ms.sss

Mr. ended up going out tonight so no steak for me. Boo. The Kid brought me home an order of Taco Bell’s Fries Supreme, which I poured some sirracha on and ate roughly 1/2 of. Approximating 270 calories for what I ate. P.S. Fries are filling!!

Your friends def know what looks hreat on ya! I love them all, but this yellow-beige ensemble is by far my fave on you!! 🥰 It is perfect for both your colouring AND your booty-licious shape 🔥

Back from vacay (where 90% of my intake consisted of over easy eggs and alcohol) and i finally get to enjoy a decent bowl of food: Smoked salmon, seaweed salad, horseradish aioli and a bit of Gorgonzola. #yum 320 calories, ate it all. P.S. I’ve always disliked the food served at All-Inclusive resorts down south, so I had very low expectations, which were met, lol. I actually packed 3 bags of those salad kits from Costco (to deal with my salad addiction), which were total life-savers! P.S.S Side-note NSV…i am the same weight I was when I left…BUT I haven’t pooped yet so i’m gonna guess once I get these 12 days 😳 of food out of my intestines, i may drop a few pounds. P.S.S.S I asked Mr. to make me a steak tonight cuz i miss meaty meat 🥩🤤

It may take a few months to get used to eating more…both in volume and in calories. You are not even 6 months post, so you may be limited in your volume ability. You dont need to eat 1200 cals today…just aim to get there eventually (and trust me, you will). I reached goal at 7 months, and it took me 4 months and an additional 15-ish lbs lost before i found my maintenance balance. For me, this was about 2000 cals a day at that time. Which honestly was a Herculean effort as I too was sub-800 cals throughout weight loss phase. I got full really quickly back then (and still do today, but to a lesser degree) so i relied on chicharron (i.e., pork rinds/cracklins). I know, I know, its really high in fat so it may not be everyone’s bag, but for ME it was high in protein, zero carb, and did not stuff me like meats did/do…and its SUPER high in calories. Im 3.5 years out now and pretty much have been maintaining my weight ever since (+/- 5 lbs), and average about 1800 cals these days (eating all sorts of food, both healthy and not-so-healthy, and yes, i even eat bread now, lol) Do what you can, a little bit at a time, and you and your body will get used to more calories AND volume eventually. Good Luck! ❤️

Beat way to see if a low carb diet works for you is to try it out for several weeks and see? If you see/experience what you like, then yay! If not try something else. Everyone will respond to different types of carbs differently. I went ultra low carb during weight loss phase, and lost the weight I wanted. BUT…I discovered later in maintenance that my carb intake made little to no difference in weight loss/gain/maintenance for ME. All that mattered was total calorie intake, whether these cals came from bread or steak or cookies. What carb intake DID make a difference for ME, was physical appearance. When i am low-carbing i look more lean and defined. When I’m not, I look more puffy and full. So while low-carbing makes my body (in my opinion) look nicer, my face gets gaunt-er…so its a win-lose lol. (AND i am basically still the same weight either way, eating basically the same amount of calories). But again, try it yourself and see (and also speak to your NUT of course ) Good Luck! ❤️

I had very very little interest in eating food the first 3 MONTHS. My first 2-3 WEEKS i had zero interest. The aversion slowly lessened (as did the frequency), but there are still days here and there now where im like, meh. i’m 3.5+ years out. I will say though while I didn’t have any interest in eating the food, i thoroughly enjoyed cooking it, looking at pictures of it, taking pics of it, researching recipes online and in magazines, watching others eat it, etc. One of my favourite things to do (back then and to this day) is to read restaurant menus. Yeah, i know, kinda weird.

Vacay OOTD (yes we had some fun posing and “photo-shooting” on the beach! Lol) I haven’t pooped in 10 days so I’m pretty effing bloated. Anyone else have trouble pooping on vacation??? Happens to me Every. Single. Time. Le Sigh.

@Sophie7713 i too want that pink top! Its adorable 🥰 @GreenTealael white jeans went back, still on the lookout for a new pair. Always. @Arabesque I love that beige coat. I’m totally into beige and cream and white these days and that coat would fit right in lol

I heart @Arabesque

Hang in there!

