it. My personal post-op goal was a "healthy" BMI, which was 164 or so. Obviously, I never made it.
Since my honeymoon, I've gained 30 lbs, at least. I stopped getting on the scale after my naked early-morning weight was 204.
I need to find an eating plan that works without being too restrictive. This pretty much puts me in the same boat I was in before surgery. You might think, "Oh, it's only 30 lbs!" Let me tell ya, 30lbs is a LOT harder to lose now than it ever was before. I cut out all refined sugars and carbs, no exceptions, ate about 1800 calories per day (half of what I CAN eat,) and GAINED 7lbs!
Other DS-related annoyances:
1.) lactose intolerance. Never had it before, hate having it now.
2.) losing 3 jobs: one boss thought I was lazy for having wls, and two more employers edged me out for "odor issues".
3.) when I'm stressed, I fart. Badly. It makes holding a job either difficult or physically painful.
4.) extreme social anxiety, but that was already developing before surgery. #2 and #3 just made it worse.
5.) Fear of leaks in my system or developing a hernia.
Surgery wasn't ALL bad. I met and married my husband, a former athlete who would never had been interested in me pre-op. I got to know what it was like to lose weight with relatively little effort for 6 months. Kids don't stare at me in the grocery store anymore, which is nice.
Still, I wish I could have been one of those fabulous success stories. I tried, I really did. I'm still trying. It just sucks. Why can't I have what everybody else got?
7 Months
Aug 01, 2007
weight: 184. Size: 12. Total lost since official surgeon pre-op weight: 93 lbs.
Things are awesome. Last night I went on a blind date; we rode our bikes 15 miles all around the Leelanau peninsula. I can't believe I'm typing that! I can hang with the athletic folks now! 20 mile bike ride? No problem! 4-mile kayaking trip? Bring it on! It's weird and wonderful.
I ride my bike to work and back often. Sometimes I ride home for lunch. That makes my daily ride 5.4 or 10.8 miles, depending. That's incredible to me.
I hit the 6-month major stall that a lot of people hit. I didn't lose anything this month until this morning; I've been fluctuating between 185 and 192 all month. But I saw 184 this morning, so 184 it is.
K, I gotta gather up my helmet and get to work. Wish I had a current pic to put up.
Things are awesome. Last night I went on a blind date; we rode our bikes 15 miles all around the Leelanau peninsula. I can't believe I'm typing that! I can hang with the athletic folks now! 20 mile bike ride? No problem! 4-mile kayaking trip? Bring it on! It's weird and wonderful.
I ride my bike to work and back often. Sometimes I ride home for lunch. That makes my daily ride 5.4 or 10.8 miles, depending. That's incredible to me.
I hit the 6-month major stall that a lot of people hit. I didn't lose anything this month until this morning; I've been fluctuating between 185 and 192 all month. But I saw 184 this morning, so 184 it is.
K, I gotta gather up my helmet and get to work. Wish I had a current pic to put up.
Six months already!?
Jul 01, 2007
Well, today is my six month surgiversary. I don't think I made a post for month 5, but I was 196.5, I think. This month I didn't lose very much, but I gained a lot of muscle since I started riding my bike a LOT. Yesterday the scale said 189, but this morning it said 189.5, so I guess I have to go with the extra .5. Boo. :-(
I'm feeling great, and I have a whole new life. I moved to Traverse City, which was awesome. I live and work in places with amazing views of West Grand Traverse Bay. I ride my bike, I swim, I kayak, (I can actually fit in a kayak,) have bonfires with my roommates, guys check me out at the bars, and instead of sitting at home, I've always got something to do. It's amazing.
Size-wise, I'm in a 14 for the most part, but I can wear some 12's. I'm a lot more toned than I've been before, though, so I'm starting to look like I have an average shape instead of an overweight shape.
I'm feeling great, and I have a whole new life. I moved to Traverse City, which was awesome. I live and work in places with amazing views of West Grand Traverse Bay. I ride my bike, I swim, I kayak, (I can actually fit in a kayak,) have bonfires with my roommates, guys check me out at the bars, and instead of sitting at home, I've always got something to do. It's amazing.
