allwet

Got my haircut today and its always amazing how much better i feel afterwards.
i have always considered it an odd thing that i enjoy a haircut so much.
The smell of the barbershop (no salons allowed) and the whole scissors and clippers feel and sound is so relaxing.
I have had the same barber since 1987 and i am not sure how i will handle it if that guy ever dares to die on me. I am pretty sure that the magazines on the bottom of the stack are the same ones from my first visit.
just started Ron Powers -Mark Twain Biography- enjoying it
 

I have to say, even more than 2 years out, it is so much easier to be good when your busy and so easy to go wrong when your bored.  Crappy weather and the wife is sick so i feel trapped in this house and i have to really watch myself.  At least the holiday leftovers are gone.
Going to get out this week even if for only a few hours, maybe go see  Ford vs Ferrari that looks real good.
Ok, whining over, I hope everyone is doing well and had a good thanksgiving.

I have to say, even more than 2 years out, it is so much easier to be good when your busy and so easy to go wrong when your bored.  Crappy weather and the wife is sick so i feel trapped in this house and i have to really watch myself.  At least the holiday leftovers are gone.
Going to get out this week even if for only a few hours, maybe go see  Ford vs Ferrari that looks real good.
Ok, whining over, I hope everyone is doing well and had a good thanksgiving.

had to stop in and read some NSV.  I hope everyone is doing well.
not much to update.  Weight is stable and labs are good.  always seem to be low on Vit. D but that seems to be the new it thing.
It's a weddings and Funerals kind of week and not something i enjoy so i needed the pick me up from the NSV page.  Keep posting there it really is little things that make this all worth it and reading about your small victories along the way helps more than you will ever know.
Enjoy your Thanksgiving and give those close to you a hug

had to stop in and read some NSV.  I hope everyone is doing well.
not much to update.  Weight is stable and labs are good.  always seem to be low on Vit. D but that seems to be the new it thing.
It's a weddings and Funerals kind of week and not something i enjoy so i needed the pick me up from the NSV page.  Keep posting there it really is little things that make this all worth it and reading about your small victories along the way helps more than you will ever know.
Enjoy your Thanksgiving and give those close to you a hug

https://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/fulltext/S1550-4131(19)30504-2?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS1550413119305042%3Fshowall%3Dtrue

My Surgeon asked me a question the other day and i didn't give it a lot of thought at the time.
He asked "do you tell"
we were talking about peoples reaction to seeing me since i lost such a large amount of me.
I answered that i do tell if they ask but that it seems most everyone is afraid to mention it if they haven't seen me in a while or they decided they already know the answer so they don't need the truth from me (we all know those types)
I have had exactly one family friend come right out and ask me how i lost so much weight this year and i told her i had Gastric Sleeve.
I am sure family has passed it around to other family (you have that type family don't you? or is it just me)  
So that left me wondering "do you tell" and i dont mean right at surgery time. more like a year or so down the road do you say how or do you just say cut out the sugar and carbs and WAALAA
Its a real personal choice to open yourself up to that kind of criticism and we know all about how we took the "Easy" way and yada yada yada.
hope everyone is having a great week

Yesterday I "officially" eclipsed the 100 lb mark.  I'm sure if you're in any other country than the US, the 45.3 kg mark doesn't sound as much of a milestone, but it's very cathartic for me to post that I hit it. 
I recently read back through both my BP status updates and my private journal and hitting this milestone makes all the things I "worried" about seem stupid, but I know they're not stupid because they were very real at the time.  Also, I think if I didn't give these fears my full attention, I may not have been as successful as I have been to date.
I'm about 50 more pounds off my end goal and I know that will not be the end, I will continue to strive for bettering myself in both physical and emotional ways.  I have to hunker down and get this done. 
I'm noticing if I don't exercise every day, the weight loss stalls quite a bit.  I'm not really into the 80/20 theory with diet and exercise, I think there's a genetic modifier that needs to be applied and it's different for everyone, just my opinion... don't hold it against me.

08/20/18 - weight 165.5 / bmi 25.9 / bmr 1602 kcals / fat% 17.4% / fat mass 29 lbs
08/16/19 - weight 149.5 /  bmi 23.5 / bmr 1500 kcals / fat% 16.7% / fat mass 25 lbs
desired range fat % 11-22 / fat mass 17-38.5 lbs
just got back from my 2 year check up and wanted to post.  The kcal drop has me worried and thinking i need to up the weights and trim back the cardio. Never saw myself as a person who cared for bulky muscles but the increased calorie burn from more muscle mass certainly wont hurt. 
New goal for the next year i guess.

