Sheribear68

The weight will come off. For the first few weeks, many of us fight off inflammation and swelling and our bodies are in shock and haven’t yet switched into weight loss mode. I lost 23 pounds in the first 12 days then lost 2 pounds over the next 20 days. Then after that it came off slooooooooooooooooow for about 2 months then I stalled again for another 5 weeks. Now I’m 5 months post op and I’m lucky to lose 5-6 pounds/month. In June I lost 6.2 pounds, but over 12 inches off of my body in waist,hips, lower abs, chest, arms,and thighs. Make sure to take measurements and track those as well Since my surgery on 2/6/19 I’ve lost 8.5 inches off of my waist, 13 off of my lower abs, and 11.5 off of my hips. That’s in 5 months over which I’ve lost 65 pounds. For perspective, that’s basically a whole FOOT of width that I don’t take up now. Imagine sitting down and having an extra 6 inches on each side of your hips!

Beautiful. I love the way you write!

Thank goodness you’re past surgery and on your way to recovery

I’m going to be flying solo for the first time post-surgery this coming Friday. I’m looking forward to not stressing about how much I’m going to spill out over into the next seat. That’s the thing about carrying a majority of weight in hips/thighs... cant suck those in and take up less space. Fingers crossed this time I will actually be able to see the edges of the seat on either side of my thighs.

I’m a bit more consistent, but I know what you mean. Some days, I struggle to choke down a boiled egg by noon and I know those are they days when my protein intake is going to suffer. Those days I’m hard pressed to take in 500 calories. Then I have days when I’m actually hungry (not head hunger) by 10am and I find myself eating 3-4 times in a day. My sleeve is able to hold more (without feeling overstretched) and I know I’m going to rock the protein and get in all the nutrients I need. So I know I’m not actually stretching my sleeve because I’ll go back to days where it feels like I can’t hold much of anything without pain. It’s a mystery to me and I haven’t found the root cause. If there even is one. 🤷‍♀️

Omg Fluffy! Just now got a day off so I’m hitting the boards and saw this. So glad everything seems to have gone well and it’s awesome that you’re still so upbeat, although that’s not surprising.

Quick post before Pilates class then I’ll go back later today and read back through the last couple days. Wanted to post 5 month progress pics. My cat kept trying to photobomb so I was trying my best not to laugh, but despite the weird look on my face, here is this months version

Gorgeous Anna! Okay so I’m posting a NSV. Since June 21, I’ve only lost 3.2 pounds, but I’ve lost over 7 inches from various parts on my body, with 1 of those inches leaving my lower abs and 3/4 leaving both my waist and hips. Seriously I’m not sure how it’s even possible to lose that small amount of weight and lose so many inches that I measured twice. Then I realized that I’m fully 10 pounds heavier at my current clothing size than I’ve ever been before. It’s like my body weighs more, but is smaller than it’s been for that weight and I’m thinking it’s all purely body composition.

Wow this thread is a real gem! I’ve laughed for the last 10 minutes. 🤣🤣🤣 I really don’t have much drama, unless you want to call throwing all of your loving family members out of the hospital room about 5 minutes after I got there post-op drama. You see, the surgery schedule got delayed 4 hours due to computer issues and an emergency surgery and then the bariatric floor was full and I didn’t get to my room til 6pm (my surgery had been originally scheduled for 10am that day). I was so freaking pissed when I discovered that they had held all 3 of us in the recovery room, keeping us drugged up for several extra hours and still expected us to have our 64 ounces Water drank by morning rounds at 7am. When I realized what the time on the clock in my room said, I kicked EVERYONE out and was so angry I actually got dressed by myself and started walking and drinking water ASAP Lol, I vaguely remember telling hubs and mom that “they would only be a distraction” and that because of the hospital disorganization I was behind schedule and needed to catch up! I set the timer on my phone to go off every 45 minutes and I would drink,pee, walk, walk, walk some more,drink, and lie back down. Didn’t sleep a wink the entire night and at one time one of the nurses aides had to follow me around (not difficult as I was moving slow.... but moving) to get me in one place so they could check my blood sugar. Every time my nurse came in to measure my intake and output, I would ask if I was ahead of or behind the other 2 surgery people from that day and would crack him up when I fist-pumped upon learning I was progressing the fastest. Oh and because I’m a pharmacist I had down pat the timing of all nausea meds. I was making the poor man rotate through meds every 2 hours so I could walk walk walk and drink drink drink. I managed to get released by 11am, and yes....... I was first out !

