February 2019 weight loss buds

[Gottajustdoit 220]

Thanks Sheribear--you look very well proportioned to me! I love your running story. My two sisters are both A size cups and genetically I inherited a way different body shape than the did. I'm not worried about being too small, really. The one thing I thought was funny was when the surgeon said, "I don't think you'll end up being a D, probably much smaller, but you won't look like a man." Um.....that was odd. I didn't assume I'll be a flat as a guy when she was done so when she said "smaller" I'm thinking maybe a B now? I definitely need to research the procedure more, including the pain associated with recovery since you mention it was SUPER painful and, given the bypass, I can't take any NSAIDS. I don't mind pain killers but don't want to take them too long because of the horrific Constipation they cause me. Was the pain really that bad? How long did it take for the incisions to heal? Did they itch like mad when they were healing?

[gabybab 696]

1 hour ago, Sheribear68 said:

Okay so here are 3 photos of me.
First was a couple months pre-op
Second is 4 weeks post op
Last one is from last week

I don’t think my boobs look wildly disproportionate to the rest of me.
Yeah, they’re on the small side and I like that.
I’ve always wanted one of those more slim, athletic bodies than the extremely voluptuous one I was born with

You look great! I think you look proportioned perfectly.

I have very large breasts and was scheduled to have a reduction but, chickened out. That was at least ten years ago and I'm about the same weight. I'm torn over weather to do it, because I still have a good bit of weight to lose. Did you have yours done at a normal BMI?

I weigh 249 and am 5' 6.5". Even at 145 my breasts were very large and disproportionate. I'm losing, but very slow. I think I should wait till I'm 1 year post-op. Any advice?

P.s. I wear an 18 Jean's, but, am still a 2x on top. I wear a 46 ddd, but may be smaller as I need to bring my band tight. I really should be a G cup, but is hard to find.

Thanks!

[AZhiker 2,251]

It's been 8 months now since surgery. Wow. What a ride it's been. I'm now a little worried because I don't want to lose any more weight - I don't want to get below 140. But unless I keep eating throughout the day, I still continue to lose. I am worried that I am very much in the honeymoon stage and that I am snacking way too much - simply because I can't eat enough volume at meals to get enough calories in. I worry that I could be setting myself up for regain later on. This is supposed to be the time to really focus on good habits, and although I only eat healthy options, I am eating all the time from noon until evening during an 8 hour window. I just don't quite know how to deal with this. Maybe I need to set the clock and eat only at prescribed times - like every 2 hours on the clock. That would at least establish some level of discipline. My exercise has dropped off since the triathlon, simply because we have a full week of wedding events and there is not time. I will resume biking, swimming, hiking after next week, and unfortunately will have to eat even more. I don't like eating beyond my comfort level. It makes me feel out of control and I fear it could be setting me up for a problem once my appetite returns and my volume increases. I am adding healthy carbs and even some extra Protein Drinks. I am rambling, and I guess my question is: How does one maintain weight without feeling like one is "breaking the rules" by eating beyond fullness and eating too frequently?

[Sheribear68 3,200]

On 10/10/2019 at 20:54, Gottajustdoit said:

Thanks Sheribear--you look very well proportioned to me! I love your running story. My two sisters are both A size cups and genetically I inherited a way different body shape than the did. I'm not worried about being too small, really. The one thing I thought was funny was when the surgeon said, "I don't think you'll end up being a D, probably much smaller, but you won't look like a man." Um.....that was odd. I didn't assume I'll be a flat as a guy when she was done so when she said "smaller" I'm thinking maybe a B now? I definitely need to research the procedure more, including the pain associated with recovery since you mention it was SUPER painful and, given the bypass, I can't take any NSAIDS. I don't mind pain killers but don't want to take them too long because of the horrific Constipation they cause me. Was the pain really that bad? How long did it take for the incisions to heal? Did they itch like mad when they were healing?

Okay so everyone has different pain thresholds.
I will say that I’ve had multiple surgeries in my life and this was very painful.
But....... it was totally and completely a million times worth it.
Opioids (just a few days) will be your friend and so will ace bandages. I can remember my mother (didn’t know my husband then and I was single) helping me wrap up daily and that helped a lot.
So if you have a helper it’s totally doable.
Also I had/have a job where it is almost impossible to take enough time off to recover. I was back at work 7 days after my reduction, which is ridiculous, IMO.
If I recall correctly, I was on opiates for 2-3 days around the clock, then backed off and took them as needed for the next couple of days. Would take 1 at bedtime after working bc I was sore from having to use my arms. I’m a pharmacist and the pain of having to screw on and off childproof lids on bottles almost killed me, but you just cannot do my job without being able to use your arms like that

[Sheribear68 3,200]

12 hours ago, gabybab said:

You look great! I think you look proportioned perfectly.

I have very large breasts and was scheduled to have a reduction but, chickened out. That was at least ten years ago and I'm about the same weight. I'm torn over weather to do it, because I still have a good bit of weight to lose. Did you have yours done at a normal BMI?

