ms.sss

If I ever get a chance to get on a plane again, I”lol def look into this, lol

I did. I was 235 lbs at the start of my 2 wk pre-op diet (I’m 5’2”). My surgeon said losing 60% of my excess weight would consider me as a “success”…so for me, that meant a 60 lb weight loss, based on a BMI 25 “normal” weight. Anything over that was just gravy. But I chose 120 as an arbitrary goal weight only because it was in the mid range of normal BMI for my height (meaning a 115 lb weight loss).. By the time I got to 127, I decided that was enough as I didn’t like how my face was looking so gaunt. Ended up getting down as low as 109 anyway. These days, I hover around 115-120 and have been basically within that range for over 2 years. My actual surgery was 3+ years ago. Funnily enough, I actually look less gaunt now than I did immediately after weight loss phase despite weighing less today. Long story short, your body and your lifestyle will determine your final weight, goals are just numbers. What’s important, in my humble opinion, is to be at peace with whatever weight you feel good at AND can maintain. It may not be worth the loss in quality of life to achieve some magic number. Goals are great, but being able to adapt and accept is even better. Good Luck! ❤️

3+ years out and i still have days when I forget to eat. Once I realized its already 3pm and i haven’t eaten yet, I was STARVING. So here is my way too big, 474 calorie salad. Eating it now and anticipate that I’ll likely get through at about a 1/3 of it.

Sure, im game…i’ve been gaining and losing the same 5 lbs for over 2 months now!

Ah soup, how i miss eating it the “normal” way. I’m 3+ years post op and i still have to eat soup in stages: first slurp up all the liquid/broth, then I eat all the solid bits. If I don’t, i’m guaranteed to get super full, super fast and likely barf. BUT…I’ve read of folks on here who have no issue having soup with liquid and solid at same time. Best way to find out is to try. But go slow if you tend to be a barfer like me! Good Luck! ❤️

I went ultra-low carb (20g net carbs a day), but I’m not vegetarian so it would’ve been easier for me. This was not my prescribed program, i chose to do this on my own (and fully disclosed it to my NUT). I didn’t eat any fruit during weight loss phase save for the occasional berry (least amount of sugar in the fruit family). But i do now at 3+ years post op. You can try google-ing Vegetarian Keto for some food/recipe ideas, but i think that so soon after surgery you may not reach your bariatric protein requirements and stay below your maintenance calories to be true Keto. So maybe a modified version of it?

My doc had a goal of 60% excess weight loss, which was 175 lbs. I chose the mid-point of “normal” BMI range for my height: 120 lbs. I ended up revising my goal and ceased weight loss efforts at 127 because I felt I was looking too gaunt when I reached that number. Am 3+ years post op now and weighed 117.2 this morning. My insignificant opinion is to set a reasonable goal weight and adjust as necessary given how you feel, how YOU think you look, and the efforts you are willing to put in. Good Luck! ❤️

Yep. Further, at 9 months post-op, I renewed my passport early (2 years before it was set to expire) because it was getting annoying/stressful having to explain that i was in fact me at airports. Im 3+ yrs post op now and a few months ago, I renewed my driver’s license and its nice to not have to explain my appearance to the people at the liquor store when I get carded. Though getting carded at all is an NSV in itself cuz im like 50 years old. Lol. Congrats, and enjoy the broken face!

Dinnertime! Cucumbers tomatoes feta cheese anchovies and balsamic vinegar…yummers! Ate it all: 198 calories

A mini charcuterie board, lol! grapes, carrots, peppered salami, jalapeño havarti, truffle cheddar, and plain old cheddar. With some blue cheese dip on the side (i looooove blue cheese): 367 calories. Totally intend to eat it all while i binge watch my latest series du jour (Outlander, lol…dont judge me!)

Yuuuuuummmmmmmmmmmyyyyyyyyyy

Ahhh this just reminded me…back when i was still taking vitamins, i too would get nauseous if i took them on an empty stomach…so i started burying them in a tbsp of greek yogurt. Worked well for me.

I didn’t really eat any fruit during weight loss phase save for the occasional berry when i got closer to goal. I did eat some veggies (kale, lettuce, spinach) but only if i had room after eating my protein…which didn’t happen very often. The only dairy i ate during weight loss phase was cottage cheese and plain greek yogurt…and if I remember correctly I didn’t start eating these until about month 5 (i’m lactose intolerant). And finally, I actually didn’t follow my prescribed program. They wanted me to be at 1200 cals by month 3, with a macro split of 50%~25%~25% of low-glycemic veggies, protein, and starches respectively. I got nowhere close to that. I came up with my own program through research and trial and error. I did tell my NUt about what i was doing, and while she did tur-tut me about maybe eating more, she wasn’t overly concerned (especially since my labs always came back satisfactorily) and was actually always the first one to rave about my weight loss progress. So, go figure. ***And again, i want to stress to any readers of this to do your due diligence and consults with professionals before embarking on any drastic food intake changes. This worked for me. It may or may not work for you.

Yeah, i went ultra low throughout the 7 months of weight loss phase, for me, that meant under 20g NET carbs per day (i don’t count fibre nor sugar alcohols). For about a year into maintenance, I just went “regular” low-carb at about 50~60g net daily. Now, while I do still keep track of my daily carb amounts, I don’t try to stick to any limits or anything…I track mostly for data collection and future analysis (yeah im nerdy like that, lol). In terms of calorie consumption, here are the averages during MY weight loss phase…. NOTE: my calorie intake is on the low side compared to others I’ve read on here. I do not recommend anyone do as I do without a consultation with a medical professional. It worked for me…and may or may not work for you. 2 week liquid pre-op diet: 600-900 cals (I had either 2 or 3 protein shakes a day) First 2 weeks post op: 50 cals a day (no joke…surprised I didn’t keel over and die) Week 3 to Month 3: 300-400 a day Months 4-5: 400-600 a day Months 6-7: 600-800 a day Months 8-12…worked up to 1500 Year 2: 2200+ a day (this was my peak exercise/activity period) Year 3: 1800-2100 a day Now (in year 4): 1600-2000 a day, but mostly stay around 1800.

