BigSue

As everyone else is telling you, you're not doing anything wrong, and there are a lot of factors that will affect your rate of weight loss. I know it's hard to be patient, but you have to be. One of the biggest factors in your rate of weight loss is your starting weight, and you haven't filled out your profile, so I can't tell what that was. If you started at 200 pounds, you're not going to lose weight as quickly as someone who started at 350 pounds.

As everyone else is telling you, you're not doing anything wrong, and there are a lot of factors that will affect your rate of weight loss. I know it's hard to be patient, but you have to be. One of the biggest factors in your rate of weight loss is your starting weight, and you haven't filled out your profile, so I can't tell what that was. If you started at 200 pounds, you're not going to lose weight as quickly as someone who started at 350 pounds.

Woah... I just updated my weight on my profile, and I knew that would put my BMI under 30, but I still cried a little when I saw 29. This is the first time in my adult life that I am not obese! I can hardly believe it!

Woah... I just updated my weight on my profile, and I knew that would put my BMI under 30, but I still cried a little when I saw 29. This is the first time in my adult life that I am not obese! I can hardly believe it!

Woah... I just updated my weight on my profile, and I knew that would put my BMI under 30, but I still cried a little when I saw 29. This is the first time in my adult life that I am not obese! I can hardly believe it!

Congratulations! You look amazing. I was shocked when I scrolled down to the pictures after reading your description. You look WAY better than you give yourself credit for. I am seriously jealous of how LITTLE loose skin you have. You could totally pull off a miniskirt right now with no plastic surgery.

As of this morning, I have achieved my self-determined goal weight of 150 pounds. My surgery date was 7/6/2020, so I am just under 8 months. I am as fit as I have ever been, and feel great. I do have loose, saggy skin, which I hope PS will correct. My tummy does not look too bad when I stand upright, but look out if I bend over. 😱 My boobs are sad, pathetic socks of flesh. But my butt...holy crap I wasn’t expecting all the loose skin back there. 😭😭😭 It is so uncomfortable to sit or lay on folds of extra skin.
The butt issue is uncomfortable enough that I am somewhat rushing towards PS, starting with a lower body lift, breast lift/augmentation at the end of May. My thighs look kind of crappy, but I would like to avoid a thigh lift and I am hopeful the lower body lift and time will help their appearance. My arms have some loose skin, but at this point I am ok with them. I hate the loose skin on my neck and I will probably end up having a neck lift at some point, but I am also hopeful time will help.

I am no longer trying to lose weight, but I haven’t found the sweet spot with maintenance diet. I am not tracking food and basically eat what I want, in small portions. I do not dump, but too much sugar and/or fat in one sitting makes me feel like crap. I used to drink wine pretty much every day. Since a few months after surgery, I have a a glass or two of wine a few times per month.

I am still exercising a lot and I enjoy pushing my body. I do all sorts of exercise, including traditional and functional strength training, running, walking, yoga, all of the different cardio machines at the gym, HIIT. I can’t wait for summer to pack in some hiking. In December I went snowboarding for the first time in about 7 years. I am looking forward to more time on the snow in March.

Anyhow, here are some before and after pics...

Yeah, you're good! This is one of the less active boards on the site, so you might not get a lot of replies.

I used the 2-ounce disposable cups right after surgery, first to measure out Protein Shakes (you have to sip really slowly for the first couple of weeks, so it's best to track your intake 1 or 2 ounces at a time), and also to portion out purees and soft foods. Your portion size for purees and soft foods is about 2 ounces, so you can measure out individual portions of stuff like yogurt, cottage cheese, mashed cauliflower, applesauce, pudding, Jello, etc.
I still use them all the time now for meal prep. I like to make a big batch of something and split it up into individual servings to freeze. You can fit 8-10 in a quart-size Ziploc bag. I have a freezer full of these containers with individual servings of turkey meat sauce, Mexican shredded chicken, Asian chicken, BBQ chicken, black Beans, salsa, raspberry puree, and strawberry puree. That gives me tons of easy meals, like: Mexican chicken + salad, Asian chicken + cauliflower rice & veggies, BBQ chicken + green beans, turkey meat sauce + ricotta bake, turkey meat sauce + spaghetti squash, Greek yogurt + raspberry puree, etc. (The black beans and salsa are just so they don't go bad before I use a whole container and I can just thaw a little at a time.)
I also use them as condiment cups, like ranch dip for veggies, or Salad Dressing to bring to work, or for small amounts of toppings like parmesan cheese or nuts. They also work as pill holders (I mostly use a pill organizer -- another great thing to have: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072VQY7M7/ -- but sometimes I don't want to bring the whole day's worth of pills with me).

