gamergirl

Guess what?? It's 3 pm here...and I have still not weighed today!! Yay me! Sent from my iPhone using VST

My dad arrives from India today so I have to make something his 90-year body (and teeth) can enjoy, AND tomorrow is soft foods day for us! yay! We were told to eat meats that were out of a crockpot or pressure cooker so they were soft. So here goes. This is massively modified from Anupy Singla's Indian Crockpot book a) not make enough to feed the entire state of Texas and not to blow the roof off your head with her version of spice. I'm Indian. Believe me when I tell you, this is the BEST chicken curry I have ever had and the EASIEST. Ingredients 1 onion peeled & quartered 5 garlic cloves peeled 2 inches ginger root sliced roughly 2 tomatoes quartered I tsp salt 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper 2 tsp turmeric 1 tsp garam masala, can buy ready mixed or I will post my fav, easy recipe shortly 1/2 cup greek yogurt 1.5 lbs of chicken, skinned 1 bag of baby spinach 1 2 inch piece cinnamon 4 green cardamom 2 whole clove Method 1. In a food processor, grind together everything except the chicken and the spinach and the whole spics. Make a nice, smooth paste. This may take a few minutes, be patient. 2. Put the chicken pieces in a crockpot, and pour over the yummy-smelling sauce you just made. Add the whole spices, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves. 3. Chop up the spinach and add during the last hour of cooking. 4. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 6. Us Sleevers may have to eat the chicken without the sauce and eat the sauce separately or something. Makes 6 servings of chicken (3 oz each, 21 gms of Protein each EDIT: Forgot the tomatoes in the first version and also the whole spices! brain is mush

When I decided to have the surgery I knew I'd have to eat a lot of meat. But I do wonder if there are vegetarian sleevers who get all their Protein in, because I'd much rather eat Beans, legumes, and lentils than meat. Anyone?

That's in six weeks? That's great! congratulations.

I'm really glad to see this topic raised because I agree with Butter, I don't see that much difference between the strict people and the moderators. I'm a numbers girl so forgive the geeking but to me, here's the math. Let's say our goal is 800 calories, 80 gms of Protein. That could be Protein/Fat/Carb ratio of perhaps 40/30/30. That translates to 80 gms protein, 60 gms carbs, 27 gms Fat. Let's further say that we need at least 25 gms of Fiber a day based on best practices but we may or may not get all of it from food, although we want to get most of it from food. Well that pretty much dictates what we can eat, right? You HAVE to eat protein first, you probably do need to add fruits and veggies at some point to get roughage, and healthy fats so you don't look like a shrunken, dried-up mummy. So where's there that much room to play? Pre-sleeve, I used to eat three slices of thin crust, half-the-cheese, veggie pizza. If I can eat one slice, and that puts me at 150 calories for my "splurge", surely that's doable? OTOH...I am a sugar addict. I cannot eat sugar without massively affecting my body chemistry and craving more and more sugar. I may choose to never eat it again because I don't like how it affects me both physically and mentally. Or I may find that I can eat a bite and not crave more (only 4 weeks out, no idea how this will play out). Others on here don't have that problem. They can eat a bite and what gets to them is not that bite, but telling themselves they can NEVER have sugar again which causes a binge. Okay, here we have some room to play. Some of us have trigger foods, some don't. But no one seems to disagree that we have to monitor total calories and get our protein first. So perhaps this diet vs. moderation is not reality, but rather perception. Is it about how we like to see ourselves? (I control my intake carefully vs. I eat what I want in moderation)

I saw your post on 4-5 belt notches! that's a good way to know for sure. Good for you!

I did talk to her and via PM and she was very helpful. I think right now, I can eat so little that I don't have a choice about meat, but as my capacity increases, I may be able to add more vegetarian Protein sources. Honestly even now, of everything I ate yesterday, I got the most protein out of cottage cheese, yogurt and cheese anyway so it's kinda working.

You haven't stepped on the scale in 3 months? You are my new hero! Seriously? Not once? Help me. Help me get there. Tell me your secret. My big achievement was that I now weigh only once a day. I was quite proud of myself for such self-restraint.

Muscle milk still makes me nauseated. It's pretty heavy on the whey I think. I say that because of the "protein load" you get with each shake.

your ticker says your surgery is today? Done already? All good?

