Escape_Pod

If I'm in the mood for something sweet I like mine with cranberry sauce, but I suspect low sugar jam would have the same effect. I also like it savory blended with tuna. In fact, I have a casserole recipe that's tuna, spinach, cottage cheese, mustard, some herbs and swiss cheese.

You're on! This morning's weight: 152.3 (boo! - I hate it when the scale does that, I suspect it's a bit of water retention from higher salt intake). Anybody else want to join our challenge?

You go Ms Skinniness! I'll race ya to the finish line!

I don't know about you, but I find there are foods I can simply drop, and foods I need to find a substitute for. I have a real love for popcorn, but it's a trigger food for me, I can't eat a reasonable amount and it leads to more snacking on other things. I found that soy crisps are salty and have much the same texture and give me a bit of protein. They're still a bit high in carbs for my targets, so I try not to eat them too much, but most of the time they'll keep me away from the popcorn. If I want something salty, the seaweed snacks will often do it for me too. I also have always had a MASSIVE weakness for anything chocolate and peanut butter. Peanut butter's practically dangerous for me to have in the house. I'm making the switch though to Atkins PB Cups, or the new Quest Cravings PB cups. Now, nobody would mistake them for a Reeses in real life, so it's not exactly a party for my taste buds, but I'd bet that if I stick with it long enough they'll make me perfectly happy and the Reeses will be too sweet for me. You can do this too! Look how far you've come, you can totally smash through those last 7 pounds. Hope the Glutamine helps!

I'm DETERMINED to get to goal this year, which means dragging my butt kicking and screaming back on track. I've been dinking around for 9 months without making any progress, and it's ALL my fault. If I'd stayed on track, I'm pretty convinced I would have been at goal last MARCH. My binge eating habit reared its ugly head, the carbs crept back in, and my 5 pound bounce range turned into 10, and by Christmas I was 20 (ouch!) pounds above my lowest weight. But I'm here this morning to shout out a WOOHOO! I've been back on track for 10 days now, eating right, and getting my exercise in again, and I've dropped 11 of those pounds. I know most of them were water retention - I see some serious carb bloating when I indulge in chocolate or popcorn. But, I'm celebrating anyway, and I'm determined to keep up the momentum. This is gonna be my year. I've got a bunch of cute (short, or at least short for me!) skirts I'm going to be fitting into again this Spring, and I'm determined to get to shout out GOAL. I feel like I'm finally making progress working on my sugar / carb addiction, and I really want to get back to running this Spring. I've been in physical therapy since November with what I thought was a minor neck issue, but turns out to be pretty major alignment problem, so I haven't run in a couple of months, but I know I'll get back to it this year. My two year surgiversary is the end of June, and I have eleven pounds to go. I can totally do this! Wish me luck?

Ashley, The main one I'm taking is L-Glutamine. It's an amino acid that some people find helps with carb cravings, and I find it reduces my appetite overall as well, and it's good for post-workout muscle recovery too! Take a look at any of Maria Emmerich's books on nutrition and supplements, or The Diet Cure by Julia Ross for more info, or send me a message.

I'm sure life has been stressful, and it's extra hard being home all day with food and not enough to keep you busy, but you can get back on track. Here are my suggestions: (1) Spend some time really thinking about why you had the surgery, your goal weight, and the benefits of being there. Really focus on what you're trying to achieve. (2) When you eat, focus on dense proteins to combat hunger. Meat or fish rather than yogurt or protein shakes. Really pay attention to your food when you're eating. Add veggies if you need to feel more full. (3) Figure out how to get carbs out of your diet, they only make you hungrier and slow down your weight loss. Eliminate what you can, and look for substitutes for the things that are hardest to give up. (4) Track your food and exercise and weight using something like MyFitnessPal - it can help you focus on what you're trying to achieve (5) When you're done with a meal, set a timer and make yourself wait before you start drinking, and don't have anything else to eat until you've gotten your water in. I really find a timer helps me postpone eating and get back into a good routine and cut snacking. If you're struggling, chew gum, or give yourself a task to do for the next 20 minutes, anything to delay the urge. (6) Set some small, achievable, measurable goals, like getting at least 75 grams of protein in every day this week, or walking at least 20 minutes every day this week. Every goal you succeed at builds your confidence that you can do this, that you can get back on track. (7) If you find yourself snacking when you're not hungry, find another way to comfort yourself. Listen to some music you enjoy, or get out and get some fresh air, or play with the dog, or whatever makes you happy. You can do this! I got to within 5 pounds of goal and got sloppy with my eating and have spent the past 9 months bouncing within an ever-larger range. But this is going to be my year. I've found a supplement that helps me with appetite, I've gotten the carbs back out of my diet, I'm back on track with exercise, and my head back in the game. I WILL get to goal, and you can too!

