Sheribear68

My NUT has told us we need to stay under 30 carbs daily unless it’s a special occasion. But we were also told after 6 weeks to stop protein shakes and start using solid food as protein sources. Every now and then when a protein shake is my only option I go for the fairlife core power vanilla with 42 gm protein. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Core-Power-Elite-42g-Protein-Drink-Vanilla-14-Fl-Oz-1-Count/51236582?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&wl13=2803&adid=22222222227000000000&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=t&wl3=42423897272&wl4=pla-51320962143&wl5=9026270&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=51236582&wl13=2803&veh=sem&gclid=Cj0KCQjwov3nBRDFARIsANgsdoF-8C9QStQkfjrWkYL1fKii4IanhE0NMU3DM01tjddbk3wzDjNgsEIaAvAoEALw_wcB

Honestly my legs are going to be the first thing I “fix” surgically once this is done. I plan on getting to goal weight, see if anything readjusts itself for a year, then ruthlessly take care of any problem areas once I’m sure my body has settled in to its goal weight shape. I wear a full size larger for bottoms than I do for tops and A-line dresses are the only ones that work for me. Even back when I was in my early 20’s and was 130 pounds and a size 4/6, I had thunder thighs and major thigh rub. *sigh*

It could be that food and habits associated with food were comforting you, and now that comfort is suddenly gone. I know that I’ve personally experienced this at times. One thing I’ve done to combat this is to throw myself into a workout routine that eats up some down time. The bonus is you can’t eat or think about while working out, and you get the positive reinforcement of a sense of accomplishment. I’m also thinking that you might want to change psychiatrists and find someone who specializes in bariatric patients. I had one for my first couple months post-op, and she got me through some really rough moments.

Okay so find a good consignment store and replace pieces when they get too small. The positive is that when those get too small you can trade them back for store credit. What I’ve done (yes this is a bit OCD, but it works) is create a list of must-haves for work, casual, date night, working out. Then as you size down, go replace that piece. For example, this week I need to find a smaller pair of black work pants. I’ve got the old pair laundered and ready to hand over and will get a discount on my new pair because my store gives you an even better deal of you trade for store credit rather than cash. I plan on doing this for months until I can hit goal weight.

I’m now 17 weeks post sleeve surgery and I’m down 59 pounds from surgery day. I’m thinking if there is anyone who has averaged 5+ pounds weekly over a few months, that person will probably make the record books. It’s a major win for me if I lose 2+/week. SW:  246CW: 187 Sleeved 2/6/19

Okay so I got this wish pre-WLS because of breast cancer 10 years ago and the ensuing reconstruction. When it was time for reconstruction (free of course, but the admission price was to ensure a year of chemo/radiation) I opted to go from a 40g to a 40b. It was the best decision I’d ever made and the first time I put on a “regular” bra I cried tears of joy. Now that I’ve lost almost 60 pounds, the girls are basically the same size. I guess whatever the surgeon left me with is gonna stubbornly stick around at least for now because I still wear a b cup, but now it’s in 38s, which are getting very very loose around the band.

I still fluctuate on this. Some days it feels like the hungry monster has ahold of me and I want to snack between my 2 meals/1 snack daily. When that happens, I go for things like a cheese stick or boiled egg or 2 tablespoons hummus and carrots, or a glass of milk. The key is to avoid carbs during these “hungry” moments. The other day at work I ate 1 boiled egg, 1 cheese stick, 1 pouch tuna, 1 cup milk , 1 beef jerky stick and 3 hot pickes in a 12 hour shift. This is a LOT of food for me still and I was starting to get upset at my hunger. Oh yea, and somehow I also managed to drink 56 ounces of water during the same time period. The incredible part was that my body was still craving “more”. I steadfastly refused to give it anything carb-y or lacking in nutrients and finally the cravings settled down. I would force myself to drink 8 ounces of water and wait 30 minutes once the hunger signals started before I would cave and eat something. Today I’ve had 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1 single meatball, and some milk in morning coffee and I just tried to drink water (it’s been 90 minutes since my lunch) and couldn’t drink more than 4 ounces water before the overstretched full feeling made me back off. The thought of eating anything right now brings on a feeling of vague nausea. No idea why I’m experiencing swings like this 2 days apart. 🤷‍♀️ On the upside, I think the weight loss is starting again. I’m down from 189.4 on Thursday to 186.6 today. Thank goodness the 3 month stall is behind me.

Lol, okay so it’s embarrassing to admit that I’m quite good at math, yet still struggle to put these concepts together. Okay so I’m 5’7” with a completely medium build and in my college days I weighed around 130-135 pounds and was a size 6 then. I’m keeping my fingers crossed 135 is my ideal body weight, which means 110 pounds from surgery date.

Well I’m not gonna lie. Since I got on the scale Thursday and saw 189.4 I’ve been afraid to get back on because I spent 5 horrible weeks clawing my way down to that weight. All in all I’m feeling pretty good and strong. This month I’ve already challenged myself to 2 more advanced classes and I’ve got a 3rd booked next week. Lol, 6 months ago I would’ve never imagined I would be signing up for a trx suspend class, but I’m so excited to do it! I’ve gone from xxl/size 22 to medium/large tops and size 14 pants. It’s INCREDIBLE to be able to shop in non-plus sizes, but all I’m doing right now for the most part is try on. There’s an Ann Taylor Loft store across the street from my work and I’ve gone in there twice to try on clothes and then go look online for the same thing on eBay. In the last week I’ve picked up 3 pairs of work pants for under $15 each and they’re all size 14 and they all fit. Goal for August/September is to do the same with some fall fashions and I can’t wait to see what size I am at that time. Fingers crossed that I can get down to an 8. I was a 6/8 all through high school and college, but I know my body has aged too much to get all the way down to that again. Wow, I remember being so distraught right after I turned 17 and my weight went over 125. Present me curses past me for wasting all that time as a youngster thinking that was fat.

More than likely, but honestly it’s hard to tell because I lost ALL of my hair 10 years ago when I was on chemo and it never came all the way back. I think it’s thinned a bit, but I didn’t have a full head of lustrous, thick hair. I did think of one victory I’ve just had though: After an epic 5 week struggle, I’m FINALLY FINALLY in the 180’s. Lol, weighed in at 189.4 this morning. Took me from April 29 to June 6 to get from 199.8 to 189.4 Pathetic. Like I said.... this last month has basically just sucked out loud and I’m grateful beyond words it’s in the rear-view mirror.

Wow guys, let me say I’m so very sorry for your losses. I didn’t hear or see the animal abuse video and right now I just don’t think I could handle it. I’m not sure if it’s this stage of my journey, but I too am feeling quite vulnerable and it’s been going on for the last few weeks, so I can totally relate to that aspect. Right now it feels as if I just can’t catch a break and it’s starting to wear on me. For example, my insurance does a reset every June 1st. I’ve got the same exact plan I’ve had for 7 years, but now instead of completely covering my sessions with my therapist, I will have to pay 100% out of pocket til I hit my deductible.... which is $6,000! Last year I only had to pay 20% no matter where I was on my deductible. Needless to say, I now am giving up my therapist because I don’t have the $275/week to spend. Lol, I drained my hsa account with the surgery in February and it doesn’t have more than a few hundred dollars remaining. Gotta save that for an emergency if one should come up. So yeah... things like that feel like they’re beating me down and some food cravings are starting to rear their ugly head. Just the other day I actually put a bottle of wine in my shopping cart at the grocery store and thank goodness I had a serious convo with myself about it before I hit the checkout line. I was able to put it back, but it took a few minutes of arguing back and forth. Luckily the guilt and shame associated with having that in my cart was enough to overcome my “want” of it. Prior to last week, I’d have not even considered grabbing it in the first place. What I’m going up tell myself the next time I’m tempted is that if I put it down once, I can put it down again. My husband has been traveling 2-3 days every week over the last month and sitting home alone without his support has definitely taken its toll. I mean there are only so many extra Pilates classes a girl can take before her poor body wears out.

Honestly I have only a general idea of what my excess fat was to start with. I was 5’7” and 244 on surgery day. Today I weighed in at 189 for a loss of 55 pounds. I’m thinking I had anywhere between 100-125 pounds of excess fat seeing as typical weight charts would have my ideal weight around 135. I’m hoping that I had over 100 pounds excess fat because I really would hate to think that only 20-ish more pounds will come off. I’m still huge compared to where I want to be. Goal weight is 145 and I’m afraid that still won’t get me as small as I would like to be.

Yup. This is a biggie for me. Just found out that our travel arrangements for a desperately needed vacation have fallen through and it’s too late to book anything else and too late to change my request off. Looks like instead of the needed getaway (this year has been so intense with surgery and recovery) I’ll get to hang around the house and do housework. I’m trying to put the best spin on it that I can, but I’m struggling. I’ve never really been the type to make lemonade out of lemons. Good thing now I guess, since lemonade probably had a jillion calories. 🤣🤣

I can totally relate to all of this! As I sit here watching pouring down rain —yet again— on my only day off this week and see my poor swimming pool fill up -yet again-with brackish water, I feel as if another day of my life is just being wasted. I wanted so badly to walk outside and will be trapped inside yet again. Sadly I’m working 12 hour shifts the next 3 days in a row and have -for what seems like the millionth time this spring- lost any opportunity to do anything fun.

So how is everyone doing this week? Seems like we’ve all gotten pretty quiet lately.

Oh goodness wrinkly skin update: Today I tried out a higher level Pilates class and for the most part I don’t regret the decision. I was pushed to do a few things and did them (if not as elegantly as some of my thinner classmates). I did have an amusing-not-so-amusing moment when I was doing some side planks and got distracted by the wrinkly skin on the inside of my upper arm! I was like “holy moly that skin makes me look old, but look at all that loose skin!”

Okay so I made 2 brunches for myself just now : 1 scrambled egg, one piece of bacon and some salsa. Immediately divided into 2 servings. I was almost able to finish serving #1, but since it’s still before noon, my sleeve just can’t hold very much this early in the day.

Okay so I failed on the distraction free eating so far, but I’m going to make an effort for dinner. For me May was a complete bust and I’m desperately hoping to get on track for June. Was sleeved on 2/619, and I’ve lost 54 pounds since then, but I hit a 3 week stall in May and as a result lost 6.5 pounds in the entire month of May. This is quite frankly pretty depressing as I’m still close to 50 pounds from goal weight. I meet via phone with a therapist every other week and she’s about the only thing helping me not lose my cool right now. I just got my 3 month post surgery labs ran so I’ll know in a few days where I am from an overall health point. In this moment I’m pulling out all the stops desperately trying to ward off a sense of despondency. I keep telling myself that eventually my body has to start losing again. I mean it will, won’t it?

Well I’m sorry that you went through this but thrilled that you’re going to pursue therapy. Keep up with the head work and the rest will follow.

Lol! You most more weight on a cruise than I lost in the whole month of May! Gonna show this to my husband and insist we go on a cruise soon. 🤣🤣 Great job and congrats. Honestly the increase fat may have helped short term. Sometimes I bump up my fat intake when I’m feeling the need to eat more and it’s a complete appetite crusher.

Okay and here is my brunch: one single scrambled egg and 1 slice bacon. Cut into 2 portions for 2 breakfasts and I wasn’t able to finish portion #1. 🤣🤣

I have to admit that I still suffer guilt from how good I’ve felt from about week 2 onwards. That being said, I’m just freaking glad month 3 is almost over because of that horrible stall I had. Lost 6.5 pounds for the ENTIRE month of May! 😱😱 I just had my labs drawn Friday morning so it will be a few days yet before I get them. Can’t wait to see where I am on things. Since my stall started I’ve been religiously logging all food and water trying to find out where I’m screwing up. Still haven’t found it, but I can’t quit so I’ll keep logging and trying to push through it. My body feels stronger today than it’s felt in over 14 years, which is saying something since I’m 50 now. I still have a problem holding volume so I eat protein first, then veg. Zero added carbs in sauces or dressings. My biggest intake of carbs Is my chewable vitamins. I try to vary my protein with seafood, poultry pork and beef for balance and to stave off boredom. Last night we had big fat pan-seared scallops with green beans. Tonite will be a Cobb salad.

Good work! That must have been quite a challenging week for sure. About a week and a half ago I had brunch with a good friend who knows I had surgery. We went to a very popular breakfast place right by my Pilates studio and I was excited to go there. I ended up ordering 1 scrambled egg with a side of ham from the a la carte menu and finished about half the egg and about 1/3 of the ham. Me and my friend both noticed the waitress cruising by our table a few times, slowing down, then heading off to another table. I finally signaled for the check and she confessed she didn’t come over yet because there was “no way I could be finished”. I’m still not sure how I feel about that reaction but I guess it’s going to be the new normal for me.

50 years old and just had my 3 month follow up: down 54 pounds!

Okay so today was my 3 month follow up and I’m pretty stoked about it. Okay so I didn’t hit my goal of being in the 180’s for the start of June, but I have lost 54 pounds since my surgery date on 2/6. My doc told me he was extremely pleased with my progress so far and told me to just keep it up. I went over my food logs with my NUT and she told me I didn’t have to log my chewable vitamins as part of my carbs. I was told originally to keep carbs under 30 grams daily and here I’ve been counting the 16 carbs daily from my Vitamins in that mix! Anyway, she gave me the green light to actually EAT up to 30 gm carbs, which I’ll try to incorporate more as time goes by. At least that way maybe I won’t find myself getting into such a food rut. She also told me there’s really no calorie limit — either too much or too little to stick to. She basically said to eat when I’m hungry but to make sure it was actual hunger instead of head hunger and to mostly stick to high Protein, low carb food. Edited to add:  for some reason I was off on the amount I’ve lost and when my doc initially said I’d lost 54 pounds I argued with him that it was 48.  Then he showed my chart and indeed I’ve lost 54!   🎉🎉🎉