ms.sss

Mr & the Kid had a gelato craving after dinner so we all quickly popped out to get some, and this is what I wore (p.s. no gelato for me...I brought along peanuts and chicharron in my purse instead). ...and yeah, I acknowledge my skirt is on the big side. It's hanging a little too low and ends up showing too much of my pasty-coloured stomach. You can see from the pic that my stomach never sees the sun 😜. Am going to attempt to remedy that next week when we go on vacay and I wear a.....bikini (*gasps*).

That's too funny. I was supposed to be in Quebec all last week, but came back early, and I actually thought about you being in town too...isn't that weird?

Any level of participation is great ♥️

♥️

@Screwballski : You are my Spirit Animal !!!! ♥️ You have articulated aspects of my own experience and it is amazingly comforting to read. Thank you. ♥️

5'2", ♀️ 9m PO, maintaining Friday August 9th - 115.7 lbs Finally got a higher calorie day in yesterday to post (had few surprise friends drop by in the afternoon and then stay until late into the evening). This menu probably comes at an excellent time, given the discussion above about more varied menu representations. Full disclosure though, I had a dumping episode (definitely from the moon cake) after the 1:45pm snack with friends. On the bright side, the poop was 4 days coming, but on the non-so-bright side, I had to lay down for for an hour or so afterwards to recuperate. Stayed up extra late last night so I could digest my food before going to bed (to avoid the middle of the night reflux) and my stomach doesn't feel so very great today. 10:00 am: 1 cup chicken broth -- 8 cals 12:30 pm: salad + 73g stewed pork loin + 1 fried egg + 1tbsp crispy onions -- 250 cals 1:45 pm: 250ml CoolWay fudge chocolate chip frozen dessert + 1 fl oz pumpkin seeds + ½ moon cake + 8 wheat thins + 45g peppercorn paté -- 705 cals 5:15 pm: 127g 4% cottage cheese + ½ fl oz pumpkin seeds + 78g blueberries + 61g strawberries + ¼ tsp pepper -- 202 cals 7:45 pm: salad + 44g bbq pork ribs + 45g stewed pork loin + 13g parmesan cheese -- 231 cals 11:05 pm: 38g prosciutto + 21g salami + 30g cheddar cheese + 35g peppercorn pate + 26g cherries + 38g walnuts -- 80 cals Totals: 2084 cals, 136g Protein, 113g NET carbs, 124g fat Irrational me is all planning to even out the 113g of net carbs, btw. Exercise: 2km run (10 min) Strength training - Arms (15 mins) Zumba (1hr)

Yeah, this happens occasionally for me post weight-loss-mode...usually because I feel sick or icky or overly full from something (and i've had a few of these types of days in a row lately ) First, congrats! Your side profile says you are under your goal weight! Are you still looking to stay weight loss mode?

THIS.

@FluffyChix I think any information is good information? But I see what you mean, both of us actually seem to be posting "off-centre" menus (I just skimmed through the whole thing when I wrote my last post) It would be nice to see others' menus as well for a more rounded view...(you and I seem to be hogging this thread!)

