Indymom

I'm sorry to both of you who had losses due to GB complications. That's so sad. I knew from the outset that I didn't want RNY because I have ulcerative colitis and did not want my intestines impacted in any way. I also did not want to deal with dumping, malabsorption, etc. I thought lap band was the best option for me but my surgeon recommended the sleeve because of my colitis as well (more risk of colitis issues with a foreign body banding my stomach). For what it's worth, my surgeon has been doing bariatric surgery for years and has done TONS of RNY surgeries. He told me at my last follow-up appointment that his sleeve patients are doing phenomenally and once there are longer-term studies, he thinks that VSG will become the gold standard rather than the RNY. I love my surgeon.

Be careful with veggies this early out - I wasn't allowed most raw veggies (with the exception of peeled cucumbers) until my third month. They can be hard on your new sleeve. Early out I ate cooked carrots smushed up, peeled raw cucumber slices and cooked mushrooms. I don't like most cooked veggies though so I was tortured until I could have raw veggies!! I did occasionally have vegetable soup that had cooked green beans, peas, etc. in it and that was pretty good - I just avoided the corn because that can also be hard to digest early out.

Love this thread! You ladies are rockin' your sleeves! OK, my before is at Disney in May - probably 265-270. My after is from last Friday (I'm in the gold shirt) - 198-ish. I need to take a few full-length current photos!

DId you start back at week 1 or did you start somewhere in the middle? I haven't done it since October but I've just gotten back to the gym this week for 2 strength classes (and OW I am sore!!). I'm thinking of starting back on week 3 or 4 and seeing how I do with it . . .

I don't like rice well enough to bother with it, so I haven't had it since surgery (other than the errant bite or two here or there when we've ordered Chinese or if it came on a meal I get at a Mex restaurant). I love the Qdoba naked burritos, I get the kids' size portion and it's good Protein with low carbs. Sometimes if I splurge and get some queso or sour cream on it, the calories are a little higher than I woudl like but it's a nice treat at times. I usually can't even finish the kids' portion, though the adult portion will last me 2-3 meals.

How did your sleeve tolerate the breading? I ate some oven-baked chicken nuggets tonight (was feeling super-lazy) and my tummy seemed to not like them as well as non-breaded chicken.

I'm a little late to this but giving it a go. I missed my Christmas goal by 8 lbs (damn you cocktails and cookies!!). I'm leaving on a cruise on February 19 so I'm pretty dedicated this time, I have a size 12 bathing suit I'd love to fit into next month! Indymom ~ 263 SW . . . . . 198 CW . . . . . 175 GW . . . LBS to GOAL: 23

I typically eat 3 'normal' meals and have found that I need a protein-based snack in the afternoon as well (I get the 3 pm carb cravings at work and want to visit the candy dishes unless I have some cheese handy!). I sometimes have a small snack in the evenings as well, depending on how early I've eaten dinner.

My meal plan included foods in the 'full liquids' that others didn't get to eat until their mushy/soft food phase - like soft cheese. In my pureed food phase, I was allowed to have canned chicken and tuna without actually pureeing it. I think your best bet is to follow whatever your surgeon's/nutritionist's plan dictates and use their food lists.

I find that if I microwave leftover grilled chicken to warm it up, it can be pretty dry and a little tougher to eat. What I sometimes do (if I'm at home) is spray a little Pam in a small saute pan, slice the chicken thin and warm it up that way. It is less dried-out that way. If you have to microwave it you could use a little chicken broth in your container to keep it a little more moist.

Kathy, when I was in my first month I got very little protein from food. I would have 2 shakes a day totaling 60 grams of protein, and I would usually only get about 15 grams more (if I was lucky) from what I was eating - since I could only have 2 oz at a time, 3 times a day. Also some of what I was eating didn't have protein (like applesauce).

