Globetrotter

SO last night I went to the difac and got a tablespoon of chocolate pudding with a tablespoon of whipped cream. Between that and the .5 ounces of chocolate covered caramel pop I had, I satisfied the choco-beast. However, that was my first deliberate sugar since surgery nearly 4 months ago and I woke up this morning puffy faced like the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man and dragging ass. Also, even though the treats were tasty, there was something wierd about the taste, sort like the difference between a regular crayon vs. neon paint. It was a little too loud.

Although that was an excellently written email, I'm willing to bet she didn't read it. I'm sure she deleted it without reading it at all. Now, her editor may read it. I heard about this Marie Claire debacle here on the forum, down in the rant & raves section and I responded to it. Later that day I went to a meeting. Halloween is coming and there was a lot of candy circulating the room. Everyone took some and was in a good mood. Then this painfully skinny woman starts exclaiming loudly to the entire (large) conference room, "my GOD, how many calories are in that [caramel pop], oh GOD don't tell me- hahaha!" This in turn made the entire room start grumbling about calories. So, the next day, I'm in the coffee shop waiting on my tea, and she comes in wearing running gear. She has a copy of Marie Claire. Everyone, I wanted to beat her unconscious with the damn thing. Just SEEING the magazine there felt like a slap in the face, knowing she probably agreed whole heartedly with that stupid senseless asshole. I wanted to take my FAT hand and slap her across her bony face. I don't know much about organizing stuff online but I feel like a petition for her firing needs to be started. Let me tell you another story; years ago I wanted to join the Peace Corps. Although fat at 240 lbs and 5'3", I was also very fit and healthy and had doctor's letters saying so. Still, the Peace Corps rejected me out of hand because of my size - flat out. Long story short, an online group of women from Fat?So!.com rallied together and sent so many letters to Peace Corps HQ that they changed their minds. I would like to point out that I finished my two year commitment in my country and the skinniest girl from my group who ran marathons, DIDN'T LAST THE FIRST F***ING YEAR. So, I know that we can band together and stand up for ourselves. This kind of discrimination would not be tolerated by an employee for one heartbeat if you inserted a word describing ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. When we don't stand up for ourselves, we affirm in their minds that they have the legitimate right to make us feel shame and to degrade us.

I don't know what I would do without fatsecret.com. Getting that visual of the information, having my carbs tracked like that, without it I know I would be all over the map! I recently switched up to 800 cals a day from 600, I discovered that the 600 cal diet my surgeon and nut had me on was an incorrect fit for me, I was barely losing weight. When I eat 800 I see a marked difference in my loss, for the better.

I am inspired by Tiffykins, she had her favorite blouse from before turned into an adorable little dress after. I have a gauze cotton tunic from Eddie Bauer in like a 3X that I'm going to have tailored when I hit goal.

This is where eating in a cafeteria with limited choices comes in handy I guess!! Indulging won't be a problem at Halloween and Thanksgiving, though they do a big spread here for Thanksgiving, I will just eat the turkey first and then be so stuffed after 3 ounces that I won't have room for more than a lick of mashies & gravy.=) If I get to go home for Christmas there will be delightful treats and delicacies available but again, I'll eat protein first. As for New Year, General Order #1 forbids alcohol, even for civilians!=( I don't care for champagne anyway.

At my rate of loss, which is about 12 lbs a month adjusted, it might take me about 14 months to hit surgeon's goal (150 lbs), and 16 months to hit my goal (130 lbs). At 15 weeks out, it is kind of a bummer to think that it may be another 10 months before I hit goal but at least now I have the possibility, before surgery it was just a sad dream that I knew wasn't going to come true.

Absolutely. The worst part about fat-bigotry is the impotent rage I feel when it is perpetrated. It is fully ingrained in society that this bigotry is acceptable and those who perpetrate it are free from reproof. Because of the backing of formal medicine, people feel free to be raging fat-ists. Yeah well, in the 19th century doctors validated "phrenology" - the pseudo-science that "proved" that the shape of a black person's skull made them sub-intelligent and the shape of a caucasian person's skull made them more intelligent. They made all sorts of ludicrous claims, and claimed they had medical scientific facts to back them up. It's the same thing today; so called medical experts and average fat-ists, claiming the medical "proof" that fat people are unhealthy and/or stupid. I could not do a lot of physical things at my highest weight, but when I was chubby I was very active, very healthy. I just feel so helpless in the face of this kind of poison.

the ramen flavor packets were awesome when I had just about had it with my protein shakes. Chili lime was deeelicious!. Also, a can of Campbell's beef consomme has a relatively high protein count, tastes good, and can be thinned out to make a lot more and still retains good flavor.

Okay: I chose 800 calories as my new target; when I had returned to + - 600 cals I lost only 1/3 pound in 7 days. I have now been on 800 cals for 48 hours and have lost just under a pound, .9. I will stay on 800, I will weigh myself every day - not that I'm expecting serious movement every day - but if the steady downward trend continues, I think it will be pretty well confirmed for me that my guidance was incorrect for me, and I will stay at 800 calories.

Yep, like clockwork (haha), a few days before my cycle I am makin' eyes at every Y chrom in humping distance. =P We had a thread like this in the Ladies Room and it was explained to me that fat cells store estrogen so as we lose rapidly, we are flooded rapidly, and one of the perks of that is being, well, really dang horny!!!

Bush!! Gavin Rossdale was/is SO hot! Remember him singing "glycerine" in the rain at some MTV concert, ooooh! Let us not forget Wheezer of course! If it was hair dye, it was all about Manic Panic!

Before surgery I could eat 4 portions of something before beginning to get full and could then probably eat a little more. It took a tremendous amount of power eating to actually get overfull-sick. Now, there is no in between, I am either empty or full, period. When that full feeling happens now, there is no wiggle room for just one more bite. I eat two slices of turkey deli meat smeared with cream cheese for breakfast every morning and halfway through the 2nd roll up I have to stop for about 5 minutes before I can finish the rest otherwise I would feel woozy, barfy, and disoriented. Also, when my body has had enough now, I sneeze and sniffle! Go figure. As for hungry ... it's not so much hunger as it is emptiness. It's like, if you could physically sense when your car is running on empty, I can feel when my stomach tank is empty and needs to be filled. But it is no longer a mind/body/emotional connection.

Okay so my average calorie intake for the last 7days has been 600; there was one day when I did 800 so the average would probably be about 650-ish. In that time I have lost just 1/3 of a pound and I think that was the result of a lot of Miralax ...ahem... so starting today AND YOU ARE ALL MY WITNESSES, I am going to start taking in exactly 800 per day while continuing to work out. Today is Monday so by Thursday I should see something; either nothing will happen and I'll know increasing my cals isn't helping, or something will happen (better than what happens during 600 cals) and I will know this is the right thing to do. We shall see!!

Yeah ... so it has now been 5 days of this 600-615 cals and the only weight I've lost is 1/3 of a pound that I'm sure is just from daily Miralax use ... As for my surgeon - he didn't just leave me hanging, he has disappeared FROM HIS PRACTICE. They are being very close-mouthed about it all but suffice it to say, there's some s*** going down at their practice. Completely startling considering this man is considered one of the best in the world at VSG and has (to put it beyond mildly) a thriving practice. cals - 600-615 Protein - 80-85 fat - 23-25 carbs - 10-15 exercise - 30 min brisk walking treadmill, 3.0 speed, 3.0 incline I'm afraid this stall/gain is a delayed reaction to the last time I ate "alot" 800-850 cals last week. Afraid to do anything!!!

Yeah, I'm a heavy weight too. Day of surgery weight, 294. Current weight, 245. Date of surgery, 14 July. What is your target calorie count/protein count/exercise? My surgeon and nut have me on 600 cals a day. My carbs are low, around 10 grams a day, and my Protein high, around 85 grams.

My daily carb average is between 10-15 grams of carbs per day. My protein averages 80-90 grams per day and my fat between 20-25 grams per day. This is on 600 cals. In the 5 days of being back on 600-615 cals, I have lost only 1/3 of a pound and I'm pretty sure that was just due to daily miralax use. I'm nowhere near my cycle, not eating processed carbs or sweets, and exercising. Maybe I'm not exercising enough?

Well I've been super bummed out this week and it's because of calories. I've mentioned it in a few places here on the forum but I was a super slow loser, about a pound a week, when I was on 600 cals. Then I rebelled and started taking in 750-800 cals, suddenly I was losing a pound a day and it was amazing. During this time I finally got ahold of my nut and told her what had happened and what I was doing and her response was to ignore the "proof" and tell me to go back to 600. Being a Good Girl, I did. Guess what? I "gained" almost 2 pounds and haven't lost an ounce since I went back to 600 5 days ago. PLEASE, if anybody has any suggestions/insight/words of wisdom, I am all ears.

If I may ask, what exactly are you doing that you have had such fantastic loss? What are you eating, how much, what kind of exercising, etc. I am almost 15 weeks out and have only lost 47 lbs - and the first 20 were in the first 2 wks post op so don't really "count". 27 pounds in 3 months is really slow. =(

You just can't go wrong with a crisp button down, in either white, blue, or blue with white stripe. It can be casual, sporty, business, or dressed up. Untucked shirttails over a plain T and under a crew neck sweater, very cute preppy-sexy. Plain, buttoned up and tucked in with dress pants, smart styllish.

My Grandmother had TEN children - by the time she was pregnant with her last one, her first one was married and pregnant too! I have no idea how fertility is passed on, this is my Father's Mother.

Yes I think this is something that only a person who has successfully lost a massive amount of weight can understand, whether or not they did it with surgery. there is a book I used to refer to as my "Fat Bible", it's a memoir written by a woman named Frances Kuffel and it is called, "Passing For Thin". She joined an OA-style group and lost 180 pounds through diet. She's very tall so even though her lowest weight was 149, she appeared very very thin. Not only is she an excellent writer, but she frankly addresses the exact notion we are talking about, and for her, the rage she felt. She eventually relapsed and started eating again, and I believe she is in "recovery" for the 2nd or 3rd time at this time, but that does not negate the truth in her words. I recommend it.

So - as many regulars here know, I was put on a 600 cal/70g protein regimen by my surgeon. I am 3 months post-op now and the weight has been coming off excrutiatingly slow. Recently I decided to shake things up and did 3 days of 800+ cals and then 3 days back at 600. It didn't seem to do anything and, in a moment of rebellion-sabotage, I said f*** it and started eating between 700-800 cals. Well guess what? I'm losing weight, better than before. It's only been 4 days of doing this but I've lost about a pound a day. The dillemma is this - should I go back to the 600 cals? If I stay at this higher cal. point, will the positives turn out to be short term? I understand that a shake up of cals can jump start the loss but if I keep on eating that, will it end up having an adverse reaction?

Oh yes, definitely. I noticed some time ago that I need to keep my daily fat grams high, between 20-25, or I wouldn't lose at all. I went back to 600 for 2 days and instead of losing almost 2 pounds like I was doing on 800, I lost half a pound. I just don't know what to dooooooo! I can't switch nut's, as my nut is a part of my surgical package and surgeon's office. Plus, being in Iraq I can't exactly shop around for a new nut. And besides, regular nuts don't comprehend the whole WLS thing and the real metabolic differences etc.

There are some things in life to which "you get what you pay for" applies. For me personally, I didn't have the option of using my insurance and had to go private pay. So my pre-op, during-op, and immediate post-op issues all had to do with how I could spend that much money on myself. It's not that I didn't think I was worth it, it's just the enormity of the cost made me realize the enormity of what I was doing, I guess. I'm 3 months out and have lost about half what I should have by now so I haven't had that moment of shock or disconnect that some folks describe. In the first weeks following surgery when I saw my scars I freaked a little, realizing that I had major surgery. However the quality of my experience was so top notch I never gave it a second thought, as far as pain-complications-etc. were concerned. I don't even remember them putting an iv in. I was just chatting with the anesthesiologist one minute, and waking up in my room the next.