Indymom

I went to a bachelorette party last night and the hostess had tons of appetizers out . . . tons of tempting, carby appetizers. I tried to make good choices so I had a lot of the buffalo chicken dip she had made - I was eating it with celery but commented at one point about how fattening it probably was, with the cream cheese, the ranch dressing, etc.
She told me it was the Hungry Girl recipe with fat-free ingredients . . . I honestly would have never believed it if she hadn't told me that. It was SO delicious! I pulled the recipe up online and wanted to share it here. I don't usually do the fat-free anything (I prefer the low-fat) but I would use the fat free ingredients for this recipe because you really can't tell. I could have eaten the whole crock pot full if my sleevie would have let me!
There are 2 different sets of nutritional info - one says that for 2.5 oz it's 104 cal/12 gram protein/5 grams fat/2 carbs, but the other set says for a 1/4 cup it's 68 cals/1.5 grams fat/2 carbs/10 Protein. Either way I think it's a pretty good choice!
http://www.food.com/recipe/hungry-girl-buffalo-chicken-dip-413265
Ingredients


2 (10 ounce) cans chicken breasts
1 (8 ounce) packages fat free cream cheese, softened-
1/2 cup frank's redhot original cayenne pepper sauce
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup fat free ranch dressing
1/4 cup fat-free Greek yogurt



Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place cream cheese in a medium bowl and stir until smooth. Mix in Frank's RedHot, mozzarella cheese, ranch dressing, and yogurt. Stir in chicken until thoroughly combined. Spoon mixture evenly into a deep 8-inch by 8-inch baking dish.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until mixture is heated through. Stir well and enjoy!
P.S. We love dipping carrot sticks and red bell pepper chunks into this dip, but we've also dunked baked tortilla chips into it and used it as a sandwich spread!
HG Alternative! To make this dish FAST, skip the oven altogether. Prepare dip according to the directions, but in a microwave-safe dish. Then microwave uncovered on high for 5 minutes (stopping and stirring halfway through cooking), or until hot.

I can't wait that long between bites, but I'm still measuring my food and undereating my sleeve. I would rather measure for the rest of my life than take that long to eat! I don't wolf it down and I'm chewing very thoroughly, but 3 minutes? No way!

For those of you "cheating" or not following your food plan - I would warn you to be very cautious. Early on after surgery, your stomach is still going to have some numbness so you may not feel or realize when you are eating too much, OR if what you are eating is not appropriate for this stage post-surgery. Remember that you still have a healing staple line that is very delicate and sensitive. Eating foods that are too difficult to digest, or that aren't soft enough, can cause significant damage and could result in a leak, infection, or other complication.
I'm not trying to be preachy but I followed my food plan religiously . . . it was really hard, and I had a couple breakdowns . . . but ultimately I kept reminding myself that I was going to have a few months of really hard but a lifetime of satisfaction from being thin and feeling so much better about myself. I hate to hear about people having a complication, especially if that complication is due to a bad decision.

nutritiondata.com has a recipe builder where you put all the ingredients in, choose the serving size (or number of servings) and then it gives you the full nutritional content of the serving. If there isn't an ingredient in their database, you can add it. It's a great site!

Finally got a LBD pic that I liked! This is from my 20th high school reunion last weekend, so about 14 months post-surgery and about 16-18 lbs from my goal. I am thrilled!! (I actually bought this to wear on my cruise in Feb, it was really tight then and I think it fits a little better now - it's a size 14 - I'm hoping that I'll be able to keep it and have it taken in slightly when I DO get to goal!!)

