FluffyChix

You both look fantastic!!! Congrats!!

Well, I'm not post op so shouldn't answer...but, since you asked... hehe I'll play! I don't have it. It's a massive trigger for me. Cuz you know, if 1 Big Mac is cool, then I want 2 and a fish sandwich, a biggie fries, a shake, and a hot apple pie. *snort* The closest I've come to that is BWW. We do go about 1 time every couple to 3 weeks. It's very hard! But I limit myself to a snack size traditional wings extra crispy with sauce on the side. Then I will have celery and blue cheese and will split a side order of cheese curds. That will mean I'm 1.2lbs up the next day, but will lose it by day 3 or 4. So...yeah...a little somepin somepin that doesn't make me lose my cheese altogether. Other than that, nah, not so much, but I've been having sex dreams about extra crispy KFC, Whataburger Chix Strips with Cream Gravy, and Popeye's fried chickie with all the sides. ALL. THE. SIDES!!! Am I yelling? Cuz I feel like I'm yelling!

Thanks to the help of many here, I'm compiling a "dumping" place for important information. @MarinaGirl Thanks for this most important one! Volume equivalents: 1 oz = 1/8 cup 2 oz = 1/4 cup 4 oz = 1/2 cup 8 oz = 1 cup Volume contents of eggs (USDA): 1 small egg: 1.5 ounces per egg (about 3 tbsp) 1 medium egg: 1.75 ounces per egg (about 3 1/2 tbsp) 1 large egg: 2 ounces per egg (about 4 tbsp = 1/4 cup) 1 xlarge egg: 2.25 ounces per egg (about 4 1/2 tbsp) 1 jumbo egg: 2.5 ounces per egg (about 5 tbsp) Weight/Volume Conversion Chart: I've used this chart for years when cooking for my old blog (that I no longer update). I first found the chart on a chowhound discussion when I was trying to figure out how much ground beef (cooked) that I'd need to serve 4 people for a recipe I was creating and little did I know it contained such a gold mine of information on ALL. The. Things. How much is 1 ounce of meat and other cool "meat facts" (WVA Center for Excellence in Disabilities): 1 ounce of meat the size of a small matchbook cover (yes, that small!) 1/4 cup tuna or ground beef 1/2 small chicken leg or thigh 1 slice of sandwich size meat 1 oz. of cooked, diced meat: fill measuring cup just below the 2 ounce mark. Substitutes for 1 ounce of meat 1/2 cup cooked lentils, peas or soup beans 1 egg 1/4 cup egg substitute 1/3 cup nuts 4 ounces tofu 1 ounce hard cheese (about 1 3/4 tablespoons) 2 ounces of meat 1/2 cup tuna or ground beef 1 small chicken leg or thigh 2 slices of sandwich size meat 2 oz. of cooked, diced meat: fill measuring cup just below the 3 ounce mark. 3 ounces of meat 3 oz. of cooked, diced meat: fill measuring cup just below the 5 ounce mark. 4 ounces of meat 4 oz. of cooked, diced meat: fill measuring cup just below the 6.5 ounce mark. Leanest Cuts Fish (unbreaded) Chicken Breast Turkey Breast Ground Chicken Breast Ground Turkey Breast Pork Tenderloin Pork Loin Roast or Sirloin Chops Fat Free Hot Dogs Beef Eye of Round Roast Beef Top Round Steak Bottom Round Roast Top Sirloin Steak Deer Meat Medium Fat Chicken, Dark Meat from Thighs or Wings Turkey, Dark Meat from Thighs or Wings Beef, Ground Sirloin Ground Beef, 95% lean Beef Chuck Shoulder Roast Beef Top Round Beef Tenderloin Flank Steak (Beef) Round Steak High Fat, High Cholesterol Ground Beef (less than 95% leans) Ribs (Beef or Pork) Chicken - Any cut that includes skin and fat Ground Chicken Ground Turkey Short Loin (Beef or Pork) Beef Brisket Sausage Bacon Bologna, Pepperoni, Salami Spam®, Vienna Sausages Regular Hot Dogs Please feel free to add to this thread so that we can collate a bunch of useful information!!!

Hey you guys, get offamycloud! hehehe Ok, thanks for bringing me down to earth and telling me to get real. I do know my body and that's why I don't usually set dates. Like, "I'll lose x pounds by this date." I never take part in challenges either cuz it's too dang stressful! I lose when I lose. As my body will attest. I raised my cals per my surgeon to be 1500/day. I've now been stuck in the 230s for a total of (drum roll please...) 89 days. . Today I'm down to 231.0lbs. So, clearly, I'm in maintenance calories. Look at my WL chart. Yep! Maintenance. But I'm doing what the doc wants. LOL. And the good news is that I'm at 1500 cals and about 40-70 net carbs and maintaining. I think that's totally do-able for future me. Right? (I only started using MFP in July so that's where the chart started. Before that was using Fitday and it was just too much of a b***h to use...)

((hugs)) So sorry to hear this report sweetie!!! ((hugs)) I think @raising3monkeys has the right spin on this! This was an exploratory with a hernia repair!!! That alone will help with healing down the road and will make you feel better soon!!! And as soon as you're healed from this surgery, you will be able to go back in and have a VSG that is VERY successful for so many!!! Heck, we might end up being surgery buddies!!! Try to stop the dissappointment from sinking in. Refuse to feel it. Flip the switch, say "NO!" And turn on a different light with a positive message: "I WILL heal and have VSG very shortly. I WILL feel better and have less GERD now that the hernia is repaired. I WILL feel better every day!!" Hang in there honey!

((hugs)) Do you have to take steroids during a flare up of the PKD? Sadly, you hit the nail on the head. These are operations on our guts, not our heads. And realistically, I would start with a good counselor and with making sure my thyroid and B vitamin levels and Vit D all look good. Maybe that would help you lose easier on a good diet? If it were me, I'd probably not risk the surgery. I think you will figure out how to eat around the RNY. And since your weight is so low, it would not have a big enough risk/benefit reward for me. The last think you want are bunches of scars and adhesions messing up a potential kidney transplant. It might even make you ineligible if you posed a high risk. Maybe you could try other types of diets like IF with calorie/carb control?

Gosh, I wish I could answer that for you!? Have you tried using a very slow simmer until it's fall apart tender? Then eating it with a tiny bit of the broth? Just until you can train your pouch to eat it again? Also, some people lose the ability to digest red meat when they abstain from it for a long time. They actually lose the enzyme responsible. So maybe you could try taking an enzyme supplement when eating beef or other red meats?

You look very thin and fit in your ticker and like you're about to win the race!

@PaulaUSN how are you doin hon? How did surgery go?

Just beautiful! Before and after!!! And can I just note, that 2inches makes a world of diff! No way did I look so beautiful and proportionate at 292lbs. You=Blessed! Congrats on your success and thank you for inspiring me! I piccys!

Good luck today sweetie!!!!

Call the office now. Very likely, they will still have you do surgery...I think they hit you with really powerful antihistamine to dry you up?

I like making the cauliflower/almond crust pizza or also love using a Light FlatOut and using half of it. I dry it out on a towel in the microwave until it's very crisp. Then I top with my cheese and toppings and broil until the cheese melts. I keep the sauce on the side and put a little bit on each bite so it stays cracker crust crispy! Hmmm, I may need to have that for lunch now that you mention it!

@Subaru Yes. That makes perfect sense! And you=lucky about your vits!!! I think we all grieve in different ways. And this is a rebirth, but for many, it's also a grief for the old life. We're moving into a very big unknown. And I think we all have to do what we must to prepare as we can/able.

What do your nephrologist and hepatologist say? I wouldn't do anything without their blessing--and a 40lb weight differential hardly seems enough to go in and do surgery. Are you self-pay? My thoughts are that once you start cutting in your abdomen, there will be scars/adhesions. You will be messing in the same area as your liver and also anterior to your kidneys, so it could cause scarring there as well. That could potentially cause problems if it became necessary to do a transplant of either kidney or liver...so that's why I wouldn't do anything without their express consent. ((hugs)) and sorry you suffer with these 2 terrible diseases! I have a friend with PKD.

Saying prayers for all!!!

Congrats to you! Thanks for sharing and inspiring me. And the good news is that you know what you need to do in order to lose the 20lbs!!! Score!

@Subaru This is only me...but I would be terrified going into surgery without having prepared ahead. Knowing that I've already been through the keto flu months before, knowing that I don't drink pop or caffeine, knowing I'm 99.9% off sugar, knowing I'm already eating a low carb, low sodium, low fat diet and doing just splendidly is reassuring. I have a plan on how to put protein meals together after surgery so that I don't feel overwhelmed. I have a plan for getting my liquids/water in after surgery. I know what schedule will work to get my vitamins in each day and will purchase them soon. That doesn't guarantee a smooth ride. I'm sure there will be a few curve balls to negotiate. Recovery from any surgery is tough and for me, prolonged (3-6months usually). So I'm praying this one will be quicker, but am mentally prepared for 6 months of "not so much fun." And because I've done the pre-work, I took the "overwhelmed" part out of the equation (I hope). But, you know, I'm a What About Bob type of personality. So I have to break things down into baby steps in order to make myself do something or to get through it.

Dayum! Aren't you afraid of gaining? My surgeon told me that I had to show a loss on the scale when I see her next. (I was up 4lbs this last visit.)

Hahaha! Ask away! Medium rare should be theoretically safe for "whole muscle" cuts, especially if you don't observe any cysts on the meat--which could be signs of worm or tuberculosis. I sear it on very high heat to brown all cut sides, then roast in the oven to finish it. So the cut sides are exposed for to about 750degrees for 2 minutes. This was loin shaped but "flatter" like a thick flat iron, so I just did the 2 sides. The other big thing for me, is that we live in Texas and there have been no reported cases of CJD in deer in Texas (or elk--which I think most are farm raised in Texas). But for elk in other states, or deer for that matter, it would be really important for me to know if you have that disease as well as tuberculosis in your state. That would determine how I would prepare the meat and to what degree of doneness. I also know that no bones, brain, nor spinal tissue were exposed, cut or broken when butchering. We cut off the whole carcass, then trim into single muscles. I'd probably feel more concerned if it was or if we used a deer processor. I also know that the lungs looked clear and so did the tongue, eyes, coat (wasn't tick infested), and liver of this deer. So I don't have a whole lot of concern eating it medium rare. But I would not eat it rare. Between rare (cold center) and medium rare (warm center) is about 10-25 degrees of doneness difference--roughly. Don't know if that's enough from a biological standpoint, but it "calms" my nerves. LOL. I hate medium or beyond meat of any kind--especially game. It begins to taste like liver at that temperature! *blech* Does that help? (I would not eat rare moose or elk in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, or Canada--maybe even Alaska? )

Sorry. I think I either mis-read your stats, or you updated them after I'd answered. Great job on the losses. Congrats! I'd say to you and to myself, "Keep workin' it girlie, until YOU feel good in your body. If that's 170lbs, so be it. If it's more then go for it--regardless of what the surgeon/RD says." Don't get scared! Just work it every dayum day long.

Honestly? I'd LOVE a total body lift. They could just tie all the extra stuff up on top of my head like a bun! But the reality is, that I know I'll need it (old fart here too), and I know I won't be able to afford it. My ins. won't cover cosmetic elective surgeries. I will work out to be the best saggy elephant I can be...but dayum!!! If I look as smokin' hot as @jenn1 I will start dressing like a teenage tart about to go to a Rave, cuz I will feel like I'm all that and a bucket of KFC extra crispy! LOL. I will live in shapewear if it makes me look like that! But I digress. I would also share my adventures in plastics with everyone--shouting it from the rooftops! About the only chance I'd have of getting plastics is if I get cellulitis. That is a distinct possibility, especially in my lymphedema arm. The only way they will touch it because of risk of infection, would be if it had to be debulked to keep me from dieing. That may be my only shot at getting a lymph node transplant with revasculature (it's experimental). If it happened, I'd probably be allowed a tummy tuck or lower body lift with it. I fear my arms, tummy, legs, and neck will be a lost cause...sharpei-city. (Oh, and @jenn1 TY for piccys! You know I piccys! So inspirational!)

MUAH!!! Good job! Watch Hallmark Channel Christmas movies!!

@dreamingsmall ((huge hugs)) One word...selfie. I SWEAR I'll validate you, especially if you stick up a before too! j/k sweetie, you have to stick to your comfort zone!!!

@PaulaUSN - Good luck tomorrow hon!!!! Will be praying for you. Can't wait for you to check back with us after surgery!!!