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Quinoa is delicious! I love it. My favorite recipe is meatless stuffed peppers. Quinoa Stuffed Peppers (Serving = 1/4 recipe) Ancient Harvest Quinoa's recipe for Traditional Quinoa Stuffed Peppers. Minutes to Cook: 30 Number of Servings: 4 Ingredients 1 c. Quinoa 2 c. Water 4 large or 6 med Green Peppers (tops & seeds removed) 1 medium Onion, diced 1/2 lbs. fresh Mushrooms, sliced 2 Tbsp. Butter 1 - 28 oz can Tomatoes, diced, reserve juice 2 cloves Garlic, crushed 1 - 12 oz jar Mexican Salsa 2 Tbsp. Dry Sherry 10 oz Mozzarella cheese, shredded Directions Preheat oven to 325-degrees. Cook quinoa per package directions. Steam peppers until soft but not limp. In large skillet, saute onion and mushrooms in butter. Add tomatoes (reserve the juice). Add garlic and salsa. Cook over medium heat for 10 min. Add sherry and simmer 10 min. Fold in quinoa. Place peppers in baking dish and fill with quinoa mixture. Thin remainder of mixture with reserved juice and pour around peppers. Sprinkle shredded mozzarella over peppers and bake in 325-degree oven for 30 - 35 minutes. Number of Servings: 4

Well here I am. Another Saturday night and I haven't even gotten dressed today. Not sick, just lazy. Couldn't figure out a reason to bother getting dressed. Have not made an entry in a month. Not much has happened except I did get to see my sister for the first time in about 3 years and I know it may be at least that long before I see her again. She lives in China, you see. Doing what I'm not quite sure, but she seems happy. The way my life goes, who knows if I will ever see her again. Also stayed at son's house for the first time in 4 years and the visit went well. DIL got a little snockered, but at least everything was cool. Hubby is the same. Still complaining about his hernias, but even more so. I still hear it so often, I find myself tuning him out. I know the time is nearing when he will have to give in and have the surgery. I dread that day. He is a pain when he is sick and I know that the surgery is going to be difficult. So the recovery is going to be long and difficult, Double difficult cause he is such a drama king. And he has not given up the cigarettes, so I know that will be a problem. As long as he remembers that I have committed to doing two wedding cakes in March. As far as the diet goes, I have not been good. I have been cheating with M&M's. A lot of M&M's. They are like an addiction. Like crack. I'm sneaking around eating them so hubby won't find out. I sneak bags in in my purse to refill the bag on the shelf so he won't know. Have not been good at my Curves attendance either. Am having a hard time getting motivated to even leave the house. Gotta get my mind back in order. I know that my going to Curves not only makes me exercise, it gets me away from him for a while. That should be enough motivation right there. Well, that's enough for now. Will update later.

I went to have my first fill with DR Nottle. When I was called in the room it wasn't DrNottle but some other Technician I have never seen..he tried to fill it but couldn't find the port. He told me that the first time was always the hardest and it would get better in time. After 5 trys and alot of pain later he gave up and called dR Nottle in telling him he couldn't put the needle into the port. Then DrNottle tried and after about 10 try's and swapping a big needle to an ever bigger one he had no luck!! He told me that this happens and that he would need to do it via xray. I went to get it done with the xray and he still had no luck. He was baffled and told me this was very rare and that they almost always have luck with the xray. I had heaps of questions and by the time the nurse bandaged me up he was gone!! He quickly spoke to my fiancee saying that he would get his receptionist to arrange for me to see him as he is going to have to cut me open and see what is wrong. I am so scared..I don't know what is going on, I feel like I am left high and dry with no answers. His receoptionst didn't get back to me so we had to chase them up..When we finally got through she told me that it could be a faulty band and that we had to spend a further $1100 to get it fixed and god knows how much if it is really a faulty band!! We already paid over 12k and there are still more bills coming from the hospital, anethisist!! I just can't believe this..I didn't think that I would have to go through all this stress!! It's even more stressfull when your own doctor won't tell you what is going on, we had to find out through his receptionist!! Sorry for rambling on..I just needed to vent!!

