meggiep

Oh I hear you! Every day I tell myself I will try to get it down in an hour but I just can't...they really are like medicine to me, and mine is mixed with decaf, milk, vanilla, and shaved ice. Min ends up about 12 ounces. How many grams of Protein is yours? I use three scoops for 45 grams to give me a good foundation. The rest of the time - if I don't use the alarm on my phone (at work you can use the buzzing mode!) then I fall totally behind. Girl- it's work!!! Today I was at the pool and asked a woman in my class who had RNY three years ago if it gets easier and she said she can totally gulp Water now- I hope that is true for us. The other thing I do is in the morning I gather several different liquids- a 16 0z bottle of Propel, a 12 ounce keep it hot cup of decaf tea, and a 32 ounce bottle of water. My husband has rigged an ice bucket that I keep the water and propel in. I change it up with them whenever the larm goes off because I still find wat more difficult than some other things. And here I sit at 10:30 at night and I still have about 20 ounces to go! Luckily I stay up late! Good luck!

I did it! It is in my post about the recipes.

Ok everyone here is what I came up with for the wonderful RIcotta Bake, so delish on purees or anytime I think! I could see adding a layer ofr ground turkey when I am on a fuller diet. Anyway, this nutritional info based on using full fat ricotta cheese, regular parmesan (I used shredded from Costco) a large egg, and low fat mozzarella cheese, as well as my particular fave vodka/marinara sauce for the topping . It is also based on dividing the complete dish into six servings, which is about perfect for my 1/4 cup ability here at three weeks. So if you want to eat more, multiply my totals x 6 and divide it into the number of servings you want it to be. Obviously if you use low fat cheese all the way around it will change. Like Eggface I prefer full fat for the most part though I don;t mind low fat mozzarella I am all about the flavor! I use Spark People to feed the ingredients in and create the recipe and then got the nutritional data- easy! Hope this helps anyone obsessed with having the right thing to log every day like me! Serving = 1/6th pan Amount per serving Calories 160.7 Total fat 10.9 g Cholesterol 74.0 mg Sodium 335.8 mg Potassium 74.0 mg Total carbs 3.1 grams dietary Fiber 0.3 grams sugars 0.9 grams Protein 11.5 gram I have all the Vitamins and stuff too but its a lot to type and my fibro is affecting my hands today!

First of all, since we have the opening and closing of our stomachs intact you can drink right up until you eat- it is after you need to wait. AFter that I set my phone alarm for every 15 minutes to remind me to drink. It is work- for sure, but so far three weeks out, I have gotten all my protein and all my liquid every day since day five. I still drink a 45 gram protein drink in the morning first thing to give me a good foundation. It is work, but it is all doable!

I think I could stretch to Hayward for sure! xoxo

I am so bad with CA geography I don't know what would work best for you- I am good to go to San Jose, San Francisco, or Oakland. That's about my limits in the different directions! I know we have two in SJ but they could probably manage any of the other two places too (also Fremont of course or someplace like that...

I am in Redwood City so I am definitely in for a SOuth Bay get together as I cannot (yet) manage a longer drive though I have hoped losing weight will help with that! Maybe we could aim for someplace in between RWC and SJ like Sunnyvale ;-P

Yay I finally found out thanks to Irene that I was approved right away and I'd been anxiously awaiting notification thinking I might have been rejected ;-P Sacratomato (as Herb Caen always called it!) is a bit far for me unfortunately because I would dearly love to meet you all- but maybe if I plan agead and get some more weight off I could do it. My back nerve pain makes longer drives really painful but my hope is weightloss will ease that some! I have so many Protein Drinks that I once liked and now don;t that could be YOUR next fave thing- and already will soon have to GORGEOUS chlorine resistant swim suits to pass along. BOy will I be buying cheap suits for a while before I spring for another good one! So glad to be with my No Ca peeps!

Tiff is the expert- follow her plan and you can't go wrong though everyone needs to see what their body does! However re exercise- you can walk- walking is so good for fibro AND for weight loss so you can't go wrong doing that. Also - I do Water aerobics five days a week and the classes are KICK BUTT workouts- and there is no pressure on your body so for fibro as well as bck and knee problems etc. it is HEAVEN! Seriously, when I went back into the water for the first time Tuesday the class was lined up treading water and watching me and I went into total bliss as soon as I was floating- with my cold the week before surgery it had been almost a full month since I had that feeling of weightlessness. I am not cleared for core work yet but the water walking is giving my legs and arms a killer workout, I am sore! For some reason I have been told 80 grams protein- I sure hope as I have lost some weight that it will come down to a much more manageable 60!