I'm only 5 months out - so I'm not a long-term veteran - but I am at about 4-5 oz capacity. Here are some examples of what I eat at each meal.
lunch ~ costco chicken burger (about 4 oz) and 3-4 sliced cucumbers
dinner ~ 1 oz cooked Pasta (probably 1/8th of a cup if I measured it that way), 2 turkey meatballs, sauce and a tiny side salad (and a few nibbles of garlic bread, yum!).
Breakfast ~ 1/4 cup egg beaters, 1 oz Canadian bacon, 1/2 oz shredded 2% cheese, 1 sliced mushroom and a bit of diced Tomato.< /p>

I LOVE my fitbit! I was lucky enough to get it free from work (I'm taking part in a study). I like that it not only tracks your steps but your intensity as well - so I can look on the chart and see what times of the day I was more active, like briskly walking on a hiking trail vs. meandering around costco or the supermarket. I wear mine right in the middle of my bra and it seems to be pretty accurate (I think it might be a little generous on the number of steps but once you are using it consistently you'll know your baseline and can just improve from there, even if the step count is a tad bit higher than it should be).
I have been tracking all my food and you can build new foods if they aren't already in their database. They have a big database of restaurants too. I'm working with a fitbit coach due to the study, and she explained that for exercises that won't track well (like biking) you can just take off the fitbit during that time and then manually log that activity on the website. Same thing for swimming since you wouldn't be wearing it in the pool.
I can download all my tracking so that when I go to see my nutritionist I can print out my activity log, my food logs, etc.
Did I mention that I LOVED my Fitbit??

Finally got a LBD pic that I liked! This is from my 20th high school reunion last weekend, so about 14 months post-surgery and about 16-18 lbs from my goal. I am thrilled!! (I actually bought this to wear on my cruise in Feb, it was really tight then and I think it fits a little better now - it's a size 14 - I'm hoping that I'll be able to keep it and have it taken in slightly when I DO get to goal!!)

Finally got a LBD pic that I liked! This is from my 20th high school reunion last weekend, so about 14 months post-surgery and about 16-18 lbs from my goal. I am thrilled!! (I actually bought this to wear on my cruise in Feb, it was really tight then and I think it fits a little better now - it's a size 14 - I'm hoping that I'll be able to keep it and have it taken in slightly when I DO get to goal!!)

I think a lot of people order their SF syrups online, but I think they also have them at World Market and might have them other places. I don't use any of them.
My normal meals when I was first released to regular food were usually the following:
Breakfast - scrambled egg with cheese, diced canadian bacon, and veggies (usually mushroom/tomato)
lunch - chicken breast, 2% cheese chunks, sometimes yogurt or some veggies (sliced cucumber is always good and doesn't seem to fill my sleeve up too quickly). I also sometimes do leftovers from the prior night's dinner so it could be taco meat with 2% shredded cheese, lowfat sour cream and salsa. Sometimes I splurge and do a few tortilla chips with it.
dinner - whatever I fix for my family, and I just eat the Protein part of the dish and try to avoid most of the carbs. We make a lot of chicken recipes, but also pasta/meatballs, steaks on the grill, etc.

My daughter eats the yogurt ranch. I'm personally not a huge fan, but she loves it and I'm glad she doesn't know it's good for her. . . like most kids she thinks ranch dressing is a food group!!

My daughter eats the yogurt ranch. I'm personally not a huge fan, but she loves it and I'm glad she doesn't know it's good for her. . . like most kids she thinks ranch dressing is a food group!!

Do you track on MyFitness Pal? I would register there and have the system calculate your recommended calories to continue losing 1-3 lbs/week. It seems to be pretty accurate. I try to stay at 1200 cals/day and if I earn a lot of exercise calories, I try to eat some of them back. You need to be sure you don't reduce your calories to the point that you end up in starvation mode . . . that can throw you into a stall.

At 21 months out, I find that my tolerance has returned to about where it was pre-sleeve. I am a fairly frequent social drinker - usually no more than a few beers/glasses of wine/mixed drinks, but I've had a few wild nights out (i.e. bachelorette parties, etc.) and it hasn't really bothered me. I think it's slowed down my weight loss and is keeping me from getting to goal, but I'm pretty comfortable with where I am right now and I do enjoy my cocktails from time to time. The carbonation of beer doesn't bother me, but I find that I prefer draft to bottled, and I typically need to pour it into a glass. Right now my favorite is Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy - a great summer beer!!

Finally got a LBD pic that I liked! This is from my 20th high school reunion last weekend, so about 14 months post-surgery and about 16-18 lbs from my goal. I am thrilled!! (I actually bought this to wear on my cruise in Feb, it was really tight then and I think it fits a little better now - it's a size 14 - I'm hoping that I'll be able to keep it and have it taken in slightly when I DO get to goal!!)

