istytehcrawk

Pureed was the WORST stage, by far. Best thing I found for that stage (other than mashed banana) was meatballs pureed with marinara sauce and a little parmesan. Tasted like what's left on your plate after spaghetti.

It isn’t a matter of the carbonated beverage having calories or not. The issue is that the carbonation will stretch the stomach regardless of the calories in the drink. Why risk stretching your stomach when you’ve gone through all this to reduce the size of your stomach??? I didn't say the person SHOULD drink carbonated beverages. I just said they're not necessarily permanently forbidden in all cases, because not all surgeons/nutritionists completely forbid them. Obviously, the best thing for anyone to do is what their OWN doctor says, and that varies WIDELY for many things, from food to drinks to exercise.

That's not necessarily true, because it varies depending on the program. My surgeon allows diet soda and sparkling water as long as they're super low-calorie and my stomach tolerates them (which it does).

Ditto that. The wontons themselves freeze well, too (and thaw quickly on the counter), so I like to have at least two packages in the freezer at all times.

I haven't tried freezing them, but I think the lasagnas would be fine. Not so sure that the pizza would hold up, because they fall apart pretty easily.

Went to put a new package of banana Premier Protein shakes (bought not quite a week ago) into the fridge tonight and noticed one of them was really swollen and smelled funky, even closed. Had a feeling it was bad, so opened it up to dump it in the sink, only to find the contents were almost completely solid and reeked to high heaven. Poured some bleach down the sink after it and it STILL reeks. This is the first time I've had that happen, so I'm sure it's just a fluke of the container not being sealed properly or something, but it's about enough to make me dread opening the rest of them (even though none of them are swollen). And no, it wasn't anywhere close to expiring -- they're good until May 2019.

Oh, I also really like these crustless Hawaiian pizza bites: https://www.ellaclaireinspired.com/no-crust-pizza-bites/

The wonton lasagnas are the BEST. I use this recipe as a base but make my own sauce (with ground turkey) and use Greek yogurt-based cream cheese instead of ricotta (which I don't like). http://traceysculinaryadventures.com/2013/03/muffin-tin-mini-lasagnas.html I've made them several times; here's a post with more detail: https://www.bariatricpal.com/profile/332142-istytehcrawk/?status=406246&type=status

I've bought a few things, mostly at Goodwill or on clearance for just a few bucks. I also have some items that are hand-me-downs from friends/family members, including a couple who have also had bariatric surgery.

Stats first: HW 427.4 (Jan. 2) SW: 413 (Feb. 15) Last week: 353 Today: 347.4 So down 5.6 since last week, 65.6 since surgery and an even 80 since my high weight in January! Talk about a jump! Not sure what caused it, because this week I experimented with adding in pasta and bread (no issues with either!), so I fully expected my weight to either stay the same or go up a little. Not that I'm complaining! (Except for about my hair loss -- I'm always complaining about that!) This week I hit the 17-week mark (Thursday) and the four-month mark (Friday). Since surgery, I'm averaging a loss of 3.86 pounds per week and 16.4 per month. IF I can stick to those averages permanently (which I know isn't realistic for a variety of reasons), I would hit my goal weight of 165 in mid-May to early June 2019 (which would be AMAZING as my own tentative/admittedly kind of lofty goal is to hit goal weight by 18 months from surgery, which would be Aug. 15, 2019.

So far (almost four months out), the only thing I've found that consistently gives me trouble is Mexican-style spices, even if it's super-mild (I don't like much spicy stuff anyway). My stomach has not liked that any time I've tried it. I get the slimes every time, even from just a bite or two. Otherwise, so far I haven't had problems, at least not consistently (and since it's not consistent, I'm more apt to think it's because I ate too fast or didn't chew well enough or something, rather than the food itself). I haven't tried soft/fluffy breads/biscuits/rolls yet (other than one tiny bite), but I've eaten toast and tortillas and such. I don't dump on natural sugars for the most part, as long as I don't consume "huge" amounts, so I don't drink a full serving of juice in one sitting (I'll either water it down or spread it out over a couple hours). I try to avoid added sugars over 5-10 grams, depending on the product (more lenient with yogurt than with some unhealthy treat, for example).

Stats first: HW 427.4 (Jan. 2) SW: 413 (Feb. 15) Last week: 353.2 Today: 353 Another crap-tastic week, blah. Hair falling out rapidly but so far isn't noticeable visibly (amazingly, considering how thin my hair already was). Fingers crossed it stays that way. I was down to 350 the other day but am back up to 353 today; trying not to get too frustrated with it. Getting sick of most foods I eat, which is annoying. I'm a fairly picky eater, so my choices are already somewhat limited by that, let alone by what my stomach will tolerate and what I'm not tired of eating.

I don't know if it's related to surgery directly or just because I wasn't happy with how I was before, but I've been making an effort to be as authentic as possible and not give a **** what people think about my habits/opinions/decisions.

When I went to my introductory seminar for my current program (in St. Louis) I was surprised when one of the speakers said that Missouri residents who had their insurance through the Marketplace (Obamacare) wouldn't be able to have their surgery covered by their insurance. Luckily, I live in Illinois, so mine was covered, even though it is through the Marketplace. I felt bad for those from Missouri who were hoping to have surgery and hearing that, though!

I didn't need one, though there were a couple days (ONLY a couple) that I wished I had, but I managed without. Wouldn't have wanted to spend the $$$ on something I'd only use a couple times unless I felt I REALLY needed it.

I had part of a container of light Greek yogurt (don't remember what flavor) and part of a banana mashed up. The banana was especially delicious!

I've never flown, so I don't know what does/doesn't count as a liquid for airplane purposes (or, of course, what fits with your individual nutrition plan), but some ideas: sugar-free pudding snack packs individual unsweetened applesauce packets/cups nut butter packets bananas no sugar added fruit cups

Stats first: HW 427.4 (Jan. 2) SW: 413 (Feb. 15) Last week: 353 Today: 353.2 So, up 0.2 since last week, but down 58.8 since surgery and 74.2 overall. That 0.2 pounds is probably just a glitch, because I'm due for a "bad" week after having two decent ones in a row. Hair loss is ongoing and annoying. Boobs are shrinking, which is even MORE annoying. I have faith the hair will come back. The boobs, not so much. Not much else to report.

I understand the concern about IUDs, but why are you against the implants? I've had one for going on three years (will get it replaced in August) and it's been a godsend. No periods (other than at first, while my body was getting used to it) and no hassle.

Grrr, it won't let me edit that post, so sorry for the ghost post! What I was TRYING to say is that I just noticed the other day that my seatbelt is looser and my stomach isn't as close to the steering wheel anymore!

MIne started a couple weeks ago. I bought a Biotin and Collagen shampoo from Target and got some hair/skin/nails vitamins, so hopefully I can minimize the damage, as my hair was already thin to start with.