delta_girl

Every time I walk by these somewhere like GNC or smoothie King or the grocery, I feel so tempted. Then I stand there and look at every single nutritional label and put them back one at a time. They all seem to have so many calories or so many carbs in them it is as bad or even worse than the number of calories in a candy bar. Yeah, I know that they are more nutritionally sound and are a good Protein source, but still.... One of the last big diets I was on was TOPS, which really isn't a specific diet. I remember eating Luna bars for lunch very often at that time. 9g of protein 180 calories, 5g fat, 11g carbs. Then I think that I could just make an Isopure shake for 100 calories and get 20+g of protein and 0 carbs. It would be neat if they could do the same with the bars as they do with the shake powder. Low cal, low carb, high protein and decently tasty.

I can just remember how fragile I felt my like my new tummy was. It had been mutilated. Dramatic way to word it, but just think about all of that freshly traumatized and raw tissue, swollen..inflamed. How the first few weeks were so critical to healing and my surgeon terrified me by saying that serious complications and death were possible results of me making really bad choices. Now think about what it would feel like to pour alcohol on a raw, fragile wound that had only just begun to go down in swelling and attempt to heal itself. A little alcohol may help to clean and disinfect a small scratch or minor cut, but for a deep intestinal...well, wound, what might happen? Irregular healing? Additional, unforeseen complications? Additional irritation? I'm not a doctor and I really don't know, but I wouldn't ever risk it so early out. I did have some wine at 5 weeks. I didn't even finish the glass and it took me about 2 hours to drink what I did. It gave me really bad indigestion.

This is a really good one as well. I love the flavors. http://drinkclick.com/

My surgeon cleared me to start introducing salad back in at around the 10th week. I made one using spinach, which I tore into super small pieces. I added in some feta cheese, 1-2 chopped grape tomatoes, 2-3 crumbled pecans, a little fresh avocado and some fat free raspberry vinegarette. It was the tiniest salad I had ever seen. It was almost comical. It was SO delicious. I ate it very, very slowly along with some chicken. What was unbelievable to me was how full I got so quickly. I couldn't even finish my tiny salad. I had enough left over for lunch the next day. My stomach handled it just fine. That was about a week and a half ago. Tonight I came in from traveling across state and was starving. I made another tiny salad with spinach, about 1.5oz chicken, 2 grape tomatoes, 2 chopped pecans and feta. I also added 3 pods of sugar snap peas and 2 pickled okra. I didn't even finish half of it and my stomach told me that I had overeaten. Now I'm uncomfortable. I noticed that this time I ate a lot faster, so I wasn't taking time to pay attention to my stomach's signals. It wasn't the salad itself, it was me rushing. No throwing up, though. Just feeling like a stuffed, bellyaching puppy.

There are a lot of threads on this topic. Search in the box above.

I love edamame and there is an extra firm version of tofu that you can stir fry with veggies. I guess you could eat beef jerky, but it is so high in sodium. Boiled eggs?

I am SOOOOO happy that I went through with this. Pre Op I doubted my ability to be successful, was scared to death I would have some serious complication or might die, was terrified of letting go of food, feared that I would have constant problems post-op since I travel so much for work and food would be difficult to manage the first month.... Leap of faith. I would do it again. I would have loved to have been able to do it decades ago. It has made a huge difference in my life. My quality of life has improved significantly and I am a outwardly happier and more confident person. I actually am beginning to feel good in my own skin.

I have been pretty good with this, but not every single day. A lifetime of cravings is really hard to deny. I also have found that the fewer carbs, especially simple carbs I eat the easier it is. Having sugar free pudding and sugar free popsicles and sugar free hot chocolate helps too. I had a very weak moment this evening at Target. It came out of nowhere and I could just see myself eating a whole bag of M&Ms or a pint of ice cream. I decided to look to see if they had any Sugar Free Chocolate. Something in a very small quantity. After looking through what was there I couldn't do it. The Skinny Cow chocolate at 119 calories a serving just made me wonder if I could eat the whole box. Then I was leaving the aisle and saw the 85% uber dark chocolate. It was not a large bar and it had divided segments with 21 calories a square (Sweetriot brand). I got it and had four squares of it. I was way under my 500 calories for the day and had also done 30 minutes on the treadmill at a very steep incline, so it wasn't a guilt thing. Anyway. It tasted fantastic and I didn't want to eat much of it since it was so strong. I didn't feel tempted to have another taste an hour later. I probably should never have gotten the thing. It really does drive home the point that this is going to be an ongoing effort and I need to make sure that I have some types of plans or diversions in place when those weak moments hit. Ideally those weak moments would go away!!!

Tease!

