ChristieStearns Member

Hello! I am 2 years post op. At the beginning of this year I found I had gained 18 lbs from my lowest weight. I have gotten off 9 of them. Basically old habits creep back in and I can eat ENOUGH (even though I am limited to about 1 cup) that making the wrong choices leads to gaining. I don't need to be perfect but I need…

Welcome!! You are more than welcome to friend me, I am happy to chat and support you in your journey! I need help to keeeeeeep going!

I needed this BAD. Thank you so much. I've really been focusing on building muscle and I know that slows down what I see on the scale because my body is changing, but have been starting to get frustrated that nothing is happening. I am really going to try and let go of that after seeing your post. Thank you thank you.

Amazing! Only two pounds but think how many pounds of fat you probably lost and muscle gained!! WTG :)

Your body fat % can keep changing even if your weight doesn't. If you don't want to lose any more weight, you can keep your calories high enough to stay the same but keep strength training more and let your body fat change. If you do want to lose weight, obviously you can do it that way too. I think the "healthy range" is…

You may have "only" lost 2 pounds on the scale, but based on those measurments, you absolutely lost more pounds of FAT. Most likely it's something like you lost 5 pounds of fat, gained 3 pounds of muscle. If there's anyway you can have someone measure your body fat you would no for sure. I am trying to keep this in mind...…

Protein is pretty much always good, it's not really bad to go over like it is with carbs or fat. And if I had to choose, I'd go over in fat before going over in carbs as well... especially healthy fats.

Hi! Ex Starbucks worker here. So, the venti black iced tea has no calories if it's unsweetened. A venti, if sweetened, has 6 pumps of classic syrup, and that's there the 120 calories come from. All syrups have the same calories unless it's one of the thicker types like mocha/white mocha/caramel sauce. But all the…

Losing is such a small part of the battle even though it feels so big - maintaining is the true battle. Keeping the changes for life and not turning back. A year of maintaining already?? THAT is a HUGE accomplishment. I wish you continued success. What an inspiration.

I see both sides to this. As in, I can see how it offends some people to be asked, and I can also understand how some people treat it as a fact like hair/eye color. What I think is this... the way you answer it will determine how the question is treated. If you act offended or that the question is rude, that allows it to…

Just accepted your friend request. I read Intuitive Eating 4 years ago and it changed my life! I'm now in a place where I can track calories and pounds without it messing with my mind. And if it ever does I just take a step back. It takes time. I'm here :) :)

I have no idea because you're gorgeous and I totally look up to you (saw your post in the lifting thread). If it makes you feel any better I've never been hit on in my life!

Thank you, great suggestion!

Thanks to you all for the helpful and thoughtful replies!

There really isn't much you can do about upping calories at the point you are currently at. I think when we choose surgery we must accept it's going to be pretty low calorie until we can eat more food. I do think as long as choosing the high protein foods and healthy choices, you should eat the highest cals you can without…

Same here my good friend Amber is in Conifer!!

Every time I take clothes out of the dryer, I panic because I think they shrunk. I have to put on my jeans and a shirt to make sure they actually fit me, and they do. They just look so small (and I am still a 16/XL/L). I can't imagine if/when I get even smaller. I still find myself turning sideways to fit through a space…

hi there! I didn't real everybody else's posts so please forgive me if I repeat anything. I thought this blog might help you. This guy did some pretty extreme couponing while in a bet with his sister to see if he could eat on $1/day for a month. Much more extreme than what you need to do, but perhaps you could get some…

Hi sweetie! First of all congratulations on taking control of your eating disorder. That is really brave. There is a group you can join on here called "eat more to weigh less"... there are a lot of topics in there that may help. Recently someone shared their daily 600 calorie healthy breakfast. I don't remember it exactly…

What a change! You deserve to shed some manly tears ;)

^^ 9! Lovely skin, beautiful all around

This is a very tricky one. There are many factors. How much you have to lose, how closely you adhere to the program, how much you exercise. I lost 90 lbs in 5 months and went from a size 28 to an 18/20. I was told they can only alter a dress down 2-3 sizes. So I would suggest you find what size fits now and order 3 sizes…

Thank you guys for the responses! I really appreciate it!

Hey thank you so much for this reply. I didn't know there was such a thing as having your RMR tested by a breathing test? I thought all we could do was a standard online calculator. Is this something I can do at the dr? I totally agree about the messed up metabolism. I KNOW mine is definitely messed up! But I think over…

Wow thank you all SO MUCH for the responses!! I can see it varies by person and definitely need to talk to my doctor, but this is encouraging... and that even if I can't do as much weight, or can't so certain exercises, I can still do this.... :) I will definitely come back to this thread and post when I get to talk to Dr…

Great thread. I'm 5'5" and 209lbs and have been wondering the same thing. I especially feel like... should I REALLY eat my maintenance calories for the first stage? It seems so counterproductive but I'll try to have faith!

What you have to remember is that when you think "I want to lose weight".... are you really thinking "I want the scale to say XXX pounds" or are you thinking "I want to be smaller, look like this". (Yes it's for health more than looks, but what I'm getting at is if your measurements are changing and you are getting…

Hi there! I try to get as much protein as possible and I'm STILL working on getting in more. But I do have a few suggestions. For a protein drink, skip powder all together if you like and go with a dairy/lactose-free ready to drink shake. I like the vanilla flavor by EAS (I find it at Target in the pharmacy section) - it…

Thanks for sharing. So true!

Hi there! I am just getting into this and I'm reading new Rules of Lifting for Women, would like to start their program next month. Not sure how much I can help since I haven't totally started that path yet, but it's where I'm headed and would love to have a friend along for the right!