darcyjae

I just got back myself from 5 days at Universal. It can be a challenge finding healthy choices there. I didn’t really food log, as I sort of wanted to see what happened if I ate what appealed to me, and while I did gain about 3/4 of a pound, it was worth it for the hot butterbeer. :)

It was also pretty amazing, at 65# lighter, to be able to go on EVERY ride without feeling self-conscious about size and having to check if I fit. And to sit on the airplane going there with extra room in the seat.

Have a GREAT time!!

Alright all. Im back. Sorry for going M.I.A but disney will do that to you. So when i left for my trip i was 228. Im happy to report that when i weighed in this morning, i was 223. Im ecstatic about this, because i enjoyed myself very much and still was able to lose weight. Heres what i did day by day as best as i can remember....
Sunday was Epcot.
First things first. I STARTED EVERYDAY WITH MY Protein Shake. That did not change. I was able to find a local Walmart and get my power core shakes and I started every day right with a shake and an hour later a banana for some good energy for the day. And everyday i had the 12g Protein beef Jerky stick on me. Those are things i like to always have with me if i cant find something suitable at the park.
Epcot is known for drinking around the world. I decided i was going to try some drinks and i did. I sipped very slowly and took my time with drinking. I made sure i had no carbonation, (thats my preference) and that was about my only restriction as far as my drinks. I bought 4 different drinks, and probably sipped half of each and passed them on. if i started feeling good i didnt push it, and just passed it on until i was ready again.
As far as food at epcot. They have a lot, i ended up eating a frankfurter from "germany" with out the bun. it was really good and i figured it had decent protein. I also tried a bite of a ham and cheese croissant from "france" and i even tried a churro bite from "mexico".
All of this was over a period of about 5 hours. I think it really helps that youre walking ALL day tho, And i was feeling great.
Monday we had character Breakfast at chef mickeys. this was very easy. They have very healthy selections and its buffet style, i didnt get my moneys worth in food but definitely memories. i got scrambled eggs and 2 pieces of turkey sausage and some fruit. We ate at around 11 so this was much lunch. the rest of that day we were off until after hours and there they just had popcorn icecream and soda. i did try a bite of the ice cream and moved on. that was all i needed. i drank another shake for dinner that night,
tuesday was hollywood studios. I tried blue Milk in galaxys edge. its not really milk, just looks like it. They also sold turkey jerky in there!!! i had to get some of that. it was ok, nothing special. and then for lunch i got a pulled pork sandwich but only ate the pulled pork.... and i wasnt hungry for dinner that night so i just had a banana and called it a day.
wednesday universal. My usual morning. No morning snack, too busy on the rides. didnt eat lunch until 230 and got a grilled chicken sandwich, only at the chicken of course. filled me up plenty. for dinner we went to moes right outside of universal. i got the quinoa and chicken bowl. ate maybe half of it, delicious. and my treat of the day was butter beer from harry potter land. Extremely good.
Thursday magic kingdom- we did the be our guest late breakfast around 11. this time i had to choose from a menu. they had a egg white with chicken sausage and fruit as an option. easty choice and really good!! that day i had two treats! i tried a pepperoni spring roll (ate half) and i tried pistachio ice cream. about 5 bites of that and then i passed it on. i enjoyed it very much.
Friday was animal kingdom- I got pulled pork again and i tried a chocolate covered pineapple. i also had a margarita in Pandora land. it was a busy day and its easy to forget about the food. but i enjoyed it very much,
Saturday was a chill day by the pool and we ate dinner at the boat house at disney springs. i knew this was happening so i had a protein shake for bfast and lunch and then for dinner i tried a cup of lobster bisque and i got the crab cake. i was able to eat half. it was amazing.
Overall, i learned that you can stay committed to your diet 75% of the time on vacation and still enjoy the hell out of it. I didnt want to go fully off track and i never did. i think keeping my morning routine was huge, It allowed me to enjoy myself a little more at the parks. If youre going to disney, YOU WILL WALK A LOT. From saturday- friday i walked/ran 73.4 miles. yes 3 mornings i woke up and ran before the day and on saturday i did a 5k row plus lift. i was only able to do this because of the weight i have lost. My whole entire family was down and out for the count after the days and i just wanted to keep going, i felt AMAZING the whole time. I teared up a few times getting on rides that i had been denied on before for being too big. Overall it was a great experience and probably the best trip of my life.

I do also feel like a slow loser (66 lbs in 5.5 months) compared to many, but that average (~11 lbs a month) is pretty normal, according to my nutritionist. I’m comfortable with it because I feel like that pace of losing is easier on my body and skin, and being under 200# I expect it to slow even more, but still eventually get me there.

