I rarely have much to write about on Sundays, so if that is the case, I'll answer a reader question or two :) If you have a question that you would like me to answer here on the blog, just send me an e-mail with the subject "Q&A". They don't have to be about weight loss or running--anything is game! (Remember, I'm not a doctor or dietician, or any sort of medical professional--I can only answer questions from my own experience).
Q. As a person who has lost 100+ pounds, do you take people seriously who always complain about how they have to lose 5-10 pounds? Or do you applaud everyone's efforts?
A. I think this is a great question! My answer has definitely changed through my weight loss experience. When I was 253 pounds, I hated hearing "some skinny chick" talk about how she needed to lose 5 pounds because her size 6 jeans were feeling a little snug. However, once I started losing the weight, I found myself thinking (many times), "If I had just lost the weight when I 'only' had 5-10 pounds to lose, I would be done losing weight by now!"
And that's totally true. I applaud the "skinny chicks" who are looking to lose the 5-10 extra pounds NOW. Are we supposed to expect them to wait until they have 50 pounds to lose? 100? I think taking the initiative now is something to be proud of.
I've also become well-aware of just how hard it is to lose those last 5-10 pounds. I struggled (and STILL struggle) with them, and it's been about 18 months! I think this is because those last pounds matter the least--right now, I can fit into my jeans comfortably, and I don't think anyone would really even notice if I dropped the last few pounds. It's so easy to tell myself that those last few pounds don't really matter at all.
But honestly, they DO matter (for me, and anyone else who is looking to lose the last few pounds). It just STARTS with five pounds. Soon, it will be 10. And after a vacation, it'll be 15. Throw on a birthday and a holiday, and suddenly it's 20 pounds that I need to lose.
So anyway, to answer the original question, I definitely have respect for people looking to lose "just" 5-10 pounds, and I applaud everybody's efforts.
Q. Can you update us on your skin removal surgery? And show us new pictures?
A. Well, I'm not going to post pictures--I was extremely embarrassed when I saw pictures of my stomach on Pinterest. Pinterest should be saved for pretty things! ;) But I'm healing very well. I haven't written anything about it because I'm healing just fine and there really isn't much to tell!
I wear my compression garment only when I run. Dr. Tepper didn't tell me that I had to wear it, but I feel a little more "secure" when I do. It keeps my stomach from jiggling around (and yes, it still jiggles in places--the skin has to adhere back to the muscle wall).
My scar is still very noticeable (and I think it always will be). It can be covered with something as simple as a g-string, but it's noticeable when I'm naked. The skin on my abdomen is still numb, but I'm starting to get some feeling back. It's a little tingly when I touch it.
I'm still happy that I did the surgery and would do it again in a heartbeat :)
And now a question for all of you...
What was your favorite breakfast as a child?
Mine was a poached egg on toast. My aunt (who babysat us in the mornings and after school) would make us anything we wanted, and I always requested a poached egg on toast. She would cut it into 9 squares, and my favorite piece was the center square. I always think of her when I eat a poached egg!
I can't wait to have the last 5 lbs to lose! That will be a nice feeling.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite breakfast was my mom's cinnamon toast. She used white bread, tons of butter, sugar and cinnamon, and it always came out gooey in the middle. I could eat three loaves worth!
Mine was a piece of toast with Nuella! I was such a healthy kid :) I still LOVE that stuff!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh... mine was chocolate gravy and biscuits. Or waffles with peanut butter and syrup. Yeah - healthy, healthy, healthy!
ReplyDeleteI always loved when my mom made us biscuits with strawberry jam. Those were always the best mornings!
ReplyDeleteI used to love cream of wheat whith lots of brown sugar ... I was a skinny kid but even back then my sweet tooth was strong!
ReplyDeleteFrom someone who has been trying to loose the same 25 lbs for the last 5 years, I am always amazed at people who lose 100+ pounds.
Julie, it took me 16 months to lose 125 pounds. And I've spent the last 18 months trying to lose TEN. It makes no sense, but the last 10 or so pounds are SO difficult to lose!
Deletewow, I can't make a poached egg...
ReplyDeletemy grandma made chocolate gravy YUM! no wonder I need to lose 60 lbs lol
ReplyDeleteDang, I was missing out! I've never heard of chocolate gravy for breakfast!
DeleteI always loved eggs with bacon. We always had cereal, but once in a while we got eggs. Bacon was definitely a treat in our home.
ReplyDeleteI love the poached egg story and your take on any amount of weight loss worthy of applause.
ReplyDeleteI loved raisin bran and captain crunch as a child. I'd eat the raisins and then let the bran goop up then pile it in giant spoonsful into my mouth. I still do that when I need food comfort. Sigh. Capt. Crunch - always the peanutbutter gold pieces then the berry treats. Made my roof of my mouth raw. I always ate cereal out of the same bowl as a child. Juice from a Smuckers Jelly cartoon glass.
