Maisey

Total scale Victory and Random Observations: I now have lost more than I weigh. I have lost 190 lbs. from my highest weight of 374. The first 50 was using Victoza for Type 2 diabetes. My bariatric program has my starting weight as 343. SW=325. CW=185. My program doesn’t give goal weights. For my own satisfaction, 174 would give me a normal BMI. I’d like to end about 170 knowing that some gain/loss is possible as things settle. I’m 5’10”. I have gone from a size 30/32 to a 14. I haven’t been this size since early high school. I look forward to doing things rather than dreading them. I’ve been off all diabetes meds since surgery. I am still using my CPAP although I’ve had the pressure lowered twice. I see the sleep program in December and we will re-evaluate then. I suspect I will still have a need for it. My cholesterol medication will be re-evaluated in December as well. My doctor thinks it likely I will remain on that med due to family history. That is the only medication I take other than my Vitamins and supplements.
I track in LoseIt. I track every bite, every day. It keeps me accountable to myself and I foresee it as something I will need to do forever. Today is the first time I ever exported my progress to a spreadsheet. On other groups, I see so many questions that ask how much someone has lost at a given point. I honestly never knew what I did. These are my totals lost from first to current month: 16, 19, 17, 15, 15, 18, 4, 9, 17, 10. I exceed my liquid goals every day and never tracked that after the first week. I’ve never had any trouble with liquids and I know roughly what I drink each day as I know what my mug holds. I also ran my macros for the first time. Since surgery, I’ve kept Protein to 40-50% of my diet with fat and carbs 25-30%. I’m still at 800-1000 calories per day. My program has said that is relatively low at this point but as long as I am losing and not feeling hungry, it was fine. My hunger has not returned. I am grateful for that.
I’ve tried to build successful habits that will serve me for the long haul. I’ve been walking since coming home from the hospital. I started at 5-10 minutes per day. Now, I try to walk 45-60 per day at a moderate pace. I use 5 lb. weights and do toning exercises for 10-15 min. most days. I’ve started seeing virtually a therapist recommended by my program. I don’t have a history of trauma or eating disorders but I didn’t get to my weight by having a healthy relationship with food.< span> Plus, I was very moody and short-tempered following surgery.
I feel great and have more energy than I have in years. But This. Is. Work. I’m ok with that and try to keep my focus on progress and health. I follow what my program suggests and make my own decisions within that framework. There is no short cut to this. There’s no pouch reset, fasting, diet pills and how soon can I eat at McDonalds. I ranted on here one time about hating the word “pouch.” I still do. I hate pouch reset even more. 🙄😫 I don’t believe in it. We don’t need to reset. We need to make the best decisions and choices we can without needing to be perfect. Sure, you lose weight with it, but it’s simply because you are going back to not taking in many calories….and most of us have been down that road before.
I continue to absorb the wisdom I get here from those who have gone down this road before me or are on it now. I still hate shopping even though it is not as difficult as it once was. I’m still not sure who I see in the mirror and am uncomfortable with focus on my weight loss. I could eventually benefit from plastic surgery, but I don’t know if that will be in the cards. Enough for now……thanks for reading.

That’s amazing ! Congratulations!

