Sunnyer

I went to the mall today to try on summer dresses. I went into a store (Esprit), where I previously only fit into their roomiest of open sweaters. This time, I tried on four dresses, including two button down dresses, a sweater and a jacket. The dresses all fit, and the jacket and sweater (both in XL) were a bit too big. I bought one dress, a floral one with small buttons running down the front. I haven’t had a dress with buttons in front in years, because my breasts were too big. it’s just such a weird feeling to walk into a regular clothing store with normal European sizes, and be able to fit into all their dresses. This hasn’t happened to me since I was in my twenties..

I wasn't obese as a teen and hardly overweight either. so I personally would not have qualified or wanted to have surgery. I think the recovery would be hard on a teen and that bariatric surgery is not a good option for teens unless they are severely obese. Children should not be on diets either, in my opinion. I think a lot of my weight problems stem from going on a diet as a teen, even though I was not technically overweight. I developed an unhealthy relationship with food and started binge eating.

Sixty two pounds in six months is a job well done. I've lost nearly 47 pounds in four months and three weeks, so almost four months. I'd be very happy with 62 pounds in six months, although most likely I will lose less than that. I ate a little bit of cookies and candy during Christmas. It didn't make me gain weight. The key is to stop in January, and make sure the sweets are just a seasonal treat and not an everyday occurrence. Start the new year with a new exercise routine and stop being disappointed in yourself. You're doing great.

Thanks! I felt better pretty soon after I started the antibiotics, so I'm not sick during Christmas which was what I feared. I'm now even further down on the scale, which is so strange for this time of year. Normally, December is the time of year I gain weight and not just during Christmas. So it's especially welcome now after a long stall in November. I hope everyone is having a great Christmas. We open our presents on Christmas eve, so we've already had Christmas dinner and opened out gifts. I got a whole box of homemade cookies from my niece, who is a college student and always gives something homemade. They're quite delicious, but definitely not healthy. What would you do with a gift like that? Eat one per day? Give them to friends? I already regifted the chocolate I got from work to a refugee woman I've been assisting, so I can't really give her the cookies as well.

I'm happy that I've now lost a little bit more than half of my goal. I've lost 19.8 kilos (43.65 pounds) and I have 19.2 kilos to go to reach my goal weight. Also, since I'm at 93.2 right now I'm likely to reach my goal weight of 93 this month. Of course, it's Christmas this weekend, and I have to be a bit careful, but I think it will be ok. The only negative is that I have an UTI, for the first time in more than a decade. I looked it up, and yes, there's an increased chance of UTI's after bariatric surgery. So, I went to the drs office and got antibiotics. Hopefully, they will work and I won't be sick during my Christmas break.

My plan doesn't have a carb restriction, but I'm supposed to eat the protein first, so often there's no room for much more. I have a hard time with simple carbs anyway, especially bread and pasta. I'll have a tiny bit of rice sometimes, and a little popcorn. I try to eat a little veggies with every meal too, which are complex carbs.

I can eat popcorn and I still like it. The trouble is having too much, so I measure out a cup and don't allow myself to have more. What I can't eat still are a lot of dairy products. I can eat a slice or two of yellow cheese, but greek yogurt and fresh mozzarella upset my stomach. Also, I can't really eat bread or pasta, which is OK, since I was on low carb for a long time and haven't really had them for years. Even the protein bread, which I ate while on low card, doesn't agree with me all that well and I can have less than one slice.

You look great, and not at all older. That haircut and color also looks good on you. I'm thinking of cutting my hair too, and maybe getting some highlights. I too worry about looking older and since I have wavy hair, I also worry that shorter hair will look like an old lady perm. But hopefully my results will be as good as yours.

You've still lost 40 pounds, which is a lot. I did feel a bit bad, reading all the posts here from people who have lost 40+ and 50+ pounds, when I've only lost 36. Still, I've never lost more than 10-15 pounds in the last ten years or more, and always ended up gaining them back. Normally, I'd lose the 10 pounds or so in a few weeks, then stall no matter what I did, and then regain. Sometimes slowly, sometimes more quickly. Sometimes I'd manage to keep 10 pounds off for a while, but it always ended the same way. So, in that context, 36 is not too shabby. I hope I too will get to the 40+ pounds lost soon, maybe even this year.

It's great that you are experiencing so many health benefits and that you are content. That is the goal for all of us, or at least most of us. Hopefully, that woman you saw is experiencing health benefits, too. And it varies how much people focus on their looks. If she's happy and healthy, that's great too. A friend of mine was pretty negative when I told her I was going to have gastric sleeve, because she has another friend who had weight loss surgery a few years back, and to my friend that woman looked similar to what you are describing. But, that woman was feeling better and was happy with that, which is the most important part. I'm not anywhere near my goal weight, and I'd be disappointed if my weight loss stopped here. I have been able to stop taking medication for high blood sugar, but I want to be able to stop at least one of my two blood pressure meds and get below obesity weight into the "overweight" category. If I end up 10-20 pounds above ideal weight, that's not a big deal to me. But we all have to find our own goals and our way to health. I'd rather be healthy, and if I will be saggy or whatever I'm not averse to plastic surgery if needed.

Thank you for sharing what you are doing. You mention grass fed collagen. Since we don't have Amazon in my country, it's expensive to order here. Do you think marine collagen is as good? There are several local products with marine collagen, very popular but expensive, albeit not as expensive as ordering from overseas. I didn't know there were different kinds of vitamin C, will definitely look into that. Are the dr. Berg hair supplements large? I have serious trouble still taking large pills and supplements, due to nausea and gag reflex. I looked into gummy supplements that my hairdresser recommends, but they have a lot of carbs.

My hair is leaving my head. It started this month, and I lose a ton every day. Even if I just run my fingers through my hair, I'm left with a handful. Is there anything that can be done to stop the hair loss? I'm taking vitamins.

I'm five weeks past surgery and the pain was a lot less than I expected. I did get some strong pain meds in the hospital, but when I came home I only had normal pain meds and I stopped using them after a few days. I did have some problems with gas and nausea, but in all I was surprisingly well the day after surgery and I did go to work a couple of days before two weeks had passed. Before this surgery, I've had a c-section, shoulder surgery and surgery for fibroids. Of the four, this one was the least painful. If you follow what the doctors tell you and take pain medication, you should be fine.

Is anyone else feeling sleepy during the day and/or falling asleep after work? I'm getting at least seven hours of sleep every night and more on the weekend, but I feel awfully sleepy in the afternoon and quite often I fall asleep on the couch sometime between 5 and 7 PM, even if I don't intend to. I'm eating 4-600 calories per day and getting 40-60 grams protein daily, so I feel like I should have enough energy to stay up. Now it's almost 10 PM and I have a headache and want to go to sleep, even if I didn't get up until 7:30 this morning AND took a nap in the afternoon. Has anyone dealt with this and found a way to become more energetic and less sleepy?

That will probably change in time. I find that my taste in food has changed somewhat. I no longer crave bread or chocolate, for instance. I went out to eat yesterday with people from work and had a chicken soft taco. Ate the chicken, which was fine. Had a tiny bite of the tortilla and I didn't like it. And I used to love tortillas. I'm averse to more foods than I used to be, but meat still tastes good and agrees with me. But I know someone who had gastric sleeve a while ago and still can't eat meat. So, it's very individual. At least you are free from cravings, if nothing tastes good.