Yup, I did it! I RAN my SECOND continuous 5K ever this morning! There is an option to do a 10K Sunday morning and I'm going to give it a try. It's basically the 5K twice. Even though this is a girls' trip, I kinda wish Mr. was here so he could witness my awesomeness.
@FluffyChix, no it wasn't on the beach nor was I wearing a bikini, but I think I should get bonus points anyway, just for doing it a second time 😎

08/20/18 - weight 165.5 / bmi 25.9 / bmr 1602 kcals / fat% 17.4% / fat mass 29 lbs
08/16/19 - weight 149.5 /  bmi 23.5 / bmr 1500 kcals / fat% 16.7% / fat mass 25 lbs
desired range fat % 11-22 / fat mass 17-38.5 lbs
just got back from my 2 year check up and wanted to post.  The kcal drop has me worried and thinking i need to up the weights and trim back the cardio. Never saw myself as a person who cared for bulky muscles but the increased calorie burn from more muscle mass certainly wont hurt. 
New goal for the next year i guess.

08/20/18 - weight 165.5 / bmi 25.9 / bmr 1602 kcals / fat% 17.4% / fat mass 29 lbs
08/16/19 - weight 149.5 /  bmi 23.5 / bmr 1500 kcals / fat% 16.7% / fat mass 25 lbs
desired range fat % 11-22 / fat mass 17-38.5 lbs
just got back from my 2 year check up and wanted to post.  The kcal drop has me worried and thinking i need to up the weights and trim back the cardio. Never saw myself as a person who cared for bulky muscles but the increased calorie burn from more muscle mass certainly wont hurt. 
New goal for the next year i guess.

So it's been a while since I posted - but progress has been amazing.
My VSG was 5/1/17.  I dropped to 220lbs and stayed there for some time.  This was a huge win for me - so I decided to take the next step and I met with an amazing plastic surgeon who helped me with the next step - excess skin removal.  There were three things that needed to be addressed 1) abdominal hernia's 2) panniculectomy and a 3) abdominoplasty.
First, talk to your plastic surgeon - I spoke with several, and these are expensive procedures - but I finally found a surgeon that advised me that the panniculectomy could be covered by health insurance - and it was - saving me nearly $5000.  Overall I still paid $7k out of pocket - but way better than the $12 - $14k that I had been quoted by others.
I had my reconstructive surgery 1 month ago - the surgeon removed 14lbs of skin and fat - and I dropped a few more pounds - and am now weighing in at 195.  My highest weight was 445lbs.  I way less than when I started high school - and I feel amazing - I am still recovering from the surgery because it is fairly invasive - so pics to follow - but what an amazing journey - I never thought I would get here. 
My journey has been almost 14 years - a failed lap band, massive complications from that, weight gain and then struggling to gain the nerve to try again with the VSG - but my care team has been amazing - and I cannot thank them for giving me my life back.  At 52 I am the healthiest I have been since I was 14.  
Please remember, the journey can be tough, the struggles are real, the pain is there - but it's your life you are fighting for - and there is nothing more important than that.

So today was my monthly Costco run and i am trying a new protein drink.
plant based (Peas) instead of whey based.  I really really hate peas so i was worried but it is not bad.  Not as "smooth" i guess is the term i am searching for. The whey based was very creamy and smooth and the Pea based one not to the same degree.
I will use the whole 18 pak over the next few weeks and see if i just get used to the new mouth feel.

Um...so all this time I thought I had a lumpy lower abdomen due to stubborn fat deposits or uneven fat loss.  Turns out two of those lumps are my hip bones.

https://idmprogram.com/insulin-index/

if you watch nothing else this week  watch this and see if you feel as sad about our gov't and what it has done to us as i do.
 

slow and steady wins the race.  don't get discouraged and just keep at it. Let your sleeve do its job and try not to stress yourself out.
hope you are all having a great summer and enjoying what your sleeve has given you.
just got back from a wedding in OR. and man am i afraid to get on the scale  

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171205091651.htm

https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(19)30834-4
this one is interesting but a tough slog to get thru
this review is easier to understand
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2019/07/weight-loss-rage-proteins/594073/

https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(19)30834-4
this one is interesting but a tough slog to get thru
this review is easier to understand
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2019/07/weight-loss-rage-proteins/594073/

https://www.bmj.com/content/366/bmj.l2408
bad news for fruit juice drinkers - sugar is just sugar -source doesn't matter

slow and steady wins the race.  don't get discouraged and just keep at it. Let your sleeve do its job and try not to stress yourself out.
hope you are all having a great summer and enjoying what your sleeve has given you.
just got back from a wedding in OR. and man am i afraid to get on the scale