I do also feel like a slow loser (66 lbs in 5.5 months) compared to many, but that average (~11 lbs a month) is pretty normal, according to my nutritionist. I’m comfortable with it because I feel like that pace of losing is easier on my body and skin, and being under 200# I expect it to slow even more, but still eventually get me there.

I do also feel like a slow loser (66 lbs in 5.5 months) compared to many, but that average (~11 lbs a month) is pretty normal, according to my nutritionist. I’m comfortable with it because I feel like that pace of losing is easier on my body and skin, and being under 200# I expect it to slow even more, but still eventually get me there.

I do also feel like a slow loser (66 lbs in 5.5 months) compared to many, but that average (~11 lbs a month) is pretty normal, according to my nutritionist. I’m comfortable with it because I feel like that pace of losing is easier on my body and skin, and being under 200# I expect it to slow even more, but still eventually get me there.

I do also feel like a slow loser (66 lbs in 5.5 months) compared to many, but that average (~11 lbs a month) is pretty normal, according to my nutritionist. I’m comfortable with it because I feel like that pace of losing is easier on my body and skin, and being under 200# I expect it to slow even more, but still eventually get me there.

I wouldn't call 42lbs in 6 weeks slow!!! lol it is melting off you.

Thank you for the many helpful replys. It just blew me away coming in out of nowheres. The night before in the hospital she texted me saying that the family were all eating crab cakes and chicken wings. With me growing up in Maryland and missing real clump crab cakes she did that to try to hurt me as well. She didn't know that I had no appetite. My wife said when I get to eating semi normally then we will get some crab meat overnighted and make the crab cakes. My wife Betty is a good woman.

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Good lord. I’m so sorry. It’s probably for the best that that sort of communication stop though. She sounds like she may have borderline personality disorder.

You realize this is 100% her and not at all you, right?

Maybe you should also block her texts? You have made a move to better yourself and your health and it sounds like she is jealous. I am sorry that she is being this way.

I just got back myself from 5 days at Universal. It can be a challenge finding healthy choices there. I didn’t really food log, as I sort of wanted to see what happened if I ate what appealed to me, and while I did gain about 3/4 of a pound, it was worth it for the hot butterbeer. :)

It was also pretty amazing, at 65# lighter, to be able to go on EVERY ride without feeling self-conscious about size and having to check if I fit. And to sit on the airplane going there with extra room in the seat.

Have a GREAT time!!

Hi SophieMarie!
I think a bit of buyers remorse right after surgery is very common. The first week... heck the first two months!... are really hard. The pain is no fun and trying to eat and drink while recovering is horrid. I remember thinking to myself, often, "This is a breathtakingly permanent thing I just did, effectively mutilating myself forever."
And it is breathtaking. But it's also a gift you've given yourself, and over the next few months, you'll really begin to see it pay off. Once the pain is gone and you're on a more or less regular food diet you'll feel more normal again. And when the pounds start coming off you'll be very happy to have paid the price of a week or three of discomfort, I'm certain.
Hang in there!

Very happy to report that I've hit my 2019 milestone goal and dropped under 200 this weekend for the first time since my 20s. Next milestone is to get under 180 (my surgeon's goal for me) and out of the obese category! (Haven't seen that weight since my teens.)
I hope the rest of you are doing well. I know the holidays can be a challenge with food, so wishing everyone lots of luck! ❤️

I’m almost two years in and I’ve been stable at this weight (plus or minus five) for over six months - I went on holiday last month and saw a bunch of friends and family who hadn’t seen me in years, and I hadn’t actually thought at all about whether or not to tell them, but in the moment felt totally comfortable telling them all.

but I think that’s largely because I’m past the “new” phase of things, when literally everything is changing: your body, your habits, your appetite, your clothes, the way you fit in the world, the way society treats you... that is a lot to process! And it’s not a short processing time, either! It’s taken me a while to mull over all of this stuff and speak confidently and with authority about the real differences between living in the world as an obese person and living in the world as a person who that world was literally modeled around. I likely wouldn’t have been able to answer some questions at six or twelve months, because I was still learning how this particular surgery worked for my particular body. The level of confidence I have now probably stops some opinionated people from even thinking of undermining men in these conversations; and when they float half-formed opinions? I’ve had almost two years to think through that opinion and am WAY ahead of them and can hold my ground confidently.

All a long way of saying: tell who you want to tell, when you want to tell them. Your decision about telling/not telling may change as you change, because you WILL change. Just do whatever is going to work best for you.

