Chatterboxdea

My snack go to is cottage cheese. But for Snacks I tend to go with cheese, Greek yogurt and nuts to try to get my Protein in.

2 minutes ago, ShoppGirl said:

So good to hear from you. Yea for me it was when there were “alot of fun things lately” a few times in a row that it started to be an issue. Just watch it that you’re still doing right like 90 percent of the time or whatever number works for you. It was about this time that I started gaining with my sleeve so I’m not trying to be a downer. Just as cautionary tale that about now when the hunger comes back and your feeling good is when it’s easy to get off track. You’re doing great staying in touch here and you will get to wonderland soon I’m sure. Just stay mindful that your not eating off plan too often. Trust me I know It’s easier said than done. I’m off plan way too often and I haven’t lost anything else when I should be losing for sure with the chemo increasing my metabolism. I’m actually scared I’m going to gain when I’m done in 6 weeks. At least the steroids will be done then which are what’s making me so darn hungry. I just gotta kick the carbs somehow and I don’t think I can start Wegovy until after surgery at least. Wish me luck.

I hope everything goes well for you! Keep us updated!

Right after surgery, I would always get super light headed after a shower; I still do sometimes when its early in the morning or I have to do wash my hair (which means longer shower). I usually take super hot showers, but I had to stop after surgery, because it exacerbated it. I usually would lay down for awhile after and would have some low sugar apple juice on hand to drink. This helped me a lot!

My husband and I just had our 5 year anniversary. We got married right as everything was shutting down for COVID so we didn’t get to have our receptions. We decided to do a five year anniversary party to finally be able to Celebrate with friends and family.

I loved my dress I got for it (though I didn’t get a great picture of the whole dress 🤪). I am still hopefully only halfway done with my weight loss journey but it felt great to by a size 14 dress; it’s been a long time since I wore a size 14!

Here are some picture i scavenged from people from the event to show off the dress!

Hi everyone!

I have been a little MIA lately; things got busy. I am in a slump lately and haven't really lost any weight in a couple weeks. I know this is normal, but because we have had a lot of events and fun things lately, I also haven't been eating as healthy as I would like to... so really either could be the reason for my slump.

I'm trying to stay optimistic and get back on track. I'm so close to FINALLY being under 200 lbs and I refuse to stop losing weight before I reach it!

I hope all of you are doing well and I look forward to updating you guys when I have hit Onederland!

We went to visit friends this weekend in CO and I went snow shoeing for the first time! I don’t know that I could have done it at my starting weight. My legs are still sore cause you have to walk differently than you do normally, but we went over 3 miles and it was so much fun!

On 2/24/2025 at 3:40 AM, Lilia_90 said:

I had very long and thick hair too, and at 4 months post op I was losing strands and strands of hair that I was low key freaking out. I tried every Vitamin out there and nothing stopped it, according to my doctor you will lose it no matter how much you try to stop it, but assured me that it will grow back.

I have lots of baby hair now but my hair is in a weird phase where the bottom is thinner, the top is thick and I have fly aways all over my head, it's been so weird trying to style it! the good thing it's that it's growing back if that's any consolation to you!

Thanks! I also have a lot of baby hair right now, so I'm sure it will be fine, but the shedding is so annoying!

14 hours ago, Justarwaxx said:

Agreed and understood. I think now it's time to adjust my lifestyle because I def can eat more. And it scares me.

This life is really hard and we have so much hurtful self talk that has wormed its way into our brain; it is going to take time to break through that cycle. I would say work on seeing a therapist, if possible and if not, find an app with daily affirmations. It takes time to mute the inner critic and have a more positive mindset.

So... I am pretty vain about my hair. When I was bigger, my manta was "well at least I have great hair" because its long and super thick.

But over the last 2 months, I have been shedding like crazy. It's excessive! I know there is no way I will lose all of my hair; I just have too much. But I am still freaking out a little about the amount. Plus, it's just super annoying to always have shedding hair everywhere.

Has anyone else experienced this and what did you do to help? I am already taking Hair, Skin, Nail Vitamins everyday and collogen frequently.

Speaking of hair... I am pretty vain about my hair. When I was bigger, my manta was "well at least I have great hair" because its long and super thick.

But over the last 2 months, I have been shedding like crazy. It's excessive! I know there is no way I will lose all of my hair; I just have too much. But I am still freaking out a little about the amount. Plus, it's just super annoying to always have shedding hair everywhere.

Has anyone else experienced this and what did you do to help? I am already taking Hair, Skin, Nail Vitamins everyday and collogen frequently.

