Lilia_90

Baked some delicious smelling brownies (I more than halved the amount of sugar). My little one was like “they’re to die for mama” and the eldest goes “you mean they’re to live for 🙄” with an eye roll. The hubs feedback was “please don’t make them again because I can’t stop eating them. These are the best brownies you’ve ever made” I omitted chocolate chips and replaced with drizzled nutella on top and pecans. Believe it or not I didn’t try them but will tonight.

I felt hunger from the first week post op, it never disappeared. In fact I was starving on the first week of liquids. at 10+ months post op some days I feel ravenous (especially on days I lift very heavy) and some days I'm not interested in eating. How did/do you cope? To be very honest the first week is very hard and generally the first 6 weeks are tough not gonna lie. I hated eating soups and mushy foods. I hated the feeling of my restriction but what made it all worth it was the progress I witnessed on a daily basis. The pounds were melting off and I was so ecstatic about that. Do you have/need coping mechanisms in place- if so what? I traveled. That really helped, I traveled at 3 weeks post op, 3 months post op, 6 months and 8 months post op. I went back to exercising and took up Pilates. I regularly checked in with a friend who's had VSG before me. All these things helped me cope plus the weight melting off!! Does it get easier? It really does. You will look and feel better, you will re-learn how to eat and it'll be okay. Do you have any helpful advice for a newbie like me? Take it one day at a time. Don't be too hard on yourself. Don't compare yourself or your progress to anyone. The first few months are a gift, use them but also free your mind of food anxiety and accept that you are not perfect and you will make mistakes and learn from them. Oh and indulge in movement you enjoy (it makes a big difference, physically and mentally).

Good eye! They are LMAO! I bought them just a couple of months ago and they’re already loose (size S mind you). Nothing like the snug lululemon and Alo yoga pants! They hug you just right.

I make a very similar mix for my kids and I top their oatmeal with it, sometimes even their pancakes. I mix it with raw cocoa powder and it makes oatmeal much more fun to eat. You can also top your yogurt with it with some berries.

I don't think I ate anything that made me sick post op, except for sugar (I am sure it is a form of dumping). At 10+ months post op I eat everything, and by everything I mean I can eat everything and feel fine, my portions are much smaller of course. I eat tacos, burgers, sushi, noodles, pizza and even dessert but in smaller amounts. I eat out 2-3 times a week. Here are some things I follow that help me eat what I feel for in moderation: - I do not drink my calories, other than an oat/almond flat white, all my drinks are calorie free. I do not drink alcohol nor sugary drinks. I drink water, diet soda and coffee and that's about it. - I limit deep fried food, I almost always opt for grilled/air fried/baked. If there's a portion of fries and I really want some, I will have one or two and stop. - I prioritize protein 90% of the time. On weekdays I always start with my protein, then my veggies THEN a tiny bit of carbs if I have space (most of the time there is not much space left). When I'm out for a nice dinner or I've ordered in I will eat my order the way it is and will not pick the protein first, so if I've ordered a burger I will eat it as it, or if it is sushi i will eat that and not worry about protein first, but that is only a couple times a week. - I make tweaks and substitute when taste isn't compromised. I love my big mac tacos but I don't want to be eating 200+ calories from a tortilla, so I substitute that with a mission low carb because I really can't taste the difference, or it's negligible. I also substitute wheat toast for protein toast (still occasionally eat sourdough because I love it and can taste the difference). I also opt for low fat milk/dairy/meats when I can, but I will not substitute cheddar for a low fat version for example because MELTED CHEDDAR 🤤 - I eat carbs in tiny amounts. So if I'm snacking and picked up a cookie, I will eat a bit of it or half at most. If it is a slice of cake I make sure it is tiny or I will eat half the slice, if it's ice cream it is half a scoop. I can't tolerate much of sugar and it makes me ill but I will taste/try. And it has to be WORTH IT. I will not eat something for the sake of eating it, I should really want to try/eat it, and if it ends up not being good, I will not continue eating it. - I workout a lot, I lift, I run, I do Pilates, I cycle and close my steps. I stay active. If you can control your portions and refrain from the "all or nothing mindset" it is very possible to eat what you like and maintain your results, at the end of the day it's calories in vs calories out. Also, my moto is that life is too short to be living miserably (I love food LOL). I will however say that I recommend that you hit maintenance first before exploring with the above. I was VERY strict during weight loss and ate 100% clean.

Not sure if this is a win? my weight has pretty much remained the same for 1.5 months now, but the last couple of weeks my arms, abs and legs have shown a lot more definition and my pants definitely feel looser. I’m more or less the same weight In both pictures but I can tell my body composition is different. September: October:

Baked some brown butter chocolate chip cookies and they turned out insane. The whole house smells of caramel/brown butter. I had 3/4 of one. Used much less sugar than the recipe called for and I still feel I could reduce it a tad more.

