noteasierstronger

If you have a costco membership, they sell two pack sports bras for $12 or $13. They have no under wire but do have thin pads that help prevent uniboob. They are comfortable. It's what I have been wearing for the last year since surgery.

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A little late to the party. Got to start back up 3 weeks post surgery. Doc just said to take it easy and listen to my body. I have already noticed an improvement in my running, and I am able to get a couple of pull-ups with the heaviest band help (which I wasn't able to do before). The one negative thing so far is that I feel worn out from the starting bell. I told a buddy that it constantly feels like round 5 of a hard 5 round workout all the time. My endurance isn't bad, I just suck wind the entire time (for example, today was a 14m AMRAP, I got 2 rounds in the first 7 minutes, and 2 rounds + 45 reps in the 2nd 7 minutes). So I can still work out for longer periods, but I get winded almost immediately. Hoping that part sorts it self out soon.

However, I am just so excited to get back into the gym and see my peeps again.

I am going to miss Crossfit during my recovery. My gym is awesome. I'm going to do Murph this Thursday as my last WOD before surgery, since I definitely won't be up for that on Memorial Day. I am looking forward to seeing what my updated body can do in a few months, though.

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had surgery 4.5+ years ago.
i told a total of 5 people: Mr., the Kid, Mom, Sis & BFF...all of whom i knew would not say anything to anybody if i asked them not to.
BFF was the only one who brought up the "cheat" word, but i was prepared for it, and just took it in stride.
People around me would constantly ask about my evident weight loss (un-solicited advice about speed of loss, amount i ate, how much weight loss was "enough", how i sick i looked, etc)...and i too became a master-subject-changer (earlier OP has it right, people LOVE to talk about themselves, so subject-changing is relatively easy, for the most part).
If its any consolation, as the months and years go by, you and your weight loss become old news and it is rarely, or ever, brought up again.
...Now...im going to bring up something that is sorta against the grain here: while i don't think WLS is "cheating" by any means (i mean, weight loss is not an exam for effs sakes! there are no rules or laws about how it should be done 🙄), i do actually sympathize with the idea that it was the easy way...or at least one of the "easi-ER" ways.
In all my attempts at weight loss, no other method (at least for ME) was as "easy" to adhere to than WLS. Getting the sleeve helped me lose more weight in less time than any other time in my life. I had to put up waaaay more effort to control food intake in all my previous diets than i ever did with WLS. with WLS, it definitely was comparatively "easy".
And the icing on the cake is that i have (so far) kept it off. I would only manage to keep the weight off before for like maybe 6 or so months. This time around, the weight has stayed off for 4 YEARS (again, so far - i am not so delusional that i will look like this forever...but i'll try lol)
So in short (sorry it took so long for me to get here):
1. People suck. Ignore them, OR just feed their narcissism.
2. Suckiness is temporary. Ride it out until its behind you.
3. WLS makes losing weight easier.
4. You look fab!

This was the best thing I have ever done for myself. A true act of self love and discipline. With no regrets at all.
I used to kind of roll my eyes when people would say weight lost “journey”. But it’s truly what it is.
Loosing the weight gave me energy and confidence that I can’t even describe.
An old friend reach out to me, as she is about to start her journey, after recommending this app I started going through my old posts. I just want to say this community is an amazing place and I am forever grateful.
VSG: 3.14.18
Highest weight: 285
Surgery weight: 248
Current weight: 175


I love the new me 💕

I like this thread for two reasons. 1. It gives me ideas. 2. I get to see (and sometimes be envious of) all of the food people in other countries have and eat. [emoji846]

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I like this thread for two reasons. 1. It gives me ideas. 2. I get to see (and sometimes be envious of) all of the food people in other countries have and eat. [emoji846]

Sent from my Pixel 4a using BariatricPal mobile app

I like this thread for two reasons. 1. It gives me ideas. 2. I get to see (and sometimes be envious of) all of the food people in other countries have and eat. [emoji846]

