omrhsn

18 hours ago, summerset said:

The shopping splurges and selfies might be new habits but the others you listed - how are they "habits"?

Bad "things" I guess 😁

3 hours ago, qtdoll said:

I feel bad that you think this is even a little bit bad! You are 100% entitled to keeping that private, especially when the majority of the population are very ignorant to the procedure & think it's a magic spell. If anything, id say it's a good habit to save yourself from any of that judgement! Haha

I totally agree with you that most of people are nosy and ignorant and will turn into instant experts when you tell them about WLS. It is just that I'm not used to keeping stuff from my friends. I've only told two of close friends and I'm glad I did. They were very supportive. One of them is considering having WLS next month 😄

3 hours ago, qtdoll said:

Ohhhh great thread idea!!

Before surgery I had your typical bad habits. Eat too much takeout, binge at night, avoid mirrors at all costs etc.

After surgery I'd say that have become a little too attached to excersicing. I can be a bit obsessive when it comes to working out, but its also a good thing. I just can't imagine my life without it now!

Binge eating at night was really bad for me. Specially during lockdown when I was working from home. I'm glad that I got rid of that bad habit now. I still get the urge to do it, but I just drink some Water / tea or eat lettuce / cucumber and it goes away. It helps that I'm now working in a small town and food delivery usually stops before 10 pm. I don't keep any junk food at home.

I need to exercise more and start building muscles. Keep up the good work

3 hours ago, Arabesque said:

Great list @omrhsn. I really relate to #1. You should see my credit card bills 😱. I always loved clothes & fashions & had a large selection but now. Clothes, shoes & bags oh my. I’ve filled wardrobes in three bedrooms & have many things I’ve worn once or am yet to wear. Quite terrible & a little embarrassing really.

#4 - I’m still selective as to whom I tell. If I don’t want them to know I usually say I saw a dietician & changed how, what & why I eat. All true. Though I did tell the doctor who shaved some moles (Nevis) off my neck today. We were talking about knee length boots so #1 again. 😆😆😆

Speaking of terrible and embarrassing, I just got a notification a few minutes ago that some of the clothes and shoes I ordered earlier this week have been delivered to my apartment this afternoon. Second parcel on the ways haha. Buying clothes online is so much easier when you are average / normal size (but no good on my pocket haha). I need to uninstall those apps (I tell myself that every time haha).

I'm working in a remote site and I've not been to the head office since March 2022. Everyone was shocked to see me and they all kept asking how I did it. I even got follow-up calls. Most of the people were worried that I got diabetes or seriously ill. I just went with the healthy diet and exercise story.

32 minutes ago, Smanky said:

I really co-sign both of these! I'm fortunately more addicted to thrifting clothes than buying new, but I still have to stop myself and consider if I really really need yet another pair of jeans (I absolutely don't!).

And #5 - oh boy, yep. I love how I look in clothes and in turn, how clothes look on me (I had no idea that under all that fat was a pretty good "coat hanger" body), but out of clothes is another matter entirely. The loose skin isn't super bad, but it's enough that I'm self-conscious, and I'm now also conscious of how bony I am. I suspect I'm on the cusp of being told I'm too thin, despite still being in a normal BMI. I've basically swapped one body insecurity for another.

Addiction is the right word to use in my case haha. Now that the weight loss has slowed down considerably, I need some sort of motivation / rewards to keep me going. That is where new clothes come in. I now dare myself to try new sizes and styles that I've never dreamed of wearing before WLS to see how it fits. Yesterday I tried size S polo shirts, size 32" slim fit jeans, size S slim fit dress shirt and all fit me nicely. I ended buying all. My wardrobe is full of cloth now and I need to stop.

As for insecurities, I'm really insecure about how my thighs look. I seem to have lost weight (a lot) from everywhere but my thighs. I need to do something about that for sure. I hope the weather improves soon so I can go back to cycling again.

I was able to break a lot of bad habits after WLS but I've developed new ones along the way. I'll share some of mine and I'm keen to hear yours too.

Some of the Bad habits before WLS:

1. Spending a lot of money on junk food (fast food, potatoes chips, chocolate etc) specially when I'm at work.

2. Procrastination when it comes to exercising and doing something about my weight. I've reached a stage where I've decided to just let myself go and do nothing about it

3. Avoiding social gatherings if I knew that photos will taken or if it involves any sort of physical activity

4. Eating before going to bed and while watching TV

I'm glad to report that I've broken all of the above and I couldn't be happier.

