FluffyChix

I'll be interested to see how you do. I hope you'll share your journey!

Whey protein isolate is very insulinogenic. Although blood sugar may go down after drinking a wp drink, it's going down because we've dumped a crap ton of insulin on it. Now, when you have PCOS, we already are insulin resistance to begin with and so we dump maybe 10X as much insulin in response to the wp meal which results in? Weight loss slowing, stalls, or gains. My gains were influenced primarily as a result of fluid, not true weight. But I had the frustrating response of starving myself and seeing a subsequent gain or lack of loss. Yes, excess anything causes weight gain. Even fat. Here is a very helpful article that explains it very well. The doctor is a noted nephrologist and fasting specialist. He deals in metabolic medicine. His name is Dr. Jason Fung. https://idmprogram.com/insulin-index/

Yesterday, Fri, Oct. 18- Maintenance: CW 132.4lbs/56y/F B1- 3 Protein lattes Decaf (4oz PP) B2-chicken salad (canned brst, grn on, dill pick, 2% cott ch, dijon) + Psylli Chaffle L-chicken salad (iceberg, cucumber, po, carrots, grilled chicken, 1 tbsp Grk dressing)-ate half of it AS-chicken salad (iceberg, cucumber, po, carrots, grilled chicken, 1 tbsp Grk dressing)-ate the other half of it D-italian sausage in marinara with parmesan + 1/4 of caesar salad no croutons + broccoli in garlic, grilled salmon no sauce BS-BH lacey swiss + HEB black forest ham roll-up Daily Totals: 89g protein; 57g fat; 28g carbs; 6g fiber; 22g net carbs

Ok, so yeah. Let's talk PCOS--a deep metabolic derangement, chickies. Let's talk being on a cancer drug that shuts down my female hormones and puts me in super deep menopause. The reality is that there is so much unknown about weight loss. It's so frustrating losing slowly. It's hard to maintain momentum. A calorie is NOT a calorie and although CICO has many flaws, almost EVERY weight loss professional admits (either freely or grudgingly), that unless you are in a caloric deficit, you will not lose weight. When I was eating 400-500cals per day drinking protein drinks and first starting my journey at 287lbs, I was actually gaining weight. It was fluid cuz the protein drinks were spiking my insulin, which in turn jacked with my kidneys. When I started eating 400-650cals per day in WLM eating regular food (and by that I mean: LEAN, dense protein, LOW LOW fat, and only LOW glycemic veggies) I started losing like a normal person. And by normal, I mean about 2 lbs per week. And that was after WLS. It can be done. But for most of us with PCOS, or on drugs that make it hard to lose weight, we have to TRULY cut calories to the 650-800 level for losing and cut carbs to the 30g or below net (from veggies and low fat dairy and eggs), and cut fat to 30-35g per day from healthy sources: tiny amounts of olive oil, avocado, some nuts and needs. That's the fact Jack. Seriously. By doing that, I've lost about 157lbs over 3 years. It's crushingly slow. But it's off. And I'm gonna do everything in my power to keep it off. That means, maintenance for me is about 1000cals average per day, no booze, not a lot of treats/cheats, no high glycemic foods (I'm talking bout you carbs.) Sorry you feel many of the vets and sophomores are preachy (me), but I'm telling you things you don't want to hear. Listen or not. It's pretty straight up truth.

Maybe try some MOM and lots of water. I'm betting you're just constipated. Sorry you are experiencing this!!!

When was your last poop? Have you lost all desire to really eat? Is the pain so bad that you just want to die? If so, then it's an ER thing. You need to go quickly. Not to scare your, but it honestly sounds like a call to your doc's office and an ER trip if the pain is super bad. I had an internal hernia open up unexpectedly and my guts were twisted and obstructed. They symptoms were sudden (over 3-4 days) of cyclical pain--super bad cramping. Sudden diarrhea, loss of appetite and it felt like I could feel hardness and poop moving along my bowel. Then it all went deadly quiet and my abdomen was hard. I had emergency surgery to correct it.

Thanks for clarifying! I was actually mis-remembering then. I thought you had had a very small regain and that you'd attacked it and taken it back off. But you are sooo right, body building gain is way different than a "regain" scenario. One is muscle, the other is more likely associated with fat. Congrats!!! And thanks for continuing to inspire me!

Ditto.

Yesterday, Thurs, Oct. 18- Maintenance: CW 132.8lbs/56y/F B1- 3 protein lattes decaf (4oz PP) B2-1 hb egg + HEB black forest ham + salad (baby spinach, cabbage, raw sauerkraut, 3zeros italian) L-chicken salad (canned brst, grn on, dill pick, 2% cott ch, dijon) + baby carrots + Twin Peak parm garlic protein puffs AS-chicken salad (canned brst, grn on, dill pick, 2% cott ch, dijon) + cucumber slices D-blackened basa + shrimp + garlic broccoli + avo/tom salad BS-almonds + 1 square Lindt 95% Dark Chocolate + decaff Daily Totals: 90g protein; 55g fat; 40g carbs; 12g fiber; 28g net carbs

Ditto.

