FluffyChix

Good luck and congrats to all!!! @PaulaUSN You better get your tiny hiney over to the "ticker" and make one so we can follow your progress!!!

Congrats girlie! I'm afraid "we" must "insist" you offer piccys. You know how we feel about piccys, especially the before and "during" or "afters." Loved hearing about your thoughts/feelings!!! @Strivingforbetter Congrats to you too! (hint: see above re: piccys)

Mindfulness Question: Do you practice mindful eating? What questions do you ask yourself before sitting down to eat? Honestly, I ask why am I eating this? And then after I do inventory--How did this meal make me feel? If I can't answer "hunger" on the first question, I do my level best to put the food down and walk away. I'm successful now about 90-95% of the time. I'm a serious work in progress. The times of failure are less ugly than they used to be, but ugly none-the-less. Instead of a full pan of Stouffer's Mac n' Cheese, it may only be 1cup--but the consequences still can last over a week and are still devastating both physically and emotionally/spiritually! And it reinforces the behavior/habit, which sucks! The after question will hopefully end that my meal nourished me and made me feel sustained, healthy, and energetic. It used to be that most things made me feel bloated, sluggish, and uncomfortable in my body. But that's changed dramatically since I've really focused on getting great fiber (soluble and unsoluble). Saturday Menu (11.25.17): I was "off-schedule" due to family lunch and shopping for gift supplies to begin making corporate gifts. I ended up only eating 2 large meals and 1 snack. And I had to take a nap. B: none MS: none L: Smoked turkey wedge salad (1/2hd romaine, 4oz smoked turkey, 2slices applewood bacon, 1.5oz sliced onion, 1oz avo, 2tbsp creamy cilantro dressing, 2tbsp tomatillo salsa AS: remaining salad from lunch; 1oz cheddar; 14g toasted almonds; 2oz GS apple D: 1/2c homemade 2Alarm chili; 1/2c red kidney beans; 1pck Miracle Noodles; 1/4c shredded cheddar, 1 tbsp grated parm; 1tbsp sour cream, 56g hatch salsa roja Daily Totals: 1169cals; 67g protein; 66g fat; 81g carbs; 32g fiber; 49g net carbs (cals too low today)

Had a successful lunch yesterday and stuck to plan 100%. Had my turkey wedge salad and didn't even finish it. I ate the balance as a snack 3 hours later and had far fewer carbs than anyone other than Mr. F. at the table. Win one for the Gipper! I felt like a champion--so successful for that meal! NSV much? I ran across this HuffPost article that was interesting. For me, the "Where Did It Come From" question would look more like: Is it pre-made, pre-packaged, fast food? Rather than was it raised ethically. Right now, my budget does not lend itself to ethics. I eat CAFO meat. The end, it's all I can afford and it's way better than the $1 menu at a drive-thru. I only can afford to eat a few things organic (not even the full dirty dozen list). But the other 3 questions were really interesting. She claims she asks these 4 questions before she puts anything in her mouth: 1. What am I eating? (the ingredients rather than the name of the food--processed chemicals, etc) 2. Where did it come from? (ethically or factory produced; OR straight ingredients prepared at home v. pre-packaged/pre-made/fast food) 3. Why am I eating it? (hunger, fuel, emotions, boredom, head cravings/hunger, because it's there) 4. How will I feel after eating this? (physically, emotionally, behaviorally, spiritually) Mindfulness Question: Do you practice mindful eating? What questions do you ask yourself before sitting down to eat?

Yeah. Yeah. I'm a planner. I make lists. I "What About Bob" crap to death and try to think of all the contingencies in order to work things out in advance. It's what I do. How I roll. So how many of you are Dudley Doo-Right overachievers and want to see if tracking things makes you more accountable? I already track in MFP, but there's another board which shall remain nameless, that has these daily menu threads and I find them infinitely helpful to see what others are eating, or to have someone spot something in another's menu that might cause them issues with loss or maintenance. Will you take this poll so we can see how many of us knuckleheads want to participate? Oh and please drop a comment to discuss how frequently to start a new menu thread (daily, weekly, monthly, never, etc)! TIA mucho! MUAH! (hehehe--oh you 60lb losers know what I'm talkin' bout here... )

@Rainbow_Warrior Those crustless quiches sound delish! I heart them and forget to make them!! Thanks.

