Indymom

I went to a bachelorette party last night and the hostess had tons of appetizers out . . . tons of tempting, carby appetizers. I tried to make good choices so I had a lot of the buffalo chicken dip she had made - I was eating it with celery but commented at one point about how fattening it probably was, with the cream cheese, the ranch dressing, etc. She told me it was the Hungry Girl recipe with fat-free ingredients . . . I honestly would have never believed it if she hadn't told me that. It was SO delicious! I pulled the recipe up online and wanted to share it here. I don't usually do the fat-free anything (I prefer the low-fat) but I would use the fat free ingredients for this recipe because you really can't tell. I could have eaten the whole crock pot full if my sleevie would have let me! There are 2 different sets of nutritional info - one says that for 2.5 oz it's 104 cal/12 gram protein/5 grams fat/2 carbs, but the other set says for a 1/4 cup it's 68 cals/1.5 grams fat/2 carbs/10 Protein. Either way I think it's a pretty good choice! http://www.food.com/recipe/hungry-girl-buffalo-chicken-dip-413265 Ingredients 2 (10 ounce) cans chicken breasts 1 (8 ounce) packages fat free cream cheese, softened- 1/2 cup frank's redhot original cayenne pepper sauce 1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese 1/4 cup fat free ranch dressing 1/4 cup fat-free Greek yogurt Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place cream cheese in a medium bowl and stir until smooth. Mix in Frank's RedHot, mozzarella cheese, ranch dressing, and yogurt. Stir in chicken until thoroughly combined. Spoon mixture evenly into a deep 8-inch by 8-inch baking dish. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until mixture is heated through. Stir well and enjoy! P.S. We love dipping carrot sticks and red bell pepper chunks into this dip, but we've also dunked baked tortilla chips into it and used it as a sandwich spread! HG Alternative! To make this dish FAST, skip the oven altogether. Prepare dip according to the directions, but in a microwave-safe dish. Then microwave uncovered on high for 5 minutes (stopping and stirring halfway through cooking), or until hot.

Just noticed this group. I'm Megan, from the northside of Indianapolis (Carmel/Homeplace area) and I was sleeved on 8/10 by Dr. Diaz at St. V's Carmel.

I've only thrown up once (from eating too fast) in 21 months. It felt more like spitting up rather than the full-blown vomiting that happens with having the stomach flu (or drinking too much tequila!!).

Do you track on MyFitness Pal? I would register there and have the system calculate your recommended calories to continue losing 1-3 lbs/week. It seems to be pretty accurate. I try to stay at 1200 cals/day and if I earn a lot of exercise calories, I try to eat some of them back. You need to be sure you don't reduce your calories to the point that you end up in starvation mode . . . that can throw you into a stall.

I try to get the 'wok smart' items like the pepper chicken, mushroom chicken, etc. I do love a bite or two of the beijing beef or orange chicken, but the breading bothers my sleeve a bit. I can now eat a few bites of noodles too which is a yummy splurge. I can also eat a couple bites of their potstickers which I love with the potsticker sauce.

I believe my sleeve is a tool to keep me from overeating to excess like I did pre-surgery. I want to eat like a "normal" person . . . and most "normal" people I know enjoy treats in moderation - alcohol, sweets, crunchy salty Snacks, etc. Today I ate a healthy lunch, and then stopped by a pitch-in some of the girls from work had and had a couple bites of a brownie and half a chocolate chip cookie. Before my surgery, I would have eaten a huge lunch, and then hit the entire pitch-in buffet and filled a plate or two. I do know that there will always be red-light foods for me (salt & vinegar potato chips, movie theater popcorn) but if I find myself craving one of those things, I get the smallest portion available.

My daughter eats the yogurt ranch. I'm personally not a huge fan, but she loves it and I'm glad she doesn't know it's good for her. . . like most kids she thinks ranch dressing is a food group!!

Yep, like the others - much less sweating post-surgery, and I'm ALWAYS cold when I'm in the office or in A/C (was previously always HOT!).

My nutritionist and surgeon said no worries about drinking before eating, but they do recommend waiting until 30 mins after. I will sip occasionally when I am eating (if it's spicy, etc.) and I don't really pay attention to the clock after eating. However, I do find that if I eat to fullness, drinking is uncomfortable for a while.

I drank decaf after surgery (mixed it with my unflavored protein, milk and a little splenda). The decaf irritated my sleeve more than caffeineated does. I now drink a cup in the morning, sometimes a second one later in the day. I try to limit my caffeine as more than 2 caffeinated drinks a day make me really jumpy.

At 21 months out, I find that my tolerance has returned to about where it was pre-sleeve. I am a fairly frequent social drinker - usually no more than a few beers/glasses of wine/mixed drinks, but I've had a few wild nights out (i.e. bachelorette parties, etc.) and it hasn't really bothered me. I think it's slowed down my weight loss and is keeping me from getting to goal, but I'm pretty comfortable with where I am right now and I do enjoy my cocktails from time to time. The carbonation of beer doesn't bother me, but I find that I prefer draft to bottled, and I typically need to pour it into a glass. Right now my favorite is Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy - a great summer beer!!

I'm technically not in maintenance yet, since I'm still 18 lbs from goal. However, during the holidays I've had trouble continuing weight loss so I'm OK with maintaining until after the first of the year. I've found that I've not been doing a good job of tracking my food and my exercise; however, I believe that I'm still sticking around 1300-1500 calories a day and I've been able to maintain my current weight with that target. I think with maintenance, it's a matter of trial and error to find the right balance of daily calorie intake and exercise to keep from losing or gaining. I've read a number of posts (mostly on OH) where people have had to increase their carb intake to maintain their weight rather than continue losing.

Those of you feeling regret early after surgery, be strong and hang in there. It was awful for the first few months post-op . . . I felt miserable! I hated being limited to bland, mushy foods . . . even though I wasn't physically hungry, I missed the ability to eat the things I liked (like spicy foods, crunchy foods, etc.). However, now at 16 months out, I'm able to eat just about anything I want. I still try to focus on my protein - lean meats, cheese - veggies, and fruits - but I don't deny myself the things that sound good. I've eaten potato chips, I've eaten sweets, I've had a few sips of soda. I remind myself that I didn't get obese from a handful of potato chips or a bite or two of chocolate - I got obese because I ate a whole bag of chips, 2000 calories in one meal from Taco Bell, or a supersize meal from McDonalds. Now, I choose to make good choices. If I have to eat fast food (because let's face it, sometimes our schedules don't permit otherwise), I eat a cheeseburger with half a bun from McDonalds, or a fresco chicken soft taco from Taco Bell, or a small roast beef sandwich with only half a bun from Arby's. I enjoyed tastes of all my favorite things during Christmas dinner, but concentrated on the protein - and once I had my protein, I was too full to eat too much more. It's a mental thing, and with my sleeve, I'm able to enjoy a few tastes of all the things I love and still remain compliant and on track with my weight loss. This is easily the best thing I ever did in my life for myself. So those of you who are early out from surgery, hang in there, because it does get better!!

Popcorn can be DANGEROUS. Big-time slider food . . . but the little 100 calorie bags are good portion control.

I'm past a year out and mine still makes noises periodically!

Nope, I've never tracked my vitamins . . .

At 15 months out I still almost always have a scrambled egg for b-fast, sometimes with a bit of shredded cheddar. Now I also have room for a piece of wheat toast with a bit of PB & jam. Sometimes I like to do a breakfast scramble with diced canadian bacon, sliced mushrooms, diced tomato and cheese. YUM!

Too much!! The scale is stuck still at 18 lbs from goal. I've gotten much too lax about tracking my food and exercise. I'm about 15 months post-surgery. Here's today - pretty normal, although there are times when I find myself grazing/picking more than I should. B ~ 1 egg, 1/8 oz shredded cheddar, 1 pc wheat toast with a small amt of Peanut Butter & jam L ~ salad with grilled pesto chicken (probably 2-3 oz), chickpeas, chopped hardboiled egg and assorted veggies (this is one of my go-to lunches, another is a turkey/cheese (3 oz meat/.75 oz cheese) sandwich with only 1 pc of bread - eaten open-faced - with sliced tomato and a small amt of miracle whip - I have this with a bag of baked lays) D ~ tonight was chicken stuffed with goat cheese, about 1/2 of a small baked potato and a small salad. I did have a scoop of lowfat vanilla ice cream for dessert - I don't usually do sweets but my daughter wanted some so I treated myself to a bit. I will caution all of you, though - the restriction does ease up about the 1 year mark; I still have good restriction when I eat my Protein first, but I do have to work hard to maintain my daily calorie intake.

A great snack food to have around (or if you're going to a party or event) is the hungry girl buffalo chicken dip recipe. I think it's somewhere in this board, I probably posted it at least once. It was one of my go-tos when I was still on purees/mushies. YUM!

Finally got a LBD pic that I liked! This is from my 20th high school reunion last weekend, so about 14 months post-surgery and about 16-18 lbs from my goal. I am thrilled!! (I actually bought this to wear on my cruise in Feb, it was really tight then and I think it fits a little better now - it's a size 14 - I'm hoping that I'll be able to keep it and have it taken in slightly when I DO get to goal!!)

MyFitnessPal is by far my favorite. There are tons of users from here on there as well - you can "friend" them and chat there also. Their food library is enormous, you can add custom foods and recipes, and it's really easy to use.

that just reminded me that I didn't do my shot at the end of the month like I was supposed to - will need to do it as soon as I get home! I was previously doing a sublingual 1xweek, and my nutritionist wanted me to take daily. I didn't want another daily pill, so I switched to the monthly shot. I don't know if I can really tell a difference in my energy level nor do I think it impacts weight loss at all . . . just my $0.02.

I was only on clear liquids for 4-5 days. Then full liquids (protein shakes, strained soups, etc.) for about 3 weeks. After that I was on purees, but my list of allowed pureed foods also looked like other people's soft food lists (I was allowed to have soft cheeses, refried beans, canned chicken/tuna without pureeing, etc.). That was another month. By month 3 I was released to most food within tolerance, with avoidance of raw veggies and things like popcorn, etc.

Way to go fellow August sleever! How far we've come!!! Sorry to hear about your friend and also the storm damage . . . hang in there.

chicken - I eat it probably 7-8 times a week between lunch & dinner! eggs (I start nearly every morning with some form of egg - either over med or a 1-egg omelet with ham, cheese, mushrooms & diced tomato) Cheese of any kind - that was a great snack for me early after surgery, I would buy the 2% cheese and have chunks of it for Snacks. Boosted the Protein for the day!