5’2” female (was 46 yrs old when I had my surgery in 2018); 235 lbs at the start of my 2wk pre-op diet. weight lost as follows: 2 week liquid pre-op diet: 11.8 lbs Month 1: 22.2 lbs Month 2: 15.8 lbs Month 3: 13.2 lbs Month 4: 11.1 lbs Month 5: 10.3 lbs Month 6: 12.5 lbs Month 7: 9.0 lbs (Reached Goal by this point…127 lbs) Months 8-12: 15-ish lbs more. Today at 3+ years out, I have maintained +/- 5lbs of 115 lbs since, and managed to stay below goal weight the entire time. My average calories to maintain changes as my activity levels change, but for the past several months I average about 1800 cals a day with moderate exercise. I weighed 116.6 lbs this morning. I used to be ultra-low carb, but now I eat pretty much whatever I feel for..though in smallish amounts.

I’m not a breakfast eater. Never was, even pre-op. I wake up around 6-7 am every day and my first solid food intake is not until after noon (I do drink a thermos of black coffee in the AM though, about 500ml over a couple hours) I also do not eat 3 meals a day. I basically graze from noon to about 7-8 pm usually. I normally end up consuming 1800-2000 cals during this period. While I realize there will be many arguments against this, I’ve maintained my current weight +/- 5lbs for over 2.5 years this way. we will all have different ways of operating in varying degrees of success. I say do whatever works that doesn’t give you angst. ❤️

I give myself 30-60 mins to change my mind. if I want something that has disproportionately high calories, or if I want something soon after I just ate, I’ll wait a little bit (usually timed on my watch), and if I still want it, then fine, I’ll have it. But I’ve found that more often than not, I don’t want it after the “waiting period”.

Of course. Recipe is below…you can sub some or all of the sugar with a low cal sweetener (I sometimes use swerve or monk fruit…me nor fam can tell the difference). The original recipe actually called for almost double the amount of sugar/sweetener that I’m using below…I have made this a number of times with varying amounts of sugar to find what we think is “sweet enough”…so you like it sweeter, just add more sugar in any of the various elements. Also, here are a couple pics of ones I’ve made before for reference of what it looks like before cut into…yum, right?!?! Lol Recipe here: Strawberry Meringue Cake.pdf P.s.I’ve also subbed the strawberries with peaches, chocolate, and lemon curd, all quite successful…but strawberries remain our fave. p.p.s. …and can swap out the almonds for basically any nut..I added some ground sesame seeds last time and it was delicious.

First, may I suggest shopping around for a new therapist? Your therapist’s advice to just “think about all the good things” you’ve got going seems very un-therapeutic to me; he/she sounds like they want you to push down your feelings instead of exploring them…? Which seems odd advice to be dispensed by a therapist. I dunno… Second, nobody says you have to go through the surgery if you don’t feel ready. You can sit on it, talk it out with a (hopefully, different) therapist or a trusted friend, maybe deal with other life stressors first, etc. In the meantime, you can also vent it out here if it helps alleviate the alone-ness feeling…you will find many in your same situation, and many others who went through it to the other side. Hugs & Good luck ❤️

I make a mean strawberry meringue cake (technically a Dacquoise, but i feel like “dacquoise” just doesn’t sound yummy, lol)…layers of nut meringue between layers of a whipped cream-mascarpone mixture and strawberries. It’s actually quite easy to make, but the baking/resting of the meringue takes forever. I wasn’t able to take a big of the whole thing before the fam dove into it, but my slice will have to do. Oh, and that’s 1/3 of a dulce de ledge churro in the bowl: 307 calories. I are the churro and about 1/2 the cake slice, because I had put the bowl down to take a break and someone came by and gobbled it up cuz he assumed I was done. I hate when he does that. ?

It’s pretty much a given you will lose some or lots of hair. There are some who report they haven’t, but I think they are in the minority. But it’s also pretty much a given that it all grows back eventually (I have yet to read anyone report that they are 2+ years out and still have hair loss). I had cut my hair into a pixie cut around 3-4 months post op to lessen the thinning look and save my vacuum from having to suck up so much hair everywhere! Lol. I’m 3+ years post op now and my hair is just past my shoulders and just as full (if not fuller) than it was pre-op. It sucks, but it’s temporary. It won’t always be this way. Good luck! ❤️

I realize this is an older thread, but i’m with @The Greater Fool on this one. Just because it comes “easy” doesn’t mean it is isn’t real / deserved / worthy / earned. If I get an A in Math without studying, is my A not really an A because my classmate stayed up all night most nights this semester to get the same A? If I had the best trainers and access to facilities growing up, with an small army of people to support me, is my gold medal at the Olympics not really a gold medal? ….and if I lost weight with the help of WLS, or plastics, or whatever, am I not really skinny? Spoiler alert: I am.

Love it!! Congratulations! ❤️❤️❤️

One of MANY salads I’ve been consuming of late in an effort to get back down to 115. Though my love of blue cheese is getting in the way, lol!! The blue cheese and blue cheese dressing makes up like half the calories of this thing! Whatever….it’s delicious. Am eating this as we speak while I catch up on on all the “Below Deck” season 9 episodes I missed. I’ll eat whatever I don’t finish later. 587 calories for the whole thing:

I totally googled it and realized I’ve had this before and loved it…just didn’t know what it was called. I’m def gonna make an attempt at this next week!