On 2/3/2025 at 1:40 AM, Justarwaxx said:

Lately, I've been eating quite comfortably, and honestly, it's scaring me. I had a week where the scale didn’t move, and just when I started panicking, boom – down 1.7 kg the next week. But here’s the thing... every time I feel confident in my weight loss, I start getting too comfortable, and that makes me so uneasy.

And the weirdest part? I’ve become a sweet girl! Like, I actually crave sugar now, which I never used to before. WHY?! 😭 There are no actual signs of regain, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be worried, right? My brain is panicking even though nothing bad is happening (yet).

I have a friend who also had gastric bypass, and she keeps telling me:
👉 “Don’t worry, you will lose weight no matter what – that’s what bypass does.”

But how true is this??! 😭😭 I feel like I can’t fully trust it, and I don’t want to get too relaxed and regret it later. Someone please tell me I’m not losing my mind. 😣

At the end of the day, it is calories in vs calories out. If you are eating less calories than you expend, you will continue to lose weight. Those calories can be from Cookies or steak... the benefits from what your getting from those calories is the difference. Ask yourself, am I getting a balance of all the Vitamins and nutrients that I need from food? If you had a day where you ate amazingly healthy with variety, a cookie is probably not going to hurt.

On 1/22/2025 at 5:49 PM, ShoppGirl said:

Oh wow. I would never leave the house in the summer. I’m in Florida and it’s hot enough here but I don’t think I’ve ever seen 100. I actually do walk inside my house a lot of the time with temp extremes but just back and forth from one end of the house to the other. Kinda boring, but I usually call my mom or listen to music. She fell and broke her ankle and is pretty much in a wheelchair other than her physical therapy so she’s bored and don’t mind the entertainment 😂 We really don’t turn on the heat. We have an electric fireplace that takes the chill off but my husband is in the put some clothes on camp and honestly, it really is OK because if we turn on the heat, we usually don’t get it right because it doesn’t get cold here that often so most times we end up having to turn the air on because we make it too hot. Well I’ve always been fine with this plan but I think with less insulation and the colder winter we are having it’s just a lot worse. I mean it’s usually no less than like 67 or 68 inside but in the morning that feels so cold to me. I do need to consider getting a treadmill though I’ve not thought of getting a used one, but you just reminded me that there is a place near me that sells used I bet they might have one. I have one of those under dusk ones, but it’s just very narrow and if you try to wear like a pair of walking sneakers, it’s real easy to step off the side and I’m scared. I’m gonna trip and fall one of these times. I need one that’s like normal width you know

I have a full size treadmill with bars because I would also trip and fall, if there was nothing to support/catch myself when I trip. It is definitely worth it. I just know for some people a smaller one or one that will fit under a bed is more practical.

I always get so cold after I work out if I'm still wearing sweaty clothes, so I almost always have to shower after I cool down. I feel like showering for me in the winter is the one time I am truly warm (I take boiling hot showers)!

5 hours ago, Hiddenroses said:

Oh my gosh I get this so much!! I get SO cold. My favorite Christmas gift is a heated blanket my Mom got me with two remotes as it is Queen sized - I set that thing on a toasty 118 degrees and will say pulling myself out of that warmth and into the days has been a real struggle! These cold temperatures are absolutely an obstacle for me to want to set foot outside and my joints are all achy. Makes me wish I gad scheduled my surgery for the Spring! I do have an exercise mat and an exercise bike but I have to work around the holiday clutter in the spare room still. Keeping up activity is a true challenge when the cold hurts my face. What warm comfort dishes have you have that are high Protein? It's hard not to eyeball the calories vs Protein content of things like Soup and chilli these days for me.

I love comfort food when its cold so I want all the Soups, stews and chilis. I also bought a Shepherd's Pie tonight for dinner, which I love, so I'm excited for that!

I have always spotted for a few days before my period; I look at it as my warning that its coming. It has calmed down some now, but for the first 3-4 months after surgery, my period was like when I was a teenager again. I had terrible cramps and a heavier flow; apparently there is estrogen in your fat cells and when you start losing weight, it releases the estrogen so it can make your periods worse.

2 hours ago, ShoppGirl said:

Okay it’s REALLY cold out there compared to anything I’m used to (I guess that’s true for most of us right now) and I’m really struggling to keep up my morning exercise. I’m supposed to be on my way to Yoga right now and I’m in the bed. They do have another yoga class at 5pm but it’s at a different location and it’s a further drive from me so idk if I will actually go to that one either. I love the cold weather in general but it’s not good for this journey. Makes me want to just stay in bed and eat. I have been doing my walk later in the day at least but I really enjoy my Yoga once I get there. I already wish I had just got my butt up and went.

