Sheribear68

Yes. Rant away. Grieve by all means! What we’ve done isn’t easy. We don’t get to take a day off. We will have diminished capacity for the rest of our lives whether or not it’s a holiday, birthday, anniversary, vacation, or other special event. That being said, your cap will increase. You can get a fairly good variety in even with a 1 cup capacity, but you have to be careful. I’m a firm believer in the fact that the first bite of anything is always the best. EXAMPLE: July 4th I attended a wedding with a BBQ buffet: I put brisket (minus any sauce), smoked chicken, Mac and cheese, coleslaw, and some corn casserole on my plate. I literally rotated around the plate and each bite was a different thing. Because our table was pretty talkative, it took about 20-30 minutes for everyone to eat (by that time many of our group had gotten up to get seconds) and I’m pretty sure I made it around my plate 3 times. I know it sounds weird, but I was very happy with all the different bites I was able to have of the different food that I didn’t normally allow myself. It was all delicious and I made sure that I drank my glass of wine BEFORE getting my meal. Oh yeah and an hour later, I had bites off of 2 slices of different cakes. Nobody cared that I left 3/4 piece of wedding cake on my plate. Why not go out and have a happy hour before your bday dinner so you can have your wine, sit for a bit, then have some dinner? See if theres a way to order a sampler, or just order a couple of apps and make sure your husband orders something interesting and different so you can steal bites? My hubs loves me stealing bites from him because he knows it makes me happy to have the variety AND he gets to have bites off of my plate because I can’t finish mine. Life is short, celebrate!

Okay so I’m actually a pretty fast eater. I don’t get lunch breaks at work. It’s always an “eat on the fly” kind of environment. That being said, I also hate to graze, so it can get tricky. I’ve actually done things like eat a single hard boiled egg in 2 minutes. Not saying that I recommend it.... just saying I’ve done it. Multiple times. My fave food for days when I know we’re gonna be slammed the whole day is one of those P3 packs. I get the one with turkey, ham, and cheese and can finish it within 10 minutes. Again, not ideal, but better than skipping a meal (or drinking a slider-ish protein shake). I’m almost 6 months out and can only hold up to 1 cup food at a time.

My advice would be to steer clear of anything like this until you’re out of your honeymoon phase. Right now your body just got the best reboot known to us at this time so my thoughts are why risk screwing it back up again with fat burners? Not saying that it would mess you up, but who knows exactly what the risk could be?

Always keep track of measurements during stalls. It will keep you from losing your mind

So today I made my “protein ramen” with my protein soup mix, shredded chicken, and tofu noodles. Dumped in a scoop of bone broth and the whole thing was about 38gm protein. That’s how I broke my fast at noon, so I’m going to have a second meal of leftover tuna steak (2oz) and 1/2 cup cottage cheese. Yay me, another protein bomb. After Pilates tonite, I’ll pour out a glass of plain milk and that will finish me out. lol, too lazy to log it all right now, but I know it’s >60gm protein and

In! 1. Okay so this sounds weird, but I’m setting a personal goal for August to avoid alcohol entirely. Wine had been creeping back unto my diet and then there was a tequila tasting and....well no wonder I had a bit of a stall lately. I want to average losing 2 pounds/week this month and that’s the ONLY way to achieve it. 2. VGS on 2/6/19. Still losing and approx 20-30 pounds from goal weight. 3. Weight this morning was 174.0 and I’m 5’7”. This puts me at a BMI of 27.2. 4. Fun fact: back in 1991 I was eating lunch with a friend at a diner in Shawnee, OK. We were being pretty loud and laughing and dishing about different guys,etc (I was 23yo) and my friend whispered to me that there was some “really cute guy” in the booth right behind me eavesdropping on our convo and laughing. Me being me, I started throwing packets of sweet and low over my shoulder seeing if I could hit him. Apparently I got him a couple of times and told him I was “just sending some fake sugar” his way. After he left, the waitress came over and asked me how in the world was I brave enough to flirt that outrageously with Brad Pitt. My response was “who?” Honestly I’d been in pharmacy school for the last 5 years and had no clue who he was. Just thought it was some random guy.

