ShoppGirl

Have you tried “Snacking” on the rest of your meals instead of eating junk? Or at least making certain your snacks contain protein and fiber. I found that making the healthy choices easy to grab helped me. I bought these cool containers on Amazon that have 4 small square sections kind of like a lunchable and I make prep things like berries, veggies, cheese and grilled chicken cubes, nuts, etc I will look for the link if you are interested. They were quite reasonable. I have posted it on here a few times and I believe the bariatric pal store has them now. They did a year or so ago anyways. They also make one now with a bigger section that I use for lunches on the go. And if you do have a favorite snack that is less than healthy do some research or post it here to see if others have alternate suggestions or recipe tips to make a healthier version. But also consider the why behind the snacking like @Arabesque suggested and consider a therapist if it’s head hunger. There is no shame in figuring out what is behind the habit and learning tips to help you overcome whatever it is. Personally I would prefer to have a professional help but they also have workbooks that some people have mentioned on here they have helped them with disordered eating. @Arabesque where do you find the edit button? I can’t seem to find it on this new platform or whatever they call it.

Hopefully it’s just during the meds for the kidneys. I assumed it was related to the meds and they do too since it started just as I was released from the hospital for the kidney issue. I should 🤞 be off many of the new meds in a few weeks here and the one they think is the likely major culprit which is the steroids I am weaning off hopefully in two weeks. I am on a pretty hefty dose which is not ideal after bariatric surgeries but it was unavoidable I think you are right, though, it’s just a matter of working it out what works for me and I’m thankful that I have the holiday weekend where I can stay home because the three doses was definitely too much. Today I just did one stool softener because i already had too much in my system, but tomorrow I think I will try one SS and half a cap of MiraLAX and see how that goes. The smooth move tea is a great thing for me to ask about too. I actually have some here that a friend put in a gift bag with lots of OTC stuff she researched and said I may need during chemo to just have on hand. They say I have recovered enough function that I should be okay with normal doses, but the laxatives are not great for my kidneys so natural should be much better. I just have to run anything herbal by oncology. All I know for certain is that I would rather have diarrhea any-day than ever be that constipated again in my life. It was absolutely awful!! Has anyone tried prune juice? Is it bad. It sounds bad. Are there any tricks to make it tolerable? In the hospital the nurse mixed the MiraLAX in apple juice. She said it’s a natural laxative but I don’t know If that’s a wives tale or fact.

I meant to say except plus sizes where the difference between sizes is larger. Like @Arabesque Mentioned it’s about ten pounds up to size large. If you look at a size chart beyond the “normal” sizes they change the size increase pattern for the plus sizes. it’s like the designers figure if you are overweight you don’t deserve properly fitting clothing!! So it’s no wonder everything was too big or too small and very few things fit Properly.

First I have to ask if you truly measure things with scales and measuring cups because we can sometimes underestimate what a serving size is. I know that i underestimate significantly with things like peanut butter and salad dressings. One or two tbsps is not much. Second if you really are measuring and you are accurate I would see your family Dr and ask for a review of your meds and some labs to be done to see if this is med related, hormonal, thyroid, cortisol, etc. Do some research yourself and see if the symptoms for any of them weight causing issues fit. If so, treat that first and see if you lose but the surgery does make some metabolic changes. The sleeve not so much for me but the SADI has. I have more energy and I am not AS hungry so at least the healthy eating and exercise may be a little less daunting. Just remember that doctors see an overweight person and some tend to think we are all eating bon bons in the closet and claiming to eat healthy. Maybe use a food tracing app like Baritastic that has graphs and charts to show them that you really are logging your food and hopefully that will make them take your situation seriously. You are wise to take pause And not rush under the knife. The surgery is fairly routine now but it is still surgey which always comes with risks and consequences. For me the fact that I can’t have NSAIDS or Steroids safely for the rest of my life has been a huge obstacle with other medical Issues presenting the need for these. Best of luck with whatever you end up doing.

I think that might be what I am between now. And it’s so absolutely frustrating because if you gained five or lost five, you would be in the middle of the size but it’s hard to lose five and who wants to gain five. they could just sell half sizes but I guess at least they do have the sizes closer together unlike sizes where you wear the same size for like 40 pounds and they just don’t care if it’s too tight or too baggy on you there’s no other option.

I had SADI and I had loose stools if anything (that’s mostly when I eat bad) for the last year BUT, my cancer treatment caused acute kidney issues so I’m on a ton of meds hopefully for only a month or so while they recover and one or a combo of them caused severe constipation. Thing is I produce so much more stool now I assume because of the bypass portion of the procedure that it backs up fast when you are constipated. My CT showed my bowels were incredibly full. I know that some people do have constipation from the surgery though and have to be on a maintenance dose of laxatives for it. I was just wondering if two stool softeners and a cap of miralax sounds about right.

