vikingbeast

It is seriously so simple I'm embarrassed to call it a recipe... brown off some ground turkey with a little salt in a skillet, with just a touch of oil so it doesn't stick (spray works too). Then I add bottled Korean barbecue marinade. It's 30 calories 7C 0F 0P per tablespoon and I usually add 6 tablespoons per pound of turkey, but a pound of turkey lasts a LONG time for me. The one I buy is CJ Foods Korean BBQ Bulgogi Marinade w/Apple and Pear but any will work.

Then I just sprinkle some sesame seed and chopped green onions on top, and eat it with a tiny bit of rice (like 2 Tbsp or 1/8 cup) and a piece or two of kimchi from a jar.

My nutritionist has me on a range of 1000-1400 calories a day. Usually I struggle to get the 1000 calories. But I will say that when she added some carbs in, I felt immediately better. I'm not gonna go eat a tuna sandwich, but a couple of spoonfuls of mashed potatoes or a little rice with my Korean BBQ ground turkey goes a long way toward both good energy (I have an active lifestyle) and the dread Constipation issue. I haven't had to take any Dulcolax since the carbs were added in.

My surgeon's plan was very low-carb but also low-fat. It wasn't working for me, and my weight loss slowed and then stalled. My new NUT and I put together a plan that was a little higher in carbs, and it worked—apparently my body needs carbs to prepare for working in the beet fields of the gulag or whatever. Added in about 100 calories of carbs a day (that's 25g, math people) and the weight loss resumed its 3-4 lbs. a week swoosh.

Every body is different.

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.

My nutritionist has me on a range of 1000-1400 calories a day. Usually I struggle to get the 1000 calories. But I will say that when she added some carbs in, I felt immediately better. I'm not gonna go eat a tuna sandwich, but a couple of spoonfuls of mashed potatoes or a little rice with my Korean BBQ ground turkey goes a long way toward both good energy (I have an active lifestyle) and the dread Constipation issue. I haven't had to take any Dulcolax since the carbs were added in.

An entire pizza with sausage, onion, and pepper. Looking back I cannot believe I ever allowed myself to eat like that. I haven't even tried pizza yet and if I did I am sure I'd make it through a third of a small slice before being done.

So now that I'm down a significant amount of weight, I get more people telling me I look younger. Maybe because my face isn't all stretched out?
I also notice that people are much nicer to thinner people than they are to fatter people. That annoys me (I am still the same person!) but it's just bizarre. Someone flirted with me the other day and it took me a while to realize it was flirtation.

So now that I'm down a significant amount of weight, I get more people telling me I look younger. Maybe because my face isn't all stretched out?
I also notice that people are much nicer to thinner people than they are to fatter people. That annoys me (I am still the same person!) but it's just bizarre. Someone flirted with me the other day and it took me a while to realize it was flirtation.

Yeah, I'm down 70lbs and down from a 9 to an 8. Last time I lost 100 lbs I replaced all my shoes and then when I gained it back I threw the "new" ones out and just started wearing hiking shoes all the time due to a neuroma. Since my hikers were getting too big to be comfortable, I decided to try wearing real shoes again; so far, so good!
My feet were never wide, but I do have a high instep, so it's hard to get some styles on. My mom has the same issue and she's "average" sized. I don't know if my feet will shrink more, but I'm not going to invest in a lot of shoes right now!

I went from a ladies size 7.5-8 to 6-6.5
Yeah, i had to buy a whole bunch of new shoes, but i LOVE shoes so…im counting it as a win, LOL.

Lol. Yesterday I posted on OOTD a pxt of my most recent shoe clear out. 21/2 years out & I’m still clearing out shoes that are too big. I went down from a 38.5/39 to a 37.5/38. My foot is narrower as well as shorter in length. I’d kept some because I thought I might be able to wear them again - what was I thinking. Crazy. Others I just hadn’t worn for a while so didn’t realise they were so much too big. I have too many shoes but it has been an excellent justification to buy new ones. 😆😆😆
I wouldn’t buy too many new shoes while you are still losing either. Try some inner soles, heel grips, etc. for those shoes that are a half or maybe a full size too big to carry you through. I wore thicker socks with boots in winter which helped some too.

The "easy way out"?
Bulls(p)it. Total bulls(p)it.
It is not the easy way out. It is a TOOL that you are being given to teach yourself how to interact with food from now on. It doesn't last forever. A lot of people think "oh well you got your stomach stapled so of course you're gonna lose weight" without knowing that you can absolutely stretch that pouch out.
Don't. Listen. To. Her. Mothers aren't always right. Do this for YOU, because you have an entire life to live. And when the weight is coming off you left and right and you're starting to ease back into the world, you'll have the best feeling in the world and it'll motivate you to keep going.

The "easy way out"?
Bulls(p)it. Total bulls(p)it.
It is not the easy way out. It is a TOOL that you are being given to teach yourself how to interact with food from now on. It doesn't last forever. A lot of people think "oh well you got your stomach stapled so of course you're gonna lose weight" without knowing that you can absolutely stretch that pouch out.
Don't. Listen. To. Her. Mothers aren't always right. Do this for YOU, because you have an entire life to live. And when the weight is coming off you left and right and you're starting to ease back into the world, you'll have the best feeling in the world and it'll motivate you to keep going.

Today I was walking through the center of town (closed to cars) and was people-watching... how easily they moved, how energetic they seemed to be.
I'm having a lot of trouble reconciling the idea that a year from now, if I stick to the plan and keep working the way I know I can, I could be that way.
I've been so obese for so long that I can't imagine a life where I can just... go to a store and buy pants. Or just... decide to sleep somewhere else without having to pack up my CPAP. Or just... run for the sake of running. I literally cannot imagine it. It should be a source of motivation, but it's impossible for me to wrap my mind around it. And then I get all overwhelmed.
I've failed so many times before, that I don't dare let myself hope.

The "easy way out"?
Bulls(p)it. Total bulls(p)it.
It is not the easy way out. It is a TOOL that you are being given to teach yourself how to interact with food from now on. It doesn't last forever. A lot of people think "oh well you got your stomach stapled so of course you're gonna lose weight" without knowing that you can absolutely stretch that pouch out.
Don't. Listen. To. Her. Mothers aren't always right. Do this for YOU, because you have an entire life to live. And when the weight is coming off you left and right and you're starting to ease back into the world, you'll have the best feeling in the world and it'll motivate you to keep going.

The "easy way out"?
Bulls(p)it. Total bulls(p)it.
It is not the easy way out. It is a TOOL that you are being given to teach yourself how to interact with food from now on. It doesn't last forever. A lot of people think "oh well you got your stomach stapled so of course you're gonna lose weight" without knowing that you can absolutely stretch that pouch out.
Don't. Listen. To. Her. Mothers aren't always right. Do this for YOU, because you have an entire life to live. And when the weight is coming off you left and right and you're starting to ease back into the world, you'll have the best feeling in the world and it'll motivate you to keep going.

Being able to sit wherever I was put in a restaurant, whether booth or table.

Being able to sit wherever I was put in a restaurant, whether booth or table.

Hi sxystacy, welcome to the forums.
I had my surgery in Southern California because it was covered by insurance. However, I lived in Tijuana and know the city really well. It is one of the most misunderstood places on Earth... and a lot of North Americans think because they can see the slums from the border (they do exist!) and that roads are sometimes not in the best of repair, that it's some dangerous he||hole. As with many things, the news reports the bad things ("if it bleeds, it leads").
It's not a bad place. I still love it.
If you like, once you have names and addresses and have been told where you're staying, I can tell you a) what the neighborhood is like b) what's nearby in terms of grocery stores, etc., c) how to get around to wherever you want/need to go.

This makes me so happy. I have a whole list of goals written on my white board (in purple marker, hence their name as Purple Goals) and one of my Purple Goals is no seatbelt extender and being able to put the tray all the way down. I usually try to fly up front, but I might take a short flight (maybe to Sacramento) to see whether I have achieved my Purple Goal.
I won't ever fit in the seat, of course, because I still have Atlas shoulders, but the seatbelt and tray table thing is possible.

Being able to sit wherever I was put in a restaurant, whether booth or table.

Being able to sit wherever I was put in a restaurant, whether booth or table.

I'm going to dissent a little bit from the comment above, though I agree in most part.
Your nerves are regrowing after being cut during surgery. It was so painful for me for like a week and a half... and then, BAM, literally overnight, no problems. I can bend forward to pick things up, I can wriggle in the bed to turn over.
Definitely call your surgeon. Make a whole lot of noise if you need to. But I would say only go to the emergency room if it is absolutely debilitating OR if you have a fever, swelling, or redness that is hot to the touch.

It will come back, and sooner than you think. And there's something about being surrounded by fitness-minded people!

I am The Most Unlikely CrossFitter (started at my heaviest weight) and also mourned the enforced detention from the barbell.
I was told absolutely no weight at all for two weeks, walk only. After my two-week visit, I was cleared to for running, jumping rope, and biking (but not rowing, just because of the mechanics of it) and given a 10-lb. restriction which I will freely admit I stretched to 15 lbs so I could use a training bar. I went back to the gym and modified things heavily.
I was cleared to return to the gym fully at 6 weeks which was last week. I strongly, strongly suggest you plan to go slow as you return. If you used to go five days a week, go 2-3. If you went 3 days a week, go 1-2.
Scale. Absolutely. Everything. Your body will hurt just like it did when you started, and after the gyms reopened post-quarantine. We are finishing a strength cycle that I wasn't here for, so I'll just be kind of doing moderate weight and seeing how my mechanics have changed (cleans feel TOTALLY different), and will start the next strength cycle.
I will say that my running got better IMMEDIATELY. I went from a 14-minute mile where I had to stop and use an inhaler, to an 11-minute mile in just four weeks, and my inhaler is in a drawer. I ran an 800 m in under 5 minutes and didn't die. I actually can't wait to see how much closer I can get to a pull-up or a toes-to-bar with the increased mobility and less of a leaden weight in my @$$.

Oh, and for what it's worth, I was able to pull 60% of my heavy deadlift for 5 reps absolutely cold the week I returned. Will there be strength loss? Probably. But it's not as bad as I feared.