Before my surgery, I ordered a bunch of samples of Protein Shakes, and I also ended up liking IdealLean the best. I've purchased some tubs from them (chocolate brownie, birthday cake, and chocolate coconut). It is also relatively inexpensive (they inflate their "regular" price, so it's always "on sale"). I like to mix the birthday cake Protein into Greek yogurt.
I recently got a sample pack of LadyBoss Lean, and it is quite tasty, but I don't think I'll buy any more because it's expensive and the macros aren't as good as IdealLean.
As for protein bars, I am OBSESSED with Built Bars. They are amazing. They taste like candy bars. Every time I bite into one, I marvel at how it's possible for something kinda healthy to taste so incredible. They have 18 regular flavors and they frequently put out limited release flavors. Their two newest ones, cookie dough and coconut brownie chunk, are the best ones yet. There are some people who don't like the texture, so I'd recommend trying one box before you stock up on multiple cases, but I love love love them.
I've also heard good things about Alani Nu protein bars and FitFactor protein bars, but I haven't tried them because I already have over 300 Built bars in my house and don't need to be buying any more protein bars right now.😁

I've been purchasing Torani and DaVinci sugar-free syrups for a while, and I found another brand, Jordan's Skinny Syrups, on Amazon. I decided to try it out and I purchased this Caramel Collection Trio with Caramel Pecan, Salted Caramel, and Caramel vanilla Creme:
https://amazon.com/Jordans-Skinny-Syrups-Caramel-Collection/dp/B07B8PDS4V
I loved these so much that I wanted to try some more flavors, and they have A TON. Some are available on Amazon, and I've heard that Home Goods and TJ Maxx have them for a great price ($3.99), but I don't live near either of those stores, so I went to their web site (http://SkinnyMixes.com) and... I went a little crazy! They were having a 25% off sale at the time, and I bought 13 different flavors for a total of $52.22 (including shipping) -- that's $4.02/bottle. Not bad! Here's what I got:
6-bottle Dessert Sampler Peanut Butter Cup Glazed Donut Mint chocolate Chip Chocolate Coconut Macaron Iced Cinnamon Roll Caramel Creme Cheesecake Hazelnut Chocolate Caramel Truffle Caramel Fudge Waffle Cone Caramel Pecan (this was my favorite from the Caramel Collection Trio, so I had to get more!) Maple Bourbon Pecan Raspberry Cherry I can't wait to try them all! I mainly use flavored syrups in tea and Crio Bru (brewed cacao). I don't like coffee, but I think most people use them in coffee to make fancy Starbucks-like flavored coffee drinks. For those struggling to drink enough fluids, I highly recommend trying flavored teas/coffee/cocoa (I also find that warm beverages are great for filling me up between meals). They're also good in yogurt and Protein oatmeal. I imagine they would enhance smoothies as well. There are SO MANY awesome flavors available that it was hard for me to narrow it down to "only" 13, but I decided to buy the minimum to get free shipping and save the rest for my next order.

I do something similar. I am very strict about only eating 3 meals and no Snacks (other than sugar-free beverages and Jello). I have a Crio Bru with half a scoop of Protein Powder instead of breakfast, sometimes a sugar-free Jello later in the morning, and don't eat solid food until lunchtime. I have some tea or Crio Bru between lunch and dinner (I find that Hot Drinks are very filling), and then I have my third meal (my daily Built Bar) before I go to bed. I used to have the Built Bar for breakfast or lunch, but I really like saving it for the end of the day.

I'm happy to see all these success stories! I have lost over 100 pounds since my surgery, and over 170 from my highest weight. I am literally HALF the person I was a year ago! I've been working out almost every day for several months, and I got a new Fitbit for Christmas that has motivated me to walk more. I got pretty bored getting 10,000 steps just walking around the house, so I've started taking walks around the neighborhood (1-2 miles) every day.

