ms.sss

It’s a low/no-carb “soy sauce alternative”:

Yesterday, Sat, Oct. 19 Maintenance : 5'2" / F / 1yr PO / 115.0 lbs Made a roasted leg of lamb yesterday and now we are going to be eating it for the next couple days for sure. It's delicious, so fine by me Went to town with the lamb AND some chicken at lunch and was STUFFED. I was surprised with how much I was able to get in. Though by end of day I didn't even make 1000 cals, which was also surprising. 9:00am - peppermint tea with Stevia 12:45pm - salad greens & vinaigrette + carrots + 3 oz grilled chicken + 3.5 oz roast lamb 2:30pm - coffee with Stevia 7:00pm - salad greens & vinaigrette + carrots + 1.7 oz roast lamb 9:00pm - 1oz almonds + half cup of protein ice cream Totals: 955 cals - 86g Protein - 27g NET carbs - 58g fat

It's my go to vinaigrette (I make 1L batches of the stuff). I think I've posted the recipe a couple times already on this thread, but here it is again anyway 1 tbsp = 6 cals, 0.2g protein, 0.3g NET carbs, 0.6g fat *NOTE 1: the label below for chicken broth mix reads "15g (1 tsp) chicken broth mix", but go by the 15g (which is actually 3 tsps) *NOTE 2: often I squeeze some fresh lemon on top of the entire salad for more "freshness"

I probably (on average) get in about 1 cup of raw veggies, not including my salad greens a day. It's hard to say how much salad greens I eat in terms of volume (they are so leafy! lol). But put it this way: the past couple weeks, I've eaten the equivalent of about 1.5 - 2 romaine hearts + 2-3 fistfuls of raw spinach (or spring mix) per day

Yesterday, Fri, Oct. 18 Maintenance : 5'2" / F / 1yr PO / 115.3 lbs ...the day was going pretty "healthy-ly" until friends dropped by last night with wine and amaretto. 9:00am - coffee with Stevia 12:00pm - salad greens & vinaigrette + 3.5 oz grilled chicken + 2.5 oz gala apples 4:00pm - salad greens & vinaigrette + 5 oz grilled chicken + 1 oz carrots 7:00pm - salad greens & vinaigrette + 1.5 oz grilled chicken + 1.5oz chili peanuts + 1 oz almonds + .5 cup protein ice cream 10:00pm - 3 fl oz amaretto shots + 3 glasses red wine + charcuterie board fixin's Totals: 2055 cals - 94g Protein - 122g NET carbs - 130g fat

What was the calorie count on all this?

Meal of the Moment: I love me some salad Romaine lettuce + vinaigrette + 4oz grilled chicken + 2.5oz gala apple 161 cals - 19.2g protein - 11.0g NET carbs - 3.6g fat Ate it all (and drank the remaining vinaigrette out of the container when no one was looking...shhhhh)

The extra protein couldn't hurt, I think, so long as it doesn't mess up your macro goals and overall calorie intake? I personally blame the Kid for my own hair woes. I too had luxuriously think hair...until I popped her out and then it was all sad thin hair from then on. (I would kill for some afro-poodle hair right now)

Yesterday, Thu, Oct. 18 Maintenance : 5'2" / F / 1yr PO / 115.0 lbs ...'twas a junky, carb-y day 10:00am - chicken broth 1:10pm - salad greens + carrots + pumpkin seeds + can of smoked oysters + seafood sauce + 1 french macaron 2:30pm - cashews + chili peanuts + half a brownie + bite of deep fried banana + handful of popcorn 7:00pm - salad greens + cashews + chili peanuts + 2 oz grilled chicken + wasabi peas + 5 chocolate covered blueberries Totals: 2084 cals - 74g Protein - 170g NET carbs - 112g fat

I started shedding around month 3 and it kept shedding until about month 8 or 9. Even after cutting my hair short, I left a visible trail of hair everywhere I went. I was getting in about 50-70g of protein the first 4-5 months, then 80+ after that. I took (and still take) all my vitamins religiously. I even took Biotin for a month somewhere in there (didn't see a noticeable diff). Now, almost a year post-op, I can see a bunch of little hairs growing in all over my head, they look stupid sticking straight up right now, but I'll take 'em. Unless you are one of the lucky few, you are going to lose some (maybe alot) of hair. But try not to stress too much, as it will grow back eventually. ❤️

Hubba hubba You look fab ❤️

Saggy butt - CHECK! Sore butt when sitting on hard surfaces - CHECK! Spine pain/bone rubbing when leaning back on a bench - CHECK! Need for slippers/shoes on wood and tile floors - CHECK! Knocking knees at night - CHECK! I got used to it. I'll take all of the above over being obese any day. With that said, I do notice that my body "material" is still changing/shifting (despite actually weighing less now than when I first started maintenance): my face (cheeks and eye sockets) have filled in some and my loose skin has either tightened up (comparatively) or something is shifting around under it to make it look that way. I suspect its the increase in carbs in my diet that is contributing to this "filling out" (the one time when bloat is good! lol). ...and on a related note, my hair is growing back in!! I am now the proud owner of a whole bunch of ridiculous chicken hairs sprouting all over my head (the same ones I coveted from @sillykitty way back when I thought the shedding would never stop)

