KT1981

Thanks, all! I'm sure I'll have a variety of options to choose from. I'll stick with gin, vodka, or maybe a dry wine. I love the sugar free/crystal light mixin idea, too!

Next weekend I'll be trying alcohol for the first time since surgery. I'll be in a safe environment surrounded by people who know of my surgery and my new alcohol restrictions, so no worries there. I was never much of a drinker, I maybe partook 3 or 4 times a year, but beer was always my preference. This is no longer an option per my plan, so I'm wondering what everyone else drinks that's carbonation free and not filled with sugar. Alcohol is actually forbidden by my plan forever, so no guidelines are available from my practice since I'm going against their plan. I was thinking chilled gin or vodka with a splash of diet cranberry juice? Something I can go slow and sip since it's my first go around.

So I have followed my doc's plans incredibly closely, and MASSIVELY overhauled my eating habits. I generally eat clean, protein first, no processed stuff (with the primary exception being protein shakes), and tonight we're going out to a place that has really good Reubens... my favorite food. I am planning to split one with my mother, who is also on a diet, but I am having a really hard time mentally doing this. I won't be having fries or any "naughty" sides (I doubt I'll get more than 1/3 of my sandwich half down, anyway, because of my sleeve size). I have more than enough calories to eat the entire sandwich, actually, but I still find myself wanting to not eat all day to "make up" for eating a "bad" food later. Does anyone else have this mental struggle? I'm a year out now, and beginning a slow transition to a wider food base, still looking to lose 10-15 vanity pounds. I'm just not really sure how to manage these thoughts and this visceral feeling of needing to restrict my food intake early in the day because I'm doing something "bad" later.

Naturally, as soon as I questioned the instruction from my most recent appointment (and complained that the current calories were too low for me to avoid losing) I stopped losing. Nothing for almost 2 weeks now. So annoying! Now that I've set my mind on losing another 10-15 pounds, I'm hoping it's just another stall and not my new set point.

This was an important note for me. I want to get to 130, but I also fear how I may look. I'm pretty happy where I am, minus my stomach (which probably can't be "fixed" without surgery). My legs are like toothpicks and my arms are skinny, but with extra skin. I sometimes fear my face will look skeletal in another 15 pounds. Some of this may be in my head, but some of this comes from recent comments (both from those who knew obese me and those who've never known me any other way). You make a good point about how things seem to shift around just right- I've noticed that already on my journey! For now... back to loss mode and getting back to the gym to gain some muscle!

Thank you! Once I get closer to my personal goal I will reach out to speak with one of the PA's I've been working with (this one was new) to gain more clarification. For now, I will try to keep actively losing and just pay attention to what that looks like calorie-wise.

I find it SO odd. I spoke with a new PA, but I may reach out to one of the PA's I've worked with throughout most of the process for some more clarification on things. In the meantime, I'll let my body keep losing.

This makes so much sense. I know that I am still at 27+% body fat, so, while within health range, I definitely have room to lose/transition to muscle. It also makes sense to let my body decide when to stop losing. That was kind of my plan all along, and I am assuming it'll be close to 130 (not really sure why I think that, though!). I do have a fear that I will not like my body in another 20 pounds, though. I'm mostly happy with how I look now, with the exception of my stomach. Another 15+ pounds may change that, but we can cross that bridge if we get there! The odd part is that my office doesn't really go by the BMI chart... they go by the ideal weight. For me, that's 132, so they don't want me below that, even though I'd still be WELL within a normal BMI range. Personally, I wanted to get to 130 because I think that gives me room to gain over the next 20+ years (a natural process of aging) and still be in a normal BMI. I even explained that and was basically told, "Nope. Only lost 10 more pounds, if you absolutely feel you must, because then you'll be at your 'ideal weight' and we don't want to go lower than that". I guess that's the part that's confusing to me- they are adamant that 135 is the absolute lowest, but when I look at a BMI chart, I have plenty of wiggle room. I may reach out to another PA that I've worked with before to get more clarification on that piece. But, for now, I'll let my body do it's thing. Thank you for your insight!

Struggling with this, too! I am able to pull the skin taut enough to get it all, but it takes some effort. I'd like to pursue laser hair removal in the future. I hadn't considered hair removal cream, but that might be a good plan for the interim!

