ellie123

I made some Shepard’s pie today. Some with White Potatoes for Kids and some with Sweet for me. I used a meat substitute, peas, carrots, broccolli in a savory tomatoe sauce. Trying to get my Phytonutrients in naturally :))). Kids lapped it up, but u fortunately I got full just on the tasting while cooking and now the thought of actually eating it is not appealing anymore... 😕

You’re never whining! We all want and need to vent! I used to have constipation bad...but my Green smoothie full of fibrous veggies which also has probiotics helps. Try some probiotics maybe, and up the fiber? I can’t eat spinach or kale just yet but baby kale and spinich blends right into my smoothie and my Miralax. I have seriously chugged arsenal of fleet enemas, stool softness, Miralax etc, I had them all post surgery but not needed anymore! Try it for a few days

Omg! What an insensitive jerk!!!! Makes my blood boil!!!! I was in that much pain and readmitted for 3 days too! Omg, we’ve lost almost same amount of weight and everything. I really feelfor you going through that and dealing with his judgmental self!!! Probably had a God complex, and yet would have himself been in the ER if he had a fraction of your pain!!! How are you doing and feeling now? Did they do CT with contrast? Are you on any restrictions? Do you know what food caused this. Good to know so you can avoid for a while. Feel better dear!

PPS: Today, I'm not feeling too good at ALL. It's the time of the month where the sun don't shine! I'm buckled over in horrid cramps and I don't feel like working out or walking or ANYTHING. I want pain meds and to crawl into my recliner and sip Verbine tea and comfort myself. I suspect I'm all swollen from it, which will explain why the Edamame peas came back out. Do any of you experience extra pouch tightness during your period? My energy is super low too...I'm zeroed out! And I have not come anywhere close to my daily water requirements. Ugh...bracing for 7 days of this mess...

6 Week Post Op Doctor visit Results All, I went to visit my doc yesterday. Here are my Stats Prep Op 271 Op day 257 (lost 14lb on my own) 6 weeks out: 238 (33lb lost overall and 19lb since surgery) Here are some high level notes from what I remember: - He was super happy with my results, especially as a revision (10lb in the last month since I last saw him) - I told him I went Vegan, he said GREAT!!! And that that was the healthiest thing I could do (I was expecting him to scold me for not doing an Egg for breakfast, but he loved that I was doing a Green Smoothie instead, and said that I will be able to avoid many deficiencies this way. He said he wished more of his patients will follow this plan but the thought of it would be too off putting for most. - I asked if I needed to see a nutritionist and he said no...you're doing all the right things (woa?) - I asked him if there was a Macro Nutrient limit he wanted me to work with: Calories, Protein, Carb, Fat etc? His answer was NO! Keep doing what you are doing, and live life. Don't worry about tracking each macronutrient or even what you eat, listen to your body, continue eating healthy and don't stress about the numbers. In his words "you're not on a diet, this is just your new eating plan" So essentially he absorbed me of food tracking (so...I ditched my app for now anyways). If I stall for long or have issues, I may track again, but gosh, I've got so much time back in my day from not tracking. To his point too, it's no way to live. I'm about to head out to England for work (in 2 weeks), I would not easily be able to calculate stuff there, I'll have to eyeball and learn to manage it. which brings me to my next point. - I've been cleared to travel, so I'm super SUPER nervous, what if I'm sick trans-atlantic, what if I take ill there and they don't know what to do with me...what if I get sick our naucious in front of clients (today I over did Edamame Pods, and out they came)... To mitigate my fears, I got a Portable Scale on Amazon, and I will travel with it so I can stay honest. - He stressed that a daily dose of 50g B1 was vital (My Bari multi has only 20, so I need to supplement that). - He cleared me for all forms of workouts so yesterday I hit the weights, and I finally did some serious Stomach crunches. Felt good to exercise those muscles nicely! - He patted me on the back and assured me I was doing awesome. And that's about it. Not at ALL how I expected my visit to go! I expected to be scolded on Vegan choice, schooled to do more animal flesh protein, a visit with Nutritionist, him ordering a bunch of tests to check my levels of stuff etc etc. Nothing like that...go figure... Anywho, hopefully this was helpful to you. I love to read about other peoples accounts of their doctors visits.

