Smelly Melly

Hi everyone! I have been reading a lot of posts and have decided that I am eating far too many calories. Can someone give me ideas of what I can eat to stick to between 400 and 600 calories per day? I am an Aussie so there may be some things that I don't know about like refried beans?? and grits?? Also my protein shake has 208 calories. Does this sound about right? Thanks in advasnce for all of your help. I really couldn't do this without you all

In 2008 I embarked on a journey to change my life for the better, or so I thought. At 96kg I decided to have gastric banding surgery. I had been 'big boned' my entire life and first visited the dietician when I was 12 years old. Then along came my children and 'life' and up went my weight. At my heaviest I was 110kg. I wanted to do this surgery for me. To make myself a better person, in my eyes. Instead of losing weight with the band I actually gained weight! In January 2010 I had the band removed and I weighed 101kg. With the band in I had recurrent pneumonia and never really felt well. Having the band removed was one of the best decisions I ever made. My next best decision was to have the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy...My surgeon insisted on waiting at least 10 weeks for my stomach swelling to reduce before he would perform the VSG surgery. On 23rd March I was sleeved :scared0: I was prepared for a LOT of pain. The pain of having my band removed was excruciating so I was prepared for the worst. To my surprise there was no comparison. I didn't feel any pain. Not even gas pain. What I did have though was awful nausea. It was 3 days before I was able to hold the tiniest sip of fluid down. Day four was a turn around day for me. I felt really good and was holding fluids down so on day five I was able to go home. I still had my drainage bag in which had to remain for a further five days.The hospital have used the wrong tape and wound patches on my skin! I wore a special red allergy bracelet. Arggghhhh!!! The patches have burnt my skin and when I took them off they took my skin off with them. Not happy!!! I have no internal pain or pain where my sutures are. Instead I have weeping sore without skin!The past few days have flown by! I am at home and drinking all of my fluids. Well as much as possible anyway. It's day 8 today. Everything was going fine until my four year old decided to climb across my tummy to cuddle me while I was laying on the bed. When she did this she pulled my drainage tube. Now it's sooo sore. I've gone from being pain free to very sore :sneaky2:Today is Day 9. My drainage tube site was very badly infected when I woke up this morning. I can hardly move or even stand upright. It's agony. I was awake all night. I'm off to see my surgeon this morning. I'm dreading it because I know he will want to remove the bag and wow it's going to hurt like a bugger!

I have three jobs!! I am a part time sales rep. for Campbells (soups, V8 juice, stock) and Arnotts Biscuits. I also work part time as an Integration Aide for special needs children. I am also a loving mum to my two beautiful children :thumbup:

Congratulations Anna!

Fantastic Nana! Hopefully I can follow in your footsteps!

Hi Samsonslady. I cannot eat in the morning due to restriction. I have a cup of tea with my Nexium and then about 2 hours later I am able to eat. It's strange that I cannot eat in the morning because I can eat quite a lot in one sitting later on in the day. Anyway I have a Fruche for breakfast but since you're off yogurt this probably doesn't appeal to you. What about an Up & Go, or Sustagen? A scrambled or poached egg? Sometimes I just east a few almonds. My taste has changed too. I used to LOVE chocolate and coke. But now they make me feel sick. Just the thought turns me off ;/ I don't crave anything now and it's great. I wouldn't have it any other way, although I must admit that I have forgotten to eat on a few occasions. I keep some flavoured rice thins in my car now for emergencies! Have you tried these? They taste great. They are the only carbs that I have. I particularly like the sundried tomato and roast chicken. Let us know how you get on

Thankyou Tiff! You've done it again. The dress is gorgeous and so are you! What an inspiration :thumbup:

I will follow your blog Good luck!

I agree with everything Tiffykins said, although the cost of living is different here. For our family of four I spend roughly $250 each week!

I was sleeved 23rd March and agree with everything you have said. Well done and good luck with your journey :thumbup:

Best of luck for tomorrow!

