learn2cook

Hi OP, can you share some info and stats please so we can target our replies? Are you pre or post op? What's your surgery? Etc.
Sugar is the devil as far as I'm concerned these days. Yes there are (limited) times when I invite the devil in - Easter most recently - but as a general rule I try to avoid both sugar and sugar substitutes as much as I can. They are what made me obese in the first place.
Whole foods are your friends and always will be. Protein, veg, fruit. Carbs once you have space or are at your goal weight.

For some reason “Janet Witness” was so funny! Thanks for making me laugh. I’ve had luck with them too lol.

All the above posters have shared many useful activities I have enjoyed that work. My latest has been to get a rowing machine from Amazon. There’s many kinds and price points. I picked a magnetic one so I’m quiet. I started dancing around with more upper body movements in my house during lockdowns. My son called it “flopping around “ but it worked and was a good starting point. I just did one or two songs every hour, short bursts.

I wonder if part of the problem of eating slider foods is that they are foods that we are used to just scarfing down and not paying attention, repetitive movements are soothing. I've noticed recently that I started eating a few bites of things that are not on my meal plan and somehow that contributed to my eating all foods without being mindful. When I eat slowly, paying attention to what I'm eating, I don't eat too much of even slider foods.

As a woman in my 50’s it’s hard getting out there and making new friends never mind dating. That said, yes I’m dating and making friends. I made a promise to myself during COVID lockdowns that I would make and keep friends with intent and discernment. I date women and men and everyone in between, so yes there’s lots of dating but few people with kindness and calmness who are near my age, actually single, and don’t have mommy issues. I’m focusing more on friendships now. There’s lots of dates, but friends are gold!

For some reason “Janet Witness” was so funny! Thanks for making me laugh. I’ve had luck with them too lol.

All the above posters have shared many useful activities I have enjoyed that work. My latest has been to get a rowing machine from Amazon. There’s many kinds and price points. I picked a magnetic one so I’m quiet. I started dancing around with more upper body movements in my house during lockdowns. My son called it “flopping around “ but it worked and was a good starting point. I just did one or two songs every hour, short bursts.

All the above posters have shared many useful activities I have enjoyed that work. My latest has been to get a rowing machine from Amazon. There’s many kinds and price points. I picked a magnetic one so I’m quiet. I started dancing around with more upper body movements in my house during lockdowns. My son called it “flopping around “ but it worked and was a good starting point. I just did one or two songs every hour, short bursts.

As a woman in my 50’s it’s hard getting out there and making new friends never mind dating. That said, yes I’m dating and making friends. I made a promise to myself during COVID lockdowns that I would make and keep friends with intent and discernment. I date women and men and everyone in between, so yes there’s lots of dating but few people with kindness and calmness who are near my age, actually single, and don’t have mommy issues. I’m focusing more on friendships now. There’s lots of dates, but friends are gold!

Almost five years out & I don’t consider myself on a diet. This is just how & what I eat. The word diet has too many negative connotations for me: failure, punishment, restriction, etc.
Even when losing I didn’t like to use that word. If people asked what I diet I was on I spoke about making different choices, finding a way of eating that worked for me & that what did work for me may not work for anyone else.
The diet culture is a huge money making industry. I mean if diets worked for the long term none of us would have been obese. I have decades of personal real life experiences to prove that as would most here.
Work out a way of eating that is sustainable, that provides your body with the nutrients it needs to function effectively, that complements your lifestyle & doesn’t make you feel like you are being punished or missing out. As your needs change make the appropriate changes to your eating. For example if you increase your activity levels or decrease it.

As an asthmatic I feel for you. I had the same problem after surgery and it might be a reaction to anesthesia. I went to my ER after calling my asthma doctor. I was awake all night (as I would have been at home). I was exposed to freezing indoor temperatures (because it reduces virus spreading). There were a battery of tests that were very painful to determine if I didn’t have a lung embolism. Then they gave me a shot in the arm of steroids to help my lungs breathe. My original surgeon had gone out of the US and wasn’t a specialist in asthma anyway. Everyone was afraid it was an blood clot or embolism. No one wanted to give steroids because it hinders healing. If you’re a regular asthmatic, you may want to keep your all nighters with the nebulizer until Monday when the good doctors are back in office. Or, if you know you are in the weeds bad, just to to the ER. If you’re not asthmatic, go to the ER, because breathing is serious! Let us know how this turns out, prayers.

Like the posts on here I go back and forth on this. I have imbibed. I do dump so hard liquor and wine hit me harder with sugar so then I feel it within 10 minutes then crash. The extra calories to counter the crash kill the buzz. Like 3 sips and I’m done. But beer is friendlier. I do enjoy nursing a good microbrew with a handful of almond or one ounce of cheese. It works for me for camping and baseball games and fun outings. I try to keep it for a once a month thing and have only one or two beers.

