ms.sss

If you are anything like me (you may very well NOT be), pay attention to the sugar content of your drinks. i had just a few sips of a soju-sake drink at around 2 months post-op and paid the price: was basically on the bathroom floor for a while and then out of commission for the rest of the night. Luckily I was at home. P.S. i was sleeved.

Low and slow in the oven crisps them up nicely (i sliced them relatively thin)

My new fave snack: crispy baked Mushroom Chips!

Agreed!

Yumms. If you Keto-ing, have u tried pork rinds/cracklins/chicharron as breading alternative? Its actually pretty good! High in fat, yes, but still yum ? and Keto appropriate.

Steak Bites swimming in melted herbed butter, roasted mushrooms and Creamy Mushroom Soup. The two pics on the right: had 4 steak bites (90g), 3 mushrooms & 3/4 cup of soup, + some red wine: 470 calories (ate/drank it all) The steak was unbelievably delicious (it was Mr.’s doing ❤️)..: if I could have, I would’ve eaten much, much more. Eff you sleeve AND Thank You sleeve at the same time, lol

Another thing to keep in mind is that it may also depend on how much weight you lose, and what your final weight will be. I had my surgery when I was 45 yrs old. I started at 235. When I got to 170-ish, yeah it started to look a little less firm, but I still had some fat under there so it was still filled out. At 135-ish, I think this was probably when I hated it the most. I had less fat, but still enough to make the skin look folded over, like rolls (think: shar-pei). BUT THEN when I got to 120 and below, and the underlying fat was reduced enough that my skin just looked wrinkled/crepey so it didn't look as "flappy" (think: the skin that forms over cooled down warm milk...and it was basically just on my stomach around the belly button and my upper arms) The overall look was much, much better though IMO. Other details: I didn't put on any special lotions, I didn't take any skin enhancing supplements, but I did exercise pretty regularly (not sure if had any effect on the actual skin, but it probably had an effect on the underlying fat and muscle). I also got plastics (arm lift, breast lift, tummy tuck) over a year ago so that took care of that. LOL. My butt however, is still on the flappy side, but I can live with it (for now!).

Yaaaasssssssssss! Validation vibes sent your way! You look FABULOUS ?

Hi! Welcome to the forums! How much weight you will lose in the first week(s) of liquid diet really depends on many things. Did you lose alot of weight already before starting liquids? Are you "full" liquids, or "only" liquids ("full" liquids includes soups, some cereals, yogurts, etc...). Is your starting weight on the high or low side? Are you on your period? Salt-intake? These and so many other factors will affect your weight/water weight loss that first week(s). My pre-op diet was for two weeks and consisted on 3 protein shakes a day (though sometimes I only had 2). Total calories per day for those two weeks were between 450-675 (each protein shake was 225 cals). I lost 8 lbs the first week, then 3 lbs the second. I started at 235, and had not lost any weight prior to starting the 2 week pre-op diet.

Naw, I didn't love it so, so very much. I think I'm just a hoarder, lol. Though this jacket was a hard earned one I remember, it was one of the more expensive items of clothing that I bought with my lowly teenage part-time job earnings, so I guess there is a bit of nostalgia to it, haha. I like the new jacket! Is it super fitted? Can't wait to see it on you!

Ok, @Arabesque, seeing your new jacket inspired me to go looking through my basement for the old jacket that I wore when I was in high school. Found it! You can tell its from the eighties because of the ginormous shoulder pads (its hard to see their full-sized glory in these pics, but trust me, they are huge, lol). Also, just goes to show how sizing has changed over the last 35 or so years...this jacket is labelled size XS, which is more like a Medium compared to my current 2021 XS jackets. If I can get this altered to remove the shoulder pads and take it in to be more fitted (and remove those utterly useless epaulettes!) , I could consider wearing it again (or give it to the Kid). As it is, its just not for either of us. I figure the cost of getting a leather jacket altered would not really be cost effective though. Who knows, maybe football-player-esque shoulder pads will make a comeback.

Still had some leftover pot pie filling from yesterday so basically just served it on rice for the fam. I ate about a tbsp of it when I was checking the warmth of it after microwaving it. I just make a couple side dishes tonite: Bacon wrapped, oven roasted asparagus, and stuffed portobello mushrooms. 1 tbsp of the pot pie filling, 1 asparagus spear, 1 mushroom cap, and 3 of the cutest little dark chocolate-pecan shortbread cookies you would ever see: 274 calories (had also eaten my lunch salad leftovers, but I already logged those calories earlier)

Mr. & I went for a drive up in the “country” this afternoon to alleviate the boredom and came across a mushroom farm. Naturally we bought way too many. Guess its mushrooms in the menu for the next little while!

