Catracks

I'm in a stall too. It's been a little over a week. I know I need to kick up the exercise, but starting back to work this week has kicked my butt. The hour commute home doesn't help either. Just FYI and probably TMI, but Citrucel is my new friend. Can't take it all the time, but it seems to work for me. I'm going to insert more Fiber into my diet while keeping the Protein up. Broccoli with my Greek yogurt gorgonzola dip anyone?

Oh, too bad the last meal was Crapplebee's. Really hate that place. Okay, hate is a strong word. It's more like: over-salted and somehow still bland food I could make ten times better at home. My last meal before the pre-op diet was at a really good BBQ place. I had a ribeye, and a bite of their handmade hot links, plus the baked potato and Beans and yada, yada. What's nice now is that since I don't eat much, I can afford fillet mignon. I'm not hurting for tasty food. I just make sure it's the best lean Protein.

I think I'm going to trade cucumbers for ... hell, I don't know. That was just a ridiculous performance. Carrots are a little on the starch side. Celery has those strings ... I like my broccoli cooked. Maybe little pieces of romaine lettuce.

This is what I packed for Breakfast and lunch today: Protein shake with 6 oz milk, vanilla protein and SF orange flavoring 2 oz ahi tuna steak 2 oz cottage cheese 5 slices of cucumber 1 oz Greek yogurt with blue cheese stirred in 5 high protein crackers I got at Cost Plus The tuna is great protein. I cooked it fresh, but you can get it out of a can if you can't find ahi. The cottage cheese is 2% fat from the store Peel and slice a cumcumber Mix 3 oz. Fage Greek yogurt with 2 oz of blue or gorganzola cheese. Take only 1 oz as a dip for the cucumber I would skip the crackers if you can't find low carb, high protein ones. Tomorrow I am having a Protein Shake, shrimp with cocktail sauce, cottage cheese, low carb crackers, cucumber and greek yogurt dip. Next day: Protein shake, 2 oz pan seared filet mignon, greek yogurt dip, cucumber and dip Day after: Protein shake, Slice of turkey wrapped around a slice of avocado, 1 oz cheese, roasted chick peas. It's not that you are going too fast. Most of us would not be eating fast food and if so, the bun would not be eaten. I would definetely suggest nutrition classes and cooking classes. To me it's second nature. I forget that some folks just don't cook. Like the ahi. I went to Trader Joes and got sashimi grade ahi. I marinated in in soy, lemon juice, garlic and cayenne pepper. I heated up a cast Iron pan with a tiny bit of oil. I like mine really rare so I seared each side for 1 minute. Barbecuing is a GREAT way to make healthy food. Get a lean piece of skinless chicken, pork or lean beed like fillet, london broil or even sirloin. Marinate the meat in your favorite herbs and spices. Grill. You can grill vegetables as well. It looks like yor weight loss is fine, but I guaratee you will feel better eating good food that you make.

My surgeon immediately had me on sub-lingual B12. I got the 2500 mcg one so I only take it once or twice a week. Shots and sublingual are best because the B12 cannot be absorbed well in the stomach. Putting inder the tongue gets it directly into the blood stream by the blood vessels under the tongue. Let it disolve slowly,

The smell of really greasy, rich or overly sweet foods are not my favorite. I never had a sweet tooth, but I used to like fried foods. I look at the amounts of food people eat and it makes me slighty queasy. It's just hard to believe. I'm lucky though because my huband eats something like a sleeved person - or a normal thin person. Half a sandwich will do it for him. This morning I cooked him 2 sausages and 1 egg over easy with a small piece of toast. My daughter on the other hand is scaring me.

