Queen of Crop

Hi everyone....I am having my first 5:2 day in such a long time! It isn't so hard so why have I put it off so many times. It is only the early afternoon here but I have not only been faithful so far but I have also been to the gym and I feel great! I want to feel like I can do this and I want to thank everyone for their support and encouragement and inspiration. I weighed in at 144 today, my low was 135 (OK, I saw 133 about a year ago for about 5 minutes). But I want to have plastics done and my doctor wants me mid-130s. Plus how weird is it that us veterans start to feel so heavy after a 5-10 lb gain when we all use to be 200+ lbs? I remember once getting into the 180's and thinking I was a super model. So I think our brains are changing into a thin person's brain....or we can only hope! But losing 10 lbs right now does seem pretty daunting....but today is a start and I feel great! And if I can do this, anyone can because I was always so hopeless at any diet attempt.....it's just one day, so we CAN DO THIS!!!! BTW, I didn't even finish my soup at lunch!

One more post from me....today is my first 5:2 day in a long long time. I am almost at goal weight (I am 143 and my goal is 139) but really need to get to 135 so I can have my body lift surgery. After losing 80 lbs you wouldn't think that losing 8 would be so daunting, but it is. But I had a GREAT workout today at the gym...I love it once I get there...so what is my problem???? And even though it's just noon, I have done fine so far and I think I can do this. For pete's sake it's only one day!!!! But thank you to everyone here who has been my inspiration to get back on track. Great group!!!

@ LisaGB: First I was 58 (just turned 58) when I had my surgery and my life has changed drastically!!! So don't worry one bit that you think you might be too old....like most people on here our only regret is that this surgery wasn't available when we were younger...but believe me, I am making the most out of every day now!!! If you are looking for inspiration, read some blogs...they were so helpful to me. I kept a blog every Sunday for the first year so you can see a little what to expect. You can see it at http://www.queenofcrop.com/about/%C2'> Then when you read that page you can decide if you want to start at the beginning which I recommend. I started writing again a few months ago, but it is in a direction that is not for everyone....the first year is all about the weight loss. For protein powder, I started using one that was recommended here and it is far, far superior to any other in my opinion. I cannot tell you how many PP I threw out!!!! This one has NO FLAVOR and 30 grams of protein. You can order it from Amazon. It's called GENEPRO Molecular Tri-Protein Peptide. Don't waste you money on other things. As far as exercising.....start slow...get some weights and just use them when you are sitting down. I have read about many others who were on walkers and after the first month they had a Walker Burning Party!!!! You will do just fine and I suspect your diabetes will be history too!

OK, I am going for my first FAST DAY in a long long time tomorrow....today my weight was 145...the highest I have been in a year! ( usually hover around 139-142) but I have been eating so much more lately. I don't really know what the big deal is for me because I usually feel so much better after a FAST DAY. But as you all know that carb monster just rears its ugly head. I think I need to get out of the house a lot tomorrow and then I will be OK. I will check in with everyone on Friday. Thanks for all the motivation. I know I don't say much on here anymore (even though I am still posting on my blog) but I do read everyone's posts and they help keep me honest. So Dank je wel! (Thank you in Dutch).

All the ideas above are good ones...I just want to tell you it really is not that hard. I had my surgery at the end of October 2011 and was in the middle of a year long travel trip....I stayed in one place for 3 weeks after surgery then hit the road again....the worst day I had was when I had to scrape the top off of a pizza! But Breakfast was always easy: a hard boiled egg and some yogurt with PP. I recorded my year long adventure about my travel and weight loss and what I did on a weekly blog. It's funny to look back now. Other than that, when you are in a hotel it's not that hard to make it work. BTW I am a 3 year veteran, and I have no idea what RTD is??? Good luck and I am sure you will be fine!

I'm still here!!! Merry Christmas LainieG and you just wait....you will get a date and it will be here before you know it!

