DianeJarrett

Today is my birthday and my ONLY wish was to cross the double-century mark! Well.... Happy Birthday to me! I did it! After a 3-4 week stall, I thought I would NEVER get here, but I was patient. I understand now it is a marathon and not a sprint. I say to you all, those pre-op, recently post-op, or anyone who is struggling... as long as you stick to the program, it is worth it. The goals, they happen! LOVE to you all!!!!

All of us stalls at some point but at least we are there for the support.

6 weeks was my "suggested" time period. I had coffee on the day, 6 damn weeks to the day!!! I love it, but honestly, it is very hard on the tummy. And I'm lactose intolerant post surgery, like they said. So cream in my coffee KILLS me. But I can't do without it, the coffee. I'm going to start trying almond milk as a substitute, soon. LOL I will. I promise.

I've been on vacation and haven't been keeping up. This made me laugh so hard. I missed you guys!!!

Last week, I was so close to the double century mark... just 1.5 lbs away and then, bam! I went on vacation. I went with my amazing BF to Georgia to visit family and to see the eclipse in totality. We drove, and on the way down, we stopped at all the wonderful (but terrible) fast food places that the South is so famous, and while we were there, we ate and drank things that I normally wouldn't have while home. And guess what? I gained 3 lbs. Am I sad about it? NOPE. I realized while I was there that this is a marathon and not a sprint. I'm 10 weeks past my surgery, and I've lost 46 lbs. I will continue to follow the plan, exercise and drop more weight. But I can't live my life without, every once in a while, enjoying the rare cheat meal or day. Did I go overboard? No. It was 3 lbs of mostly water weight gain from driving and not hydrating the way I should. And, let's face it, it's damn hard to overeat. I enjoyed half of a biscuit from Bojangles. 2 bites of hash browns with my egg at the Waffle House. A little bit of crust with my chicken pie that I made homemade for my kids. I drank more sweet tea than I should have.. but at the end of the day, I had fun. This surgery helped me see that food is NOT LIFE. It's nourishment. I don't eat my feelings anymore and I don't eat out of boredom. I eat to live and I eat sparingly at that. I struggle to eat 600-800 calories most of the time, and once, just once, I did it with gusto (as much gusto as I can muster). I've been home for 3 days now, and I'm back at the gym, drinking all the water I am supposed to drink, and getting my daily dose of protein and guess what? I'm back where I started before the vacation. I had fun. Don't be scared to have fun, but come back to reality and get back on the plan. A little fun won't kill you.. but only a little!

Yay! Good for you. I can't see your ticker... I'm assuming that is the graphic some people have below their signature? I don't know how you all do that. I've asked but no one has answered.

LOL Not all are pink.

Yes indeed. Food is awesome after the liquid diet, although I struggle with it. The irony of pushing to get 600-800 calories a day, when, before surgery, you struggled to get only 1000 calories. LOL

Everyone has a different reaction to this show. Mine? I watch it and think... "there but for the Grace of God go I." I started watching it pre-surgery and it greatly affected me. To see people who were 600 lbs plus and lose to below the double century mark is inspiring. For those of us who are overweight and want to lose that weight, it is an inspiration and a cautionary tale. To skinny people, people who don't want to lose weight or don't feel like they need to lose weight, it is a show that makes fun of fat people, I guess. No one is going to like everything on television. Personally, I'd like to drown all the Kardashians and take a stick to every single contestant on The Bachelor, but that's just my personal opinion. And opinions are like a**holes...

GOOD LUCK! What wonderful objectives, to get rid of all the health issues! Hey, 140, 150, 160??? What does it matter? All are healthy weights! Keep us posted!

I will, definitely. I think I can hit it by the end of the week too. I'm BEYOND excited!!!!

Definitely!!! We are almost there! But about the picture, I mean take a picture of the scales!! The moment the weight is under 200... even if it is 199.9... take a picture to remember it. You worked hard for it, you are doing everything in your power to change your life, improve your health and be what you want to be! Don't let that moment go by without taking that picture, and every goal weight after that. I focus on the 5's and 10's... One day, I will look back at those pictures, with those date stamps and congratulate myself for the long road and my decision to change my life. My dedication and persistence. And so should you!!! Yay!!!!!!

I lost some weight last night and I'm at 202.6. It seems like a dream to me, I'm almost there! I wish you luck!! You had your surgery exactly one month after I did and you weighed about 20 pounds less than I did. I think we are on target together! Good luck and keep me posted!! Take a picture too! Keep it forever.

After a 3-4 week stall, I started losing again and I am 4.4 pounds away from 200 lbs, the double century mark! It isn't coming fast enough, but I know it will be a big moment. While I wait, anyone want to share that moment, the day you stepped on the scales are you were under 200 pounds? How long had it been since you saw that weight? How did you feel? Love to hear your share!!

I think that is great! I know many who have had the surgery in Mexico. It is safe. I'm glad you are making this healthy choice. Keep us posted!!!

I was stalled forever and then suddenly, after kicking artificial sweeteners to the curb and drinking plain water (advice from my nutritionist), my stall ended and I have lost 4 pounds! A call with my nutritionist today was even more eye opening... she said, "don't be afraid of a little sugar!" Here's what that means.. Artificial sweeteners can be, for some, tougher to break down than regular sugar. Sure, regular sugar isn't good for you in large doses and may cause dumping, but don't shy away from it completely, especially when you need to up your caloric intake to lose weight. Some of us strain to get 600 calories a day, or when we stall, we need to push additional calories to shake up our metabolism. I drink coffee and before surgery, I used to drink a caramel latte daily (I love caramel). But that's way too sweet for me and causes dumping big time. However, after her advice, I began adding 1 pump of caramel to my regular Dunkin Donuts coffee along with skim milk and Splenda. It's the only sugar and artificial sweetener I consume every day (now). I began drinking more water and the weight loss has resumed. It's my one "sweet" treat a day, and I look forward to it every morning. It hasn't interrupted my weight loss and I no longer feel cheated when I get coffee. I'm not promoting ice cream or candy, resuming the crazy binge sugar feasts we may have once had (our bodies can't handle that anyway). But for some of us, artificial sweetener can cause us to stall or cause water weight gain. Natural sugar is, in small small doses, sometimes better for us than the artificial kind. If you can handle it, add a little sugar to your coffee (be realistic) or some sweetened flavoring like the International Delights flavors with Splenda or Stevia. Just once a day, it won't kill you. (Now, if you think it is a "gateway" to eating more sugar a day... then don't. You know yourself better than my nutritionist. For me, once a day sweet treat is plenty. I can no longer tolerate anything super sweet.) I'm so happy to be losing again after a long stall, and I won't jeopardize that by overindulging in anything, but I enjoy my coffee every morning and this makes it so much more pleasurable. I feel like I get something sweet and yummy without going nuts.

I have told only my close friends and family. I didn't announce on social media, etc. I even posted in this group about the apparent "SHAME" of bariatric surgery. People seem to believe that it is the "easy" way to lose weight but they have zero idea what the f**k they are talking about. Forced portion control is never easy. They think we just eat and eat and lose weight anyway, and we all know that's a load of hooey. This is a tough process and forces us to change our entire lives to lose weight. If they knew what we went through, they would think differently. Sadly, most people won't educate themselves on weight loss and how difficult it is to change your life, your habits, etc. This helps us do that.... in a hard core way. I didn't care enough what people thought once I finally decided it was the right route for me. I used to think it was extreme and that anyone could lose the weight naturally. I now know that it's not always possible. I tore my meniscus in my knee and weight loss was impossible for me after 50 and a hysterectomy without working out, which I could no longer do. I was bullied into exploring the surgery by my orthopedist and went to my bariatric surgeon who really educated me on the process. He made me see that there is no shame in the process and it's better to take a stand, improve your health and extend your life THAN DO NOTHING!!! People don't get that. Once I saw his way of thinking, I stopped caring about what people thought. I don't announce it on social media or to my other friends because I don't care what they think and quite frankly, my mouth is pretty sharp sometimes. lol All of us should hold our heads up high for caring enough about ourselves and our loved ones to make a change in our lives. At the end of the day, we are responsible for our health and happiness. If this is the choice we made, and it made the difference, so be it.

Keep us posted! I lost another pound today. The water really really helped me!!!

I’m allergic to lemons and I don’t love limes. I do like cucumber water. Thanks!

I've been stuck for weeks. WEEKS! I got so tired of seeing the exact same weight, the exact same weight down to the ounce that I almost broke. Then, in a last ditch effort, I met with my nutritionist who advised me to lay off the artificial sweeteners and drink plain water instead of Crystal Light and Propel. And, voila!!! I broke from the stall and lost 3 lbs in 2 days. Damn it!! 4 weeks. 4 long frustrating weeks of seeing the exact same weight to the ounce, and it was something so simple. I knew before my surgery that artificial sweeteners sometimes made me keep on weight, at my age, but I guess I thought, post surgery, it wouldn't be such an issue. Well, I was dead wrong. The only problem? I hate plain water. I HATE IT. Crystal Light made it tolerable. I'm hoping that once I get over the stall I can add some back into my routine, but for now... NOPE. Le sigh.

Don’t give up. It will happen. I’m sure of it.

I stalled, too, at the end of week 3 and didn’t move until today, 4 weeks later. My nutritionist helped me figure it out. It may not be the same for any of you but for me it was WATER. Plain, nasty, no flavor, stomach filling water. I had been using Crystal Light and Propel and although I have been drinking my fill of fluid every day, I haven’t been drinking plain water. Sometimes the artificial sweeteners make you hold on to weight. I switched to plain water two days ago, replacing my Propel and Crystal Light and bam! I dropped 3 lbs. I still use Splenda in my coffee and I drink Premier Protein shakes twice a day, but the plain water was ticket. Its not the same for everyone. I’m older and my metabolism is lower but if you aren’t drinking enough water, taking your multivitamin, or getting the protein, your body can hold on to every single pound. Just some friendly advice from someone who was there...just 2 short days ago!! Good luck!!

You don't have to rule it out forever, just remember for the first 6 months or so.. and not for nothing, juice is great with alcohol. Screwdrivers, gin and juice, cranberry and vodka... all great. LOL

Agreed. I said the same thing, in a long winded and wordy way. LOL

Perhaps if she would have started with a less accusatory tone, maybe sharing her story in a way that was helpful and advisory, a constructive cautionary tale for those who have not yet had the surgery, that would have been more well received. No one goes through this process without understanding the risks, because our doctors insist upon it, at least mine did. There will always be that one person that has complications, or overeats post surgery and creates their own complications, etc. Without knowing WHAT happened and dealing with the dire warnings without context, we all instantly buck up and fight back, because we also know, from our perspective, this is a safe process, for the most part (there is risk in any surgery). My two cents.