tacycakes

Hi guys. I haven't been on in ages but over the summer had some plastic surgeries. I had an upper/ lower eye lift with a neck lift, then had a breast lift with an arm lift. I am so happy with everything that I did that I have scheduled a Tummy Tuck for January. I traded severely baggy upper arms for some scars, but I am so good with the trade.
However, after each surgery I got so constipated that I gained a couple of pounds each time that I thought would come back off after swelling but hasn't. I am now 9 lbs up from my lowest of 150.
I went in to my 2 yr checkup expecting to be chastised, but they were thrilled that I was only 1 lb different from the 1 yr checkup. (Must have lost weight during the year and then gained THAT back). So they were happy, I was happy they weren't mad, but I still am internally freaking out.
I have never been an alcohol drinker, but I have become one. A Big one. I know there is a lot of sugar in wine but I can't eat very well so I drink. Plus I don't want to eat and drink together so I don't eat. I realized I prob don't get but maybe 20 gr of Protein in a day.
Soooo, I came back to my support group to see how everyone is faring and to get a plan together.
My bloodwork came back fine except for the Iron is low. But I don't want Constipation, so I don't take a lot on purpose. But I do get dizzy and shaky ALOT. But I have also taken up drinking coffee several times a day (I never drank coffee before either and didn't understand ppl that liked it) my other go to drink is 1/2 sweet-unsweetened tea. I drink all day and will 'eat' Soup bc it's cold here now. But it's not good for me and bc of the surgeries, I need to re-lose.
My plan, and due to tips from this group, is to uptake my protein and go to the gym. I already ate a Quest bar for Breakfast. Yay me. I have no motivation for the gym tho, and no friend that goes there. Yes, I know I'll meet someone there and that's in my mind, but also a part of me thinks, "you'll meet a guy and flirt while not wearing your ring during a workout and you'll like the attention". My husband and I aren't close, and I'm lonely a lot, so I'm really nervous bc I think I could be swayed so easily and I don't think I'll have much willpower to not get caught up in it. But I don't want to bc I'm faithful but I really want someone to talk to and give me attention. My husband and I tried and tried, but we just live in this weird world where we share a house. (Separate fridges, sides of the house, dogs, garages, friends, etc) Anyway, I'm not complaining about that, but I'm just explaining how I could meet someone like-minded but seriously don't want the stress of lying or hiding something from him. So I avoid men usually. I hide in my office at work and at stay at home bc I don't trust myself. So, off I'm going to the gym and will try hard to make girlfriends at once and not talk to the men so I don't make a huge mistake. It's hard tho bc I'm craving some attention. That's all I'm saying I guess.
Also, during my 2 yr, the PA said that I'm 24BMI and that that's a "one percenter" at 2yrs and beyond. (I weighed 156- 3 lbs ago)That it was fantastic, and great job!". That being said, I've noticed that in our support group, a lot of us have low BMIs and we should be so happy that we are not in the "norm" and have lost so much and have maintained so well thus far. Agreed that it will get harder though and it will take work. I'm going to work on my choices of beverages, protein intake and working out.
Congratulations everyone for being healthier this year and even more so in the coming year.

