ms.sss

i looooove cucumbers in my sandwiches (like any kind of sandwich!) ...mr thinks its weird, but what does he know.

@Lilia_90 i think i may be in love with you. the meals you create are sooooooooooo drool-worthy. i made a sampler of foccacia flavours myself yesterday...lemme post it in a sec...

i really depends if you can handle it. lots on here cannot, as it gives them angst and anxiety. if this is the case for you then don't do it. not worth it, honestly. the ultimate goal is to be able to maintain your weight LONG TERM (whatever weight that may be) more or less effortlessly. if it takes too much effort, gives you too much angst, is too restrictive and/or goes against your chosen lifestyle, then eventually, ultimately, it will let you down. case in point: a was a card-carrying carb-o-phobic. during weight loss phase and the first year of maintenance, i limited myself to 20g NET carbs a day (which is basically nothing). during that time, i was all, hells ya, i can do this forever! spoiler alert: i couldn't. pizza and pasta in italy has carbs. as does rice in asia, and mangos and bananas in the caribbean. there are no bariatric-friendly tasting menus at Michelin Star restaurants. i am an avid traveller and latest-and-greatest-restaurant-frequenter sprinkled with a touch of party-goer. and most likely a a high-functioning alcoholic. the low-to-no-carb M.O.just didn't fit. so i just ate it all. granted, i am an exercise addict and have (self-described) superhuman restriction, so it works for ME. my M.O. may not work for others. aside: i am almost 6 years post op and have maintained below goal weight this entire time. i look and feel pretty effing awesome, despite all the shite i eat and drink. again, i think this is just a personality thing. i am totally anal and LOVE stats and spreadsheets and data gathering and analysis, i get hot and heavy for graphs and rows and rows of aggregated data. so when you ask how do i NOT get bored..i answer with HOW COULD I POSSIBLY GET BORED???? this shite is RIVETING. it is legitimately FUN for me. and for those who don't share my specific brand of craziness, what i do is probably perceived as bonkers. but thats cool, different strokes and all that. the lesson here (as it always and forever shall be) is: Find what works for YOU, and do THAT. there will be a billion and one people on here and elsewhere that will tell you what to do and how to do it. they will tell you that this is terrible and that is the only way that will work. take from them what works and chuck the the rest. good luck! p.s. you look AWESOME!!!

i was told never, but i started drinking it again anyway (i.e., perrier) around 2-3 months post op and never stopped. im almost 6 yrs post now and i drink all the bubbles, not just perrier.

take pictures of your self now before the weight loss begins! also take your body measurements!

speaking as someone who postponed their surgery TWICE...You Are Ready When YOU Are Ready. spoiler alert: i finally went through with it after the aforementioned two cancels about 1.5 years after the first original scheduling. standing on the other side, i consider it one of my best life decisions. i do wish i didn't waver and just went through with it the first time...but it is what it is! without the benefit of hindsight, you can really only go with your gut. good luck! ❤️

i am always sooooo ravenous after hot yoga. Subway Subs was calling my name as i drove by in the way home, so Subway Sub Lunch it is! (plus some Pringles). 583 calories for whats shown. ate all the chips (natch!) and about 2/3 of the 6" sub. now im stuffed and need to veg out on the couch to digest.! also some fun facts (cuz y'all know i love to weigh myself all day long) wake up after a pee: 119.1 lbs after hot yoga: 117.6 lbs after a shower: 117.6 lbs (lol) after about 1L of water (plus a couple pees) and the lunch below: 118.8 lbs

that IS interesting!

todays lunch: a scoop of last night's "leftovers" risotto, two asparagus spears and bacon-wrapped cod with lemon-garlic-caper sauce. estimating 600 calories for the plate. ate ½ the fish, ½ the asparagus and almost all the risotto. this was a little in the heavy and rich side, but still so yum. Mr. ate my leftovers PLUS his own portion that was like double my original portion, geez.

