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[Oregondaisy 2,021]

I am really lucky that the only plastics I've needed was a face lift. The rest of my skin pretty much looks like any other 60 year old lady.

I've been exercising with weights for about 7 years though. I am not sure if that has anything to do with my skin. I know it helped me recover faster though because I was in good shape.

[clk 3,519]

Hey, hey folks. I'm definitely a vet (and an old meanie one at that) at 2.5 years out.

Saggy skin is a pain but it's the least of my worries. Yeah, it really does bounce back. A lot. Enough that I went from "eww" to "eh" as I looked in the full length mirror over the course of the second year post op.

In my clothes? I'm doin' alright.

Now that we have a forum, what do we have to talk about? I mean, most of why I come to VST these days is to lead people onto the path of sanity ('cause being hungry and staring at the scale every day makes everyone a little crazy) but what do I do when it's a forum full of folks that mostly do the same thing?

~Cheri

[Butterthebean 8,146]

...... but what do I do when it's a forum full of folks that mostly do the same thing?

~Cheri

You breath and relax.....ahhhhh. Enjoy the peace.

[iggychic 1,405]

Jowls....let's talk about those. Do they lessen after a while or are they there and there to stay baring a face lift???? I always said the fat kept the wrinkles away...turns out I was right LOL But I did also notice that I was getting a bit of a chicken chin when I lost...and yet that's firmed up and gone now.....tell me the jowls will do the same? I'm starting to look like I'm 40! (I'm nearly 50 so that's not the end of the world LOL But I liked looking 30).

[kyllfalcon 768]

Saggy skin is a pain but it's the least of my worries. Yeah, it really does bounce back. A lot. Enough that I went from "eww" to "eh" as I looked in the full length mirror over the course of the second year post op.

Cheri, that is great that you had some bounce back in your skin. I can tell by your picture and the fact that you are pregnant that you are much, much younger than some of us. And that probably helped with your skin bouncing back.

And some folks just have more elasticity in their skin than others. I've never had any! I carried twins, not even to full term, when I was just a teenager, and my tummy skin never recovered, although I very quickly returned to my former weight, and was quite fit back in those days. And I was large breasted and the boobs were just ruined from no elasticity in the skin envelope. I later had a breast lift/reduction to fix that mess, and the boobs have somehow survived the weight loss fairly intact for an old girl.

I can remember being in my early 30s and working out with weights, just fit and firm all over, except for my loose skin. And of course, the later weight gain made it worse.

I'll probably get the tummy fixed because I can see it clothed. To heck with the rest.

[*susan* 1,709]

Hey all, I am going to do my best to closely monitor this forum. If you see posts in here that are primarily related to people who are just starting out, please let me know and I will move it to the appropriate forum.

Thanks.

[Catracks 865]

I figure we just talk about things that are specific to people in maintenance, in the home stretch or those with a lot to lose that are experienced, but still midway in the journey.

I know we will really miss all the drama right?

There is still a need to keep sane. Trust me. This is a lifelong thing. For instance, do you know what I did last week? I stuck a spoon in a jar of cream cheese frosting and then dipped that into a can of mixed nuts. Man, that was good, but insane. Still was under my limit for calories, carbs and fat, but total momentary insanity.

[CowgirlJane 14,261]

Most of the time.... 99.5% of the time I do so good. food just isn't my main thing anymore, but last week I caught myself eating Peanut Butter from the jar.... dipping a spoon right in and eating it. I had one of those "what the hell are you doing???" moments.

I think I was hungry but also tired and just slipped into a self destructive old old pattern.

I figure we just talk about things that are specific to people in maintenance, in the home stretch or those with a lot to lose that are experienced, but still midway in the journey.

I know we will really miss all the drama right?

There is still a need to keep sane. Trust me. This is a lifelong thing. For instance, do you know what I did last week? I stuck a spoon in a jar of cream cheese frosting and then dipped that into a can of mixed nuts. Man, that was good, but insane. Still was under my limit for calories, carbs and fat, but total momentary insanity.

[Butterthebean 8,146]

Most of the time.... 99.5% of the time I do so good. food just isn't my main thing anymore, but last week I caught myself eating Peanut Butter from the jar.... dipping a spoon right in and eating it. I had one of those "what the hell are you doing???" moments.

I think I was hungry but also tired and just slipped into a self destructive old old pattern.

I would do the same thing if I kept Peanut Butter in the house. Now I just buy the PB2 so it's much harder to do that. Regular PB is way to easy to eat out of the jar.

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

Maintenance has become more difficult for me the farther I am out. It takes A LOT of willpower now. It's easy to graze on good healthy food, and think you're doing good. '

Calories add up fast!

[clk 3,519]

Cheri, that is great that you had some bounce back in your skin. I can tell by your picture and the fact that you are pregnant that you are much, much younger than some of us. And that probably helped with your skin bouncing back.

And some folks just have more elasticity in their skin than others. I've never had any! I carried twins, not even to full term, when I was just a teenager, and my tummy skin never recovered, although I very quickly returned to my former weight, and was quite fit back in those days. And I was large breasted and the boobs were just ruined from no elasticity in the skin envelope. I later had a breast lift/reduction to fix that mess, and the boobs have somehow survived the weight loss fairly intact for an old girl.

I can remember being in my early 30s and working out with weights, just fit and firm all over, except for my loose skin. And of course, the later weight gain made it worse.

I'll probably get the tummy fixed because I can see it clothed. To heck with the rest.

Oh, I got bounce back in my thighs, arms and even a little in the chest. My tummy did bounce back some, but mostly the weight redistributed. I also have twins and my skin was a wreck even before that pregnancy. I have very little give. At twelve I broke out in a roadmap from puberty and it only got worse and worse with the yo-yo diets over the years. The twins really did a number on me. I went 37 weeks and measured 51 weeks when I delivered! I was 27 when the twins were born and I'm 32 now, so yes, I am young and that does have an impact on how I've done and how much I recuperated.

I have never, ever been a firm or fit girl and even with plastics after I have this little one i'm pretty sure the most I can hope for is "not as soft" because I've just always been curvy and soft. I'd like to see the stomach fixed. If I only had money for one thing that is absolutely where I'd spend it, because I had a long apron even before I had surgery. If I have my way, though, I'll do breasts and tummy and honestly, the rest doesn't matter as much.

I was most worried about my face, honestly. The turkey wattle is hereditary in my family and my face gets so plump when I gain weight (and now that I'm pregnant it's puffed up again, ugh) that I was really worried about saggy jowls or chins but I got lucky. I wonder if this might have been a bigger issue if I'd waited another ten years to have surgery.

Good luck in any case - I hope we all get the plastics of our dreams at some point.

~Cheri

[clk 3,519]

I was never a frosting girl but I'm a serious baker. Usually I can sample a small bit of whatever I make and give the rest away. But I made these banana rum cupcakes with a brown butter frosting last week and oh my word - that was the best frosting I have ever tasted. When I have a little left over at the end I normally just give each kid a little taste and then toss the rest...but I stuck this in a small bowl in the fridge for later. I've never understood the spoonful of frosting thing before this, but man...I could really just eat that frosting with a spoon. I wound up frosting some butter Cookies with it and giving it away. It was okay to have a taste here and there but consuming two cups of frosting over the course of a week or two isn't good for me.

And my husband has always maintained that I'm un-American because I absolutely hate both Peanut Butter and ketchup. Luckily the Peanut Butter jar and the Nutella jar hold absolutely no temptation for me.

But I do see what you guys are saying about the constant struggle.

And I can see how maintenance can make it easy for us to forget that we still really love food. It's easy to get cocky and say we made it to goal and now we know how to eat better, etc. But if I'm not careful it is easy to dismiss a handful of candies or a not-so-healthy snack between meals simply because my choices are really good ones 90% of the time. I never really see an impact on the scale, but I wonder if that's a bad thing. I mean, it gets easier for me to dismiss my food behaviors if I'm not seeing an impact...but then, if I'm not seeing an impact is there an issue? I mean, am I simply worrying and punishing myself because I'm not a "perfect" eater?

What's a particular challenge for me is this pregnancy. I am repulsed by meat and my lactose intolerance is worse than ever while I'm pregnant. I don't live in America: I live in the land of grilled lamb, bread and plov. There aren't solid vegetarian options here to sub in for the Protein I'm missing. I eat far more carbs than I've ever eaten since surgery. I don't mind that...but they really do feed the carb monster and they do make it harder to choose good foods. But there are only so many ways I can make Beans and lentils or prepare eggs before I'm going nuts because I'm so bored with my diet. I had my husband's coworker bring me some tuna from the states...ugh. I can't even eat it. This child is making me insane! It's like the first few months post op all over again. All food smells or tastes terrible and I can't eat what I really want! The only two foods I really want and cannot stop eating are chickpeas (which I can't seem to find locally, even though I know they have to be somewhere) and quinoa. I'm out of quinoa and chickpeas now. I actually ate garbanzo bean salad every day last week with both lunch and dinner. What a bizarre food to eat as a craving!

And it's easy to say the reason I gained weight last month is the pregnancy. I can't be sure how much of it is my choices and how much of it is the baby.

I know I'll lose weight afterward. I know that it will be the same as it was in the second year post op. I'll still have restriction, I'll just have to make the right choices.

But somehow it feels like I'll be starting all over again, in more ways than one. After all, my twins are now five and like a crazy couple, we're having a newborn now of all times. Ugh.

Anyway, I just got my flights back to the states because they don't let us deliver here. So my time in Central Asia has come to an end. I'll get about a year and a half in the states before we go overseas again. You better bet the first thing I'm doing is shopping at a Whole Foods once I get back! I'll be hitting that salad bar for some chickpea salad and every other vegetable I've missed for the last two years.

~Cheri

[Catracks 865]

I guess Beans and legumes are your mainstays now? I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't eat meat and cheese. Are you on My Fitness Pal? My food intake today is Greek yogurt and a bunch of shrimp - scampi style :-)

Lamb has to be cooked a certain way. I like lamb shanks and chops, but fatty old mutton is really repulsive to me. I also like the Moroccan style lamb roasted in honey and spices.

[clk 3,519]

Lamb here is totally different. It tastes far better than any lamb I have ever had before. Maybe because it's all local and takes less than a day from slaughter to table - I have no idea. It's not gamey and they cook it perfectly every time in the restaurants here. The beef tastes odd (not fed like ours) and they can mess up chicken every single time because they're not used to preparing it. So if I eat meat, I often choose lamb. Though there's a nice, clean butcher here that will do boneless skinless breasts. He's the only guy in the city I know that does them. The rest of them get shipped in frozen from Turkey.

That said, baby hates lamb and all other meat.< /p>

Yes, lately I rely heavily on legumes and eggs. And I'm BORED. I also feel more "hungry" because I usually hit 90 grams of Protein a day. I can only do that if I drink two shakes a day now. It's like being freshly sleeved again.

I miss America.

~Cheri

[iggychic 1,405]

Oh Cheri, I'm sorry! That's not much help, but I'm sorry anyhoo. It's hard enough to be pregnant, harder still when the sweet little fuss budget won't let you eat!

Do you think maybe your surgeon implanted the baby as a maintenance measure while you weren't looking? .