dtownchica

Good morning everyone, happy Monday! Just wanted to give everyone an update on last week.
As a group we lost a total of 268.5 lbs (some people failed to post their numbers so we could have lost more??) 4 people hit onederland @@Bellalover had the highest % of weight loss!
Great job to everyone!

162

Check in 163

Welcome to ONEderland!!!

168.5 today.
*Happy dance* I can't remember the last time I was in the 160's. Maybe middle school?

Tomorrow is our first official weigh in!!!! Good luck to us all!
I work tomorrow, so I may not get everyone updated until Tuesday.
Have fun with this challenge everyone!

So tonight I stopped by my local Walmart after work. I wanted to pick up a few food items, a new tooth brush, and some jeans. Yes I wanted a pair of non-big and tall, not gonna cost me $60/70/80/90/100+ a pair jeans. So I found some jeans. $10 jeans, and $15 jeans. So I brought those jeans. Like 5 pairs of jeans. What I would normally pay for a single pair of jeans a few short years ago, can now get me at least 5 pairs now.
This picture shows my 18 month progress from a few months before I started my pre-surgery diet to tonight. Bottom pair are a 56 waist 34 lenght pair of pants. Those were my pants before the surgery. They were also starting to get real tight to put on when I finally agreed to go through with surgery. The middle pair. Those are a 44 waist 34 lenght. I started wearing these around this past July. They were the first non-big and tall store only pair of pants I got. This was about 7/8 months post surgery too.
Now we are here. The new pair. The pair that tells me I no longer have a four foot wide waist anymore. The pair that says I can now walk into any store I want to and can more than likely get a pair of pants that fit. That feeling is a really damn good feeling. Its not as good as smoke a great fucking grade of weed, but damn it its real real close to that feeling. Well thats it. I just wanted to share my non-scale scaled victory of the moment for me.

I had a check-up with my surgeon this week and mentioned the hair loss. They said that people take Biotin, etc. and I can try that, but most often, the Hair loss lessens when the weight loss slows down. At this rate, I will be extremely scalpy by the time I am 1 yr post-op. On the upside, I got into a pair of jeans I haven't worn in 15 yrs, and I look hot in them (according to my daughters).

Never said that doesn't or can't happen. However, with weight loss surgery patients it's the weight loss itself that causes it and not lack of protein or Vitamins. This is well documented.
If you are not malnourished and are getting in your protein then buying extra stuff and taking extra supplements or using various shampoos, etc., will do NOTHING to help regrow hair.

Welcome to normal life! Every single normal weight person I know has a little binge here and there on a weekend or a vacation. You know what they do? They just get right back into their normal routine again when it's over and move on. That's what maintenance is. Living like a normal person!

Hi there other vets. Those in maintenance especially. This is so different than the weight loss stage, isn't it? So..I went away over the weekend with some of my girlfriends and somewhere around dinner on Saturday, I couldn't kid myself anymore that I was being mindful of what I was consuming. Actually, I was being very mindful...and very aware that I was eating way too much, and drinking too much, and eating the wrong things. Oh, I tried. I had fruit instead of chocolate, I didn't eat everything on my plate, I drank wine instead of cocktails. But still...I gained 2 1/2 lbs. and honestly expected it might be more than that.
So today is Monday, the start of a new week, and I'm committed to going back to eating as I usually do, and hoping the gain is minimized or even gone by next week. Part of me knows that this is just what life is like when we are maintaining, but part of me panics fearing this is the beginning of that slippery slope back to obesity.
Thank goodness for this site where I can come to express my feelings and feel like I'm reconnecting with those who truly understand this lifelong journey. And that's what it is....all my life, this will be an issue. I know some vets get past it and go about their business but that's not me. I'm always aware that my addiction is close by and can overtake me at any time. If that means feeling a little sorry for myself for 'drinking the Kool-Aid' once in a while, so be it. Today is a new day and I'm eating clean so far and planning on heading to the Y tonight to get in a Water exercise class. I bet I'm doing and feeling better tomorrow...

Cw 165 Gw 150

I got on the scale and realized I gained 4 pounds. I swear I almost hyperventilated, had a panic attack and fell off it *ugh* I am ok now. I know what I need to do to get back on track. Will it be like this the rest of my life every time I gain a pound?

When I tried to quit smoking I gained 8lbs! I am down all 8 now and weigh in on Thursday, I "feel" I should be down another 3 by then.

I am curious how many of us are employed/volunteer in a helping profession. I am a social worker in a level 1 trauma center and notice a lot of other social workers, RN's, medical staff and caregivers on these boards. I feel like I spend so much time helping others, supporting other and empowering others, when I really should be more empowering, helpful and supportive to myself and my needs.

