FluffyChix

Oh wow! That looks very tasty. Try it and let us know!!!!!!

Yeah hon, I "think" for now pickles, salty foods, and processed foods are not your friends. Go back to eating your dense protein and dense al dente veggies with a bit of healthy fats and a few nuts/seeds/and berries thrown in for fun here or there. I'd use raw, unsalted nuts and dry roast them yourself. You'll eat less and won't contend with the sodium. I don't know how to manage sodium stuff with heart probs.

Well I would guess with A-fib, that you have issues with your heart pumping at its best, which means you would fight fluid build up. So any amount of salt would cause fluid retention issues. And the IV that most would circulate out fairly quickly, takes you longer cuz of your heart and inefficient pumping. With pre-mature contraction you don't pump blood as efficiently out of your atria so there is a little regurgitation, etc. And it causes fluid to pool in distal tissues. Get with your cardiologist for reqs on your diet/salt intake/minerals etc. Glad you're back. We missed you!!! Hope this one is the fix for you. Tacchy is scary business!!!! ((hugs))

I choose to look at it a different way. I look at it like I have accountability partners to help me keep from rationalizing poor behaviors and dubious choices. It helps me stay firm and convicted. If I know all eyes (pretend--cuz most people aren't watching) are on me, then I'm not gonna allow the laxness of the moment to take control and allow me to slide. Or to slide "too much." And as for banana, sure your doc says you can eat it. And in limited amounts it's not too high in sugars for a lot of people. But we are each individual, and I'm extremely carb sensitive. So if it doesn't give me reactive hypoglycemia, or high blood sugars, it will absolutely make me hungry within an hour or two. So bananas are on my "no fly" list. I do use banana flavored protein powder though.

Hey we all just have to hack our own biology. For me it always seems like it's a "Wild Ride with Mr. Hare" (or Ms. Hare).

Ok, so I'm gonna report my 12 month-ish pouch test (2 weeks late or so) here. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10731248 In 5 minutes I ate 254g=8.97fl.oz.=266ml. Essentially I ate 9oz of cottage cheese in 5 minutes at 1 year. I will repeat the test next year on my surgiversary or close to it. What I've seen is a slight growth of my pouch volume at every 3 month stretch. Happy Days. It does say that pouch size of 2.5-9oz is not associated with predicting effective weight loss or regain. So it's HOW I choose to use my pouch more than the fact that my capacity is on the high end of the curve. It just reinforces what I already knew: that I can't allow old habits to creep back in, nor can I afford to relax vigilance. Cuz it wasn't magic bean surgery for me. It didn't significantly reduce my stomach capacity to the point that restriction allows me to eat whatever I want. Instead, the next 3 months ahead are gonna be filled with more of the same...figuring out a daily plan that keeps me satisfied and abates hunger as much as possible, then work to build and establish healthy views on when and how to eat/drink/exercise/deal with emotions, etc. *sigh* It is what it is, and we play the hand we're dealt.

Wow how scary and frustrating!!! Hope they get to the bottom of things soon. See your surgeon for sure. Keep at them until they figure it out! ((hugs))

Yeah. I think this is pretty common in RNY surgeries? Much more common than in VSGs. Wish I'd known that at the start, I would have pushed for a different surgery. I feel y'alls pain! So here are your tips that help--and @GreenTealael and @ummyasmin touched on both: 1. The denser and drier the protein the better. Grilled or pan sauteed single proteins such as: chicken breast, turkey cutlets, oily fish like salmon, dense fish like cod, shrimp/scallops, lean pork, lean beef first (3-4oz cooked). 2. Separate veggie cooked al dente, the more fibrous the better: broccoli, broccolini, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, asparagus, sauteed greens. 3. Avoid complex carb cuz you will be able to eat way too much of it. 4. Avoid casseroles, calorie dense soups/sides/mains cuz you can eat way too much of it. 5. Concentrate on low calorie, densely nutritious proteins and low glycemic veg to make up about 90% of your meals, about 90% of your time. Eat slowly. Water load up to 15 minutes before a meal then don't drink again for about 90 minutes. Then start watering your pouch consistently until it's time to water load before the next meal. Do NOT drink with your meal! Good luck!

No words. I need a moment! Ahhhhhh-maaaaayyyyyy-zing!!! Yum!

Woooohoooooo!!!! Happy surgiversary!!! Congrats!!! 97.9lbs girl. GIRL!!!! That's fabulous! I love that you give it a 10/10 and can fit into any dang thing you want--even when it runs small! Fit and fabulous!!!

