BrighterSide

I finally got my formal PCOS diagnosis a month ago (4 months post surgery) because I went a little ‘Falling Down’ on my local docs. Had 30 yrs of being told ‘lose weight’ ‘move more’ ‘get less stressed’ then hit early menopause and they did it again.

Knew this was my last chance. I was spiralling cos symptoms of both things and resulting mental health probs and weight had turned me into an overeating hermit (oh look, finally proved them right!).

Had the exact same fears as you all. Sleeved 21st Jan at 258. Highest weight 263. Down 61 pounds now. Just hit another stall. Average 650 - 800 calories a day and hit protein and fluid goals most days. Don’t move as much as many due to on-going arthritis, but do far more than before.

Hope is a hard thing to embrace, but it’s here and my new gynae I found and forced them to refer me to is a superstar. Feeling very fortunate for a change :-)

I finally got my formal PCOS diagnosis a month ago (4 months post surgery) because I went a little ‘Falling Down’ on my local docs. Had 30 yrs of being told ‘lose weight’ ‘move more’ ‘get less stressed’ then hit early menopause and they did it again.

Knew this was my last chance. I was spiralling cos symptoms of both things and resulting mental health probs and weight had turned me into an overeating hermit (oh look, finally proved them right!).

Had the exact same fears as you all. Sleeved 21st Jan at 258. Highest weight 263. Down 61 pounds now. Just hit another stall. Average 650 - 800 calories a day and hit protein and fluid goals most days. Don’t move as much as many due to on-going arthritis, but do far more than before.

Hope is a hard thing to embrace, but it’s here and my new gynae I found and forced them to refer me to is a superstar. Feeling very fortunate for a change :-)

Marks and Sparks (Marks and Spencer to the US crew) Chicken Balti. 100g out of the full thing (3.5ish oz) with chicken shredded and 7g Light Philadelphia to take some heat out. No leftovers.

Microwaves in 3.5 mins. Perfect addition to my can’t be a%*ed meal portfolio :-)

Been food arranging again [emoji846]

Deli beef, grilled chorizo (almost crispy and far less fat), smoked salmon and pickled onion with the veg, plus a little lightest of light mayo


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

First time in a while I took my camera, but so glad I did. Featured bee actually flew into frame just as I took the picture :-)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

35g smoked salmon slices
12g lightest cream cheese (Philadelphia 3% fat)
2 Jacobs high fibre cream crackers
3 Cucumber slices
1 Cherry tomatoes sliced
1 bulb spring onion sliced very fine
Lemon juice to taste
Salt & black pepper to taste
Layer up as desired. Nummy flavour and texture. Replace with ham / chicken / turkey.
According to my app: Kcal 155, Protein 11.2g, Carbs 11.5g, Sugars 1g, Fat 5.7g (Saturates 1.5), Fibre 1g

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

I too am a foodie. Still. 4 months out. I don’t have any negative effects and probably eat a better range of nicer food now than I ever have. I bought tonnes of cook books before my op and built myself a new list of breakfasts, lunches and dinners, plus special occasion alternatives because despite being a foodie eating out I realised my repetitive meals at home were all really expensive in terms of wasteful calories and low on anything nutritious. Logging every bite I eat in a tracking app that breaks down everything is the thing that makes all the difference.

I looked for whole grains, lower carb, lower fat, and higher protein or options where I could substitute.

Best thing I did to give me leeway to have more tasty things was to find a protein water I liked. I really like Vieve.

But more generally I still enjoy eating out as I share with fella and take home at least another meal worth.

But in the end it depends how important food is versus the things you want to gain. I had decided that I was ready to totally change my relationship with food and relegate it to fuel rather than pleasure and reward.

I ventured out to a park very close to my house today that I had never been to. What a nice surprise!

I went backpacking this weekend (I put a real post about it in the fitness/exercise forum). I put more pictures in there but I can’t resist putting a couple in here as well.
The first picture is of our campsite, the second is right next to it. There were pika in there! We heard them meeping and saw them a couple of times. They are freaking adorable. It made us giggle each time we heard them.
This was a chick trip (TBH, most of my backpacking trips are). My cousin, SIL, and niece went together. It was a blast.

First time in a while I took my camera, but so glad I did. Featured bee actually flew into frame just as I took the picture :-)

First time in a while I took my camera, but so glad I did. Featured bee actually flew into frame just as I took the picture :-)

Also remembered I kept a copy of this. Source was a VSG forum elsewhere. Has helped me with perspective!

First time in a while I took my camera, but so glad I did. Featured bee actually flew into frame just as I took the picture :-)

First time in a while I took my camera, but so glad I did. Featured bee actually flew into frame just as I took the picture :-)

?thank you soooo much?
BUT
*whispers*
I'm wearing HELLA makeup because this is a date... it's just done to look natural ???
The natural fake out was sort of my expertise in the makeup realm ???????

First time in a while I took my camera, but so glad I did. Featured bee actually flew into frame just as I took the picture :-)

First time in a while I took my camera, but so glad I did. Featured bee actually flew into frame just as I took the picture :-)

First time in a while I took my camera, but so glad I did. Featured bee actually flew into frame just as I took the picture :-)

1.7 miles one way but we made it the waterfall and back! ?

I wish I was this naturally pretty. Green you just pull it off flawlessly- Beautiful!

Great weekend hike. Feeling grateful for little things in life.

Yes i am maintaining i did not fail i just have not slipped until this weekend and felt like complete crap for the slip up this to shall pass and i will be better for it for sure thank you all for the support !!

No regrets. The first 2 days the wind pain in my shoulder was really bad, panting through contractions kinda bad in between morphine, but stopped dead teatime day 2. My only stomach pain was forgetting to be careful and pulling or straining wounds, or taking more than tiniest sips.
The rest of the first 4 weeks was a real challenge to get protein and liquid in and if I never have to eat anything purées again I will be happy, but I’m a pickyish eater, so struggled maybe more than some. Pain of that wore off fast when onto soft then full diet.
Did have total mood rollercoaster too. Shock to my system of the surgery, massive nutrition change and hormonal chaos often caused by both those things, but also fat dumping stored hormones back into bloodstream as it breaks down. If I regretted then I don’t count it as it was typical no light at the end of the tunnel, woe is me, PMSish episodes that passed fast (you’ll see I posted about it).
Now, exactly 23 weeks out, 60% of my weight lost, walked 5k today and only broke a little sweat and have never had a single regret. Hope it’s the same for you!

I would say never but that is not technically true. 99.9% of the time it is true. Sometimes if I am somewhere amazing food exists and i mean truly amazing, it really bothers me I can only eat a small amount and I am done. At those times and only those times, I think of how amazing it would be to eat as much as I wanted.

But that is a small sacrifice for the other 99.9% of the time I feel absolutely amazing and the extra 25 years I’ll live to see my babies grow up. A trade I would make 1000 times out of 1000.