lglenn3000

Have you been charting your intake? It's surprisingly easy to eat 1000 - 1200 calories per day, which is about where you should be -- and the weight loss of about 1 lb per week is exactly where you should be -- join a support group in your area, if you can, I think it might help --

Check out these sites, they may give you some ideas: Vegan Low Carb Diet - Menus, Menu Analysis, and Recipes and this page has some great recipes, I think: 44 Finger Lickin’ Recipes for Vegans and Carnivores Alike | Mark's Daily Apple.

it's different for everybody -- it was able to eat 1/2 cups to 1 cup of food about 3 weeks after the surgery --- it takes a few fills for many to hit the 'right spot'.

If you have time to make your own soup and freeze suitable portions ahead, a hearty Italian Wedding Soup, made with lean meatballs, escarole and a high fiber pasta with a sprinkling of parmesan is one of my favorites. Or a can of Campbell's Select Italian Wedding Soup does well in a pinch.

Hang in there! I found the first weeks hard, too, but I found that if you add enough liquid and blend the foods into liquid, you can have your lasagna -- add tomato juice or chicken broth to thin it out to a consistency that you can drink -- and you will find that you will get full quickly --one of my favorite drinks was cottage cheese with tomato paste & tomato juice and herbs -- I even threw in a few pasta noodles later. Or blended Campbell's Select wedding soup w/parmesan cheese. Be creative and have fun!

My personal favorite is Ray & Terry's Protein shakes -- they will send you a free sample: Supreme vanilla | Ray and Terry's Longevity Products They also have Fiber, which makes it better than the other protein powders, I think.:tongue2:

hummus or bean dip with lite tortilla chips & veggies is one of my favorites. Or, if you have a thermos, a cup of hearty lowfat black bean & beef chili is very satisfying. Depending on what you can eat, one of my favorite gourmet sandwiches is very thinly sliced roast beef with arugula or watercress, 1 tsp grated parmesan cheese, 1 tsp balsamic vinegar & olive oil on on pita.

I've started carrying Weight Watchers light Mozzarella sticks -- 5 grams of protein, 50 calories and very satisfying. But when I'm traveling (which seems to be often these days), I carry Ray and Terry's Protein Shake Powder (| Ray and Terry's Longevity Products) to mix into milk to make sure I can get a quick dose of 20 grams of protein (that's with the milk) in the morning -- I like it because it tastes natural (sweetened with stevia) and has fiber.

Sounds yummy, thanks for the recipe!

A teaspoon of paprika gives it some more flavor and color, too! In the later stages, you can add some greens (kale or mustard greens) to make it more interesting

Re: Weight Loss to Date NAME.........................surgery date.....todays date....Lbs lost 1. SpecialK .................3/17/08........9/7/08............53.9 lbs 2. scrappy_friend .........3/17/08........9/4/08............54.0 lbs 3. aJoneen.................. 3/04/08........9/4/08............31.0 lbs 4. WestCoastMom....... 3/27/08........9/4/08............60.0 lbs 5. julietj1970................ 3/03/08........9/4/08............40 lbs 6. SugarBean.............. 3/24/08........9/4/08............88 lbs (30 before surgery) 7. Tess415...................3/10/08........9/4/08............60 lbs (23 before surgery) 8. jegtlf.........................3/24/08........9/5/08............56lbs 9. emmersglue .............3/18/08........9/5/08............48lbs 10. lglenn3000.................3/17/08........9/5/08............28 lbs update 10/4/08...-32 lbs 11. Busy.........................3/17/08........9/6/08............41 lbs. 12. tp78..........................3/13/08........9/8/08............36 lbs. update 9/25/08....-44lbs 13.potatie........................3/27/08........9/11/08...........56lbs 14. TKT2FLY.....................3/17/08........9/14/08...........63lbs 15. MSBoss08....................3/06/08........9/17/08..........64lbs 16. Hazel-Eyes...................3/14/08........9/17/08...........31 lbs 17. hungry4help..............3/3/08...........9/18/08........65lbs (10 before surgery) 18. sisterc.....................3/17/08..........9/18/08........28 lbs 19. Anniedub..................3/6/08............9/26/08........55 lbs 20. wishin4.....................3/26/08..........9/26/08........48 lbs 21. AuntLucy...................3/10/08.........9/26/08........64 lbs 22. nycm00.....................3/24/08.........9/25/08........60lbs. 23. Desdemona................3/19/08........10/03/08........58lbs. :crying:

You can also dissolve a full packet of Knox Gelatin into your broth or clear liquids to get about 10 grams of protein easily into a clear liquid.

That sounds very reasonable to me! It shouldn't be more than a pound or two a week -- I was banded March 17, have lost 34 pounds and I was told that was right on target -- of course everyone is different. As for stretching the pouch, that is something you worry about only if you are vomiting --- otherwise, great job!

I LOVE the recipes/snack ideas over at http://www.hungry-girl.com -- plus they keep track of all the cool new stuff that comes out to help those who are trying to lose weight, not be hungry AND -- get this -- be balanced! (I love the idea of Fiber One Toaster Pastries -- and getting enough fiber in my diet has definitely been a challenge! I had to get a prescription for Miralax a/k/a polyethylene glycol to get things moving again) -- has anyone else discovered that website, too? :w00t: 32 pounds down, 45 more to go to goal!