thesuse2000

46 here, but feeling younger than I have in ages!
I'm contemplating plastic surgery in the next year or two. Hot 50 here I come!

46 here, but feeling younger than I have in ages!
I'm contemplating plastic surgery in the next year or two. Hot 50 here I come!

I was band-to-sleeve too. And I was pretty terrified as well. Our circumstances are different, but I can relate. Only you can decide what's best for you, but I'm SO very glad I went through with this. Yes - the risks of sleeve surgery are higher than the band, but overall the longterm risks of carrying extra weight outweigh them. Also - you're already halfway there since your band was already removed, so your surgery will be a little easier than mine was - band removed and sleeve done in one surgery. Your stomach will have already had time to heal from the first surgery.

I just hit 100 down this week so posting updated pics.
SO freaking happy with my results.
I love looking at everyone else's pics!
You all have helped inspire me to get where I am.
Hoping to lose a few more, but pretty darn happy where I am.
I've gone from size 22 to a 10/12.
Oh - I took these before pics just before starting the pre-op diet, but I was already a few pounds down from my highest a few months prior...

I just hit 100 down this week so posting updated pics.
SO freaking happy with my results.
I love looking at everyone else's pics!
You all have helped inspire me to get where I am.
Hoping to lose a few more, but pretty darn happy where I am.
I've gone from size 22 to a 10/12.
Oh - I took these before pics just before starting the pre-op diet, but I was already a few pounds down from my highest a few months prior...

Love this thread! I'm with you all. I don't eat diet food either. I eat foods that are yummy and enjoyable. I think that's critical to my long-term success. I do track my foods and make sure to meet Protein goals, keep carbs low, and avoid too many sweets. But yes to healthy fats! Veggies sautéed with olive oil and garlic, fatty delicious salmon, etc. One of my faves, especially after a workout is rotisserie chicken - and yes I eat the skin!
Also - while I track my eating, I don't deny myself a little extra if I'm hungry. I want to maintain a healthy relationship with food, and for me that means not depriving myself.

I brought my mac to a repair place this weekend (Tekserve, for any NYC-based mac users out there) and you always have to wait at least a half hour to speak with someone and the chairs are kind of strange and small. When I walked in and saw how far my number was from being called and then looked at the seats and remembered not fitting into them in the past, I had a momentary panic that I'd have to stand awkwardly in the limited standing space, before realizing - hey, I probably fit in these chairs now - and I did! Total NSV!

I brought my mac to a repair place this weekend (Tekserve, for any NYC-based mac users out there) and you always have to wait at least a half hour to speak with someone and the chairs are kind of strange and small. When I walked in and saw how far my number was from being called and then looked at the seats and remembered not fitting into them in the past, I had a momentary panic that I'd have to stand awkwardly in the limited standing space, before realizing - hey, I probably fit in these chairs now - and I did! Total NSV!

Hi there - new job has been crazy intense and I've gotten way off track. I've gained up to 163.
Things will settle a little in a couple weeks and I'll work on getting back on track then. For now just trying to minimize the damage...
Congrats all - and thanks Steph for managing this!

I just hit 100 down this week so posting updated pics.
SO freaking happy with my results.
I love looking at everyone else's pics!
You all have helped inspire me to get where I am.
Hoping to lose a few more, but pretty darn happy where I am.
I've gone from size 22 to a 10/12.
Oh - I took these before pics just before starting the pre-op diet, but I was already a few pounds down from my highest a few months prior...

I just hit 100 down this week so posting updated pics.
SO freaking happy with my results.
I love looking at everyone else's pics!
You all have helped inspire me to get where I am.
Hoping to lose a few more, but pretty darn happy where I am.
I've gone from size 22 to a 10/12.
Oh - I took these before pics just before starting the pre-op diet, but I was already a few pounds down from my highest a few months prior...

