FluffyChix

I think maybe this is a semantics situation, but unless I'm missing something and you do actually have a donor "part" like my cadaver muscles that rebuilt part of my foobs, there is nothing foreign in your new gut anatomy. It's still YOUR stomach, so autologous. It's just a new arrangement/size of original equipment. I make that point not to be a jerk, but because someone new coming here might read this thread and think it's not your real anatomy. I also think it helps psychologically to not look at your new anatomy as a foreign object in your body. Our immune systems are set up to reject foreign bodies in order to keep us alive. I don't know about you, but I sure as hell don't want to set up a self-fulfilling prophecy on rejecting part of my own body.

I'm a freak of nature--I know. But I actually like the thickness and appetite suppression/fullness that I get from adding 1 tbsp of whole psyllium husks to a drink like: iced protein coffee, apple pie spice iced tea, protein smoothies of all flavors. It really gives body and stays with me. Will psyllium be off limits to me post surgery? Do you use it and if so, how does it affect you. How did you work into using it once you had surgery? TIA!

What's the foreign body inside you?

I'm sorry you are mad, sad, betrayed, hurt, fill-in-the-blank. Now for the hard part. Forgiveness. Life is short and fragile. Do you love him? Does he love you? Does he have your back in a knife fight? If so, move on. The cat's out of the bag. Choose the way you want to frame this. If it were me, I would look at it as a positive God-thing. Now you are no longer doing something so very serious, in the dark. It's been exposed to the light and is no longer secret. Own it. Be proud. Stand your ground. And do not let whatever you are holding against him deter you or drain the energy that should be focused on your journey to health and healing. Choose forgiveness. Move on. Learn. Know that unfortunately, Felicia has loose lips and is a huge pus*y who doesn't know how to keep a forkin' secret. LOL. It is what it is...you promised to love him for better or for worse...and in future, you will know what to tell him and not tell him. LOL. (But, it's not like you could do this without his knowledge...)

One of the things my nut recommended was to use one of the clear proteins and water the hell down and flavor it with water drops. Then just literally sip on it all day. You'll kill 2 birds with 1 stone. You'll get fluid in and get quality protein in at the same time. She said don't worry about the continual nutrition in the early days--that it's more important to hit the daily protein goal rather than worry about "eating something all day long." I have Isopure RTD Zero Carb in Grape Frost, Alpine Punch and also in Green Tea flavors. If I drink them full strength they are truly gag-worthy. Hoooooo doggy! So bad. But if you dilute them at least 50/50 with water (if not more) and then add water drops--I use the sf koolaid flavors, you barely notice they are there. 1 bottle gives you 40g of protein in 20fl oz. So 1 bottle could give you 40fl oz of your 64oz min liquid requirement while also giving you about 2/3rds of your protein needs for the day. I dilute the Green Tea flavor with real decaff tea in any flavor--love celestial season's red zinger with it in there.

Holy guacamole! This MUST be a God thing. Right? Look at the results. They are basically 80% to 20%. Yee ol' 80/20 rule. How does God make those percentages? Why is 80/20 such a common ratio? LOL. Too funny. @VSGnewguy Wow! So sorry to hear about your heart attack. That's very sobering. And it hits home too. I have some pericardial effusion from (they think) chemo/radiation. So trying to protect my heart is a serious issue for me now.

Hot chocolateeeeeeee...makes note to self. Thanks @jess9395!

Yay! Congrats on being an over-achiever!!!

