ms.sss

Everything Bagel Seasoning?

I gained 6 lbs January to end of March (stopped exercising regularly, tracking my food, weighing myself daily, and probably ate more, but I don't know since I wasn't tracking!!). I went back to my routine and lost those 6 lbs in 3-4 weeks in April, while we were in lock down. But then 4-5 of those effing lbs came back again between May to August (dessert & alcohol consumption increase) and it took me almost 2 months to lose them again. Which was a wake up call about how my super weight-loss powers have diminished. Moral of the story is if your aim is to maintain a certain weight, do something about it now when it's only a few pounds vs later when its much, much more. There is no mystery on how to do this: exist in a calorie deficit until you reach your goal. I dropped down to about 1300-1500 cals a day...if I went lower, the weight would have come off faster, but I didn't, so it didn't.

Stuffed Pork Loin w/ gravy, sauteed onions & steamed broccoli: 219 calories Ate it all and I'm uncomfortably full. Pork seems to always have this effect on me...but do I stop eating it? No. Geez. (As I type this I think I may be in barf-territory....)

Meh. I may have them with dip or pâté, though. But only because eating dip or pâté by itself is weird. 😂

I agree. Now you can go shopping again for some ACTUAL work out clothes! P.S. I really like the colour of the jacket!

How about some broth? Also, when I was at 4 weeks-ish, I had canned smoked oysters regularly. Salty AND soft. (though I realize this may not be appealing to most...Mr. HATES the smell and left/leaves the room when I pop open a can, lol)

I don't think it makes a difference, in the end so long as you have a calorie deficit, you will lose weight. Though it *may* take a little longer this far out. In maintenance, I had a couple times when I gained like 5-6 lbs after a period of eating too much or a period of decreased activity. The first time this happened was maybe 11 mnths post op and it took me a week to lose it. The last time it happened, it took me almost 2 months (at almost 2 yrs post op). It was much easier to go low cal before than it is now, probably cuz I'm used to eating more now? Anyhoo, its not impossible, Keto/low carb or not. Good Luck!

I was on Optifast too...had to do 3 a day for two weeks, my daily totals from this were about 600 cals. Though I remember the last maybe 4-5 days I only had 2 a day (was getting protein shake burnout). I had two flavours: chocolate and vanilla. The vanilla was way too sweet for my liking so I ended up adding twice the amount of water to the powder packet (I still have a few vanillas in my pantry that I never ended up using...i really should throw those out.) The chocolate was better, though I added 2 tsp of decaf instant coffee crystals to it to make it more palatable. Oh, and I blended them up with a bunch of ice when I drank them.

OOOOooooooh that looks delicious (sans the croutons 😂)! I haven't had a salad it what seems like for-eh-vah, as for some reason my Costco has been out of romaine lettuce for AGES. Whats up with that?!!? I may just bite the bullet and buy a ridiculously overpriced one at a regular grocery...which btw, has gone up in price as well! (I know its only a couple dollars, but it pains me, its the principle of it all !)

Hi! Haha, me too! So here is my assessment: Cellulite: I had some on my lower butt, upper back thighs, and inner thighs. After the weight loss, my butt no longer has that dimply look, but it is still saggy. It looks more wrinkly/deflated than cellulite-y. Same for the back and inner thighs, but to a lesser degree. They don’t look so very wrinkly, but they do look “soft”. I didn’t have any varicose veins, but I did have a VERY blue-y/purple-y spider vein about the size of a quarter on my thigh. It’s still there but not as vibrant blue. Finally, you didn’t ask, but I can also report on my stretch marks. I had stretch marks on my upper boobs, hips and the backs of my calves. The boob marks have significantly decreased (i see some but they are not as noticeable as before) My hip marks are gone...BUT, I had a tummy tuck so that would explain that. The stretch marks at the backs of the calves though, are also gone (and I didn’t have any work done there like the TT, so that is worth noting). Its weird to me that they are gone cuz i always thought those things were permanent. Even weirder that I just noticed this today. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Manage your expectations and try not to compare yourself to others (technically, that's 2, but you get what I mean, lol)

How did I miss this?? Congrats on GoOOOOOOOAAaaaaaaLLLLLlllLLLL! So excited for you and your upcoming PS. Smokin' hot bikini pics, here we come!!!!

Another bowl of random stuff for afternoon munchies: a snack can of tomato & onion tuna, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, some cucumber and tzatziki. Logged as 182 calories (a little less since I didn’t eat all the tuna, but I like to round up!)

Good point. If one’s pre-op diet is of the “higher-calorie” persuasion, one may continue to experience physical hunger (my pre-op diet was 3 shakes a day).