Size-wise, I'm in a 14 for the most part, but I can wear some 12's. I'm a lot more toned than I've been before, though, so I'm starting to look like I have an average shape instead of an overweight shape.
ONEDERLAND!!!!
May 16, 2007
Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh it's here!!!!
Actually, I saw it yesterday... 199.5, but the way I was fluctuating, I didn't want to announce it since it was only 0.5 lbs below 200. However, today I stepped on the scale and it said 198.5!!! This is one of the most "YAY" days of my life, because I know that this time, it's for real and I'll be able to stay below 200.
This also means that my BMI is under 30!!!! I'm only OVERWEIGHT!!!! OMG OMG OMG I'm becoming one of the normal people! That concept is just so foreign right now. Funny thing when I was plugging in my BMI, though... It's a reflex to start with a 2, so I originally put 298.5 in the field instead of 198, and didn't realize it until I read the result. hahaha!
Size-wize, I think I'm a 15, if that's possible. I can wear 14s but they're a little snug, and 16s are a little too loose. One funny thing is that I've been starting to raid my skinny-stuff drawer, but it's been so long since I've been able to wear any of it that a lot of it is out of style! I'll need to start raiding my sister's clothes soon!
Actually, I saw it yesterday... 199.5, but the way I was fluctuating, I didn't want to announce it since it was only 0.5 lbs below 200. However, today I stepped on the scale and it said 198.5!!! This is one of the most "YAY" days of my life, because I know that this time, it's for real and I'll be able to stay below 200.
This also means that my BMI is under 30!!!! I'm only OVERWEIGHT!!!! OMG OMG OMG I'm becoming one of the normal people! That concept is just so foreign right now. Funny thing when I was plugging in my BMI, though... It's a reflex to start with a 2, so I originally put 298.5 in the field instead of 198, and didn't realize it until I read the result. hahaha!
Size-wize, I think I'm a 15, if that's possible. I can wear 14s but they're a little snug, and 16s are a little too loose. One funny thing is that I've been starting to raid my skinny-stuff drawer, but it's been so long since I've been able to wear any of it that a lot of it is out of style! I'll need to start raiding my sister's clothes soon!
4 Month Update (x-posted from DS board)
May 02, 2007
4 months and many, many pounds ago, I was in surgery! It almost feels like I was a different person back then. The weight is coming off steadily. I was 205.5 this morning, which means I had a 9.5 lb loss for the month, and a total loss of 63 lbs from my dehydrated morning-of-surgery weight. I'm really excited about being in Onederland next month!
Tomorrow I go in to have my bloodwork done and make sure that all the levels are where they should be, but I'm pretty good at taking my supplements, so I don't think there will be a problem.
Also, I've discovered that the sprouted 7-grain bread from Trader Joe's is awesome!!! It's got 5g of protein, 7g total carbs, and 3g of fiber per slice! I'm not making sandwiches or anything like that with it, but I'll have a piece sometimes with eggs or tuna salad and it totally fulfills my toast cravings without killing my carb count!
Tomorrow I go in to have my bloodwork done and make sure that all the levels are where they should be, but I'm pretty good at taking my supplements, so I don't think there will be a problem.
Also, I've discovered that the sprouted 7-grain bread from Trader Joe's is awesome!!! It's got 5g of protein, 7g total carbs, and 3g of fiber per slice! I'm not making sandwiches or anything like that with it, but I'll have a piece sometimes with eggs or tuna salad and it totally fulfills my toast cravings without killing my carb count!
3-month update
Apr 05, 2007
This is a belated post, but at the 3-month mark, I saw 215, so that's a 15.5 pound loss for this month. Yay! Onederland isn't very far away now.
Life is going good. Not much to say. I'm living and functioning like a normal human being.
Life is going good. Not much to say. I'm living and functioning like a normal human being.
2-month update from DS board (down 2 lbs from last post)
Mar 01, 2007
Wow, it's been two months already? Time flies!
Overall I'm doing good; I've switched to wearing a girdle instead of my binder, because I outshrunk it again. However, in the past week or so, I've hit a slowdown. I lost a whopping two pounds this past week. I had wanted to be in the high 220's by now, but I just can't seem to bust through the low 230's. *sigh* Oh well, it will happen soon enough.
