kittyforet

sounds DELISH!!! I will try that once I am back to solids!!!

Hey everyone!!! My kids ate some frozen fried mozzarella cheese sticks the other day and it got me to thinking..... are these ok if I make them homemade and bake them instead of frying them? I have a recipe that I've been wanting to try. I go to solids in the next 2 weeks, so it's not something I want to make right now, just something to keep in mind. I could probably add unflavored Protein powder to the marinara sauce to make these a little more band-friendly, right? I'm still working on understanding go foods vs no foods (including eat once in a while foods) so accepting advice. Thanks! kristi

I tried several of their flavors and liked vanilla the best. Didn't care much For any of the rest of the flavors. I bought the whey protein vanilla.

Have you been professionally fitted lately? Maybe you need a different brand of bra, as sometimes they all fit a little differently. Also try a D and C cup that isn't a push up and see how that fits. I know most major department stores like Macy's and Dillard's have people that can fit you, so does Soma and Victoria's Secret...I've noticed though that when I buy a VS bra, their sizes are different fitting than other stores. Also look for a Playtex/Bali/Hanes store near you; they are great at fitting you. A third option is to go get fitted at a specialty lingere store, where their bras are better quality with a higher price tag. Good luck and let us know if you find a winner!!!

It's not just you!!! You might be crazy, but then again, I might be too!!! I am in the same boat you are, but I am still on mushies. Haven't lost anything and trying not to gain back what little I've lost since surgery....I know we aren't supposed to be worried about losing right after but dang it, I was getting this close to onederland!!! When I log my foods into myfitnessplan.com, it tells me constantly that I am under my calories for the day and not eating enough even though I am aiming for 1000. Hang in there!!!! It can only get better, right???

I think I am experiencing a STUCK episode right now!!! I ate a piece of mushy banana bread, way too big of a piece, and ate too fast and got to one bite left and it feels like someone punched my chest right in the center above my boobs and oh my gosh it hurts!!! Walking around the house and making tiny burps but hoping it doesn't come up!!! I may try some warm Water in a minute.... I really wasn't expecting to be stuck yet, as I have no Fluid !! (And i know it wasn't a healthy choice, so please don't lecture me, as I've already beaten myself up for it!!! ) Maybe it really isn't a stuck episode, as now it is feeling better, but if it was, I NEVER WANT TO EXPERIENCE THAT AGAIN!!! Man that hurts!!! back to liquids tomorrow just in case!!! Lesson learned.

I have a recipe where I mix 1 egg with Water, dip the cheese in flour, then egg mixture, then roll in bread crumbs.....freeze until firm, then bake @ 400 for about 10 minutes. I may try to make these with whole wheat bread crumbs and whole wheat flour to see what it does to the taste as well as the nutritional stats. This recipe can be doubled to make a big batch to have on hand. per 2 stick serving: 281 calories 16 g fat 17 g Protein 17 g carb 1 g Fiber 98 mg cholesterol 776 mg sodium

I've had oatmeal twice now and both times I made it a little thinner than I would normally eat it but not quite runny..... Yes, add your Protein powder to it and you can also add some of the SF syrups like caramel or vanilla to it to boost the flavor, as well as applesauce, cinnamon, etc. Both times I had the sugar free oatmeal, I added about a tsp of brown sugar just to bump up the taste, but normally I'd add about 1/4 cup!! LOL so I've made progress!! I've even considered adding a tiny bit of SF maple syrup. great, now I'm wanting oatmeal!!! Peer pressure!!! LOL

I didn't even think that my hypothyroidism was not helping me when it came to weight loss!! The last few days the scale has been up and down and I get frustrated since I am following what the nutritionist told me to do, now to come read this post and see it may not all be entirely my fault!!! Totally didnt even click!!! I am on levothyroxine and for the first few days after surgery I didn't take my meds as I was afraid to swallow it, but I could really tell it's effect on my hair, felt like straw!!! UGH!!! So now I take it faithfully (it's the size of a tic-tac so I don't see a need to crush it, since I have no fill) ..... I was 209 on surgery date and after a few days, got down to 202.8, and since then, the scale has ranged from 203.0 to 207 and it's killing me!!! Of course 207 was late afternoon and all the others have been first thing in the morning....I know I really should put the scale away!! Makes me think back, I almost didn't get surgery in time as my TSH levels were off...well, I was having arm pain issues and didn't remember to take my thyroid meds, so I had to go back and get bloodwork redone to prove my levels were off because I was a dummy and didn't take my meds then. I've only been diagnosed about a year. Started on synthroid but my pcp moved me to levothyroxine....should I go to an endocrinologist like others? My pcp never suggested that...I go see my gyno later this month and will ask her if we need to change meds or take this further. Thanks for posting everyone!! kristi

Welcome to LBT Tiffany!!! Your progress is great!! Congrats!!! I'm mom to 2 boys 8 and 10 and a girl 4. Banded June 20, 2011. I'm in the Houston area...where are you? Again, welcome and congrats!!! kristi

SylviaM, HI!!!! I live in League City and work in Webster too!!! I was just banded June 20, 2011. So far I have no fill and am in Bandster Hell!!! Looking forward to getting a fill July 18!!! I can't atttend this month's meeting, as my son has 2 football games that day.....although I'd rather NOT be out in the heat!!! But I'd love to meet you and Cheri!! She has given me lots of info already!! I'm looking forward to meeting you and Cheri!!! kristi

Thanks for posting. This was just what I needed to hear today!

Are you required to buy THEIR shakes or can you purchase them elsewhere? My doctor's office sells shakes, but they told me I could buy theirs or gave me suggestions of ones they approve. I know Unjury is about $20 and that makes 17-20 shakes of 20 grams protein each...$85 per week is pretty high cost, I think! See if you can buy Unjury or another brand instead of whatever they are selling!

Thanks for sharing!! How's your recovery so far? kristi

Redhead Girl, You probably don't have any Fluid in your band yet and won't have any restriction or get that "full" feeling.... I was banded June 20 and my doc leaves the band empty until my first post-op visit, which is July 18. Between now and then, I am in Bandster Hell.....where it will seem like I can eat anything and everything without problems and won't feel full....sounds like you are in the same place I am right now. My doc's instructions were to make sure to weigh everything and only take a meal that is a total of 4 oz. right now....begin to take tiny bits and chew chew chew!!! I got up yesterday and drank 2 cups of Water and then about an hour later had scrambled eggs for Breakfast and ate it on a small plate and made myself wait 1 minute between bites and chew like crazy, and by the end of the eggs, I wasn't hungry for more!! Then after an hour, I drank another 1-2 cups water. Now, I WANTED to eat Snacks and crap in between, but didn't!! My mind was playing tricks on me....I wasn't hungry but my brain told me I needed to eat. I had to force myself to drink water each time I THOUGHT I was hungry. Are you drinking enough fluids? Try to drink as much water as possible to help fight off hunger. I also drink decaf iced tea sweetened with sugar substitute, or crystal light if I'm craving something sweet.... Once you have proper restriction, you will be able to eat a lot less, but until then, you will seem like the bottomless pit!! I know I feel that way!! Do you still have your post-op diet paperwork? I still have mine both from the doctor and nutritionist and am trying to follow that as closely as possible to help my stomach heal. If you'd like to see what's on my plan I'd be happy to email you a copy to help you get on track. (message me here or send me an email, kittyforet@yahoo.com) That being said, I am NOT perfect!! I've made mistakes and probably do stuff wrong, but I am a work in progress and learning all of this takes baby steps!! I too get caught up in that "but why can everyone else stop eating at a few bites?" mentality but I have to remember that they have SOME fill already while I have none....and I don't want to harm my recovery at the expense of following everyone else, even though it IS tempting!! Plus I paid cash for this little sucker in my stomach and I don't really want to see that go to waste!!! I too have slipped and eat more than I should AND things I know are no-no's, just to try it, just to be defiant and prove I'm in charge, but it didn't help me one bit!! Once you get your Protein, if you buy the powder, you can always start adding that to your food/drinks and get it in that way....I bought unflavored and start adding about 1/4-1/2 scoop into my food (oatmeal, applesauce, soup) or into my drinks (wal-mart brand of strawberry banana light fruit and vegetable drink tastes pretty good, and you can't taste the Protein Powder in it!). If you like Carnation Instant Breakfast, you can drink that and add powdered skim milk to it to boost the protein content without buying protein powder; you can also add protein powder to CIB if you wanted. What I do to make sure I get enough is to set aside 1 scoop per day and make sure I either make it into a Protein Drink or add a little protein to everything that enters my mouth so that by the end of the day, the scoop is all gone. That ensures that I get at least 20 grams with that one scoop. Sometimes trying to get all your protein in is kinda hard, but start small and it will get easier! So, starting today, join me in trying to eat the right things, in the right amounts, knowing one day we WILL be eating smaller portions!!! WE CAN DO IT!!! kristi

