sillykitty

While the A/G ratio test does technically test for blood protein, it is not a measure of adequate protein intake. High or low protein levels are signs of a disease or disorder. https://labtestsonline.org/tests/total-protein-and-albuminglobulin-ag-ratio Will a high protein diet raise my total protein level? No, increasing your intake of protein will not increase your total protein test result.

Wow, y'alls confessions are so tame (I'm in TX at the moment, so I can say y'all ) Yesterday I had Shake Shack, Taco Bell and an 18 course dinner. No confessions here because I hit my protein goal and was under 600 calories!

This is a fantastic point. I have no doubt that being more fit and conventionally attractive will benefit my career & earnings.

There is no test for protein deficiencies. But the long term effects of not getting enough protein are no joke. http://time.com/4374959/protein-health-benefits-nutrition/ Tons of ways to get protein in, poke around other threads or start a new topic

I get it I do spend more on groceries, more produce and protein powder, bars, etc. aren't cheap. But I spend a lot less on dining out and home delivery. Net net, I'm sure I spend less overall. I wasted a lot of money in the beginning with liquids, pureed, soft foods I stocked up on but didn't eat. Also I wasted money on protein products that I couldn't stand the taste of. So buy as small of quantities as possible to avoid waste. One savings is on clothes, after you replace your wardrobe of course. Regular size clothes are cheaper than plus size. Plus there are a lot more options, easier to bargain hunt.

I cooked mine with broth in the Instapot, basically poached. Moist, and you can add flavor as well, add salsa, or harrissa or thai chili paste, anything really!

If it makes you feel any better, my GI friend had one of his residents pull all of the research on diet soda for him to review. He told me to make sure I took at least 1500 mg of calcium a day, and to watch out if it triggered a carb or sugar cravings. Those were is only concerns.

Or also called, "maddeningly strong willed" or "frustratingly stubborn"

Thanks! My sister, who's kinda a b*tch, says last time she saw me "OMG, you HAVE lost your boobs!"

OMG, so many ... I rushed through my stages and ate real food starting week 3. Week 3 I was at a work event and I drank, all week, and I ate everything but fibrous veggies. No ill effects at all, I have never looked back. I had no preop diet, except liquids only the day before surgery. I had a burger that morning. I was taking magnisium citrate to clear me out that afternoon, I figured it would get flushed out (and it did!) I drink diet soda almost everyday. I just can't do water, or crystal light, etc., I can never get close to 64 oz without it. I drink fountain only, so not a lot of carbonation. I just don't believe in the we must have 64 oz of water every day or it is some terrible bad thing. It is honestly so uniquely American. Europeans say they can tell American tourists by the bottle of water they always have with them. Presurgery, there were days I probably consumed 16 oz of liquid total, to no ill effect. So, that's a lot of bad stuff. My surgeon's PA grudgingly signed off on the diet soda. I also have a good friend who's a GI, and he's a lot easier to have real conversations with (vs. my surgeon), and he signed off on all of the above, as long as I promised to stop if I had any issues at all.

I stay on my PPI not because of GERD, but because of this, the uncomfortable stomach grumbling feeling.

I don't think you're going to be able to get a good financial ROI on this. But is that what WLS is all about? Can't you justify it by improving your health? Feeling better? Does that not hold value?

@Orchids&Dragons At the rate my boobs are shrinking, I'll soon be a pear! @AshAsh1 Thanks! But it's all a mess when it's not being held in by jeans!

@Creekimp13 your friends and family must be nicer than mine. If I ever served black bean brownies I'd never have anyone attend a party at my house again

Thanks, I know I've been on plan and not done anything different, it's just my body messing with me. Doesn't make it less frustrating though

The scale is not my friend today (2 lbs, overnight, wtf??) But I feel fantastic, and am loving how I look (in clothes, naked is a whole nother story!)

I think a lot of that is the psychology of poverty. When the long term outlook is bleak, people focus on the short term. https://phys.org/news/2012-11-poverty-people-focus-short-term.html https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/11/your-brain-on-poverty-why-poor-people-seem-to-make-bad-decisions/281780/

Yeah, the biggest difference I see is activity level, and potentially the amount of processed ingredients. Those two things are vastly different in the US vs. most of the rest of the world. Funny, I had always heard how large US portion sizes are compared to everywhere else. You know, in Italy the portions are small, that's how they eat multiple courses, right? That has so not been my experience! The only exception I have experienced has been Japan, definitely small portions there. Even in SE Asia portions were larger than I had anticipated, but I suspect locals would order fewer courses or share among more people.

@AshAsh1 .... this is not directed at you, I'm sure i seems like I'm picking on you today As @Tealael alluded to, criticisms and wanting to control of how "poor" people use benefits is often a dog whistle for a lot uglier sentiments, like racism and classism. Of course any benefit can and will be misused. But SNAP is not subject to wide spread abuse. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/04/04/what-many-americans-get-wrong-about-food-stamps-according-to-an-economist/?utm_term=.3c1242181774 https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/12/20/255819681/the-truth-behind-the-lies-of-the-original-welfare-queen

@AshAsh1 ... just to play devil's advocate here ... Is welcoming with food, stocking the house for guests, really a bad thing? Is this something we should rid from our culture? Is it even possible to do so? Is it part of human DNA? Making guest feel welcome with food, usually better and more plentiful than the norm is universal. The custom dates back to the beginning of recorded history. It may be slaughtering an animal to honor guests in a poor rural village to a state dinner at the White House. I keep Whiskey, Gin, Chardonnay, etc. in my house, and that is solely for guests, is that a bad thing, or am I a good host? Many cultures are much more food oriented than the US, but they don't have an obesity problem. For example, Italy, meals are a long drawn out experience, with multiple courses. In Vietnam fast economical street food is available every five feet, and most meals are eaten out instead of at home (in cities at least). Both of these example cultures food is more central to daily life than for most in the US, why aren't they as obese as the US? For holidays, specials foods have always marked special occasions, again across all cultures and back through history. So are holidays the problem, or is lack of balance in modern US life the problem? Some food for thought

Yes, that is correct, more precise than what I wrote That only applies where there is no place to "eat in", like most grocery stores.

I take 1K mcg of Biotin, plus what's in my multi. In addition I take L-lysine, Zinc and B complex to help with hair loss. I started biotin a month before surgery and the others when I noticed hair loss. It doesn't seem to have any effect honestly. I'm losing hair by the handful.

Both take and bake pizza and cold rotisserie chicken would qualify for SNAP Households CANNOT use SNAP benefits to buy: Food that will be eaten in the store Hot foods @Frustr8 Cold rotisserie chicken is convenient, healthy and a pretty good value. Why shouldn't it be eligible?

I've been thinking on this topic, especially related to the international traveling I've done. I've been thinking about how important food is to cultures all over the world. It is part of a culture's identity. And these food cultures aren't all about salads and lean meats either, it's often carby and fatty. So why can so many places around the world have food as a central part of their lives, but not have the obesity problem the US has? I think a big factor is activity level. Day to day activity, walking, biking, etc. is what is missing from the US culture. Not that food is too central to our identity, it's that day to day activity isn't central enough. In the US we go to the gym to get our exercise in, so that takes extra effort, it's easy to skip it. But in the rest of the world, gyms are few and far between. People get their exercise in by walking to work, biking to work, taking a stroll after dinner. So activity is part of their daily lives, not an extra stop, and extra chore at the end of our busy day, and that we have to pay for.

Actually SNAP (food stamps) cannot be used on prepared food. So fast food restaurants cannot accept SNAP. What you see is signs on fast food restaurants "EBT Accepted". EBT is Electronic Benefit Transfer. That's the new version of a welfare check. So a person on government assistance is issued a debit card, and loaded on to it is either or both, "food stamps" (SNAP) and "welfare" (EBT). The "welfare" benefit can be used without restriction, pulled out of an ATM as cash for example. But the SNAP benefit is restricted as to what it can be used on, non prepared foods only.