More irrational answers! (and some rational ones too... ) Rational Me: I'm not interested in achieving any more weight loss goals, because YES, I am liking how I am looking and feeing (If anything, I now have exercise goals, which is likely hampering my calorie increase attempts, but that's another story...). I don't particularly want to go lower on the scale, but I have accepted that until I get into a real groove which lasts longer than 3½ weeks, weight loss (and most likely weight gain later on) is going to be an occupational hazard. My current weight is still nicely in the middle of the normal range so a few pounds up or down isn't going to kill me. Irrational Me: I fully admit to being wary of carbs. Specifically bread products, pasta, rice, to some extent root veggies and added sugar. Hence the shirataki and the no added sugar vinaigrettes. For now, I am choosing to stay low carb. I do, however, have the occasional breaded product (buffalo cauliflower! crackers on the charcuterie board! chicken wings! cake!) or high sugar item (ice cream! fruit! bbq sauce on my chicken wings!). And when I do, I often attempt a "correction" the next day by watching/limiting my carb intake (which I am supposed to counteract with increasing my fats - not always successful). Though as I type this, 💡 I'm not even sure that averaging out carb intake over a period of time has the same effect as limiting carbs to a certain level daily... LOL...i'm going to have to do a bit of research after I post this. Again, this is the irrational me talking, and I'm fully aware I will not implode and could probably benefit from eating a sandwich (as my "concerned" friends and family say both to my face and behind my back 🙄). Rational Me, again: I went back looking at what I've posted on this thread so far and looks like I started this thread around the same time that my average cals dropped from around 1500-ish to 1000-ish, so my daily menu's do look pretty diet-y. I haven't gone out/had people over as much these past couple weeks and it shows. I tend to eat less when I'm at home and fixing food for myself. Though I rely on the fact that everything will even out because I know there will be indulge days...like yesterday (which I'll post later), and tomorrow (it's BFF's Mr's bday and we are going to a rodizio restaurant (i.e., AYCE Brazilian Steakhouse) #yum #almostAsGoodAsKoreanBBQ I read this article and the study it references waaaay back. The one ray of hope here is Rudy Pauls. He was the sole person in the study who ended up getting WLS and his metabolism slow down was markedly less than the others. At the time I read these, I researched other papers and I recall a paper or two discussing how WLS patients' metabolisms returned to normal levels for their eventual size after the initial (and expected) drop. Now this is all hearsay on my part right now, because I don't have the links to these alleged papers, but if I get can get into research mode later, I'll try to dig em up. (I need to be in the proper mindset to read these papers cuz man, sometimes I go cross-eyed trying to keep up with all the notations) Nope ❤️

^^^ This. I didn't actually believe that this was a thing, but it totally is. Just one month of 10-15 mins of arm exercises every day during the July challenge, and there is a noticeable diff in the amount of arm sag showing. Suffice it to say, I am still doing the exercises, and added butt and ab ones into the mix. The other posters above are right though: that weight loss is much, much more affected by food intake than exercise. The exercise and building muscle does help though, plus it makes you heart healthy AND FIRM (lol).

Yeah, I feel pretty effing awesome. 😎...still have some bumps to iron out, but all in all, awesome. Man, I hope so!

were you satisfied with the amount of food you got in this day, or were you still hungry-hungry-hippo?

Day to day lately the scale moves +/- 0-1.5 lbs, though my calculated 14-day moving average indicates I'm on a slight downward slope. This morning I clocked in at 115 even, but then, I haven't pooped in a 4 days I'm going to have to MOM it soon if nothing shows up by tonite...(and need to restock on the chia seeds...)

Hiya, I hit the 100 lbs loss mark at about 6½ months post op (that's including the 11lbs loss during my 2 week pre-op diet). At 9½ post op now, and am down about 120 (been in attempted maintenance since 7 months post op) Here is what I did/do exercise wise: (click to enlarge) Long story short: Exercise helps. Alot.

5'2", ♀️ 9m PO, maintaining Thursday August 8th - 114.8 lbs Felt like I was eating non-stop all day, yet still did not get enough calories to show for it..its been a frustrating past few days. On the bright side, I did finally get to eat some of that fake ice cream...yum. Mr suggested I ditch the diet ice cream and eat the real stuff...hmmmmm 9:00 am: 1 cup chicken broth -- 8 cals 12:00 pm: salad + 29g feta cheese + ½ fl oz pumpkin seeds + 100g grilled chicken (dark meat) -- 349 cals 3:30 pm: Starbucks grande blonde americano -- 15 cals 4:30 pm: 105g 4% cottage cheese + ½ fl oz pumpkin seeds + 26g blueberries + ¼ tsp pepper -- 160 cals 5:30 pm: salad + 15g feta cheese + 24g stewed pork loin + 28g grilled chicken (dark meat) -- 142 cals 6:30 pm: 125ml CoolWay fudge chocolate chip frozen dessert-- 80 cals 7:30 pm: ¼ cup Tamarind Soup + 18g steamed broccoli + 18g pork loin -- 29 cals Totals: 783 cals, 80g Protein, 30g NET carbs, 37g fat Exercise: 2km run then 1km walk outdoors (20 min) Strength training - Arms (15 mins) Strength training - Butt & Gut (10 mins)

