zuchinno

I woke up today and BAM, I'd lost 40 lbs. The first 20 was difficult, but I wasn't even paying attention. I thought I'd plateaued since I'm on solids now and have no restriction yet. Anyone else get surprised like this before? I have to say, it's a pleasant one.

I eat fairly slowly. It might be that though. Usually my food gets cold before I finish it though. They say to do the opposite of what I do, but... I try and eat while I'm doing something else and I end up getting distracted and eating less. I'm still paying a lot of attention to what I'm eating. I count while I chew, but I'll do something like read a sentence of my book in-between bites because it's hard for me to eat slow if I don't have something to do in-between bites. The reason I think it's that I'm eating too quickly though, is that it happens more when I "just eat," as opposed to eating while occupying myself between bites.

Thanks. How do I have restriction? There's nothing in the band! Does this mean I'll always have restriction even when it's empty? I think it might be b/c I breathe through my mouth (I have an impractically small nose and allergies... it's defective!) while I'm eating, so when I chew a lot, a LOT of air goes down and gets trapped under and stuff won't go down. I do take small bites about the size of a piece of candy corn to the size of two pieces of candy corn. I chew 20 times per bite. (I do the counting method).

I haven't wanted to. I didn't drink it on my pre-op just because I didn't care. I've only ever drank diet and diet's not that great. I think a big deterrent for me was that my post-op gas pain was so bad, and it lasted for a week and a half, that when presented with the concept of potential gas-pain again, I shudder.

Oh also, does anyone else experience pain or tightness when they slime, like something sharp or too big caught in their throat? I hit my chest like I'm burping a baby and then air comes up and I'm fine....

I don't have any restriction and I slime. Is that normal?

What were you eating? It had better have been soup b/c you're not supposed to be eating solids yet and it sounds like you ripped the stitches with your retching.

Alright, so I think I know what PB-ing is now.. Is it when you eat too fast, swallow air, and an air bubble gets trapped under the food and it's achy or stabby and you start producing a bunch of thick mucous and hit your chest and burp and it's better? Wow, I hope not, because even when I eat slowly, all the chewing makes me swallow air and causes it. Also, if you don't have any restriction can you still PB? I've PB'd (if in fact the aforementioned is PBing) and I don't have any restriction. Why? I really don't want that for the rest of my life.... I'm almost certain it's not good for you.

Nah, this is just sliming with lots of unpleasant pain, like it's stuck or something, but no contractions, and no throwing up. I do have to hit my chest really hard to make myself burp though so it goes away. It's like burping a baby, really. But yea, anyone else experience this? Also, can you PB with no restriction?

Does Dr. Oh use fluoroscopy?

Heh. My doc said that I could have watered down cream of wheat in my full liquids stage, but to make sure I drink while I eat it. I mixed it with protein powder and light yogurt smoothie. Yum.

Yum! Three more days and I can get to mushies! Scrambled eggs and purred goop here I come!

Surgery should come after therapy for severe emotional issues, considering that surgery creates more emotional issues. When it's a kid that young, being overweight is absolutely reversible, especially since she was within 20lbs of being a healthy weight for her height and build. she needs counseling, not to be cut open without a psych-eval.

Also to update it, just go to one of your posts, and click on the ticker. It'll take you to you ticker profile at tickerfactory and you can just put in the new values and it'll give you what you need.

Yay! Yea, my jaw locked up when I was chewing a chewable vitamin today and I realized it's because my mouth hasn't been used!

PigsRFlying, I did that for my clear liquids diet. I just dissolved some protein powder in it and watered it down a but and drank it with a glass of water. It's a good idea b/c of how many flavors they have. I do it now, too, with a little milk or some cream of wheat tossed in instead of noodles. Gives some iron, and calcium and protein if you make it my way and it's better than broth all the time.

Blech, I hate boullion, but I know exactly what you mean. I can smell EVERYTHING much much more and it's torture. I can smell stuff like snap peas and I'm getting an iron craving but not for meat. I desperately want stuff like broccoli with soy sauce on it.

Thanks! I was looking for that interview on google but couldn't find it.

By Popular demand I bring to you: :hungry:My Cook Bookie!:hungry: This will come in Installments when I have time. I made this bookie for my life after banding and brought it to my dietitian and she was pretty impressed. The point of this bookie is to spice up the old standard of protein, some veg and then a small carb. The way I do this is with combinations of spices, rubs, and lowfat marinades that tenderize meat and make veggies savory and delicious. ~enjoy~

Yep! As yummy as possible! I like the whole quality over quantity thing. Just you wait 'til I break out the Chinese dumpling recipes too! They're lean and SO flavorful.

This is a section where I talk about the tools you can use to make leaner cooking! Bamboo Steamer A bamboo steamer is one of Asia's best ways of keeping healthy. A lot of the breads from most east Asian countries use steaming instead of baking as a cooking method and therefore require fewer fats and oils to keep food and bakes goods soft. In addition, foods retain more nutrients as well as flavor when cooked in this way. These can be bought for any price between $7-30. They ban be used to cook just about anything by placing them in a pan, pot, or wok, that has a shallow pool of Water in it, and heat it up! Oster Steamer For a little more money, $30-50, you can get a western version of the bamboo steamer. It does about the same thing, but comes with a handy little book on cooking all sorts of stuff you'd never imagined in it. I really like this oe for making veggies and steaming stuff like shrimp. Turbo-Broiler This baby makes some succulent, tender meat. For those of you who have some real problems choking stuff down, and regularly cook whole chickens for your family, I suggest this. You can put all sorts of spices in it and they will be soaked up. If you get a good deal, it can be for around $30-100. Crock Pot This is a great way to make meats soft by stewing or corning, such as corned beef. It makes very very soft meat and is also a great, low fat way of cooking. These can be gotten for $15-50 depending on where you shop and how fancy you wanna go. George Forman Type Grill What can say but IT CUTS OUT THE FAT! Haha, it's true though, and it's fast and convenient, especially if it's winter and you can't fire up the BBQ. These can be bought for anywhere between $30-100 depending on how fancy you wanna go, and where you shop.

Here it is: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f9/zuchinnos-cook-bookie-39822/#post543462 I'll be adding stuff regularly. I've got some stuff up now.

This is a section where I will give a versatile array of combination dishes, and sides that you can try out to see if they go together: Shish-kabobs Make Lemon Garlic marinade or get some Lawrey's Lemon Garlic 10 minute marinade. Caution! This makes a LOT of food, so be sure to have company or your family digging in. Cherry Tomatoes Green Bell Pepper cored and cut into ~1inch squares Large Yellow onion cut into wedges and separated by layer 1 Kielbasa Sausage sliced into 1/2 inch slices Boneless skinless chicken Breast, cut into 1 inch pieces Steak Cut into 1 inch pieces Raw Whole White Mushrooms with the stems trimmed off Put all of the veggies into one gallon bag and put in marinade and shake to coat. Do the same with the meats. marinate over night or as little as 1/2 an hour. The longer the better. Then, dump all of it into a large dish and put onto skewers. These can be broiled in a broiler pan until done, or grilled on a barbecue. Be sure to turn them over regularly. Some choose to serve on a bed of rice, but this is optional. This is a very lean and flavorful dish and is great for company. Coming Soon: Lamb Kabobs Low-fat Tzatziki (for those who want to indulge!) Savory Sauteed Mushrooms Marinated Tuna Jerk Chicken on a Bed of Black Beans and Rice Lemon Pilaf The perfect Halibut Who are you callin' shrimp?

So here are some absolutely delicious veggie ideas: Salads: Authentic Greek salad BC Hothouse cucumber, diced (aka english cucumber) 1/2 Tomato, diced 1/4 Onion, diced Fat Free Feta, diced or crumbled Kalmata Olives (pitted) Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing, (use sparingly!) Store-bought, or combine: 1 pt Olive Oil& 1 pt lemon juice 3 pts balsamic vinegar 1 pt minced garlic dash of salt dash of ground pepper Now combine it all, yum! Ethiopian Tomato Salad 1 Firm tomato, diced 1/5 red onion, diced (optional) diced jalapeño, to taste 1 tbsp lemon juice black pepper, dash salt to taste Chill and serve cold. This salad actually takes more calories to digest than it gives. food for thought. My Yia Yia's Yummy Salad! Spring Mix Red and Green Bag Lettuce 1/4 Dice/Minced Red Onion 1/2 Diced or Wedged Tomato 1/4-1/2 Diced Avocado Crumbled Lowfat Feta Red Wide Vinaigrette Dressing (Use Sparingly!!!) (I like wishbone, and now they havea salad spritzer version of this and it's perfect) Caesar Salad I modified this one from my mom's more fattening version. Hearts of Romaine, washed and ripped up Splash of Lemon Juice shake of Lowfat Parmesan cheese Salt and Ground black pepper to taste Optional: Diced precooked chicken breast (can be bought in lunch-meat section of grocer) Toss all of these together (great for lunch) and then drizzle on a small amount of Cardini's Low-fat Caesar dressing. Because of the lemon juice, very little dressing is required. One of the reasons that this is good for lunch is because you can put it all in a tupperware container and the lemon juice and salt act as natural preservatives. That way, you can just put a little dressing in a mini ziplock bag and rest it on top of the salad in the container and add it when you eat. Bruschetta without the Bread This one's a really great Italian classic. 1 Diced Tomato 2 tsp Minced Garlic 1/4 Cup freshly minced basil 4 tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp olive oil (optional, really) 1/4 tsp salt 2 tsp Lowfat parmesan cheese Combine and let sit 1/2 an hour in fridge. Dust with a little more Parmesan cheese and serve. Hearts of Palm and Tomato Salad Thisis another one from my mom. This one is a liiiittle rich, so just go easy on the dressing, but I just had to include it since it's SO yummy. 1 Tomato, cut into wedges, which are cut in half 2-3 Hearts of Palm cut into 1/2 inch slices Fat Free Ranch Dressing Remember that dressings and sauces make things go down faster so use as little as possible! Marinated Tomato Salad Use the balsamic vinaigrette and marinate some tomato slices and maybe a couple of raw onion rings. Remove from marinade, add some chopped basil and serve with a shaving of mozzarella cheese. Yum! Steamed: Succotash 1 can of corn 1/4-1/2 Bag of frozen lima Beans Put the frozen lima beans in the bottom of a partially covered microwavable tupperware dish with some Water. Nuke for 3 minutes, add corn, nuke 2 more. Drain most of the water and add a small amount of butter or margarine, and Lawrey's Seasoned Salt and Ground Black Pepper to taste. Squash me! 1 pt White or Yellow Onion in rings 3 pt Sliced Yellow Squash Boil onions for 8 minutes and then add squash and boil until tender in water. When done strain out water and add a very sparing (it's succulent already) amount of butter or margarine, and Lawrey's Seasoned Salt and Ground Black Pepper to taste.

No gravy, no problem! Some people with bands really have problems chokin' down that chicken and steak but don't like legs and thighs. The easy solution is soak the heck out of that breast or steak and give it some extra flavor too! My personal suggestion is go to your local Safeway and check to see if you can get one of these babies: They're called meat injectors and they run from $2-20 (depending on where you buy). These get marinades right to the middle of the meat, making it soft, juicy and flavorful. Marinades: Simple Steak Marinade (pts, pt: Parts) I got this one from my grandmother and it's quite simple. 3pts Cooking Sherry 1 pt Honey 5 pts Low Sodium Soy Sauce The longer the better is how this marinade works. My grandmother gets one of those tough, lean, thin flank steaks and puts it in the marinade for about 1 or 2 days. When she has time, she puts a bunch of them in the freezer in gallon ziplock bags, so they can be defrosted and cooked in about 15 minutes. (They're even softer this way). They come out soft, easy, and lowfat. A great accompaniment for this is sliced mushrooms sauteed in some nonstick cooking spray and a little soy sauce. Lemon Garlic Marinade This one is really good for Chicken. If you're using the meat injector, you'll wanna substitute minced garlic for garlic salt or garlic powder. 5 pts lemon juice 1 pt minced garlic (can be gotten by the jar at your local grocer) Dash of salt (or Lawrey's seasoned salt) Dash of ground black pepper This is a pretty simple recipe and more flavors can be added to it depending on what you're going for. Popular options: ~Minced Cilantro (for a fresh, invigorating tinge, good for halibut or cod) ~Minced Basil or parsely (Good for chicken) ~Paprika (for some spice! also good for fish) This is a really versatile marinade. It's the leanest and I've used variations of it on shrimp, chicken, and fish and it's just wonderful. Brine Just because... If you just want some good old fashioned chicken, but you want it to be softer, this is how you do it: 10-15 pts Cold Water 1 pt Salt 2 pts Sugar dissolved in a small amount of hot water. *Note: You can add whatever spices you want to this and it'll probably be pretty good. Use your imagination! Rinse off your meat. Get yourself a gallon ziplock bag, and put the brine in. Leave it from 4-24 hrs. Rubs: Blackened Rub This can be bought in stores in your spice section, or at cajungrocer.com (you can also get the injector there, but it's expensive). There are also a lot of marinades there as well. But here's a recipe for it if you wanna go super authentic: 1 tablespoon Paprika 2 1/2 tablespoons Salt 1 tablespoon Onion powder 1 tablespoon Garlic powder 1 tablespoon Cayenne pepper 3/4 tablespoon White pepper 3/4 tablespoon Black pepper 1/2 tablespoon Thyme 1/2 tablespoon Oregano 1/4 tablespoon Sage To properly blacken something, you're gonna have a few methods you can take. In any case, you should take a heavy ladle, meat tenderizing hammer... I dunno, a brick or something, and your boneless, skinless chicken breast and pound that sucker flat as possible. This reduces cooking time. *Note: For extra tenderness, brine first or mix some water and the blackened spice and inject it after you've pounded the heck out of it. Alright, now, for lower fat cooking, rub the blackened stuff on and broil until done. You can also pan blacken if you have a cast-Iron skillet but it involves a lot of olive oil and butter for the same results as broiling.