Spirit Fire

I do the same thing -- I check the nutritional value of menus online before going out or suggesting places to meet. I am shocked by what I used to eat (and know for sure how I got to be in the shape I was in). Now those things don't even sound good to me. I love knowing what I am going to order and thrilled that I can participate in life and sociaize with friends while still supporting my goals. So empowering!

I remember feeling tired until about 6-7 weeks out. I take B-12 daily as well as iron, but my surgeon told me to up my protein from 70-80 grams a day to 90-100 grams a day. It truly helped and my energy level has been consistently great this last 5 weeks.

Great reference/resource! Thank you!

I just looked through my phone/computer app: fatsecret.com on which I've recorded everything I've eaten since October 18, 2011. I find that I am not very adventurous, but stick with the Protein first rule at each meal. Breakfast: I typically have a Pure Protein shake or Premier Protein Shake during the week. On the weekend I have a scrambled egg and a piece of turkey sausage, or Special K Protein Plus Cereal with 2 oz of 1% or 2% milk. Lunch: chicken or turkey meatballs (I like Aidells Teriyaki Chicken and pineapple meatballs from Costco), deli turkey with hummus, a turkey patty and cottage cheese, Soup Dinner: fresh Ahi tuna, Flamegrilled Chicken Breast from El Pollo Loco, Cilantro-Lime Shrimp (from Costo) or warm up some frozen shrimp, grilled halibut or talapia, Ricotta Bakes, Hungry Girl BBQ Chicken Dip (see recipe sites below) The sides, if I have room include: broccoli, blueberries, mixed veggies, a small salad Snacks: Mini Babybel Creamy Swiss Cheese, low-fat latte, or Creamy Hot chocolate from BariatricChoice.com recipes sites that are good: World According to Eggface, Emily Bites and Hungry Girl http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/ http://www.emilybites.com/ http://pinterest.com/hrs125/hungry-girl-recipes/ http://www.hungry-girl.com/chew http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/cookbooks.asp?cookbook=13807 I keep stocked up on high-protein snacks from Bariatric Choice website http://www.bariatricchoice.com/ I live near a Low Carb store and purchase low carb bagels that I eat with low fat cream cheese, and products from the vendor Eat-rite who makes amazing soy pizzas and wraps. They can be too expensive to order direct from the company: http://www.buyeatritenow.com/eatritepizza.html but you can sometimes find them in other locations like amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Eat-Rite-Chicago-Pizza-Cinco/dp/B005176420 I like flavor so I use a dill-yogurt dip with fish and hummus is a go-to dip for me, I even use it as salad dressing. I put herbs and spices on everything. When I need to crunch, I buy protein chips from bariatric choice.com or I will have a few Popchips or Snapea Crisps. Just a few (not a whole serving) satisfies the craving. Best of luck to you! It is easier as time goes on. I feel I can eat just about anything I want and I do go out quite often but just keep my goal in mind and lean protein first.

From the beginning I have had very little difficulty getting my liquids in each day (65-80 oz) and I easily get my 80-100 grams of protein in. However, I had the 3 week stall that lasted for a week. Then at 5 weeks I was up two pounds, down two pounds, up two pounds, down a pound, down a pound, down a pound, up a 1/2 pound. It continued this way for a couple weeks. Around week #8 I received some advice via this forum that I should shake up my diet a little. I stopped eating the exact same thing every day and I changed my calorie count from day-to-day: 700, 800, 750, 850, 650, 800, etc. I also up'd my walking from one 2-mile brisk walk a day to two 2-mile brisk walks each day. Over the last couple of weeks I have been losing consistently. I know that I will stall and plateau again -- but I am not afraid of it and won't feel like I have failed when it happens. I believe what all the experts have shared -- the stalls are a process that the body goes through and other changes, besides the number on a scale, are taking place.

