Noelle74

You look absolutely amazing!! Congratulations on the weight loss. I don’t know how you do it with all the traveling. I think it takes some time for us to adjust to actually seeing ourselves thinner even after we have lost the weight. Even losing 45 lbs now I don’t always see myself thinner. Then I look at my English bulldog who also weighs 45 lbs and remind myself that I lost that much weight lol 😂 When I look at it that way it makes me see it differently. I am 18lbs away from my weight the surgeon wants me at but it is very slow going now. Some days I fluctuate between the same couple pounds instead of going down and making any real progress. Orientation at work already has given me a cough and stuffy nose. Too much time hibernating at home. I am anxious though to see if all the moving 8 hrs a day will get the weight dropping faster. I hope everyone continues to beat the scale and stay positive!! It looks like everyone is doing great!

9 minutes ago, LisaCaryl said:

How is everyone?

I'm doing well here. My knee feels a lot better, although I'm not sure it's completely healed. I've finished my steroids. I'm praying it won't flare up again!

Today was my weigh day and I was down 3 1/2 pounds this week. That's with no exercise and minimal movement, so happy about that.

I hope you all are doing well!!!

Congratulations on being down 3 1/2 lbs this week!! I’m so glad your knee is feeling better too!! I had knee pain once a few years back and I swear that is one of the worst pains there is. I was so glad mine went away eventually because I told myself many times I didn’t know how people dealt with such pain continuously. I do hope yours stays away.
I have not stepped on the scale. I do not want to be disappointed. I start work tonight after 10 years of not working. I’m disabled and do not know how long it will work out but the activity will count towards helping me lose the weight if I can make it any amount of time. Sadly I will probably have to up my steroid dose to do it but those should burn up and not add any extra weight. Wish me luck.

16 minutes ago, LisaCaryl said:

Wow it sounds like you are doing great! How exciting about the jeans. I love this!

Thank you!!

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.

8 minutes ago, BlueParis said:

Congrats on the mega stall break!

I don't know if you can get kale where you are ... I promise this is so much better than it sounds it's like crack health food. I was like a bit bleh when i heard about it ... But air fryer kale chips.

A lot of Kale, salt, oil

Wash kale, take out the big middle stalks, put in a big bowl with some salt and a tablespoon of oil and massage. Put in preheated airfryer at 400F for 3 minutes, shake, back in for 3 minutes.

Delicious.

Will catch up properly later!

I will have to try the kale chips too! Stalking your recipes Blueparis, lol! . Congrats nickelchip on the stall break. I managed to lose 4lbs so far this week. I’m 9lbs from being at a normal bmi and 19lbs from where my surgeon wants me to be which i guess is the lower end of the normal range bmi for my height. Personally I’m just counting down to being within normal range at all. I have two dresses I’m still dying to fit into so hopefully I’ll get there eventually. I desperately need to tone up now that I’ve lost some weight but I’m struggling with my energy levels.

Yesterday was a bad day for me. Everything I ate got stuck and I spent a lot of time miserable with a bag nearby ready to be sick. I ended my day with applesauce and called it good. Today started off good with some movement on the scale. Down 1.6 lbs. small change I know but it’s the biggest change I’ve had in a day so I’ll take it. I wanted to weigh in before the weekend when I’ll no doubt eat things I shouldn’t and sit around way more than I should. I’m in no hurry to eat anything today after everything got stuck yesterday. I might stick to liquids today just so I’m not totally miserable all day. We weren’t supposed to get anymore rain til Tuesday but here it is again, cloudy and drizzling. Seems that is all we have seen the last two to three weeks. It’s not cold just dreary. I hope everyone else has a brighter happier day today.

I’m only losing a pound or two a week. It’s super slow!!!! I had my post up appt which wasn’t super informative. I’ve lost 40lbs so far. Not all of my bloodwork was in yet so I’m waiting to hear how my Vitamin levels are. She said the stuck food lasts til 6 months then comes back at 12 months and 18 months 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ and I’m expected to lose my weight over 18 months. That was about it. Other than the stalls will get longer and longer she said. Ughhhhhhhh. Some days I feel like I’m where I was pre surgery trying to get the scale to move even though I know that’s not the case. I have started only weighing once a week now instead of every day so that’s less frustrating. Knowing we are all stalling definitely helps me to see it is just the way things are and I can’t rush it. Thanks for the continued support ❤️

9 hours ago, BlueParis said:

I'm still stalled but feeling better.

