MidwestGirl

I would love to go someday. I had planned to teach ESL in China after I graduate from college (this May), but used my sleeve as a way to talk myself out of going....... I love to travel, but I am also a big homebody and I love being around my family (and fiance). I studied abroad in Wales Fall 2008, so that was my big travel experience so far, and while there I realized how much emphasis there is in other countries to speak another language fluently (besides English). That's the main reason I'm taking Chinese now. I have taken Spanish, French, German, and Welsh, and yet I am only fluent in English. So while I'm graduating soon I hope I can keep taking Chinese classes somewhere. Did you do the Tai Chi?! That would be fun! I hope to see the Great Wall someday too and I also want to visit Guilin, it's the city with the cone-shaped limestone rock formations. Google image it because I can't really explain! :thumbup: I'm curious, did you take Japanese classes or use Rosette Stone or something like that? I initially would have preferred Japanese but my college doesn't offer it. But now am glad I'm taking Chinese - you kinda get attached! :cursing:

LOL! Thanks for making me laugh, Kokonut. And I will definitely update you guys post-buffet experience! I guess I just need to approach the situation with bossy/nosey lady differently. If she brings it up it's probably because she realizes she is eating enough for three people. :lol0: And I can feel good knowing that I'm no longer killing myself by putting large amounts of artery clogging food in my body! You guys always make me feel better! Thanks!

I'm just over a month out and my physical therapist has me doing strength training exercises to try to help a little with the excess skin. I have 3 to target arms, 3 to target legs, and 3 to target midsection. Each exercise is supposed to target a different specific muscle. I don't know if that helps, but I'm doing it! :lol0:

If you think your iron supplement is contributing to the constipation, my dietitian told me the Bariatric Advantage chewable iron tablets seem to cause less issue with that. Something about how many iron supplements are made up of an iron compound which is what causes the constipation, but the chewables are straight iron (with some vitamin C) so they don't have that same effect. I figure it's worth a shot! I think Thinoneday is taking the chewables & said she doesn't have this problem. Mine are in the mail! :lol0:

Wow, thanks for all the great advice! I think I will try to call them ahead of time if I can get ahold of the number. Then I could ask about child pricing and/or a la carte ordering. I think what frustrates me the most is this lady...and I appreciate the advice on that too! Now I can at least look forward to going & maybe some yummy soup! :lol0: Thanks again sleeve sisters!

When I told my dietitian that I was waiting 1/2 hr after meals to take my Iron, she said "Who told you to wait?!" and I said well.....you always say we have to wait to have a drink. And she felt really bad and said that I could take it with a sip of Water during the meal if that helped. After trying the sample she gave me however, I just went ahead & ordered the chewables. They are probably more expensive than regular iron capsules because at least the ones I ordered are the Bariatric Advantage, but I think it's worth it! :lol0:

Hi Jenn, I think I pretty much agree with everything that's been said. I had my surgery 1 1/2 months ago, and I turned 21 last June. Actually, my birthday was right before I started researching WLS. As someone your age, I would say the birthday party is not worth it. I woke up the day after, as a person who never gets hangovers, with a huge headache, a stain on my new shirt and looking and feeling like crap. Now I look back at the pictures from that night and find myself sad that I was SO big then! Not to mention my amazing friends took pictures of all those drinks coming back up....I would say if I were in your shoes, I would have the surgery in June and celebrate your new life on your birthday! I feel like it's an especially huge decision to have surgery for those of us who are so young, simply because most people our age aren't worrying about their health at this point. If you really want the cruise then go, but how much is one night (that you won't even remember if you do it pre-op, trust me!) worth to you, both in cost and in waiting another 7 months? Only you can decide, and I think it's great you're seeking advice. Personally, I did most of my partying before I was legal...oops! So I'm okay with not drinking now. I like the occasional glass of wine, and knowing that in a few months I'll be okay to do that is fine with me. It's really up to you and good luck with figuring it all out! Also, congrats on beginning your classes! :lol0:

I love recipe surfing. And I totally agree about loving eggface's attitude. She kind of inspires me to keep enjoying cooking even though I can only eat a little bit. :001_tongue:

They were so good! And I froze them and had two today for dinner & they were just as yummy as they were on Sunday. If I make those again I think I will add a little bit of salt, but other than that....AMAZING! And it feels like a "treat" but is so healthy! Here's the nutrition info I got for the crab bites the way I made them: serving size 2 bites calories: 86 fat: 5g carbs: 2g Protein: 9g That was the nutrition info for using 1 TBS of benecol light spread, but I actually only used 1 tsp., so the information is a little higher than the actual bites. :001_tongue:

Ordered the Bariatric Advantage chewable Iron in lemon-lime the other day! The dietitian gave me a sample and they taste pretty good! They're super lemony. I made this face. :001_tongue: haha. Oregon, if you're looking to switch I would second Thin on the BA chewables! Also ordered the Bariatric Advantage calitrate chewables in chocolate. Yum!!! Anyone else know anything about getting Vitamin C with iron to absorb the iron better?

