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I've never had an Atkins meal, I guess I should try one some time! Isn't it GREAT to be able to throw something away??!!! Before surgery, I'd have made myself finsih whatever I was eating, come hell or high Water. There is no way I'd want to 'waste' food, after all, there are people starving, right??!!! Now though, my new attitude is this, Whether I eat it or put it in the garbage disposal, it's going to the same place eventually. It makes tossing something, much easier!!!!

You should follow your physician's instructions, but I think ALL of them say no drinking while eating your meal. Like you, I couldn't imagine that, I even practiced for weeks prior to surgery to get use to it. Now days, it's my 'norm'. If I have a drink on the table while I'm eating, it's ONLY for looks! All doctor's seem to be different, mine says I can drink up until the time I eat, and then I must wait 30 minutes after I finish before drinking anything. It's really not that difficult. The couple of times I tried to take a sip while eating, it is not comfortable. The reason is without water or iced tea to wash it down, the food will stay in your tummy longer, therefore you stay full longer. I use water and tea as an example because that is what I always had and what I drink up until I start eating.

In June I'll be three years post op, I am still surprised at how quickly I can drop a few pounds. I'm still below Dr. D's goal of 150, but I hoover (sp?) around 147, just a couple of pounds above MY personal goal. A few days ago I thought, I'm going to alter my calories just a little and see what happens. I almost always keep a food log, but I've been especially dedicated this week. I've gone up and down a little, which is normal for me, but this morning I got up and weighed 145.7. Whoooo whooo! I normally need 1200 - 1300 to maintain, I have been closer to eating 1300, maybe a little over, since Christmas and my weight has creeped up a few lbs, one time I was 151, and that totally was NOT OK!!!!! LoL This week I cut it back to 1100 - 1150. I do not feel deprived at all, I basically cut out a snack. Yesterday though, my protein was a little over 95 grams and total calories were 1034. Wow....and it feels as though I grazed all day but I kept track!! The cincher was dinner. I'd planned on making a chicken rice a roni casserole. I use Greek yogurt in it, half lite sour cream and half yogurt. It's topped with 2% cheddar.....it's not horrible, and I eat less than 3/4 a cup....but, there are still more calories than I really wanted. When I was at the grocery store I stumbled across a package of cooked, tail on shrimp in the meat dept. It looked sooooo good, it was half price because it had to be sold by today. I snatched it up and steamed it for dinner. Nothing else, cocktail sauce and shrimp. I made 6.5 oz but could only eat 4 oz at dinner. I saved the rest and THAT was a snack later on. That put me way over the top for protein. I am sure this helped with getting me down a pound from yesterday morning. (Yes, I weigh every single morning......for almost three years now!! I just wanted to share this......it is still pretty simple to lose a few pounds just by making a few good choices, NOT a diet, just a choice!!!! A half cup of cottage cheese for breakfast with about a quarter cup of pineapple 'tidbits'. Breakfast of champions!!!

You're welcome and thank you!! You are correct, do not compare yourself and YOUR journey, to anybody else's. I lost 23 lbs prior to surgery, weighing 205 the day of surgery. I reached my doctor's goal, (150) just a few days short of 5 months, so my weight loss was almost exactly what yours is so far. I never felt I was losing slowly, I felt sure it would be forever. We had approx. 85% of our tummies removed. I cannot imagine HOW we could gain ALL of it back without trying to do so!!! You can drink your calories with milk shakes, cokes, alcohol. I guess if we were to do all that and rather than eat Protein like we should, we were to eat chips and Twinkies.....it could be bad. I weigh daily, and if I put on a few lbs, I nip it in the bud. Taking a few lbs off takes nothing but cutting out a snack and maybe eat a little less at a meal or maybe eat the can of tuna, which is 1/2 cup, rather than half the can with 10 mini Club Crackers. It's really that easy.

I had TWO goals prior to surgery. Lose weight and don't lose hair!!! I accomplished both!! I started taking Biotin, whatever the max amount is.....three months prior to surgery and I still take it several times a week. I never had hair loss.

Oh my gosh, I was hoping you'd be close to that area. Any day you want to meet for coffee, I'm game. Do you know where that Star Bucks is that I'm talking about on McDermott? I think it's right across from Home Depot.

I sure will. If you're in Allen, you probably aren't far from where I am. Sometimes I grocery shop at the Market Street there on Bethany or the Kroger on McDermott. We like the Star Bucks there on McDermott too, we can almost always get a table!! We live off Hedgecoxe about three blocks. One side of Hedgecoxe is Plano, the other side is Allen.

What area are you in? What direction? I found two that are so much closer to me since we moved to NE Plano. We're closer to Frisco, Allen and even McKinney, than we are to the middle of Plano!! Anyway, I found two different support groups here in Plano. I think I'll try one or both and see which I like. One meets once a month, the other meets bi-monthly.

