dal101

I hit the next goal!

Down 101 lbs. 5 months post sleeve, 1 week post Gall Bladder removal ( Cholecystectomy).

HW 264
SW 235
CW 163
GW 130-145

well done ! what does your strength training look like ?

For those on the fence about surgery…it’s been a wild and crazy year, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. Thank you to everyone here for the motivation and tips. I still have 20-30 lbs to go but man am I proud of my progress. From a 22 to a 10!

7 months and 6 days post-op, and I’ve hit my goal! I lost around 70 lbs pre-op (and over 50 of that before surgery consult in late October of last year - COVID scared me into finally getting motivated to really do something about the weight). Pictures are from fall of 2019, second is about 2 weeks post op, and then the last is from early this week. Thinking of adjusting my goal down another 10 lbs or so as I still want to lose some more, but this is the lowest adult weight I have been. Need to start saving for plastics. I will say, the changes are more noticeable now - even 5 lbs can make a difference. I also started doing strength training about 10 weeks post-op (once I was fully vaccinated) and that has made a MASSIVE difference. I did a body scan and from late March when I started to mid-July (my most recent scan), I lost 35 lbs, which I knew from my scale, but I actually gained 6.5 lbs of muscle and lost 17% body fat. Want to continue to build that muscle and tone and now thinking lose another 10 or so. We shall see. But for today, I Celebrate hitting my goal, especially since everyone at the surgeon’s office said not to set it at that, as most folks only lose 60-70% of their excess weight. Of course, they also only want me to eat plant-based, and that’s not happening either. It’s definitely Fri-YAY!

I know what else I'd do; I'd talk to the office manager or whomever is in charge and let them know that this nut is not attentive and has recommended you do things that could have serious consequences for your health. You're lactose intolerant and she's recommending you eat things with lactose in them? What's her problem? I mean, I know that eating lactose won't kill you, but what if you had a nut allergy and, because she's inattentive, she recommended swapping to almond milk? OR what if you had a milk allergy, actually allergic to milk Protein and not lactose? Her recommendations could make you pretty sick. Sure... if someone has a food allergy you'd hope they'd know better than to follow poor suggestions, but it's easy to assume a medical "expert" knows what they are talking about and therefore choose to take their advice, KWIM?
Also, I know you mentioned that cheese can be constipating for you, but cheeses such as cheddar, Edam, Swiss, mozzarella, brie and feta contain no lactose. Due to the way they are fermented and aged, the lactose is in the whey, not the curd- and these cheeses are low in whey content.

Yeah, I'm admittedly a "lazy loser" myself. I've never been ANY good at counting/tracking calories, points, whatever. I eat things I enjoy because I know that one of my mental shortcomings is that if I try to force myself to eat things I don't enjoy just because they're healthy, I know I will cheat. I will *have* to eat something enjoyable, regardless of what other "healthy" things I've eaten... so rather than compound the calorie intake, I'll just cut to the chase and eat what I enjoy, healthy or not, but in moderation and smaller portions.
Not everyone's brain works the same way, and I know this perspective is likely anathema for others, but it's working thus far for me.
1 year out from surgery date my weight has plateaued as expected, but knowing my propensity to enjoy food, I'm deliberately keeping a closer eye on the scale. I have my fast food and my occasional sweets, but If I see any long-term trend upwards more than about 2-3 pounds, I immediately tighten things up.
So far, so good. Just this morning I hit a new low weight, so the the trend is still downward, and IMO that's what's important, no matter the methods employed.
Different strokes, yadda yadda yadda...

A typical day begins with coffee, 1 tsp of extra virgin coconut oil, 2 equal blended. I use the Premier Protein shakes because they are Keto friendly. I have nuts on hand, Macadamia, Brazil and pecans as a snack food. 4 oz of hard cheese are allowed each day. I use regular butter or vegan butter to make an egg or two, you are allowed bacon but I tend to break out from that type of fatty meat. You could dice ham into your eggs and green veggies. Peppers are also allowed. I use 1 oz of cheese in my eggs if I want. For lunch I make tuna, salmon or egg salad and eat it from the dish. I also eat salads with viangrette. I’ve had Cobb salad, spinach salad and portobello salads. I add extra hard boiled egg for more Protein and I enjoy the taste. I’ve eaten fish at dinner with green veggies. My favorite is Brussels sprouts and butter. You can use Quest bars or Cookies as a safe snack but try to limit them. I often have a second cup of coffee as made at Breakfast for the mid afternoon. So far my blood work came back immaculate. I like this plan because it helps me with my hyperinsulinema from my PCOS. I don’t spend the day constantly looking for sugar. If I do fall off, I start again at the next meal. It takes me four mealtimes to get the cravings out of my system again. If you have any questions. I can get you more information.

