Sheribear68

Congrats. My fateful mammogram was on July 13, 2009. Triple-Negative Breast Cancer. At the age of 40. You’re right. That year of chemo/radiation will change you for life. Took me longer than you to find my path to better health, but I’m on the path now and it feels GREAT

Nice! I haven’t weighed since Monday when it was at 205.2. Oh man I hope I don’t get “stuck” right above 200.

Yes! Newer and more fun clothes are awesome

Thanks SO MUCH guys for the kind comments. It truly does mean the world. Lol, I dunno why people aren’t saying anything. I think it just goes to show how many of us are just oblivious to our surroundings. Besides, all of the techs I work with are in their 20’s, so I think many times they see me as that “older” person and it doesn’t register that at this age transformations can happen. Could be some of my patients don’t want to say anything out of fear of something health wise might be going on. Many people know I battled cancer 10 years ago so there’s that. Anna!! That salad looks AMAZING. All I had time for for lunch was some cottage cheese and a handful of almonds. BOOOOOOOORING.

Well thanks! Yep. Turned 50 back in October and that was just another factor in my decision to do this. Ain’t getting any younger and I don’t want to end up a fat old person who is disabled by obesity. And thanks so much for saying i look young. One thing I’ve noticed as the fluff is going away is that I look a bit drawn and well.... older looking. Now that pic was taken at the end of the day after a 12 hr shift, but I feel like I’m looking decidedly older as I lose. Oh well, I’ll take it because I know I’m healthier every month

Went out for Mexican once since surgery because of friends in town and I ordered fajitas and ate just the meat, veg, and cheese and a small bit of sour cream. If I recall, the leftovers made 2 more meals.

I do. In fact, I make sure I have at least 32 ounces water before I eat anything for the day. I think that’s one reason why I’ve started skipping breakfast. In the early weeks, I was so paranoid about protein requirements that I was forcing down 3 meals and I noticed my water intake was suffering. Now that I embrace the fact that (for now) a morning meal just isn’t a good idea, I drink like a maniac in the morning and then slow down as the food starts to come in. I just posted this in my February surgery thread, but I’ll repost here. This is my lunch I just made: salad mix, cheddar, blue cheese and a single meatball. This has about 15gm protein and I’ll drink 8 ounces fairlife for another 13gm between lunch and dinner. By dinner time, I can hold about 2x the food from lunch, so I’ll make up most of my protein by then and repeat tomorrow.

I just started it this week. I was reading dr fungs book on IF and it was mentioned that chromium is good to help with getting levels of insulin down so i decided to start taking it with evening meal to prolong the benefits of my 16hr fast. Honestly I don’t get very hungry yet so I can’t say as to whether or not it’s decreasing hunger.

Okay so in the latest installment of “what are you eating today.?” Here is lunch: I love these small bowls I picked up at target and this is salad mix with shredded cheddar and blue cheese crumbles (because...... cheese!), my favorite hot pickles, and a single meatball sliced in half.

I actually started adding in 2-3 ounces fairlife milk to the coffee. For some reason, any of the protein drinks leave me with a slightly queasy stomach. I think it’s the artificial sweeteners as I’ve not yet found one (besides small doses of stevia) that doesn’t leave me with an upset tummy. And that was before surgery. Since surgery it’s gotten worse to the point where even smelling the protein shake made me want to run for the bathroom. I’ve tried just the plain milk in the am, but even that is too thick early in the day. It’s okay.... I’m learning from this thread and will eventually be far along enough to jump in

Thanks Goody! I was thinking so also, but it’s hard to get outside of yourself sometimes.

