ms.sss

I struggled with mild to moderate odour probs PRE surgery already. Regular washing/drying and changing my underwear 1-3 times a day helped. The first months or so AFTER surgery it got pretty stinky, lol. Like @Arabesque mentioned above, I figured it was Ketosis. I don’t remember when it went away (maybe 2-3 months post op?). Since then I’ve been fresh like a daisy. Give it a few more weeks, and if it really starts to stank, try sitting in a warm bath with 2 cups of apple cider vinegar for like 15-20 mins. I didn’t submerge my whole body though (but you can if u like!), i just filled the tub high enough to reach my va-jay-jay and sat in it. Good Luck!

While I don’t stay away from milk & milk products, I should. I was lactose intolerant pre-surgey and it seemed to get worse after. But whatever, I deal, lol. With that said, I used lactose-free Protein powders MIXED WITH PLAIN WATER and a couple teaspoons of instant decaf coffee crystals...went down (and out!) fine 😁 Though lactose-free doesn’t mean there is no dairy, it may stop that gummy feeling. Good Luck!

I’m currently going through a Mexican Street Corn phase myself and made an easy batch of crema for the endless amount of corn I’ve been grilling: sour cream + lime zest + crumbled feta (add a tiny bit if mayo if the sour cream is too watery) Also eat it with raw veggies, with grilled meats, etc... #yum

There are chocolate bars in the pantry that are calling out my name... Figured I’d go a little healthier instead: 1/2 cup cottage cheese w/ seasonings (black pepper, garlic salt, cayenne) + 35g frozen seedless grapes + 20g frozen blueberries + 1/2 fl oz pumpkin seeds: 176 calories.

Ok...so this is what my surgeon said about drain-less tummy tucks (or any type of surgery for that matter). According to him, generally, the thinner/smaller the person is prior to surgery, the better the candidate for a drain-less surgery (not to say that bigger people are NOT good candidates, though, just that there would be less fluid build up in a smaller person). He elected to put 2 drains in me because he did a little lipo in the flank area (why lipo influenced his decision to put in drains, I don’t know, I didn’t ask). He also told me I would likely not need the drains in so very long due to my size. He was right, by Day 1 at home (Day 3 post op) my little fluid collectors were basically empty. He took them out at my next scheduled appt (Day 5 post op). Of course there are lots of surgeons out there who do drain-less TT’s in everyone, regardless of size, and have fabulous results...this was just my surgeon’s preference. Sorry you had the sh*tty complications . But im glad that you’ve put it behind you and are now properly rocking your bod ❤️

DEFINITELY. 💪🏼🏋

Yum avocado 🥑 P.S. For a split second, I thought your blackberries was caviar, and I was all woah! Thats a lot of caviar! Lol

Man, are those dumbells in your pockets, or are your quads exploding out of your skinny jeans?!?! Your hard work is showing! ...off to do some lunges now...lol

I lost alot of hair starting around the 3-4 month mark. I cut it pixie-short to reduce the carpets of hair that would accumulate on my bathroom floor. At around the 7 month mark (around the same time I stopped the “rapid” weight loss) Little chicken hairs started to sprout. Now, I’m almost 2 years out, and all those chicken hairs are now about the same length as my regular hair (about chin length), and the fullness of my hair is the same as pre-surgery. So yeah, it sucks to lose some hair, and is unavoidable for most. But again, in time it will grow back. Good Luck!

So I stop when I feel “full”, OR whenever I finish my portion, which ever comes first...though 95% of the time, the “full feeling” comes first. This feeling of fullness is not the same as pre-surgery however. Instead of the the feeling of space being used up all over my my body, it is now a pressure in a small section of my chest (the more I eat, the stronger the pressure). It’s been a while, but I remember pre-surgery fullness somehow feeling more “satisfying” than this chest-pressure. Which is probably why I don’t care to stuff myself these days and just prefer to have a taste of things. I also want to note that there are times that I actually feel “stuffed” (when I had one too many bites of something or other, or if I eat too fast). But this stuffed feeling I equate to pain and the only relief is to barf, so I try my best to avoid getting to that point in the first place... Edited to add: Also, at almost 2 years out (1yr, 10mnths), I do actually feel hungry sometimes...but it doesn’t take much to make the hungry go away)

😋😋😋😋😋😋 🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤 ...sooooo gooooooooood....

