AEdoesRnY

I made one a few weeks ago before I started back up at school, maybe I’ll see if I can revive it! I haven’t told anyone at work and that’s been working fine so far. I’ve mentioned some dietary restrictions but besides that I haven’t shared. I’m a private person and don’t broadcast my personal health decisions, not because I’m ashamed of them but because they’re my own personal decisions.

I’m six weeks post-op and 23.7 lbs down since surgery (36.6 lbs including two week pre-op diet). First month I lost 20.1 pounds from 7/30-8/31, and I’ve lost only 3.6 since. I had a bit of an extended plateau that maybe just ended (??) and I’m hoping my rate of loss will increase again, we’ll see! I’d love to be doing a bit more than 2lbs each week since I’m still only a month and a half out, but I don’t know if that’s realistic! I had gastric bypass.

I’ve heard this too, but don’t know whether it’s legit. I’ll talk to my doctor sister and see what she says :)

Gorgeous in both pictures, but wow what a difference! Congratulations!

My husband knows, obviously, and I told my parents, and sisters though I almost didn’t even tell them. I have one friend that I’ve told, other than that it’s not known. I’m private in general and especially have no interest in broadcasting this very personal decision.

I'm a 31 year old nerd who loves to travel and go on adventures with her husband, do crossword puzzles, read books, and play boardgames. My job is teaching kids who are in mental health partial hospitalization program so they don't get behind on school credits while they're in treatment. It's my 11th year teaching and my 2nd year in the position and sometimes I still can't believe how perfect this new job is for me. I also have a wonderful 11 year old puppy. I'm bad at being brief, I guess! To make up for it I'm including a puppy picture

I had a pretty similar first few weeks as you did! I lost 20 pounds in my first three weeks and then stalled for the next 2-3 (by stall I mean MAYBE losing 2 pounds over the course of three weeks). I'm hoping my stall breaks pretty soon and in the meantime I'm trying to refocus on the non-scale changes I'm noticing AND recommitting to eating on plan and moving more!

I was also expecting to be VERY hangry and whiny and MEAN, especially since I was also weaning off a lifelong caffeine habit...BUT I actually wasn't bad! I was a little overly emotional a couple times, and definitely upset about cravings, but I was much more even-keeled than I had expected!

My three week stall has lasted about 2.5 weeks so far, not breaking yet. This is from my NUT: Plateaus are common even after weight loss surgery and they often will happen at points where your body has wanted to stall in the past. In the first 6 months after surgery, they are usually 1-3 weeks in length. They can last even longer than that after 6 months post-op. Have faith that you are on track! Focus on how clothes are fitting and if you are losing inches more than pounds. Know that stress and poor sleep can also influence the scale in addition to diet and exercise.

I'm not in NYC anymore (though I did grow up there), but today was my first day too. It was BUSY and NON-STOP, and of course I have class tonight so I can't even fully decompress and relax for day two! I DID pack a great lunch though that I chipped away at over the course of the day - hard boiled egg, two roll ups with two very thin turkey slices and a slice of provolone each, a wasa cracker, and grapes. It was a great mix of things and good things to be able to sneak a bite here and there since I didn't really have time for lunch today! Congrats on the new school, and supportive admin makes a HUGE difference!!

Love the Millie's sipping broths, even though I'm post op back to solids!!

Cali’flour pizza crust with pizza sauce, low-fat ricotta and mozzarella, and turkey pepperoni. Couldn’t even make it through one slice...yay for leftovers! (Pizza crust from https://www.califlourfoods.com/)

P.s. that "plate" is a saucer, made it look really big!

Okay, so I'm finally on solid foods and here's my before and after: This was a wasa (sourdough) cracker and two turkey "roll ups", each made of two thin deli slices of turkey and one slice of provolone. Ate half the cracker and one of the roll ups, even though I was starting to feel pretty full after just 2/3 of one roll up. It changes how I'm going to pack lunches for this week, I think! I had estimated WAY too much food needed for each day...