Hi all,
I mentioned the benefits of mindful eating in another thread and VSGAnn suggested I start a thread. I'm far from an expert on this, and honestly don't practice it as it should be, but I think the exploration of it has really helped me, so wanted to go ahead and start this - and invite others who may practice it chime in with their input and experience. I did a workshop about mindful eating in the months before my surgery. So sharing what I learned.
So mindful eating is really just about slowing down and paying much closer attention to the whole process of eating than we normally do. We all know the problems of mindless eating - how easy it is to finish a whole pint of ice cream, large bag of chips, etc. while watching TV. But even when eating at the table in a more traditional way so much of our eating is still pretty mindless. And we let external cues, rather than our own bodies, determine what we eat and how much.
Some of the basic tenets of mindful eating (again, not an expert so may be leaving things out - all are welcome to add/correct what I'm including!):
Before eating, check in with yourself and really think about what is your body wants to eat; sometimes we're just on autopilot and reach for the usual things, but when we listen we realize that we actually are craving something different Don't judge yourself for what you're craving; trust your body to tell you what it needs This one was REALLY hard for me, and I have not perfected it, but I do think it's really important; most of us have spent years dieting or "cheating" on diets and it's all just disconnected us from listening to what we actually need This one is also hard to align with the guidelines post surgery - like focusing on Protein, but to a somewhat limited extent it can still be done Before eating a meal, pause and think about the meal you're about to eat - where did all the ingredients come from? Who prepared it? And so onFor me, this helps me feel so thankful for the abundance of foods available to me; I often marvel at the range of spices and flavors in each of my meals that come from all over the world, or the fresh ingredients that made their way from country farms to my NYC apartment; and I am more aware of the animals that gave their lives for my sake than I used to be (still a carnivore, but more conscious about not wasting meat) Eat one bite at a time, putting your fork down between bites and think about the whole sensation - how the food feels in your mouth, the flavors that hit different parts of your tongue, how the flavors change as you start to chewIn the workshop I did we did a few guided meditations with food, for example eating just one raisin at a time and contemplating each stage of eating - holding the raisin in our mouths, chewing (for a while) and then finally swallowing; then doing the same with a 2nd raisin and noticing how the experience is slightly different with the 2nd bite vs the first; I highly recommend this! It was amazing how delicious one raisin could taste when you pay attention (and I'm not someone who thought I liked raisins). Also interesting how much less intense each bite is vs the first; after the first bite we tend to go into autopilot mode and just shovel it in without thought After each bite check in with yourself and consider how your hunger, satiety and fullness has changed Satiety is probably the hardest of these; I tend to think of it as - if someone took this food away right now how would that feel? If I would feel that I needed to get something else to eat than I'm not satisfied; if that feels like it wouldn't be so bad, and that what I've eaten will keep me going for 2-3 hours than most likely I'm just about satisfied In terms of fullness, paying attention helps you recognize the early signs of fullness; especially for us WLS people it's important not to eat to point of too full. There are always signals before that; we just have to get used to recognizing them There are mindful meditations that you can do - for just 10 minutes a day; this isn't about eating, but just about learning how to listen to your body signals - there's an app called mindfullness with a good 10-15 minute meditation (I think it's 2-3 dollars) Full disclosure: I did these during the workshop I was in, but have not continued; but I think it's helpful for someone who wants to embrace this process to do the work of strengthening your mindfulness muscles Mindfullness is not easy! We're programmed to rush. It's almost ridiculous how frustrating it can be to hold a raisin in your mouth for a minute without chewing it, but again - a great thing to do for yourself to build this skill - it really feels like taking care of yourself in a deeper way, and we all deserve to give ourselves that attention and care I did this workshop in the months before my surgery and I really think it's helped me since surgery. As I mentioned above I don't practice perfectly, but having worked to be more conscious in my eating for a while, now that awareness is more innate. I am much better about checking in with myself about what i'm craving. If I start eating something that's not satisfying I stop and get something different (when possible). If I want a little more than I planned to eat I get more. If I'm satisfied before I clean my plate I stop. I track what i eat, and focus on Protein and veggies, but I don't stop myself from eating more some days when I am just hungrier - or force myself to eat more on days when I'm not too hungry. And if I crave something sweet - I eat something sweet.
Overall I think this has helped me feel satisfied with the smaller meals we eat post surgery. Even though they're small I still think about each meal and make sure that it's yummy and satisfying. I've seen people post about how eating is so much less pleasurable since surgery and I don't relate. I enjoy food as much or more, but I think the mindfullness has helped with that a lot.
Hope this is helpful to some! Look forward to hearing if anyone else has tried this approach. Feel free to ask me any questions and I'll do my best to answer.
-Susan/Suse

Yeah - I find I become much more interesting as I lose weight.
Alas, I fear that I may be guilty of doing the same. We humans are imperfect and we generally just prefer interacting with prettier, slimmer people. It's something for all of us to try to stay conscious of.

I've heard talk of rolls of quarters in pockets, ankle weights, heavy clothes/boots, and drinking lots of Water before weigh in. Good luck!

Hi - today's weigh-in - 158.
Thanks!

I just hit 100 down this week so posting updated pics.
SO freaking happy with my results.
I love looking at everyone else's pics!
You all have helped inspire me to get where I am.
Hoping to lose a few more, but pretty darn happy where I am.
I've gone from size 22 to a 10/12.
Oh - I took these before pics just before starting the pre-op diet, but I was already a few pounds down from my highest a few months prior...

I just hit 100 down this week so posting updated pics.
SO freaking happy with my results.
I love looking at everyone else's pics!
You all have helped inspire me to get where I am.
Hoping to lose a few more, but pretty darn happy where I am.
I've gone from size 22 to a 10/12.
Oh - I took these before pics just before starting the pre-op diet, but I was already a few pounds down from my highest a few months prior...

Yeah - I find I become much more interesting as I lose weight.
Alas, I fear that I may be guilty of doing the same. We humans are imperfect and we generally just prefer interacting with prettier, slimmer people. It's something for all of us to try to stay conscious of.

I just hit 100 down this week so posting updated pics.
SO freaking happy with my results.
I love looking at everyone else's pics!
You all have helped inspire me to get where I am.
Hoping to lose a few more, but pretty darn happy where I am.
I've gone from size 22 to a 10/12.
Oh - I took these before pics just before starting the pre-op diet, but I was already a few pounds down from my highest a few months prior...

I just hit 100 down this week so posting updated pics.
SO freaking happy with my results.
I love looking at everyone else's pics!
You all have helped inspire me to get where I am.
Hoping to lose a few more, but pretty darn happy where I am.
I've gone from size 22 to a 10/12.
Oh - I took these before pics just before starting the pre-op diet, but I was already a few pounds down from my highest a few months prior...

Hi there - my current weight is 159 and my goal is 155.
Thanks!

Hi - I'm in! Hopefully this is the last one for me (unless I strive to maintain in future ones).Thanks!

Hi - thanks for doing this!! I started a new job and have been so distracted and not eating properly... thankfully I haven't gained, but I need to get back on track and lose these last few pounds. Will make it a priority in the next month.
Congrats all on your successes!
Final weight: 160

46 here, but feeling younger than I have in ages!
I'm contemplating plastic surgery in the next year or two. Hot 50 here I come!

For the record - I've had periods where I didn't lose because I was eating a lot as well as times when I didn't lose for mysterious reasons while eating and exercising just as I should to lose. Quite often though the weight loss catches up. Like I won't lose for a couple weeks and then drop 5-6 pounds the 3rd week. But sometimes there isn't a catch up, but the scale at least starts moving again. Alas, all part of the process.