bellabloom

Started at 230 lbs 8/24/2015... my current weight is 160 lbs. goal is 140lbs...  

All these photos are so great. It’s so nice to see people changing their life and fighting for their health and hopefully mental well being as well. here I am 3 years after my sleeve.

 

Just an update on this old post.. I was struggling with this same issue when I commented but my weight began after a couple years to normalize on its own.

Hey, I’m a vet about um 4 years? I guess 4 in December. I lose track. I check in on these boards now and then.

I don’t spend much time on here for a couple reasons.. one being that I’ve just moved on with my life and weight really isn’t a big factor for me anymore.

The other is that for some reason in my generation of 2014-2015 vets there were some serious assholes. Mean, snarky, judgmental, all or nothing, never eat again etc jerks.

But I do like to check in now and then and help people out. I’m always up for a pm and I will get back eventually! [emoji6]

OMG no need to be rude I had not cought up yet jesus christ. I will not ask you anything in the future, incase you may have happened to answer the same exact question to another human being in this world. This thread is so negitive. I am leaving it. i felt bad for you but your abit rude too. I was just curious! Why post your big post if you are not going to want questions? All the best.

Hugs

Mine got saggy and sad and loose and my Tummy Tuck surgeon lifted them and it looks a lot better. be hopeful.

I am glad you have found a lifestyle you can embrace and be happy with. I think this is where we all need to end up at the end of our journeys. I have decided that gaining health and fitness is more important to my overall happiness then a certain number on the scale. I think my thought process was backward. I thought losing x number of pounds would make me healthy, get rid of my medical issues ect...

But the truth is when I eat a healthy diet and exercise daily the weight loss happens naturally. Too bad I had to have WLS to figure this out. I am eating with a healthy purpose in my mind and so I still don't believe intuitive eating is for me, but I am glad it is working for you.

You look very happy. Obviously you are investing in the slimmer you by having plastics done so I do believe you care about your size. I think we all care and that is not a bad thing. It will keep us from gaining back what we lost or losing our focus on a healthier lifestyle.

Investing in health and fitness is way better than a number on the scale and I invest in those things also. I love feeling fit and strong, but I also don't go to the gym and stare at how many calories I've burned any more nor do I feel terrible if I choose not to go.

It's awesome that you can see that the number is irrelevant if you aren't healthy or happy!

OMG no need to be rude I had not cought up yet jesus christ. I will not ask you anything in the future, incase you may have happened to answer the same exact question to another human being in this world. This thread is so negitive. I am leaving it. i felt bad for you but your abit rude too. I was just curious! Why post your big post if you are not going to want questions? All the best.

I also want to add something that I have found to be true based on my experience.

At first Intuitive Eating was really hard and scary. I thought I was going to blow up huge for SURE. I had to be so brave to even try it. At first I was negotiating with myself a lot. Like... I will try it for a week so I can enjoy my vacation.. or I'll try it but if I gain weight at all

I will resume dieting.

In the beginning I only managed short periods of time eating freely and then would restrict again. And it was like that for some time. But!!

But. What happens is ... as you continue, the times where you let go- they are sooo good. You aren't overeating or binging, you are just eating enough.. and it feels soooooo good in your mind and body, that after awhile it feels more worthwhile than being super skinny or pleasing society or some stifling ideal. Being fed right is an amazing feeling, and it becomes harder and hard to go back to restrictive food behaviors.

Over time my stretches became longer and longer and as I sought out more support and also saw my body remaining in a stable weight and started working on my body dysmorpia... everything just fell into place more and more. Suddenly you start to realize, wow I haven't thought about food intake or dieting in awhile! And wow what a freedom that is.

Lifting that oppressive mindset and hunger out of your world is like coming out of a cloud. Life is so full and beautiful. Weight isn't what defines your happiness- health is. Mental and physical health.

Food will make or break you for sure. Too much and your body and mind will suffer. Too little and your body and mind will suffer. It takes the right amount to be truly happy and ONLY YOUR INDIVIDUAL METABOLISM AND BODY can determine what that amount should be.

