ms.sss

What exactly is your gut telling you? P.S. Sorry you are having a hard time...the first couple weeks tend to be the hardest. ❤️

Bacon Cheeseburger Sliders w/ Caramelized Onions. I just ate the toppings, lol: equivalent of 1 slice bacon + 20g cheddar cheese + 1/4 cup onions: 190 calories.

Wowza. Now THAT's a Smoker. I'd be having smoked meat all week long if I had one of these babies. Are those Bull Horn handles on the lid??? OMG, LOVE IT!

Well, I have never heard of a phase 2 Faja until now. From what I since read, I guess they are less supportive? I'm looking for some serious compression (just at the lower ab area) so maybe phase 1 Faja is better? Or just a smaller phase 2 Faja...Im not sure my thighs can squeeze into the 2XS listed thigh measurement though, lol. (Aside: the link you provided was for a "Step 2" Faja, is this the same as "Phase 2"?) Though noted that I am almost 6 months post-op, and am not even sure i even need one, but I HATE my swollen belly with the fire of a thousand suns that I will squish that thing down with any means I have access too. Ugh. O.M.G. we are like measurement twins...I have all the exact (give or take 1/4 inch) same measurements as you! except for the underbust (I'm 28")!! How tall are you? And what is your shoe size? We could share clothes LOL!!! Edited to Add: Ok, I see you are 5' even. So I'm just a couple inches taller. Well, maybe we can't share pants then...lol Edited to Add, part 2: I also see that you are 102 lbs. You must be adorably cute. Is this the weight after PS, or before?

Yay!!! Feel like sharing some Before and Afters an show off the happy bod??? lol Congratulations, regardless, you must bee feeling aaaaawwweeeesome. ❤️

You got me again! Yum 😋 Now, how does one make a creamy vegan chipotle sauce??

Va-va-voom! Nice work!

I dunno, yours looks pretty amazing! It looks like it has more fat content than ours...yum. Were you the grill master for this work of art?? I get these cuts a from butcher shop near my place. They’ve been there forever...they used to be in a field with nothing around them, and over the years, developments rose up around them, but they still there, lol. They don’t always have these cuts on hand at many butchers (mine just has it around special occasion days) but I’m sure you can special-order it. Warning: they are a little in the pricier side.

Wow! 7 weeks and u already look 5 years younger! Way to go, lady!

Looks like you already arrived! You look Grreeeaaaaattttt! (I see them biceps under your shirt...) Congrats!

You know, I am noticing an elevation of your plating these days, Sophe... 👍🏼😀... Is really just a ribeye with the bone attached and frenched for show, lol.

(Close, front porch. I normally sit out in the back porch for morning coffee, but the view is not as nice.) I need me some strawberries!!!

Ok, so I have actually been in the market for some sort of compression garment/faja for my stubborn swollen lower belly! Sizing is an issue for me, but I see that this one comes in XS! What size did you get? And, if you don't mind, what are your measurements and how do you find the fit? Is the material thick? (Thinner or thicker than spanx? Or the same?) Inquiring minds want to know!!!

Last night’s Father’s Day Dinner, Part Deux: - Sticky, sweet and spicy 9-hr slow cooker ribs then further basted and caramelized in oven (Kid’s request) - cucumber salad (the obligatory vegetable) - cheesy jalepeno corn bread (Mr.’s request) - ...and a FLINTSTONE-esque Tomahawk Steak. To put things in perspective, that grill plate is 50cm wide (or 19.7”). I had basically all the cucumbers, as the fam was not in a plant eating mood, and about 3.5oz of the steak. Later had a slice (about 1.5 oz) of the cherry almond flan (store bought), and paid the price. Was worth it, I loooove frangipane in ANY dessert.

Enjoying today’s lunchtime salad outside! Such a beee-uuuu-tiful day 🥰 166 calories

@Heather13... and f you are talking about carbonated beverages in general, the reason my my doc gave to lay off them is because drinking them contribute to excess gas in your stomach, which is not your friend ...and NOT because of stretching your stomach. One would have to have their stomachs filled beyond capacity (with liquids OR solids) for extended periods of time to do that. And even then, it is highly, highly unlikely a sleeved stomach would stretch to pre-surgery size. Not even close. If under some crazy circumstances one was able to stretch their stomach close to even HALF thier original size (given a sleeved stomach is 20% of original size), that person would have waaaaay bigger problems to worry about than a bigger stomach. With that said, i was drinking carbonated beverages around 2-3 months post op, and still do, almost every day. HOWEVER, i am drinking sparkling water (i.e., Perrier or similar, with no sugar nor flavourings) and NOT pop/ soda nor beer. Too many unnecessary calories for me, personally. I have hade diet coke a handful of times in the past year though (and only once i was done trying to lose weight)...but is is def the exception and not the rule.

