FluffyChix

Thanks. Variety here is the key for me. Since there is no variety on texture (or very little anyway). LOL. I don't like overly sweet stuff, so I tend to dilute my protein drinks and smoothies a LOT. I can always add sweetness back to it using stevia drops or sf DaVinci or Torani syrups. I love cutting the sweet with the peanut butter powder, unsweetened coconut milk, and I got the approval to have 1 shake a day that could have 1oz of frozen chopped spinach and 1oz of frozen blueberries, but honestly, I'm trying not to move that far off plan.

Ha! It's a blessing and a curse for her. She calls me "her little rule follower" cuz I try very hard to know the borders of my parameters and explore to find out "is this in or out of bounds"? LOL. I'm sure I drive her crazy! And I have written books. I used to keep my low carb keto blog. I just haven't posted to it in about 2 years (or more) cuz my lymphedema has gotten so bad in my left arm, that doing the meal prep, photography, and then the recipe development and blog posts were just too much and made my arm, side, back, and neck swell too much. So I quit. Hanging out here is ok, cuz I can sit in my recliner with my left arm on pillows and type on a lap top, one handed. It allows the arm to keep the fluids more drained. I'm stage2 so that means, that gravity will still allow partial drainage. Here's my old blog Fluffy Chix Cook http://fluffychixcook.com/ There are a lot of low carb recipes that would be good for us, but sadly, the quantities are all wrong for post surg and you'd be eating some of the recipes for years. LOL. But some of the fiber "bread-type" stuff would/might be good. Here are the books I've written. I specialized in recreating low carb analogs of food I grew up with--particularly for "feast" or celebratory meals. http://fluffychixcook.com/fluffy-chix-newsstand/store/

Day 3 is in the bag! Boom! Done, baby! It was hands down, the hardest day so far. I think maybe it's because I expected it to be the toughest day--since that's what I so often read? But it's done. And I've made progress. Thanks to my fairwell tour of BBQ, I was up 4-5lbs on Sunday morning--so I started the liquid diet 1 day early, to see if I could mitigate damages. Yeah--it was TOTS worth it. This morning I'm down to 228.2lbs (-5.8lb loss). Yay for me! Thah crahps ah sayuved!!! I heard back from my RD. She will allow me to add up to 28g (1oz) of condensed cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup to 1 of my daily meals, as long as all the other meals/snacks fall strictly into my guidelines. That's good and bad. It's good cuz I now have a tiny bit more variety. It's bad because it means that psychologically, I'm still saving my "best meal of the day" for dinner, rather than eating it earlier in the day. Often "best meals" contain more calories/carbs/fat, "fill in the blank" and often, they are bigger and heavier. And it gets eaten around 7:30pm...so, just sayin', that may be a behavior I need to visit and revise post surgery. I found an intriguing recipe for Banana Joe Smoothies yesterday on another site. As I "understand it" Banana Joe refers to mixing banana protein with coffee. They made a smoothie, but last night I was too hangry to care, so I just made it into a super quicky iced coffee. I'll post the recipes below: Creamy Beef and Mushroom Protein Broth (Pre-surgery Approved by My RD) Makes 1-2 servings 29g Isopure Unflavored Protein Powder 2fl oz Fairlife Milk, fat free 28g Campbell's Healthy Request Cream of Mushroom Soup 8fl oz Beef Stock, unsalted (Kitchen Basics) 1 pckt Herb Ox Beef Bullion, sodium free 8fl oz water 1/8 tsp granulated garlic 1 pinch dried parsley pepper/No Salt to taste Mix unflavored protein powder with milk and condensed soup until it makes a paste. Nuke the beef stock, water, and spices until burning hot. Slowly pour protein mixture into the hot soup, stirring constantly. Make sure everything is dissolved and well combined. Enjoy as 1-2 meal replacements. Nutritionals: 211 cals; 39g protein; 2g fat; 10g carbs; 0g fiber; 10g net carbs; 3g sugar Banana Joe Iced Coffee Makes 1 serving (HEEEEEUUUUUGGGGEEEEE) 11fl oz Premier Protein, Bananas and Cream flavored RTD shake 12fl oz brewed decaff coffee 6g whole psyllium husks (optional) 4-7 drops liquid vanilla stevia (Vitacost) ice (and lots of it) Mix it all together. Make sure there's a crap ton of ice. Add a straw and enjoy. This should occupy you for a LONG while! Nutritionals: 160 calories; 30g protein; 3g fat; 5g carbs; 2g fiber; 3g net carbs; 1g sugar (counts do not include the psyllium fiber since I omitted it last night) Here's MFP food log for Day 3. What I'm finding is this early out, I'm just not feeling deprivation. I feel like I have "enough" variety and a wide enough array of sweet to savory that my palette isn't getting jaded by a bombardment of sweet. I will tell you, it's odd how satisfying a cup of broth with a bit of granulated garlic is feeling. Between meals, it really keeps me satisfied--as did the sf cherry popsicle yesterday afternoon. It's the little pleasures. Right?

