sillykitty

@FluffyChix Your hair looks great! Man I wish my hair cost me $30!

Just embrace it Way better than it going up when you're on your best behavior!

Hospital food? What's up? You have me worried .....

@Orchids&Dragons I know you said you don't feel as much restriction w the RNY, but it doesn't look like that from the amount you ate!

This!

Drinking 100 oz sounds like some kind of torture for me. Unless it was beer pre-WLS! Would your cardiologist be okay with you consuming more fluids if you wore compression socks/legging?

Topic for discussion ... this is going to be controversial Hydration - Why? On this thread we have some big hydration proponents. Fluid minimums of 64 oz is one of the few commonalities all WLS programs seem to have. I get hydration as a way to suppress one's appetite. But 64 oz or even more is often advocated as necessary for basic bodily functions. But surely many (most?) people fall short of that every day. What are the consequences, besides the obvious critical dehydration. Confession time. I'm not a hydrater. I drink very little most day, always have. I'm rarely thirsty. Most days I would estimate I average about 20 oz of fluids. During most of my WLS journey I focused on getting to 64 oz, I didn't make it most days, but was generally higher than my "lifetime average". Why am I able to function on so little fluids? My labs are always perfect, other than being overweight, I've had no health issues. I'm by all standards chronically dehydrated, but yet I feel good and am healthy by all measures. Am I an anomaly? Does most of the world really get 64 oz + everyday? If not, why are there no obvious consequences?

I work from home, and technically took no time off. I worked off my phone/iPad while I was in the hospital before surgery. The same the next day before I was discharged. Then once I was home I was able to work as normal on my computer and on calls. If I had a desk job in an office, I could have definitely managed to go to work on Monday after a Wednesday surgery. I'd have been tired and sore, but would have been doable. My surgeon allowed driving as long as you weren't on narcotic pain meds. I drove 2 days post op with no issues.

As we say, weight loss isn't linear. Sometime we do everything right and we gain. Sometimes we just do things semi right and we lose.

Ok, you said totally unwise food pics are allowed here, so here we go Ramen - Before & After

I bet you could request a vegetarian meal.

Y'all are a bunch of amateurs!

I concur!

Most of the vets on here do a relatively low carb diet. Or at least more healthfully than I am doing, or really want to do. As in more lean protein, and veggies, even if they include a fair amount of carbs. And almost all eschew processed carbs. I 😍 processed carbs.

I really really hope I can maintain without being super strict. Fingers crossed! I bought this hair mask https://smile.amazon.com/Hydrating-Argan-Conditioner-Arvazallia-Damaged/dp/B00I32AN4K/ref=lp_8620646011_1_1_a_it?srs=8620646011&ie=UTF8&qid=1544038509&sr=8-1 I never used a flat iron because my hair is stick straight, and never thought it would do anything to my hair. But a friend used it on me, and I love how it is sleek and more finished looking, and I can flip the ends under. I'm addicted now! I try to not use it too frequently, it's definitely hard on your hair That hair and color are cute. Maybe a little lighter so the grey doesn't show as much as as quickly. I speak from experience

I'm not a good example for maintenance, or at least not in context of what we hear about here on BP. My goal always was to eat a normal diet, just smaller quantities. So that's what I'm doing. It goes against pretty everything preached here, so I'm keeping it pretty low key. That's why I'm not posting on the Food Before and After Thread. So far so good, but these are still very early days. I'm willing to adjust and eat more mindfully if the scale begins to creep up. But whatever I end up doing long term it will always be more of a "normal" diet vs. restrictive. I will always eat out A LOT, drink alcohol, enjoy ethnic food, etc., I just may need to balance that with being stricter while I'm home. I think I'm just at a standstill on hair loss. Maybe it's growing back? I don't know I've always had tons of fly away baby hairs, hard to tell if there are more than there was before. If yours is just breakage maybe try some hair masks? (And for you too @Orchids&Dragons) I just bought one from amazon that gets great reviews, because I flat iron my hair more now then I did before. So you don't like your hair down? I don't like mine up, because my ponytail is like the diameter of a nickle, vs. a quarter before , and it shows the thinning through my temples. I like the style a lot. Cause, it's basically my hair, only now it's shorter. . I like the color too, mine is similar as well. I had my colorist take some of the "golden" tones out last time because it goes a little too red for my liking, especially in the sunlight. So I'm starting to lean towards ash tones vs. golden tones. But my complexion tends to flush and go red, so I'm trying to counteract that a bit. You may not have that issue.

We see each other generally only once, maybe twice a week. My travel schedule is always an issue when dating . And then add in the vacations I've taken, him visiting his child out of state and he is generally busy on the weekends doing 10K's and the like, it's been challenging. keeping 20lbs of crazy stuffed inside a 5lb coffee can This is my goal every. day.

I agree, Protein2o is tasty, no funky protein taste. I also agree that not all protein shakes and powders are the same. Some are vile, some are ok, and some are close to being good. My fave shake is medifast chocolate made with Fairlife milk and blended with ice (if I'm home). Premier Protein caramel in coffee is also good. I also liked the protein soups here in the BP store.

Checking in .... I'm just starting the maintenance phase. So finding the dietary boundaries of where I'm either maintaining or slowly losing. But looking for balance and sustainability. I can't handle restrictive diet plans I'm no help with advice on wig toppers. I had a lot of hair loss months 3-5 post op. I lost about 1/2 of my hair volume. Thankfully I started out with enough it's only noticeable to me. I'm also wearing my hair shorter than I ever have in my adult life, at shoulder length, so I'm sure that helps.

Nothing new to report here. Still doing minor IF (skipping breakfast) and not much else. The scale is holding pretty steady. Boooooring .....

I wouldn't worry about it. I just see it as the opposite of a stall.

I'm going to miss you around as much. I love having a male perspective here as well as seeing your evolving rock star look in your profile pics.

I'm with you, I think I could get down to 130 and look ok. But past that I think I'll lose my curves!

Definitely on the relationship path. I've had FWB, and while that's fine, I really want a relationship, you know cuddle, go to movies, do double dates, as well as Netflix & Chill. It seems like almost every guy I meet just wants something casual. I'm done with casual. So "not a boyfriend" is the first in a long time to be looking for something serious too, just not too fast. I'm guessing I'm not meeting mom because there isn't an easy way to make it a casual meet, vs. something serious and awkward, if that makes sense? Oh and I'm waaayyy more cool and casual in person, all my insecurities come out to play here, so they don't come out IRL

@sideeye That is exciting! Isn't it fun blowing people's minds!? I'm going to a meeting with my peer group at the end of this month. We only get together a few times a year. So they have will seen me go from size 20 --> 16 -->12 -->8. I'm so excited to show up as a legit normal/skinny person. (I'm also excited for my feet not killing me at the end of cocktail hour in heels!) I'm also having fun with new styles. My fave new style is pencil skirt + body suit. I never would have thought I could pull that off!