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Sunday, November 17 Maintenance: 5'4", 57y, F, 20mo PO RNY, 131.8lbs Mr. F. felt bad yesterday so he got to choose dinner, which was of course, steak. LOL. So my planned foil fish will get eaten tonight for dins. After a weekend of heavy heavy eatin', I'm ready to do this week with Mr. F. We're gonna do my old flame week of ADF with calorie restriction to 500cals EOD. It really kills inflammation and I've been having killer hip and back pain lately. So I'm hoping it will help with that and will also help Mr. F. drop a few pounds that have crept back on his frame. I'm actually looking forward to today and to not eating until 3pm (also doing TRE 18:6 with the ADF). Tomorrow will be a regular weekly M-Th day for me and closer to the 850calorie range. Although we didn't have shananigans yesterday, I managed to pack away the food and the cals/macros! I've been consistently over-eating protein lately, and think that may be one of the sources of inflammation. So we'll see! B1-Avocado Chaffle with Poached Egg & 2% Cheddar + Bacon L-Green Soup with Veggies & Shrimp + Poached Egg Whites (1/2 recip) AS-Baby Carrots & Cucumber D-Grilled Steak + Loaded Garlic Broccoli + Avocado Slices BS-Almonds + Lindt Dark Chocolate Totals: 1143 Calories; 82g protein; 69g fat; 52g carbs; 19g Fiber; 33g net carbs

Done two tables 28 people fed and i have a buzz - so all good and they had a good time DONT DO THIS UNLESS YOU ARE STRONG AS HELL - BUT ALL SAID WAS WORTH IT

Yes!!!! Yes to all of this! I have a long torso, short stubby and chunky legs. Had HUMONGOUS breast (i also would spill out of DDD) and got my reduction in 2010 after a bout with breast cancer bc finally my insurance would pay for it. Went from G cup to B cup and haven’t regretted one instant of it. I’m definitely an A cup now and I’m actually pretty thrilled with the fact. For me, the ONLY way I’m getting these chunky legs taken care of is lipo the cellulite that covers my upper legs. Then of course get rid of all the loose skin and excess flab hanging on my waist/lower abs. Sadly there’s no amount of exercise or toning that can remove saggy, flappy skin. Oh and sorry sillykitty, I’m kinda jacking your plastics thread, but since I’m nowhere close to a consult I didn’t want to start one of my own and I wanted to vent about frustrations with my bod even after losing >100 pounds.

Okay so one of my friends almost died earlier this year and she’s currently needing to get on a heart transplant list, but they won’t even put her on the list due to her super-MO ( if I had to guess, I would say she’s at least 350+ pounds, and that would be a conservative guess). The answer her docs have come up with? Bariatric surgery to get off a hundred pounds or more, then she can be on a transplant list. Her prognosis without transplant? Not good at all. She’s 46 years old and they are telling her she’ll likely not see 50 without it. Her response? She’s still freaking “undecided” bc she doesn’t want to “lose her current relationship to food” It was an extremely rough convo for me to have bc she’s a highly intelligent woman, but I just can’t believe that she’s honestly thinking about allowing food to literally kill her. For the record, all I did was go over the pros and cons of WLS, and tried my best to not sound like I was trying to convince her, but dang it was tough bc i know what will happen if she doesn’t do it

Honestly if I’m lucky enough to drop another size, my tummy pooch will look just like that. Right now is still semi-disguised in clothes bc I still am carrying more weight around my hips/lower abs, but with no clothes on it’s very noticeable

