ms.sss

Today's lunch...though its past 4pm so maybe its an early dinner? Anyoo, sat myself on the couch in front of the TV to do some binge watching and dig into this ginormous salad that I made cuz I was STARVING (one of those busy-forgot-to-eat days): 351 calories. Ate about 2/3 of it. Rest went back in the fridge for later.

A subset of my latest online shopping delivery. Yes, I have a clothes shopping problem! L-R: grey wide leg cargo jeans; printed lantern sleeve dress with smocked waist; beige cami w/ high-waisted denim skirt; blue oxford top under high waist pencil skirt with removable straps...I really like this skirt but it is way too big (i'm holding the excess material in the back). This is the smallest size already so I'm contemplating if I should have it altered or just return it....

@Arabesque, while the calamari looks good, that drink is MOUTHWATERING. Did it taste as refreshing as it looks??? @Starwarsandcupcakes, All Hail the Cookie QUEEN. Holy crap, I want to jump into that batch of mint chocolate chip cookies. Are you feeding an army?? I would like to enlist. P.S. I too tried my hand at royal icing many moons ago. I suck and gave up. I also suck a fondant work, but I haven't thrown in the towel for those yet....

@kristieshannon: I'll say it again: MILF. That dress is PERFECT on you....wear it every day. With your hair just like that. And that lipstick. 😍 @Arabesque: Yep, you def look taller in that frock! Love it. P.S. glad the thumb is on the mend and you can now wear real bras!

Smokes, you look GREAT!

LOL, Im looking to get a tattoo in the style of the pic on the left: black fine-line florals with a pinky-reddish fill throughout…but the placement will be just on my upper back and side torso (to also camouflage my side boob PS scar…it totally shows on my right side when i’m wearing a bikini top) The Kid is actually in the process of drawing the final image…with specific flower types (mine, and each of the fam’s fave flower) and less leaves. So on the pic on the right - if u zoom in on the top arrow - you can see where the Kid drew some rudimentary flowers on my back to show how big its going to be, sort of. After the consult today its likely going to be bigger. (the bottom arrow points to a teeny tattoo i got as a teenager of a sad little daisy. It actually moved up higher on my hip after my tummy tuck, lol) Next appt for drawing finalization is in December, then the actual tattooing will be scheduled. Can’t wait!

Went for a tattoo consult this morning and the guy said I had a “very lovely” back. Well, that’s a first 🤷🏻‍♀️

Over easy or poached. The runnier the better!

They served me coffee in the hospital! 😂 I probably started drinking coffee regularly again around 1 month…not because i was told not to, buy because I just didn’t feel for it until that point. Been drinking it ever since. P.S. Am 3 yrs out now and drink 1-2 per day (sometimes more)

Im sort of the opposite. I truly disliked cooking pre-op. It was just a chore. Now i love it. And everything about it (shopping, planning, researching, plating…as well as smelling, looking, watching others eat, watching cooking shows, lol) For the first year and a bit I didn’t even eat anything I cooked for the fam. And honestly it didn’t bother me in the “missing out” sense one bit. After a while, in maintenance, i would eat a bit of what i made for them, but i still prefer cooking/baking over actually eating it. Im more of a salad person…the fam is not.

I do alot (but so does Mr. and the Kids), so I can't claim to do it all, LOL. But, I can speak about the energy levels: for the first 2-3 weeks I had very little energy and slept ALOT. Still managed to do what I needed to do during awake hours - including going back to work in week 3 - (just much slower and not as well as I would have liked). It did help that I had a desk job, and the fam did not expect me to do more than I could...that and the youngest in the house is a self-sufficient teenager so... Though sometime after the first month, out of nowhere I got some crazy energizer bunny power (despite the fact that I was one of those that subsisted on very, very, low calories) and its been like that ever since. I'm not sure if it was because the lost weight made it easier, or that all the large amounts of crap that I used to eat no longer slugged my system. Whatever the case, from what I have read on here, the lack of energy is temporary (barring any medical issues), and for alot, energy levels increase exponentially as you get further out. Good Luck! ❤️

I like the skirt! I'm into the non-linear hem line. But beware the the sneaky high split. I was on vacay once wearing a new cover up with said hidden split over nothing (took of my wet swimsuit earlier) and an errant gust of wind flashed my cat for all to see. So the lessons here would be to (1) wear underwear, and (2) wear PRETTY underwear in case they happen to make an unexpected appearance 😂