I did. I like hackin' around with quick "broths" and soups and I just subbed out some of my bone broth/stock I usually have hanging out in the freezer for a kind that I know the nutritional totals. You can also add a pinch of five spice powder and about a 1/8tsp of fish sauce and to me, it tastes a lot like Vietnamese Pho! I think it might be good with the veggie stock, but I'd be tempted to add more sesame oil? Or maybe steep a dried mushroom in it for added flavor (and nutrition). Dried shitakis (or even porcinis) are really great. Oh and I got a response from the RD. She doesn't have a problem with tiny amounts of condensed cream soups as long as I'm not sitting down to bowls of the stuff and eating multiple things like that each day. She said one meal a day will be okey dokey. I think she's not being as hard line on me cuz I've lost so much up to this point and that I'm more pear than apple (although I do have a big tummy--it's just that my hips are bigger). Good times, huh?

Congrats! That's outstanding!

Ok that just bites it! I would be super bummed too!!! ((hugs)) Hang in there sweetie. God has a plan. Swearsies! Keep working it!!! I don't think they would tell you to continue on the liquid diet if it they didn't think there was a good chance it was going forward as planned? Do you?

Wow! I totally get it! So. Many. Creases and crepe. ((hugs)) I don't know which is worse, half an eyebrow or to have all you mascara fall off your lashes and pool under your eyes like a goth. LOL. Glad she's gonna let you have a do-over! I don't guess you can take a pic and she could upload it huh? Liquid is going ok. Tonight was fairly tough-ish. I couldn't even make Mr. F.'s grilled chickie boobs. I was too hungry. I woulda caved. So I made him eat leftover potroast from the freezer with broccoli and butter and avo+tomato. Quick, ready in 5 minutes. Done! Thanks for being so supportive! MUAH!

Yay!!! You go girl! Super report!

So excited for you! Welcome and please post a lot! I'm bored and need new entertaining threads to read.

Oh, don't get me wrong, there is hunger. But it's manageable and not stark raving mad kind of hunger? But I will confess, at night I'm playing a ton of games on my iphone lol!

Saying prayers for each of you! You'll do great!! I'm following up on Feb. 20. Excited but scared, and will be watching you guys to lead the charge!

Congrats!!! So happy for you!

Engineered a cup of tasty chicken broth for 17cals. Chinese Chicken Broth (pre-op friendly) 8fl oz low sodium chicken broth (Central Market Organics) 1 pinch ground ginger 1 pinch granulated garlic 1/8 tsp toasted sesame oil 1/8 tsp tamari 1/4 tsp Sriracha sauce Nuke for 2 minutes, stir and sip like a cup of tea. Mmmmm! Nutritionals: 17cals; 2g protein; 1g fat; 1g carbs; 0g fiber; 1g net carbs; 1g sugar

@Little Green How ya doing over here? I see the lights on, but nobody's home. Hope you're hanging in there girl!