I admit I am having similar issues. My goal was reached and surpassed so fast, so early and so easily I have this mentality that “I’m good for life.” I hope I am and I’ve been maintaining well for a few months now. But to be honest I could be thinner. My wife and mom (seriously I’m 47 and still her baby) got worried I was too thin…. Damned if I do damned if I don’t scenario… so they’ve been conspiring (out of love and concern) to feed me more, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a voluntary participant in this game of theirs. But I know I need to be very careful. The “bonus m&ms” to keep calorie count high but food volume low can very very easily become a significant problem. I’m ready to sit down and reevaluate my food choices and make sure maintenance doesn’t turn into regain, because I know once it starts it’s so much harder to reverse the trend.

This is me. I just spent the last 3 weeks eating whatever because I had started a new job. I have had deviations from my diet before but 3 weeks was the longest. I weighed myself today and didnt gained thank God, but still I wasted those 3 weeks. I am a slow loser too, but there are many things I dont do. Like I calorie count but I eat anything, I dont bother with macros or look into how much Water I drink. I dont exercise and I dont take my supplements (eek!)

Like , I keep thinking I wanna reach my goal sooner but I get lazy because of the effort involved.

I stress clean/organize, immerse in fiction and research topics (doesn't matter what)

I didnt lose weight the first two weeks after WLS, I think the body will retain fluids when its trying to recover from surgery. Your post op diet will give you a downward trend of weight loss, just wait a bit.

Been a while since I’ve posted a before and after pic. Surgery weight was 271, current weight is 144lbs. I think I’m done losing now (bypass was 3/2/2020). My weight fluctuates between 142 and 145

This is also very true for me. Sometimes I will have grilled chicken kebab in the week and find more weight has shifted. I think its described as the 'woosh' effect, something to do with your metabolism adjusting.

Hi,

for Snacks I usually have a bag of walnuts, cheese sticks, crackers or rice cakes.

I am in shock. Up to about 900 calories a day, still getting all of my Protein in Water in daily. Today is exactly 4 months post op… down 70 POUNDS! 😲
284 surgery day, today 214. This is insane. I knew I would lose weight having this done for my reflux, but I never imagined losing it this fast ! I wish I could eat a cheeseburger to slow it down LOL WHEW!!!

Surgery date 1/25/21. HW 329.5 SW 300 GW 215 CW 233. Weight loss 95. Exercise has been key for me to keep the decline steady. 2 more months to get to goal.

As of last Tuesday, I was in a 2 week stall. Even knowing it was normal and inevitable, it felt terrible. I let myself feel down for a day and then I increased my Protein intake and started resistance band training (I was exactly 8 weeks out). I also incorporated more potassium rich food to combat sodium bloat.

Today I went in for my 2 month follow up and I’m down 12 pounds from last Tuesday, 32 since surgery, and 45 from my starting weight.

I’m sure the stall would’ve broken on it’s own but I feel good about the adjustments and I’m enjoying short resistance workouts.

Hoping anyone else in a stall right now feels hopeful after reading this!

waiting a year is a good idea - sometimes things shift around and you start looking a lot better. Plus many of us gain 10-20 lbs after hitting our lowest weight, unfortunately. Although not everyone would agree with me, it's probably good to have plastic surgery when your weight has more-or-less stabilized.

Keep up with the updates !