Definitely. Nothing says you can’t do weight loss on your own. I’m sure we all know at LEAST one person who lost a ton of weight and so far kept it off, sans WLS. It’s not impossible by any means. Also, nothing says you can’t change your mind and go the WLS route at a later time, either. There are many on here that had their surgeries in their 50’s (even 60’s and at least 1 - that I know of - in her 70’s). I am pushing 50 myself (though I often feel - and act - like i’m 17, lol). You know yourself the best, and will undoubtedly make the right decision for yourself TODAY. And if you have to make another decision later, so be it. P.S. Sorry to hear about the reflux. Waking up with a mouthful of acid is the WORST.

Hey! Get outta my brain! I am planning to make falafel tonight!!! Got a recipe to share??

So yesterday I figured I’d roast the garlic cloves I used for the souvlaki marinade from last night’s dinner for a bit of garnish. Turns out the fam loved them just a la carte and this morning, asked if I could roast some more to eat as a snack. ?! I was all, ok, but you all are weird. I had a sample of it and I am now a believer. YUM. I ate 3: 20 calories. Now we all gotta go gargle with some mouthwash for a while...

Alot of us on here got the surgery costs covered by insurance, so yeah, having to shell out $19K adds ALOT to think about. Its easy to say now that I am 2 years post op that I would totally do it again, even if I had to pay, but really, if I think about it, I’m not 100% sure I would have gone through with it knowing nothing of my outcome back then if I had to shell out that much cash. With that said: I started gaining weight about 15 years ago, and spent maybe the last 10 of those years morbidly obese. Yes, I had done diet and exercise several times...on THREE separate occasions I even lost 50+ lbs. The longest I kept those 50+ lost lbs off my body was probably 2 months max...until it started to slowly pile back on to return in its entirety plus some within 4-5 months. There was no mystery to this: I went back to eating the way I did pre-diet and stopped exercising. Now, with WLS, I have been able to keep the 120lbs I lost off of me for SEVENTEEN MONTHS so far. Again, there is no mystery to this: I eat much less and I exercise every day. Yes, I am doing this myself, but the WLS gives me a HUGE boost (at least with the eating part...I actually have no idea why I stay active all this time, and actually like it, GASP!) I have no illusions that I am immune to weight gain. Just because I had WLS does not mean I can’t eat cookies for every meal and sit on the couch all day (but it will limit me to the number of cookies I eat at a time). I have to keep doing what Im doing to maintain where Im at. So far, so good, but we’ll see I guess. In the meantime, I am grateful and satisfied with it all. Soooooo....this is my long winded response that I do agree with you that your immediate and long term success is primarily up to you, but the WLS gives you that extra “umph” to help u get there (and stay there). Good luck with whatever you decide!

Not sure if this was on purpose or not, but what a great idea for those on the pre-op diet! EMPTY YOUR FRIDGE. Like @WishMeSmaller indicated above, the hungry feels will likely go away in about 3 days. If you can hold out 1 more day, you will be golden. AND if you keep doing exactly what you are doing, by the end of 7 days you could be pleasantly surprised with what the scale will tell you...which could give you the extra batteries and motivation to make it all the way to surgery day. ❤️ Good Luck!

I did. On day one of pureed stage, I blended up some beef and after looking at it, I was all "Um, no thanks". I did another week of full fluids instead and then went directly to soft foods as scheduled. Edited to add: I just remembered that I did try to eat scrambled eggs made with LOTS of milk to make it fluffy once during that week, but it didn't really do it for me, so that was that.

Maybe go back to campus ASAP and go through the first couple months post-op there. You can concentrate on YOU (and your studies) without the distraction of Mom. The first few weeks is generally the hardest and you don't need anything more that is necessary on your plate. ❤️ +1

Nice! I love the idea of making a post-surgery version of a pre-surgery food! 🏆 As Cher Horowitz would say: "PROJECT!!" *claps hands excitedly*...

I look forward to seeing your nails as much as I do your food....

Lol, just another Monday, I'm afraid. Cooking and making meals is like one of my transfer addictions...

Tonight’s dinner for the fam: Pork Souvlakis on a Bun, homemade tzatziki w/ fixins and some guacamole I had to make today cuz our avocados were getting too ripe. Oh, and some homemade seasoned pita chips (ya, i know, greek and mexican flavours...a bit of an old pairing, lol) I served myself almost 1.5 oz of the pork, some cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, and about 3 tbsp each of the tzatziki and guacamole. Plus iced coffee with Kahlua (not shown) while I was grilling: 343 calories Ate it all except for a few of the onions, and there was some leftover tzatziki and guac that Mr. ate.