delta_girl

You don't have to tell them what you are doing or why. It isn't secrecy ..... it is privacy.

My vsg was September 26 and I'm down 61 lbs. A few days before my TOM I could chew the paint off of walls I feel so hungry. The more simple carbs I eat, the hungrier I tend to get, too. It might be that you are really thirsty and interpreting it as hunger. I try to keep slider foods out of my house, but I do have little Goldfish crackers that work well for me. When I feel the urge to snack or have a plate of something that is crunchy or salty, I make up a small plate with pickles, pickled okra, sugar snap peas, cheese, a few nuts, some edamame and low fat crackers if I have them. Make sure you are getting all of your Vitamins in, too. That might contribute to some cravings.

Well...I was horribly, hopelessly addicted to sugar prior to surgery. I would rather have candy and cake than real food for meals any day, at any opportunity. I ate almost no meat or vegetables, little fruit and a lot of junk. Now I have an extremely low tolerance for sugar. I've tasted several things in the last few months, but I really don't have the same desire for it anymore. I was given a whole coconut cake for my birthday this past weekend and I have only eaten one half of one slice with most of the icing removed. I don't really want anymore. I don't want a candy bar. I don't want ice cream. I don't want brownies or jelly beans. If I eat more than a tablespoon of it I feel very ill. I think that I can safely and with confidence say that I do believe that addiction is gone.

There are a few articles on the web about it. A lot of restaurants have hidden menus with big fan followings, such as Starbucks. Panera has a fairly big menu and it changes seasonally and if you go inside and look at the menu, I don't even know where you would find space to put up even more choices. Also, since it is directly targeted to a smaller market, it may not have the broader consumer appeal that other items have. It would be interesting if someone wanted to call Panera and ask them directly.

I knew before surgery that I had to give up soda, beer and any other carbonated beverages, so I made peace with that prior to surgery. That was a huge step for me because I LOVE craft beers. For the first time since my surgery on September 26, I took a sip of Coke this weekend. Then a second sip. I did not want anymore. It tasted artificial and excessively sweet. I don't miss sodas at all.

low fat kefir herbal teas Truvia Powerade Zero 1% Vitamin D milk 100% Columbian coffee sugar free popsicles (not frozen fruit bars) Bumble Bee Tuna Sensations Canned chicken (keep in my desk at work) string cheese shredded cheese blend (Italian) Ostrim avocados cherry tomatoes baby spinach cucumbers edamame Asian pears pickled okra pork tenderloin chicken breasts extra virgin olive oil roasted red peppers capers several mustard varities salsa And probably my favorite new product: 34 degrees crackers and Cookies at around 5 calories each and flavors such as sesame, cinnamon, rosemary and cracked pepper. They are awesome with Laughing Cow low fat cheese http://www.34-degrees.com/

That is scary. I know vitamin b12 is critical, so I'm very good about getting a monthly b12 shot. I don't have any reason nor excuse for not taking my multi-vitamins. I'm good about so many other things I really don't know why I have allowed myself to skip these. Thank you for the info.

AH HA! OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!! I have been completely stalled for over 3 weeks. Big stall with nothing going on. I thought it might be an ingredient in the Powerade Zero I'm constantly drinking that was impacting my weight loss. I didn't even realize it until this thread. I haven't taken my multi-Vitamin in weeks!!! THAT may be what is going on. I'll find out soon because I'll be taking care of those Vitamins again starting now.

I haven't looked up carbs, but they would have to be pretty low. There is no bread, no rice, no Pasta, no crackers, no salad dressing. I'm around three and a half months out so am eating regular food. 15 grams of protein in a single meal for me hits right where I need to be based on my surgeon and nutritionist's recommendation for my daily protein intake of 45-50 grams. Neither want me eating much more than 50 grams of protein a day since that would be excessive for my height and weight goal and harder on my liver to process. I'm amazed at the extremely high levels of protein other members are asked to take in daily.

I got the Power Chicken Hummus bowl yesterday for lunch. It was SO GOOD! Very fresh ingredients and tasted fantastic. I ate half of it for lunch and most of the other half for supper. I couldn't finish all of the spinach.

It counts whatever you ask it to count. You just need to adjust the settings.

Same here. I was totally self pay and had to do all of that as well. It may have been because I had my surgery done at a Bariatric Center of Excellence, which may have specific requirements of patients to maintain that designation.

Look up some of the long list of ingredients that are in a lot of those McDonald's food items and you might quickly lose your appetite for that garbage. That is just about the lowest level of consumable food products that you can get. Its really pretty gross, actually. I do on occasion get coffee their (plain) or yogurt parfait, and have even tried their oatmeal. As far as the other stuff goes, I haven't been interested since way back in college in the early 1990s. Its crap.

Anyone on a pre-op plan would have lost that already.

My doctor refuses to do RNY.

Most of your calories should be coming from protein. If not, you are going to feel hungry.

I have struggled with this exact same type of question during stalls when I was exercising and eating under 600 calories. I'm on the 3rd week of a stall that is really beginning to wear on my nerves (I'm 3 and a half months out from surgery). I upped my calories from around 500 calories a day to 900 calories a day for the last 3 days to see if that would shock my body. Nope. BMR is BMR. If there is a deficit, then there should be a reciprocal action. And I'll also add that I've been checking my keytones with strips. Before I was in heavy ketosis. Now I am in "trace" or "light" ketosis. I know you don't have to be in ketosis to lose weight.

This question gets asked just about every week. It really isn't an issue. I started, heavily, a little more than an hour before surgery. LOTS of women members here started at some point around surgery.

http://m.bizjournals.com/stlouis/blog/2013/01/have-you-heard-about-paneras-hidden.html?r=full

Brook's all the way. They have an incredible range of running shoes and they are serious about their product. I've had just about every other brand but when I got my first pair of Brook's there was no way I was going back to any of the others. They aren't cheap, but worth every single penny.

My understanding of these is that their effectiveness declines after about 3 months, so you should switch them out. Someone have details on this?

I just read about Panera's Hidden Menu today. You won't see it anywhere in the store. You have to request an item specifically from the Hidden Menu. Here are photos and descriptions of the choices: http://mypanera.panerabread.com/articlestips/article/access-into-paneras-hidden-menu/ And nutritional information: The so-called hidden menu has six items, including the power Breakfast egg white bowl with roasted turkey (180 calories; 25g protein), the power breakfast egg bowl with steak (230 calories; 20g protein), power Mediterranean chicken salad (360 calories; 35g protein), power Mediterranean roasted turkey salad (320 calories; 22g protein), power chicken hummus bowl (330 calories; 33g protein) and the power steak lettuce wrap (280 calories; 28g protein). I can't wait to try the Power Breakfast Egg White Bowl!

This is just me, but I wouldn't want to. That's a lot of chemicals in one big can. I gave up all carbonation, but still enjoy a cup of regular coffee sometimes, so no way am I perfect in anything. Energy drinks just don't call my name.

I have reconciled with myself that there are just some tradeoffs and that's OK. There will be some tightening of skin in places and not as much in others. Exercise, drinking Water and moisturizing can help up to some extent. Surgery is always an option.