I weigh 249 and am 5' 6.5". Even at 145 my breasts were very large and disproportionate. I'm losing, but very slow. I think I should wait till I'm 1 year post-op. Any advice?

P.s. I wear an 18 Jean's, but, am still a 2x on top. I wear a 46 ddd, but may be smaller as I need to bring my band tight. I really should be a G cup, but is hard to find.

Thanks!

So I was in the 240’s for the reduction, which was approximately what I was when got sleeved, so a BMI of around 40%. Of course 9 years ago I had zero idea that I’d have WLS.

We are almost the same height. I call myself 5’7”, but in actuality I’m 5’6 and 3/4. 7/8 on a good day, lol.

Here would be my advice: do it if you’re within 20-30 pounds of GW, but if you have >30 pounds, hold off

The reason is that once you pull the trigger on this, you want to avoid sag as much as possible. My favorite thing about my reduction was that I didn’t have any sag or droop. Everything was “High and tight” and now they’re sagging slightly bc of some (but not much) loose skin. It’s nothing that the right bra can’t fix, but why not try for the best results possible, ya know?

I’ll be just fine as long as I don’t lose too much more volume (honestly there isn’t much more to lose anymore, but I’m happy with that) if I lose much more volume the loose skin (rather than the loss of boobs) will bother me slightly.

IMO, having “normal” or “1 size under normal” size boobs makes a woman look much slimmer than any other single thing. Just my opinion

[Sheribear68 3,200]

11 hours ago, AZhiker said:

It's been 8 months now since surgery. Wow. What a ride it's been. I'm now a little worried because I don't want to lose any more weight - I don't want to get below 140. But unless I keep eating throughout the day, I still continue to lose. I am worried that I am very much in the honeymoon stage and that I am snacking way too much - simply because I can't eat enough volume at meals to get enough calories in. I worry that I could be setting myself up for regain later on. This is supposed to be the time to really focus on good habits, and although I only eat healthy options, I am eating all the time from noon until evening during an 8 hour window. I just don't quite know how to deal with this. Maybe I need to set the clock and eat only at prescribed times - like every 2 hours on the clock. That would at least establish some level of discipline. My exercise has dropped off since the triathlon, simply because we have a full week of wedding events and there is not time. I will resume biking, swimming, hiking after next week, and unfortunately will have to eat even more. I don't like eating beyond my comfort level. It makes me feel out of control and I fear it could be setting me up for a problem once my appetite returns and my volume increases. I am adding healthy carbs and even some extra Protein Drinks. I am rambling, and I guess my question is: How does one maintain weight without feeling like one is "breaking the rules" by eating beyond fullness and eating too frequently?

Okay so I’m going to start posting like crazy in the maintenance thread bc many of these issues are now very suddenly relevant to me as well.

Today I FINALLY hit goal guys. 8 months, 5 days post-op.

I still haven’t “found” my appetite. Still struggle if I try to get in over 800 calorie. Maybe that means my body wants to lose more weight. Who knows, this is all new to me, lol! Hell I set this goal weight without truly believing it was actually possible. I seriously mean that bc there’s no way I thought I’d lose >90% of my excess weight with the sleeve. Maybe my body “knows” there is more to go and it’s just doing its thing.

Yours might be doing that as well.

At 5’7” and 155, I could still lose 10-15 more and not be overly concerned ( I was 130 most of college) , but I love how I look now and wouldn’t mind if I “only” lost another 5 and stopped cold and stayed right at 150-ish pounds for the rest of my life.

I don’t have a great answer, but when I read about forcing some extra calories and carbs, it gives me an unsettled feeling. Mostly bc my whole life has been spent trying to reduce, that trying to force seems so unnatural. Not saying it’s wrong, just saying the whole concept freaks me out.

[november11 970]

You Go @Sheribear68 You remember I been reading you February feed from very early . I admire the way you made this journey . You make it look so doable. Thank you . I go in on November 11 (thus my name), any advice from the Queen?

[Sheribear68 3,200]

On 10/11/2019 at 12:17, november11 said:

You Go @Sheribear68 You remember I been reading you February feed from very early . I admire the way you made this journey . You make it look so doable. Thank you . I go in on November 11 (thus my name), any advice from the Queen?

Don’t get discouraged by setbacks. Setbacks will happen.
Stalls will happen.
Not making goals will happen.
Keep plugging away and never give up

[november11 970]

Thank you @Sheribear68.It's a honor to hear from you. You look great btw on OOTD....

[EmzBee 123]

You Go [mention=352148]Sheribear68[/mention] You remember I been reading you February feed from very early . I admire the way you made this journey . You make it look so doable. Thank you . I go in on November 11 (thus my name), any advice from the Queen?

Hey@november11, wow! You're surgery date is going to come up so quick! All the best! [emoji4]

If you have a question for Sheri directly, I'd suggest you reach out to her via direct message.

I'm really proud of the community us February peeps created here together and it's important that it remains a community (rather than a hierarchy) so everyone continues to feel that their personal journeys are valued and important. We all have setbacks and we all have successes -- no one journey is more valuable than support and friendship we've built together over many, many months of sharing our journeys, and I'd hate to see any one of our February members start to feel excluded.

Obviously we all know this is a public forum, but we do put some fairly sensitive information (and pictures!) out there for all to see. It can be confronting when someone else comes in and we realize those intimacies we've shared have traveled further than we expected.

Perhaps there is a Novemeber group you could join, or better yet, start one! With your enthusiasm I'm sure you'll develop a thriving November community!

Sent from my CPH1719 using BariatricPal mobile app

[2Bsmaller18 435]

16 hours ago, AZhiker said:

It's been 8 months now since surgery. Wow. What a ride it's been. I'm now a little worried because I don't want to lose any more weight - I don't want to get below 140. But unless I keep eating throughout the day, I still continue to lose. I am worried that I am very much in the honeymoon stage and that I am snacking way too much - simply because I can't eat enough volume at meals to get enough calories in. I worry that I could be setting myself up for regain later on. This is supposed to be the time to really focus on good habits, and although I only eat healthy options, I am eating all the time from noon until evening during an 8 hour window. I just don't quite know how to deal with this. Maybe I need to set the clock and eat only at prescribed times - like every 2 hours on the clock. That would at least establish some level of discipline. My exercise has dropped off since the triathlon, simply because we have a full week of wedding events and there is not time. I will resume biking, swimming, hiking after next week, and unfortunately will have to eat even more. I don't like eating beyond my comfort level. It makes me feel out of control and I fear it could be setting me up for a problem once my appetite returns and my volume increases. I am adding healthy carbs and even some extra Protein Drinks. I am rambling, and I guess my question is: How does one maintain weight without feeling like one is "breaking the rules" by eating beyond fullness and eating too frequently?

That is exactly how I feel. I have added some not so great carbs like granola Cereal, triscuit crackers, and Bevita bars since it increases my calories to maintain. I am at least trying to not eat stuff I would have craved presurgery. So no muffins, Cookies etc. I also worry about the all day snacking will continue and that I am building bad habits to maintain. My nutritionist told me to try eating more quantity but less often or at least a longer duration between meals to see if I could handle 1/2 cup of food at a meal to decrease Snacks. I can sometimes but not consistently. I guess with time it will get easier.

[AZhiker 2,251]

8 hours ago, 2Bsmaller18 said:

That is exactly how I feel. I have added some not so great carbs like granola Cereal, triscuit crackers, and Bevita bars since it increases my calories to maintain. I am at least trying to not eat stuff I would have craved presurgery. So no muffins, Cookies etc. I also worry about the all day snacking will continue and that I am building bad habits to maintain. My nutritionist told me to try eating more quantity but less often or at least a longer duration between meals to see if I could handle 1/2 cup of food at a meal to decrease Snacks. I can sometimes but not consistently. I guess with time it will get easier.

I hear you. The snacking and bad habits are what have me worried, too,

[Sheribear68 3,200]

Re snacking: I’m going to continue what I’ve been doing for the last couple of months, except trying to add in a bit more volume/calories per meal than before.
By that I mean I’m adding extra grated cheese on the salad mix and/or adding higher fat cuts of meat
This is how I’ll start to add in 200 extra calories daily rather than add in another eating slot.

Snacks don’t work well for me so far because all that seems to happen is my volume vastly decreases and I don’t “make it up” during the meal

Besides, I still can’t force myself to eat outside my timed eating window most days.
It just feels too weird

[AZhiker 2,251]

2 hours ago, Sheribear68 said:

Re snacking: I’m going to continue what I’ve been doing for the last couple of months, except trying to add in a bit more volume/calories per meal than before.
By that I mean I’m adding extra grated cheese on the salad mix and/or adding higher fat cuts of meat
This is how I’ll start to add in 200 extra calories daily rather than add in another eating slot.

Snacks don’t work well for me so far because all that seems to happen is my volume vastly decreases and I don’t “make it up” during the meal

Besides, I still can’t force myself to eat outside my timed eating window most days.
It just feels too weird

I agree that eating outside the timed window is quite uncomfortable. I get hungrier and feel slugglish. I can't add more fats, as I simply am not absorbing them. They are going right through. I think I am not producing enough bile. My stools are very light colored and obviously full of fat. Something to check with my doctor about. I've tried adding volume, but that is too uncomfortable as well, and I don't want to force it and end up overeating once the "honeymoon" is over. It's an odd dilemma, isn't it? Who would have even thought that one day we would be discussing how NOT to lose weight?!?!?!?!?

[2Bsmaller18 435]

So the light colored stool is fat? TMI but often mine is greenish or paler but the high dose Multivitamins affects it too.