Hi guys. I haven't been on in ages but over the summer had some plastic surgeries. I had an upper/ lower eye lift with a neck lift, then had a breast lift with an arm lift. I am so happy with everything that I did that I have scheduled a Tummy Tuck for January. I traded severely baggy upper arms for some scars, but I am so good with the trade.
However, after each surgery I got so constipated that I gained a couple of pounds each time that I thought would come back off after swelling but hasn't. I am now 9 lbs up from my lowest of 150.
I went in to my 2 yr checkup expecting to be chastised, but they were thrilled that I was only 1 lb different from the 1 yr checkup. (Must have lost weight during the year and then gained THAT back). So they were happy, I was happy they weren't mad, but I still am internally freaking out.
I have never been an alcohol drinker, but I have become one. A Big one. I know there is a lot of sugar in wine but I can't eat very well so I drink. Plus I don't want to eat and drink together so I don't eat. I realized I prob don't get but maybe 20 gr of Protein in a day.
Soooo, I came back to my support group to see how everyone is faring and to get a plan together.
My bloodwork came back fine except for the Iron is low. But I don't want Constipation, so I don't take a lot on purpose. But I do get dizzy and shaky ALOT. But I have also taken up drinking coffee several times a day (I never drank coffee before either and didn't understand ppl that liked it) my other go to drink is 1/2 sweet-unsweetened tea. I drink all day and will 'eat' Soup bc it's cold here now. But it's not good for me and bc of the surgeries, I need to re-lose.
My plan, and due to tips from this group, is to uptake my protein and go to the gym. I already ate a Quest bar for Breakfast. Yay me. I have no motivation for the gym tho, and no friend that goes there. Yes, I know I'll meet someone there and that's in my mind, but also a part of me thinks, "you'll meet a guy and flirt while not wearing your ring during a workout and you'll like the attention". My husband and I aren't close, and I'm lonely a lot, so I'm really nervous bc I think I could be swayed so easily and I don't think I'll have much willpower to not get caught up in it. But I don't want to bc I'm faithful but I really want someone to talk to and give me attention. My husband and I tried and tried, but we just live in this weird world where we share a house. (Separate fridges, sides of the house, dogs, garages, friends, etc) Anyway, I'm not complaining about that, but I'm just explaining how I could meet someone like-minded but seriously don't want the stress of lying or hiding something from him. So I avoid men usually. I hide in my office at work and at stay at home bc I don't trust myself. So, off I'm going to the gym and will try hard to make girlfriends at once and not talk to the men so I don't make a huge mistake. It's hard tho bc I'm craving some attention. That's all I'm saying I guess.
Also, during my 2 yr, the PA said that I'm 24BMI and that that's a "one percenter" at 2yrs and beyond. (I weighed 156- 3 lbs ago)That it was fantastic, and great job!". That being said, I've noticed that in our support group, a lot of us have low BMIs and we should be so happy that we are not in the "norm" and have lost so much and have maintained so well thus far. Agreed that it will get harder though and it will take work. I'm going to work on my choices of beverages, protein intake and working out.
Congratulations everyone for being healthier this year and even more so in the coming year.

Hi Everyone! Pink, congrats! You look great. Amylynns - great photos. Beni - hi Sunshine!
So, I've been productive since moving back to CT with skinny mom. I'm half way through my real estate license class. I hope to have my license by mid-august. I am being woo-ed by a few Brokers.
The "eating" situation with carb-only-skinny-mom is going OK. I've introduced her to some healthier menus and she actually likes some. However, the Cookies and chips on the counter really have tempted me. I'd give my will power a C+. In the past it would have been an F!
Anyway, it's great to hear good stuff from all of you. Please stay in touch.... I miss and truly love y'all!!
Sent from my XT1080 using the BariatricPal App

Hopefully these pictures post correctly!! I usually do it from my phone....

Here is what I look like now. Still a work in progress.

Hello, gladiators,
It has been a while, sorry, life just got busy. But I think of you often and wonder how you are all doing. I am at 154lbs. Gained two pounds. I have read that it is pretty common for that to happen. To reach a low and then clim up to a more realistic weight. Of course any weight gain brings on the stress of thinking, I am going to gain it all back. It is very scary, I must say.
I can eat a lot more then I should. At times I am astonished. I think the pouch opening streaches and the food keeps pushing out. Also, if you take a little break during your meal, 10 minutes later I find I can eat some more. I never felt the full feeling. I always went from hungry to sick. It's still hard for me to tell. The only thing that works is to have a plate with a reasonable helping and not have seconds.
I can't do alcohol. I go from fine to roaring drunk to fast asleep in 5 minutes. I am exaggerating but it sure feels like it.
My biggest problem is snacking. I can't seem to stop the munchies. Every hour I feel like I need to have a little something. Sometimes a little something is a lot of something. I had a restaurant size salad (big) for lunch then of course I could only eat about 1/3. I had leftovers, an hour later I had another 1/3 and finished it off another hour later. Wow! It's like I completely bypassed the physical limitations of my surgery. Not doing that again.
However, if I do get a proper meal 3 times per day and a couple Snacks, I am fine. Why, why is it so hard to just do that? It's like I am ADD about eating. I can't focus on it.
Other then that, everything is great. I feel great and my hair is coming back. I am at about 17 months past surgery and my new hair is like 2 inches long. I can see there is lot of hair that length throughout. It's coming in nice and strong. My energy level is great and I feel positively great.

Current pic!

