Crafty-in-Carolina

You are doing great! Some NUTs are obviously better than others. FWIW, I started out in a size 18 also and am down to a 6 or 8 petite now depending on brand and my surgery was 8 months ago. At my last appt, I was told that I'm doing great. So it sounds like you are right on track too. Don't let them get you down. We all stumble. Whats important is you get up after each stumble, dust yourself off, and try to figure out ways to avoid repeating the same mistakes. It's a marathon, not a sprint. Congrats!

I've been in maintenance for 8 months. I'm 5'1, 118 pounds, and consume in the 1900 to 2200 kcal range per day, although I really don't track or measure any macros other than Protein.< br> I eat as much fat and carbs as I want. Since I run on most days of the week for exercise, I need the carbs to fuel my workouts.
I consume about 120 grams of protein per day. Anything less will leave me hungry. I also consulted with a nephrologist and had my urine and blood tested, and the 120 grams of protein per day is not having an adverse impact on my kidneys.
Tracking macros and counting calories is not really my thing because it is too reminiscent of the dieting mentality. Many of us sucked at long term adherence to diets prior to surgery. I refuse to revert back to a lifestyle that I disliked and left me feeling constant deprivation.
By the way, I am sorry to hear about your mother's kidney issues. My mother recently died of end stage renal failure, so I am paranoid about my kidneys as well. However, 120 grams of protein per day is nowhere near 'high-protein.'

Unless you are eating like 200 grams of Protein a day, you aren't eating high protein and I mean high protein at dangerous levels.
A good protein goal is .8 to 1 gram of protein per pound of lean mass.

Looking back at MFP diary, it looks like a lot of 25/35/40 carb/protein/fat lately. I am a bit concerned for my kidneys with maintaining such high Protein over the long term. I should also say that I'm just as concerned for overall health as weight maintenance, so I do want a good macro balance. I don't seem to be super carb sensitive. My surgeon tests metabolism again at 1 year, so I have a few more months before getting a precise measure. So for now I can only estimate.

So I'm 8 months out and gone from a size 18 down to a size 6. I'm 5-3 and 135# right now. I've been consuming roughly 1400 calories per day. Pre-op testing showed that I had a very high metabolism (blessing and a curse). I don't want to trash it. I have no trouble getting in my fluids and proten. I do a combo of either walking/running, yoga, and interval training 3-5 days per week. I have struggled with hunger from very early on post-op.... real hunger. Anyway, I'm still losing about a pound per week, but am thinking I want 130 to be my new goal. So I'm thinking ahead to "maintenance" nutrition. What would a healthy, balanced macro profile look like for me? I'm thinking I should do another follow-up with the nutritionist, but wanted to solicit input here too. I am not doing Keto, nor do I desire to. I run and feel that I need some carbs for energy, though I stick to whole food/whole grain carbs and way less quantity than pre-op, think black Beans, whole fruits and veggies. I do oatmeal and yogurt on occasion too. Anyway, I'm wanting to tweak my macros on myfitnesspal toward maintenance. Any suggestions? I was thinking 35/35/40 carbs/protein/fat??? Does that sound reasonable? Gotta figure out what maintenance calorie count looks like at this activity level. I get 12k - 15k steps per day. My lean body mass is supposedly around 96 pounds.

Oh and here are a couple pics just because. No regrets!

I am loving yoga now. I do some sort of walking/jogging, yoga, and/or interval training each week and actually enjoying it. Last summer I struggled thru some hiking on vacation. This year I'm actually looking forward to it. Life is good. Love the kitty litter idea.... very resourceful.

Yes! It certainly does. You look fabulous. Congratulations!

18 hours ago, bellabloom said:

Stay sexy, wear white, don't get your period. )

ROFL!!! OK, you made me snort-laugh with that one. I call it snaughing. Wise words, my friend and I've taken them to heart. :-)

Wow, that is an amazing transformation! Did you have to make 2 trips? I'm just curious how they decide on which procedures. I know that here, we would typically have an initial consult before scheduling surgery. So I didn't know how it was handled when traveling.

You look great, and what a cute outfit!!!
I can't wait to be able to shop in "normal" clothing stores and wear clothes that are cute and in style!

How do you get in that many calories??

It is confusing. I've read that caloric intake for women less than 1200/daily over an extended period of time will wreck your metabolism. Last thing I want is to be 5 years out and gain weight from merely looking at a piece of chocolate, lol. I tested at a very high metabolism and my doc had me at 1200-1400 calories by the 3 months out. I'm pretty active and started out with a lower bmi (with co-morbidities). I was losing only about 1 pound per week, but sure enough when my calories/carbs bumped up, I noticed my weight loss bumped up to 3 pounds per week. Crazy and seems counterintuitive. This also happened around the time that I added strength training to my normal cardio, do who knows. I imagine it there are huge variances between individuals. The down side to a fast metabolism is that I'm hungry.... all . the. time. I can foresee getting back into serious trouble if I'm not extremely careful about food quality and watching the macros. So I track everything. It's a pain, but less so the longer I do it now that typical meals and recipes have already been entered.

Hi, I'm in charlotte too! I can highly recommend Dr Voellinger with Novant. The office in Matthews is wonderful and I hear great things about Dr Kolash too. My PCP initially referred me to the Carolinas group (Carolinas Weight Management), but my experience with that office was horrible, so I switched and have no regrets. Let me know if you would like more info.

