kittyforet

Ok, so today I chose to try 2 new things and so far BOTH of them were HORRIBLE!!! How do I make Greek yogurt taste better? I bought the Kraft brand of plain and added 1 tsp of sugar free vanilla syrup to it; still tastes bad to me....added granola, still yuck. Added 1 packet sugar, nada.... Any suggestions??? I hate to feel like I am throwing away food but if this is how greek yogurt is supposed to taste, I'd rather eat regular (I really don't care for it either but like it better than greek!)......I only bought 2 small containers of it. thanks!

Thanks everyone for the ideas. I've gotten some of the dannon okios with fruit and it's not too bad. But i will try some of the suggestions and see how it goes. I also added about a tablespoon of granola cereal to my yogurt and that helped. Tomorrow I will add some frozen berries and see how that goes. While I didn't love the taste, it did help me go way over on my protein count yesterday, so that was really good!! It helped me stay full between breakfast protein drink and lunch!! Thanks!!

Thanks everyone for the ideas. I've gotten some of the dannon okios with fruit and it's not too bad. But i will try some of the suggestions and see how it goes. I also added about a tablespoon of granola cereal to my yogurt and that helped. Tomorrow I will add some frozen berries and see how that goes. While I didn't love the taste, it did help me go way over on my protein count yesterday, so that was really good!! It helped me stay full between breakfast protein drink and lunch!! Thanks!!

It IS an addicting song!!! Evrytime I see your status I start singing it!!! LOL

I agree with all of the comments already mentioned!! It has been hard for me to give up my daily can of coke and my sugar-free gum, but I don't want to take any chances!!! My nutritionist also said NO straws!! UGH!!! Without straws I tend to wear my drink on my chest!!! LOL Now I have to get used to small sips and careful not to spill. ( I know some people are allowed to use straws if they bite the end of it first to eliminate the air) I was told I could TRY a soda, IF I let it go flat first to eliminate the carbonation....well, to me, that sounds HORRIBLE!!! I am very picky about my coke and drinking it flat does not appeal to me! Gross!!! (I have a friend that is banded and has no problems drinking Dr Pepper, but her list of foods she can eat are pretty small....I'd rather be able to eat than drink a soda!) I use the little Listerine brand of dissolvable breath strips now in place of gum....not as good, but it will help with the funky breath! I like the cinnamon ones. I also have some of the Listerine breath spray but don't use that as much. I've also found that I want to brush my teeth more, especially after the pre-op diet!! For the Protein, again find a few you REALLY like, as you will probably need them for a while. I'm almost 6 weeks post-op and have one daily to make sure I get all my protein. I personally like both the vanilla and chocolate flavor powders from The Ideal Chocolate Milk Diet. Very tasty (to me anyway!) I printed off a lot of Protein shake recipes and really haven't used any of them....now I just add sugar free flavored syrup or the little bottles of flavorings to my chocolate or vanilla when I need a change. But mostly I am a chocolate (or vanilla) milk-tasting kind of girl. Plain jane. You might have to give up bread...I am just now able to start adding toasted THIN bread occasionally to my diet, but don't have much of a fill yet....and I don't want to get back to being Mrs. Bairds white-bread addicted, so I try to avoid it, as I have a feeling with my next fill I might experience more restriction, and then won't be able to handle any bread at all. Good luck!!! The people on this site give great advice and are always willing to share what they've experienced!!

Hi Shirley. I think for now only the iphone can do the scanner thing......that's what I have and I use that feature a lot!!! Now if only all restaurants across the country had that feature on their menus online, it would be PERFECT!!!! I wouldn't have to rely on someone else's info!!

Hi Katied. I got my first fill almost 2 weeks ago and up to 3.4 cc in the band, still no restriction. Hoping it will come soon though!! I go for my next fill August 15. In the meantime I am measuring and weighing my food and trying to eat as much Protein as possible...so far I haven't found anything that doesn't go down and stay down....I've eaten small amounts of skinny spaghetti noodles, macaroni noodles, thin toasted bread, white rice, but trying hard not to have any of those!! Gotta start eating more veggies, which I hate!! Good luck!!! I'm going to go read your blog!!

My nutritionist said to check out the special K cereal bars, that they would be good....I haven't tried them yet though. Looked yummy. I bought the Sample Bag from bariatric pantry.com and so far none of them wowed me enough to want to buy more, but the bag came with at least a dozen different bars and I've only tried maybe half. I paid about $15 for the bag, so it was a pretty good price to try them out. Let us know if you find one.

WOO HOO!!! YAY Shirley!!! Congrats on the loss!!!

I make my tuna and chicken salad the same way: Can or pouch of chicken or tuna Hard boiled eggs Dab of mustard 1 wedge laughing cow light cheese (in place of mayo) Salt and pepper or other seasonings Sometimes I add dill pickle relish or chopped apples

Ok so I can tolerate white rice so far but wanting to try to eat healthier when I have rice and pasta. I bought some store brand instant whole grain brown rice and a rice-a-roni brand of whole grain brown rice and after they both were finished cooking, the rice was still kinda crunchy. I followed the directions on both and it still tastes weird. Is that normal? Is that how brown rice is supposed to taste??? Not really sure I like the taste!!!

Well I've done the Class twice now, with the go-ahead from the doctors office. It was fun until I realized how full my bladder was! Lol. The instructor is great and makes it lots of fun and I don't feel like I'm exercising!! But I'm sad that it will end in a few weeks! All the local gyms that offer aqua zumba classes only offer them during the day when I'm at work. I have a heated pool in my backyard so maybe I can learn the moves and keep it up once I go back to work. Dang I'm not ready to go back!!

Hey luna02525. I will add you, unless you've already added me To make your diary public, go to settings, then look for diary settings...then find the box that lets you choose to allow your friends to see your diary. The default is private.

I'm on MFP too. You can friend me and look at my diary, but keep in mind that a few of the days I had way too many carbs and/or fat. My username there and here is the same. kittyforet I am 4 weeks post-op yesterday and now cleared to eat "regular" food!

I noticed you changed the picture!! Super cute!! And yes, AWESOME on the weight loss! Determinate....Lemonade Mouth??? :rolleyes:

I LOVE The update!!! It is really cool to be able to use the package UPC to get the nutrition info!! I am addicted to scanning the barcode!! Add me on MFP, my name is the same as it is here. kristi

YAY SHIRLEY!!!! Congrats!!! I can't wait to experience that!!!!

I guess we are supposed to only wear flowered mumus......no, thanks! (And not meaning to offend anyone that happens to wear a mumu!!) They look like they might be comfy but not quite my style! and it KILLS me to see NON-plus size models showing off plus size clothes!!! Hello, plus-size clothing makers, show PLUS-SIZE MODELS wearing them!!! You're not fooling anyone!!

Been there, done that! It is stupid how they are set up!! And it seems like Target especially doesn't know what a real size 18 is!!! Their 18 is more like a 14!! Vent away!! Must have been designed by a skinny person!

A city pool near me is offering the class for 5 weeks, twice a week for an hour each for $50.....I think I'm going to check it out on Monday! I'm 4 weeks post-op on Monday, and that's when the first class starts....is that too soon???? I'm not very coordinated though!!!

crash878905, I was banded June 20 and had to banish the bathroom scale....the first few days post-op I was weighing myself more than twice a day and was going insane!!! I would gain a little here, lose a little there, gain a lot more there, etc. Finally instituted "WEIGH IN WEDNESDAY"....I ONLY weigh on Wednesday morning, right after I wake up and go to the restroom, before I shower or get my morning Water. Consistency is key!! Weigh yourself once a week or once every 2 weeks, and with the same consistencies...what you're wearing, time of day, etc. Or just wait and weigh at the doctor's office, but if it's going to be a while before you go back, that might not be the best option. I go for my first post-op visit on Monday and am anxious to see what their scale says...as much as I'd like to lose more right now, I know that since I have no Fluid in my band, that may not happen until I have 1 or more fills. Hang in there!! Do not stress over gain or loss right now...focus on healing or you will drive yourself crazy!!

Time2BHealthy, I got the margarita and strawberry daquiri flavors of the sugar free on-the-go packets at Target, and they are the Target brand Market Pantry. They have 5 calories per serving. They also have a recipe on the back to create the alcholic version...for 1 drink it calls for 2 oz. light rum. They are right next to the Crystal Light packets....maybe even CL has those same flavors? I just know that when I bought mine I got 6 different flavors and each box was almost $1.00 cheaper than the CL, so I went with store brand over name brand!!! They even have some more "exotic" flavors like strawberry dragonfruit and blackberry that sound more like the flavored SOBE waters.....Right now I have 10 different flavors of the packets in my pantry; have yet to try them all, but I am working on it!!! kristi

Bobrocky, If the broth is clear and you can see through it, it should be fine for your Clear liquids stage. I have the chicken soup flavor of unjury and it's clear and somewhat tasty (think Cup 'OSoup flavor). For the clear liquids stage though you may want to strain the herbs just in case, but should be ok for full liquids and mushy stage. good luck!!

Sherrypep, My surgery was on a Monday and by Thursday I was driving myself to get a pedicure, getting the oil changed, and checking books out at the library.....once you are off pain meds, you can slowly resume normal activities, but no heavy lifting and no intense exercise. I am walking more and more each day, but not ready to do anything more strenuous than that! I am a teacher too (high school) and the day after surgery I went to my vice-principals' father's funeral (I had another teacher drive me!)....I was ok once standing, but getting up from a sitting position was hard!! I had virtually no trouble after the first few days. The first few days when you stand up it feels like your insides are falling out of your incisions. MOST people are ok to go back after 1 week; however if you are up and down alot at work (elementary teacher) you may need more time. I'd wait and see how you do after the first few days. To me, this surgery was a breeze compared to my gall bladder removal...for that I did have to take a few extra days off teaching. But for lap-band, easy peasy. If I were working now (Thankful for summers!!) I would have been able to go back after a day or so, as long as I took it easy. I only took the pain meds the day of surgery, so once that was out of my system, I was then legal to drive....(I would rather be in pain than take that nasty stuff!!!) I sure wish we started closer to the 31st!!! We start August 22, but my class is a vocational program that the students have to come the first 2 weeks of August, then a week of Professional Development, then first day is August 22.....ugh I'm so not ready to go back!!! Still have so much to do that I put off!!! Good luck!!! kristi

I sometimes use milk that I freeze in ice cube trays....makes it thicker... plus the other day I didn't have 8 oz. milk left but was able to use the 5 oz. I did have and add 5 frozen milk cubes to it and it was perfect!!