AgentShepard

CanyonBaby, I too am super apple-shaped, so let me tell you what works for me: the empire waist. Look for high-waisted flowy tops and high-waisted dresses. If you are like me, the narrowest part of your torso is the bra-band area, so if the waist of your clothes hits there and flows to a full skirt underneath, it is very flattering and comfortable. Plus this style is supposed to fit loose, so you can wear it for several sizes before it looks too clownishly large on you.

Peekaboo, I eat Quest Bars. I am devoted to them! My two favorite flavors are chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Double Chocolate Chunk, followed by S'mores and Cookies and Cream. They give 20 or more g of Protein and around 20 g Fiber (REALLY helpful) for under 10 carbs and 200 calories. There are bars that have more protein, but usually those have over 300 calories. The ratios in the Quest Bars are the best I've found. GNC usually sells the boxes of 12 bars for $35, but if you buy their $15 gold membership the price for a box is $25. I always keep a stash in the house and I try to have a bar in my purse if I'm going out, just in case I get stuck somewhere and need an emergency snack (as my sugar gets low more easily now than before the surgery.) As for hair, as long as we get our protein and Vitamins, hair loss at this stage is probably attributed to something called telogen effluvium - basically, the physical shock to the system of surgery plus rapid weight loss right after shocks a bunch of hair into falling out, but the good news is that it resolves naturally on its own with time. Here is a good article on the topic: http://www.obesityaction.org/educational-resources/resource-articles-2/weight-loss-surgery/weight-loss-surgery-nutrition-and-hair-loss I would encourage you not to back off of working out for the sake of your hair. Unless you are doing some kind of kooky hair-pulling workout, I guess! I stepped up my working out from gentle walking to more intense exercise plus weights in late February, and for the first three weeks or so I bounced around within the same 3 pounds. It was frustrating, but I kept at the working out because it really was making me feel good, and lo and behold, last week the weight started going down again and now I've lost around six pounds. (Seriously, if you've never tried doing weights, think about it! I love the way it makes me feel - strong and capable. after spending so long with my body making me feel weak and limited, I revel in feeling like I can kick ass and take names if the situation requires.) Another thing to be aware of - BMI is meant to measure the overall average size of a population, and when it is applied to individual people it is very problematic. It doesn't take things like muscle or bone mass into account, for instance - and people who have been heavy develop denser, heavier bones to carry the load. There are other measures like body fat percentage or waist-to-hip ratio that seem to be better health indicators for individuals. I've talked about this before on this board, but I find that I do better when I set myself functional goals to Celebrate - things like fitting into seats, or being able to walk down the street to a restaurant, or being able to go up the stairs using my "bad" leg. It find it really empowering and encouraging to focus on the things that I have worked to be able to DO with my body rather than the things that my body IS or looks like.

Hi guys! I'm just a few weeks out from 6 months. I have lost a total of 112 pounds. I've gone down from size 32 jeans being really tight to size 26 being loose, and on top I've gone from a 32/5X to a 24/3X or 22/2X, depending on cut and material. I'm about a 24 dress size now. About me: 5'8", mid-30s, large frame, PCOS and hypothyroid What I eat: Breakfast: a Protein shake or Protein Bar Lunch: 3-4 ounces of meat, 3-4 ounces of veg, sometimes 1-2 ounces of starch if there is room left Afternoon snack: protein bar or alternate snack (cheese, veggies and dip, etc.) Dinner: Whatever the family is eating, adapted to focus on protein and veg, eaten in the 3 bites protein 2 bites veg 1 bite starch pattern I sometimes add another snack if I've done a heavy workout and need a little something else - a piece of fruit or some cheese, often. On average, I'm getting: 1230 calories 30g sugar 76g protein 26g Fiber 1800 mg sodium 656 mg Calcium before supplementation 7mg Iron before supplementation 108g carbs Working out: I strive for 150 minutes of activity a week. I mostly do walking, and then 3 times a week on average I go to the gym for high-intensity interval cardio plus weight training. I lift pretty heavy (8 reps per set) and have been really happy with the strength gains I've seen. I do a lot of walking apps and games to keep myself interested - The Walk, Zombies, Run!, and Ingress, for instance. NSVs: So many! -I can now sit painlessly in the Evil Chairs in my office -I can now fit into restaurant booths -I can buy clothes in more than just one store instead of just being limited to Catherine's -My bad knee is waaaaaaay better, so I don't need a cane to walk anymore -I am off BP meds and metformin -I have more energy and feel overall happier I'm going to fly somewhere next month. Can't wait!