Thank you! He's 23 now, but this is the same kid that at 14 forced me to start dating again. I told him I wasn't missing anything in my life and he said "I think dating is about finding someone who can ADD something to your life, not to fill a gap." How can you disagree? I had no choice but to start dating

This is a shameless bump for this thread. I love reading about different professions here

I think your surgery is coming up soon yes? Wanted to suggest that you maybe try lactaid pills before your shakes. They help me.

oh yes. soon you will be dreaming of the food you want, but can't have. I think we're on such low rations, that it's not unreasonable or unhealthy for our bodies to start feeling hungry a few days after post-op. It's logical, and it's what keeps us from dying of starvation. Your body is doing what it needs to in order to flag you down and get your attention. That too is normal. I do get hungry now, but it's reasonable hunger. As in, "It's been 3 hours and I only ate two ounces then so OF COURSE I'm hungry type of hunger, not the "I think I'll have a piece of cake for funsies" type of hunger. It's a "FEED ME NOW!" vs. a "hmm. what sounds good?" And that's a good thing. Don't stress about it.

I've only lost 5 lbs in the last two weeks and I'm also 4 weeks out. Same thing with my husband. I think we're just all in our 3 week stall. It would have been nicer for you if the PA would have known that, but since you know that, maybe just ignore her?

So I drove from DFW to San Antonio and then there was the drive from there to Piedras Negras. By the time we had the van drop us, got into our own car, took breaks and stops, etc. we had been on the road for 12 straight hours. Others were surprised that this was even possible to do, 2 days after surgery, and when i see other's posts about their condition 2 days after surgery, I realize I got very, very lucky indeed. One thing for sure: I would not recommend doing that in 1 day AT ALL. I just happened to be okay that day. If your recovery is not that smooth, it would make a miserable drive. Secondly, note that you will need to get out every two hours and stretch so as to avoid blood clots, and you should factor that into your drive time estimate. It may normally be a 10 hour drive, but with you in recovery, it may be longer than that. For example, Piedras Negras to DFW is 7 hours but as I said it took us 12 hours and one hour of that was a nap at my son's apartment which I desperately needed. If you can afford to fly, and unless you hate it so much that you need to be massively drugged to get on the flight, maybe consider just exactly how much you'd hate flying

When pre-sleeved, I wondered what it was going to feel like right after the surgery. i read everything I could, but I still wanted more, more, more. I'm writing about my experiences to give back to the community that helped me prepare for this surgery. It's a very long post but hopefully it answers some questions about what we might go through, physically, mentally and emotionally. I'm 5'6, HW 230, SW 222, CW 215.4 and I'm 47 years old. Day of Surgery (Friday) I find myself calm, not nervous and ready and prepared thanks to hours spent on this site. I move to a gurney where they inject me, and the next thing i know I'm waking up and there's an oxygen mask on my nose.I keep trying to take it off, and they tell me not to, that I need the oxygen. I fight it a little. Finally, I say I know I'm not supposed to take it off, but I need to breathe, I'll put it back. The doctor checks on me and sees me fighting it, and says it's okay to take it off. I tell them I'm nauseated and they give me something. I feel so little pain that in my dream state, I keep waking up from a half-sleep thinking, Oh I have to go to surgery today. And then my brain reminds me it's already over. I can't believe it. My husband comes out of his surgery and once he is awake, I make him walk with me. We push our IVs along, marveling at how okay we feel. I'm okay, he's not so great. He's nauseated his chest feels tight, but there's not too much pain. We walk all day in little bits. My mouth is dry but I rinse it several times, and use my chapstick. We're fine. Night-time is not fun. Nurses in and out every two hours, injecting one or the other of us. R has really bad heartburn so I'm trying to take care of him. We get through the night. First Day Post-Op (Saturday) Cannot WAIT for the ice chips! such a gourmet treat! They arrive and we find we can't really eat them as we should. Two little ice chips and it feels like you have an elephant on your chest. R is worrying about shoulder and chest pain, and I assure him it's not a heart-attack, just gas pains, and keep walking. I nap a lot. He sneaks out and overdoes the walking and increases his pain. But the doc says his gut sounds better than mine, and to keep in mind that pain & symptoms don't mean a poor recovery. I wonder how the heck we'll ever consume 64 oz of fluid. Second Day Post Op (Sunday) Time to go home. We get a bottle of grape juice. Yum! but again, can't imagine how I will finish that little 8 oz bottle. We drive for 12 hours today. Well, I drive. R sleeps the whole time, which is how his body recovers from anything he ever has. I'm happy to be able to do this for him. We stop in Austin to see my son, try to drink some Unjury chicken. The warm soup feels good. We sleep for an hour and I'm refreshed enough to drive home. Keep trying to drink, probably didn't even get in 16 oz this day. That night, I force the fluids and I'm miserable. Walking up and down the hallways after a long day. I realize this is a lesson. If I ever overdo the food, this is what it's going to feel like. No bueno. This is my "WTF did I just do?" day. Thanks to this forum, I know that's common and I let the emotions come. Third Day Post Op (Monday) Lots of sleeping going on but guess what? We can drink easier now! At least 38-40 oz today including a Nectar Fuzzy Navel! I'm amazed at the progress in just three days. I stop the pain pills. R is cranky and depressed today.We're arguing about stupid sh*t. I tell him it's the hormones, the trauma, the lack of calories and carbs and that it will all be okay. I do 20 mins on a stationary cycle, R walks the dog a mile. Now my brain shifts to the big changes. Such as, if I'm not always thinking of food, what am I going to do with that spare time? I kid you not. My existential crisis? What the hell am I going to pin on Pinterest now if not recipes?? I realize front and center food has been in my life and am so grateful we were able to get this surgery. Fourth Day Post Op (Tuesday) Feeling like a pro today! I forget I've had surgery and gulp. Ouch. But a shake, an unjury chicken soup, egg drop soup, 2 G-2s, and 2 popsicles! Yay me! So of course, now that is good, I'm the weepy one today. There's nothing wrong, I just want to cry. But I don't cry easily so even though I try, I can't cry . No pain, all good. R gets energy back. I'm not there yet and want to sleep. We go out to get something, I'm exhausted. But I do 2 ten minute sessions on the stationary bike. We try Chike with caffeine. Mistake. Feel sick. Today I make an important decision. In the past, I've always focused on the outcome. Was I losing weight? No? Then let me change my diet AGAIN. How about now? No? So what if it's only been 4 days I better change again. This time, I will not do that. There's a plan here. 800 calories, 80 gms of protein, less than 50 of carbs, 64 oz of water, and walking/cycling. That's it. Until I hit goal, that's the plan. Focus on the plan and the results will follow. I know this from reading others' experiences. I decide to focus on my actions and let go of the outcome. Big move for a control freak I tell R that now that I am not constantly searching for the best diet, the superfoods, the one ultimate way to lose weight, It has freed up so much psychic energy, that I'm shocked at how much of my time I had devoted to obsessing about my weight. I chose the best way for me. The time to stop looking is over. Time to start DOING. Fifth Day Post Op (Wednesday) Liquids not a problem. Protein not a problem. Can you believe that? It's only day 5 but we're getting all liquids in. What a change. I can NOT stay awake and sleep from 9:30 am - 12:30 pm though. Work intrudes and I take 3 meetings over the phone. Couldn't have done that without the nap. I feel energized. We go out to run and errand and go to the grocery store to buy ingredients for soup which we will start on Saturday while the kids are home. The grocery is full of sample ladies and although I rarely ate samples, it's a different feeling when you can't. I feel different to everyone around me. I realize that I'm different from the others around me in one more new way, but it's a way that doesn't show, unlike my skin, my weight, my ethnicity. It makes me feel like I'm harboring a secret. Weird feeling. I am happy I'll be able to cook again. I make my son an omelet with cheese, and I find I'm a little tempted but not bad. But I've had food dreams all day today. I want a grilled cheese sandwich with the crisp outer crust and the gooey cheese, I want tomato soup, I want chicken kebabs, I want, I want. I drink my shake. I will do nothing to compromise my recovery. Sixth Day Post Op (Thursday) The day has just started who knows what awaits, but R has lost 20 lbs in 3 weeks, and I've lost 15 lbs. Last time I lost 15 lbs it took 6 months of clean eating and walking 4 miles a day. I'll take this! I now believe that I will lose the weight. I was sure I was going to be that freak of nature that couldn't lose it because I only lost 6 lbs on 2 weeks of pre-op, but now I believe. Today we will do our liquids, our protein, our walk/cycle and tomorrow will be a better day. My next goal? Visualize myself thin, and be able to see myself wearing cute clothes and start pinning those on Pinterest. Not there yet. What a difference six days can make!

Happy birthday! You look amazing. Congratulations. Results like that don't come without some work on your part so you should be proud.