Here is an abstract of a study from 2014. In short, ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL (including total number of calories consumed) the study showed that there is no difference in calories burned over 24 hours between breakfast eaters and skippers. So if u’r hungry, eat, if you’re not, don’t. Just keep total calories the same, either way.

You have such pretty (well-made, and expensive-looking!) dresses! Love this one.

Not a breakfast person either, never was, even pre-op. I get the thing about being hungrier if I eat it though...but mostly I find that eating soon after I wake up makes me “sluggish”...if that makes sense. edited to add: when I started running, I was told by “many” that I should eat breakfast beforehand...but honestly i think it made me tire faster. So I prefer to do my morning runs on an empty stomach (well, except for coffee..i do drink that first)

First thing I do in the mornings is make a pot of coffee. So within 15 mins of getting up in the mornings, I'm already drinking it (black) out of my 500 ml thermos. Usually takes me about an hour to finish it (hence the reason I keep it in a thermos, lol)

But what is a french onion soup without the cheese????? lol

Beef Pot Pie (beef, carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, celery, onions, leeks, garlic, in a gravy) with homemade biscuit top (because I have not yet mastered pastry crusts, arg!) My serving: 390 calories...one of my human disposals ate the rest. I actually ate this really late (around 9-10pm, as I wasn't in the mood to eat at regular dinnertime) and as a result forced myself to stay awake longer than normal for fear of bringing it back up in the middle of the night. Despite going to bed around 4am, I still woke up at 7 (my old person's inner alarm clock works way too well). P.S. It was delicious.

The naming of this is CLASSIC. LOL

First my stats: female, 5'2”, weight at beginning of 2 wk pre-op diet: 235 lbs, currently 2.5+ yrs post-op Second to answer your question: Apparently there are many different ways to calculate “ideal weight”! So using the “Peterson Method” of calculation, my ideal weight is 119 lbs, which would mean excess weight lost as of today is 107.7% If we go by “normal” BMI 25 as baseline, my ideal weight is 136 lbs, which calculates excess weight lost as 126.2% Lastly, I like the little “Pearl” tidbit in @Hop_Scotch’s image posts. This is what I may be already striving for without realizing. Further, I also understand that this “best weight” is fluid and will change as I change.

Sounds like reflux to me. I had issues with this as well...i figured out that if I went to bed on an empty stomach and/or slept with my upper body elevated it would go away (used to prop up with lotsa pillows, but eventually bought one of those bed wedges, it stays put much better than pillows)

You are obviously much more mentally stable than I am. I would gladly jump ship from the shorty boat for 4 inches. H*ll, I'd do it for 2.

Ah... I just realized you are not even a month out. In my first 3 months i didn't eat out of hunger like 90% of the time. I ate because my timer went off. Usually, (from what I've read around here), how you are eating in the first few weeks (or months for some) is not indicative of how you will always eat. ...but going to a therapist is always a good idea. Good Luck! ❤️

From what I have read in the couple years I've been a member of this forum, for a majority of people (mostly women) no, 1000 cals a day is not usually a maintenance calorie level. However, as indicated by @Jaelzion and @Arabesque above, they do exist...but they are already at a low-ish BMI (and on the short side - sorry ladies) so they wouldn't need alot of calories to exist anyway. As a 5'9" male, 1000 cals a day with moderate exercise for an extended period of time will likely put you in the "underweight" category eventually if you were to continue (barring any medical issues). I've read of many people (myself included) who had a meh attitude about food for months (But there are also others who did not). As people near goal, there are alot who worry about losing too much weight. But I have yet to read of anyone who have been in maintenance beyond a year who continued to lose weight to below a "normal" BMI range, AND struggling to put it back on. Of course they may be some out there who just aren't posting. Though I'm going to assume its on the rare-ish side. It is a bit of trial and error to figure out your sweet spot AFTER weight loss. I've read alot of folks post about their struggles/efforts to figure it out. It took me 3-4 months and losing a further 10+ lbs to figure it out. Even now, 2.5+ years post-op, I still go through periods of needing to re-figure stuff out, as changes in my activity level has an effect on my established sweet spot. But at three months out, with another 90lbs to lose, you still have a few months to find out how you will fare, and by then, the extreme restriction and aversion to food will likely wane. P.S. I went from eating 300-400 cals in the first 3 months to 700-800 cals by month 7 to 2000+ cals 6-9 months into maintenance. I was at 1200-1500 earlier this year (due to injury), but now that I am recently back to be able to exercise again, I am around 1800 a day. I've been within the normal BMI range the whole time. I'm female, 5'2", 110lbs. P.P.S. I realize BMI is not always the best indicator of health, but its the best we can refer to in an anonymous internet forum. P.P.P.S Good Luck! ❤️, and congrats on your weight loss so far!