texaschick

woo hoo! You look absolutely awesome!

Did anyone eat beans during the mushies? I am thinking pureed black bean soup, navy bean soup, etc.... Too many carbs? I am liking the fiber in them. Also, speaking of fiber, what about putting benefiber in your drinks etc while on clears to get some added fiber? OK, maybe I am obsessing about the fiber......

Nope, I didn't have one either

Great post. I was observing the same thing recently. Now that I am more aware of what I eat and how much I eat, I find myself 'people watching' whenever I am in a restaurant, on vacation, etc.

You may want to wait a little longer on the lettuce. My doc said no raw veggies until 3 months. Reason: Until the body builds scar tissue over the staples you don't want anything going in that can get "caught" on one of the staples! Made sense to me. :thumbup:

That is truely amazing. Both your physical and emotional journies have been remarkable.

Same here, sleeved 6/8 and down about 27.5 lbs. Do what feels manageable for you. This is a long term change. For me, too much restriction sets me up for failure.

Yesterday I kind of went off the deep end, and ya know what? I am not beating myself up about it. Got up this morning, jumped right back on the Protein wagon, gonna up my fluids today and move on! After I sat down and actually calculated what I ate and drank I was still under 1200 calories! How many times have I been able to say that I "cheated" on my diet and only ate 1200 calories? I have decided this is not really a diet, but a way of life and that I will have times when I am out with friends or just super hungry that day and I will eat more that I would like. Past behavior would have been to throw in the towel and give into my cravings, but not any more! I am stronger than that now. And while this is a way of life, I know I need to be a little more dilegent during the losing phase. There will be plenty of time for "treat" days later. Whew....I feel better now! Have a great day everyone.

Those are all normal feelings. Take your time, chew well. Your esophogus is still healing. I found really dry food gave me that "stuck" feeling. I had to just walk it off whenever that happened.

At four weeks you should be about ready for most things EXCEPT...Raw veggies and hard raw fruits. CHEW, CHEW, CHEW, and follow your surgeons advice. Some things work better than others...I find that chicken, unless super moist, doesn't go down that good, certain meats, unless in gravy of some kind, also get stuck.

Hey there Roseib, I am in San Antonio too! From your diet plan, is sounds like you went to the same place! I laughed when I say the 1 tsp of salsa. If it was the same place, I found some of their dietary guidelines to be a bit dated. I ate laughing cow, light boursin, etc. I didn't do FF cheeses, yuck! I did 2%. I ate a lot of refried beans thinned down with chicken/beef stock, and pureed bean soups that where thinned down.

Right there with y'all! I am six weeks out today and I have lost 27.5 pounds. I lost 7.5 pounds pre-op (only did 10 days low carb). I looked at my weigh in data from my doctor visit last week and realized that from my 9 day post op to my 5 1/2 week post op appt. (it was one month) I only lost 10 pounds, and that was my first month! I dropped a lot right out of the hospital, then it trickled off. I was out of town on business for a couple of weeks and then on vacation for about 9 days, so I think I really need to watch how the restaurants prepare my food. That and I have a lot of water retention when I fly. Since I have been home (6 days) I have dropped almost 7 pounds. I am also finally starting to exercise, but I can't seem to find what I want to do. I have joined gyms in the past, but with my travel schedule, the last place I want to go is to the gym when I get home. I am thinking of buying a piece of exercise equipment for home, but, given my past history with such purchases, I want to make sure I will use it!

Well duh (head slap), now it makes sense! I don't do very well with water, but crystal light, etc go down fine. Thanks for explaination!

I too like the deli meat with flavored cream cheese, lite boursin cheese, laughing cow lite french onion...etc smear it on and roll it up! I also make mini frittatas with finely chopped ham and reduced fat feta. Mini meatloaves, meatballs etc also seem to go down good. Chicken, unless really moist (I use fat free gravy on it) seems to stick. Crab and shrimp do well too.

Welcome! YOu will find a wealth of information on this site.

Well I can't believe it has been 5 weeks already. I went to the doc yesterday for my one month check-up and all is well. He said I was an anomoly. Most people have more problems getting things down. Not me. I can chug (sorta), eat most things (that I am allowed-no raw fruits and veggies, nuts etc), and no episodes of throwing up or sliming (except once, sort of. I ate gelato, and I ate it too fast. More like dumping. Sweaty, nauseous, etc). I can eat more than most people who post on here at my stage and later - entire small Wendy's chili, a little larger than palm sized chicken breast, etc) I had to go a week late because I have been traveling a lot (Since 3 weeks after surgery I have been to: Chicago (business), Miami (business) and Orlando (vacation - at least for the kids:laugh0:). It was definitely challenging to travel. I only took a shakes with me to use as a back up for Protein. I tried to eat my protein the rest of the time. I did fine with eating out and finding something on the menu. I always told the server that I just had surgery, so I was looking for something prepared healthy and a small portion. I haven't been losing as fast as some, but I am down about 22.5 lbs since surgery and 31 lbs since my one week pre-op. I most certainly have not been an angel - I have been eating carbs, although not a lot, yesterday was my worst day - half a bagel thin with Peanut Butter and a low carb tortilla. I drink coffee (actually a cappuccino) every morning. I started this at about 2-3 weeks. It made a big difference in my "regularity". Some days are better than others with the Water. I really need to work on stopping drinking 15-30 minutes before eating and waiting at least 45 minutes after I eat to start drinking again. I also need to SLOW DOWN! I am not stressing over calories, carbs, etc. I am going under the premise that if I am getting my protein, I can't fit much else. As long as the "bad" food doesn't creep back in.....My doc said to picture your open hand (the length and thickness). That is about how much you should be eating with the majority of it being protein. It should keep you satisfied for 3-4 hours. Eat only 3 times a day, and if you need something to hold you between lunch and dinner (because of the time), have a small protein snack (string cheese, deli meat, etc). This is definitely a tool. It would be easy to slip back into old habits, especially when you feel as good as I do! My next goal is to start an exercise program. One that I can do at home as well as on the road. This will be challenging due to my osteoarthritis in knee (and now hip too I think). Continued sucess to all how have had the surgery and best wishes to all that are comtemplating it!

You are in tune with your body and that is half the battle. Keep on keepin' on sista and before you know if you will be at goal!

I am fortunate to be able to work from home when I am not on the road, so I was working a few hours a day by Day 3. I was working pretty much full time from home by week 2 and went back out on the road after 3 weeks at home.

Definitely try the gatorade. Maybe even freeze some in popcicles. I found right after surgery it was easier for me to do popcicles than actually drink something. Also warm liquids seemed easier on my tummy. Sip some broth. Water still makes me a little queasy, I have to drink it with crystal light or something.

What an inspiration for the rest of us. You post was very poingant and timely for me

Let me tell you, it was AWESOME!! It was great to not be thinking about food the whole time, to be able to go out to great restaurants and eat and enjoy everything. I did try a glass of wine twice, but didn't drink more than a couple of sips (it didn't "sit" well), which is a major change for me - we usually go through at least one bottle during dinner. Certainly save alot on the bill, except my best friend felt obligated to drink my share too!

Just had my first vacation post op too! I am 5 weeks out and I decided I wasn't going to fret over what to eat and what kind of foods to bring with me etc....Everything worked out great! The hotel where we staying had plenty of restaurants and I had a little of everything....pizza, crab cakes, steamed shrimp, etc And.....I came home 4 pound lighter! After the second day I realized how much all of my previous vacations revolved around food! I was always planning what my next meal was going to be. This time I sat back enjoyed my "me" time while my teenagers were off doing their own thing, visited with old friends....and just generally enjoyed myself!

Jillian, I am right there with you. I am not as far out as you, I am 5 weeks, but I feel I can eat way more than most people are posting. food seems to go down a lot easier than most people talk about. I am on vacation, and yesterday I ate the following with no issue: B: 1/2 vanilla yogurt with sprinkle of granola, two 1 inch Water melon cubes, 1 serving spoonful of scrabled eggs L: 3 large shrimp, 1 bite mac& cheese (had to try it!) S: 2oz grilled chix; small triange of chees and 2 crackers; 1 half dollar size crocquette D: 2 1/2 inch crab cake few edamame 1 steamed dumpling (again, I had to try it: Emeril's Tchoup chop restaurant) I can eat a whole small Wendy's chili without too much problem, but I am super full afterwards. I can eat an entire slightly larger than palm sized chix breast (I have found that it definitely needs to be super moist though) 2 eggs poached or over easy, but not much else with them, I haven't tried beef yet and I haven't done any raw veggies yet. I am dissapointed somewhat, but actually kind of happy that I was able to eat semi-normal on vacation, and be part of the "group". I didn't feel left out or angry that they could eat things I couldn't. When they ordered the banana creme pie at Emeril's it didn't even bug me. I didn't want any. Same with the gelato sundaes every night (although I did have a small scoop of mango sorbet one night when I didn't have much for dinner. And I did have a scoop of hazelnut gelato once and very shortly after experienced my first bought of "dumping". Sweaty, nauseous, no throwing up, but close). I plan on doing the 5 day pouch test when I get back to kind of de-carb myself, but I am finding a few carbs more carbs make all the difference in my attitude. Helps with the constipation, and general overall mood.

Gallbladder??? Any food with any fair amount of fat in it triggers that same type of pain in me.