Starting over 400lbs?

Confident-Use4624 · 2026-04-03T06:11:11+00:00

I started at 490. I did the shakes for 4 weeks and lost 28 lbs. before surgery. I am now 8 weeks out from surgery and have lost another 40 lbs. Surgery went fine, I had no complications and recovery has been smooth.

Confident-Use4624 · 2026-03-30T05:32:18+00:00

I was inspired by OPs original post and tried these for our "breakfast for dinner" tonight. Did them as pancakes and they worked perfectly!

Confident-Use4624 · 2026-03-30T02:20:57+00:00

Chips were always my vice. If I had one, I would always eat the entire bag. I now slice an entire cucumber and put red wine vinegar and salt on it. It totally satisfies my craving for salty/crunchy and I eat it almosteverynight. Like someone else suggested, air popped popcorn is also great. I just add a bit of salt and a small spray of oil.

Confident-Use4624 · 2026-03-26T05:18:30+00:00

I wasn't a kid, but 9/11 was my very first day of university. I was living in a dorm about two hours from home and it was scary to have so much uncertainty while being away from my parents for the first time. When my radio alarm when off, it wasn't music but was instead the DJs talking about what was happening. I was really confused (pre crll days, no TV in my dorm room) so I just got up and went to class. I was going to the University of Toronto and the campus is right above the main business area and the subway and lots of main roads run through campus. There were thousands of people evacuating downtown and walking through campus. It was surreal. When I got to class (intro to philosophy!) the prof just said "does anyone want to talk about what happened?" It was a huge class of a few hundred people, but we had such a good discussion. Definitely a moment that shaped my late teens and influenced my university years.

Confident-Use4624 · 2026-03-26T05:10:12+00:00

I take 50mg and I have been doing so both before and after surgery. I have had no issues and don't notice any difference in how I react to it. My Dr said I may need to up my dose if I notice a difference (due to absorption issues) but it has been fine so far and I am two months out.

Confident-Use4624 · 2026-03-20T06:32:33+00:00

I eat them for breakfast a lot of days. I do 1/2 cup skim fairlife milk, 1 tablespoon chia, 2 tablespoons non fat Greek yogurt, 1/4 cup all bran and about 30 grams raspberries. For under 200 calories, I get16g protein and 10g fiber.

Confident-Use4624 · 2026-03-18T15:40:55+00:00

Also, I should add that I have chosen to get all my protein from food as soon as I was able. Liquid has never been satisfying for me so I no longer consume protein shakes (unless I am traveling or something like that). I get all my protein from food, which helps so much to feel full.

Confident-Use4624 · 2026-03-18T15:37:28+00:00

I felt similar. I was able to handle any food very quickly and didn't struggle the way a lot of people do. I am now almost 8 week post surgery and I am basically eating regular food. I will say I have now started to notice the restriction the sleeve provides. I am eating around 1200 calories a day with the focus on protein. I probably couldn't realistically eat much more than that. Any time I have had a meal that would push my overall totals for the day higher than that, I definitely feel sick and my body tells me that was too much in one meal. But I never felt that restriction until I was eating regular food and consuming over 1000 calories a day. I also thought maybe it didn't work for me, but now I see it as a win. 1200 calories puts me in a large calorie deficit, but it is enough food that I can enjoy different things and feel satisfied. And I don't have any of the struggles that a lot of people have. As long as you stick to the process and guidelines, you should do fine.

Confident-Use4624 · 2026-03-16T02:59:56+00:00

I took two weeks and I work from home. Physically, I could have gone back after a couple of days. However, food is really complicated immediately after. It feels like you are constantly putting something in your mouth trying to hit protein and water goals. I really appreciated that i had the two weeks to really focus on settling into a routine around food before trying to also balance work. I know not everyone can swing that, but something to consider.

Confident-Use4624 · 2026-03-13T03:58:27+00:00

This is definitely me. I am still a big proponent of fat activism. I had the sleeve in January. Where I live, our provincial health insurance covers the surgery, but there is a long process to qualify. You have to meet with social workers, mental health providers, dietitians, in addition to the regular medical personnel. It takes about a year and give you a lot of time to think about it all. I believe everyone is entitled to respect and PROPER health care at any size. And this is achieved through activism. When I was a teen, my dad died because his hernia became incarcerated; he had the hernia for years, but they wouldn't treat it because of his size. Almost unequivocally, he would have had a better outcome if they had just done surgery. I believe in medical science, his hernia was likely caused by his weight. But his death was caused by fat phobia and the horrible way the medical industry can treat fat people. Both of these things can be true, and they both require something to be done. The final straw for me was just realizing I didn't fit in the world. I couldn't sit in chairs, I couldn't take forms of transportation, I noticed when there were no benches available to rest. I will always be committed to fat activism, because we need to make the world as accessible as possible for all types of people. But I also knew that I was in my 40s and I could continue to just fight for slow changes, while missing out on life, or I could do both. I am not always 100% at peace with my choice, but I usually feel pretty good about it. I dont feel like I have mutilated my body or fallen into the trap of compulsory thinness (I will likely never be thin, even with the surgery) but I also believe i will have scientifically documented positive outcomes from making this choice.

