LadyIvy

I really really love the special K multigrain crackers. They manage to be salty and sweet at the same time. I put a tiny bit of Peanut Butter on them so that I get in some Protein too. 27 of them is something like 110 calories and yum.

I carried Nature Valley Peanut and Dark chocolate Protein Bars and hard boiled eggs. I also cut up chicken into nugget sized bites and baked them and threw those in the cooler as well. Of course, by this point I had just been cleared to eat whatever I wanted and we were camping for a week on the beach. Either way, its hard on the beach because it is hot and you need to drink, drink, drink and that is going to conflict with eating times. A couple of the days, I settled for eating less than I should made sure I drank Protein Shakes during the day and kept my fluids up.

Call the general surgery clinic at your local military hospital and speak with the head surgical nurse. If that is a dead end, try the nutritionist at the hospital.

At two months out, I can have whatever I want. In fact, tonight I made steak for fathers day and ate about 3 oz of it. Its the first red meat I have had since surgery. No problems here.

Fish cooked properly really shouldn't taste fishy. As a matter of fact, tuna is more "fishy" than properly prepared fish should ever be. I'm always sad when people get turned off to seafood because their first exposure was poorly prepared. Kept me from eating fish for YEARS. So glad I learned differently. It is a great lean Protein that can easily take on the flavor of whatever you prepare it with.

You are not necessarily doing anything wrong. However, journaling what you eat is highly recommended while you reprogram your brain. If you stop and think about it, 22 lbs in a month is amazing! Don't get on yourself, its a learning process and we all lose differently.

Thats exactly when I got my period too. Just tell them when you check in and they will give you ugly surgical panties with a huge pad. It won't stop anything.

I'm sorry no one has noticed. If you got used to wearing baggy clothes it can make it hard to tell for others until your clothes are falling off you. The bigger I got, the more I hid from people so now that I have dropped the quitting smoking weight, I am seeing those people more often again. To them, I haven't changed at all. However, the other day I ran into some people that I saw literally the week before surgery and they had some wonderful comments. Hang in there, sometimes we keep the weight and just manage to re proportion. Keep up the good work. There is no way YOU haven't noticed your success yet right? You are all that matters! Just out of curiosity, how are you doing with your Protein intake? Do you take Biotin or any other supplements?

Are you taking tiny sips? Have you tried something warm instead of room temp? Cold did not do well by me for about 2 weeks post op. If you can't get anything in I would call your doc. The biggest worry post op is dehydration.

I'm not. However, I only have room for so many things in a day. My priority is protein. After that, I don't have a lot of room for anything else.

The esophageal lining is made up of the exact same stuff that the remaining part of our stomach is made up of. I'm going to save any comments for a more respectable article. What is the Daily Mail anyway? Don't give any credence to someone (or their editor) who not only misspells esophagus, but won't even own up to their own article. The only author I see here is named Daily Mail Reporter.

I have to tell you, every day I don't lose another lb I am glad I had this surgery. It reminds me how VERY strange my body is with weight loss. I usually average about 800 calories a day, plus my workout and I usually just net over 400 calories (If I don't include my BMR). I will go a couple weeks and not lose a single lb. Or I will lose 7 lbs in a week. My body loathes to let go of the bad stuff, even as I build up the muscle layer underneath it. I am a slow loser, its okay. Do I have days where I get a little ticked? Yeah. I am working like crazy and watch others losing at twice the rate. Again, is that okay? Definitely, because I see lots of benefits to losing a bit slower too. Less extra skin, less hair loss, faster cognitive recovery, less tired (although some days I am not sure about this last one). I measure myself every couple of weeks and am steadily losing. No, it is not immediate, and I know I am doing everything exactly as I am told to. I look at my choices every day. The way my family and I live life now is unreal some days. I offered my husband the chance to get a cheeseburger and he said "No thanks, I don't feel like being sick for the next two days". Everyone is not only physically healthier, but our family budget is healthier too! Instead of taking my son out to dinner for his birthday, I used the money for him to do Chemistry Camp for an entire week (kid loves sushi and it is pricey). When we do go out, I either order an appetizer or my husband has lunch for work the next day. We actually walked out of a restaurant last week because they couldn't not fry something and the only veggies they had was corn or fried. In short, I know watching other people lose 18 lbs a week is frustrating when you struggle for that healthy 1 or 2. I don't know about you all, but even though it is slow going, one of my biggest motivators is knowing that once a number is gone, I am never going to see it again. Not in a million years would I trade my sleeve. I get frustrated I can't eat as much as I want sometimes (I miss my big salads). I get frustrated when the scale wants to move slowly (or not at all). However, the quality of life that my family and I now have is wonderful! I get time taking walks or bike riding with my son every day. My husband is making people jealous with the wonderfully yummy food he takes to work every day and yet managed to lose 40 lbs. Keep up the great work and don't give up.

I have been eating raw veggies since March 19th (about 5 and a half weeks out) and dairy since about a week out. My tummy makes strange sounds with dairy now, but a gas x strip eliminates that problem. Never any pain with either.

I started raw about 3 weeks ago. I chew them well, but I chew everything well now, and I have never had any issues. I wish I could have more veggies, but I just don't have room! Its hard to get in all the veggies I want anymore. It is really the only thing that makes me angry about this surgery. If that is the worst of my problems, I won't complain too much

Great low cal dinner with good Protein. Minutes to Prepare: 15 Minutes to Cook: 35 Number of Servings: 12 Tips Can add chicken. Add a diced, cooked chicken breast or two and calculate added protein. Ingredients Rice: • 1 cup jasmine rice or aromatic basmati • 2 cups Water • 1/2 teaspoon salt Shrimp: • 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined, shells reserved • Vegetable oil • 2 cloves garlic, smashed and finely chopped • 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste • 1 (14-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk • 2 kaffir lime leaves • 1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce • 2 teaspoons brown sugar • 1 lime, zested and juiced • 4 shiitake mushrooms, julienned • 1 green pepper (bell) • 1/2 cup fresh pineapple, cut into 1/2-inch dice, for garnish • Cilantro leaves, for garnish (optional) Directions Directions For the rice: Combine the rice, water, and salt in a small saucepan. Bring the water to a boil. Cover the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 15 minutes. For the shrimp: Place the shrimp shells in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and turn off the heat. Let the shells steep in the water. Coat a large, straight-sided saute pan with vegetable oil. Bring the pan to medium-high heat. Add the garlic and paste. Quickly add the coconut milk and stir to combine. Toss in the lime leaves. Add the fish sauce, brown sugar, lime zest, and juice. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Strain the shrimp shell water through a strainer into a bowl. Measure out 1 cup and add it to the pan. Cook until the mixture has thickened to the consistency of heavy cream. Add the shrimp and mushrooms and cook until the shrimp turn pink, 3 to 4 minutes. Fluff the with a fork. Spoon the rice into a bowl and spoon the shrimp mixture over top. Top with green pepper, diced pineapple, and cilantro leaves. Serving Size: Makes around 12, half cup servings Nutritional Info Servings Per Recipe: 12 Amount Per Serving Calories: 87.0 Total Fat: 2.8 g Cholesterol: 55.3 mg Sodium: 281.1 mg Total Carbs: 9.1 g Dietary Fiber: 0.6 g Protein: 7.2 g