Bears_Chick

It's tough to get into the right mindset and eating what's best for our bodies. This thread has really been motivating for me. I hope it is for you as well.

That's amazing! I love it! Everything you said!

So I've been MIA for a couple weeks due to vacation and staying away from the internet.... I'm an aspiring novelist, so I REEEEAALLLY have to try to focus on my writing if I ever want to "get there." But I just read posts from the past couple of weeks and have seen the ups and downs... I had a couple myself. But as of today I'm 169.6.... within 10 lbs of my goal weight! I'm pretty excited about that. I had to give up 80% of the carbs I was eating, and I've been careful with sodium.... upped the protein, and 'as for now' it seems to be working. I'm happy, but always scared. This is the first 4th of July in YEARS that I haven't been embarrassed to take a picture with my family. So I'm sharing.

You are really beautiful!!!

I weighed in at 172.8! Two more pounds! I'm getting there! Cutting out the bread, crackers, and pasta really made a difference. Why do I love carbs so much?! I also went back to an hour of cardio and 30 minutes of weights every day except Sunday for the past two weeks.... I had missed a couple days of workouts the two weeks I didn't lose. 12.8 pounds to goal!!! I'm so scared! Terrified I won't make it. That my body will just quit losing even if I'm doing the same thing. I'm hungry and it's hard, so cutting back lower than 1,000 calories a day.... ugh, I just don't know if I can do that.

Did you keep the old scale, just to see if they weigh you the same? That would be a good starting point, to know if one weighs differently, then switch to the new one... maybe? Very cool scale! I caught myself doing the Starbucks thing a couple weeks ago... and I didn't lose two weeks in a row. And I was order the SKINNY or the NONFAT, but still, it's liquid calories, and apparently, my body didn't like that. No weight loss for two weeks. But I know when I get to my goal, I can drink a Starbucks on a weekend as a treat. I won't need to lose then, just maintain.

Praise Jesus! That's wonderful!

Absolutely Necessary: --Calorie counter (how much you've had; how much remains) --Nutrients: Protein, Carbs, Fiber, Fat, Sugar - I also like seeing the fat breakdown (saturated, monounsaturated, trans) and basic vitamin and mineral info. --Exercise input with calorie burn --Food bank - this is HUGE! Having a good database and the ability to add personal recipes; restaurants; general foods; ability to scan packages such as protein bars and shakes, even those not in database to create a larger shareable database. --Progress tracking for weight loss with reports so I can look back at the last year or five years Would be nice: --Sharing with friends --Ability to take pictures at milestones and compare and use for motivation --Sync to FitBit, MapMyRun, and other fitness apps. --Yes to this: Countdown of the number of grams of protein and ounces of Water to get to your daily goal. With reminders! --Track body-fat percentage; BMI; measurements --Motivational reminders and stupid little sayings to log my food, eat more protein, get my fat butt up and exercise if I haven't logged anything, slow down on the carbs, chubby; those are cute and fun, do it right... make it fun, not like a drill sergeant, probably not with the name calling, since some people might not like that. Maybe make it so we can write our own? (MyDietCoach has cute ideas here) Maybe but not super important: --I had an app once that I put in rewards for myself, personal competition, when I hit a goal. It was fun, but the rest of the app wasn't as good as others, so I laid it to rest in dark pit of useless apps. What I DON'T want/dealbreakers: --Advertisements popping up. If the app is free but only due to adds, give me the option to buy the app without ads.

Welcome, TaureanMe!

Welcome, JTHmom!

You seriously look fabulous! Don't I know it about the thighs... my entire legs are my enemies. My legs will be the last to go. They've haunted me my whole life. Even as a kid. Sucked. Which 12 week challenge? I've done the Nike XBox Challenge... way harder than I anticipated. If you don't jump high enough or wide enough or squat low enough, it doesn't count it. Dang, Gina! I'm doing a weights/resistance routine right now, plus an hour on the elliptical at least five days a week. It's helping me get there. I REEEEALLY want to be 160 by October. I need to consistently lose a pound a week.

Way to go!!! OH! That wonderful feeling of a "1" in the front!!!!

I'm finally down! After two weeks of no loss, and a slight gain (0.8), I'm down that slight gain plus an additional 1.8!!!! I hit 100 lbs of weight loss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Liz, your picture is amazing! I know we all have a number we want to stay at, but you look fantastic! Great legs!!! Slim Dreams, your story is tough. I'm so sorry about the miscarriages. Having a bad day is going to happen, but you are aware and are working on getting things back on track..... we can only do our best.

