grannyk

This is a recipe I used before I was sleeved and it is great now, too. I found it in a Family Circle magazine in 2004 and have tweaked it a little here and there, but there is not much to tweak. 1 can (15 oz) yellow corn, drained 1 can (15 oz) chicken broth Italian herb seasoning to taste 1-1/2 Tbsp cornstarch 1 14-oz package raw peeled, deveined shrimp In large saucepan, combine salsa, corn, chicken broth, Italian seasoning and cornstarch. Bring to simmer over medium-high heat. When Soup simmers, stir in shrimp and cook until shrimp is pink. That's it!! To arrive at the nutritional values, I actually counted the number of shrimp in the package and divided to make even servings. It came out to 13 shrimp and approx 1 cup of everything else to make 5 servings. Calories = 239 Fat gms = 2.5 Net carbs = 22 (That can be cut to 2 net carbs if you don't use the can of corn; that's where most of the carbs are) Protein = 23 This is a protein-packed, great-tasting meal and it takes almost no time to make, 10 minutes tops. And...it is even better cold!! Enjoy, Kathe

I'm with you!! Four months out and one thing I still miss the most is drinking water with my meals. It is so hard, but I do not drink anything but an occasional sip here and there with meals. I only drank water with meals, but sometimes I could go through 2 or 3 glasses of water at a restaurant. It is easier now, but I still miss it. Hang in there...it is worth it in the long run...Kathe

Sorry, don't know what happened when I posted. The first ingredient in the soup in 1 jar (15-16 oz) corn and black bean salsa, mild or medium to taste (Walmart's brand is delicious).

I'm just like you, Kelly. I am 4 months out and when I eat or drink, I am likely to burp and gurgle. There is nothing I can do about it. The people I work with know about my surgery and this is just part of it. Most of the time they just look at me and grin. If I am out some place and this happens, I just look around like it is someone else. (Have you heard the saying "Whoever smelt it, dealt it") I don't care how much I burp and gurgle. I wouldn't trade my sleeve for anything. Kathe

Go to www.josephsbakery.com and check out the nutritional breakdown on their Flax/Oat Bran & Whole Wheat Lavash and Pita breads. Amazing!!! The only bread I buy now is the really thin sandwich buns which I use for toast for Breakfast. There is no way to eat a whole one of either the lavash or pitas. I use 1/4 of the lavash for a pizza crust and 1/2 of the pita for stuffing with tuna salad or sandwich fillings. You can cut them in any shape. For crispy things like chips, pizza crust, etc. place them on a baking sheet or stone, spray them with Water and crisp in 350 degree oven for about 10 min. You need to watch closely or they will overbake. One of the most fun things I did was cut them to fit a taco salad tortilla mold and bake them. What a great little taco salad. Suggestions for 1/4 lavash: Mix Peanut Butter and sugar free jelly together, spread on lavash and roll up. Delicious PB&J "sandwich"!! Spread with condiment of choice (mayo, dijon mustard, etc) place deli meat of choice and slice of cheese on lavash, roll up, secure with toothpick and microwave for a few seconds to warm the cheese. YUM.. a deli sandwich!! Roll up your favorite taco filling with oaxaca cheese crumbled in, place in baking dish seam side down, cover with favorite enchilada sauce, sprinkle with cheese and bake at 350 degrees till bubbly and lavash is crisp around exposed edges. Some of the best enchiladas I've had!! Spread prepared pesto sauce thinly over 1/4 crisped lavash, top with mozzarella cheese and microwave just until the cheese starts to melt. OMG...this is like a mini pizza and a perfect accompaniment to meatballs in marinara sauce (3 mini meatballs makes this a meal). I could go on and on, but let your imagination go wild. You will never feel deprived of marvelous tasting food again. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do. Kathe

Oops...forgot to say their website has locations where these are available, and if not in your area you can order online. I can get them at one of my local Walmarts, but when they told me they were no longer carrying it (which wasn't true) was when I discovered the website...K

I have found what I think in a great substitute for bread crumbs. I love to have a little coating on my tilapia, chicken palliard and baked cheese sticks, and I stumbled onto this at the grocery one day...wheat germ!! It is has more nutritional value than bread crumbs and adds a great nutty flavor. You can add any seasonings to it just like you would to bread crumbs. Here is the comparison for 1/4 cup of each: Wheat Germ: 100 cal, fat 2 gms, net carbs 8, Protein 6 gms Bread Crumbs: 120 cal, fat 3 gms, net carbs 19, protein 4 gms I don't know about the rest of you, but I am having a great time finding ways to cook really great tasting food since being sleeved. I have never eaten so well and so healthy. I LOVE MY SLEEVE!! Kathe

