Chimera

/joins the envious of plastics club. Cowgirl Jane - I wonder if being that empathetic shoulder to cry on has anything at all do do with eating patterns - for 22 years I was a hair colorist (which is a big old shoulder to cry on) just kept packing on the weight over the years...food after work was a true comfort - numbs one out after 12 hour days of hearing folks heartbreaking stories and challenges - a new one every 30 minutes - 5-6 days a week. I know it could be hard to not let my clients shred me to bits at times - some of these people I had seen monthly for decades, I was closer to them then the majority of my family. Your post has generated some interesting thoughts for me. Now I am a college professor and by its nature, has much stronger/more defined emotional boundaries. I still tend to worry about others over myself much of the time. I would follow your instincts with what you should do before surgery be it fasting or not fasting. I would focus on hydration, nutrients, getting both good exercise and rest. As for plastics - I want a full-on belt lipectomy - the big bad boy of body contouring! Tummy Tuck or panniculectomy will not be enough. i have the hang over the top of my tummy - my lower tummy and thighs look like a ratty old beige blanket that a pack of dogs have been playing under lol. I thoroughly destroyed my skin by getting so big - ahh well - I still prefer this to 150 lbs ago. I have the jowly neck thing too - I used to think my head looked as if it were squeezed out of a tube (meaning I have no neck) - now its the flabby bag the tube came in haha! They say one could have anywhere from 5-10 lbs of skin for every 100 lb. loss - no wonder I look like an old sleeping bag

Morning gang Just wanted to check in with good news - after my 5th fasting day (Started 5:2 16 days ago) I am down a solid, and so far sticky 5 lbs. I will go change the ticker - which I do not do unless I know the number is there for good! I guess I could almost say I have had 4 real fast days - last week was a struggle - and last night on my fasting day I was ravenous! I was a bit over after my main meal (baked chicken and steamed broccoli) was at 545 calories, 43 Protein, 48 carbs, 20 fat when I got into my husbands peanut stash - I guess it could be worse. Milestones as well - my weight puts me in the simply 'overweight' category - no longer obese, morbidly obese, or super morbidly obese. I was considered high risk with my BMI for my surgery. I now weight at least 20 lbs less than my husband - I have always been the same weight or outweighed him. We both have the same start weight of 318 ironically

Thanks gang! My husband - who also had a vsg two weeks before I did is a great motivator in the working out department (lets not talk about the healthy snack department lol.) This week is rough with my work load - multiple lectures to prep and it wont let up until next weekend. I think working out might make fast days easier for me. Friday might work better as well for fasting this week because of my running around schedule - it is easy to drink on the run and I tend to not think much about food - much less so when I am poking around the house.

I have a frightening picture from the day I came home from the hospital - someday I will post it. I had complications with my surgery that kept my in the hospital for 5 days (internal bleeding) - the day I came home the biggest of my incisions opened up and it was like old faithful with the blood (I guess there was a void - it was old blood that had ben collecting) - looked like I had been beaten in the stomach with a baseball bat - a massive black bruise the size of a dinner plate (at least). All good now though

Great post! Thanks for sharing - here is another bit of good reading about sugar and breaking its hold from a friend I went to graduate school with http://www.vanadia.com/stopbeingsweet/

You guys sound like you have the protein/coffee mojo going on! I am going to have to try some of these products and recipes. I looooove my hot drinks but regular boring latte at 37 carbs can put a strain on my little low carb budget - at least it is dairy carbs

16 months out tomorrow for me too - Lisa and I have the same re-birthday It is so encouraging to hear about the great success you have had with 5:2 Cowgirl Jane. Also on my second week and so far so good. We live in the same neck of the woods - I should pm you and ask about plastics - I need them but I want to be firmly at or under goal for that - plus there is the issues of paying for it - where was that durned money tree again?! So that will be a while for me.

That's a good idea Georgia - my husband gets those monster sized bags of Hoodies peanuts from Costco and I generally try and stay away from them - he can enjoy them in maintenance (and he also works out like a demon 5-6 days a week.) but those little buggers add up waay to quickly for me. I would rather save my calories for a nice greek yogurt or snack sliced veggies or hard boiled eggs,

How are the carbs Lis? I know that if I am not eating 'protein first, veggies next,' not getting the water in or if I slip on vitamins the scale stops. Too many slices of cheese - too many nuts - all things that can get grounds up easily or slip down fast slow things.

Oh and currently about 3 lbs down since starting last week - that is huge for me right now because the scale has not moved that much all summer.

So far so good! it has been a challenging week two - isn't it funny that just about every time you embark on a new healthy behavior - there is some annual family event or festivity to challenge you. Well it was my stepdaughters 17th birthday (the food last year + cake is what started my first stall - hello sugar) and then we went to the state fair...hello corndog lol. I am currently still in 'detox' mode from birthday cake - when I eat carbs, especially baked goods with sugar I get a mean case of the constantly hungry mouth...I seem to always be on the prowl for things that are not so good for me. and my own birthday is next month and i am getting taken to one of my favorite places on earth Disneyland! I have a feeling I will be in Detox again soon haha! I am thinking that I might try some different pasterns on fast day - Breakfast to breakfast to dinner time to dinnertime. Just to see how the different patterns make me feel, energy level etc. I feel great on fast days so far. I worked out waaaaay to hard on Monday lifted too strenuously with my triceps and haven't had much use of my arms all week - finally that is getting less sore. Looked at my other step-daughter's instagram today and she is quite thin but wanted to lose more weight, she has never had issues with overweight - it took her 20 months to lose 18 lbs. Not gonna complain any more about slow losses Hope you guys are all doing well!

