Iambeautiful

I am eight weeks post op and had every intention on staying on low carb but occasionally I like oatmeal for Breakfast and some very light cracker chips by Kelloggs that are very low calorie. I have been enjoying chili a couple of days too. I just cannot eat a lot of meat right now and if I could eat it more I'd stay on very low carb. I wondered how many here have lost weight using low carb. And also I wondered how many people lost a lot of weight adding some carbs like Beans and Cereal some days..... It seems like most of us were told to eat Protein first then our veggies then carbs if we have room. I'm assuming that a lot of people don't get to the carbs if they are like me and can't eat much. I was wondering because I've seen a lot of big weight loss numbers here and just for my own information, I was wondering how many lost a lot using low carb vs carbs......or moderate use of carbs. We all know that too much fat in our diet will stop weight loss as well as too many carbs but how many carbs is acceptable to use and still have a good weight loss.

I am almost at the phase of my diet where i can have the Protein bars. I have heard that the Quest Bars are good but I'm afraid to try them as they are pricey. I'd only use them if I was going to be out and about or after excercising. I can no longer stop anywhere to get something to eat if I'm out as there are no good choices in fast food for me anymore. Any other suggestions to curb hunger when you are going to be out for a long time? my Nutr. also reccomended to carry string cheese and eat that instead of the Quest Bars..... any thoughts??

i was never a diet pepsi lover... I did however love regular pepsi. The diet had a strange aftertaste..... And just so you all know all diet sodas contain aspartane with has been found to be toxic to our systems..... Anyone that is not aware of this should read all the ill effects that this artificial sweetener can cause to your health.... that alone makes me not want to drink diet sodas of any kind. I used to crave regular pepsi or coke every once in a while but never was addicted to pepsi or coke..... coffee is my source of caffeine but i only have one cup per day. I do miss coke and pepsi and maybe sprite but i can live without it. With all the gas and belching I do, I cannot imagine how horrible it would feel to drink a soda now. I don't want to t try and more than anything else I would never want to stretch out my sleeve on something like soda .... it's not worth it after suffering so much to have this surgery..... I can honestly say I don't crave it anymore. Let's all have a diet pepsi funeral and bury it forever now.... :)

I really don't understand as I never had much abdominal pain from the surgery..... my doctor used a technique where he injected long acting anesthetic near the insicion sites...(I had laporoscopic surgery) that lasted the first three days..... My Pain however DID settle into my back and was horrendous...... I think the abdominal binder might have helped that possibly I will say that after the long acting anesthetic wore off, my abdomen felt a little sore and felt like i had done a ton of sit ups but the discomfort was really not bad for me at all..... I had other issues from my surgery that overshadowed the abdomenal pain and made it not an issue. My back pain, my head pain, my nausea and vommitting took precedance. I guess I have a high pain tolerance as I live with chronic pain from RA and fibro...... I'm sort of surprised to see that so many suffered so much abdomenal pain...

Ok I found a new protein bar that seems better tasting than the Quest Bar.... It's called NuGo...... they have regular protein bars, slim variations and low carb..... all are high protein and have all natural ingredients and they are yummy so they say but wondering if anyone has actually tried them.... I don't want to keep wasting my money trying to find a good one.... same with the protein drinks...... I spent way too much trying to find a good one.......

Has anyone tried NuGo protein bars...... they have some low carb ones and some called 'slim' selections...... I hear they are very yummy but I'm afraid to try another protein bar...... most of them that are low cal and low carb are awful.....

Strange thing happened after surgery. The foods that i loved before, I cannot hardly look at anymore. I loved broccoli and cauliflower. I tried to eat some for Easter .... The smell was so strong that i couldn't eat it... Weird isn't it. And smells..... All sorts of odors bother me now: some food smells make me nauseated like when i was pregnant. In fact I can't hardly enjoy any food anymore to tell you the truth. I start eating and then i get this feeling in my chest that tightens up and I feel so sick. Sometimes this occurs. I guess this is my body's way to telling me to stop eating. I don't crave junk food or fast food at all...... I bet it would make me vomit actually. I'm just not enjoying food anymore.. I guess that was the whole point of the surgery to limit our eating but i wonder if I'll ever be able to enjoy a real meal again even after my weight loss goals.....I've talked to the nurses at the weight loss institute and they keep reassuring me it'll get better in time...... But in the meantime the SF popsicles are my best friend..... Oh I tried the Quest bars..... not impressed. I'm still looking for foods that are soft enough to go down easy. I've bought a food chopper now from the health food store. Maybe that'll help.... I guess I'll have to find other veggies that i like..... Can't do broccoli and cauliflower at the moment....... I am officially nine weeks out tomorrow. I have lost 33 lbs since surgery..... that's the good news....

@LindafromFlorida Ugh.... you were right..... I had great expectations from these bars.... I bought only six from GNC.... I got nauseated half way through one of the bars...... I hate the consistency and the sticky feel to them..... they do help with the hunger if you can get them down.... the only one I sort of liked was the coconut cashew and the chocolate brownie one only because it had color to it because all the other bars look the same.... I won't be buying any more of those. I like the Atkins bars better but don't plan on eating them daily.

@amandamaybeso are you on low carb...?? How did you lose so much so fast??? just curious.

Sometimes if my food feels like it's stuck..... I have a few sips of Water . I have drank more after eating and It makes me feel very uncomfortable....

This reminds me of my mom when she had chemotherapy... she lost all of her hair.... but guess what it all grew back in and much thicker..... Her hair was beautiful until she passed on.... she still had a thick head of hair in her nineties...... I am sure that if we lose hair it will only grow back in and maybe thicker. ONE thing.... you HAVE to get your Protein in if you want to minimize hair loss..... it's very important!!

@sleevexcited I'm taking Prilosec.... I don't know if that is the problem or not but the nurse assures me it will get better say.... six months from surgery..... Hoping....

@elfnow I was thinking the same thing. I can't hardly stand processed foods of any kind not even deli meat. I can't eat the frozen foods etc. The smell of hot pockets and all that ready made frozen foods make me feel sick. Fresh foods are easier to handle. I love fresh tomatoes and strawberries and salad. The meat has to be fresh and not frozen. I crave good healthy foods. I eat a lot of greek yoghurt still and try to get the organic whenever possible Stonyfield is a great organic yoghurt. I just add fruit and some stevia to it as all greek yoghurt tastes a little sour to me.

Light and Fit by Dannon is the only greek yogurt that i found that is low carb that comes in flavors. You can also get any plain greek yoghurt and add low carb fruits to it like strawberries or other berries. At first I would take a package of sugar free Jello powder and add it to the plain yogurt to give it a yummy flavor. I'd use the lime sugar free jello powder and mix it with plain greek yoghurt. It reminded me of key lime pie.... I love the Light and Fit individual containers of greek yoghurt to grab in a hurry....

I don't think anyone here claims to be perfect. I am not for sure. Since I've had the surgery and I have to measure everything, I now realize just how much I used to eat before surgery. I had never measured my food before and now 1/4-1/2 cup of food is all I can handle. I wanted to make sure I measure all the food I ate because I didn't want to damage my new sleeve. Now I am able to eat and can eyeball about what 2 0z of food is or 1/2 cup etc. My stomach tells me when to stop too..... but if I'm preparing my own food, I don't want to put more on my plate than I can eat so I still measure it. I think we are just trying to support each other here that have had the same experieces with the sleeve and to share our feelings about different aspects of the aftermath.....We are not here to judge..... We judge ourselves enough as it is....

try mashed potatoes with canned creme of chicken Soup for gravy..... that usually goes down easy..... I ate mostly yoghurt, cottage cheese and scrambled egg beaters and sometimes oatmeal...... pureed Soups are good but don't fill you up...... Good Luck btw the eggs gave me a lot of trouble at first.... you may want to wait on that....