Can not agree MORE with all of this! Nobody ...... and I mean nobody can be “healthy” at a BMI of 41. At the age of 40, it’s still possible to fool yourself into thinking you’re healthy, but the harsh reality is that damage is being done to internal organs and other systems that you’re not aware of and it WILL catch up. Damage that isn’t always reversible with traditional diet and exercise. There’s something almost magical about the metabolic reset that comes with these surgeries and I’m sorry but if diet and exercise without this reset really worked long-term, then many of us would’ve never needed the surgery. Yes your relationship with food will be different now, but that’s the whole point. Without my metabolism screwing me over every day, I’m actually not hungry anymore when I eat. I’m not chronically wondering when the soonest possible time is that I can eat again because I feel as if I’m starving. The reason for that is in insulin resistance (or lack thereof) and the fact that my body is now mobilizing fat stores for energy— as it should have been doing all along, but didn’t because of insulin resistance. The first couple weeks are tough. Your body hasn’t moved beyond the initial shock of surgery and you’re tired and sluggish and cranky because it’s been a few weeks since you’ve been able to BITE and CHEW any food. By the time I went for my 2 week post-op I hadn’t chewed anything for 18 days and I was cranky as hell, even though even then I was not once remorseful. I can only imagine how awful it would’ve been had I had a negative attitude. Being able to finally eat something (1/4 cup cottage cheese) was blissful. I knew I was finally “there” when in week 4 I was able to eat a few bites of salad— the food I missed the very most during that process. It gets better, but you’ve GOT to change your relationship to food and understand that however bad you’re feeling now will only be multiplied exponentially by continuing to carry an extra 50-100 pounds around every single day of your life. I’m barely 5 months post-sleeve today and I’m “only” down 63 pounds since surgery date. I still have between 30-40 pounds yet to goal, but even if my loss stopped right here (I know it won’t) I’d be happy with my choice and would choose to do it all over again a million times out of a million.

I’m Really struggling right now with the urge to call my hairstylist and cut it short. The problem is that every time in my life—no matter what my size— I’ve ALWAYS regretted cutting my hair shorter than shoulder length. Sigh...... this thinning out needs to slow down before I make a decision I’ll regret for the next few months

Yeah trigger foods are interesting. I’ve decided that I will just flat not ever try bread or pasta because I’m not sure how I’ll ever be able to handle them. Well if you gain weight you can sit in the corner with me. After a nice week last week, I’m up 1.6 pounds since Wednesday., which means I’m down 0.8 pounds over 2 weeks. You’d think by now I wouldn’t let that mess with my emotions, but I’m completely wrecked by it. I had a GREAT weekend as far as avoiding bad foods or triggers and I don’t have cycles anymore so it’s not even like I can blame “that time of the month” So I’ll maybe measure tomorrow and see if there’s any positive to be had, but today I’m going yo struggle because with this broken toe I can’t even do something good like go for a walk because walking pretty much hurts like hell right now.

Oh yes on the thinner hair. I think that’s one reason I hated my hair yesterday. I had it up mostly to disguise the fact that there’s not as much as there used to be. I either have to put tons of product in it to give it texture and have it look half wild, or suffer with it flat on my head. Thanks for saying I look great, but honestly I’m still about the same size or a size bigger than the average plus size model. I will get there eventually. Right now I’m feeling a bit of a set back because I broke one of my toes Wednesday night coming back to bed from going to the bathroom. Cracked it right on the foot of the bed! That’s why I’m wearing flat sandals in the picture. The actual cute ones with a bit of a heel were sheer agony when I tried to slip it on. Oh well, if I have to have a broken toe, at least I weigh 70 pounds less than I did in January. 🤣🤣

Okay so the heat and humidity did a number on my thinning hair, but here is a pic with me and hubs at a wedding tonite. I’m so freaking psyched because this dress I’ve got on is a size 12!!!!

Lol.... yeah that’s technically “liquid”

All of this!!!!! Thanks for posting because some days it is so difficult to be caught up in the moment and forget to look back and see how far we’ve come. How I deal with life in general is to embrace trials and disappointments and treat them with a sense of humor. Sometimes my humor doesn’t translate well into the written word because facial expressions and intonation is missing. Lol, I’m the girl that GAINED over 20 pounds on chemo. I mean who seriously can manage to do that, ya know? Yeah, if anyone on the planet can lose slower than me, I truly feel sorry for them, but what life has taught me is to keep on persevering. I am the quintessential tortoise, but I WILL finish this journey with success. Oh and I did manage to lose 1.8 pounds this week so it looks like I’m back on a downward trend again. 2 step forward, 1 step back and I’ll take it and run with it. Today’s weight was 182.0. This day last year I weighed 257, so I’m down exactly 75 pounds from last year’s July 4th. Yay me.

Please do yourself a favor and treat yourself kindly over the next 1-2 weeks. It honestly gets SO MUCH better. I would do it all over again and again and again because the feeling I have is so absolutely worth it. It’s kinda like having a baby. If you are to ask a mother who is in active labor her thoughts on getting pregnant again, her response will be way more negative than the mother of an adorable 6 month old baby

Yes! Believe it or not, many food cravings simply disappear. Then there also be the times that you suddenly “need” some random carby food. This is when the “tool” of restriction will help immensely. This last weekend I had the most horrible meal. Was visiting family and some distant cousins (who had zero idea I had surgery) brought some margarita mix. We’d also had a big dinner planned with birthday cake and ice cream. Well I got blindsided by the margaritas and before I knew it, I had drank 16oz (yes, your brain will start to automatically add up everything you eat or drink without conscious effort) and then made bad food choices (my step mothers pasta salad is AMAZING) Ended up eating half of my husbands slice of cake and a stole a spoonful of ice cream. Afterwards I felt really full and slightly ashamed, but it was my first big slip up in 5 months and when I got on the scale this morning I’d lost 1.4 pounds since Saturday am. My normal is 1-2 pounds weekly now so I’m pretty sure my body just got right back on track.

Okay so I got on the scale this morning and I’m actually DOWN 1.4 pounds from Saturday morning. This is huge because there are seriously weeks where I only lose 1-2 pounds in 7 days so to lose my “normal” after eating what was probably at least 150-200 gm carb in a single day (I usually don’t go over 25gm daily) felt like I cheated the diet gods. Since this is the first time in almost 5 months that I’ve slipped, I’m trying my best to not beat myself up over it.

Okay so I’m almost 5 months out from sleeve I started at exactly 40% BMI (which means I couldn’t lose any weight in the months leading up to surgery because i needed my insurance to foot the bill). Here are but a few of the positives: I lost 7 pounds on the 10 day pre-surgery diet and I’ve lost another 62 pounds since surgery day on February 6th. I’m 5’7” and I’ve gone from 253 pounds to 184 since January 27th. I went from a size 22 to a comfortable size 14, and the good news is I figure I have another 30-40 pounds I’ll lose before I’m finished. I’m 50 years old and I’m in better shape than I’ve been in since I was 28 I can now work a 12 hr shift (ALL of it on my feet) and not be in agony at the end of the day. I can shop in the non-plus size section of any clothing store. I don’t chronically worry if I’m going to “fit” into any space. I no longer feel as if people are watching or judging me based off of my weight. The negatives: Eating and drinking have to be planned to an extent. Every morning I know what I’m going to have for the day because I planned it out BEFORE I woke up in the morning. There really isn’t ever anymore free-styling food. Best have a plan. I have to be somewhat careful of when I time my food/liquids or it hurts. Nothing brings you into focus faster than accidentally taking a huge swig from your water bottle right after you’ve eaten lunch. Don’t worry.... all of us have done it and while it hurts like the dickens, it won’t cause any lasting damage. I have to convince friends and family that it is “okay” to eat with me or around me. So many people in my life still apologize to me when they order somethings “sinful” at a restaurant. Yesterday a coworker brought a box of Doughnuts in and then apologizes for the next hour. Here’s the deal.... the cravings for these kinds of things almost completely disappear and you find yourself not caring in the least that there’s a box of Crispy Kremes on the back counter because you’re trying your best to figure out how you’re gonna drink another 24 ounces of water and eat a boiled egg in the next 2 hrs. Holidays and special occasions are going to be a bit different. Anyone who tells you any different probably never had family who likes food, or something else weird like that, but the reality is that it WILL be different. Honestly though, now that I’ve gone though a few things like this, I’m HAPPY that things are different. Now instead of hanging around eating and drinking and all of the self-loathing that goes along with its, I can focus more on people and the party and not be chained by the food. Yes.... if it’s a special occasion , have a bite or two of cake. Who cares if you eat a tiny bit? Thursday on the 4th I’ve got a wedding to attend and I fully plan on grabbing a slice of wedding cake and grabbing a glass of wine. I’ll more than likely eat 1-2 bites of cake and drink ALL of the wine, but it will be so much fun to dance in my size 12 dress that I can now fit into and not have to always keep an eye out for the person taking pictures so I can run and hide. This time I won’t care if someone takes a photo of me because I will be having a blast and looking great!

This weekend at my fathers lake house for a big family celebration: My second cousins and their spouses brought 2 jugs pre-made margarita mix (my dad doesn’t drink so the margaritas appearance was a surprise and completely blind-sided me and I wasn’t mentally prepared to say “no”) Before I knew it, I had drank 2, 8 ounce cups of the magnificent stuff! Which led me to a couple of bad choices at dinner (a few bites of pasta salad and 1/3 baked potato, oh my!) Needless to say, here it is Tuesday night and I’m STILL afraid to get on the scale for the week. 👀👀👀👀

Amazing progress! Honestly I thought about taking a “day of surgery” photo, but chickened out because I just couldn’t face seeing myself in that moment. It is one regret I have today.

Looking great! I feel ya on the boobs, except I went the opposite way. In 2010 after finishing chemo and radiation I qualified for a free boob job and I opted to go way smaller. Prior to diagnosis I was 225 pounds and had 40G cups. Yeah. G cups. After chemo I was 245 pounds and still had the damn G cup on one side and DDD on the affected side. My plastic surgeon tried his best to talk me out of the current b cup I have now. I told him I grew these darn things early, have carried around these humongous boobs for 30 years and then to add insult to injury, one of them tried to kill me. Told him he could carry the stupid things around for the next 30 years, but that I was DONE with the burden. Lol, he did the surgery and I haven’t regretted losing them for 1 single second. What’s funny is that I’ve now lost almost 70 pounds from my high last summer and I’m STILL a solid B cup. Oh, and if I want bigger boobs for an outfit I just wear a nice padded bra and then can take it off at the end of the day. 🤣🤣

Here is my food for today. 5:45am— 2oz milk in coffee with 1 truvia packet 11:30am— 1 boiled egg, 1/3 cup cottage cheese (I had measured 1/2 cup, but couldn’t eat it all) 3pm— 1 cup leftover Cobb salad. It had deli ham, roast chicken, tomato and some blue cheese crumbles 6:30pm— 3/4 bratwurst sliced up with 3 tablespoons chili and 1/8 cup shredded cheddar with some onions and spicy mustard. I haven’t bothered to log it yet, but I can guess it will be around 700 cal, and over 60gm protein with under 30gm carb. Lately I’ve gotten lazy and I’m feeling okay as long as I know I’m under 1000 calories and 30gm carbs for the day. I need to start logging again

I understand to an extent. I feel many days as if I’m “behind” because of how slowly I’m losing. Almost 5 months out and I’ve never had one of those weeks where I’ve had a “whoosh” and I’ve never been able to “cheat” and get away with it. If I eat off plan for even a meal I’m stalled for a few days and there are times when it’s bitterly disappointing, but at the same time I’m thankful for it because my body just plain isn’t going to allow “easy”, ya know?? I started right at 40% BMI..... and quite honestly if I hadn’t buckled my knees and slumped slightly at the beginning of this process (my bariatric clinic has my height as 5’5” when it is in actuality 5’7”) I would’ve been denied by my insurance because I would’ve been 6 pounds “too light” What a joke. Too light, my butt! I was almost 255 pounds and a frickin size 22!!!!! Because I was on the 40% borderline for 6 months I never could get into a healthy eating routine. So many times I read about how people lost 50+ pounds pre-surgery and that they were already in a keto or low carb mode and here I was strapping on 3 pound ankle weights before going into the clinic because I was scared to death I might have lost some water weight and I didnt want to be disqualified. When I went in for my pre-surgery class 17 days prior, I had lost a total of 3 pounds in the 6 plus months leading up to this and it was so liberating to FINALLY be able to eat how I knew I was going to need to for the rest of my life, but I felt so behind everyone else because I dared not lose an extra 5 pounds. So here I am almost 5 months post and thinking that this whole process started almost a year ago. Even though I’ve lost 62 pounds since surgery (and 75 from my all time high weight) I feel as if I still have so far to go. All of my family and friends (with the exception of my dear husband who will support me no matter what) are cautioning me to “not take this thing too far” My brother-in-law now refuses to say my name. He will say “hey, skinny!” while addressing me while ignoring the fact that my sister his wife is still probably a size or two smaller than me. I’ve been a 135 pound adult woman and to be almost 50 pounds heavier than that still is annoying. It might sound bratty, but I need to see a number somewhere south of 150 pounds before I will consider this surgery a success.