BlueParis

The curls are gorgeous! That's a really nice length and style to frame your face, very flattering.

Hey. Just showing yall my real hair. I took out my extensions. I may get it straightened this weekend. I’m also 177. 17lbs away from my goal!!!

Ive made it to my cute little music festival in the Loire valley.
And I really feel happy and at peace for the first time in a long time while being around a lot of new people - I’m not ashamed of my body or of how I move. And I also realised that I’m happy grazing little bits of food and sitting down for a meal with people and not feeling the need to stuff myself but also not feeling like I’m missing out.
I wanted to share this with you folks because the last few months have been quite (very) tough at times and you’ve been my sounding board and holding me up.
I know my journey is far from over and that the road ahead is a long and winding one, but… I have no doubts that I made the right choice for me.

How’s everyone getting on ?

Hi all! Sorry I've been in a whirlwind (I'm not sure thats how you say that in english...) of work for the last few days. The political situation in France is very unstable and unsettling right now and because I work with public funding it's been more than crazy. I'm in Canada but am having to unexpectingly having to fly back to France early later today ( was meant to be in the US next week) to be able to hit the floor running if **** hits the fan with the election results Sunday. That said... I am proud of myself because I put my foot down and will not work through the weekend. I'm going to a music festival in the loire valley instead and will dance and be merry.
Happy belated birthday @LisaCaryl! I hope this next trip round the sun is a good one and that by the end of it you are where you want to be.
@NickelChip I'm happy your holidays went well and applaud you making good choices when away from home. I've got to the point where I'm loosing very slowly ( 5 pounds in 6 weeks) and so am just trying to make the best choices I can without over thinking things.
I've finally dropped to 67.5kg (148.8lbs) (BMI 23.9) and have accepted things are going to be slow from now on .... I have three weeks of hectic work left before I'm on holiday for 5 whole weeks before starting my new job in September.
Once I'm on holiday I'm going to try and up my steps and focus on eating the best I can( and drinking less alcohol) and I'll see where that gets me.
@RonHall908 Like every true Parisian I know .... I leave Paris 48 hours before the games start! I'll be away on holiday for 5 whole weeks with my partner. The longest holidays we have ever taken. The games are going to be hectic and access to a lot of areas in the city are restricted - most of the bridges are also closed ... so we're just leaving the city... like every sane person I know!
That said... in France we get 5 weeks of paid holiday a year plus 1 extra week if we work over 35 hours a week (my case) plus 11 bank holidays plus basically unlimited paid sick leave plus like an extra day when you move houses, 3 days for a wedding, 3 days for the death of a parent, 2 weeks for the death of a child, 6 months full pay maternity, up to 5 days a year full pay for sick children under 14 etc etc etc ... so we only use holiday days for holidays so every summer ( office working ) Parisians tend to leave paris en masse for most of August - we all joke that the 15th of August Paris is empty every year ... so this isn't so specific to the olympics!
I did go for a walk in Versailles not long ago and saw the prep for the horse racing ... it's going to look so so cool with the chateau as a backdrop!

Hi all! Sorry I've been in a whirlwind (I'm not sure thats how you say that in english...) of work for the last few days. The political situation in France is very unstable and unsettling right now and because I work with public funding it's been more than crazy. I'm in Canada but am having to unexpectingly having to fly back to France early later today ( was meant to be in the US next week) to be able to hit the floor running if **** hits the fan with the election results Sunday. That said... I am proud of myself because I put my foot down and will not work through the weekend. I'm going to a music festival in the loire valley instead and will dance and be merry.
Happy belated birthday @LisaCaryl! I hope this next trip round the sun is a good one and that by the end of it you are where you want to be.
@NickelChip I'm happy your holidays went well and applaud you making good choices when away from home. I've got to the point where I'm loosing very slowly ( 5 pounds in 6 weeks) and so am just trying to make the best choices I can without over thinking things.
I've finally dropped to 67.5kg (148.8lbs) (BMI 23.9) and have accepted things are going to be slow from now on .... I have three weeks of hectic work left before I'm on holiday for 5 whole weeks before starting my new job in September.
Once I'm on holiday I'm going to try and up my steps and focus on eating the best I can( and drinking less alcohol) and I'll see where that gets me.
@RonHall908 Like every true Parisian I know .... I leave Paris 48 hours before the games start! I'll be away on holiday for 5 whole weeks with my partner. The longest holidays we have ever taken. The games are going to be hectic and access to a lot of areas in the city are restricted - most of the bridges are also closed ... so we're just leaving the city... like every sane person I know!
That said... in France we get 5 weeks of paid holiday a year plus 1 extra week if we work over 35 hours a week (my case) plus 11 bank holidays plus basically unlimited paid sick leave plus like an extra day when you move houses, 3 days for a wedding, 3 days for the death of a parent, 2 weeks for the death of a child, 6 months full pay maternity, up to 5 days a year full pay for sick children under 14 etc etc etc ... so we only use holiday days for holidays so every summer ( office working ) Parisians tend to leave paris en masse for most of August - we all joke that the 15th of August Paris is empty every year ... so this isn't so specific to the olympics!
I did go for a walk in Versailles not long ago and saw the prep for the horse racing ... it's going to look so so cool with the chateau as a backdrop!

