ShoppGirl

So that’s like sweet grits almost. Very Interesting. I actually like grits with butter and salt. Haven’t had them in a long time but they are really good. I just never learned to make them and the store bought packets just aren’t the same.

Today’s win was that my strength training class must be paying off a bit. I was able to shampoo and condition my hair really well and my arms did not get tired at all. I used to have to stop and rest them because they were so weak. ooh and I got out some smaller clothes last night and wore actual clothes for the first time today since surgery. I have been living in YOGA pants. Just jeans and a black top so I could wear my Halloween earrings but if I’m being honest I feel like I look pretty good 😊 Happy Halloween to everyone who celebrates. Happy Thursday to anyone who does not.

Have you tried getting out your before photos and doing a side by side or trying on an old article of clothing. I mean, you could just be having kind of a blah week and associating that with weight. Sometimes we all can just kind of feel off. Try to think back on all of your non scale victories, and where you were before you started this journey. Maybe that will remind you of how far you have come!!

I am so thrilled for your loss and the way you are feeling especially. Just try not to get too wrapped up in making a goal in two weeks. That’s a pretty short timeframe and just a one week stall could prevent you from reaching it. Even though we all know the way our bodies work, you may drop it all two days later. I like to try to predict my loss as well and I know that it has messed with my head a couple of times. Perhaps it’s just me but I get discouraged when I don’t need a goal even though it’s an imaginary one this morning. I was really expecting to drop that few pounds that I usually drop after stalling for a while and gaining a bit, well, I did not even drop one and I felt pretty bummed Until I realized it’s 6 AM and I jumped up the moment the alarm went off and got right into my walking because I was able to sleep at a reasonable hour to fall asleep easily and sleep all through the night waking up refreshed which I haven’t done in years because of all of the changes that have occurred In the last few months. That in itself is a huge win and I don’t want to lose sight of that as I try to achieve these other goals. I am looking forward to getting under 200, getting to overweight instead of obese, reaching my goal, eventually getting to a normal BMI if that’s in the cards for me, and finally reaching my secret goal. I am just really trying to figure out a way to wrap my head around the fact that even if I don’t reach my secret goal or get to a normal BMI, I am still 100 times healthier and happier than I was before. I really really really do not want to lose sight of that. I got so discouraged about 18 pounds with my sleeve that when I started gaining I think I gave up too easily. I still don’t think about the sleeve was the right surgery for me and what my body needed, but I probably could have kept some of the weight off a little longer. anyways, I am really glad that you decided to do what you thought was best for your body and that it is working for you it’s such a shame that these nutritionist are a little bit more helpful to giving more individualized plans. I am off to my surgeons office this morning, and the automated recording that called me said I was in to see the PA and not the NP that I have been seeing. I am really hoping that he gives me the same help with my food to make sure I am on track and my fitness as well. At the very least, I will find out what my labs looked like though I got an email that the results were ready four or five days ago but I decided not to even look. I figured it would only panic me trying to figure everything out on my own and with my anxiety I would’ve worked myself into something that’s not necessary. oh, and I found a local gym that has a lot of classes that look fun and when I added it up will actually be cheaper than what I’m doing now. It’s pretty tiny and when I popped in to the main gym part, it did not really seem my scene but I’m hoping that the classes are different. My friend told me that she would go to check out a class with me Saturday morning and if it seems promising, I’m going to check out a couple more this week. They have a day pass rate They don’t have yoga early in the mornings at this new place, so I probably will still take my yoga class, but even if I did both, it would still be a little less and I would have the added benefit that I could add more classes at the gym since those are unlimited. I really like to exercise every day for now. Eventually, I think I will probably give myself a free day or two, but until I feel like this is absolutely cemented in my brain as my new normal I want to just keep it up daily.