So in the last several weeks I've really increased the intensity of my workouts. I've moved from plain walks to interval training, and I'm doing strength training with pretty heavy weights (8 rep range) 2-3 times a week. So far it's been going well and I feel well-- I like to motivate myself by pretending to be, like, the Black Widow or Emma Peel and tell myself that I need those squats to kick bad guys in the face. These workouts are quite intense for me - HR above 140 in the cardio, working muscles to near-fatigue in the strength training. However, a few times I have noticed that after a workout I get low blood sugar symptoms - like I've burned through all my fuel. I get very shaky and muddle-headed. After the first time it happened I now try to work out within an hour or so of having a protein-rich snack and then I bring a Quest bar or something with me to eat afterward. What has your experience been with pre-and post-workout eating? Do you time your workouts around mealtimes, and if so, how? what mix of Proteins and carbs works best to fuel a workout and not get a sugar low afterward? I am five months out from the sleeve surgery if it makes a difference in your answer. On the NSV side today, I had a therapy appointment and my therapist remarked that he noticed a difference in me since the last appointment - that I seemed more energetic and spry. Gotta love it!

It's easy to laugh this question off, but I agree that it's an important one. I have been "the fat one" since I was about six. It is a fundamental part of my self-image. It was very difficult for me to decide to have the surgery because of this. I told my therapist that I felt like a character in a myth who sacrificed a part of their body to gain some gift - like Odin, sacrificing his eye for wisdom. So far I think the sacrifice has been worth it, but make no mistake that it WAS a sacrifice. I am still very fat, even if less so than before, as I'm only 4 months out. But so far I miss the days when I was usually over-warm! My hands and feet are always cold. One of the reasons I'm keeping up with therapy is because I anticipate that once I lose enough weight that I am "normal size" it will be a difficult adjustment to make. For one example: in my entire adult life I've never had more than about five places where I could buy clothes. It's exciting to think about being able to buy clothes ANYWHERE, but also really overwhelming. I will have to re-learn how to dress myself. That doesn't mean I'm sorry to have had the surgery, but it's a real issue I struggle with, and I think it's important for us to discuss these parts of the journey as well as the more fun ones.

Also worth noting that the bougie size only effects the width of the sleeve. The length is determined by your anatomy (distance from the esophagus to the pyloric valve) and will tend to be bigger in taller people. That said, I think I have a biggish sleeve and I've lost fine so far (nearly 100 pounds in nearly 4 months) so I am skeptical that the difference in width between a Bic pen and a Sharpie would make all that much difference to your weight loss!

My four-month surgiversary is Feb. 17. My little tummy is apparently made of cast-Iron, because very little bothers me. I can eat almost anything except for tough/dry meat (I can eat a filet mignon but not a sirloin - nice problem to have!) In my pre-op classes, they taught us a technique that I found very useful - when you're eating, take three bites of Protein, two bites of veggies, and one bite of starch. Repeat until full (not very many repetitions for us!) This way you can still feel like you're eating a real meal with the rest of the family, but your protein is still priority. Here is how I deal with bread and bread-adjacent foods: 1) look for lower-calorie, higher-protein substitutes if what I'm looking for is mainly crunch - there's a product made from cheese and quinoa called Mr. Cheese O's that I really like. A few of those are even better then croutons in a Soup or salad and give some protein and Calcium. 2) I only eat bread if it's REALLY SPECIAL bread, and I only eat a little tiny bit. So, like, just a bite of the biscuit, and not every day - just once in a while. 3) drier/crispier is easier. Soft/fresh bread feels a bit gummy/heavy in the tummy still. 4) I log everything I eat and balance on the fly. So if I have had a really good day and I'm over my protein for the day, I can choose something for dinner that's a little more carby or indulgent. Alternately, if I know that there is a special occasion that say and I might want to have something lower-protein, I make sure to offset it with really low-carb, high-protein eating the rest of the day. 5) When you try something new, have just a nibble and let it sit for a while before eating more - every once in a while my first nibble of a new food will send the NOPE signal and I just won't have any more of it. 6) Avoid things that come on buns. Toooooooo much bread. If you are in a bind and have no choice but to eat something like a sandwich, make it extra thick with protein filling so you get a higher protein ratio in each bite, because you won't be able to take many bites. Everyone has to find the routine they can live with. If it's really important to you to be able to eat biscuits, it is completely possible to eat biscuits in a way that works with your eating plan. People on this site tend to be either "austerity" people or "moderation" people, which is fine, because everyone is different, and what works for you might not work for me. The important thing is to track, see how things go, and be open to adapting if something isn't working.

