The New Kel

Hello all! Only 45 days left till Christmas....yikes!!!! Our awesome fellow WLS champion DashofPixieDust8 is passing the baton to me to run this challenge, as she has a LOT going on right now! I have soooo appreciated all the time and effort she has put into challenges. Soooooo....are we ready for the Holiday Challenge? I know for me personally, I really need accountability and encouragement around the holidays. It's way too easy to get off track with the goodies, parties and festivities. So to help us stay on track as much as possible and to reach some goals, I think a Holiday Challenge is in order! Basically, the rules are exactly the same as DashofPixieDust8 has been posting in previous challenges. The only thing is that I cannot give out prizes. I'm sorry- I know, I'm a scrooge! No, I'm really not, it's just that I can't commit to buying prizes at this time, however, reaching or even exceeding our goals is rewarding enough, right? Slight change to note: We will have Wednesday Weigh-ins. This challenge will run from Wednesday, November 15th (beginning weight and goals posted) to January 10th (last weigh in). I will do my best to post to the spreadsheet within 1 - 2 day of receiving your weight. I will recalculate the figures as soon as I can following the Wednesday weigh in . You may post your weight at any time during the week if Wednesday is not your weigh in day! This challenge is for everyone. If you are pre-op, post op, in maintenance or looking for some accountability; no matter if you are sleeve, band, rny, bypass, all are welcome- this challenge is for you! Procedures: Please Post Your Starting Weight between today and November 15th and Goal Weight (what you would like to weigh at the end of the 9 week challenge). You can cut/paste this below and fill it in on your post - Goal Weight: Current Weight: Today's Date: Rules: 1. Post your weight on this thread every Wednesday, Specifically 11/15 (beginning weight), 11/22, 11/29, 12/6, 12/13, 12/20, 12/27, 1/3, and 1/10 (last day). 2. If you change your screen name please let me know. 3. If you miss 2 or more weigh-ins, I will assume you no longer want to participate and your name will be removed from the spreadsheet. 4. If you miss a weigh in on Wednesday, no problem. Just post it asap. 5. We are all here to support each other if you post a question anyone can answer. 6. You will know your weight is updated on the spreadsheet once I've liked your post! The link to the spreadsheet will be posted soon (before 11/15) . In the meantime please feel free to post your beginning weight and goal! Have fun, and good luck with this challenge!Remember we are all here to support each other! I look forward to running this challenge with you! The New Kel Spread Sheet Link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zMNphV_evJl4pfjPPYpqPejO6-k1--EgMQjeWvDcr_I/edit#gid=0

Mine is completely out of whack. Sometimes it lasts for a month (yes...a month!) and other times I miss a month or two. It's like my cycle went totally off the rails bat sh*t crazy after surgery.

I totally second that about the broth! The broth saved me in those days. It breaks up the monotonous sweet with some much needed salt! Yep, you can do it!

You're doing great- don't sweat it. It took most of us a lot longer to loose 60 lbs! Congrats on your success so far. If you hare having trouble with food and pain, you might want to examine what you are eating, and see of other protein goes down better. experiment!

Stay the course- following the diet as directed by your dietician or surgeon, and the scale will move on its own. The three week stall is just your body's way of adjusting. Too early to require changes in diet. The cool thing is that even though the scale gets stubborn at 3 or 4 weeks, your body is still transforming, for the better. If you take your waist measurements at the beginning and end of the dreaded stall, you will see a change. Your pants are going to be a little looser, despite the same wight. hang in there! We've all been there and came out great!! (I understand the frustration. My stall at 3 weeks was about a week or so).

Congratulations!! You look truly beautiful!! Amazing job!

I had surgery over a year ago, and for the first three to four months post op scrambles eggs made me ill, too. But now I LOVE them!!! Maybe you will too, in time.

A guilty pleasure of mine before weight loss was Starbuck's Peppermint Mocha. But it's freaking LOADED with sugar. Here are two recipes to get your fix on without the unnecessary sugar! The "At home and have a little time" recipe: Ingredients: 1 Tablespoons cocao powder 2 tsp sweetener of your choice (I use Stevia) 6 ounces whole milk (or coconut milk) 2 ounces strong brewed coffee or regular, organic coffee a splash of peppermint extract (just a couple drops) 2 Tablespoons whipped cream (from the carton- whip with a sprinkle of no-calorie sweetener) Whisk together milk, cocoa powder and sweetenerin a small saucepan over medium heat. When milk begins to steam take off of heat and pour into a mug. Add the coffee and splash of peppermint extract. Optional:Top with a large dollop of whipped cream. The "Quick & Dirty" recipe Buy a bottle of sugar free hershey's chocolate syrup, and add a teaspoon of peppermint extract, then shake well. This is your base for your mochas, so you just keep in in your fridge. Brew your coffee (or, buy a plain cup from your favorite place ) and squeeze a tablespoon or so of the hershey's syrup base into the coffee and stir. Add milk or cream to taste. Enjoy! I have the bottle of hersheys with peppermint at my work office in the fridge, so I just add it to my coffee.