It's been almost three years, but I think I could start eating oatmeal when I went to soft food, the same week I could add a scrambled egg. I'd guess, without looking at my 'bariatric Bible' - it was week three. I don't eat them often, but I just looked and 1 serving is 5 gr of protein, not quite what an egg has, but almost! I'm making some now, will be good on a chilly Dallas morning!!! ** I think everyone should adhere to what THEIR doctor says **

When I got to goal we discovered by accident, from a chatty waitress, that we could order the cheddar biscuits without the cheese and without brushing them with butter. Wow!! It's a win/win because they are fresh, hot, just out of the oven when they are 'special' ordered. It takes about ten minutes to get them, but well worth the wait. Now when we are there, I'll literally PICK at one.....and savor every bite!! We do the same thing with bread sticks at Olive Garden, order without the butter and they are just as good, and the freshest ever!!!!

Thank you Determined Girl!!! I use fitday.com to log my food. I like to keep track of calories and Protein. It's harder to do when you eat out, but many restaurants have the nutritional stuff on line. I plan my meals, but not like some people. My daughter plans a week of meals on Sunday....I don't know where she got that!!! I'll start thinking about dinner right about now, it crosses my mind. For instance, I have "go to meals".....I buy a large pkg of boneless, skinless chicken breasts. They are always sooooo big and we're not huge on leftover baked or grilled chicken. I'll cut them in half, because he doesn't need 8 or 9 oz of meat either!! Mine ended up weighing 2 oz after cooking and my DH's was double that. Perfect, and is probably what is REALLY normal portions! I use 98% fat free Cream of Chicken and 98% fat free Cream of Mushroom Soups as 'gravy'. I used S &P to season and put the meat in a can of Cream of Mushroom, diluted with almost a can of Water. I baked it like that, it makes it soft, easy to eat and I made mashed potatoes, so gravy for that is nice too. This is something I did prior to surgery....not something new except the amount I make. Before, I would bake TWO breasts, one for each of us!!!! OMG Anyway, I ate my 2 oz, about 1/8th cup of potatoes, total amount of 'gravy' was about 1/4 cup. I had 1/8th cup of 1% cottage cheese and the same amount of peas. I use a smaller plate most times now days and my plate was full and so was I. I hope this helps you in some way!!! You can ask me anything!

Hi Noura - at this point, there is nothing I feel I cannot eat. I CHOOSE not to eat some things and I never, ever drink soft drinks. That is the only off limit thing in my life. The difference now is I do not mindlessly eat, not normally....now days I am aware of everything I put into my mouth. There is a huge difference. There ARE a couple of things that get me if I'm not careful. Rice and Pasta, I still cannot eat a lot of these two things but they are soft, so if we are at Bucca di Beppo or Olive Garden, I need to get a box to go when they bring dinner to the table, or I need to literally divide what I am going to eat and what I am going to take home. It can sneak up on you. If you haven't heard the term, 'One bite too many'. It is the truth, one bite can make all the difference in the world. The most recent thing that happened was when I got chicken fried rice at a local Thai restaurant. I like this place because although there isn't a lot to choose from on the children's menu, they will let me order from it. Sadly, the amount is what EVERYONE should be served, but that's a whole other story. I always eat all the chicken and some of the rice. Well, this night I ate all the chicken and a couple bites too much of the rice. I was miserable. When I eat too much, I have to spit, I know, that sounds weird and gross, maybe some call it foaming, but it's that feeling you get just prior to throwing up, except I don't throw up, just a lot of salivia. I had to lay the seat down on the way home and opened the car door and DID spit several times before we made it home. I know better, I have to pay more attention. Other than that, I am just careful of the amount. Weighing and measuring at home, and putting aside what I am going to eat/take home, when we are out!! I hope this helps!

I just read this post again! Congrats and welcome to the losing side!! I just wanted to say something, maybe I should start a whole new thread....but, you are wondering if you will ever be able to eat a little more normal. I can't eat more than a cup of food at one time, usually not that much and God willing, this will be the way it is for the rest of my life. As you heal you will be able to eat more. When I got to where I was allowed to add eggs to my diet, I could not finish an entire large egg. Now I can eat two. Nothing else, just two eggs, but still, I feel like this is a lot. It is not, with our new restriction, after we heal and get to where I am....THIS is normal, my new normal. If we'll all look back to a year prior to surgery, THAT AMOUNT WAS NOT NORMAL!!!! I feel like I am finally eating like a normally thin person. I am pretty sure that when we can sit and eat and entire platter of Mexican food, in addition to a basket of chips....that is over the top. It was OUR normal, but not good.