You do NOT look 50. I'd peg you at mid to late 30's. And your legs are like 20 year old legs!

I've been Pavlov-ed into not eating too late...if I do, I'll wake up in middle of night with acid in my mouth. ...but maybe try making a deal with yourself that you have to drink a glass of water first before your snack. If you still want it after the water, then fine. Most likely you won't....

@MIZ60 Sexy shoulders going on! ...and your dog is adrobs 😘

@NYJenn You are fit! Someone's got some strong and trim looking legs 😍

I was averaging 1500 a day (over 7 days) but was still losing weight so I know I need to go higher than that. At 1500, I lost almost 3 lbs over a month. However. The past couple weeks, I've been averaging about 900-1000, and yep, I lost a couple more lbs. It is quite challenging to get the calories in..my restriction is still very present, and I have chosen to stay low carb. I was looking at MFP and how I was able to get to 1500 previously, and it was because I went to eat or attended/hosted get-togethers/parties relatively often during that period. I guess I need to go out more, lol. Anyway, am thinking based on my current exercise level, I probably need to up my cals to about 1800 a day, which seems like an enormous amount to me at this point, but I'm sure I can get there eventually. I may (most likely) lose more weight in the process, but like @catwoman7 says above, I am counting on the weight bounce back later for a correction 🤞🏼 ,

Yep, I think my face looks older now with the weight loss....and my neck looks pretty ancient. I suppose chubby faces look younger than angular ones. But am seriously considering a neck lift next year...or maybe eat more carbs 😜

5'2", 115.2 lbs, ♀️ 9m post-op, maintaining Today's Menu - Wednesday August 7th: Note: times listed are when I FINISHED eating Those lactose-free, low-cal frozen desserts (i.e., fake ice cream) were on sale today so I bought two flavours of 'em. Was looking forward to having some as an after-dinner treat, but for some reason my dinner seemed to just sit in my stomach/chest for hours tonite, so there was no room for frozen treats in there. Further, the dinner I prepared to eat was like 5 times the calorie amount listed below, just couldn't do it, sooooo the rest of that will have to wait till tomorrow, along with the fake ice cream. This makes 2 days in a row now of 500-ish calories. Got some calorie catch-up to do... 9:30 am: 1 medium McDonald's black coffee -- 4 cals 2:00 pm: ** ate about 1/2 ** salad + 30g cucumber + 25g feta cheese + 1fl oz pumpkin seeds + 85g sun-dried tomato & basil tuna -- 293 cals 3:30 pm: ** ate the rest of the 2pm meal ** 5:00 pm: .5 cup 4% cottage cheese + 28g blueberries +.25 tsp black pepper -- 137 cals 7:30 pm: .5 cup Tamarind soup broth + 15g shredded pork + 30g pork loin + 15g chicken dark meat + 10g brocolli + 30g shirataki noodles -- 100 cals Totals: 538 cals, 57g Protein, 19g NET carbs, 24 fat Exercise: 1.5km run + 1.5km walk outdoors (20 mins) Strength training - Arms (15 mins) Hot Yoga (1 hour)

Yes, I eat them quite often. They have the consistency of al dente-like rice noodles. They are pretty tasteless on their own, they take on a bit of the flavour of whatever you add to them. I've eaten them with sauces on top, in soups, part of salads, etc. They are VERY filling.

Shirataki Noodles: