ms.sss

i am always sooooo ravenous after hot yoga. Subway Subs was calling my name as i drove by in the way home, so Subway Sub Lunch it is! (plus some Pringles). 583 calories for whats shown. ate all the chips (natch!) and about 2/3 of the 6" sub. now im stuffed and need to veg out on the couch to digest.! also some fun facts (cuz y'all know i love to weigh myself all day long) wake up after a pee: 119.1 lbs after hot yoga: 117.6 lbs after a shower: 117.6 lbs (lol) after about 1L of water (plus a couple pees) and the lunch below: 118.8 lbs

that IS interesting!

todays lunch: a scoop of last night's "leftovers" risotto, two asparagus spears and bacon-wrapped cod with lemon-garlic-caper sauce. estimating 600 calories for the plate. ate ½ the fish, ½ the asparagus and almost all the risotto. this was a little in the heavy and rich side, but still so yum. Mr. ate my leftovers PLUS his own portion that was like double my original portion, geez.

made a "leftovers" risotto last night! so yum 😋 with leftovers! : roast duck from monday, mushrooms and asparagus from tuesday, and grated the very last of the parm all the way to the rind lol. 302 calories...ate it all eventually! **edit: ugh! totally forgot to log the arborio rice!! actual calorie count should be 377 calories

i've never used melatonin, BUT... some tips from a self-proclaimed insomniac (i.e, me! lol) i sleep very little (always have, but even less so since losing the weight). pre-surgery i averaged maybe 6 hours a night; past five years or so, its closer to 4 or 5. weirdly enough i still function perfectly fine during the day, and if anything i probably have an excess of energy (but i digress...). ANYWAY, if i had a few days in a row of very, very, little sleep, and i KNOW i need to get some sleep for some event (like early morning yoga, or need to go to the airport, or gonna have a long party day - like xmas, etc - or something) here are some things i do to ensure i don't toss and turn and stay up all night: 1) don't eat or drink anything (other than water) at least 4 hours before bed. 2) do a bit of cardio a couple hours before bed - OR - some deep stretching just before bed. 3) no screen time at least an hour before bed. 4*) sometimes a hot shower just before bed also works, but then my wet hair may annoy me. so this one is a hit or miss. Good Luck! ❤️

such a nice day out so sat on the back deck with this teacup of ice cream! ate it all...hopefully i don't regret eating it...i'll have a verdict one way or yhe other about in 30 mins!!

1st meal of day: leftovers! white rice, stir-fried tofu and vegetables, and the bone from a 20oz bone-in-ribeye ordered (and not even touched, geez) from dinner at the Keg last night. mr. ate the rest of it for breakfast this AM...i told him to save me the bone...i personally liked the fact i ate this at home, cuz at the restaurant i would have had the table manners not to pick it up with my hands and mow down! but at home, i can be as fred flintstone-y as i want!!) 293 calories for the plate contents shown. ate almost all of it...will get to the rest later

omg i think its time to retire that sub!!! lol

i know quite a few people who are/were on it. those currently on it, lost anywhere from 10-70 lbs. those who are no longer in it, gained back anywhere from none to all the weight back. though the majority of the no-longer-users kept of "most" of their weight losses off. so still a decent net loss in the end (so far). i myself experimented with ozepmpic last year...my mom is diabetic and i asked if i could try her stash because she takes less than ½ of the lowest dose as she says its too strong (so she had lots of surplus omg)...she's lost maybe 30-40 lbs (my stepdad is also diabetic with his own ozempic rx, and he lost closer to 70 lbs) anyway...i took the lowest dosage for 4 weeks at 120lbs thinking i could lose 5lbs tops...i ended up losing 8 or 9 lbs i think. i stopped after the 4th week and pretty much went back to pre-ozempic weight-ISH within a couple months. (i am 119.1 lbs this morning). so yeah, just like wls and everything else in life, individual losses and experiences depends on the person. now while this was an interesting experiment, it was FREE. if i had to pay for it, i'd pass. for me, at least, its not worth it..but for someone with more weight to lose, and who has the means and the inclination, and the access...why not? good luck! ❤️

granted, i get that either your wls or plastics surgeon would make a recommendation, but for your plastics surgeon to REQUIRE a "sign off" from your wls surgeon or primary to proceed for a self-paid, elective surgery, would be a red flag to me if indeed this is not normal practice in the U.S. i mean are they just trying to cover their asses or something?? seems off...