I spoke to my clinic who said it is normal because I've lost more than goal at this point and had a lower BMI to start off with.

The clinic has said the stall may last up to a month which means I'm half way through the stall trying to be rational about it.

I managed a decent walk ( 15.4k steps) yesterday in my raincoat that helped.

I'm still in London for work and it is grey and raining but I bailed on my hotel and came to stay with my little brother (who lives here for his work) and it's a bit like being home. I hadn't seen him in a few years because we're not that close but he made me airfryer spicy tofu and asparagus for supper, offered to look over some work excels with me and to top it off he washed, dried, folded my laundry from my suitcase whilst I was asleep and woke me up with coffee in bed this morning. (I suspect he's been talking to my partner). He's made me feel very cared for and also said that even without weightloss in the mix he gets very very down when he has a bad stretch of travel for work and the weather is ****. He helped me find friends of friends to stay with when I have a week in Budapest in 10 days time so that I'm not all alone at a hotel again. And we realised we'll both be in Boston for work next month and can meet up there and we also sync'd our work travel agendas and found out we'll be in Singapore in October at the same time as our brother in law ( sisters husband) and so all three of us can stay together!

For my job the travel is going to be wild until the end of this year (wrap up of a 5 year worldwide project) and so I'm just going to have to "hack" it as much as I can.

I get back to Paris very late tonight and might see if I can move enough meetings around to take Friday off work and just spend 3 days for myself in Paris.

Hows everyone getting on ?

I am still basically stalled too. I fluctuate up and down the same pound over and over again but everyone keeps saying “you’ve lost more weight, haven’t you?” Ummm, no. It must just be shifting around. I know how discouraging it can be for the scale to not move especially after the quick initial weight loss right after surgery. I try to tell myself it’s a good thing because my skin seems to be bouncing right back and if I was losing too quickly it wouldn’t and then I would have the added problem of loose skin everywhere. I have about 25lbs left to lose so if we have a year to lose our weight I have 9 months to lose that weight. If you look at it that way it’s more bearable. Hang in there

7 hours ago, RonHall908 said:

You don't need to go to a gym or walk for miles. Just moving around more often helps. Simple stuff like getting on a single step and doing step ups for a few minutes helps. Youtube is a great place to look for simple things you can do for movement. Getting a resistant band and doing a few exercises helps. I always thought resistant bands were a Joke, until I started using them. They are no joke and you can do a lot with them. Here's some reels from the Bariatric center I go to. In particular the woman in this clip is my exercise specialist. Her name is Mo and she is out of her mind full of energy. They have a lot of stuff on their youtube ranging from exercise to diet and everything else in bariatrics.

I have some resistance bands so I’ll have to give these a try. I have had them stored away in the closet forever. Thanks for the videos. There are so many online to try and weed through.

I wish I had the motivation to get out walking more. I’m 45 miles from the gym and if I walk the roads I live on I’ll be dodging semi trucks soon during harvest. The treadmill has just not called to me. When I lived in Hawaii I would go out walking with my friends every morning and I was much thinner. I just don’t have people to walk with or work out with here and it shows. That makes it so much easier in my opinion. Right now my partner is an overweight English bulldog and she’s not much more motivated than I am. I keep telling myself if I just do it every day then it will become habit again. Today is the day right?

This is not as easy as people think the weight really does not just fall off. I have been having to work for every tiny scale victory lately and if I don’t eat and drink right it creeps up the wrong direction just a bit. I‘’m sorry you’re at a stall too. I know how frustrating it can be. All I can say is that you have made so much progress in the last few months and you look amazing!! You are out there climbing cliffs!! No way would you have been doing that last year. This time next year all this stalls will be a memory and we will all have made it through it. Just keep doing what you’re doing and the scale will move again soon. ❤️

6 minutes ago, LisaCaryl said:

You look fantastic and are adorable!

Aww thank you!!

18 minutes ago, BlueParis said:

You look fantastic!!!! Love your pink top too! also you do not look old enough to be a granny!

Thank you so much! I have 4 kids. My oldest son is 30 and my youngest daughter is 10. Then 4 grandbabies. As much as I hated pictures I had to allow some in case something happened to me. Wish they would start them away in a vault somewhere though.

4 hours ago, RonHall908 said:

After 3 weeks of weight stall the scale finally moved some. I think the exercise specialist pointed out a flaw. I would eat something 2 hours before working out, she told me to eat something with a good Protein and carb mix 20-30 minutes before my workout. also told me to drink a Protein Shake after the workout. I've done that the past two weeks. After a 3 week stall I'm not certain if it was that little change or the fact that it was going to have to move anyway. But, at least it moved. Hope everyone else has some scale or non-scale victories.

I’ve managed to move the scale about 3lbs this week. Not much but since it wasn’t moving at all I’ll take it. I am down several Jean sizes though and the other day I put a shirt on that looked ridiculous it was so big. My hair has started shedding pretty bad so I’m really watching my Protein intake and not missing any Vitamins. Hoping it slows down soon before it becomes noticeable. It’s usually pretty thick so I have a little to spare. I think maybe I’ve managed to get rid of a chin or two also lol. Here’s a current picture I don’t have many from right before surgery but the one where I look like I might pop is at my granddaughters birthday present last July courtesy of my daughter 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

17 minutes ago, BlueParis said:

Thanks all for your support, it's seems silly to write to you all as relative strangers, but apart from my partner I haven't disclosed my surgery to anyone so you folks are "my people" right now!.

I'm slightly less cold this evening and had a blood test at lunch time ... (I'm not a doctor but I do work in the healthcare field and I'm actually at an EU medical conference here so got a collègue to write me a script for one). the results are through and, I am as I thought very anemic, so much so that I have an Iron infusion booked for tomorrow ( Amen to the pan european health insurance system!!) . And @LisaCaryl you also hit the spot - I have low blood pressure too - but thats not that unusual for me - doctor I spoke to said I should try and rest up a bit and take things easy.

(Sort of made me laugh because after full days of conf here I have zooms late evening with my US teams because of the time difference and also found out yesterday that I get back to Paris and then after one night have to go straight to the UK for a week for more meetings ... in my 3 months (90 days) since surgery I've had a total of 23 nights at home .... C'est la vie )

I have tomorrow and Friday to get through and then my partner is flying out for the weekend and we'll go to the islands where I hope I'll have more sun!

I'll layer up the best I can and will deffo see if when I'm in the US I can get some more thermal wear just in case I'm still feeling chilly , @RonHall908 @Noelle74 I'm sure I'll find a Parisian way to rock a hunting style! Or I could just go for a classic Elisabeth II look

The issue I have at the moment is work attire - I have to sort of dress "smart" and because I've lost weight so quickly in the last three months ( My three month "surgerversary" is tomorrow) I've gone from a european size 44 (US size 14 / UK 16 / Aus 18) to a european size 38 ( US size 8/UK 10/ Aus 12) I'm relying on wrap dresses and cardigans with tights that just aren't cutting it warmth wize. I have to upgrade my sheer tights to woollen ones and get some thermal t-shirts to wear under my dresses as per @Briss72 suggestion ( congrats at getting under 100kg @Briss72 and I'll for sure stock up on some handwarmers for my pockets).

I have a free morning tomorrow after my infusion and will see what I can buy without spending too much money as I'm still loosing weight pretty in a pretty linear way and hope it will continue for another few months so don't want to spend much on temporary clothes!

Here is my weight chart (in Kg) since surgery which I'm very happy with so far... and even with all the being cold and a bit miserable, I know this was the best choice for me and I'd do it all again in a heartbeat and regret not booking surgery earlier! The first drop from 95-91 was my presurgery diet and just after surgery my weight went up ... but it's being going down steady since - I'm just on the brink of having a normal BMI - green zone!