Just wanted to fill people in on what my experience has been like thus far since surgery. If you want to know something I forgot to mention, please don't hesitate to ask.
HOSPITAL STAY:
So I had my surgery May 19th around 10:30 am. I was in recovery and waking up by 11:45 am. All that went smoothly.
The first day I was so dang tired that I drifted off and on while sitting in the chair in-between walking around and drinking. I felt bad for my husband who stay with me all day. He was totally content and happy to be there but I knew he too was tired so about 7pm I made him go home (visiting hours ended at 8 anyway). LOL
When I first got to my room I was like, OMG I have HORRIBLE burning like heartburn and even complained about it. They gave me some sort of Gas chew and it didn't do jack. It wasn't until I got up and walking around that I figured out it was NOT heartburn but related to that gas inside and the walking helped that feeling subside.
They gave me nothing but Water or Gatorade Zero while there and I was totally fine and content with that. They mentioned medicine if I was nauseous but I never was. I felt totally fine and normal but for the one incision site that's to the right and up from my belly button. Doc said that's the typical complaint spot and where he pulls the extra stomach through so that's to be expected. But it hurt like hell when first standing from sitting and also wiping after peeing. Uggghhh. I slept in a chair sitting up that night when I could sleep which really only amounted to 3 hours total.
I was given Tylenol for pain and an Oxycodone once on that first night. They sent me home with the Oxycodone too for pain and so far I have only taken it once at night to help with that pain while sleeping.
The next morning they took more blood work and everything came back good and they allowed me to go home by early noon. Mostly because my pain was managed by meds and because I was easily able to get enough water down and I was not sick.
Also, I did not pack much but I did pack my cell phone, charger, kindle, Biotene, Chapstick, brush, toothpaste and toothbrush, extra underwear and that was it. I did not use ANYTHING but for my brush and, right after surgery, put on my own undies and a pad since I got my period the day before surgery. I did not even use my cell phone (maybe once to post here) cause I was just so dang tired (plus trying to get my liquids in and walking) and hubby did all the updating to others for me. I mostly watched TV as it was on for background noise more than anything.
MOVING AROUND:
Every day is getting better but this dang incision spot is a ******!!! Can't wait for it to stop hurting cause I'm really tired of sleeping sitting up. I tried every way possible to lay down and it's just not possible! The dang area feels like it's burning and tearing apart when I do. Otherwise I'm following orders and walking around. I do not feel I still have a lot of gas issues but I most definitely feel like I am swollen about my stomach area for sure.
APPEARANCE:
I was actually surprised at how weird my stomach looked after surgery. Normally my stomach is smooth/one size all over and flat/round-ish (except for my little fat pouch right under my left breast that's been there forever). But upon looking at my stomach after surgery, I feel like some spots are like poofed out and others dented in, if that makes sense. Especially the bad incision spot. Strange. Not sure how else to explain it. Today is day 4 and it looks like I'm starting to bruise around most, if not all, incisions. Just slightly.
FOOD/WATER:
So my after diet consists of 2 weeks FULL LIQUIDS, followed by 1 week PUREE, and 2 weeks SOFT FOODS, then finally normal foods. Strange enough, I have had NO problem getting in 64 oz of liquid at all. I've had no chest pain, full feeling or sickness. A few times I had what feels like if you drink too much how it creates a sorta air bubble that hurts for a split second but then it passes. Otherwise, no issues. In fact, a few times after trying to drink/gulp like I normally would, I had to stop and remind myself that I no longer could do that. So weird cause I feel, aside from the incision pain, I would never know I even had surgery. So right now since all I've been able to ingest is liquids, I'm not sure if this is gonna be a blessing or an issue. On one hand I'm glad I can seem to "eat" and drink normal and also have had no aversions to taste. But on the other hand, I worry that will not help me in the long run to lose weight. This remains to be seen but I am scared I won't lose for this reason.
So far I've had Protein Shakes, water, Gatorade Zero, the broths from creamed Soups, sugar free popsicles and that's it.
MEDICINE:
I was told I wouldn't be able to swallow anything bigger than a tictac. That was a lie. I have been able to swallow all my pills, even the big ol Metformin, with no issue.
POTTY:
Had my first BM on my second day home. Had several a day since. No problems there either.
WEIGHT:
Not that I expected anything yet but, I have gotten on the scale and it's the same as it was the day of surgery.

I think that's it. Can't think of anything else right now but if you have any questions please ask.

Slv 9/23/19 5’3” 67 yrs
HW 285
SW 245
CW 152
GW 140
“It’s never too late to be who you were meant to be “

HW 268
SW 258
GW 140
CW 122

1 year anniversary since surgery! I’ve had a few bumps in the road and am actually in the process of trying to gain a little weight (under my surgeons supervision of course) but I am still happy with my decision to have WLS and have no regrets! ❤️

mmm. I had these stressful interviews coming up and consequently spent 2 weeks eating badly. Like takeaways and chocolate etc. When I tried to go back to my healthy eating it was so difficult. It took a couple of days / a week to restrict myself but I managed to get back to it . I slowly reduced my portions and ate more Protein. I felt terrible during this period and avoided weighing myself but I got through it. Give yourself time and you'll be back on track.

Sleeved 10/16 5'3" starting weight was 213 day of surgery, currently at 165. I also need to find ways to incorporate more Protein and drink more Water. My hair is falling out like crazy, that started about 3 to 4 weeks ago although it does seem to be slowing down a lil bit. My Multivitamin also makes me nauseous so I make sure to take it right before I fall asleep so I sleep it off at night. How's everyone else currently?

Hi Everyone - Just checking in! I am currently 152lbs (5’3”, 10/19 surgery, 213 Day of Surgery). Stopped doing extra exercise in Feb due to continued issues with my upper back. It got really bad. I had an X-ray and I have a slight curve to the left in my thoracic spine - not big enough to concern the doctor yet (no visible tumors or anything), but it’s probably the reason for my pain and numbness. Going to start PT next week or the week after. My hair is still falling out, although it is slowing down a lot. I chopped my hair to a bob and it looks way better, but I still have to be careful where I part my hair lol! I am not allowed Snacks or more food than 1/2 cup for my 3 meals, so I was wondering how you all are getting in calories? I am anywhere between 550 and 800 per day. I have started having food cravings again, but not hunger (except for the day before my period!!! Eek!). I have tried adding higher fat foods like olive oil, Peanut Butter, real butter, but it doesn’t take me too far. I am not sensitive to fatty foods. I also noticed that peanuts trigger a stall for a couple of days, even during “losing periods” (I stall for much of the month and then lose rapidly for 5-10 days at a time). I wonder if I am sensitive to them? How is everyone else doing?