ms.sss

a slice of the loaf of bread i baked yesterday with some jeujed up labneh (i added za'atar seasoning, olive oil, walnuts, fresh basil and honey (yummmm!!) ate all the labneh and ½ the bread (it was pretty filling...i really want a nap now but i need to digest first....)

it never occurred to me that all my lab results are stored somewhere accessible that i could peruse through at leisure! i've always just accepted what they told me (since i've never actually had any issues that were unexplained to me). i should ask my doc how i could access this info....

salad. 555 calories. pretty much ate all of it. YUM.

nah, i get it, i'm a numbers gal myself, and i LIVE for tracking and data and spreadsheets! ok,so if i were to respond to this specific statement then, my surgeon made his calculations with my weight when i first got accepted into the program...which was 2+ YEARS BEFORE my actual surgery (long story, but i backed out twice before i finally went through it). granted, for ME, it didn't really make a difference because i was the same weight on my acceptance date in 2016, as i was 2 weeks prior to my surgery date in 2018. but im sure many others could not say the same if they were to use the same barometer. long story short, "excess weight" is arbitrary, and the calculations are different depending on who you ask. your best measure of success and progress in the endeavour of weight loss is yourself. is your weight loss graph trending down? yes? then YAY! again, you are doing great...but you don't need me (or anyone else) to validate that, you can see it yourself in your numbers and hard work ❤️ .

(too much) iron is notorious for resulting in constipation. i'm not a doctor, but the first thing i would say is to stop doing whatever is causing you pain and go do your PCP immediately for further guidance.

when it comes down to it, does it really matter? if it does, then track both. either way, you are doing great, keep it up

like others have said, skin itself does not weigh alot. the stories you have heard about people losing 20-30-40 lbs after plastics, are either (A) folks who lost HUNDREDS of pounds, or (B) folks who had subcutanous fat under their skin, which was removed during plastics.). Most people fall under group B. plastics is more about visual aesthetics (or comfort/life quality) vs actual weight loss on the scale. My surgeon told me the "material" he removed from me weighed a grand total of 400g (less than 1 lb)....not at all significant on the scale, but VERY significant in the mirror. getting a dexa scan is a good idea if you want to know what your physiological make up is. you could use the results of this scan to discuss with your surgeon what they anticipate your end result would be. unfortunately there is no way to know for sure what your results will be until you actually go thru it. good luck! ❤️

during weight loss phase and for a several months after reaching goal, i limited the amount of sugar that i ingested as i was a really, REALLY, REALLLLY bad dumper. what little sugar or desserts i ate where almost always within my calorie gosls. as the years progressed, i found i was able to eat more sugar and have eaten it accordingly. nowadays, i'm down with whatever sugar type food you put in front of me, but i generally only have a single bite to taste if it looks appealing (2 or 3 if its deemed delicious lol). i don't know what stage of the whole process you are, but5 generally (i'm 5+ years out), my go to sweet stuff are things that are also savory...like glazed/candied meat or fish, yogurts/cottage cheese bowls. mind you i still love me a good cookie or pie or cake, but i can't (wont?) eat large amounts of them...basically just a taste/bite.

hiya! 1-2 lbs loss per week is NOT a slow loser at all. its actually quite common/average. you are doing great

so when i had my WLS, when i got home one the next afternoon, i was just under 2 lbs lighter. but when i had my plastics, 2 days later (i was in hospital longer) i was 5 lbs heavier...and i was like 115 lbs at the time so that was a lot considering my frame. like @nickelchip my hands where like inflated balloon paws...(i'll see if i can find a pic)

one of those days...it was 6:30 pm and realized i didn't eat all day (or drink for that matter...had a coffee in the AM but that was it...this could explain the headache i had all day...) as soon as this dawned on me, i suddenly felt hungry. i wonder if i didn't remember if i would feel hunger at all...?? 🤷🏻‍♀️ anyway, the only thing ready to eat in the fridge was the Kid's leftover pizza. so i ate a slice. guessing 250 calories. ate it cold (which i actually prefer over warm/hot pizza...i like my pizza cheese solid! lol)

5+ years out. i do run colder than most people around me, but not nearly the level of cold i felt the first couple years after surgery. i slept with socks, a hoodie (the the hood ON), and a down comforter...while Mr. was just in shorts and no blanket. i couldn't even wear a tank top IN SUMMER for long without having to slip on a sweater or jacket i took with me everywhere. ugh and the freezer aisle in the supermarket was my personal hell. now its not as bad and i can actually wear season-appropriate clothing alot of the time lol. and/but i never sweat anymore in public...unless im at the gym or running, but even then, its like a spritz of sweat vs the pouring dripping waterfalls of sweat water i used to produce from the slightest but of physical effort, like going up the stairs or just existing on a warm day.

couldn't agree more. i still track my food intake (albeit not as rigidly, i eyeball and guesstimate alot more now) and i still weigh myself every day. i'm 5+ years out, and i have managed to stay below goal weight this entire time.