I LOVE my fitbit! I was lucky enough to get it free from work (I'm taking part in a study). I like that it not only tracks your steps but your intensity as well - so I can look on the chart and see what times of the day I was more active, like briskly walking on a hiking trail vs. meandering around costco or the supermarket. I wear mine right in the middle of my bra and it seems to be pretty accurate (I think it might be a little generous on the number of steps but once you are using it consistently you'll know your baseline and can just improve from there, even if the step count is a tad bit higher than it should be).
I have been tracking all my food and you can build new foods if they aren't already in their database. They have a big database of restaurants too. I'm working with a fitbit coach due to the study, and she explained that for exercises that won't track well (like biking) you can just take off the fitbit during that time and then manually log that activity on the website. Same thing for swimming since you wouldn't be wearing it in the pool.
I can download all my tracking so that when I go to see my nutritionist I can print out my activity log, my food logs, etc.
Did I mention that I LOVED my Fitbit??

This has been posted a lot before but I understand it's really difficult to stretch your sleeve unless you had an issue at the beginning with the way your surgery was performed. The fundus (stretchy part) of your stomach is what was removed, and the remaining part is typically pretty muscular and really shouldn't stretch much.
I felt like I was eating far too much during the past few holiday weeks (and was . . . I was grazing and eating a lot of the wrong things) - but I got back on track today and got very full at Breakfast from my one egg, 1/2 oz of shredded cheese and 1 oz of canadian bacon - so I know that my sleeve is still doing what it's supposed to.
Just concentrate on getting back to the basics - no drinking while eating, Protein first, etc. We all know what we're supposed to be doing, it's just easy sometimes to backslide and fall into old habits!!

Finally got a LBD pic that I liked! This is from my 20th high school reunion last weekend, so about 14 months post-surgery and about 16-18 lbs from my goal. I am thrilled!! (I actually bought this to wear on my cruise in Feb, it was really tight then and I think it fits a little better now - it's a size 14 - I'm hoping that I'll be able to keep it and have it taken in slightly when I DO get to goal!!)

Those of you feeling regret early after surgery, be strong and hang in there. It was awful for the first few months post-op . . . I felt miserable! I hated being limited to bland, mushy foods . . . even though I wasn't physically hungry, I missed the ability to eat the things I liked (like spicy foods, crunchy foods, etc.). However, now at 16 months out, I'm able to eat just about anything I want. I still try to focus on my Protein - lean meats, cheese - veggies, and fruits - but I don't deny myself the things that sound good. I've eaten potato chips, I've eaten sweets, I've had a few sips of soda. I remind myself that I didn't get obese from a handful of potato chips or a bite or two of chocolate - I got obese because I ate a whole bag of chips, 2000 calories in one meal from Taco Bell, or a supersize meal from McDonalds. Now, I choose to make good choices. If I have to eat fast food (because let's face it, sometimes our schedules don't permit otherwise), I eat a cheeseburger with half a bun from McDonalds, or a fresco chicken soft taco from Taco Bell, or a small roast beef sandwich with only half a bun from Arby's. I enjoyed tastes of all my favorite things during Christmas dinner, but concentrated on the protein - and once I had my protein, I was too full to eat too much more. It's a mental thing, and with my sleeve, I'm able to enjoy a few tastes of all the things I love and still remain compliant and on track with my weight loss. This is easily the best thing I ever did in my life for myself. So those of you who are early out from surgery, hang in there, because it does get better!!

