SHORTY_

Absolutely, the tops of our feet tend to store a lot of fat. That's an exciting Non-scale victory, congrats!

Great here! Today has really been the first day in a while I've been back on the forum. That first month in a half I felt like I was struggling in all the ways just trying to adjust to all the new changes. I was feeling discouraged because I was comparing my lack of loss so much to everyone else that I think I had to step away and kinda find myself. I think everything changed for me when I went on vacation a few weeks back... Some huge non-scale victories for me. The first major one was on the airplane... A year ago I could hardly get a seatbelt on... There was actually slack which felt really good. On a daily with my desk job, I'm pushing about 10k steps a day. On vacation, I was walking about 25k steps a day with no issues. No back problems. Not winded at all. Or trying to mentally find ways of shortening the walking distance. I was able to ride rollercoasters and rides with my kid without the worry of being turned away for not fitting. The Avatar ride at animal kingdom I was most worried about. I even went as far as looking at youtube videos to see what to expect and when my Sister in Law begged for us to go... we waited over an hour and I held my breath walking into the room where it basically restrains from your back and legs. No issues at all... I actually felt a little silly I had worried so much. I was able to actually enjoy my vacation with no worries at all, it was a massive relief. I'm still far from where I want to be at. However, looking back at a year ago it brings tears to my eyes at how much my life has changed. I look forward to what this next year brings. How are you doing? Any NSV for yourself? Positive changes? Any concerns you're having?

I don't think it's weird at all. As a server, it may be a bit of an overshare, but not weird. Unless it's maybe asking for a kid's portion etc. But things like swapping out sides or needing a box when your meal comes are pretty common requests. When I went to Disney, getting on the flight I had my sealed protein shakes with me and they were going to make me toss them all until my sister-in-law spoke up for me and explained why I needed to keep them. They made me open them all to test them and then sent me on my way. But so far that's really been the only incident I've encountered where It was necessary to explain to anyone outside my circle.

Constipation has been my biggest issue. I wasn't really expecting it for myself since I've never struggled with it before especially in the last 6 years after having my gallbladder removed. I knew it was a possibility but I guess it comes from the unfortunate invincible attitude. The rare occasions I'm in massive pain are the only moments I regret the surgery. But overall I don't regret it. The broken girl standing in my shoes a year ago prayed for this. Minor struggles compared to what I was going through then.

I don't know what your starting stats were but 27lbs is pretty great. Keep in mind you don't want to lose weight too quickly. Congrats on your loss!

I have def. noticed a lot more hair coming out on my brush. I have a ton of hair so I'm hoping no bald spots start to form.

With the gain and being bloated/constipated keep in mind, your body can hold up to about 10lbs of 💩. So right now you could literally be quite full of 💩. 😅

Congrats on your surgery! What you're feeling is totally normal. Find ways to still be included in family meals, I know it's hard. The First few weeks I was eating a lot of mashed potatoes & gravy and green beans with my family. They tried their best to accommodate and make it feel as normal as they could. It will get easier with time, stay strong : )

6am I always have my first Calcium chew in the morning. Drink water while getting ready 10oz 7:00am take a stool softener & Bupropion stop drinking water 7:30am Keto Toast with PB2 or yogurt 8:00-9:00am water 10oz 9:00-10:00am Fairlife Shake 10:00-11:30am 12oz water 12:00pm lunch I tend to do the balance breaks cheese & wheat thins 12:30 multi vitamin (I feel sick for an hour after taking but notice when I take around this time after lunch its not near as bad) 1:00-2:30pm 17oz water 2nd Calcium chew 2:30-3:30pm fairlife shake 3:30-5:00pm 17oz water 5:00 take 3rd Calcium chew & Bupropion as I leave work dinner time always varies drink water when I can before bed usually 10 ish 2 iron chews and a vitamin c tablet its became such a habit to check the clock I never set timers

It was a decent alternative, I didn't particularly care for how easy they break but it was a nice alternative. The cool ranch ones are pretty good too. In addition to the original post, I can't help with an overabundance of meals but I do eat a slice of keto bread with PB2 every morning. 7g of protein, 1.5 fat 0 sugars. Quick and easy I'm pretty basic with most of my meals. When I have a sweet tooth I usually cut an apple and coat it with cinnamon and pop it in the oven at 400 for 15-20 min.