Anyone else like this? Ordered a subway 6” sub with peri peri chicken, veggies and cheese thinking I could eat the whole thing (always overestimate how much I can eat and I’m always way off). Felt my restriction after a couple of bites and ended up tearing the bread and only eating the chicken. Pre WLS I would eat almost two of those or one with a side of chips, soda and cookies.

I wish I looked this cool holding an ice cream!! P.S. You don’t look a day over 30. Regarding the keto ice cream, unfortunately that’s all I had in my freezer and it is definitely not my first choice. But it was good nonetheless, I’ve had two tubs of it sitting in my freezer for way too long.

The food looks really good, but you look extra fine yourself! Love the pose and the dress!

Was craving a fall comfort bake, and happened to come across some giant chinese Fuji apples at the grocery store and picked up one. Made some “healthier” apple crumble that I topped with keto ice cream and it turned out sooooo good. The hubby and I shared this but he ate more than me. I still have quite a bit of the apple filling left, might make this again tomorrow or make some pancakes with stewed apples on top.

Sorry to butt in as I'm only a little over 10 months post GS but I feel I can share a little of what I'm doing to maintain. I reached my initial goal 3 months post op and continued to lose until about 9 months post op, went much below goal weight and stabilized (I think as I've been the same weight with one +- 1KG fluctuation for 1.5 months). I lost weight very rapidly and the weird thing is, during weight loss I never tracked, I would only check my calorie intake once every 2-3 weeks to see where I'm sitting at but the whole theme was barely eating to survive and insane restriction. Now that I've stabilized I track my intake 3-4 times a week to know where I am at and what daily average intake is. There are non hungry days where I don't bother to track (plus weekends) and days where I'm ravenous and I make sure I track to know. I have also picked up the habit of weighing myself at least a few times a week, sometimes daily or twice a day (during weight loss I weighed once a week only), now at maintenance I weigh more often and only because I never did pre WLS and my weight kept creeping up and I refused to face reality (if I didn't know then it didn't happen). I also believe that what gets measured gets managed. I cook most of my food and eat out about twice a week, I prioritize protein 90% of the time and eat fairly well. I get in at least 140 grams of protein a day but I also don't deprive myself of anything. I eat bread, rice, pasta ,dessert and everything else really, just not in substantial portions and usually after I've gotten my protein in. I workout a lot. Always have and always will and I believe this has been a huge factor in my success so far. I built back all the muscle I lost and I believe my muscles are allowing me to eat much more without worrying about weight gain (I eat between 1500-1900 calories a day, depending on how hungry I am). I walk between 8k-10k steps a day too. Lastly, I have worked out a wriggle room for myself, If I do gain a little of weight then it is no big deal, it does not distress me and I will deal with it when/if it happens. I try my best everyday and I accept that I am not perfect nor do I set unrealistic standards for myself. I also believe maintenance is a mindset shift as much as it's a physical adjustment. Portion control, constant check-ins, daily movement are great habits to build, but also liberating ourselves of food fear and relinquishing the all or nothing sentiment.

No it was my sister's! That dinner was my birthday treat to her Happy birthday to your nephew ❤️

Man that is exactly how I feel! Like a bottomless pit on my cycle.

Went out to dinner to a Michelin star Cantonese restaurant. What we ordered (dim sum, Duh!) We were served wagyu, scallop, prawn and lobster dim sum. I had the Wagyu, scallop and lobster ones, my dinner companion polished off the rest. Pecking duck. Which was good but not great, I’ve had better. My pretty rolled duck pancake (I had two). Spicy curried shrimps. The largest shrimps I’ve seen, they’re XX jumbo. I had two and regretted it because I was uncomfortably full. Dessert was this delicious bomb with a crispy praline exterior, stuffed with a large scoop of praline ice cream and drizzled with hot chocolate and hazelnuts, and a vegan mango pavlova that was phenomenal. I had two small bites of each dessert and felt extremely stuffed (hate it). Overall this dinner was a 10! I’m so grateful I get to enjoy eating out and order a variety of dishes and get to experience everything (in moderation)

I can bend, stoop and squat to tie my shoes while fully supporting my weight without having to bend forward (if that makes sense?). Before WLS, I suffered a very bad foot injury that caused a lot of my weight gain, one of the things I couldn't do is squat and tie my kids shoes or mine, had to either sit down and do it or bend my body forward with my backside for the whole world to see (not very demure nor mindful LOL). My Achilles can now support my weight squatting down and my knee caps don't feel like they're going to pop out of their places. I can also sit kneeling down and not feel immense pain and tightness. My knees feel much lighter and my injured foot feels much better too.

