delta_girl

I have had to reduce my closet by about 1/4th or so now that I've lost around 40lbs. I think I can still make it through the next 20-25 lbs without shopping with what I have now. But I think I'll go to Goodwill first and see what I can find there before investing in a new wardrobe or trying on a lot of things in a department store. I don't even have a clue as to what I will look or feel like in another 20, 40, 60 lbs lost. I would imagine that it does feel strange, but hopefully a good kind of strange!

Plus-Sized Mannequin Offends Some By LIZ NEPORENT | Good Morning America – 5 hours ago Email Share 291 Print RELATED CONTENT View Photo Plus-Sized Mannequin Offends Some … Department store mannequins with plus-sized curves have had quite an oversized reaction in the blogosphere. When a user of the online forum Reddit posted a photo of a big boned display model under the heading "Anyone else horrified that they make obese mannequins too now?" it received hundreds of comments and thousands of "up" votes. "Obese people being sold clothes?" said one typical post in favor of the mannequins. "That's just treating them like people." "OMG, it's about time! I've always hated seeing the size I have to get displayed on a much smaller model, then trying it on to see that it looks completely different on me," read another supportive comment. And another said in defense of the mannequin: "It's not fat, it's just big foamed." Not everyone on the site agreed that bigger is better. "I just fear that obese will become the new normal as we try to be politically correct about it. Being obese is not the same as being black/gay/whatever," one commented. Another wrote, "The problem is that most people who are fat take any medically accepted way of reducing their weight as ridicule. They then attempt to dissemble said fact and prove to you how they are a special case and that you are really being judgmental for assuming that it's the doughnuts they are chugging that are making them fat. Sorry, I'm done with the fat people sympathy wagon." The online debate reflects a real-world conflict. Nearly 70 percent of Americans now fall into the overweight or obese category, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The average American woman is a size 14. Yet in a sort of reverse vanity sizing, the typical store mannequin remains a svelte size 4 or 6. Ed Gribbin, president of a mannequin manufacturing company, Alvanon, said he thinks he knows why. "There is an ingrained mentality of merchants that clothing in smaller sizes looks more appealing -- it's also why runway models are so small. They believe there is an aesthetic appeal that is violated by using larger sizes in their displays," he said. According to Jennifer Thomas, a body image expert and assistant professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School, retailers may be right in hesitating before they upsize their displays. "Walking into a store and seeing nice clothes on a mannequin that has a body type similar to your own could be a huge boost for self-esteem, but it might also backfire," she said. "A lot of fashion is aspirational, such that people hope they will look like the mannequin if they buy the clothes. In our society, most people would rather be thin than obese." According to Gribbin, some retailers are beginning to fatten up their floor models in response to consumer feedback. "They certainly don't want to be seen as passing judgment on anyone and plus sizes are now the majority of sales for many," he said. Besides the unnamed store in the Reddit post, J.C. Penney quietly introduced more amply proportioned models in its stores in 2009 and TV retailer QVC has been using Alvanon's size 18 and 20 mannequins to hawk clothing on air for the past six years. Gribbin estimates the mannequin in the Reddit post would wear a plus size 24-26. That's probably larger than most retailers would be willing to display. Either way, most Reddit users do seem to agree the model is creepy -- and it would seriously benefit from having a larger head, less sausage-like fingers and more realistic proportions. As one commenter put it, "It's like the person who made this has never seen a fat person before."

Greek yogurt has around 11 Grams of Protein. If you get the unsweetened kind it is a bit like sour cream and you can put it on a potato. For Snacks I like Ostrim Jerky, which has around 60-80 calories for 10 grams of protein. 1 ounce of chicken (or most meats) has about 7 grams of protein, so 3 ounces has 21 grams of protein. 2T of PB2 has 45 calories and 5 grams of protein. And then there is cheese.....mmmmm....tasty cheese. Just be careful of too many calories/fat.

I haven't thrown up yet, but I have overeaten a few times and it was very uncomfortable. I still drink shakes, though not every day. I do notice that when I don't drink a shake it is more difficult for me to get in enough protein. I either use Isopure and mix it in a blender with ice or drink the Muscle Milk Light chocolate with 100 cals. I eat a lot of Greek yogurt, too. I have been trying a lot of things, but not raw vegetables or fruit yet, and no steak. I'm in no hurry for those. The things that seem to upset my stomach so far is pineapple, more than just a taste of sugar, turnips, onions, but again I have only recently been reintroducing a variety of foods. My two worst experiences were when I tried to eat something that had sugar in it. My snacks are Greek yogurt, Ostrim, sugar free jello gelatin or pudding, Goldfish crackers, ...I need to work on adding more variety here.

How tall are you? I was sleeved on the same day. My pre surgery weight was 216 and was 212 the day of surgery. I am now bouncing between 176-178.

Hummus on whole grain crackers. Grilled chicken with sweet potato. Beef stew with carrots and onions. Peanut butter on celery or apples. Tuna salad with tomato slices. Grilled salmon with sauteed zucchini. Lemon pepper catfish with asparagus. Red beans and rice with turkey sausage. Steamed broccoli with low fat cheese and lean butterfly porkchop. Stir fried shrimp with snow peas.

Haha! I can have anything but I still want shakes fairly often. The feel good going down

You may need iron. I'm anemic and that sounds like how I feel it I skip iron

I'm out of town on business and took myself out to eat. I ordered a seared tuna steak. I made more of a mess of the tuna than anything, but probably ate around 2oz. I ate a bit of the veggies and two small bites of rice. Not sure how to enter the panko-wasabi crust in myfitnesspal, though

We have close to the exact same everything, except I don't have kids. I'm 9 weeks out and feel fantastic. I started feeling better within just a few days of surgery. My energy level bounced back, my joints stopped hurting, I started sleeping better within a few weeks. I can't offer any input about caring for kids, though.

I'm 9 weeks and no way could I eat a whole banana. Go carefully with your new stomach.

The breath thing is ketosis. You can do a search in these forums and find a lot of info.

I had forgotten all about my grandmother telling me the same thing until now. She would say how pretty I would be if I lost weight. Ironically she was quite overweight herself. And I can still remember a boy I had a crush on in 6th grade telling me he would like me if I lost weight.

I've heard the "pretty face" thing many times, always from men (never women). That is exactly how I hear it. Your face is pretty but the rest of you isn't.

Do you wear an underwire bra?

The first few weeks for me were not easy. I had moments of depression, loss, fear. It was a very emotional time and some days it was physically difficult. Thank goodness that stage passes quickly. Hang in there.

Opurity is the most horrible, worst tasting, foul, gross, putrid, funky tasting chewable that I have had the extreme displeasure of putting in my mouth. I choked down a few and then gave the rest of the container away to a pre-op.

I've had seconds and thirds and fourths, just not much at any meal. Pie and coffee too! I've also walked my hiney off!

Now that you know what you are doing to cause the pain, you can do something about it.

This was my first Thanksgiving post surgery and it was just fine. I had a little bit of everything I wanted. I even had a taste of dessert with coffee mid-afternoon. Then I had the same the day after for lunch. The one thing that was not enjoyable is the very delicious chocolate Cheesecake Factory dessert that I attempted to eat 1/4th of a piece of did not agree with me after the second little bite. I was not sorry at all to throw it away.

Do you have to watch the temperature? Some protein powders are no longer any good above a specific temperature.

That is the first thing that I noticed, too ...at around -25 lbs. Even though my chest size didn't change, the gut that was holding the "girls" up sure did.

8 weeks for some of us.

Saw some at Pier I