ms.sss

“A loss is a loss is a loss”. It doesn’t matter if u lost 5 lbs last week or .05 lbs. So long as its coming off ur golden. ”An inch is an inch is an inch.” If the scale didn’t move last month, if your pants are looser, ur golden. ”Keep doing what works until it doesn’t”. If its been months with no weight nor inch loss, cut ur cals, increase ur activity, speak to a medical professional. ”Everybody is different.”. Try not to compare urself to others and allow it to get you down. Its not worth the anxiety. ”Manage your expectations.” Set realistic goals based on YOUR body type and lifestyle. Expecting to achieve more than what u are willing to do to achieve it is unhelpful (see “Everybody is different” above). ”Eff the people in the peanut gallery.” Everyone and their mother is going to give you advice and comment on what THEY think YOU should do. They don’t matter. YOU do. ”Celebrate all the little things.” Sometimes just the ability to cross ur legs comfortably or get off your BP meds means waaaaay more than 2lbs off the scale. ”Be kind to urself.” You would (presumably) never purposely sh*t on someone, so why would u do that to yourself. ‘Nuff said. Good Luck!! ❤️

From what I can remember, there was nothing I couldn't do on my own (but of course i milked all the help that was offered to me, lol). Walking wiped me out for the first week or so, so I'd suggest getting all the stuff you'd need (groceries, meds, basic living necessities) to last you a few days so you don't have to go out and get them. Edit to add: actually, i just remembered the one thing I couldn't do (or didn't want to do) for a couple weeks was drive. Twisting to get my seat-belt on, or checking my blind spot was a little ouch-inducing).

I eat a sh*t tonne of veggies. Not so much most of the first year post op (not much room after proteins, honestly), with ZERO issues. Fruits once in a while..i generally stick to berries if I do. But i will occasionally have apples, grapes, oranges. Also watermelon, pineapple, mangoes but rarely or in very small amounts cuz the sugars in these do tend to make me dump. I almost never drink any sort of juice though. All the good stuff (i.e., fibre) is taken out! Plus the sugar tends to be more concentrated. Everyone will have a different experience. Best to try in small amounts to see how YOU, yourself will fare. Good Luck! ❤️

Bit the bullet and ate that salad with the high cal dressing that i passed on from yesterday. Added some Feta, anchovies and avocado: 363 calories Ate it all.

I SEMI-disagree with this statement. You absolutely CAN binge eat if you wanted to, but you will likely bring it all back up (though for some, they can actually keep it down) As others have alluded to above, OP may want to seriously consider some sort of counselling if this is an issue. The surgery only limits your stomach capacity. It doesn’t limit your ability to physically put food in your mouth, or chew, or swallow…. Good Luck! ❤️

In the first few months post surgery i set a timer on my watch to remind me to drink.

Is this all u are consuming each day? Or are you eating/drinking stuff on top of this?

I have fried foods on the regular and manage just fine (btw, im 3 yrs post op). Plus i think its delicious. There was a period (i.e., during weight loss phase and some months after) that it was just unappetizing…but then again most foods were. I still have my share of “healthy” foods (i do love me some salad) but fried foods - pan fried, deep fried, whatever - are definitely common items in my menu rotations. Everyone will have different tolerances and preferences towards all kinds of food. You won’t know how you will fare until you do. Good Luck! ❤️

Exercise actually has much less impact on weight loss than calorie consumption. There are MANY on here who don’t do a lick of exercise and still lose weight (but of course exercise is still strongly recommend for health and well-being…) Same goes for vitamins. Do you know what your daily average calorie intake is?

5’2” 235.0 lbs (at start of 2wk liquid diet) 223.2 lbs (surgery day) 138.1 lbs (6 months post op 115.0 lbs (+\- 5lbs, 3 Years post op)

Mr. asked what I wanted for (early) dinner tonight and I answered: “‘MEAT!” So he picked up this gem of a souvlaki meal for me. Since I just ate like 2 hours ago, i just had one piece each of the pork and chicken souvlakis with tzatziki and 1/2 a roasted potato half (which I suppose is a 1/4, lol). Ate everything i served myself (almost): 164 calories p.s. my lunch salad is still in the fridge…ate about 3/4 of the salmon so far, and basically none of greens…that high calorie dressing is turning me off)

Dammmnnnnnnnn.... Had I known how many calories were in that take-out salad dressing packet beforehand, I wouldn't have put it on my salad! I mean, WTF?!?!? 174 calories?!?!? Anyhoo, todays first meal of the day: takeout garden salad with aforementioned extreme-calorie salad dressing, some leftover teriyaki-glazed grilled salmon(+ an espresso martini beforehand, not shown): 625 calories. Am eating it now, and will likely eat about 1/2 of it now and the rest later.

