lauraellen80

I'm four months out, and last week I made "pizza" with a low-carb tortilla. Topped it with the lowest-sugar pizza sauce I could find, shredded mozzarella, and turkey pepperoni, and baked it at 400 degrees for maybe 8-10 minutes, until the cheese started to brown. It was really tasty, but I was over-ambitious and ate 3/4 of it instead of the 1/2 that I planned on... I felt pretty icky for a couple hours afterward.

I'm not sure what that is exactly. But that is my next step. I just don't want to freak out and turns out that its nothing. A stricture is when the top part of your sleeve (where it connects to your esophagus) becomes narrowed. It makes it difficult to eat and drink, but my understanding is that it can be fixed endoscopically, without further surgery and isn't usually a huge deal. I think they put a balloon down your throat and inflate it to dilate the stricture. But definitely talk to your surgeon--it may be quickly and easily resolved--you shouldn't have to feel miserable like this!

Call your surgeon... throwing up like that isn't normal, and your surgeon and his team are there to help you. Maybe you have a stricture?

I reintroduced coffee at about 3 months out. I have one cup in the morning (a couple times when I was up late the night before, I've had 2), with 2 tablespoons of either vanilla almond milk or a ready-to-drink Protein shake, and 1/2 packet of stevia or some sugar-free Torani flavored syrup. I count it all toward my daily totals and log it in My Fitness Pal. I just have to be conscious of how much stuff I put in my coffee--I don't like it black, and pre-surgery I used all sorts of flavored creamer junk. I've been experimenting with different sugar-free flavorings and it seems to be working for me.

Tonight I made some of my own pumpkin Greek yogurt, with some vanilla Protein powder mixed in. I chopped up a couple of those dark chocolate Blue Diamond almonds and put them on top. It's delicious! 6 oz. plain nonfat Greek yogurt 3 tb. pumpkin puree 1 tsp. stevia powder 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract 1/4-1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice 1/2 scoop of vanilla Protein Powder

I've been a real creature of habit with my Breakfast and lunches since surgery. For lunch, I usually have an ounce or so of turkey pepperoni or deli meat and a light string cheese or Babybel (or sometimes Parmesan cheese crisps). Sometimes I'll make deviled eggs with light mayo and take 3 halves and a couple baby dill pickles. Now that it's getting cold out, I am trying to come up with hot lunch options beyond a cup of chili. I love Soup this time of year, but most of them don't really have enough Protein for me, though I did have some lentil vegetable soup recently with some unflavored Protein powder mixed in. I try to keep my lunches to about 150 calories, with 15-20+ grams of protein. Any ideas?

Thanks!

I've been wondering about this, too. I log my exercise into My Fitness Pal, but I never count it toward my available calories for the day (I usually log it at the end of the day so that it doesn't get confusing). If all I did for exercise in the day is take my dogs on a 20-minute walk, that's one thing. But yesterday, for example, I took a Water aerobics class and an aqua toning class back to back. I definitely felt hungrier afterwards, and ended up going over my 800-calorie limit by 20 calories because I had a Quest bar in the evening. But if I did 1 hour and 45 minutes of working out, is that OK? I know I wouldn't even physically be able to eat the entire 485 calories worth of food that MFP says I burned (that's another thing entirely--I think it really overestimates how many calories you burn).

Yeah, chili is already on my list, as I mentioned above. I make a yummy one in the crock pot with ground turkey and three kinds of Beans... but a girl cannot live on chili alone!

My surgery was June 15th. Yup, the liquid stages suck, but it'll be over soon... hang in there!

Last night I made Cheesy Ham & Cauliflower Casserole: http://lostsentiments.blogspot.com/2013/03/cauliflower-mac-and-cheese-with-ham.html I upped the ham to 3 cups and reduced the cheese in the sauce to 2 cups (first time in my life I've ever reduced the amount of cheese in a recipe!!). I served it with green Beans. A bit high in the calories and fat, but low in carbs. Very yummy, kinda like au gratin ham and potatoes.

I just say, "Thank you." If someone asks how much I've lost, I tell them. If someone asks how... well, for me it depends on the setting... I'm pretty open with people at the Y where I swim, with my friends, with my family... but not at work. Only a couple people from work know, because there is a lot of gossip and nastiness in my field. One thing I'm really trying to work on (per my therapist) is just saying "Thank you" and leaving it at that, without a qualifier like "...but I still have a lot more to lose." My favorite comment I've gotten so far is from a friend whom I hadn't seen for a few months. He said, "Is it just me, or have you lost a f**k-ton of weight?" I replied that it was probably closer to half a f**k-ton, but that yes, I had lost quite a bit.

That's funny--just this evening at the store, the lady in front of me had some of that, and I thought it looked good, so I looked up the nutritional facts when I got home. My NUT says to avoid things with 10 or more grams of sugar per serving, so I'm passing on it. But, I did find a couple recipes on Pinterest for lower-sugar versions that I'm going to try: http://www.skinnymom.com/pumpkin-pie-yogurt-cinnamon-roasted-walnuts/ http://www.busybuthealthy.com/greek-pumpkin-yogurt/

I'm 4 months out, and I try to keep my carbs under 50 grams per day at this point.

Yeah, it was pretty soft. The recipe has you add the quinoa and water as stuff and then bring it to a boil and simmer it with the lid on for 25-30 min. I did 25, stirred it, and then covered it for another 5.

Last night I made an "unstuffed" stuffed cabbage skillet with this recipe: http://www.diaryofarecipecollector.com/one-pot-cabbage-casserole.html. I subbed 93% lean ground turkey for the ground beef and quinoa for the rice... but I did add about a 1/2 cup more cheese than the recipe called for... because, you know, cheese. Quite tasty and filling! A 1/2 cup serving is 200 calories, 11 grams carbs, 10 grams fat, 16 grams Protein, and 2 grams Fiber.

I'm 4 months out now, but at 1 month, I was getting about 600-700 calories a day.

I don't know what kind of post-op support you have from your surgeon's practice (I know that those who go to Mexico or pay out-of-pocket often don't have too much follow-up care), but I'd recommend contacting your surgeon and asking if they have any therapists that they would refer you to. Obviously, there aren't many who specialize in WLS patients, but there are therapists out there who deal with body image, eating disorders, etc. that may understand what we're dealing with more than others.

I was cleared for everything (except fried foods and alcohol) at 6 weeks out. Week 1--clear liquids Week 2--full liquids Week 3--soft foods (didn't have to be pureed) Week 4--started introducing more foods; was allowed to have caffeine Week 5--same as week 4 Week 6--allowed to start introducing raw veggies, salad, nuts, seeds

You're only a month out from surgery--you're not a failure, you're new at this! Regarding Water intake... Try out different temperatures. Some people find that room-temp drinks sit better for them after surgery, others (like me) find that they prefer ice-cold ones. While some surgeons say you shouldn't use a straw after surgery, mine only said not to for the first week. I carry a stainless steel insulated Hydro Flask water bottle with me all the time; it has a flip-top straw spout. I often use Mio flavoring in my water, which I find encourages me to drink more. I also like the Tazo herbal iced tea bags (Target has them). With the protein--try out different brands of shakes, both powders and ready-to-drink. There are lots of different kinds and flavors, and you can order samples of most brands. I like Syntrax nectar and unjury, and I use Premier and Pure Protein premade shakes as creamer in my coffee. I understand the fear of adding in new foods--it can be nerve-wracking--but just go slowly, add new foods into your diet one at a time, and stop if you feel discomfort or nausea. There were a couple things early on that I could tell in the first bite that they weren't going to work, so I would stop immediately and try it again in a week or two. Do you have a therapist that you see regularly? Having someone to talk to through the different stages of the process can be very helpful, and a therapist can teach you how to deal with anxiety healthfully. Best of luck!

I liked Campbell's Creamy Poblano & Queso Soup with the pepper chunks strained out. Very flavorful! I also had some creamy potato-leek soup that was pretty good, but I don't remember the brand.

How long ago was your surgery? The first few weeks can be rough--hang in there!

My usual breakfast is 1/2 a packet of reduced-sugar maple & brown sugar oatmeal made with Fairlife skim milk, with a 1/2 scoop of vanilla Syntrax Nectar protein powder stirred in. That gives me 17.8 grams of protein in 137 calories, with some fiber in there, too. It really fills me up, but when I get to the point that it's not anymore, I plan to add a piece of turkey bacon or sausage as well. My commute is about 25-30 minutes, so then I have a cup of coffee when I get to work, with about 1 oz. of a Premier or Pure Protein shake stirred in instead of flavored creamer. On the weekends when I'm off, we'll sometimes go out to breakfast, and I usually get a western omelet and eat about half, and give any potatoes or toast that comes with it to my husband.

I like these options better: