What's on your TUESDAY menu, RNY'ers

Mornin' All!

Well this weight just WILL NOT BUDGE, despite having a mostly very good week. Although I'm feeling very water-logged and stuffed this morning (stuffed for no reason), so I suspect I'm backed up and full of sodium to boot. Lots of water today should help... hopefully this is all just temporary.

I'm finally seeing "A Star is Born" this afternoon - meeting a friend there. Board meeting this evening at Panera Bread. Otherwise, I'll continue doing a bunch of stuff that needs to be done before the holidays in case I'm unable to do it after surgery. Surgery is Friday - we're leaving here on Thursday (it's in Chicago, and I'm sure they'll want me at the hospital at some ungodly hour; thus, we'll head down there the day before). I'm a lot more freaked out about this phase than I was about the last one, even though this one (top half) is supposed to be a much easier recovery. Not sure where this anxiety is coming from. The stuff going on the last few days with the Wisconsin legislature is NOT helping, either...

QOTD: we have an artificial tree up in our attic which we gave up on putting up YEARS ago. Too many issues with the cats messing with the ornaments or knocking down the tree. We always spend Christmas Eve and Day at my mom's or sister's anyway, and they both decorate, so we don't really have to. DH used to put those battery-operated "candles" in all the windows, though - I kind of wish we'd do that again. They looked very nice from the outside. Although one of our cats loves to knock things off tables and counters - I'm sure he'd have a field day with all those candles!

accountability has been good. I don't always follow my daily plan to a T, but I've managed to stay within my calorie range for several days now. YAY!

3.5 years out:

B: homemade Greek yogurt with raspberries

MS: coffee with half & half, protein shake

L: homemade cottage cheese (1 C) or Emiepie egg salad on four whole grain crackers. Grapes (forgot I had those!)

AS: either protein pumpkin pie or Carbmaster yogurt. Or baby carrots with hummus

D: a cup of turkey chili or black bean soup at Panera Bread

P.S. Yes - posting here every day has been very helpful to me, even if I stray from my plan some days. It "resets" me every morning and helps me to keep my head in the game. Very important!

I forget - what surgery are you having Friday? Breast lift and arm lift? In my experience, I had my breast lift at the same time as my lower body lift and had ZERO pain in the breasts - probably because the muscle tightening in the abdomen was so intensely painful. I had to wear a binding bra type of thing but had no issues/no pain. I did my arms separately in an outpatient surgery (checked in in the morning, had surgery, went home in the evening) and again, really had no pain. The most annoying thing was having to elevate my arms, so I would sit on the couch with my arms on stacks of pillows. Since I didn't have pain I really overdid it at times...and I made a hole in one armpit a little bigger. I mean, I wasn't reaching to the top shelf but I was more or less living life normally. Two days after my armlift I got my 10,000 steps in and went to a party LOL. So hopefully you will have a similar experience and minimal pain/discomfort!

yes - breast lift and arm lift. He also wants to do incisions starting at my armpits and going down my sides to about my waist to get at some loose skin he wasn't able to get to during my LBL (it's just below my ribs. To be honest, I think it bothers him more than it bothers me, though). He'd originally suggested a FDL incision, but after my LBL he thought this would give me a better result. It'll cinch my waist a bit more and take some excess skin off my back, which a FDL wouldn't do. It's just as well. I originally was all for the FDL, but now that I've had the LBL, the remaining excess skin high up on my torso doesn't bother me *that* much. Having that vs having a vertical scar going all the way up my middle is kind of a wash. If this side thingie he proposed pulls some of that excess skin off without leaving me with a big scar going up and down my whole torso, I'm OK with that...

I don't know how a paper cut can hurt so badly, but I found that my incisions from my plastics were not painful - nothing compares to that abdominal muscle tightening! Hopefully you will have a similar experience and while you won't be doing water aerobics next Monday, I think you will feel much better than you think you will!

you're right - I forgot about that - he won't be doing any muscle tightening this time around. That's what makes the LBL so painful!!!

Good Morning and thank you for kicking us off today. I am so sorry you have had so many struggles and I am hopeful that you get relief soon.

QOTD: We usually decorate the first weekend in December but this year we were having Em's party so we will do it this weekend. I like the wood tree-it looks super cute and different.

