njlimmer

HI All!! 23 days post op and doing really well! Moved into soft foods and have had fish, cottage cheese, and some steamed veggies. Still not feeling hungry which is a good thing, but I've realized that it doesn't really give me a chance to feel full. I haven't really tried pushing it to the limit as I don't want to get sick or hurt myself so I'm just sticking to 4oz portions, eating slowly, and chewing!
How's everyone else doing today?

I have mixed feelings about that show.
a pro is that it exposes more people to bariatric surgery, which hopefully has reduced the stigma somewhat and made people realize it isn't the scary thing it was 30 or 40 years ago
cons:
it's very formulaic , so I can only watch one or two episodes at one sitting. It gets pretty boring - and predictable - after that
it gives more "normal" WLS patients (i.e, those of us who weigh in the 200s and 300s) unrealistic expectations, like they're going to lose 40 lbs the first month, so we see a lot of concerned and upset people when they "only" lost 15 or 20 lbs the first month
I hate the way the people on the show are exploited - like being shown on the toilet or in the shower. Really?? Do we have to see that?
also, so many of these people have really serious issues. I guess it helps with the ratings, but I don't know where they find some of these people. It's so great to see the occasional person on there who doesn't have some serious hangups or issues - but they seem to be few and far between

I've read that some people watch - and far prefer - the UK series, "The Fat Doctor", since it's more realistic, but I've yet to watch it.

Bored - Best description I can come up with. Sitting here @ about 80lbs lost and in a stall. Why? Because I'm lazy and gotten complacent!! Joined the gym... haven't gone yet.
The first 80lbs were beyond easy. I'm one of the lucky ones - No complications, no adverse reactions to any kinds of food/drink. All my friends/family are commenting on how good I'm looking and how proud they are. I'm even happy with where I am for now. Here's the rub - I'm happy (yeah, I know that sounds stupid) - Able to do more, feel better, and truly enjoying life. The problem? That's the black hole I get into. Happy = Family, friends, boating, food, etc and ultimately leads to my not following the plan. I've got at least 40lbs to go. Looking at the numbers, that means I'm "only" 2/3's to my goal.
This is without a doubt the best decision I've ever made for ME - Now I have to figure out how to use this tool for the rest of my life - Not just for 80lbs. I know what I HAVE to do, now I just need to figure out for myself HOW to do it. I'm not much of a tracker (I manage to track for a few days, goes well, I get lazy.... you get the picture). The one thing that HAS worked is getting on the scale every day. I'm acknowleding that's what works for ME - it holds me accountable and makes me more aware of the slips and their ramifications.
This forum is awesome for making me look at what I've done right and what I've done wrong. Seeing others with the same issues helps me know this is normal and often part of the process. I have a feeling that I'll be on here for a long time (if nothing else, just for reality checks).... So in closing, thank you ALL for your insight and comradarie. You've made this journey much easier to understand and relate to.

@njlimmerI picked it based on how I did with the lap band I had in years ago. Honestly though, I think your goal weight is much more realistic for me. My bones are big (not a small frame at all) and to get down to that weight made me end up in the hospital. I just put that number down but would honestly be very happy getting to 170 - 180. I think I look good at 170. My docs asked for a goal weight and I just through out 150 and when they didn't react - I thought OK must be a good one lol Its not set in stone for me.

Thanks! I'd like to claim it's all from surgery, but I lost 46lbs pre-surgery. I've lost about 20lbs since surgery though!

I've been a gym rat since the gyms opened back up last September. I added muscle mass and had to go up in shirt size. I still love putting clothing combinations together all the way down to the shoes.

Yep! I'll ride the not hungry train for as long as I can. I've discovered that I can do two sips okay, but the third makes everything feel tight. I have my Apple watch set to go off every 3 minutes and I take 1 sip. That's easy for me to do and doesn't make me uncomfortable. I'm trying to push it to two sips, but one is super easy.

The scale keeps me aware of microtrends. I use MyFitnessPal to track my weight and I weigh daily. There have been three two-week intervals where I gained and lost 6-8 lbs. even though via food-tracking, I confirmed there was absolutely no change in my daily caloric intake. I reassured myself that these gain/losses were aberrations, not signs of actual weight gain. They could be explained by Water retention, salt increase, medication changes, etc.
So I look at 7 day, 30 day, 90 day, and 180 day trends. For the past six months, I've been relatively stable and I owe this to food diarying and daily weighing.