well this is a fun little thread...kinda like those "Rose and Thorn" ice breakers you do in a group setting lol. its' Tuesday now, but i can reflect about Monday! These things were cool: went to a BBQ hosted by my in-laws and spent the afternoon lounging and chatting in the shade in their backyard eating an entire lobster to myself for a few hours....i had to open and clean it myself so it took a while, ha! ended up with maybe a cup max of lobster insides but it was sooooo yum. and the work i had to put in to get it all out added to the deliciousness. Afterwards went rock climbing with Mr. for an hour, and then drove around aimlessly cuz it was such an nice night. These things were a drag: had to miss my hot yoga class cuz of the aforementioned BBQ; had a bad reflux episode monday night, that i can't determine the cause of. which is annoying because i hate unexplained things.

well that's interesting! this type of "control" over self-paid elective surgeries from one medical professional to another is i think unheard of around here. is that a common practice in the U.S. (or other countries?) unless of course you are getting your plastics covered by insurance...in which case that would make sense...? though i had a portion of my plastics covered by provincial insurance (the panniculectomy portion of my tummy tuck), and even then i did not need to get approval/sign off from anyone other than my plastics surgeon.

am so sorry for your loss. sending good thoughts your way...

ah...throwback to the good ole days when @GreenTealael used to post monthly challenges or fun type activities! i remember there being exercise challenges, photo-taking challenges, self-discovery challenges...they were super fun. you can see examples of these fun things she hosted by searching the forum for the word "challenge" in the title, written by GreenTealael...

dupe post

i picked my consults based on before and after photos (their work), and the NUMBER of before and after photos (their volume/experience), and if they had any (unresolved) complaints or sanctions or investigations on their records. (i went to 5 consults) then i shortlisted based on a combination of price, evaluation of aftercare, whether or not they were willing to do all my procedures (3 of them: tummy tuck, breast lift, arm lift) all in one shot...this left me with 2. tie breaker was based on my perceived VIBE of them. One seemed more serious and by-the-book-ish and other was a bit more chill and easier-going. i chose the chill one. i'm sure i would have been perfectly fine with either of them, but i had to choose one, so i just went with someone i was more comfortable being around. p.s. i had my plastics 7 months after reaching goal (14 months post wls) . i would have preferred it done earlier, but he was booked up for almost a year (which i booked), but later he decided to open up a day just for me over the xmas holidays a few months earlier than my almost-year-later-booking. i am thankful he did that because my original PS booking would have fallen on the beginning of COVID and would definitely had been postponed as a non-essential surgery for several months. he had no requirement of maintaining any sort of weight wls or not. nor did the other 4 original consults. in the month or so after plastics, i lost about 5 lbs and hit my lowest weight of 109 lbs. since then i've bounced up and down between generally 115-120 for about 5+ years (so a net gain of about 5-10 lbs depending on the day), and i still look as awesome, if i say so myself.

☝️i'm one of these. with a dash of some major changes...specifically my regular exercise regime. though i have to say that what i was doing when the first year or so of maintenance is very different from what i am doing now. i was still pretty strict about carbs and desserts and drinking calories that first year and a bit after reaching goal. as the years went on, i became less strict about WHAT i was eating, but still continued to keep an eye and stick to the TOTAL NUMBER OF CALORIES i needed to maintain...this amount changed up and down depending on my activity level, and i made sure to make changes as needed. i love going out and socializing and eating and drinking, and i've discovered that i can do all that and still maintain my current weight. i love to try new restaurants and tick off all the michelin star venues i could possibly go to before i die. and i am forever grateful for my wls and its restriction that has conditioned me to not overindulge...just have a taste to try and i am satisfied. (i am also forever greatful for whatever powers that be that have me loving exercise lol) with that said, let me attempt to provide my answers to your questions. NOTE: starting weight 235 lbs, 5'2" female, 46 yrs old at surgery. i lost 108 lbs in 7 months (plus my 2 wk pre-op diet) to reach goal. i am now 5 years, 8 months post op, and weighed 118.2 lbs this morning. 1. What are your golden rules to successful maintenance? - be flexible, be willing and able to change and make adjustments. weigh daily, always be aware of your calorie intake (i.e., track). EXERCISE: it makes you look and feel good. don't give into the angst...nobody is perfect...including YOU. i realize this is not for everyone, it takes a certain type of personality to be ok with this...i just happen to be one of them. 2. How did you manage the mental shift (navigating fear and uncertainty) while transitioning to maintenance? I can’t seem to quiet my thoughts and anxiety around WHAT IFs? - TIME. as time goes by you will gain experience and knowledge and hopefully learn to trust yourself. 3. How much indulgence do you actually allow yourself? - any time i want. hard to put a number or amount on this because it varies day by day, week by week. but i probably eat SOMETHING or other that most "dedicated" wls-ers would consider "bad" every day. (ASIDE: i personally don't think anything is "bad" just stuff higher in calories than others, with varying macro-makeups.

i have a fridge and pantry full of groceries and ingredients for a feast i plan to cook up for a Father's Day BBQ we having tomorrow. so i could theoretically totally whip up something yum and healthy-ish,, but alas i am lazy and opted for Burger King takeout instead.

i used to be like this too in the early days. you know what the cure is? regular exercise. womp. womp.

out with the gals last night...had margaritas with a side of guacamole and chips for dinner omg. i kept meaning to order a proper entree, but just didn't get around to it so just ate the leftover chips and guac that was on the table... the margaritas alone were like 800 cals! so warning to those drinking mixed drinks during weight loss phase! keep your calorie counts in mind! one of my margaritas!

i say just keep doing what you are doing, if it feels good and natural to you. i can almost guarantee you that you will NOT wither away and die. so long as you are not in any danger zones (based on labs and your doc's opinion), then you should be golden. just ride the ride and see where you end up. you will most likely gain a bit after you hit bottom, so a cushion is always good. the fear of losing too much weight is a very, very common feeling in our demographic. very, very few actually prove that their worries were warranted long term. i've only known of exactly 1 person (if any!) on this forum for the almost 6 years i've been on here that had an almost-serious issue with ongoing weight loss..but i suspect it was mostly mental vs. physical. i myself had a mini panic for a month or so after reaching goal. and like everyone else, it eventually became a non-issue. i weigh less now that at that time when i was panicking, and in no way do i think i am too skinny today...nor do the people who told me i was waaaaaay to skinny at 127 lbs. now they tell me i'm super hot at 118 lbs. 🤷🏻‍♀️ good luck!

i wasn't paying for my REQUIRED nutritionist appointments. my whole WLS was covered by provincial insurance and it was just something i was told i had to do, so i did. all my NUT appointments were on the same days/times as my followups with my surgeon and lab appointments so it wasn't too much of an inconvenience since i was already there...just annoying really. i saw my nutritionist for about 15 or so appts over 5 years. once my surgeon follow ups were done, so were my NUTs (thank goodness!). didn't even occur to me that i should just skip these appts!

love this spot on answer. not totally proud of this, but i often treated my NUT like a child that needed to be placated. i let her say her peace and nod and say ok and then just left. she often had so much (unuseful) things to say that sometimes i just wanted to pat her on the head and say "good girl" for her (unuseful) efforts. you totally figured out a winning strategy already (with zero help from NUT even), no need the fix what ain't broke. just pat her on the head next time.

i echo @GreenTealael thoughts about being a good friend by expressing your concerns in a kind, non-judgmental way. The proverbial ball in her court now. btw, @ynotiniowa, @GreenTealael your knowledge, intelligence and post-writing eloquence is just as satisfying as food porn.

yeah it was one of these brazillian steak houses that have non stop parades of meat. i've been to a couple in the past that were ok, but this one was not appealing to me (all the meat looked overcooked to me ). but honestly i just dislike buffets! and i REALLLY dislike buffets i pay for and don't even eat!! (but it was for a friends bday so i'll keep the grumbling to a minimum).