Indymom

Just voted - good luck!

I make homemade meatballs with lean ground beef . . . I find that the fat content is nearly as low as the turkey meatballs (so many of them are made with dark meat that tends to be a little higher in fat). They are a great meal though!

Most of us had this surgery because we had issues controlling our impulses to overeat - whether the bad foods that you have listed above or just too much of any foods. I have allowed myself some of these foods in moderation - luckily I don't want to eat too much of any sweets - too rich for my sleeve. chips tend to be too greasy for me, and I was never a milk drinker, so I definitely don't have the desire for whole, full-fat milk.

Hotdogs make me sick since surgery - too high in fat and generally too greasy. Chicken sausage might be OK but you may want to take it out of the casing and either puree it or chew it very, very well.

You'll get mixed responses to this question. My nutritionist didn't have any guidelines relative to low or no-carb . . . but many others do stick to a very low-carb diet. I find that I have to stay low-carb simply because I don't have room to eat many carbs once I get my protein & veggies in, but I'm not sure whether or not it impacts my weight loss one way or the other.

I generally make a breakfast scramble of canadian bacon or turkey sausage, southwestern egg beaters, sliced mushroom, diced tomato, and 2% shredded cheddar cheese. Lots of protein and it fills me up for the entire morning!

I had some very emotional moments early out. I got so tired of the monotony of mushy/pureed, bland foods and Protein shakes. It wasn't that I necessarily craved anything "bad" - I just wanted something with some flavor and texture! Looking back, it really did pass quickly - but it certainly didn't feel that way at the time. Hang in there!

I don't think my nutrition guide specifically referenced seeds, but I wasn't cleared for most fruits until 3 months (which included strawberries). Probably not a bad idea to wait a bit, seeds could get lodged in your healing staple line and cause infection.

I am 7 months out and am about 30 lbs from goal. I started at around 265 and my goal is 150. I'm hoping to be at goal by the end of May but I think that might be a little aggressive . . . we'll see!

I think I was up to about 3 oz at 4 months out . . . now I can eat 5-6 oz total at about 7 months out (depending on how dense my protein is). It still doesn't look like much food. When I go out to eat with people (like work clients that don't know about my surgery), I usually order a salad with grilled chicken on it. I can usually eat most of the chicken and some of the veggies, and I just push the rest of it around until we're done. It works pretty well!

I am 7 months out. A normal day for me looks like this: B ~ 1/4 cup egg beaters, sliced mushroom, tomato, 1/2 oz shredded cheddar cheese (scrambled together) L ~ 2-3 oz lunchmeat or chicken (or other protein), sliced veggies like cucumber or tomato, 1 oz reduced-fat cheese or a wedge of laughing cow light swiss (sometimes with a few multi-seed crackers) D ~ 2-3 oz Protein of some sort (chicken, meatballs, beef, etc.); small salad with balsamic viniagrette; small serving of carbs (1/3 of a baked potato with light sour cream, small serving of Pasta, etc.) Snacks ~ sometimes a small portion of buffalo chicken dip with 3-4 tortilla chips; veggies; cheese/crackers Today I had a hangover and went to Denny's with the husband - I had a slice of ham, an egg over medium, and about half of 1 pancake. YUM. I was stuffed but it was SO good!! I generally don't "crave" carbs unless I have a hangover (and that's not very frequent) so I typically do pretty well with fairly low-carb dieting. This isn't necessarily because I feel I lose faster with less carbs, but I just find there's not room for carbs once I get my protein and veggies in. I feel like I eat a fairly normal diet and my portions aren't so small anymore that people look at me weird. Early out I would bring my tiny little servings of food in my itty bitty tupperware and the girls at work would crack up, but now nobody bats an eye.

I used unflavored protein in decaf with a little milk and splenda (you could use stevia too). You could buy a small bag of it at GNC to see if you can tolerate it. There are lots of other ways to mix the unflavored - you can still taste the protein a bit, but I tolerated it much better than the sweet flavors.

These rock. I ate them all the time once I was cleared for chicken . . . I actually have gotten tired of them because I was eating them so much, but they are great protein and taste wonderful.

I agree that the Syntrax sample pack is a good option. I'm not sure if there are 'brick & mortar' stores where you can buy it, but I know you can order from BJ's Bariatrics: http://www.bjsbariatrics.com/ They have online ordering available (I'm lucky that their storefront is in my town, so I was able to go in there and browse when I was still doing Protein supplements). I liked the roadside lemonade mixed with a little lemonade crystal light and Water. I also liked the cappucino flavor mixed with decaf (but it was pretty sweet).

I was also a quantity eater - sometimes good things, sometimes bad things. I could eat a bag of salt & vinegar potato chips without even thinking about it. I used to LOVE Taco Bell and would gorge myself. I would also drink large sweet teas from McDonalds or McCalister's Deli. I still enjoy some of these things periodically but they are a treat rather than a regular everyday thing like they used to be.

I usually get my Multivitamin at CVS when they have them on sale buy one get one free (or half-off). It is these - keep in mind these have Iron so you can't take them at the same time as your Calcium. I take my calcium in the morning and at night, and take one multi at lunch and one in the early evening before dinner. This was one of the multis on my nutritionist's "approved" list. http://www.naturemade.com/Products/Multivitamins/Multi-Complete-LSG

I've told most anyone who has either complimented me on my weight loss or if I've had to go out to eat with them (lots of work associates, clients, etc.). I'm a pretty open person in general so it hasn't bothered me; I had some friends at work who were concerned about me before surgery but they are thrilled for me now. I even encouraged a girl at work to get sleeved and she says it's the best thing she ever did! There are a few others who are considering it too.

I've not had any issues with eggs but noticed when doing my food tracking that the calories/fat grams were adding up quickly when I was having a regular egg every day. I now typically use the southwestern egg beaters and make a breakfast scramble with mushroom, tomato, and either canadian bacon or turkey sausage (and shredded 2% cheese). It's a really filling breakfast for fairly low calories/fat grams and great on the protein!

The most rapid weight loss is in the first 2-3 months (very limited diet and capacity). However, I feel like I am continuing to lose at a very steady rate even at almost 7 months out. At this point I'm not worried about getting to goal - I will be there hopefully by mid-summer. I'm more nervous about maintenance and a few years out . . . I'm sure that it's easy to lose focus and the pounds creep back on.

Have you considered counseling/therapy? Most of us are here because we've tried the "sensible diet and exercise" route, probably multiple times, without success. I know that I had a bit of regret early on because I felt like I failed myself, not being able to accomplish weight loss without resorting to surgical means. However, now that I'm nearly 7 months out and eating foods that I enjoy again (in much smaller quantities, of course) I am beyond thrilled with my decision. I wasn't an emotional or stress eater - just had issues with volume and portion control. My sleeve has given me the control I needed to get myself healthy and happy(ier). Judging from the posts I've seen from you, you've exhibited most of your regret over not being able to eat the foods you want to. Honestly, you really need to consider talking to someone to help you through this. Otherwise you are going to potentially damage your new sleeve by making inappropriate food choices.

I just take the regular cal citrate tablets from Costco - my surgeon said it was fine this far out. Early on I took the petites as well - had to take a lot a day but it was much better than chewables or liquids . . . yuck!

I went to a mexican restaurant so I had fajitas (only half a tortilla, just ate the meat & veggies plan after that). Breakfast was SW egg beaters with mushroom, tomato and 2% cheese, and some strawberries. Dinner was chicken breast with about 1 oz of angel hair pasta & marinara sauce. I'll probably have some buffalo chicken dip for a snack later.

Maybe bump the calories just a bit and cut your carbs back (depending on what you are doing for carbs right now)? Also, if you are exercising, maybe consider changing up what you are doing to jumpstart your metabolism.

At one month out I was allowed to eat 2 oz at a time - typically 1 oz protein and 1 oz either veg or starch. I couldn't imagine eating a cup of food at that point post-surgery . . . but it depends on what you're eating. I'm sure I could have eaten a cup of soup or other "slider" foods, for example. But certainly not a cup of any dense proteins.

I was swallowing pills after week one - I take a Multivitamin that is a softgel (Nature Made brand) and I used to take the Citracal petites (I had to take a lot per day, but I couldn't stand any of the liquid or chewables). I take a regular Calcium tablet now (2 tabs 2xday) and the softgel multivites (1 softgel 2xday). As for the Protein, just keep trying different options. I had the best luck with the unflavored protein mixed with decaf coffee, a little 1% milk and splenda.