Hi all! Sorry I've been in a whirlwind (I'm not sure thats how you say that in english...) of work for the last few days. The political situation in France is very unstable and unsettling right now and because I work with public funding it's been more than crazy. I'm in Canada but am having to unexpectingly having to fly back to France early later today ( was meant to be in the US next week) to be able to hit the floor running if **** hits the fan with the election results Sunday. That said... I am proud of myself because I put my foot down and will not work through the weekend. I'm going to a music festival in the loire valley instead and will dance and be merry.
Happy belated birthday @LisaCaryl! I hope this next trip round the sun is a good one and that by the end of it you are where you want to be.
@NickelChip I'm happy your holidays went well and applaud you making good choices when away from home. I've got to the point where I'm loosing very slowly ( 5 pounds in 6 weeks) and so am just trying to make the best choices I can without over thinking things.
I've finally dropped to 67.5kg (148.8lbs) (BMI 23.9) and have accepted things are going to be slow from now on .... I have three weeks of hectic work left before I'm on holiday for 5 whole weeks before starting my new job in September.
Once I'm on holiday I'm going to try and up my steps and focus on eating the best I can( and drinking less alcohol) and I'll see where that gets me.
@RonHall908 Like every true Parisian I know .... I leave Paris 48 hours before the games start! I'll be away on holiday for 5 whole weeks with my partner. The longest holidays we have ever taken. The games are going to be hectic and access to a lot of areas in the city are restricted - most of the bridges are also closed ... so we're just leaving the city... like every sane person I know!
That said... in France we get 5 weeks of paid holiday a year plus 1 extra week if we work over 35 hours a week (my case) plus 11 bank holidays plus basically unlimited paid sick leave plus like an extra day when you move houses, 3 days for a wedding, 3 days for the death of a parent, 2 weeks for the death of a child, 6 months full pay maternity, up to 5 days a year full pay for sick children under 14 etc etc etc ... so we only use holiday days for holidays so every summer ( office working ) Parisians tend to leave paris en masse for most of August - we all joke that the 15th of August Paris is empty every year ... so this isn't so specific to the olympics!
I did go for a walk in Versailles not long ago and saw the prep for the horse racing ... it's going to look so so cool with the chateau as a backdrop!

Hi all! Sorry I've been in a whirlwind (I'm not sure thats how you say that in english...) of work for the last few days. The political situation in France is very unstable and unsettling right now and because I work with public funding it's been more than crazy. I'm in Canada but am having to unexpectingly having to fly back to France early later today ( was meant to be in the US next week) to be able to hit the floor running if **** hits the fan with the election results Sunday. That said... I am proud of myself because I put my foot down and will not work through the weekend. I'm going to a music festival in the loire valley instead and will dance and be merry.
Happy belated birthday @LisaCaryl! I hope this next trip round the sun is a good one and that by the end of it you are where you want to be.
@NickelChip I'm happy your holidays went well and applaud you making good choices when away from home. I've got to the point where I'm loosing very slowly ( 5 pounds in 6 weeks) and so am just trying to make the best choices I can without over thinking things.
I've finally dropped to 67.5kg (148.8lbs) (BMI 23.9) and have accepted things are going to be slow from now on .... I have three weeks of hectic work left before I'm on holiday for 5 whole weeks before starting my new job in September.
Once I'm on holiday I'm going to try and up my steps and focus on eating the best I can( and drinking less alcohol) and I'll see where that gets me.
@RonHall908 Like every true Parisian I know .... I leave Paris 48 hours before the games start! I'll be away on holiday for 5 whole weeks with my partner. The longest holidays we have ever taken. The games are going to be hectic and access to a lot of areas in the city are restricted - most of the bridges are also closed ... so we're just leaving the city... like every sane person I know!
That said... in France we get 5 weeks of paid holiday a year plus 1 extra week if we work over 35 hours a week (my case) plus 11 bank holidays plus basically unlimited paid sick leave plus like an extra day when you move houses, 3 days for a wedding, 3 days for the death of a parent, 2 weeks for the death of a child, 6 months full pay maternity, up to 5 days a year full pay for sick children under 14 etc etc etc ... so we only use holiday days for holidays so every summer ( office working ) Parisians tend to leave paris en masse for most of August - we all joke that the 15th of August Paris is empty every year ... so this isn't so specific to the olympics!
I did go for a walk in Versailles not long ago and saw the prep for the horse racing ... it's going to look so so cool with the chateau as a backdrop!

Back from vacation last night and had a great time. We spent 2 days at the waterpark at Great Wolf Lodge, then drove to Hershey, Pennsylvania to visit the amusement park, followed by a trip through Lancaster County (where many Amish people live). I did what I could to meet Protein goals and make healthy choices at restaurants, but I also allowed myself some sweets and tried not to stress about it too much. Weighed myself this morning and was down one pound since last week. Overall feeling good and looking forward to getting back to a more normal schedule, although I have a bit of a break from work until next week.
A few random travel tips:
Always make sure you are getting your food prepared the way you want it when you order. I saw a photo of a salad with grilled chicken on the menu, but I didn't realize it could also come fried until that was what the server brought me. She didn't ask which I wanted (she was new), and I just assumed it was grilled. A simple, "That's with grilled chicken, right?" would have saved me having to try to peel away all of the fried breading.
If you must order fast food when on the road, a small cup of chili from Wendy's has 16g protein and 240 calories. I believe it's 22g carb (6g of which is fiber). They also have some nice salads.
For a long car trip, bring a gallon-size thermal jug of ice Water and keep it in the back to refill your smaller water bottle.
Individual packs of edamame, beef Jerky, and nuts made great portable Snacks to get in some extra protein, and Quest protein chips are delicious! I also found protein pretzels in a gas station convenience store and they were good, although not as high in protein as Quest (which they also sold there).

Happy Belated Birthday!
I've never wanted to get on a bike and ride. However, since I've been on the stationary bike a lot. I think that's something I may get more involved with after I have knee surgery and heal up. The Heat is rough here as well.

Hey there! I'm glad you did see some benefits from the stall. My dietician told me that would happen. The scale will stall, but our bodies will still lose inches.
I'm doing well here. Nothing much new, really. It's so freaking hot out, and while I can handle it a bit better than I did with 50+ more pounds on me, it's still miserable. Especially the horrible humidity we get here.
My birthday was last week, and my hubby and I ordered me an Electric Bike! It won't be here for a while, but I won't really ride it until it cools off outside anyway. We are building a new home and will be moving in about a year and a half, and that's when I really want it. We will live where it's more conducive to riding. We live on a mountain right now, and I'm not sure I'll be able to ride it down the hill. I'll try!
Hope everyone else is doing well!!

How's everyone doing heading toward July 4th Holidays?
I'll be taking a trip driving to Missouri visiting friends and family there. I'm going to prep some meals and take Protein Shakes with me to make sure I don't fall off the wagon. I've lost a few pounds, breaking the stall I had going. I did measure my belly or what the bariatric center called my waist (measuring around my belly at the belly button), and I lost 1-1/2 inches since May. So the stall was not as significant as I thought it was.

@BlueParis With the Olympics in Paris in a few weeks, are you going to attend any of the games? I would bet getting around will be a nightmare with so many people there for the games.

@Noelle74 How's work?
I'm about to leave Paris again for 3 weeks and head into a crazy tunnel of meetings and flights and travel and conferences till the end of July ... I've finally dropped to under 69kg but now know that my weightloss is probably going to slow to 5-7ish pounds (2/3kg a month) so I have a long slog in front of me and If I reach my goal it won't be until December I reckon. I'm not sure how I feel about this. I'm trying to look at the progress I've made so far and concentrate on the fact that although my BMI is at the top of healthy it is healthy. Looking back at pictures is helping. My collar bones and hip bones are starting to make a reappearance at last and that I'm happy about.
I've decided I also probably need to seriously act on my drinking too and will count my units this next month and consider seeing a shrink if I'm averaging over 14 units a week.

By the way how are everyones scars ... mine are still so dark - see last picture!


One Week Post op


Two weeks post op

One month ish post op

Last week (so 4 months post op)

This evening (not the best outfit but I'm in Pjs already - folded top in and up to show scars)

Not sure of your age, but if you are in the age of being pre- or post-menopausal vaginal estrogen cream is shown to be an effective preventative treatment for UTIs. There is even research showing it to be safe for those who have had breast cancer. Ask you doctor if this applies to you!

Had to get a new driver’s licence today. They took the new picture which is then run through a facial recognition program where your new photo is compared to your old licence photo as proof of identity. Program runs & runs & runs. Comes back it’s not me. (Well it was when I looked in the mirror this morning.)
Had to have another photo taken & had to pull my hair back. (Great. This will be my licence photo for years.) Again the program runs & runs & I’m sitting there with the woman processing my request waiting & waiting. I asked if there was an override to this step. No she says. What happens if it still doesn’t recognise me? We keep taking pictures until it does or the license can’t be issued she says.
It does realise I’m 10 years older I ask then I realise: 10 years & 42kgs lighter. Oh…
Thankfully, the program decided it was me with the second photo & my new licence will be sent to me in 21 days. (Don’t get me started on that. What happened to them producing the licence there & then & your new licence is warm from the laminated printing process.)
Anyone else have unexpected experiences because of their weight loss?

@BlueParis Frustrating as it is, I think it takes most people about a year to reach their lowest weight. Those lucky few who drop the weight really fast are unusual. I know it's hard! But you're a healthy weight and looking great, so it's worth being proud of how much you've accomplished, especially with such a difficult travel schedule. At least your stall has broken!
As for scars, mine are similarly dark purple. This is not a surprise to me as I get very dark scars, even from spider bites. Those pajama pictures reminded me that I had to get rid of an old favorite pair of pajamas as they were much too large. I look forward to buying a cozy new pair when the cold weather rolls around!
I honestly don't know how anyone stays on track while traveling, especially on vacation. It is so hard when eating at restaurants non-stop, not to mention being surrounded by snack foods and temptations like ice cream and candy, which are much too easy to eat. I dread what my weight will be at the end of the week when I get home from my family trip. This will be the most days in a row I've missed weighing myself since surgery. But now that I've had a day of indulging in some treats, and realizing that eating junk isn't as appealing as I remember and kind of makes me feel blah, I'm hoping I'll be better about limiting myself to the healthiest options I can find.

@BlueParis, you look amazing. I wish you didn't have so much societal pressure to be crazy thin. Being a healthy weight should matter most, then feeling good. I grew up in southern California and always felt pressured to be thinner than I was. Even when I was 116 pounds, I was told, "You're getting there." Looking back, I looked sickly thin for my frame.
My scars are pretty dark, too, especially the largest one. The others are quite small and not that noticeable.
I saw my primary doctor today and she wasn't at all worried about my A1C being at 6.1. She said we'll take another look at it in 6 months. She was very happy with all my numbers and thrilled about my weight loss. She said I was "boring and making her job so easy." That was a first!

The progress in your pictures is awesome. My scars are lighter, two of them are small but you can still see them somewhat. With you being normal BMI, I would say it's going to take time to get to your goal. Travelling a lot will have something to do with it as well. I want to get under 200 lbs. before my knee replacement in October. I know, once I have that done. Weight loss will probably be nonexistent for a couple months.

@Noelle74 Good luck with the job!
@gracesmommy2 I'm still stalled ( nearly 6 weeks now!) so you have all my sympathy
@NickelChip I hope you enjoy your holidays!
@LisaCaryl I hope your knee continues to behave
@RonHall908 Thanks for the podcast recommandations, enjoying them !
I'm going to give my week another stall and then do a one week liquid diet I think...

@Noelle74 Good luck with the job!
@gracesmommy2 I'm still stalled ( nearly 6 weeks now!) so you have all my sympathy
@NickelChip I hope you enjoy your holidays!
@LisaCaryl I hope your knee continues to behave
@RonHall908 Thanks for the podcast recommandations, enjoying them !
I'm going to give my week another stall and then do a one week liquid diet I think...

217-183

Man oh MAN did I miss it!!! My body is really tired (not used to the physical activity for 8 hours a day) but it felt great being back. I missed my team and my patients!!! Not sure if I shared it, but I'm a certified clinical medical assistant. Next surgeries won't be for a couple of years, and those are just plastics. So glad to FINALLY be done with all that!!!

Last year I had given my daughter a bunch of jeans that were too small for me. I just got to take them back!! She brought me 10 pairs of jeans and 3 pairs I got to send back because they were too big!! The ones I got to keep were size 9’s. I didn’t want to go buy clothes yet because I’m still 9lbs from my goal weight and 19lbs from my surgeons goal weight. Very much in need of toning my stomach though. I keep hearing my surgeons words in my head over and over “skinny fat””skinny fat” if you don’t exercise you’ll look “skinny fat” ugh, this is my stomach right now. Never mind I’ve had 4 babies and that last one I had when I was 38 so my abdomen has not been bikini ready in a lifetime. So small win for me, I fit in a size 9 jeans, big loss…out of the jeans is not as pretty. Time to really get to toning and exercising and move onto the next steps in getting healthy. I haven’t stepped on the scale in a few days. Eating wise I have not been sick in over a week. All my Vitamin levels are where they should be. Things are finally falling into place.

I've been trying to find all the podcast I can to get other perspectives post op. The other one I listen to is called "Active bariatric nutrition" podcast. The woman is a nutritionist. She has a lot of insight as well.

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend. Thank you all for your messages re my stall!
I'm still stalled ... no suprise there. I'm going to try and track what I'm eating this week as I haven't really been tracking at all. Just trying to be sensible and go with the flow. I'm still being very conciencious about everything I put in my mouth and reckon I'm averaging about 1200-1300 calories a day max. I know I could eat more Protein but as I eat so little meat its a bit complicated esp when I'm travelling. I hate Protein Shakes and anything with an artificial taste, I'm really not into processed foods. I do love carbs. I know what I'm eating is far from perfect but I'm also trying to "live" as normally as I can without getting ultra focused on food because
1) I just don't want to 2) I know that it won't be substainable for me to track/only eat specific things/100% certain avoid things long term 3) food is a real source of joy for me as is cooking. Cooking is my way of calming down and disconecting my brain after work but I'm an improvisation whats left on the fridge cook not a planning cook 4) I've very scared of being too "strict" on food and ending up with a transfer addiction as I have a very addition prone personality and I already smoke (cigarettes daily and weed probably 2/3 times a month) and drink (much much less than before the surgery when I was drinking too much) and even though I haven't touched a Benzodiazepine (xanax) in 3 years and 8 months (go me 😌) I had a big enough issue with benzo abuse to have to take a month of work to come off them. I'll try and track properly tomorrow and for a few days but for example today from memory I had ( I also had water)
Breakfast : 1/4 bagel with butter, coffee with semi skim milk
Mid Morning : 2x Coffee with semi skim milk
Lunch : Palm sized bit of omelette with courgette, red peppers, kale, onions, cheese, about two tablespoons grated carrot salad
Mid afternoon : Tea with semi skim milk and sweetener, bit of brie cheese about twice the size of my thumb
Supper : Palm sized bit of omelette with courgette, red peppers, kale, onions, cheese
Herbal tea
Before bed : About 4/5 teaspoons of vegan pannacotta (soy milk, sweetener, orange flower Water, cornstarch, pistachios, maple syrup)
Herbal tea

It’s been a really frustrating week. It took me right back to the feelings I had when trying yet another weight loss regime and getting nowhere 😡 I have been trying new things this week plus sticking to my eating plan. However my weight has been all over the place, even though my calories have averaged 1400 per day, my Protein intake around 100g and my carbs between 100 - 140g. I’d forgotten a couple of basic things - my body doesn’t do well losing weight when I’m throwing down a handful of pain killers 3 times a day and I didn’t check my salt intake. I retain Water like mad when I have high salt foods which a couple of the new things I’d tried this week had (looking at you low fat sausages 👀) But, lesson learned with that, especially as I had bookmarked these sausages when I had to complete the liver reduction diet (allowed on my NHS trusts plan) Better to know now and not later when I know it would have sent my in to a proper flap!
Overall, a whole 1lb down this week. Not a roaring success by any means but I did stick to plan and I didn’t fall headfirst into things I shouldn’t! Plus I am at a lower weight now than my initial reported weight to the clinic by the GP so that’s a positive 😊

Onwards and Downwards!