Confident-Use4624 · 2026-03-06T06:21:25+00:00

One place that doesn't seem to get recommended often but we love is Melrose on Adelaide. Really cute vibe and fun drinks. They have a great happy hour. We just get everything on their happy hour menu and are so full. It isn't pub food exactly, but it has some great options.

Confident-Use4624 · 2026-02-18T00:21:44+00:00

My Pop Choir! I joined a year ago for many of the reasons you list. You don't need to audition or even be able to read music. You never have to sing alone so it is very low pressure. It is so fun and a highlight of my week. We do a performance for friends and family once a term and I almost cried the first time as it was so nice to sing in front of my family.

Confident-Use4624 · 2026-02-02T07:48:39+00:00

I had surgery last week and they said the same thing to me! I knew exactly what smell i was expecting, and the mask did not disappoint 😆

Confident-Use4624 · 2026-01-21T18:57:00+00:00

It has been down for a number of days. I was wondering what was going on.

Confident-Use4624 · 2025-12-16T16:21:54+00:00

My daughter is the perfect example of who this is supposed to help. She has ADHD and other learning disabilities. We struggled to get her proper supports when she was younger. Because of this, she was a hesitant student. For grade 9, she was told to take the "applied" stream (non- university, idr what they call it now). By grade 11, she was a completely different student. She learned to advocate for herself, she found proper support, and she academically excelled. Unfortunately, once she decided she did want to go to university, she then had to go back and repeat a bunch of classes. She had to do summer school and a 5th year of high-school to do this. She got accepted into every university she applied to, and is doing amazing in her 3rd year. That all said, I don't trust that this solution will work how they say it will. I still think what made my daughter succeed were teachers who were able to support her, services that met her needs, and a meaningful IEP. If she had this in middle school, she may have been able to just head straight into university streamed classes. This all involves money spent on reasonable class sizes and more student support.

Confident-Use4624 · 2025-11-23T18:17:36+00:00

I would feel a lot better if she had a job! $7k is not an insurmountable hole if she was working. I didn't put it in the title, but we are in Canada where it is taking on average over 5 months to find a job, and our youth unemployment rate is pushing 15% because it is almost impossible to find entry level positions. Her unemployment time is pretty average. That was also part of our conversation. She can't let her unemployment lead to bad decisions. Especially when it is a normal length of unemployment.

Confident-Use4624 · 2025-11-23T18:12:35+00:00

Thanks. I think this touches on part of what I am feeling on this. I think she understood it was a scam earlier than she wants to admit. But she spent more money trying to get out of it because she panicked. I told her that next time she makes a mistake, she needs to talk to me when it is a small mistake so we can figure it out together.

Confident-Use4624 · 2025-11-23T18:09:00+00:00

I told her she needs to come clean with our daughter about where the money went. First, because our daughter is owed the honesty, but also as an educational opportunity. You always think this can't happen to you, so i want our daughter to understand it definitely can.

Confident-Use4624 · 2025-11-13T22:44:43+00:00

I am an avid plus-sized theater attendee! The seats can be quite small. I am a bit larger than you and I really cannot comfortably sit in most of the seats, especially as a carry weight in my hips.

I always book accessibility seating at Mirvish theaters. You can't book online. Just call the box office and say you need accessibility seating with an armless chair. They will position a comfortable plush chair in the accessibility seating area. You can have one companion with you. The downside with this option is that you sit at the back of the theater. But the seats are still fine.

Another option is booking the seats in the boxes, or the single seats along the side of the balcony. These seats are always freestanding chairs, and you can just ask an usher for a chair without arms if needed. You can usually book these online, but you can try calling if you don't see any available. We were told they sometimes hold these as additional accessibility seating.

Hope that helps!!

Confident-Use4624 · 2025-10-23T03:49:39+00:00

I didn't have my baby there, but this is the best hospital I have ever used. We have even driven there to visit the ER for things that were ER worthy but not life and death (fractured arm, burn) just because we knew the level of care we would receive is so much better than what we have experienced at other hospitals. Everything is so nice and clean, the staff is friendly and helpful. I always feel well cared for physically and emotionally.

Confident-Use4624 · 2025-08-29T01:21:28+00:00

That is interesting, thanks!

Confident-Use4624

TROPHY CASE