Me and my team didn't talk maintenance (I reached goal at 7 months, and my next appt with my NUT & surgeon was 5 months later...had my appt w/ surgeon** yesterday and NUT and labwork to be done this coming Monday), I figured out maintenance on my own with the help of Google and the people on here. To be honest, I find the information and advice given to me by my NUT to be too cookie cutter and not so very useful to me specifically. I mostly went against her originally prescribed advice (though I always told her that I did), and she was not overly concerned by my choices. Go figure. Like @FluffyChix said, you've got lots of wiggle room before you need to be concerned about being unhealthy/underweight (and you will be glad for the extra cushion when the bounce back comes around) As an aside, and if it makes you feel any better at all, I find that lots of people are concerned about losing too much weight/looking too thin when approaching maintenance (myself included). Now just speaking from my experience, when I decided to stop losing weight, I believed I was way too small and my face way too Skeletor-ish. Now, 4.5 months later, I actually weigh less than I did then AND I personally think I look and feel great awesome (probably cuz I am now used to my thinner self and my fat self is becoming more and more a distant memory). My Skeletor-face seems to also have filled out, and my skin seems to have snapped back some (not enough to forgo plastics, but still). Sooooo...it's not easy, but I think the most effective strategy is to first just choose one (whether it be your NUT's or not), try it out and wait and see. Then adjust as necessary. We are all sooooo different that there can't possibly be just one solution for us all.

Sleeved Oct 2018 11.8 lbs during the 2-wk pre-op diet 21.0 lbs during 1 month following surgery. (you can see my month-to-month loss in my signature...and weight milestones in my profile...)

WOW

Right? I think for the first time in my "dieting" life, I have actually put effort/thought/consideration to "maintenance". Previous attempts were all about the weight loss, the idea of maintenance was never part of the equation. This is probably why the weight never stayed off...and why I think we will collectively do better this time around because we recognize it's importance (and actively put in effort for it).

Yep...I can vouch for this. Once I committed to start eating more (bit by bit), it was less "uncomfortable" doing so (both physically and mentally). It's scary at first though! It's a mental block. But once I started trusting myself and dealt with my fear of regain, I was able to relax, and settle in. Also, I had to make peace with carbs (I still normally limit them on my normal/at-home/everyday meals but I am now okay to go to town with them every once in while) Everyone will deal differently, and I guess we each need our own timelines to stabilize, get used to our new awesomeness, and trust ourselves that we have the tools and knowledge to navigate maintenance confidently and to the best of our abilities. For those with deer-in-the-headlights eyes, just like the weight loss, it'll take some time, but you'll find your maintenance sweet spots ❤️. Add a little bit more (as much as you are comfortable with) every week and wait and see.

Today, Wed, Oct. 16 Maintenance : 5'2" / F / 1yr PO / 115.5lbs ...assuming I don't eat anything else tonite (which i'm pretty sure I won't as I am STUFFED right now), here are today's deets: 9:30am - coffee with Stevia 1:30pm - salad greens + 2.5 oz grilled chicken + 1 oz BBQ Pork 4:00pm - salad greens + 1.5 oz grilled chicken + 2 oz BBQ Pork + cashews + chilli peanuts 5:00pm - 2oz chicharron 6:00-8:00pm - salad w/ strawberry dressing + 2.5 oz grilled chicken + 1/2 a lamb kabob + 1 fudge brownie + 1 fl oz lemon square + 1 fl oz date square + 3.5 glasses of red wine Totals: 1849 cals - 125g protein - 97g NET carbs - 81g fat

Mark me down as another Reese's Peanut Butter Cup-lover. #yum As a matter of fact, I like ANYTHING that has both chocolate AND nuts #doubleyum

Yesterday, Tues, Oct. 15 Maintenance : 5'2" / F / 1yr PO / 115.5lbs 11:30am - Salad Greens + 4oz turkey breast 2:00pm - Coffee with Stevia 3:00pm - 2oz Chicharron 8:00pm - 8 Chicken Wings w/ raw veggies & Blue Cheese Dip + 1oz shrimp ceviche Totals: 1682 cals - 122g protein - 15g NET carbs - 57g fat

Any maintainers, really...I think it would be helpful for those who are getting their feet wet in maintenance, yes? (Also helpful for longer-term maintainers who are running out of ideas of what to eat, and for those who need to get back on track after some slippage, and so on, and so on....LOL) (Plus I'm fascinated by your own menus and I wanna see!!!)

I saw this post last night and my mouth literally watered. So I went to Costco this morning and bought a boneless leg roast that I'm gonna make for tomorrow night...yummmmmmmm

My first meal of the day is usually around noon (or after) as well. Always has been, even pre-op.

Love this entire outfit, form head to toe. I would totally wear this right now. (and you are soooo pretty)

OMG. Those legs. Those biceps. Those shoulders! You look amazing. How often do you work out?