FluffyChix

Nice Alex. Thanks!

Sorry to hear that dude!! Feel better soon!

Yay you! Did you feel a burst of extra energy? It really does help stay with you. I may start adding my psyllium husks back next week so I can discontinue the Miralax. I'm addicted to a daily constitutional. LOL. And I'm so in need of fiber--although I'm actually up to about 10g of fiber. That's a big improvement! Your smoothie sounds yummy!!! Congrats on your really big day!

Completely outstanding! Amazing transformation and in such a small amount of time, too! You must feel so great?!!

Yes. Sadly. That would happen unless you have a medical necessity of the band failing. It has to be documented by tests and imaging. Have you applied already?

I forgot to do my stats for the week! Derp! I'm down -8.2lbs this week. It's about dang time. Right? The doc put me back on diuretics and took me off one blood pressure pill. So still on 2 BP pills, just different ones and the fluid really came off! I feel good, but really tired--especially in the afternoon. Not even the vitamins are helping out? Dunno... SW 222.4 CW 198.0 GW 150 Surgery: 7 weeks ago (-24.4lbs) (-1 1/2inches off waist)

Wowza!!! You maniac!

Yay!!!!! That's super exciting!!!! Doing the happy dance for you!

Gosh I feel your pain! I'm right there with you too. Still trying to figure it all out. I'm 6 weeks. The biggest thing for me is that I'm following my surgeon's and RD's plan and not eating something just cuz others are eating it. The most frustrating part of all has been determining what quantity (volume or by weight) you should be having at each week of progression. My RD finally broke down and said 1/2c volume made up of about 1.5-2oz of protein and .5-1oz of veg. And if there's room left, then to have some low glycemic fruit (bite or two small). Also, at first I was doing soft foods and am now cleared for everything. You may still be on softies? If so, just cook the hell out of your veggies and eat moist protein sources. But I've not risked it by adding the fruit. I do include some slider veg like a grape tomato and 1/3oz of avocado with dinner and seem to tolerate it. You have to make yourself try new foods. Go slow. Stick to known foods that are ok--and only add new ones every couple of days. Sorry you puked. But Welcome to the boards!

Wahooooo!!! That's great!!! Congrats on getting to have your greens and mixed berries and flax in the drinks! It opens an entirely new avenue of getting more veg down the piehole without forking our anatomy or increasing the caloric amounts or fat contents we're eating! I think I'm gonna add frozen blueberries to mine tomorrow and add in more protein and frozen spinach and re-blend it to see what happens. This was too liquidy. I am thinking that perhaps doing the frozen chopped spinach might result in less water.

Ok, the saga of the green smoothie continues! LOL. Sorry to bore. So I took yesterday's recipe and made it all with baby spinach, added an extra 1/4oz of GS apple, a shot of SF strawberry syrup, 3oz of cucumber rather than 2oz. I added more ice and blended the crap out of it in the regular Ninja. Much smoother consistency, but there is STILL tiny bits here and there of apple peel that makes me have to chew. I also see that today's smoothie is much bigger--32oz! Sh*t! LOL. So I split it and put half away for breakfast. Of course it's gonna separate etc...but I'll just have to rewhip with the burr blender. Does anyone out there know if you lose all the nutrients from the veggies if you save one for over 12 hours? I'm betting you do? It's not that substantial in the nutrition numbers for 16oz of this: 3/4oz baby spinach 3/4oz GS apple 1 1/2oz cucumber Totals: 53 cals; 6g protein; 0g fat; 7g carbs; 1g fiber; 6g net carbs; 4g nat. sugars. A lot of effort for the payout. I ended up adding a Frigo cheese stick with the snack to up my protein. Think I will have to stick with smaller drinks that have bigger protein payouts. More experiments to come. :-/

Congrats!!!! That is so exciting but your NSV is even more exciting!!!

Huge congrats! What a beautiful accomplishment!!! You look amazing and handsome. WTG.

So sorry you're having a tough time. Some people really have a thing with the protein game. Try thinning it down. If you're using powder, try mixing it with more of your mix. Try different protein powders (whey, egg white, soy, etc). Or if drinking the Premier Protein RTD drinks I'd try to dilute them in things like decaf coffee or with extra Fairlife skim milk--that way you are still getting protein in. Also with the clear proteins and protein water, try diluting them by 50% too. Then do what your hospital said and pour 4 1oz pill cups up and drink them every hour on the hour. 1 cup per 15 minutes. Hope that helps!

((hugs)) Wow! So sorry to hear you're having such a tough time and have struggled so and now have to defer life another 2 years. I second the second opinion part!

Dang my internet. It won't stop buffering. Thanks for sharing! Your RD is so cool to do these!!

Did you hear back from your RD? I feel very blessed to get to add raw veggies back already. I swear I haven't even noticed an increase in gas! Makes me sometimes wonder just how much malabsorption she did on me? It felt really good to drink that green smoothie yesterday. The chard made it kinda grassy/dirty tasting and it would have been better if it was smooth. But even though I'm sure it was placebo, I felt really good after drinking it. NO dumping or cramping or extra gas--and that with needing to "chew it" LOL! Gross right? I just got to thinking that Dr. W. might be right from the perspective that until we can get more volume in, doing a "mechanical pre-delivery digestion" with a blender would help make fiber and veggies "slider" foods. The big question was whether it would raise my BG or if it would increase hunger or make the scale go up. That's why I kept the apple skin--to have the pectin that slows down the absorption of the carbs in the apple. I really liked that I was able to get in that many ounces of veggies within about 45 minutes. I may play around in the next few days with ditching the PP powder and just adding some Greek yogurt but that really jacks up the carbs and nat. sugars. :-/ And I don't like the texture of cottage cheese or ricotta in smoothies. So I may just say wth and continue the PP. I'm looking forward to my gs today though! LOL. As I sit her chewing my chicken and broccoli in WF Sesame Ginger dressing. I may try to get off the Miralax tomorrow. So far it's yielding 1 smooth move a day. But maybe the colace will be enough to do the same thing? And if not, then a cup of Smooth Move Tea every 2-3 days should suffice? I have no issues with any kind of intolerance--including lactose intolerance. LOL, I am currently doing my SF Peppermint Mocha Latte with the Choco PP and Torani SF Peppermint Syrup along with the colace and miralax. It's my current crush. I'd started drinking them the year that Starbuck's came out with their Peppermint Mocha Latte, only in the old days I would use SF Hershey's Syrup the SF peppermint syrup and real cream. But the PP RTDs work so great in it! It's easy to put the cream down and step away from the ledge. I'm just using much less PP now that I'm adding the gs in the afternoon! I'm sorry you're having issues following your lattes. Let me know what your RD says!!!

Congrats on your baby! If it was me, I'd ask to go back to my RD and find out how she and the surgeon want you to eat!

What I'm Eating at 7 Weeks Sorry I should have posted this yesterday to remind myself later! No changes from week 6--still the same quantities, the same protein and veg servings by weight too. But something is happening. I feel impatient at the 1/2c serving and at holding quantities to 1.75-2oz protein + .5-1oz veg. I'm STILL complying, but I'm impatient for more and sometimes don't feel satisfied despite adding in texture and fiber. It's better when I eat raw veg and salad, cuz the texture does help keep things from going down as quickly. Also, this week, the head cravings are out in force. This is maybe the first real week where I'm craving crappy food. So far, I am just staying the course with my KISS meals and not exploring even "healthy low carb/low fat/low cal" alternatives. I don't want to let the dogs out. I'm just saying though, the drive towards pizza is strong in that one... Today's 7 Week Menu: B1: 3c decaff + 3oz PP + Miralax + 2colace (9g protein) B2: egg white spinach tomato omelet + avocado tomatillo salsa (7g protein) 60g real egg whites (HEB) 1oz grape tomatoes (4) 1oz organic baby spinach 1tbsp avocado tomatillo salsa (HEB) L: grilled chix boob + 1oz steamed broccoli + 7g grape tomato (13g protein) 2oz grilled chix boob 1oz steamed broccoli 1 grape tomato 1/2tbsp WF Italian dressing AS: green apple protein smoothie (15g protein) 1 1/2oz organic baby spinach 3oz cucumber, peeled 1 1/2oz GS apple 2tbsp fresh lime juice 4 drops liquid stevia, vanilla 6oz water 16g vanilla whey pp (Isopure) D: blackened salmon + asparagus + avocado and tomato salad (16g protein) 2oz blacked sockeye salmon 1/3oz avocado 1/2oz grape tomatoes 1oz steamed asparagus DV: 2 multis, 1500 Ca Cit, 1000mcg B12, 18mg Iron, 100mg Thiamine + all meds Daily Totals: 480 cals; 60g protein; 9g fat; 26g carbs; 10g fiber; 16g net carbs; 10g nat. sugars

Dayum! You look so handsome and healthy!!! Congrats!! How's your heart doing?

Awww! ((hugs)) She loves you and you've made amazing progress. I understand your feelings. They are real. Be real. Be you. Don't spanx it unless it makes YOU feel great--not for anyone else hon!!! But glom on to how proud she is going to be of you getting healthy. I'm sure like many of our family, they have all been worried about us!! Glad you get to spend time with her this weekend!!!

It will be here so quickly. You won't even believe it. So happy for you.

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuddddgeeeeee! Only I didn't say fudge! Congrats! That's amazing! Those pounds are somebeaches!!!

TY! But ugghhhh! I'm dreading starting my baby PT stuff next week cuz I know it's gonna either keep the scale from moving for a bit or will result in a gain. It's so counter-intuitive isn't it? Like, dayum, I just worked my keester off! I should have lost 10lbs overnight! But you know, I'm neurotic like that! Ha!

Yes, max out on MOM for 2-3 days until you've had 6-8 big and I mean sizeable poos. Then like @Luisajfc said: 2 colace pills and I do daily Miralax. So far that means a normal size poopy every day. Keeps the troops happy.