ms.sss

First, may I suggest shopping around for a new therapist? Your therapist’s advice to just “think about all the good things” you’ve got going seems very un-therapeutic to me; he/she sounds like they want you to push down your feelings instead of exploring them…? Which seems odd advice to be dispensed by a therapist. I dunno… Second, nobody says you have to go through the surgery if you don’t feel ready. You can sit on it, talk it out with a (hopefully, different) therapist or a trusted friend, maybe deal with other life stressors first, etc. In the meantime, you can also vent it out here if it helps alleviate the alone-ness feeling…you will find many in your same situation, and many others who went through it to the other side. Hugs & Good luck ❤️

So I was curious and went into MFP to find out what my diet has been consisting of recently. I pulled up the data for the last 30 days and was (sorta, kinda) shocked to see that the majority of my calories came from Liquor, Cookies and Popcorn 😳 #YIKES. These items were also the highest in frequency consumed. With an average of 1700 calories a day. I suppose my salads were so few in calories that they just didn't make the Top 10??? Does this mean I drink more martinis than I eat salads??? #DOUBLEYIKES While my weight has been rock-solid-stable for the past 30 days (well, for the past 2 years, really), seeing this report has spurred me to clean up my diet. Thanks, MFP. Soooo...for curiosity and accountability's sake, what have y'all been eating the past month???? P.S. I'm 5'2", 116.9 lbs this morning, and 3 years out from sleeve surgery.

I make a mean strawberry meringue cake (technically a Dacquoise, but i feel like “dacquoise” just doesn’t sound yummy, lol)…layers of nut meringue between layers of a whipped cream-mascarpone mixture and strawberries. It’s actually quite easy to make, but the baking/resting of the meringue takes forever. I wasn’t able to take a big of the whole thing before the fam dove into it, but my slice will have to do. Oh, and that’s 1/3 of a dulce de ledge churro in the bowl: 307 calories. I are the churro and about 1/2 the cake slice, because I had put the bowl down to take a break and someone came by and gobbled it up cuz he assumed I was done. I hate when he does that. 🙄

It’s pretty much a given you will lose some or lots of hair. There are some who report they haven’t, but I think they are in the minority. But it’s also pretty much a given that it all grows back eventually (I have yet to read anyone report that they are 2+ years out and still have hair loss). I had cut my hair into a pixie cut around 3-4 months post op to lessen the thinning look and save my vacuum from having to suck up so much hair everywhere! Lol. I’m 3+ years post op now and my hair is just past my shoulders and just as full (if not fuller) than it was pre-op. It sucks, but it’s temporary. It won’t always be this way. Good luck! ❤️

I realize this is an older thread, but i’m with @The Greater Fool on this one. Just because it comes “easy” doesn’t mean it is isn’t real / deserved / worthy / earned. If I get an A in Math without studying, is my A not really an A because my classmate stayed up all night most nights this semester to get the same A? If I had the best trainers and access to facilities growing up, with an small army of people to support me, is my gold medal at the Olympics not really a gold medal? ….and if I lost weight with the help of WLS, or plastics, or whatever, am I not really skinny? Spoiler alert: I am.

Love it!! Congratulations! ❤️❤️❤️

One of MANY salads I’ve been consuming of late in an effort to get back down to 115. Though my love of blue cheese is getting in the way, lol!! The blue cheese and blue cheese dressing makes up like half the calories of this thing! Whatever….it’s delicious. Am eating this as we speak while I catch up on on all the “Below Deck” season 9 episodes I missed. I’ll eat whatever I don’t finish later. 587 calories for the whole thing:

I totally googled it and realized I’ve had this before and loved it…just didn’t know what it was called. I’m def gonna make an attempt at this next week!

