delta_girl

You may even develop a taste for things that surprise you. I have a new appreciation for cheese, fish and pickled things and very little desire to eat bread or pasta (which were also big favorites before). Unfortunately I still love crackers and I "can" eat too many of them if I am not careful. I thought I would have a harder time with not being able to drink beer anymore, either ...but really not a big deal. I have a glass of red wine now and then.

Sorry to hear that you are so tired and feeling weak during your recovery. I was back at work 5 days after surgery, but my surgeon was very adamant that I immediately got back to a regular routine to hasten healing and adapting. Not everyone needs much time after this surgery to resume a normal life. It depends on your surgeon and his/her recommendations and your own health needs. I was getting around fairly normally 5 days after with some soreness, but was generally feeling extremely energetic.

I don't have an emotional investment with anyone in my workplace. They aren't your family and they aren't (usually) your friends. They are your coworkers. They are not obligated to provide anything to you or for you outside of their job descriptions and general professional courtesy. It sounds like you didn't get back what you were putting into it so it may have only mattered to you that you put in that effort? Or your expectations were too high for them? I don't know not being in your shoes. But it does sound like you really are hurt by their lack of empathy and action. Sorry to hear that it caused you to feel bad, which is probably spilling over into your work relationships.

I wonder about the quality of the vitamins. Different brands, vendors, ingredients, etc. Which ones have higher quality ingredients than others or if it even matters.

Are you taking a standard dosage? How long did it take for you to feel benefits?

Shelly's Roast Beef & cheese Cucumber "Sandwiches" Slices of Cucumber Cold Cuts (I prefer low sodium Boar's Head brand) Sliced Cheese 1 slice of cheese and meat makes about 4 "sandwiches" you can spear them with a jazzy food pick for parties. For ease of assembly the day of a party (great weight loss friendly appetizers) or for a quickly made lunch during the week pre-cut the cucumbers the night before and place in a Ziploc baggie in fridge. Baked Zucchini chips 1 zucchini canola cooking spray seasoned salt, or other seasoning(s) of your choice Preheat oven to 225 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or nonstick foil, and spray with canola oil. Set aside. Slice zucchini into thin medallions, about the thickness of a quarter. (You can either use a knife & a very steady hand, or a mandoline slicer.) Lay out slices on prepared baking sheet, and spray tops lightly with additional cooking spray. Sprinkle with seasonings of your choice. (A note on seasoning, however - use LESS than what seems appropriate. These shrink considerably in the oven, and if you use too much it gets very concentrated. It's better to end up underseasoning and add more later.) Place in preheated oven and bake 45 minutes. Rotate baking sheet, and bake an additional 30-50 minutes, until chips are browned and crisped to your liking. These are best eaten within a couple hours of removing from the oven, as they start to get chewy if left out. One zucchini makes one serving (1/4 C. - 1/3 C. of chips depending on the size of your squash). Crispy Edamame 1 (12 ounce) package frozen shelled edamame (green soybeans), 1 tbsp olive oil, 1/4 c grated parmesan cheese, salt & pepper to taste. Bake in oven for 15 minutes at 400 degrees. (NO Photo) chocolate truffles (from the Dukan diet) Ingredients: - 4 teaspoons of fat-reduced cocoa powder + some extra cocoa to roll the truffles - 1 tablespoon of fat free Greek yogurt - 5 tablespoons of powdered skim milk (or Protein powder) - 2 egg yolks - 5 drops of butter flavoring - 3 teaspoons of artificial sweetener or agave nectar Directions: Mix everything together. Add powdered skim milk until the paste reaches a firm consistency. Put aside in the fridge for at least 30 min (or if you can’t wait 10 minutes in the freezer). Before serving them, roll the balls in cocoa powder. Asparagus Roast Beef Roll-Ups This recipe is a great one to impress guests at your next cocktail party (though you’ll have to multiply it). It’s really quick and simple, yet it looks very decadent and time-consuming. To make the roll-ups extra elegant for entertaining, wrap the roast beef close to the bottom of the spears, then stand them on a platter as pictured. 12 medium asparagus spears, trimmed by snapping off the ends where they break naturally 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish, or more to taste 2 tablespoons light sour cream Salt and pepper, to taste 6 ounces thinly sliced or shaved extra-lean deli roast beef Stovetop Instructions Half-fill a large bowl with ice Water. Place a steamer rack insert in a large pot. Fill the pot with water so it reaches just below the steamer rack. Place the pot over high heat, cover it with a lid, and bring the water to a boil. Add the asparagus, cover the pot (leaving the lid slightly ajar), and steam the asparagus until crisp-tender, 3 to 5 minutes, depending on thickness. Transfer the asparagus to the bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain well. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix the horseradish and sour cream until well combined. Season with salt and pepper. Lay 1 1/2 ounces of the beef on a flat work surface or cutting board. Spread one-quarter (about 1/2 tablespoon) of the horseradish mixture over the beef, leaving a small border. Place 3 asparagus spears at one of the narrower ends of each beef slice so the tips hang over. Roll the beef around the bundle of asparagus until you reach the other end of the beef. Repeat with the remaining roast beef, horseradish mixture, and asparagus to create 3 more roll-ups. Serve immediately. Buffalo Cauliflower BItes 1 head cauliflower For the batter: Dash of Frank’s Original Hot Sauce, or whatever kind you like ½ c. white rice flour ½ c. water Pinch salt For the Buffalo sauce: ¼ c. Frank’s Hot Sauce ¼ c. oil, canola oil works best Pinch salt Instructions Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix together the batter ingredients in a small bowl. Dip the cauliflower in the batter until coated evenly then place on greased baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the batter hardens. Mix together sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Once the cauliflower are done baking, brush them with the hot sauce mixture and bake again for a few more minutes, until cauliflower is crispy. Remove from oven. You may want to add a bit more buffalo sauce to taste.