Saturday November 16, 57 F 20mo PO RNY, Maintenance 131.4lbs It was Saturday Shenanigans day and date day. We did our walking and worked in storage for a few hours moving boxes. That's how I justified Saturday afternoon in our little neighborhood place watching football and having a tequila and beer. Back down to the lower end of my maintenance window which feels better. We have no shenanigans planned for today other than I had a big brunch and probably won't eat until dinner. Think dinner will be foil wrapped basa filets. B-SF Peppermint Mocha Latte + SF Pumpkin Pie BC Latte (4oz PP) Brunch-Bacon Egg Cheese Chaffle + Grape Tomatoes AS-Nekkid Wings + Side Salad w/blue cheese dressing no croutons + baby carrots & celery with ranch + 1 tequila + Miller Lite with lime BS-1/2 Low Carb Wrap with BH Pepperoni, shredded cabbage, purple onion, WF Asian + Twin Peaks Protein Puffs + 1 whiskey + decaf coffee Daily Totals: 1250cals; 75g protein; 56g fat; 45g carbs; 13g fiber; 32g net carbs

Yesterday was a big ol' food day for me. I was hungry all day. And so I ate. Oddly, I was also exhausted and in a crummy mood. I didn't even get up and walk yesterday cuz my mood was so bad and I was so tired. So I took a day off. Today I pay the piper cuz I'm up to 133.4lbs (pre-poopy weight). I am working on day 2 poopless, so I do think I can account for it beyond just having a ton of food in my body from yesterday. Fri, Nov. 15 Maintenance : 5'4" / 19mo PO Sleeve / 133.4 lbs B1-Protein Lattes (pumpkin pie + banana PP 4oz) B2-Open faced Chaffle McMuffin (egg + eggwhite + uncured hard salami + 2% deli deluxe cheese + Psylli Chaffle) L-1/2 Rec Green Soup (broccoli + spin + cabbage + asian stuff + broth + egg puff + shrimp) AS-Frigo Lite Cheesestick + uncured hard salami +almonds + baby carrots D-Caprese stack + broccoli & garlic + spinach & garlic + grilled chicken + 2 glasses cabernet + 1 espresso with heavy cream BS-almonds + 1 square Lindt 90% Dark Chocolate Daily Totals: 1509cals; 91g protein; 85g fat; 49g carbs; 16g fiber; 33g net carbs

omg lol I swear we were meant to meet bc one of the things I wanted to do was a new crab boil restaurant lol. I start my preop diet the week after Thanksgiving thank god! Girl we are in this...1 month away 🤗

I have an in-person consultation with her on 11/21 to "determine the quality of my tissue" and to discuss in person exactly what I am looking for since I dont want fat grafting etc to my butt/thighs like some women prefer ... I reached out to Chelle Jett on here because she has had surgery by Dr. Cardenas. There are others on ObesityHelp as well that recommended her. I will be honest - I live in the Los Angeles area and we hear the horror stories about plastic surgery that goes wrong out of Tijuana so it's been a huge back/forth thing for me to even look into going down there.... I think bc so many people on these forums have recommended her - thats the only reason I will entertain Dr. Cardenas along with the fact that she has spoken at many medical conferences with Dr. Timothy Katzen from Beverly Hills. I am scheduled to have an 360 LBL and Inner Thigh Lift with him on 1/20/2020 however I will be cancelling because I cannot get over the fact that I absolutely hate his bellybuttons that he makes ... its the little things! I have quotes from Dr. Katzen, Dr. Joseph Michaels (Maryland), Dr. Cardenas (MX), and have a consultation tomorrow (11/15) with Dr. Agha (newport beach).

Be glad the shakes are filling you up! Also I call BS on the liver shrinking thing. My pre-op diet? 1 day. Day before surgery. Surgeon told me my liver looked fabulous. MAYBE if you've been drinking or eating tons of fatty food up until your surgery date but most of us went on some sort of diet to get to a goal weight to qualify for surgery and I think that shrinks your liver enough.

Fu*k! I'm eighteen months and take in on average this week about 1000cals per day. I'd be exhausted too with that schedule! Do you really walk 10mi per day? Do you really go to the gym 4 days per week? Do you really do elliptical on top of that? Do you also do yoga and stretching and your doctor thinks you aren't DOING ENOUGH? For reals? That's total insanity! You're getting in 500cals or less per day. I gotta call BS. No wonder your tired. The real question is, how are you not dead?