Total scale Victory and Random Observations: I now have lost more than I weigh. I have lost 190 lbs. from my highest weight of 374. The first 50 was using Victoza for Type 2 diabetes. My bariatric program has my starting weight as 343. SW=325. CW=185. My program doesn’t give goal weights. For my own satisfaction, 174 would give me a normal BMI. I’d like to end about 170 knowing that some gain/loss is possible as things settle. I’m 5’10”. I have gone from a size 30/32 to a 14. I haven’t been this size since early high school. I look forward to doing things rather than dreading them. I’ve been off all diabetes meds since surgery. I am still using my CPAP although I’ve had the pressure lowered twice. I see the sleep program in December and we will re-evaluate then. I suspect I will still have a need for it. My cholesterol medication will be re-evaluated in December as well. My doctor thinks it likely I will remain on that med due to family history. That is the only medication I take other than my Vitamins and supplements.
I track in LoseIt. I track every bite, every day. It keeps me accountable to myself and I foresee it as something I will need to do forever. Today is the first time I ever exported my progress to a spreadsheet. On other groups, I see so many questions that ask how much someone has lost at a given point. I honestly never knew what I did. These are my totals lost from first to current month: 16, 19, 17, 15, 15, 18, 4, 9, 17, 10. I exceed my liquid goals every day and never tracked that after the first week. I’ve never had any trouble with liquids and I know roughly what I drink each day as I know what my mug holds. I also ran my macros for the first time. Since surgery, I’ve kept Protein to 40-50% of my diet with fat and carbs 25-30%. I’m still at 800-1000 calories per day. My program has said that is relatively low at this point but as long as I am losing and not feeling hungry, it was fine. My hunger has not returned. I am grateful for that.
I’ve tried to build successful habits that will serve me for the long haul. I’ve been walking since coming home from the hospital. I started at 5-10 minutes per day. Now, I try to walk 45-60 per day at a moderate pace. I use 5 lb. weights and do toning exercises for 10-15 min. most days. I’ve started seeing virtually a therapist recommended by my program. I don’t have a history of trauma or eating disorders but I didn’t get to my weight by having a healthy relationship with food.< span> Plus, I was very moody and short-tempered following surgery.
I feel great and have more energy than I have in years. But This. Is. Work. I’m ok with that and try to keep my focus on progress and health. I follow what my program suggests and make my own decisions within that framework. There is no short cut to this. There’s no pouch reset, fasting, diet pills and how soon can I eat at McDonalds. I ranted on here one time about hating the word “pouch.” I still do. I hate pouch reset even more. 🙄😫 I don’t believe in it. We don’t need to reset. We need to make the best decisions and choices we can without needing to be perfect. Sure, you lose weight with it, but it’s simply because you are going back to not taking in many calories….and most of us have been down that road before.
I continue to absorb the wisdom I get here from those who have gone down this road before me or are on it now. I still hate shopping even though it is not as difficult as it once was. I’m still not sure who I see in the mirror and am uncomfortable with focus on my weight loss. I could eventually benefit from plastic surgery, but I don’t know if that will be in the cards. Enough for now……thanks for reading.

Congratulations on your success.
You covered a lot of points that people really need to ponder.
Our surgeries are always there.
Continued success and good luck,
Tek

That's amazing. I'm just 4 weeks out from surgery. I've had a bit of a struggle with being hungry all the time, but I'm hoping I will still be successful. I've lost 18lbs in the last 4 weeks since surgery, so I'm happy about that. I'm also feeling a bit irritable but our bariatric therapist can't see me until November, so I'm just seeing my regular therapist tomorrow.
Congrats on your success!

