Pinky Green

Just want to reassure you, I am 3 months out, I have lost 44 lbs and I am able to eat almost anything, just not near as much as I used to. For example, yesterday I ate a piece of fried chicken. But I didn't eat 3 pieces of fried chicken. I can eat steak too, although I've never been a big steak fan. I even had one of those small size Mounds bars (the ones that are like half of a full size candy bar) at Halloween. I even still eat Mexican food. I just can't eat the Acapulco dinner anymore (cheese puff with queso, guacamole, taco, tamale, 2 enchiladas, rice and beans). Now I go and order fajitas and eat about 1/4 of the meal and take the rest home or I order one of the child's plates which is something like one enchilada, rice and Beans. and eat the whole dinner. I am probably not typical because I read a lot of people here who can't eat this and can't eat that, but I am sure there are other's here who will tell you that after a certain time, a few months or maybe 6 months, you will be able to eat most of the foods that you love but you won't be able to overeat - or at least not much.

Something else that has been happening. My knees have improved quite a bit. They still hurt after a while but now I can go to Walgreens or other smaller store and my knees don't hurt much. I used to have to grab a shopping cart to lean on and now I don't need to. I used to go to Walmart or Kroger because they have an electric cart. Sometimes I still use the cart if I'm tired or if I am doing a lot of shopping and going to go all around the whole store and "window shop" but if I'm just going to get one or two things near the front of the store I just walk there and back to the register. I am also being able to do more housekeeping lately. I took everything out of the cabinets and scrubbed them all down and then sprayed for bugs. I'm still working on the kitchen. I'm not putting anything back if I don't use it. I bought new stainless steel cookware and am throwing out all my old worn non-stick cookware. And I have a cast iron griddle/grill and a cast iron skillet. That is going back. And I'm going to get some glass storage containers.

I'm trying to think of a new short-term goal. I guess I will just make it 190 lbs.

I ate whatever I wanted and was full but it wasn't like before when I just ate and ate. I got on the scale this afternoon and was down to 199. I had a goal of being less than 200 by Christmas and had gotten a little discouraged because I went down to 200.4 and then back up to 202 and then I realized that I was a little constipated, took some Miralax and didn't get on the scale again for about 4 days and since I have been eating whatever I felt like but not near as much, I was surprised when I found out I was down to 199.0 - finally.

Started my 2 week pre-op diet at 240. Surgery Sept 26 228 Hopefully if not by Christmas then at least by New Years I will slip into Onederland. Today I put on a pair of blue jean shorts that were too tight a couple of weeks ago and they fit great now - and they are not even stretch jeans. They are a size 18W. I seem to remember wearing a 22W at one point but I kinda lost track of my actual size and was wearing mostly stretch 2X pants before surgery.

205

I only had to go through 4 months of hoop jumping.

Yes, you do look awesome, but I can't really tell which one is you on the second picture. Either one looks great.

went from 240 to 205.

I haven't used them since surgery but before I thought Lean Cuisine Spa Cuisine meals were good. They have whole wheat pasta or brown rice instead of white.

I was sleeved 9/26 and I can eat one drumstick and one or two bites of a thigh and also about 1/4 cup of vegetables and a 1/4 of starch. Or I can eat about a cup or a little more of soup. I can have one soft chicken taco. I love that I can have things I like, feel full and still lose weight. I think I'm going to tighten up and have more meals that are protein shakes to try to make the weight come off a little faster. They fill me up and I like them. I have continued to have shakes for breakfast and now I'm going to have them for lunch and have small snacks like yogurt, fat free cottage cheese with no sugar added fruit or low fat string cheese. And then have a regular - but still low carb and somewhat low fat for dinner. Maybe then I can lose more than 1 lb a week.

I was sleeved 9/26, I have lost 35 pounds and just started feeling really good. Dancing around good. It started about a week ago. I hate to admit that I had been so weak and tired in the weeks before surgery that my apartment had gotten to the state of chaos. I was too tired to do much laundry, housecleaning or cooking. I was not able to stand for more than a few minutes and then would have to sit down. Sometimes I took a barstool into the kitchen so I could do the dishes. I have finally reached the point that I can walk about a mile with only one break of about 5 minutes. I can walk all the way to Walmart buy something and then sit outside at some picnic tables they have setup out front. And all this in less than 45 minutes. I haven't really timed it but my boyfriend said maybe 45 minutes. And today I noticed that my knees didn't hurt when I went down the stairs. I've been able to get up the stairs for a while without pain. Now I have lost enough that I can go down the stairs too. I am starting to feel my bones through my fat now. And I can jump off the couch and run in and do housework between commercials when I'm watching TV.