There's PB Captain Crunch in my cabinet right now and my kids are drinking from jelly jars right now, only there's pictures of Pokemon on them!
DeleteWhite (no nutrition) wonder bread toasted with an inch of butter then thickly covered with brown sugar! Sickening, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteI found your blog about a month ago, and reading your story helped push me to finally start working on losing the 60 pounds I've gained in the last year. Thank you for being such a great example and inspiration.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to say, my favorite breakfast cereal would have to be cream of wheat with some milk and brown sugar mixed in. It reminds me of my grandma because that's all we would eat when we stayed at the grandparents.
I have been so busy! I started working last week and changing my schedule to full time has been rough! Excited to catch up on your blog this afternoon :) My fave breakfast is probably flavored pancakes- choc chip, pumpkin, so yummy! I love Williams Sonoma's pancake mixes!
ReplyDeleteI loved loved loved Lucky Charms! Simple, but so much sugar! OR I would eat Fruity Pebbles and sprinkle sugar on top of them.... as if it needed more sugar! And when my mom wasn't looking I would add like 2 extra tablespoons of sugar to it. SICKENING! I loved sugary cereals as a child.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite breakfast as a kid was a waffle with bacon cooked right in it! My mom's waffle iron was ancient and made great crispy waffles. She'd cut a strip of bacon into a few pieces & put them in the iron and get them cooking and then add the batter. It was such a treat to have a hot breakfast - we usually had cold cereal. We actually had breakfast food for supper - eggs, potatoes, waffles or pancakes- more than we had it for breakfast.
ReplyDeleteI loved cold cereal! My favorites were rice crispies, or golden grams. Still love The rice crispies, the snap crakle pop sound is so soothing.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite breakfast was when we had leftover taco meat and my mom would make me a fiesta omelette with meat, cheese, and then salsa on top, yummy!
ReplyDeleteMy mom made the best french toast! I make mine just the way she did for me as a kid and I treat myself to some every now and again.
ReplyDeleteMy mom didn't cook much for breakfast. With so many of us in the house, getting out the door was the priority, and she was probably tired from cooking dinner!
ReplyDeleteOne of my best childhood memories was when my Grandpa John lived with us until he passed away when I was 8. He was from Puerto Rico and had a very thick accent. He would call my sister and I from the bottom of the stairs..."Leenda, Doroti...coffee!" (Think Spanish accent!)
We'd come running down the stairs and he'd make us milk with coffee in our red plastic mugs and then we'd watch him make his breakfast. It was always a bowl of cream of wheat and 2 soft-boiled eggs. We'd drink while he sat and cracked the very top off the egg, stick a fork inside and swirl around the contents to mix. Then he would proceed to suck the egg right out of the shell! We were fascinated! It looked so good! Then we'd ask him for one and he would yell "Why you no tell me before?!?" But, he did love us, so he'd make them. They were disgusting. To this day I can't eat runny egg yolk! So then any fried or poached egg is out for me! It's either scrambled or hard boiled!
I do make "big breakfast" as my son would call it every Sunday for my family. Since my husband's only day off is Sunday, I make something special and we sit together at the dinig room table and eat as a family. Hopefully that will be a fond memory for my kids one day.
My favorite was cream of wheat, made on the stove top with brown sugar. I can't seem to make it like my mom did now!!!!!
ReplyDelete~Laura
My favorite was farina...my Gram would make it for us when we spent the night. It was sooo yummy, with lots of brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon. I make it all the time, just like she used to make. Many people don't know what farina is...it's like cream of wheat, but a gazillion times better!
ReplyDeleteOne thing I always wanted as a kid, but never had, was Cookie Crisp cereal. My mom would never let us have it because we "couldn't have cookies for breakfast" ... LOL
Oatmeal with maple syrup!
ReplyDeleteI have a question that I dont remeber seeing in your q&a. "How do you handle parties with lots of finger foods and guests that you dont know?" I know with my family and close friends its easier to resist but at a party where I only know 2 people I find myself indulging a little too much. "How do you bounce back from over indulging?"
I have the opposite problem! It's much easier for me to avoid food when I don't know the people well than it is to avoid eating around my family members! Their bad choices influence me to make bad choices, even if it isn't a conscious decision on my part.
DeleteI loved Captin' Crunch. My grandma would have it at her house. At mine we were always on diets even at an early age. In High School a slim fast shake from the old big oatmeal tin like container was my breakfast often. They are much better today :)
ReplyDeleteI've loved reading your past blog posts and have been inspired to start my own. I hope to feel accountable and give myself form of help for staying on track. I want to loose 103 more. Since Superbowl sunday I've checked in daily, stayed motivated, am now determined, and have lost 14 pounds with counting calories and exercise 3 times a week. Thanks so much!!!
