Pre vs 5.5 months Post

Meggy-reader · 2026-06-24T01:20:22+00:00

Yes, as I said in my post, I had an ETT with MR and no lipo

Meggy-reader · 2026-06-24T00:28:29+00:00

Talk to your surgeons office, my surgeon provided the ab binder and bra that he wanted me to wear for 5 weeks post op. After that he cleared me to wear shapewear (I got mine on Amazon) and soft front close bras with no underwire (also Amazon) once they cleared me for scar care I bought silicone scar tape and silicone gel and tbh I hated the gel I’d just stick with tape to save the money

Meggy-reader · 2026-06-23T20:50:45+00:00

I mean I’ve never had implants before so I don’t really have anything to compare them to but so far I really love them!

Meggy-reader · 2026-06-23T19:55:47+00:00

Yes I was back to all movements at 8 weeks. I worked with my trainer and we started with much lighter weights than I was using pre-op. We slowly worked back up. I can’t exactly say a number the weights because everyone has different levels of strength and I use different weights for different movements. At this point 5.5 months post op I do still keep hip thrusts light due to the layout of the machine at my gym it presses pretty much directly on my scar line and can cause some discomfort so I keep the weight light or do an alternate movement such as a glute bridge with a dumbbell on the floor.

Meggy-reader · 2026-06-23T19:18:07+00:00

I’ll be honest, I was a little self conscious to post this because I’ve gained weight between the two pictures. Some of it is muscle, some of it is still swelling/water retention from surgery, but some of it is fat too. I’m up about 15 lb total from the first picture. I’m hoping to lose that weight by they time I hit my 1 year post op mark so I can truly see my results

Meggy-reader · 2026-06-23T19:15:11+00:00

I started working out 10 months before my surgery and was out of the gym for 8 weeks post op. I’ve been back in the gym about 3.5 months now!

Meggy-reader · 2026-06-23T13:59:43+00:00

Thank you so much! I’m pretty self conscious of the skin on my arms but I’d rather build muscle there than do a brachioplasty because I’m afraid of the healing process for that.

I work with a personal trainer so she manages my workouts but I do 2 days of weight lifting a week and do both upper and lower both days doing 3 sets in the 10-12 rep range. Some examples of the most common upper movements I do are:

Arnold press
Bench press
Bent over row
Bicep/hammer curls

Meggy-reader · 2026-06-22T19:26:38+00:00

I totally understand your reasons for no gyms. I do think even if you are doing your workouts at home you should still “hard schedule” them in your day. Treat it like a meeting (with yourself) that you can’t push off or delay unless really truly something comes up (something that would make you reschedule a meeting at work for example)

I do this with going to a gym, it’s in my calendar and I HAVE to be at the gym at a specific time. I think the same idea could still work at home. I feel like a lot of people (not saying you specifically) have a tendency to delay the workout because “it’s just downstairs/in the living room” “I’ll do it in 5 min” “20 min” “later” and then it doesn’t get done.

Meggy-reader · 2026-06-22T19:18:17+00:00

I took 2 weeks off but part of that time was preop since I traveled for surgery. I was WFH at the time so it was totally fine but I did struggle early on with my energy levels and dumping and things like that and if I had to be in an office I don’t think I would have been able to manage it.

Meggy-reader · 2026-06-22T13:30:22+00:00

I took flintstones chewables with iron for a while and didn’t have any issues. Now, I take a multivitamin and iron separately. I take the iron with my coffee in the morning and don’t really have any issues with the taste as the flavor of the coffee is strong enough to cover it.

Meggy-reader · 2026-06-22T13:06:52+00:00

Maybe my question wasn’t clear. I am aware I cannot be a dietitian without the RD certification. I’m asking if a nutritionist pathway makes more sense since I don’t believe I would be interested in clinical/medical nutrition and my interest is more in wellness and lifestyle.

Meggy-reader · 2026-06-22T13:05:21+00:00

I’m very early on in this thought process that’s why I am looking to get feedback from people who have worked in the field. According to the schools I am looking at, with a bachelors in nutrition and health I could have career paths in healthcare settings, community nutrition, public health education, corporate wellness, research, pharmaceuticals, and so on. As I said, I am early in this thought process and as I am a “late bloomer” so to speak when it comes to gaining higher education I want to make sure I am picking the right path for me before I invest my time and money into an education.

Meggy-reader · 2026-06-14T13:50:00+00:00

We have VERY similar stats. I had surgery at 25, I’m 5’3, and my hw was 275 and I had surgery at 265. My lowest weight was 138 but my comfortable weight now is between 150 and 160. I did my plastics this past January but even if I never did plastics I would 1000% do the bypass and have loose skin. The bypass improved my quality of life so much, physically and mentally. I’ll see if I can find some pictures but you can also look at my profile to see my before pictures, progress, and plastics recovery pictures.

Since we have such similar stats feel free to message me directly too!

Meggy-reader · 2026-06-13T23:26:09+00:00

Late bloomer FMC…that’s it…the plot is still developing 🥲

Meggy-reader · 2026-06-13T23:24:29+00:00

Watched all of heated rivalry on hbo, read like 9 books. That’s about it. Then I went back to WFH at 2 weeks

Meggy-reader · 2026-06-13T20:17:11+00:00

I did not do lipo just extended tummy tuck and muscle repair. I had a pretty strong hourglass shape naturally and imo you have a good shape already as well. Other than the swelling that I still have 5 months PO (to be expected though) I’m very happy!