I am so thrilled for your loss and the way you are feeling especially. Just try not to get too wrapped up in making a goal in two weeks. That’s a pretty short timeframe and just a one week stall could prevent you from reaching it. Even though we all know the way our bodies work, you may drop it all two days later. I like to try to predict my loss as well and I know that it has messed with my head a couple of times. Perhaps it’s just me but I get discouraged when I don’t need a goal even though it’s an imaginary one this morning. I was really expecting to drop that few pounds that I usually drop after stalling for a while and gaining a bit, well, I did not even drop one and I felt pretty bummed Until I realized it’s 6 AM and I jumped up the moment the alarm went off and got right into my walking because I was able to sleep at a reasonable hour to fall asleep easily and sleep all through the night waking up refreshed which I haven’t done in years because of all of the changes that have occurred In the last few months. That in itself is a huge win and I don’t want to lose sight of that as I try to achieve these other goals. I am looking forward to getting under 200, getting to overweight instead of obese, reaching my goal, eventually getting to a normal BMI if that’s in the cards for me, and finally reaching my secret goal. I am just really trying to figure out a way to wrap my head around the fact that even if I don’t reach my secret goal or get to a normal BMI, I am still 100 times healthier and happier than I was before. I really really really do not want to lose sight of that. I got so discouraged about 18 pounds with my sleeve that when I started gaining I think I gave up too easily. I still don’t think about the sleeve was the right surgery for me and what my body needed, but I probably could have kept some of the weight off a little longer. anyways, I am really glad that you decided to do what you thought was best for your body and that it is working for you it’s such a shame that these nutritionist are a little bit more helpful to giving more individualized plans. I am off to my surgeons office this morning, and the automated recording that called me said I was in to see the PA and not the NP that I have been seeing. I am really hoping that he gives me the same help with my food to make sure I am on track and my fitness as well. At the very least, I will find out what my labs looked like though I got an email that the results were ready four or five days ago but I decided not to even look. I figured it would only panic me trying to figure everything out on my own and with my anxiety I would’ve worked myself into something that’s not necessary. oh, and I found a local gym that has a lot of classes that look fun and when I added it up will actually be cheaper than what I’m doing now. It’s pretty tiny and when I popped in to the main gym part, it did not really seem my scene but I’m hoping that the classes are different. My friend told me that she would go to check out a class with me Saturday morning and if it seems promising, I’m going to check out a couple more this week. They have a day pass rate They don’t have yoga early in the mornings at this new place, so I probably will still take my yoga class, but even if I did both, it would still be a little less and I would have the added benefit that I could add more classes at the gym since those are unlimited. I really like to exercise every day for now. Eventually, I think I will probably give myself a free day or two, but until I feel like this is absolutely cemented in my brain as my new normal I want to just keep it up daily.

I agree with @NickelChip that you are looking great. Well I’m glad that you have finally stabilized. I would like to think if you just do strength training that you wouldn’t lose too much since you should be building muscle which weighs more than the fat you would be burning as I’m sure you know. Maybe just some wrist and ankle weights around the house on occasion would help you to build a bit of strength without too much energy drain. I’m sure the low iron is a huge factor in that, hopefully they can get you on a good regiment if that is a chronic thing. Have they also been monitoring your B-12 levels? That’s another thing that can zap your energy when it is low.

I have never been asked to do mindful eating but I have heard of others who have mentioned it on here. My recommendation would be to start a new thread under that heading and hopefully others will respond to you about it.

So awesome 👏

I love thrifting. I never found clothes either. I’m starting to find them already, though. I am buying them in sizes smaller than I am now. Giving me something to look forward to. Thrift stores are an excellent place to find exercise clothes. Many of them are practically brand new and then people that do use them drop sizes like we are so they are always being donated. I need to go and start looking for something for holiday lunches. I have a few craft groups so I will have at least three lunches in addition to the family stuff. And for that I guess I need clothes too. I have been living in my exercise clothes for the past two months because they fit and they are so comfy. I guess now my incisions are healed I should find some pants that fit. 🤣

Yea. I figure that I go over my protein goal on days by two or three grams so that one random day wont kill me. I try to do a shake or a yogurt but I don’t force myself too much.

Great win. 🥇 I am loving it too. I am actually walking right now back-and-forth at my house. I try to get 2 miles in before I go to my group fitness class. Which today is yoga, my favorite. I take the classes at my community center. It was easier to get started there because they’re fairly inexpensive for one or two classes and there’s no contract so it seemed like much less of a commitment. Now that I am taking four classes a week that kinda adds up to what a gym membership would be though so I may look into that at some point. Honestly, I really like the women in my group classes though. They are just average women looking to get healthy and super nice. maybe that is the case with gyms as well I honestly haven’t been in so many years.

