ms.sss

I brought tonnes, but the only things I was glad i brought were: lip balm, boitene dry mouth spray, crocs (for walking the halls) and a small pillow to hug over bumps on the road on the ride home. Everything else didn’t even make it out of the overnight bag (toothbrush and phone included, lol). If I wasn’t walking, i was sleeping. good luck! ❤️

You asked so...here's some detail, lol. Below I've included screenshots of what I ate for 7 consecutive days at my 4 month post op mark. I realize that the calorie counts are quite low compared to what some others may have been eating at the same time, but it was totally normal for me as I just wasn't a big eater for a really long time after surgery. I wasn't suffering as far as I can remember, and was generally in a good mood all the time. I had had probably 3 labs done by this time and all came back satisfactorily. In fact, all my other labs since then to today have all come back satisfactorily. For reference, I started out at BMI 43 (235 lbs) at the beginning of the 2 week pre-surgery liquid diet, and was BMI 29.6 (160.9 lbs) at this 4 month mark. I'm a 5'2" female, and was 46 yrs old at 4 months post op. I was exercising pretty regularly at this time, mostly fun classes 2-3 times a week (dance, zumba, hot yoga) and walking for about 5K a every day. I did some strength training, but not much. I drank water like it was going out of style. I didn't really have set meals (still don't, really). Just sorta grazed all day. I didn't eat before noon, nor after 7pm (again, something i still mostly do at almost 3 years post op today, though I am less of a stickler about not eating after 7pm, as my nighttime gas issues are much better now). I dunno why I always feel hesitant to say this, but: I did not stall once. But I mean, I realize I was eating VERY FEW calories so how could I not lose, right? There was one week in month 3 where I lost less than a 1/2 a lb, I remember, but its still a loss so...yeah. P.S. Today, I'll be 3 years post in October, have been maintaining my current weight (+/- 5 lbs) for over 2 years, and probably consume an average of 1800-1900 cals a day. I am still pretty active. At my peak activity levels I was eating like 2000+ cals a day regularly. Anyhoo, here is a consecutive week's worth of food diary entry screen shots at my 4 month mark:

First, yay on the successful weight loss so far!! Second, it took about 60 lbs and a tucked in shirt for people outside my immediate family and BFF circles to notice (or at least make a comment about it…they may have noticed, but didn’t say anything until the -60lb mark….and tucking in my shirt 🤷🏻‍♀️). For reference, I was 235 at the beginning of the 2 week pre surgery liquid diet. Warning: once others start talking about it, it not going to stop for a while…in my experience it seriously dominated almost every conversation…honestly got quite annoying. Im almost 3 years out now and me and my weight loss is old news. Which is a good thing!!

What @catwoman7 said. I lost 11lbs during the pre-surgery two week liquid diet and nothing else before that. My first month was my biggest loss IN POUNDS by far. But my excess weight loss percentage rate kept increasing as time went on. Good Luck! ❤️ P.S. I just took a look at my records and i suppose the second month was also comparatively high to the remaining months...from month 3 onward though, it was basically 10-ish lbs a month until goal.

Speaking of eating all one’s food, here is what I just ate. A spinach and feta pastry i bought at a coffee shop because its after 4pm and realized i haven’t eaten yet (a normal situation i find myself in when im out and about doing boring errands) and it was all they had that slightly interested me. im guessing (and logging) 275 calories. Ate it all (guess i was really hungry!)

First, the faster you can revoke your membership from the Clean Plate Club, the better. Both your scale and your physical comfort will thank you in the long run. As to your question, “Do you expect to eat everything on your plate?”, for me, generally, yes…just usually not all at the same time. I’ll fix myself - or order - something (noted, by now I already know it will be more than i’ll eat cuz my eyes are almost always hungrier than my stomach) and I’ll just eat until I’ll satisfied and put the rest away to eat later. It may take another meal or maybe four, lol, but it usually gets eaten. And if not by me, then by someone else in the fam, so that helps.

Further to this, RE: excess skin… In my own experience, and sample of ONE, the “notice-ability” of excess skin for me peaked just before I got to “normal” BMI range. I did continue to lose weight after that and then the look of it went from “rolls” to just crepey-looking skin, which in my opinion looks much better on me. Though i credit this to exercise (and further weight loss of course) as the underlying flesh/muscle was more firm. p.s. Full disclosure, i did end up getting plastics so my crepey skin is gone now (well, at least on my stomach and arms, lol. My inner thighs and a$$ are still pretty wrinkly-ish!)

*raises hand* I cancelled. Twice. I was approved in March 2017, and backed out TWICE out of fear and/or laziness until I finally just said eff it, I'm doing it, and had it done in Oct 2018. I was 46. Looking back i wish I just got it done the first time as I would have had had over a full extra year of being "normal" sized. In fact, I wish I had it done when I qualified for it back around 2012, when I reached the morbid obesity range. Better late than never, I say. Yes, I did lose quite a bit of hair, but its all back now (plus some!) at 3 years out. Would I go through those few months of thin hair again to look as fab as I do now? H*lls, YEAH. Temporary thinning hair was an infinitesimally small, tiny, minuscule, insignificant price to pay. Yes, I was scared. I remember starting to tear up when they put the anaesthesia mask on me. I also remember thinking to myself, "YESSSSS! I'm alive!!!" when I woke up in the recovery room. The way I see it, I just wasn't ready until I was ready. And when I finally was, it was all downhill from there. So no, I do not regret it one iota. You will find a few folks on here who DO regret it, but really, their experiences (nor mine, for that matter) will not give you any indication of how YOU will fare. You won't know until you know. Good Luck! ❤️

Regrets? Only one: Like many, I wish i did it like sooner. Like when I first got into the 40 BMI range to qualify for WLS (in my case that would have been maybe 5-6 years before I actually got it done). There are absolutely ZERO issues/side effects/annoyances that in any way outweigh the benefits of WLS (for me at least) Water? Your experience may be different, but I was suddenly able to chug water around the 2-3 week mark. Found this out by accident when I was super thirsty from a walk and forgot to sip. I am almost 3 years post op now, and i think I can eat almost anything (and probably have), just in much, much, much smaller amounts. I average probably 1800-1900 cals a day these days. I have been maintaining my weight for 2 years now (with regular exercise) and life is good. Whatever you decide, I hope that you are content are are in terms with the decision. You may never be completely free of your ALL reservations, but so long as you can manage them, you'll do great. Good Luck! ❤️

You will find a whole slew of caloric recommendations across the board, from you team, from the people in this forum, to the person on some Instagram account doling advice. There IS NOT a one size fits all program that will work for EVERYONE. Find out what works for you. If you cant reach the calories as prescribed, just do the best you can. If you are going over, do the best you can. Try to get your protein and water in. Unless you labs come back indicating so (which i assume you would be getting regularly), you don't need to worry about undernourishment in the few months between labs. I mean, most of us have got ALOT of fat storage to rely on in the first couple months. Exercise is good, but not necessary for weight loss. But of course I would highly recommend exercise for physical and mental health and well-being benefits. P.S. I know there is a few different camps of opinions on this, but I am NOT on team "up your calories to lose more weight". But I know there are many BP members on here that swear by this method, so there you go. I did not purposefully up my calories save for the natural progression of upping calories as time goes on. I did not stall once and I lost more than all my excess weight in 6 months.. P.P.S. I also know that there are different views on this: I also think that losing 30 lbs off of 241lbs in 6 weeks in NOT in any way "slow". But that's just my opinion, which doesn't matter. All that matters is YOURS. Good Luck!❤️

I started drinking carbonated water (with lemon or lime) around 1 month post op. Haven’t stopped since. Am almost 3 years out now and these days I probably drink about 4-5 litres a week. On very, very rare occasions, i may have some Coke Zero if im somewhere that has no better option. Drinking it didn’t seem to any real effect on my weight loss. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I went to a party at a restaurant at 3 weeks post op. I ordered a butternut squash soup and a glass of ice water. I remember not eating the soup cuz I didn’t really want it in the first place, and i mixed in some protein powder i brought with me into my water. Nursed that protein drink the entire evening. Oh, someone also poured me a glass of red wine, which i took 1-2 sips of. That wine stayed on the table untouched after that. No one at the party knew about the surgery (except my spouse). And yes, everyone at our table kept asking if i was sure I didn’t want to order something else, or if i wanted to try thier food, or comment about how little i ate, etc. I told them i had an upset stomach and changed the subject. it was a fun night regardless (we were with friends after all), and not eating while they were eating was a non-issue.

