livvsmum

I like the Atkins Advantage (still have a few a week), I also liked premier Protein, but what I really love is bariwise protein hot chocolate (80 cal, 5 carbs, 15 protein, 1 sugar). It is still - even after 17 months - my "treat"

140.0 . I have 5 pounds to go. Doable!

I absolutely enjoy a good glass of wine every now and then. I would say my first drink was probably 4 months post op. A lot of surgeons will tell you wait a full year. You will hear a lot of different responses, similar to the coffee question. There's not really a definitely right or wrong. The key - like everything once you get a year+ out is moderation. If I have 1 glass every now and then there is no difference in my weight. Now if I were to drink 3 or 4 glasses on a regular basis, that is a lot of calories and like any other caloric intake, will add up. The other issue is that sometimes WLS patients develop crossover addictions. Since it's not feasible to be a food addict, people sometimes become addicted to other things. So just be mindful of that. All that being said, there is no difference really for me. I was a light, social drinker before, and I am now. The only change is that I get feeling tipsy a lot more quickly than before and I usually try to opt for the "skinny" drink choices whenever possible.

I would absolutely add cardio. That is a must for me. I started out about a year ago and just jumped on the treadmill with my couch 2 5k app, and the rest has been history. Since then I've run multiple 5k's 10k's and a 1/2 marathon. I'm currently training for a full marathon in May. I highly recommend it. But if running is not your thing, then definitely something else.

Thank you! I am 5'7" and my starting weight was 278.4

140.6 for me this week. Finally got my head back in the right place! :-)

My weigh-in for the week is 140.6. The scale is moving again! woohoo!

Thank you! I actually do have some excess skin on my arms and stomach that I am hoping to have removed once I get to 18 months post op in March.

Sometimes it's good to remind myself that even if I'm not exactly where I want to be, I will never go back. I thought that reminder might be helped by trying on the 1 pair of pants I kept....a size 20, down to a 4. So here's a visual of what it looks like to be literally less than half of yourself, given that I've lost more weight than I actually weigh now. I have to say I quite enjoyed the reminder :-)

Good for you for re-focusing! I'm just gonna throw this out there because I struggled with it too. You say that you know to some extent you are self-sabotaging. Have you done any "emotional work" to figure out why? If you've never read it, I would highly recommend "When food is Love" by Geneen Roth. Reading that was pretty life-changing for me to break the cycle that you are talking about. Good luck to you!

Thank you for reading! I try to be as honest as possible! :-)

I think that my doctor officially considered it a "success" when you lose something like 65% of your excess weight. So for me that would have been around 90 pounds. However, I set my own personal goal that I would feel comfortable with, which was 50% of my original weight because that is what my plastic surgeon requires for skin removal. It's really kind of a subjective thing. You can base it on your lowest weight that you remember feeling comfortable with if you were thin in your past, you can base it on your surgeon's standards, or the bmi charts. There are lots of options.

Wonderful! Good luck on your journey! I don't think you will regret your decision. It has been the best journey of my life!

Wow! That will be one busy appointment! As far as reading negative things, don't let that scare you. I remember reading the "weight gained since having surgery" thread on this site before having my sleeve surgery and nearly backing out of it because of it. If you take the opportunity this surgery gives you, follow the plan, and do the emotional and physical work you need to do, you will do great! If you want to read some positives instead of negatives, feel free to check out my blog in my siggy. I've tried to share the good, the bad, and the beautiful from my first appointment on. Good luck to you on your journey!

Yep. I was vitamin d deficient so I take a weekly vit. d supplement.

I think I knew (in my head) that I had lost "enough" when my body found its resting spot if that makes sense. I've been bouncing between 135-140 for the past 6 months with pretty little effort. To me, it kind of feels like that is my natural weight. Could I push it further and get down into the 120s? Absolutely. Will I? Maybe.... Who knows. But at the same time I feel that I could stay where I am right now comfortably and maintain for the long run. As far as others' comments....I found that since they knew me for so many years at 280, when I got down below 200 the "when will you stop losing" and "you look too thin" comments started, even though I knew I still had a good 50 pounds to lose. I just take the comments for what they are....people who (for the most part) have my best interests in mind, but ultimately I worked to find a weight that felt good to me and felt maintainable. I still would like to lose that last 10 or so pounds, but at the same time, I will be totally ok if I don't :-)

I agree with what the others have said. My mom was a totally non-believer and did the same thing as your friend. She would tell me about all of the scary facts she heard about WLS, and Sharon Osborne wishes she wouldn't have had it (lol), and gee...haven't you thought about trying a diet? After a while I just had to tell her that the decision has been made, I would appreciate her support, but the topic is officially off the table for discussion. Even to this day when she comes to visit she brings loads of junk food and I swear she is trying to sabotage me. I think it's not possible in some cases to change what people think, but you can decide the extent to which you will let their opinions have an impact on you.

I didn't love the Protein shakes right after surgery. I found their consistency hard to get down. Now I drink them usually once a day. But..... some alternatives to think about.... check out the BariatricChoice.com website. In those first few weeks I did a lot of their protein Jello, protein broth, and protein hot chocolate. It gave me all the benefits of the shakes, but at a consistency that agreed a bit more with my tummy.

I agree with everyone else. The first several weeks are pretty much about surviving. Not necessarily because of pain, but just adjusting to everything, and you stomach is still very swollen, and I remember feeling so very discouraged at how much of a chore it even was just to drink Water. I promise that life will return to normal.....well, a NEW normal. You will eat again and it won't be painful or be a chore. And if you do the work, all of it will be so worth it in the end! One of my favorite mantras.... "Change is hard at the beginning, messy in the middle, gorgeous at the end."

Good question! I'm interested in the responses as well. I'm hoping to qualify for plastics in March for excess stomach and arm skin. I would love it if with that I was able to lose the last 5-10 pounds I want to lose.

The only time I really have to do the "fake" foods would be Protein shakes. So I would say right after surgery until I was able to tolerate regular foods would have been a time when I had to rely on those. Even with that though there are more natural options for shakes as well. At 14 months out my diet consists mainly of lean Proteins (fish, chicken), eggs, vegetables, and some fruit. None of that is fake or processed. Sure you could rely on those kinds of things, but you also can meet your nutritional needs with whole foods. Really you have the same choices as before, just a smaller stomach.

I would say definitely talk with your surgeon (as I am sure you will). I travelled for business from PA to Utah for a week 3 weeks after surgery. There were some moments where I felt really drained of energy, but no real issues with the travel.

Good luck and congrats on getting this far in the journey. It sounds like you have already implemented a lot of really positive changes. I'm sorry, my stats aren't similar so I can't give you feedback there, but just wanted to say that I think it sounds like you're doing great so far!

The one that I drink usually once daily is the Atkins Advantage either Cafe Caramel or Mocha Latte flavors. I also like Chike coffe flavor (but it is a mix) and Bariwise protein hot chocolate (though it is a mix as well).

My favorite Protein shakes are Premier Protein (chocolate) and chike coffee flavor. What I like even more though is protein hot chocolate (bariwise). Hope that helps!