bellabloom

No I do not. I no longer weigh myself, count calories, or see a "nutritionist". I no longer equate my worth with my weight or consider weight gain a health risk. I decided life is too short to stay on a diet and they never worked well for me anyway.

I've embraced mindful eating, food allowance, body positivity, and focus on spreading this message of body love out to others. I stay active and enjoy fitness but I do not care to eat by any other persons rules but my own. My weight is secondary to my overall happiness. Being fat isn't a crime and there was nothing wrong with me to begin with other than poor self care and a lack of self love.

As for my weight, I'm not sure what it is but my size hasn't changed in over a year now.

I left because I was bullied and insulted and basically trolled upon. I wonder if others felt the same. [emoji53] there were some bad apples. I'm back because I want to help out newbies, share my experience, and help anyone struggling with maintenance.

I'm a vet and I remember when many of you were having your surgeries over 2 years ago. I left the forum for awhile
Because I got bullied by certain individuals and got tired of the catty drama. Plus I needed to focus on myself and my own relationship with my weight loss journey etc. anyway I'm back, at least for now, and I'm
Happy to give my two cents to anyone who needs advice whether newby or vet. This is a rough surgery and a huge transition and it's important to support each other.

If your all still around, ed therapy helped me and intuitive eating freed me from the diet binge cycle. Feel free to pm me anytime

Update: I found intuitive eating and am now living happily at goal without dieting or much thought in regards to food at all.

I had plastic surgery with dr Carmina Cardenas in Mexico. Best decision ever!!!

I went way below my ideal weight. Looked like a skeleton for a minute. Worked on getting more calorie dense foods and increasing meal frequency and my portions increased over time. Yours will too.

Just embrace it. You're gonna have loose skin no matter how fast or slow you lose. Lose it while you can.

I liked crystal light and Decaf iced America with cream and Splenda

I wouldn't worry about it for now. Just eat and drink what you can and focus on getting some light activity. You aren't going to starve to death your body has plenty of fuel to burn. Low Protein may cause issues but not for a long long time. Just make sure and get enough Water and eat what you can handle. Right now your focus is on losing weight, not eating.

It's normal to go through stalls and fluctuations. Don't worry about it just keep following the plan.

No I would say that is a fine amount. You're tired because you've recently had surgery and your body is burning up a lot of fat. Just keep going, it will get easier. Soon you will need to eat more as your stomach adjusts.

Sounds like a possible stricture. I would have your bariatric surgeon do an endoscopy.

I had caffeine within a few months with no issues. I didn't start to eat more until at least a year or longer and I still can't handle dry meats. What you are describing is normal. Embrace it. This is your chance to get your weight down.

The point is to make it difficult for you to eat and drink. To lose weight. To break the codependent behavior you have with food. It will get better. Focus on other self soothing strategies. Take a hot bath, call a friend, read a book.

Eating really isn't the point right now. Just focus on Water and little sips of broth for a week or so, walking and relaxing.

It's because you are adjusting to life without food as your coping mechanism. It will get better in time. Get into therapy and look for new ways to self soothe

I wouldn't do it. I have a scar on my forehead to prove how alcohol effects you after wls. Just, avoid. Or one drink max.

Hahahaha hahhaa. Like, never.

Is it that you cannot recommend her enough perhaps? I can tell you I absolutely love myTT. Honestly I ended up with a crush on my PS

I recommend dr cardinas 100000000 percent. I love my results. I totally have a crush on her she is so cute!! And she is a post bariatric patient herself so she had real empathy for us.

Yes it is called intuitive eating by Evelyn Trimble and it's on Amazon. I also like the blog the f**k it diet and Isabel dozen dukes blog about anti dieting

Getting good feedback is awesome and it will start happening. People these days want to be careful about. Among comments about weight because they don't want to wrap an compliment into an insult. I'm sure they notice they are just trying to be polite.

Be proud of yourself and own your hotness. People notice when you smile, have more energy and love, and send positive energy outward. That's what matters most.