-Alicia Jayne
Thanks for the email reply as well last week!
My new blog is:
Reinventing the same Me
I agree-I have nothing but respect for those skinny chicks who say they need to lose 5 or 10 lbs. NOW. Maybe back when I needed to lose almost 200 lbs., it made me a little sick to my stomach to hear them say that, but like you say, when you see how hard it is to lose that last 5 or 10 lbs., you have new respect for those who struggle with it too. And...they are indeed the smart ones to tackle it when it's only 5 or 10 lbs., and not wait until it's over 100 lbs.! I have decided I will always want to lose 10-15 more pounds. I'm a work in progress and maybe that attitude will, at the very least, help me maintain this current weight. But after a bad weekend....I'm not sure of anything anymore.
ReplyDeleteOh--and my Mom's pancakes were the best breakfast! Bro and I would argue over who got the first one, it was more fried, cause the grease was fresh in the pan. She made us hot breakfast every single morning before school. I would usually set out the cereal boxes for my boys' breakfasts. But then I worked outside the home and Mom didn't until we got to junior high.
ReplyDeleteLOVE the Q&A idea! And great answer to the people who are trying to lose 5-10 lbs :)
ReplyDeleteMy fav breakfast as a kid was pancakes... lots and lots of pancakes!
I loved LUMPY Cream of Wheat! I couldn't imagine eating it that way now - but when I was a kid it always came out lumpy, but I loved it!
ReplyDeleteOoh - I had forgotten about this until I read your post, but one of my favorite breakfasts I had as a kid was graham crackers broken up in a bowl of milk (like cereal). I always let them get good and soggy before I ate it :) Otherwise - pancakes were always a hit...and still are!
ReplyDeleteMy mom makes the best omelets and german coffee cake. We still have that on Christmas morning if everyone is home. :)
ReplyDeleteMine is a "tie"
ReplyDelete1. My granddad's homemade omelets
2. Breakfast buddies from Burger King - they haven't made them in years, but they were good.
What a great question and an even better answer! I love that attitude...so simple and yet so positively true!!
ReplyDeleteMy mom never let us eat sugared cereals, so I have fond memories of trips to my aunt's house, where there were always at least 5 boxes of sugary cereals to choose from. I'd have a bowl for breakfast and then another for dessert after dinner--and one for lunch if I could manage it. ;) To this day, I *heart* cereal in pretty much all forms. :)
I'm so glad I found your blog! I lost 50 pounds a while back (mostly from running) and I got to that last 10 pounds point. I stayed there for a long time but unfortunately now I'm more at the last 20 pounds.... I would love to loose all 20 pounds and be at my goal weight, but I have to admit I wonder sometimes if my body just like having that last 10.
ReplyDeleteOh my - didn't realize so many would comment on the breakfast question and answer but maybe it brought back so many memories. Mine too was "Grandmas Eggs on Toast" that only she could make the "right" way. Cut into 9 pieces and the middle piece was always the best! I can taste it and see her making it right now. Thanks for the memory jog - warms my heart!
ReplyDeletemy mum was lazy with breakfast that I ended up HATING to eat. Almost always one of three cereals (cornflakes/rice bubbles/wheat bix) all of which I found I shouldn't have been eating anyway. On the very very rare occasions I got promite toast - also an impossiblity to eat now!
ReplyDeleteMy husband (when we were just eating whatever) gave me brekkie in bed, that was the best, cup of sweet tea (sweeter than I make) and french toast (a cookie shaped cut out usually a heart with an egg fried in the middle, with bacon on top and the cut out bits were also fried and placed in on top of that.) Couldn't even think about doing that now without feeling ill, but I appreciated it at the time.
My absolute fave now is: plain greek yougurt, various fruits and a little honey and cinnamin sprinkled on top, YUMMY. Isn't it great that as we lose weight our tastes change and we can really appreciate simple healthful food!
Thank you so much for the answer you gave in the first question about someone needing "only 5-10 lbs" to lose. I have more (around 40, give or take) and sometimes I feel guilty (on my blog) that I don't have 100 lbs to lose because, there IS a stigma attached to someone who wants to lose weight but doesn't have 100+ to lose.
ReplyDeleteYour response made me tear up. I've never heard(read) anyone address this. Thank you so very much.
Poached egg on toast is one of my favorites still!! My mom always used to make it for me when I wasn't feeling well, I think the last time she made it for me was about 10 years ago when I had surgery and had to stay at her house. It is SUCH a comfort food for me and I will still make it for myself ~ little squares of toast and all!!
ReplyDelete