@@Dub - OKCPirate .....I told you I was a Viking before I became a Pirate...I was too (DH Conley HS - http://wp.pittschools.org/dhc/).
I was glad I had my old Army uniform. It was a nice affirmation when it fit again. I went to one veteran event, and while I could get my arms in it, I couldn't button it up ;-(. Can now
Congrats in getting into your old jacket. I was a strong dude back in HS, but I know I could kick his butt today...age and cunning beat youth and speed.

Ooh, I'll take it! I do have the raised-eyebrow, "resting b***h face" down pat.

The 21" waist... not so much...

I used to have a pair of "goal" pants that fit me for a brief moment at the beginning of my sophomore year of college. Nothing special, just ones that I really liked from Old Navy. I almost made it in them after doing Weight Watchers about 8 years ago, but then I gained the weight back, and then a lot more. I held onto them until about a year and a half ago, when I had kinda given up and figured that it was pointless to hold onto them, that there was no way I'd ever fit into them again. I'm still kicking myself that I got rid of them! Of course, they'd be too big on me now.
Now my clothing motivation for maintenance is--of all things--a British Army women's Auxiliary Territorial Service uniform from 1942. My husband and I recently started doing WWII reenacting (yes, we're nerds!), and I'm able to fit into an original issue uniform for my portrayal. Obviously it's not something you can just pick up in any size at your local Target, so I have to stay small enough to wear it!

Congratulations! You look terrific! I was in the military for 8 years so all of my "older" clothing and jackets are long gone but I do have a pair of boots that would be awesome to fit in again (they don't zip past my calves). I'm so ready for this surgery!

Obviously many of us focus on the scale measurement as our barometer for reaching our goal. I was wondering if you had certain pieces of clothing from the past that were representative of your new goal weight.
Scale tells me that I'm 80 lbs out from that point.
80 lbs. I'm not even sure I know what that looks like anymore. It's been a fast paced roller coaster since this bariatric bidness began for me last June.....and faster still since October's surgery.
My post-op goal weight is to settle in somewhere in between what I weighed in high school junior and senior years. Surgeon agrees it's a reasonable weight to maintain.

What will it look like ? It's been so long ago that I can't remember.
Unfortunately I no longer have any of my old jeans from those days. Lol. They never made it through the 90's. Metallica, Iron Maiden & Ozzy concerts. Ripped and shredded to the point of no repair.
Up until yesterday, I figured I'd just stay the course and find out when I get there.
Was going through the closet yet again and pulling out stuff that didn't fit and getting it into the hands of someone who could use it. I ran across a relic. A perfect example of what being at goal will look like for me.
I found my high school letterman's jacket.
I tossed it aside for later consideration.
This morning I saw it as I was getting my gym clothes on. Sitting there. Grabbed and took it into the kitchen where coffee was made ready.
A trip back for a refill and I couldn't stand it anymore......I had to know........would this thing fit? More accurately, I suppose, the thought was ....how far off is it from fitting?
i found out.
I'll say this....there will come a day when it fits. Today is not that day......but soon. Soon it will. Well before my 30th class reunion later this year. LMAO at this old coat. It will be staying around....returning to the closet.......waiting for a few more months.
Had some good laughs this morning over my coffee.
Forgive my ramblings and my nostalgia. It's good to be reconnected with sources of great memories.


See..... @@OKCPirate .....I told you I was a Viking before I became a Pirate.

10 lbs of sausage in a 5 lb casing........LMAO.


Today is not that day......but I have the confidence in my sleeve that it will help me see that day. So dang grateful to be getting this weight off.
So, please jump in and tell about your old clothes that are you new goal barometer......or maybe you have recently bought something new that you are looking forward to fitting in.
Let's hear about it.

I'm over 2 years out…Just had a couple of appointments with my doc. I have gained back 17 pounds and needed to get back on track.
She prescribed appetite suppressants - I lost 4 pounds quickly and now that I'm mostly recovered from gall bladder surgery, I've lost another 2 pounds.
She wants 80 grams of Protein - I realized, after tracking for a couple of days, I have been slacking on the Protein. In order to get to that number, I have 2 shakes. I didn't want to go back to shakes, but I had to.
Lastly, "exercise is not an optional activity" - you have to move your body.
Basically, it's back to basics.
Best of luck to you!

I'm in

Praying for you...he sounds very selfish...you have to leave the negativity behind and move forward with the positive ♡yourself first

I have always been the hot one at work. Always had my fan on and short sleeves even in the winter. Fast foward 6 weeks post op and I can't get warm enough!! I have a personal heater and move it from the floor to my desk so it will blow right on my face. Haha

I used to never be cold, but ever since the gastric sleeve I grew to be cold most of the time... I was told that it was because my body had lost plenty of fat calories that kept my body warm, therefore I was cold most of the time.. Nowadays I just wear plenty of layers. Like long socks or stockings under jeans. Warmers under jackets, etc..