Okay so I definitely weigh more than my mid 20’s self and waaaaay more than my teen self. Jeez, I can remember when I got to 125 in my senior year in HS and cried bc I was “fat”. Found this pic from 1995. I was 27 and matron of honor for my sisters wedding. I weighed around 130-135 here and was upset bc I was 10 pounds over my college weight. So this pic is 20 pounds lighter (and almost 25 years younger) version of me. I think now I’m def carrying less fat for my weight

Okay so I can eat really fast. As in 3oz meat and 1/2 cup salad in 10 mins fast. My saving grace on that is that I’m veeeery careful to pre-package/measure beforehand so I don’t gobble up too much too fast. If I’m eating something super-delicious and find myself looking longingly at leftovers, I set an alarm for 15 minutes. If I’m still hungry after that time then I go get 1 spoonful of whatever I wanted and then make myself savor it slowly. it took me 3-4 months to figure this out, but the first signal I’ve eaten too much is a runny nose, followed by sneezing. once the sneezing stops, I better not take another bite bc then the pain/stomach cramping starts. still haven’t thrown up once since surgery, but it’s mostly bc I’m super cautious and am lucky enough to have a cast-iron sleeve

Had a hungry hungry heifer day yesterday so ate as much lean protein as I wanted while keeping carbs low. There is no doubt the hungrier days at the top of the week are due to eating more food and more carbs on the weekend--even though my weekend choices are not very bad. Another busy day today! You guys are all rock stars and your menus look delish!!!!! @ms.sss You look like you are maintaining like a champ and that you have this down! @Tracyringo are you back in your window? If not, you are soooo close!!! Tuesday 11.12 - Maintenance : 5'4" / 57y F/ 19.5mo PO RNY / 131.6 lbs B-Protein lattes (4oz PP) + 1 hb egg L-Big A*s salad with salmon and veg (iceberg, cucumbers, red bell peppers, purp onion, carrots, sliced olives, feta, Grk dressing) + 1 hb egg AS-herb ox chicken bouillon + grilled chickie boob D-grilled chicken parm + garlic broccoli + avo/tomato BS-1/2 s'mores quest bar + decaff/peppermint mocha latte Daily Totals: 1117cals; 101g protein; 66g fat; 33g carbs; 14g fiber; 19g net carbs

So funny you should mention this. I take bc pill. Two days after my surgery my period started 2 weeks early. Something about the surgery throwing my system into shock and hormones out of whack.

Hello 👋🏼 so my revision surgery was on October 16/19 the night before surgery I weighed around 237lbs... almost a month out I’m 222... total loss of 15lbs... Haven’t lost anything in almost a week and I’m getting discouraged. I was told after 4 weeks I can start eating soft foods... do you guys have any recommendations? I’ve honestly been eating eggs 🥚 after I reached my 3rd week... I know I shouldn’t have but I got so tired of broth and protein shakes. I can eat 2 scrambled eggs in one day... I know that’s not much but that’s what I’ve been eating so far. I’m scared to eat mashed potatoes bc I loveeeeeee potatoes!!!! Lol ... any food ideas would be great... I get to see my nut in a week but for now I’ll take you guys suggestions thank you!

Yesterday was a busy busy day moving our storage unit across town. I fell asleep by 7pm then woke up hungry at midnight. So what did I do? I ate! Ugh! LOL Can tell my arm is unhappy with all the activity and salt from yesterday, cuz I'm having a lymphedema flare in my left arm, chest, and back. Oy veh. Time for compression. I estimate I'm carrying about a lb or more of fluid. Monday 11.11 - Maintenance : 5'4" / 57y F/ 19.5mo PO RNY / 132.0 lbs B-Protein lattes (4oz PP) L-Big A*s salad with shrimp and veg (iceberg, cucumbers, red bell peppers, purp onion, carrots, sliced olives, feta, Grk dressing) + 1/4 of Italian sausage and marinara appetizer (ate about 1/3 of the salad). AS-nothing D-gg brancrisp flatbread + LS peanut butter BS-cottage cheese, ff grk yogurt + walnuts + SF da vinci pumpkin spice syrup Daily Totals: 756 cals; 57g protein; 48g fat; 33g carbs; 11g fiber (Psst: I have that crazy feeling of being at the top of my weight window at 132lbs and need to really skimp on food today to have the scale move back down to 130lbs.) @ms.sss

I, too, have developed thin, peeling fingernails and I take 1000-1500 mg of calcium a day, so I don't think it is a calcium deficiency. I'm almost 8 months out, and first noticed this a few months ago. I got so fed up with my nails, I posted on here and got some great advice about powder dip nails. I wish you the best! Sent from my SM-N960U using BariatricPal mobile app

Agreed. Okay, so I will say that I’m more of a “tough love” kind of person and can be blunt sometimes. Part of that is decades as a healthcare practitioner (do NOT try to lie to me and tell me that the dog ate your Xanax and you need it filled early) and part of it is that I carry around a lot of mother/daughter issues with my mom. In short, she’s one of the biggest enablers on the planet and then tells lies/omits truth about it. Trying to confront her about it is like trying to punch a marshmallow, so how I compensate is to be brutally honest to the point of being (seemingly) outright rude at times. I used to feel bad about it, but as I get older, I’m more of a “take me or leave me” kind of person. I need to find a good support group— so far I can only find ones online. Both bariatric centers near me have crap format and hours. Meh. Anyway, just discovered this thread. Yay! I’ll probably lurk here more than post bc I don’t log food as often or as thoroughly as I should but I love seeing the menus

This resonates bc I’m slowly discovering the same and I’ve only been in maintenance for a month. My very first goal ever was to weight at or below 175. Being such a math head, and knowing what my weight was going in, the type of surgery I was having, and calculating approximately my “excess fat” I knew it would be pushing the upper limit (80% excess fat lost) to get to 175. The whole time as I was prepping and doing the head work and the physical prep, this was my absolute gold standard. If I could hit 175, then I’d accomplished EVERYTHING I’d set out to do and had hoped and dreamed for. At 175 pounds, i would’ve lost 80 pounds out of my 100 excess pounds of fat. In short, absolutely worth it and considered a success. Well, as I started losing, my inner-voice started talking to me about how nice it would be if I could lose 90 pounds excess fat. So then I started toying with the idea of 165. Then that voice started to get greedy “why not shoot for an even 100 pounds?”, the voice said. So 4 weeks ago I hit 155 and I was ready to stop. Except I’ve lost another 5 pounds in those 4 weeks and I feel as if I look and feel even better now than I did 4 weeks ago. I don’t want to get addicted to losing weight, but I now think that I’m going to shoot for 145 (which originally was the rock-bottom number I wanted to hit to be at the low end of maintenance). Yeah, so I’m also taking the “crossing that bridge” mentality bc this whole process is just plain freaky at times. Never ever in my wildest dreams did I think this would happen— and I’m a slow loser/metabolizer

Liquid stevia doesn't usually cause laxative distress of pains. That's why making your own gummies from grass fed gelatin and adding your own flavors and liquid stevia and citric acid might do the trick for you!!! You could also play around with adding protein powder to them. They are dead easy to make!! You can just pour it out into a tray, let them jel up then cut them into cubes. Very healthy!!