Thanks!!!! I'm pushing to lose 28lbs by the end of the year. Then ill have 10 to my goal of 190

I am on a time crunch but I need to get a journal entry so I can start logging what is going on. I am 2 weeks or so away from surgery. I am scared! I just called the Dr. today to see if my insurance approved the surgery and they have. I think I was half thinking htat I would be denied. Next Monday is Pre-op appt then the following Monday is surgery. I feel conflicted. I am definitely not feeling 100% like I want to do this and I am wondering if this is normal. Of course I am afraid to ask that question at the MD office for fear that they will say "Nope, you aren't ready" and cancel my appt. Am I nuts???? I think I am questioning because since I was told that I had to lose 10 pounds and I have joined Weight Watchers (for the 100th time), I have managed to loae about 17 pounds. I have been going to the gym 5 or 6 days a week and I feel wonderful. There is that little thought that, wow, maybe I can do this myself. But then I look at my history and I am always gung ho for about 3 months or so then I lose steam. Typical diet failure. The other thing is, I plan to continue my WW meetings becauseI find them so supportive. ANother thing I never had before. This particular meeting is thebest I have ever attended and every week I feel really pumped to do my best. Anyway, if I continue to go to WW, am I a fraud??? I have not told anyone about my plans and do not intend to. I willbe weighing in with my friend that doesn't know about my plans to have surgery, and I will basically be lying to her every week. It seems so deceitful. I just know how anti-surgery she is and I don't want to tell her. I don't know what to think. On a side note, I had a good workout today-50 minutes elliptical. I need to do my weights at some point since I did not have time at the gym today (dentist appt). Got a root canal today-lucky me. I made another appt for next week and I actually scheduled it around my workout. Whoever thought that would be a priority! haha.

Wt this morning 227.4 - Scale is moving REAL slow. Yes, today marks 1 month away from my band surgery. Its exactly 31 days until banded date. Yay. I have to say also, I MADE IT TO THE GYM last night. Thats right, I got off my ASS and exercised. I did 20 min on the elliptical machine, and then 10 min on the treadmill. I know its only 30 minutes, but I felt good and I will continue doing a minimum of 30 min. of exercise EVERYDAY until banding date. I'm getting my body in shape for surgery.

Wt this morning 227.4 - Scale is moving REAL slow. Yes, today marks 1 month away from my band surgery. Its exactly 31 days until banded date. Yay. I have to say also, I MADE IT TO THE GYM last night. Thats right, I got off my ASS and exercised. I did 20 min on the elliptical machine, and then 10 min on the treadmill. I know its only 30 minutes, but I felt good and I will continue doing a minimum of 30 min. of exercise EVERYDAY until banding date. I'm getting my body in shape for surgery.

wow, we had the same situation, I was banded 10/7 and on 10/13 they had to remove alll 3 ccs because I was swollen and the band was too tight too soon. I'm much better now, I go for my first fill on 11/17....can't wait to get the restriction back......get well soon

I just posted this on another topic but I will pste it below cause I think you guys might be interested. Free shipping for this service too. ---- Sadly pre-op and still in a 24 myself - but there's this online ladies clothes service that might not be a bad idea to sign up for. (I'm definitely signing up after surgery) www.gwynniebee.com. Super cute clothes from size 10-32. It's like netflix for clothes. Pay a monthly fee, make a list of the clothes you want, and send back the clothes when you are done. As soon as you send something back, they send the next thing on your list. it's pretty fantastic if you need a few nice outfits, then you can supplement with goodwill etc. I mean look at this dress! or this one! and this adorable blouse! They even have free dry cleaning included. This whole thing is genius. If you love something you get and don't want to part with it, you can buy it from them for 50% off retail!! And you get a free trial month I've already started my wish list. "Sizes 10-32. Unlimited wardrobe. Unlimited exchanges. Starting at $35 a month. Try it free for 30 days."

I am very slow at losing the weight also. Doc says slow and steady is the best way to go, I am totally sticking to the program, and my sleeve prevents me from overeating. As other people on this forum say, it will happen, you will catch up, even if it takes a year. I am trusting in the process, I really thought I would be at least 10 more lbs ahead by now, but I am not. The surgeon did his part, I am doing mine and that's all we can do, good luck.

Yes it happened to me too. All thoughts led to my upcoming surgery. Once I had the surgery and got back to work (I stayed home for only 10 days!) the obsession seemed to subside. Now I actually sometimes forget I had the surgery! Unless of course I eat too fast or don't chew enough...then I get reminded real quick!

GOOD LUCK ON YOUR JOURNEY! Take a LOT of pictures...it is my only regret. I took about 10 and it wasn't enough. You will want many showing yourself in different outfits (including a bathing suit) and many different angles to really see the difference.