I was told no core work for a month. I am walking every day for an hour and then Water walking every evening but am not allowed to do the full water aerobics until my one month. (I am at 3 weeks- so near yet so far ;-P) I also can't lift over 5 pounds. The incisions pass through muscle so you need to let that all heal before you start stressing it! I rediscovered and enjoy the walking and my husband and I consider it a date and our dog loves it too so I will now do both for a double workout!

I think counting carbs and making absolutely sure you get your Protein will really help you. The high protein and low carb is a key factor in the chemistry of losing weight and making the most of this "honeymoon period" of weight loss. Fruit is really high in carbs and when your body has carbs it wont turn to the fat cells for energy- it really needs to be pushed to do that! Exercise is also key- and I know that is a tough one. Have you considered Water aerobics? It's a good workout and fun too. IN any case even long walks are good as long as you do it daily. I do a 45 minute walk every day and water aeriobices 4-5 times a week now that I am at three weeks. Also- I am interested in you being told just to eat when you are hungry- cause if I did that it would be never! I am never hungry- I just schedule my meals when I know they should be! Don't forget the grehlin is no longer being produced in your thumby (my word for our new tummies) and you may need to eat to live now that we no longer live to eat! All that said- you will still stall now and again! This article helps explain the chemistry of a stall and why you can still be losing even when the scale is not budging... http://www.dsfacts.com/weight-loss-stall-or-plateau.html

I think if you put this in Post-Op you will probably get lots more answers! (I am only three weeks out so wont answer ;-P)

Jut have to tell you my so works at a movie theater and before my sleeve he would bring a huge bag of buttered movie popcorn home almost every day. Oh but I miss it so! And have to watch my husband eat it...sigh! Just know that her meals are more for the soft foods stage than the mushy stage as in this stage everything should be pureed. Refer to your doctor's instructions for what is allowed on their plan. Everyone is so different!

I will only add that it is good to strain any solid out of your cream Soups for the first few weeks to protect your tender new tummy. I was not allowed fruit until now, and even now not fruit with seed such as strawberries. etc. With that as well as the high carbs of the smoothie mix I would probably avoid that. You may or may not decide to count carbs but it does seem to me that the people who have the best weight loss results do count carbs. That is all I have to see to make my decision! Welcome to VST!

You go girl! Wow, your doc is even more conservative than mine- I got mushies at three weeks (Monday) but FOUR weeks of full liquids- wow! Do you get yogurt, cottage cheese, etc.? Do you add Protein powder to your soup, etc. Keep it up!

That is funny- especially funny because the SAME thing happened to me! I am Meg Price now but in my previous marriage I was Meg Davis. Well, when I started Water aerobics the teacher was named Meg...Davis! We soon realized that we went to the same vet for our cats and the same clinic for our health and had been mistaken for each other for years! Small world indeed. BTW, are you Margaret? All three of the Megs in my class are Margaret.

My doctor wanted me to try and get my Protein in from the very beginning- and I was released with a Clear liquids plus protein drinks order. However, I could hardly drink anything for the first five days- I set the alarm on my phone for every fifteen minutes and measured out 2-4 ounces and drank it. It was tough! At day five drinking became much easier and I started getting all my protein in from that point as I am a complier by nature and I am determined to make this work for me. Though some of the drinks I had liked pre surgery were now disgusting to me I did find a couple that worked and I had at least two a day plus added some greek yogurt and milk to my Soup etc. ( went to thin liquids after a week) and have gotten 70-80 grams since day five. I suggest ordering different samples for sure- I like the Chike meal replacements- they are very tasty and though they have about 8 net carbs they are great for the first few months . I also second Unjury- their unflavored protein is great to add to soup and other things and the chicken soup is an absolute Godsend because believe me you will get really sick of sweet protein drinks! Everyones tastes differ so you wont know what works for you until after- I advise you to have lots of samples on hand and don't stock up too much in case you hate the things you formerly liked. The reason, btw, that my doctor wants you to have protein from the start is to keep your energy up and especially with the lower calories you tend to take in during this phase, to be sure you don't start burning muscle instead of fat. It is never too soon to start the right chemistry for weight loss! Good luck to you!