Maybe, just maybe, have you considered that everyone thought you were just fine before and loved you just as much? Cause I bet they did.

I dump on all sorts of things. Mainly when I have over filled my stomach, mixed solids with liquid, eaten dairy... dumping sucks.

I have sympathy for those of you who have regained weight. I myself lost 120 pounds and at 2 years out my portion options became much larger, my ability to snack became apparent, and my weight started to yo yo.

So what happened. Well I felt very very depressed. I put on 15 lbs and was having nightmares about being back to my pre op weight. I also felt extremely depressed about the idea of having to be back on a diet and stay there the rest of my life. My weight loss with my sleeve was very easy and I had it had to really try not to eat. Suddenly all that changed. The scale began to rise.

So what did I do? I began dieting again. Counting calories, doing low carb, etc. what happened? I lost weight. And then gained it back and then some.

I found myself back in the same pattern of dieting and binging that got me obese in the first place. I felt very angry and in despair. I just knew I couldn't live like that again. I knew dieting had made me gain weight before and I would again. Skipping meals, going to bed hungry, not allowing myself to eat things I enjoyed, not enjoying family events because of the food, etc.

I decided I was done with all that. There was no way I was going to go back to dieting because I would be more depressed living like that than being overweight.

Instead I began to research anti-dieting. I discovered intuitive eating and it changed my life. I bought books, read stories and blogs, and made a pact with myself I would no longer diet. And I began to eat anything I wanted and to honor my bodies hunger and fullness signals. I soon found myself eating a normal amount of food without binging. My weight stabilized, my energy level shot way up, I regained my health. I stopped weighing myself or counting my calories. I finally had the energy to go to the gym- not for weight loss but for the fun I got out of it.

I now weigh about 128lbs at 5'6. I maintain my weight with no effort. I eat when I am hungry and I don't if I'm not hungry. I eat whatever makes me feel good and sometimes I even eat food that makes me feel crappy. I am active and fit. I don't think about food or have food rules. I allow all food in my home and I never binge on food because I don't need to as I am not deprived or hungry. I follow my bodies intuition.

If you are having issues like me I highly recommend reading intuitive eating and walking away from the diet mindset. Surgery is a great tool but no one can live on a diet plan forever. And who would want to?

Me and my daughter who I am also raising to be an intuitive eater and to love her body at any size.

Absolutely well said by both of you gentlemen. In my opinion and this is just based on my own experience and research and extensive therapy on the subject, most if not all obese individuals are suffering from disordered eating. It may not be as extreme as anorexia or bulimia but it is still a form of ednos or binge eating compulsion. People with a balanced and healthy relationship with food simply don't go about stuffing themselves, obsessions about food and chronically dieting only to regain. Normal people eat when they are hungry and pass if they are full, or eat a little for fun but they don't stuff themselves if they aren't really hungry. Obese people are chronic dieters and also binge eaters or they are chronic binge eaters because on some level they are using food as a coping mechanism to deal with whatever is lacking or out of balance in their lives.

My surgery got me to the point of being able to see the weight wasn't really my problem. My problem was with how I equated my value on my looks and what others thought of me. My problem was in relationships and boundaries. My problem was one of self esteem that made me a victim. I focused on my looks as to the solution only to lose weight and realize that still didn't fix my interpersonal issues and in fact those issues were worsened by my constant obsession with food, chronic starvation and concurrent isolating binging episodes.

To say the least is was a wake up call. I now focus on body positivity and acceptance and eating to provide for my bodies needs and not to meet a standard of beauty that has nothing to do with my beauty on the inside. I refuse to spend the rest of my life concerned about my weight and missing out on so many other pleasures.

I do believe in intuitive eating for weight loss and maintaining weight loss and I am prof that it works. But the bottom line is who cares because I have filled my life with so many other important things and it's really no ones business what I eat or how I look. Food has taken a backseat to 1000 different positive things. I have also realized I find overweight people extremely attractive and now that I don't fixate on my weight I can share a body positive mindset with those around me rather than being the fat phobic jerk I used to be.

That's my experience. And I love it.