Rebecca Jo Ragon

I am 12 weeks out and made a grilled cheese sandwich last night with fake cauliflower bread. I won't lie and say it tasted just like a grilled cheese:) However, you may consider it to take care of the cravings. Here is the link to the recipe: http://www.theironyou.com/2014/05/cauliflower-crust-grilled-cheese.html Good luck!

Congratulations and good work! You are among a group of like minded individuals. We all either know how hard it is to get to "Onederland" or we are aspiring to it just as you did. You should feel proud of your hard work. Keep it up!

Don't you find it amusing (I am not sure if that is the correct word, frustrating maybe) how everything changes after surgery? What tastes good, what we can tolerate, what goes down well, etc. I will echo the above posts and say don't worry about crystal light, decaf tea, etc. right now, just get the fluids in. Keep going back and testing Water. I know immediately after surgery, everyone advised it needed to be at room temp so not to shock your healing and sensitive pouch. Now that I am 11 weeks out, room temp water makes me nauseous. I have to drink mine either hot (as in tea) or ice cold. Sometimes if I forget the new me and drink too fast, it will hurt. However, normally it does just fine. I would just get in your fluids any way possible and test water once a week until you get to the point you can tolerate it plain. Good luck!

I have had great success with home made chili and meatloaf. I make a meatloaf that I put in muffin tins and the size is perfect. They might even be a bit large for you right now. I use 1 lb ground beef (97/3) and 1 lb ground turkey breast, 2 eggs, 1 cup of instant oats and 1/2- 2/3 can of Hunt's Meatloaf Seasoning Sauce. Bake at 350 for 25-30 min. Take out and put the remainder of the sauce on top and back another 5 minutes. I have not had any issues with it. I also use about 1 TB of the low sugar Heinz ketchup to moisten it a bit as I eat it. I pair that with about 1/4 cup green Beans. For homemade chili I have used several recipes. I try to use 93/7 beef and sometimes mix it with the ground turkey breast. If you don't cook much, a small Wendy's chili does the trick! you can check out pinterest as well for low carb bariatric recipes to get some ideas. I make a quiche in muffin tins that I love, but you don't seem to like eggs much so that might not be anything you would be interested in. Good luck!

Congratulations!

If it is, I am not aware of it. It has been quite the opposite for me. More than one person has commented on how much better my skin looks. They have commented that my face looks refreshed. I have made a few friends from my support group and I have not noticed them looking gray either. Let's hope it is not a side effect but the lighting in your support group room. LOL.

Have you tried searching for recipes similar to what you are craving that are bariatric friendly? I know that pinterest and other sites have lots of recipes that have been modified to leave out carbs and sugar for us bariatric patients. Maybe you could find a recipe for something you have been craving that has been modified and will satisfy the craving. That is how I have dealt with my cravings. I hope this helps.

I take over the counter Vitron C. It is in pill form - not a liquid. I just had my first bloodwork drawn since starting it last week and do not have the results. Hopefully, it is doing the trick.

Well, I think from what I have ready from others stalls are going to happen even if you are doing everything right. I have heard various reasons for stalls or plateaus. I am not sure anyone really understands them. We only get frustrated by them! How long has this stall lasted? How often do you weigh? How regular are your BM's? It may be that your body holds on to your weight and dumps it all at once in large weight losses at the scale, while others are slow and steady. Everyone is different. That being said - I think you are doing great! We have the same surgery date; however, I had the RNY. Your weight loss so far has been great. Just shy of 8 weeks and you have lost 43 lbs! I have only lost 31.5 lbs since surgery (59.5 total). Hang in there!