I’m starting to notice a pattern. The dreaded stalls and the gained pound for me seems to come after the too good to be true weight loss 🤣 basically what I’m saying is when I lose a couple of pounds quicker than my normal rate then I may go a week without dropping anything or I actually gain a pound or two before I lose again. But the overall my rate of loss for the last 30 days remains pretty consistent. It is super helpful to have that weight log in the Baritastic app. It automatically calculates your loss over the past seven days the past 30 days the past 90 days. Plus, it has a really cool little line graph so that you can see the steady loss also, you can track your measurements on there which is a nice way to keep them because I tend to lose things written on paper. 🤣

Lots of great advice here but I will add my experience with having done this before and just having a revision that exercising and eating clean makes it so much easier. My mood and energy level are so much better this time and head hunger is pretty non existent so far (part of which is a greater metabolic change witb the more aggressive surgery I’m sure but when I don’t exercise as much or I eat processed junk I can feel the difference part of it may also be that I’m just too darn busy to think much about food). For me carbs crave carbs. I learned this after my sleeve but I wasn’t super careful with it. I’m not taking about the better carbs from fruits and veggies, but the processed type. Eating even a smaller portion is a slippery slope for me so I will avoid these as long as I can and if I do have them I know I will have to white knuckle it a few days through the cravings. I make all my food from scratch and freezing food has made it possible to not cook every night. I freeze small portions and I have a note in my phone if what’s on the freezer by date. When I wake up and look at my calendar as I’m drinking my proffee (chilled coffee and protein shake) I decide if I have time to cook and if not I pull a bag out of the freezer and put in the fridge. Then when I get home I put it on the counter or defrost in microwave if necessary time wise and make a veggie to throw it together. A really nutritious and yummy dinner done in 10-15 minutes and bonus, a lot less dishes. I started walking early out and added group classes that are offered at my community center and now i am up every morning walking first thing. I actually put on exercise clothes after my shower and sleep In them and first thing I’m already dressed and ready to go for my walk. ooh and the support groups that my team offers are great in addition to staying very active on here. I actually met a walking buddy there and we walk together down by the river once a week, the day that I don’t have group classes and we cheer each other in in addition to the once a month in person support group meeting. I also chose to tell more people this time. Some were against it but I educated them and now they are starting to come around about it. I think it will be easier fir me to say no thank you to food when everyone around me knows my goals. The first time I did this so many people would say to me you’re doing so good. You can have one slice of pizza or one brownie but the problem was this was my family and I was around them several days a week so just this one became just three or four. I actually told them that when I see pizza or brownies, I already want one bad enough on my own. I don’t need someone else tempting me. I think they got it. We’ll see. I guess if they do it this time.

Well it looks like I got my Walmart cart ready now. I was waiting on my egg whites to get to $35 to avoid the pickup fee. Those are all great ideas but the little apple treat with the cinnamon bowls sound amazing. The ramekins I just added to my cart say oven safe to 350. I wonder if I could do that part in the air fryer as well to avoid heating up the oven for just one. Does anyone know how hot the air fryer gets??

Oh that sounds good. So I googled and found one recipe tbat omits the egg and a couple with more spices added, but they have oil. What are the measurements? And what temp do you bake them? I recently got a rotary cheese grater so I have been all about trying different cheeses. These sound great.

So many great ideas. I knew that I would get answers here. Thanks everyone. 😊

Lucky kids to be growing up tasting healthier options. I know firsthand that those habits are difficult to change.

That’s a great idea. I have the unflavored on top of my fridge. I almost forgot about it.

Thanks. will be trying that I have a bunch of blueberries that need to be used.

Oh, perfect timing. I’m picking up my ground turkey today to make turkey meatballs one day this week. I plan to double the recipe this time because my hubby likes them too and I intend to freeze a bunch. I think I’m going to make half with seeds and half without just in case we don’t love the crunch. Sounds good though.

I found this freezer burrito recipe that if I budget will fit Into my plan but I am having a really hard time with the brown rice. I have never cooked it before but I got the box of minute rice and wen5 through the entire box trying to make it and it was chewy. I went to the store just now and got the boil in the bag stuff and that’s chewy too. I mean I promise you guys I can read and I am following the directions but this is not working for me. 🤦‍♀️ is it just supposed to be a little chewy.

Not sure why that posted three times but it won’t let me delete it. Gotta love technology.

Oh so you use oats??

Oh so you use oats??

Oh so you use oats??