ms.sss

Salad time. Kinda full from the bread, so didn't get very far. It went back in the fridge for later. Romaine, vinaigrette, carrots, cucumber, cheddar, soft boiled egg, imitation crab and masago. 270 cals for the whole thing.

omg, i guess i didn't google hard enough yesterday!!! don't tell mr! lolololzzzz don't think I'm going to tell him either because watching him shake that jar like a mad man was thoroughly entertaining for all of us, lolololozzzz...

Another year, another batch of yummy food photos! ❤️ Everything looks delicious as usual, but I have to give a special shoutout to @Arabesque...those greens actually MOVED me...lol. Anyhoo...I can't stop making homemade bread because 1) it makes the house smell awesome 2) it gives me an excuse to see fam and friends to make deliveries to and 3) its effing DELICIOUS. Yep, I'm totally eating bread now. Today's first food: a bit of said bread and some HOMEMADE BUTTER. I got curious about how to make butter so googled it and then made Mr. do the muscle work. It's ridiculously delicious. If you are bored and have some arm muscles (or know someone who does)...i totally recommend giving it a try: put heavy cream in a jar and shake "violently" until it separates to butter and buttermilk. estimated at 123 calories for the bread and butter I'm holding shown below. P.S. that is yet ANOTHER bread batch resting for baking later in the background, lol....I have made 12 loaves in the past week.

Ugh. It certainly does get annoying when people constantly comment on your weight/looks, but even more so when they actually tell you to your face that you are somehow under-performing based on their uninformed opinion. I mean, really. 🙄 Try changing the subject. ...and then come on here, and we can give you a well deserved high five. ✋🏼

Ok,I have mixed feelings about posting my food entries just now...torn between being honest/transparent and fear of influencing someone negatively. I've decided that we are all adults and can make decisions for ourselves. So pls use whatever info you see on here wisely and safely for YOU. With that said, I thought I would post a food entry for exactly one year after the series above, just to show what eating looked like for me a year later (back in May of this year). I pretty much eat on average 1800 cals a day now (more if I exercise more).

Apologize in advance...this is long! LOL, after typing it all out, I see its alot. Sorry! Gonna ask: why do you think you are doing anything wrong? 26 lbs lost in 6 weeks is about average...you are actually doing just fine! Further, losing inches is probably more preferable than losing weight, honestly, lol. I think I may value mobility and looking great in a pair of jeans vs the number on the scale these days. While these forums are a great source of info (good and bad) and camaraderie, one of the downsides of it is that leads people to compare themselves with others. For purposes of getting info/opinions/options, its all good, but when reading about others journey's makes one feel bad about themselves or towards others, then this is not helpful to you at all, right? I don't really have an easy solution to this issue, as it is ALWAYS around, but I am in a mood this morning and feel like I need to put it out there. I read too many posts about people feeling bad these days. Try to be kind to yourself no matter what anyone else is doing. I know, I know, its easy to say.... With that said, to your main question: So....for info purposes, I am posting some screenshots of what a 500-600 cal per day looked like for me. Here are 7 consecutive days of food logs when I was about 6.5 months post-op. I also want to say that throughout weight loss phase, I probably ate on the lower end of the range of average calories eaten based on what I have read on forums. I also want to say that I did not feel like I was starving at any point. The amount of food that I was taking in was enough for ME. I had tones of energy, all my labs came back with no issue, and I was never struggling mentally with wanting to eat more. I say this because not everyone would be as comfortable as I was at this calorie level (though there are those that are), and if you are not comfy, then by all means, don't do it. Eat at a deficit level that you can handle.

Ok, so I've technically been in maintenance for 1.5 years now. Not counting the first 2 months immediately after stopping weight loss phase (when I lost 12 lbs trying to find my sweet spot), I have basically maintained my current weight +/- 5 lbs the entire time. I have loosened the reins quite a bit since weight loss days. Fruit: I am not a big fruit eater, but if presented with something that looks good, I'll eat it. I don't have any off limit fruits, but I don't eat much in the first place anyway...mostly just as a topping on a salad. I hate fruit juice. Oh, but I LOOOOVE avocados, which I probably have 1-2 times a week (again, mostly as a topping on a salad) Vegetables: I eat all sorts of veggies all the time/every day...with the exception of potatoes. Refined Sugar: I long ago opened the floodgates to sugar consumption. Dessert is a legitimate food group for me. Other processed carbs: I still stay away from rice, pasta, and bread. HOWEVER, I recently discovered the joy of homemade bread making, and have actually had maybe the equivalent of 2 slices of bread this past week or so. Since it was so delicious, I'm going to keep eating it. I still log my food, but I no longer put as much concern on the type of calorie I consume (to a certain extent), I mostly really only pay attention to my total calories now. So if I eat a cookie or a carrot or some of the ridiculously yummy homemade bread, so long as I stay under 1800 cals (more if I'm exercising more), then it's all good. I will say though, that I gained and lost 6 lbs TWICE this year...and when I was trying to lose, I did pay attention to the type of calorie. Once I reached my happy place again, I am back to just monitoring total calories.

sooooo excited for you guys all...bikini time!!!! funny how this same time last year there was another group of us who had plastics within weeks of each other....❤️

Same here. Albeit, I eat much slower than them (and I don't drink while I eat).

ooohhhhhh.....VERY flattering on you!