Hi everyone. I have not been on for awhile and boy have I had some major changes. I recently went on a cruise. Ate what I want and drank what I want. After the cruise on my way home I thought what is happening to me where has my motivation went? Why am I drinking so much alcohol? Because it makes me feel good it makes me grow wings & I become super women. I only drink at night as if that makes it better. One night my husband had a terrible time helping me down the stairs. I don't remember any of it. So on our way home some where in Texas I woke up & thought to myself I have gone through so much. No way was I going to let alcohol control my life like food. I took my life back in control & have not drank any alcohol for 5 days. There are so many obstacles in life that we have endured & have yet to endure but losing the battle of winning is not one of them. I hope you all are doing well. Let's revamp, refocus & reset my friends.

Beni emailed me this morning with a question and I realized how much i miss all you guys. I have been off track too since my Tummy Tuck and returning to work, up 9 pounds from my low, though Dr says some could still be swelling, but it's all in my derriere, that not all swelling, it's Andersons pnut butter filled pretzel bites. I'm addicted and they don't sell in single servings. Argh. I was good today and will be again, tomorrow, one day at a time.

Wild goose - great comments... Yes, slow it down... How many of us are not drinking enough Water? Forgetting to log food? Not exercising? Drinking while eating,? Not chewing? What else ladies,? Come on? We've come a long way being honest with each other. Let's clense before the new year.

Ok so today I have officially lost half ot my starting weight, I started at 225, now weigh 112.4 holy cow, there used to be two of me.

Hey ladies I had my 6 month appointment yesterday in Denver. I am down 115 pounds. My NP & office staff was very impressed. My BMI was 53 before surgery it is now 35. I went to my firsr support group last night. It was awesome!!!! I met some of the most wonderful peiple. We laughed & talked just opened up. I was able to get questions answered. My nutrtionist class helped me so much I took notes. I look forward to losing 52 more pounds to get to my goal weight. We are not alone we have great support we can all be successful. :)

@@Beni First thing in the morning, I have my coffee with a packet of BariWise Hot chocolate and a Quest bar. That sets me up with 37 grams of Protein to start the day, if I eat the whole bar (which I normally don't). For lunch, I either have a fish dish of some sort (17-30 grams of protein), or Greek yogurt with Bare Naked Granola Protein (28 grams of protein for the combo). By the way, I tried Starbucks Doubleshot with Protein yesterday, and it was pretty good too. Ended up with 41 grams to start the morning that way, but I think I'll stick with the Bariwise because of the sugar content.
For my "snack," I have a Bariwise fruit drink (lemonade and grape are my favorites). That's another 15. And if I'm really hungry, I'll eat a bag of protein chips (Bariwise barbecue is my favorite). That's 10.
That means by dinner, I have around 80 grams of protein already in (with no chips). But I still focus on protein at dinner. I either eat whatever meat my sister cooks for herself and some veggies, or I have a bowl of Special K Protein plus 1/2 cup of almond milk and some fruit (berries of some sort). Either way, I'll be closer to 100 grams.
I was getting about 60-70 grams previously. This has definitely helped.

@@Glyndalin
Yes, getting all the Protein is hard. First I am not hungry, except when I have not eaten in hours and I get a bit of the shakes (low blood sugar, I think) and have to eat something pronto. The early signs are that I start dropping things. Like yesterday, I dropped the car keys 3 times in a row. Butter fingers!
What are you doing to get all the needed Protein?

@@smiley922
Working on your tan in style!

Tuesday's are my weight in days, and I was soooo praying that I would have lost my last .5 pounds to hit my 100 pound lost mark. But I didn't ???? it ruined my day and PMS had me on a pitty party train. I was sooo frustrated at my bad decisions and could not see the path that is behind me. So I went to bed at 7;30pm so I wouldn't eat and self sabotage.
I woke up to a huge amazing weigh in!! I am so happy and feel so silly for being so emotional yesterday.
  

You look great!!! I'm slow going. Maybe a 2 pounds week. I have more energy and I don't get as tired as I used to. Diabetes is out of here. Every once and a while ingest this episode where I have intense pain and it take me to the floor with vomiting but the doctors are working on it. My egd showed a gastritis so I take Sulcrafate before every meal. I have a hyda scan for my gallbladder coming up on 5/1. Despite all that I signed up for a half marathon and will start training this week. I've been using the run keeper app to help me along. Even when I was 300 I still tried to do 5k(s). I made it to 225 this week. Slowly but surely.
Hopefully in another month I can make it to onederland. Thanks for thinking about me twin. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in things I can only concentrate on one at a time. I'm going to try to visit on this site more often.