@jenn1 Whoooot! Great post girlie! ((hugs)) I'm personally celebrating hitting a 60% Off Black Friday sale at World Market to get the baskets for Mr. Fluffy's corporate gifts. Shazam! She shoots. She scores! (hehe it's always something...)

@tankheadmommy Ditto. (I'm having a Ghost moment without the sex...not that there's anything wrong with that!)

Ok, I'm feeling pretty strong (like Russian bull or East German female shotputter) today. I'm back down to 231.2 (only 0.4lbs away from my published weight). Yippee! And I'm post TG! Shoop! Der it is! One holiday down, 3 to go! I made a ridiculously easy pan roasted venison last night. I forget how easy moist roast is when you're cooking a small muscle. We separate the venison into individual muscles the shape of tenderloins and cut them to about 1lb each. So this was a small rump muscle (like an eye of round). Season then 2 minutes per side in olive oil to brown. Then into a 375 degree oven for 15minutes. Remove from pan and let it rest for 10 -15 minutes. Perfect medium rare, beautiful warm pink/red throughout, oozing juice. Tender as could be! You can do this same method with chicken breasts, turkey breasts, and small meat roasts of all kinds. Just adjust the amount of time in the oven. I am happy the scale is moving down again and I'm almost back to my published weight. My low was actually 230.4lbs, but I hadn't changed it on my ticker. Last weekend's pity party and eating fest really shocked and saddened me. I've been "in recovery" since May and despite a cancer recurrence scare with 2 months worth of heavy duty medical tests like multiple MRIs, CTs, PFTs, echos, etc, I was able to muddle through without eating for comfort and without deviating from my daily food plans. So I grew complacent. Complacency is the enemy of purposeful living. So now I'm minding my p's and q's. Today we're going for Texas BBQ with my sis and BIL to the #6 place on the Texas Monthly top 50 BBQ Restaurants List. It's in Tomball, so just basically in our back yard. I adore this place and if you can believe it, I'm excited to have their smoked turkey wedge salad. They have THE best smoked turkey breast--no sugar, moist, and fall apart tender, and a kick-ass cilantro salsa/dressing that rocks my world. So I know I will be able to enjoy the time with my fam while still being faithful to the diet plan for today. What's going down your piehole? Mindful Eating Question: How often do you still eat for comfort? Friday's Menu (November 24, 2017) B: cottage cheese frozen blueberries and fiber cereal bowl (57g HEB FF Grk Yogurt, 85g Daisy 2% cottage cheese, 1fl oz Fairlife Skim milk, 35g frozen blueberries, 8.5g toasted slivered almonds, 6.5g Fiber One cereal) MS: 28g hummus, 2oz baby carrots L: 3/4c broccoli cheese protein soup AS: 2tbsp LS peanut butter, 1.75oz GS apple, psylli tea D: 4oz venison roast, 1/4c homemade dressing, 1/2c roasted brussels sprouts, chopped salad (2oz romaine, 1oz baby spinach, 1.25oz cucumber, .75oz rbp, .5oz red onion, 1oz avo, 1oz gr toms, .5oz blue cheese crumbles, 3tbsp WF Italian Dressing) BS: pumpkin yogurt (56g HEB FF Grk Yogurt, 61g Libby's canned pumpkin, liquid stevia, pumpkin pie spice, ground cinnamon, 14g toasted walnuts) Daily Totals: 1475cals; 97g prot; 75g fat; 96g carbs; 29g fiber; 67g net carbs (dayum! gotta get my protein down!!)

