billho

another NSV: I have a large hill on the vacant lot next to mine that I mow every week (because the owner doesn't take care of it and I don't want his weeds spreading to my yard). Last summer, I had difficulty getting up the hill on my riding mower and couldn't even attempt to go horizontally because of the risk of rollover. Now that I'm almost 100 lbs lighter, I can go horizontally with ease and my mower has no trouble getting up the hill.

I have many I could mention, but one that has been important lately is that pre-surgery, I needed EE width stability shoes. About 4 months ago, I moved to D width stability running shoes. Now those aren't comfortable anymore, especially now that I'm running more, I just bought D width, neutral shoes. I'm looking forward to being able to do more running.

I drink a Protein Shake with my coffee every morning. I have a really big tumbler, so just pour the cold shake from the fridge into hot coffee and sip on it for a while through the first part of the day. I prefer the ready-to-drink shakes from Premier Protein, but I really only like the Cafe Latte. The rest are too sweet for me too.
You asked about fruit-flavored Protein powder- have you looked at Unjury? They have a ton of different flavors. I've tried the strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla, but they have a long list of choices. It has been a while, but I don't remember them being very sweet. https://unjury.com/protein/protein-powder.html

Progress photos: First pic at 273 lbs (I had lost about 10 lbs before I took a photo), and second pic at 184 lbs.

Goaaaaaal!
I set out last July to lose 100 lbs. and I picked a random date at the end of May to get there. Today, May 25th, I'm down 100 lbs. and am lighter than I have been since college (30+ years ago).

First I want to say thank you to so many of the veteran posters on here. I hope you gals and guys know how much your experiences and feedback have helped me and I suspect many others. There's just such a fantastic mix of people and experiences - It's great knowing you aren't alone in this journey.

The first few months after surgery were easy. The weight was simply falling off, there wasn't anything I couldn't eat or drink - And better yet, I couldn't overeat because of the restriction. I felt fantastic most of the time, had all sorts of NSV's and loved my new life. From August until January I lost almost 50lbs - I was so close to Wonderland I could taste it. THEN reality struck - Suddenly I was one of those "slow losers" - It took almost 2 months to lose 13lbs. UGH, I WAS going to be one of those slow losers. OK, fine, I'm 52 and it is what it is, right? From January until May, I "only" lost 33lbs. Again, every week/month I told myself that I would lose the weight, I was just in some sort of a stall and things would magically pick up. Well, they didn't, I would lose 2-3 lbs and then I would gain 2-3 lbs. Again, "it's normal" I told myself.

Fast forward to a week ago - I jumped on here for some motivation (reading stories, etc.) and I took a hard look at what I was doing. Basically, I was being lazy - I was eating whatever I wanted and justifying it by saying "I only eat small portions" - Well, yeah, that was true...BUT I was grazing, I was drinking too much alcohol, and I wasn't tracking. I honetly have no idea how many calories I was consuming (especially on weekends with family and friends). I played mind games with myself and said "As long as I'm not gaining, I'm doing things right." - Well, that was a giant load of (@*$.

This past Tuesday (after a weekend of Mimosa's, Crown Royal, and some really great BBQ), I woke up to a 5lb gain (BTW, yes I realize some of that was Water retention). WAKE UP CALL. 5lbs? Seriously - Time to go back to basics before that's a 10lb gain. For the first time in MONTHS, I tracked every thing I tracked everything that went into my mouth (water, food, etc) - I did 3 days of liquid - In two days, those 5lbs were off. Rather than what I've done in the past, I didn't stop there - I continued tracking, I continued being cognizant of what and when I was eating. I said "no" to many things that I thought I wanted. I lost 6.8lbs from Tuesday to Sunday. What? I'm NOT a slow loser - I'm a LAZY loser.

Folks, for many of us, it's EASY in the first few months, it's EASY to convince ourselves that we're doing OK, it's EASY to compare ourselves to others, it's EASY to ignore signs that you're falling into bad habits, and it's EASY to get lazy. In reality, it's HARD to stick to your plan when you're feeling fantastic and patting yourself on the back for losing so much weight. I'm choosing to be thankful that this happened now rather than 2-3 years into it. I'm glad that reality smacked me in the face and forced me to face the fact that i wasn't doing what I needed to do. Right now it was EASY to get back on track before I let it get out of control. For those of you experiencing the same - Buckle up buttercup, start tracking, weigh yourself often if you need to, and take a good look and when and why you're losing weight and when and why you aren't.