My number one recommendation for beginners is 1) get a 4 quart crock pot, crock pot liners(found in the aluminum foil aisle of stores) and check out allrecipes.com crock pot recipe section 2) Get a George Foreman grill (I have the GF 360), get the one with removable plates for easier, effortless clean up The easiest recipes for the GFG are meats marinated in either a dry rub, or Italian dressing. I use Italian dressing A LOT for chicken breasts. I slice the chicken breast (boneless skinless) into strips like chicken tenders, toss it in a big gallon size ziploc baggy with italian dressing, let it marinade for up to 24 hours. Heat up the GF grill, slap the chicken on the grill, cook for 7-8 minutes, remove and VOILA super moist, easy to eat, tender chicken. I make kabobs with red/green pepper chunks, red potato chunks, beef sausage links and chicken breast chunks. I marinade the peppers, chicken and sausage in the Robusto Italian dressing my WishBone. Take 3-4 size B red potatoes and quarter them, rinse, and fill a microwave safe bowl with Water, microwave for 8 minutes until the potatoes are semi-soft. I skewer the meat, peppers and potatoes on bamboo skewers, and cook them on the GFG for 8-10 minutes rotating once during that time to ensure even cooking. You can use any veggie you like squash and zucchini hold up in the marinade mix as do mushrooms, I just do not like any of those, but will make them for my family occasionally. Ground beef/turkey recipes are super easy depending on your taste, and again, I highly recommend allrecipes.com for recipe searching. I've posted several easy to make recipes that are more sleeve friendly that I've prepared for my family in the "food"/recipe section of the forum. With the crock pot recipes, you can toss everything in, FROZEN chicken breast work great and the meat doesn't turn to absolute mush, set it on low for 8-10 hours and when y'all get home, throw a side dish together, and your dinner is ready in less than 10-20 minutes. I buy a lot of the Green Giant Steamables like the broccoli with cheese sauce, and the mixed veggies with rosemary butter sauce are staples in my home. Any of the recipes that you find that call for sour cream, substitute non-fat plain flavored Greek yogurt, you cut carbs, increase Protein, and it doesn't change the taste of the recipe. Greek yogurt actually makes things more creamy in my opinion. If you like barbque, get a small 2-4lbs roast (pork or beef) work well. Trim all the visible fat from the roast, toss it in the crock pot with barbque sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, a little worchestershire sauce, set the crock pot on low for 8-10 hours, the fat that cooks out of the meat will be on top, strain it off with a ladle, pull the roast out of the crock pot and shred it with 2 forks, then toss it back in the crock pot to mix with the sauce. Any leftovers can be frozen for up to 6 months in a freezer bag, and up to one year in a vacuum sealed, freezer bag. I go through probably 20 cans of various creamy Soups per month. I buy all the reduced fat/reduced sodium soups, and these make great gravies, and makes meat super tender.

Sleeved on 3/19, very discouraged, weight up five pounds from presurgery and I'm following doctor's orders. Help!

3/20 sleeve here as well. Doing fine. Protein shakes/shots (what a fab idea with the sno cone thing!), couple of tablespoons of yogurt or chicken salad. Of course sf pudding, popsicles, jello. And my saving grace - BROTH. I hated that Swanson stuff in a box - blech. So I use Wegmans Spicy Thai Broth mixed half and half with broth packets - and yes, there is a lot of salt. Small price for me right now for the satisfying taste and relaxed tummy. Down #10 pre-op, #15 post. Only worry is no BM yet. Guess I'm heading out to get some Mirilax. Can't wait. :/

After procrastinating for 6 weeks, I've finally established a routine that I think I can stick with. The coach at my school told me I should see results with it. I hope he knows what he's talking about. I use the weight machines in the school gym for 15 minutes during my free period. I hope to get up to 30, but I'm nowhere near strong enough yet. At home, I ride my recumbent bike for 20-30 minutes After that, I do a short kettlebell workout for 5-10 minutes.

I have about 200lbs to lose and lost 10lbs in 10 days post op. He was happy, I was happy. If he poo pooed that, I would have been crushed and felt like a complete failure. But I did everything asked of me. Everyone loses at their own pace. Don’t let the pace take you down. That loss is still a loss. A loss is a win. If you carry around a gallon of milk for a week and put it down and walk away, you will finally feel the weight off of you. But if you take 2 cups a day out of it, it doesn't feel that dramatic. Sent from my SM-G930P using the BariatricPal App

I had surgery on 10/12. I had a little pain the first few days that got better. So I stopped taking all pain meds. Now yesterday my main incision area is killing me when I go to move. I'm sure this is normal but frankly need someone to tell me that. Sorry to sound so needy just tired of this feeling and tired of sleeping on my back already. Thank you!!!!

So after meeting with nutritionist a few time these past 5 months i have not lose a thing but gained 10 lbs. Ugh has anyone experienced this and did it effect your eligibility from insurance? Sent from my SM-N910P using BariatricPal mobile app

Seminar 12/16 Dr. Tischler's appt 12/27 Bloodwork 12/30 Upper GI series 01/03 Cardiology 01/09 Psychologist 01/09 Nutritionist #1 appt 01/10 Sleep Study 01/11 2nd nutritional appt 2/7

Hiya I was banded March 19, 2010, I am 27 years old, so i am out of college but If you still need a buddy let me know:) I started at 302lb , I am around 225 lbs now.