Hi friends! I am about to start maintaining. I got some advice that I felt was a bit conflicting from the PA (she is new to the practice) at my appointment today. Here's the scenario: They don't want me to lose anymore, but would be accepting of up to another 10 pound loss, preferably only 5 pounds. (At this point, I suspect most of my concern areas will need to be address by PS anyway, and not by weight loss. Starting a conversation with a plastic surgeon is on my to-do list yet this year, although I won't pursue a surgery date until I have stabilized, of course.) I agreed to this minimized loss at the appointment (I wanted to lose 15 more), but here's my question- I was told to stick with the calorie intake I'm currently at, even though I made it clear that I'm still actively losing at this intake level (~1200 calories). I upped it about 2 weeks ago and the loss hasn't slowed at all. She doesn't want to see me again for 6 months unless I lose more than 10 pounds before that. Ya'll... unless I very rapidly stabilize at this caloric intake, I'm probably going to lose these 10 pounds before Christmas, based on my current loss rate. In 6 months, I could very well lose 20 or more if I don't find a new caloric intake. I felt a refusal to work with me on transitioning to maintenance calories before 18 months is up, but at the same time, I was pretty explicitly told that I really should stay where I am weight-wise. I specifically asked if I should incrementally increase calories or anything like that if the loss doesn't slow down, and was told no... just stay where I am until we meet again in 6 months, but also, don't lose any more weight unless you really feel you must, then absolutely no more than 10 pounds. This just feels odd to me, knowing that transitioning to maintenance can take some time, and I'm actively losing where I am now. Am I missing something? I realize it's totally possible for me to very suddenly stabilize, but that doesn't appear to be the case for me at the moment. What were your conversations like with your team when you began transitioning to maintenance? I really feel that if I don't start experimenting with slowing the loss now, that I run the risk of losing too much and being unhappy with how I look.

My 1 year anniversary is Thursday, and I have an appointment with my bariatric team to talk about what's next/how to move to maintenance. SW: 275 Surgery Date: 265 Doctor's Goal: 165 My Goal: 150 Current Weight: 144 Revised Goal: 130 (ish? Starting to think I may just need skin removal/plastic surgery versus more actual weight loss) I am so pleased with my progress, and am now focused on strength training. Over the course of the last year, I have started working out again, gotten rid of high blood pressure, diabetes (officially in remission now!), and high cholesterol, regained control of my eating habits (this is ongoing- for life!!) and addressed my emotional and binge eating behaviors. I weigh less than my normal-sized husband for the first time since he's known me (15+ years). I affectionately refer to him as "fat", now that he weighs more than me. (He has always been at a healthy BMI and gets a big kick out of being "the fattest one in the family".) I have much more confidence in myself and life in general. Throughout this last year I also got a promotion and big raise at work, and by this time next month, I will have my master's degree in the books. My husband and I are working to purchase a local business (fingers, toes, and hair crossed that things pan out!). I have hope for a long, healthy life with my husband and children.

I think you have misunderstood. I'm not self-diagnosing, nor am I asking the internet to diagnose me. I already have my appointment scheduled next week, as I mentioned. This just highlighted an issue I was curious about. I am already 20 pounds under where the physician wanted me to land, so I'm a little concerned that they'll see the lab work and my increased loss and feel that there is an issue to address. At 145 and 5'5", I am at the very top of the healthy BMI range, but I feel like my doctor is a bit "extreme" compared to everyone else's... even to the point of mentioning that loss significantly under goal (which was 165) would be reviewed for disordered eating behaviors. So, in anticipation of addressing some kind of "issue" at the upcoming appointment, I wondered what treatment plans looked like for others who have been formally diagnosed with malnutrition.

Funny you mention the illness issue. My first thought was "Dang. I shouldn't have skipped the flu shot clinic this year!" LOL

My 1 year followup appointment is next week, so I had lab work done today in advance of that. The test results are auto-released to an online portal and I was looking through them (I don't think they've even been reviewed by a doc yet) and most of it looks good but my WBC has dropped. Dramatically. Like by half and is on the cutoff for being outside normal lab values. So what causes WBC to drop, I wonder? Cancer... don't have that. Autoimmune disorders... don't have any of those. Viral infection... nope, I'm fine. Malnutrition and vitamin deficiencies... crap. This is a possibility for someone like me. In looking at other labs, there are a couple other markers for malnutrition, including lowered transferrin and TIBC. Obviously, my medical team will review all of this and decide if it's anything to act on, but I was really surprised about this. I eat healthy and on-plan about 98% of the time, though not a lot of calories. I am currently averaging 1100 calories per day, but over the last 9 months, averaged out, I've eaten 900 calories per day. I never imagined malnutrition was even an option with the sleeve, and it made me wonder if anyone else has dealt with a malnutrition diagnosis (sleeve or otherwise), and how was it handled by your team?

Yes! So not cute! Lol. Mine has lessened as my skin has caught up with my weight loss, but, in general, I'm assuming building the butt muscles is the best way to go. That's on my to-do list because I am officially buttless right now!