blashlee

I completely agree that anything you pop into your mouth or any activity you do or don't do is completely your choice. If you're not supposed to eat cake and you do, you made the choice to eat cake. And I've made that choice and it was mine to make all by myself and I don't need to share it or seek advice about it because I already processed what I did and how I feel about it. What someone else does or doesn't do shouldn't influence you. Some people I follow on Instagram or other social media outlets for WLS go eat In N Out fries and shakes and have Starbucks frappachinos almost daily. That's their walk to walk. I don't and won't do that because it goes against my doctor's advice for one, and for two, eating and drinking like that is how I ended up in a bariatric doctor's office looking for help in the first place.

I've had a few in the last couple of weeks 1. No more bra extender! 2. I am able to run! I ran 20 minutes straight on the treadmill without wanting to die. 3. This weekend I learned that I have sized out of the Plus Size selection at Forever 21 (My favorite store even though I'm 28, OH WELL!) I'm still too big for most of their "standard" sizes, but getting there. 4. Size 12 jeans I bought two years ago as a goal are now fitting me, but only for so much longer, there's a little room in them. Congrats to everyone for their NSVs!!!

I completely agree. Trust me, I don't intend to encourage fast food eating. But life happens and I've quickly learned that it's dangerous to let yourself get hungry without knowing what your options are. I eat at home almost exclusively because i'm only 5 weeks out and I don't want to end up sick or uncomfortable away from home. But in the event that I am going to be faced with having to eat outside of home, I always research where I'm going so I know exactly what my options are and what I'm ordering.

It sounds like you're forcing the process. My first four weeks, I walked and did some very light jogging, but no weight lifting and no intense cardio. I simply wasn't taking in enough calories for that. On a good day I MAYBE get 500 in at the most. If you're burning off 700 calories and you've only eaten 500, you have a deficit and your body has to compensate for that somehow. So it doesn't allow you to lose any fat or mass because your body is relying on it for energy. There's also so much more to focus on when it comes to weight loss than just calorie counting. Not all calories are equal. There's 100 calories in a mini snickers bar, and there's 100 calories in a low-fat greek yogurt; which one feeds your body best? Don't rush this process. Stick to your basics for nutrition and it's just fine to exercise 5 days a week if that's what your doctor says. You mentioned not wanting to tone at your current weight. The fact is, when your body is overweight, building muscle won't be "toning" until the fat has been lost. And it's truly a process the body has to undergo. Trying to go from 172 to 145 in a month or whatever your goal and deadline is, you kinda just need to let it happen how it's going to happen and not put so much stress on weight falling off fast. You didn't gain it overnight, it won't come off overnight.

My bosses know and three of my co-workers that I'm very close to know. It isn't a secret, if someone asks me about it I'm okay with sharing. I've been finding it really empowering to share. Mostly I just feel really on display right now LOL it makes me a touch uncomfortable, it isn't something I'm used to unless I put myself in the position to be noticed.

And having a hard time with the "welcome back, where have you been?!" And the "you've lost weight haven't you?" Remarks. Mostly I just smile say thanks and scurry off. Glad I wore sweats LOL Anybody else horrible with weight loss comments? I always have been, I feel like such a jerk but compliments legitimately make me uncomfortable haha.

Loosing weight I've noticed people compliment how beautiful I am now. I went to my lung doctor for a check up and everyone was so nice to me and complimented me on how amazing I looked and how beautiful I am. My dermatologist even said I was beautiful and he said I should learn to thank people when they complement me it's all so new to me but also I can't help but feel like crap. Was I ugly before? Right?! LOL it makes me so self conscious. I am extremely proud of myself and happy with my progress. I just hate feeling so noticeable for it. I guess it's just gonna take me some time to feel comfortable with it.

I was horrifically emotional the first few weeks post op. My doctor examined that as your body sheds excess fat, it releases stored estrogen. This can give you emotions similar to PMS or even post partum mood swings if you've ever been pregnant. I started to level off recently, especially once I started exercising. Endorphins I guess. I share your concern with losing curves. Unfortunately the areas comprised of the most fat tend to be the first to drop off. This means BOOBS! But not for everybody. When I lose weight though I notice it in my boobs first and my stomach dead last. I feel like I've lost some booty, but I think I can combat that with some serious squat and lunge days at the gym. I'd let it all go. Small price to pay to be healthy and happy.

I don't struggle with this feeling because it's not easy. I somewhat struggle with the possibility that others will perceive this as taking the easy way out, but then I realize that most people that haven't had WLS don't know **** about it and therefore their opinions don't matter. If it was easy, every overweight person would do it. If it was easy, it would just be "the way." It's not easy. It's a complete lifestyle change FOREVER. It's relearning how to eat and properly treat your body for life. You didn't cheat. You did what you had to do to take your life back. I refuse to take this second chance at living to the fullest for granted.

I was off for 4 weeks. Mostly because I've been very fatigued and having some trouble eating and drinking. I didn't wanna go back to work until I was doing better eating. Getting sick at work wasn't on my list of fun things to do post-op.

