kristieshannon

I went to Dr. Alex Earle in Miami. He didn’t touch my legs, but the tummy tuck gave them a bit of a lift too. Down by my knees, not so much. A thigh lift will happen at some point but i just bought a home and am taking two big vacations this year so it’s been deferred.

I’ll chime in too. Plastics took care of this for me as well. I had a big hanging apron of skin pre plastics. Now it’s gone.

Not really photogenic, but man this is tasty. Cauliflower Parmesan.

Not an OOTD per se, but so grateful with the weight off I can wear heels again. Rocked these tonight on a date with skinny jeans and a body suit.

You could try freezing some of the leftovers. I do that often, then I can rotate through meals so I don’t get bored with them.

More soup for me. Today I challenged myself to find everything to make a pot at the Portland State University farmer’s market. The only things I added from my pantry were chicken stock and salt & pepper. I found at the market: Rainbow chard, butternut squash, wild mushrooms, shallots, garlic, rainbow carrots, thyme, rosemary, and organic free range chicken thighs. This will make a week’s work of lunches.

Slightly off topic, but important to me. As a morbidly obese woman I had some pretty serious confidence gaps. For many years I was a single mom. I did have the confidence to get myself through nursing school, raise my two kids on my own, and make a good career for myself. However, outside of work my confidence and feelings about myself were pretty lacking. It was honestly hard to see all of my friends partnered, doing all the “couple” things. I spent a lot of time alone at home reading and watching tv. I self medicated with crappy food. Eight years ago some of that changed. I met a guy who I thought would be my partner for life. He and I had many adventures together, and as I became happier I started taking better care of myself. However, I think that baseline low level of confidence in myself allowed me to ignore some red flags. I allowed him to keep me in a place of not fully embracing my health. I allowed him to treat me in ways that I should not have, and I should have left sooner. I was still held back by my years of poor self esteem and not truly seeing my value. I’ve been working in therapy to change that. My marriage has ended. I made a big move both physically and mentally. I left my long time job and moved from Seattle to Portland. I bought my first home-which at 52 felt like an insurmountable task. I’ve been renovating my kitchen. Seems simple, but every time I make these big decisions for myself and successfully execute them my confidence grows. A long time desire of mine has been to travel to Europe. I always held off not sure enough of myself to take this on without a partner. Well today I took the plunge. I booked myself a trip in May! In my heart I’d still like a partner to do these things with, but I’m now at a place where I don’t NEED one to accomplish things I want to do. Although it’s more complex than just dropping the weight, that is a huge part of it. Moving through the world in a “normal” sized body has been a big piece of gaining confidence to make big moves, and to not accept behavior from people that I never should have.

I’m 2.5 years out. The only times I’ve vomited were when I eat too much too fast. It’s only happened a handful of times in my 2.5 years. It’s a really good deterrent that makes me really aware of slowing down and sticking to my planned portion size.

Yeah, easy to do! It takes a hot pan and I basically lay it down, flip it, and that’s it. This was at a restaurant though so I can’t take credit. The chili soy dressing was so good-I need to invent my own!

Lunch today. Seared tuna with cucumbers in a chili soy sauce. Probably dinner tonight too. 

Yes, I had it all done at once and am glad I did. One recovery, one chunk of time off work was the best option for me.

I lived in Seattle when I had my MMO + arm lift, now live in Seattle. Apparently we’re in one of the most expensive areas of the country for plastic surgery. I ended up going to Dr. Alex Earle in Miami. What would have cost me nearly $40,000 here cost me $16.100 in Miami. Even with travel costs I came out way ahead. I spent a week there post op, and then had a couple zoom follow up visits after that.

My sleep apnea, pre diabetes, and hypertension completely resolved with my weight loss. I was off my blood pressure med by month 2, off my CPAP by month 5, and my A1C was below 6 by my 6 month post op labs.

On behalf of all nurse, doctors, and other medical personnel. Please consider limiting your gatherings. Wear a mask. Get your vaccines. COVID is surging again, people are dying. Here’s my holiday outfit at our COVID testing facility.

I like the baked chicken thighs I can get from my grocery store deli. Speaking of deli food, I wonder if some sliced deli roast beef with pre-made cheese sauce (I’ve seen this in the fresh pasta section at my grocery store) might help with the Arbys craving?

The very last line of OP’s original post was “I don’t know what to do”. Many, many people here have been successful with this surgery and exceeded the expectations. They (and I) did so by following their team’s guidelines. Advising OP to go back and check in with their team, and to follow the guidelines they’ve been given isn’t preaching or judgemental in any way, rather is offering the help OP asked for. 

I guess this may be the case of some programs, that they oversell the success rate. It certainly wasn’t with mine. I went in with eyes wide open. My doc set a goal for me of 165 lbs, which was still overweight according to BMI. I’m maintaining at 140. Although I certainly haven’t been perfect, I followed the program they gave me the vast majority of the time. The longer I did that, the easier those new habits became. This is MAJOR surgery. I went in to it with the mindset that this was my last chance to turn my life around, and if I was going to do something so major by damn I was going to follow the advice of the team I was trusting to operate on me. For anyone struggling I’d advise you to schedule a visit with both your surgeon as well as the psychologist/psychiatrist and nutritionist who provided your clearance pre op.

With all kindness, your doctor knows what to do. They are they experts. Follow their plan to a T. That is how you’ll lose the weight. I followed EXACTLY what my doctor told me to do 99% of the time. I’m over two years out, down 146 lbs, and easily maintaining my loss. I did it by developing new habits guided by my physician and her team.

The most common side effect of trazodone is weight gain. I’d avoid that one!

No, it’s a variety called Delicata. It has a much thinner skin than most squash, so the skin is edible. The flavor is similar to acorn or butternut squash.

Parmesan crusted delicata squash. My side dish to go along with my Soup for lunches this week. Half a delicata squash, scoop out the seeds and then slice thin. Spritz with cooking spray. Top with garlic seasoning salt and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Roast at 425 for 30 minutes. Yum!

It will really depend on your doctor, I advise following the plan they gave you. Once my team at my surgeon’s office advanced me to soft foods my favorite was tuna with a little mayo, or a ricotta bake. This blog has great Bariatric recipes for each stage of your eating plan: http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2007/03/recipes.html?m=1

My latest Nordstrom Rack find, a pleather jacket-almost went with green, decided this caramel color would go with more.

Shrimp or crab cocktail is always a good choice. Shrimp skewers, steak bites, and scallops are often something I see on appetizer menus. Sushi restaurants are a great option. I order sashimi (no rice). Broth based soups work. Chicken satay with a little peanut sauce. A charcuterie plate, limiting the crackers or bread is a good option too.

I don’t travel for work, but travel a lot for fun. I’ve usually tried to stick with a routine for breakfast, lunch and snacks. I always do a protein shake mixed with cold brew coffee for breakfast, that’s easy enough to do on the road. Lunches, while maybe not the healthiest, have still fit in plan-things like yogurt, nuts, and jerky. For dinner I do my research by looking up menus before I go out and find something that fits in plan. Appetizers often fit the bill, and the portions are small. I also try to incorporate lots of walking on trips and keep up my water intake.