I hear you! But you know...Veggies have Fiber which decrement from the Carb count and reduce it by that amount. Plus they keep you REGULAR I've been super regular after I started my AMAZING Green SMoothie for the AM. Not sure if I posted Recipie but it's like this: 1 Cup Organic Baby Kale and Spinich Mix 1 Cup Organic Unsweet Soy milk A dash of my Coconut Probiotic water 1 Scoop GenPro 30g protein mix Fresh Papaya Frozen Blueberry OR Mango OR Strawberry (I mix and match to taste) OR this AM I had Frozen Pear, Banana, Lemon, Spearmint mix And my entire One a Day Chewable Bari Vitamin with 45mg Iron (I totally don't taste it in there! So its the first time since surgery I'm able to take the whole thing!) Ice to taste I wind up getting about 18oz of it when it's all said and done So I blend it all up and VIOLA! Health and vitality in a delicious nutritious drink! Getting ALL my vities for the day, it keeps me FULL and it's just brimming with goodness, gut health, and nutrition and my body is like "aaaaahhhhhhh", I actually can't wait for it and crave it! That's fiber and everything good good good for me. Yes I want to loose weight, but more so I want to gain health! So since starting, my stall broke too! 238lb today, when I was teetering on 245 (oh and by the ways, I've broke my stall by going totally Vegan too I did that after watching the "What the Health" documentary and getting an epiphany....(more on that in a the other thread I started), but anywho, I feel great and I have had a burst of energy, and I'm walking almost 5 miles a day and doing light weights and feeling the vitality that has eluded me for so long. And the carbs, yes I have actually upped the carbs, I have a few healthy crackers, with a flavourful hummus or cashews and I think that stoked the furnace in my favor too

Wow, have you gone meatless too?? I am a Sleeve to RNY revision. I've always LOVED meat and milk products and eggs and butter etc etc. All 40 years of my life I have never gone without it! And I ate it with my band, and with my Sleeve. So here's how the Vegan happened. My doc had me on clear liquids for 3 weeks with no diary...then told me to add back in eggs, and grounded meat. And I LOVE yogurt, milk, cream, Cheese OMG, on my last trip from France I had a WHOLE suitecase Packed with cheese from Hard to downright Stinky! I'm a certified Cheesaholic! But, I survived the 3 weeks without it, and without much veggies, fruits etc. But I was tired, and felt malnutritioned and unhealthy and constipated etc. Which is kinda to be expected. But seeing as this is not my first rodeo, I wanted to listen to my body more and not repeat the same mistakes. So...I started to educate myslef of nutrition nightly to see how best I can support my body through the healing process and nourish it while loosing weight. One profound influence was watching the documentary "What the Health" on Netflix (I so recommend you watch that!). So I replaced my morning Egg (s) with my Green Smoothie (which seamlessly incorporates my 1 a day Bariatric Vitamin chew from ProCar Bariatric health and the rest was history. Like right now, post my dinner, I'm not just feeling full, I'm feeling Satisfied and harmonious. Hard to explain but there is a difference. Like I said, I know it's not for everyone, but I'm super excited about the results, not just in the scales, so if anyone is cooking a vegetable or even a meat, I would love to be inspired. Because that said, it's not like I'll never touch another chicken or egg again, just for now, I'm doing so well without, trying not to tinker with the formula. Veggie or not, we need to learn how to cook again and enjoy a positive relationship with food again, but with Bariatric friendly healthy food, so we don't feel deprived and one fine day when we can eat more, start slipping into old habits. So were you Veterinarian before or thinking of becoming? Would love to hear more about your veggie meals. I try to post mine

FYI: Wanted to share a victory. So remember my Stall? Well, since going Vegan (oh boy...here she goes again about the Vegan thing LOL), but for real, I would want you to tell me too, so just wanted to let ya'll know my weight loss has...accelerated! Faster than the first 3 weeks post surgery! And I'm down from my 245 stall to 238! A good 8 lb down. Still getting over 80g protein daily and 45mg Iron daily, No constipation, completely regular on a daily basis, lots of energy for my daily 1-2 hour brisk walk, no hair loss (knock on wood), good quality sleep at night and a general sense of well being. Best part I have a world of colorful, nutritious veggies to cook daily and the family is benefiting form it too. I know it's not for all, but if you struggle with any of the above, which I was, I would encourage not fearing adding some veggies and fruits into your world. I know for a fact post Sleeve, I focused way too much on animal protein and I think it was to my detriment. (that said, listen to your surgeon, I'm no surgeon, just sharing my experience etc etc

