Obesity and weight loss

@suzmaine and @roch, thank you both! It does feel good. I made sure the new clothes fit and aren’t on the loose side.

And, I have gathered most all of the larger clothes and set aside to donate at a local domestic violence women’s center that has discounted clothes to raise funds. I’m not keeping any large clothes.

@suzmaine, how are you doing in your journey of healthy living? Are you considering bariatric surgery or have a story to share?

I had gastric surgery the old fashion was 37 years ago. I lost from 300 to 200 (100) lbs total and all stopped. It was before the docs knew to tell you of correct eating, vitamins etc. so at times I struggled alone. Several years ago, I was prescribed Ozempic with a 20 lb loss over next 2 years. Six months ago, I was switched to Wegovy 10 mg. I am no longer hungry and losing weight about 5 lbs a month. Wegovy took away my thoughts of food. I must now regulate my protein intake as I am just not hungry at all. Another year and I must have some skin removal, as I am uncomfortable with the excess skin and hanging large breasts. It will get better guys. Stick with it, with a physician who hears you and is concerned.

Congratulations on your loss! It’s impressive you maintained then lost more over that time period.

I haven’t had bariatric surgery, but work hard to focus on nutrition with my large weight loss. Met with another nutritionist last week. She liked my meal plans, but suggested I add a little more protein, so I’m working on incorporating that. Do you have any particular meal plan or diet you follow?

Have you reached goal weight? Will you seek surgery now?

I purchased a good collagen (with vitamins) and proteins (15 gm). I put a small scoop in a cup of coffee in mornings. It desolves immediately. I also keep protein bars, yogurt (Iceland Skyr) which have another 10-15 gm in them. In Morning I have a Skyr yogurt with a teaspoon of non sugar granola (Walmart) and berries occasionally. I then eat a ready made salad for lunch or supper which has a minimum of 10mg of protein. I add a 1/2 teasp. Of a good olive oil to a tablespoon or two of a nonfat, no sugar Catalina dressing for spice. The 3rd meal is a protein, green veg of asparagus, brocolli, beans, etc. if we are having potatoes, I take a tablespoon only, no bread, etc. if eating out I eat the beef out of an Arby’s burger or chicken without the bread. I have a glass of milk with main meal. This took several years to develop. I have snack which may be an apple (Gala), banana (green), nuts, protein bar. Be kind and make your own plan you believe you can live with.

Hello, I am new to this group, and I hope to learn a lot about how to become healthier on this website. I am diagnosed with Fatty Liver, non-alcoholic type of liver disease. I'm 77 years old and for the past about 8 years the weight has been slowly coming on. I weigh 195 and I'm 5'2" so I'm considered obese. I would be happy to get back to about 150 as I do not have a small frame. I know I'm addicted to crunchie salty items, and it's not a dill pickle :-). Sugars at times. So I am limiting my breads/carbs now. Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated. My doctor tried to get me a script for Wegovy, but insurance denied it. Now that I am pre-diabetic maybe the insurance will reconsider his request come December when I see the doctor again. Thanks for your attention, have a great day.

I have heard good things about Wegovy and Ozempic. So, hope you can get one of them if you choose.

I think weight loss is very individual, but I’ll share some of my experience. Something inside me clicked in a way I never had experienced before. It just felt right. It’s difficult to describe. I changed my lifestyle from what I ate and how I worked out. I met with a nutritionist and reviewed my meal plans. I followed a solid, healthy low calorie plan with delicious food I love. I stopped buying most snack foods like chips and cookies. I do get healthy snacks like nuts, yogurt, fruit, etc. I prepare meals I enjoy and love the foods I eat. I plan to always eat this way, as it offers me health benefits for more than my type 1 diabetes. I recently met with another nutritionist and tweaked my plan.

Do you have access to a nutritionist?

I found that working out made me feel stronger and more motivated to eat right.

I kept a photo journal of me at the gym to document my progress.

I hope you get more ideas. I’d like to read what others say too. I liked the post upthread by Max2, though I’m not going vegan.

Good luck. Your goals sound very reasonable to me.

@gigihammett

Welcome to group, there is lot of knowledge and experience from members of this group. Some members of group have had or are exploring weight loss surgery; others are using weight loss medication. Weather you're using either of those options or just trying to lose weight without surgery or medications, some of the tools needed to loss weight are the same. @celia16 offered some great ideas.

You might want to check out the Weight Loss blog under Connect:
Newsfeed: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/blog/weight-management-1/tab/newsfeed/#ch-tab-navigation
Lifestyle: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/blog/weight-management-1/tab/lifestyle/#ch-tab-navigation

Most dietitians recommend meal planning and a food journal so have written record of what your eating. I think if you have to write it down, your more conscious of what you eat. I am not a fan of journaling, but plan on starting again to make myself more accountable.

Hi @gigihammett, I add my welcome. Congrats on getting some weight off slowly. It sounds like it is staying off too. As the fable says, slow and steady wins (The Tortoise and the Hare).

With the holidays fast approaching, what tactics do you use to stay the course and stay healthy or even make allowances for celebration?

I decided last week what I would eat for Thanksgiving. I will have a couple of small side dishes, turkey and a small piece of pumpkin pie. Since I’m close to my goal weight, I’m not going to go overboard with the food.

For snacks I discovered these prepackaged single serve bags of mixed nuts with cranberries or cherries. It’s only 100 calories and 15 grams of sodium. I like the almonds and walnuts with cherries the best.