Kat410

I love to cook and am a pretty darn good cook. I kept that sort of stuff "out of my space" so to speak during the pre-op diet and the post op liquid/pureed stage. But shortly after that went back to hosting dinner & cocktail parties. I have found it oddly satisfying to cook and not eat. Somehow cooking satisfies a big part of what is no longer satisfied by eating. Part of it is creative, doing something that people love, creating a great environment and experience for people. A few weeks ago I hosted a birthday party for a friend and cooked for 20 people in my NYC apartment. I made sautéed jumbo shrimp with blacked corn and jalapenos, carnitas, lime crema, home made pico, a grits casserole, roasted cumin heirloom carrots, a variety of aps - the whole thing was about 10 hours of cooking and prepping with two friends. When it was meal time, I made a teeny tiny plate of protein, ate half of it and had no regrets.

It doesn't take much to get your panties in a knot, does it? I am not sure how expressing annoyance and discomfort with people who I barely know commenting on my body in ways that are best just plain odd makes me entitled or self-centered. The many people who ask genuine questions, offer a compliment or support are doing what you call "trying to connect on a deeper level" are not the problem. And I don't assume I know their motives - but when they talk, it's usually not that. Sometimes it's just curiosity. Sometimes my health change has triggered something that they are dealing with either for themselves or someone they care about. A lot of the times the intention is to support, encourage or acknowledge. I have more of those conversations than I ever imagined possible - and they've been the kind of conversations that have made a difference for both me and those people for lots of reasons. I do not think the random dude in a hallway calling out "how much weight have you lost?" represents any attempt at a deeper connection or even a basic grasp of being appropriate. By the time my workday is done on a slow day, I have had 10 such interactions and on some days 30-40. The volume of unsolicited comments is a function of the kind of work I do. And about a quarter of them are about as clueless as your reply. And while I am generally uncomfortable with a lot of public attention, I do smile and thank the people behaving like a normal decent person and I am annoyed and irritated with the stream of idiots. The best advice so far in this thread is to remember all the shock and awe will fade and the comments will stop. And speaking of high horses, you may want to check the mount you rode in on.

@texashoneybear How’s it going ?

My biggest goal is to have a healthy, vital body. I would like to ride horses, bike, hike up a mountain and I think it would be cool to be able to do some of the more pretzely yoga poses. Mostly I would like to disappear any sense of shame I have about my body.

As a believer in skin care here’s what I do. For all over body moisturizer I se Shea butter. In the shower I clean body with almond oil and s good scrub with a natural loofah. I use dr Bonner’s soap on private parts, under arms and face. I don’t use fancy moisturizers but use them generously. I don’t shower every day but do wash certain parts every day with a washcloth. I think we over shower in America. You can handle hygiene without subjecting your entire body to it. For under eye concealer I like Nars.

We tend to lose fat where we actually have fat and we don’t lose it evenly. If your face wasn’t “fat” when you were heavy you will probably lose proportionately elsewhere. That being said, everything will change. Will it be ok if you have a skinny face but reduce health issues, get more vitality and stamina and extend your life? Loose skin, thinning hair and perhaps a skinny face are a badge of honor for the hard work.

Fitness regiment that includes HIT and weight lifting to build lean muscle mass. (Not so much to break s stall but to reduce occurrences.) Up protein levels and lower carb levels Up water intake. Review food logs and see if anything changed Eliminate any processed foods Eliminate any alcohol if in regular intake. Sleep/rest/add nap Meditation or yoga to handle stress Juice (veg) for a day.

Hi there. Are you actually weighing and logging your food? If you are having only one protein shake a day and eating only veg after that you are likely not hitting your protein requirements which can cause stalls. I would recommend you log your food precisely for 3 days and see what is actually happening with your calories and protein.

We need a lot more info! Are you logging your food daily? If so what are you eating?

Thanks for the mansplaining here. I am clear it is well intentioned. Peoples actions are what communicates, not their intentions. It could just be different for us girls, given our bodies are regulated, legislated and seemingly up for grabs in even casual social interactions.

I am actually excited to have a break in routine these holidays. In the past I loaded up, felt terrible, got really tired and felt very anti-social. While I am not dealing with liquid or puréed stage, I am excited to not have all those horrible feelings that come with over eating

This makes me sorta mad and it’s not even happening to me. I think it’s just embedded in our culture that the female body is there to be managed, controlled, commented on and otherwise handled. The other day One led the commentators came back to me and asked if it was inappropriate that he said something (as I was walking past him in a busy office he literally said “How much weight have you lost???” No greeting - just that.) I told him that I recommend that he never comment on someone’s body ever. And if he has a relationship with that person he should ask for permission to ask about it. People lose and gain weight for all sorts of reasons and we can never assume that we know what people are dealing with. When my aunt was initially diagnosed with pancreatic cancer people started praising her for her weight loss at first - she lived for a year.