Those of you feeling regret early after surgery, be strong and hang in there. It was awful for the first few months post-op . . . I felt miserable! I hated being limited to bland, mushy foods . . . even though I wasn't physically hungry, I missed the ability to eat the things I liked (like spicy foods, crunchy foods, etc.). However, now at 16 months out, I'm able to eat just about anything I want. I still try to focus on my Protein - lean meats, cheese - veggies, and fruits - but I don't deny myself the things that sound good. I've eaten potato chips, I've eaten sweets, I've had a few sips of soda. I remind myself that I didn't get obese from a handful of potato chips or a bite or two of chocolate - I got obese because I ate a whole bag of chips, 2000 calories in one meal from Taco Bell, or a supersize meal from McDonalds. Now, I choose to make good choices. If I have to eat fast food (because let's face it, sometimes our schedules don't permit otherwise), I eat a cheeseburger with half a bun from McDonalds, or a fresco chicken soft taco from Taco Bell, or a small roast beef sandwich with only half a bun from Arby's. I enjoyed tastes of all my favorite things during Christmas dinner, but concentrated on the protein - and once I had my protein, I was too full to eat too much more. It's a mental thing, and with my sleeve, I'm able to enjoy a few tastes of all the things I love and still remain compliant and on track with my weight loss. This is easily the best thing I ever did in my life for myself. So those of you who are early out from surgery, hang in there, because it does get better!!

Those of you feeling regret early after surgery, be strong and hang in there. It was awful for the first few months post-op . . . I felt miserable! I hated being limited to bland, mushy foods . . . even though I wasn't physically hungry, I missed the ability to eat the things I liked (like spicy foods, crunchy foods, etc.). However, now at 16 months out, I'm able to eat just about anything I want. I still try to focus on my Protein - lean meats, cheese - veggies, and fruits - but I don't deny myself the things that sound good. I've eaten potato chips, I've eaten sweets, I've had a few sips of soda. I remind myself that I didn't get obese from a handful of potato chips or a bite or two of chocolate - I got obese because I ate a whole bag of chips, 2000 calories in one meal from Taco Bell, or a supersize meal from McDonalds. Now, I choose to make good choices. If I have to eat fast food (because let's face it, sometimes our schedules don't permit otherwise), I eat a cheeseburger with half a bun from McDonalds, or a fresco chicken soft taco from Taco Bell, or a small roast beef sandwich with only half a bun from Arby's. I enjoyed tastes of all my favorite things during Christmas dinner, but concentrated on the protein - and once I had my protein, I was too full to eat too much more. It's a mental thing, and with my sleeve, I'm able to enjoy a few tastes of all the things I love and still remain compliant and on track with my weight loss. This is easily the best thing I ever did in my life for myself. So those of you who are early out from surgery, hang in there, because it does get better!!

Finally got a LBD pic that I liked! This is from my 20th high school reunion last weekend, so about 14 months post-surgery and about 16-18 lbs from my goal. I am thrilled!! (I actually bought this to wear on my cruise in Feb, it was really tight then and I think it fits a little better now - it's a size 14 - I'm hoping that I'll be able to keep it and have it taken in slightly when I DO get to goal!!)

I was allowed soft cheese from the day I got home from the hospital. I've been doing laughing cow, babybel, and even sliced cheddar/jack/etc. They want me to have the lowfat versions so that's what I have been buying. I wonder why that nutritionist is recommending against cheese? It's an awesome form of protein!
I love costco, I am looking forward to trying the chicken burger (my parents LOVE them). They have 28 babybel for $10 . . . it's like $4 or $5 for 8 at the grocery. I need to check out the deli meats and I'm thinking that their rotisserie chicken (skinned, of course) will be perfect for chicken salad.

I LOVE my fitbit! I was lucky enough to get it free from work (I'm taking part in a study). I like that it not only tracks your steps but your intensity as well - so I can look on the chart and see what times of the day I was more active, like briskly walking on a hiking trail vs. meandering around costco or the supermarket. I wear mine right in the middle of my bra and it seems to be pretty accurate (I think it might be a little generous on the number of steps but once you are using it consistently you'll know your baseline and can just improve from there, even if the step count is a tad bit higher than it should be).
I have been tracking all my food and you can build new foods if they aren't already in their database. They have a big database of restaurants too. I'm working with a fitbit coach due to the study, and she explained that for exercises that won't track well (like biking) you can just take off the fitbit during that time and then manually log that activity on the website. Same thing for swimming since you wouldn't be wearing it in the pool.
I can download all my tracking so that when I go to see my nutritionist I can print out my activity log, my food logs, etc.
Did I mention that I LOVED my Fitbit??

MyFitnessPal is by far my favorite. There are tons of users from here on there as well - you can "friend" them and chat there also. Their food library is enormous, you can add custom foods and recipes, and it's really easy to use.