Globetrotter

Fen-Phen, when a friend of mine was 15 her Mother put her on it, her desire to have a thin daughter meant more to her than her daughter's health. Oh my friend lost weight all right, and has never been the same since. The drug caused her to not sleep (hello-speed) so what did her Mom do? Gave her sleeping pills. Once she went off the fen-phen she gained weight at an astonishing speed, before the drug she was merely a healthy chubby, a few months after the drug she was morbidly obese. It is my opinion that using fen-phen kicked her bipolarism into gear, though I suppose its emergence at the same time could be a coincidence ...

What about TVP, Texturized Vegetable Protein? I tried a hemp protein shake from my local co-op when I was home (N. Cal.) and I nearly keeled over from the horribleness, which is saying a lot considering how horrible the other more typical shakes are, this was the worst!

What I've got available to me that isn't fried/breaded/white carbs/sugary: baked chicken breast steamed veg medley canned tuna/turkey steamed fish raw salad fixings ribeye steak/fajita steak/swiss steak snacks: Peanut Butter beef Jerky cream cheese/laughing cow cheese drink: plain Water herbal tea (tea bags from home) Protein rtd shakes It's a responsible menu but sorely lacking in flavor, variety, and deliciousness. I think this is the reason I am finding it so difficult to stick to 600 cals lately, I keep ending up with a daily total nearer to 700. Send me something? :huh0: wahoo!! That would be fantastic!! But I don't have access to a kitchen, only a fridge and a microwave.

I believe you Jane, or I desperately want to believe you, but it's like telling a crack-head that crack no longer has addictive properties.

I'm 6 weeks out. At four days post-op you are still a cocktail of drugs and anesthesia and gas so that is what you will be feeling right now. Once you start sipping anything stronger than clear liquids you will most definitely be able to"tell" when enough is enough, for me I felt that with clears too. I suppose every person's signal is different but for me that early out it was very painful pressure in the spot where the new stomach is. If I took too large a gulp I would feel that same pain but instead it would be in my esophagus. If you are worried that you will find a way to "cheat" the sleeve because there is no real dumping, don't worry, pain is a VERY good behavior modifier! And once you are on solids there is the risk of "sliming", a hideous experience I recently had with a food I have already eaten post-op.

Wow. I won't cry because I'm at work but Christie, you said it all sister! I am so impressed that you are halfway to goal at only 15 weeks, gosh I want that to be me! Every worry, every action you mentioned, you were voicing my worries, my actions. You are so lucky to have an April in your life! I hope to connect in person with fellow sleevers when I return to the States.

Yes, just because you can doesn't mean you should.

Tea "pearls" are traditionally jasmine but with tea experiencing a vogue in the States right now, wider varieties can be found. Jasmine is still the best tho, imo. The leaves are folded and rolled and stiched into a ball. It's done by tea artisans and they have the technique of doing it so that when the pearl is covered in hot water, it unfurls or, "blossoms". I first had one served to me in a glass teapot in a teahouse in Boulder CO. A good tea pearl is relatively expensive compared to a box of teabags. One pearl can be about $1.00 whereas a box of 20 bags can be just $3. FYI however - when you are buying the average teabag of black tea in the US what you are buying is tea dust, the leftover dregs and remnants of good tea. This inferior tea is then doctored up to give it taste. I'm not badmouthing teabags, just saying make sure you get your money's worth by reading the ingredients on the box.

I'm afraid to even try french fries ... afraid I won't be able to stop!

Yes, I also thought that to a great extent, chol. is genetic.

Ha, make that the three of us! I stalled from week 3 to 6 and then lost almost 3 pounds in less than 2 days, so I have no idea what's going on.

I was fine with meatloaf 4 weeks out, I'm in week 6 and I'm ok with chicken and tuna although they don't digest comfortably. At the end of week 5 I tried to eat some hamburger patty and in the words of Pretty Woman, "big mistake. huge!" That was the only time I have ever "slimed" - the pain was something awful.

Anybody know if any of the brands make a good PB&C flavor? I luuuv peanut butter chocolate. :scared0:

All these opinions have been super helpful, thanks guys! I've decided to not focus on the fat, just keep my carbs down. Also, instead of concentrating my fats in one intake I'm spreading them around. So instead of having one "big" serving of pb, I'm having a little cream cheese here, a vash quiri there, etc. Plus I've switched out the morning sausage patty for a serving of A-1 jerky nuggets which I heard of here on the forum. 12g's protein for one ounce, oh yeah!!

umfff, Jared Leto has been hot since I first saw him in My So-Called Life, mm-mm, that man never stops being good looking!

Two teas I relied on in the week after surgery and still drink regularly are "tension tamer" and "tummy mint". I think tension tamer is by celestial seasonings and tummy mint I think is by stash. I also bought some beautiful tea "pearls" by Numi, they blossom in the pot/cup and are as visually appealing as they are tasty.

It's not the final digestion so much, the exiting from the stomach and breaking down in the intestines, for me it's more the entry into the stomach and initial digestion. If I eat chicken, tuna, or eggs I can only eat an ounce maybe ounce and a half comfortably and even then it feels like I just ate a ball of concrete. I'm 6 weeks out. On the other hand, I think greek yogurt is the sleever's best friend.

Give your mouth something to do; sugar free suckers, gum, jaw-breaker. Give your hands something to do; knitting, crochet, needlepoint, cross-words, sudoku, journaling, mincing/slicing/dicing. Exercise. Pop a good wad of gum in, start knitting while watching tv and not only will the time fly by but you will have two things to show for it - weight loss and fabulous scarves!

You have GOT to go to the thread I started in the "Ladies Gone Wild" section - it addresses this exact, "problem", hee hee. The thread is called "now there's a side effect ..."

I'm 6 weeks out and still use a spoon and fork I got with cans of lunchmeat spread, so even tinier then baby utensils. Yes the water used in shakes etc. counts, in fact any liquid you can get down counts as liquids, including clear broths. I wasn't able to do "straight" liquids and food at the same time for the first 2-3 weeks. Never ever feel that a question is stupid or inconsequential, that is the beauty of this forum, we can all relate!!

Yeah, I think I know that sasuage is high in fat ...:thumbup1: An army difac doesn't work that way, there are no "special considerations" that you can ask of a cook, not here, you take what you can get. The sausage was on days when my choices for protein were limited. I'm going back to having a shake every day, it keeps things simpler and easier to track. I'm also throwing away my peanut butter, clearly it has the potential to become a slider food.

tough love - how can you have forgotten your dietary needs? I didn't think that was physically possible. Are you in OA? Have you sought therapy for underlying issues? I'll guess that you aren't tracking your food then. It really keeps you honest, fitday - dailyplate - fatsecret are all online food trackers. I've heard of some folks here doing a "sleeve cleanse", sort of like resetting the clock, where they go back to a liquid/protein shake diet for a week.

YESSSSSSSS!! I'm SO glad you filed a complaint - kick a$$!!!! was she skinny?

This is why one of the many prescriptions I had to fill the day before surgery included one for lorazapam, an anti-anxiety medication. When My surgeon gave me the scrips I thought that was odd, why would I need an anti-anxiety med? Three days after surgery I found out - weeping and freaking out with major buyer's remorse, thank goodness for the lorazapam! By following a strict regimen of drugs and positive thinking in the first week I was able to get over it and now when occasionally the enormity of what I've done "occurs" to me, I just try to move on, spilt milk and all that.

A couple of months ago I posted a comment regarding this and Coke - old advertisements for Coke-Cola show people holding these teeny glasses with the trademark Coke shape, barely taller than the curve of their hands holding it. Today we are given plastic jugs so big you have to use both hands!