pdc1605

I haven't posted in a while. Here's my before and after. RNY: 4/11/17, HW: 334, CW: 179. I'm 155lbs lighter and feeling great.

As I’ve started to feel better about myself I’m no longer only reaching only for black or solid color clothes. I found these fun leggings online, decided “why not?”

Two days in a row! Someone told me my outfit was trendy so immediately I had to post it

(Vegan leather dress featuring my abnormally long hands - thanks body dysmorphia 😩)

I wanted to find a pilates thread but they were all old.
I did Pilates for the first time as recommended by my doctor for my back. For the first five minutes, I was like, this is so easy! How am I going to get a workout doing this? After the class, I was so out of it I got lost driving home. I was a mile from my house.
So... for those who do pilates, how often do you go? Do you think it has contributed to weight loss? My back feels nice and stretched out now. We'll see if I can walk tomorrow.

One of my goals for WLS was to be able to go rock climbing with my daughter. Today we finally went and it was awesome!

I’d argue it’s not even motivation. Motivation comes and goes. Discipline is what gets you to your goals. Doing what you need to do even when you don’t feel like it.

Motivation is the key to long term success. It's been eight years since I've been overweight. I'm now at a point where I do NOT have uncontrollable cravings & am able to eat what I want as long as I balance the 'splurges' with healthy choices. Exercise is also key to long term success, as your weight goes down, your body will use less calories in general, exercise will fill in that growing gap between what you take in and what you burn off.

Then find something that you can enjoy and stick with. It is vitally important to change your relationship with food & exercise, one small step at a time, right from the start. Otherwise, the surgery was for nothing. The surgery is a tool only.

I am a geologist, and I’ve been opal mining someplace just south of Death Valley. It was probably 20+ years ago, so I no longer remember the name. I’ve also been to the diamond mine in Arkansas. Beautiful and interesting geology in that area, and there’s also several places close by where you can dig for some beautiful quartz crystals. Lots of other interesting minerals in the area as well. There’s a series of great books called “The Roadside Geology of [Utah]”. They exist for nearly every state. I’m almost positive there’s one for Nevada. They are great for road trips to explain what you’re seeing, and will mention places that are good for rock collecting/mining/fossil hunting. They are not too technical.

Glad you enjoy digging in the dirt! It’s one of the things that attracted me to the profession. Although now I work in an office and make maps. I haven’t gotten to play around with a rock hammer in years. Maybe once I lose a bit more weight I can get out there again...

There is a public diamond mine in Arkansas. Really just a big dirt field in a state park where you can sift for diamonds. There have been some big finds there occasionally.

https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/parks/crater-diamonds-state-park

So, part of the thing I love the best about having lost so much weight and having so much energy is what all I can physically do.
Back in September (since I live in Nevada), I went opal mining, and yesterday, I went to Tonopah to go do turquoise mining. We dug, broke rocks, and did basically hard labor for 5 and a half hours. Over that time, my garmin recorded me having burned over 1000 calories, and despite my soreness today, I had a blast.
Does anyone else do mining stuff? Does anyone know of any good places? I went opal mining in Virgin Valley in Nevada, and turquoise in Tonopah, Nevada.

So, I threw together a Spotify playlist to listen to when I do my mostly daily walking for exercise. The songs range ALL over the place, but generally are tracks that I consider to be high energy or have a strong rhythm to keep me moving. I decided to open it up as a Collaborative Playlist the other day and asked friends on Facebook and Twitter to add stuff to it to hopefully increase the variety.
And well...hey...I spend a decent amount of time here. This is a type of a social setting with people who are also committed to their weight loss journeys...so why not throw it out there to another audience to see about getting some more songs on that playlist.
I am trying to keep it to one song per artist, but that's not a hard and fast rule. Please feel free to add onto my playlist or maybe use it as some inspiration to add to any playlist you might use!
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4tt03Hl9KA3evSxNr3iTmF?si=Ml8TUQnDQ1ihnDlHyhg0mA

Trust me learn to make your own shakes and smoothies Once you get good you can pimp them out with Vitamins and Minerals and Fruits and Veggies

May of 2017 vs today.

Oh fun! I’m one year out as of 2/25/21-
5’6”
SW: 330
W@S: 235
CW: 155
GW: 145

I’m still trying to lose just a tad and continue to tone up

Slightly old picture, and still WIP, but this is about 160 lbs down...