Do you have thoughts about the Fitbit vs Apple Watch? You know I wear them both but for fitness, it's fitbit all the way! Simple, easy to the point, not too big, and it shows steps on the face! For the life of me I can't figure out why Apple will not show steps on the Face!!??! I even went to the apple store and they could not figure it out. You have to go digging for that intel. No Bueno!

I did not get one either, but it's all good.

ROTFL

Sharing my Dinner with you dear Bari Sisters and Brothers: Tender Red Cabbage, lovingly braised in Sunflower Oil, with a dash of salt, garlic powder and splash of Red Wine Vinegar for a tart flair, paired with my fav Christmas beans, soaked overnight, boiled, drained, dusted with Onion Powder and then crisped to perfection in Olive oil! That’s actually my daughters plate which I offset with cauliflower in egg Batter and some slow roasted tenderloin steak . But in my new Veganish way(never ever EVER thought, Vegan and me will be used in same sentence), I paired my cabbage and Beans with a creamy dollop of garlic hummus and a sliver of Avocado! I could almost hear the angels singing, it is well with my pouch!

My boobs deflated first too... I’m like, what tha? Of all the places, really???? How about some thigh fat or Belly fat... but , No....that’s what baby Stomach ate first! Wrong, just wrong!

I use Aria scale which is connected to Fitbit and sends weight and fat stats to phone app and graphs them for me :)

Ooh, that looks so YUM!

What kind of surgery did you have? A year out from my Sleeve, following initial and rapid success, my stomach turned into that of an infant and my ravenous hunger cycles went relentlessly every 2 hours! The hormonal redundancies for hunger (people think it’s just Ghrelin, actually there are 25 hormones to ensure your survival) returned! The weight started creeping back on till yeah, it all came back.

Enjoy the taste for food break if you have one. They don’t call it a honeymoon for nothin , it returns... viciously (spoken as a former Sleever)... alas I like @megan Sandler am constantly looking for delicious and nutritious new alternatives that I can live with for a lifetime and remain satisfied and happy with what I’m eating. So I always get excited to see what’s in your bowls 😋🍵. Do continue to share and inspire

Yes Ma’am! Thick, hearty, filling, nutritious, delicious all come to mind. My sauce had green beans and Brussels, garlic and onion powder, celantro leaves, but veggies were super fall apart tender so Kids hardly felt them. Kids lapped it up with real Spagetti, while I did Zucchini spagetti spirals and I felt like I was just having another dinner. Kids also could not tell meatballs were no meat! 😮😄

I made the most delicious Spaghetti and Meatless Meatballs!!! Mercy!!!

Btw, for the Pizza lovers, I was in Central market yesterday and saw Prenate Cauliflower Pizza crust...! Did not even know that such a thing existed!

Yum! No I had no idea ! That opens up a whole world of possibilities :))). Love it when folks post food pics and ideas :)

I have a TON of fruits and veggies daily at 5 weeks out. My secret? Green smoothie for breakfast! A ton of baby Kake and Spinich daily! Blueberries galore, fresh papaya, strawberries etc etc. check out my pictures a few posts back! Like this morning my 40g protein shake had kale spinich, unsweetened Soy milk, GenPro powder, kiwi, pineapple, mango, my 1a day bari vitamine, and probiotic! All 16oz of this deliciousness went down smoothly! And my constipation and tiredness issues... gone! I’m full of energy ready to take on the world!

Welcome! I totally empathize. I live in a big metroplex yet told only my husband and 1 very trusted friend. I’m a revision and did not want the scrutiny. Do tell us more about your situation and journey this far, I think from a timeline you may be ahead of most of us

Do you mind sharing what your numbers were at 5 weeks? My doctors office did not really have a weight goal broken out for me like that. Maybe it’s because I’m a revision and it’s snyones guess...! I’m going next week and I plan to ask.

Have you finally broken through a stall? Hope you are doing well.