We got into the habit of telling the server to have them not brush (whatever) with butter, prior to my surgery!! My husband had a stent put in and we changed the way we ate quite a bit the, a little over a year before I got sleeved. It's pretty much habit now, for both of us. You'd be surprised how often they do this and how good the food is WITHOUT it!! We went to Uncle Julio's (TexMex) several months ago. The friends we were with got fajitas, we hadn't been to this place in years and had never gotten the fajitas. Anyway, imagine our surprise when they brought it sizzling to the table and there was a big, mellon scoop of butter melting on top of the meat!! YUCK!!!! Just the thought sounds bad, but seeing it made it even worse!! Now we know!!

Mexican food ANYWHERE IN TEXAS!!!! East to west, north to south and everywhere in between. We've cornered the market on Mexican food, AKA TexMex round these parts!

I've stumbled upon a new snack that is really good. I know that we were told to try and stick to things (food or drink) that is 10 or less of sugar. This qualifies. Quaker Chewy Peanut Butter chocolate Chip granola bars. (on the box it says 25% less sugar) 1 bar is: 100 calories 5 grams sugar 3 grams fat 2 grams of Protein It says 'Our Quaker Chewy Bars are made with 8 grams of whole grain rolled oats, rice & wheat' They're really good, not something I'd recommend for protein, but much less sugar than some of the choices out there.

It's normal to go up and down several times before shedding the lb or two for good, then on the the next lb or two. From folks at my support group who are further out than me.....they said it was what they did too. I was very strict with what I ate, and I didn't eat anything sweet, fried.....nothing I shouldn't when I was losing, and still, this is how I lost, it was normal for me. If you're doing what you should, you will see the scale moving like it should, enjoy the ride, you'll be surprised when you look back a year from now!

At almost 3 years out it SEEMS as though I can eat a lot, but in reality, compared to pre-op, it is not. I absolutely still have great restriction. I CAN eat a lot more than I could a year ago or 18 months ago.....and compared to right after surgery, there is no comparison, of course right after surgery I could only eat part of an egg when I got to the 'egg' stage!!! LOL Now I can eat two eggs. Depending on what it is, I can eat a cup of food, or almost. Normally, more like 2/3 cup. I was told by my dietitian that they don't ever want me eating more than a cup. I can't imagine that happening, at least I hope not. I never feel deprived, with this surgery I feel like I AM IN CONTROL, whereas before, I didn't have a lot of self control. I CHOOSE to not eat something, I.E. when I go to the movie, the popcorn smells soooooo good, but I get through the lobby and into the theatre and I'm fine. I usually take a couple of graham crackers or something to snack on. Sometimes I take nothing. At dinner I can eat 3.5 oz of meat, maybe only 3, and an eighth of a cup of mashed potatoes if I happen to make them. A couple of bites of a veggie and I always try and have cottage cheese on hand, 1% and will eat an eighth cup of that.

Oh, that's too bad, I'm sorry!!! You'll find one closer, I'm sure of it. There are many to choose from. We moved to NE Plano from Valley Ranch, I still drove to Forest Park, but I googled and found several in or around Irving. Good luck!!!

You know what Kenny Rogers said oh-so-long ago: Sometimes you gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away and know when to run. Run girl, run!! I think it's time.

I carry GNC's Stevia with me at all times.....and have a box in my truck to refill my Sucrets box. I love it, in coffee, tea, on cereal....I tried Truvia and a couple of others but couldn't find one that I liked as well as I did Sweet 'N Low, and due to migraines, I needed to stop the Sweet 'N Low.

Oh, you'd love it. It's nice to see other people and hear their stories. People further out are great sources for information and YOU can be helpful to 'newbies'!!! I plan on going to the one at Forest Park Medical Center this coming Wed. You should come! If you are interested, let me know and I'll forward you the email from the dietitian. Everyone is welcome, not just patients that had surgery at this hospital. We just bought a house in Plano in Nov. I may try to find something closer to us and attend it as well as the one at Forest Park!!!

I think it's because we are less self conscious and feel so much better about ourselves. I was 50 when I had surgery, by week two I was ready to get after it. Sex has always been good, but now....WOW. We've been married 34 years this July, and it has never been better!!!!

Hi Lightening Bug - You're going on one year now, how are you doing? I'm just now finding this thread! I live in NE Plano and had surgery at Forest Park back in June 2010. Going on three years now. Dr. Davidson did my surgery as well. Do you attend the support groups? I have missed since Oct., but normally I like to go every month. The next one is Wed., I PLAN on going!!! I love my sleeve and find that maintenence is pretty easy. I still weigh and measure my food when we're at home and I weigh every day. Dr. D said it's easier to lose a few pounds rather than eight or ten if you only weigh every few weeks or once a month. Absolutely!! Anyway.....I hope all is well with you!! Can't wait to hear.

How's everybody doing since surgery? If you attend a support group, which one and do you like it?