Queen of Crop

Welcome!!!! I also reached my goal at week 52! So excited....but what do we do here? We talk about how different Year One is from Year Two, Year 3 and so on. And we encourage each other to stay real and keep our selves together for the progress we have accomplished and to never, ever go back to the way we were....because as a vet , we know we can.....so welcome aboard...nice to have a man here!

Good point Michiganchic! We have to stop beating ourselves up because we might hit 700 calories on a 5:2 day! Most of used to eat 700 calories at a sitting! And perhaps we should stop worrying so much about the scale and think about how we feel, how our clothes fit, how our blood work is, and how fit we are. Personally, I think I am more fit right now than anytime in my life...but for the life of me I cannot get below 139! But we are trying and we are doing our best and we all know, that most people eat 2 to 3 to 4 times more than we do and many of them don't have weight problems....but you know what? Many of them do!!! And we are no longer obese, morbidly obese, or super obese! We are normal weight or a bit over weight...and that's manageable! Very impressed with everyone here....Rock on!

So disappointing to hear that no weight loss has gone along with the plastic surgery...how can that be??? I'm schedule for April 13th for abdominalplasty and was so hoping for a few lbs at least...... :wacko:

Good information all....I think all the newbies should read this, but then again, don't want to scare any one away from not doing this because as we all know, this was our best shot to get where we are at now! And I just noticed...Feedyoureye....was your surgeon really Mohammed Ali???? I never noticed that before in all your posts over the years! Thanks for such an honest, heartfelt post, as always.

Good recap CGJ.....and yes, sadly I think we all did some unrepairable damage to our bodies when we were heavy. But at least we have a fighting chance now of staying at or under our goal!

Hi...I am 3.5 years out and I hit a stall at about the same time you are (about 6 months out). It's normal and has nothing to do with the season. You've lost 85 lbs in 5 months! That's incredible. But I just wrote yesterday in my blog the difference between the One Year Sleeve, the Two Year Sleeve and the Three Year Sleeve, so you might want to read it. Bottom line, is that get as much weight off as you can in the first year! http://www.queenofcrop.com/ Good luck and keep at it!

HI adargie...welcome! Two suggestions...you might want to sign up for a weekly newsletter about the 5:2 here: https://www.fastday.com/ and I recently posted a post on my blog about my perfect 5:2 FAST DAY which shows you exactly what I ate with photos! Good luck! http://www.queenofcrop.com/weeklyupdates/my-perfect-52-fast-day/

You will do this...you will not go back there...you cannot. Those of us who are veterans need to pave the way. Keep coming here for inspiration....read blogs, read mine! I try to be very inspirational as others have been for me. Good luck and remember 18 lbs is very doable.

HI Bobby....you've lost 64 lbs and you wonder if it's worth it? Don't get me wrong, I know our brains work against us sometimes, but wow, 64 lbs in 5 months. That's fabulous! Look at all the strain you have taken off your back and knees and feet...you must be walking better, breathing better. Reaching goal is nice and good and all that, but you are getting your health back! That cannot ever be understated. And yes, maintenance is a bit of a challenge, but a lot easier than if we had lost (as if we could!) the weight in a traditional way. This forum keeps us all honest, so keep coming back and you will be inspired. And love yourself for how far you have come.

Oh yes, I had the queasy feeling on and off for almost a year; and there was one time I didn't poop for 10 days! So I don't think it's abnormal; your tummy is still healing. It takes a while, but before you know it, it will feel 'too' normal. So take advantage of this time now that your tummy will not accept anything and everything because this is when you will get the weight off. Good luck!

Good response to CGJ Lexie...yes, WE ARE ALL THAT THIN GIRL IN THE ROOM NOW! I like that! And yes, it is the pits that we can eat so little and struggle so much to keep our weight under control. But the fact is, it finally IS under control! How many years did we beat ourselves up when we tried so hard but failed at so many diets. These threads are good ones but I hope we don't discourage the newbies from having the surgery, because even though it's not a magic bullet, and at times it is hard, it is doable. And sorry, but a traditional diet for me was never doable for the long haul....so it's not perfect, but it's damn close! Hang in there CGJ....you've come such a long way!