@wendywitch7, at 6 months post op, i was at about 700-800 calories a day. BUT i am also 7 inches shorter than you, AND i weighed about 130 lbs at the 6 months post-op mark (started at 235 lbs, so that was a loss of just over 100lbs in 6 months). i was losing about 2 to 2.5 lbs a week pretty much steadily starting month 3 postop until i about a month after reaching goal (i dropped the most weight the first 2 months after surgery)...then i dropped a couple more lbs after that and stabilized at my current weight since then.

696 calories for this salad! i blame the feta and cashews...lol the seasoned tofu was absolutely yum and i am already looking forward to ordering it again the next time we do chinese takeout eyeballing the after pic, im estimating i ate about 2/3 of this salad. will likely eat the rest later (at the very least will eat the leftover tofu...yuuuummmmm)

Ok, so there are lots of posts out there about concerns about speed of weight loss, amount of weight loss, how much is too much weight lost, how much is too little, etc. etc. The same responses inevitably come back, about how we are all different, we lose at our own rates, genetics, starting weight, height, gender, age are all factors, don't compare, etc. etc. But the reality is that no one really cares about the reasons for the differences, we all seem to just wanna see the NUMBERS. And then compare them to our own. Le Sigh. Sooooo....being a one who personally LOVES numbers and data and spreadsheets, I thought I would start a little project. I want to collect stats from any willing members and i will compile the data into a lovely spreadsheet and graph(s) organized by certain variables. Doesn't that sound like fun???? 😂😂😂😂 So, for FUNSIES, send me the following info (if you are willing!), and i after i collect a good-enough sized sample (say at least 100?), I'll do my thing. It may take a week, a month a year, depending on how many people participate. 1. Basics: GENDER, AGE, HEIGHT 2. Total Weight lost in the 6 months BEFORE surgery (if any) 3. Weight on DAY OF SURGERY. 4. Weight at 1 MONTH POST surgery 5. Weight at 3 MONTHs POST surgery 6. Weight at 6 MONTHs POST surgery 7. Weight at 12 MONTHs POST surgery * the final report will have names/usernames removed in an effort to a bit of privacy if you don't want to reply to the thread with the info, feel free to DM me ** of course this will not be in any way some definitive scientific report! - ms.sss

lunch this afternoon....a giant piece of garlic toast (really should call it garlic LOAF, it was so thick!), with a side poached egg and a garden salad w/ sesame vinaigrette. ate 1/4 of the toast-loaf and probably 1/4 of the egg (i dipped the toast-loaf in it, so can't really gauge how much i ate if it) and all the salad. also had a sample (2 forkfuls) of the Kid's soufflé pancakes with some the the berry sauce (too sweet) and whipped cream (yum!) (and a mimosa beforehand, not shown ) guessing 400 cals for everything i ate.

out of curiosity, how tall are u?

I'll be "exactly" 5 ½ years post sleeve next week...started at 235 lbs. been maintaining below goal weight this whole time. depending on the day, i lost anywhere between115-120 lbs total since settling into the 115-120 lb range for over 4 years now. i do have a bit of an annoying reflux issue i have to deal with (i take the min dosage omzparole once a day), but other than that, no real complaints and life is more than good.

@Tazrok you will get lots of different advice here due to the plain fact the we ALL were given different advice as well. there is no one right way to eat really. but since you came in here asking if you are possibly missing something, ill dip in first a couple questions: 1) how long have you been eating this way? days? years? months? based on your descriptions and pictures, im guessing you are probably taking in about 1100-1200 cals a day (so long as there is nothing else u are eating or drinking?)...this leads me to my next question... 2) how tall are you? 3) are u insulin resistant? suffer from hypothyroidism? have PCOS? depending on your answers the responses to your post may change. as an aside, for most of my loss phase, i barely had any veggies myself. i had very little stomach real estate and chose to eat protein forward, up to about 5-6 months post op. (though this changed near the end of weight loss phase when i became a salad junkie ha). while the make up of your intake doesn't matter as much as the amount, the make up (i.e., nutritional value) is important for overall health and well being. same goes for exercise. p.s. i am also a lifetime grazer. it became necessary after surgery because i just could NOT eat alot at once and it has just become the way i eat now (i am 5+ years post op...and yep i have managed to stay below goal weight this entire time).

well, i freeze just about everything (including muffins and other baked goods: breads, cakes, etc). i usually defrost items in the fridge overnight and then heat up in oven or microwave. but i have put denser items into the oven frozen like breads (bagels & pretzels are the most suited for this method, i find). if your muffins are on the dense side, this could probably work, otherwise i say defrost in fridge overnight. either way, yes! you can freeze muffins lol

i was cleared for everything at 1 month post op. i'm pretty sure i had some raw carrots around that time and had no issue. i wasn't eating much at the time so i didn't test other raw veggies tho. but im pretty sure they would've been non-issues if i did. i have read on here of others who did have issues with raw veggies tho, so best way to find out for yourself is to try...small amounts tho, just in case!

nope not weird (at least for. me, lol). i actually prefer my cottage cheese savory vs sweet (so i'll add black pepper, salt, cayenne, garlic powder, and yes, i'll even top with anchovies, capers, bacon crumble, nuts, etc...) don't judge me, lol

wowza! the visual difference of your lost 4lbs is pretty significant! i don't think a 4lbs loss would have registered such a visual difference on me. nice!!

i like this ALOT. nice.