Total scale Victory and Random Observations: I now have lost more than I weigh. I have lost 190 lbs. from my highest weight of 374. The first 50 was using Victoza for Type 2 diabetes. My bariatric program has my starting weight as 343. SW=325. CW=185. My program doesn’t give goal weights. For my own satisfaction, 174 would give me a normal BMI. I’d like to end about 170 knowing that some gain/loss is possible as things settle. I’m 5’10”. I have gone from a size 30/32 to a 14. I haven’t been this size since early high school. I look forward to doing things rather than dreading them. I’ve been off all diabetes meds since surgery. I am still using my CPAP although I’ve had the pressure lowered twice. I see the sleep program in December and we will re-evaluate then. I suspect I will still have a need for it. My cholesterol medication will be re-evaluated in December as well. My doctor thinks it likely I will remain on that med due to family history. That is the only medication I take other than my Vitamins and supplements.
I track in LoseIt. I track every bite, every day. It keeps me accountable to myself and I foresee it as something I will need to do forever. Today is the first time I ever exported my progress to a spreadsheet. On other groups, I see so many questions that ask how much someone has lost at a given point. I honestly never knew what I did. These are my totals lost from first to current month: 16, 19, 17, 15, 15, 18, 4, 9, 17, 10. I exceed my liquid goals every day and never tracked that after the first week. I’ve never had any trouble with liquids and I know roughly what I drink each day as I know what my mug holds. I also ran my macros for the first time. Since surgery, I’ve kept Protein to 40-50% of my diet with fat and carbs 25-30%. I’m still at 800-1000 calories per day. My program has said that is relatively low at this point but as long as I am losing and not feeling hungry, it was fine. My hunger has not returned. I am grateful for that.
I’ve tried to build successful habits that will serve me for the long haul. I’ve been walking since coming home from the hospital. I started at 5-10 minutes per day. Now, I try to walk 45-60 per day at a moderate pace. I use 5 lb. weights and do toning exercises for 10-15 min. most days. I’ve started seeing virtually a therapist recommended by my program. I don’t have a history of trauma or eating disorders but I didn’t get to my weight by having a healthy relationship with food.< span> Plus, I was very moody and short-tempered following surgery.
I feel great and have more energy than I have in years. But This. Is. Work. I’m ok with that and try to keep my focus on progress and health. I follow what my program suggests and make my own decisions within that framework. There is no short cut to this. There’s no pouch reset, fasting, diet pills and how soon can I eat at McDonalds. I ranted on here one time about hating the word “pouch.” I still do. I hate pouch reset even more. 🙄😫 I don’t believe in it. We don’t need to reset. We need to make the best decisions and choices we can without needing to be perfect. Sure, you lose weight with it, but it’s simply because you are going back to not taking in many calories….and most of us have been down that road before.
I continue to absorb the wisdom I get here from those who have gone down this road before me or are on it now. I still hate shopping even though it is not as difficult as it once was. I’m still not sure who I see in the mirror and am uncomfortable with focus on my weight loss. I could eventually benefit from plastic surgery, but I don’t know if that will be in the cards. Enough for now……thanks for reading.

There is likely going to be a bit of a learning curve to figure out what your maintenance calories are.
If you track your food intake, this process can be a little easier.
Step one: figure out what your average daily intake is (by tracking calories) and weigh yourself regularly (to determine how this intake amount affects ur weight)
Step two: if you are gaining or losing over a specific period of time, drop or add some cals, monitor for a while.
Rinse and repeat until u find ur sweet spot.
As u get further out and your activity levels change, you may need to reevaluate again and again.
It took me 2-3 months to figure out my maintenance calories, and i lost a further 10+ lbs in the process. Since then i’ve been happily maintaining my current weight for over 2 years. I decrease cals when I exercise less and increase when there is more. Its an ongoing thing.
Good luck! ❤️
P..S. Full disclosure: i don’t always eat healthily, but i generally always stay within my calorie range (on average).

Month 11, 172.4 as of this morning. I feel like my body is slamming the brakes on weight loss, but I’m still going down so I’ll get there eventually!

This month I increased my running speed and distance, and I’m getting some body weight work outs into my routine. I am also back firmly into a size 12 pants, which was my “dream size” from that brief moment so long ago when I got back down to a healthy weight. I’m pretty tall for a woman so I’m not sure that single digit sizes are even a possibility for me, so I’m very happy with this size.

I am also NOT OVERWEIGHT!! I have actually reached a healthy weight for my height! I realize a lot of people who are close to 50 bmi like I was will never get here and I’m so grateful that I have.

Next month goals- get into the 160s, increase my daily running distance, and Celebrate my one year sleeve-a-versary!

@moonbeam, if you're talking about Shirataki noodles, IMHO, if you keep your expectations reasonable, they are ok in some cases. They need to be rinsed VERY well and then I heat them in a non-stick pan to further dry them. They take on the flavor of whatever you make with them. I like them best as spaghetti as they take on the flavor of the Pasta Sauce.

These are some of my "go-to" snack substitutes as well. I know some people advocate not eating snack food ever, but for me having a less destructive alternative to the real thing has helped me a lot.

I am keeping junk food out of the house as much as possible but I did buy some Quest Protein chips and some Slim Fast Keto Fat Bombs. Just a few chips or 1 fat bomb will keep my sweet or salty craving at bay. I'm trying to be realistic and substitute bad food for less bad alternatives.... It's just not realistic for me to NEVER have a piece of chocolate or a handful of chips.

that seems like a lot for just being a couple weeks out. We were told to measure stuff out and just eat that. Your hunger/full signals are likely to be off for the first few weeks. Nerves were cut during surgery, and it takes them awhile to regenerate - so your stomach isn't always talking to your brain. Also, most of us don't start feeling restriction until we start eating solid foods. I would run this by your clinic's dietitian and get his/her feedback.