I had my 3-month post-op appointment today and I am walking on sunshine! I have lost 37 lbs since surgery which is 87 lbs total. I estimate about 60 more pounds to goal. I have gone from a size 26 bathing suit to a size 18. My blood pressure was 112/67. I am logging about 12,000 - 13,500 steps on my Fitbit. The extensive bloodwork I had done showed everything to be in perfect/normal ranges: Cholesterol 174 Glucose 86 A1C 5.2 etc., etc., etc. Tonight for dinner, I made Eggface's Ricotta Bakes and some turkey sausage patties which my husband enjoyed as much as I did. I am so thrilled with my decision to be sleeved. After some initial frustration with stalls, constipation, and not knowing what I didn't know, I am now feeling empowered. Within the last week or two I feel like I truly have a handle on knowing what/how much I can eat, drink and tolerate. At the same time, I still feel new enough into this that I enjoy learning all that YOU share on this forum. My doctor was very impressed with the knowledge I shared today and I attributed it all the VerticalSleeveTalk.com I just want to say THANK YOU and I wish everyone out there the same feelings that I am having today.

I'm in Fullerton and was sleeved 3/21/12.

Thank you so much for posting this great reference sheet.

Mine was also 2 bites of refried beans and they were absolute heaven. I posted a picture on my Facebook page as it was truly a significant moment for me.

Any updates? What did the doctor/ER say? Sending you good healing energies!!

Thank you for sharing this wonderful NSV! Congratulations!

I started using FatSecret.com and I have the app on my phone. http://fatsecret.com/ I used this before hearing about MyFitnessPal and just didn't see a reason to switch. I like that it has restaurant foods and store brands in the database so most of what I input is easily logged in. It has kept me on track and I find it to be a valuable and beneficial tool.

Date of surgery? 3/21/2012 How much weight lost? 84 lbs total -- 50 pre-surgery and 34 post-surgery How many calories intake per day? 600 - 800 How much Protein per day? 80 - 100 What supplements do you take? Vitamin D-3 1000 iu/250% calcium chews sugar-free (Kirkland) hair, Skin, Nails (Wonderlife) Centrum Silver Chewable Multivitamin/Multimineral Supplement Chewable Probiotic 150 mg Omega 3, 6, 9 gummy Vitamins 163 mg (65/33/65) ( Slice of Life) Zinc, L-OptiZinc 20 mg (Wonderlife) Super Antioxidant Formula (Wonderlife) B-Complex (Vita fusion) 7-Keto Fit (Wonderlife) Chewable Iron (Bariatric Advantage) Are you exercising? I walk about 7,00-9,000 steps a day which I track using a Fitbit

No regrets! I was in the right "head-space" when my knowledge of this particular procedure was made known to me last October. I truly thought I was going to use the lap-band because I was not in favor of the bypass surgery due to the malabsorption issues. It was at the orientation with my surgeon's office that I learned about the Sleeve and I haven't regretted a single day since making this decision. I did a tremendous amount of research, attended classes, workshops and support groups -- all of which gave support to my decision. How long post-op? Surgery was 3/21/12 Doctor used? Dr. Aileen Takahashi -- Association of South Bay Surgeons, Torrance, CA Any complications? None.

There is a helpful Nutrition Calculator online for Subway that allows you to customize your order and determine the protein/carb/fat counts. http://www.nutritionix.com/subway/nutrition-calculator

My NUT said never drink a RTD with less than 15 grams of Protein. I prefer the Pure Protein shakes that I order from Amazon.com or pick up at Trader Joe's. They are 160 calories, 35 grams of protein, 2 grams of carbs, and 1 gram of sugar. However I only like the chocolate and the Cookies & cream flavors. I can't stomach (pun intended) the strawberry. http://www.amazon.com/Pure-Protein-Ready-Frosty-Chocolate/dp/B002XULCA2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339181124&sr=8-1 I use this product along with the ever-popular Premier Shakes from costco. I also like the Premier bars as the numbers are good and they are tasty.