I've had several of these days, sometimes back to back. It's OK. We're in it for the long haul and a pit stop every once in a while may actually be normal. We just can't do it every day. Balance those days out with good habits. I try to be REALLY good around 85% - 90% of the time. Gotta have some slack to prevent snapping. That's just me, not saying anyone else should do the same.

saltine crackers pretzels yogurt You can Google "slider foods" too.

Current favorites (but not all at the same time): pickled okra jalapeno cheese kefir Goldfish crackers

I missed only three days of work and I didn't tell anyone why I was out other than our human resources department which required a doctor's note for my file since I was out the three days before a weekend. My doctor's note simply stated, "abdominal surgery." That is all they know and all I plan on sharing with them.

You don't have to tell them what you are doing or why. It isn't secrecy ..... it is privacy.

My vsg was September 26 and I'm down 61 lbs. A few days before my TOM I could chew the paint off of walls I feel so hungry. The more simple carbs I eat, the hungrier I tend to get, too. It might be that you are really thirsty and interpreting it as hunger. I try to keep slider foods out of my house, but I do have little Goldfish crackers that work well for me. When I feel the urge to snack or have a plate of something that is crunchy or salty, I make up a small plate with pickles, pickled okra, sugar snap peas, cheese, a few nuts, some edamame and low fat crackers if I have them. Make sure you are getting all of your Vitamins in, too. That might contribute to some cravings.

Well...I was horribly, hopelessly addicted to sugar prior to surgery. I would rather have candy and cake than real food for meals any day, at any opportunity. I ate almost no meat or vegetables, little fruit and a lot of junk. Now I have an extremely low tolerance for sugar. I've tasted several things in the last few months, but I really don't have the same desire for it anymore. I was given a whole coconut cake for my birthday this past weekend and I have only eaten one half of one slice with most of the icing removed. I don't really want anymore. I don't want a candy bar. I don't want ice cream. I don't want brownies or jelly beans. If I eat more than a tablespoon of it I feel very ill. I think that I can safely and with confidence say that I do believe that addiction is gone.

There are a few articles on the web about it. A lot of restaurants have hidden menus with big fan followings, such as Starbucks. Panera has a fairly big menu and it changes seasonally and if you go inside and look at the menu, I don't even know where you would find space to put up even more choices. Also, since it is directly targeted to a smaller market, it may not have the broader consumer appeal that other items have. It would be interesting if someone wanted to call Panera and ask them directly.

I knew before surgery that I had to give up soda, beer and any other carbonated beverages, so I made peace with that prior to surgery. That was a huge step for me because I LOVE craft beers. For the first time since my surgery on September 26, I took a sip of Coke this weekend. Then a second sip. I did not want anymore. It tasted artificial and excessively sweet. I don't miss sodas at all.

low fat kefir herbal teas Truvia Powerade Zero 1% Vitamin D milk 100% Columbian coffee sugar free popsicles (not frozen fruit bars) Bumble Bee Tuna Sensations Canned chicken (keep in my desk at work) string cheese shredded cheese blend (Italian) Ostrim avocados cherry tomatoes baby spinach cucumbers edamame Asian pears pickled okra pork tenderloin chicken breasts extra virgin olive oil roasted red peppers capers several mustard varities salsa And probably my favorite new product: 34 degrees crackers and Cookies at around 5 calories each and flavors such as sesame, cinnamon, rosemary and cracked pepper. They are awesome with Laughing Cow low fat cheese http://www.34-degrees.com/

That is scary. I know vitamin b12 is critical, so I'm very good about getting a monthly b12 shot. I don't have any reason nor excuse for not taking my multi-vitamins. I'm good about so many other things I really don't know why I have allowed myself to skip these. Thank you for the info.

AH HA! OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!! I have been completely stalled for over 3 weeks. Big stall with nothing going on. I thought it might be an ingredient in the Powerade Zero I'm constantly drinking that was impacting my weight loss. I didn't even realize it until this thread. I haven't taken my multi-Vitamin in weeks!!! THAT may be what is going on. I'll find out soon because I'll be taking care of those Vitamins again starting now.

I haven't looked up carbs, but they would have to be pretty low. There is no bread, no rice, no Pasta, no crackers, no salad dressing. I'm around three and a half months out so am eating regular food. 15 grams of protein in a single meal for me hits right where I need to be based on my surgeon and nutritionist's recommendation for my daily protein intake of 45-50 grams. Neither want me eating much more than 50 grams of protein a day since that would be excessive for my height and weight goal and harder on my liver to process. I'm amazed at the extremely high levels of protein other members are asked to take in daily.

I got the Power Chicken Hummus bowl yesterday for lunch. It was SO GOOD! Very fresh ingredients and tasted fantastic. I ate half of it for lunch and most of the other half for supper. I couldn't finish all of the spinach.

It counts whatever you ask it to count. You just need to adjust the settings.

Same here. I was totally self pay and had to do all of that as well. It may have been because I had my surgery done at a Bariatric Center of Excellence, which may have specific requirements of patients to maintain that designation.

Look up some of the long list of ingredients that are in a lot of those McDonald's food items and you might quickly lose your appetite for that garbage. That is just about the lowest level of consumable food products that you can get. Its really pretty gross, actually. I do on occasion get coffee their (plain) or yogurt parfait, and have even tried their oatmeal. As far as the other stuff goes, I haven't been interested since way back in college in the early 1990s. Its crap.