ms.sss

A very late lunch (got distracted by baking): Take-out Montreal Smoked Meat, sauerkraut, and fries (+some mustard) The fries were not very good so only had one and put the rest on Mr.'s plate. The sauerkraut wasn't very good either, but I ate all of it anyway: 144 calories.

My surgeon said if I lost 60 lbs within a year, he would consider me a success. Anything over that was just gravy. I wanted lots of gravy.

The fam had fettuccine for dinner tonight (which i don’t eat) so am enjoying a 1/4 cup of trail mix in front of the tv while they clean up.

I am incredibly restless and antsy today. I think its because the sun is shining but its still too cold to hang out outside and I'm ACHING for summer to arrive. That and I have had like ZERO real exercise/activity in the past week cuz of a sore toe. Sooo...decided to GET DRESSED. lol. Put on a pair of jeans (first time in weeks), did my hair and makeup (first time since xmas), even shaved my legs (first time since summer!). Put on a tube top to feel summer-y, but i got too cold soon after this pic and put on socks and a sweatshirt. Sigh. The Kid when she saw me come out of my room in this outfit : "My, you look skanky today. I like it." She cracks me up. ❤️? Left pic: one of my stay-at-home-pandemic-uniforms. Right pic: Skankified.

Ok. This is just my observations based on MY experience. It may apply to you, it may not, the only real way to find it what works for YOU is to try different approaches. But the main thing to keep in mind, is to give it some time to see if it works. I read alot of people lament a strategy isn't working (or is working) after only a week or so. Change over time is the determining factor in a successful or not strategy. Results after a couple of days is not indicative of the effectiveness of a change. With that said: KETO: At first, I tried to do KETO, but I just couldn't keep up with the fat requirement percentages while aiming for 60g protein, along with my inability to take in volume of food and staying below a certain calorie level. Eventually my diet morphed into protein-forward, ultra-low carb one (max 20g NET carbs, min 60g protein, and let the fat fall where it may, staying under a certain calorie level for my current phase). INTERMITTENT FASTING: I didn't know it until I read up about it, but I was actually doing IF. I didn't/don't eat until after noon (which was normal for me even pre-op), and I didn't eat beyond 7pm..this because I had a horrible experience waking up in the middle of the night spitting up food after surgery and it was enough for me to ensure that I went to bed every night on an empty stomach. I am not yet convinced (though I'm sure others have differing opinions) that IF actually makes you burn more fat, but I do recognize that keeping eating to a limited window does make you eat less calories over all vs. eating all day, so yeah, this would accelerate weight loss. I am now 2+ years post op, and for ME I have learned that it doesn't matter at all what my macros or eating times are, all that matters is total calories, in short CICO. I stopped being ultra-low carb after weight loss phase, and have even re-introduced bread (only my homemade ones, cuz they are delicious, lol) into my diet, and it makes zero difference on my weight (all other things being equal). There was a almost a week after Xmas where my diet consisted almost solely of just desserts. No diff to my weight. I guess because my total average calories per day was still 1800. Of course, health-wise, this wasn't the best idea, but we are just talking weight here. Because of this observation, and my super-anal disposition, I am a big proponent of tracking what you eat with the conscious intention to stay within your maintenance calories the majority of the time. As well as daily weighing, if you can stand it (some cannot, and that's cool...they just have to find another way that works for them). Also, i accept that maintenance is a never-ending series of adjustments. What works for me today may not work for me tomorrow. And what weight/size I consider acceptable today may be 10 lbs heavier further down the line. In short decide what you want today, and determine if you are willing to do what it takes to get it. If you aren't, change what you want. Sorry this was so long. Good Luck! P.S. after re-reading my post, I realize I sort of went off topic, but whateves, it's still what I wanted to say! LOL. Sorry! P.P.S. Also wanted to add the while I think going low or ultra-low carb makes little difference to my weight, it does make a difference to how I look. Lower carb intake levels make me look LESS puffier/fuller, which is good for my bod, but bad for face.

@JakeH & @Sophie7713: dont forget to photoshop me into any pics you may take! LOLOLOlzzzzzz

I totally posted the following on the wrong (completely unrelated) thread the other day...meant to post it here, oopsies: --------- I had a swollen dangly thing years ago when I had my wisdom teeth removed. My first recommendation would be to contact your surgeon...which you already did. Next would be pain management/recovery. You could try gargling with salted warm Water, get one of those throat sprays that numb the throat, chew on ice chips, suck on a soothing lozenge like eucalyptus or honey. Don't forget to stay hydrated and get lots of rest. Good Luck! ❤️ ---------

OMG. i just realized I posted this on the wrong thread. Sorry! It totally doesn't make sense here. I'd remove it but can't. Sorry again1

Nice work! I love the evident confidence changes just based on the difference in your posing between the two pics ❤️

I have read alot of folks report that they came out heavier after surgery due to fluid retention or whatnot...it seems to go away after a few days (or weeks, depends on the person). I honestly couldn't tell if I was swollen or bloated, my tum was already too big to notice, lol. Sounds like you are doing great...congratulations!

