FluffyChix

Ha. Maybe my surgeon wants to scare me? Cuz she says she has personally seen it in a very few of her patients. So she believes in it. Maybe it's the stoma that stretched? Maybe it's the tool? Dunno. She just told me to be careful of portion sizes forevs.

Be very cautious about the peanut butter. It's literally taken me 2 years to handle it. I love it. But it still can make me so nauseated cuz of the fat in it I think? Any nut butter, I have to be careful with. But my work around is that I can do the "slim" peanut butter powders cuz I think it's partially de-fatted. Nuts and nut butters were really the only thing beyond super fatty foods I had to tread very carefully around. I think I figured out that it caused delayed emptying or delayed absorption and an insulin spike and that I got nauseated when my blood sugar dropped too low. And they made that happen?

Toothbrush Biotene Spray to moisten your mouth Disposable House Slippers for walking Cell phone charger + phone That's all I took. Wore the same clothes home and brought a pillow from the hospital home with me for the trip. I held it to my tummy to keep the bumpy ride from hurting. Went commando the whole time and wore a gown, cuz was just easier.

Oh! Chia pudding too! With nougat pp, cocoa powder and also decaff coffee...but that's when y'all get to have seeds...

What stage are you at now? I see you had surgery on 1.14.20? Can you give us a little more information? There are lots of ways to "cut" protein drinks to adjust their sweetness. My favorites are: Cut RTD protein drinks with decaff coffee or decaff tea. (Great both hot and on ice and blended into frappaccinos!) Cut RTD protein drinks with fat free milk or nut milks. I like high protein Fairlife or Mootopia fat free. Cut RTD protein drinks with nonfat, plain kefir. Cut RTD protein drinks with nonfat, plain Greek yogurt. Cut RTD protein drinks with nonfat, plain Greek yogurt + 2% cottage cheese to make a "protein soup". Add sf Walden Farms Blueberry or Strawberry Pancake Syrup (it's even better if you add 6g Vitacost Peanut Butter Slim Powdered Peanut Butter--tastes like PB&J without the bread). Make custards with RTD + Add a scoop of favorite flavored protein powder to Greek yogurt and stir well--tastes like pudding. Love Isopure Bananas & Cream this way! Add a half scoop of unflavored protein to a bit of cold broth to make a paste. Slowly add more cold broth until it's the thickness you prefer. Slowly heat but know protein clumps at temps over 145º. You can do this same thing to cream soups like strained cream of chicken. Add a tablespoon of unflavored protein to anything like refried beans, smashed roasted cauliflower, alfredo sauces for zoodles or over well-cooked green beans. Add a tablespoon of unflavored protein to a quick "Thanksgiving Green Bean Casserole with Canned Chicken" for soft food stage. So dang good!

Here's the link for the Easy Thai Lettuce Wraps with Ginger Peanut Sauce. So good. Make the night before. Lasts up to 2 days. Cook once, eat twice. 12g Protein, 9g net carbs, 7g fat and tons o' yum! Here's the link Bari Healthy Life Easy Thai Lettuce Wraps .

Oh, and you need to document when you start your programs/counseling cuz no surgeon will accept you into their program without a verifiable specified length of time in recovery. It varies from doc to doc. Mine would want 1 year sobriety in a program and you have to show proof of start date and proof of sobriety. It's that big a deal.

You are smart to correct your wine habit now, pre-surgery. This is a hard journey. The best I've ever undertaken. But it's hard. And there is cross-addiction susceptibility among our community. And drinking post-wls can be terrible for our bodies and also contribute to regain.Even thought it will delay surgery, it will benefit you in the long run. Praying you can find a group that works for you. I don't think alcoholics can "cut back." I think there's too much back sliding. Do one thing at a time. Take care of the booze problem first. Then clean house and fill it with nourishing food. And start addressing binge eating/night eating. Maybe even seek personal counseling for substance abuse and disordered eating.

Laser Hair Removal and Plastics if it's in your budget!!! Congrats!

Don't chase the full feeling. It's different for each of us post surgery and sometimes it's "delayed" by 2-3 months from surgery before your nerves are accurately communicating with your brain again. The rule we all try to follow is to ask your surgeon for the VOLUME of food or liquids to be consumed at one "meal" or drinking event. And do not exceed this. If you DO feel sensations like those described above, prior to reaching your "meal max", then immediately stop. Cuz it could be that next sip that sends you to Painville. Hope that helps!

OMG! I love that you have an accountability partner!!! Isn't it just awesome?! That's why I have chosen to immerse myself in this community and one on FB because they motivate me to do better, to live better, to make healthy choices when otherwise I might not! Love that you're back. Now, never leave us again! hehe (just sayin...)

WTG!!! This makes my heart so happy and gives me hope!! Congrats on your fantastic longevity!!

Noooooooooossssss! Stick around and hang!

Congrats on 6 years! Wish you would stick around and post more! Wish there were more of you long-term vets here!!! How are you doing?

What I don't get (yes, I get addiction), but what I don't get with the last poster is to wonder, why are you doing this? Meaning, why on earth go through the pain and discomfort and inconvenience and the 6 months of angst or the year or however long it is getting ready for this surgery to do something so crazy town as putting coke into a healing body. That will never be a "one time thing." Why? Cuz someone like that is in humongous denial about their present situation in life. Why did you have this surgery? That's what you need to find. Find your why and ask yourself if doing coke at any time is going to help you succeed or reach your goal. I had this surgery to give myself a new chance at life. I did not have it just to continue to make poor choices that can injure me or worse, enslave me. I'm not looking to transfer my food addiction. I'd rather just work recovery.

Black Elderberry Extract from Vitamin Shoppe. Their brand has only elderberry concentrate + glycerin. All others have sugar which will feed the virus. I swear by it!!

Yep @Danny Paul I too noticed this from about the 18month mark. It's tiny changes, right? I can now eat 4-5oz of protein at dinner rather than 3oz. I can have larger portions of raw and leafy veggies. I tolerate more fat in my diet. And the bedtime snack is alive and well and living in my house. Grrrr! It sucks to have to be so diligent, doesn't it? I do weigh and measure especially things like nuts and nutbutters and cheese because they add up so quickly and my "estimated" serving size is NEVER what I "think" it is. LOL. Just like the awesome visual from @GreenTealael!!! I think you will figure out a plan that works for you because you are diligent and aware and take ownership of your food relationships. And we can hardly ask for more than that! Right? So I have faith you will figure it out. I do wonder though, because I've observed so many people 2+ years out struggle with night time hunger, do you think this "is a thing"--a phenomenon experienced by most post op-ers at 2 years or so? Cuz I do think it is a huge culprit for scale creep. But like Tea said, IF is a wonderful tool. If I didn't IF 3-4 days per week with caloric restriction, I believe I would be up at least 10-15 lbs already. Instead, with IF, I'm able to maintain and defend 130-135lbs, but not without considered attention to detail. Luckily. I like attending to detail, and eating as I do. I don't feel deprived, even with IF or with calorie restriction on ADF. But I do wish it was more steady-state and I suspect bedtime snacks do impact this teeter-totter.

MyFitnessPal is a free food tracker app. I use it to log my food each day.

I'd pop it into MFP, but there can be big diff between chicken soups, low fat. With or without noodles? Cream of chicken or clear broth...broad or thin noodles, ramen...roflmao. Lions and tigers and bears!

Bless your heart! That seems like TINY portions of food. I would be famished on them! I mean, yes, it's pretty carby, but you're eating so little it's hard to imagine you're gaining on it. I really think @BayougirlMrsS and @catwoman7 really are onto it...maybe in addition to the pain meds. So it's like a one-two sucker punch to the hormones and to insulin, etc.

Is squash sugar free? And is your tea unsweetened? Ok well, sounds like you've got all the answers you need. Here's a link to opiodes and how it can affect weight. Wish I could copy/paste my arthritis doc for you. That's where my information comes from and from my n=1 experience with them from my degenerative spine and hip disease. I'm blessed cuz after 155+ lbs of weight loss, I just tuff through my daily pain and no longer have to medicate. Additionally I'm on a cancer drug for life that puts me into deep menopause with COMPLETE hormonal disruption. It causes weight gain in the biggest percentage of people. And yet, somehow I have been able to lose weight in the face of taking. I learned last week I will likely have to stay on it for life. So I'm just gonna try to keep tricking my body and mixing things up. Have you tried Intermittent Fasting? BTW, you haven't mentioned WHAT you eat. WHAT you eat is as important as HOW many times you eat, HOW MUCH you eat. I can do a LOT of caloric damage with a 5inch plate. Just sayin. Maybe you could post a typical day or two of meals? Here's the article: https://blackbearrehab.com/blog/how-opiates-affect-your-eating-habits-and-appetite/

All of this will cause/contribute to weight gain/prevent losses. In addition to the hormones. If you are drinking any calories (alcohol), that will also put the weight on like nobody's beeswax. I could be guaranteed to gain 5 lbs overnight any time I took my old pain meds that I no longer take.

I think that's an unrealistic goal from your RD for now. But, you need to follow the plan set for you or get them to rework it to something more manageable? Mine did this for me cuz she knows I prefer a low carb life and that I love my veg and need the fiber. She told me to drink up to 1 protein drink per day to get 25-30g of protein in me. That way, I can have more veggies in my meals without stressing. Now that I'm 2 years out, I can easily get my 60g of protein in per day. My vitamin levels were all beautiful at 2 years. The first lunch listed was my Healthy Tuna Salad with veggie dippers. Here's the recipe. You can scroll down to see a picture of the lunch in that post. Second lunch was a small side salad with an avocado egg toast chaffle (low carb). Here's my recipe for low carb high protein chaffles. And here's a picture of that meal. But to add, salad and raw veggies to some extent are sliders for me. And I'm 2 years out.

Absolutely @Sheribear68! I too use IF as an additional tool for MM (maintenance mode). Works like a charm.

sugar? running? squats? Dammit Janet!!!