The Easter Bunny has been and we have a house full of chocolate. My self control has been good so far but I am weakening

LOL Longhorn...hilarious!!

I generally say... "mmm haven't you taken your happy pills today?" or "don't you feel like you're cheating by having surgery?" I say... "well I didn't realise there were any rules I had to follow. Am I cheating somehow? My goal has been to get fit and healthy. Silly me"

I think you are right and several studies have been conducted. I did my research before I put my child on Melatonin and found it to be a safe NON PLACEBO alternative to other strong medications. I agree with you and my research showed that it is useful in treating some specific CAUSES of insomnia. Sometimes we just don't know what they are! :thumbup1:

WOW!! 48kms...20kms...you are putting me to shame! Keep up the good work :closedeyes:

Melatonin is brilliant! My 7 year old son has autism and has problems switching off and getting to sleep. His paediatrician perscribed a low dose for him just to relax enough so he can drift off to sleep. I believe it is used to help you get to sleep, not to keep you asleep. He has not had any nighmares only a peaceful slumber :closedeyes: In Australia you can only get it with a script from a specialist like a Paed. It costs me $55 for 15ml of Raspberry flavoured syrup plus postage because you can only purchase it from a few specialist pharmacies. It is very difficult to get but in my sons case it is well worth every cent. I was actually considering buying myself some online to try.

Tiffikins you crack me up! I second the fart comment. LOL :closedeyes:

Hi Tiff. I hear you about stress!! My son has autism and I stress a lot! I think that you need to learn how to deal and cope with stress. Ride it out so to speak. There are some situations that you cannot change or control but you need to learn coping mechanisms to help you deal with them. This is all from personal experience mind you! Maybe if you learn how to relax a little your body will behave the way you want it to? It takes time and practice but I have found that it does work. Stress Management: How to Reduce, Prevent, and Cope with Stress Managing stress is all about taking charge: taking charge of your thoughts, your emotions, your schedule, your environment, and the way you deal with problems. The ultimate goal is a balanced life, with time for work, relationships, relaxation, and fun ? plus the resilience to hold up under pressure and meet challenges head on. There are many healthy ways to manage and cope with stress, but they all require change. You can either change the situation or change your reaction. When deciding which option to choose, it?s helpful to think of the four As: avoid, alter, adapt, or accept. I was referred to this site and it has some great ideas (and some crappy ones too!) on how to manage stress. Have a read and it might just help you to help yourself Good luck with your journey!!

Thanks LAN2k.... My boughie is a 40 too. I was worried after reading everyones posts because I can eat everything (within reason because it's still early days for me). I have never vomited nor felt the need. I can easily drink 250ml Water at a time without having to sip. It's reassuring to know that you have successfully lost weight with the 40, although I think maybe I can eat a little more than you before I am full? I don't overeat and I am eating healthy high protein foods. I guess I am just doing what I do best....worry. I have been worried that I am going to fail but I will use you as my inspiration :lol0:

Interesting topic :001_huh: I am looking forward to seeing down below too. Would help with maintenance issues like waxing etc. I guess we have different things we are worried about! Now as for LONGHORN I am curious about your username!

Thanks everyone. My calorie intake sits at around 800 and after reading a lot of posts I thought this was too high. Looks like I was wrong. I am in Australia and our protein shakes appear to be different. They are all pretty high in calories and don't fill me for long. Problem is that most of our surgeons use a 36 to 40 boughie so we can eat a lot more. I am feeling hungry a lot and can eat 250ml at a time. I am taking Nexium and hoping it all settles down soon. I hope this makes sense because I am really tired. My two beautiful children have hand, foot and mouth. They can't eat and are struggling to drink. They are 4 and 7 so it's not very nice :001_huh:

Nice dainty hiccups...I wish! I can't stop burping :smile:

Thanks everyone for your help. Will try it out today :smile:

Oh thanks so much. Will try your suggestions today and see how I go :smile: