Spinoza

Love this idea! I am one of the people who have dropped off a bit as I have been having a grand ole time. WLS is a big big rollercoaster and not everyone has the same experience. BUT: I am loving how this board educated me and helped me make the most of it. Cannot thank you guys enough. I smashed my expected loss after gastric sleeve and have managed to keep most of that weight off. I still cannot believe that I am this much lighter and smaller than I was 5 years ago. I love love love everything about it. It has been really hard. It's hard every day now but I still LOVE it enough to work at it. Best of luck to everyone starting their journey. There are lots of bumps in the road xxx

I think the whole point of having your surgery was to allow you to live a more 'normal' life. Your restriction shouldn't let you go too far off the rails. Of course you want to eat mindfully but I say get your protein in and then enjoy ALL the tastes after that - I suspect they'll be tiny but will mean a lot. I hope you have a fantastic time.

If I had my time again I would not reintroduce alcohol after surgery. I didn't miss it in the pre-op phase (mine was prolonged because my original surgery date got cancelled). Didn't miss it post op AT ALL. But as soon as I was permitted I restarted and honestly it has no nutritional value and has contributed to my regain since my lowest weight. Just posted on another thread saying I avoid highly processed food and then thought - yeah you hypocrite, you have a glass of wine sitting on the table in front of you as you type that!!

Meat and cheese (and veg and salad) are my staples here too when I'm out and about. Lots of good advice and suggestions here already. Salad is too fiddly to eat while driving but carrot, cucumber, celery, green or red pepper sticks might be OK, with dressing or a dip if you like? Personally not a big fan of highly processed food any more (it made me obese) so a bar would be a last resort for me. Nothing wrong with them once in a while though and can be handy if your options for protein are limited that particular day!

Happy birthday @Arabesque! Sorry, I have had to be away for a while but enjoying catching up. You look amazing and the birthday food is fab x

Absolutely stunning. Love it on you. Enjoy your birthday week (and year) @Arabesque !

OMG this looks goooood too!

All looks absolutely amazing. Happy happy birthday to you xxx

Happy surgiversary @GreenTealael and @Arabesque. Such an achievement to be this far out and still on top of your eating and weight. That takes a lot of effort and know-how! You have both been a huge source of knowledge and support to all of us - thank you for still being here. Photos of the birthday girl please when that comes around too ?

Duplicate post - sorry!!

I love a success story. Have you gone up and down by much over the last decade or so, or held really steady? And yes, if you have any particular tips we would love to hear them. Kudos on maintaining for so long - that is THE goal for all of us here.

Good advice above. Gotta love this place. I regained 7kg last year after losing for a year and a half after surgery, and then holding pretty steady at my below target weight for another year. Like you I know where my 7kg came from. For me it's alcohol and carbs (and sometimes alcoholic carbs!) When I get back to basics and stop drinking wine and eating white carbs it comes off slowly. When I don't it goes back on - somewhat less slowly! I am kind of allowing myself to bounce about within a 5kg window and managing that but honestly I am working kinda hard to achieve it. So far I haven't seen the scales climb any higher but I know a crisis or even just a change in circumstances or health (mental or physical) could scupper me. I do not take being this weight for granted. I hope you can get back on track - I know you have an incentive with your back problem but that doesn't make it one bit easier.

Oh I love that! Plus it looks absolutely delicious.?

Eughhhh. I hate when store bought food doesn't even try to live up to its promise. Yeah I agree, chuck that second portion - life's too short!

Loving this thread. @Bypass2Freedom you look so good. And you KNOW you look good. Love the hair. And - happy first birthday in your new body. I had my surgery almost 4 years ago but honestly I still cannot believe that I can walk into a clothes shop and buy something because it suits me, or I like something about it, or it flatters me - rather than just because it fits. I haven't really changed my style - just adapted. Was always a jeans and tops gal but perhaps now wear dresses a bit more. I like getting gussied up! Enjoy every minute of your new look(s)!!!

You look amazing. Loving the lighter hair. The skirt is coming through as tiny posies of flowers for me! ?

Princess Teia(lael)!!!! Looks like loads of fun. If your BF is actually a Star Wars fan that's the perfect birthday isn't it?

I think the soft food stage might be a tiny bit early for crispy pepperoni? But it sounds so lovely and it IS a long time since I was at that point. I was super wary about troubling all my staples and stitches back then. You've got to get creative after WLS for sure ?

Honestly the variation in post op dietary advice never ceases to amaze me. I had very few rules - 2 weeks liquid, 2 weeks puree were I think the only guidance I was given. I got most of my information here! I am an outlier in that I adored the puree phase. My first proper food, not yucky protein shakes, for about 2 months. My pre-op 800 calorie a day diet had to be extended when my surgery date was cancelled and I had to be in a state of preparation for a cancellation (that took weeks!) I made family dinner and then just pureed that in a blender with extra gravy. No fibrous veg but I had everything else. I hope you can make it through.

Also I've never heard of cake donuts.

OMG I think I gained weight just looking at that photo. Scrumptious. Gotta have a treat once in a while!

Not 5+ years post op but I also have foods that definitely sit badly in my new stomach, 3.5 years on, mainly (but not only) carbs. Pasta, bread, crisps (chips for some of you) but also lettuce, seeds, and some meat products (offal especially). I get full quickly and stay uncomfortably full for a long time. I don't eat white carbs often - my usual diet is fairly low carb these days - but sometimes nothing else is on offer.

There are calculators that will help you ballpark estimated weight loss. I loved doing that before my sleeve. They're based on large numbers of people who have the various surgeries, but they are just averages. So some people will lose tons more and some tons less, for various reasons. Based on those my average predicted end point (based on thousands of people with the same starting BMI/weight but with a multiplicity of different variables, as Spartanmaker says) was around 200lbs (I started at 276 and would have honestly been thrilled with that). In the end I bottomed out at 138 and have maintained for a couple of years at 6-14lbs above that (albeit with a degree of effort because I like this weight and have invested a lot of money in a wardrobe that I just don't want to replace one size up, LOL). Sounds like you're already doing amazingly with your pre-surgery loss and that's all weight you won't need to use your sleeve to lose so you're ahead of the curve. The exercise you're doing sounds great too. I think you've got this. Can't wait to hear how well you do!

Amazing. Love the photo!! ?

I have absolutely loved seeing your journey unfold and I'm beyond pleased for you that you've done so well @Bypass2Freedom! Enjoy the benefits of all your hard work and best of luck with transitioning to maintenance. I know you'll ace that too. ?