I know this about you- you are so good at following a program girl you are going to ROCK your sleeve- I can tell. This tool will do it for you- I know from getting to know you! For what its worth my doctor uses a 34 but truly from seeing some of the hard times people have eating here I think you will be in great shape since I know you will follow all the rules and your sleeve is nice and small yet not so small as to have possible problems. I LOVED seeing your hospital vid yesterday! xoxo

I actually stalled at 2 weeks and a couple of days- and since I lost a pound yesterday at 3 weeks one day I hope my stall is broken! Luckily I have everyone here talking about stalls so I knew to just keep on keeping on!

Kelly and Michelle- I know I said I would be up early but my husband and son went to the Civil War cemetery around the corner for the annual anvil dropping (boys do love a big bang) and without them here I slept and slept and slept. At three weeks that is something I still do pretty easily. I just ate manna from heaven , aka a soft scrambled egg. Or rather half of one. I decided to stop there, not because I actually felt anything that told me to- and I would really love to get tuned in to that, but to be safe. Carter the border terrier shared ;-P IT WAS FABULOUS!!!!! You would think I hadn't had solid food for five weeks! Oh wait- I hadn't... This egg was sublime, bodacious, perfect in it's tasty savory egginess. And it went down fine and I have no pain or discomfort!!!! HOORAY! Meanwhile I am statistically part of the three week stall- I have gone between 250 and 249.6 for four days now. Sigh. I just hope it does not last weeks. My pool opens tomorrow so I will be back in the Water along with my long walk every day so that should help. And I will keep on keeping on with the fluids and Protein. I figure with the small amounts of mushies I will still need the dread Protein drinks for a while. Double sigh. I would love some feedback about how you all know you should stop- what sigh do you get? I really want to avoid the pain, foamies, etc....

Well....after a wonderful day yesterday with an egg and cheese in the morning, a 1/4 cup of cottage cheese with a puff of hidden valley ranch seasoning...and a SECOND egg and cheese at night...all going down well and with my morning shake ending the day at 70 grams- my minimum... today is another story. I made a mistake- I finished my shake and then it was so late in the day I decided to have my egg right away- as I think of the shake as a liquid. I was not hungry- not in any way. I am NEVER hungry- so it is really hard to know what works. I started burping as I ate but I have that sense of urgency to get enough of the Protein grams in so I almost knew as I put the last bite in that I had overdone it. In fact I think even eating it so soon after the shake was wrong. Well it was not subtle- no pain, just an icky feeling and a knowledge within three minutes that it was going to have to come up. And it did- my thumby was not content until every bit of that egg came up. And i was left feeling really ucky- and finally had stomach pains AFTER and spent some time TMI'ing on the toilet- so this really set off a chain reaction that did not do me well. I still feel bad and don't even want to go for today's walk. UGH. I am queasy and shaky and having trouble even thinking about having anything, even Water. Sigh. This is hard, incorporating food! I just hope eggs aren't ruined for me- certainly right now I don't want to see one anytime soon but hopefully this feeling will wear off. Kelly I am sorry you are still having problems with mushies. I did want to mention though that even though you get soft food next week I think you might want to reconsider since you are still not tolerating the mushies. I don't think the soft foods will be any easier! My doctor has you dial back a step every time something isn't working. Just a though! Have you talked to the nutritionist about the problems you are having?

But H to H my 8 weeks is July 3rd- aren't you more than two days further out than me? My surgery was 5/9.

I am only three weeks out but I have followed everything to the letter- getting my 80 grams of Protein, all my Water, and adding exercise as well as counting my carbs, I intend to follow this as exactly as I can for as long as I can because I want the "honeymoon period" to work for me- I want to get to my goal and I believe from everyone I have seen that following the plan WORKS. After I am at goal I will ease off a bit and allow the occasional treat or special event. But I will always record my food and keep an eye on things. I invested a lot of thought and made the decision to have 85% of my stomach removed and I need to make this work...or then what?

I am glad you made it! I know from my own feelings today that adding the mushies really brought my energy up today and I hope that helped see you through! I felt ready to be out in the world but I have to say I am still glad I work from home!!! Make sure you keep your fluids up and get lots of rest. Cook on getting the recognition for the weight! Wasn't that awesome? It was like that for me at the pool tonight too. Loved it ;-P

I absolutely echo the recommendation for water aerobics. I live with bad pain from nerve pain in my back and tears in both knees that have me a near invalid- but in the water there is no pain and no pressure on your back. Not only that but the classes are a KICK BUTT workout- truly- we do 300 crunches in many of our classes and lots of aerobic work as well as core. Try it- you may be surprised!