I was able to eat more than expected at each phase including soft and solid food as well. Even now at 7 months out I have to measure my food so I do not eat too much as I do not always feel my restriction after eating a
full serving size. This concerns me for when my hunger comes back but for now I just measure.

I agree with lizonaplane - that's a small enough gain that it could be normal fluctuation or a trend...hard to tell at this point. However, you're at a point post-op where many of us do tend to see a 10-20 lb rebound from our lowest weight. If you want to stay in the low 140s, then set a drop-dead weight ceiling and when you hit that, it's all hands on deck until you get back into your comfort range. But with that slight gain you're seeing now, that could also just be normal fluctuation. Give it another couple weeks and see what happens.

That could be normal fluctuation, or it could be a trend, hard to know. Try changing up your diet (more fluids, fewer or more calories, more Protein, more veggies, different/more exercise) and see what happens. Sometimes our bodies just stay in one place until we shake it up a bit. Try a different exercise routine like a free YouTube work out or go mall walking for a change. I'm also in MA and I find walking at the mall gives me a change of scenery and since the weather here is unpredictable it helps (of course, walking is about all I can do right now, since I can't swim until my incisions heal, but if you're able to run, I wouldn't suggest doing that in a mall!).

When I was still in the weight loss phase, I had what I called "munchie" days, when I was hungry all day long. I learned not to fight it, but to make sure I ate nutritious, high Protein food and not junk. If I ate something and then an hour later I was hungry, I'd eat something else but it had to be something on-plan. I found those days were offset by an equal number of days when I had very little appetite and ate super-lightly. The good thing about munchie days is that they were often followed by a nice drop in weight. I have no idea how that works, but I observed that to be the case.

@lizonaplane, Tony's is pure heaven on earth Pre-internet where you can order anything, I had friends send it to me.

Today, I am officially one week and a day post-op. The first 2-3 days by far were the worse and even caused me to have “buyer’s remorse”. But for anyone thinking about surgery, do it! It gets a little easier each day. You do have to learn to be patient with how your body initially reacts to anything you ingest. Is the diet post-op boring? Absa-freaking-lutely! But I can definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Thus far, I have lost 15 lbs, I am astonished. Those 15 lbs have allowed me to drop a size to a 16. I haven’t been able to get down to that size since 5 years ago, before I had my first child. Everyone has those shorts or clothes that you hang on to because you are determined to fit back into them. This week my NSVs were fitting into two pairs of shorts I have been hanging onto. I am so happy! Another NSV (TMI topic) is that I am fully back to being “regular” on my BMs, makes me feel a little more normal since it took about 4 days after surgery to have one.

Let me start by saying that my husband met me when I was thin but he married me when I was heavy so I know he loves me no matter what. At the same time if I ask him he is honest about my size. Well I haven’t lost any weight on the scale for over a month now but I have been doing crunches because I have what I like to call a spare tire. Last night I asked my husband if my spare tire is getting better because I’ve been doing crunches for a while and he said it’s not quite a spare tire anymore and I said so is it more like a doughnut he said well not a doughnut either, maybe just tread. I thought it was funny and was glad to hear that even though I am not losing weight it is redistributing. I increased my crunches today to try and get rid of the tread but don’t want to get my hopes up too much. The NP already told me with the loose skin I probably will not have a six pack without surgery. But going from a full on belly to spare tire to donut to just tread is still HUGE. I’ll take it.