So the family has been bugging me about my alcohol consumption since Covid started. Full disclosure, prior to the new year, I was drinking as least 2 (sometimes 3, on rare occasions 4) drinks A DAY. Either an espresso martini or red wine. So to get them off my back, and prove to myself I could do it, I agreed to cut down to no more than one one a day for a month. I thought this would be a piece of cake, but lol and behold, I ended up non-compliant the first 2 days. Mostly because I “forget” that I am on a mission. So on day 3, I put a sticky note on the vodka bottle when I have a drink to remind me I already had a drink that day….and I tell Mr. so he can remind me at dinner if I absently reach for the wine. Since doing this the past 3 days, it’s been working. When I quit smoking (again) last year (I had quit for 10+ years, went on a vacay in 2019 where I accepted an offered cigarette, and just like that, I was smoking again). And my quitting attempts last spring was also thwarted by me “forgetting “ that I was trying to quit. So I tossed all my lighters, got rid of my outdoor ashtrays and told EVERYONE I was trying to quit, and asked to remind me if I forget , but not to enforce me (cuz I know that will just piss me off), as I want to make the decisions myself. I’ve mostly stopped since about April 2021, but I admit I’ve had maybe 10-15 in the past 9-ish months….which is a heck of a lot better than 10-15 A DAY. Final examples: I log everything I eat. Having a running total of my calories, has a bit of influence on my food choices at the end of the day. I weigh myself every day…so I am aware if my weight starts to move from its happy place. Just a couple other “reminders” for me to keep myself in check. This approach may not work for everyone, but I seem to have moderate success with it. Anyway…this was my long winded attempt to suggest you try to find what it is that works for you and what doesn’t (either on your own or with the help of a therapist), and make efforts to implement this knowledge to achieve your goal(s). You may not be perfect, and that’s ok, small changes for the better are better than non at all. Good Luck! ❤️

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to mourn the loss of The Girls. While having the excess weight pass on was a welcome event, sadly, many had to pay the price in Boobies. Sigh. Today is the 10 year wedding anniversary of a pal o' mine. She is holding a zoom party tonite to commemorate the day and made a special request for the groomsmen & bridesmaids to wear the outfits we wore that day. I put mine on, and yes, it's way too big, and so I went looking for a pic of me wearing it back then and found this. So yeah, R.I.P Boobs. P.S. And the pic from 2011 is even AFTER I had a boob reduction in 2005 P.P.S Feel free to post pics of your loved ones as well....lolololzzzzzzz

Not my cup of cup of tea, but would LOVE to see pics of this adventure! Do it, do it!!! ❤️❤️ Now if anyone is interested in lazing around a beach somewhere being served drinks with tinee tiny umbrellas, call me. Lol 😂😂 (after all this covid business is over, ha!)

I’m at the 3 year mark as well (just a little over). I order whatever I feel for (always more that I can actually eat every time, btw) and eat whatever I feel like I can eat. Those that knew me before the weight loss long ago stopped commenting on my eating habits (it’s old news now). People that don’t know me very well, or not at all (of whom are rare meal companions, especially since COVID) have yet to comment, so I don’t really have a go-to response. But I suppose if they did, I’d likely respond with something along the lines of “I’m good, thanks”.

I have been (im)patiently waiting 2 years to cross one of my final bucket list items: to go diving in a perfectly fitting women’s sized wetsuit (not a too-long limbed men’s size XL that I used to wear) WITHOUT having to load up on almost 20lbs of weights in my BCD to counteract all that fat that was keeping me buoyant. COViD has been blocking me from doing this (I’m in Canada and need to FLY somewhere to do this, dammit!)…but fingers crossed this will finally happen by the end of this year 🤞🏼

Some anecdotal input: I’ve never attempted the carnivore diet myself (I love me some salad way too much, lol), BUT, my cousin (39 yrs old, male, 5,9”) has been on the carnivore diet now for almost 4 years now. He was NOT overweight by any stretch of the imagination…I think he told me he was 160 lbs when he started. Today he is 130 lbs. He tells me he feels good, has lots of energy, and while he does not poop often, it is not uncomfortable. He drinks a sh*t tonne of water. As with anything, what works for one may not work for another….your best way to figure it out is to try yourself (with a suggestion to do so under eye of some medical professional)…though it sounds like you already found evidence that you are of that latter group that doesn’t play well with this diet? Are you looking to try it again?

Well if it makes u feel any better, my NUT wanted me averaging 1000+ at my 3 month mark. I didn’t hit that until 2 months AFTER I got to goal, lol My only advice is do the best you can, and so long as your labs come back satisfactorily and you don’t suffer physically, then you should be golden. Good Luck!

One thing that is oft overlooked in terms of weight loss/weight maintenance is muscle mass. Generally speaking, the higher the muscle mass, the more efficient one’s metabolism becomes. From a very un-scientific study of a sample of one (i.e., me, lol) when my body fat percentage was at like 12-15%, I was able to maintain a weight of approx 115 lbs while consuming well over 2300+ cals a day. These days, I am at about 23-26% body fat (119 lbs today) and maintain at around 1800 cals a day. Of course there are other factors at play: I eat way more carbs now than then, and I exercise about 60-70% of the the amount I used to. I think weight loss and maintenance is/will be a forever ongoing series of checks and balances that require monitoring and adjustments and resetting of expectations as needed. I came to terms long ago that this is not a “set it and forget it” type of thing. If I want to stay this way, i have to make some effort to do so…and, if I am unwilling, then I will have to change what I want. Good Luck! ❤️

