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i'm 5+ years out. i love food and everything about it (many on here know this about me already). i love the cooking, baking, making, plating, shopping, researching, testing recipes of it all. i love to watch all the tv cooking shows, all the travel food shows, all the cooking/baking/grilling competition shows. i like to look at pictures of food, smell it, take pictures and videos of it, watch people eat the stuff i make for them. one of my favourite pasttimes it to read restaurant menus in their entirety...like multiple times. i am always down to go out for food and drinks at restaurants/bars with fam and friends, i am always so excited to come up with my contribution(s) to pot-luck parties. love love trying out new restaurants...i have a list of bucket list restaurants around the world i am determined to visit. ...and i love to eat. but to be more precise, i love to TASTE. so small plate venues (dim sum, tapas, izakaya, etc) and tasting menus and pot luck parties are my fave: an abundance of choice and low commitment to just a single large entree. i have will taste all the "good stuff" (easy on the side dishes as they take up too much stomach real estate) and be perfectly happy. a.k.a. JOY lol. the one difference with how i enjoy food now is i no longer feel joy with the stuffing of myself. i have vague memories of actually feeling GOOD with a distended belly bursting with something i ate. Now its the opposite. the feeling of being full is very unpleasant to me (to put it mildly). and i think this is key, now that i think of it.... long story short, joy is still on the table...its just up to you where you find it.

I can't believe it. I got on the scale this morning and it was 244.5 lbs. I've officially lost half of the weight towards my goal! I'm down 76 lbs since my highest weight and 63 lbs since surgery. And I'm not even 5 months out! I really didn't think it would happen this quickly. And weirdly enough, I feel smaller now than when I was this weight before. Weight distribution is a funny thing. Here's a pic of me pre-op at about 312 lbs, and two pics of me from today! I have so much more energy and mobility now. I'm so grateful to myself for having this surgery despite my fears and concerns. It has been SO worth it! Big thank yous to all of you guys for supporting me as I go through this, I really value this forum and everyone who posts here! ❤️

On 3/3 I hit my one year anniversary— been holding steady the last two months or so — about 10 lbs lower than my original goal. Heading into plastic surgery next week— tummy tuck! (Yay). Down 75+ lbs— Some days i really understand the changes, and others I am in disbelief. It’s slowly catching up with me. 5’1’’ Female, age 53 Start weight 195, day of surgery 184- current weight 119.2

My surgery date is 4/16!

I had my surgery on April 1st. The 1st week was tough but each day gets easier! I’m ready to get out of the liquid stage.

omg. im totally gonna have a t-shirt made with this slogan.

Hi ! I’m 7 days post op and have been home for 4 days. i had the same feeling that i suspect was brought on by a mix of adapting to being home and my « new normal » but also the fatigue from the surgery. I almost cried the first two days, and was asking myself why i’d done this to myself … but then i realised this is just the beginning, and the « strictest » of restrictions but in only a few weeks i’ll be able to eat more varied things. I also read through my eating plan and phases to make sure i’m well versed on what to eat and when and how to manage the next weeks. Being prepared kinda helps me mentally realise there is better to come. I think it’s normal to feel this way after such a major change but stay strong, i’ve been feeling better and better every day and it’s important to celebrate that to keep spirits up ! I realised if i want to be able to get to the point where i can eat real food i just need to work and concentrate on how i’m’feeling: eating slowly and concentrating on how i feel so that i’ll learn to recognise being full, when to stop etc That’s my main priority for this second week! If you need to talk don’t hesitate :)

Hello @MelP1970 and welcome into the forum. You are in a very strange and bewildering time in your recovery. You might be regretting your surgery, lots of us do. The fat cells that you are shedding so quickly at this point, contain your hormones. Fast weight loss means so many are coursing through your body now. Its like puberty all over again. I was so emotional and could not understand why. A kind soul on here put me right. It is a massive learning curve right now for you. Just relearning to drink is a full time job . You are lucky, like me, no hunger pangs. I also love to cook. Once I was physically able to cook again, I restarted feeding my family. I make my portion separately from theirs. For instance, If I make Lasagne for the fam, mine has no pasta and I use sliced baked aubergine instead. Having a wide knowledge of recipes has really helped me vary my food choices. I am 2+ years out and do not feel any loss issues because I can eat almost all the foods I could before surgery. I still have a few issues with certain foods that I adored pre surgery. For instance, I detest cooked salmon but make my own Gravadlax and it tastes divine to me. I hated eggs and now I find them delicious ! If I have carbs, its only a few spoons. I make own wholemeal, seeded bread. This means I can eat a sandwich. Its not the same as regular shop bought stodge which sits heavily in my stomach for hours and then gives me the foamies. I still enjoy eating but now a tiny amount suffices. Being thin feels better than eating huge meals. Long ago, I read that Parisienne women ate this way, a few forkfuls and they leave the rest. My immediate family are used to me eating what I can and putting the remainder in the fridge for a later snack. I have a friend that I eat out with once a week. It was hard in the beginning to find things I could eat on a menu but now I usually have a salad which to me is a joy. I love the variety and crunch. This forum has members all over the world. People post pictures in the ' Food before and after' page. I find things I have never heard of before. This leads to new recipes to cook and taste. TBH my menu has expanded now, my food is more nutrient dense and much better quality. Give yourself time to accept the changes and challenges. You will feel your normal self quite soon.

Thank you for the great information- I did get to consult with dr before— and got the v-shape as that was what dr preferred as well. I had 4lbs of skin removed from my stomach, and they lipo scuplted arms, waist and back to get the 2lbs of fat to use for the tiny bbl they were able to complete. I am 3 weeks out (as of Wednesday April 10) and am very pleased with the results so far. The back side is not super dramatic, which I am happy about. Surgery went well, although i did have to have an iron treatment because my hemoglobin dropped 4 points ..but after that i felt great. Instead of general they used an epidural and exparel- so I didn't need any major pain meds after. Just had a headache for a couple of days, so Tylenol was solution. Staying in a recovery house for a week was THE best decision for me to not push it and to make sure i could recover well— at home I’d have been doing things when i should have been resting. No real pain to speak of from anything- sore and tight might describe it best—but that eased up at the end of the week. I admittedly have a high pain tolerance, and after previous breast reduction and hysterectomy knew some of what to expect. Now, Im just working from home and living a fairly normal life. Driving, walking, etc with ease. In a few weeks, I will be cleared to start exercising- which I have never done— so slow and steady will be course of action. Ill post some pics when things settle and i don't look too Frankenstein like. Thank you all for the kind words and support! Plastics is a game changer!

I chew gum. I'm 27 days post op. don't remember exactly when i decided i would try it. Probably at least a couple of weeks out. I'm never going to swallow it. Sometimes I just need to chew and have a taste in my mouth! Plus I quit smoking 3 weeks before surgery and still need it to help me curtail that too.