mistysj

I read this thread from start to finish over the course of two days. I am so impressed by you ladies. You have worked so incredibly hard and you are an inspiration. Thanks for being open and honest because I have found it so good to know that not everyone just drops to goal effortlessly. I am just beginning my journey but I have subscribed to this thread for inspiration. I promise not to post here until/unless I become a slow loser ( except for this one). I also read the regain article one of you posted a couple pages back. It talked about how some people need a revision from their first surgery to get to a healthy BMI. I am already trying to be open to that possibility. Have any of you considered a revision to get you there, if you have worked so hard for 2 or 3 years and are still having trouble? I know for me, I hope the sleeve works on its own, but I am trying to be open to the idea that I might need to revise it to DS if I eat pretty much perfectly for a couple years and still don't get there. I tried on my own to keep weight off for so long, and finally decided i need medical intervention. I suppose more medical intervention would not be the easy way out, just the same that getting the sleeve isn't the easy way out. What do y'all think about it?

I added my modified my optislim tomato soup recipe to the Recipe Swap board. I'm going to try blending my Protein shake powder into yogurt for dinner. Lets see how it goes. Edit to add that it's really good! Would be even better with vanilla or banana I think!

Similar to the chicken soup, I found the tomato soup terrible. I have made it manageable with the following recipe. I suspect it would also be good to just make it up with V8 instead of Water. Here is what I did. Blend the following together in a food processor: 1 packet Optifast or optislim tomato soup 1/3 cup powdered milk 1 tsp beef stock powder Add the following and blend thoroughly: 1 c water 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar OR 1 tbsp white vinegar Pour this into a saucepan. Add some dried cilantro and parsley, and a dash of hot sauce if you like. Heat over low just until it is warm enough to eat. Do not boil! If you get it too hot the Protein will clump. Strain and serve.

I figured out that I can make the optislim soups taste less disgusting. I posted the improved chicken one into the recipe sharing section. I will write up the tomato one today. I have been too scared to try the pumpkin at all yet. It's nice to have something that isn't sweet, but I think I would have better luck adding protein powder to homemade soups. But my dietitian wants me to use the optislim so I get all of the vitamins and nutrients. Oh well only 9 more days on full liquids!

I'm doing great! Still having diarrhea once a day and today I had gas cramps but I'm hard,y having any pain. My wound dressings are starting to fall off and incisions look great. Getting plenty of walking in, and not having too much trouble with my liquid and protein.

That's so amazing!!! How do you feel?

The first time I tried the chicken soup Meal Replacement I thought I was going to have to toss the box. It was so gross and gritty. But I have made it actually taste good so I thought I would share. In a food processor, blend: 1 packet of soup mix 1/3 cup skim milk powder 1/4 tsp beef stock powder 1 1/3 c cold Water Get them good and blended. Pour into a saucepan and set the heat to LOW. Add 1 tsp Worcester sauce, 1 tsp yellow mustard, and a bit of leek or spring onion leaf. Cook VERY SLOWLY until its warm enough to eat but nowhere near boiling. Strain and serve. If you need to reheat it just do it very gently to keep the Protein from clumping. I don't know if its the milk powder, the food processing, or the slow cooking, but its not gritty at all. Now to experiment with the tomato flavor.

I only used it once a week and it was 5+ years before the colonoscopy. The doctor accused me of abusing laxatives.

I just want to get some small bowls that only hold half a cup or 2/3 of a cup. I think that will be helpful. My dietitian has told me I shouldn't be eating more than 1/2 cup at at sitting for quite some time.

That smooth move tea has senna, which can actually turn your large intestine black and make colonoscopies harder to do. The doctor will also assume you are abusing laxatives. I speak from experience. Here is info about the disorder, called Melanosis coli: http://www.medicinenet.com/melanosis_coli/article.htm

Wow! Benefiber really does dissolve in black coffee without leaving a taste or texture. Awesome.

Congratulations Helen! How exciting you have your super approved. I think I turned a corner yesterday. The diarrhea is gone. Shoulder pain is much less. I was able to get in all 3 shakes and 13000 steps yesterday. I even did some shopping!

Goat is not fatty. I used to raise goats for meat. Here is a quote from Wikipedia: "Despite being classified as red meat, goat is leaner and contains less cholesterol and fat than both lamb and beef,[9] and fewer calories than beef or chicken" The citation is from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46519-2004Nov12.html

I did not need any of this stuff. It was easy to just pack the bare minimum and I didn't miss a thing. Clothes I came in/left in Night gown Slippers Couple changes undies Comfy sweat pants and t-shirt Travel size shampoo, conditioner, body wash, toothpaste, toothbrush, hairbrush Phone, charger iPod Kindle (or a book if that's your style) Wallet and a pen

Which stories were you reading? I have a hard time imagining people not losing with VSG unless they are eating around the sleeve, but I'd like to educate myself.

Second night after surgery I slept on my side. Not quite ready to sleep on my belly yet. The first night I could only sleep on my back which meant I didn't sleep much.

Get it out. That's the only way to ensure you don't have any more attacks. Besides attacks it can get infected like an appendix and burst. Bad news. It is not an important organ.

Never trust a fart at first. It is likely to be more than just air. I think I am finally getting over the runs. That has been the only negative for me so far. I walked more than 12000 steps today in two walks.

I damaged my BMR from doing a year of medically supervised Optifast. At the worst it was only 1300 as tested by the breathing machine. The doctor ordered a repeat test because he didn't believe it. I am hoping the sleeve combined with weight training will help. Metabolism is serious. I only lost 20 pounds from a year of eating less than 1000 calories a day.

That's nasturtium.

You can eat lots of veggies and low fat meat like goat, fish, and jerk chicken/ pork. And fruit! if you cook it yourself you can make it lower fat. try to avoid the fried foods though I bet that is hard. I think if it fill up on protein first then you will do great! And yes I hope I lose as much as you have!

Breakfast: half espresso Protein shake, black coffee Morning snack: other half shake Lunch: half protein tomato soup w/couple drops habanero sauce Afternoon snack: fruit juice, other half tomato soup Dinner: half chocolate Protein Shake , yakult Dessert: other half chocolate protein shake I'm supposed to have 3 shakes or Soups a day and its a challenge!

Awesome! Please post a review!