@wwled meat upsets my tummy too..... I don't have any ideas..... Can you still lose weight eating pizza every day? Are you??

@LipstickLady I am allowed to eat meat.... I just cannot eat it without discomfort..... I can eat chicken salad but can't find a sugar free mayo.... I have used non fat yoghurt instead of mayo but it's not the same.... I'm not so crazy about it..... I probably need to get a food processor to grind up my meat into very small pieces or even shredded...... I'll keep trying....

@dreamscometrue Thanks for the info about the crackers. I won't buy any more of those and yeah it's tempting to eat more than two because they are so low in calories but not carbs. I don't think I did any harm by eating them because my calories are so very low in a day as it is..... but i will certainly eliminate them now. The only meal i might want carbs in the form of oatmeal..(plain) is in the morning only. But i don't eat that everyday. I can have toast.... maybe 1/2 slice a day but i rather stay away from carbs..... my carbs are way under 40 a day right now... I read every label of anything that i put in my mouth

I wondered if anyone else was having problems with food still. I am eight weeks post op and I am having trouble progressing to the next stages of the diet. I tried chicken and lettuce and veggies. The only thing that still goes down easy is cottage cheese, chili, yoghurt, beans and finely chopped chicken salad. I wonder if I'll ever be able to have progress here to eat things that others do without discomfort. I had baked chicken yesterday with a side of thin sliced cucumber salad and broccoli tops..... Oh i had so much discomfort getting that down and so I only took a few bites and stopped eating. I have to still basically live on soft foods. some days i can eat finely chopped lettuce and just a small amount of finely chopped baked chicken...... I tried the ground turkey and even that is hard to eat. I think I'm going to get a food processor so I can chop everything I eat into very tiny pieces..... like baby food. Otherwise it is so uncomfortable to eat anything solid.... They say it takes time. I'm beginning to wonder.

WOW fifty pounds is quite an achievement....Were you able to lose fifty pounds prior to surgey? If you are like me you could do it but it wasn't easy then to gain a lot of it back. Drink more Water, excercise more, and cut down on carbs and write down everything that you eat.... stay away from fats in your foods...... you hit a stall but soon you'll see a loss again if you are sticking with the program....

Its Ok to ask for help.... I have a big family and I only told one of my daughters and my sister in law and made them promise not to tell anyone..... the support i get is still there for the weight loss . It's just that the others don't know how I've been losing the weight...... And it's no magic.... We still have to eat less and exercise like anyone else... It's just that the sleeve now limits how much we can eat and makes it uncomfortable for us to eat more than allowed... it's a great w eight loss tool and it is a last resort for most of us here after trying every diet in the book and failed..... Be happy even if no one else is for me now...... don't tell anyone about the surgery if you don't fe el comfortable with it.... Just join a support group locally or come here and someone will be here for you..... Good Luck....

@bloreorbust I hear ya..... Same here!! Today at eight weeks post op.... I'm feeling terribly nauseated and I actually vommited a small amount today. I ate some raw veggies....which i was told I could try now.... And it totally disagreed with me...... i had yoghurt for dinner... that's it for me today.....ughhhh...... I thought this would get better by now but i see that you are further out from surgery than me..... I don't think I can ever eat a 'bowl' of food yet....I hope this all works to my advantage.... I just can't weigh myself every day..... it's causes too much anxiety for me but everyone tells me i look like I'm really coming down and I have lost almost 35 lbs but haven't weighed myself again.

@JeanZ_RN I was told never to eat anything with coconut in it again as it's hard to digest for us sleevers...... I am assuming that there is not much real coconut in that bar???

@JeanZ_RN it really IS a good deal for a meal..... and I stay away from any fast food place. I'd rather carry the Quest bar with me for those times when I'm out and missing a meal.... Thanks. Obviously it's working for you..... you've done great with your weight loss so far.