Your larger breasts may have actually made you a size up in tops or at least took you from being right in the middle of one size to put you square between sizes. I recently had a masectomy and I was a mostly an X-large top, but large and only occasionally a medium bottom before but now I’m doing the expansion process with my breasts before my reconstructions (cosmetic part) surgery so my my breasts are pretty tiny and an X-large top I look like I’m swimming and most larges I do as well. They certainly are not flattering any curves (or lack thereof 😂). Long sory short with much larger breasts I was always a size larger in a top than the bottom and from one day to the next when they were just gone my top size changed Overnight. Literally after the swelling went down and I could move to put on a proper fitting top the things in my closet that fit before were too big. I think Boobs and hips play a big role in our size. I mean waist and shoulder width matter too but if it don’t go over the boobs or past the Hips the rest doesn’t really matter does it. That being said clothing size is so inconsistent from one brand to then next and even one item to the nexr in the same exact brand, cut and style. I literally got skinny jeans from Amazon today in a junior 9 and 11 because I want sure of Size. I tried the 11 first since they were inexpensive and they were loose but then the 9 was loose as well so I held them up together and the waist is exactly the same. I think I may need a 7 in them but that will in no way make me think I am a 7 in anything else at this point. Also, nothing explains the 9 and 11 being the same except for inconsistent sizing. I say just cut the darn tag out or use a sharpie to cross it out and put in the size you really are for the most part. That will be more helpful if you donate or even if you lose or gain and want to know if it fits later anyways. Better yet. Cross out the number and just write in “fabulous” because that is the truth and it’s far more helpful Than them silly tags.

Okay so I am a year post and this was my first real experience with constipation ever beyond a day immediately after some of my surgeries. Well it’s induced by all the meds I’m on for something else I’m sure BUT, given that I produce so much more waste it backs up way faster than the doctors expect. I ended up at the emergency room and they were about to send me home because it hadn’t been that many days until the CT came back and I was so full that they had to admit me overnight so they could monitor me while taking round the clock laxatives to make me go. Much more than is typically considered safe. So that is my cautionary take to not wait too long and be certain they really really listen when you say you had bariatric surgery if your bowels were bypassed and get imaging!! Now here is where I need help. I went, all throughout the evening and night and more this morning and finally had a somewhat mushy movement before they released me but while I have to continue on these meds they believe is causing this I am supposed to stay on a preventative dose. They say 2 stool softeners and a cap of miralax daily. Well. I took the stool softener and I’m drinking the miralax now, but I’m scared. Is this possible to be too much and make me have diarrhea so bad that I can’t stop that, get dehydrated and end up right back in the hospital? I don’t think I should try to correct it with immodiom if it does happen. Just curious if this sounds like a typical maintenance dose for someone with a surgery that bypasses the intestines. I know I’ve seen plenty of people on here talk about it in the last I just don’t recall doses.

Your bariatric surgeons office may be more likely to prescribe the glp-1 if your family doctor is not educated enough to realize you need help. But have you considered a therapist as well. It’s possible you are using food as a legit coping mechanism and you just need to learn some different ones to get you through. If not you nay be back here in a few years asking about surgery number 4. I wouldn’t personally consider a third surgery without attempting the injectable’s first but there are side effects to them as well. If you do the revision route you may have to travel to a more advanced surgeon. After two it gets pretty tricky.

I agree. I haven’t watched the new one but the first one made me sick. They showed them participants in some of their most intimate moments and it was as if they TRiED to hype it up even more for entertainment like they were a circus act!! Horrifying. Shame on them.

I also have been known to put my headset on if I have to call like Internet or cell phone service or something and walk back-and-forth in the house while I’m on hold or talking to them. I have Verizon make me mad over like 80 bucks and I was arguing for months and I told them that they were my entertainment for walking so if they were waiting for me to just let this go, then I definitely was not going to. 😂

If getting outside and dedicating a big chunk of time to walking doesn’t fit your schedule then 15 minutes at a time even back and forth around your house or even in place is something. It’s too hot out for me and rains alot in the afternoons so i found myself more likely to jump up when my alarm goes off and do 15 minutes than a planned walk. And a bonus is you don’t really have to change clothes other than maybe put on sneakers if you need them to be safe and i don’t really get sweaty that fast.

Happy belated birthday!!🎂

Low carb cookworks or worx used to be a show on tv years ago and I remember they made everything low carb and had a recipe for oven baked wings that I tried and they were surprisingly pretty good. Admiringly I had never made wings at home before so I have no clue if they are usually baked or where the carbs even come from but if they are high in carbs and you love them, perhaps with a little googling you can find that recipe.

