ms.sss

…also, in terms of immediate post op necessities while in hospital: Crocs (or any other easily slipped on footwear for walking the halls) Lip Balm Moisturising Throat spray (i used Biotene, omg a lifesaver) Small pillow to hug for the ride home (going over those road bumps hurt man) I had actually brought a whole bunch of other stuff that never made it out of the overnight bag. If i wasn’t sleeping, i was walking the halls. Didn’t even use my phone NOR my toothbrush, lol.

I hear ya. Im pain adverse as well. BUT. A temporary bit of pain is worth years of awesomeness, in my opinion lol. Case in point: I just had another session of botox and fillers this morning and while i was almost in tears while i was in the chair, all is now forgotten as im totally loving my cheekbones now 😇 (as well as my non existent naso-labial lines!) yeah, colour me VAIN. Its all good.

ooooh looks good! though anything “poolside” is automatically 10x better 😇 …cant wait for summer!

Yum…now we’re talkin’!!! I vote bf’s plate!! while i do love me some whipped cream, that looks waaaay too much!

Simple?! Sounds totally advanced to me! And delicious 🤤

I used the each of the following items every single day during weight loss phase (some things multiple times a day): Food Scale & measuring cup Body Scale Some sort of food tracking app (i used My Fitness Pal Premium) Insulated water bottle something to keep u regular (i used Benefibre) A Timer (used the one on my watch)

Omg what is that?!?!

Hi! First, congratulations on the weight loss! Yay! 🎉💪🏼👍🏼 Second, i got down to a BMI 20 at my lowest weight (down from BMI 43) and i still had a noticeable (to me) lump on my pelvic region. it only went away after i got a tummy tuck. But thats just me. Others may have got a different outcome. P.S. This was me pre-plastics at about BMI 21. You can see my fupa trying to bust out of the top of the swim bottoms. 🤷🏻‍♀️ When i wore leggings i would joke that I was packing down there. And I don’t think losing any more weight would have helped…

For ME, i discovered i was suddenly able to chug a bottle of water (400ml) by accident around the 2 week mark (i was thirsty and forgot i was supposed to be sipping) Prior to that i was sipping my liquids from a 2 fl oz shot glass, probably getting in maybe 250 ml a day. I dunno if this is “normal” but it happened. So long as you aren’t in pain or get any adverse effects from drinking liquids, i figure its all good. Your heart palpitations though. For ME, heart palpitations means i ate too fast or too much and is the first sign of an oncoming dumping episode. How about eating/drinking less at one sitting and see if you still get them? Then you could see if there is a co-relation for YOU.

Ok, I fully admit, I've become an addict of sorts to "appearance-enhancing" procedures since my first foray into plastics 2+ years ago (i got a tummy tuck, arm lift and breast lift back in Dec 2019) I am pretty confident i'm done with plastics (though ask me again in 10 years, as i may be of a different opinion, lol), but have had a whole bunch of non-surgery stuff done in the last little while: lash extensions, micro-needling, teeth whitening, botox (forhead and jaw), fillers (cheeks and laugh lines), and lib blushing (a natural looking-lip colour tattoo basically). Anyhoo...I digress...I actually wanted to share the latest thing I succumbed to: Scalp Micro Pigmentation (SMP). For those that are not familiar, its basically a process whereby a technician tattoos hundreds (thousands?) of tiny little dots all over your scalp to look like hair follicles, and give the appearance of hair density. The majority of SMP clients are men with already bald heads, as the results can be quite dramatic. But more and more women are getting it now, including me! HOWEVER. It EFFING hurts. I have tattoos on my butt and my forearm, and SMP hurts waaaaaaay more than those did. And, the sessions are LONG. 5-6 hours each (though I was told sessions are shorter for bald heads...when you have hair on your head already, esp long hair, it takes more time to manoeuvre around it). I cried for about 4 hours the first time, 12 minutes the second time, and no crying at all the last time. I guess I got used to it. So check out the before after video below. The vid on the left is me in all my scalp-showing glory. The vid on the right is me immediately after my second session (note that there are still large pigment dots and a few scab formations here). I had my third and final one last week and should be fully healed/final results in about a month. I am very pleased. Especially now that its all over! P.S. I also wanted to mention that my thinning hair was already an issue before WLS. Any hair that I lost after WLS came back eventually, and I reverted to my regular state of thin hair from pregnancy/childbirth. It's was all the Kid's fault. P.P.S. Btw, I tried to imbed this video smaller but couldn't figure it out! Sorry! basmp.mp4

I also made cookies this morning! Was supposed to be basic chocolate chip cookies, but didn’t have enough semi-sweet chips, so made up the missing volume with toasted almonds, dark chocolate chunks and white chocolate chips. Baked 11 right away and froze the rest of the batter for another time. I haven’t had any yet, but when I do, i’ll be logging 217 calories for one (crossing fingers that there will any left to eat by the time i feel like eating one!) P.S. the white stuff on top is flaked sea salt.

A bunch of stuff from the fridge in a bowl (thai spring roll, beets, almonds, cheese, pate, tomatoes & kimchi): 283 calories Ate almost 1/2 of it…the rest is for later.

Congrats! And bravo for your thoughtful and insightful post about WLS and pregnancy…its sure to be helpful fir those in similar positions ❤️ keep us posted!

