ms.sss

A: all of the above, 😂 i’ll also add: chest pressure, lethargy, racing heart, acid indigestion, extreme fullness sensations. for me, different situations and foods cause different symptoms. I’ve long learned which ones cause which. Trial and error will help you learn how to deal with YOUR own intolerances. Pro Tip: introduce new things a little at a time so you can pinpoint what exactly agrees/disagrees with you. Also, if at first you don’t succeed, try again (if u want to, that is): what bothers you today may not bother you tomorrow. Good Luck! ❤️

Had some corn i need to use up, so grilled up a few 1/2 cobs and made a raw corn salsa with other random item in the fridge. Had one of the 1/2 cobs preceded with an espresso martini (not shown). 217 calories for both. Heres a pic of the salsa and ingredient list…I didn’t have any yet…i’ll stick some on a salad later. The yield was about 2.5-3 cups and comes up to 499 cals is someone were to eat the whole bowl.

Happy Birthday!! 🎉🥳🎁🎂😘

My surgeon did not exactly set a “goal”, but before surgery he only said that based on my height/weight/age, i would highly likely get down to 175 within a year (translate to a 60lbs loss as I started at 235), and that anything beyond that was “bonus”. Ended up losing those “expected” 60 lbs before my 3 month mark, and racked up a few more “bonus lbs loss” after that. At my one year mark i was maintaining a 120 lbs loss +\- a couple lbs (and still am today) I saw my surgeon and nutritionist and nurse for many follow up visits the first 3 years and they didn’t bring up any talk about my target weights at all. My surgeon focused on recovery and possible medical issues (i had none); and my NUT was more concerned about how much i was eating (not enough in her opinion, but let me be mostly because my labs always came back satisfactorily).

I already knew while making this salad that I wasn’t going to finish it, so i started with the croutons cuz I figured they would get all soggy if kept them for leftovers. Which was sort of a mistake cuz I ended up getting full from them and didn’t get to eat very much of the other yummy salad components, duh. The whole bowl is a whopping 739 calories (im looking at you, cashews, blue cheese & croutons!!) I’ll end up eating it all by EOD, hopefully…

I set myself an arbitrary goal of 120 lbs, which was right in the middle of the “healthy bmi body weight range” for my height (5’2”). I was 235 lbs at the start of my 2-wk pre-op diet. But by the time i got to 127, i decided to call it cuz i felt i was getting a little too thin for my liking, and started the process of upping calories to find my maintenance level. I ended up losing more weight anyway over the following 5-6 months and eventually settled around 115lbs +\- a couple pounds (but did get as low as 109 at one point). Surgery was almost 4 years ago and this morning i weighed in at 119.5 Whats interesting to note however, is that while I weigh less now than I did when I stopped with weight loss efforts, i don’t look as skeletal as I did back then….which is a roundabout way of saying the number on the scale is just a guide, and can change based on your body composition; perhaps go with how you feel/feel u look? If you feel great and are satisfied with what you see, then GOAL ACHIEVED! Good Luck! ❤️

Exactly. I classified a stall a STALL if i didn’t lose (nor gain) any weight AND did not lose any inches for 2 consecutive weeks. Based on that definition, I had no stalls. Like another poster mentioned above, i weighed daily, and if i zoom out on that data on a graph, it was pretty much a steady downhill slope. Zooming in would show alot more little peaks and valleys. I’d screenshot and show u, but my MFP mobile app doesn’t let me set custom dates, lol)

While tracking certainly helps and appeals to those of this mindset, there is another side-benefit to tracking: data collection and discovery of trends. I am one of those regular food trackers and daily body weighers and all-around spreadsheet lover (almost 4 years now and still going). By looking over the historical data i can easily figure out what foods/days/activities (or lack thereof) /macro combinations/eating schedules/etc work for or against whatever state i am looking to be in. You can see on your screen that these many calories don’t make a diff to your weight loss rate, or that those many carbs leads to stalls or swooshes. Or that these amounts of sugar make you eat less the next day. So much info! Lol I realize this may seem like a lot of effort to some, but (1) i like doing it, and (2) honestly takes less of my actual time than i spend on this forum, lol. I get that seeing black and white numbers may scare you cuz u are “getting to close” for comfort to your already accepted max goals, but maybe its better to be aware of facts than to live in angst of the unknown? Kinda like when we (or at least *i*) would not get on the scale in my pre-op days cuz I didn’t want to freak out over the number i would inevitably see. Then next thing u know, oopsies i gained 25 lbs. But yes, i get it, easier said than done. Hopefully your continued work with your new therapist will help you trust yourself and your abilities to peacefully face whatever comes your way, regardless if they meet your expectations or not. Goof Luck! ❤️