made a "leftovers" risotto last night! so yum 😋 with leftovers! : roast duck from monday, mushrooms and asparagus from tuesday, and grated the very last of the parm all the way to the rind lol. 302 calories...ate it all eventually! **edit: ugh! totally forgot to log the arborio rice!! actual calorie count should be 377 calories

i've never used melatonin, BUT... some tips from a self-proclaimed insomniac (i.e, me! lol) i sleep very little (always have, but even less so since losing the weight). pre-surgery i averaged maybe 6 hours a night; past five years or so, its closer to 4 or 5. weirdly enough i still function perfectly fine during the day, and if anything i probably have an excess of energy (but i digress...). ANYWAY, if i had a few days in a row of very, very, little sleep, and i KNOW i need to get some sleep for some event (like early morning yoga, or need to go to the airport, or gonna have a long party day - like xmas, etc - or something) here are some things i do to ensure i don't toss and turn and stay up all night: 1) don't eat or drink anything (other than water) at least 4 hours before bed. 2) do a bit of cardio a couple hours before bed - OR - some deep stretching just before bed. 3) no screen time at least an hour before bed. 4*) sometimes a hot shower just before bed also works, but then my wet hair may annoy me. so this one is a hit or miss. Good Luck! ❤️

such a nice day out so sat on the back deck with this teacup of ice cream! ate it all...hopefully i don't regret eating it...i'll have a verdict one way or yhe other about in 30 mins!!

1st meal of day: leftovers! white rice, stir-fried tofu and vegetables, and the bone from a 20oz bone-in-ribeye ordered (and not even touched, geez) from dinner at the Keg last night. mr. ate the rest of it for breakfast this AM...i told him to save me the bone...i personally liked the fact i ate this at home, cuz at the restaurant i would have had the table manners not to pick it up with my hands and mow down! but at home, i can be as fred flintstone-y as i want!!) 293 calories for the plate contents shown. ate almost all of it...will get to the rest later

omg i think its time to retire that sub!!! lol

i know quite a few people who are/were on it. those currently on it, lost anywhere from 10-70 lbs. those who are no longer in it, gained back anywhere from none to all the weight back. though the majority of the no-longer-users kept of "most" of their weight losses off. so still a decent net loss in the end (so far). i myself experimented with ozepmpic last year...my mom is diabetic and i asked if i could try her stash because she takes less than ½ of the lowest dose as she says its too strong (so she had lots of surplus omg)...she's lost maybe 30-40 lbs (my stepdad is also diabetic with his own ozempic rx, and he lost closer to 70 lbs) anyway...i took the lowest dosage for 4 weeks at 120lbs thinking i could lose 5lbs tops...i ended up losing 8 or 9 lbs i think. i stopped after the 4th week and pretty much went back to pre-ozempic weight-ISH within a couple months. (i am 119.1 lbs this morning). so yeah, just like wls and everything else in life, individual losses and experiences depends on the person. now while this was an interesting experiment, it was FREE. if i had to pay for it, i'd pass. for me, at least, its not worth it..but for someone with more weight to lose, and who has the means and the inclination, and the access...why not? good luck! ❤️

granted, i get that either your wls or plastics surgeon would make a recommendation, but for your plastics surgeon to REQUIRE a "sign off" from your wls surgeon or primary to proceed for a self-paid, elective surgery, would be a red flag to me if indeed this is not normal practice in the U.S. i mean are they just trying to cover their asses or something?? seems off...

well this is a fun little thread...kinda like those "Rose and Thorn" ice breakers you do in a group setting lol. its' Tuesday now, but i can reflect about Monday! These things were cool: went to a BBQ hosted by my in-laws and spent the afternoon lounging and chatting in the shade in their backyard eating an entire lobster to myself for a few hours....i had to open and clean it myself so it took a while, ha! ended up with maybe a cup max of lobster insides but it was sooooo yum. and the work i had to put in to get it all out added to the deliciousness. Afterwards went rock climbing with Mr. for an hour, and then drove around aimlessly cuz it was such an nice night. These things were a drag: had to miss my hot yoga class cuz of the aforementioned BBQ; had a bad reflux episode monday night, that i can't determine the cause of. which is annoying because i hate unexplained things.

well that's interesting! this type of "control" over self-paid elective surgeries from one medical professional to another is i think unheard of around here. is that a common practice in the U.S. (or other countries?) unless of course you are getting your plastics covered by insurance...in which case that would make sense...? though i had a portion of my plastics covered by provincial insurance (the panniculectomy portion of my tummy tuck), and even then i did not need to get approval/sign off from anyone other than my plastics surgeon.

am so sorry for your loss. sending good thoughts your way...

ah...throwback to the good ole days when @GreenTealael used to post monthly challenges or fun type activities! i remember there being exercise challenges, photo-taking challenges, self-discovery challenges...they were super fun. you can see examples of these fun things she hosted by searching the forum for the word "challenge" in the title, written by GreenTealael...

dupe post

i picked my consults based on before and after photos (their work), and the NUMBER of before and after photos (their volume/experience), and if they had any (unresolved) complaints or sanctions or investigations on their records. (i went to 5 consults) then i shortlisted based on a combination of price, evaluation of aftercare, whether or not they were willing to do all my procedures (3 of them: tummy tuck, breast lift, arm lift) all in one shot...this left me with 2. tie breaker was based on my perceived VIBE of them. One seemed more serious and by-the-book-ish and other was a bit more chill and easier-going. i chose the chill one. i'm sure i would have been perfectly fine with either of them, but i had to choose one, so i just went with someone i was more comfortable being around. p.s. i had my plastics 7 months after reaching goal (14 months post wls) . i would have preferred it done earlier, but he was booked up for almost a year (which i booked), but later he decided to open up a day just for me over the xmas holidays a few months earlier than my almost-year-later-booking. i am thankful he did that because my original PS booking would have fallen on the beginning of COVID and would definitely had been postponed as a non-essential surgery for several months. he had no requirement of maintaining any sort of weight wls or not. nor did the other 4 original consults. in the month or so after plastics, i lost about 5 lbs and hit my lowest weight of 109 lbs. since then i've bounced up and down between generally 115-120 for about 5+ years (so a net gain of about 5-10 lbs depending on the day), and i still look as awesome, if i say so myself.

☝️i'm one of these. with a dash of some major changes...specifically my regular exercise regime. though i have to say that what i was doing when the first year or so of maintenance is very different from what i am doing now. i was still pretty strict about carbs and desserts and drinking calories that first year and a bit after reaching goal. as the years went on, i became less strict about WHAT i was eating, but still continued to keep an eye and stick to the TOTAL NUMBER OF CALORIES i needed to maintain...this amount changed up and down depending on my activity level, and i made sure to make changes as needed. i love going out and socializing and eating and drinking, and i've discovered that i can do all that and still maintain my current weight. i love to try new restaurants and tick off all the michelin star venues i could possibly go to before i die. and i am forever grateful for my wls and its restriction that has conditioned me to not overindulge...just have a taste to try and i am satisfied. (i am also forever greatful for whatever powers that be that have me loving exercise lol) with that said, let me attempt to provide my answers to your questions. NOTE: starting weight 235 lbs, 5'2" female, 46 yrs old at surgery. i lost 108 lbs in 7 months (plus my 2 wk pre-op diet) to reach goal. i am now 5 years, 8 months post op, and weighed 118.2 lbs this morning. 1. What are your golden rules to successful maintenance? - be flexible, be willing and able to change and make adjustments. weigh daily, always be aware of your calorie intake (i.e., track). EXERCISE: it makes you look and feel good. don't give into the angst...nobody is perfect...including YOU. i realize this is not for everyone, it takes a certain type of personality to be ok with this...i just happen to be one of them. 2. How did you manage the mental shift (navigating fear and uncertainty) while transitioning to maintenance? I can’t seem to quiet my thoughts and anxiety around WHAT IFs? - TIME. as time goes by you will gain experience and knowledge and hopefully learn to trust yourself. 3. How much indulgence do you actually allow yourself? - any time i want. hard to put a number or amount on this because it varies day by day, week by week. but i probably eat SOMETHING or other that most "dedicated" wls-ers would consider "bad" every day. (ASIDE: i personally don't think anything is "bad" just stuff higher in calories than others, with varying macro-makeups.

i have a fridge and pantry full of groceries and ingredients for a feast i plan to cook up for a Father's Day BBQ we having tomorrow. so i could theoretically totally whip up something yum and healthy-ish,, but alas i am lazy and opted for Burger King takeout instead.

i used to be like this too in the early days. you know what the cure is? regular exercise. womp. womp.