FluffyChix

I think if you feel good in your skin, that's the ultimate goal. But feeling good in our skin, isn't an overnight thing...it can take some us a while to get used to it and to see ourselves accurately and when that happens we might want to lose more or regain some weight until we are where we want to be. I did mine in an analytical way using the charts/graphs/definitions my surgeon's office used to send to the insurance. She (my surgeon) never gave me a target weight, but I saw it in my chart--and I blew past her target within the first 6 months. Here's how I figured out my weight. Goal 1 (Totally arbitrary and based on what I weighed as a senior in high school) = 150lbs Goal 2 (Based on BMI chart for AVERAGE women. I'm totally boringly average so the chart works for me but may not work for you or other people who are super women. I chose it cuz it's almost smack in the middle of NORMAL WEIGHT and I knew I did not have this surgery to be satisfied with anything less than "NORMAL WEIGHT") = 140lbs Goal 3 (Based on being stubborn and looking at how my thighs and booty still look after I reached 140lbs. I posited that I still had a good 20 extra pounds of fat hanging around my body and that I didn't really need it. It's non-essential, so why not lose another 10lbs and try to get to my all-time "silver tuna goal"?) = 130lbs (this is proving very frustrating to reach) Goal 4 = Secret Barbie DreamGirl Goal (I doubt barring sickness, that I will ever see this number, but I still am pushing toward it for some reason.) = 125lbs **************** My surgeon's goal for me was 160lbs. Here is how THEY calculated it. 1. They use this formula to define "IDEAL" weight (which they all admit is not a realistic formula for modern-day women): 100lbs for the 1st 5 feet + 5lbs for every inch over 5 feet | So for a 5'4" woman my IDEAL wt was defined as 120lbs 2. Calculate EBW (Excess Body Weight) = Weight (day of surgery) - IDEAL wt = EBW | So mine was 222-120 = 102lbs EBW 3. Calculate % of expected EBW that will be lost as a result of the surgery and honeymoon phase of diet. = 102lbs X 65% (RNY per my surgeon's office) = 66lbs of expected loss of EBW 4. Calculate target weight = Weight (day of surgery) - 66lbs of expected loss = 156lbs which she rounded up to 160lbs. ******* So, as it happened, my Goal 1 weight was very close to their calculations of expected loss of % EBW for RNY surgery. This morning I weighed 134.4lbs.

Be very careful. Look how many craptastic carbs of sugar are in the prepared chocolate covered almonds. They are easy to make. Simply toss almonds with a little beaten egg white and strain them lightly, then dust with cocoa and bake in a 300 degree oven until toasty and dry. You can add a bit of powdered sweetener (calorie free) like Swerve, or Truvia, OR add a few drops of flavored liquid stevia to your egg whites before adding the almonds. So much better for you. But the cals still add up very quickly with snack nuts. Hard to control quantity or eating events. Easy to just graze graze graze = stall stall stall.

Yeah. I had no issues either. I kept asking if they really did anything to me. I actually do have a bigger pouch and stoma and shorter bypass, but have been able to lose almost all of my weight. It's a tool, but ultimately our food choices along with quantities are what will drive weight loss. And liquids went down like nobody's beeswax. Be sure to follow your doc's rec for drinking. Don't drink faster or more than he wants you to per 15 minutes. I do have some restriction with very dense foods.

Is this a post surgery meal? Cuz if so, you guys need to realize that package of potato soup has more bio-available sugars/starch available than a slice of white bread. So it will hit your gut like a punch or it could! And if you are pre-op it will absolutely stop you from shrinking your liver. It would absolutely send me to dumptown in about 30 minutes. I love the idea of the soup, but using potato flakes = instant potatoes = highly bioavailable sugar is not the way to do it. You'd be better served using REAL butternut squash, or roasted cauliflower blended up to thicken it. Or simply use real broccoli (which could cause a crapton of gas).

So you should start a 2 week log. (I think you are probably fine btw...but, JIC.) Fasting Blood Glucose (FBG) every morning before you eat, drink, or move around a lot. As soon as you wake and do it the say way every day. Then you would pick 1 meal out of each day and test prior to eating. Then you "can" test at 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours...but that's a little extreme and expensive. So the experts tell you, take 1 reading before the meal (pre-prandial), then take it again at the 2 hour mark after consuming the last bite (post-prandial). Your blood sugar should be back to normal (pre-prandial) levels at 2 hours after the meal and it should not be in the diabetic range. Pre-diabetic range (110-125) generally (FBG) Diabetic range (126) and beyond (FBG) Things that affect blood sugar: food drinks sugar free items of food or liquid medicine exercise stress sickness fasting

This is a misinformed statement. There are different kinds of fasts. There is so much data from alternate day calorie restricted fasts and many experts believe this is the best type of fast for post-meno women in a long term setting. You can read more about fasting either with any of the millions of links that we've posted here, or buy Jason Fung's book on fasting. Or if you prefer vegan approaches, check out Dr. Valter Longo's Longevity Diet. Also other books dealing with a LIMITED number of calories per day on fasts would be: Dr. Johnson's Alternate Day Diet Dr. Krista Varady's Every Other Day Diet Dr. Michael Mosley's Fast Diet These are all books based on the same type of diet that features caloric restriction and is based on the work of Drs. Mark Mattson, Valter Longo, and Krista Varady as well as the people down at LSU who studied fasting and SIRT genes with relation to asthma reduction. @Sheribear68 You are doing awesome!!! Don't get caught up in legalism. Do your thing and fast with your milk. These books above all show that SIRT genes ARE activated even in the presence of whey protein consumption (ie milk). SIRT genes are a set of longevity genes that are repair genes that go in and lengthen telemeres (the end caps on our genes) and they help restore and heal.

I think you're rushing. Most people don't analytically "choose". It's a balance and happens pretty organically...

Feel better soon. That bites!

@GreenTealael has been doing the PP in her coffee the whole time and has had no probs! She's super successful! So I see no reason for you to change it up. Who cares about hardcore. And don't put that pressure on yourself to have 2lbs / week consistent. Cuz weight loss is never linear. It's a great "target" but if you don't make it, meh, it's not the end of the world. You are doing great!!!

Yay!!! Congrats girlie!!!! ??

I just walk and do core strengthening exercises with bands.

So weird. I had constipation issues when they first did the RNY. And for the past 18months always maintaining the constipation thing...and now since they repaired the hernia/and untwisted my bowels, I'm having issues with the partial ileus stuff and Big D. I do ok for a few days now and then, boom baby! Howdoyoulikemenow?! LOL. Totally blew up Walmart's potty yesterday. *blush*

Wow. My plastics guy said I have to be at my stable weight for 6 months before I can even discuss it with him? Congrats on your schedule! We want piccys!!! I would personally just want to get to my forever goal before adding that kind of pressure on myself, cuz maintenance is gonna be hard enough. You know? ((hugs))

This were snap shots of 2 days of eating from August 2018 (6 months) (click to enlarge images)

I think you have to work out what makes YOU feel in control. And anything else is either rationalization, or giving in to other people's or "right". LOL. I'd be nuts without daily accountability. i'd much rather "eat super duper spiffy today" to take off 1-2lbs scale bounce of water, than not weigh for 1/2 week and have to deal with 5lbs. (yes it happens). So I'm a daily weigher and damn proud of it. hehe

Yay! Love it and welcome!!! All the IF vets are here to help you and I can help you lollygag and screw around.

Dang girl!! So you calibrated your glucometer, right?

It's a process girl. ((hugs)) And it's harder for you, cuz you don't have these crazy weight bounces cuz your metabolism is so flexible!!! If I do that, not only would I dump, but my weight would be up 2-3lbs or more this morning. Cuz I'm forked! LOL.

Holy crap on your snack!!!! No dumping? It's your super power. Were you down or up on the scale?

Depends how purist you are. And why you're fasting. If it's for autophagy, then the answer is no one really knows yet, but I would think it would cuz of the precise amino acids in milk. Takes very little to leucine and isoleucine to stop autophagy. If it's for calorie restriction, time restriction, and weight loss, then I'd say no. I also think autophagy is "fluid" so we go in and out of it during the day-my opinion only. So if that's what it takes to make you happy, I'd say do it. Also though I would tend to add either FairLife Milk or Premier Protein to up the protein content while keeping your cals low if that's what you're doing. Otherwise heavy cream would be the choice if fat or cals were not an issue.

Today I'm supposed to disconnect from social media...does that include us? I'm thinking this isn't happening today.

I just keep things simple. I grill 1-2 chicken breasts along with some other thing--often salmon and then just take off 2-3oz portions all week and nuke a quick veg and poof. Meals done! Or I make a turkey roll up, or do a quick 5 minute green soup, etc...KISS.

The pre-op is by far the worst. But take comfort from knowing you are doing a big part of your carb withdrawal now rather than after your operation! Score!! Try adding a cup of full sodium bouillon to your day if you are feeling extra hungry or faint/headachy/flu-ish. It passes quickly. The 2nd week I think is easier physically, but a lot of us have insulin reactions to the protein drinks. Hang in there. You can do it.

I eat them all! But I'm very partial to leafy greens and the cruciferous/sulforophane families with special interests in onions/garlic/asparagus and mushrooms of all kinds. (Oh and avocados = fruit. )

@sillykitty I'm so happy for your mommy!!! That's fabulous!!!! And who cares why she's doing it--she is certainly getting he benes of autophagy. And somewhere and somehow, when she's ready, she will make that longevity connection. It's only a matter of time. It first started for me as just a way to lose weight, and maybe get off asthma meds! And now look how far down the rabbit hole I am. That's amazing progress she has had and she is really lucky to have you to mentor/live vicariously through! And too awesome about following our post WLS forevs diet! Cuz the cal restriction is also adding to her autophagy!! @GreenTealael - you just heal, heal, heal right now!!! There will be time for IF when you're ready to do it again! Congrats on aging backwards. You do look INCREDIBLY young to be xyz! Is that a thing? Can you be "too young looking?" @AZhiker It does really sound like your circadian rhythms might be off. SIM Land writes about that a lot as does Jason Fung. But he also talks about having so much energy that you just get up and work! Keep hacking to try to find the solution hon!! I do know it feels like it gets better with time? Maybe try doing a "high carb snack" just before bed: like 1-2oz Granny Smith apple slices with a tbsp of almond butter or something like that. See if it helps? Today is Day 1 for me after the surgery. I think it's gonna be "hellah hard." Cuz I've been eating weird for weeks now. Way too many carbs, eating whenever I'm hungry and I'm def not in ketosis. So *gulp* I just gotta put mah big girl panties on and drink that water and green tea and walk when I feel like eating. Should be a busy day at work, so that hopefully helps!!!