Now that was a very long post! Once again, thanks for everyones support, and sorry for being a bit of a negative nancy from time to time!

I’m with you on not wanting to spend much on clothes right now. I’m going over to raid my daughter’s closet because I had just given her a bunch of my jeans a few months back. I am down to a US waist size 29 in jeans right now and I had held on to a few of my favorites but given her most of them. I can’t sew at all so I have resorted to posting my bigger clothes online to try and get bit of money out of them that I can turn around and put into some new clothes. I do still have quite a few smaller clothes I never let go of though. I get my post op blood work done next week and I’m pretty sure it will show I’m anemic also. I’m covered in huge bruises. I started to have a small amount of Hair loss the past week so I’m bummed out and I have started watching what I eat much better. I was slacking so now I chart everything and get my exercise in everyday. I’m getting my 100gms of Protein, 64 oz of Water, cut out any soda and sweet tea again and went back to zero sugar. I was on my second stall but I have started slowly moving again. I’m currently at 170lbs so 37lbs total lost so far and 25lbs to go. I don’t have much support. My best friend and my mother were totally against this surgery when I said I was going to do it. My mother passed away before I made it through all the hoops. It took me a year to meet all their requirements. My best friend still can not show any support but I am already 100% happier with myself and I feel so much better already even with the challenges I know we have all faced. This group has been a lifesaver even though I don’t always post I do follow. Thank you everyone for sharing your stories and all the support. ❤️

3 hours ago, BlueParis said:

Ok I need everyone’s coping strategies for dealing with being so cold the whole time.

It’s 16 C ( 60 F) this morning in athens. I’ve « burnt » through all the warm clothes I bought with me so will have to drop laundry to be done today. Because I have a whole week left here.

Yesterday a collègue touched my hand as I was passing him some papers and audibly gasped at how cold I was and asked if I was okay and then gave me his jacket to put over my knees during the meeting so I know it’s not all in my head.

I have the heating on and a hot water bottle for night but I just can’t warm up.

Im pretty sure I must be very anemic right now and will check that with blood tests when I get back home.

I know I sound like a broken record but I’m just really really struggling with being so freezing the whole time. It’s miserable. My hands are so cold I’m having issues typing for work …

I‘m so sorry you’re struggling with the cold. I’m afraid I’m one that also goes out in the winter with no coat, but mine is due to adrenal insufficiency. I’m always running hot which is a curse in itself. As RonHall said they do have the heated jackets etc here that a battery goes in the pocket. I bought one for my husband a few years ago and he loves it. They do come in black so you wouldn’t be stuck in camo or bright orange and I believe some of the women’s jackets are even fitted so it might be an option for you to stay comfortable. I bought one on Amazon. I hope you get some sunshine and warmer weather soon. Here in Kansas we’ve had several days of clouds and rain. I don’t suffer from being cold but it sure doesn’t motivate me to do much.

@RonHall908 you look amazing!! What a difference. I didn’t take any pics before because I hated pictures so much. My kids had snuck a few and it seemed they were always the side pics that showed all my extra chins 🤦‍♀️ I hid from the camera. I’m feeling like I’m making progress but still hiding from the camera because I fear it will knock me backwards in how I feel I’m progressing.

On 4/22/2024 at 8:46 AM, LisaCaryl said:

Everything was going good then yesterday I got too confident and ate too fast it was only an egg but up it came and everything since has been a challenge I’m sure my stomach and esophagus are just aggravated and need a bit of healing time now but it’s aggravating for sure my post op appt went ok of course the dr scale adds 5lbs 😂 getting naked in the hall is frowned upon lol but I was still down 30lbs so I’m on track 🙂 other than that I was told to try some benefiber which I did and it makes me crampy I do my blood work towards the end of May so that will be my next benchmark to hopefully be on track I started cleaning out clothes last night and there are several pairs of jeans I can fit into now that I haven’t been able to in years 🎉🎉

14 minutes ago, RonHall908 said:

The closet thing I've came to bread was the zero carb tortillas. I also found some BBQ pulled pork in a little to go pack like they have with tuna. It's a Pretty good little snack. I put it on the little tortillas. Two of them with a little of the pulled pork filled me up. Here's the link. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Pulled-Pork-in-BBQ-Sauce-2-6-oz-Pouch/982032683?from=/search
Down 33 lbs. is pretty good. Keep it up!

