Obesity and weight loss: What weight loss plan worked for you?

@celia16 hey hi. Well, I had to have my top teeth removed (under local with what 10+ shots of novocaine in the roof of my mouth etc.) My throat got numb, I couldn't swallow, felt like I was drowning, so flashback at the dentist...not great.

Removed of my top teeth was for autoimmune reasons but I can't hold a denture in (horrible gag reflex) for even a second without heaving in the sink. I'm embarrassed to be out without talking and so I'm barely leaving house. I've only been able to eat soft foods which is mostly dairy, yogurt, cottage cheese (not the fat free yucky stuff!) Regular cheese, chocolate that I can let melt in my mouth, peanut butter, ice cream.
Plus lots of stress with a tongue biopsy and a mohs surgery on my face for Basal cell with 10 stitches under my eye.

So I've put back on 20 pounds. I'm eating sugar and starving all the time as I'm not getting meat protein. I really need meat. lots of potatoes, and pasta.
"These are the times that try men's souls." Womens too. Trying not to get depressed.

Trigger finger surgery. And now 3 more trigger fingers that make my hands hard to use so beading and jewelry making, my relaxation at night is out. Fortunately the breast and tongue biopsy were negative, basal cell the best cancer to have if I had to have it somewhere! I also had three trigger fingers injected last week. So much local anesthesia I've cancelled life for a while. I feel like a huge pincushion and getting fat again.

Aren't you glad you asked? Lol but thanks for checking in. 2025 was hard and 2026 isn't starting out great. I'm being worked up for sjogrens on 2 weeks. I need to join that side.

What's up for y'all?? Too much warring in my world and the real world. We all are overwhelmed or minimum, exhausted, with the news cycle I bet?

I'm actually doing better mentally than I should be lol, so ill take it!

@bebold , how are you?

@larry68 , Ha! Me too! Lol. Well, I gain it, then lose it….bouncing around. Have to get to goal and stay there. It’s frustrating, but doable.

@celia16 About the same except a gain of 5 lbs.How are you doing?

@larry68 , how are things going?

I have lost 50 pounds this year on weight watches. I have not found it dufficult. And that's with lots of stress (I live in the affected hurricane Helene zone of NC tho there was a month of no electric or water, I had no condo or body damage. Just inconvenience. (And there was no just about it at the time - running out of meds, spending entire days sitting at Publix for food, electric and internet - but always aware of feel fortunate - I ate lots of candy that month as it doesn't need to be cooked (!) And yes, stress eating too.

And since April I have been up and down within the same 5 lb. but I have chosen to pat less attention. Getting under 200# was amazing, getting below 190 has been challenging but only because I've been less committed. I don't start things like diets, quitting smoking on a whim. I give myself minimum 6 months to mentally plan so I have less chance of success. I NEVER start this kind of commitment unless I really think I'm going to be able to.

So, I'm much more comfortable in my skin. I'm still considerer very overweight (BMI scales are stupid. At 5'3" it aay I could be 107 and not be underweight.

If I were 107# my therapist would want me in an eating disorder unit! I also font want to ve in a good weight range and look 20 years older! Being thinner isn't good if ny self-esteem is worse! I'm 70. I don't want to be size 4. Nobody should! Society says we look good looking anorexic. They don't say that to men thus eating disorders more common in females, esp teens/20s.

One thing to know. Meds dint make us fat. They can make me so hungry I'm in pain. That's not about me being bad for eating, food becomes pain medication as without lits, esp carbs, sugars, I'm in too much belly pain to enjoy life.

Tje nest thing for me 50 pounds latee is my diet has changed. Greasy food makes me sickish. So one french fry off a friends plate is good enough.

Also if not diabetic, there are like 200 foods that "don't count" so I don't have to be hungry. A potato nuked is free. I also do not even count butter, salad dressing, mayo, etc. Too hard and I wouldn't do the diet if it was that hard. So I just font count it esp if that makes me more likely to eat salad! I'm disabled so no exercise at all. Walk to car and back a few times a week. I eat out with friends on Friday nights and I just know on Friday, I give myself permission to eat what I want, I do consider lower point foods and I dip into dressing rather than pour it on, but lije that.

I don't guilt myself about "days off." Its about choice not cheat. Cheat means I'm bad, choice means I'm an adult. No shoulds except inside. And drs are going to fat shame me unless I'm 120 so to heck with them! I will do what I do till I feel better. And that's right now. As ling as I don't go above 200 again is my inside rule to not put it back on. And the attitude that I'm a ww lifer if I can afford it. And I paid $10/month for the first 10 months, then it was $25. Nope, can't afford 25 (truth is I don't want to afford $25 so.I called to ask.is I coyld stay at 10 or I woyld have to quit. Suddenly $10 was fine again. Never pay full price anymore. Threaten to quit, even cable, but only if you do have a choice so they don't call your bluff and you have no internet. (I don't do cable tv anyway.)

So, I will say this about weight loss meds. As a nurse, its also just my personal opinion thos my therapist and pcp agree with me.

The med makes you not hungry. So med without changing eating habits, yoh will gain it back. And they can lead to serious side effects and they know it! So there is really hard sale ads.

I saw an ad to use it for sleep apnea! When actually the medication does not treat sleep apnea! Weight loss MIGHT reduce sleep apnea. Very false advertising and I'm not sure how they get away with it except they are a big corp and corps can and do own congress. My opinion but my reality too.

A friend ended up in the hospital for a week VERY SICK with Gall bladder attack and pancreatitis! Tho those two things are top of the side effect list, but her pcp said it wasn't the pills? She stopped them anyway, ended up with GB removal and the pancreatitis cleared up but I know that pancreatitis can be incurable and destroy life. (Had a friend I met on a chronic pain unit in horrible pain every day till she died. No thank you.)

Once you end the shot, and you get hungry again and have not changed your diet, you will end another fail to your list. The only way to lose weight is eat less and make better choices. And I can eat that candy bar if I don't guilt myself about it later. I can choose to eat chocolate or not. Last night I wish.id had ice cream in the freezer. I needed comfort food because of pain but I only had sugar free popcycles so I had one and dipped it into sugar free choc pudding! 3 points total. But then had peanut butter so net loss, but todays I might do better? If not tomorrow I might. And I write in all in the app! That helps me tons! Accountability to myself. I get positive reinforcement to have good days when I see I've dropped another pound! Self incentive.

I was low 190s yesterday because I've been ("good") responsible to my body till last night. I might be 193 today but ok. I ate without care at 1am. I was in great pain. Is what it is.

I hope this helped. I can choose to guilt myself about not being able to do it last month or not. Some plans would not work for me? I am not eating their food. #1. I will not eat meat that's been in a box on a shelf for weeks and not in the fridge. Not safe in my head and so many preservatives. What does that do to my other autoimmune disorders?

Ok? TL: DR but maybe taking the time to write that out helped helped someone. It helped me!

Good luck. "Only we can stop guilt fires." 🐻

I'm happy to talk more if anyone wants to chat about it.

@lisalucier
I don't log my food,i get hungry i eat.I try to eat things that are best for me but wife won't eat if i don't and she makes all kinds of things and besides that i am at ideal weight.6'3/203#