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I’m about 8 weeks post op with slow steady weight loss. Now that I’m relatively healed and I’m almost eating normal foods again it’s time to thinking ahead to goal weight. I’d like to get to a healthy goal weight. I’ve been overweight most of my adult life so I don’t really know what that is having never really experienced it. Should I be thinking of BMI? Healthy BMI for my age looks like a very low weight for my height and body frame. For those of you who have lost the weight already, how did you know that you had reached your goal? Was it how you felt? How you looked? Looking for some guidance as I navigate my weight loss journey! Thanks.

That's so amazing!

Oh, also, I spent most of my life wearing the wrong bra size.. Until I went to a local specialty shop and got a fitting. It was life changing. You really should consider it. I would suggest not going to places like Victoria's Secret though. They don't know how to properly fit you.. Sent from my Nokia 7.2 using BariatricPal mobile app

My mother was always a Yo-Yo dieter and still is at 74. Sometimes it was 25-30 lbs. and others 80-100 lbs. I was chubby as a kid and my mom was always trying to put me on a diet. I remember she made me make a chart in a notebook to track my calories when I was only 12 yrs. old. She would look it over every day to make sure I was doing it correctly. I was sneaking snacks at school, and after school I would go to the convenience store which was the bus stop for snacks like chips, cookies, and candy bars. Oh how I loved junk food. She couldn't understand why I wasn't losing weight, instead gaining. I had to weigh in once a week and write it in the notebook. If I didn't lose that week, she would ground me. For punishment she would make me exercise. Then she would take away food from my meals, making me eat fewer calories. My sister who was skinny would call me fatso, and other not so nice names, and my mom wouldn't do anything about it. My grandfather (mothers father) was relentless and always talked about my weight my entire life. He would always say that it "looked like I put on a few pounds". He did the same to my mom. He finally stopped doing it when I was in my 30's and confronted him about it. I told him that I didn't want to hear his comments about my weight and it was none of his business. He apologized and told me he didn't realize it bothered me so much and he was only joking. Yeah OK. I was also made fun of in school and high school and was not one of the popular girls because of my weight issues. I struggled very hard with this. I didn't have a boyfriend like the other girls because I was too fat. The kids would put "kick me" signs on my back and as I walked down the hallway between classes I would get kicked and if I fell down they would all laugh at me as I tried to pick up my books. It was traumatizing. When I would go home crying to my mom, she would tell me that I have to lose weight if I wanted to "fit in". I could go on and on about my not so nice childhood with weight issues. I will stop here because it is getting too emotional for me. I am 51 yrs. old and still have flashbacks of my younger days. It is very depressing. All I can say is that it sucks to grow up thinking that I was never good enough. It has followed me into my adult life. I am working on it along with other stuff. Even though I have lost weight. I still can hear the rude comments in my head. I don't think it will ever go away.

Congrats.

I'm praying for you.. let me know how u make out . I just realized I need to quit vaping as well Sent from my SM-G970U using BariatricPal mobile app

I would bet you’re smaller than a 36 band size! I think I remember you mentioning plastic surgery? I had mine in January. My poor boobs were just empty sacks. Now post PS I’m a 32F. They’re awesome :) I can go braless if I like and they stay put. 

I don't know your stats but 800 calories a day doesn't seem too high to me. Unless you're really tiny and inactive, you should be able to lose on that amount. I mostly eat mini-meals throughout the day. I start eating at about 6 AM when I have coffee before work and I eat every 2-3 hours or so until about 6-7 PM (like maybe 6 AM, 8 AM, 11 AM, 2 PM, 5 PM and 6-7 PM). I'm naturally more hungry in the daytime and not so much at night, so I don't usually need to eat at night. It looks something like this: 1. 6 AM: Morning latte (made with Kitu Super coffee, 10g or Protein and no sugar) 2. 8 AM: 1 scrambled egg 3. 10 AM: Yogurt 4. 12 PM: 1 chicken thigh 5. 2 PM: sugar-free pudding 6. 4 PM: Lunch meat wrap made with Mission Carb Balance tortilla 8. 6-7 PM (Nighttime snack): cheese stick When I was still losing, I restricted carbs but not calories, so if I had a hungry day I might eat a little more or conversely I might have a low appetite day and eat less. I ate around 800 calories a day from 6 months through about 18 months, so I guess that's why it doesn't seem excessive to me. I did not have weekend treats while I was losing (although I did have special-occasion treats, like Christmas and my birthday). The more often you eat on-plan, the faster your weight loss, but you get to decide the balance between losing weight and enjoying life. Just be alert to how things affect you, so you can adjust if there is a problem.

I mean these are starting at Phase 5. I only looked it up because eventually I will have to eat it even if it’s while traveling I won’t always have a kitchen with me but be mindful you won’t eat it all and the best ones are on top and if it’s fried they cut the potion down although we should avoid fried foods 🤷🏽‍♀️

Congrats on your surgery. What’s your plan? At 4 weeks most are just starting soft food - think mushy foods, soft fish, stews, etc., foods with little bite, crunch or chew. Pork skin wouldn't be considered a soft food neither would pizza or a pizza alternative. It’s important to go through the stages so you don’t damage your tummy, etc, post surgery - you’re still healing. Were you given a a food plan of what you can or can’t eat in the first couple of months by your surgeon &/or your dietician? At 4 weeks, I wasn’t hungry at all & was lucky if I could eat about 1/4 cup of food three times a day, no snacking. Are you really hungry or is it head hunger? If your craving foods you used to eat like chips, pizza, etc., it’s likely head hunger & not real hunger. If it’s a legitimate hunger, try eating small pieces of protein like cheese, chicken, egg, yoghurt or sip a protein shake or some broth. I found that sprinkling a little extra salt on food like egg, cucumber or chicken helped with any desire for a salty snack. There’s a lot of learning about why you eat, what you eat & why you eat and the weight loss phase is the best time to understand what all that means for you. Now’s the time to break old food habits & start new ones. You’ll be able to work it out. If you’re feeling lost or confused, speak to your dietician, your medical team or bring it up in this forum - lots of people here happy to help. Hope I don’t sound like I’m lecturing. ☹️ We all have our own experiences on this journey. Good luck on yours.