Indymom

I'm slightly over 9 months out, and losing 1-2 lbs/week with about 1200 calories/75g+ Protein. My carbs have gone up to the 65-80 range and my fat is generally below 50 per day (but sometimes a bit higher). I exercise but not religiously, and I'm very happy with the pace of my weight loss.

I won't sugar-coat it. The first few months SUCK. I was miserable for 2 months until I was able to start eating "real" food. Once I could resume a fairly normal diet (with some restrictions, of course) I felt 100% different.

Very normal when you have a pretty good loss pre-op. Hang in there, it will come off. Just follow your nutritionist's guidelines.

I won't say much about this other than the fact that I think it's a really BAD idea to plicate a failed sleeve. Just do some research on plication and you'll see why.

After 4 weeks I was allowed soft Proteins like canned chicken & tuna, cheese, egg, etc.

I had my surgery on a Wednesday and was back at work the following Tuesday. I worked shorter days for the first few, but I felt fine.

I never tried Unjury unflavored, but I used the Syntrax Nectar unflavored. I mixed it with Decaf coffee, milk and a little splenda. It wasn't great, but it was tolerable. I always found that my Protein in a warm drink went down much better than a cold smoothie.< /p>

I also didn't have to puree my meat. For the first 2 months the nutritionist recommended only canned chicken or tuna, which was fine - I just chewed a lot.

refried Beans with a sprinkle of shredded cheese, and salsa if you can tolerate it. canned chicken or tuna salad (I made mine with mayo and a little dill relish). scrambled egg with shredded cheese.

If you're doing very low-carb it might be a side-effect of ketosis. Not sure if that can occur, but I know that nasty breath and such can happen - wouldn't surprise me if that was the case.

If you're only a month out, you are still on purees/mushies - right? If that's the case, you're not likely getting a full feeling from your food that you're eating - once you start eating dense Protein you likely won't get the hunger as much. Also, like Lissa said reflux can mimic hunger feelings.

A lot of people have already mentioned some of my go-to selections, but I also travel a lot for work and eat on the road.

Fast food:

McDonalds (breakfast) - egg mcmuffin, I eat open-faced removing half the muffin (lunch/dinner) - grilled chicken snack wrap, I only eat a small amount of the tortilla

Wendy's chili

Subway - I get a subway club with lots of veggie toppings, again I eat open-faced removing the top half of the bread.< /p>

Taco Bell - I like the fresco chicken taco but I like to add either cheese or sour cream (they use reduced-fat sour cream) - I typically just eat the insides with little to none of the tortilla. If I'm craving crunch, I get a chicken or beef hard taco and break the taco shell in half, I eat like a tostada.

Qdoba - kids naked chicken or steak burrito with no rice - meat & pinto Beans with salsa verde, pico, shredded cheese and a bit of sour cream. Their recipe builder is great!

Italian - most places allow you to buy a side of meatballs, that's usually good with a small salad (not the best choice but in a pinch, it works). If there's a chicken piccata or other dish that sounds good, I will sometimes do that without the side of Pasta (or I'll just have a few bites of the Pasta and focus on the protein). If you've got bread issues tell them to skip even bringing it to the table, so you can avoid the temptation. I find a small sampling of the bread or breadstick is enough to satisfy my craving and doesn't fill me up to the point that I can't get my Protein in.

Chinese - I avoid anything deep-fried and breaded, and of course I avoid rice. Usually moo goo gai pan or garlic chicken can be a good option, I also like to eat the insides of potstickers/dumplings. Mmm, and hot & sour Soup is great too.

Mexican - I either skip the chips/salsa altogether, or if I'm with other people I count out a small serving ahead of time and set aside so I know my limits. I almost always do fajitas with no tortillas and no rice; I make a little fajita salad on my plate, focusing on primarily the Protein and load it up with salsa/pico.

I love spicy food too - Buffalo Wild Wings has naked tenders that are basically strips of grilled chicken on a stick - dipped in wing sauce - YUM!

If you have "danger" foods, then don't allow yourself to even have them in the house. I've realized that potato chips in nearly every form are one of my trigger foods . . . one of the few things I have to completely avoid. There are many other foods I am able to enjoy in moderation.

Keep high-Protein Snacks around like cheese sticks, deli meat, hard-boiled eggs, etc. I find that if I get a craving for something "bad" or high-carb, if I eat a high-protein snack it fills me up and keeps the cravings at bay. Another good snack, especially if you're still on purees/mushies (which you obviously aren't at this point post-surgery) is the hungry girl buffalo chicken dip. The recipe is in the recipes forum. You can eat it with sliced cucumbers instead of chips/crackers.

