Rena's got this

I will have to try those quiche squares. They sound yummy. I'm not much of a cook, and I have the tendency to forget to bring anything with me to eat when I go to work. I've found that I can go to Golden Corral and get one of their take out containers and fill it with meats that they have available. It has never cost me very much, averaging around $2.25, and the variety is great. Some days I add fruit and veggies, but mainly Protein. These containers usually will last me for 2 meals. I do keep some Premier Protein chocolate drinks at work, so if I absolutely do not want to go out, I won't have to. I also keep some bacon Jerky available at work for a quick snack.

If I were where you were, I wouldn't worry about 1 little ole pop tart. I'm sure it alone won't make you gain a pound or two back, and if it does...well heck, you are basically at goal anyway, so don't sweat it! Somehow, pop tarts just aren't that good to me...thank goodness. Still, I do have cravings and for the most part can ignore them. If not, I modify them...such as last night when I really, really wanted some Doritos. I got a small bag from the stash I keep for my kids lunches, opened it, and proceeded to lick the flavoring off the chips. Then I threw the bag with the flavorless chips in the trash. Gross, I know, but it fed the craving without going overboard.

That's rough on you. If you think you might be dehydrated, go to the doc and ask her to give you some saline. That should make you feel a lot better. Other than that, just take it easy and rest yourself and your tummy. I was lucky, I had a stomach virus that began at 4am and was over at noon. It was the only time I've ever thrown up or had diarrhea since the surgery, and was a different experience altogether than what I was used to. Lol...nothing in there most of the time to throw up! Still, it was not fun.

I didn't seem to have much restriction at first, but now I'm over 2-1/2 months out and I can definitely feel the restriction. Maybe it has something to do with healing the nerves that were cut. If I over do things, I won't feel very good, but I won't feel nauseated. I'm slowly learning to "eye" how much food I can eat. I still have a tendency to overload my plate, and throw food into the trash, but I just have to remind myself what 4-5 oz. looks like, and I've been getting better at it.

My mom passed away last summer, and I kept a lot of her nicer clothes. She was a size 14. This morning, I pulled one of the blouses out and decided to wear it to work. This particular blouse is a Large, not an X-Large. It fits perfectly, and reminds me of her. I think I'll be smiling all day.

Best bet is to use email, and make sure your address is in your signature block. If they don't take your address by phone, I don't believe they'll attempt to send you replacements.

Breakfast: 1 poached egg with cheese & ham, 1/2 strawberry, 2 red grapes, bite of cantelope & honeydew melon, 3 blackberries & 4 blueberries. Snack: 1/2 Protein bar (Quest) Lunch: 1 oz bbq chicken, 2 bites bbq Beans, 2 oz pork with mandarin oranges & sweet glaze (yummy) Snack: 11 oz of V8 fruit juice Dinner: pulled pork on 1 slice low carb bread Later on I'll have one or two sugar free popsicles. For lunch I've gotten into the habit of going to Golden Corral and getting takeout. They have a great selection and I generally pay less than 2.00 for a small container. Sometimes it will last me for two meals.

Raisin bran sounds good. I'll have Multigrain Cheerios with 1% milk and splenda when I need a cereal fix. I can never seem to gauge how much it takes to fill me up though, and wind up throwing out a lot of it. I used to eat a lot of Special K Protein cereal pre-surgery, but it just doesn't seem to appeal to me now.

Refried beans with cheese were a good starting point for me.

Yay!!! Good going SandeeD! I've not made it yet, but I'm not too far behind you. I can finally tell I am losing though. I've given away two boxes of 2x clothing, and just realized that some of the pants I've kept are too big also. Feels good!

I spoke to my surgeon about this pre-surgery. Both my mom and my sister had to have theirs out, and they weren't overweight. He said he would look at it during surgery, and if it looked ok he would leave it in. Well, it looked ok, so he left it in, but he did prescribe the medicine that would prevent gallstones for six months. I've only been two months out from surgery, and have had no problems, so I think I'll be fine. Still....I wonder if that will always be the case.