Our brain will tell us anything to convince us and rationalize that "we're ok" and don't need help. At 325lbs (my all time highest when I could barely even wipe my a*s), or even my regain weight of 287lbs it was almost a no-brainer decision for me. Dayum! You need WLS PDQ!!! Well, from May to now, I've gone from 287lbs down to 233.4lbs this morning. Suddenly the Fat Whisperer that lives in my head goes, "Pssst. Hey, psssst. Buddy, Wanna buy a watch?" Ok, so maybe not the watch part, but the little whispering b***h just keeps softly hammering me with how good I'm doing/looking, how successful the weight loss has been...and dammit if it doesn't pull me up short, every time. Cuz, you know, it's almost immediately followed by thoughts of what I could eat here and here and here if I didn't have the surgery--or that a glass of wine or a beer would taste great in xyz situation. I know without a doubt, that that Fat Fuc*er would lure me into the quicksand without batting an eye. My brain wants me to stay fat and quiet, so I will keep jonesing for "the good stuff" and keep feeding it to my brain--looking for that dopamine/seratonin/heroin hit. I've absolutely no doubt in hell that at some point I would again see 287lbs or possibly even 325lbs +10-15% for added insult. So rational me realizes that I MUST tell my Fat Whisperer to take a steamin' cup of STFU and get right with the Lord, cuz our come to Jesus meeting is going to happen. It's going to happen. And I will have a different focus--on health rather than staying in my junkie hell hole of a wrecked out body. It took me a while to get here. The path was never straight. It wasn't quick either--we're talking about years in the journey. But for me, I HAD to be at this point before I could make a rational decision to have the surgery. Maybe you need to think about getting counseling to help you work through the stages? (hugs-hope you can work through things quicker than I have!)

@Lukeadelle ((hugs)) How frustrating!! I'm sorry you're experiencing this. I have an internist for my PCP and he's pretty awesome about referrals. He told me that if this dose didn't work, then he would have to refer me to an endocrinologist to work with me on the thyroid. So far, it's working... If it were me, I'd tell my GP that he either needs to refer me to an endo or I am getting a new GP. Of course, I'd make sure you had your medical records copies ahead of time, and find the new GP and get them ready to input into your insurance and make sure you aren't gonna need this goober for the next 90 days while the insurance changes over your GP of record. LOL. Then I'd get the new GP to refer out. To pick the new one, hopefully you can talk to people to see who they use in your insurance/neighborhood/work, etc. I would think if you had radiation to your thyroid years ago, that you definitely need to be working with an endo. I'd probably ask my bariatric surgeon for the referral. They have a vested interest in having patients reach their weight loss goals. At least mine does. It would make her numbers look bad if I don't succeed and do the follow-ups that will last a minimum of 5 years.

Thanks @Berry78! That gives me a good goal to shoot for. But holy guacamole about staying up until 11pm just to eat. *gulp* Maybe you should carry a small sleeve of nuts in your purse for when you are out? Or a meat stick? I was thinking about that. Tomorrow my surgeon appt isn't until 2:30pm. I always go in fasting in case she wants blood work, but also cuz I want to weigh my lightest. LOL. So afterward, I will drink a Premier Protein in the afternoon, but also think I will bring an ounce of almonds and 2oz of GS apple for the car ride home. I might also pick up a meat stick. Then I can have a regular dinner and make my protein for the day even though my cals will be low. Late L: 11fl oz Premier Protein (30g P) 1oz almonds (6g P) 2oz GS apple (0g P) Dinner: 3oz grilled sirloin (24g P) chopped salad with avocado and tomatoes and 3zeros Greek dressing 6oz broccoli in olive oil and garlic BS: 64g Halo Top Vanilla Bean Ice Cream (5g P) 1/2oz almonds, chopped (3g P) 16g sf Hershey's Choco Syrup (0g P) Daily Totals: 992 cals; 75g Protein; 52g Fat; 62g carbs; 24g Fiber; 38g Net Carbs

Dang! This sorta reminds me of the campfire scene from Blazing Saddles.

I'm so glad you've found the magic dose for you!! I feel like we are still working on finding mine. I have to get my 3mo f/up labs drawn tomorrow and I think I will be seeing him on Wednesday. It's funny though, I think it may be jacking with my blood pressure. My BP is still up between 140/84 to 150/90 and I'm taking 3 BP meds. Soooo not happy about that, but it's way better than 170/110 like I was! Losing weight on 1700cals/day sounds thrilling!

Awesome!!! Thanks so much! I'm going to save this to my desktop so I can have easy visual reference. So about how many weeks out were you able to eat this quantity? Gosh! Maybe THAT would be a fun game to play post WLS? We all photo a day of food like you did and explain it out. (Oh also, sorry to take so long getting back to you. Had to watch our 'Stros play the Yankies in game 7 of the ALC playoffs. We're goin' to the Series!!! Woot!!!)