Seafood night at Mi Casa: Lobster with thermoider butter , garlic butter jumbo shrimps. Cod green coconut curry, corn, and grilled zucchini What I fixed myself How I did (apologies for the non aesthetically pleasing photo).

I second that. I am at a lower BMI and hover between 18-19% body fat. I would say that 12% is quite far fetched. I suggest you see another clinic/doctor to determine your body fat percentage.

Things I’ve eaten: This beautiful egg sandwich with bacon, cheese and spicy mayo between perfectly toasted buttery brioche bread. I picked it up early in the morning but decided I didn’t want to eat it when I got home. Later at night fixed myself half of it with ketchup: A couple of bites in I decided I didn’t feel like eating the bread so picked out the bread and ate the insides of the entire sandwich. Here’s an after of the unfortunate bread (it was so good but too rich and filling): The next day I made 2 ribbon eggs with shallots, feta and pepper flakes. Ate it all with one protein toast (who dis? The secret is taking one whole hour to eat it and eating soooo slowly) also it was after a strenuous hour of exercise ha!

So I get very very very hungry right before my period and the first few days of my cycle. It is so intense that I feel that there is a hole in my stomach where the food disappears 10 minutes after I’ve eaten. It is so weird and I have never experienced this pre WLS. I have clocked 1750 calories for 4 days straight and a whopping 120 grams of protein because I can’t seem to get full. Then I just lose interest in eating for the rest of my cycle, anyone else experience this? Things I’ve eaten the past few days: Galore of burgers. Double smashed cheeseburgers, a classic burger, and a spicy crispy chicken burger. Maple buffalo shrimps Up close and personal on the spicy chicken burger. So hubby was quite taken aback at how much I ordered (knowing he’ll have to eat most of it, teaser: he did) I got excited to try everything (teaser: I didn’t). I hade around 3/4 of one half of the smash cheeseburger, and a bite of the spicy chicken burger which was soooo good but then I felt so sick and regretted eating that. Hubby ate most of the shrimps, his whole burger and my half. The rest was put in the fridge. There was also a large portion of fries which I didn’t taste.

It is weird but I always come back from vacay having lost weight or pretty much stayed the same. I think it's because I don't weight train (lose a little muscle mass) and the insane amount of walking one usually does on vacations.

Because I am still 'fairly" early in the journey (a little over 9.5 months post-op) I completely get your fear and worries. I go through the same cycle of thoughts and what ifs, I wonder if I'm eating too much, too little, losing too much, regain....etc. so I get it. What I can tell you is that you used your surgery to build really good habits and that is eating well most of the time, steps, weight training...etc. and I'm sure those replaced your previous bad habits. Please do a mental comparison of yourself pre WLS and post WLS and see how much you've changed. From what I gather is that you took up exercise after WLS and that gives you great advantage. Your body will build muscle and lose fat simultaneously and you will be at the peak of hypertrophy so take that chance to build as much muscle as you can (fat burning machines). I can tell you that someone at your height and activity level would need quite a bit more than 2000 calories to maintain, so you're still in a deficit. And the beauty of it, is that you can always dial back up or down when you see changes on the scale! Weight fluctuations are very normal (up to 10 lbs), yesterday I was 53.2 on the scale and the next morning I was 53.9 overnight! I know that I was getting my period that day so I knew it's water retention, no biggie! I think you absolutely got this!

Nothing excites me more than groceries and a neatly stocked Kitchen. It is truly a privilege

I try to eat similar food for breakfast and lunch (because I work and they're packed) so a sandwich for breakfast (one protein toast, turkey breast, lite cheese and jalapenos) I cut that in half. My lunch is usually a salad with grilled chicken and between breakfast and lunch I have a bag of protein chips, fruit, some nuts, a protein bar and an oat milk flat white before breakfast. Dinner is the one hot meal I sit and enjoy with my family and it's different every day, but it's almost always a protein and veg with a side of carbs. So think smash burger tacos with a low carb tortilla with a side of broccoli and air fried fries or baked wedges, enchiladas, Thai basil chicken, stir fries, ceviche, poke bowls, steaks. I like my dinners to be elaborate and varied, so we try a lot of recipes and make entrees and side dishes. Due to restriction I only eat the protein and some vegetables but later snack on something that has carbs (prefer to have some carbs before bed because it helps me sleep better). I started having protein toast at 3 months post op, then regular bread (not daily though) at 6 months post-op (my surgeon recommended I add carbs to my diet). I eat everything, I eat carbs and I eat dessert and I eat out weekly (never stopped) but I eat more consciously and in much smaller amounts. I try to make good food choices but I don't deprive myself of anything. Disclaimer though: I workout a lot and that contributes to how I eat and what I choose to eat.

Not boring at all! They look so yummy. Du mind sharing the recipe?