Good luck today!!!! As I suspected, we all full of sh*t. I'm praying things will be fine!

Well, I'm hoping I will be somewhere around 220-225 on surgery day? My math was like 12lbs/mo x 6 months = 72lbs (Pssst, my charts show that by consuming 800-850lbs cals/day, my body really digs that amount, and let's go of about 12-13lbs/mo on average. So I'm pretty sure that if after surgery I'm consuming 600-800cals/day, that I will be in a 10-12lbs/mo range.) 220-70=150lbs; that would give me an extra 3 months to lose the last 10lbs. I'm hoping that is do-able.

Are you on chemo hon? I had hand-foot-syndrome due to my high doses of chemo. The bottoms of my toes and fingers turned to leather and peeled. I was left with stinging and burning in both hands and feet. There is now a lot of numbness and my toes still feel "thick."

Congrats on your mini goals and milestones. Love that you're thinking in NSVs as well as SVs. I don't personally set time frames for reaching goals because by now, I know that it's gonna take as long as it takes. I'm very driven by SVs and MVs (measurment victories). I set very small mini goals: 10lbs (every new decade) and every 1 inch for the tape measure. I only measure waist and hips. I do get continually surprised by NSVs, but I don't use those as goals. They are just analogues to the weight and measuring tape victories. I do celebrate them when I notice them. They're like little surprise gifts. Things like, fitting into something in my closet that was previously too small. Fitting into a chair without squeezing. Sitting in the breakfast table chair without it gouging a bruise on my hips. Sitting in the doctor's waiting room with room on either side of my chair. Not needing a seatbelt extender. Having lots of space between my thighs/tummy and the steering wheel. Being able to push my hips up and shift positions on the exam table or MRI/CT machine beds. Being able to exercise and build core muscle strength without being super short of breath. Being able to stand longer before lymphedema swelling and pain kicks me in the ass. I look forward to getting into the next decade (220s) and losing the next inch off my waist and booty. It's the law of small numbers. Small goals, small disappointments or reasonable excitement.

Congrats on losing 51.8 lbs! Just curious, why would you be content to stop losing where you're are, at 270.7lbs when you're goal is 100lbs away still??? As I read on here, the one's who are truly focusing on losing every single day, exceed their surgeon's expectations and lose to goal or pretty close to goal. My surgeon termed my honeymoon period as: 6 months in "the sweet spot" and an additional year in the active weight loss spot. Beyond that, weight loss isn't impossible, but merely more difficult than in the beginning phases. If it were me, I would not be thinking of the regain. I would still be in high-gear to lose as much of that additional 100lbs as humanly possible within the next 10months! I'd do that by meeting my vitamin, water and daily protein goals and keeping 20g net carbs daily. I would also strictly limit any shenanigans that include carby, fattening foods and alcohol. Not meaning to be inflexible, I would just know I have more work to do and be very diligent about living "cleanly."

ha! you=pervy! bahahahahahaha! (Seinfeld: "Not that there's anything wrong with that...)

Wow! Holy transformation Batman!!! You look fantastic. You were beautiful, proportionate, and dressed darling before, but you're even more so now. I think you look at least 10 years younger. Love that you're playing tennis again! Maybe one day I might be able to...I used to play varsity tennis in high school...me=high hopes=dreamer. Congrats and thanks for sharing your inspirational pics. I piccys!

