Krestel

Meal replacement shakes are still an option even after surgery. Since most of them seem to be soooooo sweet, I typically water them down.

Not drinking enough water can really be a problem. I know that I don't drink near as much water post-surgery as I did pre-surgery. (No idea why though. Pre-diabetes? Habit? Filling the stomach with water to avoid feeling empty?) I can really tell especially in the morning when my urine is darker than usual. In fact, I have to take a water bottle with me for my morning dog walks or I get light headed and feel really off. I like really cold water and tend to put the bottle with just a little water at the bottom in the freezer to give me a nice piece of ice. Then I just pop it out of the freezer and fill it up before I go walking. My high-vis jacket has big pockets, so I just keep it in there to easily get at it while the dogs run around all crazy like. Another thing I do is drinking a meal replacement shake with extra water for breakfast and have a bariatric vitamin that takes lemonade-like and makes the water fizzy. I have to watch out for that one though since I love the taste so much that if I want more I can get constipated from all the iron (which I learned the "hard" way if you know what I mean). Now that I think about it, these habits really help me to keep hydrated. I never thought about it that way before. Get the water in though. The body has no way of metabolizing fat otherwise. (https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322296.php#six-reasons-why-drinking-water-may-help-you-lose-weight)

Aha..that is so interesting. Good to hear that it's a natural process when it works. Ive heard all these horror stories about weight gain afterwards. Im still working on my new eating style and trying to get rid of falling back to my old ways.

You look wonderful! But my question to you on the other side of the journey, when did you transition to maintanence and is it difficult to keep?

Thank you for posting this. I soooo hear you! Ive been sitting in very much the same boat. Even though Ive lost somewhere over 100 lbs since January, I still have 50 to go. I look down at my normal size L jogging pants and am happily shocked every time I can see that I definitely have two legs now. Not to mention a colleague (at my new job which only knows me after my journey started) said that I dont look overweight. (I too am rather tall at 6 foot, so I "carry it well", but heavy is heavy.) However, I can still go buy a security monitor in a store and still only see a fat person. Our minds play tricks on us, and we have to get the "adult" in there to win the fight and let the kid "play" enough to let us not get overwhelmed by the journey.

Im originally from Ohio, but now live in Stockholm, Sweden. 5 months post-op and it was covered by national health insurance. Lucky me.

5 months on and Im not as obsessed but I still am learning about my own body. I may be a bit more passive, but Im still thinking about my health most of the time. Just saying...

Agreed...I had it in spades when I went on my pre-op diet along with massive amounts of gas.

Do you normally drink coffee and have stopped now? The withdrawal from caffeine can be horrid. Also cutting out carbohydrates can also do it as well. I dont think it's uncommon to react that way. Try drinking more water. Headaches are a common side affect of being dehydrated.

Gah! I don't know. I got some of my hunger back and seem to be backsliding after just 4 months due to really bad stress from my new job. Thank gawd for my dogs though. I get up with them at 5am and go for an hour walk in the mornings before work. I think this helps me keep sane. So I listen to my dogs in the morning and can't help but get caught up in their happiness.

I have been pretty down in the dumps recently due to the pressures of a new job....so I need a pick me up! So tell me all about: What is your WORST (in other words favorite) Halloween candy? Personally, Im stuck on Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, but thank gawd I can't get them too often over here in Europe or I would be going BACK up in weight after my 4 month GBP anniversary! I can't weight (hehe..see what I did there?!?) to hear all of your stories.

There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes! It rhymes in Swedish, but means basically that there are no excuses for not venturing out in bad weather.

Yesterday, I got to do one of the things that I was looking forward to. It was trying on clothes in a normal sized store and beginning not to feel like a failure in my own body. For me it was a huge step out of my comfort zone, but Im glad that I did it. I never knew that the stretch pants were so comfy. I totally missed this trend and have been living in cargos for the past twenty years. I just wish that I could get ahold of tall women's sizes here in Europe. But I'll still be happy just to be able to wear men's chinos to work. (Anything but jeans is a no-no where I work.)

Are you still at 1/3 cup? even now?

Fluffy...You are a legend! Thank you for sharing your experiences. It really helps us newbies see what it's going to be like in the future so we can establish good habits now. /hugs

I've already had a slight downturn in my wieght loss as well. It was as if my body was taking a breath and sighing after losing so much weight pre- and post-op. Then it started up again. The only thing I did was nothing other than drinking one more protein shake a day. Some days I even ate a bit more calories to keep my metabolism up. Remember a stall is technically when weight-loss has been the same for a longer period. So if you are keeping to your program, dont beat yourself up. You are doing what you need to do and your body will eventually keep up. What was your pre-op starting weight? How much did you go down during pre-op?

Gah, I cant delete this post. Sorry, I hit submit twice thinking that the first one didnt post.

I really liked Fustr8's quote here! You go PEGGO!

I so feel you there. I'm losing my balance more often that I did before. It's quite embarrasing when you bump into someone. I was in the cafeteria last week eand I lost my balance and bumped into the guys back sitting behind me. All I thought was, "Please don't tell me that I have mistakenly pushed his face into his food." Since this was during my first day at my new job, doing this would have definitely been a lasting first impression. Thank gawd that it was only a minor bump and not a face meeting plate/table one.

hehe...Although it might take you about 100 years to get there or, if you a looking a bjt closer, you would burn up in the Sun (technically also a star). Although it's a great quote, the physics teacher in me couldnt help myself.

Something tells me that I will always be thinking about food, but now in terms of if I can physically eat it or not.

Even though Im a bit further out from my surgery (2 months), Im having my first stall as well. Even though we know it's going to happen, it never feels good. I think it's somewhat like the time right after surgery, it sucks but it will pass. At least I hope it will. Let's keep fighting!

oh, thank gawd. I was wondering if having a stall this early was normal. When I see all of you who have been so successful, I can breathe out a little.

I think Im experiencing my first stall and boy is it frustrating. I even caught myself once emotional eating. (I keep a food journal in order to keep an eye on my eating habits and make notes to myself.) Im 2 months out of surgery and Im 27 pounds down since surgery and about 65 pounds since the beginning of my journey. While not bad...the first stall is slightly killing me. So my question is when did you all have your first stall/plateau? How much weight had you lost by then?

The first 10 days post-op are THE worst...thing should get better at 10 days out, but constipation can be a thing for a while. Im 2 months out and only now am I getting to be somewhat normal. Post-op normal is now pooing once evey other or third day. Stick out this first time. All us post-op have been there. (but only now on the other side do you understand and can give support to others). Many hugs and sympathy (especially for the gawd dern gas)!