Yes, very different places metabolically. Because of the insulin resistance/PCOS, I am VERY thrifty at storing fat from very few calories! So, from 9.14.17 when I first went from 1000cals to 1200cals, to this morning where I'm eating 1500 cals/day, I went from 237.4 and am 233.4 this morning, 10.21.17. So in 5 weeks, I've managed to lose 4lbs going from 1200cals to 1500 cals/day. I believe this is because of the levothyroxin, 100mg of T1, and walking 45minutes/day. My best weight loss for the month came between eating 850-900cals/day while taking the same meds and doing the same amount of E. I lost 13.4lbs that month. I've NEVER in my life lost that much weight in one month.

Beautiful, beautiful picture! We visual aides! Ok, so lemme make sure I understand this picture. This is a picture of 1 day's worth of food, right? 5-6 small meals? Meal 1: 4oz cottage cheese and 1/2 banana Meal 2: 1oz nuts and 1/2 banana Meal 3: 3.5oz Beans + 1 egg Meal 4: Broccoli Meal 5: 4oz chicken Meal 6: Butternut squash Liquids: 12oz milk, 12oz coffee or tea, 36oz water? Thank you for sharing!!!

Hit us with your top 2 or 3 secrets for success. What are you doing differently now, than you were doing then? I'm talking about the key things that allowed you to really achieve a mind shift that helped you fully utilize your new tool. Inquiring minds! Cuz you know...I think it was Oprah who said, "Doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different outcome is insanity." hehe And, I know my bad self...I will relapse if I don't glom on to new strategies that can replace the old failed ones.

@Berry78 Holy cowabunga! Ok, gotta wrap my head around that scenario. The surgeon made me up my cals over these past months from the 4-600 (when I started my whacky practice wls diet) to 1500cals. Jesus. That set off alarms and head games and big trips. The nut then made me break those 1500cals up into 3 meals + 2-3 snacks. And literally, I feel so full all the time, I've no idea how I'm not gaining like a hot air balloon. Before I started all this and also got on thyroid and T1, I would gain serious weight each week eating WW at 1200cals/day. This new reality feels very surreal. So I actually eat when I'm still full from the last meal and I hate it. I'm actually looking forward to post surgery where I don't have to hit an artificial caloric number. But the nut wanted me to get used to eating 6 times a day to get my nutrients in. She told me I was a malnourished obese person. Before I went back into diet mode, I was so used to only eating 1 meal per day and it wasn't even that big. But it was fat food and so devoid of goodness. I would eat Whataburger chicken strip dinner (2 pieces and give the 3rd piece to Mr. Fluffy for extras) with the gravy and a small fry. Some days I'd splurge and get a side salad. I did this for months when I was feeling so bad and was WTD (waiting to die). I put on almost 50lbs during that time. Sigh. So I do deal with some issues with food. Ok, so I will just start working on this part now. Thanks for bringing this up! I'd no idea. Cuz you know, it's liquids. Derp. Gotta get to work on it!

You make a good point. If I'm fired up and engines revved, then I might lose momentum during the wait. I've been a little concerned about that happening. Since May, I've been so focused and goal/action oriented--and it would be very easy to let down my guard and lose traction--would also need to re-prepare mentally and emotionally.

More than food/party--although I said it that way to try to keep the level of anxiety down and make this a kind of zany/silly thread...I think the real issue for me is fear. I'm approaching the end of the pre-op stage and on Monday will have a definitive direction about which surgery she wants to do on me. All of my surgeries for cancer/reconstruction were done from November 1 to January 3rd. All of them had so much recovery with them--pain, exhaustion, fear, drains, etc. So I felt like I pretty much ruined my family's Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year on at least 3 occasions. I know I can still cook/participate with them without eating or drinking--I do that most of the time anyway since I'm always on a diet. They're used to it by now and want very badly for me to be healthy and feeling good. The fear comes in that this is now very real. And what happens if I fall into that 1% with complications? Will it fork the fam over the Holidays? I think I'm leaning toward, hearing what the surgeon advises on Monday--and how quickly she thinks this is gonna go down and get scheduled. If it can happen in the first week of December, then I would go for it now rather than wait. If I can't get approved/scheduled until mid-December, then I would defer a month in order to just relax with everyone and enjoy the Holidays, then hit hard. But you know, with new years come new insurance rules and who the hell knows what happens in January. *sigh* Just big decisions...

