February 2024 Surgery Buddies?

[NickelChip 938]

@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.

[LisaCaryl 88]

@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!

[RonHall908 125]

2 hours ago, BlueParis said:

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 everyone's scars ... mine are still so dark - see last picture!

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 53]

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!

[RonHall908 125]

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.

[LisaCaryl 88]

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!!

[RonHall908 125]

46 minutes ago, LisaCaryl said:

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!!

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.

[NickelChip 938]

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).