Yeah, everyone defines a stall differently. Personally I use at least “1 week of consecutive days of non-weight-nor-inches loss” as a definition. I mean, I could drop a good 2 lbs with a nice poop (i pooped every 3-4 days - sometimes even longer than that - back in weight loss phase, so that made sense) …and yes, I used to weigh myself before and after poops cuz it was fun for me 😂) What some people consider stalls, others call daily fluctuations. But however you define it, just keep on trucking, and aim to keep the anxiety at bay. Remember: stress (i.e., cortisol) has a positive correlation to weight gain (i.e., increased hunger and over-eating) Good Luck! ❤️

Salad! 550 calories. If i don't eat too much of the cut up chicken crust, i mat be able to eat a good bit if this….🤞🏼

Dont forget to take “before” pictures! (You’ll thank yourself later) Good Luck! ❤️

Im sure i would have been fine if i went home same day, but staying a night was better for ME just peace-of-mind wise. And while im sure i would have managed getting to the bathroom myself and administering my own pain meds same day, it was just a nice-to-have for someone there to help. But If i was self-pay and going to pay to stay in hotel nearby anyway, i’d probably just use the money to pay for the hospital stay. But that’s me…

I don’t know who I’m kidding. I put this plate of leftovers together to eat for “lunch” thinking i would put a reasonably sized dent into it cuz I was STARVING. Measured and logged it all onto MFP and for some reason felt like I was looking at Mt. Everest and was all Um, nope…cant do this. And just like that, starvation gone. So its back in the fridge untouched for later. But i took a picture, so here it is anyway. For funsies, am also including what most of it looked like last night when it wasn’t yet leftovers but First-overs. 356 calories for the leftover plate (yep i used an actual dinner plate this time instead of my usual saucer cuz i thought i was that hungry) The leftover plate: Some of its original presentation last night…i didn’t take pics of it all, but the un-shown dishes were equally yummy looking: (those gold skulls are actually bourbon ganache filled chocolates brushed with gold shimmer powder…so cute)

Lol yeah i think its a remnant of British rule ( @Arabesque is in Australia, but both our country’s early relationship with the British settlers was not as contentious as the U.S. was, so i suppose the traditions/way of doing things-like spelling-were more readily adopted?…who knows…my high school History is a distant memory lol). They/we like to add unnecessary ”U’s” to our words: Flavour, Colour, Honour, Neighbour Also like to switch our “er”’s to “re”’s: Centre, Sombre, Millimetre. 😇

So had an arm lift, breast lift and tummy tuck in one shot. Specifically speaking to the arm and breast lift recovery, some tips based on MY experience: 1) it gets ITCHY. I found that wearing the compression stuff (tighter the better) helped to minimize (or eliminate) the itch. 2) when cleared for showers, bring a little stool to sit on to wash your hair. I found it painful (and exhausting!) to try to get my arms up/lower my head to lather up. I actually had Mr. come in the shower with me the first couple times cuz the effort of doing it myself made me feel woozy. 3) speaking of stools, i had one in the kitchen to reach stuff in the cupboards. Reaching hurt! 4) Don’t be a hero. If it hurts, take your pain meds. And keep in mind pain meds constipate you, so ensure you are taking whatever you need to keep regular. I was constipated for a mind-numbing 13 days. *shudder*. I had not-so-fondly referred to these dark days as “Poop Watch 2019”. And when i finally went, it was not the greatest experience *double shudder* 5) Listen to your doc regarding going back to normal activities. I didn’t, and i busted open many a stitches and basically extended my healing time by a couple of MONTHS. 6) speaking of busting open stitches, the areas that kept opening up (all my own fault) where (a) the T-junction where the incisions met up of the underboob and the the vertical line going down from the nipple. (b) the armpit and (c) the side boob incision on the flanks. I suspect because these areas got the most movement and rubbing (and again because i was doing too much too soon) 7) silicone tape is your friend. Not only does it help to heal scars, but it also helps to keep the itch at bay. With all all that said, i would do it all again in a heartbeat (making better choices about moving of course) cuz i am thoroughly pleased with the results. Unexpectedly, my breast lift results became my fave of the 3 i got (and it was initially not high priority on my list). The ability to go bra-less and still remain perky AND comfortable was a need i never knew i had until afterwards lolozzz. Good luck! Cant wait to see ur results (if u are willing to share) ❤️

I wasn’t hooked up to any compression devices at the hospital nor was I prescribed to wear any compression attire after surgery (socks, abdominal, whatever). But I was prescribed to take blood thinners for a week post WLS. Compare this to when I had plastics about a year later, and I was hooked up to a leg squishing device for 2 days (which i LOVED, btw) and NOT prescribed any blood thinners. Its worth noting (maybe?) that I weighed 235 at WLS and 110-ish at plastics time. So I suspect that had something to do with it, but I’m not sure (I didn’t ask). The main goal is to prevent blood clots, I believe, so I suppose however your particular surgeon wants to address it is what you are gonna get.