Hey Shakey88!!! Welcome to bandland!!! I'm doing ok so far, but I have no fluid in my band so I'm in Bandster Hell!!! UGH!!! Lost 14 pounds on the pre-op diet but only 6 in the last 2 weeks.... Started on mushies and it is so nice to eat scrambled eggs!!! Much better than liquids!!! How are you?? How was your sugery??? kristi

Sounds delish!!! Can't wait until I'm cleared for solids so I can try these!! Thanks for posting!

Jennypenny, I was told to do SF also....guess there isn't a big concern SF vs FF amongst the doctors.... I was also told to try to add Protein powder to my SF pudding and Jello, then add to applesauce, etc. once I get on mushies.... Good luck!! kristi

What's the time frame between the last bite and when you slime or pb? Is it an instant thing or does it take a few minutes?? Just curious as to how long it takes if it's going to happen. Thanks!

Ahab, I am almost 2 weeks post op and while I am still on full liquids, that is getting old fast!!! I'm not a big Soup fan so it has been hard for me to find liquids I like....and the soups I do like are thicker so I've been blending them until they are watery.... I just finished a bowl of watered-down oatmeal, NOT blenderized!!! It was very good to actually put something in my mouth that didn't slide right down my throat! A welcome change to have texture!! So far after an hour, no problems. I probably ate it faster than I should have, but it was pretty hot so I did have that against me. Your meatball mixture sounds heavenly!!! Over the weekend I plan on taking another poster's suggestion and blending up some ground beef, black Beans, and salsa, although I will have to blend that somewhat to get rid of the chunky part of the salsa.... My doctors' notes said to progress to mushies after 2 weeks, but my nutritionist said as tolerated after 8-10 days of liquids. I plan on gradually adding in my mushies and not going full-on mushies...adding 1 new thing in per day and keeping the other "meals" as my liquids until I am sure how my body wants to handle the "new" foods. So far, in the restroom category, everything is working, maybe not as frequent as before, but I am still able to go #1 and #2 without issue. I'm curious, what is burrata cheese? kristi

Hey thanks for letting me know!!! I forgot about looking at their website!! I go for follow-up on July 18..... I'm surprised that they didn't mention to me any sort of follow-up care or support group or send me home with any paperwork on it!! All I got was what to eat!! I'm nervous too!!! You'll have to let me know how your fill goes!!!

I use myfitnesspal...it's a free app for iphone and it's also online....if I'm not at home and need to track what I'm eating, I can do it on the phone and then see it all online when I'm at a computer. It tracks everything for you and you can print out reports of your eating, exercising, etc. Pretty easy to use too. Right now focus on getting your protein first....calories and portion sizes become paramount once you start eating real food. (At least that's what my nutritionist said, focus on protein now and soon enough it will be about how much and what you eat.) Good luck!!

Socks

Looking for any June 2011 bandits!! My date is June 20th and looking for fellow bandsters to keep me company! I could use support and hopefully I can help support someone else! kristi in houston, texas

You can friend me but I'm in the same stage you are....not sure if I will be of any help, but we can fight the liquid beast together!!! Maybe even get ideas from what we each eat, etc.??? kittyforet (kristi in the real world )