Okay so first, I don’t think you’re overdoing it. At. All. Second, people who love us can love us in some really dysfunctional and weird ways. No idea why you’re getting this criticism now, but promise us you will do your best to shrug it off and keep doing you. By the way, congrats on being able to exercise this much now! You fought long and hard for that and you’ve EARNED that right. Don’t let anyone (no matter how well-intentioned) steal your thunder. Earlier this month I broke a couple of toes. Then because of walking duck-footed, threw my lower back out. I’m just now after 3 looooooooooong weeks getting back into some kind of workouts and I missed it so freaking bad when it genuinely wasn’t a good idea to go to the Pilates studio and try to do a cardio jump class with broken toes. Today I’ve been in an amazing mood because my body feels better and I’ve got back-to-back classes booked! That’s TWO....... count ‘em, TWO hours of exercise planned for tonite and I’m not one bit sorry about it. Lol, earlier today a friend of mine who lives out of town asked me how I was doing. I sent her a selfie and her response was “you’re too skinny, I’m mailing you some brownies”. The funny part is she actually might be serious. 🤔

Okay so it says my goal weight of 145 (I’m 5’7”) is too aggressive. 🤣🤣 I guess there are benefits to being a more “mature” lady.  Edited because I fat-fingered and it posted too soon: I’m right on the cusp of the upper ranges so I definitely think I can stand to lose at least another 20 pounds.  Lordy knows I’ve still got bulges that need to go away.    

Love the outfit and omg those shoes! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Lol. Okay okay. Honestly I’ve always worn baggy clothes to “hide” fatness (yeah, not possible, but that was my logic). Then WLS and things really got loose. It feels really really weird to wear clothes that aren’t bagging off of my body and I guess I’m going to have to get used to it when things fit “more snugly” than I’m used to. I’m going to have to get over the feeling of “if my waistband digs into my waist when I sit down” and associate that feeling with wearing clothes In my actual size rather than associate that feeling with “omg, I gained 5 pounds this month!” The former will be a good feeling, the latter is something I’ve felt shamed by most of my adult life. I think for that reason it’s been tough for me to buy things that fit me, fit me. Ya know?

So today guys I finally hit go weight #1. For over 20 years I convinced myself that I’d be so happy if I could only see 175 again. Then once I started on this project last year (can’t believe it’s now been over a year since I went in for my first consult) I realized that not only was 175 possible, but that 155 was also possible. I’ll be honest and admit that I was starting to lose hope that I was going to hit first goal weight by 6 months post-surgery (August 6) but I’m sooooooooo freaking excited that I actually hit a goal in the timeline I’d set for it. This seriously marks just the second time since surgery where I’ve hit a mini-goal in time and it feels great. Omg. Less than 20 pounds to go til goal weight #2! Can I do it by my 51st birthday? October 16 will be the date to “beat”.

Okay, so I decided to rummage through some clothes upstairs. pardon the mess, but I’ve got a whole room full of clothes that are in stages: too large, but it’s not the right season to try to sell to consignment store, clothes that the store wouldn’t take and are being processed out for giving to friends, family or goodwill store, clothes that I’ve had for ages in storage that are about to fit me. Then I came across this pair of jeans I ordered off of eBay last month and when I got them they were a half size too tight. Well I tried them on again and they (mostly) fit. They’re really tight across the hips (one of my problem areas) but by this time next month they should be fairly comfy. I wouldn’t say that they’re an outfit that makes me feel good today, but maybe by September 1st, I’ll be able to sit down in them and also be able to breathe. 🤣🤣🤣

Well I have the annoying feeling many times of feeling hungry— as in “omg, I’m gonna die if I don’t eat something soon” hungry— only to eat 3-4 bites (slowly and with intent) and feel as if I just had thanksgiving dinner. Rinse,wash,and repeat 3-4 times more in the day. Then other days I forget to eat until 2-3 pm with zero hunger urges, but find I can eat over a cup of food and feeling like I could hold more if I tried (always too scared to try though). I’m pretty sure that if you compared the amount of food I’m taking in between those 2 types of days, the cumulative amount is probably the same. I have no idea why my body/head sends different signals like that.

Thanks for the encouraging words everyone. Honestly I’ve been wearing the same clothes for the last couple of months and almost everything I have is really baggy and not at all what I would consider stylish or cute. I’m so conservative by nature that I can’t bring myself to buy more than the bare necessities atm while I’m transitioning. So what I have are Pilates outfits, work clothes (all about a size too large now) and that’s really it. I figure I can make what I’m wearing stretch until fall clothes season starts— really only 6-8 weeks ahead and In the meantime, I’ll stay frumpy in my oversized stuff. Besides..... I’ll hopefully be a size smaller by then 😁

This is going to sound overly simplistic, but find something you like to do and do it. I’ve discovered a love for Pilates (had never done a single class until March) and because I love it, I do it several times weekly. Look for different kinds of fitness classes (or maybe even something sporty) and try it out and see if it “sticks” for you. For example, I hate hate hate walking/running outside, but on the treadmill it’s kind of okay. I don’t love it like I love Pilates, but I love how I feel after putting in 2-3 miles. In fact, right before I broke my toes, I was about to start interval running.... I’d had a goal of weighing under 180 set before I was going to take off and run because I was being conservative and didn’t want to run until I was within 25 pounds of goal weight. So the hope is that sometime mid-August I can give it a shot. Fingers crossed.

Posting to bookmark this thread so that when I eventually have a small bod I can post a pic in some nice outfit. Lol, not even gonna okay right now as I’m still 30-40 pounds from goal and would look like a hippopotamus in this thread ATM. 🤣🤣🤣

Okay so I had heard numbers somewhat similar to this. I’ve suffered GERD from my earliest memories. I had GERD in grade school and had to sleep upright all during pregnancy. In fact, if I wasn’t careful, I’d bend over to tie my shoes and almost gag on the acid coming up (not pregnant, just on a normal day) Sleeping on 2 pillows was always a must for me because of the GERD. I’ve been on PPIs for years and years and years. If I’d bought stock in Pepcid complete, I’d be rich by now just on what I’ve spent through the years. My father also suffers GERD and actually has Barrett’s. Imagine my surprise when I was scoped and zero, nada, zilch Barrett’s (or any other kind of complication) from over 40 years GERD. Heck, I was halfway resigned to the fact that I was going to be forced to have RNY despite my wish for VGS. My surgeon told me about these same numbers and I went with sleeve because there was a 2 out of 3 chance it would get better, and the other chance I’d have to have a revision down the line. So far..... fingers crossed...... it has improved somewhat. There are times when it bothers me—usually when I’ve overeaten, or eaten AND drank red wine. Lol, I’ve only done that twice and neither time was it a good idea. Also, if I skip my PPI for more than 2 days I can feel it starting to bother me, but now that I’ve lost over 75 pounds, it’s soooooo much more manageable. I would definitely say that while VGS definitely did NOT cure my GERD, It definitely did not get worse and is better than it was. Not sure if that’s because of better diet, or losing a crap ton of weight, or the surgery. 🤷‍♀️

Had a great NSV today. My spa has normal/plus size robes for us ladies. Today the tech led me over to the lockers with the normal size robes. Could hardly believe it!