Bad (not necessarily) habits after WLS

1. Spending a lot of money on new clothes. I can't resist buying new clothes if it fits or I know it will fit me in a month time or so. Yesterday I went to the mall to buy tomatoes from the supermarket and ended up buying 2 polo shirts, 1 shirt and new jeans 🤣. I got the tomatoes of course.

2. I hate looking at old photos of me and I really don't like the way I looked in those. I didn't have this feeling before.

3. I take a lot of selfies and photos of myself now haha. I guess I'm making up for past time

4. I'm not telling people the whole truth when asked how I lost the weight. I only tell them about diet and exercise and even show them my latest cycling records but nothing about the WLS. If only told a handful of people about my WLS because I thought they could benefit from one. One of my friends is planning his WLS next month.

5. I don't like how certain parts of my body look after losing a lot of weight (I don't hate tho) like my armpits which have turned into caves, the loose skins on my belly, my scars. I guess I'm a bit self conscious about those.

I went to buy new shirts for work last week because the ones I bought two months ago became baggy and loose. I started with size "M" first which was still big and finally got size "S" slim fit shirts which fit me like a glove haha. I've never thought that this would be possible 🤣. Here is me in my new size "s" shirt and 31" pants. I need to lose some more weight from my thighs.

Here is another update - I weighed myself this morning and I'm finally back to 76.5 kg. The swelling is gone and I think I've lost a few inches around my waist and belly in the process which is always nice. I will keep an eye on my salt intake from now on.

On 5/4/2023 at 4:20 AM, qtdoll said:

I HIT MY GOAL WEIGHT! (Well, actually surpassed it) My goal weight was 135 & I woke up weighing 134! It's been 8 months since my surgery

Congratulations and well done! So happy for you.

10 hours ago, NP_WIP said:

I tend to suffer from Water retention even after surgery (albeit not as often), mostly when sitting for prolong times, drinking too much Water, drinking too little water, walking all day or the inevitable plane ride. I use dandelion tea which is a natural diuretic and increase my water intake to avoid dehydration. If it is too extreme, usually after flying, I will take a furosemide that my doctor prescribed but a water pill will work as well.

I think sitting all day also added to the problem. My job is office based with occasional site visits etc. This past week not much was going on site because of the heavy rain and public holiday. So I was mostly sitting on my desk

14 hours ago, pintsizedmallrat said:

Water retention is absolutely a thing; I actually had the exact same thing happen with pickles! I woke up the next day and had gained 3 pounds because the day before I had decided that the 35-calorie each halved dill pickles would make a great guilt free snack and ate a few of them the day before. So much salt! Take it easy for a day or two, drink some extra fluids and if that's what it was, it'll go away in a few days once you get things flushed back out.

I'm drinking a lot of Water and I think (hope) it is getting better. My face looks slimmer and I can see the wrinkles / excess skin on my thighs which is a sign that the swelling is less now. I've avoided the scale this morning. Otherwise, I will go crazy if I saw a number that is higher than yesterday's. Pickles are banned in my house now haha

9 minutes ago, Possum220 said:

I truly hope that it is just Water retention from the pickles and you body will be able to reset. Have you noticed that your body retains Water because of the hot weather? Or maybe you are just more aware now that you are a lower weight? Just a thought. Good luck with everything.

Thanks. It happened to me in the past (foot and face swelling etc) but I was not paying attention to my weight then. That was before the WLS. I've been going through what I ate over the past few days and it include salty food, processed / canned food, chicken Soup from a restaurant that I know uses bullion cubes in their Soups to make it more flavorful (hello MSG!). So I think it was just a bad food combo that resulted in the water retention. I hope this goes away soon.

Here is an update. I've been drinking a lot of tea and Water since yesterday as per the advice I found on the internet. I'll add some lemon juice to my tea and turn it into an iced lemon tea. I was 80.6 kg this morning and my face is more round now and my cheeks are fuller. I think the water is retained on my thighs haha. I never thought I will see these numbers again but here we are. No more pickles or salty foods for yours truly after this.

1 hour ago, Smanky said:

I had a similar gain of around 1.5kg recently, and it was due to an injured knee (played basket ball on a knee that's still not 100% after breaking it late last year 🙃). The knee swelled up noticeably, and after a fortnight of compression and rest, the swelling finally went away and took the 1.5kg gain with it. I'm back to slowly losing again.

I hope you are feeling better now. Hopefully my "swelling" will go away soon.