Liz, your picture is amazing! I know we all have a number we want to stay at, but you look fantastic! Great legs!!! Slim Dreams, your story is tough. I'm so sorry about the miscarriages. Having a bad day is going to happen, but you are aware and are working on getting things back on track..... we can only do our best.

Ditto what Mariela said. The fact that you shared it, you admitted it and shared with us, that is SOOO hard to do. And today will be a better day.

I absolutely LOVE THIS! It's so true. As I sit here and want to eat a handful of cashews, it's hard not to, but it's much harder being overweight and out of shape and unable to do things with my kids, hating myself. This was perfect! Thanks for sharing!

I use MyFitnessPal. What's your handle?

I am at a plateau... hoping and praying it's a short one, but my history tells me otherwise. I'm with you on the sweet tooth, and I read an article that a skinny person wrote. But it really has helped me. It said some scientifically awesome crap about things in your brain, and how sometimes it's better to eat one small serving of whatever you're craving than not, because if you don't, you might still crave it (THAT'S ME!) and you end up eating more of something else and more and more. It used potato chips as an example. Just eat the dang small bag! Otherwise you'll eat a giant family size bag of pretzels and end up with more calories anyway and STILL have the craving for potato chips. It was a long article, but it was brilliant, and so this is what I do. Option A: Eat one square of dark chocolate... not every day, just when you have that SERIOUS nag that won't shut up up, whispering sweet nothings about chocolate nonstop. It's 50 calories and won't kill you. Plus if you like dark chocolate, it does have some health benefits. Option B: Oh Yeah One Chocolate Brownie protein bar.... YUM!!!! 220 calories; 20 grams of protein; 9 grams of fiber (so you'll poop it right out!) But sometimes, you just need that one little bite of the real thing. Just keep it to one. That's me preaching to myself.

I had a stall around week four as well. I'm stalling again... for the first time since the beginning. I'm eight months post-op. Sucks. But just stick with it and do everything you know to do: protein, fluids, walking... because I don't think you're allowed to do anything else until six weeks.

I am so thankful for this thread! I have re-gained at least a dozen times in my life 40-60-100 lbs. So I'm determined to not let it happen again. However... dum-dum-dum ... the scale hasn't gone down in two weeks and did go up... only one pound, which I know can be water or anything, but I ALSO know that I've started to feel comfortable, and when I feel comfortable, I grab a little piece of chocolate at a party or have an extra glass of wine. So I needed encouragement.... and I found this thread. It's crazy how encouraging it's been reading all of your posts! I was ready to break down and have a snack, but just reading what you guys have been posting for the past couple of weeks has motivated me. I need to lose AT LEAST 15 more pounds.... I have to stay serious and not snack and cheat. I always weigh Saturday, but I like what you guys have said about Monday's keeping you straight over the weekend. So I'm going to start weighing on Mondays as well!

It definitely gets better. The first week is the worst. The second is better but still tough. My Dr said to be sure to walk every hour for five minutes as it helps with healing.

I 'started' to do the same thing. I was cooking for the family about two-three weeks post op; my 13YO daughter was cooking with me. I popped a noodle in my mouth to see if it was done, completely NOT thinking anything, and she yelled, "Mommy, can you do that?!" I yanked that sucker out of my mouth so quick! So yes, it can happen. It wasn't a 'hungry' decision; it was completely a blonde moment... and no matter what your hair color, I think we can all have blonde moments. Sorry that you had pain... that's scary. Mine didn't go down, so I got lucky. Thank God my daughter was using her brain... cause I sure wasn't.

I've told some close friends and family but not acquaintances, parents from my kids' schools and sports teams etc... It's a personal thing for me, and I don't want to share personal things with acquaintances. It's tough with WLS compared to other surgeries because people can SEE the difference. But I've had not-so-great luck with people who like to talk when they shouldn't, so for that reason, I have been selective with whom I've told. So far so good, and I'm down 80 lbs. People are asking and I'm not lying, I'm telling them exactly what I'm doing. I give them a daily rundown of my diet and exercise. I'm pretty sure that if they follow that advice, then they will see results too, but most people just want to ask, most people (including myself) want to know if there's a magic "shrink me" pill. I've never lied. If someone flat out asked if I had WLS, I would be truthful, but I'm not offering it up to just anyone, and I don't consider that lying. I tell the truth about what I'm doing.. I just leave off the part that 80% of my stomach was sliced off. And people who have 'known' me for years that I haven't told, they've seen me lose 80 lbs before... more than once... so they probably just think I'm at it again, and HOPEFULLY they are hoping for the best for me.