This passage really speaks to me. I have one and only 1 good friend who isn’t at least obese and most of mine are in the “severe to morbidly obese” category. For that reason, I really didn’t tell any of them about this until literally 2 weeks before surgery (the day I got my confirmation of date) The only people I told ahead of time were my coworkers because I had to change out so many shifts due to all the the pre-op appointments and procedures (it took me almost 8 months from start to surgery day due to all the complications and additional testing that had to be done). Quite simply, I just didn’t want to deal with these kinds of issues from telling my obese friends because this was my decision for my health and—to me— it was independent of my friendship with them. Now I did let a lot of them know my surgery date so they wouldn’t get their feelings hurt that I’d done something so “risky” without letting them know to pray for/think of me that day. I had mixed responses from “you aren’t unhealthy or even all that fat” to “what can I do for you right after surgery?” Not gonna lie.... I don’t hang out with many of them as much as before because I don’t go out and eat really anymore. Also I think some of them don’t understand fully how I truly have lost most interest in food. How could they? They’ve not had their digestive tracts modified so they can’t know. I think that eventually things will get more to a normal point, but I’m still not even 6 months post sleeve. Anyway, I also had an extremely difficult time setting a goal and I’m not sure if the modified one I have is realistic or not. Prior to starting this process I was willing to settle for being 175/size 14. I’m 5’7”, 50 years old and have a fairly average frame (big-ish legs and thighs, but it is what it is) For some reason, I always thought 175 was “the best I could ever hope for” After I started into the 8 month process and did more research and talked to more people in support groups (I became a support group junkie) I realized that I was going to more than likely lose under 175 based off of the math for EBW loss and my weight then. Right before surgery I changed my goal weight to 155, which is at the very upper range of “normal” BMI. I basically chose that number because it put me right at the border of normal/overweight. Now as I’ve progressed through these almost 6 months, I’m thinking I might want to shoot for 145. I was 135-ish all through high school and college (with one glorious semester when I ran a lot and got down to 125) As of this morning, I’m at 177.6, so I absolutely know I’m going to blow way past goal #1. In retrospect, I had gotten so used to being so fat for so long that it seemed ludicrous to initially choose a goal in a “normal” BMI, but you know what???? I’ve decided I’m worth taking the chance and going for the 145.

Also it might be an error in coding. A couple of years ago, coding changed from icd9 to icd10. I had a mammogram that the place was trying to bill me $7,500 for last year and I steadfastly refused to accept that was normal when it had been just a couple hundred the year before. Turns out they were billing the wrong codes

So glad to see the loss is starting again. Gaby we are both February sleevers and I’ve just now hit 67 pounds lost since surgery date, 75 pounds lost since I started the 10 day pre-surgery prep. I lost a whopping 6.2 pounds in June, but over 12 inches. Remember to measure, measure, measure because our bodies do weird things when the scale isn’t moving as fast as we’re worked the program. After my “impressive” 6 pound June loss, I struggled mightily for the first 3 weeks in July where I’d managed to lose all of 2.4 pounds. I was sooooo close to hitting the 180’s and I’d bounce between 181-183 for 2 weeks and thought I was gonna pull my hair out. Then I remembered that I was desperately trying not to lose any more hair so that wasn’t an option. I just had a really decadent weekend a week ago in NOLA —complete with beignets and giant frozen pina coladas, a hurricane, and a slice of pizza, and don’t even get me started about my 3 old-fashions at the spotted cat last Saturday night! Came back from that trip on Monday, weighed myself yesterday and again today and I’m DOWN almost 4 pounds. 🤷‍♀️ Oh and I’m still constipated as hell even though I’ve drank a serving of miralax every day since Tuesday, lol Can’t wait to see how finally being able to have a bm or two might help out, ya know? Anyways...... I have no idea why our bodies are so dang fickle and want to be stubborn and not make sense but it seems like just when I start to lose all hope and I’ve convinced myself that I’ll be the most spectacular fail of all when it comes to WLS, I randomly start losing again. Editing to add:  this mornings weigh-in had me at 177.6!  Haven’t been in the 170’s since 1996.  