Maybe think about buying a treadmill or other indoor exercise equipment for cold days; they have inexpensive or used one that's you can get at reason amounts. I have a treadmill and it get used in the winter and in the summer because I'm in Texas and our summers are over 100 degrees most of the time.

12 hours ago, Arabesque said:

Congratulations @Chatterboxdea. Love you’ve been able to shop your wardrobe for clothing as you’ve been dropping sizes. Wonder if they still make those jeans & if you can get them in smaller sizes as you need them?

They discontinued the style. They are curvy skinny from Gap Outlet. I wish they still made them because they are the best pair of skinny jeans that I have found for people with hips and butts.

So this outfit is nothing special, throw on a sweater and some booties and it is pretty much what I wear to work every day.

What is special is that these are my favorite style of jeans that I bought in multiple pairs and sizes. This particular pair has been hanging in a closet for years!!

It takes a lot for me to lose weight in my hips and things but I’m finally able to wear these size 16 pants again!!! I have lost about 50 lbs and have dropped from a size 20 to a size 16!! And I am loving it! (After these are too big though, I’m going to officially having to start shopping for pants again!)

There were definitely days during Christmas time when I was eating close or at 1500, mostly because all the food was more high caloric than what I normally eat. It’s not an always thing for me but it happens on hungry days for me.

Pulled pork with a little bit of BBQ Sauce and green Beans. Ate almost all the pork and half the green beans.

10 hours ago, IvyNP said:

Where did you go?

This is where I went and they were great!

https://www.limarp.com/en/

On 1/4/2025 at 11:02 AM, ShoppGirl said:

It’s soooooo cold it’s hard to get up and get my exercise done early like I’m used to doing. I’m sure it’s been cold for many of you already in other parts of the country, but this is not typical for me. How do you guys get going early when it’s so cold? Also, I want to eat more when it’s cold too. Its like my body is not used to it and thinks I need to store enough to hibernate for the season.

I don’t have anything i absolutely have to do today so I reluctantly got up and made Breakfast then got back into bed to eat it. It’s almost noon so I guess I should do my walking now and then get my shower while it’s warmest but this plan won’t work long term. I have things to do. 😆

When it is cold, I don't want to go outside, I want only comfort/heavy food, and I don't want to drink Water (because its cold). So totally get it! I try to drink more herbal tea so it's warm and cozy, but still hydrating. It's definitely hard, so allow yourself to do what feels good for you, while trying to keep healthy habits.

Happy New Year! So glad I have you guys to help me through this journey! I don't always start the new year feeling great about making changes but that's different this year because of surgery. I have always made some kind of goal or resolution to lose weight or workout more over the years and have always felt like I "failed", but this year, I think I'm going to leave weight loss goals behind and just enjoy the ride as I continue to lose weight. Even though I still have about 60 lbs I want to lose, having lost over 40 lbs has made me feel so much lighter and better in my body. I want to focus on the positives and not so much the long ways I still have to go, because that feels like thats how my life has always been, such as "I will do this when I lose weight..." or "I will buy that dress when I lose weight...". I'm tired of waiting and hope to live more fully and authentically this year. Anyways... I'm rambling. I'm just really wanting to change my mindset and focus on positives.

The husband and I had a little outdoor picnic because the weather was nice this past weekend. There is a place that does a grilled cheese of the month and I knew I needed it in my life! So we went. I didn’t take an after picture but I drank some of the beer and ate most of half of the sandwich; only like 2 fries.

On 12/23/2024 at 9:50 AM, Chatterboxdea said:

@Justarwaxx I'm sorry you are struggling right now. I can definitely relate; with Christmas and also recently having my period, I overate, especially sweets. It happens. You have to remember that you are fighting years of bad eating habits and those aren't just going to change overnight because you had surgery. I know for me it helps, that even if I have made bad eating choices, I still log my food and feel better seeing that it's still not over 2000 calories a day, which in theory means I'm still below anything that would make me gain weight. It's not helpful to shame spiral, because there is no lesson learned in shame.

You are okay. And tomorrow is another day and another chance to make better choices. I hope you are feeling better now.

I always explain to clients that there is a difference in people's brains between goals and resolutions. Resolutions: as soon as we mess up, we throw our hands in the air and say "I failed. I guess I won't try anymore." With goals, they are just monitoring growth; they allow up to get off track and come back to our goal again to continue working towards it.

The new year is a great time to set goals, just know that motivation ebbs and flows, so you will probably get off track a few times this year, but progress is progress and baby steps are better than quitting. Good luck!