Yes, it's totally possible. My four-month surgiversary is next week and I've lost a little over 97 pounds, 73 of which were since surgery. (I'd love to hit 100 by then!) Obviously I've got more to lose than you do, which helps it go fast at first, but I've had outstanding results so far with a very smooth recovery. Also, since the surgery, my bad knee is down to the occasional twinge and I've been taken off two prescriptions, and my bloodwork results are A+ across the board. I also have a lot fewer painful issues (food hurting, throwing up, etc) than my friend who had bypass. I'm early yet, but so far, so good!

Today I went to lunch with a group of friends who are very into fitness (one is a yoga instructor.) We were going to a place a mile away from our office, and the group suggested we walk. Reader, I walked there and back, and it wasn't even hard. I could not have done that six months ago. Hooray!

For surgery people in particular who do grocery haul videos, I have always seen it as a way to get new ideas for foods I might want to try. I don't have time to read every label in the store, so this may show me something I've missed. Pre-op, I watched them to get ideas of how I might need to alter my shopping habits.

I had the same thing with Water after surgery, it seems pretty common. I like the little flavor squeeze bottles (Mio and the like) better than the powder packets because you can control how concentrated the flavor is. Just carry one with you in your purse and use it to make the water taste nice! Also what has helped me is getting a water bottle and carrying it with me all day. That makes me more likely to sip on it throughout the day, and then when it's time to refill you get a little walking in. meat is the easiest Protein source but you can also get a lot from dairy and eggs. I also don't know what I'd do without Quest bars, though at 8 weeks you may or may not be able to eat those yet. If you buy the $15 membership at GNC, you can get a box of Quest bars for $25 (they are normally $35) and for me, that's 12 meals, so the cost comes out pretty well. Of course, you don't want to eat bars for all your meals but they are shelf-stable and portable unlike many other protein sources, so they are great for having on hand for a food emergency if they work for you. Finding a Protein shake you can tolerate is important too. I like the Syntrax flavors, especially chocolate Truffle, Peanut Butter Cookie, and Cappuccino. You can mix them up with sugar-free flavored syrups and low fat milk for extra protein. Eventually your goal will be not to depend on supplements, but early on you just can't eat enough to get all the protein in without them!

I had my surgery in October. I've lost 93.4lbs in all, 32 pre-op between July and October and the rest since.

How are you at getting fluids in? You might be able to dilute the Protein shakes (or the clear Isopure protein drinks) with something you find more palatable, enough to be able to get it down. I would sometimes try to get my protein really concentrated so there wouldn't be so much of it, but that just made it nasty. 2 weeks is still really early, so don't despair! Just keep trying to find things that you can tolerate that you can use to dilute/hide the taste of your protein sources that you don't like as much. Is there a Soup that you like? Blended up/thinned cream Soups were a go-to for me during full liquids. I was also really intolerant of protein-shake taste during this stage and had to doctor them up with sugar free pudding/syrup/hot chocolate mix to get them down, but now (4 months out) I am back to tolerating Protein powder as well as I did before surgery, so some of this yucky feeling will go away with time!

Thanks for the encouraging words! My surgeon didn't give me a goal, so I'm basing my very loose goal range not off BMI but off the body comp measurements that I had taken last summer. I was just below 450 and I had just under 200 pounds of lean body mass (muscles, bones, organs, etc.) I figure that as long as I stay active and maintain my muscle and bone mass by exercising, getting my Calcium, etc, 200-250 is probably a good general range to aim for, at least at first, because women do need to have SOME fat on board! I'm on the tall side and have a large frame, so those numbers seem to make sense for me. I figure that if/when the day comes that I approach 250 (a little over 100 more pounds from now) I will get my body comp done again and evaluate where I am. Honestly, it's been so long since I was anywhere near that size that I don't even know what what I'll do with myself! Even after having lost 93 pounds I still find it hard to really believe that I might ever not wear plus sizes. Who knows? Already, my bad knee, backaches, and general wellbeing are much improved and my bloodwork came back great across the board, so I've already seen a lot of improvement and I'm trying to focus on that. I have noticed more hair than normal coming out in the shower in the last few days - perhaps I am approaching that post-surgery shedding period! I've also really started to notice... well, not really loose skin yet, because there's plenty of fat still in there, but I'm starting to look kind of deflated, and there's a lot more movement to my various rolls because they aren't full to the brim anymore. It sounds gross but I actually kind of like it... evidence of progress, I guess! Hopefully the skin will shrink back to some degree over time.

If you like dill, it's great in a creamy cheesy scrambled egg! Also the ricotta bake is delicious and amazing and I adored them when I was on mushies.