I definitely understand budgets! At least mitigate damage by keeping your crap portions tiny and adding salad or fresh veggies. Glad you’re going to the RD!!

No, but reading your link led me down a rabbit hole of discovery. That is, that being keto seems to confer the same gut protective attributes as eating a high fiber (insoluble fiber) diet does. And to get my 1lb of veggies in from Dr. Weiner's experiment yesterday, I had to get 50g of carbs in (whole/non-net) which means, I wasn't even blowing a 0.15 on the ketone meter this morning. So clearly that's too many carbs for me for now. And I know that it's more important for me to be in a state of ketosis in order to keep my insulin and blood sugar levels low--from a cancer recurrence perspective. Sooooo. I'm gonna go back to their recs of having no more than 30g of whole carbs per day and see how I do on the keto meter.

@proud grammy I'm so sorry for your losses!!! You and your family remain in my prayers and I know that God has you all in His powerful hands. There are no words or answers to explain this--but I do believe that God is as sad as you to have them with Him perhaps prematurely! ((hugs))

Wooohooooo!!! Welcome to onederland and to being the weight you were in high school! Even better days are ahead. Congrats on your hard work and thanks for the inspiration.

@Orchids&Dragons So for the WFKD (Well Formulated Ketogenic Diet) the reqs are pretty narrow. They confirm the limit of 30g of WHOLE (non-netted) carbs per day which is very limiting--in order to become keto adapted and stay in NK (nutritional ketosis). I know I'm not staying above my 0.5mm/dl of ketones on my meter. Some days I'm there, but others I'm more like .15-.25 and I'd like to be over 1 or 1.5 ish. So far fasting isn't getting me there by the end of the fast. So that means I'm def still insulin resistant and it's time I address getting into and staying in NK. So sigh...sorry Dr. Weiner--I'm gonna have to put that on hold for now... But here was yesterday's DD (down day of 500cals +/-100cals). It was pretty easy--a CRAPton of volume--too much really. Today is an UD (Up Day -- which I'm gonna use Dr. Phinney's formulation to get to about 1100cals for the day. I'll post that tomorrow as close as I can stick to it. It only has a measly little 6oz of veg for the day. Still haven't made it to the store, so I'm using things from the freezer and the few veg left in the fridge. LOL. Ugh! I am not gonna put my psyllium on the days any more. I MUST have it to poop. I just do. But I refuse to use 50 cals up of my alotment or to use up 12g of my carbs out of the 30g. If that keeps me from getting to ketosis, well that's just the way it's gonna be. But I'm not including it in my daily totals--magical thinking I know. Ha!

Girl! ((hugs)) Throw it in the trash and pour dish soap over it. Every time he brings it in, tump it. Tell him, you are not gonna participate in his shenanigans--you can't afford to. And if he wants to sabotage his future, to do it on his own time...

Oh wow! Great article and website. I didn't realize the Dr. Phinney site existed! And mind blown about the explanation about BHOB and SCFA in the colon doing what fiber does for fermentation in the colon (gut biome health)! So our keto needs are different--I don't need to pound down the veg to get the fiber or nutrients. I have been doing this for almost 19 years, and yet, my mind still gets blown daily with info I've missed or maybe glossed over previously! Wow. I went down the Virta rabbit hole after that article to read more about protein requirements. This is a great chart. They use "Reference Weight" or "Ideal Weight" to calculate protein requirements cuz it's based on lean body mass rather than weight that includes fat. So they base this on each ounce of protein has on average 7g of protein/oz of weight. They figure their recommendations based on 1.2-2g of protein/kg of reference weight. https://blog.virtahealth.com/how-much-protein-on-keto/ Here's an example of what that would look like for someone who requires 14oz of protein per day for their ideal weight. (BTW, they differ on their protein reqs from Dr. Fung. They are saying that prolonged fasting when you are not keto adapted is deep-dodoo bad cuz of loss of lean body mass in the first months. ? ) https://blog.virtahealth.com/protein-on-low-carb-ketogenic-diet/

Noooo! LOL. Not maintain. Still want to lose--ideally to 135. But I have to get to 140lbs first. Closest I've come was 142lbs (for about a minute)--then bounced right back up to 143, 144, 143, 145, 146. LOL. Now trying to get it to go back down towards 140. MUAH! BTW! Congrats on getting back down to the low end of your window so effectively!!! You rock woman!