I swear, sometimes i think I live under a rock. I have never heard of burnt ends until i read this! Well, i did some googling/reading/video watching and now consider myself a burnt ends superfan, lol. Part of my next brisket is going to turn into an awesome looking dish of Kansas City Burnt Ends! Thanks for the inspiration! What’s next on the BBQ menu?!?! P.S. we got a tomahawk steak waiting to be grilled in fridge as we speak for tomorrow *rubs carnivore-ic hands with glee*

Yeah, my doc actually told me my final results can take up to year (a YEAR!). Sigh. And I tend to scar badly so I know my redness will hang around longer than most. Double Sigh. Lol, I just wear the bikinis for show. I have always been the gal wearing hats and sitting under umbrellas (still am). The only part of my body I am purposefully exposing to the sun are my legs (trying to correct a hideous runners tan...see below) P.S. as for the reasoning for keeping scars out of the sun, my doc said its because they can darken PERMANENTLY, as the upper layer of skin in those areas are new and thin. So yeah, these babies are staying in the shade ❤️

I'm all healed up now...the last of my wounds finally fully healed in March (3 months after the surgery, geez) I have no pain, and full range movement on all affected areas. My tum is still swollen though, which annoys me. Scars still reddish, but I tend to scar badly so that was expected. Im still wearing silicone tape on all my incisions and as well as my abdominal binder when at home. In spite of it all, I am very pleased with my results and have been confidently sporting a bikini poolside, lol 😎

Yes, I did! It ended up getting marinated for almost 2 days (due to me gilling them the day after I originally meant to)! Since I had more chops than usual, I tripled the recipe below, and then before grilling, I boiled the marinade to reduce a little then added 1/2 tsp of cornstarch to thicken a bit more. I then used this as a baste during grilling (careful: the oil and sugar content will cause mighty flare ups if it gets to drippy!) 2 tbsp olive oil 1/2 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup honey (or brown sugar) 3 tbsp minced garlic 2 tsp sesame oil 2 tsp ginger minced 2 tbsp sriracha sauce 1 tsp black pepper * can make this more Keto if you sub the soy sauce for tamari, the honey with brown sugar stevia, and the sriracha with chilli flakes or cayenne. And if you want to baste, sub the cornstarch with xanthan gum. I wasn't planning on having any (I had chicken) so I did it the regular way.

Grilled pork chops, grilled chicken drumsticks, assorted grilled veggies and leftover Mac n’ Cheese from lunch. I had one drumstick and the bone from one of Mr.’s chops (is it just me or do others like gnawing on meat bones?? And no, I won’t go to town on a bone in public...just in the privacy of my own home where I can be as Fred Flintstone-y as I want!...or also maybe in someone’s backyard bbq...) Oh, and I had about 1/2 cup of the veggies. ...and a pre-meal coffee martini (not shown).

Well there you are!! Nice work, lady. You must be feeling like a gazillion bucks. ♥️🔥💪🏼 P.S. I don't think your clothes are too tight at all. In fact, I think your top could go down a size...i see some pooling fabric at the side! My own personal motto is the tighter the better. Show em what you got, baby. P.P.S. Loving that ottoman in the background...would go perfectly in my tv room, lol

Period: I got mine about 2 weeks or so after surgery. It was the first one I had in months. And it was like a deluge, and lasted for over a week (which is really long for me as when I was regular pre-op, it used to only last 3-4 days, and very light, at that). I did have cramps (which I don't normally get), and I took a Midol or two. I think it helped. P.S. since surgery, I have been period-ing like clockwork, every 4 weeks almost to the day, lasting 3-4 days. Pressure in chest: This may or may not be associated with your period. It may just be a normal result of the surgery. I still get pressure in my chest, but I've learned (for me) that it is my new sign of fullness, as I don't feel the same stomach-area fullness anymore. It also means (for me) that I may have eaten too fast. Are you taking an acid reducer? Straws: My surgeon also said to refrain from straws. The reason being that one will end up sucking up a bit of air that is in the straw before the actual liquid. Nursing over a drink, doing this over and over again, results in a large amount of accumulated, sucked up air (which is not your friend). Like you, I also found drinking with a straw much easier, soooooo....I made sure that my straw was always as submerged in the liquid as possible to reduce the amount of air that is initially in the straw before sipping. Sometimes this meant continually re-filling my glass so the liquid level was way up there. Worked for me. Oh, and I also used sport-water bottles with spouts. Made sure to tip it up before I took a sip (again to reduce the amount of air sucked in). With all that said, do have a chat with your team to get some professional guidance. Especially about the chest/esophagus/nausea thing. Good Luck!

@Darktowerdream, yay! glad to hear from you! Like @ChubRub, I was checking on here to see if you had posted. Glad everything seems to have gone at least as expected, and that you seem/read in your endearing, i-got-****-but-i-deal, will-try attitude. LOL. Reading your first post after surgery brought me flashbacks of how exhausting it was for me to type out a long one those first couple days. Rest up, OK? Pro Tip #1: Do what you need to do in the early days to keep yourself regular/moving (drink water, watch the iron/pain meds, move around, take stool softeners). I had the awful experience of being backed up for 13 days. *shudder*. Pro Tip #2: Walking around hunching over put a def strain on my back at first. My mom ended up feeling sorry for me and let me use HER cane for a few weeks. LOL. It helped. (Love you mom). Pro Tip #3: My biggest self-imposed regret was doing to much too soon. I pushed myself (started exercising and other stuff too early) and ended up reopening several areas along the various incisions. TWICE. This resulted in a longer, and more painful, annoying, irritating recovery for me. AND i think some of the re-opened side scarring is worse than others. So....TAKE IT EASY. KEEP YOUR WOUNDS CLEAN. TRY TO POOP. Keep us posted!

We love pics of food here, btw...just saying.