Its interesting to see the paths that everyone takes to weight loss with the sleeve. Frankly, I don't think this is a ""one size fits all" type deal. For me, I started out losing slow and then I really really wanted to get to goal so I did a couple of things. 1st off, I joined my gym's 90 day Biggest Loser competition that went for 90 days and involved weigh ins every other week along with boot camp. I also got a private trainer for 2x a week and then spent another 4 days a week doing elliptical and treadmill where I maintained a heart rate of at least 140 for a minimum of 45 minutes. Lastly my diet, I kept to under 600 calories, less than 20 carbs and minimum of 80 grams of Protein. When I put in my exercise calories I would have only a positive amount of maybe 100 to 150. I got to goal and I have stayed there. I happen to be 55 years old and been in menopause since my early 30's. I knew that my base metabolism rate was under 1000 and so to lose weight I would have to work very hard at it. Again, you have to find what works for you.
I am six months out and I am thinking of going back to a style of eating I did when I was on a diet called Cohen's Diet it is Called Dr. Cohens 1st Personal Diet here in the USA .I am not going to do it the exact same way but the fundamental of it were good and Calories worked out to be 700-800 daily.
It was very simple . A day for me would have been
BF 175 gms or 6oz plain yogurt
snack apple
lunch 90gms or 3 oz lean beef +120 gm or 4 oz green salad
Snack orange
dinner 120 or 4 oz fish +100gm or 3.5 oz low gi veg.
It also allowed for about 5 simple crackers like saltines idk why.
And 64 oz of Water
But no other sugar or carbs other than in the 2 fruits veg and crackers
There is a list of approved fruits and veg I have somewhere and I will have to add more Protein but I think it is the controlled carbs that made a difference. We were allowed 5 Splenda packets too:)
There were some variations like you could have an egg+ veg for BF or 2 oz off cheese +veg for Breakfast.< /p>
And you could change the meat and eat lamb or chicken or kangaroo or venison instead of beef just no pork.
Fish was any white fish or shrimp.
Salad could be steamed or raw low gi veg.
Try Joseph's pittas or flats if you can find them, you can order them online as well, really low carb and only 60cal for a whole pita!! I think the carb count is 4 , I use them for everything, chicken gyros, pizzas, sandwiches, etc. even though I can usually only get in a quarter of one...lol
I just made this and it tastes JUST like Olive Garden's fattening version.
1/3 cup Italian Blend Shredded cheese Part Skim (I used the Wal Mart brand)
1 tbsp Plain ff Greek Yogurt
1 tbsp ff Sour Cream
1 tsp ground thyme
Mix, place in ceramic bowl, and broil. Enjoy!
I even added some chopped grilled chicken to add Protein. You can also add cayenne pepper to the mix and/or diced tomatoes to the top when finished.
Glad you look forward to my posts It's nice to know people actually read what I write, even though just writing it out is therapeutic in itself
Awesome question!! When I was thinking about having the surgery, this was one of the biggest things I was worried about. I am a very social person and I enjoy going out with my friends - what can I say..I'm only 23
My good friends and my boyfriend (we've been together for 5 years and live together) know that I have had the surgery, so going out with them is not too difficult. They will offer to just order appetizers for the table and share...that way I fit in and don't look like a bird picking at my food! When I go out with people who don't know, I always go for the soup!!! I always have the excuse, "Hey...I'm a broke college student."
As far as drinking...I wish I could say I just never drink but I would totally be lying haha I loved trying different beers before the surgery and was terrified I would never be able to have a beer again!! I did not have one sip of alcohol for the first 4 months after surgery. Now when I go out (It's not all that often-maybe twice a month?), I will order a beer or a glass of wine and it's fine. I get tipsy quite fast, so usually one is good for me. Beer gets filling and I have a hard time finishing one. I've had one night where we "got drunk" and were at the bars all night and I had 2 shots. Yes, probably not the best decision but I honestly eat healthy 95% of the time and I work out a lot for this reason. I don't want to be so restrictive that I can't have fun with my friends. Hope that answers your questions. Feel free to ask whatever - I'm a pretty open book
Overall, I've been lucky - I have a great support system. My friends and boyfriend have been awesome. We like to joke and say "through thick and thin"
So, my best friend talked me into a 30 day squat challenge that starts tomorrow. Do squats 3 days , one day of rest, and repeat. Each day the amount of squats you do increases. I switched it up some so that I'm starting at a comfortable number. Attached are my before challenge picture(s)
Sent from my iPhone using VST
Yes, my Nut told me to get this one and I love it. It tells you according to what stages you are in, or weeks out.
It'd called- Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery.
By Patt Levine and Michele .Bontempo-Saray .
