livvsmum

Congratulations on reaching your goal!

My starting weight at day 1 of the 2-week pre-op liquid diet was 278.4. Today I weight 148.4. I still have a few more pounds to go, but hopefully one day soon I can report back that I am at goal! :-)

Thank you so much! I'm always humbled when people say they read the blog. :-)

So I just realized that it is 10 months post op. It kind of sneaked up on me! So I snapped a quick pic for comparison. I'm still a few pounds away from goal, and wish that I would be there by now, but hey....I'm going to take a couple minutes and let myself feel pretty fabulous about this! One of the hardest things I deal with now is doing the "head-work". Being ok with maintaining, figuring out how to be a "thin" person, figuring out the emotions behind my food issues, etc. It's been a pretty fabulous journey. And you know what? Screw anyone who says this is the easy way out!

Start: 151.4 Today: 149.4 Loss this week: 2 pounds. Not great, but I will take it seeing as I have been sitting at a stall for almost 2 months now. Onward to next week!!!

My surgeons office gave me one. To be honest though, I've never used one. If there is a healthy kids meal option I will order that, although most kids meal options are NOT healthy. Most restaurants let me just do that. Or I share with my hubby or kiddo. Or I order what i want and take the rest home and make 2 more meals out of it. :-)

I would say I started to have some after my 2-week post op appt and my surgeon said it was ok. I drink it black anyway, so it's not like I added cream or sugar or anything. I find a good cup of coffee or tea actually helps with cravings sometimes too.

You look amazing! Great job!

Oh! I also should have added just for clarification that I don't eat directly before a run or I get sick. I usually need a good 1.5-2 hours between food and a run.

Yes, I struggle with the same issues in my running. Before I do a long run I have to have some version of complex carbs. Some that others have listed here will work fine. Sweet potato, banana, whole grains, Peanut Butter on toast. They are not things I would add to my diet if I were not burning hundreds of calories on a run, but you have to fuel it from somewhere. Google bariathletes. There are lots of good things out there about nutrition for WLS athletes.

You know, someone else asked me this same question and it really gave me pause. Thanks for reminding me that I am the me I am now! I have no idea why I feel like the "real" me is not thin. I guess that is what I need to figure out. :-)

Thank you! You can add me to the new challenge. Starting weight 151.4 (enjoyed the 4th of July a little too much) Goal weight 135

I think that is what a lot of people don't understand. Sure, surgery gave me an awesome tool to accelerate weight loss, but it is still totally possible to binge eat, and eat complete junk..... Being and remaining successful and healthy requires a change of behavior, not just a change in size of stomach. And last time I checked, it wasn't my sleeve that was getting me up at 5am to go train for a marathon...you know? lol

Thank you! I think sometimes when it comes from people who have known you forever and know who you really are, it's hard to wrap your head around the fact that maybe, just maybe, they don't know you at all!

You make an excellent point. Just for kicks last week I calculated out the nutritional facts of a "day in the life" of the old me pre-surgery and put that side-by-side with a day in the life of the new me. There's no way I will ever just wake up one morning to realize that I'm eating nearly 4,000 calories a day and hundreds and hundreds of carbs, etc. It took work to get that abusive to ourselves with food!

So a little background on me first. I was sleeved on 9/12/13 and have lost 130 pounds so far. I am 3 pounds away from goal, and starting to think...now what? Who am I now? A lot of time I still feel like I am 280 pounds. Anyway, these questions already floating around in my head provide the back drop for this discussion..... So when we "went home" for a visit over the holiday weekend we had dinner with some friends I haven't seen since my weight loss. We kind of got into a debate over whether change is actually possible, or if it is only a matter of time until you revert to who you really are. They argued that my weight loss is because of the surgery and not because of any change of behavior that I have made and that it is only a matter of time until I revert to the "real me". I thought this was a really defeatist and depressing way to think. If this were true, then learning is not possible and we are static beings, right? I learned ways to take care of myself, and now I do those things. But deep down I'm thinking, are they right? Is it only a matter of time? Because these are the fears that I"m struggling with now that I am near/at goal weight..... Thoughts?

I shoot for 70g Protein, no more than 30-40g carbs, and 100 oz Water. I don't worry too much about the sugar because with sticking to those three main goals, the sugar and fat is usually right where it needs to be. Same with calories. I don't really count them too much. I try to stick to my protein and carb goals and then the calories usually end up between 550-750.

You look beautiful!! Congratulations on reaching your goal!

That's awesome! Congrats!

I started out averaging about 13-15 pounds per month in the early months. I stalled big time at 7 months and lost only about 4 pounds in a month's time. Then at 8 months it picked back up. If I look just at the most recent 30 days time, I've lost 8 pounds. It's much smaller than the 15/month I lost at first, but at the same time, I've only got about 3 more pounds until goal, so it is bound to slow at some point. ETA: It's worth mentioning that during that month that I stalled and lost very little, I took a comparison pic in my workout pants and sports bra and compared it to the month before, and I could definitely tell a difference. So while I didn't lose a lot that month, I was consistent in eating and exercise and I could tell a difference in my body between the 2. Maybe I can find the pics to add....let me see..... Anyway, my point is that even if you have a smaller month number-wise on the scale, other good things could be going on too like losing inches or gaining muscle definition. Here are the pics one (the first) was from May, one (the second) from June....Only 4 pounds difference, but looking better in my opinion. So numbers aren't always the best indicator of progress

I guess (as you can tell even from these responses) that everyone is different. For me, I way at least once per day. But I do this for a couple reasons.... First it keeps me accountable. I am a denier. I got to be nearly 300 pounds in part by not stepping on a scale and being in denial. If I weigh myself daily I keep myself much more accountable. With that being said, I made a deal with myself that I won't freak out based on fluctuation. I use it more for an educational tool for myself more than anything. I can see the effects of things like eating the wrong things, not eating enough of the right things, not getting enough Water, or the positive effects of doing what I should, adding exercise, etc.

I agree with what everyone has said. Those first few weeks are really difficult both physically and emotionally. It is overwhelming to consider you will be like that the rest of your life. I can assure you (now 9 months post-op) that sooner than you realize you will be able to eat pretty much whatever you want. Just because you CAN go back to normal for most part with eating, doesn't mean you SHOULD. I was actually surprised with the types of things I can eat and not have them bother me. It's so, so important to never go back to "normal" in the sense of poor eating decisions. But yes, you will absolutely become more comfortable with your sleeve and have a new normal. :-)

That is awesome! Congrats!

I was going to suggest the same. Signing up for a race always motivates me. I am currently training for a 1/2 marathon and whenever I feel like not working out, I focus on being ready for that and it usually does the trick for me.

I chose the sleeve because it seemed less invasive to me. No malabsorption , no rerouting of intestines. I guess statistically you may lose slightly more, but at a certain point, both surgeries are just tools, and it's how hard YOU work with your tool -not which tool you chose- that will make you successful in the long run. As for me, I started at 278.4 and 9 months later I am 148 & almost at goal (3 more pounds) with the sleeve.