Back on track yesterday. But up a little bit today. No surprise. 😕 That's my usual Monday situation. Ha! Sunday 11.10 - Maintenance : 5'4" / 57y F/ 19.5mo PO RNY / 131.6 lbs B-Protein lattes (4oz PP) L-Big A*s Salad with shrimp & chicken + blue cheese + pumpkin seeds + veg (rbp, cucumbers, toms) (ate it in 2 portions) AS-(the other half of my salad) + almonds D-atlantic salmon mustard coated + grilled chicken + broccoli in garlic + avo/tom BS-gg brancrisp flatbread + peanut butter Daily Totals: 1064 cals; 84g protein; 69g fat; 36g carbs; 16g fiber; 20g net carbs

im so curious why everyone i have heard from says it is banned. I wonder why? Ugh its hard when Drs are inconsistent because then you wonder if it is all BS.... Im too scared to try it.

I’m sorry that you’re hurting I’m sorry that you’re struggling I am going to call you out though for lashing out very rudely. Whether you like the advice or not, someone took time out to give a response. Yes, maybe the wording was a bit harsh, but please take the message and go back to all of the months of physical and psychological prep that went into this. There are many of us here from decades-long veterans to those surgeried just in the last few weeks that can help. The first 2 weeks are the absolute worst. Your body is tired, your mind is tired and everything is dramatically different. However, I haven’t heard of a single weight loss patient who didn’t know this going in, so refer to your action plan and work the plan. Drink Protein shakes (if possible) Vitamins Rest Work with your NUT and bariatric clinic. They don’t disappear after surgery, they are there and want you to succeed. For the first 8 days post-op, I “consumed” a total of 800 calories. For 8 days. Didn’t hit a single protein goal ANY of those days. Emailed my NUT panicked 3 times that week bc I couldn’t hold in anything thicker than water. Her advice was to relax and not stress too much about the protein as long as the water happened. She was right and within 2 more weeks I finally hit my first protein goal. It took me 3 weeks after surgery to do that, so you’re still good. It won’t always be easy, but life changing measures seldom come easily.

Yes I’m a VGS patient and the main reason I chose VGS over bypass was exactly bc of malabsorption. Had I been even 10 years older, I might have chosen bypass, but I’ve still got to work full time while maintaining super-high levels of energy and focus. This info stays here, but my career is extremely youth-oriented. It’s extremely difficult for those of us >50 to keep up. Lately at my age and stage I was STRUGGLING physically to hang in there. A chain retail pharmacists MUST be able to work 10-12 hour shifts with zero breaks, downtime or relief all the while being able to multi-task incredibly heavy burdens. One moment of distraction (which most commonly is a result of a full bladder, empty stomach, or physically worn out body) can be deadly and every single one of us is aware of this at all times. For me, side effects from malabsorption, whether it be dumping or fatigue from vitamin and nutrient deficiency wasn’t an option if I want to be as safe to the public as each and every person deserves. On the other hand, being chronically tired and physically wrung out due to carrying around 100+ pounds excess weight wasn’t helping so that had to change. I figure with just the weight I’ve lost so far, I’ve given myself another 10-12 years extended career time, which is amazing since I’m 51 and I’d love to keep working part-time after age 65. I’ve always been a slow metabolizer. Even when I was a thin college student, I’d gain weight easily if I didn’t keep track of calories and activity. Even though WLS gives us a metabolic reset, mine prior to being completely messed up wasn’t the best so I’m expecting that I’ll never be the girl who can maintain in the 1800-2000 range even with increased activity. Honestly I’m okay with that. If I have to maintain at 1200-1400 daily, then that’s what I’ll do. I have this tool. I plan on using it for the rest of my life. I will use my tool and I will use IF. I do battle intense constipation. Like Sillykitty, I’m a 1-2 times weekly “mover” and once it hits 4/5 days, I’m uncomfortable. It does take me at least 3 days though bc the discomfort starts. I use senna/mom about once weekly, and that’s on top of my daily miralax. I drink plenty of water, but I’ve always battled chronic constipation so it’s nothing new. Side note: weighed myself this morning (still slightly constipated,BTW) and I’m now exactly GW -5 pounds. I’m thinking I’m going to set a goal to lose 2.5 more pounds between now and thanksgiving so if I do have some holiday bounce I can stay right around 150.