Oh yeah. I like http://mapmywalk.com

I haven't drank soda and I won't. But I eat a little bread if it's whole grain and then I only eat a couple of bites. My doctor says half a sliced of bread or 1/3 of a cup or rice or pasta. I am allowed eggs but I can only really eat one now. I still really don't drink milk but I love eating non-fat, sugar free yogurt. My favorite since surgery is Kroger's Carbmaster yogurt. It has no fat and no sugar but it only comes in a few flavors. My favorite is Raspberry but my doctor said no seeds and it has seeds so my current favorite is Peach. Kroger also makes Kroger Lite which has more flavors and only a few more carbs. Both of them are non-fat and sweetened with Spenda. Cherry Cheesecake has 80 calories, 7g protein 11 g carb and zero fat.

What is MFP?

I only took it once at night and I went the next day. I think though I'm going to take it two days before the doctor's office and then also the next day. Some of the increase since you came home is also due to the IV drip that you had where they kept you hydrated since you weren't drinking much liquid yet.

I've been able to eat anything I want but only a lot less. My doctor has us limit carbs and fats and make sure we get enough protein. I drink a 30 gram protein drink every morning to make sure I get enough protein and then I eat chicken, fish, peanut butter and eggs a lot and cottage cheese and fruit.

That's what my doctor said to do when I said I hadn't gone. I haven't used it but once. But last time I went to the doctor I weighed 5 pounds more than I had weighed just the day before. I think next time I go to be weighed in I will take Miralax a day or two ahead of time to make sure that I'm not weighing a bunch more than I actually do. I seem to get constipated when I am about to be weighed. Maybe it's a psychological thing or something, but I don't like it when I weigh 211 and I go into the doctor's office I weigh 216. I know my scale and the doctor's weigh the same so it must be what I ate and drank because I came back from the doctor, weighed 216 but the next morning I weighed 211 again.

Ok, my boyfriend and I are planning to get married soon. We have been going out for about 5 years and we have been living together for almost 2 years now. We love each other very much but we also have several practical considerations that makes it more financially beneficial for us to be married. He is from Honduras and has been living here for 15 years (he's not illegal - he has a work permit) and needs to have his status adjusted to get a green card. This is going to cost $4000 this year but in the long run it will mean that he can stay, work, pay taxes and become a citizen in 3 years. Then we can both work about 15 more years here and then get both get social security retirement benefits and live in a comfort in his house in Honduras where American dollars go much farther. Here's where the challenge is going to be. We need to save up $4000 as fast as possible. I believe we can pay in chuncks, maybe a little at a time but we need to find a way to make cheap healthy meals while still losing weight. And maybe some other suggestions for saving up $3000 in the shortest period of time. Also, this doesn't have anything to do with weight loss but if anyone knows the best/cheapest way for two people to get to Honduras give me a heads up.

I'm familiar a bit with that site and it is low calorie, but I didn't think it was particularly focused on low cost.

Well, I'm approved for eating anything low calorie except nuts, seeds and popcorn. Anyone know any cheap low calorie recipes or meals - not necessarily specific to being sleeved? Anyone can think back onto any good cheap meals or recipes that they ate on Weight Watcher's or another diet?

Anyone have suggestions for meals that are both cheap and low calorie?

Is no one interested in low calorie, cheap foods and how to save money eating? No one?

I know we are not supposed to drink carbonated drinks since it can add gas and fill up your stomach and might stretch it out (or at least it might stretch out the pouch on a gastric bypass - there seems to be a question about if it is possible to stretch out the sleeve very much). I was wondering if one of the reasons for obesity in the first place might be excessive consumption of carbonated (diet or regular) beverage? I mean the obesity epidemic is a fairly new phenomenon. And I'm not one of those people that got fat drinking my calories - I've drank diet soda since I was about 12 years old, however I had an extreme diet Coke addiction for many years. I was in the habit of downing as much as 3 liters of Diet Coke a day.

Last night I made this easy delicious hot and sour Soup. Tastes every bit as good as the stuff you get at the Chinese restaurant. chicken stock or broth (or 4 cups Water and 4 chicken bouillon cubes) 3 tablespoons soy sauce 1/4 cup cooked shredded chicken or pork 1/2 cup mushrooms, diced 1/2 tablespoon garlic chili sauce 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper 1/4 cup white vinegar 1/3 cup canned bamboo shoots, julienned 3 oz block of tofu, cut into 1/4 inch dice 2 tablespoons cornstarch and 2 tablespoons cold water 1 egg, beaten 2 green onion stalks, diced (including tops) 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil 1. Bring chicken broth to a simmer in a 2-quart saucepan. 2. Add soy sauce, shredded meat, mushrooms and garlic red chili paste. 3. Simmer for five minutes. 4. Add white pepper, white vinegar, bamboo shoots, tofu. 5. Simmer for five minutes. 6. Combine two tablespoons of cornstarch with two tablespoons of cold water in a cup. Stir until mixture is smooth. Add cornstarch mixture to soup and stir well. 7. Simmer for five minutes until soup is thickened. 8. Beat egg in a cup until yolk and white are combined. Pour beaten egg slowly, in a fine stream into soup. Stir soup several times. 9. Wait 30 seconds. 10. Add green onions and sesame oil to soup. Stir well. Remove from heat. 11. Serve hot. Submitted by: Rusty Barton