Forsythia

Sweet! Also, I love the cat's eye eyeliner. I suck at doing that. Lol!

Champion makes a nice one you can get a kohl's. Comes in bra sizes as opposed to S/M/L/XL http://www.kohls.com/product/prd-1019017/champion-bra-double-dry-high-impact-sports-bra-1602-womens.jsp Actually Kohl's has a lot of work out clothes for good prices, but you can only find them online. Same with Old Navy. Super cute stuff, online only.

Look at you, Ria McSassyPants. That's your new name now, by the way. Ria McSassyPants..

I like knowing I can have a bite or two of something delicious, like a filet mignon, then know I will have to box it up for later. Rather than eating all the steak, two side dishes and cake and feeling bloated and miserable and guilty afterwards, I can have a couple bites of each of those things without stuffing myself. I don't miss all of the stuffing my face to quell my emotional pain, and the post gorging guilt afterward. Occasionally I will miss the act of going out and having a drink with a special meal or whatever with friends/family, but I feel the benefits outweigh the detriments.

I am now a fully actualized member of my gym. I took my first class Wednesday - Body Works plus abs. Basically it was a fast and light weight lifting class. I'm still sore two days later. And keep in mind, I lift weights multiple times a week using heavier weights than the ones used in that class. I loved the class and must find a way to go to it every Wednesday. Tonight I swim. Also a big yay for me. Weight wise, I'm down 62 lbs since surgery, over 80 from my high weight. I'm almost three months out from surgery (three months will be 8/5). I've gained a couple back this week with all the water retention my period caused. But I know its temporary and will go away in a couple of days. But I hate it because I get all swollen. I can feel it in my legs and ankles - they get so tight. Ugh. I'm not even a salt person either, And I get in my water. I guess that is just nature mocking me. This will pass though and the water will go away. Lately, I've been noticing I have really been losing weight in the boobs. This makes me sad. I always had a nice shaped rack. No to big, not too small. And now.. its just sadsville up in there. LOL. You can't spot train your fat to disappear from places and stay on others. Even though the new boobs are smaller, the overall picture is smaller and I will just need to come to terms with what I see in the mirror.

My stripper name is Princess Elmwood! LOL!

I gained 5 lbs this week due to aunt flo. She is a cruel mistress. And as a lady we are more susceptible to hormonal fluctuations and weight retention anyhow. You're gonna be fine. Just stick with the plan and exercise!

I drink something then wait 30 minutes, and if I find I still want the item I will have a bite or two of the real thing. Before I would have had all of the Cookies or the whole pizza. But if I have the room left in my calorie/carb count I will have it, otherwise it will be on my mind all night. I find I generally don't get craving except for during my special *snort* womanly time (sorry I tried to type that with a straight face and totes couldn't).

50 is fab! I gained a bunch of Water this week. I feel like ass. LOL. Stupid period. But I persevere, despite this...

Funny story, it's shark week and last week I bought the equivalent of Samoas/caramel delights at the Aldi. I was feeling snacky and was all hormonal. Anyhow. I literally let them set there on my counter for a week. I didn't even think about eating those cookies once I brought them home. So I guess I'm not as weak as I think I am? I've gained a bunch of water weight though - I can always tell because my ankles swell up. Stupid period. Anyhow, I've added swimming at the gym and took my first group fitness class (Body works plus abs) this week. Fun times. I love to swim but it is hell on my pink highlights. And the body works class was surprisingly difficult for using light weights.

Right after my surgery, those first two weeks, it was like I had stepped off a cliff like Wyle E Coyote in a loonie toons cartoon and just lost weight freakishly fast. I went to bed, and woke up one day, and was seven lbs lighter. SEVEN LBS!! So of course I figured something was wrong, but nothing was. After the first two weeks I hit a stall for 12 days before my weight loss started again and regulated itself to something more gradual.