Ok, so here's the deal. I am taking a Chinese language class and as Chinese New Year begins on Sunday, we decided to go to Des Moines (about 45 mins away) to have some good Chinese food. Our class is small: me, my roommate, a bossy lady that works at the college, and our visiting professor from China. Not sure why we are going to a buffet (that's what bossy lady decided) since I'm pretty sure most buffets in Iowa aren't exactly authentic & if we were just going to go to a buffet we could stay in town........... But whatever. So we will be going to a Chinese buffet in the next week or so. Obviously I won't be able to eat much though I am now on solids. My dietitian recommends 1/4c. food at each meal. So what should I do? I'm not thrilled about paying $15+ for a buffet meal (I'm a broke college student), but I don't really have any options, so any ideas on what would be sleeve-friendly on a Chinese buffet? I'm worried because I know most of the foods have sauces that are probably high in sugar. :crying: And while my roommate & professor both know about my surgery, I'm not looking forward to bossy lady (also nosey lady) asking questions that she has no business asking! Grr, can you tell I'm frustrated?! Sorry bout that! Any advice on eating buffet style post-sleeve would be GREAT.:blushing:

I agree with LAN2K. I had a kind of similar situation w/ my EKG. It was found that I have an irregular heartbeat (premature ventricular contractions), and my PCM freaked out and told me there was no way I was having surgery. She even got me into the cardiologist the NEXT DAY she was so worried. Turns out after multiple testing that my "condition" doesn't interfere with my daily life so I don't really need to worry about it. So the cardiologist wanted to put me on a beta blocker to get me through surgery. He said if I weren't having surgery he wouldn't have prescribed anything at all. Come to find out, beta blockers are pretty common for pre-surgery anyway. I know it's difficult but I wouldn't worry, otherwise you risk worrying yourself sick and that's no good! Hope everything's okay & let us know what happens!

Same for me.

Hey Tracy, is that like a frozen meal? Or in what section of the store do you find it? Sounds good!!

Hey Tiffy, how far out did you start eating jerky? My brother made me some venison jerky and says it's not tough like store-bought stuff, but I wasn't sure when I could start eating it.

I ate a string cheese about once a day.

I know it's been awhile but thanks for posting this! I made this last night. Correction...my fiance made it. :lol0: But it was soooooo yummy! And nice to have a recipe for once rather than eating a single food as I've been doing. And the fiance loved it too! Luckily I got one of those guys who doesn't complain about meatless meals. :blushing:

An ice cream maker! To make Protein ice cream, of course! :blushing: Go to theworldaccordingtoeggface: I heart giveaway - Protein Ice Cream Maker and read her instructions for entering the contest. Good luck all! :lol0:

I definitely agree with Tracy & Angel. I don't miss the actual food itself, I miss the social part of eating. And I'm sick of eating around family & friends and having them say "that's ALL you can eat?!" and look at me with pity. :lol0: It's aggravating that people don't take the time to understand. But other than that, I'm happy with how much & what I'm eating now! :blushing:

Thanks for mentioning this! The Nectar Chocolate Truffle protein powder I got pre-op is sickly sweet for me now, but I tried adding the PB2 last night and it's sooooooo good. :lol0:

Oooh, now I want THAT recipe! Today: Breakfast: 1/4c. oatmeal made w/ water Lunch: 1/4c. prepared tuna salad + 3 fatfree saltines Dinner: 2 slices of chicken lunchmeat (1 oz.) + 1 string cheese stick (1 oz.) Snack: 8 oz. shake w/ milk Gotta make another shake!

Very glad to hear you're doing so well! Pretty cool you got the same nurse too, I bet that doesn't happen too often! :thumbup: You kick butt, girl!

Laura, that Arby's sandwich sounds yummy! Hehe. I haven't tried baked potato yet though I'm now allowed to. I should do that.. Thin, I know what you mean w/ the amounts people eat! People watch me eat and can't believe that I'm not dead from lack of nutrition :thumbup:. Then I watch them eat and wow...I just cannot comprehend that much food anymore! I haven't been out to eat yet so that will be interesting...hoping to go to Red Lobster this weekend where I will have some steamed crab legs (I don't like it with the butter anyway) and some nice steamed broccoli. And I will get to eat it for a couple days!! It's the same thing I got pre-op actually, but I'm so excited! :thumbup: So here's what I had today: Breakfast: 2 fatfree saltine crackers, 2 slices of roast chicken lunchmeat (about 1 oz), 3 little mandarin orange slices Lunch: 1 1/2 oz of the prepared tuna salad on 3 fatfree saltines Snack: a shake w/ 8 oz. milk Dinner: 2 slices roast chicken lunchmeat & a 3/4 oz. Laughing Cow cheese Snack: need to make my second shake!

Here's an update from Tiffykins: "Everything went well, I'm actually on my way home. Dr R did an endoscopy as well & said my sleeve looks fabulous." :thumbup1:

I had the same problem! I'm officially 1 month out today (Thursday!) and I'm trying to start drinking more plain water. I've had to add crystal light to everything because I have ALWAYS been a water-only drinker and so I have always gulped it. While the new tummy is healing, anything more than a sip will be painful. You will know if you're taking too big of sips! :drool5: It's good that you're trying it out now, I personally never thought about it before surgery, but I think it will get easier when you're post-op because if you gulp, it will hurt. Very good deterrent! LOL. There have been times where I forgot and took too big a drink, and I literally spit it out because I knew that if it got to my tummy, there would be pain! This probably sounds gross, so sorry about that! But now I'm to the point of taking a gulp, but keeping it in my mouth and taking tiny swallows if that makes sense. That way I don't have to bring the cup up to my mouth every two seconds. I sit in classes all day, so it looks weird. :thumbup1: And it does get better with the sipping. I can definitely take bigger drinks than I was three or four weeks ago. And I don't know about others but I think I saw Tiffykins post somewhere that she can take gulps now with no problems.:crying: