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Pic on top...my senior year of high school (prom) when I was 17. Pic on bottom...a couple of weeks ago at age 46. Face is older, but body is pretty close. Just sayin.....😏😉

I'm going to ask to have an ultrasound and see if they can see anything and if not, schedule another colonoscopy (just had one a year ago, not due for another 2 years). I'm going to look at what you mentioned (never heard of it) and see if I can get it here and if it helps. Also, if you've pooped 6x in the last 3 days, you could probably give your body a break for a day and if you don't go at all, take the medication again. After a hysterectomy, you want to make sure you go regularly and keep the poop soft and/or a bit runny for the first 2 weeks at least. Well, I had to be cut open, so maybe that was more for me. But I found it helped A LOT because the muscles really hurt. I imagine laparoscopic would be similar like with WLS since we needed to go easy with the pooping for a while after that, too. Definitely don't let yourself go too long without pooping, but if you're going more than twice per day, you might want to back off just a little to give your body a break and not get dehydrated.

Landed back in the UK late last night, and boy am I happy to have my own bed and be with my cats! I do however have COVID after doing a test last night, which sucks 😂 Athens was amazing! The heat was more than manageable, and I was walking 20-25k steps per day for the whole week, and I wasn't in pain like I was on holiday last year. It was so great to already see and feel that change. I felt like I could actually keep up with my friends. The only thing that I couldn't/didn't want to do, was get to the Acropolis - that was STEEP and I am afraid of heights, so maybe that will be a future thing 😂 I met so many cats which was ideal, and I enjoyed my time thoroughly. I did try a few glasses of white wine, spread out over a few days, and genuinely it had no effect on me! I was really expecting to feel it, but genuinely there was nothing 🤷‍♀️ I don't think I will choose to drink again haha. I have also managed to lose a few pounds too, so I am feeling happy about that! Unfortunately my boyfriend has put on 8-9lbs due to eating the leftovers from my food bless him 🤣

I pushed the plus sign. But ended up clicking quote because I don't see how to reply without the quote. Hmm.. I promise I'll get all this down! I need to be here! Just wanted to say thank you for trying to show me how these things work. I tried responding from my phone earlier and it wasn't doing right so I came to my laptop when I got home. Also I wasn't able to fill out my starting weight etc. So going to try to do that from my laptop too. And I realize I should have made a post to introduce myself, right? I said most everything on this responding to Amber though. LOL!! And it's nice to meet all of you for real! Thanks for all advice! Have a nice weekend! But when I have time I'll be popping in here. Super busy lately with work and still moving in. We moved last month and lots of pics aren't hung and all that. And I'm a Realtor and have been busier than normal! But that's good! I also am a personal assistant for 3 separate clients during the week. And I am home now, doing laundry and swept my whole house. LOL! Always something, right? I recently joined the Philatelic Society as I am a stamp collector and our annual show is this weekend so I'm excited to go and meet some members who will be at our monthly meetings and also experience a stamp show for the first time. Yay! (yes. I'm super nerdy and I love books and history, etc. LOL!) I was reading all of your little details of where you are now, what type of surgery, etc. I am going now to try to add mine. Thanks for having me. I have friends and family who are supporting me in this but they've not gone through it. Some cousins did. And they did ok. But I don't live near them and they did their's years ago. Just don't want to bug them I guess. So thanks again!!

Right. That’s where my biggest dilemma is. I don’t know when I enter it into Baritastic if I should use 3oz for the cooked chicken breast or 4oz for the raw chicken breast The calorie difference isn’t my concern. I would just enter the 4oz and be done but for protein that’s like 8-9g difference. (Really not sure why 1-2 oz is 9g difference but 3-4 ounces is 8g but that’s a whole other issue).

You can totally DM me on here! Totally am down to help a fellow bariatric pal! I took 2 weeks off, just for my mental health too. I needed to get into the game with the foods and the meal prepping. I definitely had to work my way up, Lots of tears and sweat. Even still ! LOL I did greive clothes, I still have 3x tops and dresses in my closet that I have not been able to get rid of. I wear them tthe tops to bed now..For the most part I had to buy all new clothes. Still working on building it up. I went from an 18/20 to a size 4. 2/3x to a Small top. No you do not need to add the quote lol

Thank you so much for taking the time to tell me all this! How long were you off work right after surgery? I told them 1 to 1.5 weeks is my guess. But one lady here said she was back in a few days. I don't want to push it if I need to heal more though and my clients are all understanding. My dad passed away last year after 25 years of congestive heart failure then also diabetes and lost one leg then the other. It was extremely heartbreaking and don't want my kids to see that happen to me if there is any way at all I can be healthier. So going to do this. Have 12 dietitian appts. Done two. Already had psychological and was cleared. Have endoscopy Oct 11 and last dietitian appt on Oct 30. Surgery after final approval so they estimate Nov. Hopefully early Nov. Doesn't bother me at all about the holidays. One year I lost 5 lbs from Thanksgiving to Christmas. It's all mindset. But it's when I go back to eating like everyone else I always gain! Sucks. Thank you again! I'd love to be able to text with you if you'd consider that! It's ok if you'd rather not though. Lol! I know I'm a stranger. Lol! You look great and I'm so happy for you. And yes when I'm even at 200 I have the energy for the gym and remember only being able to do the stairmaster for seconds and worked my way up to 20 or 30 minutes. I was so much stronger. It was years ago so can't remember but think I got up to 30 mins and now I love esp the machines and esp the leg machines. Leg day is my fave! Can I ask you, did you grieve your clothes? Even though they are big now I like them. I remember when I lost before I grieved them because I'd raised babies with them all and kept some just as memories. Lol! But will just alter what I can and the rest will buy new. Bet no one ever asked you that one! Lol! Unless you've been there and dropped several sizes before you wouldn't understand. 💗 And do we need to add quote when replying because won't these get too long? Lol! Have a great Friday!! ⚘️ Wow! That's awesome. I'd take even half that loss and be happy. But would sure be nice to lose quite a bit so my low back can calm down. Severe osteoarthritis there. About 240 lbs now. 277 was my highest many years back. Lost 100 through diet and exercise and slowly came back. Then end of 2021 was 265. So did it again. Ate less, moved more and lost 64.5 lbs about 2 years ago and got to 200. Felt sooo much better even there but slowly back now to 240! Blah! Surgery most likely early Nov for sleeve. Said bypass will cause ulcers since only ibuprofen helps my back. Can I ask you about exercise you did? Also that you do now? And did you have any skin removal? May need that around my middle later on. Heard someone with our insurance got that covered also. Praying for that but will save up for it if I have to. Thanks for any advice and info! You look great and I know you must FEEL better. That's what I want. I never sought surgery to look better but hopefully will. I just feel terrible and need some relief and want the weight to stay gone. Using this tool to help me remain smaller.

Okay pretty much what I do now LOL I run 5x a week, HIIT once a week, close min 10k steps a day, lift heavy 5x a week. Maybe I need to incorporate Pilates then. Do you feel like you need to eat more? I am closing close 1700-1800 calories a day. I tried to cut back and I was sooooo tired. My protein is above 150g a day. you look phenomenal! Your stomach is so flat, and not to be weird but are you blessed up top or did you have a breast aug? My have completely depleted. I went from a 44DD to a 36A (barely) LOL

I was in the same boat, My very highest was 310Lbs then lost 100lbs through WW, had my daughter gained most of it back. Lost 50 ish pounds, gained 75lb back. A constant yo yo of my weight. I got down to 240 when I met my partner, then had our son and gained it all back to 297lbs. At that point I was tired of feeling like crap, being too tired to do anything, not being able to be active with my kids, not being an active partner. So I looked into the sleeve, didn't feel like the bypass was for me, due to certain restrictions with meds. My goal wasn't even to get this small. It was to be at 190lbs which put me in the "normal bmi" and I wanted to have more energy and not to hurt anymore. But then I really got into into fitness and eating healthy. Can I ask you about exercise you did? I started with walking around 6weeks post op, just 30min during my lunch break, about 2 ish weeks later I started incorporating weights and workout videos. Very light 5lbs or just body weight. Then at about 3ish months post op I joined my gym and I hit the ground running and never have stronger and fitter in my life. Also that you do now? I work out 6days a week. 3 days lower body/cardio, 2 days upper body/cardio 1 day HIIT training/cardio each about an hour to hour and half a day. If you need assistance what to do workout I am super willing to give you some things that helped me. And did you have any skin removal? I have not, I am getting my boobies done in January lol but nothing else. Its so expensive! so I have to do it in parts. Right now I am working out as hard and heavy as I can to tighten up as much I can. This tool was THE BEST DECISION ever! I wish I would have done it sooner. I got my life back.

this was pretty obvious to me too. ( i noticed the original question was posed in june, and almost 3 months later, the objections remain) so here's a different angle: maybe just accept that traditional/dedicated exercise just isn't for you? i know lots of people who don't partake in dedicated exercise (who, may i add are "normal" sized) and seem to lead perfectly happy lives. exercise isn't everyone's cup of tea, sure its definitely an added bonus if one does it regularly for both mental and physical health, but you are not going to do it unless you actually want to do it. so why force it? just like the decision to get weight loss surgery, you are ready when you're ready....you just need a compelling enough reason to do it (which u don't have at the moment, it seems) maybe you'll feel differently next month, next year, maybe in 10 years , or maybe never. and thats ok, it is what it is. BUT... if you ever decide to get on the exercise train for reals, there are alot of us on here who would be ready and willing to help! good luck! ❤️

I feel for you. Mine was like bad 1960's school dinners. All my menu was cereal, toast, packet soup, sandwiches, dry meat and potatoes with frozen veg. No one understood my no carbs please diet. I ate 3 child size packs of cornflakes and 2 tubs of ice cream all the time I was there. I would have died for some cheese. Thank god for lattes from the Costa down stairs. Could not fault the staff though, they were stellar.

Thank you!! I lift heavy 3/4 days a week (legs/glutes, back/chest, arms/shoulders, strength and conditioning) and do Pilates twice a week. I also run/jog daily on the treadmill, I do HIIT once a week and I close at least 10k steps a day! That’s pretty much it! I focus on protein mainly and enjoy eating out on weekends.

Well you motivated me to see what was available for cheaper in my area in order to hopefully give you some suggestions and I found out that my own community center has lots of classes for cheap. They have a yoga class that looks promising. It’s Stretch and Flow Yoga. I have no clue what that means and I’m pretty sure it’s not beginner but I will just start in the back and do what I can I guess. 🤷🏼‍♀️ They also have a class that does some strength training and moderate cardio that I think I need to wait a little longer in the cardio and I know I need to wait two more weeks to be cleared for weights. I will be able to do them both time wise eventually, though, which would be 4 days a week. I’m seriously excited. I really hope that you find something that makes you excited too because exercise really does make you feel better once you get into the grove. Now I just have to figure out what people are wearing to Yoga nowadays. She says as she plans to go check out Amazon right after this. 😂

Exactly, if taking biotin you need to stop 3 days before a blood test!

So I have a work around! You will need: 1. vanilla protein shake 2. sugar free pumpkin spice syrup (Jordans skinny syrup as a yummy one) 3. sugar free pumpkin spice sauce (Jordans skinny syrup as a yummy one) 4. pumpkins pie spice Recipe: 1 vanilla pre-made protein shake (such as premier or fairlife) 10 pumps of sugar free pumpkin spice syrup mix them in a jar together and you can use it as a creamer. Then I take a pre-made protein shake (about 1-2 oz) and use my frothier to make the foam THEN I assemble. 2oz on the bottom of the glass jar, ice to top it off, sugar free pumpin spice sauce, add decaf cold brew, then add your foam and sprinkle some of your pumpkin pie spice. ITS DELICIOUS! I drink one almost every day and its 36cal!

#1 my lunch salad (romaine, cucumbers, apples, carrots, cheddar, seasoned dried anchovies w/ peanuts, homemade vinaigrette) est 300 cals for the bowl, ate about 1/3 of it, rest got tossed cuz found my cat eating out of it when i left it on the couch, arg and lol. #2 my secondary lunch a couple hours later (sushi/sashimi takeout) est 400 calories for the plate, ate it all except the big maki on the left and the shrimp sushi. the offending cat from the stolen salad mentioned above is in the background of the 'after' picture waiting for me to put the plate down on the couch again hahahaa

Several years ago, I was going to a gym 4-5 days a week. Not ONCE did I get that euphoria. I'm glad you do. If I did, it might make it easier to get started.

i dont have a set recipe, i always just kinda wing it/taste test it...but basically: - 1:3 ratio of grated fresh ginger with chopped green onion/scallions in a bowl - corn oil - sesame oil - salt/pepper to taste - dried chili flakes (optional) - Heat up the corn oil on high heat until its shimmering, enough to be able to coat all the ginger and green onion you have - add grated ginger, cook for 15-20 or so seconds - add green onion, cook for another 20-30 or so seconds (you can add chili flakes here if you want) - transfer to a bowl - add sesame oil to the bowl (about 1 tbsp give or take), add salt pepper to taste. Taste and add what you need based on your preference. - move it all to a resealable jar and add more corn oil until it covers it all. - keep in fridge after it reaches room temperature. Its supposed to be able to last a week in the fridge, but honestly my fam finishes it like 2 days so I can’t confirm that timeline lol. ** I’ve added a bit of sugar to the recipe sometimes depending of what I plan to serve it with…the sugar version works well with duck or lamb and other gamey-er proteins ** ** also use this condiment to fry rice or noodles, YUM **

Hi all! I’m entering my 2nd week after gastric bypass and generally feeling pretty good (knock on wood!). The only thing I’m really missing— like, making me sad, missing— is coffee. I keep trying decaf but I can’t do the taste and all I want is a sugar free pumpkin cold brew cold foam. So my question is… how bad would it be to get one? I know I could only do maybe 3 or 4 sips of it but man, I want it. Thoughts? Experiences? Thanks in advance!

i "co-wash" (wash hair with conditioner and rinse well) at every shower (then apply leave on conditioner after shower). i wash with volumizing shampoo maybe every 3-4 days. and i'll use clarifying shampoo maybe every 2-3 months (usually just before i henna my hair) this works for me as i have relatively healthy scalp and hair. someone with hair that leans oily may find extended co-washing makes their hair look limp and more oily. and someone with a flaky scalp may find the flake build up from not shampooing get kinda ick. in which case maybe shampoo more often?

I see my surgeon next week I'm seeing my GP next week so will get a referral to a dermatologist. I see my surgeon next week too so will be again bringing it up. Previous to surgeries, my allergic reactions were hayfever not hives. I've cut everything and gone back to simple diet with no spices etc and soap/fragrance free everything.

One thing that helped motivate me to get started with at least 15 minutes a day was the physicians assistant said at one of my support group meetings before my surgery that just exercising 90 minutes a week which you can spread out over six days at 15 minutes each (which is 25 when you include your warm-up and cool down if it’s more than walking) But just that decreases your risk of “all-cause mortality” by 15%. The PA and surgeon agreed that no surgery, no pill, nothing else they can prescribe you is going to have such a phenomenal impact So exercise is pretty darn beneficial. I mean, I know for myself I was scared of a 2% risk of complications from the surgery that may or may not even actually kill me, but they’re giving me a 15% decrease of chances of mortality, that’s pretty huge just to dedicate less than a half hour of your day to walking around a little bit. And a brisk walk is all it takes for me to achieve the heart rate they’re speaking about because it doesn’t have to be full on high intensity, just raising it a bit. I’m not sure if it will be as profound for you but I heard that before my surgery and six weeks later it’s still ringing around in my mind as I’m exercising. I’m thinking wow you know weight loss aside, this is really a good thing that I’m doing for my health. After I got started, though I wanted to do more and more, but my goal is to do my 15 minutes, no matter what and that is my only expectation for myself at this point.

I had a ton of scar tissue from a butcher surgeon 40 years before my sleeve surgery. The bariatric surgeon noted it and allowed a little more theatre time for me. My surgeon said it was very stuck inside but he did it all keyhole. It just took him longer. This week I was due to have my ovaries and a huge ovarian cyst removed by key hole surgery. I was informed that I may have to be opened up if it became a problem. It was and I was. This is day 6 and I am feeling more like myself and the pain is manageable today without meds. So what are the differences, More pain, your muscles are cut. A big scar and drain holes. And a 12 week ban on house work and lifting, more of a bonus that one really. I hope it goes well for you. It will be worth it even if its not keyhole. Trust me

Snap, almost ! I have had my ovaries and a huge cyst removed this week. For some reason they left them 28 years ago when I had my hysterectomy. I now have a new belly scar and have lost my belly button. I have gotten to my own target weight at last. I wonder if its the missing belly button, the cyst or the deplorable hospital food that accounts for the big weight drop. Hope you are feeling more like yourself today, I am, even though I am walking around hugging my tummy like I am about to loose my insides.

My GP put me on a 12 WEEK liquid diet. I've lost almost 20lbs (10kg) it's a struggle the first few days, but it gets easier!