I know how you feel, I was the same way. I made a post very similar to yours (minus the wine), and got a host of replies telling me that what I was doing was dangerous and basically getting on to me for not having more discipline. It kind of hurt my feelings, but I got over that and realized that they weren't just being mean, they had a point. I went back to my basic diet of Protein drinks and what my plan said I could have, and I have had no problems. I must say though, that my sleeve hasn't given me any nausea or pain or any problems with any food I've eaten to this point. (Except for a short lived stomach virus I had with nausea and diarrhea starting at 4am a few weeks ago. It wasn't food related.) The time will pass quickly, and you will be able to eat a lot more normally, but of course, a lot less.

I know what you mean about appetite weirdness. I'm a little over two months out, and after I got off the pureed diet and started the soft foods, my head hunger took over, and I really craved a lot of the stuff I had been eating before. Now that I'm not restricted, I'm finding that I am getting to the point of being not really interested in what i usually ate pre-surgery. If I can't eat that big mac because I just can't fit it all in my tiny tummy, then I don't want any of it. It is really difficult going grocery shopping as well, because there is nothing that makes me want to spend time in the kitchen fixing such small portions. I finally found a routine during the work week that is working for me. I'll drink a Premier Protein chocolate shake for Breakfast, with a cracker or two, then at lunch I'll head over to the Golden Corral buffet where I'll get one of their small take out cartons and fill it with protein based items. They weigh it and you pay for it. The most it has cost me at one time was $2.25, and I had plenty enough left over for dinner that night and a snack the following day. The beauty of this is that they have such a wide selection of foods, and you don't have to worry about cooking. My favorite is from their salad bar, they have small pieces of steak that have been smoked in something really savory. Yummy!

I went to Red Lobster with a friend. He got a platter, and shared. I tried the baked flounder which was excellent, and a surprise since I didn't like fish before surgery. I also tried a shrimp, but it wasn't as tasty as I remembered. Oh yes, I did have part of a biscuit.

Dang....I totally forgot about watermelon. I'll have to get me some tomorrow!

I'm over two months out, and I'm learning to visually estimate my meals. I like to go to Golden Corral and get their small take out box, fill it with Protein items and let them weigh it. It has cost me between $1.25 and $2.25 each time. I never seem to be able to finish more than 4 oz. or so at a time, so there is always enough for leftovers. This is a great place for lunch with plenty of good choices. I love the small pieces of steak that they serve on their salad bar.

My primary care physician just took me off my omeprazole prescription. She said all the doctors in her clinic are no longer prescribing it because of some new research that shows that omeprazole prevents your body from absorbing Vitamins. She wasn't specific about which vitamins, but gave me a prescription for Zantac instead. I just thought I'd pass on the information so people can ask their physicians about it. She also told me that Metformin isn't a good long term solution for diabetes either. I had first hand knowledge about that. Being prediabetic, she put me on Metformin last year. It took my body about 3 days to adjust to it without the nausea and diarrhea, but I couldn't take the entire prescription. I was doing good taking half of it, and my A1C was coming down, then I started getting nauseated every other day, running a low grade fever, and having episodes of diarrhea again. I went to see a stomach doc, who examined my stomach for ulcers. When I didn't have anything notable, he took me off the Metformin, and then everything resolved. Now after my surgery, my A1C is back to a normal 5.2.

I use Centrum Silver chewables, they are yummy. I also take B-12 sublingual cherry flavered.

No, I can too. I don't usually eat them, but tonight I had a PB&J. Half at 5pm and half at 9pm. I don't eat rice or Pasta though, just not interested. I think that tonight I wanted the sandwich because all I've eaten today was Protein, except for a slice of tomato.

I found it at our local Big Lots store. I'm planning on going back and cleaning them out because you never know if and when they will get them in again. Other than that, you will just have to check other grocery stores, or maybe online.

The main concern with it I would think would be the sodium content. It is 660 mg. I don't really restrict my sodium, so I don't know if that is a really bad number or not.