ms.sss

In 3 months, I’ll be three years post op. Just last Friday all I ate/drank for the entire day was 2 martinis and a a couple spoonfuls of guacamole. I forced myself to eat the guac cuz I felt i needed SOMETHING in my stomach…but I definitely did not want nor enjoy it. But then I went to a couple bbqs the next two days, so it all evened out in the end, lol. So yeah, no-eat days are still a reality almost 3 YEARS out (well, for me at least)

Hi! I had a TT, arm lift and breast lift at 14 months post-sleeve-surgery. I had it booked/set at 7-8 months post op, and this was the earliest my chosen surgeon could get me in. Had he been less busy, I would have gladly done it sooner. I paid around 15K I think in total (But this was in Canadian dollars). Insurance paid for a few thousand as well. In the link below, the last pic on second row was me 1 month before plastics. The 3 pics on the last row are varying times after plastics:

Oh! And i baked a cherry pie this afternoon. Totally forgot to take a pic of it baked before fam and friends ate the entire thing, oopsies. I had a forkful to taste as i was still pretty full from my prosciutto-cheese-cherry snack. It was delicious…I guess its a good thing its all gone lol. Estimated cals from the bite: 50 calories (yes, i will log bites of food, don’t judge me! lol)

Today’s “breakfast” (at 1pm) and afternoon snack: Breakfast sandwich mini sliders: french omelette, fried prosciutto, Gouda and avocado in a mini potato roll. I had one of the sliders (bread and all! One slider is about the size of a golf ball) 118 calories. Prosciutto, gouda and cherries: 378 calories, ate it all

Count me in on team “Why Not?!?” You look fab-u-lous…hopefully you will be able to see this for yourself and own your fabulousness soon!!! Lookn’ good, lady!

You know, now that I think of it, my feet also have been lovely since losing the weight!

First, gotta ask: what does “fish toshing” mean? I quickly googled it and couldn’t find a suitable answer… Second: re: getting back to basics…agree with most up there about figuring out how many cals you are taking in (log, if you aren’t already) and cut a couple hundred cals from that. Skipping the wine will likely achieve this, but if you are not keen on doing that, cut the cals from somewhere else. I will say you still look fab to me, even with the extra 25lbs….but I get how YOU want to think that about yourself…so if you want to drop a few lbs, cutting your cals is the obvious first step. (and drink lots of water, get a good night’s sleep and save the wine or desserts for special occasions or maybe just Tuesdays, lol) Other “tricks” of the trade if you like “rules”: dont eat past 7 (and/or before noon)…naturally reduces daily intake. Wait at 30 mins as soon as you get the urge to eat/snack something…you may change your mind. If you still want it after 30 mins, then by all means, go for it. May not be your cup of tea, but you can try. I’ll also echo what catwoman mentioned about slower weight loss being at “normal” BMI. It may get discouraging, but so long as you are at a calorie deficit (barring any medical or genetic issues) you will lose weight. Good luck! ❤️

115 is doable of you really want to get there (i’m 5’2” and got there a couple months into maintenance). You may not want even want too when you get closer…who knows. For ease on the mind, it may be beneficial to set incremental goals so you can still celebrate progress without getting down on yourself? Or even non-weight goals, like fitting into a pair of pants, or running a specific distance, or getting off a certain med, etc. Also, keep in mind that your excess skin is also adding to the number on the scale. Your have a relatively high starting weight (and low-ish height) and you will likely have a fair bit of extra skin to account for. But dude, congrats on losing 135 lbs, that’s amazing!

1) Hair loss: my hair stated growing back around 6-7 months (which was co-incidentally at around the end of my weight loss phase...not sure if this was related). I'm 2.5+ years out now, and its all back and the pretty much the same length as all my regular-shoulder length hair. I also like to think it's actually thicker, fuller than pre-op, but that may just be wishful thinking. I did not take/do anything out of the ordinary to address it (other than chop it all off to a pixie cut around 3 months post-op 2) Vitamin Continuation: I stopped taking my vitamins around the 1 year mark. I've had 3 labs done since then and they have all come back satisfactorily (p.s. I'm was sleeved) 3) Vitamin Regimen: When I was taking them, I was doing: Wake up: Pre-natal multi + calcium + Vit D Mid afternoon: calcium + Vit D Late evening: calcium + Vit D I was on B12 just for the 1st month post op, but was taken off it because apparently I overproduce it already. 4) Meal Spacing of same size: In the first year, I didn't really have regular "meals" I just ate snack-sized "meals" a few times a day...probably 3-4 hours in between at minimum...and not really at any set time. Now I can eat alot more at one sitting (maybe 1 to 1.5 cups in volume in one sitting) and depending on what it is, this will keep me satisfied for 3-4 hours again....depending on what it is. Dense protein keeps me fuller longer vs salads. Good Luck! ❤️ p.s. im female, 49yrs, 5’2”, 115lbs

It is annoying but, It does end eventually. Once everyone is used to your new normal it's just no big deal anymore. During weight loss phase and the months immediately afterwards, I got into the routine of saying thanks, or "that's a good point, I'll have to think about it" and then quickly pivoting the conversation about them. People generally love to talk about themselves...give them a nudge and they will quickly lose interest in your affairs.

I had arm lift, breast lift and tummy tuck. I could go to the bathroom no prob from day 1. Re: arm lift specifically: anything that required me to lift my arms UP was a bit of an issue in the days immediately afterwards (i.e., reaching up in the kitchen cupboards, taking a t-shirt on/off, washing my hair, etc...)

Just to be a downer on this yucky, cold, rainy day, I’ve got a weird non-scale FAIL: We thought we would go and do some do-gooding yesterday and donate some blood, but was informed that I do not meet the minimum weight requirement for my height to donate…and was unceremoniously turned away ☹️ I didn’t know that was even a thing.

Well, aren’t you beautiful 😍

Snack time! 295 calories…ate it all. Smoked Gouda, Prosciutto and cherries!

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

“Fat” has never bothered me, but i do notice that ALOT of people are uncomfortable with the word in one way or another. I have a friend who will whisper the word “fat”. And child of another friend of mine believes it s a a bad word akin to F*ck 🤷🏻‍♀️ Soooooo…I try to use “big” or “bigger” on here and in non-close-family circles.

I had problems drinking lots in the beginning, but sometime around the 2-3 week post -op point I was suddenly able to chug water again, thank goodness..i love me some water. This ability had no impact on my weight loss as far as i can tell (lost all i wanted to by 7 months post-op, and then a little bit more in the months afterwards). Solids, however did not go down as quickly…still doesn’t really, to this day at 2.5+ years. Once you get to solids you will likely feel it.

I may be in the minority here, but I pulled out my “before” picture pretty often for a period a while ago. Sometimes it was vanity thing, sometimes it was a motivational thing, but alot of times is done as a passive-agressive Eff You to catty-cats like your nurse acquaintance. Pre-covid the biggest offenders where the gamut of beauty service technicians. It really IS funny (or sad?) how no one seemed to talk about weight in front of me when I was obese (except maybe my mom, lol), i realized a long time ago there were alot of conversations i was not a part of, and was probably the subject of at these types of places (and likely other places as well)! Not exactly eye opening, it is/was what it is/was. In fairness of the catty-cats, they probably talked about everyone outside of their unfortunate lives. Im sure i’m being left of conversations about being old, 😂

Thanks! Will give it a try! (No Ultra’s here though, but i did find a retailer near me who does!) i’ll do some experiments and post the results lol.

Not sure if this approach will work for you, as it depends in your temperament and nature, but here goes: What helps/helped me was understanding/accepting that nothing is forever, and implementing a sort of MO of Delayed Gratification. While I didn’t really want to eat “fast foods”during weight loss phase, I did start to want desserts near the end of it. So I was all, Yeah, that cookie has 300 cals in it, so it’s probably not a good choice NOW, but maybe I can have it LATER. In maintenance, I still do this. And in maintenance I eat a much wider variety of food than before (including dessert!) If I want to eat something when Im not actually hungry, OR if I want to eat something that is ridiculously high in calories when I am, I wait 30-60 mins or so and see if i still want it, and if I still do, then i eat it! The majority of the times I end up not eating it (or just have a couple bites)…it also helps ME that I track everything I eat/drink. When faced with that 300 cal cookie, a quick peek at MFP will likely determine if i goes in my mouth or not. On another note, sometimes if I know I’m going to be eating alot of cals at some event or other, i’ll lower my cal intake either before or after…it all evens out in the end. so this is my long-winded response to say that in my opinion only, fast food/desserts/whatever is not bad or the devil or anything. Its the impulse-control/regulation that needs tending. The easier-said-than-done-trick is to take a PAUSE. Which sounds to me is exactly that the OP did in her drive-by of McD’s (the store being busy notwithstanding, lol) Consider that a win! No need to shame oneself for wanting it, nor demonize the thing you want. Faced with a dilemma, you chose wisely for your given situation . That deserves a pat on the back ❤️

Well, after the weight loss, I now have TWO butts! (Or is it four?) LOL I have my regular flat bum, and then a secondary one that formed just below it, comprised of the excess skin that droops down. When I lay on my back, this lovely skin morphs into my secondary hips. 😂😂😂😂 I’ve contemplated getting it adressed by plastics, but I’m no longer interested as it doesn’t bother me as much anymore. (thiugh this may change in the future, who knows…i’ve seen many a lovely post-plastics a$$es that make me get bum-envy sometimes!)

Loaded Salad! Romaine, mango, jalepeño, carrots, cucumber, avocado, feta, cranberries, grape tomatoes, smoked prosciutto, YUM: 448 calories for all of it. Ate about 1/4 of it while sitting on out front steps watching Mr. mow the lawn, lol. Then it started pouring rain on us (and my salad!) and the thought of rain water in my salad icked me out..so the Kid gladly took it off my hands (updated MFP to 112 cals consumed). Still want to eat something and am contemplating eating the last pecan butter tart in the fridge. I marked the 350 calories for the tart in MFP already just in case…we’ll see if i still want it in 1/2 an hour.

It’s not a competition! It’s a celebration of our individual awesomeness ❤️. I think you’d look fab in a sleek black strapless and giant dark sunglasses! You’re the cool one and can totally pull it off 😉

In all fairness, my colouring is 50% sun-provided, and 50% natural pigmentation 😂 I’m desperately trying to tan my stomach away from florescent white though…am thinking of slapping on some self tanner on that area so it can catch up to the rest of my body parts…anyone have any product recommendations???

Beautiful! Mandatory hike and bug bites TOTALLY worth it! Suitable for framing, honestly.