I forced the clear liquid Isopure down for most of the two weeks. On the last day I just couldn't stand them anymore. Too SWEET! i cheated here and there and found that cottage cheese is my favorite thing and milk and other flavoring mixed with the Protein powder was far more preferable. I was and am still bless not to feel the ravenous hunger I used to feel. Like everyone says, it will get better with more solid food and more time. Just don't do what I did last night. I was trying to get some more protein down and scarfed just 2 oz of lean hamburger. DON'T DO IT! When you eat to much too fast, your sleeve will send the offending food right back up. Just stay on your surgeon's ordered phases. It won't be long before this is all behind you. What I seem to be hearing from everybody is that you will be able to eat normal food, just small amounts and S-L-O-W-E-R. Choosing the best lean Proteins will be all you have to do. You know what I did that seemed to help? Once a day I had a pea sized bite of Peanut Butter. It's just enough to get a good taste in you mouth. Of course we all all different and your milage will vary

Thanks! Sounds great!

I'm pretty much cold all the time too. Only one short visit from Aunt Flo post surgery.

I wore Jeans about 1.5 weeks out. All the scabs and glue have fallen off my incisions. I'd throw a gauze pade over it if the pants rub right on the incision. I must wear my pants lower that you do. Mine sit and inch or two above my hips. The lowest incision is above my navel.

My favorite is apple juice diluted by 50%. You don't even miss full strength. Right now I drink decaf instant iced tea. No calories and I drink it by the quart.

I started going places the day after I got home. I haven't had a vacation in years so: I went to a big cat rescue and walked around the leopards and serval cats Went back to choir practice Went to the beach and walked along the shore (Dana Point ROCKS!) Walked everywhere Organized all my files (fun to me) Bought and connected a new laser printer. Scanned some more OLD photos Today I finished off the "vacation" by going on a two hour horseback ride (Yes, my surgeon okayed the HB ride) Saturday I have to get my taxes done, but then meet for my dad's 73rd birthday Sunday after mass I have to prune all the roses. Just bring your Clear liquids with you and enjoy the time out. I will be couped up enough when I go back to work on Monday Seriously. Treat this like a vacation. It will change your whole outlook from surgery patient to healthy person.

Favoredone, The only thing you can do is pray for her soul. She must be miserable.

I welcome all opinions. Am I not allowed to disagree or write from my perspective? I will continue to "evangelize" because this surgery saved my life and i so love not being obsessed with food. I savour my little bit and forget it until I remember to eat. Do you know what I used to do before? In the morning I was already planning indetail what I was going to eat for lunch and dinner. Oh, I forgot to mention that I was an on and off again bullemic. That's gone too. I guess those of us who are finding sucess are trying to make it so you feel like we do. I want everyone to know what its like to not be scared of being too big too fit in booths and not being able to walk through a turnstile. I had two NSV when I slid into a booth and walked straight through a turnstil without having to turn sidways and hitch in.

Since i cannot drink soda and even the sugar in dilluted juice is worisome to me, my new best friend is Lipton instant unsweeted decaffinated iced tea. I'm using the powder because i drink this constantly. Plain Water doesn't do it for me and crystal light is too sweet. it's only 6:22 am and I've had 16 oz of the stuff. My poor body is thirsty!

Tell me about it. When i've eaten just one bite too much, the feeling is not the best. I find that it passes if I get up and walk around. Knowing when to stop is important to learn. For me, when it start picking at my food then it is time to stop. Right now 2 oz is the max.

Way to go Lacie! I'm almost ready to go to size 16. Isn't this the best??

I really loved reading this. Hooray for you Dominique!!!!! There will be many more victories.

Sugar and simple carbs are absolutely addictive. My cousin has an autistic son and she basically lets him eat what he wants. He eats NOTHING but white bread, white Pasta and french fries. It is/was a trigger food for me. I think I already replied to this post, but someone said: "Obesity isn't evil" or some such thing and you could live a happy life with it. Most people in my family make it to their late 90s except for: My obese grandmother who dies at 75. Her pelvic floor collapsed, she was on dialysis, and was a diabetic for years. She was miserable for years. My obese grandfather died at 80 from a combination of diabetes and multiple strokes. I know 80 sounds old. but in our family it is NOT! They had been miserable for years. My grandmother rarely let her picture be taken. She cooked, ate and sat in a chair for years. My very fit dad is 72 this year. He hikes, plays golf, swims, runs, lifts weights and enjoys life with his 56 year old wife. He looks like he's in his 50s. If he was like his mother, I'd lose him in a couple years. I swear I was close to death before this surgery. My fatty liver disease was progressing into hepatitis. I had severe sleep apnea. My joints hurt, My cholesterol was 270, my blood sugar was very high, my blood pressure was high and climbing. I was 115 pounds overweight and on a 5'1" frame is is not pretty. I felt like crap. I didn't want to go anywhere. I didn't like to buy clothes so I existed in sweat and two pairs of pants for work. Speaking of work, my performance left much to be desired because I was so damned tired all the time. I was falling asleep at my desk. I would only really see family and a few close friends. If my husband wanted to take me to a party, I would refuse to go. We use to love hiking. I barely wanted to walk down the street. It was starting to destroy my marriage. Now two weeks post op I am down 37 pounds. My blood pressure is 117/77. My cholesterol went down 50 points. My blood sugar is normal, my sleep apnea is gone. I feel so good that I'm practically dancing. Today I'm going to Dana Point to see my aunt and walk along the beach and the shops. Tomorrow I go horseback riding. I am on full liquids as of today. I did test out real food yesterday. We went to Olvera Street in Los Angeles to my favorite place La Luz Del Dia. They make the best carnitas on earth and make their own tortillas. Anyway, my husband got the carnitas plate. I spooned not quite 2 oz of the meat and a spoonful of Beans onto a little plate. I ate it slowly and was beyond full. I'm learning when to stop. I took one bite too many. When I start picking at the food i should stop, but it didn't seem like enough at first. I really did savour that food instead of shovelling it in. My husband said that we could go out more often because I was such a cheap date. HEY!!!! So, I still cook. I LOVE the smell and taste of food. I just don't need to eat food in 2 pound quantities anymore. It's a mistake to rationalize the need for surgery away. How I wish my grandma would have had this available to her. She would not have been so sad. She missed out on a lot of life. My thin and fit grandfather finally passed away at 97 years old last year. He was living alone and still driving up to two years before he died. He finally died on congestive heart failure, but other than that he was fine. He just got to tired to wake all the way up one morning and he passed that night. He went easy. My grandmother's and obese grandfather's death was slow and torturous. Sorry for the long post, but I will always be an outspoken voice for sleeve gastrectomy. I was dying. It saved my life. Yeah, Obesity is evil. People aren't, but the condition is. I can't wait to hit the beach and the waterslide park this summer!!!!

I know self-absorbed people. Despite what Dooter says, I don't play the catty games. Maybe that's why I can count my women friends on one hand with plenty of fingers left over. Just saying ...

OMG! When the dynamics change it seems to bring out the worst in people. I've been lucky so far. The only weirdness I get is at work and a lot of them have severe issues anyway. I came in to drop something off and one woman who always sneered at me before, would not even look at me. In fact, she almost jarred her neck avoiding me. Aren't people weird?

Mine were glued. The big one by my navel broke open a bled quite well, but it was only sub-cutaneous blood. I used butterfly bandages. They are great for holding wounds closed.

I believe I had a 32. I can only eat about 1/4 cup now, but I don't think the swelling is down two weeks out. I think I will be able to 1/2 cup later down the line.

I still get nausea if I eat something too rich or eat one bite too much, but not enought to throw up. I do agree nausea is horrible, I'd rather have pain sometimes. It will all get better. Time is our friend now. Welcome to the looser's bench!

I can only eat a 1/4 cup at a time so adding a tiny amount of bacon and cheese would add up to a hill of Beans. I made my own soups too and they are completely blended. I guess I can start eating them as today is my first day of full liquids. I can also do regular Protein shakes. Hmmmm. strawberry cheesecake shake? Enjoy the vegetable soup!