Thank you for the link to the pulled pork. I’ll have to give it a try. It sounds really good! I have some of the zero carb tortillas that I’ve tried with some Beans when my hubby had chicken fajitas since chicken has been a no for me. The beans have been filling and haven’t caused me any problems.

1 hour ago, NickelChip said:

Sounds like you're doing well! I'm only down about 20lbs since surgery (but 35lbs if you count the 2 week liquid diet), so I hope they're pleased with your progress. And I completely agree it has not been easy! It's really been a struggle and never knowing what will be okay and what won't from day to day is very difficult.

It is SOOO difficult. I have to admit I didn’t think it would be this hard. I had a Nissan wrap in 2018 and they said swallowing and eating certain foods would be an issue then. I was able to eat anything I wanted after brief dumping syndrome from dairy. Because of that I thought this was going to be easy. Boy was I wrong. I’m so thankful for all of you sharing your day to day experiences and diets to help make this journey easier.

5 hours ago, BlueParis said:

How's everyone doing ? I'm so so so tired and cold the whole time ...

My energy level has finally increased some. Nothing too great but I’m not totally wiped anymore. Eating has improved the last few days or maybe I’ve accepted defeat on the chicken lol. I did mess up terrible Friday after we went to the zoo and I had raw onion on my sandwich. I can not even begin to explain the pain I caused myself. I thought I would die. Cooked onions are not an issue for me but I swear as long as I live I will never eat another raw onion. I have not felt this kind of pain since I had a Nissan wrap years ago and ate the wrong thing. I have settled in now to an egg for Breakfast, more applesauce than I ever thought I would eat in this lifetime. I have no desire to eat any bread so I just don’t. I have some Protein Shots that are only an oz so they’re a good go to if I'm running short for the day. Variety is not so much a part of eating anymore but I’m good with just finding things I’m comfortable eating. So many things made me nauseated trying to eat them the last couple months so I’ll gladly take what I have now. Yesterday when I weighed I was down 33lbs. My post op appt is in 5 days. I hope it goes well and after my surgeon sees my progress I still walk away feeling like I’m doing a decent job. It has not been an easy two months.

5 minutes ago, LisaCaryl said:

That's what I was wondering... if it might help my stomach when I'm nauseous.

It helped me. So many things were just making me nauseous and I was struggling. Definitely need ice though to take a little of the carbonation out and just like everything else take it slow.

24 minutes ago, LisaCaryl said:

Has anyone tried to drink soda? I haven't had one since last October and lately have such a craving for it. I'd probably hate it! I'm pretty sure most docs/programs say no soda, but I'm curious.

I have had some soda and can tolerate it with ice. Some are easier than others. I tried it because I was so nauseated and sprite or mt dew settles my stomach.

4 minutes ago, gracesmommy2 said:

I live on a huge hill and just told my hubby I need a walking pad too cause I’m flat out NOT walking back up this hill to get home. 😂

😂😂 I’m lucky, I live in Kansas so I have no hills or mountains to get up to get home and if I walk the right way when I leave the wind will just blow me a k home 😂😂

3 minutes ago, LisaCaryl said:

Sorry the chicken got you! Overall, it sounds like you are doing great! Surgery on the same day, and I'm around 30 pounds lost, too. I don't weigh til Friday, but I'm pretty sure that's where I'm at. You are doing much better than I am with exercise. I need to get a walking pad or something. I live in the country and on a mountainside, so walking outside is hard. I get about 4,000 steps in just taking care of my animals, but for sure need more!

I bought a treadmill because the nearest gym is 40 miles round trip from me. It just took me awhile to regain any kind of energy to get on it. I had someone today compliment me on the amount of weight I’ve lost since she last saw me in January or Feb. it was great to hear because I don’t think I see it on myself the way others see it. I’m sure once I get down some more I will. WTG on your weight loss too!! Eating is definitely a work in progress and can be a chore now.