Im gonna say it: my Mr. is the master of dough! He makes AWESOME homemade pizzas, breads, pastas and yes, i am loathe to admit, his pie crusts are SOMETIMES better than mine. This afternoon he whipped up a couple loaves of his oft-requested, and always-devoured, Japanese Milk Bread. Sided with some charcuterie stuff, and wine, it was a lovey afternoon snack with the fam. I had 40g of bread with a bit of truffle butter i made from shaking a jar of cream yesterday (got my inner pilgrim on! 😂), and a glass of wine. 140 cals for the bread and butter. 170 cals for the wine.

In that case….here is today’s breakfast/lunch/first meal of day: Another Salad! I clearly misjudged the size of bowl needed to hold it. Romaine, broccollini, carrots, graviera cheese, prosciutto, beef jerky, pineapple, anchovies, leftover cottage cheese & pumpkins seeds : 381 calories. i have zero intention of eating all of it (its bigger than it looks!)…we’ll see how far we get.

First: Yes, we are all different. Second: looking solely (and comparing to others) at TOTAL weight loss at a certain point in time (i.e, at the 8th month mark), does not give the REAL picture of weight loss rate. It doesn't take into account a persons current weight, height, how close they are to goal, etc. Your 2lb weight loss in month eight could actually be statistically "better" than your 15lb weight loss in month 1, depending on what your current weight is, and how close you are to goal or baseline. *** I'm about to get into MATH MODE, so for those whose eyes glaze over at numbers and formulas, the gist is the following, and you can skip the rest, lol: To attain a more telling view of your rate of weight loss, look at weight loss as a percentage of excess weight lost during period x, instead of total weight lost. *** Now for those of you who stuck around to read my schpiel, here goes: Assumption: BMI 25 used as the baseline for goal and calculation of excess weight. I understand that using BMI as baseline is inherently flawed, as it doesn't take into account an individual's biological makeup like muscle mass, bone density, etc, etc., but its the best we can do at an elementary level. I mean, really, not all of us have calipers or full body scanners in our basements, lol. To calculate rate of excess weight lost (rLoss) for a specified period: total_weight_lost_during_time_period / excess_weight_at_start_of_time_period notated as.... rLoss = ( x0 - x1 ) / ( x0 - G ) Where: G = weight at BMI 25 for one's height. x0 = weight at start of monitoring period x1 = weight at end of monitoring period Using my own numbers as an example, at 5'2", my BMI 25 weight is 135. Month 1 (m1): 223 : weight at beginning of m1, 201 : weight at end of m1 25% : excess weight loss rate, calculated as: rLoss = ( 223 - 201 ) / ( 223 - 135 ) Month 6 (m6): 138 : weight at beginning of m6, 129 : weight at end of m6 300% : excess weight loss rate, calculated as: rLoss = ( 138 - 129 ) / ( 138 - 135 ) So really, in m6, although i lost less than 1/2 the total weight I lost in m1, i actually did much, much better (statistically) as I was much smaller in m6. Now fast forward to Month 8, the month you are specifically asking about. I was below BMI 25 by this point so this formula would not apply since my excess weight was zero (I was 119). Despite this, by the end of the 8th month, I lost 2 lbs. So yeah, the weight loss seems to have slowed down quite a bit if you only look at TOTAL weight lost (2 lbs vs the 22 in m1), but when you look at the lbs loss as compared to my actual body weight at the time, it was statistically a waaaaaaaay better rate. Ta-da! MATH, y'all. P.S. I was 116 this morning. P.P.S. Sorry this was so long.