I think he is interpreting the 60% wrong. You can expect to lose 50% to 60% of your excess body weight. Many many people lose more if they stick with the diet and add in exercise as well. There are tons of people on here who have lost all of their excess body weight with commitment and kept it off. So if you are 100 lbs overweight, you can expect to lose 50 to 60 lbs. That's not failure at all. If you are 210 lbs, 60 lbs puts you at 150 lbs. I've already lost over 60 lbs in just under 3 months. I am at my lowest weight as an adult in over a decade. My diabetes is basically gone. My blood pressure is normal. My aches and pains in my knees are significantly reduced. I go to the gym 5 days a week and am fully committed to this.

I had a lot of deli lunch meat - ham, chicken, turkey. Cheeses. Yogurt. Eggs if you like them (I don't but lots of people do well with scrambled or hardboiled eggs). Chicken/tuna salad. More robust soups - vegetable soup, chicken noodle soups. A lot of programs ban pasta and white bread (not whole grain which is too robust for your tummy), but at this stage my NUT allowed it. A lot of people have a hard time with pasta and bread though. Edited to add - I was allowed watermelon at this stage. Make sure you pick all the seeds out. Fruits w/o their skin - so a peeled apple, peeled mango. Fruit cups packed in water or juice but not syrup. Veggies should be a bit overcooked. So if you like broccoli it's gotta be mushy rather than firm.

This is basically what my nut said. If you can handle salsa or spice, go for it. In fact she had a whole presentation about spices and flavorings as opposed to frying your food to add flavor while keeping it low cal.

Oh wow! That is crazy scary! I hope you are feeling better. And take it easy!!

My boobs are always the first to go. I'm down to a 42C from a 44D, and I think at this point a 42C is generous. I'm probably more like a 40 or 42B. My problem area is the tummy and ass. That fat holds on for days. I don't mind having junk in the trunk but seriously butt, some of you need to leave the party and migrate back to my boobs.

As soon as I got home from the hospital. So, two days. They advised if I wanted to stay on liquids I could for another day or two but I chose not to because my stomach tolerated the purees fine. But I hated my time with purees. I was so happy a week later to be on soft solids.

Actually see my collarbones. Oh, and to not be so fat that I am the last person left to get a seatmate on the blue line. I always feel like people are all like oh.. that seat is open because she is so fat. Not for long!

The broccoli has to be mushy. So if you like firm broccoli you are out of luck. I will say that the Atkins Beef Merlot meal the broccoli is soft enough to constitute mushy once you microwave it.

Genetics also play a part in this. Sometimes people who are older bounce back because of good skin genes. Sometimes younger people do not because of bad genes. But either way, think of how much happier and healthier you will be once the weight starts to go down.

I still feel there is only one occasion for running: Zombie apocalypse. I find cardio is a necessary evil. I do it, but I don't like it, save for swimming. But I only swim two days a week. It's really hard on my hair. Most days I just grind out 30 minutes on the treadmill or ellipitcal and another 30 on the bike. I really do like strength training though. So in conclusion: Running is for the Zombie apocalypse.

OMG he is adorable. The hedgehog, I mean!

I literally had the same experience. My dad is better than anyone I know at respecting personal boundaries. But I went to church and someone came up to me asking how I was doing. I was so pissed at my dad and the situation he and the individual put me in. I just thought it incredibly rude of the individual to ask me the way she did. My wife was even blown away. I thought I had gotten over this but reading your post brought back the memory. I don't have a clue how it can be made right. Time. And the knowledge that your Dad loves you. But he's human too and made a mistake. At least that is how I dealt with it when my Mom told her sister. I gave her a talking to and she apologized. Then I let it go.

What flavor did ya get? I'm nosy. Last night after my swim I had the Cookies and cream. Delish! And it's a nice change up to have a bar which feels more filling to me than a shake, imho!

For stuff like shredded cheese and meat, I will measure that on my food scale - so if its a 1 oz or 2 oz, I mark it accordingly on MFP. For veggies, they are so low cal, I don't sweat it if the amount listed is 1/4 a cup even though I ate roughly 75% of that amount. For condiments I will measure out a tablespoon or whatever the serving size is if need be and document accordingly with the meal