3 hours ago, Caleia said:

You look so amazing! Also... I am in love with that cute little basset hound! They are seriously the best dogs ever!

Sent from my XT1254 using BariatricPal mobile app

OMG, right?!?!? He was a puppy then. He is a full grown hound now, a stinky, drooly mess, but so sweet and full of love. Wouldn't trade him for anything! Yes, bassets are great!

Matthew Weiner has an interesting youtube video on this issue. Also on some popular WLS myths.

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Thank you for posting these. I watched them last night and again this morning. I really hate the "dumbed down" explanations we get for so many of the rules. This was very useful info and further cements my commitment to a complete lifestyle change as opposed to simply relying on restriction. I will be looking for more of his videos on youtube.

White pants AND horizontal stripes!! Only in my dreams, girl. Congrats, you look fantastic!

ROFL, yeah, I totally forgot to mention my old "no horizontal stripes" rule. I wasn't completely sure about that top, but loved the nautical look.

What a great NSV! I can't wait to be able to wear white pants! And tuck in a shirt!

I have also never worn white pants. Thanks for giving me something to aspire to!

You look awesome and I know you must feel fabulous too!

If you start to notice thin spots, try Toppik hair fibers. You shake it on and they stick to your hair and scalp and fill in the blanks.

Oh, no you can style your hair just the same way you always do, you just shouldn't pull really hard on the hair the way some stylist do when they do blow outs. I actually did some wig shopping, but they are very hot and like you, I could not imagine walking around with that on my head in the middle of a Chicago summer! And, I'm single, so I also imagined how awkward it could be to say, "let me slip into something more comfortable, oh, and take off my hair, too!":51_scream:

I had two different types of extensions, keratin bond extensions and what are called tape-in extensions. The keratin bond extensions are where they take a small bundle of hairs and attach it using a bond made of keratin to one strand of your hair right at the scalp. It takes a couple of hours to get them installed. I have long hair so I opted for longer extensions. It was about $1200 to have them put in and they lasted 5-6 months with no need to visit the stylist until the next set. Generally, you cannot re-use the keratin extensions, so you have to have a new set put in. I also tried the tape-in extensions. They are 1/2 wide bits of hair that they attach to your hair with special tape. It takes only about 20 minutes to get them installed. Those can stay in about 6-8 weeks and then they have to be removed and replaced. You can remove and replace the same set of extensions three times. The cost to put them in was $600 with going in at 6 week intervals and paying about $100 for her to remove them and put them back in. The cost of the two types of extensions are really the same because you'll need a full new set of tape-ins probably 3 times a year plus the upkeep.
I never considered a weave. That is where they create a braid and then sew in extensions to the braid. I just don't have the right hair for it and I already had enough of my own hair that it wasn't necessary. I've also heard and read that the scalp under the braid can get very itchy! I also did not like the idea of the micro beads because you can feel them against your scalp and you cannot get your hair colored when you have them in (you can color your hair with the keratin and tape ins).
Both types of extensions looked completely natural on me and no one ever knew I had them. Even hairdressers were surprised to see that wasn't all me! The tape ins I would say are a bit easier to wear and you can't feel them when you touch your hair (or someone else does!), the bonds, however, you can feel as little bumps if you touched that area. With any kind of extension, you cannot run your fingers through your hair from scalp to end. The tape in extensions are definitely "lighter" feeling than the keratin bonds and generally speaking, they probably do the least amount of damage to your natural hair.
As far as taking care of them, you have to be gentle with brushing and have to avoid putting any conditioners or oils or slippery things on the bonds or tape that might loosen them. You have to be very careful when you're drying your hair or styling not to heat the bonds or tug too hard. You also have to keep out tangles and sleep in a braid or pony tail to avoid tangles.
Finding a good stylist to put them in and to cut your hair so they blend in is key. Improperly placed extensions can pull on your hair and potentially cause Hair loss. Also, it's not just knowing how to put them in, but take them out--whatever kind of extension is used, they must be gently removed so as to avoid pulling out or damaging your natural hair. I found my person on Yelp and she's terrific. I live in the Chicago area so there were many choices, I'm not sure about where you live, but extensions are become more and more popular, so more people are doing it. There are also many, many different companies making extensions and you'll want to make sure that you pick someone who uses a good product. You can also google the makers of the extensions and then see if they have a way to locate a stylist who uses their products near you. I used Great Lengths.
Beware though, extensions look so great, it can be hard to give them up!

Thank you for the kind words Oak Park Lorena. I am not opposed to extensions, clip-in or otherwise. I'm curious though, did you get the kind that are sewn into your natural hair? I'm curious what kind of maintenance is required? How frequently must you visit a salon for upkeep? I would love to know more if you feel like sharing. I'm also curious about cost. I know they aren't inexpensive and that prices can vary hugely depending on location and skill of the provider, but just curious on ballpark numbers. And how do you find someone who really knows what they are doing? I feel word of mouth referrals are always the best bet, but I'm a bit of a hermit, so I have a tiny social network. Thanks for the info and congratulations on your amazing weight loss.

So a little retail therapy was the perfect cheer-up. I've been buying from thrift stores and consignment shops as I cycle thru sizes, but decided on a splurge of something new. Came home with size 10 pants and Med top. OMG!!! I was a 12-14 even in high school.... back in the stone age. Size 10 y'all. I can't believe it! Yep, I'll wear a wig, a hat, whatever... smile on my face again. :-)