My nutritionist and surgeon both recommend no caffeine after surgery, ever. They say it can cause ulcers. That said, I asked the nutritionist during my last visit and she said that she didn't anticipate I would have issues with occasional caffeine, as long as I wasn't drinking a pot of coffee a day. Since I was able to give it up post-op my body has gotten used to being without it, so I don't drink coffee or caffeine every day - but I do periodically treat myself to a half-caff Starbucks mocha latte (boy is that a BIG splurge!).

Temptation is a tough thing. I hate walking past the candy dishes at work (this one girl keeps peanut M&Ms in a big bowl and it's excruciating to go by them!!). I make sure that if I do slip and grab a handful, I log them in my food tracker to keep me honest. A treat here or there isn't going to completely ruin your progress, but at the same time if you find yourself doing it more and more, you probably need to nip it in the bud completely. I've gotten myself back on track after not doing well during the holidays . . . I've been stalled at the same weight since before Thanksgiving and am now back to logging all my food, getting in my daily fluids, and exercising faithfully. It's only been 3 days but it feels SO good to be back on track! Just get back to basics. You could also try Diva's boot camp at the top of this page as a jump-start.

I'm only 5 months out - so I'm not a long-term veteran - but I am at about 4-5 oz capacity. Here are some examples of what I eat at each meal. lunch ~ costco chicken burger (about 4 oz) and 3-4 sliced cucumbers dinner ~ 1 oz cooked Pasta (probably 1/8th of a cup if I measured it that way), 2 turkey meatballs, sauce and a tiny side salad (and a few nibbles of garlic bread, yum!). Breakfast ~ 1/4 cup egg beaters, 1 oz Canadian bacon, 1/2 oz shredded 2% cheese, 1 sliced mushroom and a bit of diced tomato.

I found myself falling into old habits during the holidays - I am not a sweets person but LOVE crunchy, salty Snacks (so I overdid it on crackers/dip, ranch dressing oyster cracker snacks, etc.). I had to just put the brakes on and get back to basics. A lot of people are doing Diva's boot camp (see the pinned thread at the top of this page) and getting back to early post-op habits. I think the only way to get back on track is to KEEP track . . . of what you're eating, how much you're exercising, etc. Did you previously use an online food tracker like myfitnesspal? If not, I would really recommend it. If you're having a hard time with the carbs, you probably need to eliminate the bad carbs for a few days to break the cycle. I would talk to your husband about being more supportive - it would really frustrate me if my husband wasn't helping me with my journey. Good luck to you!

I am FINALLY getting all my protein from food - and glad for it because I had an awful time with the shakes. I was able to tolerate the chocolate Premier ready-to-drink from Costco for a while (let it get really cold) - since it was 30 grams protein in a fairly small portion. I got sick of it, though, and switched to just unflavored protein mixed with decaf coffee, a little milk and Splenda. That was tolerable even though I could still taste the protein I could choke it down.

I was never a big sweets person pre-op, so I don't worry too much about overindulging in sweet things. I allowed myself tastes of things during the holidays without overdoing it. When I was newly post-op, I ate sugar-free popsicles and fudgesicles for a sweet treat. I love fruit too, I bought some good oranges at the store, I also like good sweet grapes and I had part of a peeled apple last night. Since I'm not militantly low-carbing it fruit is a good go-to snack for me.

Feeling awesome today . . . tracked every bit of food that went into my mouth today, and I stayed within my plan (about 800 calories/35 carbs/75 protein). I also did a 50 minute strength class at the gym. I thought it was going to be a lot harder to get back in the swing of things, I'm so glad to be on track again. Now I'm ready for the pounds to start dropping again, I feel like I've been stalled FOREVER!!

Here's the recipe (it makes 120 servings so obviously you'll want to pare it down some - I did 8 servings and it made a lot) http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Absolutely-Fabulous-GreekHouse-Dressing/Detail.aspx?prop24=etaf I calculated it to be 78 calories, 8 grams of fat and 1 gram of carbs for 2 tbsp - but my salads are so small these days that I usually only use about 1 tbsp. It's really good. If you refrigerate it, set it out for a while before serving as the olive oil tends to get clumpy. I used my immersion blender to make it really emulsified.

