Wisconsin_Gal

oday: Day 19 post op scale Moved again! Yeah! Breakfast: 1 Scrambled Egg w/Cheese Snack: 1 Muscle Milk light Lunch: Surprise Chili Greek Yogurt Dinner: 1/2 cup nacho Pasta Snack: 2 morningstar veggie patties Water throughout the day. Cal: 815 Carbs: 72 (way too many) Prot: 66.6 End of Day Observation: Ate some mushed pasta and I gad carb craving all night long! Avoid them!

Don't know if this will help, but here are some foods I use... A typical day is: Scrambled egg and cheese for bfast Egg Drop Soup 2 nuggest of chicken wings (boneless) Ricotta Dessert Surprise Chili This game me: Cal: 500 Carb: 17.3 Protein: 33.7 I was seriously low on Protein but was full. Add two muscle milks and you have 63 protein, 700 cal and 23 carbs... It can be done! Lactose sugar free LIght chocolate Muscle Milk Cal: 100 Carb: 3 Protein: 15 All Natural Greek Yogurt (with fruit in bottom) Cal: 130 Carb: 18 Protein: 13 Aimee's Surprise Chili (Check Recipe forum) Cal: 70 Carb: 9.3 Protein: 6.7 Scrambled Egg and Cheese Cal: 140 Carb: 2.23 Protein: 9.1 Egg Drop Soup (2 CUPS): Cal: 146 Carb: 2.2 Protein: 15

Sooo, I was experimenting today and I totally failed at what I planned to make, but I ended up with a REALLY good chili recipe! :001_smile: Recipe: Aimee's Suprise Chili :w00t: Servings: 1/2 cup Servings per recipe: 20 1 Canned Roast Beef (12 oz) w/Gravy 2 16 oz cans of Refried Beans 5 Sazon Goya Seasoning Packets (sold in the hispanic aisle) 1 28oz can of Contanida Roasted Garlic Crushed Tomatoes 1 onion, diced 1/4 - 1/2 cup of cheese Use a deep pan! And remember that part of your goal here is to retain as much of the sauce as possible before step 5. 1. Sautee onions in medium high heat in Pam 2. Add 2 of the Sazon Goya packets 3. Add Roast Beef, and break up the beef into small strands with spatula 4. If in mushies state, like I am, place in blender and puree... 5. Return to pan and add crushed tomatoes 6. Add remaining 3 Sazon Goya packets 7. Taste it and make sure the overall taste is mexican chili-ish. If not, add another seasoning packet. 9. Add 2 cans of refried beans and mix thoroughly. You now have a choice. Once it is fully heated, add some cheese and you are done. However, the way I did it was to place it in an oven safe drish, sprinkle some cheese and mixed it through and baked it for 45 minutes at 425. Make sure the top is covered in aluminum so it doesn't dry out and that the baking dish is big enough so that the juices don't boil over. I dished up 10 1/2 cup servings for the future and fed the rest to my husband and stepdaughter. If this is going to be a family meal for ~4, then you won't have leftovers. Nutritional info for entire recipe (-cheese): Calories: 1370 Fat: 12 Carbs: 187 Fiber: 26.5 Protein: 55 Nutritional info per 1/2 cup serving (assuming 20 srvs) (-cheese): Calories: 68.5 Fat: .6 Carbs: 9.4 Fiber: 2.7 Protein: 5.5 This is VERY filling! Enjoy!!!:001_tt2:

Stacie, I make it to Milwaukee when I need to. I would certainly make a trip to meet a fellow sleever! Let's plan something? Thinoneday, check out my "Aimee's Surprise Chili" recipe! I was trying for something with refried Beans and ended up with a yummy surprise! Today: Day 17 post op Breakfast: 1 Scrambled Egg w/Cheese Lunch: 4 bonesless wings(over a few hrs) 2 cups egg drop soup Dinner: 1/2 cup Aimee's Suprise Chili Ricotta Desser Snack: 1 Muscle Milk Light Water throughout the day. Cal: 600 Carbs: 20.29 Prot: 48.74 End of Day Observation: I was really not hungry today. I am drinking more Crystal light (ergo more water) and I didn't feel starved today. I am actually adding the muscle milk and the ricotta dessert right now because I don't have enough calories or protein! argh! I may add a Protein shot if I go to sleep late... but not likely! I made my "Surprise Chili" today and it was REALLY good and filling. Thank God it turned out into something good even though it wasn't what I was originally making! LOL...:001_tt2:

I have had this happen prior to any sort of surgery. In fact, I once had this glob come out that was all blood (about the size of my palm!)... This is normal. It is excess lining along your uterus that seperated as a whole instead of seeping out as usual. I wouldn't worry about it this month. However, if next month you still get large discharge, I would call you GYN just in case. You may get small little globlets, like bubbles next month, but you should have a large discharge for a bit. I only have had this happen 2 or 3 times in my period history...

liquids you can see through. Broth, low sugar apple juice (and other non-citric like juices), water... What I used to do what add a whole bunch of stuff like sauteed onions, scallions, ham, add the broth, seperate out the seasoned broth and the rest went to the family. One thing to note, beef broth taste better to me if you are going to do it plain than chicken broth.

Ditto. I did not worry at all about protein my first 2 weeks...

Stacie, I would try the boneless wings off the bat. If I hadn't had a whole appetizer serving that I have to finish off, I wouldn't order it again for a few weeks. It is hard to digest and you have to chew it like 50 times to make is mushy enough not to get stuck in your esophagus... Today: Day 17 post op scale Moved! Yeah! Breakfast: 1 Scrambled Egg w/Cheese Snack: 1 Muscle Milk light Lunch: 2 bonesless wings(over a few hrs) 2 cups egg drop soup Snack: 1/3 cup of chicken salad (homemade) Dinner: 2 Buena Vida Low Carb Whole Wheat Totillas 1 serving of Ranchero Queso Fresco (Used my new quesadilla maker and the low carb tortilla's dont crisp up so they are easy to eat. Snack: 1 SF FF Dulce de Leche pudding Cup Water throughout the day. Cal: 845 Carbs: 33.76 Prot: 66.18 End of Day Observation: Although I didn't actually feel like throwing up, something I ate today made me slightly nauseas for a few minutes. It was either the chicken salad I made OR the Crystal Light in my drink... not sure. Tomorrow I am doing the drink to see if it make me nauseas and the next day I will try the chicken salad. Today I felt hungry a lot and think I overate. I think I may have mistaken thirst for hunger a few times... It is easy to stay under 800, but I was munching too much!

This is my favorite! we use tator tots (to match the equivalent calorie count) and we all think it comes out much better!

Thanks Tiff! Did you notice how my weight has hit the 2 week stall? LOL! I am not worried as it should start going down soon.

I am using a free blackberry app called Calorie Counter by Fat Secret to track my food consumption, exercise and weight...n I am posting my food log on the post op diet forum

For those of you tracking my progress, I am keeping a daily (or every other day) food log in the Pre and post Op diet forum. I document observations there, too. Consider this my last posting on this thread... Thanks for all the support! I hope my diet log helps any new people. I hope it keeps me more accountable.

Hi all... Some weird things I would like to report (5-days post-op): 1) Keep dreaming about eating stuff I am not supposed to eat. Waking up in a panic thinking I screwed up. 2) Head hunger is rough. I am in an all inclusive resort right now, all alone, and I could order anything I want from room service... ARGH.... 3) I have a constant headache. Not bad, but constant. I think it is due to lack of food. 4) I haven't seen the scale move too much. I have lost a total of 5 lbs, but haven't lost anything the last few days. I am using a different scale, so not sure how accurate it is. 5) My teeth and tongue feel weird. I am starting to notice a bit of a tastebud change, but nothing hugely noticeable yet. 6) I had an incident occur last night... I ordered my Soup from room service at 7:30pm and it didn't arrive until 11:30pm. When it did arrive, it was purreed instead of strained. By 12:00 I just called room service and told them to forget about it. Yeah, I know. it stinks and I spoke to the manager about that... the thing that was kinda weird is that I was all choked up about it and cried a little bit. I am NOT the type to do stuff like that over something minor. I wasn't even hungry and had plenty of juice. BUT this brings to light how your mental state is so closely tied to your physical state. Those of you that have been depressed post op should understand that your mind is reacting to the deprivation of your body. I thought it was an interesting observation... 7) I am getting a slew of advice on food from people. 8) Drain is out since Wednesday. Finally able to take a full shower today! 9) Reading this forum has given me a lot of expectations (was reading the NSV thread- it rocked!). I need to balance those expectations with how my body and my particular experience is going. I may no lose 100 lbs in 6 months... I have to understand this is a lifetime change and not a quick fix. 10) I still feel exactly the same as I did before. This surgery did not change me. I can imagine that once I am having to explicitly manage "eating" instead of just drinking, that I may see more of an effect, but this is just another tool right now. Anyway, these are just some observations that I thought would be good to share.. Man, those food dreams are weird, too!!! Later y'all, Aimee

Today: Day 16 post op Breakfast: 1 Scrambled Egg w/Cheese Snack: 1 Muscle Milk light Lunch: 4 bonesless wings(over a few hrs) Snack: 1 chocolate whey Protein shake Dinner: 1 Ricotta Dessert 1 scrambled egg with cheese Water throughout the day. Cal: 798 Carbs: 28.3 Prot: 71.92 End of Day Observation: Today I realized that was drinking w/ or around my meals and was getting hungry a bit too soon. That's why I ended up having another scrambled egg later that night. Another revelation; It is truly different to eat food that is pureed and food that you chew to death. I found that pureed food went down easier and I had less chest tightening. When I chew the food to a pureed state, it sort of makes it way down, get stuck a bit and then continues. I guess my advice is to mush the food, whenever you can. I managed to keep my carbs low and protein high. I am modeling my goals after the cornell recommendations: Weeks 0-2: Total Cal: 400-600 Total Carbs: <40 Total Protein: 70 Weeks 3 - 3 months (Soft Foods): Total Cal: 600-800 Total Carbs: <40 Total Protein: 70 - 90 3 - 12 months (Regular Food): Tota Cal: <800 Total Carbs: <40 Total Protein: 70 - 90 After Reaching Goal (Regular Food): Tota Cal: 1000 - 1200 Total Carbs: 40 - 60 Total Protein: 70 - 90

Here are the Nutritional Stats I came up with: Spinach Ricotta Bake: Cal: 1055 Fat: 31.5 Carbs: 191 Fiber: 1 Protein: 35.5 This makes 6 hearty 1/2 cup servings Ricotta Dessert: Cal: 822.5 Fat: 45.4 Carbs: 35.5 Fiber: 2.5 Protein: 58.3 This makes ~8 to 9 good 1/2 cup servings If someone has better stats let me know!

Today: Day 15 post op Breakfast: 1 Scrambled Egg w/Cheese Snack: 1 Muscle Milk light Lunch: 2 bonesless wings 1/2 cup tomato basil Soup (Applebee's) Dinner: 1 bonesless wing 1/6 of the Spinach Ricotta Bake Water throughout the day. Cal: 556 Carbs: 42 Prot: 31 End of Day Observation: Today I felt mentally better adjusted. I need to focus better on my Proteins but feel that I am on my way! OMG the Spinach Ricotta Bake and the Ricotta dessert seriously rock! However, watch the carbs. Check the recipe forum for the data on this!

Post Op Day 14: "Just because you can doesn't mean you should." That's my observation. I ate two things that went down but in thinking about it, my body and mind are in accord: you are not ready. Even though they were reduced to mush, it just didn't feel right. Bfast: I had 1/8 of a small sausage patty and ~1/2 scrambled egg (think holiday inn express). I didn't finish the patty because it was too tough to totally reduce to mush. Lunch: 1 slice of hubbies quesadilla and some mashed potatoes. While the quesadilla was reduced to mush, it just mentally and physically didn't feel right. Next time, will stop at subway and get egg salad or their seafood salad. Portion wise, I didn't finish either and they went into lunch and a snack. Still have potatoes left even after snack. For dinner, probably just having a shake. I am tired of eating actually! Don't move too fast. I must eat slow and chew enough that I don't get the stuff y'all talk about but I can mentally see that I am moving light years too fast. Just doesn't feel right and don't want to grow overconfident! Damn, this is tough!

All, Enjoy your food but just remember that every extra lb you gain is one more you will have to lose. I would rather save my lb loss for the original ones I've been carrying around for years instead of making it a longer process!

I has a BM 2 days out ( again liquidy). I am starting mushies and I had regular BM the next day (thin but appropriate). I believe the key is to keep hydrated!

So I am 14 days post op. I had a drain inserted during surgery (Sat) and it was out in less than 1 week (Wed). The drain is a long tube that is inserted into you and actually snakes into your intestines I believe. The tube (thin) sticks out of your left side in between your armpit and hip. Just a little hole with a long tube about arm length with a bulb at the end. The bulb is supposed to be squished looking ( for suction) and if it is completely bulbous, then it is open and it won't work. Its purpose is to help drain the excess liquids and much that was brought on by the surgery. The doc will show you how to use it and take care of it and it mostly just a nuisance. It doesn't interfere with wearing pants and I usually put the bulb in my sweats pocket if I was walking around. A bit awkward but by far very easy to maintain and keep hidden. Seriously one of the last things to worry about. Hope that helps!

Post-Op day 13: Got the OK to start mixing things up yesterday! People... I have had ZERO complications to date and I made sure to ask my doc before proceeding. Please make sure you ask! Today did all liquids except for dinner. Ordered Soup ( in case meat didn't work) and had one piece of my husbands chicken. About the length and width of my thumb. Cut it up into tiny bites, chewed it until the consistency of mush and ate it in about 30 minutes. Got full and did not have space for soup. Also didn't want to mix liquids with the Protein. I was at a restaurant and that is why I didn't pre mush it, but it worked well. WARNING: A tougher piece of meat would not work well to chew it into mush! This chix was nice and flaky. My hubby high fived me when I told him I was full! Observations: 1) The difference between liquids and any other stage is amazing. In the liquid stage I thought I would never really feel satisfied again. In the mushie stage, I am happy to say I love my sleeve! 2). Those of you that are controlled diabetics, I am happy to report that even in liquids stage, I did not have any mad sugar swings! I actually feel pretty darn good. 3) I am convinced that it would have been good to have joined a support group PRIOR to the surgery. At this time, this forum is my support group, however I plan on joining one next week. 4). To date, I have lost 18 lbs. That rocks. This inspired me to continue with my mushies/liquid mix 1 more week as my doc recommended. Instead of me feeling like I was cheating, he offered me an alternative. 5). Damn people, don't underestimate the power that your mind has to sabotage your good intentions. Stay strong people! I struggle with this every day and I think I am a very strong person. 6). I have had zero complications to date (except the runs on day 11). Am anxiously awaiting my first big mistake that will cause me to throw up or whatever it is that we sometimes do. Any time I try something with a new consistency, I wait like 5 mins in between each bite to make sure I chewed it enought and that it is going to stay down... OK, that's the end of my latest info!

Same fears here. Just had one piece of chicken ( think a small nugget about the size of your thumb) and that was my dinner. I am starting to convert to mushies and chewed the heck out of the chicken. Not sure I am even supposed to be able to eat that but it went down fine. I had that one piece and had a Soup waiting for me but was too full. I sometimes think that those of us that are having an "easier" time of it are feeling guilty that it is going so easy and are second guessing our every move. I know my body pretty well and took about 30 mins to eat that one piece. Took it slow and listened to my body. I sometimes get concerned that I am moving too fast, but man, it just feels right... Any feedback appreciated.

Hi all, I am through with the surgery and in the hotel. Sweet hotel and excellent room! I will take pics. I am doing excellent. The hospital staff said I was their best patient all year long (LOL); The doctor said that everything went off without a hitch AND they are even going to give me a DVD of my surgery... Ugh and cool at the same time. I have a checkup on Wednesday to get the drain out and to double check the stiches. Overall, I think it was a relatively easy recovery for me, so far. I don't have international cell phone access just yet, but am working with my cousin to get a cell phone with international calls available. For now, if anyone wants to get in touch with me, I am at: The Domnican Fiesta Hotel $ Casino Tel: 809-562-8222 (just dial 1-#) Hotel Room: #438 Otherwise, I will keep up with email. Later everyone! E. Aimee Bauer P.S. My surgeon was HOT! And had a deep sexy voice...lol

Just a note: the only times I get leg cramps are when I am severely dehydrated or lacking potassium! Keep sipping!

Yes ma'am. Keeping it all on the straight and narrow. Hope you future sleevers learn from this and to date this has been really easy for me. So, don't repeat my stupidity. Keep posted for future observations/revelations.