3 hours ago, Arabesque said:

I agree. I think it was the salty pickles too. Awful feeling though when you see those higher numbers on the scale & wonder what you’ve been doing wrong. Over time you’ll discover things that make your weight fluctuate a little more than usual. I’m up a little at the moment because I’ve been eating my chicken & barley Soup - an extra serve of carbs & the extra Fluid does it every time for me but it will be gone in few days.

Try adding lemon juice to your Water or drink some tea - both will make you pee more & help flush out the excess fluids.

Thanks for tips. I have been drinking a lot of tea since yesterday. I'll turn it into an iced tea with lemon juice to maximize the effect. I was really shocked when I saw the scale going up. I've learned my lesson now haha. No more pickles for me

10 hours ago, catwoman7 said:

it was the pickles. Yes - sodium makes some people retain Water like crazy. Plus there is no way you'd gain 3.7 kg of real weight in three days. To do that, you would have to eat 28,000 more calories than your body needs in those three days. So yea, no. It's just Water.

Thanks for your feedback! 28,000 calories in just three days is insane even for the old me haha

14 hours ago, BabySpoons said:

I'm nowhere near goal weight but as a professional yo yo dieter for many many years, it sounds to me like classic Water weight retention. Swollen feet is a sure sign and the fact you have been eating increased amount of sodium. It's frustrating but temporary.

^^Good advice^^ and reduce your sodium intake. Good luck reaching your goal.

Thanks! Hopefully this will go away soon. Good luck to you too. You are doing great!

Hi. I noticed that my weight has started going up like crazy over the past four days. I was 76.5 kg on 26 April 2023 and I weighed 80.2 Kg this morning (30 April 2023). I usually weigh myself after going to the toilet in the morning, around the same time, before eating or drinking anything and wearing only my "birthday suit". Gaining 3.7 kg over 3 days is definitely unusual and alarming. This afternoon I also noticed that my feet were swollen and felt a bit numb.

Then I remembered that I've been eating a lot of pickles that my wife made for me. I read somewhere that there is a strong connection between increased dietary salt intake and weight gain due to Water retention but the studies were all inconclusive. The recommendations were to just drink a lot of water, exercise and wait it out.

Anyone experienced a similar situation and how long did it take to get back on track? It is frustrating that I'm experiencing this while I'm only 6 kg from my goal weight.

This ad that keeps on popping on my social media feed 😂. I wish it was that easy

13 minutes ago, BriarRose said:

Don't laugh. I am 12 years out. Lost a lot, had stuff happen. Gained about 45 pounds back (out of more than 150 lost) and 3 years ago decided to lose it again..... and I did. And then some. So now at 67 years old.... I have gone from a size 28 a dozen years ago, and this week decided to go shopping again because my size 14 jeans (that I was soooooo proud of just months ago) were not staying up... and I JUST BOUGHT size 12 Jeans and slacks for work. SIZE 12. DID YOU HEAR THAT ? I keep giggling. Healthy (well mostly) Happy, Active, Working, Gardening, chicken keeping, and a FREAKING SIZE 12.

Does it work ? Does it still work ? YEP it does.

That is awesome! I look at the WLS as a tool to jump start the weight loss process. The rest is maintenance. Enjoy your NSV. I'm now down from size 54" pant to 31-30" depending on the cutting and I know the feeling

On 4/14/2023 at 2:16 AM, losinglosinglosing said:

Pictures speak for themselves ❤️

Indeed. Looking good man!

1 hour ago, Quetta89 said:

Yes I'm 3 weeks post op and finally broke my stall I lost 3lbs since my first week I was happy for all the support last week while I was super stressed out about being the same weight for the past week I appreciate everyone who comment

Sent from my moto g power (2022) using BariatricPal mobile app

The infamous 3 weeks stall! I think most of us over here had it. I'm glad yours broke so quick. My advice to you it to try not to stress so much about stalls and focus on following your program. Good luck

25 minutes ago, qtdoll said:

I officially weigh in the 130's!! 🎊🎉✨

Congrats! Have you reached your goal yet?

9 hours ago, ms.sss said:

old-ish timer here.

not sure if my info fits the vibe here, but here it is anyway:

4.5 yrs post and am 114 lbs lighter today than i was when i started.

i eat all foods like a "normal" person, but at much smaller quantities per sitting.

Well done and good job keeping the weight in check. It is always good to hear from old-timers. I noticed you are below you goal weight. Was it always this way or does your weight fluctuate up and down?

7 hours ago, SuziDavis said:

I was getting so upset, I stalled at 97lbs down... this morning I past 100!

I noticed that immediately after a long stall, the weight loss was significant. As if my body was making up for the lost time. Good luck