I wore into the hospital what I planned to wear out - a large, long, loose-fitting dress that would be easy to get on rather than pants that I'd have to button near surgery site. As long as your pants are loose and soft (or worn a little lower) you should be good! I don't think you need more than one pair besides the ones you're wearing if you want to change! I appreciated having a longer cord - mine is one of the cheap 10 ft cables you can get at target/walgreens/etc. If you like podcasts/audiobooks, I'd download a couple for post-surgery. I found that I was lucid/awake enough to want something to pay attention to, but groggy enough that keeping eyes open to focus on tv or a book was more than I really felt like. I went with the socks they provided, and asked for an extra blanket if I got cold. A cozy sweater is a great idea, but just make sure it's not a pull over because you will have tubes! It should be something large/baggy enough and that you can get on one sleeve at a time, I think. I did not shower there or worry about makeup, but then again I never wear makeup so that's up to you! I showered the day after I got home, but I was only in the hospital one night. My surgery was 7:30am Monday morning and I was on my way home around 1pm Tuesday, so it was a quick stay! Best of luck!!! You're going to do great!! (Edited to add additional answers )

You are so prepared and you're going to do great!! Congratulations and don't forget to update us on how it all goes!!!

Hello! I'm trying to plan ahead for my first week back with students after having some trouble staying on plan this past week at work. Workshop week before school starts up again is notoriously full of treats/snacks/foods and I wasn't as successful at avoiding them as I wanted to be. I've been saving tons of recipe and lunch ideas on pinterest, but I wanted to hear from all of you: What do you prep ahead/plan ahead for your lunches? Any favorite grab-and-go meals for the work day/school day?

I think for some they notice that you look great and if they otherwise can’t put their finger on it, that’s what they comment on. OR many people feel uncomfortable commenting on someone’s weight loss so dying your hair gives them a way to compliment your progress without directly alluding to it! Haircuts do the same kind of thing!

Thanks for the thoughtful and thorough response! Cross training and slow and steady will always be part of my training plan for any race, but I’m not willing to wait until I’m at 200lbs to jog/run. I’ve done plenty of 5K races walking and doing combination of jogging/walking, and working toward events and tracking my paces is a major motivation for me in both cardio and strength training. Jogging/running is something I’ve enjoyed every time I’ve been more in shape, even though I have been around 250lbs at minimum! I’ll keep what you said in mind and maybe I’ll kick myself later, but I’m going to be working up to jogging/running as soon as I can along with the strength and cross training!

It went fine! I had a couple “you look great” comments but no conversation beyond that. I’ve been finding it hard to stick to my plan but that’s a whole different element that hopefully as first weeks of school are over gets easier (with fewer treats constantly around...)

Thanks for your perspective! I find the races and working toward that kind of thing highly motivating which is why I asked! I was doing plenty of jogging at 250lbs and really enjoy it so I don’t want to wait until I’m under 200lbs to start... I am going to do a 5K this fall and go from there! Thanks!!

As I reflect further, 15K seems awfully ambitious right out of the gate. For now I'm signing up for a Halloween-themed 5K that takes place on 10/27/2018. I feel like that gives me time to do C25K (or at least some of it) and 'dip my toe in the water' in terms of racing!

One of the things I'm most looking forward to about losing weight is getting into jogging/running. Each time I was at the bottom of the weight loss yo-yo, I loved doing 5Ks and building up to be able to jog as much of them as possible using intervals. I never got super speedy, but I was pretty proud of the few I managed to finish under 40 minutes (at over 250 pounds). I am one month post-op and looking at signing up for a couple races to look forward to/plan for/train for, and I'm wondering what kinds of expectations are reasonable. For example, there's a 15K race that takes place in mid-April that looks really fun. They also send out a 12 week customized training plan ahead of the race to help you prepare. I can't decide if it's ridiculous to even be considering taking on a race of that length, or if it's reasonable given the amount of time and probable weight loss between now and then...right now I think I'd sign up for a shorter race this fall like the annual Turkey Day 5K on thanksgiving and then build up to the 15K. The smart answer is probably don't sign up for any longer races until I've completed shorter races and see how I'm doing, but I'm curious about your experiences with running an building up stamina post surgery!

Wow! Congrats on your progress!! You’re doing amazing! Check out skinnytaste.com, tons of great healthy delicious recipes!!

My only cheat the first two weeks postop were a few tiny teaspoons of feta cheese crumbles bc I was craving it a ton...