Here you go.

I’m one year post op.
5’4
Hw/sw: 284
Cw:152
Gw:160
New goal: 140

Hello everyone!

So just to give details, I had surgery 5/29/18 and lost 95lbs originally post surgery. However since, I gained back 35lbs and have been depressed about it. I’ve lost the 35lbs then gained it back (and the cycle repeats). I’ve tried Keto, Vegetarian, Whole30, the works! And it seemed as if my stomach stretched out and I was back to eating almost all the way normal.

This time around though, I figured I would go back to what I learned pre-op and make the lifestyle changes I made 2 years ago to lose the weight.

I restarted about two weeks ago, eating my food slowly, listening to when I was actually hungry, taking my supplements, drinking my Water, eating Protein first, getting active each day and eating 3 meals without Snacks.

Two weeks later, I’m already down 6 pounds and now it seems like I’m eating the portions I was eating 2-3 months post-op! Even the dumping sensations I felt when I eat too much came back (something I TRULY didn’t miss lol)

I realized that I was seriously overeating and not utilizing the tool I’ve been given.

All of this to say, if you are someone like me, going through regain loss and have been a ways out from surgery, don’t overcomplicate it. Go back to basics and use your tool.

It hasn’t stopped working. It hasn’t stretched out. It’s just not being utilized. And you can pick it back up again.

We got this! Don’t give up.

Wow! Congratulations on your amazing weight loss!

Today I’m 2 months post op and I finally hit 199.4! I had my surgery on 08/27/2020. I’ve been a slower looser but wow, seeing that number felt so good.

I’m 5’8 1/2 and 43 years old. I also have Hashimoto’s (thyroid disease) and have struggled with my weight for more than 15 years.

In January of this year I started the long process with my insurance to get approved. My highest weight was #252. My BMI at that time was 38. I have comorbidities - sleep apnea & fatty liver

My insurance BCBS of Michigan required that I do the supervised nutrition for 6 months. My insurance used the weight I started at when I entered the program.

Prior to starting the two week pre-op diet (so mid August) I weighed #236. I lost 10-11 lbs doing the liquid diet pre op.

My surgery weight (8/27/2020) was #226 which I believe put me at a BMI of about 34 ish.

And today I’m officially #199.4! I am no longer morbidly obese, just “over weight”. 😂

I’ve also done something I’ve never done before- I finally enjoy exercise. I bought a Peloton bike to help me on my journey and it arrived 9/14 and I’ve been using it 6 times a week since I got it. I LOVE it, it’s so motivational. This bike/exercise might be transfer addiction but I’m totally ok with that. There is a very large weight loss community on Peloton. Many have done WLS.

So while I might not be loosing weight at a rapid pace, I’ve definitely gained muscle and have toned areas of my body.

I just wanted to say THANK YOU to this group. Your posts have guided me through this journey.

And as my favorite instructor says: you are bigger than a smaller pair of pants. Your worth is so much greater!

I crave sodas in general. What helps curb the cravings is carbonated Water - BUT BOY DO I BURP A STORM!
I tried to drink Diet Sprite or 7up. (not a black soda fan) and unfortunately, i couldn't. Tastes too sweet now.
So I stick to carbonated water and sometimes i add a tiny drop of some sort of Syrup to make it similar to a soda i guess.

However, I think like the rest of the replies ill be letting go of this soda habit as well *sad*. But hey that's why we all did these surgeries - to let go of bad habits that got us where we are today.

I used to be addicted to Diet Coke. I mean, you would think there was actually cocaine in it, the way I was driven to seek the dopamine release it gave me. I would even dream about it. Once I quit, it took 3 full years before my car stopped trying to drive itself through the McDonald's drive-thru for a large size, dollar Diet Coke. The addiction is real! Anyway, for me this weight loss journey meant learning to live in a new and healthier way - for life. I had surgery for my health, so it made no sense to continue habits that were not healthy - not when I paid so much money for the surgery and made such sacrifices to lose the weight. That meant getting rid of the stuff that was not conducive to a healthy lifestyle, soda included. Any kind of soda is terrible on your teeth, bad for your surgical site, and even diet sodas can trigger insulin release that results in fat storage - not fat breakdown. Soda is also listed in the medical literature as one factor in the development of Fatty Liver Disease. I had fatty liver, and WLS gave me back a new, nonfatty one. So why in the world would I feed it soda again??? There are more than a few studies that show diet soda drinkers actually gain more weight than people who drink regular soda.
Anyway, I'm not trying to preach at anyone, but just asking folks to consider choosing the best and healthiest options for your new life, rather than flirting with foods and drinks that perhaps tripped you up in the first place, and that can hinder your long term success.

Oh jeez! 🙄 Life right now could have not been further off track for me. Here is the sum of all that's happened in a week!
1. I lost my 2-year Marketing Specialist job here in Dubai, United Arab Emirates - my role due to COVID is REDUNDANT and no longer required as APPRENTLY they don't have enough $$$ - but i know the whole story at the back end and who said what and all the politics.
2. I was on a weight-loss stall which FINALLY got over but then ^^^ that happened
3. I started feeling sick especially because i started vomiting up at least once a day
4. WHICH LED TO ME GETTING COVID 19 because HEY! us bariatric pals don't have a good immune system!
So post op almost 2 months and IM SUPER SICK! i have Asthma as well. I have alllll the covid symptoms you can think of and I'm isolated in my home.
Thankfully all my close contacts are fine but MAN O MAN does covid suck more when u CAN'T EAT ANYTHING! All I want is a big ass burger and a milkshake or SOME SORT OF SAVORY food item but i can't even keep down Protein let alone SOUP! It's been horrible - my nutritionist said i should just try to EAT or DRINK whatever i can at this moment. But
BUT! there is a brighter yet a little worrying side. Ive lost about 3kgs! in 3 days. (sorta happy in a selfish way) but i have such a strong feeling ill gain it back as soon as I'm covid free.
but hey! 1.5 months and I've lost nearly 20 kgs! WOOT WOOT! haha.. trying to not die between these 4 walls so I'm trying to look at the brighter side. However every inch of my body hurts as i cough up a storm.
Is anyone in a situation like me? I hope not but if u are - let's relate?
Btw i posted an image here pre-op in my first post ever id like to post it again next to a recent one -> could use the motivation to stay breathing
1. Me at 130kgs 2. Me at 116 kgs same dress

3. Me at 113kg

Hey all, so I've been lurking for about a year, off and on and finally made an account once I received a surgery date.
Backstory in a nutshell: This is not my first rodeo. Been on a bajillion diets and yo-yo'ed for too long. Had some success, some lasting years, but my Achilles heel is keeping it off. I like to exercise so mostly that part of the equation has not been a sticking point for me.
I started my journey to WLS on Oct 2019. I wrapped up my insurance-required steps by April 2020 BUT initially had been doing so well on my own with losing that I thought perhaps I wouldn't even go the WLS route. Then covid happened and threw me off balance a bit, but I kept to my exercise and keto/low carb diet with success. Things went wonky in June when I broke my ankle and then again in December when I sprained that same ankle (grrrr). All my progress stalled while I healed and it didn't take much for me to gain nearly all my lost weight back in about 7 months. I asked my bariatric team to go ahead and submit my paperwork in November, I think. Processes were slow due to the virus, but I was shocked to get a pretty quick approval and surgery date for Dec 17. That was put on hold, but just this week I received a call that elective surgeries were being scheduled again.
I have pre-op visits on Jan 22 with the anesthesiologist and surgeon. I am not sure if I'll have to do a pre-op diet. Guess the surgeon will tell me Friday! I'm pretty excited and trying not to be too nervous about the days ahead.
I'm married and have two kids (ages 18 & 20). My username is kind of a private joke. No matter how heavy I am, I've always thought I had nice ankles. 😄
So anyway...Hi! 😊

@JRT Mom you are absolutely correct. I had to quit smoking or they would not operate and it was extremely hard. The only thing that helped me is the cardiologist told me to go for a heart ultrasound. During the ultrasound I found out I had mild mitral valve regurgitation. It isn't life threatening but it was enough to help me quit. Now I'm on my preop liquid diet and it has been really difficult because after I quit smoking I used eating even more to alleviate stress. This entire process has been difficult. They found H.pylori so now I'm in antibiotics and I have to get an abdominal ultrasound tomorrow because my liver enzyme test numbers are really high. It seems like they find something new with every appointment! But as difficult as it has been I wouldn't trade it for the world! I count myself blessed to learn these about myself before they became really bad and I am doing something about it. Also I'm taking back control of my health and my life. It's been a rocky road but I'm sure I'll be happy on the other side of it.

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