I'm not writing these feed to threaten or undermine you. I'm not bragging about my success or weightloss. I'm offering out a hand to those who feel they want or need to try something different. If dieting works for you for now, great. But know that should you want something else, there is this. I want to give others what I have found and share my experience.

I truly believe, in fact I KNOW dieting cannot be a sustainable practice for lifelong happiness. With dieting there will always be the highs of weight loss and the deep lows of weight gain. With intuitive eating, there is just consistency and underneath that freedom and joy.

How come it says your a bypass patient, not a sleeve patient ?

Sigh. I get tired of answering this but okay. I've had both bypass and sleeve. Long story. Read back.

Hey all! Update on me. (And thank you all who have been supportive by the way)

I'm doing AWESOME.

My weight is extremely stable. I don't weigh myself if I can avoid it (I find numbers upsetting and triggering and pointless) but my clothes all fit and my measurements are the same. That said it's honestly a non issue because I don't care if I get smaller or bigger or whatever because weight just isn't what defines my happiness anymore.

I've just finished my second round of plastic surgery in Mexico. I had a lower face lift (for a slight turkey neck and early jowling) and a Brazilian butt lift and I had fat added to my hips to give me a more womanly shape. I LOVE the results I am seeing. In my eating disordered days I always wanted a stick straight and boy like model body. I have changed that mindset and am embracing my Latina heritage and embracing what my body is more inclined to look like.

Through the surgery I continued eating intuitively and my recovery has been wayyyy easier this time. I feel it is because I am much healthier and my body is well nourished and strong. I have repaired a lot of the damage dieting did to me.

I'm in a new relationship and he has been super supportive. In my dieting days I would tend to pick abusive assholes. This time I have picked someone who supports my choices and builds me up. It's amazing what a well fed mind can do!! I don't live on the edge any more and I don't keep people around who encourage my self esteem and body image issues.

My eating behavior has not changed. Once in awhile I will loosely tally up my calories (sadly I still have every single item of food calories burned into my brain) and I find I eat around 2000-3000 calories a day. Usually right around the 2500 mark. I don't do this by thinking about it. That just seems to be what my body needs to be satisfied.

What funny is I actually TRIED to put on some weight for my Brazilian butt lift and I FAILED. I don't have much fat in my body, which they needed for the surgery, so I tried to eat more by adding in Breakfast and higher calorie foods for about a month before my surgery. I didn't do anything that felt harmful or excessive- just encouraged myself to always eat breakfast, a lot of avocado, adding cheese and mayo more, that sort of thing. And.... Nothing happened. No weight gain. In fact it felt like I LOST weight.

In my dieting days with a wrecked metabolism I was able to put on 5lbs in 3 days!!! My body is now at its set point and it just won't allow me to change that so easily. God knows what I would have to do to gain weight at this point.

Anyway my butt lift isn't as big as I would have liked it but it still looks great!

A few weeks ago I also went on a cruise with my kids. It made me extremely sad to see all the people on the boat gorging themselves and looking so miserable. I've been on 3 cruises in my life. The first one I was 27 thin and bulimic- I threw up everything I ate on the ship and was super sick. The second one I was 33 and obese. I ate till my stomach was going to pop and was super miserable and depressed. This time I'm 37 and a healthy intuitive eater. I ate whatever I wanted to satisfy my hunger and tried not to worry about the food at all. And I was happy.

Roughly what I eat:

Bagel with avocado for breakfast

(Or something like an omelet with tons of ketchup my favorite food)

Maybe some Thai food or tacos or fried calamari for lunch, or salad and sandwich (usually eat out for lunch)

dinner I eat out a lot too or at home rarely. I like all kinds of restaurants. I don't like too cook, it takes up too much time and I work a lot. I like Italian, Mexican, sushi, salads... whatever. so I get a salad and an entree. Entrees are so crazy huge, I almost always have leftovers.

Big snack at bedtime. Either the rest of my dinner or a burrito or sandwich or something. This is probably my largest meal of the day.

Sometimes dessert. I eat chocolate a lot at like 3 am. I dunno why but my body craves it.

