italianlady13

assuming makes an ass out of you and me I am not northern italian....and i'm out of this conversation. Good day to you and best of luck with your weighloss.

First of all, the slogan of AA is...."A Day At A time". ....just as this journey is a day at a time. Who said food addiction isn't real? You know what might drive someone over the edge? Nagging them and judging them, that just might do it.....now I'm putting this conversation to rest because fighting with the ignorant is a losing battle....good for you that you are Sicilian....I'm not.

I know you are so tired of it....and you will get so tired of it believe me. However in the long run, you are going to be better off sticking with your broths and jellos. I didn't do the cream Soups because they just tasted nasty to me. I'm not saying dont eat the cream soups. Give them a try. Try a bit of tomato Soup with a dollap of plain greek yougurt. Or how about cheese soup with some mild salsa on top (then strained). I made lentil soup and then pureed it (I love lentils they are not everyone's fav). Try your local lebanese restaurant, they make a lentil soup that is to die for and it's usually pureed.....it's called shortet addas:) pea soup with some sour cream? whatever you do add a lil bit of fat to things. I was eating sugar free chocolate ice cream with Sugar Free Chocolate sauce and fat free sugar free whipped topping (now I can't stand to look at the stuff). it just really depends on what your doc has told you but this is how I was eating and it was like spoon here spoon there. There were alot of dishes in my fridge with a nibble here or there gone from it:) But my family understood!

I didn't get headaches as much as dizzyness and shortness of breath. I think I didn't get alot of headaches because I really kept myself well hydrated. I drank drank drank....and strangely enough it's the one thing I have the hardest thing remembering now....I neglect my drinking now because I often don't have enough time to remember! I love liptons diet ice tea mix. It is decaffeinated, only has 1 carb and five calories. Prior to the surgery I loved my crystal light and sugar free koolaid but after the surgery, with the taste bud change I couldn't hack it and i'm not a big Water fan. So, the best thing for me is to drink this. It tastes good, it's easy just mix in with water and voila I have my iced tea...

I'm on my way to a master's degree in applied psychology. I would like to use this toward counseling people with food addictions/eating disorders. I'm thinking of this from a psychological aspect. I don't believe that setting yourself up for perfection is psychologically healthy, nor is encouraging anyone else to. In my experience the more you tell someone not to do something they will do it (Bobby, the stove is hot don't touch...what does bobby do? He touches the stove!) I don't think a cheeto now and again is going to kill you, especially when you take in far nastier "crud" just by breathing in deeply. I didn't tell her to eat the stuff, I reassure her that her life is not going to change unless she wants to make that change. It is all up to us, what we want to do, how we want to manage. The first few months are the toughest, most challenging time both physiologically and psychologically, the worst thing to tell someone is that they can't do this or they can't do that and they should eat this or they shouldn't eat that. The most important aspect of this surgery is to have a healthy attitude toward food. I agree that taking in good things is very important from a healthy perspective; however you also have to allow room for being human, making mistakes, having a treat now and then and not beating the hell out of yourself for doing so. Food is not our enemy; it can be our friend if we allow it to be. So, instead of lecturing people on chemicals and garbage and what not it's better to encourage people with positivity (not empty positivity) but actual positivity to where they are able to be in a positive frame of mind, therefore when they become emotional food is no longer their go to, which is where the problem stems, not eating a few cheetos once a month. However, thanks for your feedback it was enlightening.

and it's even better left over and dipped in hummus......I could only eat two bites though and i was full:) 5day pouch test is a miracle!

1 lb of ground turkey half red sweet pepper minced half green pepper minced half package of mushrooms minced 1 onion minced three cloves of garlic minced 1/2 cup asiago cheese shredded 1/2 cup mozzerella cheese shredded 1/2 cup provolone cheese shredded 1/2 cup parm cheese shredded 2 eggs beaten salt and pepper to tast Mix all above ingredients in a large bowl. Transfer to a baking pan and bake on high in oven @ 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until done....yummy and good way to get veg during the firm Protein stage ......serve with a side of lentils and it's protein packed! Heck add some lentils into it for extra texture.....(after they have been cooked of course)

Girl you have got to stop beating yourself up! First of all we all fall off the wagon even after the surgery, but you have to remember new day new start. Put it behind you and next time before you reach for those ice cream lovelies just STOP, think and take a walk...get those endorphins flowing and then AFTER the walk see how you feel. Now when I get that feeling I reach for a cup of coffee....which is my new addiction. Before surgery i could not drink the stuff nor stand it and now i like it....go fig! Anyway, before you have the surgery see if you can book a couple of sessions with a therapist. Get some counseing for food addiction and your stress eating. Journal your thoughts, keep a blog vent frustrations without food....I know these are all suggestions you have heard a million times but I can honestly tell you you have to view food as your friend. Not your friend you indulge in but your friend you see in a healthy way. Don't have unreal expectaions about your relationship with food. For example am I going to tell you "dont you ever put that ice cream into your mouth again!!!!!!" No way, you like it you are going to eating again in your life, hands down. However, are you going to have three servings? NO! You're going to have one small helping and feel satisfied in the end that you have had enough to just hit the spot. Am I going to tell you that you are never going to have a day where you stress eat after surgery....no I'm not going to tell you that because you are human. Whatever you do if you have those days, don't beat yourself up, just remember that every new day brings a new beginning:) And don't forget to smile and be HAPPY!

Yayyyyyyyyyy *cheering with glee* good job you go! :D

Maybe he's scared about the surgery itself....sounds like he wants you to try it the good old fashioned way, but doesn't understand how difficult it is for you. Men have a different conception as to what and how we lose weight and just how difficult it is....my husband (and yes we are divorced now) told me he didn't want me to have the surgery because he was afraid of complications he suggested I "just follow the diet you follow post surgery" AS IF that would be possible without feeling like you are starving to death with all they ghrelin running around my stomach.....anyway good luck:) Do the surgery (don't worry about the divorce rates) my divorce was not because of my surgery, it was because my husband was a tool:)

you sound about average or ever so slightly slower....it's not a race honey. Eventually it's going to come off. This surgery doesn't fail unless you are doing something wrong and it sounds like you are doing the right things, although the protein is a little bit earlier than when my doctor said but every doc is different:) Keep up the good work!

not much at this point hun. I know you want to just chew on something....sugar free jello is good, sugar free fudge pops. depending on your doctors instructions. At that point the only thing that gave me relief was low sodium broth....the cream soups didn't do well for me at all. then once I could eat mushies I had ALOT of instant mashed potato....instant because they were much soupier than the real ones. I ate loads of yougurt, refriend beans, hummus....it was a bad time for eating.....I think I walked around the grocery store and cried a few times....they have those single serving cottage cheese with fruit topping I could eat 1/3 of one of those.....I never did the protein shakes because they made me throw up....I hope that helps:)

it WAS awesome I had it for dinner tonight....so moist and tender. I'm doing the five day pouch test and it went so well for the fourth night mmmmmmm delicious! Instead of bread crumb the cheese worked so well as a binder and the egg as well. So yum!

good for you....but you are not everyone....and I won't criticise anyone for choices they make to put things they chose into their body, it's THEIR body and no one can judge....put good job on the encouragement *applause*. I don't feel it necessary to beat anyone up for a food choice.....instead let's encourage each other to take it a day at a time....

You, my friend, are a true foodie! We love our food and don't want to give it up that's why the sleeve is perfect for us. It's just a matter of having a healthy relationship with food. Loving it, caressing it but not smoothering it to death with kisses and hugs

my doctor told me that the sleeve can be resleeved and he has done it. In the event it's stretched it can be resleeved however you can never stretch it out to it's normal size again....does this answer you? Also, he performs sleeve on people who have regained with the gastric bypass....

I don't agree with this comment AT ALL. You can still eat those things but moderately. If those are your treats then those are your TREATS. You can't stay away from food that you love for the rest of your life, it's just not possible and an unrealistic expectation. You can still have Doritos, spicy cheetos etc just not every day and not in large quantity. I would say once a month for a treat is a good expectation. I can't really handle spicy cheetos to be honest and you will be surprised how much your taste buds change after your out for a bit longer. Those foods you used to love you will find you don't love anymore and those foods that you found you didn't like before you might like now....it's very strange. I began craving greek salad with grilled chicken and sliced avocado for like six months after surgery....but never craved my normal go tos and still don't....

yep and my doctor told me to eat chocolate to maintain....who knows! I know that I eat peanut M&M's like their goin' out of style.....I figure that they have protein and a bit of sugar and chocolate so their better than like a snickers or twix but i still get that chocolate fix.....five day pouch test has helped me to kick my daily habit (and i"m not joking it was a daily habit...)

Hi girls I say we all meet up for a coffee and chat....lemme know when you all are available and I will drive on across the border....I have a great little support group in Dubai and we certainly help each other out a lot!!!

www.5daypouchtest.com

first of all I hope you have opted for vertical sleeve and not band.... second, with vst you are NOT leaving your food behind you which is why so many people are happy with this surgery. You can honestly eat whatever you want just in smaller quantities and over the course of time (after your tummy heals and what not). Now, that doesn't mean you can go crazy and eat ANYTHING your lil heart desires BUT you can still enjoy the things you love from time to time. The thing you have to be careful of is understanding "why am I eating right now" and stop yourself. It's a psychological thing. If you are reaching for food when you are sad, stressed, happy whatever whatever and find that you are reaching for food when your emotions are running high then this is unhealthy and the reason you are over eating, but if you are a "foodie" and genuinely love to eat and taste things then you can continue this. If you are an emotional eater then you have to grab a hold of that habit and try to understand why you are doing what you are doing and correct the behaviour by replacing it with something else....like blogging, swimming, running, having a cup of joe whatever as long as it's not over eating. You have to grab a hold of this before you have any surgery otherwise it's not going to work for you, you will find a way to eat through your wls....I have told many of my friends to have a couple sessions of counseling with a therapist before the surgery just to have a good handle on the emotional side of things:)

five day pouch test.....I'm not sure how much it can tighten depending on how much it stretched but I do the pouch test every few months to maintain that level of restriction I like.....as I type I'm on day four

Well, my doc told me to START EATING PRONTO! LOL. he saw me and was super super pleased with my progress but told me ok Maria now it's time to stop losing and begin maintaining so start uping your calorie intake (he even told me to eat chocolate!). He told me any more weight loss and I will look sick. So I think you definately can get too low and as for the body knowing where to stop.....I'm not so sure I believe that because if that were the case then frankly people would not have anorexia or become overweight:) Your body would just "know" when to stop.....I wish we had an internal computer that just told us stop! that would make our life easier and this surgery non existant! I think that as long as your calorie intake is low enough you will continue to lose. Of course your body does get comfortable at a certain weight and once you get to that level of comfort your body will simply slow down but it will continue to lose if your calorie intake and exertion level is high enough....

a friend of mine started eating a bit of chocolate everyday and it kick started her weight loss again...be careful to not be like me and get addicted!