FluffyChix

I started softs at 2 weeks post op.

We're all different and only you can say for sure. I work from home and was working at 4 days. But I had a very very easy time of things and could rest when I needed. And my "bitchy boss" actually allowed me to take naps at will...hehe

^^^This. Great post. Also you might mention that the surgery helps you lose and maintain weight loss easier (but it is NOT easy). And tell him that the sex will get better again with the surgery. That should shut him up...for a minute. (j/k guys! Only directing that rude sexist comment to dudes who are non-supportive of their wives. And I will come up with one for chix who are unsupportive of their hubs efforts in this as well if you want!)

Immediate post surgery is a mind fu*k and an endurance contest. Rest. Be gentle. Be creative to figure out how to do YOUR part in healing (water, protein, walking, sleeping/resting). And watch lots of good flicks on TV! it will get batter. Swearsies.

Oh my gosh. I was grinning ear to ear while I read this post!!!! I'm so happy for you it's crazy! You're totes gorgeous girl!!! What a great post! Thanks for sharing your story and journey! Congrats!!!

Yeah, it's so weird, just didn't feel like anything heavy or anything I had to chew. ROFLMAO! It's not often you'll hear me say that. I'm more likely to say, bring me the head of your prime bull. LOL.

I also have a big capacity in my opinion. And yeah, the RD still talks in terms of 1 cup of food. But I can eat more than that. But like you @Pink nova I think it's important to still measure. Maybe that is even more important to us! Than to people who feel a great deal of restriction. Cuz the ability to over consume calories and over-stuff the pouch is so liberal. So even though I could theoretically eat 4-5oz of dense protein plus veg plus some kind of salad, in goodly amounts, I still go back to when I did have more restriction and use those scale weights to keep my food volume even, rather than growing. I think maybe you ought to as everyone said, make sure you go back to basics. And focus on simple, dense foods, and al dente veg plus some salad or avocado/tomato. And keep your portion reasonable regardless of how far out you are. I also think, that if you are carb sensitive, that could contribute to your growing hunger. It does me. But I'm much more satisfied with my portions when I just concentrate on protein, veggies, and healthy fats. Good luck! It's frustrating and scary! ((hugs))

Had a hankering for @GreenTealael green matcha smoothie with turmeric paste. Holy cow was it good. I used some of my brewed green tea and apple cinnamon tea and used some of that as the base then added in everything else. Liquid salad. Who knew it could taste so satisfying? Here it is. I didn't add the green tea in the list of ingredients, but it's there. Use your favorite flavor. I also added ice to the desired consistency. It's big.

Wooohooo! Love it girl!!!TY! Happy weekend!

I would like to be "drinking" more. But my doc kinda frowns on that! LOL.

Woohooo! Excited!

Love love love soup! And salad! And it's so weird isn't it? I used to adore gooey cheesy casseroly comforty stuff. And sometimes I "think" I still crave it, but then I eat a bite, and I'm like, "Meh...not so much." Instead, I find myself craving my grilled or sauteed simple lean protein and a lean veg/salad. And like @Orchids&Dragons said, I can jam pack a crapton of food into 500-600 cals! I've told this before, but my RD was super stressed at my calories. Then I show her pics and show her my food logs and she relaxes. She still says my cals are too low, but she can't answer when I ask her...I have thousands of fat calories packed on my ass. Besides the bare minimum fat I need to absorb my fat soluble vitamins, why do I need to inflate my cals/fats with dietary added fat? Why can't I just eat lean and super low and let my body pull the fat energy from the fat?

Doing good here. Getting my 5 bottles of water in + decaff black coffee + green tea + matcha! Yum!

I wish...I didn't take a photo of last night's dinner but here's what I had: 1 big side salad (leaf lettuce, super greens, baby spin, onion, radish, rbp, avocado, rf feta, WF Italian) 3.5oz grilled sockeye with lemon wedge 2oz grilled asparagus I had a clean plate after. For lunch I had a big cup of green soup with Gulf Shrimp. Again, clean plate award. And my "bedtime snack" was really pre-dinner. I had a cup of coffee and 2 ounces of Premier. (I don't count the protein in bone broth since it's collagen based and not a source of complete protein, so subtract 18g from the daily protein total.) Again, clean bowl. I eat as much as a skinny female these days. Only I'm not skinny. LOL. Wish it wasn't true, but it is.

I'm in! (At least for a day or 2... haha. Notoriously bad about follow-through on challenges. ) Challenge Starting weight: 148.4lbs Current weight lost: 138.6lbs Losing or maintaining weight: Losing!!!!! (slowly) Working on Goal#2 - 140lbs Fitness/exercise goal: Exercise 6-7 days per week with 3 days being strength building with bands Total weight loss at the end of challenge: (Post January 1st 2019) To Come Check in: Tell us how you are doing - (How is your diet and exercise plan going? Any struggles? Stress level? What have you overcome? Any strategies that have helped)--I'm starting the challenge strong. Very little stress heading into Thanksgiving. Don't have any worries about over eating or eating "the wrong things." Have an action plan to work through in order to stay on track. Am in the process of weaning off of my last BP drug, so that does represent a little challenge to me.

Guilty as charged, sir...but sincere about the original portion of the post. Congrats on the WL journey @Matt Z!

I keep these for my soups and coffee: https://www.amazon.com/gp/slredirect/picassoRedirect.html/ref=pa_sp_atf_aps_sr_pg1_1?ie=UTF8&adId=A053106738LGU5OZ9U4U2&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FMr-Coffee-Warmer-Office-MWBLKPDQ-RB%2Fdp%2FB000CO89T8%2Fref%3Dsr_1_1_sspa%3Fie%3DUTF8%26qid%3D1542372833%26sr%3D8-1-spons%26keywords%3Dcoffee%2Bwarmer%2Bfor%2Bdesk%26psc%3D1&qualifier=1542372833&id=4272386340709218&widgetName=sp_atf And warm plate: https://www.amazon.com/Lansinoh-Mealtime-Non-Flip-Dishwasher-Microwave/dp/B006W79MAY/ref=sr_1_19_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1542372864&sr=8-19&keywords=baby+food+warmer Ring Ring! Santa?? I've been a very good girl. hehehe. Sadly I eat at normal pace now...with normal size bites. Prolly should rein that in...right?

Oh and I lose the best eating fish and plain grilled chicken breasts with veggies and only a tiny bit of avo/tom!!

OMG! I'm so sorry to hear of your kiddos both being T1!! So glad you knew how to manage it. It had to be so much tougher. And all the worrying about them! Jeeze!!! TY for the very useful advice!!! The frosting gel is a great idea! It's so weird about the "pee in your pants"! I woke up sweating profusely muttering about "so hot" and then I just sat there and couldn't move--like paralyzed and watching myself not do anything to help myself take clothes off. Then I had to pee SO BAD and almost thought I was gonna pee myself. It was that, that finally roused me enough to get up and move--cuz I didn't want to pee in the chair! OMG! That would have been terrible! So I stumbled to the bathroom and couldn't coordinate my hands enough to get my pants down. And I just had to start peeling layers off and I slung them all around the bathroom, just to get down to panties to pee! It was so weird, like I was trying to do stuff with mittens on or boxing gloves or something! That's why I think I was maybe in the 40s? Did not know of the convulsion thing. My mom had hypo. And when she bottomed out we knew to get OJ and peanut butter and follow the juice with the peanut butter. So once we had the bg reading, I stumbled into the kitchen and got out the pineapple juice and applesauce and drank the juice quickly and then the applesauce, then I followed with an ounce of cheddar and 1/2oz of almonds. Shoulda done the peanut butter but mine has sugar in it too...:( So I got some almond butter and will do that in future and also have a can of OJ beside me with my meter. I don't think I will be eating at that restaurant again soon! So sorry to hear of your scale woes! ((hugs)) It will move soon. I have great faith in you and your sticktoitiveness!!!! You rock!!! Thanks for posting that link. Will go check it out.

Awww man! Thanks @Kay07 for posting this thread! I completely missed it the first time around!!! @Matt Z are we under the wire or is this "necroposting"? Great post and thanks so much for inspiring so many of us and for offering so much patience and support here on the boards! (Any Happy Birthday!)

You can make a "chocolate milk" and keep it on hand so you have enough for a couple of days using your milk and the cocoa powder. You could then freeze it into ice cubes and use those to thicken your shake while adding more reg. milk. A lot of times, cocoa powder won't dissolve unless boiled into a liquid. It will float on the surface. You might get it to work by using an emulsifier like banana or avocado. I'd personally rather have the frozen banana than the pure maple syrup if you are gonna add sugar to it anyway. You could also add SF Hershey's Chocolate Syrup to replace the cocoa powder, but will lose the anti-oxidants in the cocoa powder. You could also cut the milk in half and replace with Greek yogurt or a scoop of 2% cottage cheese.

Awwww man!!! So sorry to hear this on top of everything else! Maybe if we call Dr. Bombay, @sillykitty will appear and post like nobody's beeswax making us all laugh and have fun?!!

Sorry you are struggling! In the end, this is about us, and for us, and it can be so consuming. I second and third the need to get recs to hook-up with a good real life support group. My RD hooked me up with 3 groups and I found a 4th on my own. I ended up liking the one group led by my RD the best, so I make sure to go to that monthly. It's invaluable to me. Then the online supports both here at BP, and on FB, and also on MFP are fabulous and are very important to my success and motivation! I feel connected daily with people who are in a similar situation and can offer advice and support. Hope you find that!!!

Wow!!! You look fab! What a darling figure!

Ha on your parents! My brother's table is All. The. Gooey Carbs + 1 small roasted turkey. LOL!!! His motto is: Everything is better with a stick of buttah in it and more topping it! And the dressing is my go-to that I keep here and use on all salads. LOL: 1 tbsp Country Dijon 2 large cloves garlic (pressed) 1/2 tsp Worcestershire 1/8 tsp Tabasco Sauce 3/4 c Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar 1c EVOO (we use this unfiltered one that isn't super peppery) 1/4c water 1 pinch sea salt Freshly ground black pepper Combine in a jar with a tight lid or a shaker bottle. Shake before each use.