"ONLY"?! LOL P.S. #yum

Im a 3 yr old sleeve and i still dump (excess sugar is my personal kryptonite). As i got further out my sensitivity to sugar decreased. Where before just a couple sips of a sugary sake had me on the bathroom floor, alternating ends to face the toilet (no joke) and knocked me out for a few hours, now its more like 1/2 a scoop of ice cream will suction me to a couch or chair for 30 mins or so, likely followed by a liquid poop followed by an exhausted power nap. (oh, and sprinkle in some temp fluctuations, sweating, racing heart, difficulty breathing to both scenarios above) do i like that i dump?! H*lls, no. It feels like death. BUT i can appreciate how its just another tool to keep me where i’ m at. An annoying tool yes, but an effective one. Like those above, i’ve learned what i can do to avoid it, its just part of my habits now (i.e, I don't eat too much, too fast at a time; I make its not on an empty stomach; etc...) …:also i have an awesome fam who often test bites food and drink for me to report on its sweetness level before i have a go at it. I also notice that Mr often asks to share a dessert plate with me which I suspect he does to eat more of the dessert than I do…..he was the one that had to pick me up off the bathroom floor and carry me upstairs to bed that fateful first dump night…i guess it spooked him and does not want a repeat performance.

I'm not due to get my driver's license renewed until end of this year (so I still have my bigger face on it), but I did get my health card renewed this summer. My head shrunk. So did my neck, which ironically makes me look like I actually have a neck! Now I'm trying to decide if I should renew my passport early (doesn't expire until 2027) and pay the darned fee. Pre-covid, it was sorta annoying to have to convince the immigration/customs officer that I am indeed me and just 120 lbs smaller....and then have to answer all the regular questions: "how did you do it?" "what do you do to keep it off", etc. etc....

yum yum yum yum yum yum yum (note to self: buy more avocados)

Woke up at the crack of dawn this morning (probably earlier than that, actually). It was raining so couldn't go for a run, and there was nothing interesting to watch on TV, so .... I baked a pie. Last time I baked a pie I subbed almost all the sugar with Monk Fruit, and though the fam couldn't tell the difference, they asked that the next time I baked a pie, I use real sugar. Jeez. Which means one serving of this CARAMEL APPLE PIE (i.e,. 1/8 of the pie below) is 350 calories. I'm going out for drinks with the gal pals tonight so I'm gonna pass on pie today. I'll have a sample if there is any leftover tomorrow. The house smelled AWESOME though. P.S. Full disclosure: I used pre-made pastry from the grocery so its not 100% homemade. Shhhhhhh...

Yay real food! Was it worth the wait?

This was my M.O. as well. I didn't do any "one bite for tastes" during weight loss phase on purpose. Even while I was cooking for the fam, I got the Kids or Mr. to taste it for me if the food I was cooking contained stuff that wasn't willing to eat myself (though closer to goal, i did the taste-then-spit-out-method while cooking). I'm now 3 years post op and have no prob taking a bite or two "for taste" or even just "for eats". My insignificant opinion is that it will never be easier to lose weight than those first few months post op. Take advantage...treats and yummies aren't going anywhere, you can have some later (plus like others say, you may not even want it anyway). Of course, if you really, really, really want to have a bite for taste, taste away. You won't be flogged for the act. Its really up to you what you to determine what your priorities are. We are all adults here and can take responsibility for our own actions! Good Luck! ❤️

Vent away. Better to release your frustrations than hang on to them ❤️ One day at a time. One hour at a time if need be. This time next week you will likely feel incrementally better. This time next year, today likely will feel like a lifetime ago. Good Luck! ❤️

LOLOLOLzzzzzz Yeah I don't think I'm ever going to actually wear them outside the house....unless I'm carried out of here a la Cleopatra and sit on my a$$ the entire nite. Though I did order a skanky french maid Halloween costume last month that I now plan to wear with the shoes in the privacy of my our own home for sh*ts and giggles with Mr. But based on his response to the shoes, I think he would probably prefer librarian....

Polka-dot Perfection. 😍 You've got some F-me librarian shoes on too, i see!! Cheers to going out on dates (with new fellas)! I miss it, and don't miss it at the same time....

Thats a hefty amount of cals for that protein shake: 573 calories (not including the optional protein powder)…AND it packs in 24g of sugar and 34g of fat. See calculations below. Does that bariatric cookbook really suggest 1/4 cup of peanut butter? That seems like alot?

When BFF is a dedicated online shopper like you, but totally too lazy to do returns, BUT not too lazy to come by for a coffee with a too-big item cum gift in hand: They are super tall, and make my butt stick out when I walk in them. I doubt I'd be able to wear them out in the wild for very long before my arches snap. Mr. says they have an "F-me" vibe, like in a stern, librarian kind of way...lolololzzz. I don't disagree.