NickelChip

Today I graduated with my Bachelors Degree! I have worked my arse off with working full time and raising 3 kids along with my supportive boyfriend. It was a great Mother’s Day present to myself. I decided to do a side by side and I noticed that even my guy lost weight. Not only that I feel like this year is a year for me to take control of my life. This is just the beginning!

Yes! My surgery is on Tuesday! 14/05/24

I haven't ever noticed this and I can't think of a scientific reason for it!
What I will say is as humans we are hard-wired to look for patterns and then read into those something significant.
I suspect you've just hit a stall. We all do, many times, on our weight loss journeys. If you can just relax into it and wait for it to break and then resume losing I think you'll be good.
My experience with WLS is that my body chose a new set weight and I just got there with a bit of effort and sticking to the rules. Totally agree that with previous diets my set weight might have been very different but those haven't intruded *at all* into my life post sleeve.

I remember the first time I realized I have food noise. I was given Saxenda and several weeks into it as I increased the dose, I noticed that the mental pressure to eat was gone... It was like that voice that often brought up food throughout the day was suddenly silenced. I never even realized it was there before, it was such a familiar thing in my mental landscape it didn't occur to me that not everyone has that! GLP-1 medications in general are known for this side effect. Meds for ADHD like Vyvanse and anti-depressants like Wellbutrin are also known to help with this.
When I went off my Ozempic before surgery, the voice came back with a vengeance!! I didn't have much of a appetite pre-op, but man did it come back post-op... For the first month I was sooo hungry. And the voice was SO loud. Thankfully I have a lot of techniques to manage inner voices, due to a decade of somatic based trauma therapy. I think without that, the process would have been so much harder for me.
One thing that helps me the most is distinguishing that part as a PART of me, not ALL of me. So instead of "I'm hungry!" it is "I'm noticing a part of me feels hungry." This may seem like a weird distinction, but research has shown when we do this with emotions "A part of me is angry." vs "I'm angry!") it helps us create a little space between us and the feeling and helps us remember that there are other parts of us present and not all of them are caught up in the emotion of the moment. Remembering there are parts of ourselves that are like Switzerland helps us navigate internally when voices get loud. So I apply this to head hunger too. I identify the part of me that is hungry. I ask it what it needs. I validate its experience. And then I offer to just sit with it for a while and be present with the feeling of hunger. Then I let it know when we are next going to eat and orient that part to thinking of what we might want to eat at the coming meal.
I'm sure this approach won't work for everyone, it is just what I tend to do. I notice when I hear the parts of me that feel things and give them some presence, they often start to soften, or have something important to tell me about what we are experiencing in that moment. For instance, I have severe ADHD. I get easily distracted and forget to eat. Post op it has been a struggle. That voice is there to remind me to tend my body. It may be louder than most people have it, but it still serves a purpose and when I can give it a job it tends to fight with me less. I eat every 3 hours. Without exception. If I go past 3 hours the voices get really loud and I feel sick, probably my blood sugar dropping... So I eat every 3 hours. But I eat within a 30 minute window, then I'm done. I don't snack in between. If my body tells me we need more food before the 3 hour mark I stop to reflect why this might be. If it is because I am bored, I find something to redirect the energy to and wait. If it is due to a workout or being sick and burning through energy faster. I may add in an earlier meal.
Seeing my body as something to partner with, as something I have a relationship with that I want to be a GOOD relationship, seems to help me remember to treat my inner voices with kindness and compassion instead of judgment and irritation. If someone you were closely connected to constantly ignored you or snapped at you, over time you'd either get louder or go away. That is what I did to my body. So now when I hear the voice it is a reminder that this is something I'm working to relate to in a healthier way, so I choose a reaction to it like I'd choose a reaction to a friend reminding me to eat or drink Water. Sorry for the long ramble, it just happens to be something I've been reflecting deeply on over the past 6 months!!
ETA: I do take Wellbutrin for depression. I have never noticed it affecting that internal voice, but some notice an impact. If you are struggling deeply with this voice, you might consider a medication that can support you in this. I have a good friend who has ADHD and noticed when she started Vyvanse it significantly helped with the food noise and binging behavior. It isn't a good solution for everyone, but it is a good solution for some. ❤️

I had several stalls - but they all eventually broke and I kept going until I hit goal (actually, about 10 lbs under) 20 months later. When I tried to lose weight on my own, I'd lose at most about 50 lbs before I'd hit a brick wall and my weight would eventually start heading back up. WLS was the only thing that allowed me to break through those brick walls and lose all of my excess weight (100% of it - although I've gained about 20 lbs of it back over the years). I think it's just a coincidence that you're having a stall at your former "brick wall". Just keep plugging away at it. It does get harder the closer you get to goal, though. Those last 20 or 30 lbs were a bear to get off (and It could be that my new, post op "set point" IS where I am now - but this is way, way lower than any pre-WLS set points).

"Because I was cursed by an evil witch in the forest for not minding my own business."

"Because I was cursed by an evil witch in the forest for not minding my own business."

I eat the turkey pepperoni as a snack while at work. Never thought to microwave them into crispy chips.
Also, speaking of the Cedars brand. Have you seen the Dark chocolate Hummus dip they have? I slice some banana's or strawberries and use it as a chocolate dip. I also sprinkle some Monk Fruit sweetener on it.

"Because I was cursed by an evil witch in the forest for not minding my own business."

"Because I was cursed by an evil witch in the forest for not minding my own business."

Ohhhhh, totally gonna try this. I’ve made it with Greek yogurt but going to try this version. And with French onion Soup mix also like @LisaCaryl. Yummy! If you guys like chip like things, if you take hormel turkey pepperoni and microwave them for like 1 to 1 1/2 min the microwave they get crunchy like chips and are salty. I eat a serving of them with tzatziki (cedars brand in only like 35 cal per serving) or now will try the cottage cheese dip. Gives you a salty chips and dip like snack and if you do the turkey pepperoni (I’ve used both turkey and regular and they taste the same once you microwave them) it’s only 70calories and 9 gm of Protein for 17 “chips” . then you could still do some veg for healthier food but get another bump of protein in. 😉

I've been making dip like that, too. I've used the Lipton Soup mixes... onion and veggie are the ones I've tried. It's good! I hope you like the Edamame. I got some of the Sea Salt flavor and do like it a lot.

I will be turning 50 exactly 1 week from today and had RNY surgery 2 1/2 weeks ago. The surgery went well and I'm doing fantastic! If it weren't for the incisions on my belly and the desire for a quick afternoon nap when that wasn't my habit before, I would almost forget I had surgery at all.
So far the recovery has been far easier than I imagined. A few days of pain managed with Tylenol, some fatigue, and that's it. My blood pressure, which has been high even with meds for a decade or more, has been back in the normal range without meds since the minute I woke up from the anesthesia. I'm not sure age is as important as your general health, immune system, etc. I've been lucky in that I generally don't get sick when others do, never had food allergies or digestive issues, and am in fairly good health except for the obesity related concerns I was hoping to reverse/ward off.

"Because I was cursed by an evil witch in the forest for not minding my own business."

I added it to my Subscribe and Save, so I won't get it for a few more days, but I can't wait to try them!
In the meantime, I have a new obsession: whipped cottage cheese ranch dip!
You take regular cottage cheese and put it in your food processor or blender and blend until it's super creamy, like a thick sour cream or almost a cream cheese. Add ranch seasoning powder (or probably any favorite dip seasoning) and eat with raw veg. I've made the dip with Greek yogurt before, but I like this even better. It doesn't have that yogurt taste so it feels more like "real" dip. I love that it has 14g Protein when made with 1/2 c cottage cheese, compared to only 2g in a comparable amount of hummus. It also takes a long time to chew all the veg, so it makes a great snack in the evening, especially if you like something when watching TV.

I added it to my Subscribe and Save, so I won't get it for a few more days, but I can't wait to try them!
In the meantime, I have a new obsession: whipped cottage cheese ranch dip!
You take regular cottage cheese and put it in your food processor or blender and blend until it's super creamy, like a thick sour cream or almost a cream cheese. Add ranch seasoning powder (or probably any favorite dip seasoning) and eat with raw veg. I've made the dip with Greek yogurt before, but I like this even better. It doesn't have that yogurt taste so it feels more like "real" dip. I love that it has 14g Protein when made with 1/2 c cottage cheese, compared to only 2g in a comparable amount of hummus. It also takes a long time to chew all the veg, so it makes a great snack in the evening, especially if you like something when watching TV.

"Because I was cursed by an evil witch in the forest for not minding my own business."

I added it to my Subscribe and Save, so I won't get it for a few more days, but I can't wait to try them!
In the meantime, I have a new obsession: whipped cottage cheese ranch dip!
You take regular cottage cheese and put it in your food processor or blender and blend until it's super creamy, like a thick sour cream or almost a cream cheese. Add ranch seasoning powder (or probably any favorite dip seasoning) and eat with raw veg. I've made the dip with Greek yogurt before, but I like this even better. It doesn't have that yogurt taste so it feels more like "real" dip. I love that it has 14g Protein when made with 1/2 c cottage cheese, compared to only 2g in a comparable amount of hummus. It also takes a long time to chew all the veg, so it makes a great snack in the evening, especially if you like something when watching TV.

I just realized that I sounded like I was rambling and not making sense but I can’t figure out how to edit it.



Your reply actually calmed me down some!! I am on GLP-1 pills and have been on getting on a healthy self journey for a few months now. I am surprisingly not wanting any fast food at all besides the pepperoni on cheese sauce pretzel crust pizza from little Cesars 😂

i started a “you don’t need that or only eat very little” thing with my almost immediately after starting that journey. Mind over matter. So far it has helped me because mannnnn lol Not doing that has made dieting fail.

A part of me knows that this surgery will help me be thinner which would make me healthier. Losing the weight will solve some issues but I feel undeserving since others have a higher SW. and being 160 felt okay (that’s only 30 lbs down from CW) even if I was still overweight/obese

"Clean living and not suffering stupid questions."
Tek

I was so happy to have chicken Soup flavored "shakes" to offset all the sweet stuff (until they started to taste like chemicals after surgery, lol). I was also able to put unflavored Protein Powder in Tomato Soup, and that was so nice! I would do a coffee flavored shake at Breakfast, chicken soup shake for lunch, and Tomato soup for dinner, plus sugar free Jello. It wasn't too bad after the first several days. Mine lasted 2 weeks. Take it easier if you can, and get lots of Fluid and sleep.

Week 5 Post op

Sw: 155kg /341lbs

Stats to date: - 15.9kgs / -35.05lbs


Huge NSV today, getting ready for work and it being very warm weather i decide to try on a shirt i hadn’t warn in 3-4 years because it didn’t fit anymore. 


It fits great now !


So i went shopping in my old clothes that i haven’t worn since 2019 ish and everything i threw on was fitting so nicely


Crazy ! I hadn’t noticed my weightloss physically until now 


It put a good spring in my step 


I’m feeling good - if a little tired. My surgeon prescribed some Vitamins that are specific to bariatric patients but i swear they are HUGE pills and i can’t swallow them they get stuck 😣


I need to research new Vitamin options in the mean time i’ll continue the powder form that’s not bariatric specific. 


In other news i’m no longer daily weighing or weighing out my food. The pressure is wayyy too much i’d rather weigh once a week and continue measuring my food visually on my little plates. 


Can’t wait for the next few months of new victories on or off the scale 🥳 

That looks delicious. Do you have a recipe?

I was very reluctant to post my before and after. I just don’t feel like I’m done yet? I’m 4.5 months post op and reached my initial goal at 3.5 months post op and went down further more so set myself a new goal weight, which I’m very close to, but thought hey, why not Celebrate it anyway? I look good, I feel good and I should get to celebrate that. Every single one of you looks absolutely fantastic, way to go lot ♥️

@LisaCaryl glad your nausea is better. No Hair loss yet here, I’m taking my Vitamins religiously and make sure to get my Protein in so that I don’t lose it but other than that can only keep my fingers crossed. I was extremely sick a couple of years ago (In and out of ICU and in the hospital for almost a month) and had a huge open abdominal surgery and at the 3-4 mo mark after I was discharged I lost probably 3/4 of my hair. Its just now back to where I want it. 😩
@BlueParis I’m sorry to hear you’re sad. I’m actually a grey, rainy day kind of girl and not a huge sun/light lover (worked as a nightshift RN for almost 25 yrs 🤷🏼‍♀️), but seasonal affective disorder is totally a thing. I wonder if you suffer from this. Maybe your PCP could recommend something for you….meds, light therapy? And I’m really hoping your and @RonHall908 s exhaustion resolves soon!
@NickelChip I wonder as well if your exercise routine is “slowing” your weight loss. Every time I do any extensive exercise, I gain weight the next day and then don’t lose anything for a few days. I’m not actively exercising and honestly have sort of avoided it I hate it. lol . I know it’s just Fluid retention but I still don’t like it. It’s definitely healthier to be fit but I haven’t gotten there yet I guess. You’re probably also gaining muscle while losing fat making the scale stay the same, but I’m sure that will eventually fix itself. I found this video which I found interesting and helpful. oh and did you like the roasted edamame 😊?