I couldn't get all my Protein from food until about 4-5 months out. I just didn't have enough capacity. I didn't like sweet shakes, so I did unflavored protein with Decaf, a little milk and splenda. By about 3 months I was able to just have 1 per day (before that it was 2-3 times a day). I'm so glad to be done with them completely! I can almost always get 75+ grams of protein per day from food only, and generally still stay under 1200 cals AND get a few carbs and veggies here and there too.

I felt pretty good within about 4-5 days - I was walking around the block and doing light housework, etc. Physically my recovery was awesome, but emotionally I was on a roller-coaster for about 6 weeks. I was miserable until I could eat an egg.

The stalls suck. Hang in there and results will happen. Like Wheetsin said, measure instead of weigh yourself, you'll be pleasantly surprised. I wish I would have measured more often.

Early post-op, I found that a lot of the sugar-free products either tasted icky to me, or caused me raging reflux/heartburn (like Powerade Zero and crystal light). I'm not a huge fan of artificial sweetener in general, and since sugar didn't cause me any issues I often would choose the "real thing" with popsicles, etc. That said, it can be a slippery slope, particularly if you had a sugar addiction pre-op (which I didn't).

I always thought the fruit juice bars were delicious and the natural sugars didn't bother me . . . I figured it was better for me than HFCS and aspartame, anyway.

I don't feel like drinking while eating gets me less full faster, personally. I typically find that if I try to take a sip or two while eating (like if I'm eating something spicy and need to get rid of the burn), it is very uncomfortable and feels like the liquid is just pooling on top of my stomach on all that food.

For those of you still on the liquids phase, you'll be pleasantly surprised the first time you eat "real" food (as in dense Protein like chicken, cheese, eggs, etc.). It's so weird to eat 3-4 bites of something and be almost uncomfortably full. Especially for those of us who were "power eaters" in our former lives.

I wasn't given carb restrictions (or calorie/fat restrictions, for that matter) - technically my nutritionist's plan was a strict list of OK'd foods and a certain serving size per meal (based upon the number of months I was post-op).

I've deviated somewhat from their guidelines though I still follow the basic premise. I try to get at least 3-4 oz of dense Protein (cheese, meat or egg) each meal - along with a small serving of veggie or fruit, and sometimes a carb (like a tiny Pasta serving, 1/3 of a baked potato, etc.). In general, at almost 9 months out I'm at about 1200 cals/day, I usually stay below 80 carbs/day and below 50-60 grams of fat/day. I'm hitting my 75g Protein target regularly - without protein supplementation.

I have continued to lose 1-2 lbs/week so I'm OK with where I'm at. I know a lot of other people are more militant about low-carb but that just doesn't work for me, and I'm fine with my loss being a little slower than some others might experience. Ketosis makes me feel icky, and without carbs I feel like I'm "dieting" instead of eating a normal, healthy diet for life. I'm still on track to likely hit 100 lbs lost (and goal!) by the 1-year mark so I figure if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

costco has a similar product by Amylu, they are carmelized onion, gouda and red pepper chicken burgers. They are really good (although I ate so many of them early on that I burned out on them).

My doc and nutritionist first told me "never again" and when I started laughing hysterically, they also laughed and said "ok, 3-6 months." I probably had a few drinks after 3 months and once I hit the 6 month mark, I drink at the same level socially I did prior to surgery. I do notice it hits me a little more quickly but I also sober up more quickly . . . I think my body is metabolizing it differently. I generally either have a few beers (which I love, and just sip slowly because of the carbonation - out of a glass helps) - or vodka and typically crystal light lemonade or diet tonic.

Like others have said, fried food is generally on the 'unapproved' list of foods for most nutritionists. I have found that other than the occasional splurge on chicken wings, or sneaking a few of my daughter's fries . . . fried food makes my stomach upset. It doesn't sit well, the greasiness is heavy and makes for uncomfortable digestion. Therefore, I just avoid most things fried in general.

Spicy food is a different story! I was able to eat spicy after about 4-6 weeks, and it hasn't bothered my stomach at all.

My occasional splurge is a tall nonfat no-whip mocha latte. I don't care for the artificial taste of the skinny mocha so I just do regular. The carbs are awful but it's just an occasional treat.

I only did it twice when I was on liquids.

I'd wait at least a few weeks (if not a month) for the hot & sour. It's one of my favorites but the spicy stuff didn't sit well for me until I was at least a month or two out. Ask your nutritionist if you're not for sure what they recommend.

Chinese is definitely a green-light for post-sleeve eaters. You just need to make sensible choices. Obviously the general tso's chicken with a side of fried rice isn't going to work that great . . . too much breading/starch. I typically get garlic chicken from my local carryout place (chicken isn't breaded, yummy garlic sauce with mushrooms and Water chestnuts). A small order lasts me multiple meals! I'm sure the garlic sauce is not that great for me - but since the chicken isn't fried I enjoy at will. I also like to get potstickers/dumplings and eat the insides dipped in the potsticker sauce. The insides of an egg roll are good too.