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I agree. I am 9 months PO, and had you told me that I would be able to reach the weight I currently am, I would not have believed you.
I didn't set a firm goal at the beginning, because I had no idea where I "should" end up. I did some math with weights around the top of the "normal" BMI numbers for my height, to see what the percentages were so I could have some idea of my progress at 3 and 6 months.
Then I ended up dropping weight faster than predicted. The only time I had an actual number in mind was after my 6 month appointment when the APRN told me what they had written down as my "ideal weight" in the computer. It messed with my head some, because I couldn't ever remember weighing that little, so when I got into the range with the same number in the tens place, I was psyching myself out. I had to work to get over that.
I still don't believe the number on my jeans (6 - I had to buy new ones because my saved clothes only went down to 10). It's insane to me that I can wear size small t-shirts. I can feel bones in all kinds of places that I never did before. I am still slowly losing, letting my body decide what it wants to do, but my brain is still catching up with what I see in the mirror.
I also agree with wearing things you have saved as soon as they fit and as often as possible. Sizes can go by quickly sometimes.

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I agree. I am 9 months PO, and had you told me that I would be able to reach the weight I currently am, I would not have believed you.
I didn't set a firm goal at the beginning, because I had no idea where I "should" end up. I did some math with weights around the top of the "normal" BMI numbers for my height, to see what the percentages were so I could have some idea of my progress at 3 and 6 months.
Then I ended up dropping weight faster than predicted. The only time I had an actual number in mind was after my 6 month appointment when the APRN told me what they had written down as my "ideal weight" in the computer. It messed with my head some, because I couldn't ever remember weighing that little, so when I got into the range with the same number in the tens place, I was psyching myself out. I had to work to get over that.
I still don't believe the number on my jeans (6 - I had to buy new ones because my saved clothes only went down to 10). It's insane to me that I can wear size small t-shirts. I can feel bones in all kinds of places that I never did before. I am still slowly losing, letting my body decide what it wants to do, but my brain is still catching up with what I see in the mirror.
I also agree with wearing things you have saved as soon as they fit and as often as possible. Sizes can go by quickly sometimes.

Sent from my Pixel 4a using BariatricPal mobile app

I agree. I am 9 months PO, and had you told me that I would be able to reach the weight I currently am, I would not have believed you.
I didn't set a firm goal at the beginning, because I had no idea where I "should" end up. I did some math with weights around the top of the "normal" BMI numbers for my height, to see what the percentages were so I could have some idea of my progress at 3 and 6 months.
Then I ended up dropping weight faster than predicted. The only time I had an actual number in mind was after my 6 month appointment when the APRN told me what they had written down as my "ideal weight" in the computer. It messed with my head some, because I couldn't ever remember weighing that little, so when I got into the range with the same number in the tens place, I was psyching myself out. I had to work to get over that.
I still don't believe the number on my jeans (6 - I had to buy new ones because my saved clothes only went down to 10). It's insane to me that I can wear size small t-shirts. I can feel bones in all kinds of places that I never did before. I am still slowly losing, letting my body decide what it wants to do, but my brain is still catching up with what I see in the mirror.
I also agree with wearing things you have saved as soon as they fit and as often as possible. Sizes can go by quickly sometimes.

Sent from my Pixel 4a using BariatricPal mobile app

I agree. I am 9 months PO, and had you told me that I would be able to reach the weight I currently am, I would not have believed you.
I didn't set a firm goal at the beginning, because I had no idea where I "should" end up. I did some math with weights around the top of the "normal" BMI numbers for my height, to see what the percentages were so I could have some idea of my progress at 3 and 6 months.
Then I ended up dropping weight faster than predicted. The only time I had an actual number in mind was after my 6 month appointment when the APRN told me what they had written down as my "ideal weight" in the computer. It messed with my head some, because I couldn't ever remember weighing that little, so when I got into the range with the same number in the tens place, I was psyching myself out. I had to work to get over that.
I still don't believe the number on my jeans (6 - I had to buy new ones because my saved clothes only went down to 10). It's insane to me that I can wear size small t-shirts. I can feel bones in all kinds of places that I never did before. I am still slowly losing, letting my body decide what it wants to do, but my brain is still catching up with what I see in the mirror.
I also agree with wearing things you have saved as soon as they fit and as often as possible. Sizes can go by quickly sometimes.

Sent from my Pixel 4a using BariatricPal mobile app

I agree. I am 9 months PO, and had you told me that I would be able to reach the weight I currently am, I would not have believed you.
I didn't set a firm goal at the beginning, because I had no idea where I "should" end up. I did some math with weights around the top of the "normal" BMI numbers for my height, to see what the percentages were so I could have some idea of my progress at 3 and 6 months.
Then I ended up dropping weight faster than predicted. The only time I had an actual number in mind was after my 6 month appointment when the APRN told me what they had written down as my "ideal weight" in the computer. It messed with my head some, because I couldn't ever remember weighing that little, so when I got into the range with the same number in the tens place, I was psyching myself out. I had to work to get over that.
I still don't believe the number on my jeans (6 - I had to buy new ones because my saved clothes only went down to 10). It's insane to me that I can wear size small t-shirts. I can feel bones in all kinds of places that I never did before. I am still slowly losing, letting my body decide what it wants to do, but my brain is still catching up with what I see in the mirror.
I also agree with wearing things you have saved as soon as they fit and as often as possible. Sizes can go by quickly sometimes.

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I had VSG surgery in September 2021, and had a REALLY rough go of it recovering. I had a really rare set of complications, ended up in the hospital for a week, and generally felt like I was starving to death for 4 or 5 months.
About six months before my surgery, my husband had purchased me a motorcycle. I'm very short, and it was one of the few bikes I had even a prayer of being able to reach the ground on and be able to hold up on my own. I attempted to take the class to learn how to ride and because of the stress of attempting to hold up a 400 pound machine when it was clear my pre-surgery body was still struggling to just carry 150 extra pounds. It was too much. I couldn't finish the class, never got my endorsement on my license, and the bike sat while I was completely terrified of it. After my surgery and I got to a point where I was alert, able to safely drive my car and didn't have concerns about fainting...we traded the too-tall bike for a three-wheeled one that I didn't have to worry about being able to hold up, that fit my dimensions perfectly.
At the time I was doing much better than in the beginning, but I was still struggling to eat. I was 5 months out from surgery and still only eating 4-500 calories a day because it was all that would fit.
Once I got my license and started being able to ride my new toy, though, I was hooked. It BECAME the reason I pushed myself to eat more, the reason I pushed myself to keep myself hydrated, because I needed to make sure I was nourished enough to be safe, and properly fueled enough to keep going as long as I wanted to. Operating the bike also helped build back a lot of the muscle mass I lost while recovering because it's quite a workout on the shoulders, core, and hips to steer and corner. In a matter of a couple months I went from still incredibly weak, and almost still regretting the surgery, to being stronger, more confident, and having successfully lost more weight than I could have imagined when I started this process. 18 months out, I'm in so much better shape than in the beginning, I'm already considering giving two wheels a shot again, and the confidence I gained by coming out the other side of this life-changing process makes me wonder what else I am capable of that I never dreamed I would be.
TL;Dr this is the story of how my weird little motorcycle helped me recover from bariatric surgery.
What is your weird thing that helped you recover and get to know your "new" self?

My program doesn’t set goal weights (however they do ask if you have one to asses if your goals are realistic).

My goals were focused on my health (all met and surpassed) so far, but I have personally set mini goals for myself. First one was get below 300 pounds. (Check) Second mini goal was loose 100 pounds total (as of today check… 57 pounds before surgery, 43 pounds since surgery). I haven’t set my next mini goal yet - I need to think about it a little. I am hoping to loose a good bit more… working towards a healthy BMI, but along the way if I feel like “this is where I feel and look my best” I’ll stay there. I’d love to hit ONEderland, just because it’s been forever since I’ve been there… but we will see where this journey takes me.

I have three.
1. I have reached that point where my armpits are actually pits. Weird.
2. I can feel my hip bones. And my hip bones can feel stuff. Weirder.
3. I can row on the rower with my knees inside my arms instead of outside my arms. The weirdest.
It feels so strange but I love it.

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Decided a couple months back to try to drop a few more pounds. My weight had been fairly stable, between 172 and 175 for the last two years. As you can tell, I take my time, and after losing a couple pounds, I take a break and just maintain that weight loss. Losing the weight isn't the issue for me, but maintaining is. My weight is now between 168 and 170. Maybe not a huge difference; but for me.... I do not remember being in the 160's since college.... and that was like 1977..... so now at 66 years old, and a dozen years post VSG; I am down over 150 pounds from my highest weight. Age does do odd stuff to the body. But still working 40 hours a week, gardening, have my hens and fruit trees and vegetable gardens.... Of course, I can't recall how to update my ticker..... will research some. Updated !!!

I have three.
1. I have reached that point where my armpits are actually pits. Weird.
2. I can feel my hip bones. And my hip bones can feel stuff. Weirder.
3. I can row on the rower with my knees inside my arms instead of outside my arms. The weirdest.
It feels so strange but I love it.

Sent from my Pixel 4a using BariatricPal mobile app

I have three.
1. I have reached that point where my armpits are actually pits. Weird.
2. I can feel my hip bones. And my hip bones can feel stuff. Weirder.
3. I can row on the rower with my knees inside my arms instead of outside my arms. The weirdest.
It feels so strange but I love it.

Sent from my Pixel 4a using BariatricPal mobile app

I have three.
1. I have reached that point where my armpits are actually pits. Weird.
2. I can feel my hip bones. And my hip bones can feel stuff. Weirder.
3. I can row on the rower with my knees inside my arms instead of outside my arms. The weirdest.
It feels so strange but I love it.

Sent from my Pixel 4a using BariatricPal mobile app

I have three.
1. I have reached that point where my armpits are actually pits. Weird.
2. I can feel my hip bones. And my hip bones can feel stuff. Weirder.
3. I can row on the rower with my knees inside my arms instead of outside my arms. The weirdest.
It feels so strange but I love it.

Sent from my Pixel 4a using BariatricPal mobile app

I have three.
1. I have reached that point where my armpits are actually pits. Weird.
2. I can feel my hip bones. And my hip bones can feel stuff. Weirder.
3. I can row on the rower with my knees inside my arms instead of outside my arms. The weirdest.
It feels so strange but I love it.

Sent from my Pixel 4a using BariatricPal mobile app

because I like to over share sometimes (lol) and just give people a window into a true reality of a very large persons journey struggling with bad habits, eating disorder, anxiety depression etc….… I have decided to show a general weight progression for my weight loss journey so far….it has been far from drops all the time, even when I was doing the right thing!
My high weight was July 2021 when I tipped the scales at 456.
I am starting the rest of my story in January 2022. I was taking Ryselbus for a bit and was back down to 440. It was at this time that I doubled down to start doing the mental work on my stress eating, emotional eating, binge eating and other disordered eating which had gotten me pretty immobile and huge.
During feb, march and April I avoided the scale, focusing on my relationship with food, the triggers contained in my relationship with other people who had made me turn to binging and life in general. Also in some changes in portion size and being able to stop when full (which was hard for me)
but April 24th I stepped on the scale and was 426. I felt like I had made progress on me for the first time in a long time.

May 8th I was gradually down to 421, then my body did the first drop on may 9th (which I have learned is normal pattern for me) to 414.6
I went up about two pounds and down about two pounds for another couple weeks until finally dropping so to 405.6 May 27th.

June I really worked hard on dealing with fast food addiction and some very deep emotional hurts along with work stress and financial stress. My weight varied from 412.6 down (yep, gained!) to 403 at the end of the month. I was gaining, I was loosing, I was struggling to eat better and not loose my head to anxiety and other emotions. Sometimes I won, sometimes I lost. The whole month tracks up and down and up and down until I started to find my way towards the end of the month and the struggle became easier.

June 30th saw my surgeon for first consult. I was 403.2 that morning on my scale
July 4th I celebrated my own independence by leaving 400s with 399.6… I had started doing a lot of Portion Control and making healthier choices. Had nearly eliminated fast food. You would think I would be on a better path, but no, my body was still going to frustrate me. Even though I was eating a consistent diet, my weight decided to go on a joy ride and spiked back past 400 to 411.8. I was devastated and disheartened. How could I gain when my calories were in control and I was not eating much junk??? Emotionally I struggled and dug deeper into my past, my present and what I wanted for my future. I made some emotional breakthroughs and slowly the scale slid down, leaving the month at 396.4
Then August 3rd, 399.9 lbs, my nutritionist appt where I got my surgical guidelines and it threw me for a loop. I was told three weeks of either 1) 4 Protein Shakes a day and a light meal of lean Protein and steamed veggies or 2) 50 total carbs a day….. that morning I had what I thought of a healthy smoothie Breakfast with split pea (protein/fiber), berries and a banana with ice… I did the math on the carbs. It was 108 for my breakfast… could I do this?? with my struggles with disordered eating I knew I needed baby steps to get used to anything. Carb counting seemed to give me more variety and feeling of control. I started tracking all foods and reducing my cab count throughout Aug….. a miracle happened to my body as my mind relaxed with the guidelines given to me. The weight fluctuated, but trended truly down. I ended august at 376.3
by September I was (mostly) living with 50 carbs a day.. reading all labels and looking up food, paying attention to portion. Funny thing is my calories only dropped about 200 from my pre carb counting diet, but I was even more stringent with what I would consume… I was ready for my surgery when my surgeon was finally able to schedule ! By making my new habits my new normal, I was down to 365.6 at the end of September.

A few hiccups delayed my surgery scheduling (mostly an uncommon complicated insurance issue ) but I kept moving with my new normal… I finally got my date of Nov 3rd, so October was go time. The time to double down and follow things to a T so I could be in the best shape for surgery. My body wasn’t as cooperative even with me doing right as I hoped, but with perseverance I dropped more weight. During the last week in October with changing nothing I went from 362 to 353. My body just finally released the weight…
surgery day 351.4 !
Will do a post op so far in a bit…

Some of the jeans from my "someday maybe these will fit again" drawer just slide on. And then they button and zip with no problem. It amazes me every time.

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@APJPollett I'm so glad I found your post! I really wanted to reply as soon as I read it, so I haven't read everything else that's been posted, but I will.
I'm terrified of what I'm going to look like.I think about it every second of every minute. I'm 36, 280lbs 5'5". I've been fat all my life. I've grown attached to who I've become. I think I've used my fatness as a suit of armor. It's protected me from life.
I wish I could accept myself as is and promote body positivity. I believe surgery is the right choice for me. I have health issues and I want to have a baby while I still can. But I still feel shitty and scared. Everything I've read online promises that everything is going to change. My relationship, my friendships, how people treat me. Everything is going to change, and it terrifies me to my core! I know how to be fat, I know how to handle people as a fat person... it's all I know. I don't know how to be anything other than. And I'm giving it all up to be something else.
I'm worried about unwanted attention from men too. Usually my fat body and strong personality push men away, but what if by losing weight I become an easier target!?
I'm just losing my mind a little. Mind you, it's the end of day one of my 2 week liquid diet and I did not enjoy today at all. I'm just venting. But I'm grateful that I found your post. Thank you.