I have the same concerns regarding portions and calories. I imagine I could tolerate anything, but I have not tried. Any new food that I have been allowed to introduce by my drs. guidelines I have tolerated just fine. I am suspicious that I could eat anything I want. However, so far (thanks be to Jesus!), I have had the willpower to not test it. I am eating anywhere from 800-1000 calories a day; but like @@esskay77 , I am not concentrating on calories - I am concentrating on Protein. I even brought it up at support group meeting a couple weeks ago and was told to stay focused on the protein not calories. I will be 8 weeks out this Friday, so we must have had our surgeries around the same time. If you would like, we could "friend" each other on MyFitnessPal and you can see my food journal. I have found that it is a good way to kind of benchmark with others and get fresh ideas for Snacks and meals. I have input several of my recipes for my Breakfast quiche muffins, meatloaf in muffin tin, chocolate PB protein balls, etc. and so I know the nutritional value per serving which makes it easy to track. I love it. My username is rragon. Good luck!

I can't really add any more to what the others have said, but I can give you encouragement. I remember thinking, "What have I done?" I remember those moments worrying what if it never gets any better than this. However, I am happy to report that it does. I am 7 weeks out and feel completely normal. I am starting to have days where if it were not for "planning" my food, I would never have known I had surgery. I am still limited in my food choices; but as long as I plan our meals, I can sit down with my family and eat most of what I fix for them. So - keep putting one foot in front of the other, keep getting in your Protein and Water, keep moving and look forward to those milestones where you can add food items to your diet and search for recipes that you can make and look forward to at that stage. It is worth it. I already have lowered my BP meds twice and am totally off metformin. Keep going - you can do it!

I don't know if it is normal. You may want to see how others respond and talk to your contact at your drs. office if their answers do not put your concerns to rest. I know that no appetite/hunger early on is very normal. Because many of the nerves are severed during surgery, it takes a while for them to grow back and become active. However, I don't know when that approximate time frame is. I am sure it is different for everyone. I am 7 weeks out and I think my hunger came back around week 3 or 4. By week 5, I started getting very hungry if I didn't eat every few hours. Hopefully, you can eat even if you are not hungry. It is important that you get that Protein in for healing!

@blashlee thanks for the tip. I just came across those on the internet and thought I would try a couple. I am looking more for a shake but I will take what I can get:) I like the convenience of RTD. Thanks again!

Crosby - do you know of a ready to drink shake that has isolates vs. concentrates. I have been reading a few labels and find some with blends of both isolates and concentrates. The only pure isolate I have found is Isopure and they come in fruit flavors vs. chocolate, strawberry, etc. Thanks!

I am sure that 70% of excessive weight loss is the average for everyone that they are tracking. It could be that you are seeing better results with those that are actively on this site because maybe those that are highly engaged in the process tend to do better than those who are not. Just purely speculation. However, it could be that those of us on here looking for guidance, offering our personal experiences as help for others, etc. are "above average." I would like to think so!

That happened to me. Huge weight loss when I went back for my first visit and then nothing for a couple weeks. Many people refer to a 3 week stall. However, mine started the second week. Either way, if you are getting in your Protein and Water things are happening. You will see weight loss. I don't know all of the scientific reasons why the body holds on to weight like it does and then suddenly releases it. Truth be told, I am not sure the doctors fully understand it either. LOL! Anyway, focus on the water and protein and avoid the scales for a few days and then go back to them. They will start moving in the right direction. Good luck!

Here is one for you - I had bought two pairs of boots a couple of years ago and couldn't zip them up my calves even though they were wide width. I didn't send them back. I kept thinking I was going to lose the weight and be able to wear them. Well, finally, last week I was able to squeeze them on! I was just so glad I was able to wear them before the weather turned too warm.

I have to agree with @@Djmohr . Focus on Protein and Water. Make sure you are getting in what your dr. recommends (mine recommended 60-80g/day). Once you are consistently meeting those goals, then you can start thinking of quality of protein choices in terms of calories/fat, etc. I also put everything into myfitnesspal. Good luck!

Good job! All the hard work is paying off!

I have the "gurgling" as I call it as well. It is usually when my stomach is empty and I am trying to get a bunch of Water in because I am behind. As I recall, it took much less to get the gurgling early on. I am 3 weeks out. Small sips do not gurgle anymore. It is when I am taking larger drinks too fast and probably getting some air in. I would give it a couple more weeks for your pouch to settle down from all the trauma and then see if it is still happening with sips. Hopefully you can move on to more normal size drinks and they will go down just fine.