So I have experienced some good NSV's like many of you during these past few months. Stuff like fitting in restaurant booths better, fitting clothes better, not having to worry so much about weight limits on certain things, the car seatbelt not making that dreaded sound cause it was pulled out too far.........lol.......etc. But this weekend I had something else happen that took me by surprise.
So since surgery on May 19th I lost 62 lbs and since March the total is 81 lbsl! Even though those numbers sound good and I can see some changes in me, whenever my husband says stuff like, "Wow, I can't believe how thin you've gotten!" etc. I always reply with how I don't see it and how I still have lots to go. He always says I don't give myself enough credit, etc.
Anyway, this weekend we were out and about and we decided to stop and have lunch and as I approached the restaurant door, I was taken aback by the figure/person I saw in the reflection. It was almost as if I didn't recognize myself for a split second. It was strange. I usually wear my old baggy clothes still but this day I decided to wear leggins that actually fit and were NOT baggy, I had my heel boots on, a nice sweater, etc. I was feeling really good about myself.
Well, the next day we were out again visiting a lake/park. This particular lake has different boat rentals like kayaks, canoes, etc. Things I could never do cause of my weight. So we went inside to inquire and, low and behold, I was actually UNDER the weight limit!!! I was so happy I could barely contain my excitement!! So we walked outside, me in front of my husband, and he again commented on my weight loss and how I've been looking and so I told him to take a few full body pics of me so that I could see what he sees. He took one of the front and back. Now, taking a photo of my whole body has always been a HUGE NO NO and everyone knows it so I was scared to see the results. Well when I looked at the pictures I actually burst into tears!!! It was such an unexpected reaction from me that it caught us both off guard. My husband was asking and hoping they were tears of happiness and I told him YES! That it was the first time in decades that I could actually stomach seeing a photo of myself that I was Ok with.
I cried some more and hubby comforted me and told me how proud he was of how well I was doing and how happy he was that the surgery was finally helping me lose weight when so many things I tried never did. He said he was happy I was getting healthy, that I was off some medication, and my labs were coming back great. He also reaffirmed that my weight was NEVER an issue for him and that he loved me always, no matter how big or small I am and I told him that I always knew that but that it was always an issue for me. Which is why I had the surgery.
I guess it was the combo of the catching a glimpse of myself in the reflection, the better fitting clothes, learning I can now kayak and then seeing myself in the photos that it just really hit me. I have a ways to go still, like I always tell him, but I am FINALLY starting to feel happy with what I am seeing. It feels really good!!

I hate the word "pouch."
There, I've said it. I feel better now.
Yes, I know doctors use the word.
No, I don't have a better word.
I just don't like it.🤣

So, I refuse to say that I will never have treats again. I’m just very, very, choosy about when and how much of a treat I’ll have. I’m pretty good about avoiding candy but I’m a big baker. Now when I bake Cookies I’ll give them all away save 1-2 and have no more than 1 cookie a day if I keep 2. I made a tiramisu when I was home at my parents this summer and I cut myself a piece that was maybe 2 inches long by 1 inch wide (about 1/4 of a slice of everyone else’s). My philosophy is that complete restrictions are bad and can actually make things worse, at least for me. I live alone so I don’t have to worry about others bringing treats in the house. But I’ve found some willpower - I have half a bag of Hershey kisses left from when I baked some Peanut Butter kiss cookies for a friend (of which I kept one for myself) - that was probably 2 months ago and I haven’t had a single Hershey kiss since - if I’m going to have a piece of chocolate on its own, it needs to be some good gourmet chocolate. Now I won’t be in the country for Thanksgiving but for Christmas I will definitely have a small dessert - this is not a diet, this is how I plan to live the rest of my life! And I make sure to get my Protein in to help balance anything I have (and I log everything so I know where I am on macros at all times).

I don't believe what you experienced was dumping. Dumping is usually caused by too much sugar and/or fat. It sounds like you ate too much, too fast.

I don't believe what you experienced was dumping. Dumping is usually caused by too much sugar and/or fat. It sounds like you ate too much, too fast.

We have a huge thread about NSVs (non-scale victories) but I wanted to share a scale-related one.
As I posted in another thread, I had to go to the emergency room. Once I was in intake and triage, of course the first thing they said was "hop up on the scale please."
And for the first time in my adult life, I didn't dread it. I didn't dread a nasty "guess what we found those 8 pounds you lost and they brought their cousins" number. I didn't even empty my pockets.
It felt so liberating.