Hi Ladies! Hope everyone survived Thanksgiving...especially those who were sleeved in October...if you are feeling like this is a very weird time in your life right now...it is! I remember those first few months seemed so surreal. Uncomfortable but exciting at the same time! Speaking of weird, I just posted my new blog entry and I know for some of you it will be a weird read. What can I say? But having lost 80+ lbs has allowed me to feel free enough to be who I am even though it's a far cry from mainstream people I know. So when you read it, just pretend your reading a work of fiction! Even though my new path in life embraces sensuality, it really is no different than what ever you embrace. How many events have we all attended where our weight played a factor in how we were able (or not able) to fully enjoy the occasion? When you don’t have the issue of extra weight, it allows you to be unburdened and you have the ability to take in more positive experiences. And if you think this one is a little different, wait until I write about the masked ball in two weeks! Happy reading and happy healing to all of you wonderful, strong, amazing women!

Hi Lisa....I cannot even imagine the emotional pain you are going through. I am 3+ years out and my eating is pretty much under control but like you, I take in way too many calories with coffee and wine and Cookies. I try to do the 5:2 but am not being very good at it, but as a small start for you (at least this works for me for a baby step) I always have two days a week that is a NO WINE, NO COOKIE DAY. So at least on those two days I am eliminating about 400 carb calories. So you may want to start with something like that. The counseling suggestions are good too; what you are dealing with is powerful stuff. I would also suggest joining a gym...not just for the exercise but when you go to the gym you are surrounded by positive energy and people who care about their health and it can be infectious. Perhaps taking on a new project...remodeling a room, moving to a new place, something that will take your mind in a new direction. I know now that it is very easy to slip into bad habits again, but just look how happy you look in those great photos you attached...that woman is still inside you!!!! Good luck and keep us posted.

HI blondebomb! Thanks for your note! Oh yes, this WLS can shake things up in all departments! I just wrote my latest blog entry....my husband is editing it as I type this...if you are interested in this topic, be sure and check back in a few hours and read it; it's all about our first Tantra seminar. Even if you don't move to Europe, you and your husband can take a great holiday here!!! Congratulations on your weight loss!

Hi guys....i'm a woman and I know I am in the guy's room. But I thought some of you might be interested in how sensualtiy can come back into your life after WLS and when you are older. It's never too late to start having fun again. My husband and I are living a dream life. I decided to write about this topic on my blog (I did a blog for the first year of my WLS but now I am 3 years out). There are so much good information out there about diets, exercise, Protein shakes, but not much out there about other important topics like how we have missed out on so much intimacy because we were heavy. I just started up again, and have really just scratched the surface on our new life. I have learned so much in the last 2 years about men, about intimacy, and I personally think it's an important and healthy topic. Not sure if BP will like me talking about it, but we will see. Check out my blog if this topic interests you. www.queenofcrop.com

My Monday check in is a bit late...although it's 5am on Tuesday morning so it's officially still Monday in the US! I weighed in at 142.5 this morning so am not unhappy with that. Although truth be told I still have not done the 5:2...I was in Berlin all weekend with friends; got home at 4:30 on Sunday and at 6pm had dinner plans with another friend. Monday was another dinner engagement with friends we do on the first Monday of every month. But I ate about 5 bites and was done. My eating is very much under control, but it's the 2 glasses of wine and a cookie I have each day that add the calories that keep me from losing. I AM GOING TO FAST TODAY...NO REASON NOT TO!!!! I really need to lose a few lbs before Christmas week because it's the only week of the year I bake and we will have Christmas here. If I don't I will be in big trouble. Thanks everyone for helping to keep me on track!!! I am also still blogging (now only every two weeks, will post a new one today) so that is helping too.