Lol, okay so @FluffyChix wisely talked me down from a true IF since I’m only 10 weeks post-sleeve, but I still follow this thread. I love Dr Fungs style and will so totally be trying some actual IF once I hit 6-8 months post. What I pretty much do every single day is a 16:8. My sleeve is soooooo tight in the morning that only water (and more recently coffee) will sit well in the morning and I usually have zero food of any kind till 11am-ish. I try to make sure I have nothing after 7pm and I take an 800mcg Chromium supplement with my evening meal. I have to admit that the only reason I start eating at 11am is that it freaks me out to not have protein coming in after 15-16 hours of fasting and I know my sleeve is only going to be able to hold so much this early so I don’t (and shouldn’t) go longer. However, have gone a couple occasions where the fast has been longer and I felt great. Can’t wait to play around with a 24 then 48 hour fast in a few months

Okay. So for some reason I’m feeling adventurous and I’m gonna post some pre-surgery and 10 week photos. The first one is from Christmas Eve. My thin sister ambushed me and took the pic before could protest. The second set is a recurring monthly now: hubs takes front and profile pics so we can track how the body is changing. Lol, less than 4 months between these photos and NOBODY has said they’ve noticed a loss. In fact, I had a coworker yesterday ask me did I think I was losing any weight. I was kinda stunned and didn’t really say anything besides “ I’ve lost over 50 pounds since I started this journey”. 😝🤪 Guess maybe the next 50 pounds someone will say something. 🤣🤣

Omg a medium! Congrats!!!!! I bet it felt like I felt being able to pull those size 14 pants on over my butt! And yes.... fat rolls at the top of the pants are what’s going to keep me from wearing them for another 6-8 weeks, but the whole point was to have summer clothes, lol. Gotta keep reminding myself if it fits perfectly now, it won’t by June. That’s kinda hard for me to do the mental adjustment after a lifetime of diet fails. Part of my mind is expecting that I’ve just purchased yet another batch of clothing that “just needs 15 pounds” to fit and that will sit in my closet til the end of time. Don’t worry.... by true summer those fat rolls will be in the rear-view mirror and you’ll be ROCKING that swimsuit. Lol, I was wearing very very snug size 22’s when February started. If I recall, you started out with a BMI of just 35%, so I think you’re doing an amazing job.

Measuring tape will be your friend. In fact, it’s what I went for first this week before I weighed in because I just knew after my 3 pound week last week I’d see a number I didn’t want to see Good thing, because I’d lost a half inch on my waist and hips and 3/4 inch on my lower abs. I’m very pear-shaped so these are the areas I pay attention to most. So far nobody’s really said anything about my lost weight which is kinda disappointing, but hopefully soon it will start to be really noticeable

You might be right on the whole muscle thing. I forgot to mention earlier that I worked with my instructor today and was able to do a plank on my reformer! Very empowering strength move and I’m glad I kept trying it. Hubs and I are also planning a different kind of vacation. Funny how the focus isn’t on the food as much as it will be about the activities. We are going to Colorado Springs this June and I booked an Airbnb instead of hotel because I want a kitchen and an outdoor grill so we can eat like we normally do now post-surgery. I’m doing things like looking at paddle boarding lessons, guided day long nature hikes and mountain yoga classes -most def not what I would’ve been looking at a year ago. Who would’ve thought I would start to become that annoying fitness person who doesn’t care much about food and wants to go out of her way to find physical activity? Weird

Omg. I NEED to have some bulgogi soon. Seriously going to look into making some this weekend. I’m also thinking cauliflower fried rice with it and loads of kimchi.

From the time I went in for my first consult (June20th) to my surgery date (feb 6) it was over 7 months. That’s an eternity when you’ve made the decision to change your life, so I get how frustrating it is. I still wish I’d been able to have had a November date, but I try not to be bitter about the lost 3 months