Packed up 5 bags of clothes for good will. Went from 24 to a Size 4 pants and a 46C to a 36B.

Hair loss hasn't been noticeable after the haircut so win! I'm usually around 700 calories but I do beach body programs as well. I was ordered to hit around 65-70 grams of Protein and 1000-1200 cals a day. We will see what happens. My workout regime is prob the reason for increase but I'll adapt to keep it up ❤️ I wanted to wait on the lift/reduction as well...my bariatric dr would like me to wait but considering my massive breakdown of skin from working out its going to get done early. Under my right breast I've had staph infections twice and bleeding from the sweating and hanging of skin. Tmi I know but I think everyone should look out for these issues. And to answer your question no. I am not getting any kind of implant. They are using my own tissue and molding it to create upper pole fullness. Implants are usually suggested if you want youthful fullness and be able to go bra free. A lift is sufficient as long as you are good relying on a push up bra ???? I didn't want foreign objects either.

@@Beni - Feel better gladiator! You may have just had a little bug, too. Sometimes I think every little "odd" thing is related to my sleeve. The reality is, sometimes it is just something else.
@ the biker ladies (in this case, I mean bicycle)... I have wanted to rent a bike since moving to Philly. There are two cool places that I want to go. One is along the banks of the Schuykill River right in the heart of the city. The other is at Valley Forge Park. The bike rentals are fairly inexpensive - about $15 for the day. But, last year I just felt too fat. So, they are both on my "TO DO LIST" for the Spring. Oh what a difference a year makes.

I agree with the dehydration, especially when you're still less than a year out from surgery. It helped me to chew my VERY small bites of food until it was like pudding consistency, before I swallowed it.
But even now, at 16 months out, I still have to hydrate. Even at this stage in my progress, I've found two things about it.
First, I ride my bicycles A LOT, now that I can again. I especially like riding long distances, like half-Century (50-mile) and Century (100-mile) rides. I like to train for them by riding those distances everywhere it's reasonably safe to do so, like the Spokane River Centennial Trail. I like "touring" more than racing. I find that I can ride literally all day, if I go at a steady, slower pace. (My arthritic knees complain LOUDLY if I don't!)
What I've noticed is that after about a half hour of riding, if I forget to hydrate, I get close to passing out! So I make sure I have my hydration pack and extra water bottles with me. I even have the drinking fountains and other water sources as planned out as possible. And I use Protein shakes to hydrate with as well.
Second, if I forget and eat more than a half cup of solid food at a time, I still get the hiccups until I get a little water down. This is even though I chew it until it's like pudding before I swallow. Our NUT and the Nurse Practitioner recently told us at our support group that if we've missed our water doses, we should eat a little of the softest food on our plate before we eat the Protein.
I hope this helps!

Okay, two more before and after photos...
We spend so much time looking up the mountain saying "I still have so much further to go". Every now and then we have to look back and say, "Geez! I've come a long way, baby!"

hello glads, it has been a long time but I have been trying to keep up on your posts but I have to admit it has been a month since I checked in the posts back than were far and few!! Life happens we are all busy. I have been doing well down to 123.6lbs my personal goal is 120lbs!!! so about 3 away than on to maintenance..... I'm wearing size 6 pants/jeans and small to medium tops my shoe size from size 7 to 6- 61/2 so much has changed!!!! I'm eating about 800-1000 cals a day still losing but much slower pace but no worries here!! I now live in Seattle, WA from Phoenix, AZ I work at a hospital/Medical Center in the Cardiology Dept most of my coworkers are surprised that I had GB they thought I was this thin my whole life!! LOL!! it seems we are all doing fairly well even though the holidays caused some turmoil but you all seem to bounce back!! well just
wanted to check in and update you all XOXO

My son got bigger too he was a tiny thing now look. I am skinny im too talk to be 140 i look very young for 25 and im teaching now so i get confused for a student. My sons father and I worked things out hence the second baby but yea things happen. I hope i never lose another baby again and im striving for a healthy mind

I think at some point everyone loses there mind a little. I know I did in August. All the attention I was receiving was over whelming. I made some bad decisions & put my marriage at risk. I do want to live life to the fullest but with confidence & power that comes from inside me. The outside is only for show it doesn't bring you the love you want & need by the people who really love you. I am glad that I am back to me. Have a great day everyone!

Thanks in all ive been healthier, it was an eye opener i was really gone and not taking care of myself. Its been 2 months and im not anemic anymore and im eating maintaining at 140.