Trust me once you don't chew something once, you'll never forget that feeling and you'll chew your food until it's Soup in your mouth from now on. Good for you for getting a head start on something that's so hard. Also, talking while eating. I'm always asking people to leave me alone while I eat so I can focus on chewing.

The Disneyland half marathon. It's during Labor Day weekend. I don't believe the 5Ks have a pace requirement and if they do it's very lax. The 5Ks are kid friendly and a lot of people even do them with strollers. We did the Tinkerbell 5K last year and finished in about an hour we were just walking. The 10k and half marathons they require a 16:00 mile pace. I'm going to try to train at about a 12 or 13 min mile. I don't care if I'm dead last, I just want to finish.

Yeah I'm signed up for a 10k next weekend but I'm skipping it. I don't quite feel ready for that and the time requirement isn't as lax as this one. I hate to not do it but I need to make sure I'm healed well or it could be a bad day. It was a good feeling to get out there today and finish and feel good the whole way through! Thanks for the kind words!

I use both. I don't use the MFP macros for any other reason than to track my protein and my water. I don't rely on eating the calories because for someone my weight it recommends 1500. 4 weeks after bypass I'm lucky if I can get down 600 of that.

One thing I know that helps is being part of a team or getting a coach or sponsor. The competitions are no joke and most of the competitors are repeaters. A lot of them win in other circuits and end up being popular favorites in that community. We have a lot of that here in San Diego. It's competitive for sure and you'll have to work really hard and train and eat just right, but if it's a goal you have I say absolutely go for it.

Your weight loss on the scale could be slowing because muscle weighs more than fat. But you're likely still losing mass. You should take monthly body measurements instead of just relying on the scale. I measure once a month and it gives me relief to see how those numbers change when I don't see what I was hoping to see on the scale.

My username is tinytummybiglife

So almost all of the Protein I was drinking pre-op is now absolutely disgusting to me post op. Go figure. So I've basically had to start all over with tasting drinks and finding what works. And everything has to be diluted at least 2:1 with Water for me to even be able to stomach it. Isopure seems to be going down the best. Alpine Punch was my staple but I ran out. Today I got single bottles of Apple Melon, Coconut and Mango Peach. I'll probably get a case or two of them and revisit my other shakes a few weeks or months down the line and hopefully I can start to tolerate them again. They're so expensive I'd surely hate to waste them or have to give them away. I can't return them since they've been opened.

My surgeons instructions say to avoid breads, pastas and rice indefinitely. But I know a lot of people who are much further out and eat these things in moderation. At 5 weeks out, I wouldn't eat pasta. You could try spiralized veggies with your favorite pasta sauce. I used to eat a lot of "zoodles" in lieu of spaghetti. It's not the exact same taste but it's still very satisfying and works as a good vehicle for your pasta sauce.

I truly only knew about this one from the loud colorful commercials that aired on TV. If you follow @targetstyle on Instagram or Twitter they usually announce the collections. Unfortunately, they sell out pretty quickly. Especially this one. This one, people rampaged Target and bought things in mass to resell them at ridiculous mark ups :-/ this particular jumpsuit was $44 and I've seen it online as high as $100. Crazy.

I had some jeans I bought in the wrong size 2 years ago. The store had a no returns policy on sale items so I was stuck with them. I decided to make them goal jeans. In those 2 years I got into them once...for a day. I tried them on yesterday and I'm betting I've probably got many another 10 lbs before I'll have to put them in the "goodbyes" pile. Victory indeed! Thanks! Storytelling is my favorite, if only someone lingers around long enough to listen LOL there's never a "short" story. Haha That makes two of us!! Thanks for the kind words everyone! It feels amazing to be killing it on the loser's bench! Don't worry I will. I think I might have to take a trip to Palm Springs simply so this outfit gets the attention it truly deserves

UGH. At any temperature. Plain Water absolutely sends my stomach into a knot and is so uncomfortable. I don't get it. Protein is fine, Crystal Light is Fine, Tea is Fine. Water? I am not fine. I'm making myself continue to drink it because (forgive me for this, TMI) my urine is terribly dark and I'm having a hard time using the bathroom on my own. I know part of that is because I'm not getting enough water in. Is this anything anybody else has experienced and did it ever go away? I LOVE water. Everybody knows my desk at work because it's always got a water jug and empty water gallon jugs around. I'm the Hydration Station. Now me and water just simply don't get along :-\

It's gotten so much better. What helps is if I drink something else watered down and keep adding water to it until it eventually is just plain water. As long as it's not first thing in the morning or on a totally empty stomach it goes down ok. Today my mom and my boyfriend noticed I was drinking faster than I have been without looking uncomfortable after. Thank the heavens. Cuz I loooove crisp fresh water.

Here it is! And a "before" picture for reference

The day of surgery I was allowed nothing to drink. I was allowed to rinse my mouth out with Water and mouthwash to keep from being too dry, but nothing i could swallow. The day after surgery I had a swallow test and an X-ray done to make sure i didn't have any leaks and that fluids were going where they were supposed to go. Immediately after that x-ray tech said I was good i begged for a cup of water and went to town on water, unsweetened tea and ice chips for the rest of the day.