Oh no…you didn’t like Isopure? (This was actually my long searched for favourite because it was the least sweet of the MANY I tried ) which flavour did you get? I lived on the Low Carb Dutch Chocolate (why this particular flavour was not ZeRO Carb like the rest of the flavours in this line was my irk for months btw) 2 scoops, 600 ml water (i used more water than directed), 1-2 tsps decaf instant coffee crystals, and 2 tsps of Benefire in a shaker bottle with a heap of ice. But if adding milks to the powders dont do it for you, you can make them into puddings? Or just toss em altogether and try other stuff. I’ve read others rave about the premixed Fairlife Brand. Also you can try protein “waters”. My husband drinks these all the time when he does his “sporty” things. They are still powders + water, but they mix up like juice vs a shake.

Group Hug ❤️

Im told myself i’d do a 2wk stint of low-carbing starting today to get myself bikini ready for an upcoming vacay at the end of the month. (while i am no longer a card-carrying ultra-low carber these days, i do acknowledge the drastic effect it has on my appearance when i do, which, in my opinion, is for the better as I think my body looks so much less “puffy” when deprived of carbohydrates). Plus I anticipate many an alcoholic drink to be consumed on vacay so it’ll all even out in the end anyway, lol. But I digress. Mr comes home with my absolute favourite brand of Jamaican Beef Patty (perfect amount of spice and sauciness of filling, as well as my preferred pastry makeup: not too, too flaky on the outside and chewy/soft just under the surface…how that for a description!?! Lol) So low-carbing be damned! I split one with Mr. 190 calories for 1/2 the patty. 🤤

When i first started, i said I wouldn’t buy any new clothes until i was done with weight loss. It helped that I am/was a low-key-hoarder of clothes so i had a whole closet full of “skinny” clothes I could shrink into. BUT…when those clothes ran out (or just looked dated to me), i was all, eff this, im buying some new clothes that dont hang of me cuz i wanna look good. Yes, i spent on items that I would only wear for 2-3 weeks, but I looked GOOOOOD those 2-3 weeks wearing it! Lol My one really big ticket item i splurged on was plastic surgery (which i got about 14 months post op). BEST. PRESENT. EVER. If i may be so bold to suggest, if you are gonna spend enough to purchase leather goods at the price tag of a small car anyway, maybe considering plastics instead. Its the gift that keeps on giving! (or do both!)

I chose sleeve because: 1) the idea of rearranging my plumbing turned me off 2) i wanted to continue using NSAIDS with no issue (but surprise, surprise, i ended up no longer needing them) 3) i was afraid of dumping (again, surprise, surprise, i dump with the sleeve anyway) For what its worth, my surgeon said either surgery (sleeve or bypass) would, under normal circumstances, more or less produce the same results with the same person. And that unless there is pre-existing condition that would dictate a specific surgey (i.e., GERD, which i did not have) then it just boils down to personal choice. He was equally comfortable doing either surgery and advised me to choose the one *I* felt more comfortable with. There is alot of literature out there about average weight losses for the different types of WLS’s. But averages are just that: averages. They are NOT pre-determined stats that YOUR body will adhere to. Basically, results are significantly more tied to the person (and their actions/habits/physiology) than the specific surgery. Doc said that statistically, based on my starting weight, I could expect to lose 60 lbs in a year. Eff that, I lost 120 in 7 months. I’ve read of others on here who lost 50 in a year, still others who lost 200 over 2 years, and even one who lost 150+ in less than six months (all self-identified sleevers). So yeah…their results are quite spread out. In any case, whichever surgery you choose (pre-existing conditions excluded), your results will depend on YOU. Good Luck!

How about starting the process now, at the same time as giving “traditional” weight loss efforts a try? You can go through the motions of non-wls-weight loss, if/when your surgery date comes around, you can always cancel (or postpone) if you reached your personal goal. This way, IF you decide you want to go go ahead with WLS in a year, all the pre-work would already be done. Ta-da! Good luck, whatever you decide ❤️