@Avb830: You are not alone in this thinking....alot of us started to get concerned about losing too much weight once we started nearing goal weight...there are hundreds, if not thousands, of posts about it! (including mine, lol). But if you try to do a bit of digging on this forum for people who are still worried about losing too much weight, or being too thin after a few months to a year into maintenance, you will find almost none (although I have read of ONE person who was concerned...she was at a BMI of 18 after a year if I recalll...) Are you happy at where you are now? Or are you looking to lose more weight? Is your team concerned at your rate of progress? Either way, you will stabalize eventually....(barring medical issues, of course). P.S. I started to "worry" when I got to a BMI of 23. I settled in at a BMI of 21 (and have been here more or less for the past 1.5 years), which is still within the "healthy" BMI range.

2 weeks before surgery, my BMI was 43.2, on my 3-month surgery anniversary, it went down to 31.6 At that point only a few people noticed any difference...*I* noticed a HUGE diff though, lol!! My waist had gone down 9.5 inches by then...i was actually quite baffled with how most people didnt notice!! 😂 (Or at least didn’t say anything out loud to me...though the comments and questions started with a vengeance around the 4-5 month post op mark....it got really annoying)

I too was told not to drink 30 minutes before eating, as well as not to drink 30 mins after. 30 mins before: After a couple months, I figured out that drinking before eating, no matter how long I waited (or didn't wait) made absolutely no difference. I am able to drink right up to the first bite of food I take with no issue. 30 mins after: This one I adhered to (and still do, at 2+ years out). If I drink too soon (i.e, before the food in my stomach moves out of my stomach), I will get super full and may get chest pains or barf. Sometimes I need to wait more than 30 minutes...I can feel in my chest when I know I am ready to drink. Everyone may have different experiences though, but you will learn soon enough how your body will respond. Listen to it and act accordingly. Good Luck! ❤️

I didn't inquire about instalments as the intention was always to pay it all in one shot (I HATE paying interest, lol). Ended up paying $1,000 to hold the date, then the balance a couple days before surgery. Though I think a lot of surgeons do offer/or are affiliated with some sort of medical loan plan....best to ask whomever you end up deciding on. So when are you looking to get the procedures done??? Sooooo excited for you!

I am able to tolerate *most* things with no issue except the following: sugar (I will dump if I have too much, too fast, especially on an empty stomach) pork (I have noticed that I get super full on pork faster than any other meat) Everyone is different, so one will need to pay attention to how they respond to certain foods and make adjustments if necessary. Good Luck! ❤️

I was an every-Wednesday measure-er. I did this every week starting 2 weeks before surgery until I got to goal. I found that different areas of my body would shrink at different times. In the very beginning (for me), the inches were dropping at a much faster rate on my stomach/waist measurement vs. anywhere else. My "slowest" areas of inch loss (in terms of percentages, not total) was my calves and hips.

What time of plastics did you get? assuming you meant "kind" and not "time", lol... Tummy Tuck w/ Flank Lipo & Muscle tightening Breast Lift Arm Lift How much did you pay out of pocket? approx 15K (Canadian) for all three (I was able to get the panniculectumy portion of the TT covered by insurance) Pain? YES. For me, it was worse than WLS (though I have read others who say the opposite). While my WLS pain was probabably a 3 or 4 out of 10 on the pain scale, plastics recovery was like a 7, maybe 8. Of course, this is just me, everyone will have a different pain tolerance. Recovery? 3 months until I was completely back to normal (though the extended recovery was alot my fault, as I kept doing more than I should, in terms of exercise, and would re-injure myself) Was it worth it? Definitely. Would do it all again in an instant. How long did you have to wait Wanted to get it done about 3 months after goal (Aug 2019), but had to wait as my surgeon was booked up until the following spring. He eventually opened up a day just for me, as I was getting 3 procedures done and I would be the only patient he would work on. So....ended up getting it done in Dec 2019, which was 7 months after goal, and 14 months post WLS. Ladies- if you got breast implants how big did you go? Not applicable: Just had a breast lift, and i LOOOOOOOVEEEE it.

Good one

? how do you see them???

Following!! ❤️

I got really good at changing subjects. When conversations headed towards my looks/weight and I wasn't in the mood to discuss, I would pivot the conversation about them. People looooooooove talking about themselves.

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. I often think that nutritionists/dietitians give calorie goals to patients to ensure they are legally covered should something arise. I mean, advising a patient to eat less than 300 calories a day is a lawsuit waiting to happen. Further, to this, I often find that all these "goals" are some very generalized numbers given to all patients with little consideration of the individual's needs & physical make up. I am female, 5"2", was 235lbs. If I remember correctly, I was told to get in 75G of protein and aim to be at 1000-1200 cals before my 3 month follow up. These same instructions were given to men who were twice my original size. That just doesn't make sense to me. Do what you can. Let your team know what you are doing, and keep up with your labs. Good Luck! ❤️ P.S. At two months I was at about 300-400 a day. I didn't get to 800+ until AFTER I was done with weight loss phase. Now (at 2+ years out) I can do 1500-2000, depending on how much exercise I get in.

I took my measurements every Wednesday during weight loss phase since starting the 2 week pre-op diet, without fail. I actually looked forward to it, LOL (I have since stopped the weekly measures and only measure probably once a month, if I remember to...just to do a spot check) I kept track of chest, waist, hips, Right Thigh, Right Calf & Right upper arm. I wish I had kept track of neck and wrist as well, though....

Yassssss!!! Congrats! Your work is totally showing ❤️

Wowza. This salad looks restaurant-quality. YUMMMMMM