My daughter was sleeved last summer and she has had this reaction several times to eating high carb and high sugar foods like pasta, rice without beans and some sugary desserts. She is not diabetic. One time when she was feeling all the things you mentioned in your post, I took her blood sugar with my glucometer and it was 53...LOW!! So she drank a little milk, ate a couple bites of peanut butter and felt better in about 5 minutes. I think the best thing to do is just to avoid the things you know trigger the episodes. There is nothing I want to eat bad enough to make me feel that lousy!! Kathe

I agree with Tiffykins. Don't let a surgeon make a lifelong decision for you. I am a nurse who has taken care of RNY post op patients with and without complications and I always said I would never have one no matter how fat I was. The only reason I had WLS is because of the sleeve. Stick to your guns, my friend, and you will be much happier...Kathe

This reply is a little, no a lot late, but I don't get on the forum every day. I don't buy bread anymore. I use the thin buns for Breakfast toast, and I have discovered Joseph's flaxseed,oat bran & something else lavash bread and pita pockets. You can do a bunch of different things with them and they have very minimal carbs. Check them out on Joseph's website. I can get them at Walmart where I live, but you can also order them online if they are not available near you. This is one of the very best discoveries I have made. Kathe

Hey, Empty. I love pickles and olives also. I have eaten more dill pickles since being sleeved than in the last decade. The one thing I do is sort of "fillet" the pickle spear. The peel is a little difficult to chew to the consistency I prefer, so I just eat the insides. YUM!! I have also put chopped pickle in cottage cheese. May not sound the best, but for me it tastes great. I also added some black olives one time and loved it. Olives are a nutritional powerhouse. I always avoided them in my previous life, but a few tossed in here and there satisfy the taste buds and are good for me. As far as nuts, I eat 15-20 almonds daily for nutrition and overall satisfaction. I have also eaten pistachios. Just read the nutritional values and count out your nuts. There are some carbs, but lots of Protein. I eat great tasting food every day and I am still losing weight. I think the key for me is not depriving myself of anything I really love, like Peanut Butter and chocolate. I have maybe 1 or 2 Dove dark chocolate pieces a week and I am satisfied. Just knowing I can have it freely allows me to control myself. I guess there is a rebellion factor there (anyone a psychologist??!!). I know this doesn't work for everyone, so don't shoot me, please!! Lovin' this sleeve more all the time...Kathe

I tried a recipe today that I heard on food Network. Claire Robinson on Five Ingredient Fix made these PB Cookies with no flour. I'm not going to post it here because it may be copyrighted, but you can find it on the website. I made it just like the recipe except substituted Splenda of course for the sugar. I scooped the cookies out with a 1 tbsp scoop and I got exactly 20 cookies out of the recipe. That means each cookie calculates to 84 cals, 3 carbs and 3 Proteins. I baked them on Pampered Chef stoneware. They are very fragile with they come out of the oven, don't even feel like they are cooked. So I left them on the stone for 5-10 minutes and then placed them on cooling racks. When they cool off, they are still tender, but they do hold together. If you like PB cookies, these are worth the time...very easy to make. I also think I baked them for about 12 minutes instead of 10. PB is one of my weaknesses. Because it is a good source of Protein, I do not deprive myself. I certainly cannot eat it by the spoonful anymore, but I do have a taste now and then for my sanity. Hope this helps someone out there who just wants to have a little healthy sweet now and then. Kathe

What kind of protein shakes are you using? I get GNC Whey Protein. I have used both chocolate and vanilla with DaVinci flavorings and they are great. You will need the protein in these in your post-op diet, so please find something you can tolerate. You can also mix in water (not quite as flavorful) or soy milk (vanilla is good). I actually crave the flavor of these. Now that I am on regular food, I still have a shake every morning not just for the nutrition, but for the yummy taste. Hope it gets better for you...K

I understand your emotions regarding this life-changing surgery. I am about 3 months out. Last weekend I cleaned out my closet. For the first time EVER I could look at big clothes and think "This will never fit me again!!" I have always in the past kept those clothes because I have lost and gained so many times I knew I would be seeing them again. OMG, can this really be happening?? Thank God and Dr. Aceves, YES!!!! Kathe

I suggest you invest in a digital scale. I got mine at Walmart for around $20. Anything other than digital is too inaccurate to measure in the ounces we need to use. Secondly, I am a little bit confused by everyone who says they cannot stand the Protein drinks. I get GNC whey Protein and have no problem at all. The chocolate is good just like it is. The vanilla is somewhat bland, but I add flavorings. I ordered several from Da Vinci (sugar-free of course). Every morning, I have a vanilla Protein shake with hazelnut flavoring. It tastes so good and rich, I actually crave the taste. Da Vinci has a large number of flavorings. Other people order from Torani. 300 cals daily is not enough. That throws your body into starvation mode and makes it more difficult to lose. Plus it is just not good for you. At 4 weeks, I was in the mushie stage and could take in about 3-4 ounces at a time. At that time I was not on meals and Snacks, just grazing on mushies and was probably getting about 600-800 cals daily. I hope you are able to increase your intake. You will certainly feel better and have more energy. Keep us posted...Kathe

You know, in reading the posts on this thread, I happened to realize that about 6-8 weeks out I felt really mad and up tight for a while. I just happened to think that I was in withdrawal from one of my biggest stress relievers...FOOD!!! No wonder I was so angry. Food had been my best friend for a long, long, long time and my best friend was not around as much any more. Hmmmm...haven't felt that way for a while. Maybe it wasn't such a good friend after all??? Kathe

Hi, Jess. I am about 12-13 weeks out and have lost about 38 lbs. I am perfectly happy with my rate of loss because it is a little each week. (I did have one short stall at about 3 weeks just like everyone talks about.) Although I would like to drop a whole lot of weight at once, I believe losing slowly is better for our bodies. I think you need to start keeping a strict log of everything you eat daily for a week or so. Count your grams of Protein, carbs and fats to see as accurately as possible just what you are eating. I believe should not eat less than 800 cals daily. For some of us, less than that throws our bodies into starvation mode and makes it very difficult to lose the pounds. Just keep your log and then report back. Of course, keep us posted of your progress in the meantime. If you don't mind telling, who is your surgeon? It is unfortunate he did not provide you with any dietary information for post op. Mine gave us pages of post op instructions for diet and activity. This forum will be a great resource for you. Kathe

Edamame is immature soybeans and is an excellent source of protein, although it does have carbs also. Tofu is a form of soybeans and is used in vegetarian diets as meat substitute. I never really thought about how to use them in recipes because I just love them straight from the pod. There are several recipes on Allrecipes.com so search there and enjoy!!! Kathe

Karizma, everyone here is right. You must get something done about this NOW. I am only 3 months out and never had any problems like this and I had a hiatal hernia repair done also. Sometimes the repair can cause a little more restriction, but you are in trouble. I am in the medical field and trust me, surgeons are the worst with the god complex. They think they are infallible and bullet proof. Find a PCP or a gastric doc that will listen to you and do something. My opinion is 95 lbs in 4 months is out of the norm. Please do something soon and keep us posted...Kathe

Advil is an NSAID. This class of medication can cause stomach problems and bleeding problems...so since our tummies are so small now, it is recommended not to take this type of medication. K

Hey, Carolina. Welcome to the forum. You will find lots of wonderful people here and some of us with very similar stories. The roller coaster ride of the weight challenged. You have made a great decision for yourself that will be life changing and rewarding. I was sleeved 4-14-11 and had a smooth-as-glass recovery. I wish the same for you. Keep coming back here for support and any questions. Kathe

Yes, Tmela, the skin on the pickle is a little tough to get down sometimes...so I just lay the spear on the cutting board, take a sharp knife and kind of fillet it like a fish. Makes is a lot more pleasing to eat. Thought I was the only one that had that challenge!! Kathe

Welcome!! We are glad you found it too!! There are lots of good people and advice here. Look forward to hearing about your journey...Kathe

I agree, Raine. I enjoy everything now so much. My daughter and I said last night that we both enjoy so many good tastes now that there are very few things we really miss. We have concocted so many good meals. However, the other night when I was watching food Network and they were having big thick juicy hamburgers, I thought I might bite my pillow!! But overall, life is so much better now food wise, I would never go back. To say nothing of the fact that my food budget is so much smaller now!! Rah, rah, rah...YEAH SLEEVE!! Kathe

One of primary goals of this surgery is to get rid of my CPAP. I still need it to get a good night's sleep, but not nearly as bad as before. However, my PCP told me not to stop using it until I had a sleep study done. The lack of oxygen at night has so many ill effects on the body other than just not sleeping well. So keep using until you get the go-ahead to leave it in the past. K PS I have never had the problem of swallowing air at night. Sounds like a very uncomfortable problem!!