Okay. Just had another NSV. I’m at my local spa waiting for a massage to try to work these kinks of my lower back. I go to this spa about 3-4 times per year. Anyway, they have 2 sets of ladies robes: normal and plus size and they are on different sides of the locker area. I learned this once to my dismay a couple of years ago when I showed up for a treatment and they were running low on plus size robes. Until then I’d had no idea they had always led me to one side for a specific reason. Needless to say, it was humiliating to be told (kindly) that they were waiting for a robe my size. This time around after I checked in, they took me to the side with the “normal” size robes. Progress

Awesome story! Today I got back on the scale again for the first time after my mini-vacay and I’m finally finally finally in the 170’s. 179.0 to be exact, which is simply amazing considering the setbacks I’ve had this month with the broken toes and thrown-out lower back. I had to shelve working out for over 2 weeks and was getting pretty antsy about it. So this means that for the month of July, I’ve lost almost 4 pounds, but I consider that a victory all things considered (especially with my trip to NOLA where I drank and ate considerably worse than I’ve done in the last 5 months cumulative). Anyway, I’ve been back on track with a vengeance since Monday and I’ve got a massage scheduled tomorrow to see if I can get the kinks and pain from my lower back/hips worked out so I can get more active soon. Part of me is a bit disappointed that I’ve lost over 75 pounds this year and worked hard on strengthening my core and I STILL threw my lower back out again—it usually happens 2-3 times yearly and I was desperately hoping that would improve, but no.... broken toe causing me to change my gait for a few days and predictably the lower back went out yet again. 😭😭😭 On a positive note, at least there’s 75 pounds less of me to haul around when the back does go out. 🤣🤣🤣

Good morning gang! I haven’t weighed myself in over a week now and I think I might try to tomorrow. With many of our group seemingly in another stall and my recent weekend vacay, I’ve been hesitant to jump on and see where I am. The problem is that I’ve been stuck between 185-180 for over 3 weeks and want so desperately to make it into the 170’s by August. Vacay went well, but I pretty much ate/drank what I wanted. Honestly I bet I drank way more calories than I ate (hello frozen daquiri drinks!). Yeah the portions were very small, but I just went with the flow. Was able to get right back on track on the drive back Monday and by Tuesday afternoon it was almost as if I had never eaten off track. No carb cravings and my sleeve felt as small as ever. Anna if I had ever had your stomach at any point in my life I’d be wearing crop tops every day! 😂😂 I was also reading about how so many of us have dysmorphia issues and I can so totally relate. Here is a pic of me and hubs in NOLA and I feel so fat when I look at it. Even after losing 70 pounds I’m shocked at how big I look in pictures vs how I think I really look. Funny part is when I post the pics, everyone tells me how great I look while the entire time I’m cringing because I think I look soooooo much larger in the pics than I do in the mirror at home so now I’m seriously doubting my ability to objectively judge my own size. Ugh, so frustrating and not at all what I’d expected. Overall though, I’m going to remind myself that I’m still almost 50 pounds heavier than I was in high school/college so I still have 3-4 clothes sizes to lose. Maybe eventually I won’t feel like I’m taking up tons of space and will actually know what it’s like to be attractive (heck I’d settle for not feeling hideous) again. So because I like to end on a positive rather than a negative note, I will also post that I flew solo Friday and had to sit in the dreaded middle seat and for the first time in over 22 years I didn’t spill out into the seats on other side and I was actually able to not have the arms rests digging into my hips! Major victory! Pic posted with hubs and I’m horrified that anyone that loves me let me leave the condo with shorts on. Goodness but I hate having such a pear shape with thunder thighs and heavy legs. Look! You can actually see that my hips aren’t in serious dislocation from the armrest and that there’s quite a bit extra on the seat belt!

Okay so I’m on a weekend vacation to NOLA. Not tracking, just eating til restriction hits and I’ll go back to tracking next week. Here is a before and after pic from breakfast. Dang restriction is an effective tool!