Again, a very special thank you to you old timers for always keeping things real and giving out such fantastic advice.

another NSV: I have a large hill on the vacant lot next to mine that I mow every week (because the owner doesn't take care of it and I don't want his weeds spreading to my yard). Last summer, I had difficulty getting up the hill on my riding mower and couldn't even attempt to go horizontally because of the risk of rollover. Now that I'm almost 100 lbs lighter, I can go horizontally with ease and my mower has no trouble getting up the hill.

I had one a few months ago- I recently joined my local volunteer fire department and when they went to find turnout gear for me, they had to really hunt for some that was small enough. And my daughter (who is also a firefighter) wears the same size as me.

I drink a Protein Shake with my coffee every morning. I have a really big tumbler, so just pour the cold shake from the fridge into hot coffee and sip on it for a while through the first part of the day. I prefer the ready-to-drink shakes from Premier Protein, but I really only like the Cafe Latte. The rest are too sweet for me too.
You asked about fruit-flavored Protein powder- have you looked at Unjury? They have a ton of different flavors. I've tried the strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla, but they have a long list of choices. It has been a while, but I don't remember them being very sweet. https://unjury.com/protein/protein-powder.html

My dog had surgery a couple weeks ago for a torn ccl, which is like the acl in humans. We're supposed to be walking her to help rehab her leg. Normally she just runs in our yard, which is very big, but she has to be on a leash at all times. Anyway, we live at the bottom of a very long and steep half mile hill. I used to try to walk up that hill and had to stop every couple feet and would end up having and asthma attack. I've just been walking our dog around the culdesac we live on and in our yard because I've been afraid of that hill. Well, last night, she wanted to go that way so we walked up to the top. I didn't get short of breath at all, just the normal heavy breathing with exercise, but I wasn't winded at all. And coming back down the hill has always been harder for me because I felt off balance, but last night I had no problem, even with my 114 pound dog pulling me! I am SO happy. Now I can walk in our subdivision!!

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Ok ready to post my final before and after photos. Before is around 350lbs, 3 or 4xl shirt. My highest ever confirmed weight was 356 and this was very close to that date in 2014. The other is today, wearing a size medium shirt. Surgery was June 12, 2020, weight 334lbs, 6’4” BMI 40. I hit this weight (193) about 10 months post op and have been maintaining fairly evenly since (up a couple down a couple etc). For anyone on the fence about surgery, do your research but don’t let the scary stories you read here overwhelm you or give you a false sense of their frequency. Yes, bad things can and do happen in any endeavor. No one has a crystal ball, but the statistics of health issues from being obese and the statistics of coming through gastric surgery safely and enjoying positive results speak for themselves. I never dreamed I would feel this good again. I didn’t even think I was that fat…. Just a “big guy.” Looking back at old photos I’m mortified. Looking forward I’m so optimistic and full of life and joy. I feel like this is the “me” that has always been in there, hiding, hoping, waiting to come out. What “you” do you have inside longing to come out and face the world?

Going on my first flight after losing weight and having the seat belt fit, and I had to pull it to fit!

Congrats! You look like you don't have much loose skin. Lucky you!

Congratulations. That’s awesome.

Awesome

Congratulations

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Fantastic, your hard work paid off!!!

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Congratulations! You are such an inspiration!

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Every morning, my routine is that I make 10 oz of coffee (Keurig) in a big tumbler and I pour in a Premier Protein Cafe Latte. I have tried other flavors, but always keep coming back to it. I just buy the shakes by the case at costco.

Goaaaaaal!
I set out last July to lose 100 lbs. and I picked a random date at the end of May to get there. Today, May 25th, I'm down 100 lbs. and am lighter than I have been since college (30+ years ago).

How has that worked out in the past? For me, I was good at dieting. The problem is that after I lost 30 lbs, I'd be content with the progress I had made and always gained it back when I got lazy and or didn't get the same results.
Do I regret it? No way
Do I feel like my life has improved? Absolutely. I'm 100 lbs lighter and am a completely different person. I'm in the best shape of my adult life (aside from a brief time in college). I am more active, have learned some new skills and am doing things that I put off for years. I have more energy and feel better. I got rid of my CPAP, a bunch of meds, and don't hurt all the time. I can fit in an airplane seat, don't worry about breaking chairs, and can fit in normal-sized clothes. I can't think of a single down side.
Are you overthinking it? I can't speak for you, but probably. This is a big decision that only you can make- when you are ready. Of course, your medical history and particular situation is unique to you, so talk to your doctor and follow his/her advice.
What should you be aware of? take it slow and steady and expect it to take time to get where you want to be. Also, there is more of a social stigma to doing surgery than you might think, so be careful about how much you want to share, or at least be prepared for some negative reaction from those that don't understand.
Your relationship with food may change. I can only speak for me, but mealtime was the highlight of my day and the center of my universe was cooking and eating and preparing for the next time I got to eat. Now, it's "meh". I eat when I need to, but don't really think about it much. I still like to eat, but in much smaller amounts and I'm more concerned about good quality food that I can tolerate well, vs. food in large amounts. Also, my tastes have changed (may have been a result of getting COVID, though) and I don't like a lot of the things I used to crave.
Be prepared to spend less on food, but much, much more on clothes and running shoes. If this goes well, you'll need to replace your entire wardrobe. Ease into it at first, only buying the minimal things you need to get by, as you will move through sizes quickly.
This is how I feel most days:

OK, this is not weird, but it's the BEST NSV I could ever have and the BIGGEST reason I did my surgery. I got my labs back today and my liver enzymes are NORMAL. And not just high normal, either, but solidly in the mid-range. They were very high before! I have been in happy tears all day because of it! My liver disease was the thing that finally made me decided I needed surgery and it was SO worth it!

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How has that worked out in the past? For me, I was good at dieting. The problem is that after I lost 30 lbs, I'd be content with the progress I had made and always gained it back when I got lazy and or didn't get the same results.
Do I regret it? No way
Do I feel like my life has improved? Absolutely. I'm 100 lbs lighter and am a completely different person. I'm in the best shape of my adult life (aside from a brief time in college). I am more active, have learned some new skills and am doing things that I put off for years. I have more energy and feel better. I got rid of my CPAP, a bunch of meds, and don't hurt all the time. I can fit in an airplane seat, don't worry about breaking chairs, and can fit in normal-sized clothes. I can't think of a single down side.
Are you overthinking it? I can't speak for you, but probably. This is a big decision that only you can make- when you are ready. Of course, your medical history and particular situation is unique to you, so talk to your doctor and follow his/her advice.
What should you be aware of? take it slow and steady and expect it to take time to get where you want to be. Also, there is more of a social stigma to doing surgery than you might think, so be careful about how much you want to share, or at least be prepared for some negative reaction from those that don't understand.
Your relationship with food may change. I can only speak for me, but mealtime was the highlight of my day and the center of my universe was cooking and eating and preparing for the next time I got to eat. Now, it's "meh". I eat when I need to, but don't really think about it much. I still like to eat, but in much smaller amounts and I'm more concerned about good quality food that I can tolerate well, vs. food in large amounts. Also, my tastes have changed (may have been a result of getting COVID, though) and I don't like a lot of the things I used to crave.
Be prepared to spend less on food, but much, much more on clothes and running shoes. If this goes well, you'll need to replace your entire wardrobe. Ease into it at first, only buying the minimal things you need to get by, as you will move through sizes quickly.
This is how I feel most days:

There is something therapeutic about getting rid of all of your big clothes... this is a new life and you're not going back. But, I get it- if you're like me, this is a lifelong roller coaster of gaining and losing and gaining more, etc., so we don't want to get our hopes up.
I took it a bit slow about getting rid of stuff. First I threw out (or donated) the big clothes that I didn't really like and kept some things that were my favorites. Over time, as my sizes changed, I periodically purged the largest stuff, keeping a buffer size or two.
Even after losing 100 lbs., I still have some things I need to get rid of. As I type this, maybe I need to go through my closet again. I'm not going back! There is a ton of XXL stuff in there that I will never wear again.

There is something therapeutic about getting rid of all of your big clothes... this is a new life and you're not going back. But, I get it- if you're like me, this is a lifelong roller coaster of gaining and losing and gaining more, etc., so we don't want to get our hopes up.
I took it a bit slow about getting rid of stuff. First I threw out (or donated) the big clothes that I didn't really like and kept some things that were my favorites. Over time, as my sizes changed, I periodically purged the largest stuff, keeping a buffer size or two.
Even after losing 100 lbs., I still have some things I need to get rid of. As I type this, maybe I need to go through my closet again. I'm not going back! There is a ton of XXL stuff in there that I will never wear again.