Sound right about boringly normal as well. You will lose weight at those levels but much, much slower than compared to before. Hang in there. .2 -.4 lbs lost may seem minute, but a loss is a loss is a loss. P.S. I know there are many on here that lost several lbs after plastics. I may be a minority, but plastics only shaved off 400g (0.88 lbs) from me. Though at that point i wasn't really concerned about the number on the scale but about the overall look of me....which I was/am totally satisfied with. Good Luck! ❤️

Jeeee-zus. You had me at Ghirardelli chocolate. Any pics of it cut into????? Looks effing awesome. Edited to add: NM, i just saw your follow up post. Everything i would have expected! Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo YUM!

Here’s the thing…the smaller u get the less your caloric needs get. If you want to lose more weight, you are going to need to cut your calories. I don’t know what ur cal level is now, but 1500 cals on a 300 lbs frame will lose weight faster and more consistently than the same amount of cals on a 145 lbs frame. (Not counting activity level, of course) I originally set a goal of 120. I revised that to 127 as I wasn’t liking how i was looking (think: Skelator). I ended up losing a bit more in my attempts to adjust to maintenance calories, and this was due to the fact that I just wasn’t eating enough to sustain 127 lbs. I got to 127 in 7 months, and stabilized at 115 around 9-10 months post op. Im still 115 now at 3 yrs out (and actually happy with it as my skeletal look has more or less gone away…thanks carbs, lol), and i average 1800-2000 cals a day, with moderate to slightly high exercise. Edited to add: im boringly “average” in the sense that i have no medical conditions that would impede weight loss nor do i have an abnormal metabolism given my size or activity levels.

@Arabesque, oh how I love me some box pleats. I used to wrap my mom's curtains around me as a kid and pretend I was all FANCY. If I wasn't so much trouble to take my own curtains down and up, i'd do it now. LOVE THAT SKIRT. @Lynda486: well someone has lovely legs 😍

Personally, I wouldn't trust the calories these phone apps list as being burned. They are notoriously inaccurate. Unless you've had a series of physical metabolic tests to determine your baseline at your current weight, PLUS have a heart monitor strapped to your chest and and other sensors attached to you to calculate volume of oxygen your body consumes, you won't know what your metabolic rate truly is. Not sure if you are doing so already, but its probably better NOT to factor in exercise in your daily calorie counts. 600-800 cals a day at your weight of 248 lbs would seem like you should be losing weight, though...so when you say you are struggling to lose weight, do you mean you not losing weight at all? How long has it been?

Yay! Can't wait to see all your fabulous progress pics!

...what @Pilot my best self said!!! @sgz72 : i need to have whatever you are having. Seriously, you look even younger in your "proof-of-age-close-up" than the swimsuit pic. HIGH FIVE!!!

Holy Crap. You DO NOT look 63. More like 36!!! i wanna be u when i grow up! Wowza. 😳 you look AMAZING.

Lots of different programs…with the conflict ling info you are getting, I’d probably listen to my surgeon regarding VOLUME/PROGRESSION of food, while looking to the dietitian for NUTRITION advice. But thats just me. With that said, my program was: - Clear fluids: 1 day - Full fluids: 2 weeks - Pureed: 1 week (which i skipped and just continued with Full fluids cuz pureed stuff made me gag at the thought.) - Minced: 1 week - Soft food: 1 week - Then cleared for everything.

I was told using straws *may* contribute to excess air being swallowed into ur belly, which can cause discomfort in some. With that said, i used a straw for the first time post op at around 3 weeks. No issues for ME. I don’t really use straws much but when I do/did, I had no adverse effects. Your mileage may vary. If u can do without, just pass on the straws…better for the environment and avoid any possible issues. Up to you, though. You’ll likely find out pretty quickly is you are one of the ones who get affected. Good Luck! ♥️

This one looks like art suitable for framing!

Hi, sorta same thing for me. Sorta. I was immediately taken off cholesterol meds by my 1 week follow up. At my 1 month & 3 month follow ups, the levels remained acceptable. But at my 6 month, it shot up again and my doc understood it was due to weight loss so didn't re-prescribe me anything. By my 9th month it was lower, by my 1st year it was normal again.

After reaching goal (127 lbs @7mnths), I lost another 12 lbs over 1-2 months until i settled at 115. Been here (+/- 5lbs for over 2 years).