Lilia_90

I don't limit myself to bariatric recipes, I eat what I feel like and it's never the same thing. I eat burgers, tacos, sushi, takeout anything really, I just make sure I eat at home a lot, prioritize my protein and not overeat, I can't anyway!

Lucky you! I'm 2+ years out and absolutely cannot stomach eating and drinking at the same time at all. If I eat ANYTHING, I need to wait at least 30 minutes to drink, if it's a heavier meal it takes me over an hour to drink anything SMH. I really miss that sip of crispy diet coke after having a bite of a greasy burger or a bite of steak, I really grieve that LOL.

Good quality mozzarella, burrata and parmesan are expensive where I live unfortunately. They probably equate to 3/4 of the $40 LOL. Also my bakery makes great sourdough but it’s not cheap. I’m also quite picky with my tomatoes, these were $10 for 6 tomatoes smh.

I’ve been hooked on Hailey Bieber’s pizza toast for a while now. I know it sounds vain but it’s really really good. It’s basically sourdough slathered in truffle oil, toasted, layered with fresh mozzarella, then warm marinara, marinated tomatoes (found that grape tomatoes are best for this recipe) in salt, lemon, cracked pepper, olive oil, buratta, a generous sprinkle of freshly shredded Parmesan cheese and toasted again - I used my air fryer for this - and then sprinkled with pizza seasoning, chili flakes and basil. Make sure to use good quality ingredients for the best results. It’s labor intensive literally $40 to to make 2 toasts but it’s so worth it LOL. I can manage half on a good day and hubby has the other half.

Fixed myself a Halloumi bowl. Grilled halloumi, soft boiled eggs, blistered grape tomatoes, cucumbers, and my homemade chili crisp which I use on everything. I wasn't even hungry at the end of making this LOL. How I did 👇 I always make way too much food for myself and then have others finish it for me. I will attempt to eat this later.

Snack: Congee with shredded chicken, crispy fried garlic and spring onion. Ate a few bites and decided I wasn’t hungry anymore. Will try again later.

Mine is getting too full too quickly. I dread eating sometimes, although I've always been a foodie. My hunger never went away, I have cravings and I enjoy looking at recipes and making new dishes and trying all the restaurants, but I really dread sitting and eating because I know that 5 minutes in I'll be very uncomfortably full. I have not properly enjoyed a meal since my VSG because my fullness feeling is extremely intense, borderline painful. It's the sort of pressure that's ugh, awful. And no, it's not due to eating too fast, that is something that I have worked on and it takes me an hour to finish a meal sometimes, if I want to get my nutrients in. My restriction is a blessing, but also a curse sometimes. And if I don't workout for a few days, I lose my appetite and I lose weight. I was traveling last month and I was hungry after walking a few miles that my husband and I decided to sit down for brunch, I literally ate 2 bites and pushed my plate away, my husband is used to my tiny portions, but I think even he was surprised, it's worse on somedays, and better on others.

Dinner was Mongolian beef, some brown rice with chickpeas, a boiled egg and my homemade chili crisp. Ate everything except the yolk!

What a great idea! I'm nearing my 2nd WLS anniversary, and my journey has been a 10/10. Things have been GREAT. Not good, not okay, GREAT! in all in the glory. I can't believe I look the way I do, feel the way I do and get to live life like this again. I'm so so grateful, happy, confident, loving life....etc.

You know how cottage cheese is everywhere and in everything? I've long loved cottage cheese before all the hype. And I've grown to crave it since I had my WLS for some reason. So here's a picture of my first meal (already dug into almost half of it). A slice of protein toast (this particular brand is really yummy), around 0.5 cup of fat free cottage cheese, I prefer the low fat one but that's all that was available in the store, still so good though. Two tsps. of my homemade chili crisp. It's pretty elite, if I say so myself.

I was freezing the day I exited the hospital. I was losing weight rapidly and just felt cold all the time, and this has been the case ever since!

Congrat! Your arms look fantastic, well deserved :)

Girl, just take a look at those arms! Man they're impressive! Totally fangirling right now. On a more serious note, BMI, the number on the scale ....etc. interpretations are nuanced and should never be taken at face value. You're 144 lbs but probably have a high muscle mass, skeletal muscle, lean body mass etc. which translates into a higher number on the scale, that is just a fact. Had this nurse known these nuances and cared to research (or just be kind and nonjudgmental for that matter) she would've commended you on the great work you've done. Maintenance is not easy, I know many many WLS patients who never got to their goal weights, others who gained a ton back, and others who totally spiraled due to the lack of discipline and commitment to the after. From what I gather from your replies and posts, you are 100% a success story a million times over, never doubt that or let a sleazy nurse make you feel anything but. As for tracking, I'm almost at the 2 year mark and I don't track nothing, I have done random checks here and there but I never track my carbs or even my calories, I eat a well balanced diet and focus on my protein, but I eat all the carbs (bread, rice, potatoes, chips, dessert) and I never want to live a life where I have to be carb counting everyday, it's just not for me. Please be kind to yourself and celebrate what you've achieved, I certainly look up to you and people like you :)

Another thing to think about is that vitamin absorption takes a hit after bariatric surgery, hence why I take folic acid in addition to my prenatal that already contain folic acid (to ensure that I get a sufficient amount of folic acid). This also applies to iron, calcium, vitamin D ...etc. It's good to check with your main health provider/OB on the necessary dose of vitamins to prepare your body for a healthy pregnancy

Hi there, 35 year old here (not 40 but hey, almost there) with 2 children. Never had fertility issues in the past and both children were conceived first try. I was warned by my doc that fertility triples after bariatric surgery. I've lost 40 kgs since my sleeve and became semi-underweight and my period has lightened so so much to the point that got me worried about my fertility. Decided that we want to try for one last child, and BAM first try again Ha! Currently almost 9 weeks pregnant. To get ready I took folic acid and prenatal vitamins (Thorne brand) daily for 3 months before trying, I've also been religiously taking multivitamins, iron, magnesium, omega 3, calcium and vitamin D since my VSG. Good luck and you got this :)

I love love the spicy Tunacado from Joe and the Juice (if you're unfamiliar with it, it's spicy tuna mousse, pesto, avocado, tomatoes on very very thin slices of flat bread from this Danish originated cafe, YUM!). I don't have a location where I live, but I make sure that I eat it at least once a day when I'm traveling. So today's mission was to recreate it at home. I didn't have thin flat bread so I pulled 2 slices of sourdough from my freezer, toasted it them in a pan , placed my cast iron pan on them while aggressively pounding them and trying to place my entire weight on the pan until they became flat, it was legit a workout. In a food processor I whipped up my tuna, 3 heaping tbsp of Greek yogurt (original recipe uses mayo I believe but I don't like mayo with tuna), diced onions, chopped parsley, serrano peppers, red pepper flakes, salt and lemon and pulsed until mousse consistency. I also made homemade pesto with basil, pine nuts, parmesan, garlic, lemon and salt. The mousse looks funny but I promise it tasted really good, the only issue is that I whipped it to a very thin consistency that it seeped out of the sandwich when biting into it. I layered the pesto, avocado and tomatoes Final product! It is so good but kinda messy, if you're gonna make it don't over whip your tuna mousse, I ate around 1/4 of it with jalapenos. I will likely finish it as the day goes, but right now, I'm stuffed!

I have gone on many vacations since my VSG (close to 12) and I never track nothing. I always come back having lost weight. Enjoy and don't sweat the little things.

Pan seared Mahi Mahi with a tangy chimichurri (humble gloat, I make the best chimichurri!!), mango avocado salsa. No after because I ate it all!

I've had 2 c-sections as well. I handle pain well, I was going up and down the stairs 3 days after my c-sections, so I can confidently tell you that c-sections hurt much more than VSG. VSG was more nausea/discomfort than actual pain. I felt extremely uncomfortable because my stomach was full of air. The discomfort lasted for 3 days and on day 4 post op I was as good as new. You will be okay :)

I love hearing long-term success stories. What I find very interesting is that most successful people work for maintenance and do not return to bad old habits. They change their habits drastically. You are a star, congratulations on your success, well deserved and earned and thank you for sharing your story with us, it's really uplifting and motivating.

I was tired for a long time after surgery. I was exhausted, dizzy most of the time, my bp was (is) always low, my blood sugar was (is) low, my heart rate dipped to low 50's high 40's as most of people above me had shared. I would be super dizzy when I got up, almost passed out every time I stood up. You name it You're losing weight, probably not eating enough, losing vitamins and minerals. All that takes time to settle and for you to stabilize and everything that comes with it. I feel much better now, but I also take multivitamins, iron, omega 3, magnesium ...etc. religiously. I still get dizzy when I get up but generally feeling much better. It took me around 1.5 years post op to feel "normal" again. Eat your protein, take your vitamins and hang in there, it gets better :)

I feel I'm evolving and so are my fitness/aesthetic goals. I have been lifting super heavy. I feel I have reached the body composition that I always wanted, as surgery worried me (loss of muscle and all). My abs are visible all day, I have definition all over and I'm strong. I keep going on vacations and I ache to come back and workout again. I love moving my body :)

It is annoying. I can tell you that for 10+ years I worked out the same, ate the same and was always a fitness + health nut. But 5 years prior to WLS it literally all stopped working, I was doing NOTHING different, and nothing worked. I was always the one telling people off for not working hard enough, until I was stuck in the same vicious cycle that I learned to be empathetic and that obesity is a chronic disease. I am eating between 1700-2000 calories now and maintaining a 80+ pound weight loss, I ate strictly 1700 at my heaviest and worked out daily, and I was at a BMI of 33. it's mind boggling, but WLS does restart your metabolism.

Thanks for the tag @AmberFL I never had a food addiction either, was never a binge eater, I never had issues sticking with a diet, I exercised religiously (even during my 2 pregnancies), ate extremely well ...etc. but never lost the weight that I gained over the course of 5 years for some reason. No matter what I did and how hard I worked, my weight wouldn't budge, add a severe ankle injury to it and I was a whopping 65+ pounds heavier. Mind you, never had issues maintaining great shape my entire adulthood and post two pregnancies, but I believe my body just broke at some point. WLS helped me lose the 65 pounds and then some (I dropped to BMI 18 but was able to bring it back up to 19), it gave me back my life (dramatic I know, but feels like it) but because I was never big, seeing myself like that messed me mentally up so much, I was so desperate that I even tried injectables (spoiler, they didn't work for me). WLS gave me my confidence back (tenfold). If I had to do it again, I would in a heartbeat. I don't want to say go for it, that's your decision, but I 100% understand what you're going through, and it did feel like I literally have no other choice. The surgery completely restarted my metabolism. It's been a great success. The fact that you're not a binge eater or have food addiction can be a great success factor in your case as you don't have to worry about returning to old habits once your restriction loosens, it's a problem a lot of WLS patients battle, and it's a tough one. Also, the fact that you're active helps a lot. I worked out consistently my entire life and that probably is the reason I don't have loose skin or need plastics - obviously genetics help -.

I was never big (sans the past 3 years prior to WLS where I had a bad injury that caused the weight gain), was in shape most of my adulthood. However, what feels so weird is fitting into my 10 year old's clothes, buying off the children's section, buying smaller shoes (yep, my feet dropped a whole size), and looking at pants I'd be sure wouldn't go past my knees that would end up fitting perfectly. I've never been an XXS, and this still weirds me out.