I'll jump in here, I like these daily menu threads (lots of good ideas!) B - 1/4 c southwestern egg beater omelette with 1 oz canadian bacon, a sliced mushroom, a little diced tomato and 1/2 oz 2% shredded cheese L - leftover chicken & mushrooms in garlic white wine sauce (about 4 oz total) and some sliced cucumber/tomato afternoon snack - 1 oz 2% sliced sharp cheddar cheese D - more leftover chicken & mushrooms in garlic white wine sauce (about 3 oz) and half a small baked potato with a little butter and light sour cream Snack - half a peeled apple and a piece of leftover bacon

How far out from surgery are you? Many times an increase in acid production (or acid reflux) can mimic a hunger pain, so it may be what you're feeling if you're very early out. I don't believe I felt actual "hunger" for at least a month or so, maybe more. Now that I'm close to 5 months out I do feel hunger again, but it's not like it was pre-op.

Sounds good, I'm going to try this recipe but use leaner ground beef. I love meatloaf!

I also didn't have 12 classes - my surgeon works for a bariatric center of excellence, and I only had one full day nutrition class. There were also a number of pre-op support groups I could have attended if I chose to. I also didn't have a pre-op diet requirement - I only had to do Clear Liquids the afternoon and evening before surgery. My surgeon said that he'd never had issues with the liver being in the way (not sure if he based that upon my starting weight or with all patients). It's good that you're already getting yourself in the mindset of eating a 'pre-op' diet - starting to focus on healthy, clean eating now with emphasis on Protein will be a good jump-start for you when you get closer to your surgery date. I'm sure you'll find out a lot more details when you get started.

As my capacity has increased (I'm almost 5 months out), I've found myself sometimes tempted with making bad food decisions - and I've found that while I'm hitting my Protein targets, my calorie and fat counts are higher than what I would like them to be to continue losing. I've revisited a whole set of recipes I used to use religiously in my Weight Watchers days . . . and because the WW points model is based largely on high protein/low fat/low carbs, I've found that many of my old "standby" recipes are also going to work out great for me for my sleeve eating as well. My favorite food blog EVER when doing WW is www.skinnytaste.com - and I thought I would post some of my favorite recipes too (and some I want to try!) They are all chicken recipes, we're chicken junkies in our house. We made this one for dinner tonight again - we make it at least once a month - it's really awesome! http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/03/chicken-and-mushrooms-in-garlic-white.html I haven't made this one yet but can't wait to try it . . . http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/05/grilled-chicken-bruschetta.html#more I really liked this one - I might make this now without breading the chicken, though - I don't know if the breading would agree with my stomach as well now that I'm sleeved. I think it would still be really good though, either with just sauteing the chicken in the pan by itself or just lightly dredging in flour rather than doing the egg white/breadcrumbs. http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/05/chicken-piccata.html I like this one a lot too - with my sleeve, I think the recipe "as-is" is too many carbs and not enough protein for the serving size, but I may modify a little bit. http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/02/crock-pot-santa-fe-chicken-425-pts.html Enjoy!!

I wasn't much of a soda drinker before surgery, so I don't worry about having a few sips here & there. It's not a trigger for me and I also typically would never even finish one, not even a 12-oz can. So for example, when I took my daughter to the movie today she wanted a frozen coke. I bought her one and probably had 4-5 sips of it. It tasted good, but awfully sweet. I don't drink much anymore but if I do happen to have a night out with friends and a little too much to drink, I love to have a bit of a McDonald's fountain coke the next day for my hangover. I swear they put something magical in that stuff that helps cure any hangover!! NOW, let me say that one of my trigger beverages was sweet tea . . . when we would go out to eat at places that had sweet tea I'd usually finish at least 2 glasses before we even received our dinner . . . UGH. When I think back about all that caffeine and sugar it makes me crazy! I don't let myself drink tea at all, because even making decaf iced tea and sweetening with splenda is like a sweet tea trigger for me. Luckily I'm mostly drinking plain Water, it doesn't bother me and is better than anything else anyway!!