I use these two emojis to emote the following: elephant = 60 lbs of weight loss = joy of losing the equivalent of an elephant penis circus tent=party (any type) (I would prefer to use an emoji that has a noise maker in its mouth, wearing a party hat, but we don't have one)

Bahahahaha! What's the naughty CBT? LOL. The "nice" CBT=cognitive behavior therapy=the early evolution of mindfulness (so popular today). CBT is very helpful in dealing with moods/depression/food and substance addictions. In essence it is defined that no one or nothing can "make" you feel anything. It's our own cognitions that determine our response, mood, behavior. So instead of being at the mercy of all these outward forces, we have the power internally to determine our existence and state of happiness. It's essentially: "I THINK, therefore I feel." A practical hypothetical example: Incoming Stimulus: UGggggggh!!! I crave XYorZ. I want it now. I'm so weak! I hate myself that I can't control my craving! I just have no power to resist! I'm gonna go grab a bag out of the kitchen and go to town with it! The Process of Dealing with the Stimulus and Determining Your Emotion: (I think therefore I feel.) Step 1: Capture the thought. "I crave." "I'm weak." "I hate myself and am powerless over the craving." "I am going to go eat XYorZ." Step 2: Mentally picture a light switch on the wall. Switch it to the "OFF" position. Effectively snuffing out the incoming stimulus thoughts you have captured. Just turn them off. Now it's total darkness--cuz the switch is off. I have delayed/deferred "feeling" or action while I'm capturing this thought. Step 3: Mentally switch the light switch to "on" and replace the "bad" information/stimulus with "positive statements." Decide how you will go forward. "Am I hungry? If no, I will do something to distract and deep breath, and drink a glass of water. If I'm actually hungry, I will eat a hard boiled egg, or 1-2oz of protein so I no longer "crave"." "I'm strong and purposefully minded. I determine what goes in my mouth. A craving does not mean I'm actually hungry." "I have power over my head hunger and cravings. I can resist temptations for the greater, long term goal." "I love and appreciate myself for the strong, loving, caring person I am." "I'm choosing to feel contentment with my situation, happiness, positivity, and hope." NOTES: At first, this action takes time to actually feel and resolve and experience it. But after you've been doing it a while, it happens almost automatically, beneath the surface, like a computer program that runs in the background. It really helps when used diligently. I think your situation makes control much harder, since someone else shops and you share a kitchen! Yikes! Much harder to resist the lure of cravings. If it were me, I'd stay in ketosis and full all the time! LOL. It's hard to be bad when you have a full tummy! I'm definitely not perfect and backslide. I don't always win the day. But that's ok. It's a helluva lot better than not even trying to win the day. Right? I win maybe 90-95% of my days at present. That's about as good as I want to be, because being totalitarian or perfect sets me up for rebelliousness. In this situation, I'm aware of the consequences and know, that there will be no beatings after a fall. I will simply, acknowledge the fall, take a look at how and why it happened, and even where it happened. Determine if I can do something different the next time the situation happens. Decide that I'm not a "bad" person for falling, process any disappointment, or altered emotions, release forgiveness and move forward with taking the "next best bite." Sometimes, doing the headwork happens very quickly--instantly. But other times, like this past week, it took me a few days to really process my emotions and to rephrase them and understand them in order to release the forgiveness. While that happens, there is quite a bit of balancing with temptation that occurs.

Oh I soooo get you girl! I'm really not very disturbed by the daily fluctuations. My pattern is that I will hit a new low, and the next morning the scale will immediately bounce back about 2-3lbs. So my graph is a series of spikey steps in a downward trend. I'm happy as long as the trend is a downward line. But last weekend involved only 1 extra snack, and 1 meal and cost me 5whole pounds. Dayum! Then the next day I ate an additional 1/4c of mac n' cheese. That was enough to seal the deal. :-/ Ughhh! 5lbs. Ef me!!! LOL. I've lived with the scale not budging at 235.8lbs almost all week. Yesterday it relented and went down to 235.2lbs--finally! Then this morning it's 232.4lbs. So I know it's gonna behave and my mood is very stable about it.) But this week was the devil's own b***h to keep myself from eating off plan! I powered through it and relied heavily on deep breathing through the cravings along with CBT and mindfulness. But the temptation to "have just a bite of xy or z" was strong. Truly the saving grace is probably that we don't keep dangerous crap in the house. To have a bite of xy or z, I would have to order delivery (which we don't have a budget for, and it would devastate Mr. F's tongue and Type 2), or I'd have to go to the store and buy it--which I'm too unmotivated to do. Do you keep a "clean" kitchen? Or do you have to keep snacky crap around for the fam? How many days does it take you to get your mind and willpower back in the game?