When in doubt, MOM. Sometimes poo backs up and causes cramping, nausea, and vomiting. It gets stuck or partially obstructed.

When in doubt, MOM. Sometimes poo backs up and causes cramping, nausea, and vomiting. It gets stuck or partially obstructed.

Happy Birthday!!!!!

I'd follow her plan. She wants to know if your body can "naturally" slow down at the 1200cals per day. At 5'5" you are only at the very beginning end of normal. You're still losing at that rate cuz you have extra fat to lose. Your body should theoretically start slowing down when it's nearing a set point. For a lot of us that appears to be somewhere between 19-21% fat. The loss should crawl to a stall. Add too many cals back, then you are artificially maintaining at a weight your body doesn't really want to support. If you are in the normal BMI category (not an athlete, not power lifting, not endurance training, not overly muscular, aren't "big boned", etc...you know, just average, then this chart can apply to you.) Don't fear too much weight loss. Believe me. Most of us are CHAMPIONSHIP level weight gainers. If you lose more than 10lbs, then that's your cue to call her and ask for her orders at that point. But she knows you have a ton of wiggle room. If it were me, I'd want to be closer to 130lbs and that's likely where your body is gonna stop losing. Just my 2 cents.

Think of the big payout. The big picture. Makes it a little easier. And the drugs they give you are not really "huge" in the lights out category. I didn't take much more than tylenol when I got out, except I did take it at night. So you're pretty aware of it all.

OMG. I know, right? LOL. But every time I start to deep dive into "mental" about it, I actually think of you and also think of @proud grammy and @BigViffer and some of the other vets here who have or had regains that they just pretty concisely "dealt with" and it gives me hope and encourages me about what the future holds!!! Thank you for staying here and being part of this group, cuz we're all enriched by your perspective, experience, and through your actions!! I am pretty sure my fear still exists lol and I'm not in a state of "healthy level" about regain. But I think on a sliding scale, I'm much better. So doing the head work has helped me more than it's probably helping anyone else. Part of it is I'm a nutrition nut nerd and love reading about the physiology, biology, biochemistry and neuropschiatric/behavioral side of obesity. And huge cudos and congrats on getting to the point you are at!! So inspiring!!!

Yay!!!! Congrats.

Vent away. It's a right of passage. Totally sucks big ones. But gosh, aren't you glad you are going through the "keto flu" now instead of during surgery recovery? That would totally stink!

Yeppers! We are from France. (TY Coneheads)

I should add, this loss of appetite can also become strangely compelling--at times, addicting. Because, it's usually accompanied not only with loss of appetite, but generally with a sense of well-being and high energy.

This a thousand percent. I never did "maintenance" cuz I never in my life hit goal. So I too never let my brain go there. Even while I was LC for most of the last 20 years, I was still mentally in WLM. I ALWAYS was losing. Even now, I don't know if I can declare that my plan is maintenance. It is more like a stair-steppy spikey "precipice" based on weekend food behaviors coupled with compensatory "fasting" or lean days where I go back into WLM to lose the weekend bloat. I honestly don't know if that's "jacked" thinking/behavior or if it's what skinny bi*ches the world over do every day of their lives. I suspect most skinny people naturally do this--have feast and famine days during each week. Or feast and famine meals within a single day.

This so much! It's a total head trip--even more than the WLM (IMHO). And we each evolve at our own pace. No rights or wrongs about it!

I'm taking a couple weeks off of IF. Just taking a break from it. I'm still doing "lean days" at the beginning of the week. And more lenient eating at the end of the week. Kinda going back to basic clean eating. Having morning lattes and eat my first meal around 10-11am. So very loose TRE. I weigh 131.6 today.

But you are not only doing TRE. You are also doing calorie restriction whether intended or not. The results are the same. Loss of appetite and eating less. It comes from being in deep ketosis. It takes your appetite away.

Hey there, glad to see you! Congrats on 3 successful years. I know you feel like you don't need this. But between years 3-5 is kind of like a "witching time" where you can suddenly start to gain for no good reason. Please consider staying with your doc on your scheduled plan. If for no other reason than to check your vitamin levels so you stay healthy long term. It can take around 3-5 years for vitamin and nutritional deficiencies to show up. No lie. Your health is worth it and in the long term it might turn out to be the smartest decision you've ever made. Wish you'd stick around and post. Sorry to hear of your BIL. Cool car, though! Yay, you!!