I’m sure lots of peeps will chime in with their experiences, but pls remember it does not mean that is how your experience will play out! Insert standard mantra here: “We are all different “. With that said: At my one year mark, i could not eat a “normal” person’s amount if food in volume. (I still can’t, even at 3.5 years out). But…i could (and can) eat a “normal” person’s amount of food in calories. Not a big eaters amount of calories, but like a normal, healthy-weighted woman who doesn’t really diet but is aware of what she eats amount of calories. In terms of speed, i was super duper crazy slow in the first year or so and sped up a little as time went by. Im still slower than everyone around me, but i eat much less than them, so it kinda evens out…sometimes.

Diet green tea? Did it have artificial sweeteners in it? The diarrhea may be a result of the copious amount you drank? Not sure why the groin pain, though…

So at some point i theorize that each of us have to realize what it takes to maintain a certain weight and IF we are willing to put in the effort to stay there (and the reality is it will easier to do for some more than others). I spent a good two years gaining and losing the same 3-5 lbs in an effort to stay as close to the bottom (or preferably below) my self-imposed “happy weight range”. If/when i got within 1-2 lbs of the top of this range i was already going into self-correct mode. It happened often enough to become a chore. So I finally decided to up this range by 5 lbs last year and its like a weight off my shoulders. I haven’t had to self-correct since. Honestly it feels ridiculous now given that my happy weight range was a measly 5lb spread, but when i was committed to that original range, i took it very seriously and as a result it was a source of some low-key anxiety at times. It’s difficult to do, to switch gears from something you’ve been doing/thinking/believing for so long and that produced results in the past. As time goes by, i have been appreciating the value of peace of mind over numbers. But thats just me. So…are you content with where you are? Physically, emotionally and all that? If not, will the efforts required to achieve this content make you more or less content than u are now? You decide. Whichever way you choose, there are a ton of people on here that will support you either way. Good Luck! ❤️

One piece of a Thai Veggie-Tofu cold spring roll leftover from the fams dinner last night. 132 calories (of which 1/2 the cals are from the dipping sauce 🙄) Ate it all. Will likely eat something else soon as i’ll probably be hungry again in an hour.

Ooh this pic is even better! YUM!

One-pieces would be the easiest choice, but if u wanna go the two-piece route, a high-waisted bottom keeps everything in nicely. Bonus points for high-cut leg openings (makes ur legs look longer and you hips slimmer!) Though once you get closer to goal, you may find that just the ability to wear a string bikini outweighs the already diminishing self-consciousness. I was wearing them pre-plastics with wrinkly tummy and all (but i did still wear tube or halter style swim tops cuz my deflated boobs needed some containment)

I didn’t know one could botox the chin? I thought it was just fillers down there? Does it give appearance of firmer chin? Change the shape? As for botox, i have the opposite result: my forehead jabs last longer than the brow-betweens. I suppose this is due to the type of faces we make? I tend to crinkle my nose in disgust alot lol. Maybe you tend to produce “oh really?” looks 😂

They do fade, and will require a touch up anywhere between 4-8 years (depends on the person and their lifestyle). Alternatively, can get mini touch ups every couple years instead of a full touchup (i.e., one session)…which is probably more acceptable for me cuz a full session is really long. We’ll see, who knows, I may opt to go G.I. Jane someday (😂 too soon???)

Lol, yeah i was feeling pretty bad a$$ and proud of myself when it was all done (during, not so much). Im starting to get greys myself, granted im at less than 50 grey hairs in total at the moment and i henna my hair to blend em in better with my regular black hair. Though by the time im willing to go full on grey (and if im willing to go through this again!) the tech said the pigment would be adjusted lighter to work with greys. We’ll see…

You are right...while i was pregnant, i had fabulous thick flowy hair, nice skin and big boobs! LOL. Once I popped the Kid out, my hair left with her, ...then the boobs followed a few months after. So its actually a good idea to get the breast lift after the kids...kids do a number on them, man. --- No I haven't done eyebrow micro-blading, my eyebrows are still in pretty good shape. But i did do lip blushing, which is very similar...its like a combo of micro blading and tattooing. And that hurts too btw!, but not as bad as the scalp because my tech used a numbing cream. I was supposed to get a lash line tattoo, but i got freaked out watching a pal of mine get it, so now i'm rethinking, lol.

3.5 years out. ZERO regrets (other than not doing it sooner, like many others) My eating habits have not gone “back to normal”, as in my pre-op days, but has definitely expanded since the early days post surgery. I still eat much less and much slower than everyone else around me, but thats just fine with me. I also eat a wide range of foods (including not-as-healthy options) and am doing just fine. Been maintaining below goal weight almost 3 yrs now. I do still dump as well, but again, this is easily avoided (not too much sugar at a time, and never on an empty stomach). ALL of my obesity-related issues are long gone, and i feel awesome. Confidence, energy and attitude are way up (as is my wardrobe, lol). So yeah, no regrets. Good Luck! ❤️ P.S. @18kDays: are u contemplating surgery or have you already started the process?

I dont think i did Brussel sprouts during weight loss phase (dont really know why…just didn’t get a chance I guess), but i do now. Either pan-fried or roasted in the oven, and always with bacon, and often with balsamic glaze drizzled on top and/or shaved Parmesan. I will say though that Brussel spouts are one of the few veggies that fill me up almost as quickly as dense protein (along with cabbage, beets and al dente cauliflower). yum, though.