OMG OMG, now YOU get out of MY brain! I loooove to sing (just try to get the mic out of my hands at karaoke, i DARE you). Like most however, my voice is not something one would pay money to hear...but what I lack in talent, I make up for in enthusiasm. OK. So now we gotta go source some contractors to build a house on the beach with a recording studio where we can start a band and take turns being the lead singer and back up dancer! The only thing I need to decide is if I wanna be an awesome pianist or an awesome guitar player (electric AND acoustic, mind you.)...oh wait, I could take up the drums too! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Just the fact that I even got my period was a surprise. I hadn’t had it in MONTHS prior to surgery, and only a handful of times 2-3 years before that. It lasted over a week (when it only used to last 4-ish days when I did get it). Since then, it’s come like clockwork every single month (almost 2 years now post-op). I guess I wasn’t pre-menopausal after all...just overweight 🙄

Slim pickings if my fridge/panty this morning (i reaaaaaally need to go grocery shopping!) Hard boiled egg with seasonings, 2 slices if bacon & 2 yellow plums: 212 calories. Ate it all. (Sorry, not very exciting...)

Be proficient at a musical instrument. Dance like a Fly Girl. Have a house built from one of my designs. Live by an ocean.

Same! JUST DO IT, right? I run basically every morning before my morning coffee (though there are times that I do have the coffee first). I found that if I did it first thing, I was more likely to get a run in at least once a day. I may go for another one later, but that’s just bonus. As for strength training (which I am not as fond of) I get a little help doing it daily from Mr. who gets me to the mat do to some with him every afternoon. Maybe 25-30% of the time, I have the motivation to start it on my own, but the rest of the time it’s all cuz of him (and I def appreciate that). The trick is to keep it a regular part of your routine, I guess. Once you stop for a while, gets difficult to get back into it again (well, at least for me).

I put salt, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne & smoked paprika on EVERYTHING.

I had pretty big boobs for my frame all my life. I popped out one kid, and I didn’t even breastfeed (I pumped for 4 weeks only). And it wreaked havoc on the state of my boobs. I had a breast reduction a year or so later, and they were good for a while (still big enough, but at least not droopy any more...i was wearing a 34C for a while after the reduction). Then I gained alot of weight the the next 10+ years and got up to a 40DD/DDD. Losing the weight deflated them, and re-droopified them. Not as droppy as after the kid, but enough to make me want the breast lift. Age, number of times there was weight gain& loss, speed of weight gain/loss, genes, and overall amount of fat lost will determine the sagginess of your boobs in the end. While muscle training may increase the size of the pectoral mucsles behind your boobs and give your chest a bit of lift, no amount if exercise will fill the sacs of deflated boobs. That’s just science. Depending on how much it bothers you, you can still easily look fabulous with a really good bra, no matter what the state you boobs are in. Good Luck ! ❤️

I ended up with pretty empty boobs after weight loss. No implants for me, but I did get a breast lift, which I am extremely happy with as I now have the perky boobs of a teenager. Yeah, they are way smaller than they were pre-wls, but man, nothing beats being able to walk around bra-less and having my boobs still stand up on thier own (I’m a 30C today, 33” bust, 28.5” underbust)