I've been purchasing Torani and DaVinci sugar-free syrups for a while, and I found another brand, Jordan's Skinny Syrups, on Amazon. I decided to try it out and I purchased this Caramel Collection Trio with Caramel Pecan, Salted Caramel, and Caramel vanilla Creme:
https://amazon.com/Jordans-Skinny-Syrups-Caramel-Collection/dp/B07B8PDS4V
I loved these so much that I wanted to try some more flavors, and they have A TON. Some are available on Amazon, and I've heard that Home Goods and TJ Maxx have them for a great price ($3.99), but I don't live near either of those stores, so I went to their web site (http://SkinnyMixes.com) and... I went a little crazy! They were having a 25% off sale at the time, and I bought 13 different flavors for a total of $52.22 (including shipping) -- that's $4.02/bottle. Not bad! Here's what I got:
6-bottle Dessert Sampler Peanut Butter Cup Glazed Donut Mint chocolate Chip Chocolate Coconut Macaron Iced Cinnamon Roll Caramel Creme Cheesecake Hazelnut Chocolate Caramel Truffle Caramel Fudge Waffle Cone Caramel Pecan (this was my favorite from the Caramel Collection Trio, so I had to get more!) Maple Bourbon Pecan Raspberry Cherry I can't wait to try them all! I mainly use flavored syrups in tea and Crio Bru (brewed cacao). I don't like coffee, but I think most people use them in coffee to make fancy Starbucks-like flavored coffee drinks. For those struggling to drink enough fluids, I highly recommend trying flavored teas/coffee/cocoa (I also find that warm beverages are great for filling me up between meals). They're also good in yogurt and Protein oatmeal. I imagine they would enhance smoothies as well. There are SO MANY awesome flavors available that it was hard for me to narrow it down to "only" 13, but I decided to buy the minimum to get free shipping and save the rest for my next order.

Are you wanting to flub and eat the corn chips, or are you talking about flubbing and eating the fudgsicle?
If just the fudgsicle, give it a few more weeks and try again, I know someone who had issues with dairy until like 3 months out and then she magically could tolerate it one day once she got on more solid food.
Now if youre talking about eating corn chips, please dont do it. You went through a lot to get this surgery and something so abrasive like that so early is just a disaster waiting to happen. Remember, you have staples holding freshly dissected tissue together. Those staples are not invincible and are susceptible to tearing, herniating, leaking, and getting infected if you push it. This was major surgery. I know its hard to resist the real food. My dad showed up with gumbo, jambalaya, and chicken shawarma the other day. My nephews came over with one of those giant tubs of cheese puffs. At one point I had to get up and go for my hourly walk just so I wasnt tempted.
You are stronger than you know just for going through with this major life change. Full fluids are only for a couple more days! You can do this.
Please reach out if you need anything.
Goodluck.

I live alone and I didn’t tell anyone about my surgery. I had no trouble taking care of myself after surgery. I was required to have someone pick me up from the hospital, and they specifically said no taxis/Uber/Lyft (but nobody asked, so I probably could have gotten away with it), so I hired a home health aide to pick me up and drive me home. She also picked up my prescriptions. After that, I had no help and didn’t really need any. I was a little worried about stuff like laundry (since you’re supposed to be careful about bending over and lifting things), but didn’t have any issues. You don’t have to do much in the way of food preparation in the beginning because it’s just liquids.
I don’t have any pets, so I didn’t have to worry about that. I think that issue depends on what your dog and home are like. If you have a fenced-in yard and just let the dog out, that should be fine, but if you have to take the dog on walks and it’s a big dog who pulls on the leash, that could be a problem. But I would imagine you can hire a dog-walker for a few weeks if that’s the case (which would be a lot cheaper than boarding).
I had very little pain after surgery, other than gas pain the first day. I didn’t need to take any painkillers after I left the hospital — not even Tylenol. I was pretty tired for the first few days, but by about the 5th day, I felt almost back to normal. I went back to work a week and a half after surgery and I was fine.
Keep in mind that everyone’s recovery is a little different, so yours could be easier or harder than mine, but based on what I’ve read here, my experience is fairly typical.

I'm happy to see all these success stories! I have lost over 100 pounds since my surgery, and over 170 from my highest weight. I am literally HALF the person I was a year ago! I've been working out almost every day for several months, and I got a new Fitbit for Christmas that has motivated me to walk more. I got pretty bored getting 10,000 steps just walking around the house, so I've started taking walks around the neighborhood (1-2 miles) every day.