Did you follow a pre-op diet? Yes. I was on a 1300 calorie a day pre-op diet eating high protein and low carb foods. If so, what/how long was it? I began my self-prescribed diet on October 18, 2011 until I had surgery on March 21, 2012. I did not have to do the pre-op liquid diet -- my doctor just told me to continue doing what I was doing since I had lost nearly 50 lbs. I know many people use My Fitness Pal, but I discovered FatSecret.com before learning about My Fitness Pal. I used FatSecret.com to log my foods either on my computer or on my phone. I contribute much of my success to daily log-ins of my food, liquids and exercise. On a scale of "no-pain at all" to "just shoot me", how would you rate your recovery process after surgery? I was on the "no/relatively low pain" end of the scale. On a scale of 1-10, mine at it's worst was a 3. I rarely used the pain meds in the one-night I was in the hospital and only used it a couple times over the next two days at home. Now, with this being said, around week three I developed a pain near my incision that the stomach was removed from. I think I overdid cleaning out my closet, however I have also learned that many develop this pain/stitch around week 2-3 as the organs are reestablishing themselves in the body. I had odd feelings when I laid on my side to sleep as it felt like my insides where shifting so I used my tummy-pillow during week one and then weeks three-four.

11 weeks post-op, 82 lbs off (50 pre-op/32 post-op). I feel wonderful, staying focused on proper eating and enjoy walking. Trying to figure out how to add additional exercise into my daily routine.

My husband made a Post-Surgery Kit for me. He took a fishing tackle box and filled many of the spaces with various items that he assumed I might need after surgery. He put it next to our bed so everything was within easy reach. He filled it with things like hand lotion, kleenex, cool-down wipes, nail file, band-aids, dental floss, q-tips, nasal spray, chapstick, decaf green tea, pedialite, deodorant, hair clips and hair bands, etc. Some things I used -- chapstick and hand lotion, and some things I didn't -- sugar free throat lozenges, but it was incredibly reassuring to have these things "there" if I needed them. Now that I am 11 weeks post-op, I found another thing I needed -- large safety pins. My pajama pants are falling down but I don't want to buy new ones yet. I just said this in an off-hand way but that night after his motorcycle club meeting, he came home with a pack of safety pins. I have been so in awe of my hubby because he has truly shown his care-giving side and truly wants this experience to be the best for me. I told him if he is ever in need of care-giving, he is so screwed -- I'm just not as good at it as he is!

I have also noticed that since being sleeved I sneeze and have a runny nose much more than I did pre-sleeve. Don't know what the correlation could be, but it has been a noticable transfomation. As for soups, I buy high potein/low carb soups from BariatricChoice.com. Here is link to their website. http://www.bariatricchoice.com/bariatric-diet-protein-soups-16.html Feel better!

I have the same question -- What's Fred?

I "second" MedInNOLA's post. When we make changes, those around us are forced to change in one way or another and that can be very disconcerting for them. Your husband may feel that you are going to no longer find him attractive and want to get a new version. I found, with my husband, that simply discussing the changes and reassuring him has made the transitions smooth and enjoyable. A number of years ago I went to a hypnotherapist to lose weight. One of the first questions he asked me was how my marriage was doing. He said women often want to "get to fighting weight" when they are preparing to leave their marriage. This SO wasn't the case for me but it did help me to realize that although it is my body and my decision, my husband is impacted with the choices I mak

Thanks for the website link ... just a quick scan of the site and I found a number of recipes I want to try. THANK YOU!

I miss coffee! My surgeon said I could drink decaf tea, but can't have decaf coffee until 3 months post-op. He said there is a chemical/acid in coffee -- even decaf -- that could cause ulcerations in my new tummy. I have had a non-fat latte every day for 7 years! I love steaming the milk and the smell of the coffee pods as I put them in my Starbucks Barista machine! I have a countdown timer on my phone that will signal June 21, 2012 when I will try my first post-op non-fat (or 1%) decaf latte. Here's a TMI story: I went for my 2-week post-op doctor appointment and asked the doc when I could have my latte again. He said 3 months. I told my husband with great enthusiasm, but he asked, "Great for your latte, but when can we have sex again?" I looked at him with a blank stare and he immediately said, "OK . . . got it! I now know your priorities!" He was joking and I knew the answer to his question -- but it has been a running joke with us ever since.

Thanks for sharing this wonderful NSV!