I think you are doing great! Remember it's just one day - the important thing is that you are acknowledging that you weren't comfortable with your behaviors and that means you have an opportunity for growth. None of us go through life without struggle - I think most if not all of us on this board deal with the psychological issues surrounding food, disordered eating, dysmorphia following massive or rapid weight loss. I know I will always be challenged by these issues - it sounds as though you have a fantastic support system at home - and you have another one here. Don't forget - it is one day among many - it is the trend over time that matters.

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Aha it worked!

How did I know that I would not be able to embed a video on vst lol. Youtube link is here:

I know I have read that soup is considered a slider - I scoop up mostly shredded white meat chicken and mushy soup veggies often times - and when I want more broth I consider it a boon for my liquids total. I love hot beverages/liquids so yummy soup like the 'green chicken' soup is a go to for me - it is very satisfying and its healthy! Lord knows I didn't get to 318 lbs. eating too much broth and lean chicken haha! I just wanted to wish Lisa a happy Birthday - ironically when I saw it was her birthday I was eating a thin slice of birthday cake for my stepdaughter - whose birthday is also today - yay lucky 13! Even though that cake came on a fast day (bad I know), the rest of the day was great - came in at 478 before that cake. get this - weight this morning was 169.5 - down from 173 on Monday morning...3.5 in 5 - this is awesome and I am loving that the scale is moving and so far this feels very doable.

To slow the losses down up the quality and fat content. Little bit of dark chocolate, maybe a few full fat Greek yogurts and cheeses or lattes here and here. Nuts, especially almonds and macadamias are a good nutritious choice that are low in size/volume and high in nutrition.

I was seriously bummed when I outgrew a whole slew of clothes - and it keeps on happening but I think I like my new ones a whole lot better! The hard part is sticking to only buying jeans and tops with stretch so they last longer. My strategy has been get one that fits - and also one that is smaller - 2 to sometimes 4 sizes. this is when I bought a pair of size 12 jeans that fit well - and realized that when I put on the size 6 that was the new goal size that they fit even better...go figure. This big rump can now wear a size 2 in certain sizes, which is crazy! Congrats on approaching Onederland:)

Georgia I do use spinach - it is a great ingredient because you could use an entire barrel of it and I think it would shrink down to the size of a little golf ball when cooked - that's a lot of nutrition for our little sleeves! I am also having a great day so far - its fast day but I haven't thought about food at all - rare. I think I have gotten more work done this week without my own mental distractions than I have in ages.

Its funny how empowered one feels when that scale starts to move again in the direction you want it too I even ran on the treadmill this morning for 4 minutes - I have short little legs and with my osteo arthritis issues - I have always been afraid of running - when you are really obese it doesn't feel very good either! I think I will have a premier shake after the gym tomorrow and for dinner mostly likely turkey and green beans or I've also defrosted some 'green chicken soup" that I make a big pot of every few weeks and freeze - its just low sodium broth (I use vegetable, chicken, sometimes beef) a family pack of chicken thrown in there (shred said chicken after its cooked) and what ever green veggies and herbs look good at the market - carrots, zucchini, onions, cilantro, a couple of tomatoes from the garden made it into this last batch. Great guilt-free soup when you want something easy, warm and nutritious ;)Happy Thursday fast day ladies!

Focus on change and not the scale. This really seems to help me when I doubt my abilities to succeed.

This is not a sprint - it is a marathon. And you know what is awesome? You have made the incredibly courageous decision to have a permanent tool installed surgically to help you with this for the rest of your life. I am also no sprinter in the WL arena - at 48, 5'3" and feeling the change coming on with osteo arthritis that was a nightmare in my knees hips and ankles I too have issues to make losing and keeping it off an ongoing challenge. You will get there - practice mindfulness, patience, and follow your doctors orders. I too, like most of us have lost and gained back hundreds and hundreds of lbs. over my life - this is the first time I am not gaining it back, the scale doesn't jump back up and keep climbing the way it used to - I know that I can gain it back if I revert to my old habits. I lost 30 lbs. in almost a year of nutritional counseling, 14 lbs. in the 2 weeks prior to surgery (hello Atkins),and the other 103 lbs. have come off in the now 15.5 months since my surgery. I have 31 lbs. to go for the upper range of my goal - which is a "normal" BMI. Did I lose it in 6 months - gee that sure would have been cool but that is not my path. My path will simply take a bit longer and hopefully be scenic Since I have stalls often these days - I think I can wrap my mind around what maintenance at a healthy weight is - and it is great! I honestly don't feel deprived at all and that means I can practice it indefinitely. That is how I look at this now - much like I counsel my students about their artistic practice, this has become my own and my family's health and wellness practice - and it does take practice. Yes there is a honeymoon window - yes the best chances of getting the EWL off is during the first 24 month post surgery. If I am not there on May 21, 2014 will it stop me from losing every ounce of my excess weight - heck no it wont. I plan to keep on going, I don't care if it take me the rest of my freakin life to lose these last 31 lbs. I will get there

Were the 14 - 16 month out trio Great to know you are having success Kristie. So far so good here - the scale dropped 1.5 lbs and has stayed there - normally its a 1 to 3 lbs teeter totter up/down/updown every day of the week. it dropped the weigh in after the first fast day and stayed down after a normal eating day - this in itself is shocking lol. This might actually work

Is our May 2012 group on FB carrying on?

Ohh maybe I should up the calories then for my fasting days. I will make 500-600 may target then, and keep feed days to 1200. I am not so tall, and just had my BMR tested at the gym - they said it is 1638. And my metabolic age is 38 ( woohoo thats 10 years lower than it really is) My husband is quite full of himself after finding out his metabolic age is 21 Thanks for the good advice guys - it is much appreciated! And thank you for the kind words about the profile photo, it feels good to come out of hiding a bit.