I sure didn't tell my boss specifically what I was doing. When I told him I was taking 3 sick days right next to a weekend he asked what it was for. When I said surgery, he suddenly realized that he was way out of line and could not ask me that question. He apologized and said he did not want to know more and was there anything I needed that he could help with. When I turned in my doctors note to our HR it simply said "abdominal surgery." No further details. No, it isn't a secret. It is privacy and I have a right to it.

Excellent question. It would be really helpful to find out from someone 6+ months out.

I broke out of my most recent stall by increasing the intensity of my exercise. I guess they are going to happen from time to time no matter what. I really wish there was a magic bullet that would always work.

I actually don't think it is legal for him to ask you those questions because it violates HIPPA Laws and your health privacy. Your privacy is guaranteed. http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/index.html Your boss could actually find himself in quite a bit of hot Water for violating them.

Soup is always a safe choice, just try to order one that isn't loaded with fat. Chicken soup is great. I ate out at Panera a lot during that state (soup only). You may try Cracker Barrel, too. They have grits, oatmeal, and yogurt. Just make sure to order the yogurt without granola. Then there are convenience and grocery stores where you can pick up a quick Greek yogurt or Muscle Milk light to go.

Your body has just been through major surgery (trauma) and all kinds of things are going on. The second week was by far the most difficult, and I see that as a common comment here. Once you get through the first few weeks it really does get so much better. Be gentle with yourself during this time. There may be a few other spots down the road over the next few months where you may feel blue. Giving up food as comfort, recreation, soothing, entertainment, etc. is challenging mentally and emotionally. This is a good time to start thinking of things that you can do to pamper yourself that don't involve food, and start thinking of non-food related goals and rewards to keep your spirits up and motivate yourself. Any day now that sun will come out again and you will feel so much better!

That is a SIGNIFICANT difference!!!! It really looks like you've lost much, much more. Great job!!

I take a daily multi with iron. I chew Tums because they have a lot of calcium. But what I think works really well is the monthly B12 shot I get. It makes a big difference for me and isn't that much trouble to work in. One less thing to think about.

Get a little, soft pillow and use it to hold against your stomach or prop your tummy when you are sitting or in bed. It helps a lot. Your tummy has had a lot of trauma and needs to be babied.

A kick in the butt is what some people need to be successful. It is clarifying and motivating. It grounds some of us in reality. Many of us as addicts also have people in our lives who enable the undesirable behaviors. There are all kinds here. Anyone can chime in on any public forums. Yes, I have been bullied before and I abhor it. But I also can't abide pandering. I have been very supportive of people here and they of me, but in different ways and I understand that. There is enough space here for a lot of approaches and viewpoints.

I never have. I responded to a thread. I've also never attacked anyone. But you are.

Everybody here makes mistakes. Nobody here is perfect.

Boil some chicken and veggies together, then strain them for a very delicious soup. Diet Hot Chocolate has only 25 calories. Almond and vanilla soy milk are very good. Boil fresh fruit to make a compote, strain and enjoy.

That is true, other Delta.

No! I would never do that. And that is not what has happend here. Someone "walked" up to this group and started a conversation about her poor choice. Nobody jumped on her like a rabid dog. There are some very scary results from people doing that and we know about it. We also know about sliding back into bad habits. If you enter a group and start talking about this type of thing then you can't select what you do and don't like to hear.

I really had no concept of the mental/emotional part of this choice. There have been some tough spots along the way. The second week was especially horrible with the hormone adjustment and physical trauma recovery. Then there was the adjustment to being in constant ketosis. Then there were those days that I snuck some carbs in here and there when I knew it wasn't a good choice then felt bad. Then the frustration and disappointment that comes with the stalls. Then the after effects of the tough love sessions with myself when I said "NO" to ice cream or chocolate even though I wanted them so badly. Then my body getting so squishy with fast weight loss, even though I exercise. Then the whole mind not keeping up with the body thing where, even though I have lost several sizes, my body is still pretty much the same shape so the difference is relative. All of those "thens" have a reason behind them that I can pinpoint and rationalize. That makes it fairly simple to understand and then get myself busy and spin out of it. The hard part are the blues that crop up out of nowhere and don't seem to have a reason attached. It may last part of a day or several days, sometimes even a whole week. Haven't figured out the magic bullet to banish those. I'll vacuum or go take a walk around the lake, text a friend or read the news online, but they stick like Gorilla Glue. I don't have much patience for the whole poor pitiful me thing, even with myself. But I do believe in self care and everyone should have it. The part about the blues that frightens me a little bit is that I think maybe I am subconsciously looking for a replacement addiction for my previous obsession with food. I wish I could remember who posed about this recently on another thread. She said she recalled this from her psychology class that addicts don't really get rid of their addictions, just replace them.