lizonaplane

When I'm on the road, I eat the Starbucks cheese and fruit box (minus the crackers) for lunch a lot. I get a lot of chili, salads, fish, and chile rellenos. I am on the road about 6 days a week on average. If I'm home, I cook stews with chicken thighs or meals with ground turkey.

We've had really extreme heat in many of the cities I've been working and vacationing in in the last month, and I've been a lot less bothered by it than before I lost 120 lbs. I can feel that it's too hot, but I don't feel cranky and miserable, and I am even able to walk outside early in the morning for a few miles. On the other hand, this week I'm in San Francisco where it's 61 and indoors I'm wear long underwear, tops and bottoms, under pants and a long sleeve shirt and a fleece... and my legs are under a blanket at my desk! So, some good some bad...

I also felt a lot of hunger post surgery. Everyone told me I was wrong and wasn't actually hungry, but I know my body: I was hungry. I talked to my surgery team and they said it does happen to a small number of people - they don't lose their hunger hormone. My bariatric therapist said it's especially common in people with bipolar disorder, which I have. Eventually I was put on metformin and topamax, which have both helped. BTW, I was losing weight the whole time, and I had good restriction, but being hungry all the time was MISERABLE. Talk to your surgery center. There are options.

I've definitely heard of people staying the same weight but having their measurements shrink. That seems to be the norm, as far as I can tell. But I can't figure out why my waist is growing. Stupid measuring tape being mean to me!

You weight loss won't stall from working out intensely. In fact, you will burn more calories if you build muscle because it's the muscle in our bodies that burn the fat. While muscle is denser than fat it is incredibly hard to GAIN muscle weight, especially for women, and especially once you get past 40. While you might increase your muscle mass by a few pounds, this should be more than offset but the calorie burning effects of muscle. And building strength is important because we lose muscle mass when we lose weight quickly, and that is not good. Definitely incorporate strength training as soon as you are cleared by your surgeon - about 4-6 weeks out for most people.

Honestly, it's very hard here in the states to find bariatric-competent therapists too. I am just using the one from my surgery center, and it takes months to schedule an appointment with her. I really like listening to podcasts made by/for the bariatric community - Our Sleeved Life Podcast and Breaking down Nutrition with Dr. Susan Mitchell, and check out "the sleeved dietitian" on Instagram. She has a program called TRIBE. Good luck!

You will not be able to use an out of state therapist, because they are not licensed in your state. It's very stupid, but in this country the practice of medicine and psychology is based on state licensure. You may be able to go to psychologytoday.com and use their search feature to find a bariatric therapist in your state. It can be anywhere in your state if you can do remote, but it can't be out of state, unless they happen to be licensed in multiple states. EDIT: Just realized you are in Ireland. US therapists will not be able to treat you due to licensure issues. HOWEVER.... you may be able to find one who will work with you as a "coach" which doesn't require any license. There is also an Australian bariatric therapist (Georgie Beems?) who sees clients virtually, maybe the licensing issues are different? Talk to your bariatric center and see if they can refer you to someone.

I feel bloated a lot whether I'm constipated or not. But that hasn't changed.

Most of my pants are elastic waist, and none of my pants sit at my actual waist. They all feel the same.

You might not get there by your birthday, but that's okay - this is a lifelong journey, not a sprint. Remember that you need to do this in a way that feels sustainable to you. I am at 160 and I've been stuck here going up or down a few lbs for a few months. I would also like to lose another 20 lbs to get to a "normal" BMI, but that is not looking likely. However, I am trying to be okay with that. Many people never get to below the obese range. It's good to have goals, but don't let them become obsessions. We can only control our bodies so much.

Weirdly, my waist has now gone up to 34 inches. I can't figure out if I was measuring wrong before or if I'm measuring wrong now... or if there's something else going on that is a problem. I am not pregnant, and I haven't lost/gained any weight since.

Back to reply on my now ancient post. I bought a lot of clothes at thrift stores, but a lot of them had strong detergent/perfume that I was not able to get out, so some went right back. I couldn't tell how strong the smell was with my mask on. Still, I found some excellent quality good brands - Talbots, Loft, etc. I had much more luck with getting shirts to fit than with pants. Never got any pants that fit right. I buy hiking pants at LL Bean, Traveler's pants at Chico's and then I have a few pairs from Macy's that were pretty cheap. I also bought two pairs of jeans, but one is too tight in the calf. What I did buy that makes me super excited is some handmade clothing by craft designers. These cost a lot more, but I can't see myself getting much smaller at this point. I have 5 shirts that I wear for work when I need to be "professional". They are really interesting and unique and it makes me happy to wear something that supports an artist. I just wear them with any of my black pants, some jewelry, my one pair of real shoes, and I'm good to go. I also made use of my local Buy Nothing group on Facebook, and got some exercise shirts, but no one had shorts to give up, so I bought some on Amazon - the sizes there run small!

Talk to your surgeon/dietician. If you have high blood pressure, they may recommend you reduce sodium below the generally recommended 2000mg a day, but it's not strictly a concern for people who are not sensitive to salt. None of the dieticians I've talked to about bariatric surgery has recommended any draconian limitations on salt. They haven't even mentioned sodium - just macros. I don't worry about sodium OR fat, just sugar, simple carbs, and protein. For constipation, it's unlikely you will be able to eat enough fiber to solve the problem with food. I was told that drinking enough fluid, exercising enough, and taking something like Miralax was what I should do. I have found that I only need Miralax occasionally as long as I drink coffee.

That depends a lot on your insurance company and the surgery center. It could be a few days or a few weeks, or they may come back with more things you have to do/information you need to provide them with. You can check in with the insurance coordinator at your surgery center. They should be able to tell you what to expect. Good Luck!

I had surgery exactly 10 months ago. The last few months, I've really stayed about the same, maybe lost a few pounds total in 3-4 months. But... when I take my measurements, my waist measurement is INCREASING!! I can't understand why this would be. I've started working out with a trainer, but that shouldn't cause my waist to GROW, right? My other measurements (I only take chest, waist, and hips) are about the same, maybe a little smaller. Am I changing the way that I measure somehow? (I'm not pregnant LOL!) Did this happen to anyone else?