Im not sure the ones who don’t broadcast are necessarily “embarrassed” (though some may be, as i cant presume to speak for all). Embarrassment implies shame, which is not the same as being private. Tell/don’t tell. To each their own. ❤️

K, so i think about food all the time, both before, during, and still now after surgery. But I “behaved” differently throughout those stages too. The focus before was to eat it, and as much as I could. Now the focus is everything else about it. I don’t *think* i suffer any angst around this though, so that is a good thing. I am just fascinated about everything that has to do with food. Not sure if this is good for me or not, but i’ve long since learned to just go with it. I may or not be a minority in this but i do really enjoy eating (or more accurately, tasting) lots of different things. I don’t see food as fuel like the many other successful weight-losers who employ this method. I prefer to enjoy eating what i do eat since I have so little real estate to work with. Now, I can’t say if this will continue to work for me in the future…but it works for me now, so i’m just gonna go with it until it doesn’t…and will re-evaluate if/when it does (saves me alot of angst). Now, i sort of digressed there for a little bit, but i actually wanted to respond to OP: while you have navigated the weight loss road (successfully!) for two years (congratulations!), i get the sense that you are still in either weight-loss mode or gearing-up-for-maintenance mode? If the former, you’ve been at it for a while and it would seem only natural to be experiencing some sort of burn-out or fatigue. You’re tired, things didn’t turn out with what you half-expected. Despite this though, i applaud your attitude and recognition of your achievements. If the latter, i’ve read enough on here that the transition from wl-mode to maintenance is not easy. Its not the diet changes that are as difficult as the mental mind bending that is required to not only change a lifestyle you’ve grown accustomed to, but also to the reflection you see in the mirror…and whether you like what you see. Alot of folks had some serious energy/strength depletion near the end (myself included…i too struggled to open those effing pickle jars). Its cliché, but the only thing i can add to all the fab posts above is Patience (though I think you already know this). Do what you need to do to get through the day (talk, exercise, vent, busy-ness, therapy, sleep, medication, etc.) It won’t always be this way, and even if it is, you may find a way to accept it regardless. You’ve done fabulously, and even if you don’t sound so terribly thrilled about it (who says we have to be thrilled anyway?!), you are dealing just as fabulously. ❤️ P.S. sorry this was so long.

Who says you have to tell anyone? Its really up to you and your comfort level. I told 5 people: Mr., the Kid, BFF, mom and sister. All of whom I know wouldn’t say anything to anyone else if i asked them not to. That was almost 4 years ago. During weight loss phase, everyone and their mothers would ask or comment about my changing appearance. i simply said i was on a diet and changed the subject to be about them. That pretty much did the trick. No one asks/says anything to me anymore. My size just old news now. Tell who you want to tell, it’s not anyone else’s business but yours. Good luck! ❤️

Leftovers for brunch. fried chicken w/gravy and cole slaw. 359 calories ate it all…all the gravy too!

i bought mine from amazon and ordered x-small. it was not snug enough on the arms and probably on the rib cage as well, but that part didn't matter to me cuz i had a sports bra I wore over it anyway. I got it altered (thanks mom! lol), by making the sleeves tighter and it worked for me..

Not sure if u have increased carb intake? I def noticed that when i introduced more carbs into my diet i look bigger (like fuller, bloated i guess). I stopped measuring a while back so cant confirm, but i did/do still weigh, and i stayed pretty much the same on that front. Conversely, when i go through periods or low-carbing i start looking more cut/defined/angular again.

One of those rare hungry mornings. 1/2 a bagel, thrown together chicken salad with leftover chicken breast, and 1/2 a bacon slice. 275 cals for the whole thing, ate half. will eat the other half if its still there later.

Went for an abdominal ultrasound today (first one since losing the weight), and it was actually pleasant compared to what I remember going through the last time. That time i felt like the technician was pushing that wand into me so hard that it was practically disappearing into my stomach. This time it was more like a slimy massage. Coulda laid there all day. P.S. Was there to get images of what I suspect was hernia i gave myself from doing some overly-enthusiastic yoga a couple days ago. It had popped back in eventually, but doc wanted to take a look just in case.

I had little luck with finding a faja that fit me as well (was 5’2”, 110-ish lbs at the time). I had better luck with “separates”. I would wear my (too big) faja, then put on my shrug-like arm compression top (which my mom had to alter to make smaller) then a really snug sports bra on top of that, and then i used TWO abdominal binders on my midsection as well. Why 2? Well, i had a really tall one that spanned from my underboob to my hips, but i could never get it to fit snug on my waist, so i strapped on a shorter one on top to cinch it. Ta-da! I felt like a mummy, but i kinda liked it, lol. Someone mentioned above that there is a weaning process involved, and yeah i ended up loving that “snug” feeling so much I probably wore all my getup much longer than i needed to. Good Luck! ❤️ P.S. i had a tummy tuck, breast lift and arm lift done.

Hi! Yay for another weight loss success story! Yay, YOU! Now, i totally get the anxiety about eating more. After reaching goal i was at a loss of how i would get up to 1500 cals after eating sub-800 for so long. I knew i just had to choose higher calorie foods since my restriction wouldn’t really allow more volume, but it was a bit of a mental exercise to get over that hump. Like others above, it took about 4-5 months to get to a maintenance-level food intake and stop losing weight. It’s been over 3 years since reaching goal and im happy to report i’ve managed to maintain below that goal the entire time (so far!). The one thing i will offer up is to pay attention to your calorie intake/exercise habit combination. A couple years ago i was exercising like a fiend and could take in 2300-2500 cals with no issue. I have since brought my exercise output lower to more manageable levels and had to adjust my calorie intake to about 1800. And this is why im a proponent of food tracking and regular body mass weighing. The data I collect will tell me exactly what i need to do to tweak my routine. Full disclosure: i do eat alot of stuff that would make some of y’all on here shudder, but it works for ME. Good Luck! ❤️

Fam had take out rotisserie chicken and bbq ribs tonight. 593 calories for the plate. Not sure if im going to eat the rest later…am stuffed (plus im wearing a swimsuit tomorrow…no need to unnecessarily bloat myself 😂)

Going away for the weekend and i felt the need to use up all the vegetables in the fridge! Eggplant parmigiana and grilled veggie flatbread Eggplant: fried and breaded eggplant, layered with marinara sauce and mozzarella. (And yes, i sneaked in some anchovies in the marinara! Shhhhh 🤫 lol). And fresh basil leaf. Flatbread: flatbread from a package, grilled on bbq with truffle olive oil, seasoned ricotta and egg base, roasted eggplant, zucchini, yellow & orange peppers, portobello mushrooms, shallots, garlic, feta, mozzarella and balsamic glaze drizzle. And fresh basil leaves. i didn’t bother figuring out the calories because I didn’t get to eat any!!! Them fam gobbled it all up in like 10 mins before i had a chance to have a sample. Im gonna assume it was delicious.

Im with you. I HATE roller coasters. I basically just join who im with to line up with them, then i cross over to the platform to the other side of the cars to wait near the exit till they’re done 😂

I was 46 when I had the surgery with a BMI of 43 (a little ways lower than BMI 50, but still). And since you asked, how’s this for some inspo: (taken 6+ months ago) Today, im BMI 21.8 and am looking at 50 yrs old just around the corner.

Yeah, I remember i was pretty stinky (or at least stinkier than normal, lol) for a few weeks in the beginning. If i recall correctly, it came about sometime in the first month, and went away sometime in the third (not 100% sure on that though, its been over 3.5 yrs). The good news though is that it DID go away AND never came back!! Pre-op i wore deodorant every day cuz i was a sweater. After the weight loss my pits are bone dry and no longer stink, yay. I hardly ever use deodorant now. Goof Luck! ❤️

Hey! We basically had the same thing! Yours probably being the better, homemade version. How many cals was that? …also, im the opposite…i tend to keep all my food components separate/in their own “section” when i plate and while i eat…i generally dont like my food to touch each other, if i can help it, 😂😂😂

Breakfast: 186 calories