The one caveat I’d throw in there is if possible, try not to lay groundwork that will reinforce the idea that this sort of change is possible through pure diet and exercise. It’s not. And my nightmare scenario is some idiotic skinny person sees me, watches me limit my food intake or flat-out asks if I’m dieting, and then goes and berates her obese sister for not dieting. That’s why I’ve tended to go for evasion with those types of people rather than outright lying (“I’m feeling great, thanks, but don’t really want to talk about that stuff”) - I’m all too aware of the knock-on effect. But again, it’s a fine line and if a pushy gossip is making you feel cornered, do what you have to do to stay focused and get her out of your orbit. Considering consequences and other people is a good thing - prioritizing them over your own well-being is usually not.

I’ve been completely transparent with my decision to have surgery, for several reasons. It took me almost 3 years to make the decision to have surgery because I bought into the lie that weight loss surgery is the easy way out and that it’s something shameful. I was afraid to ask anyone all the questions I had because of fear of judgment or ridicule. When I finally realized that the only thing I was scared of was admitting to myself that I NEEDED the surgery, my mindset completely changed. I would have been given anything to have someone that I could have talked to during those 3 years, who could have helped me on my journey. So I’m sharing everything with anyone who wants to know. I post about it on my social media, my family, friends, and coworkers all know. I am NOT ashamed and, more importantly, I want to help other people. I’ve had 3 different friends start down this road since I started sharing my journey. This was the best decision I ever made and I won’t fuel the negative thoughts or judgements of others by keeping quiet about it. I am PROUD of this decision.

Yeah, this is going to be very different for every person. I've told anyone who asks. I'm not private or shy or anything. I'm not embarrassed that I had the surgery. Usually when someone asks how I've lost weight, I explain that I had the sleeve surgery and I've changed the way that I eat. I've dropped 190 pounds in like 15 months, so a lot of people have noticed lol

I was on vacation last week, and at the end I casually mentioned it to my mom: “I think I’ve gained some weight, maybe two or three pounds” and she had this completely over-the-top, horrified reaction! Like, so ABSURDLY reactionary that I stopped in my tracks and turned to look at her, and she got all flustered trying to backtrack. It was so weird! I was unfazed when saying it, it was mostly just a casual observation, but her exclamation really blindsided me.
Now, the nutty thing is that I was right - 2.5 lb increase, based on total inactivity and steady booze/ice cream intake (no regrets!). This is a weird victory for me, both in that I am apparently familiar enough with my body at this point to be able to gauge weigh correctly just by gut feel, and that I felt absolutely no shame or guilt in the observation. But mom’s reaction was a strange blend - it reminded me that she did react constantly to anything related to my weight when I was fat, but the scale of the response was much more connected to a real horror of me reverting.
I love her to death, but yikes. And I think she was just as taken aback by her response as I was; she’d mostly stopped actively bugging me about weight a few years before surgery (she attended a psych lecture and during the presentation realized that all the “don’t do this” things around body image were things she’d done while raising me, and apparently had to leave mid-presentation and cry in the car). She was very careful after that, and then thrilled after surgery, so this was more like her behavior to teenage me suddenly popping up out of nowhere like a jack-in-the-box.
Anyone else seen weird throwback behavior from friends or relatives?

I’m taken aback at how many more clothing choices there are in nonplus sizing. It’s been a roller coaster of emotions finding clothes that not only fit, but I actually truly like. It’s been fun finding my own signature style!

Agreed he is probably scared you will change and not be attracted to him. Your still the same person just changing the wrapping paper. You did this for you to be heathly, stay to the plan that you have worked so hard to get to. Just as your adjusting and learning in your new life style, he needs to adjust too. Good luck and Merry Christmas

Ugh. My body is collapsing everywhere but will be working on the breast/apron areas first. If you do go through with a face lift, keep us posted. You look beautiful just as you are though!

My hair dresser handed me a regular sized smock yesterday.

And I can now wrap myself in a standard sized towel after a shower and it covers me around.

My hair dresser handed me a regular sized smock yesterday.

And I can now wrap myself in a standard sized towel after a shower and it covers me around.

I’m not sure I agree with this assessment by the nutritionist. Most people got to be obese by eating many non-healthy foods. For some, “new foods” might comprise healthy food they’ve never tried. I think trying out new healthy foods is smart, to replace poor choices, and a broad variety of options probably makes weight loss more sustainable. My current staple foods include a few things I’d never had before surgery. Perhaps the nutritionist was talking about unhealthy choices?