Spinoza

"Unfortunately, so many people think they have a right to comment on our bodies" I think that's the take home message here. Some people are well-meaning, some people aren't. Either way it doesn't give them the right to say whatever is in their heads about us without considering what the effect of hearing that might be. I have been beaten into a corner by those both when I was obese and now that I'm not. The furthest I go with commenting on the appearance of people in my life is to tell them they're looking good. And that doesn't relate at all to their weight. They're almost always looking good to me 🤩

Sounds like it went as well as it possibly could have. And losing weight over Thanksgiving - only WLS can achieve that surely! Nice work - I know you were wary before you went.

Lunches looking good @ms.sss! Love the combination of smoked salmon and avocado especially.

All the beautiful faces - looking good, and healthy! 😍 I am so sorry I'm just too plain old shy to post photos of myself! Maybe some day. I keep threatening in the OOTD thread too but I just cannot press upload. I assure you all I do have a face, and outfits. 🤣

OMG fascinating article. Thanks GT!!!

Ugh - having read back the post above - sorry- it reads like there is one road to success and that any deviation from that path of righteousness could lead to 'failure' - that wasn't my point. Actually nothing could be further from the truth. WLS ALLOWS us to have a day when we eat rubbish, just because we feel like it. The surgery is still doing its thing the next day. It's the brain, the brain, the brain that will mess things up for us and tell us that one day equals complete failure. And that therefore what is the point. If we can access the support we need (and this does mean formal therapy for lots of us) I suspect that improves our chances of significant and sustained weight loss. Hope this is more helpful.

Such good advice above. I so love this forum. 😍 OP I hope you can judge yourself less and forgive yourself a few lapses - you are human, as are the rest of us. You have done the best thing you could for your health and have gone to enormous trouble (and expense?) to do it! We ALL have slips and do things that we know aren't good for us. If we can look back and analyse why we did what we did then sometimes that can help us avoid the same mistakes in future. I am 3 years post sleeve and I carry protein-based snacks wherever I go - usually nuts or seeds in little packs that I can carry in my bag. If I am hungry (and I do get fierce hunger at quite short notice a couple of hours after eating) and I'm in danger of eating something I shouldn't, then I will eat those. I know they will help stop me eating the rubbish that my head wants but my body doesn't need. It works a bit for me so I hope will help you. I never leave home without them. In addition I have stock phrases to 'explain' (not that I have to but - yunno) why I am not indulging in the delicious sugary fatty rubbish along with everyone else. I learned those phrases here. Oh I ate before I came! I'm just not hungry right now. I'm doing strict keto so I'm avoiding sugar at the minute. And so on. IME people completely lose interest if you say 'a thing', LOL. I wish you the best of luck. You've stumbled a little this week, that's OK, it's a marathon not a sprint. I hope you can use some of the resources suggested above. It's hard. It's hard every day, even after WLS. Take one day at a time and be kind to yourself. We are all here for you.

Yep, another stomach sleeper pre-op here and I had to learn to sleep on my side. I still don't like it!

Welcome PlantMom! There's already some really good advice here on your query. If you can spend some time reading this forum generally you will gain SO much knowledge in a short time. Well worth it. I'm 3 years post sleeve. It has suited me very well - I am 5'9" and was 276lbs before I started my WLS journey, so not that far off your stats. I made a positive choice to have the sleeve based on minimum changes to my anatomy. My surgeon laid out the pros of that Vs the bypass (he only did those two ops) and I decided. I would be really concerned about anyone trying to shoehorn me into what was easier for them. I did have reflux when I was morbidly obese but I lucked out and it actually improved after I lost weight (as it always had before) but if you're a fellow sufferer that might be one to consider carefully. In IRL I know people with sleeve, bypass, AND band, who have failed to lose, or lost and regained everything and more. WLS is a chance to re-think and redefine your relationship with food. I am saying this as someone still doing that and who will be negotiating that forever! It's a lifelong journey for those of us who were born with the propensity to gain gain gain weight in the obesogenic society we now live in. Choose your tool carefully and after as much research as you can. Even then it doesn't work out for everyone but I think it maxes out your chance that you'll be one of the lucky ones. I wish you all the best.