Ok, so then start by adding pink sea salt to all your stuff. I make sure to get in between 1/4-3/4 teaspoon per day and make sure I'm getting 100oz of fluids per day. You can even suck on a pink himalayan salt rock (like the one you grate in a salt grinder)--I measure it out in 1gram portions into a little cup so I know how much sodium I'm getting. Really helps with hypotension. You can also start drinking some pickle juice, or eating pickles, olives, and pickled veg.

Yay!!! So your Dr. Weiner post reminded me about how "he" says that it IS possible to lower your set point--although, not easy cuz of the whole negative feedback loop. I'm trying to get my body to cooperate so that I can get down to my 140lbs. It REALLY likes being right around 144-146lbs. So of course I'm obsessing. And I re-read Dr. W's Pound of Cure book and he talks about the key to lowering your set point is to eat LOTS of low calorie, high nutrient veg and fruits, while limiting dairy, meat proteins. So in addition to my ADF stuff, for grins and giggles I'm gonna see if I can get 1lb of veg/fruits in per day. And see what happens to my hunger levels. So...wait for it. Not only am I doing the 18:6/16:8 stuff, but I'm also doing the ADF calorie restriction, and trying to satisfy my POC goals while meeting protein requirements. Hahaha. May be the most silly plan in the world, but I am determined to find my most ideal diet for every day. (Oh and it continues to be low carb/low fat/high fiber...) I'm 146.4lb this morning so I'll update in a few days. I'll post my menu tomorrow for grins, once I've got the actual day in the bag. I'm getting 16 1/2oz of veg/berries today. Edit: Just having my green smoothie cuz I've got a LOT of food to consume today...so only did 17/7. All's I have to say is...."Mmmmm, Veggie Boy!"

I heard they were!? But since I don't have a Sam's card I didn't check it out to see? LOL on the penchant for low carb baking. Been there. Done that. Designed and printed the t-shirt. I truly wish I could eat that stuff each day. Cuz I'm perfectly happy with low carb equivalents like the protein waffles/pancakes/biscuits/tortillas/minute bread/etc. But when I'm in losing mode (*sigh* that may be forevs), I can't eat those everyday and expect to lose. Cuz I stall out--just like with the high carb equivalents. (Your waffles looked AMAZZZZZING, btw!!! I'd wolf them down, thank you and say, "Please, mam, may I have some moah?" I'm doing good right now. I'm gonna go for 18 hours which will put me around 3pm today. Yay!!

Oh....Cocomo Joe's!! DEEEEEEEE-light-ful! Wish I had some here. I've been out of the PP B/C for so long. *sobbing* and now don't have a Sam's membership any more. They were sposed to be putting it on sale for $12.99 or something per 12 pack this past week. How's the IF coming? I went off the reservation this weekend for a big weekend in Dallas at Sissy's house. Thank you IF, cuz I came back about only 6oz up from where I was Friday morning--despite much revelry. Today am kinda bored with IF, so gonna change things up and make a "new"/old game. I'm gonna do ADF (my old friend) for the next couple of weeks. Alternate day fasting with timed restricted eating. Good times! Today I'm doing an 18:6/500 calorie Down Day (DD). Tomorrow will do an 16:8/1200 calorie Up Day (UD). Wednesday will follow my Monday schedule and Thursday will follow Tuesday for the next couple of weeks. Voila! Stella's got her groove back and isn't bored with things any more!

Yep yep yep. What everyone said! Mostly you need to know your numbers--what are your present electrolyte numbers and chemistries along with vitamin/mineral numbers--including your iron status. Then talk with PCP about a plan to naturally up your fluids and your minerals if needed (i.e. sodium/trace minerals/and if indicated--potassium). This isn't something you monkey around with. But by upping the minerals it should help get rid of the dizziness. I had that when weaning off my bp meds and had low potassium. Now my bp is fine. I added back Pink Himalayan Sea Salt and every now and then if I feel week or crampy, I will also take a Magnesium Citrate and a pinch of NoSalt for the potassium. But I do it cuz I know my numbers!

Ditto, GERD/reflux.

you can also look up the Weston A. Price Foundation and Sally Fallon/Mary Enig Traditional Cooking blog--it will show you how to reduce the phytic acid in food preparations. Things like soaking nuts and beans etc...that kind of stuff! Thanks for the tip. Will read up on it.