Dinner tonite was shredded beef sandwiches with mushrooms, roasted cubanelle peppers and au jus. Baked sweet potato/yam casserole with crumble topping as a side (extra yams that needed to be used from tempura night). 1st image is how it was meant to be served (on a regular sized dinner plate), second image is what it looked like before and after for me (on a side plate, and not nearly as appetizing looking). I almost ate it all (ratio of sweet potato to topping leaned too much towards topping): 188 calories. I am waiting patiently for my food to digest at the moment so I can bite into a pecan butter tart on the counter that is calling my name (+180 calories for 1/2 of one...we'll see if I manage it), as well as a 1/2 glass of wine i put in the fridge I didn't finish earlier this afternoon (+70 calories)

I had a swollen dangly thing years ago when I had my wisdom teeth removed. My first recommendation would be to contact your surgeon...which you already did. Next would be pain management/recovery. You could try gargling with salted warm water, get one of those throat sprays that numb the throat, chew on ice chips, suck on a soothing lozenge like eucalyptus or honey. Don't forget to stay hydrated and get lots of rest. Good Luck! ❤️

@WishMeSmaller: CONGRATULATIONS, lady! You have come a long way! I literally watched you shrink over the past several months. Pretty damn cool. I know there are lots of differing opinions on plastics, but as you already know, I'm on TEAM PS all the way, LOL. For what it's worth, I don't think you are rushing it. If my surgeon was available, I would have had mine done at 8 months post op. You are ready when YOU say you are ready ❤️ BTW, I can tell by your pic that your results will be spectacular. You are basically just extra skin with very little or no underlying fat, AND I can see your toned muscles despite the skin already. With that gone, LOOK OUT. You will look cover-page-Sports-Illustrated-bikini-model ready (coupled with your height, OMG you will be causing car accidents on the street...for this reason only, pls don't wear your bikini in traffic, loolololzzzz). But like others said above, even if you didn't have plastics you still look amazing. YOUR. LEGS. WAY. TO. GO. ?? xo.

I think I post too many pics of the same looking salad. Sorry. I actually made this thing about 3 hours ago as I was feeling pretty hungry at the time (I normally don't eat until after noon, so fixing this this salad before 11am, I figured I must be starving and should do something about it). As what has been happening more and more, as soon as I'm all done making something, the interest to eat is gone. I'm not sure it its because the time it took to make was so long that the hunger feeling passed, or the finished product just isn't want I imagined in my head it would be (or both), but it is what it is. Anyhoo, made myself it eat it as I just woke up from a nap...and I almost NEVER nap! I figure this is my body's way of telling me I am in need of some energy even if my brain says otherwise. 218 calories, almost ate it all (but gotta say, I didn't really enjoy it. boo). P.S. I can see the Kid eyeing my leftovers (its the Feta, lol) so I suspect its not going to make it into the fridge.

I looooooove how you arranged the cherry tomatoes in your plating! Lololololzzz

A face lift was going to by my next and last plastics procedure, but based on my less-than-optimal scar healing tendencies, both me and my surgeon decided its probably not best for me. While the incisions for the face lift are supposed to be hidden in your hairline and around your ears, it would likely not be so well hidden on me. And we are talking my face, so I don't want to risk it. Sooo....I decided I'm going the fillers route. I've been meaning to go for a proper consult for months, and reading this post spurned me into action, LOL. I've spoken to her briefly twice before when I was in for followups with my PS surgeon for scar revision. I've JUST got off the phone and booked a proper meeting for next week! My areas of concern are my sunken under eyes, the nasolabial folds (i.e., marionette lines), and my neck. Also I am considering addressing my jaw as the last time I spoke to her she said an inject-able in my jaw will relax my muscles there (as I am a night time teeth grinder) and will result in less headaches and a less wider face. Interesting, huh? In terms of cost, injectables are probably a little more expensive in the long run vs plastics, but its a scar thing for me. Further, most people who get face lifts, still get fillers anyway as face lifts alone don't address volume, only skin tightness. I have seen endless amounts of before and after pictures of people with face/neck lifts with FABULOUS results. I think your best place to start would be to book a consult (lots of places are doing virtual consults), with a surgeon to get basic info. It wouldn't have to be the surgeon you ultimately decide on, but at least you can get some info and a baseline to compare with other surgeons. Keep us updated if you can! ❤️

My number one PS wish was an arm lift (it was one even before all the weight loss). I ended up deciding on getting a boob lift during consults since he was going to address my side boob flappiness during the arm lift anyway, so might as well do the whole thing. Sooooo glad I did. While my arm lift and TT were more for looks, really, the boob lift ended up not just looking better, but also had a "quality of life" uptick: no more underboob sweat, no need to wear a bra, no uncomfortable and annoying jiggling/flopping when running, etc...

I did a bit of googling, and as with all things in life, it looks like it depends alot of factors (your age, amount of weight loss, age of implants, skin elasticity, etc...) But from what little I have read, the three main complaints of massive weight loss after breast implants are (1) skin rippling around the implant (2) implant dropping lower due to loss of fullness, and (2) your new smaller size makes the implant look too big for your frame, and look disproportionate. Since the implant itself does not change size, I would guess that you would not suffer from the tube boob look, so that alone is a good thing, lol. Can you reach out to your original surgeon and ask for more info?

Prior to surgery I was not really into sweet stuff. Desserts were always, yeah, that looks good, but it wasn't something that my engines revved for (but I ate it anyway! lol). I still didn't care too, too much about it during weight loss phase, but a few months into maintenance my sweet tooth awakened. I really, really, really, like dessert now (but not candy, or chocolate bars and stuff like that, which is weird). I generally only have like 1-2 bites of whatever it is, which is enough to satisfy me...plus if I eat more I'll dump anyway. I also used to just like salad, now I LOVE it. And water. It's like crack for me. From the other direction, pasta, rice, bread and potatoes was like 80% of my diet pre-wls, no joke. I still don't eat pasta and rice, but I do now eat bread and potatoes occasionally, I don't really need it, and could go without if I had to, and not miss it. Everything else is pretty much the same.

It wasn’t so much as a final goal, but I really wanted to fit into a pair of these awesome size 8 jeans I bought on sale a long time ago when I was a size 10, thinking I would lose a few pounds to fit into them. I never did. Fast forward to weight loss after surgery, and I effing missed my window to fit into them! By the time I remembered to try them on, i had already sized out of them. Geez. I like your idea of the kayak goal. Though honestly, even now I doubt I could go kayaking all day and NOT be exhausted, lol. But you do remind me that I still have one more weight loss goal to cross off my list: to go diving and NOT have to wear a mens’ XL wetsuit AND not have pack my BCD with like 20 lbs of weights while everyone else needed less than 10!! (I always found the amount of weights i needed slightly embarrassing ?). So as soon as we can go on vacation, this is gonna be crossed off my list!!!

I'm nothing by mouth after midnight (no water, no food, no vitamins - but I when I was taking them, I took my multi in the mornings, so....). Also, all my appointments have been in the mornings, so it may be different if they were later in the day...

YMMV, but some time nearing the end of the first month post-op (I can't remember exactly when) but I woke up one day and found I was suddenly able to chug water. Been chugging ever since. Prior to that, I had a timer set on my watch to remind me to sip 1 lf oz of water every 15 mins while I was awake. I was pretty dizzy the first couple months as well (like catwoman7 said it was due to low blood pressure for me). I had a handful of almost blackouts. By month 3 it got much better. By month 6-7 they were gone (which coincided with the time I stopped weight loss phase).

Thanks, but I'm just small time, LOL. I do have fantasies of opening up a little cafe or bakery or something...but then I think of all the work involved, and I'm all Nah. I would however, consider applying for a PART-TIME-only sous chef position if @MarvelGirl25 would have me so I can learn all HER food secrets! Here are the recipes, its a little time-intensive, though! Bread : Bao:Siopao Dough (Filipino Style).pdf Main : Char Sui.pdf Edited to add: Oh, forgot the dipping sauce for the pork: ¾ cup dashi (or ¾ cup water + 1 tsp dashi powder) 3 Tbsp soy sauce 2 Tbsp mirin 2 tsp sugar 1 green onion sliced 5 smashed garlic cloves - put in a saucepan, bring to low simmer and serve with the bbq pork.

Sometimes (sometimes!) the only way to get the fam to eat more vegetables is to batter it and deep fry it. Tonite's dinner: a sh*tload of Tempura (broccoli, cauliflower, yam and shrimp). I ate 1 shrimp, 1 cauliflower, & 3 yam ones. Also an espresso martini before hand: 306 calories

Been married for 18 years, together for 25. My surgery definitely resulted in personality changes in me, or should I say the results of my surgery resulted in me behaving more like I did in the early years of our dating/marriage life. Which is to say the changes were for the better. I am the first to admit (and Mr. a close second) that I am waaaaay more patient and chill since the poundage loss. I am less annoyed, less tired, less angry, less clingy. I chalk all this up to my regained confidence (and physical betterment in terms of energy). Generally they say that if the relationship has a good foundation of trust and security, any changes/stressors that come your way can be weathered. If the relationship is already on shaky ground, then there may be more challenges. Sounds to me from your post you two are of the good-foundation type. But really, only you (and your wife) can determine if you guys can last, surgery or not. Good Luck! ❤️