@Apple1 Great tips. Congrats on exceeding your 1st goal btw!! That's so exciting!

@Berry78 You know, you just make excellent points! "I didn't introduce things earlier than permitted, but I just left things in a simple, limited way that I could meet my goals without having to make things "look" like real food. Sheesh, what's the point? I get into the fridge, weigh out 2oz cottage cheese, take 10 minutes to eat it, and that is a "meal"." (This is really important IMHO. I've observed that overall, the most successful people here have been content to work their progression very slowly. I think it really capitalizes on that honeymoon period where you have zero to little hunger. I really want to glom onto that plan--and remember it. When things are tough and the learning curve is steep in those early days after surgery, instead of focusing on the pain or perceived deprivation, or whatever, I want to focus on how lucky I am to have this time where I do not have to think too deeply or interact too deeply with food. I want to capitalize on that caloric deficit in the honeymoon period! In those early days, my prayer is that it becomes only about filling the tank--not making things "look" like a meal of real food. Just get 'er done and progress to the next thing on the to-do list titled, "Get Your Ass Movin' and Healthy." Thank you for really highlighting that in this post!) ******************************* "The concept of "meals" is just now beginning to make sense (7 months postop!). I can finally eat enough at a time that I can meet my protein goals with 3 meals and a snack. I would love to cut out dairy altogether (on principle, except that I like it!), I at least have cut it down to a couple servings a day." (I can see where this will be the case. At this point you're what? Eating about 1/2-3/4 cup of food per meal? Much easier to make a protein, veg meal from 1/2c of food by volume--getting a good amount of protein in per meal than it would be to try to do that on 1/8-1/4c of food. LOL. So it really makes logical sense looking at it this way.) ******************************* I think in the early days my goal is gonna be to strive for protein from food sources, but not make myself go crazy (although that would be a short, but interesting trip). Like a "meal" will be just a fill-up of the tank with protein and maybe a bite of fat and a bite of something saucy to make it go down easier (i.e. 1 tsp/tbsp of avocado and 1 tsp/tbsp of salsa). Cuz you know, let's face it. Doesn't EVERYTHING taste better with avocado and salsa? And cheese. God bless all the cheeses. God bless cheeses. LOL. I will look at completely eliminating dairy tomorrow. Scarlett and I will work on that tomorrow. I really love playing this game because it allows me the great opportunity to see how everyone approaches eating and gives a snapshot into their days at different stages in their journey! I am counting on my future self being able to do a quick search on the post-op food forum to find all of the How Do I Get My Protein threads.

@Berry78 At this point I just laugh at how different our surgeon's plans are. LOL. It's almost as if they say, "I need to put my own spin on this thing, so I'm gonna do xyz and blah blah blah abracadabra! this week, then go to this in week 6..." Just seems so arbitrary! I just got my post-op plan on my last visit with the RD. Here's mine for grins and giggles: Week 2: Full Liquids (All clear liquids + protein drinks, tomato or V-8, sf fudgesicles, skim or lactaid milks, strained cream soups made with skim milk, plain yogurt (I'm guessing the non-Greek variety), sf pudding, cream of wheat thinned with skim milk or protein drink. Week 3: Soft Solids (All things from clear liquids and full liquids, soft scrambled eggs, low fat cottage cheese, plain Greek yogurt, flaked fish: tuna, salmon, white fish, canned chicken, starches (yeah right), fruit without membranes/skin or canned in natural juice, fats (limit to 6g/serving), limit sugar to no more than 4g/serving. No liquid calories. Ideally 3 meals + 1 snack. Try to get as much protein from food rather than supplements. Week 4: Start slowly introducing Regular Food, 1 new food at a time: 2 milk servings, 3 meat servings (1-2oz/s), 4 fruit/veggie servings (1/4-1/2c/s cooked), 2-3 fat servings (1tsp/s) (Sounds an awful lot like a WW plan...right?)

I'd err on the side of caution. Get the letter from the doc...

3 weeks=fish for me...ding ding ding, you're a winner!