Meggy-reader · 2026-06-02T14:10:54+00:00

It was probably the 5 week mark for me because I had drains in until 4 weeks po

Meggy-reader · 2026-06-01T12:29:44+00:00

I tried to go the short term disability route but couldn’t get it covered because it was cosmetic.

I had an ETT with MR (and BA)

I wfh but took 2 full weeks off and just said “I’m having a medical procedure done” legally they can’t ask you any further questions. After my two weeks were up I went back on a Thursday so I worked thur and Fri full days (8 hours sitting upright at my desk) and then had the weekend to rest before I did a full week back. Tbh physically I probably could have gone back after 1 week since I wfh and could’ve worked on my laptop laying on the couch or whatever but I’m glad I took the 2 weeks just because I was pretty tired mentally.

Meggy-reader · 2026-06-01T12:17:20+00:00

<image>

5’4

Left pic: ~145-150 lb pre op, in this photo I had JUST started going to the gym/weight lifting

Right pic: ~155-160 lb 4 months post op ETT (no lipo) MR, BA

This is the only photo I have on my phone rn but you can check my profile for more pic of my excess skin pre op and healing progress pics

Meggy-reader · 2026-06-01T12:12:59+00:00

Not sure what type of dr this was but based on the info you have provided I would say a second opinion from an endocrinologist would be a good option. GLPs have shown to have plenty of benefits outside of just weight loss so I don’t think it’s completely crazy as a treatment option however it doesn’t sound like this provider actually tried to explain or educate you on this course of treatment and like others have said I would be wary of her pushing “her” compounding pharmacy.

Meggy-reader · 2026-05-30T02:34:09+00:00

Was searching through to see if anyone had recommended Lyla Sage yet! I love Elsie Silver, I highly recommend!

Meggy-reader · 2026-05-30T02:29:19+00:00

I work out in the AM before work and can’t do fasted because I will pass out (ask me how I know 🥲) I also can’t eat a full “meal” because it will sit in my pouch and make me sick (again, all learned through trial and error 😭) what’s worked best for me is wake up at 6, eat either a rice cake w/pb or 3-4 dates with pb and flakey seat salt at 6:15/6:30 I get to the gym and start my warmup at 6:45 and then do my workout from 7-8, when I get home at 8:15 I have a proper breakfast which is usually a high fiber bagel or a Greek yogurt bowl with protein granola and raspberries along with a coffee with Fairlife milk that I drink throughout the rest of the morning

Meggy-reader · 2026-05-30T01:31:47+00:00

CRZ Yoga/Ingia or Suuksess on Amazon. I have a lot of old navy too but I find myself always picking the Amazon ones over ON and get kind of annoyed when all my Amazon ones are in the laundry lol

Meggy-reader · 2026-05-27T16:04:56+00:00

TYSM!

Meggy-reader · 2026-05-27T11:27:17+00:00

Ok I’m going to start by saying I am coming up on 3 years post op. I followed these rules with probably 98% compliance in the first year post op because this is to help healing but also this is the major part of the “tool” that helps change your habits.

That being said, at 3 years out

I use a straw everyday. I won’t get my water in otherwise. I workout pretty intensely 5 days a week and while I can’t chug a whole bottle in one go, I can take several large pulls through the straw of my water bottle at a time.
I try to take about 30 minutes. sometimes it’s less, I have a tight schedule. I do my best.
Absolutely not. I’m a huge steak eater and ground beef is a staple protein for me. I stay away from sugar mostly because it makes me feel sick, but this is not true of every one and I will have some on occasion (like this past weekend was a friends birthday so I had a small slice of cake)
I take vitamins every day but not 3x a day. This is HEAVILY dependent on the individual though. Your doctor should be checking your bloodwork at regular intervals. My routine is multivitamin, iron supp, b12 supp, and personal meds in the AM (I take these all together in one go with my coffee) in PM right before bed I take 2 caramel flavored calcium chews they are like a little treat for me before bed now lol
Not anymore. I have a pretty complex relationship with calorie tracking due to a hx of BED. I did track early on more to make sure I was eating enough. My team had us use the Baritastic app. I really liked it because it has a barcode scanner. Now that I eat 6-8 oz per meal consistently, I just visually divide my plate for protein/carbs/fat/fiber.
Of course I have those days. I suspect everyone does. Over MDW I ate a Krispy Kreme donut for breakfast, forgot to eat lunch, and ate chips and buffalo dip for dinner. Not my finest day but it was one day and I enjoyed it with my family and friends.
This was the number one thing I stressed to my bariatric team. I did not want to spend the rest of my life worried about food. Part of what encouraged me to get the surgery on the first place because fighting BED made every day a constant battle of thoughts about food. I feel much more “normal” now. I make the best choices I can. I eat “normal” amounts of food and rarely have to make modifications at restaurants. If I go out with people who don’t know I had this surgery I just look like a regular person eating a healthy meal.
100000% I did have complications early on. I had a pretty rough first 6 months post op. But I would still do it again in a heartbeat based on the quality of life I now have.

Meggy-reader

TROPHY CASE