And wine. I love wine. All though I have been cutting back lately because it does make me tired and not sleep as well.

I'm attaching some fun photos for you all and much love and many blessing to you in your journey!!! It's a journey worth taking to get healthy with food. My life is 1000000x better.

Trying to get that booty haha!!

Bahahahaa. Cruise photo.

All of these are taken within the last month.

I think it is great that you emphasized this point. Now it will be more clear to anyone reading this thread that they should follow their Doc/Nuts plans to be successful losing their excess weight.
I have decided to stay away from these controversial threads, but I just wanted to say thank you and Good Luck on your journey. I hope you are successful keeping the weight off and remain happy.

I needed surgery because of adhesions last week and I decided to attend the education class for the immediately post-op patients again. I wanted to know if there was something "new" or "different".
I'm still surprised how different the advice is from country to country, from hospital to hospital. The hospital I had surgery at are very against strict rules with the exceptions of a few general ones, some applying only to the first 4 weeks after surgery.
The only "long-term rules" still seem to be: eat enough Protein, take your supplements, drink your Water, no high calorie beverages, don't drink 30 min before/after your meals.
Otherwise it's about this "balanced diet" that you can read about in every health magazine. No calorie-limits, no carb-limits, no low-fat this or skim milk that. No calorie or point or whatever counting.
What surprises me a bit is that quite a few patients seem to long for more guidance, for exact meal plans to follow, for calorie limits, for strict rules to follow, for exact advice what supplements to buy and take. I remember I felt free and so did others, however, there were also patients who felt more intimidated and/or overwhelmed by this "freedom".
"Follow your program?" I think you should and IMO exactly that makes discussion about "the program" so very difficult because there simply is no "standard program" to follow as it seems. I sometimes think some patient's/user's interpretation of that sentence is more like "I'm following my program until it doesn't fit my view of the world anymore and if you're following your program but it doesn't fit my view of the world I'm going to lash out at you."
I think if you really can follow your program without much problems and making it a full-time job, everything's fine and dandy. However, if you're struggling or being not successful or your new job is being a bariatric patient who had surgery - it might be time for a change.

you look great , did you have plastics you are not saggy at all. i have now 80lbs to lose needed to lose 100 4th july this year. im still confused i hate weighing food but i dont think i would lose weigh trusting myself wish i could

I don't think intuitive eating should be practiced fresh out of surgery. The body simple wouldn't allow it and there are many foods that can't be tolerated right away.

Wls is a whole mother boat of fish than conventional dieting.

I certainly didn't use intuitive eating to lose my weight! Never said I did. Newbies should follow their doctors advice as their body has structural limitations that need to be respected.

For me intuitive eating is what I came to when I realized that losing weight did not make me happy because living with a diet mindset made me MISERABLY UNHAPPY.

I got to a 17 bmi and was still deeply unhappy. I realized that I would rather be overweight than spend another day obsessing about being thin and controlling my food intake.

Jesse said it well/ she knows a lot about my history. I'm sure many of you can related to the hell of an eating disorder as most overweight people have some form of one.

I have chosen to be free. I pick foods that make me feel good. This naturally keeps me healthy. I have accepted that I no longer wish to judge myself based on my size. I have embraced a body positive attitude. I've let go of being a certain weight/size. I focus on health and energy instead of weight. I no longer weigh myself.

My thread here is geared towards those in maintenance or at least healed enough to eat a fairly normal diet, especially for those for who perhaps wls is not working or are still unhappy. It is meant for those longer out than the first year of surgery.

I didn't begin Intuitive Eating until I had reached and surpassed my goal weight.

I really hope to get to where you are. I remember reading this book some time back and it resonated with me. I also remember the freedom I felt when I practiced it. Pity it didn't work for me but I still yearn for that "I am free" feeling so once I'm where I want to be I definitely plan on revisiting intuitive eating.


H 5'6" HW 253, CW 245, TBS 9/19

I would consider a lot of what you have listed here as junk food or processed foods. There is a lot of bread and sugar.
These types of food are not healthy by my definition of healthy foods and they would not help me with any of my goals.

