ShoppGirl

Gotta love kids. They are so brutally honest. But of course compared to a 14 year old they are flabby. I am suddenly very aware of my saggy arms too and I have only lost 59 pounds so far. I think part of it was just normal aging and I just wasn’t paying as much attention before to them as I suddenly am now. My belly skin is starting to get pretty jiggly too. I am dropping the weight rather fast though. BMI of 39.2 to 30.3 in 3.5 months. My secret goal is another 51 pounds so I’m sure it’s gonna get a lot worse if I can get there. Unless insurance helps, plastics are not an option. I’m really hoping it snaps back a bit with time but I will be doing a lot of crunches and pushups I’m sure. Does it make it easier or harder to stand back further? I am just doing them exactly how the instructor showed me in class which is my feet back a ways but not as far as you describe. I haven’t told her yet they are getting a bit easier for me now. I assumed the next step was knee pushups, but they hurt my knees so if I can alter the wall ones and skip the knees that would be ideal.

Thank you both.

https://a.co/d/5efMT0T The old one I have no clue what the care instructions are I just tried it thinking if it didn’t come clean then it was garbage anyways. That link above is the one I bought recently. They have really good reviews and they are cheaper than the Manduka brand. It’s really pretty and very vibrant colors in person. I have washed it in the machine three times now in a front loader and it still looks fine but who knows after a while. I take it out immediately and hang it up to dry (over my bar stool). Mine doesn’t have any kind of guarantee, though, that I know of anyways and no it’s not very thick at all. In fact when I went to the other gym that uses one mat I learned that my knees hurt when I don’t have that second layer where they cross one another so I guess i will be stacking two on top of one another for that class now. I quickly grabbed my towel and put that under my knees last time because they were hurting and that worked but it was a little awkward. I agree it sounds like a money thing them expecting you to use their brand specifically. If you buy their cleaner you basically end up paying for a second mat anyways and if you don’t they can say that you voided the warranty and not replace it. Either way they save money.

The one I got on Amazon and it says machine wash. I just looked and the material says rubber although I don’t think it’s just rubber (the back definitely is). The other one is older and it is some synthetic material and feels like it may have foam in between the layers. I have a third one that I do not use often because it’s kinda slippery since I sweat a lot. So I pulled the old one back out and put that one away. It’s not very porous so I feel like I am able to get it clean enough with the disinfectant but I honestly don’t know what’s in the one they have and I need to make or buy my own to take with me to the PIYO class at the gym. which btw was actually super fun but a lot harder just because of the pace of it was so much faster than the YOGA class i am used to. I did that for the first time this morning. My friend went with me and she is really tiny but not necessarily super fit considering. I was surprised though when she told me afterwards that she wanted to quit and just lay down like five times. It was pretty tough. I would say I was able to do half of what the instructor was doing. Like I can hold the pike or downward dog for the first half maybe but then by the time she adds stuff my arms give out and I definitely can’t do the one handed stuff. I have been doing wall pushups to try to strengthen my arms but I guess it will take a while My heart rate was still up the whole time so it’s a workout for me regardless but I would like to get to where I can do it and get toned and have better balance and coordination someday.

Sometime shoulder pain can be caused from the air that gets trapped from any surgery. I would probably run it by your surgeon though. Especially if you have already passed gas a few times and didn’t feel any relief. I was in the hospital after my bariatric revision surgery for 5 days because I couldn’t pass gas and the pain was so bad I couldn’t take it without the meds they weren’t going to send me home with so I stayed. Post sleeve I had no pain at all. I asked them to switch me to Tylenol the first time they brought the pain meds and I went home early the next day. The difference was all because of trapped air. I think it varies from person to person how much and where it manages to get stuck too. When I finally did pass gas I knew that I needed to keep it up because I instantly felt some relief. It took like 5 or 6 times and then I finally felt soooooo much better. I went home and took half a pain pill while my hubby went out for Tylenol and I didn’t take another. That gas is no fun.

I would probably hold off a bit. I mean if you strain everything out I guess it would still have a bit of the flavor but I don’t remember the broth being super flavorful. I confess it’s not a fave though so it’s been a while. I found a soup at Walmart that had a pretty flavorful broth. It was their Marketside brand chicken tortilla. It’s over near the deli where they have the Panera soups. Of course you need to strain with a very fine strainer. Their tomato bisque wasn’t bad either for purée stage. It’s pretty high in fat though. Not sure if that’s true of all tomato soups. You can just search deli soup or panara soup and see the options and view the nutrition labels. I spent a lot of time viewing labels and adding stuff to my cart that I could have on puree and added to my saved for later for the soft food stage while I was just laid up in bed. I bought WAY too much food but when I got to soft food I cooked every night and I froze a ton of food so it was nice when I started to exercise because when I get home late from a class I had stuff I pulled out of the freezer and put in fridge the night before. Now I intentionally Cook double batches of stuff so I don’t have to cook as often but I always have home cooked nutritious food.

So I have been using the sanitizer that they have at the community center to clean my yoga mats and tossing them into the wash once a month (we use two across one another). The one new one I bought is for hot yoga and says machine wash so I guess it’s fine once a month but the other is older and I don’t know what the care instructions are. It seems to be losing chunks so I am thinking machine wash is not such a good idea. Also, I just tried the classes at a gym and they did not have any disinfectant for us to use. Any tips on what to use for daily disinfecting as well as how to deep clean them? I read so many different things with tea tree oil and vinegar/water but the ratios of vinegar and water are all different and the tea tree oil it doesn’t specify how much. I just tried doing them with soap and water in the driveway but that was a disaster. Apparently I used way too much soap so they are back in the washing machine now. And no I didn’t add more soap. Although I almost did toss a pod In there out of habit. 😂

I love it!! We’ve got this.

Thank you so much. I am actually feeling a bit more positive this morning. I stepped on the scale and I dropped over two pounds to finally get into “onederland”which I kinda hoped was going to happen sometime next week but had assumed that wouldn’t happen with no activity. Well 199.6 but still under 200. So maybe that’s a sign that I need to just stay positive and that I can still handle this.

I’m dealing with some pretty scary medical stuff right now (outside of the bariatric stuff) and I had a long drive home late last night alone and scared of what the results will be from a test I’m doing Monday as well as the test itself which I believe is going to be pretty painful. I drove past McDonalds and even though I have no physical hunger, the emotional hunger was very real and I seriously almost caved. I didn’t stop, though. I went home and ate the chili I asked my husband to pull out of the freezer. This morning I got up and did my YOGA and kept right on trucking. I am going to a group fitness class at the gym I wanted to check out with a friend tomorrow. I won’t be able to do anything for five days after this test so I’m really trying to stick to my routine right up to Monday. I may need a little encouragement to get back into my routine, though. I’m pretty nervous that a five day break is going to make me lose my habits. I have to ask to be sure but I think I will be allowed to do everything again starting back Saturday but I was told I have a Princess pass for 5 days. No exercise, housework, nothing. Not even dishes. I was a little excited about that one.

Awe. Feel better soon.

I can’t even remember why I ordered these seeds. So sad 😂 . It’s a super 5 seeds mix (brown flax seeds, hulled sesame seeds, sunflower kernels, pumpkin kernels, and black chia seeds). I wanted them for some recipe I’m sure but it took so long to get them I forget. Does anyone have any tips of where to incorporate them?

I think I will use them more once I’m out of weight loss phase but I want to incorporate some now just to get the variety of nutrition that they offer. Got my labs back this morning and they are good so far. I would like to keep them that way.

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. 🤣