Initially I was every day - same time, just underwear. Like @Jaelzion, i recorded my weight everyday but I didn’t let the little fluctuations bother me either. They’re normal regardless of your weight. I just watched the trend - loved the graph in the app I used.
I continued daily weighing the first year of maintenance because I kept losing & I was monitoring that closely.
Now at almost 2 yrs out, I’m not as regulated. I weigh myself 4 or 5 times a week. I have a 1 kg window I fluctuate within & I’m okay if that’s where my weight is sitting. I didn’t get on the scale this morning as I’m a bit constipated so I knew the number on the scale wouldn’t be truly accurate.
I agree with @The Greater Fool. We have to find what works for us & then stick with it. I didn’t want to be on a ‘diet’ for the rest of my life. I’ve made changes & this is just how & what I eat now. But I also know myself & I weigh to keep myself accountable. In the past, I wouldn’t go anywhere near a scale if I thought I’d put on weight. Ostrich - sand! And then the reality would be a slap in the face when I eventually did. Plus, seeing what I weigh now is really motivational.

Think I mentioned this in another post but when I told my surgeon I weighed in everyday (right after surgery), he asked me if I was purposely trying to make myself even nuttier than I already was. Joking but not I suppose. I think once or twice a week is reasonable. I find that if I do it too infrequent, I'm more likley to make mistakes and lose track of my accountability. If I weigh in too much, I obsess over the number, which isn't always the best indicator. To each their own w/o going too crazy I reckon. 😀

6-10 times a day LOL

I weigh myself daily, but seeing my weight fluctuate does not bother me, and if I do get aggravated I take a break. As long as the overall trend is going down over time I'm happy though, and I place more emphasis on how I feel, how my close fit, and my labs.

Sent from my Nokia 7.2 using BariatricPal mobile app

Good news! Plus... you'll see the nursing side from the patient POV and I bet that will only make you a better nurse! Good luck!

You bet! At 7 years post op, it’s definitely harder. I’m up 35 pounds from my goal weight I maintained for quite a few years. But life happened, and I went back to old habits. As time goes on after surgery, the easier it is to overeat.

I’m happy to say I’m back on track again! And let me tell you, eating less and eating Protein and lots of Fiber has really brought my sleeve restriction back! I’m down 5 pounds and am already feeling physically better.

Guys, don’t ignore weight gain after maintenance. You’ll have some “bounce” weight where your body wants to be, and that’s completely normal. But any gain after that take seriously. I was doing the “It’s only 10 pounds” It’s only 15 pounds” until 35 pounds, and then was like “What the hell happened??”

I don’t want to get tiny again like the pic on the left at my lowest. I was comfortable at 160, and that’s realistically what I’m shooting for. I can do this! And YOU can, too!

Oh, pic on the right is me currently.

It has been 7 months, and 2 days since my WLS.
I finally hit my GOAL when weighing in this morning. I have never been this small in my adult life.
It is such a great feeling, knowing that everything I worked for up to this point has been worth it.
My ONLY regret is that I didn't do this 10 years ago.
I have lost 81 lbs., went from a size 20 jeans, now in a size 6, (I posted a few days ago that I was a size 8, but my new jeans were actually too big, and I had to get a size 6).
I am sooooooo happy!!! 😄😄😄😄😄

Okay... you are where I want to be when I grow up! I'm 23 days post op so I've got a few weeks before I move into "regular" foods on my plan, but I've been thinking about what my eating life looks like afterwards. I want it to be my lifestyle and not a constant diet. So any tips?? Everything in moderation?

People refer to this as having "food funerals". I didn't have the opportunity because my surgery was scheduled so abruptly that I had to start the pre-op the same day I got my surgery date. But it's not an uncommon impulse.
The good thing to remember is that you can very likely enjoy those foods again. The post-op diet starts off pretty strict but by the time you are done losing weight you can eat almost anything (minus the one or two items that still upset some of our stomachs). Not as often and in smaller portions, but very few foods are off-limits forever (my bariatric team gave me two: carbonated drinks and popcorn).
In the two years since my surgery I've had Chick-Fil-A, Thai food, ice cream (non-dairy for me), and other goodies. I'm still not able to eat ground beef, so hamburgers are not on the menu. But since they don't sit well in my tummy, I don't miss them. Practically anything else, I can have if I really want it (just not often and not all together). Part of learning how to maintain is learning how to have an occasional indulgence without going into a destructive binge. So, you don't really need to have food funerals. You're not saying goodbye forever to most foods, just "I'll see you later".
Forgive yourself and look forward! Exciting times ahead. Hugs. 🤗

The other day I had a comment on how much smaller my face looked, so I looked at a couple photos to compare and wow.... I do already look so much different!

I’m similar. Haven’t felt the restriction yet. And someone else told me that you feel it more once you get to solid food. I haven’t got there yet so idk but that’s what I was told by someone on here.

I didn't rearrange my innards to live on a diet. I learned a new, sustainable way of eating with the positive reinforcement of losing weight. My plan long ago became my normal.
As my Doc did, I measure success by my health and happiness.
I will not live under the whip of a number on a scale.

Once a week. Monday morning, stark naked, after i've peed. LOL

I just started soft foods, and I'm so excited!! I had salmon last night and it was the best ever! Pinterest has some great idea for recipes if you need inspiration.

So what are some of the things you are Not going to miss being overweight? I’ll start, when going to amusement parks before getting on rides seeing if there was anyone bigger than me first lol

Your question is so broad that it's hard to answer. There are a million different philosophies about what humans should eat to be healthy. Some people will tell you a plant-based diet is healthiest. Others prefer paleo. A lot of doctors promote the Mediterranean style diet as the healthiest (which the mayo Clinic describes as "While there is no single definition of the Mediterranean diet, it is typically high in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, Beans, nut and seeds, and olive oil." Most of us probably would benefit from limiting intake of processed foods and junk food.
Different bodies react differently, so it may be a matter of trial and error to see what kind of regular diet agrees with you. Personally, I do best with moderately controlled carbs (with very few of the refined, white variety). I'm also a carnivore who needs at least a little meat in my diet. I eat fruit regularly, but I can't overdo it as the sugar in fruit starts to affect me just like the sugar in a candy bar. So I pretty much eat meat, dairy, eggs, veggies, a moderate amount of fruit, nuts, and various kinds of fats. But that's what MY body likes. Your body may prefer vegan or something else entirely. It's really a matter of trying different approaches and seeing what works best. Good luck!

Man, if I had a dollar for every critic who said this to me on these boards. It's a past time of a certain type of dieter....to send me hate mail and try to shame me for being outspoken.
"You're still overweight! You shouldn't be telling people what to do! How dare you not feel ashamed at that weight!"
Shakin my head over here.
If I wanted to be 140, I could be. Have been. Looked god-awful and felt like I was starving all the time.
If I wanted to be 160, I could be. Have been. I wasn't particularly hungry, got a reasonable number of calories, but thought I looked older.
I like a little more round to my angles. I like less sag, fewer wrinkles. Not real interested in cosmetic surgery. Picked the best option for me.
I like eating 1600 calories a day. I like having space in my diet for a couple pieces of fruit because I think phytonutrients are beneficial and important. I like how i feel eating a high Fiber diet. I like room to be a vegetarian some days. I like flexability. It's how I can face this as a lifelong change. It's how I can make peace with food forever....cause I know this plan is WORKABLE in pretty much all situations. I can eat on my plan during a holiday, a funeral, a birthday party....during a power outage, while recovering from an injury, during extreme emotional stress, on the road, and while dealing with my inlaws. LOL.
I typically weigh 165-170 pounds. I LOVE this weight. It is NOT "the best I could do because I couldn't get to a "healthy weight" ", it is an intentionally chosen set point. It's a choice. This is, I am 100% certain...the MOST healthy weight I can choose for myself.
That whole...Arnold Schwarzenegger's BMI was technically Obese when he won Mr. Universe figures in. BMI is flawed. It doesn't differentiate between light muscle frames and heavy muscle frames, bigger bones, smaller bones. Different ethnicities. Different body styles.
My feet, depending on the manufacturer are size 10 or 11. My shoulders are more broad than most men's my height. My butt, thighs and calves are overdeveloped because I rode huntseat and jumped horses for decades, even when I was quite heavy. My husband says they have a kinda superhero quality now. LOLOLOLOL
So here's the thing....If you feel inclined to send me a snarky note about how I shouldn't say anything....because I'm not American Media model skinny, you might have a problem.
As it happens, I have a good friend who models. He's 5' 10", weighs 157 pounds soaking wet, and they STILL wanted him to use coke for a week and fast...to look more sickly skinny for his last national ad campaign.
Our impression of body image in the media is grossly distorted and unhealthy.
And a lot of folks here....get a grossly distorted and unhealthy obsession with their eating habits, their BMI, the number on the scale, and how it defines them.
Please, please, please remember....health.
Physical health, strength, endurance, good labs, fewer medications.
Emotional health...loving yourself, enjoying your life, feeling challenged and happy.
Mental health...finding balance you can live with for a lifetime.
Love your strong healthy body. Love your good food choices that provide good nutrition to nurture that body. Love the flexability to make it work though the tough spots.
Avoid the fixations, the extremes, the inflexable rules, the disordered eating (and disordered not-eating)
You can trust yourself to get to where you need to be....without punishment.
Love yourself. Love yourself. Love yourself.