Intuitive eating? I believe more in educated eating. Most of sleeved people got obese in first place because we eat what we felt like or what our intuition told us what to eat. We need to re educate ourselves. I'm almost at my goal weight. I drink when I have a social event. I have a cheat meal once a week but everyday, as rule, I drink all my fluids and always prioritize Proteins, then veggies. I love what I eat. I don't think anymore about bread, Pasta, chocolates... I might eat a sweet sometimes but I don't crave them anymore. I re learned my body about how to eat. Good for you if you eat junkfood n you don't regain weight... personally, it doesn't appeal to me. Im not envious. I love to eat healthy. I don't count calories, I just eat quality food and my body cherishes it!

Hello all,
I haven't been around for a long ole time and thought I would drop by.

My sleeve will be 7 years old in July. Over the last year, I - like so many others it would appear - have started to regain; it is 14lbs at the moment. I can honestly say it isn't by eating crap food all day everyday. My diet is 85% clean and 15% rubbish. After being sleeved I turned into a food 'snob' and still don't eat a lot of processed foods and junk. Obviously I am not perfect either! One thing that has really changed though is my exercise habits. I went from being really active and strong to not doing a lot. The only real exercise I do now is walking, which as much as I enjoy, doesn't make me sweat and ache like the other types of exercise I used to do. I need to work on this.

Another area of my life that has changed in the last 18mths is work - I am a teacher and my work load has increased (with a small promotion). I work between 10-16 hrs a day weekdays and sometimes on a Sunday. I refuse to work on a Saturday! So this has really impacted on my free time and also my stress levels. I also have had a lot of stress in my home life, which I feel is lessening a little now. However, I feel totally exhausted 90% of the time. I have been to the docs and am getting my bloods tested for cortisol and thyroid next week.
I am finding it really hard to juggle work, home life, the house, caring for elderly parents and then finding the energy and motivation to move faster than a walk! Does anyone else feel like this? How do I overcome it?

I have tried to lose the regain - trying all sorts of different methods (low carb, 5:2, 16:8, low sugar etc) - over the last 4 mths but no joy. The only thing I haven't tried is the pouch reset, which I am contemplating, I have noticed that I can eat more these days, if I chose to, so I am mindful of that and I still use a small plate to control my portions.
If you have done the pouch reset, what was your experience?

One thing I have been thinking about is being resleeved - if I could ever afford it (I was self pay as I am in the UK). Has anyone had this done? What are the results? Is it worth the money.

I feel that I am at a weird cross roads... at 46 I am 'ok' with me. But I know I could be fitter and stronger. What I worry about is regaining all the weight that I have lost.

Any thoughts are welcome!

You won't need much of anything. The recovery house has a lot- even shampoo!! I didn't wear night gowns- wore my garmet the whole time. Bring comfy underwear. Something that will go over your garmet for the trip home or to the doctors office.

Bring a book to read maybe or something to do for boredom but mostly you will just sleep.

Update- still doing great. Intuitive eating, happy, healthy. Have not regained weight.

Weight loss surgery vet lol.

I was in Tijuana with dr Carmina Cardenas. Best ever

@bellabloom you look beautiful!

I live about an hour away from Tijuana in Mexico and I am definitely inspired to check out the surgeon. I would like to have all my work done at once but I don't know if I will be able to afford that. I know that this doctor is the Tummy Tuck queen of bariatric patients in Baja. How did your breasts come out? I was thinking I will probably have my breasts done first.

Wanted to update- i weighed myself today out of curiosity. I haven't in months. I have actually lost a few pounds since I really committed to Intuitive Eating full force and since the last time I weighed myself. I weigh exactly what I wish to weigh.

So there ya go! Do what you will but there is a life beyond dieting forever. I am the proof.

Me today. Today I ate a Breakfast sandwich, a bite of chocolate croissant, some icee of my kids, a goat cheese chicken salad, a glass of wine, a cheeseburger, 2 Mai thais, and an egg sandwich and a cookie.