Oh how awful! Look after yourself - not the best start. I hope the rest of your post-op journey goes really smoothly now x

Thank you for the detailed update. I hope the pain eases soon and you do really well moving forward.

Oh lord I am in floods of tears. Thank you for sharing. This will chime with so many people here. Welcome to your new life. 💚

Oh that is beyond sweet.

Did you have the same problems during your liquid and pureed phases? If not it might be worth going back a step to purees as summerseeker has suggested. I do understand that chewing food really thoroughly is basically the same thing, but it takes the guesswork and possibilities for errors out of the equation. I know I am weird but I quite enjoyed my pureed food (because it was my first non-protein drink intake for almost a month). So tasty 😍 At 2.5 weeks I was just just onto pureed food, made with a LOT of liquid, and I was eating about 40-60mls (1-2oz) of goo for a meal, depending on how much protein was in it. We are all so different. I have seen people here thrive on solids much earlier. If your surgical team are confident that it isn't a post op complication you might have room to experiment a little. At 2.5 weeks fluids are paramount - there is wiggle room with protein and other macros in most programmes. I hope it all settles really quickly for you - sounds unpleasant.

Fantastic. Huge congratulations on 7 years and keeping pretty steady. That's the dream. I have learned so much from you - thank you for staying here to help others along the way. Thank you for sharing your photos too, they're amazing!!!

Are you pre or post op?? This is the pre op section so I'm a bit confused (nothing different there). If you're post surgery then definitely follow the advice above. If not, then perhaps just check with your team whether it's appropriate this close to your surgery.

Looks and sounds absolutely luscious 🤩

OMG absolutely this!!!

So many good replies already. I sprinkle seeds onto and into almost EVERYTHING. They are filling and add fab micronutrients. My local supermarket does a big 7 seed toasted mix so I don't have to think about that. Salads big time. Sandwiches. Porridge (oatmeal). And then every dinner. I do this several times a day. These and nuts are my secret weapons.

Just amazing to read this post. I've been here during all of your stages and am so pleased you have ended up exactly where you want to be 💚

Welcome to ONEDERLAND 🙌🎉 Our starting weight is v similar. Getting into the one hundreds was a big thing for me since I hung out so much here. In UK and Ireland we don't do things so much in pounds as in stones sometimes! Anyway, enjoy every milestone on the way down. It's a crazy ride.

Just echoing what the two very experienced forum members say above. A regain in 2nd and 3rd year post op is almost the norm. Please try not to worry about it unduly. Your set point is the weight/body composition that your body wants to hover around. The video below is short and might help. Your set point gets lowered drastically by WLS. But - processed food raises it. Eating cleaner keeps it lower. Building muscle mass keeps it lower. Might those be things you can work on a bit? Lots of people focus on cardio and that's brilliant, but lifting weights or using resistance bands (even if you never do cardio!) can add another really significant layer to that. Do you or have you ever tracked your intake? If that has slipped just tracking again might make you aware of what you're taking in and what you're using up. I am saying this as someone just about 3 years post op who regained 16lbs this year. I personally wasn't happy with that because it didn't stop as others' seems to, so I lost 10lbs by strict keto and am now back where I want to be. I had dietary lapses I needed to correct too and am working on that. I had this surgery to stop dieting - I feel like I can tweak things to keep me where I want to be without that and that I've learned a lot by stepping back and really analysing my intake the last few months. Also huge kudos to you for thinking about this with only 9lbs on. Much easier to look at what you can change now, if you even need to do that, rather than further down the line. I wish you the very best.

Really need a photo of those arms post op at your earliest opportunity, LOL.

Such an inspiring post. Thank you so much for sharing. I hope your recovery is trouble free xxx

OMG what a transformation! Amazing photos.