I have been dallying with pot edibles too. (Can’t smoke due to asthma) One or 1/2 a Gummy or taffy keeps a mellow vibe for 4 hours and I save them for special occasions and arthritis and pain relief. There’s less calories and dumping and a longer chill time. P.S. UP was my favorite place camping last summer!!!

"And my butt? Yeah, we don't know her anymore"
I love the way you phrased it, made me laugh. I don't know mine anymore either..I feel abandoned by her...I fed her, supported her and had a close working relationship with her and what's she do for all that!? POOF gone and sagged off 😖 😠 you'd think carrying around 100's of extra pounds we would have built up muscles to support a perfect peach! Now all I have is a prune.

Exactly!!! I fed her, clothed her, exercised her so she would look her best, and then she just went and f'd off.....😡🤬

I’m 11 weeks out from RNY and had a weekend trip away with the grand babies. Hotel had a swimming pool and I discovered I no longer float. I kept sinking and it took so much more work to not drown.

Like the posts on here I go back and forth on this. I have imbibed. I do dump so hard liquor and wine hit me harder with sugar so then I feel it within 10 minutes then crash. The extra calories to counter the crash kill the buzz. Like 3 sips and I’m done. But beer is friendlier. I do enjoy nursing a good microbrew with a handful of almond or one ounce of cheese. It works for me for camping and baseball games and fun outings. I try to keep it for a once a month thing and have only one or two beers.

I have been dallying with pot edibles too. (Can’t smoke due to asthma) One or 1/2 a Gummy or taffy keeps a mellow vibe for 4 hours and I save them for special occasions and arthritis and pain relief. There’s less calories and dumping and a longer chill time. P.S. UP was my favorite place camping last summer!!!

OK this is a biggie. You might want to treat alcoholic drinks like a big glass of sugar. Empty calories and not helping you to your goal - hindering actually.
However I am Irish and therefore have to acknowledge the fun/relaxation/social stuff associated with imbibing those totally worthless calories.
Lots of people who have previously had a completely healthy relationship with alcohol (even if on the slightly heavier side of healthy alcohol intake) can develop a very UNhealthy relationship with alcohol after bariatric surgery. You get a bigger hit, you get it quicker, and you get all the neurotransmitter rush associated with that that makes you want to repeat the experience. For lots of us it has been a big trigger for regaining weight. Just do a search for alcohol and read some of the posts here describing it as THE factor on people's regain.
Lots of others have been able to maintain a healthy relationship with alcohol too.
If you do your research AND are aware of all that AND vigilant AND able to take immediate action if your relationship with alcohol changes then it might be OK to drink it earlier than your programme allows. Otherwise it might be best to just concentrate on the lovely honeymoon period when you lose weight with not too much effort.
I was sleeved 7 weeks before Christmas 2021 and negotiated a glass or two of bubbles over that first holiday season with my dietician. I have been able to continue to drink alcohol at my previous rate and not regain. UNTIL I stopped losing - that was about 2 years post op, 5 months ago. Since then I have been regaining (albeit very slowly). I do wonder whether if I had just ditched alcohol (my only sugar now) early on whether I wouldn't have put on 5lbs in 5 months. I know that third year regain is a thing, but I will never be able to say what effect alcohol may have had. It does seem to have stabilised for me and I know my regain is tiny (not angsting, LOL) just wanted to share my thoughts and my experience.
Sorry that turned into a bit of an essay. I hope it helps.
Long story short, my programme said no alcohol for 6 months, my (Irish) dietician said go right ahead.

Ooh yea. I am doing fine now. Thank you for asking. I haven’t needed any more NSAIDs. I gained my weight back and I’m facing revision to a surgery where even occasional NSAIDS are not okay though so this is on my list of questions to ask about.

The one thing I have encountered that I didn’t expect was how difficult it is to get pain relief. I have had two female procedures done that they typically have you take like 4 otc NSAIDs before and after but Since I wasn’t allowed to have them I was told it really wasn’t necessary anyways and just to tough it out. I contacted my surgeons office who said I was far enough out I could take the NSAIDs post sleeve on these rare occasion with food and my Omeprazole. I survived without pain relief afterwards but I was just led to believe that drs would be more accommodating than I experienced.

Also I had sciatic pain and panicked a little when it recurred two more times right in a row and my dr did not want to give me any pain meds The third time when it was pretty bad I asked for something and He acted like I was an addict or something and actually told me he couldn’t treat me anymore. This kinda worked out because I like the NP I see now much better but I’ve not had any issues where I need pain meds with her so I guess we shall see what happens if I ever need them again. I understand that doctors have to be careful but I had been his patient for over 5 years and never asked for anything like that before my sleeve. Honestly it was all kinda weird. It did made me worry if I ever had a chronic issue like arthritis or something that you usually treat with NSAIDS what I would do. I guess a pain management clinic would help. Or maybe there are different meds. I honestly don’t know.

I wish I could still run, but my joints are too far gone for it anymore. I love walking with a weighted backpack (to get my heart rate up enough). I love the rowing machine and indoor bike with audio books or online classes for continuing education (teachers are always learning). I hike and canoe and play field games all summer at the day camp I work at. I’ve been lifting weights for 20+ years, but to be honest it’s to keep up with the 20 yr old coworkers lol. I’m thinking of getting into ping pong because I see people of all ages competing and staying active and social with it. I’ve gone through dancing and yoga phases. I like to be curious and try new things. Like others have said, you really have to enjoy what you’re doing to make it your “thing.”

As a woman in my 50’s it’s hard getting out there and making new friends never mind dating. That said, yes I’m dating and making friends. I made a promise to myself during COVID lockdowns that I would make and keep friends with intent and discernment. I date women and men and everyone in between, so yes there’s lots of dating but few people with kindness and calmness who are near my age, actually single, and don’t have mommy issues. I’m focusing more on friendships now. There’s lots of dates, but friends are gold!

I wish I could still run, but my joints are too far gone for it anymore. I love walking with a weighted backpack (to get my heart rate up enough). I love the rowing machine and indoor bike with audio books or online classes for continuing education (teachers are always learning). I hike and canoe and play field games all summer at the day camp I work at. I’ve been lifting weights for 20+ years, but to be honest it’s to keep up with the 20 yr old coworkers lol. I’m thinking of getting into ping pong because I see people of all ages competing and staying active and social with it. I’ve gone through dancing and yoga phases. I like to be curious and try new things. Like others have said, you really have to enjoy what you’re doing to make it your “thing.”

Since my surgery in 2017 I've lost my weight loss powers. I'm a mere mortal when it comes to weight loss. That being said I do the following:
1- Weekly weigh in and log it in 2- Stop eating at 7PM and start again at 7AM (I usually go to 9AM) 3- Eat the same thing every day. For me, Breakfast greek yogurt and hard boiled egg, cup of coffee lunch, tuna fish, sardines or salmon from a can (no additives such as mayo) dinner broiled or baked seafood with a salad. I will also eat a costco Protein Bar if I need it. 4-Excercise, for me 3x at gym nothing too strenous just 30-45 on treadmill 5 degree incline with a brisk 3.5 mile speed walk
Very Very difficult to stay within 5-10 pounds of goal weight then try to get back down. Vigilance and sorry to say obsession are my keys. It's a struggle every day.

Life just throws it all at you some times & I’m sorry you’ve been through a lot.
Unfortunately the pouch reset is a fairy story/old wives’ tale. What needs to be reset is not your tummy but your head. Remember all that head work we had to do in the beginning? The stress, emotions & changes you’ve been experiencing has likely meant those old bad habits have snuck in again & you’ve been turning to food to comfort yourself. It’s easy to become complacent too. All completely understandable.
Don’t know if you were a food tracker or not, but tracking even for a couple of weeks like @Spinoza suggested will help you identify what you may need to adjust - food choices, Protein & fluid goals, portion sizes, nutrition. Then start by making one or two changes & another one or two a couple of weeks later. Small changes are easier to adopt & adapt to. Probably aim to get back to about where you were when your weight stabilised & how you initially maintained.
Maybe contact your nut/dietician to help you get back in the right mindset. Therapy may help you manage & better cope with the stress you’ve been experiencing too so you don’t turn to food.
You’ve been successful for ten years. You can do it again. All the best.

i def get more (positive) attention from men, which doesn't surprise me.
but what i didn't expect was the increased positive attention from women (note i am a woman too lol).
women are "friendlier" to me when im smaller vs bigger. female strangers will start small talk with me, ask me questions about my day or what im wearing, shoot me a smile or knowing look. offer unsolicited help or assistance.
which makes me sad sometimes for all the "girl power" connections girls in bigger bodies may miss out on, especially those who don't have solid female friend groups already.
lets be nice to people, people!
i realize that others' behaviour towards me is affected by my own behaviour so there's also that, so if i project confidence and approachability, it attracts.
let's love ourselves, people!
(yes i also realize i went off on a tangent there...sorry!)