Katie713

Most excellent!

I remember having an overwhelming feeling of sadness at one point during pre-op weight loss when I realized that I would no longer be turning to "my old friend - food" to deal with a stressful day, or when I felt lonely, or when I was celebrating anything....but the feeling was fleeting...we are more adaptable than we think we are and the cravings pass if we let them. Fast forward....I lost about 30 pounds pre-op just with lowering calories and lots of walking and on 4/6/12 had my surgery. It takes time to get through the different steps of eating post-op but I managed pretty well. After six weeks when I got to regular foods the real work began of figuring out how to live, day in and day out, finding out how to tweak an old fave for the new me, and it works. I craved Mexican food and had my refried Beans with melted cheese, a little sour cream and salsa. I wanted Italian and made the little ricotta bake with meat sauce in the bottom of a ramiken, a dollop of ricotta, more sauce and motzarella and parm on top baked in the oven until hot and bubbly. I have ceviche with some hot sauce, steamed clams, salmon patties....cottage cheese with fruit...a chile relleno mini omelette.... I'm still a foodie and I love to cook and Celebrate....I still do it, just in a healthier way...and the restriction is wonderful, so what if you can only eat a small portion...you feel absolutely FULL. The best part...I am 70 pounds lighter and so much happier...and still losing....little by little...slowly but surely.

The good news is that for most people fish is one of the first things that is easily tolerated. In the mushy/soft foods stage tuna was my best friend...still is...it goes down so well and so much protein too. I now enjoy shrimp, talapia, salmon, ceviche, scallops, clams, mussles and lobster. Of course I can't eat much at a sitting...but it is still wonderful to enjoy my fish!!

Kat is the bacteria you got called Shigella? I am asking because when my son was a teenager we went to Rosarito Beach, just south of Tijuana for vacation. The day we left to head to San Diego for a few days, my son became violently ill and I took him to the ER in San Diego. They ran tests on him and said he got shigella, a very serious bacteria that had to be treated with a specific antibiotic. The hospital had to make a report to the Department of Health in San Diego county. Two weeks later when we returned to Los Angeles, the L.A. Department of Health came to my home to ask a lot of questions about where we were in Mexico, where we ate, etc. and to follow up on whether the meds were taken completely, and they wanted to see the empty prescription bottle. It was rather alarming. I never went back to Mexico, even though I used to love vacationing down there, it was just too risky. There are bacterias that live in the Water, and also present when people do not properly wash their hands and or instruments. I really hope you are doing better. I know the packing and cleaning of your incisions is awful. My husband had a stomach infection when he was a child that had to be cleaned like that after he fell from a swing onto a picket fence, and bacteria from the fence entered his body. He said it was like a horrible nightmare he could not wake up from. You hear of people getting staph and other infections in hospitals, it is very scary...I am so sorry this happened to you, but you are brave and I applaud your strength.

If you are in extreme pain, you need to contact the doctor as something else might be going on. Better to be safe than sorry. During this stage of full liquids..protein shakes, thinned out cream of wheat Cereal, yogurt, creamy soups, thinned out mashed potatoes & gravy. Hang in there...it takes time to normalize.

Take care. Hope everything goes ok. So glad you found out about this. Praying for you to beat this!!!

Addison...welcome and hope all goes well tomorrow!!!!

I recently saw a recipe for little mini low carb pizza bites, microwaving pepperoni slices til crisp, then topping with a little marinara sauce and cheese - then zap them again, or put them in the oven until the cheese is melted. Sounds amazing. I did the ricotta bake one day when I made lasagna for my family. Used a little ramekin and put meat sauce on the bottom, then a dollop of ricotta (mixed with egg/parm/parsely) and then a little more sauce, then motzarella and parm. Put it in the oven until browned and bubbly. Come on. It was exactly the same flavor, but no noodles and it totally hit the spot. I ate half and was perfectly full (1/2 cup) and had the rest a few hours later when the others were having seconds of lasagna!

Very cool post Lacie. Sounded very familiar!!

I would say a person's outlook changes over time. In the beginning it can be tough to tolerate certain foods, and being unsure of what to eat, how much we can tolerate becomes a chore at time. Also, when you have issues, such as over eating certain foods, well they tend to become offensive in one's mind. I am 11 weeks out tomorrow. I have been able to go out to dinner or lunch with a friend and enjoy my meal. Sure I can only eat so much, but I am learning to savor the taste and enjoy the conversation and really taste the food. On the first dinner out I had scallops on the skewer with veggies from Outback. Gosh it tasted so good, just like I remember it, but I didn't wolf it down, I took my sweet time and enjoyed it so much. On my first lunch out this week, I ordered 2 carne asada tacos that came with a side salad, and I declined a side of Beans or rice. I did not eat the tortilla, but savored the beautifully seasoned meat and the pico de gallo and avocado. I took one taco home to eat for dinner and I had about 1/4 of the side salad with a light balsamic (on the side) I did eat all the cherry tomatoes. I want to enjoy my life and I love cooking and all the events that are surrounded by food...yep I consider myself a foodie. It's just that now, I don't have to eat half a cow to get satisfied, and I am eating so much healthier that I feel great and I do not feel guilty about what I eat anymore because I am making the right choices. I am finally a happy eater!

