FluffyChix

How cool!! I'll beta test it. Thanks for the tip about iron absorption! Does it need to be red meat? And does it matter if a tiny bit of cheese is consumed in the meal? Think about 5-14g of cheese on a salad as part of the salad matrix?

Wow! Thanks so much for reaching out and updating/educating me!!! You should totally make an iron supp with your formulation. I would totally be on board to buy it! I'd be on board to do the meal replacement as long as it doesn't stain my teeth or contain soy!! I love Celebrate Iron Chewables (the chalky not the soft chews) in tangerine, but they turn my tongue black and stain my teeth. Can you tell me, does eating chicken livers, calf liver, liverwurst help our iron absorption at all, or would we have to eat such a significant quantity of it daily to affect changes?

Oh man...must have blue cheese dip! So the dry rub wings are good? Which flavor do you get? I've been tempted to order those but am scared of hidden sugar in the rubs... Ahhh the syrup. I just figured that 2 bites might not make a huge impact! Booo! ((hugs)) Good to know on the honey wings!

Thank you! It's difficult for me to look at the side image. The tighter jeans show how pouchy my fold-over tummy flap is and how it sticks out like a belleh. The bigger pants don't make the stick out pooch quite so noticeable...but they make me overall look bigger. You know? All magic has a price. LOL. Smaller pants = more thigh compression and smaller looking legs with a tiny bit of thigh gap = tight tummy = poochy belleh. hahahaha

There is a hierarchy of needs in WLS just as in life-a Maslow's Hierarchy of sorts. I think it looks quite a lot like this one below that I just made up. We all advance on the rungs at different rates. And for me, the looking/feeling sexy came WAY after a lot of other "stuff." It was not my primary motivation. But each of us have different reasons for our WHY. They are all valid regardless of where they plug into the ladder (hierarchy). I couldn't even address what I call my "vanity pound weight loss" = the last 10-15lbs, until I was there...and that took me 140ish pounds and 2 years to get there... WLS Hierarchy of NEEDS Ladder: BONUS! Yahtzee!!! The thirteenth (bonus) rung up from there is SELF-ACTUALIZATION 12. The twelfth rung up from there is to REACH PERSONAL WEIGHT GOALS 11. The eleventh rung up from there is a DESIRE TO CLAIM SEXINESS/BEAUTY/ALL-THAT-AND-A-BUCKET-OF-CHEESE 10. The tenth rung up from there is an INCREASED DESIRE FOR ACTIVITY/SOCIALIZATION 09. The nineth rung up from there is SHOPPING (hehe) 08. The eighth rung up from there is not feeling afraid to be EXPOSED RATHER THAN INVISIBLE 07. The seventh rung up from there is IMPROVED/NEW RELATIONSHIPS/JOB/FINANCES 06. The sixth rung up from there is CHANGING NEEDS/DEMANDS FROM RELATIONSHIPS 05. The fifth rung up from that is IMPROVED CONFIDENCE 04. The fourth rung up from that is FEELING BETTER EMOTIONALLY 03. The third rung up from that is FEELING BETTER PHYSICALLY 02. The second rung up from that is GETTING OFF MEDS 01. The bottom foundation for most of us is: HEALTH IMPROVEMENTS

Yeah, I'd heard that too, but so many VSGers here have issues with RH and dumping. So was just curious. I know @ms.sss had shared that she does have issues with dumping. So was wondering if the honey wings had beaten her down yesterday. (Sorry to hear that about coffee for you! That's got to suck!) Is your dumping just diarhea or do you get the full-on sweats, shakes, feeling like you're gonna hurl, and have heart speed up, feeling like your gonna die? I'm wondering about the same thing with the stoma v. the valve. But I think the valve still empties your stomach faster than normal per Dr. Matthew Weiner? I can eat 3-4oz of protein (dry dense) and around 3-4oz of veggies (when 2 of those ounces are slider veggies like avocado and tomato=total sliders for me). I will eat 1-2oz of a dense al dente veggie like broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, etc. I eat this in about a 20-45 minute window. I'm satisfied, but not overly full. And I rarely use meat lube, sauces, or casseroles that make food more sliderish. All snacktastic stuff is a slider for me. I could eat a whole box of cheezits. Or a whole can of Pringles if I wanted...

I had dumping sensations. -ish. I was thinking more about the honey chicken wings. I adore BWW Asian Wings but if I eat 2, then 2 hours later I'm fetal on the bathroom floor. I do kinda miss them--a LOT! Though it does still take me a relatively long time. See that's what I thought. I figured you ate over an extended period. I can eat a lot in a 30-45 minute window. When counting chicken wings, do you count by piece or by actual chicken-wing equivalent I count them per piece of wing (drummette + flat = 2 pieces). I just use Buffalo Wild Wings in MFP and do them nekkidy then add the sauce quantity. Cuz I get sauce on the side any more and get the wings traditional, extra crispy.

I'm so sorry this continues to sadden you. ((hugs)) I had to let that sh*t go. Like Elsa...set it free. LOL. Cuz it would have eaten me alive had I chosen to keep it. Hope you find your way to the point where you can set the garbage on the curb. Give it one last one-finger-salute then walk away without looking back. You know this is your theme song right? Or maybe this...

Hahahaha! Let's! We'll be fed and home by 5pm! bahahahaaha!

Dayum. Did you dump? Ok, I think I know the answer to this...but your meals seem "normal sized". Does it take you a while to eat them? Or do you eat them all at one sitting? Just wondering cuz you know, mine are on the larger end of bariatric size close to normal size. I could eat normal if I let myself. And I can do it all at one sitting. So I guess I'm just looking for affirmation through comfort in numbers lol, for how much volume I can eat at a sitting! TIA!

Remember your why. If your why isn't strong enough to you, then really look at motivation. If it is, then you must understand this is YOUR journey, no one else's. They don't have your education about the journey, nor do they share your motivation for health. You must do you, even at the cost of relationships. I was very choosy about whom I shared my journey. I was choosy about how much I shared. There are whole groups of people who only know I've lost significant weight. Some only know me as thin Fluffy. Your life will change. You WILL change. I'm happier now than I've been in years. Although I still struggle with BD and self-acceptance, I have more self esteem than I have had in my life. I can do so much more. So far, my WHY, is intact and doing well. I've not lost it one jot.

Tuesday Menu Nov. 5, Maintenance, 5'4" F, 20.5mo PO RNY / 130.4lbs (wooohooo weight stayed the same even with eating more--this is huge for me!) Had another hungry hungry heifer day yesterday, so I ate. I misbehaved at breakfast. I hate throwing out food (in my defense), and was starving, and found a leftover bit from this weekend shenanigans and ended up wasting 493 cals on breakfast. Crap!!! But got back on track the very next meal and was good from there on out. Today I feel no desire to be bad. Yay. And the scale stayed the same-ish. B-4 protein lattes (4oz PP + decaf) 2 garlic parm chicken wings + hot sauce + baby carrot + 4 cheese curds fried L-green soup with chicken and chicken sausage (had 2 meals from this amount) D-grilled salmon + broccoli in garlic + grape tomatoes BS-Belgioso fontina + 8sl turkey pepperoni (BH) + 10g almonds

((hugs))!!! Where would I be without you? Asking Mr. F. if he'd like me to get this!

You're well above average. Congrats, you're doing great!!

You lost most of it through expiration. Just nerdin' out for a minute. Congrats on your ride. Boo on the potty stop. You're doing great!

Here's mine. I think cuz of the drug I'm on for cancer, I have to figure I'm sedentary rather than light activity. That is about right with my average. I'm maintaining between 1100 and 1200 average.

writhing pain is ALWAYS an ER emergency trip.

Ok, Monday was a hungry hungry heifer day! Dang did I eat me some mini meals!!! Monday Menu Nov. 4, Maintenance, 5'4" F, 20.5mo PO RNY / 130.2lbs (wooohooo weight stayed the same even with eating more!) B-4oz Premier Prot + decaff coffees L-1/2 grilled chicken salad (tomatoes, romaine, rbp, ro, cabbage, yellow cheese, avocado, chicken, blue cheese dressing) D-1/2 grilled shrimp salad (tomatoes, romaine, rbp, ro, cabbage, avocado, shrimp, 3 zeroes Italian vinaigrette) + 1oz prime rib from Mr. F's plate BS-1 Belgioso fontina cheese snack (like Baby Bel), 9g raw almonds, 8 slices turkey pepperoni Here's how the day shook out. Everything beyond the PP is an estimate of size/weight. I tried to be overly generous with logging my "foods" in order to try to get closer to real consumed cals/macros. 885 Cals; 84g Protein; 51g Fat; 24g Carbs; 6g Fiber; 18g Net Carbs ***Footnote: I do calorie averaging. It's essentially something like a 5:2 plan where 5 days per week you eat normally and 2 days per week you eat 500cals. But my plan works the other way. I do 5 days trying to average between 850-900 cals-ish (give or take) + 2 days of eating what I want (about 1200-1500 cals) and more carbs, etc. If I want a little alcohol in there, that's fine. Then back to basics M-F. So far it's working for maintenance for me.

Ok, I hear ya. That regain fear is so real!!! ((hugs)) Let me point out: Exhibit A: Shark Week Exhibit B: Smoked herring, turkey jerky, salted pumpkin seeds, smoked oysters, seafood sauce are all salty. Fluid hon. Drink lots o water and more raw veggies when muchies hit, less salty snacks. Congrats on Day 5!!!! Don't go back to the ground floor. You're 1/2 way to the top hon!!!! You got this. Deep breathe! Run. Run Fast! In the outdoors! Barefoot! hehe

Wooohoooo! Look at you go girl!!! Great day!! Great change!

Yes. That's where the biggest equipment went and where they enter into your gut area. Mine was more sore than other places. But hard to tell if you are having unusually bad pain or if it's normal levels. If it continues and worries you, that's a phone call to your doc. They'll tell you if they need to see you. ((hugs))