Time since surgery: 4 years 3 months

B: SF latte, eggbeaters, ½ an orange and 2 turkey sausage links

L: Trader Joes mahi mahi burger and baby carrots

S: Buddig turkey pack, carbmaster cottage cheese and SF jello parfait.

D: Eggbeaters, turkey sausage links, Mikey's English muffin, sliced fruit, and 2 squares dark chocolate

ES: Homemade Greek yogurt with SF syrup and ¼ cup fiber cereal

E: 6 miles ran and 40 mins of elliptical this morning (working from home today so I stayed at the gym to get the elliptical time in)

V/W: On track

Totals: Cals:1241 Protein:112 Carbs:95 Fat:53

Have a great one!

Thanks for getting us started this morning Joyce!

I too was one of the lucky ones that have had no issues post-op. Except for the whole gallbladder thing. I also haven't experienced hunger. I struggle to get all my fluids in and have to be super mindful of that and I also struggle with good choices and try to be mindful of that. I am in no way perfect and that is what got me here in the first place.

QOTD: I secretly love decorating for Christmas and my tree has been up since the first snow day off from school.

11 months out and 162 today. My belly has been acting up since Saturday. It is revolting against something and I haven't been hungry and there has been a lot of gurgling going on.

M1: 8 ounces of milk

M2: PP shake (did have it because I am just not hungry)

M3: stuffed acorn squash with chicken apple sausage

M4: cheese and maybe 1/2 of a Honeycrisp apple (probably won't eat it)

M5: deli ham/cheese or turkey/cheese with mustard

Shooting for 100 ounces of water today - didn't make it yesterday

Vitamins are good for today

I have some chicken sausage in my fridge - I'll have to stuff an acorn squash with it. I used to make something like this, but it's been forever! It sounds great!

G'morning all!

Joyce - hang in there. Just keep at it with the plan. I am sorry you are struggling.

I'm at it too, although after my AMAW fiasco I just wanted to throw in the towel and eat a tub of icecream. But I didn't. I just enjoyed a huge mug of coffee with a good dose of Premier protein in it and it tasted like heaven after a week of just meat. Simple pleasures in life.

QOTD: we use artificial, one of those huge ones. THe first couple of years in US I was so surprised ppl use real trees, it's illegal in Europe. I went along for 4-5 years but then I couldn't handle it. I explained my reasons to DH and we went the artificial tree route. When kids were little we would alternate between them the theme and color of ornaments. Needless to say I have enough ornaments to decorate 5-6 trees. One year DD really challenged me by wanting the tree ornaments black!! The year we did Harry Potter theme was my favorite. Now that they are older we just color coordinate. We put up the tree when everybody's schedule allows, some yrs after thanksgiving, some years the week before xmas but no matter when we put it up the tree needs to stay up till Jan 6th.

B: coffee protein (yum)

L: tuna + hard boiled egg

S: parm cheese

D: chicken fajita

Have a great Tue my friends.

Good morning~ Keep coming here Joyce, it make the biggest difference, really!! I don't know where I'd be without OH, seriously. I would not be as successful and able to keep getting back up on the horse every time I fall off. Thank you all!! I am super sore all over - my weekend antics and Dyson workouts are really taking their toll. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE my Dyson? So much that I've even let go of hiring a house cleaner. Rob wasn't on board with that anyway -for which he is now forgiven, haha! I ended up skipping the gym yesterday and going to bed at 6:30 last night! I will skip the gym again today also.

QOTD - For the tree I prefer it to be December at least. Rob is ready on Thanksgiving and will put up the outside lights then. I use the same decorations I've had forever and all of them. It's an eclectic mix from my childhood, my sons childhood, things I've collected and many gifts from my mom over the years. I love every piece and every ornament. They all tell a story and are all precious memories.

Accountability - I was good!

2 years out - 162.0

b- coffee x 3, L&F Greek yogurt

l-4 oz albacore tuna, SG poppy seed dressing

d-4 oz pot roast, gravy

es - SF jello

v- multi x 2, calcium 500 x 2, BF iron chew

L- 150+ ounces (I do count coffee here)

e - not today

Have a wonderful day all!!