You are so welcome. We all need a reminder of where we started once in a while to appreciate that where we are now may not be what we envisioned as perfection but it can still be incredible progress!! I had a therapist years ago who would say at least once and sometimes 5 times a session that often times 90% is good enough!! I am really thrilled to hear about your trip. Now that’s a non scale victory to shout about

70 pounds is Amazing 🤩 and how do you FEEL?! That’s what is most important in all of this. Your health and your practical life…not a number or a size!! You are doing great. Just focus on your health and overall happiness with your life. You would be surprised when letting go of the stress about it your cortisol drops and your weight may follow just because of that. Your BP and everything else that really matters certainly will. Keep trying but don’t obsess. That’s just my two cents but it’s working for me.

Omg wow it has been a year for most of us or darn near it. Crazy what a journey it has been. Just being and maintaining under 200 is awesome!! Keep up the work at eating nutritious foods and being active and the weight will come off eventually if that is where you body wants to be. You know for some of us our bodies are happy at a certain weight and we can choose to fight to get lower but it will be a constant battle or we can take the non scale victories and run with them. I reached my conservative goal of 100 pounds but I had a pretty aggressive surgery so it was a little easier for me I think. I decided though that I am comfortable in my own skin where I am and I feel good physically (aside from the side effects from my treatments) so I’m going to love the skin I’m in. Treat my body like the amazing machine that it is and nourish it and exercise like I need to but not necessarily to lose more, rather to just treat my body as it deserves. If I lose more i do and if I don’t I don’t. I am still about 35 plus pounds heavier than my young adult weight (I was pretty tiny) so I’d love to be thinner, but I feel like I can do the things I want to do now and I don’t want to be a slave to the scale so I’m just eating healthy for the right reasons and whatever happens happens. Do NOT let a certain number in your mind sabotage all the amazing progress you have made like I did with the sleeve. You are thinner and healthier for it and I’m guessing feeling a lot better. These things are huge and we tend to give them less weight than a certain size of jeans and I have no clue why. It’s so backwards!! Or at least I did that and it was so ridiculous. I was like 18 pounds from my goal and I just threw in the towel. Do not fall into that trap. I promise you when your back to your starting weight or even heavier because you know that’s how it goes when you lose and gain it back you will kick yourself for it and wish you were this size again. You have done so amazing. Don’t stop trying to get to your goal but don’t let it be the end all be all. It is after all just a number and how you FEEL is sooooooo much more important. Great to hear from you. PS I think we should try to check in at least every august and just touch base. I think I said that before but I really want to keep track of everyone and hear how you are doing. Good or bad. We are in this together.

One silver lining to breast cancer and a bilateral masectomy is that I really don’t need a bra anymore. Especially without nipples you really can’t tell if I don’t have one so with certain shirts where it would be a big challenge finding the right bra I just say forget it and do without. After many many years with very large breasts and saggy not full breasts from going up and down in weight this is a welcome change. They don’t look great without clothes because you can’t go from huge to tiny without visible scars BUT in clothes they look and feel so much better. A reduction and/or lift is definitely something I would recommend for anyone in this boat after having basically just underwent one. Albeit the longer way around. I did another post about a backless bra I just seen on a website and I’m wondering if it has to be approved because I named the site. Just search the term for yourself and some should come up. It’s not literally backless. It’s just the back is really low which may work for you.

Okay another option. Not sure if you do Temu or not. I know it’s controversial and I’m not trying to get into all of that but they have a backless bra I stumbled across and I remembered I have seen these before. It’s not literally backless but it’s a longlinE bra and the back is way low. Maybe something like that could work??

It won’t shut down. You may or may not be able to do what you expect but just remember not to compare yourself to ANYONE else! And know that the trainer isn’t. They will be happy to watch you progress but they don’t care about where you begin! Like doctors, honestly they probably like a challenge. If you are able to keep making progress and YOU are doing more than YOU could do last week last month or last year even if just a tiny bit more (as in today I finished my workout plus I was able to stop for gas after and don’t feel over the top wiped out. That’s progress and if you are doing more than you did before then you are improving your health, period!! The fact that you even joined the gym and made that appt with the trainer is more than you did last month, right?! I’m proud of you and you should be proud of yourself!!

This is true. Plus if it’s just the back you will look fine in the photos. I wouldn’t stress over it either. It is after all just a bra.

Some of the women in my cancer support group who had lumpectomy use a permanent prosthetic and it’s like silicone almost like an implant and they have different ones. Some I believe are like a bra cup but with thickness to bring you up like a cup size so that the treated breast matches the untreated one. Perhaps look into mastectomy prosthetics for lumpectomy. You could try wearing one of those on both sides to give you the volume to fill out below and above making you more rounded like the bra is.

In the past I have seen stick on bras that are a full front and kind of wrap a bit around the back but if that won’t work consider a seamstress to sew cups into the dress.

If you having recently had you ferritin/iron and B-12 checked it could be that. May as well get a full Nutritional panel.

Oh yea that’s true. If you have “an appointment” and someone else is expecting you it will be harder to back out. Why is it that we are fine to let ourselves down but not others.