No for me. I've been living in ketosis for so long that they don't turn much color. I'm on Day 3 of the liquid diet. So far, so good. LOL. How are y'all doing??

February 20th as well. You know there's a big ol' thread on February Buddies? Come join the fun y'all!

Hi @chamomilelavender I'm February 20th RNY too. I'm on Day 3 of the pre-op liquid diet. So far it really hasn't been too bad; a little hunger, a little craving to chew. But, those have been outweighed by the gravity of the situation I'm in--to prepare for surgery and shrink my liver. I don't want to fork up anything, so I'm on the straight and narrow. How are you doing? *waves to everyone in the room* Howdy!

Ha! Love this! Maybe I'll revise my reward from going camping and tubing on the Frio (in a bikini), to getting tatties on the foobs? LOL, I horrified my PS when I suggested I might get Harley Davidson tats there instead of nip tats. Ahhhh BC, you make us laugh in your face! Cheers mamacita! Keep rockin' it!!!

From your lips to God's ears sweetie! And I don't have the suckage lottery with the BC. LOL. Sounds like your's sucks wind too. ((hugs)) Sad to hear how so many on your mom's side have it. Here's to being able to go out for a run, or at least a slow jog one day, right? (Hey, it's our party, we can dream. Right?)

@blizair09 I understand the need for a break from BP--especially as vet or even someone post surgery who's doing well and living life! But selfishly, I'm glad you're back and hope you will stick it out here. Maybe you guys will rally and get some vet action going on your board?! Thanks for responding here. It's very beneficial for us pre-ops and noobs. I do appreciate that it takes something from you to participate (and to participate on the same damn questions ad nauseum. LOL.)! Your weight loss is pretty phenomenal. Super congrats on your continued success. Tell me, do you work out? I think @BigViffer also eats really dense nutrition every 2 hours maybe? I can't remember if any females do that same thing? I know @jess9395 and @jenn1 are intensely active, but wonder if the same rules apply across gender? Honestly Bliz, I am in the terrified camp. It's hard to imagine how the surgery will truly help take my capacity for eating away. But I'm ready to embrace the idea of food as fuel, rather than entertainment or a drug. I don't want to become a statistic--so I feel I need to get as educated as possible so that I can recognize the traps and pitfalls that exist post-surgery. How much of regain is under our control? It sounds like quite a lot of it is? But I am certain there's not a hard-fast, elegant solution. I think probably many many things come into play--some under our control, and others outside of our control. Thanks again for participating!

Yay!!! You guys are rockin' it!!!!

Crap girlie! So sorry to hear of this. I'd never heard of CMT before? The foot drop thing sucks! I have neuropathy from having hand-foot syndrome from super heavy duty chemotherapy. And sometimes the chemical burning and stinging are all you can stand. But thankfully, I just have numbness on parts of my feet, without the drop. ((hugs)) Does diet play any part in helping it get better at all (I know it's genetic--which parent had it)?

A crap ton of co-morbidities. I felt like I was 90 and fading fast. Hard to walk. Hard to bathe. Hard to wipe my butt. Hard to stand to cook. And my oncologist and My 600Lb Life scared me straight and put the fear of God into me.

Dunno? I'm not partial to blue raspberry. I know they make sf raspberry jello (Royal brand). I mix it with a package of orange to double the recipe when I'm making it. But raspberry by itself, meh...don't know why? I think the fat is a little high using the coconut milk, but I won't sweat it if I have only 1 of those per day. I'm not getting fat from any other source. I don't have any almond milk to compare.

Thanks so much for this dude! I'd call you a success and a role model. Have you hit any caloric walls where you feel like you're going up inexplicably? I do have to face the reality and did a long time ago, that "carbs" are not my friend. Pre-surg, I really can't eat legumes, or have too big of a serving of yogurt or fruit without my bgs going up and being crazy hungry within 2hours. That's how I know if something (or a meal) had too much glycemic load for my particular body to handle. Before I met my RD, I was averaging loosely between 20-40g per day of net carbs with a crap ton of that from fiber. It's where I feel best.