98 Pounds down! 65% of excess body weight gone Lifting weights, HIT and yoga More energy, vitality and aliveness!

I was open about my surgery with people I spent a lot of time with - including co-workers. I was very straight about what would and would not work for me. My staff members are no longer allowed to bring food into my office for meetings. I am also more sensitive to smells, so that means no coffee (I have a coffee aversion). I can now handle being around any food, but it was not like that for a period of months. I told people what would work and what didn't work. You should talk to your friend. There is nothing wrong with being straight and telling people what you need and what is OK or not OK in your own dang house. In the long run, I think it's more undermining to have resentments and be upset about things and NOT discuss it than it is to be straight and work things out. You are in the toughest part right now. The second toughest part will be right after surgery. You are doing great. And venting is useful. YOU GOT THIS

Why would you decide something before you have even tried? This journey is probably more mental than physical. Do you think I wanted to tell my trainer that I weighed 280 and had just lost 55 lbs as a result of a bariatric surgery??? No, of course I didn't. What I wanted MORE than avoiding my discomfort was the benefit of being fit. You are not going to get the results you want without confronting what your choices cost you. OK, fine - avoid the discomfort of potentially being judged (which may actually be unlikely). But at what price? You are not getting trained and you are left with it's more important not to deal with the discomfort of people assessing you.

There is really no way to predict and it's important that you are managing your expectations appropriately. Some posters here have theorized that your pre-op weight loss will be predictive of your post-op weight loss. There are also other factors - starting BMI, age, gender, height, genetics, etc. For myself, in the past I had been able to successfully lose weight many times and at a fairly quick pace, but was unsuccessful at managing my diet for the length of time required given how much weight I needed to lose. Here's what happened for me: 10 day pre-op diet - 16 lbs lost 1st Month - 29 lbs lost 2nd Month - 12.6 lbs lost 3rd Month - 10.4 lbs lost 4th Month - 12.8 lbs lost 5th Month - 13.4 lbs lost I have lost 55% of my excess weight. The AVERAGE weight loss for gastric sleeve is 60% - but that's an average with what is actually happening on both sides of the bell curve. There will be some factors beyond your control - age, height, gender and genetics. There will be some factors completely in your control - diet adherence, portion control/calorie management, exercise/activity, etc. Good luck and best wishes!

I love your bright beautiful smile and congratulations on all that hard work! you should be so proud of your accomplishments!!!!!

There is no proven way to prevent it. So far my most effective remedy was an ultra-short cut. I still kept loosing hair, but it was not as noticeable and easier to manage. It turns out the short cut is very flattering on my thinner face and body. It started coming out at 3 months post-surgery, then I shed more than a German Shepherd in my 4th month. I am now approaching 6 months out and it seems to have slowed down a bit.

I used a lot of bone broth post-op because of the protein content. I do like broth and I do not like the taste of bone broth. It tastes... how shall I say it... too much like animal. I doctored my bone broth up with ginger, garlic, cumin and s&p. That helped tremendously.

I definitely stocked up on my kitchen appliances and equipment - not so much due to being post-op, but mostly because I was going to meal-prep versus eating out and doing take-out. The two things that made the biggest difference were small (2 oz) size Tupperware containers and a Nutribullet. I do have a BlendTec blender which is great for soups, sauces, smoothies - but it is easier to deal with a Nutribullet for protein shakes and other single serving items. After my liquid phase I got a food scale, a mini food processor and a good knife sharpener given I was doing a lot more prep. I already had a cold-press juicer, crock pot and a good blender. This has worked well for me. I am using my crock pot a lot to make stews and braised meats which I then freeze. My favorite is a white bean and sausage stew that is very heavy on the garlic, rosemary and thyme - very savory and a 2 oz serving is unbelievably filling. For food items you wont need much. Protein shakes, sugar free jello, and bone broth was pretty much all I ate for the first couple of weeks. It's when you start introducing foods that you deal with prep and getting organized.

It might mean nothing - just your body adjusting or retaining water. But it would be useful to see if there was anything that changed in your diet or exercise routine. I track food and a few times I have identified things that stall me. One of which was a protein powder switch.

I would start now. If you work, depending on the work, most of us have jobs that are less intense or we are off during the holidays and then need to hit the ground running in January. In addition if you are mentally and emotionally ready why wait?

I am 5 months post op. I have very little appetite typically. It’s more like a signal that says time to eat every 2-3 hours. Every now and then I am hungry all the time. It seems to happen after a phase of rapid weight loss. The past 2 weeks I lost 10 lbs then I was hungry all the time. I just ate according to plan. Then after two days of that I am not hungry any more. When I am hungry my calories get up to about 1000 so I don’t sweat it. I think there are more hormones at play here than we know or the doctors tell us about.

This is exactly why I chose the Mexico route. I was also self-pay and truthfully I wanted to be able to bring my cashier's check for a quoted amount and be done with the hassle. I coordinated with my PCP and did all the pre-op tests (most of which are covered in an annual check up, which I was due for anyway). I sent the records to the doc in Mexico (they still did their pre-op tests, which was fine). My PCP was aligned with the choice and I knew financially it could backfire if I was one of the rare people who had a complication. I prayed that the stats stayed on my side and they did. For co-morbidities I was pre-diabetic and borderline hypertensive. The experience in Mexico was great - albeit different from the American healthcare system. No complications, no problems and I was fully informed and educated of what could bite me in the a$$. I paid about 5K for my surgery - all expenses except airfare and the upgrade from the mediocre hotel in Cancun. I would research it for yourself if you haven't already and if you think it's an option for you, consider it!

I thought the correct spelling was ho, not hoe. If only I had enough bad behavior to be called a ho every now and then!