With DashofPixieDust's spreadsheet I think I will run this one, starting (probably) November 15th. More details to follow very soon! TNK

Hi Everyone! I know the Fall Challenge just ended but was wondering if there is a plan or interest in a Holiday Challenge? I could really use a good challenge right now, and to get through the horribly food tempting holidays. I know @Dashofpixiedust8 usually organizes these but I search the forum and don't see anything yet. I seriously don't want to miss out on the next challenge!! Hope everyone is doing great! :-) TNK

Congrats on the beginning of your journey! I didn't have to do an endo but I did have the barium swallow test. basically, you just swallow some kinda nasty liquid and they X-ray you while its being swallowed. Then you have to drink some carbonated thing to expand your tummy, and they tell you not to burp, lol! You'll get through it

thank you!

I had the sleeve. Best decision for me!

Thank you and CONGRATULATIONS of your new beginning!! Best wishes for a fantastic journey!

Aww, thanks!

Thank you!

Thanks for the compliment! My Old Navy cards gets quite a work out, lol. The only designer jeans in the image were from friends hand me downs!

Thanks! The one thing I did as I was losing weight to sort of reward myself was to buy jeans. (not super expensive ones though!) Go out there and get some..smaller sizes make you feel great!!

Thanks, & Congratulations on your downsizing as well!

Thanks! I only kept mine so that I could do this photo. As of today they are all in the good-will pile!

Hi Joan! I'm 48 and just a few hours south of you in the Southwest! I' m one year post op and would love to connect and chat! I'll send you a message!

I am one year out (Surgiversary was Oct 3), and I saw a cool idea I was inspired by, so I saved all my jeans and took an image of them all. Biggest was size 20, smallest (current) size 4. Needless to say I should have taken stock in Old Navy!

This is a good question. I hit my goal a couple months ago, and truth be told I think I rewarded myself all along the journey. Like buying smaller jeans, better makeup, and taking road trips to see friends, etc. basically, jumping back into life again and learning to love myself along the way. So I guess for me the reward has been the journey and self discovery!

Hi Bary! I have not read any of the responses yet, but thought I'd chime in. Sorry if what I say has already been said. I am one year post op and I, too had wondered if I would be able to enjoy certain things much later on. I am 100 percent healed now so I think I can answer this as someone who has tried a bit of everything (within reason!) post op. I was never, and still am not someone big on carbonated drinks. However, I have attended to sip off of my husbands on rare occasions, and also I recently order a beer. It took me an hour to drink half. The reason is that the carbonation fill the small pouch super fast. It's rather uncomfortable. I'm not really into beer but it was a rare occasion and I was just having a bit of an experiment. Carbonation is not recommended post surgery, and I can say that it does not feel very good. Also, the calories and carbs in beer are not the healthiest things. It's honestly best to avoid carbonation. From what hear from many previous soda and carbonation regulars, the cravings dissipate post surgery. You just get used to not having it. As far as the "big ol' 4oz steak" (I had to laugh because only those of us familiar with the limits post surgery really get the 4oz limit...and its true!), I have eaten steak but it needs to be very tender. So the good news is this: Yes, steak is Ok but you will be enjoying quality over quantity. These days when I have steak I have about 3 oz of really tender cuts. You have to kind of experiment with the cuts that go down well of you. Let me interject that you won't even be able to think about steak until you're cleared for solids. One year post surgery I am pretty well tuned to what feels good or bad in my tummy. I can eat chicken everyday, and I love it, even more than pre surgery. I can also eat fish which I love. Ground beef & ground turkey does not sit well with me for whatever reason, even today. Man, I used to LOVE a good burger. I still imagine the taste and satisfaction of burgers, but I simply cannot tolerate ground beef, more than a bit or two. You will discover what works and doesn't work, everyone seems to be different. Aim for making the healthiest choices (easy to tolerate soft dense protein), and then know that one you hit your goal, you can bring back some of the good carbs, and life seems normal, albeit much healthier! Best of luck in your journey!

I'm just short of a year out and remembering very well about how the pre-op diet felt. It was hard! The headaches (and super crankiness!) were from a withdrawal of all the crap I had been used to "medicating" myself with. (Carbs, sugar, caffeine). The happy news is that 1) it gets a tad easier after a week and 2) you can think of it as your body "cleaning house". Getting rid of the bad stuff and prepping you for a lifetime of health. Hang in there, you'll be at your surgery date before you know it! PS: edited to add: I also had DREAMS about food! I clearly recall a dream where I was hiding with a huge burger in hand, trying to hide it from my hubby. lol!!