So far I haven't had any plastic surgerys. I don't know if I will. My insurance is not wanting to pay for anything, and I don't know if it's worth it to me to pay cash. If I do fix anything it would be my arms. The rest doesn't look too bad. Yes, it could be tighter... But I am 52 yr old... Some sagging is acceptable at that age, right? As to why I have been successful when others aren't... I don't know. I was scared at first that I wouldn't be. It was alot easier than I thought it would be to be honest. I think it was a mind set thing. The first couple of times I overrate and ended up with the chest pain followed by needing to "throw up or die" it was so awful that I finally found the point where one more bite is going to take me to that place, and I stopped eating. Sometimes I could eat enough to not look ridiculous... at other times I might be 3 or 4 bites into a meal, and that was all I could comfortably eat. Around Chridtmas last year I had to go get all the Fluid removed because something was going on, and I was at the point where I couldn't even drink Water without having to throw up. I was actually 20 lbs below my goal and looking pretty bad (yes, you can be too skinny). When they let it out there was 4 cc in it. I went back a month later when I had gained back 10 lb and had them put in 1/2 cc and that's there I have been. I still don't eat alot. I don't snack, and I don't try to get around it by eating things that are easier to pack in. I still have difficulty eating meat, and have made an effort to get Protein shakes whenever possible. I had a friend who did it, and she barely lost any weight. I can say everytime I saw her she was "grazing". My advice is not to do that. Some people think that you "have to eat" a certain amount to be healthy. No, you don't. It's that kind of thinking that got you where you ate, and it will keep you there too if you let it. The only thing I "graze" on is sunflower seeds (the ones in the shell) I have heard that you expend as much energy shelling them as they supply in calories. I don't know about that... But it takes me all day to eat a bag... and keeps me satisfied. My Dr. Is thrilled too. He had tried to talk me into a bypass at first because he was afraid I wouldn't be able to lose enough... But I did.

I have a 5 and a 6 yr old. My son walked in the house the day I got home from the hospital and asked me was I still fat. I was like what! And he repeated it so with my quick reflexes I asked him was he still fat. He's a joker so he says yes. But it took me about 10 min to calm down and I talk to him and apologized but I also let him know how rude he was. I'm staying with my mother in law so I have lots of help but my husband has surgery on his ankle on Tues so we will both be cripple. Love my mother in law.

When I was on liquid and soft food I mostly ate: Protein shakes, protein pudding, liquid beverage concentrate with protein, protein Soup, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, refried Beans, tuna, soft fish (like salmon and tilapia), melted cheese on everything!, etc. I tried to make sure almost everything had protein but also had no sugar added diced peaches, pears, and applesauce, as well as V8, and soft vegetables like green beans and squash. For protein shakes I like: Premier Protein, GNC Lean 25, ProtiDiet liquid beverage concentrates, and Syntrax nectar. My surgeon said that there is no physical reason someone couldn't drink 3 premier protein shakes (90 grams protein) the day after surgery, so I just committed to getting it all in even if that meant not going to sleep until I had reached my goal. If your protein goal is 60-80 grams, I would recommend working very hard to get in at least 80 grams every day. I think you will feel better and it will help with healing and weight loss. Plan out meals and Snacks of no more than 20-25 grams of protein each time for the day. Keep in mind that early out those meals and snacks may sort of run together because you are going to be sipping and eating something all day. Plus, the more you can include protein in your fluids, the easier it will be to reach both your protein and 64 oz Fluid goals. Good luck and just keep working at it. And make sure you record everything because if you are like me, I can't remember what I ate or drank 10 minutes ago!

Hey guys, sorry it's been way too long, but I'm checking in. Feeling great!!!! But..... just wait around for 10 minutes and I might bite off your head!!!!!! So, mood swings have been going for the last few days, I'm not a scientist or doctor but I pretty sure I know why they are happening. Other then the swings and sometimes lack of energy, it's been so much better than I originally thought it might be. I've been slowly been getting more active again, taking long walks and can't wait for my 1st post-op visit. I'm still on liquids(anything that goes through a strainer) and will be until my 1st visit. I'm guessing I will remain on liquids until mid-September, but who knows. I really feel like I'm recovering at a fast pace, but not going to take any chances. We all work so so hard to get to this point and I know the cost. I really hope everyone is doing great post-op and off to a great start! Can't wait to post my 1st before and after photos too!