Many things that all culminated in spring 2018 1. Was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer 10 years ago at the ago of 40 2. Never lost the weight in the intervening 10 years and in February 2018 had another abnormal mammogram (thankfully not cancer again, but it scared the bejesus out of me) 3. My dear father in law passed away in December 2017 from complications of extreme morbid obesity— he was over 500 pounds when he passed. His goal was to make it to his 80th bday and he fell 5 days short. 4. January of 2018 I went on a family girls trip to Orlando to finally see Potterverse. At the time I was 250 pounds and could only get on a handful of rides. All I could think about during the trip was that we had waited for soooooo long to finally do this thing that I wanted to do so badly and my weight ruined my trip for me. 5. A trip to Belize in April 2018. I wanted so much to do an entire day snorkeling tour. I went, but had to spend half the time on the boat watching everyone else have a blast because I physically couldn’t keep up with all of the swimming. In June 2018 I decided ENOUGH and scheduled my first consult. Had surgery this February (10 weeks ago to this day) and I haven’t regretted it for one moment. I’m still very far from goal, but I’ve lost 53 pounds from my highest weight in July 2018 and loving the decision. Fingers crossed we take a December trip to Belize and I WILL be able to do that whole day snorkeling adventure!

Sorry I’ve been gone a couple of days guys. Bulgogi was one of my all-time faves, but watch the sugars... it’s loaded. Maybe it’s time to try to find a low-sugar alternative. 🤔 Re: sugar-free candies. Even as a young person, my body doesn’t respond well to artificial sweeteners of any kind. They either make me feel slightly headachy or nauseous and in the long run they stimulate my hunger. I think it’s head hunger that the “fake” sweet stimulates so I try to avoid artificial at all costs. The only exception is a small bit of stevia that I sometimes put in coffee. I’ve only done that 3 times since surgery as coffee and me aren’t the best of friends (even though I miss it dearly). Well after my scale victory last week in losing over 3 pounds, this week was kinda “meh”. I managed to drop 2.0, which is slightly disappointing but normal for me now. Still waiting for that magical “whoosh” week. Still I’ll take the 2 pounds and now I officially have 5.4 more to lose til I get to ONEderland. Sadly I’m thinking I won’t hit that milestone by May. Guess I’m going to be the poster child for slow and steady gets it done also. Emphasis on “slooooooooow”. 😩😩 Non-scale victory: Monday I did back-to-back Pilates classes, which is something I wouldn’t have fathomed being able to do 2 months ago and I hit a local consignment store that specializes in high-end clothing and had an appointment with a personal shopper. Sent her my current clothing size and a photo from last week and explained my transitioning and she was able to select some things that are 1-2 sizes below what I wear now. The amazing part was that I was able to tug on a pair of size 14 pants from Ann Taylor over my hips and I bet they fit like they should by June. I can’t remember the last time I wore size 14 anything. I was shocked at how much fun it was to try on new things and my hour session just flew by. I ended up with several career pieces for summer and even splurged on a couple pair of workout pants and tops.

So late lunch today as I’m working on painting a spare room to get it ready to be a guest room. It’s a little skimpy on protein, but the hot pickle, olives and Kim cheek is delish

Going from a drab grey to a lovely green. Can’t post pics now because it’s really overcast today and the ceiling fan has been taken down and the lighting is horrible. Hopefully by Monday I can post a progress pic

In the low 40’s with rain. Lol, Not gonna get outside but I’m finishing up painting my spare bedroom so that will be workout enough for today

I’ve had steak for a few weeks now. As long as I remember to chew thoroughly it’s never been a problem. Tonight we are making stir fry from leftover pork and adding some bok choy and water chestnuts.

Amazing work on the scale and in the kitchen guys! After weighing only and not measuring on Monday, I hopped on the scale and did a measure this morning. I’ve lost from 208.4 to 207.0 since Monday and since I last measured 11 days ago, my waist, hips, and lower abs are all down 0.5 inches each. My under-arm measurement (the only way I know of to measure back fat) was down 3/4 inch and my bustline stayed the same. It’s gonna be a helluva race to see if I can hit below 200 before May hits, but I’m trying my best to make it happen. Here is an example of what a typical dinner looks like for me. Dinner is my largest meal of the day because my sleeve is so danged tight earlier in the day. Didn’t take an after shot with half the avocado left because the cottage cheese got all over the place and it looked really messy. I did repurpose the other quarter of the avocado and mashed it in with a pouch of tuna for lunch today.