Cassandra Maughan

You look amazing!!! Great job 💪

Minimum an hour a day, 7 days a week. Sometimes 1.5 hours. But I also don’t love exercise so I had to find things I enjoyed or at least find tolerable. For me my top choices are swimming, water aerobics, and walking. I need to do more strength training because more muscle burns more calories.

I’m down 175 lbs since 9/12/22 and currently eat 1700-1900 calories a day. I’ll hit my surgeon’s goal in the next 1-2 weeks and I’m about 30 lbs from my personal goal. You can damage your metabolism staying at 800-1200 calories for life. I have adjusted very slowly first going to 1400, then 1500, 1600, and now I try for 1700 but do go as high as 1900. On vacation I ate 2500+, gained 3 lbs and lost 5 the week I got back. I am very concerned about disordered eating and a lifestyle that is sustainable long term. I do exercise quite a bit, mostly because I genuinely love food and want to be able to indulge in small ways without stalling my progress too much. It’s about balance.

I’m down 175 lbs since 9/12/22 and currently eat 1700-1900 calories a day. I’ll hit my surgeon’s goal in the next 1-2 weeks and I’m about 30 lbs from my personal goal. You can damage your metabolism staying at 800-1200 calories for life. I have adjusted very slowly first going to 1400, then 1500, 1600, and now I try for 1700 but do go as high as 1900. On vacation I ate 2500+, gained 3 lbs and lost 5 the week I got back. I am very concerned about disordered eating and a lifestyle that is sustainable long term. I do exercise quite a bit, mostly because I genuinely love food and want to be able to indulge in small ways without stalling my progress too much. It’s about balance.

Best Christmas gift ever-the first time my weight has had a “2” in front of it in 20+ years. That’s the only time in my life stepping on a scale has resulted in a smile!

I ate a lot of calories (there was dessert) but what was crazy is because of the volume restriction from the pouch I still stayed around what a normal person would eat on a normal non-holiday day. Basically just allowed myself to eat everything except bread which was a very nice change. Then I lost two pounds overnight! It might be back today so I am going to stay off the scale a few days.

Yesterday I had my first experience of really going off the rails post surgery. We’re traveling and stopped within 2 miles of my favorite restaurant which we don’t have within hours of my house. So I ate my favorite chicken fingers and a couple hours later half a piece of cheesecake. Not gonna lie they were delicious but I definitely overate and probably hit 2000 calories yesterday. Otherwise I have been pretty much on track, even while traveling. How much do you think this will set me back weight loss-wise?

Thanks, I definitely do feel like some days I am way hungrier than others. I have gone from the 600s to 700-800 in terms of calories but that’s with adding exercise back in this week so it probably makes sense.

Thank you! You’re right, the old me would have thought this was a great day in terms of intake!

Today is the first day I really stepped off the program. My kid handed me a piece of pizza and I ate all the toppings but not the bread:(. If I eat dinner later it will put me at 925 calories for the day. My doctor said at this point I should be at 600-800 no matter how much I exercise unless I am running marathons. Idk how much I buy into that… I’m not doing anything amazing but managed 25 minutes on the elliptical today. I think my main issue at this point is I really have been able to eat pretty much anything.

I have been around 500-600 the last few days and just started my 3rd week

I have been cheating a bit on the puréed diet… mostly because the idea of purées repels me. But I have been chewing really really well instead. Tiny bites of chicken from a soup, a piece of bacon today, little tiny pieces of turkey sausage in scrambled eggs… my stomach seems to do fine except I am still struggling with eating too fast and I think I am eating just a bit too much at one sitting. Is anyone else finding that they aren’t struggling with nausea with food? Even a sort of spicy SW chicken soup isn’t bothering me… just feel overly full sometimes.

I am and I have a surgical site infection. Everyone else seems to be on to Tylenol, heading back to work and doing fine and I am still barely getting around. If it seems abnormal, don’t hesitate to check it out.

Starting antibiotics today and hoping it’s still fairly superficial. Fingers crossed!

First post-op appointment this morning and I found out that 1.) they inserted the drain tube 6” too far and 2.) this makes it not work well and ups infection risk. So I have been in such incredible pain because I now have a seroma and a site infection where the drain was. Getting that pulled out was 11-10 on the pain scale. So if you’re having a lot of pain 7 days post op, beware—there could be something else happening:(

Oh yeah cream of chicken! That is going on my list to try!

Is anyone else struggling with a feeling that everything is overly sweet? Even plain water tastes sweet to me. I just started full liquids today, any suggestions for something not sweet? Other than bone broth I am so over that lol.

That my friend is a bad plan… hope you can rest the remainder of the day

Got it! Ok I will focus on just drinking for now! Thank you:)

Are we supposed to be meeting protein goals during the clear liquids portion of the post op diet? I am not allowed protein shakes until Saturday but I have protein water and I’m not sure if I should be trying to drink it….

I went into this with pretty unrealistic pain expectations. It hurts! And I have been more asleep than awake the last two days. Nausea is no joke either. Make sure you get some nausea medicine and stay on top of that and pain meds. I can’t imagine taking less than a week to recover at this point.

6:30 check in, 8:30 procedure. I have done pretty well on the pre op diet but I have no idea if I’ve lost weight… definitely thinking some water weight has come off though. My feet look thinner weirdly enough!

I feel like today (day 10) has been the hardest on the preop diet. But I had to grill pork chops for everyone else and that’s probably why. So far I have been pretty much sticking to it though.

Liquids here with occasional egg whites or cottage cheese. I sooo want to cheat but hanging in there on day 7.

Thanks, that is what I am going to try. I have a cuff coming from Amazon today and if it’s still high I am going to ask my doctor for a prescription. I only have until 9/12 to get it sorted out!