My gym reopened last week. Like yours, limited capacity and the change-rooms are closed. No Group classes....which pretty much solidified my decision to keep my membership on hold. Though even if the group classes were being held, I probably wouldn't go anyway. Lots of heaving breathing in an enclosed space. Add to that when I drove by the other day, there was a line-up (a line-up!) to get into the gym. Sooo...no thanks. I've pretty much stuck to running outside and strength training (using body weight only) at home. I remember you liked spinning? If you have a stationary at home you could do videos? Or get those pedestals you can rig a regular bike on to become stationary. Also, Peloton has a free 30-day at home free trial...* *I do not work nor do business with Peloton, lol

looks and sounds delish 😋

@mil_unloaded (get comfortable, this may be a long one....) I'm don't think I "despised" myself when I was obese, but I do know I really disliked BEING obese. While being fat did limit me in what I could do, in terms of activity exertion and stamina; and had health implications (pre-diabetic, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, aching body parts, incontinence, poor sleep, etc.); and influenced my behaviour/responses in public (hide from cameras, feeling uncomfortable in certain situations), I mostly didn't think about being overweight for the most part (in fact, I didn't even think I was even as overweight as I actually was). Only when I was reminded of the evidence (i.e. seeing myself in pictures) did I remember. Which is probably why I avoided cameras. Like @sillykitty, I was a relatively satisfied with life pre-WLS. Sure, I was big, but I had family and friends who I love, interests & hobbies, I had a pretty active social life and had no problem getting up on stage to belt out a song at karaoke. I still have and do all this and feel like I'm still the same person, just smaller and with more confidence (the Kid describes it as the same old me, but on steroids, lol) Edited to add: there is one major thing that is different about me now, though: I am way less angry and annoyed. This may or may not be a by-product of the weight loss.... I remember the exact moment I decided to finally go through with the surgery (I had put it off twice in in a span of 2 years, due to indecision): I was at a pool party and I needed to reapply my sunscreen. I was lotion-ing up my legs, and had difficulty applying it to my ankles and feet due to my bulk. So I sat on the steps and had to bend my leg and put my foot behind me to reach. As I was doing this, I looked up and saw a few of the people around me looking at me with what I perceived as pity. And I was all, holy ****. I'm effing fat. Three weeks later, I had a surgery date. It wasn't so much that I wanted to look better (though of course I did!), nor was it because I wanted to get healthy (again, of course I did), its just that I finally realized that I was, in fact, obese. Morbidly so. In terms of "fitting in": I think this has more to do with one's own thoughts and feelings of self-worth than whatever predominant interest the particular group they are attempting to "fit in" with (unless of course there is some bullying or ostracizing or hate going on). Like the never-before-heavy person who thinks all overweight people are fat & lazy, just want to sit around eating, and are full of self-hatred, the oft-heavy person may think that all smaller people are vain, lettuce-eating, gym-rats. I suppose its up to the individual if they want to look beyond their preconceptions of others and find a connection. Not everyone in the WLS community is the same. There will be people that you gravitate towards, and of course there will be those who will just rub you the wrong way and just not be able to mesh with. You could choose to withdraw completely in an attempt to avoid the difficult ones, but then you'll miss out on the ones who aren't. Anyhoo, preach over. Good Luck!

@Darktowerdream: Yeah, I guess if you have thought a certain way about yourself for the greater part of your life, its difficult to switch tracks. Especially if its entrenched in the "negative". Your weight loss and subsequent plastics happened in a relatively short amount of time, it will likely take a little bit of getting used to. But its not impossible! The longer you spend in your newer body, the more it will become the norm, and hopefully all the baggage you carried around for so long can be let go ❤️ I saw your after pics, and even though it may be hard to believe, you really are tiny (in a good way!). I believe I'm pretty small and your measurements indicate that you are even smaller. Maybe put your before and after pics side by side and look at them every once in a while, and you can slowly convince your brain of your new reality. Its hard to argue with evidence when its right in front of your face. You look fabulous (you got great results!), bask in your fabulousness. I know, easier said ❤️

see "careful what you wish for..." post above....lol

Careful what you wish for...I'm a planner...