Things I'm getting better at are: not drinking with meals, taking all supplements, getting all of my protein in, starting to exercise, making sure carbs are no more than 25% of my daily calorie intake, avoiding refined carbs.
Things I'm not doing so well at are: stopping eating before I'm very full (I don't seem to have a full sensor or a hiccup/burp reaction,) not eating in front of the TV (Eating at the table when you live alone just feels sad,) getting all of my water in (I do most days, but not every day,) and exercising regularly (key word: regularly.) Also, I suspect I can eat too much. Either that or I'm grazing. but I eat whenever I'm hungry, (which is every few hours,) and my calorie count on fitday has been between 1400 & 1500 calories per day lately. That's a whole lot, considering just 2 weeks ago I was only eating 800-1000 calories. It's like my body was tired of starving and kicked over into a super hungry mode. Interesting.
As far as the weight loss goes, I've lost 15 lbs this month, 38 lbs since my dehydrated-morning-of-surgery-weight, and 46.5 lbs since my "official" weigh-in at my initial surgeon consult. I'm losing slower than I'd like, but I'm still losing, so I guess I can't really complain. Plus, my BMI is down to 34, so I'm excited about that.
A wow moment: James and I were at a store in London last weekend (Ontario, not the UK,) and I was looking at something, when all of a sudden I hear James exclaim about a passer-by, "That guy just CHECKED YOU OUT!" (He was kind of offended because the guy did it blatantly in front of him.) I wish I had seen it, but I wasn't paying attention at the time. Either way, it gave me a little confidence boost. :-)
Tonight is the Crystal Ball, so that's exciting. Then tomorrow James and I are headed up to Traverse City because my little sister is in a production of The Full Monty. He's going to *gasp* end up meeting the whole family! (I met some of his family last weekend, and I'll be meeting more next weekend, so I guess it's kind of even.)
Overall I'm doing good; I've switched to wearing a girdle instead of my binder, because I outshrunk it again. However, in the past week or so, I've hit a slowdown. I lost a whopping two pounds this past week. I had wanted to be in the high 220's by now, but I just can't seem to bust through the low 230's. *sigh* Oh well, it will happen soon enough.
Things I'm getting better at are: not drinking with meals, taking all supplements, getting all of my protein in, starting to exercise, making sure carbs are no more than 25% of my daily calorie intake, avoiding refined carbs.
Things I'm not doing so well at are: stopping eating before I'm very full (I don't seem to have a full sensor or a hiccup/burp reaction,) not eating in front of the TV (Eating at the table when you live alone just feels sad,) getting all of my water in (I do most days, but not every day,) and exercising regularly (key word: regularly.) Also, I suspect I can eat too much. Either that or I'm grazing. but I eat whenever I'm hungry, (which is every few hours,) and my calorie count on fitday has been between 1400 & 1500 calories per day lately. That's a whole lot, considering just 2 weeks ago I was only eating 800-1000 calories. It's like my body was tired of starving and kicked over into a super hungry mode. Interesting.
As far as the weight loss goes, I've lost 15 lbs this month, 38 lbs since my dehydrated-morning-of-surgery-weight, and 46.5 lbs since my "official" weigh-in at my initial surgeon consult. I'm losing slower than I'd like, but I'm still losing, so I guess I can't really complain. Plus, my BMI is down to 34, so I'm excited about that.
A wow moment: James and I were at a store in London last weekend (Ontario, not the UK,) and I was looking at something, when all of a sudden I hear James exclaim about a passer-by, "That guy just CHECKED YOU OUT!" (He was kind of offended because the guy did it blatantly in front of him.) I wish I had seen it, but I wasn't paying attention at the time. Either way, it gave me a little confidence boost. :-)
Tonight is the Crystal Ball, so that's exciting. Then tomorrow James and I are headed up to Traverse City because my little sister is in a production of The Full Monty. He's going to *gasp* end up meeting the whole family! (I met some of his family last weekend, and I'll be meeting more next weekend, so I guess it's kind of even.)
About Me
31.9
BMI
Surgery
01/02/2007
Surgery Date
Oct 20, 2006
Member Since
