Indymom

I agree with what you said for the most part, in particular the comments on fast food. I've found that when I've tried a cheeseburger from McD's (for example) in a pinch, it really didn't taste good nor did it settle well in my sleeve. Having to eat at a fast food place is just a reality for me because of the extent I travel for work, but I've started to develop some good choices at those places when in the past I wouldn't have done well at all. That said, even before I had my surgery we were very "clean" eaters. Very little processed food, minimal sweets (no candy, no sugary Cereal, etc.), lots of good fruits and vegetables, etc. However, one of the biggest reasons I had the sleeve (among many) was the fact that I wouldn't likely have issues with dumping. Do I eat sweets regularly? Nope, I didn't have much of a taste for them before surgery and still don't post-op. Do I sometimes want a few tortilla chips with my salsa rather than carrot sticks or celery? You bet your ass. Do I steal a handful of my daughter's Cheetos when I let her have a bag occasionally? Yep. I track my food and stay within my calorie/fat/protein guidelines 99% of the time, but every once in a while I do have a little splurge. I've continued to have good consistent weight loss (well, other than the horrific T-giving to Xmas stretch!!) and feel like I'm making very good choices in general.

Make sure you're walking a bunch - that really helps with the gas. I didn't need to take anything for it but a lot of people say the Gas-X strips are extremely helpful.

My meal plan right after surgery (5 days out) was full liquids, so I was only supposed to have 2 oz of the "full liquids" 3 times daily (cottage cheese, soft cheese, applesauce, SF pudding, etc.). I was allowed to have SF popsicles and SF non-caffeinated beverages during the day and between meals.

I have had a few sips while eating (generally when I'm eating something spicy and need a cool-down). In most cases I don't feel like it helps my food go down - it actually feels unpleasant, like the liquids are sitting on top of whatever I just ate. So I'm not really inclined to want to drink while eating. My nutritionist doesn't care if I drink right up to the point that I begin eating, just advises to not drink during or 30 mins after.

I've been lucky in that I've not had any significant discomfort or intolerance at any stage. However, if you're having issues it could be too much too soon, or you're eating too fast. LIke the others said, take a step back for a day or two and see how it goes - once you try the mushies/purees again, make sure you are eating VERY slowly. That may help a lot.

There's a local store by me where I bought a lot of my protein, and they sell the Syntrax Nectar sampler packs for $14.95 (you get 11 packets and you can pick your flavors). The website is http://www.bjsbariatrics.com/. He sells a wide variety of things, thought I'd share it for those of you trying to find a protein you like!

You'll be surprised at how few people will really notice. If you have to go out with people soon after surgery (in the full liquids/mushies phases), just order some kind of Soup and stick to just the broth. French onion is a good one (even though it's got a lot of sodium) - if you can have the cheese it's good Protein, just try to avoid the crouton or order without. You can always make a comment that you had a late Breakfast or haven't been feeling well. What I often do is order an entree salad with grilled chicken (or just a side salad with a piece of grilled chicken) - eat most of the chicken which is usually my 3-4 oz portion of food . . . then take a few bites of the veggies, etc. then call it a day.

GREAT JOB!! I love NSVs related to my butt size!! We have an overstuffed chair in our living room and me and my husband (he's got a skinny, bony butt!) can now sit comfortably in it together and snuggle.

My really low-fat healthy buffalo chicken dip recipe has the plain greek yogurt in it (the fat-free). It's posted on the recipe forum if anyone is interested, but basically it's FF cream cheese, FF ranch (I just use my daughter's bolthouse yogurt ranch), FF greek yogurt, part-skim shredded mozz cheese, canned chicken breast, and frank's red hot. YUM!!! I did make my last batch with LF cream cheese instead of FF. I did a recipe builder on it and with LF cream cheese and the yogurt ranch dressing, it has about 100 calories, 5 grams of fat, less than 2 grams of carbs and 12.5 grams of Protein in a 1/4 cup serving. WOOT! It rocks with celery sticks or a few reduced fat wheat thins.

Ugh, what a rough time he's had (and you too!). You're a wonderful person for sticking by him through all this. I'll definitely keep the two of you in my thoughts. Hang in there!

I had 4 days of clear liquids, 4 weeks of full liquids (my full liquids included cottage cheese, yogurt, applesauce, etc.). Then I had 4 weeks of purees/mushies (including canned tuna/chicken, soft cheeses, etc.). Then I progressed to normal soft foods for another month. My liquids target is 72 oz/day and Protein 75-90 grams/day.

My surgeon will do bloodwork to check my levels but he doesn't do it until a year after surgery (unless there's suspicion of any deficiencies or other issues).

Oh, if you're craving chicken wings post-op (during the purees/mushy phases, for example) check out the buffalo chicken dip recipe on this forum that I posted - it is seriously delicious, I have a pan of it in my fridge and often have a 1/4 cup of it with a few reduced-fat wheat thins as a snack that is pretty high in protein.

I have BW3 occasionally - they are higher in fat/calories than I would like on my food plan, but it's an OK splurge every once in a while. They are high in Protein, which is a plus. I would agree with the previous posters that a better choice might be to buy fresh wings and bake or grill them rather than eat them fried. Some of the bottled sauces may be a little high in carbs but otherwise probably not too bad. A lot of fried foods do make my stomach pretty upset (like onion rings, etc.) so I have avoided them for the most part. Not a bad problem to have given that most fried foods are really not friendly on a sleeve diet anyway!

My mushy stage included canned tuna and chicken, so I would make tuna or chicken salad with a bit of dill relish (check if this is OK with your nutritionist). Tuna in particular is packed with protein. I also ate greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and lots and lots of 2% cheese (again, this isn't always allowed in the mushy stage so check with your nutritionist or your food plan from your surgeon).

19 lbs in a month is great! If you feel like your weight loss is too slow, though, just make sure you're tracking all your food and keeping up the exercise.

My surgeon didn't require a pre-op diet and said that typically the liver didn't give him any problems when operating. That said, I also didn't have highly-elevated liver levels. I would recommend asking your surgeon point-blank before you go under.

If your body is in ketosis (from eating low-carb) that can cause a funny taste in your mouth. I didn't think anything tasted good for the first month or two - once I could have 'real' food again it was fine. Hang in there!

I had an egg-beater omelet for Breakfast with mushroom, canadian bacon, tomato and 2% cheese. For lunch, I was with friends - so I had a few tortilla chips/salsa, then I had a chicken fajita salad and primarily ate the chicken/cheese with some pico de gallo. dinner was leftover chili with a very small amount of spaghetti noodles, and a small salad. I also had a spoonful of ice cream.

I could barely eat an egg early on, and at 5 months out I have my regular breakfast of 1/4 cup egg beaters, a few mushroom slices, a piece (1 oz) of canadian bacon, a little diced tomato and 1/2 oz shredded 2% cheese. It's the perfect amount - fills me up but I'm not stuffed, and I'm satisfied for hours! You'll get to the point where you feel like you're eating more "normal" again.

That is a great idea to have a small container with you for portion control! I'll splurge a little and have the butter and salt, but I do like the idea of measuring out a small portion so I can keep track. I'm guilty of letting my hand sneak into my daughter's popcorn bag far too many times.

For those of you thinking about being tempted by your kids' food . . . I've used my surgery as a starting point to improving my daughter's eating habits. Very little eating out now when we used to hit the drive-thru a LOT, lots more veggies and protein and less simple carbs, etc. She understands that I had surgery and that now we're all eating better to help mom get thinner and heathier. It's really been beneficial for the whole family!

So far I'm doing great now that I'm back on track! Another 3 lb loss this week!!! Indymom ~ 263 SW . . . . . 192 CW . . . . . 175 GW . . . LBS to GOAL: 17 January 9 ~ 195 (-3 lbs) January 16 ~ 192 (-6 lbs)

I was on clear liquids for the first 5 days, then full liquids for a month (but my full liquids included soft cheeses like string cheese). Then a month of purees (which included canned chicken, tuna, etc.).

nutritiondata.com has a recipe builder where you put all the ingredients in, choose the serving size (or number of servings) and then it gives you the full nutritional content of the serving. If there isn't an ingredient in their database, you can add it. It's a great site!