AWESOME - you should be so proud! You're looking fabulous!

I think you'll also find that some days you have more restriction than others, and foods will be fine one day but not so much another day. I know for me, if I'm eating or drinking too quickly that can make me queasy, especially on a "tight sleeve" day, so you might try being extra conscious of eating SLOWLY, drinking SLOWLY, and switching to easier-to-digest items. I had a hard time with string cheese very early out for some reason.

Yeah, I know you can add protein powder to sf pudding mix, but I try to keep my carbs really low, so between the milk and the carbs in the mix, that's a no-no for me. I've been ordering an instant protein pudding mix that works with almond milk, but it's expensive, and kind of a hassle to make. So.... necessity is the mother of invention, right? Here's my recipe. You may need to tweak a bit depending on your protein powder and how it behaves. I found I needed more corn starch to get Click to thicken than Unjury. 1 scoop (or one serving) protein powder - flavor of choice 1/2 cup almond milk (I'd expect any milk would work) - blend together really well. I warm the milk slightly and then use a whisk. 1 tsp. corn starch, mixed with about 1/2 - 1 tsp liquid (water or almond milk) into a paste, then well blended into the protein powder mixture with a whisk. Add any extras (a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder to make it extra chocolatey, or some pb2 for a chocolate-pb flavor ... use your imagination) Microwave until thickened (most protein powders begin to solidify when heated to above 140 degrees, some more so than others, and the corn starch needs heat to thicken up as well) Chill, and enjoy (or heck, if you're weird like me, eat it warm!) When I made this with Unjury chocolate protein, just heating it in the microwave got it to pudding texture. With the Click mocha, I used close to 2 tsp corn starch, cooked it far longer and it still didn't thicken, but it turned into pudding in the fridge. I'm looking forward to experimenting with other protein powders - cherry .... banana ... peanut butter .....

This is very common - a lot of us have trouble with plain water for awhile after surgery. You may have an easier time with water if you add a little Crystal Light or Mio or other flavoring to it - it changes the consistency of the water just a tiny bit and makes it go down easier. I hated artificial sweeteners, but I found just adding a little bit was enough to help.

If you like PB2, you might try peanut flour, particularly for recipes - same concept, usually a stronger peanut flavor.

I vote for Quest bars as well - the apple pie one is wonderful, warmed for a few seconds in the microwave. With a squirt of sugar free whipped cream it's a decadent dessert I can feel great about! I also like that they don't melt or crumble, so they're a good choice when I'm on a long strenuous hike. I've ordered them through Amazon or GNC.com a couple of times but I don't recommend it - I've gotten some stale boxes, and then they REALLY need to be microwaved! My local GNC has started carrying them as well, which I really appreciate. Has anyone tried the new banana nut flavor?

For the longest time I couldn't really manage plain water - adding some Crystal Light or Mio or something changes the viscosity just enough that it goes down easier for some reason. Still, guzzling was definitely out, which was a definite challenge during an intense workout! But I got used to it, and you will too! Now, I can drink water much faster, and plain water goes down pretty well, but if I take too big a gulp it's still uncomfortable.

100 pounds lost! Running 30 minutes - that's awesome! It's so easy to forget to appreciate how far we've come when we're not satisfied with where we're at, but sometimes you have to work at the gratitude. Dig out those before photos and look at how far you've come! Pull out an old pair of pants and try them on for size. Spend some time thinking about what life was like before the surgery. I second the suggestion that you find a 5K to run if you can. It honestly doesn't matter how long it takes you to finish, just getting out there with your race number and feeling the energy of the crowd is a blast, and you'll quickly discover you're not the slowest of the bunch. I think you ROCK! It's gonna be a great year!

Hey, you're in my neck of the woods! Man, I've always wanted to try snowshoeing. Are you with an organized group, or just out on your own? I could never figure out how you know where the heck the trail is in the snow!

My theory is that some surgeons are more cautious than others, so they keep their patients on a slower diet progression. Personally, since I'm the one that could end up with complications if things don't go well, I appreciate the cautious approach. Same reason I appreciated having a surgeon who did more pre-op tests. If you're a slower healer, and you don't tolerate the progression to soft foods well, you could end up heaving it back up, and just envision what that's putting your stomach through right after major surgery! The post-op diet is hard, but guess what - maintenance is hard too. Changing your life is hard Developing all new habits is hard. Sticking to them so you keep the weight off is hard. Time to get used to it....

Try adding sugar free syrup (like they use in coffee shops) to plain greek yogurt, or blending with a fruity protein powder. I was on a kick for awhile of greek yogurt and cherry or banana protein powder. Way lower in carbs and sugar than the flavored varieties.

You can get single-packs of Click too if you want to try it. I think it makes great frappuccinos - I blend with almond milk and ice, and sometimes some sugar free mocha syrup. I haven't tried the new Chike coffee flavor yet, but I like their other flavors.

How about a peanut butter protein shake? I add PB2 (dehydrated, defatted peanut butter) or peanut flour (like PB2 but stronger peanut flavor) to a vanilla or chocolate shake. I have a hard time having real peanut butter in the house, so I look for alternatives. Peanut Butter PowerCrunch protein bars, or Peanut Butter Quest protein bars work for me sometimes, but I have to be a little careful with those too. For me, it's all about figuring out what I have to learn to live without (because some things I can't manage moderation with), and what I can find substitutes for.

The first few days of low-carb are really rough because you're in withdrawal, and that made me pretty loopy - lots of headaches, hard to focus or think, distracted, STARVING, grouchy, the works. It got better after the first few days, and the more protein I could squeeze in the better. I also found blending an Atkins shake with ice cubes increased the volume, and made it both more palatable and more satisfying. Part of it was mental, it just seemed like more, part of it was surely all the air in my tummy, but hey, it worked :-) Also, lots of tea and other warm beverages got me past cravings. I like the sugar free instant cider (but watch the carbs!), and I also make a sugar free "russian tea" kind of thing - crystal light orange, sugar free instant lemon / tea combo, plus cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.

You may still be really swollen inside from the surgery, which is why things are coming back up again. Take the smallest sips you can, and wait in between. Be sure to thin soups or thicker beverages and take it extra slow with those. And I wouldn't try to progress to pureed foods until liquids are going better for you. It will get better soon just hang in there! You mentioned you tried unjury, have you tried their chicken broth flavor? I drank a lot of that in the early post-op days. It probably took me an hour or more to get down a whole cup, so having a mug warmer to keep it warm really helps. Be careful not to heat it too much though, you're aiming for warm, not hot. Too hot and the protein will thicken into blobs. You might try the unflavored added to broth, or very thin creamy soups (I liked cream of potato, but you'd probably have trouble with that unless you get it really thin!)

I start every day with Protein hot cocoa, but you do have to watch the temp and warm it up slowly. I warm a cup of unsweetened almond milk in the microwave, add a scoop of chocolate Protein Powder and 2T unsweetened cocoa and a dash of salt (cuts the artificial sweetener flavor), and mix very well with a whisk. Sometimes I thin it a bit with some hot Water, or microwave it a few seconds longer to warm it up, but it will thicken a lot if you get it too hot - the protein "firms" up (like cooking an egg). You can actually use this tendency to cook to your advantage - there are a lot of recipes "out there" for protein "cake" or "muffins" or even "cookies" made with protein powder and often eggs, other liquids, sweetener, etc. cooked in a minute or two in the microwave. Some flavors of protein powder are really good added to plain greek yogurt - I like the nectar twisted cherry this way. Or, blend with almond milk and ice cubes to make a kind of soft serve ice cream. I've always been told the best protein is whey protein isolate - it's best digested by your body so you get the most benefit from it, but it's also the most expensive, so for cheaper brands you'll often find a blend of whey protein isolate and whey protein concentrate.

Some people apparently find Chromium works better for them than Glutamine - I haven't tried it. I definitely need a combination of strategies. Keeping the carbs in my food low is key, Glutamine helps me fight the cravings I still get, and I have to work on stress relievers and avoiding other food triggers. There's no single magic wand, but with enough weapons at my disposal I know I can win this!

It seems like shakes are very much a matter of personal taste. What kind of flavors do you like / hate? I found early on that the "chocolate" protein powders really didn't taste like chocolate at all. I start with Unjury chocolate, add a little salt to cut the artificial sweet taste, add a little unsweetened cocoa powder to boost the chocolate flavor, and mix with warm almond milk or water for a "hot cocoa" effect. You can do variations like mint, almond, and raspberry hot cocoa by adding a little sf syrup. If I want something more tart, I'll blend a fruity Nectar flavor like cherry or something like Chike banana in with some plain greek yogurt. If I want a coffee flavor, I like the Click mocha protein. If you can't stand the sweet, could you tolerate something like the unjury chicken soup flavor as a lunch time broth? I think until you find something you like, your best bet is to order from places that will sell you sample sizes. I think Unjury still sells single-serving packets. You can order a variety pack of Nectar from BJs Bariatrics or Vitalady.com. I think Chike will sell single packets too.