Thanks for all the good info deedadumble and all the other inspiring posts here...wish I were closer to Dr. Sauceda....but I'm in Europe so much look around here. I did have a breast reduction and lift done last year....for the readers of my blog you saw what my breasts looked like before! Not only were they like party balloons, a week after the party, but one was twice as big as the other....it was a great decision and at 61 I have nice 25 year old boobs....I didn't even have them when I was 25! I now really need a lower body lift (which I hope includes a pelvic lift). I'm calling today! Would love to have my arms done and if I was still in Hawaii I would do it in a minute, but I think I will do one thing a year.

Wow Deedadumble! I'm dumbfounded! Can you tell us what all those acronyms mean? (LBL, BA/BL, AL, and neck lift) and did you have it all done at the same time?

HI beachgal.....for me, I was looking into the lap band and after a bit of research found that it was not that effective; and my surgeon said at my age it wasn't a good choice to have something forgien in your body. But the gastric bypass seemed way too invasive for me. I could get my head around having part of my stomach removed; that made complete sense to me and was a much easier surgery to have and to recover from. I think that the bypass is most effectiv for peoplw who are much heavier and have a lot more weight to lose; and they lose faster. But there are side effects and I think medications that you must take forever. Your stats are very similar to mine and personally (I'm no doctor obviously) I think the sleeve would work just fine for you. Good luck!

I wish I had a better report....just had company leave an hour ago and it's so hard as you all know. I didn't do my Fast today but I will tomorrow. The interesting thing is I feel BETTER when I do it! But I think I might not have done it without this check in, so THANK YOU!!!!! I'm in Amsterdam so no worries about Thanksgiving for me. Total non-issue. Thank goodness....but I do have our family from Switzerland coming at Christmas and it's the only time of year I bake...so I need to get ready for that one!

HI gamergirl....thanks for checking in! I am 3 years post op and have been at goal for 2 years....and sorry ladies, but I do feel like I eat normally. I don't track my food, and I don't eat Protein first....but I do weigh daily and I probably eat between 1200-1500 calories a day. On Monday and Thursdays, I try to eat light (and they are also a No Wine, No cookie day) and if I gain a couple of lbs I will do 500 calories on those days. But other than that, I eat like a normal thin person. Gamergirl, can you post again about your tummy tuck experience? I am going to see the plastic surgeon in a couple of weeks about a lower body lift, including a pelvic lift. I know I would feel so much better. At Icanmakeit....I wrote about my experience in losing 80+ lbs every Sunday for the first year on my blog...but I realized my story was not over so I have just started writing again at 3 years post op. So please take a look and see what life is like out this far if you are interested. I now post every 2 weeks.

I think the first year of being sleeved wakes your brain up! I know it did for me and I read posts on Bariatric Pal about how after surgery people start realizing everything they have missed! Sometimes you need an intermission in your life to find your mission! And going through a physical change can really reset your drive for life! Now at three years post op I am living the life of a normal person! Yes, I have to watch things a bit, but now if I gain a few lbs, wow, I can really feel it and I immediately take action!!! How or how did I carry 80 extra lbs! I can hardly remember that fat person....I have moved on! I wrote every Sunday for the first year of my surgery on my blog, and now I feel I have more to say! So I have started writing again....Just posted a new story today! I will always be grateful to this surgery and all the people on Bariatric Pal for all the support! LIfe is GOOD!!! Are there others out there who are 3 years out still coming on to BP??? Let's hear how you are doing!

Perfect! I am also a Monday / Thursday 5:2 person....so I am in!!! I have been bouncing between 139-142 since January and really need to get to 135 (doesn't sound that hard after losing 80+ lbs but I just cannot get there!!!). Once I am there I am going to have a tummy and pelvic lift. So I will check in with you every Monday! We can do this....we are veterans for god's sake!!!

All good things...sounds like 2015 is going to be a great year for you!

You are quite welcome sofianoemi! And if you are of child-bearing age, just think of the healthy choices you will be instilling in your children! You are breaking a cycle! And BTW, veteran sleevers just don't eat to survive...we enjoy our food very much! Maybe even more now because it isn't so mindless and we don't deal with the guilt of overeating afterwards....in fact we enjoy everything more because food and weight are not on our minds constantly any more. Just think how you will be feeling by next summer! Keep us posted.

Ms. Skinniness!!!! You must must must not get to 150!!!! YOu and I joined at the same time, we had both had our surgeries in Oct 2011, weighed the same to start and now go between 139 and 142.....so we are so similar.....I can see me gaining as well but I do the 5:2 and it's only two days a week. I'm often not perfect on it, but at least I always have a lower calorie (no wine no cookie day) on those two days and it has helped keep me from gaining. My feeling is once you cross over to 150 it's a very slippery slope! What can we do to help???? Don't go back there!!! Am curious about the Crystal LIte thing...is CL bad for you? I just had my sister mail some to me from the States. Anyway, the holidays are coming up, so please try to get back down where I am....we can help each other.....you have been such an inspiration to me and others with all of your posts...let us help you!!!! JUST SAY NO TO 150!!!!

Hi Sofia! All your questions are very good ones and your fear is normal! You are absolutely NOT bothinering any one when you ask questions here; this is what we are all here for! Everyone is different but I think most of us veterans can say that starting at about one year out (it was a year for me, for some it's sooner) you can eat and drink almost anything. I still don't drink much with my meals, but I could; I just don't. But when I work out, I drink almost a litre of Water in that hour. That's good news and bad news and bad news of course. At this point, you have lost so much weight that most people are so excited to be living a whole new life, being able to move, exercise, buy clothes, getting compliments, coming off medication, getting involved in lots of new things, having more energy, that the loss of being able to sit down and consume large amounts of food becomes very unappealing. What do you do when you don't eat? WOW. First of all, you do eat...you just eat like a thin person does; reasonably. Second, there are a million things you can do and now you will have the energy to try lots of new things. And when you have lost the weight there are even more options....it's very very freeing not to be thinking about your next meal all the time! So at three years out, I definitely can eat and drink (and gulp) anything and I can easily over eat; mostly by snacking. My meal sizes are still small but I am very satsified. I have never once, ever, regretted not being able to eat a huge meal, ever, ever, ever!!! Having said that, I think for those who have eating disorders before they have the surgery, still have to deal with those afterwards...but once you have lost so much weight, it's a huge motivation to stay there! I weigh myself every day and if I gain 2 lbs, I just cut back for one or two days....and (again, I am not a model patient) but I have a cookie and wine almost every day. I eat what I love, just smaller portions. I would suggest you read my blog, so you can have an idea of what the first year might be like for you; I started at the same weight you are now and I have never looked back!!!! ttp://www.queenofcrop.com Good luck and keep me posted. And remember to always come here for questions and support!

Same here....I peed 20X a day pre-surgery....now I never get up in the middle of the night and our TP consumption in this house has significantly decreased! I can go out for hours and not have to 'find a WC!. One of the many positive side effects of this process....YAY!!!

@ Jaluvic.....NO! You are not too old! I was 58 when I was sleeved (am now 61 but this group let's me pretend I am still in my 50's!) but I feel like I am 40! I also am 5'3" and I started at 223 lbs; had HBP and a bad hip, and I am living proof that life is so much better because of this surgery!!! (If you want some more inspiration, read my blog!) I have been at goal for over 2 years and my life is FABULOUS!!!! I am living a dream life and I never could have imagined that my 60's would be the best time in my life, but they are! And don't give up on realtionships.....once you become a thin person, you whole life changes and there are lots of new opporutunities out there. And sadly, I think you will find that the attitudes of people at work will change. I hate to say that, but I believe it's true. Good luck and you are so right about 58 being too darn young to give up!!!! And this group here is awesome. They will continue to cheer you on.

Wow, OregonDaisy....I am so so sorry to hear you are not well and in pain...and depressed....I wish I could say something that would make you feel better. But you have been around here for such a long time you know that there is lots of emotional support on this site to help get you through this.