BurgundyBoy

Like @athenarose I often judge myself by how I am fitting into my clothes. Having said that - if I don't weigh myself on some consistent basis, I can drift up in weight. Now that I am in maintenance, three things are clearly important for me: Being mindful Minimizing snacking in the evening - easy to eat high-density caloric foods like cheese, salami - if you are a snacker, keep celery in the house!! Exercise

@CheeringCJ!! don't be bummed or beat yourself up. You have all the skills on hand that you need. this 5 lb bump up could just be a valuable lesson on what you need to do to lead the life you want to have. Composure, balance, steadiness. Equanimity, equanimity, equanimity... (Obviously offering this up because I aspire to it, not that I have achieved it!)

Jen, how are your poor legs doing? I remember you injured one of them a while back... wasn't it one of your knees? My memory fails me...

Obviously a professor with tenure, who could not be fired or incur the wrath of his/her boss for not answering trivial emails day or night.

@HeidiA The key comment is "I feel like I've gotten my life back." For all of you Lurkers out there reading these blogs and wondering if WLS is for you, read this again. "I feel like I've gotten my life back." You have. ... And all the work you have done, and will do on your Path to an healthier weight, will bleed over to the rest of your life with more confidence, self-esteem, and satisfaction at your control over your life. Your longer life, since people with obesity die earlier than people without obesity. The great thing about this surgery is that if you just keep to the diet (which is not hard after the surgery) you will lose tons of weight, gain years of life, and be renewed. Congratulations on your success to date and your coming success.

@Nana Trish So good to hear of your progress! Am so happy for you! (Now about those Trishes... you really have to get those no-good laze-about relatives of yours to get their paint brushes out and start marking your driveway... to mark your wheel-chair free life on those renewed/revised legs of yours!)

My Perfect Wife bought me a whitening session at our dentist last year, and it worked pretty well. This thread reminds me to use the whitening gel again soon. Going back to the thread comment by @Charmedd Hour - I grew up in the Caribbean and in the US South, and had a lot of sugar and would not have had fluoridated water for the period I was out of the US as a young child ... and in the space of about 5-6 years, in my 40s, long before my WLS, I must have needed 8 root canals and had multiple teeth fracture. (Once I broke a tooth eating frog legs, which seemed kind of like cosmic justice at the time). Up to that point I had just thought my teeth were fine. Important not to make the mistake of false causation just because two things happen near one another in time...

How you doing now? I ended up with lots of step-losses, nothing for a few weeks and then boom lose 5 lbs. There are these evil critters known as Weight Loss Demons. If you want to lose fast -> you lose slow. Don't be reluctant to go to your 6 month visit. You won't be judged. They are there to cheer you on and help you since we all lose at different paces. Hang in there!

How are you doing now? Any better? These things pass...

@delilas Congratulations. What an adorable infant! I would fall in love with her in an instant. You guys must be over the moon with joy.

BR, your body is going to lose both pounds and circumference... but the rates are not going to be identical. Like @tracyringo, a lot of my loss happened in big steps: no loss of pounds (though I was shrinking) and then I would lose 5 lbs in 5 days.... and then be at that weight for weeks before I had another "step" loss. It was as if my body, thinking we were living through a famine, kept holding on to everything that it could, and then sigh, and let the weight go.

I keep Greek yogurt around for this purpose... high protein, and only semi-solid. I sprinkle some non-sugar sweetener on top. I think the recommendation for bone broth is a good one, can just heat it up and sip it like tea!

@Nana Trish Glad you did okay with the surgery (and had mash!)

Lots of people take them for hypertension, not just for swelling. Having your stomach re-routed doesn't change that...

You are both doing great! I find I am often thinking about food... but only about "has it been too long since I had anything to eat?" rather than some desire to pig out. (Now that I find myself typing this at 3:30 pm, I am thinking I have only had 380 calories, coffee and a small glass of milk today -- better eat a protein bar now - in the past would have had twice that for breakfast alone - I don't need to be obsessive now while in maintenance, just mindful; if not mindful then the old bad habits can rear their ugly heads...)