Have you watched any of Dr. Weiner's videos on YouTube? He's a bariatric surgeon who has a lot of great videos, but he said something about head hunger in one of his videos (can't remember which one now) that really bugged me. He basically said that "stomach growling" hunger feeling is just head hunger, and I was like, "B.S.!"
I am so thankful that my surgery has almost completely eliminated my hunger (so far... I know my hunger will probably return eventually). Before surgery, I felt like my stomach was a bottomless pit, and I could eat huge quantities of food and still be hungry. I tried waiting after I ate since we're always told it takes time for satiety to set in, and nope -- I would just keep getting hungrier. There were so many times that I didn't WANT to eat any more, but I was just so hungry. Sometimes I couldn't sleep because of hunger and I had to eat more just so I could sleep. And I am quite sure that this was real, physical hunger and not just in my head.
My personal theory is that this is one of the factors that makes it more difficult for some people to lose or manage their weight. I truly believe that some people are just hungrier than others, or maybe we feel hunger more strongly -- kind of like a pain threshold. People who don't have that extreme hunger can't understand why it's not as easy as it sounds to "just eat less."
Now, I will also admit to having head hunger -- eating out of boredom or habit, or because something looks delicious and I want to taste it, or I'm eating something so delicious that I want to keep eating more of it, or to treat myself to something I've been looking forward to eating -- and I still experience that sometimes. I still have times when I see something I want to eat really badly even though I know that I'm not hungry. But it is a heck of a lot easier to resist when I'm not actually, physically hungry.

I live alone and I didn’t tell anyone about my surgery. I had no trouble taking care of myself after surgery. I was required to have someone pick me up from the hospital, and they specifically said no taxis/Uber/Lyft (but nobody asked, so I probably could have gotten away with it), so I hired a home health aide to pick me up and drive me home. She also picked up my prescriptions. After that, I had no help and didn’t really need any. I was a little worried about stuff like laundry (since you’re supposed to be careful about bending over and lifting things), but didn’t have any issues. You don’t have to do much in the way of food preparation in the beginning because it’s just liquids.
I don’t have any pets, so I didn’t have to worry about that. I think that issue depends on what your dog and home are like. If you have a fenced-in yard and just let the dog out, that should be fine, but if you have to take the dog on walks and it’s a big dog who pulls on the leash, that could be a problem. But I would imagine you can hire a dog-walker for a few weeks if that’s the case (which would be a lot cheaper than boarding).
I had very little pain after surgery, other than gas pain the first day. I didn’t need to take any painkillers after I left the hospital — not even Tylenol. I was pretty tired for the first few days, but by about the 5th day, I felt almost back to normal. I went back to work a week and a half after surgery and I was fine.
Keep in mind that everyone’s recovery is a little different, so yours could be easier or harder than mine, but based on what I’ve read here, my experience is fairly typical.

Have you watched any of Dr. Weiner's videos on YouTube? He's a bariatric surgeon who has a lot of great videos, but he said something about head hunger in one of his videos (can't remember which one now) that really bugged me. He basically said that "stomach growling" hunger feeling is just head hunger, and I was like, "B.S.!"
I am so thankful that my surgery has almost completely eliminated my hunger (so far... I know my hunger will probably return eventually). Before surgery, I felt like my stomach was a bottomless pit, and I could eat huge quantities of food and still be hungry. I tried waiting after I ate since we're always told it takes time for satiety to set in, and nope -- I would just keep getting hungrier. There were so many times that I didn't WANT to eat any more, but I was just so hungry. Sometimes I couldn't sleep because of hunger and I had to eat more just so I could sleep. And I am quite sure that this was real, physical hunger and not just in my head.
My personal theory is that this is one of the factors that makes it more difficult for some people to lose or manage their weight. I truly believe that some people are just hungrier than others, or maybe we feel hunger more strongly -- kind of like a pain threshold. People who don't have that extreme hunger can't understand why it's not as easy as it sounds to "just eat less."
Now, I will also admit to having head hunger -- eating out of boredom or habit, or because something looks delicious and I want to taste it, or I'm eating something so delicious that I want to keep eating more of it, or to treat myself to something I've been looking forward to eating -- and I still experience that sometimes. I still have times when I see something I want to eat really badly even though I know that I'm not hungry. But it is a heck of a lot easier to resist when I'm not actually, physically hungry.

I've been purchasing Torani and DaVinci sugar-free syrups for a while, and I found another brand, Jordan's Skinny Syrups, on Amazon. I decided to try it out and I purchased this Caramel Collection Trio with Caramel Pecan, Salted Caramel, and Caramel vanilla Creme:
https://amazon.com/Jordans-Skinny-Syrups-Caramel-Collection/dp/B07B8PDS4V
I loved these so much that I wanted to try some more flavors, and they have A TON. Some are available on Amazon, and I've heard that Home Goods and TJ Maxx have them for a great price ($3.99), but I don't live near either of those stores, so I went to their web site (http://SkinnyMixes.com) and... I went a little crazy! They were having a 25% off sale at the time, and I bought 13 different flavors for a total of $52.22 (including shipping) -- that's $4.02/bottle. Not bad! Here's what I got:
6-bottle Dessert Sampler Peanut Butter Cup Glazed Donut Mint chocolate Chip Chocolate Coconut Macaron Iced Cinnamon Roll Caramel Creme Cheesecake Hazelnut Chocolate Caramel Truffle Caramel Fudge Waffle Cone Caramel Pecan (this was my favorite from the Caramel Collection Trio, so I had to get more!) Maple Bourbon Pecan Raspberry Cherry I can't wait to try them all! I mainly use flavored syrups in tea and Crio Bru (brewed cacao). I don't like coffee, but I think most people use them in coffee to make fancy Starbucks-like flavored coffee drinks. For those struggling to drink enough fluids, I highly recommend trying flavored teas/coffee/cocoa (I also find that warm beverages are great for filling me up between meals). They're also good in yogurt and Protein oatmeal. I imagine they would enhance smoothies as well. There are SO MANY awesome flavors available that it was hard for me to narrow it down to "only" 13, but I decided to buy the minimum to get free shipping and save the rest for my next order.

Well, I'm single, so take my advice with a grain of salt, but maybe this would be a good thing to discuss with him directly. Ask if he's concerned about your clothing choices and why the idea of you wearing different clothing bothers him.

I failed my work physical because my blood pressure was too high. Right after that, I started a new job that didn't require me to pass a physical, so I actually just kept ignoring my health for another year or so. But my new job was a desk job, unlike my old job that required a lot of walking, so I gained even more weight and got even more out of shape and I got to the point that I could only walk a short distance without getting sweaty and out of breath.
The failed work physical kept nagging at me, and every time I watched a medical-themed TV show where a patient had a stroke or heart attack, I would see myself there, so I finally decided to go to a doctor (I hadn't been to one in almost 10 years). They were talking about putting me on medication for hypertension and diabetes and I didn't like the future I was seeing, of being someone with all these medical problems, going to the doctor all the time, taking a bunch of medications. I've tried losing weight so many times that I had given up on it by then. Weight loss surgery seemed so extreme -- a last resort -- and I really didn't want to do it, but I came to the realization that it was time to go to that last resort.

I failed my work physical because my blood pressure was too high. Right after that, I started a new job that didn't require me to pass a physical, so I actually just kept ignoring my health for another year or so. But my new job was a desk job, unlike my old job that required a lot of walking, so I gained even more weight and got even more out of shape and I got to the point that I could only walk a short distance without getting sweaty and out of breath.
The failed work physical kept nagging at me, and every time I watched a medical-themed TV show where a patient had a stroke or heart attack, I would see myself there, so I finally decided to go to a doctor (I hadn't been to one in almost 10 years). They were talking about putting me on medication for hypertension and diabetes and I didn't like the future I was seeing, of being someone with all these medical problems, going to the doctor all the time, taking a bunch of medications. I've tried losing weight so many times that I had given up on it by then. Weight loss surgery seemed so extreme -- a last resort -- and I really didn't want to do it, but I came to the realization that it was time to go to that last resort.

Well, I'm single, so take my advice with a grain of salt, but maybe this would be a good thing to discuss with him directly. Ask if he's concerned about your clothing choices and why the idea of you wearing different clothing bothers him.