I did walking tacos the other night with the tortilla-style quest chips... 19g of protein for the whole bag (individual serving ), and I was able to eat about 4 but any added protein is always nice.

I feel that on so many levels. As a kid I was made to sit at the table for hours to finish my meal. I feel like it accidentally created this mind set that even when I'm full I needed to finish. My mom always got upset with me when my daughter was small that I didn't push her to eat all her meals. (my parenting is she will eat if she's hungry). We still split meals even now that she's 12, we like 99.9% of what eachother likes so it's a win win for the both of us, especially now after surgery. Wayyy less waste.

Is there any way could split meals with somone you're with?

I have, the 2nd week after surgery was brutal. I was basically doing the same. Hope Flow doesn't last too long for you!

I was told to avoid all caffeine for good.

Totally agree with this, "work smarter not harder" ... unless it's weight loss surgery apparently. We all know going through this journey it's not the easy way out. It surprises people when I tell them all the life-altering changes we have to make. I do think it's SLOWLY starting to become more acceptable to society. It makes me sad that most people wait till it's their very last option (✋🏼💁‍♀️👈🏼 Hi, it's me I'm one of the people) because they're afraid they are going to be labeled for taking "The easy way out". It's life-changing and I don't regret it for a second, anyone that doesn't or wouldn't understand my decision is probably not someone I want around in my life anyway.

Do you have an idea of what your pre-op diet will look like? It might be helpful to look at the (insert month) buddies groups' initial conversations. I know the Aug. group, we had a long discussion on all the various diets we were all on and how it was handling them. It seemed about day 9 we were all over it but so ready for the new journey to begin that it was worth getting through those last days. You'll get through it, it's all a mental game.

Calling your doctor on this isn't a bad idea. It also helps log that you have issues with skin rubbing and may be able to help get insurance coverage for skin removal later. Not promising, but it does help!

I would take advantage of being able to email them. Just send them your weight at your pre-surgical apt. weight day of surgery weight todays weight your daily calorie( include daily protein & water average) an example of what you're eating and your daily physical activity and see if they have any feedback for you.

How far out are you from your surgery?

I had a meeting with my nutritionist today, She was super helpful with ideas I can start trying and encouraged me to do so. I've been kinda scared lately to eat, mostly because I don't like the way I feel after and the fear of overeating. She also confirmed what my PT doc. said yesterday and told me I was right on track where they expect to be in my weight loss. I think I'm so scared of disappointing everyone it has just gotten to my head that I need to lose it all RIGHT NOW, haha.. This has been such a mental struggle and adjustment for me as I'm sure it is for all of you. I think each time I see my team I'm so shocked at how positive they are with this journey for me. That I just expect to be treated awful like I deserve it as a punishment for getting to where I am. I continue to look forward to seeing all of our journies with this new tool we have 3mo, 6 mo, 1 yr + unfold.

That was a big fear of mine... I was going to get to my 1-month post-op apt and they were just going to pour on everything I was already feeling even more. It was actually the exact opposite and gave me a lot of great feedback. Don't be afraid to eat, your body needs those calories. I highly recommend you hide the scale for 1 or 2 weeks.

Girl I feel ya, I had a 2nd-week stall as well and I just started week 5 and been in a stall again since last Thursday. They told me my activity was to high for the calories I'm taking in. Stalls will happen but keep your head up. 💜

I wouldn't be worried and everyone is different. I just wanted to be fully honest with My Dr. to get the most out of my new pouch. 7-10k was too much because I'm struggling to get over 500 calories and to stay at 5k. She said I can start walking 7-10k again when I'm hitting 800+ calories. The laxatives if ok by ur doctor you should be fine. I was taking them every 2 days and she told me to wait 4-5 days.

I feel like they tend to drop the ball with the short-term aftercare information. I had no idea about the heartburn meds and never took mine either until my 3-week post-op apt My doctor encouraged me to keep taking them for the same reasons. So glad ur doing good and congrats on your loss! Non-scale victories... I feel like I have so much more energy than before. Any lower back pain I had before is totally gone. No more shin splints or fasciitis pains. I can def. tell my clothing is fitting loser and people are starting to notice the loss. I'm starting to gain my confidence back up as well.