OH @PaulaUSN I'm so thrilled for you sweetie!!! ((hugs)) It's gonna be done and over before you even have a chance to blink! Sorry about the new time, but it will give you some time with fam, to pray, get your head in the game, and I know the surgical team will help you big time! Don't be afraid to ask for drugs to help with the nerves--they expect it!!! Sayin' prayers!

I'm very pleased with my Thanksgiving performance. LOL. I was well-behaved at the table, on my plate, and at the card table. I planned for the desserts...which is odd, because I'm not normally a dessert girl. I made Mr. F's favorite low carb tiramisu (and I did it with only liquid stevia) cuz he's literally allergic to every other type of sweetener. The result of that was...well a trade-off. In return for not having his tongue swell, we traded off and accepted a little bitterness. And it had a little bitter aftertaste and wasn't as sweet, but that's a win. It was a wholly satisfying meal and decent lc dessert. I even saved enough calories/carbs to enjoy a sliver (1/8" slice) of this frosted costco pumpkin roll, and 2 small (4oz) glasses of wine). It tasted divine! Had an unexpected hint of orange! No snacking yesterday and only 3 meals plus dessert. This morning, despite having cankles from doing too much yesterday, the scale is back down to 232.4lbs. It's ridiculous how much power over my happiness/mood/dietary satisfaction the scale possesses. What a little arbitrary b***h. Right? Am I right? Is your mood controlled by the scale reading? Yesterday, Thursday 24, 2017 (Thanksgiving Menu) B: turkey sausage, spinach scramble (150g egg whites, 28g JD Turkey Saus Crumbles, 3oz super greens trio, 1/2 tbsp evoo, 1tsp hot sauce) MS: none L: red white and blue salad (2oz lo grilled ribeye, 1oz baby spinach, 1oz romaine, 3/4oz rbp, 1/2oz red onion, 1oz gr toms, 1oz avo, 1/2oz blue cheese crumbles, 2tbsp WF Italian Dressing, 1tsp evoo, 1tbsp sunflower seeds, shelled) AS: none D: 3oz roasted turkey, 1/4c homemade gravy, 1/2c green bean casserole, 2oz roasted acorn squash, 1/4c WaWa's dressing, 1/2c roasted brussels sprouts, 4oz la crema chardonnay, 4oz 1924 cabernet sauvignon BS: 1/8 sliver Costco iced pumpkin roll, 1 piece (1/16 cake) LC Tiramisu Daily Totals: 1471 cals; 75g fat; 70g protein; 81g carbs; 14g fiber; 67g net carbs (fiber was low yesterday)

I'm grateful and blessed to be part of this community and want to thank each of you for alternately inspiring, supporting, and making me laugh or at least think deeply! I've learned so much from each of you and look forward to learning even more in the coming years!!! Hope you all have a wonderful day filled with good times!!!! ((hugs)) Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Good luck! I know we'll be here for each other!

@hope4momof4 Holy crap! Now I'm really cryin'. And embarrassed! I'm just a schmoe on the internet who assimilates information very quickly and is obsessed with factoids about everything. (And I'm absolutely certain that quite a lot of it is wrong or almost wrong! Remember the whole internet schmoe part...) It's so weird about the surgery. In the "My Surgery" area under our profile area, you can put which surgery you're going to have along with the prospective date of surgery. I reset mine to February 2018 (I think)? But instead of showing pre-surgery, it just shows the surgery type without a surgery date. I think, if you look at post-surg peeps, you will see a surgery date immediately following their surgery type and that will let you know if someone is pre or post surgery. Let's just muddle through this pre-surg stuff together ok?