I am scheduled for February 18th. I will be first in. Wow, this process takes forever.

Small NSV this weekend - was able to do up the robe at our hotel. It never used to come close before.

On 10/12/2019 at 18:18, AZhiker said:

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?!?!?!?!?

It’s a seriously weird dilemma.
That being said, if I lose even another 15 pounds, I’m still in the normal BMI range so I won’t panic.
What I refuse to do is intentionally overeat—eating over my BMR- so if it takes me another 2-4 months to get to that levels then I guess I continue to lose.
Right now I’m seriously happy with 800 calories/day and it’s actually something that takes planning for me to even get to 800.
If I were to not pre-plan and log food I almost always come in around 500-600 daily.

One thing I’m doing now though as I figure out how to transition is to ditch the more aggressive IF and stick with nothing more restrictive than 16:8.
I’m even going to plan 2 days this week to open my window to 10 hours. Pretty sure I can do a protein shake in the morning without compromising my water too much

9 hours ago, Sheribear68 said:

It’s a seriously weird dilemma.
That being said, if I lose even another 15 pounds, I’m still in the normal BMI range so I won’t panic.
What I refuse to do is intentionally overeat—eating over my BMR- so if it takes me another 2-4 months to get to that levels then I guess I continue to lose.
Right now I’m seriously happy with 800 calories/day and it’s actually something that takes planning for me to even get to 800.
If I were to not pre-plan and log food I almost always come in around 500-600 daily.

One thing I’m doing now though as I figure out how to transition is to ditch the more aggressive IF and stick with nothing more restrictive than 16:8.
I’m even going to plan 2 days this week to open my window to 10 hours. Pretty sure I can do a Protein Shake in the morning without compromising my Water too much

I worry that the long term effect of low calorie intake is malnutrition. We have to be sure every bite is as nutritionally dense as possible and that we are faithful with our vitamins. I know I have some malabsorption going on, especially with fats, and I am already osteopenic. I agree that I could happily consume under 1,000 cal/day and feel satisfied. Like you, I could actually lose 15-20 more pounds and still be the normal range, but I would look terrible, and honestly, I am building my size 10 wardrobe and don't want to get to a smaller size - too expensive!!!

I am getting back to my 16/8 or 14/!0 window and adding in 1 day of 24 fasting per week. But I want to continue exercising to do some more triathlons and backpacking trips. So it will be an adventure to see how to do that with the IF. I do not want to give it up again like I did last month to train. That was not a happy place. I felt sluggish and more hungry, and just wanted to eat all the time. I think slipping in an extra protein shake, an extra yogurt power bowl, and/or a bowl of protein soup is the way to go. They go down easily without leaving me uncomfortable.

It is definitely a journey and I'm glad there are others like you who are on it with me! It's so good to get ideas and feedback. I cannot imagine going this alone.

On 10/14/2019 at 08:39, AZhiker said:

I worry that the long term effect of low calorie intake is malnutrition. We have to be sure every bite is as nutritionally dense as possible and that we are faithful with our Vitamins. I know I have some malabsorption going on, especially with fats, and I am already osteopenic. I agree that I could happily consume under 1,000 cal/day and feel satisfied. Like you, I could actually lose 15-20 more pounds and still be the normal range, but I would look terrible, and honestly, I am building my size 10 wardrobe and don't want to get to a smaller size - too expensive!!!

I am getting back to my 16/8 or 14/!0 window and adding in 1 day of 24 fasting per week. But I want to continue exercising to do some more triathlons and backpacking trips. So it will be an adventure to see how to do that with the IF. I do not want to give it up again like I did last month to train. That was not a happy place. I felt sluggish and more hungry, and just wanted to eat all the time. I think slipping in an extra Protein Shake, an extra yogurt power bowl, and/or a bowl of Protein Soup is the way to go. They go down easily without leaving me uncomfortable.

It is definitely a journey and I'm glad there are others like you who are on it with me! It's so good to get ideas and feedback. I cannot imagine going this alone.

Yes!
I know there will always be issues with getting enough nutrients which is why ultimately I chose sleeve over bypass even though I was risking GERD issues.
Fingers crossed that I will continue to NOT have reflux issues, but only time will tell. The few times since surgery that I’ve allowed myself foods from my pre-surgery lifestyle, I did have some extra GERD, so it’s an excellent negative feedback loop to remind me to stay on program so I don’t mind that.

Still waiting the results from my DXA scan. I’ve never had issues with osteopenia in the past so mostly I had it done to get a baseline for the start of maintenance.

Re sizing: I’m not 100% sure where I’ll look best. Currently I’m somewhere in the 8/10/medium range depending on cut, brand, and style.
I wouldn’t mind dropping 1 more size to be 6/8/looser fitting medium but I do worry about looking gaunt. The last time I was a size 6 I was in my early 20’s so therefore I was young.
Being 30 years older and being that same size will be interesting because who knows how it will look? For now the plan is to take it on a monthly basis and see where this all goes.

The FFF (former fat female) in me cringes at the thought of putting back on any unhealthy weight so I’ll continue to be diligent in logging all my macros and making absolutely sure vitamins don’t get skipped.

It's only my second week of maintenance, but I'm finding itt very difficult to consume enough calories. I can eat more than I could a few months ago, but I still have significant restriction and get full very quickly. The few times I've tried to push the envelope and eat more I've gotten really nauseous.

I know it's trial and error and I'll have to figure out where my sweet spot is, but I'm also concerned about losing more weight. I'd say that I need to be a few pounds heavier, but I'm not too worried for now due to the "bounce back" effect.

Yeah, so I planned out 660 calories today with >100 gm protein.
First I could only drink 1/2 my protein shake and then didn’t eat all of dinner.
All in all I maybe got in 560 calories but tomorrow is a new day

On 10/13/2019 at 17:38, froufrou said:

Small NSV this weekend - was able to do up the robe at our hotel. It never used to come close before.

This is a serious NSV for me now whenever I go to the spa.
I used to never be able to close the robes there and so I would have to hang around in yoga pants and t-shirt waiting for my treatments.
Now not only can I hang out in their robes, I can belt them easily

Now that I'm at goal weight, I'm obsessing a bit over the saggy skin all over my body (neck, arms, abdomen, thighs, butt--and even low-hanging man-boobs). When I feel a bit depressed about it, I try to think about these things:

1) I now have cheekbones.

2) I now have a jaw line.

3) I no longer worry about people seeing my face from the side because I have no jaw line and my chin seems to be attached directly to my chest.

4) I don't panic when people are taking pictures and try to either get out of shot or try to stand in the most flattering pose possible while sucking in my gut.

5) When boarding a plane, I no longer worry that everyone is thinking, "I hope the fat guy doesn't sit next to me."

6) I can now eat in public without worrying that people are looking at me and thinking, "How disgusting. If he had more self-control he wouldn't be so fat."

7) My pants now stay up on their own and I don't have to tug on them every 15 minutes. (The men will understand this.)

8) I FEEL FANTASTIC!!

Edited October 15, 20196 yr by Recidivist

pics please on OOTD @Recidivist. Been following the February babies and I need to put a face to your name...You been through a lot with this surgery and im so pleased to read you good...….

12 hours ago, Recidivist said:

It's only my second week of maintenance, but I'm finding itt very difficult to consume enough calories. I can eat more than I could a few months ago, but I still have significant restriction and get full very quickly. The few times I've tried to push the envelope and eat more I've gotten really nauseous.

I know it's trial and error and I'll have to figure out where my sweet spot is, but I'm also concerned about losing more weight. I'd say that I need to be a few pounds heavier, but I'm not too worried for now due to the "bounce back" effect.

I hear you 100%. It seems like we are all in the same boat. (And the boat is still afloat!!!! )

4 hours ago, Recidivist said:

Now that I'm at goal weight, I'm obsessing a bit over the saggy skin all over my body (neck, arms, abdomen, thighs, butt--and even low-hanging man-boobs). When I feel a bit depressed about it, I try to think about these things:

1) I now have cheekbones.

2) I now have a jaw line.

3) I no longer worry about people seeing my face from the side because I have no jaw line and my chin seems to be attached directly to my chest.

4) I don't panic when people are taking pictures and try to either get out of shot or try to stand in the most flattering pose possible while sucking in my gut.

5) When boarding a plane, I no longer worry that everyone is thinking, "I hope the fat guy doesn't sit next to me."

6) I can now eat in public without worrying that people are looking at me and thinking, "How disgusting. If he had more self-control he wouldn't be so fat."

7) My pants now stay up on their own and I don't have to tug on them every 15 minutes. (The men will understand this.)

? I FEEL FANTASTIC!!

Congrats! You look awesome!

I, too, worry about sagging skin. I went from I want my breasts and arms done to oh hell no I need my face done. I can tuck the other spots up. My face is showing lines I never had. I have a long way to go (68 pounds) and I'm afraid I will look scary. I'm having a terrible stomach problem and have an endoscopy on the 5th of November. I'm worried I will need a revision. My stomach burns down lower in my stomach and makes me feel nauseated. I had gerd before surgery, so I'm really scared about this.

Bonus, I too feel so much better about myself. I just broke the threshold to just obese. lol

But having had had a bmi of 54 I will take it.

Way to go February friends!

6 hours ago, Recidivist said:

Now that I'm at goal weight, I'm obsessing a bit over the saggy skin all over my body (neck, arms, abdomen, thighs, butt--and even low-hanging man-boobs). When I feel a bit depressed about it, I try to think about these things:

1) I now have cheekbones.

2) I now have a jaw line.

3) I no longer worry about people seeing my face from the side because I have no jaw line and my chin seems to be attached directly to my chest.

4) I don't panic when people are taking pictures and try to either get out of shot or try to stand in the most flattering pose possible while sucking in my gut.

5) When boarding a plane, I no longer worry that everyone is thinking, "I hope the fat guy doesn't sit next to me."

6) I can now eat in public without worrying that people are looking at me and thinking, "How disgusting. If he had more self-control he wouldn't be so fat."

7) My pants now stay up on their own and I don't have to tug on them every 15 minutes. (The men will understand this.)

? I FEEL FANTASTIC!!

I can relate so well to all those things, especially the chin. I'm 53 and I think the advice I would give to those over 50 who are contemplating the surgery is to expect to look older. As those chubby cheeks lost weight, the skin starts to sag on the face too--at least for me. I definitely don't regret the surgery, but now when I see photos of myself I think "WOW! I look so....old!" The lines in my forehead have increased, as have the lines around my mouth. I guess I should have enjoyed that baby face when I had it!

Another interesting thing is that I am noticing overweight people so much more now--not in a judgmental way, but more in a "I'm so glad I am not dealing with all that excessive weight, feeling overheated and sweaty all the time" way. Last night I was on an airplane and it felt so good not to have to expand the seat belt from the person who was last sitting in the seat before me. It fit so naturally and you are right, my neighbors did not fret that I was going to infringe on their space or be that "fat person" next to them. It's just a wonderful feeling. So glad I went through all the tough stuff to get to this point.

1 hour ago, gabybab said:

Congrats! You look awesome!

I, too, worry about sagging skin. I went from I want my breasts and arms done to oh hell no I need my face done. I can tuck the other spots up. My face is showing lines I never had. I have a long way to go (68 pounds) and I'm afraid I will look scary. I'm having a terrible stomach problem and have an endoscopy on the 5th of November. I'm worried I will need a revision. My stomach burns down lower in my stomach and makes me feel nauseated. I had gerd before surgery, so I'm really scared about this.

Bonus, I too feel so much better about myself. I just broke the threshold to just obese. lol

But having had had a bmi of 54 I will take it.

Way to go February friends!

gabybab--so sorry to hear about the Endoscopy. Please keep us posted on the followup. I hope you will not need a revision, although if you do the procedure should be minimal, right? Or would it be similar to enduring the whole process over again? That would be awful. I feel you about the lines on the face....no one tells you that you will age substantially. I see it in my hands, my forehead, my mouth and especially my neck. Thank goodness turtleneck season is arriving in the Midatlantic!

Edited October 15, 20196 yr by Gottajustdoit

16 hours ago, Sheribear68 said:

This is a serious NSV for me now whenever I go to the spa.
I used to never be able to close the robes there and so I would have to hang around in yoga pants and t-shirt waiting for my treatments.
Now not only can I hang out in their robes, I can belt them easily

I had that same feeling when I got out of the shower and found I could wrap/tuck a normal-sized bath towel around my body. Yep. My whole body. Woot woot!

9 minutes ago, Gottajustdoit said:

gabybab--so sorry to hear about the Endoscopy. Please keep us posted on the followup. I hope you will not need a revision, although if you do the procedure should be minimal, right? Or would it be similar to enduring the whole process over again? That would be awful. I feel you about the lines on the face....no one tells you that you will age substantially. I see it in my hands, my forehead, my mouth and especially my neck. Thank goodness turtleneck season is arriving in the Midatlantic!

I will definitely post in here after my endoscopy. I'm hoping for the best, but not sure I could continue to tolerate the upset stomach. It's not burning in my throat, but in my new banana shaped stomach, so a little lower than I had before surgery.

I'm 54 and definitely am seeing the jowl lines more predominate and lines in general more. I do have money that I can use for plastics. I would prefer to not spend more than 10k. I for sure need my eyes, lower and upper lids, done and probably tighten my face lol

Or maybe I will change my mind and use it for travel and just say ftw!