5’2” female. At the 6 month mark, I was at 97 lbs lost. But this includes ~12 lbs lost during my 2 week pre-op diet, so really it was more like 85 lbs lost in the first 6 months immediately after surgery. FYI, during weight loss phase i went with volume and calories measures way to monitor intake (cuz there is a huge diff between 1oz of steak and 1oz of salad or 1oz of almonds in terms of “eat-ability” AND calories) With that said, at my 6 month mark, I was averaging about 700-ish calories a day, with each “meal” coming up to no more than 1 cup in volume (if I remember correctly). I use the term “meal” loosely as I was (and sorta still am) a grazer. But I’ve read enough on here to learn that my experience differs from many (and is similar to some). I have also learned that while everyone loses at their own pace and implements their own strategies, we all end up in the same place eventually so long as we stick with our plan and make adjustments as necessary. Good Luck! ❤️ P.S. I am 3+ years out now and have maintained below goal weight the entire time. I average about 1800 cals a day with moderate exercise. …. Though, full disclosure, I was 2lbs outside my “happy weight range” a couple days ago, which has since been lost (a couple good poops did it, I think, lol…that and I cut down on the copious amounts of Xmas chocolates I’ve been porking on). This morning I was 119 lbs even, but I feel better when I’m closer to the lower end of my happy weight range so am gonna shoot for 115 and see if I can get back down there without too much discomfort, ha!….we shall see.

Cottage cheese lover here. I often like it savoury too. I’ll sprinkle black pepper, cayenne powder, garlic powder, or salt (or any combination of the aforementioned, lol). Beyond soft food phase, there are endless others savoury things to pair it with, yum!

Food pic dump! Yesterday’s snack: homemade milk bread, chicken salad, Parmesan, & crunchy garlic chilli oil. Ate one of them : 169 calories Yesterday’s dinner : Salad! : 336 calories for the whole thing. Leftovers shown, which i tossed cuz it just wasn’t yummy enough to go back to. I blame the pate, it was kinda yuk (as you can see how i pushed it all to the side) and it touched the other food and made it smell like paté, lol. Todays breakfast/lunch : Another salad! 373 calories. Currently eating it. If don’t finish (which I already know I won’t) I’ll eat rest for a snack cuz it’s delicious.

*raises hand* I do my running (usually 5k, sometimes more) in the mornings on an empty stomach and prefer it that way. I feel like a filled or partially filled stomach slows me down. Though this is probably just in my head, lol Pte-Covid I used to go to the gym in the mornings before eating as well. Was able to do weights or zumba or hot yoga just fine. YMMV. Good Luck! ❤️

Im not “several” years into maintenance yet (i’ve been holding steady at my current weight for about 2.5 years only), but the 2 main things I credit to this is my daily food tracking and weighing. Keeping track and making adjustments (if needed) is key for ME. Its not for everyone, but i know in my heart of hearts that if it wasn’t for this i’d be packing the pounds back on for sure.

Yep, me too. Not a breakfast eater and never was…even pre-op. My first meal of the day is generally after noon. But I do have my coffee (black) soon after I wake up in the morning. Oh, but in the early months after surgery, I used to eat a tablespoon of yogurt to help my calcium pills go down easier…if i didn't, i’d get all sorts of stomach cramping cuz my stomach was empty. Am 3 years out now and the no-breakfast eating seems to have had/have no effect to my weight loss nor maintenance. Good luck! ❤️

Maybe this is where the disconnect is. When one doesn’t understand another’s position or where they are coming from, any advice doled out by the un-understanding one may be more about them vs the the one they are thinking they are helping. Just a thought.

I think this is the mindset that too many suffer from. Results are not as immediate as expected and hands get thrown up in the air. I hope you don’t give up, and continue the course even if it is “slower” than you wanted. We will all end up in the same place eventually (some at slower rates than others), so long as you just keep with it. Figure out what you really want and do all that you can to achieve it. Good Luck! ❤️

There was some swelling, but not so much that I couldn’t fit into my pre-surgery pants just fine. For me (others may be different), my clothing size didn’t change at all. I just didn’t have skin oozing out the tops of my pants anymore, lol. I also had an boob lift with excess side boob skin removed, so i longer had skin oozing out my tank top arm holes…and shirt sizes also remained the same. when is your TT scheduled? So excited for you! PS is a game changer!!!