oopsies double post

@Jerald180 : truth is you won’t know how you will fare after either surgery until you have the surgery. you can read about all the possibilities or probabilities of outcomes, but u will never know if you will be part of the percentages that don't fall in the posted statistical range. I had the sleeve, prior to surgery I understood that dumping was on the rare side for sleevers. Surprise! I dump. It may be rare, but I got it anyway (though the effects have lessened over the years) re: vitamins: like @Arabesque, i stopped taking my vitamins long ago (i think around the 1 year mark). All my labs have been satisfactory since (i’ve had about 5 since stopping). Im relatively fit and have tonnes of energy. In my insignificant opinion, you will be served well by either, so long as you work your plan. So go with what YOU are comfortable doing with a surgeon who supports it. P.S. My surgeon let me choose (between sleeve and RNY). I didn't have GERD, and he said he was comfortable doing either and that it was my body and i had to live with it, so i should decide what gets done to it.

+1 on the strategy of Delayed Gratification. I used this approach throughout weight loss phase, and even now at almost 3 years out. People often ask how I can stand to be around so much food goodness and not eat any of it (or much of it), and its really because I don’t really say “no”… I just say “not now”. Works for other things in life besides food; shopping for clothes, quitting smoking, delaying the urge to confront someone when they do something annoying, getting a tattoo. When an impulse or want comes, sit for a bit or do something else for a predetermined amount of time. If you still really want to do it after the time elapsed, go ahead. If unsure, wait another bit of time. If the burning desire is gone, congrats, you just managed an impulse! On the flip side, delayed gratification *may* have some unintended effects: i am also a huge procrastinator 😂

I looooove fried cauliflower (air AND deep)!!! Its my go-to restaurant order when the rest of the menu is “meh”. But wait…are you telling me couscous is a pasta?!?! OMG, i’ve been living in the dark my entire life…..

Count me as one of the unluckies with terrible scars. Im a little over 1.5 years post PS and some (most) sections are still pretty dark. but i historically scar badly so it was not unexpected. Besides my arm lift scars, they are all happily hidden enough even when I’m wearing a bikini. The arm list scars ARE pretty bad though. I figure in another couple years they will turn white. Still super glad i had them done regardless.

Sorry, I realize im totally hogging this thread, but im bored and have nothing better to do! A salad lunch: romaine & vinaigrette, smoked cheddar, aged gouda, carrots, pumpkin seeds, anchovies (don’t judge me!), and seasoned cuttlefish (leftovers from the Kid’s lunch at a Korean restaurant): a measly 144 calories total for the bowl. Am about to sit down in front of the tv to eat it, and plan on eating it all!

Last night’s dinner: Frittata (quiche’s skinnier cousin, lol) Eggs, some cream, fresh mozz, basil leaves, pesto and bacon. It’s about 6” in diameter and would come up to about 350 cals for the whole thing. I ate maybe a 1/3 of it. P.S. That big-toe looking thumb belongs to Mr. 😂😂😂

I feel like ive basically been eating small little snack sized foods all day for the past few days vs. meal-sized foods. I think I actually prefer it this way as i get to taste a variety of stuff vs. committing to eating alot of one thing….do u know what I mean? Anyhoo, the bite-of-the-hour: a smallish futo maki: est 57 calories. *** i’d also like to point out this is the first time in almost 3 years (I think), that I’ve eaten a maki (or sushi for that matter) that was rice based! Didn’t do much for me…im totally fine just sticking to sashimi.

There are actually quite a few studies focused on the relationship of stress & anxiety and weight loss/gain. At a very elementary level, feelings of stress correspond with heightened levels of cortisol which in turn has a positive relationship with insulin levels and negative relationship with blood sugar levels…which may cause you to crave sugary, fatty foods. Further, stress can affect sleep patterns, which has shown to also affect weight loss/gain. In short: RELAX. Its good for your mind and body. Congratulations on the weight loss and the achievement of relative peace! ❤️ Keep it up and you’ll do wonderfully!

Eventually it will become your new normal. Im almost 3 years out and i still eat a fraction of what my never-obese meal companions eat.