Newbie looking for Oct sleevers!

[***** 155]

@@stephh, where you goin with all those steps?! Jk! Thank you so much for the post!

[downsizingdebs 61]

Great job Stephh!!! My steps are soooo low today. I had my second surgery in less than a month. I had a nerve block for my arm since they were operating on my finger I broke and they gave me twilight anesthesia. I will be so glad when the nerve block wears off because my arm is hanging lifeless with no sensation in a sling until it wears off LOL.

[chellede 352]

@@stephh I got the ability today. So tomorrow I go to the gym

@ - I have an iPhone 6 and it monitors my walking and the health app and my fitness pal all talk to each other. If I log into MFP it will take I walked so far and earned so many calories. As far as devices. I'm waiting for the apple watch with the heart rate monitor. That will go great with my iPhone. Just my preference

[stephh 634]

Woot woot, Apple Watch!!! I'm in love with the Apple health app, too! I love the emergency section haha.

[rmspencer 79]

I can't get my iPhone6 health app working which is annoying b/c I did want it syncing with my up24 and MFP

[***** 155]

Thank you all for commenting about this. I've recently read these two articles below from one of my favorite tech sites. I'm really a nerd at heart!

http://www.theverge.com/2014/8/14/6001153/the-best-fitness-tracker-you-can-buy

http://www.theverge.com/2014/10/29/7118533/microsoft-health-band-hub-for-fitness-data

[AgentShepard 88]

Hi October sleevers, another newbie joining in. I was sleeved on 10/17 and am anxiously counting the hours until I get to graduate from full liquids to purees on Thursday. Mostly because I've been living primarily off of yogurt and Protein shakes (most Soups aren't high enough in Protein and I end up only eating them on days when I'm over my Protein goal) and I'm really looking forward to more savory stuff - dinner that tastes like dinner! Also, alas, I thought Protein Shakes were fine pre-surgery but I'm really sensitive to the smell now and have to get creative to mask it.

I start back to work tomorrow, teleworking for a few days and then back to the office next week. I'm a little nervous about it because my stamina still isn't the best, but hopefully they will understand if I start drooping midway through the day. The hardest part will be providing myself with enough of the right kind of foods to keep me going - I'm thinking of looking for some shelf-stable milk boxes I can keep at my desk for emergencies along with pre-measured Protein shake powders, plus some of those squeezable fruit puree pouches in case I let my blood sugar get too low and need a little quick energy.

Some really useful things I've discovered so far:

Dannon Light and Fit Greek yogurt - 80 calories, sugar free, 12 grams of protein in a 5.5 oz serving. Plus I think they are quite tasty.

sugar free coffee syrups (by Torani, DaVinci, Monin, etc.) - a tablespoon of one of these can add a great flavor boost. Sometimes I add unflavored protein to a yogurt, pudding, oatmeal, etc., and then add a complementary Syrup to help mask the protein flavor. They can also help make a Protein Shake better. Don't add too much, though; in large quantities they can have a chemically flavor. Note that these aren't like the extracts you use in baking - they also contain sweetener, so if you are using them take that into account.

PB2 peanut flour (powdered peanut) - another flavor addition for protein stuff that also adds some extra protein, though it works best if you blend the shake. (Using a Blender Bottle or similar, some grit will settle to the bottom of the cup.)

When I got to full liquids I bought a ton of Soups and sugar free puddings. but I haven't eaten many at all - I can only eat so much in a day and usually I end up going with a higher protein shake or yogurt. Maybe now that I'm going back to work I'll have more time to get my protein in and therefore a bit more flexibility...

Weight loss has been going well so far. I lost more in the nearly four weeks since surgery than I did in the four months prior, which is encouraging! I'm at the halfway point in what I call the "healing" diet - my surgeon doesn't put you on regular food until 8 weeks - and I'm really anxious to stop having to blend everything! At least starting this week I'll be able to share some meals with the family again - I'm going through our standard meals and trying to figure out which ones are puree-able. I'm thinking that things with sauces are going to be my best bet... maybe a pot roast in the crock pot, that sort of thing, and then I could just puree up a few portions for myself. We'll see how it goes!

[Peekboo 472]

Agent

Looks like you have it all worked out :-) the pot roast and crock pot ideas are great. I did a lot of stewed chicken in my puree stage. I was sleeved on 7 October. I was just cleared for a pretty much reg diet. My surgeon perfers you wait to have breads, potatoes of any kind,pasta, basically, junk carbs until you get to four months! Yikes! I do plan on having a little sweet potato at Thanksgiving :-)

[AgentShepard 88]

Thanks Peekboo! Thanksgiving is actually going to be my first day on soft foods... fortunately we always go for Thanksgiving to the house of one of my best friends who had gastric bypass 10 years ago, so she totally understands my needs. Hopefully I'll be able to have a bite or two of Thanksgiving casseroles in addition to my finely-minced turkey.

[shmeyers 240]

I made the egg face ricotta bake tonight for dinner. I don't know if I ate too much or if it is just really filling but I am so full I feel sick. I have been pacing around but it is not helping much.

[***** 155]

@@shmeyers, give it an hour or two.

[Kathy812 794]

@@AgentShepard, welcome to our group! You & I were sleeved the same day! I am on softs now & will graduate to all foods next Sunday 11/22.

During softs, I did puree pot roast w/ a few carrots, rotisserie chicken w/a little ck. broth, also Beans w/cheese,a little guacamole or plain greek yogurt.

You have lost an amazing amount of weight! Great work!

[AgentShepard 88]

Thanks Kathy! The one compensation of starting out really big is that at least you lose fast in the beginning, LOL.

I actually did some pureed turkey breast last night - it looked gross but tasted good! I did 3oz of turkey and pureed it with gravy... I could only finish half, plus about 2 oz of mushed sweet potato and a bite of mashed potato, but it was nice to feel like I was eating a proper dinner. I have had so much yogurt and Protein shakes in the last month I feel like I'm going to turn into a cow! I also did some pureed tuna salad for lunch. Again, looks nasty (my mom called it "tuna slop") but it's so nice to have some different, savory tastes at last!

I want to try that ricotta bake. Those who have made it - I have a set of little 1-cup ramekins that I'm thinking of using to bake single servings. How many cups does that recipe make?

[10 28 2014 45]

I made it last night with 1 cup of ricotta and divided into 4 Gladware 1/2 cup containers. Very yummy!!!

[stephh 634]

Just wanted to share these... It's been one month since my surgery today! I'm down 26.0 as of this morning =)