HI everyone....but especially to windycity and michiganchic....stop beating yourself up! First, I think you are both doing great...you are doing the right things and recognizing what has to be done. Look how far you have come. I have come to realize that most normal weight people have to keep on their toes just like we do now. Sure, there are probably some people who can eat 2200 calories + in a day and not gain weight, but most people who stay thin, are not on the FFA eating plan (Free For All!). They do splurge, but then cut back, and stay away from certain things and move. JUST LIKE WE ARE LEARNING TO DO! I just had my 3rd successful FAST day yesterday and am feeling happy and strong. But I have been where you two are as well....my office is near the kitchen, having a pity party for myself that I am STILL struggling with keeping my weight in check (did I think this was going to be a free ride?). One of the reasons I am having some success with 5:2 is because I design my two FAST days (M and TH) to include things out of the house...errands, visiting a friend, yesterday we went to the movies, things where I know I will not get distracted. We need to start loving ourselves more and recognizing how far we have come. We have nothing to feel bad about. If we were where we were a couple of years ago, sitting on our butts and eating gallons of ice cream, THEN we should feel crappy. Not now! We are strong women and we are just getting better all the time!!!!

Wow...19 lbs in 2 weeks! You are doing so much better than most! And perhaps when you lose the weight your back problems will go away...I have seen it before....and if you like to travel; the first year of my blog is a bit of a weight loss/travel blog because we traveled for a year before settling in Amsterdam from Hawaii. Keep up the good work!

Thanks Kimmeesue and welcome to the group! When is your surgery? And oh yes, you are never to old to become healthy and live an exciting life! I have started posting again so if you want updates, please be sure to sign up on the blog.

Just keep doing what you are doing; it will just keep coming off. You are doing all the right things; sometimes surgery just throws your body out of whack, you retain water, it's only been 3 weeks...your body is still adjusting. You will hit some stalls but this early out, it really isn't a stall; it's just recalibrating. You will do fine....BTW, I had my surgery 3+ years ago...just a week after I turned 58 so I was your age....and it changed my life! So good luck and keep coming back here and doing exactly what you are doing!

HI Lisa....I assume you found my blog? I see I have a new subscriber named Lisa...if not, just go to www.queenofcrop.com and you can see what I eat on the 5:2 with lots of photos. But if you are new to this, you may want to start at the beginning as I wrote every Sunday for the first year. Start here: www.queenofcrop.com/about Good luck and keep us posted!

Great job everyone...we are doing this!!!! Oh how I miss those frozen dinners like WW and Lean Cuisines, nothing like that here in Holland. I had forgotten all about them! Lots more choices like that in the US, but lots more junk too....I eat pretty much all natural fresh stuff, not because I'm such a purist (far from it!) but because my choices are so limited. I remember the last time I went to the US (for my 60th in 2013) I went into a grocery store and almost had a meltdown seeing all the many foods I used to love! Guess it's a good thing I'm here. But I am happy that we are doing this. Even with my PERFECT 5:2 day last Monday, and a very decent one yesterday, I am still down barely 1 lb, but I feel good and I'm encouraged!

HI Michiganchic! Thanks for the update....I have a question. Is 3+ months of bloating, swelling and water retention normal after plastics? How long does it usually last? And if I can do a FAST day, anyone can! And I did it Monday and I am on it today too....shocking for me. So I'm pulling for you. QofC

HI kathy812....I couldn't eat any rice for about 2.5 years (and I loved rice so I saw it as a bit of a gift not to be able to eat it!). Now I can eat a little bit (as in a piece of sushi) and although I can eat pasta, I eat about 2 bites and I know it's enough. But I feel very satisfied about that; I just don't miss it anymore. Now if I could just feel that way about cookies!!!!

Hi Bea....I too am living abroad from the US (California and Hawaii) I now live in Amsterdam and I am lucky in a way because they do eat very fresh and healthy here and everyone is so trim and gorgeous (you rarely see fat people) that it's an incentive; plus we don't own a car so we walk or bike everywhere. But I might suggest you try the 5:2...I am the WORST dieter in the world and I have now had two successful days on it. If you don't know what it is, go to the 5:2 forum here. But in a nutshell, two days a week (I do Monday and Thursdays) you eat 500 calories. It doesn't sound like much but I just had a PERFECT 5:2 DAY and I wrote about it on my blog and I showed photos, so you can see you can get a lot in for just 500 calories. It helps get your stomach back to restriction and since it's only 1 day it's not as easy to get derailed. You can see it here: http://www.queenofcrop.com/%C2'> Good luck and keep us posted....it's up to us veterans to keep the others motivated so they can see this IS different from the rest of all the stuff we have all done and failed at. And also, follow as many of these posts as you can that make sense for you. I am 3+ years out and even though I get more notifications than I can deal with at times, I have to say, it keeps me motivated and on my toes and reminds me that I will NOT go back there!!!!!

HI ladies....good things happening here...congrats to everyone on all the good news. I have some good news too....yesterday I had my first PERFECT 5:2 FAST DAY! So now I know I can do it. I just posted a new blog (don't worry ladies, no sex in this one (OK, one little line, but hey, someone here has to spice things up....so for some of you, you may be disappointed! ). It is what my 5:2 FAST DAY looked like, complete with photos. I have another FAST day coming up tomorrow and I think from the encouragement and enthusiasm from this thread and the 5:2 thread, I can do it again! http://www.queenofcrop.com/weeklyupdates/my-perfect-52-fast-day/ Rock on ladies!

Wow everyone has been so GREAT about checking in! I had my second 5:2 day yesterday and I am here to tell you it was PERFECT!!!!!! (And I am rarely perfect at anything!). I feel very proud of myself and if I am honest, I can say it really wasn't that hard; the key for me is to stay busy and do things outside of my house as my office is right by the kitchen. I was due for a new blog entry so I wrote MY PERFECT 5:2 FAST DAY as my entry....complete with photos of what I ate. So if you want to see what a perfect day looks like just go to my blog and it's the latest entry. And I did lose another lb so I am on my way back to 133....it's so close. http://www.queenofcrop.com/weeklyupdates/my-perfect-52-fast-day/ Thanks to everyone here who has kept me encouraged...I would not have done this without you. And I do write in there that many of us don't process calories or carbs or food like other people and we need to stop beating ourselves up. We are all here because we are navigating this road the best we can. FAST ON LADIES!!!

Thanks LainieG...do you have your surgery date yet? Maybe you've mentioned it and I've missed it. Hope you are well....you're up pretty late!

OK ladies I did it! Checking in after my first FAST day yesterday. And I lost a lb. I don't think I was perfect but it was a start and I feel so much better knowing that I could do it. For me, I have to keep myself really busy and away from the house...and it was a mental exercise as well. But it is amazing how we think now....this 10 lbs I want to lose seems so HUGE but yet we have come so far! I am visualizing 133...I am only 5'3" and even though I think I will have saggy skin, that's the number I want to get to. Today I was 143 so that's 10 lbs. But thanks to all of you I think I can do this. And I swear I think I am the worst dieter in the world! I can get derailed SO easily plus the fact that I am entertaining all the time. A dinner party tonight and tomorrow night! But I did FAST and that was a start!!! Hope all the newbies in this group are doing well and feeling excited about the new year!

Checking in after my first FAST day yesterday. I did it! And I lost a lb. I don't think I was perfect but it was a start and I feel so much better knowing that I could do it. For me, I have to keep myself really busy and away from the house...and it was a mental exercise as well. But it is amazing how we think now....this 10 lbs I want to lose seems so HUGE but yet we have come so far! I am visualizing 133...I am only 5'3" and even though I think I will have saggy skin, that's the number I want to get to. Today I was 143 so that's 10 lbs. But thanks to all of you I think I can do this. And I swear I think I am the worst dieter in the world! I can get derailed SO easily plus the fact that I am entertaining all the time. A dinner party tonight and tomorrow night! But I did FAST and that was a start!!!