Track your intake on myfitnesspal.com it has the nutritional values including Protein for most foods. I added Protein Bars when I let go of one shake a day down from two. Atkins has wonderful protein bars !! Power crunch bars are great too, they have them at Trader Joe's and Vitamin Shoppe or on-line. Rite Aid may have them too. Typical servings of fish/meat/chicken (3 oz) have about 21-25 grams of protein by the way...so if you are eating all your protein with foods - this will give you an idea of what the protein values are for typical protein. Dairy foods are also high in protein like cheese, cottage cheese, some yogurt. Good luck., just make sure you are getting your protein. Your body will take it from your lean body tissue if you don't.

Is that something that happened pre-surgery? Is that from GERD or something. How on earth would you know you had that?

Vhoke1...welcome to the 50's group. I'm also a newbie to the group although I was sleeved. 4/6/12. For me, the surgery went well, some discomfort but no real pain. I was up walking hours after surgery, using the bathroom, making phone calls, watching tv...I had a morphine pump for pain but didn't really need it only in the middle of the night to sleep. Got home the day after surgery. Drank my isopure, it wasn't the best flavor, but I knew I needed protein....also had beef and chicken broth and iced green tea, popsicles. Almost 11 weeks later, I know positively this was the best decision for me. I hope it all goes well for you too!

myfinesspal.com rocks. You can set your own daily limits in the tools menu. It has a great database of foods, even restaurant information and you can save your own regular meals. No more handwriteen notebooks for me...and it has an cell phone APP as well so you always have access.

Even in Atkins induction you are allowed 20 carbs per day for naturually occuring good carbs in veggies and dairly products. I am also low carbing and it got me out of a tough stall but I don't feel good unless I am having veggies, lean protein and some dairy. I am at about 800 calorties and 40 grams carbs per day and the weight is coming off...but the best part is I feel good about what I am eating and I have a lot of energy. I usually have my protein shake for breakfast these days, a salad for lunch which is great for summer like a caesar salad with chicken (no croutons) nice shaving of parm on top and Ken's lite caesar dressing, and for dinner a stir fry of veggies and a little fish/chicken/beef or pork. Sometimes I make a batch of deviled eggs for snacks or have a handful of nuts or a cheese stick.

With Kaiser cream of wheat, oatmeal, malt-o-meal were all approved on full liquid stage and they were a life saver, easily tolerated. Just make them a little thinner than you usually would, I would make it with a little more water and then added some nonfat lactaid afterward with maybe a dash of cinammon and a SF sweetener.

Kaiser Options?

You wouldn't be the first person to have "that one last thing" they are craving before the new dietary restrictions begin. Some people call it a food funeral. I thought that was funny. I wanted a steak and lobster dinner, now I had been doing a pre-op diet for 6 months - just calorie restriction because I was in the Kaiser pre-op program (I only had one day of clear liquids before surgery) but I hadn't had a full steak and lobster dinner with a loaded baked potato in a long time...well I went ahead and had it the weekend before my surgery, and I am glad I did. Fast forward....I went to the same restaurant with my girlfriend the other night...and it was all about making the right choices. I ordered scallops on a skewer with skewered veggies on the side, no rice, and I took half of the order home for dinner...and I ate about 1/3 of the salad and took the rest home for lunch the next day...I didn't feel I was missing ANYTHING. It feels good to make the right choices, and after awhile it seems second nature.

Dar1983...hello! Wow, I wish I could have done this with my daughter....now you can support each other, how cool is that. Get all your supplies ready, that way you're all set. Good luck!

Oh Kat, sorry to hear about how much you are having to suffer through this. One never knows the outcome of surgical procedures, we go in hoping for the best but we read so many stories of problems, strictures, blood clots, but this wasn't your fault and the protocols for patient care were breeched, overlooked, however it happened, you were harmed. I wish you wellness and healing. You will get thru this.

Second opinion needed STAT!!!

Tjmom...such a great outpouring of support here. We all have our issues and not one of us is perfect, but we are capable of change and we are changing....you probably learned a powerful lesson in dealing with a trigger, the good old BBQ and wanting to stay in the background. Well just be yourself...walk around with a big glass of SF lemonade with a smile, figure out what you might say in response to typical questions so you are prepared and not caught off guard if someone is asking anything that makes you uncomfortable. So when someone comments on the weight loss, maybe just say thanks and that you are happy to be getting healthier then quickly excuse yourself. No more beating yourself up!

What is a haital hernia? Why are so many getting them with their sleeve?

This was a great thread to read today, I am a slow loser too, but very determined to see this through. I am getting used to a mostly low carb diet and its ok, lots of fresh salad, grilled fish, BBQ chicken, grilled veggies, stir frys. Moved away from frozen meals and eating fresh foods I prepare. I have gone out to eat recently and did fine, brought my little doggie bag for another meal. Overall I am pleased as punch that I am more than halfway to goal now!

I had my surgery with Dr. Zelada at West L.A. on 4/6/12...Options program completed 12/6/11 - I had my surgery consult on Jan 20th, but delayed surgery until April due to work commitments and I was moving on 3/1/12. They worked with me on the date, but I could have had the surgery within two weeks of my January appoinment. I'm glad I waited, and the surgery went well, no real pain, just a little discomfort. West L.A. Kaiser was beautiful, modern, clean and I had a private room. Excellent care! And Dr. Zelada...well he was wonderful!!