Hi all,
I'm having my procedure on the 26th...a few weeks away ***wink***
I'm reading my workbook and I know we have to take Vitamins afterwards. I called Bariatric Advantage to order a sample pack. Right now they are sending sample packs for free. If you're interested, call 1-800-898-6888.
Good luck!!
Ok, hope I'm not stepping on any toes...like I said this is NOT my recipe....someone else posted it here...I just can't find it here now...here goes:
Protein balls
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups Protein Powder (I used chocolate)
1 cup Peanut Butter (I used crunchy Skippy)
Handful of dried fruit (I used cranberries)
Dash of SF Torani Syrup (to taste)
Splenda (I used 3 packets)
Mix the glob together with a little Water until you get a consistency to roll into balls. Roll into balls a little smaller than golf balls and freeze. Take them out and defrost when you plan to eat. They're good frozen and defrosted.
Yum!
Adapted from this recipe:
Simple Salisbury Steak - All recipes
I add in my own stuff based on the reviews and our personal tastes. Also, the nutrition facts are not accurate, and I haven't taken the time to input it all into myfitnesspal.com
I've also made this with venison (our preferred meat choice to decrease the fat). I've never made it with ground turkey. I've used 97% lean ground beef as well. Cut the sodium and fat count by choosing reduced fat and sodium Soups
Ingredients -
1 pound lean ground beef or turkey or venison
1/2 -3/4 cup of Pork rinds (usually calls for bread crumbs)
2 egg whites
1 can of condensed French Onion Soup ( You can substitute the Beefy Onion or Mushroom onion Soup packets by Lipton, mix with 1 cup of Water, if you opt for this method, leave the milk out or the gravy will be too runny)
1 can of condensed Cream of Mushroom soup (98% fat free)
3-4 small Mushrooms sliced ( optional I don't use them)
1 small onion chopped (I prefer yellow or sweet onions)
1/2 cup of milk (soy milk didn't work well for my first attempt, so I use 1% milk)
2 Tbsp of Worchestershire sauce
2tsp Garlic powder (can increase based on taste preference)
Pepper to taste preference
1/4 cup of Greek yogurt plain (most recipes call for Sour Cream)
Directions:
Mix pork rinds, egg whites and ground beef/turkey, Worchestershire sauce, garlic powder, only mix in 1/2 of the chopped onion and pepper in a mixing bowl. Mix well with hands to ensure even consistency.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Form meat mixture into patties about 1/2-3/4 inch thickness. Brown on stove top for 3-5 minutes on each side (will vary by thickness).
Remove patties from stove top, add all other ingredients, EXCEPT greek yogurt, to skillet, and heat over medium heat for 10 minutes stirring often. Add greek yogurt right before covering patties. I found if I overheat the greek yogurt with these ingredients it doesn't mix well.
Place patties in foil lined casserole(I use an 8x8 square dish) baking dish, and cover with gravy.
Cook in oven uncovered for 35 minutes or until patties are done. Ovens vary so adjust cooking time.
This is a staple in our menu rotation. I was leery on this recipe because I hated salisbury steak as a kid. But, this is really a great option for a nice hearty dinner chalked full of Protein.
I serve these with no yolk egg noodles, or garlic mashed potatoes and green Beans, peas or broccoli.
On this particular evening I served it with garlic mashed potatoes and creamed spinach.
This was John's plate, not mine. I can eat 1/2 of one patty, and some veggies.
I have been asked so many times on this board about what Protein Drinks are good and some sample meals that I used during the first month and things I did after the 1st month. These are very valid questions and I know when I first started out I had all the same questions. Again this is long so please print this out if you would like. Please remember these are the things Dr. Aceves wanted me to do. Remember you should do what your doctor wants you to do. These are just my suggestions of what worked well for me.
Protein drinks.< /span>
My all-time favorite is:
Premier Protein Drink. It comes in 11 oz. drink boxes already mixed. There are 30 grams of protein in each box, 160 calories per box, 1 gram of sugar and 5 grams of carbs. The flavor I buy is Chocolate—that is all I can find at costco. I get mine at Costco and I understand that you can get them at Sam’s Club too. You can order these on line at Costco and Sam’s club. They are also available at this Web Site. Breakfast and nothing else and it has been almost 3 years since my “sleeve surgery.”
The next Protein Drink that I have tried is called:
Matrix 2.0 Mint Cookies made by Syntrax. You can check this out on this Web Site.
nectar, variety pack, you get 13 single servings in a variety pack.< /span>
The cost is $22.95. This is the Web Site and they are made by Syntrax also.
Isopure. It does NOT taste good to me—I know that some people like it. I call it Isopuke, and it reminds me of pond scum. I have been told if you buy it at a GNC and don’t like it and still have your receipt they will refund your money if it hasn’t been more than 30 days since you purchased it from them. I guess they will do that with protein powers too—ask before you buy what their policy is about returning something if you don’t like it. So if you want to try it remember this. There always seems to be a GNC in most Malls.
This 1st month after weight loss surgery is going to be the hardest one to do. You just get tired of what they want you to do. It is for a reason—the doctors know what they are doing. You need to let your new stomach heal from a major surgery, so that is why you have to do these things the 1st month.
You should try to keep your calories at 800 per day and no more than 20 carbs a day if you want to lose weight. The 1st month you really don’t eat a lot. So in the following months keep track of everything you are putting in your mouth.
You can track what you eat on this site. I found it to be very helpful to write down EVERYTHING I was putting into my body. If I didn’t write it down I was going over 800 calories per day and would not know I was. It does take time to keep track of it—you are worth the effort, but once you get the hang of it you will know what 800 calories really are. When you exercise this site helps you figure out the number of calories you have burned and that allows you to eat more than 800 calories. It is an easy site to use and it if FREE. broth. I used and love “Better Than Bouillon.” It comes in a jar and it is like a paste. I like it because it tastes great and you can make single servings. It is located with bouillon cubes and Soups in the grocery store. I had chicken and beef. I also made some home chicken Soup and strained everything out of it and just had the chicken broth. I would try to have ¼ of a cup of it for part of my meal, but sometimes it was just too much for me. Remember you have a new smaller stomach and it is swollen and can only hold about as much as the size of your thumb.
Jello-- sugar free. I might have 2 tablespoons of Jello. That was something I had fixed and ready when I got home from the hospital.
I tried to drink 64 oz. of Water and sometimes I could get it in and sometimes I couldn’t. Do the best you can, and just sip it all day long. I would add Crystal Light to the water—it made water taste a whole lot better.
Apple juice, white grape juice, sugar free sports drinks, Decaf hot tea, also decaf ice tea.
Veggie broth or the broth from French Onion soup.
Sugar Free Popsicles if my stomach was upset this really seemed to help.
The 2nd 10 days.
This was much easier to do. If I didn’t mention it, it was difficult for me to swallow my medication so I would crush the medication up and mix it with about 1 tablespoon of applesauce and some Equal and mix my meds in the applesauce and take my medication that way. You will have creamy foods the next 10 days
I loved so many of the creamy soups. I used regular Campbell’s creamy soups that they had. I was only having about ¼ cup or maybe a few tablespoons of soup.
Jello was still good for me.
Sugar Free pudding, maybe 2 tablespoons full.
Yogurt a few tablespoons of it.
Frozen yogurt.
Applesauce a couple tablespoons.
A little cream cheese.< /span>
Sugar Free Fudge Cycles.
Premier Protein chocolate Drink mixed in blender with about 4 ice cubes and 1 cap full of Miralax. When you have a lot of protein you get constipated and Miralax works for that. It is tasteless and blends really great in the blender with the protein drink. I use the Miralx daily and it is NOT habit forming.
Soft boiled eggs or soft scrambled eggs—eggs didn’t work that well for me.
Low fat Chocolate milk.
Cottage Cheese.
Sugar Free Popsicles
Creamy Peanut Butter.< /span>
The 3rd 10 days and final part of the first month. Yeah the 1st month is almost over.
I could eat mushy food. This was more of a challenge than I thought it would be.
Mashed sweet potato or mashed yams with a small amount of butter on it.
Mashed up chicken noodle soup.
Mashed up homemade veggie soup.
Eggs that were soft boiled or soft scrambled.
Applesauce.
Cottage cheese.
Premier Protein Drink with miralax blended in the blender with 4 ice cubes.
Mashed up steamed carrots
Mashed up and blended a little tuna with a small amount of mayo.< /span>
Blended chicken breast with no skin on it.
Ham blended with a small amount of mayo.
Water with Crystal Light
Jello with fat free cool whip.
Yogurt and frozen yogurt.
Sugar free pudding.
Protein Bars chewed up really well—I could never eat a whole one—just a few bites.
Mashed potatoes and cream cheese mixed in with them.
Mashed black Beans they have a lot of protein in them. I would have about 1/4 the a cup and that is about 9 grams of protein
Sugar Free Popsicles
Hard Boiled eggs made into egg salad.< /span>
If I went out to eat I found that a cup of soup was about the best thing I found that I could eat. I also felt like I was on display sometimes because family and friends would watch me eat. It used to bother me, but not anymore. I watched them eat and I thought to myself. “Oh my gosh they inhale their food and they hardly chew it.” I was always the last one to finish eating. That is OK too. At first I actually mourned the loss of food. Later on I was thrilled that I had the restriction of a sleeve because I was losing weight.
I found that chicken and fish were easier to chew and I liked them a lot more than red meat.< /span>
I said that chicken was one of the main sources of protein for me. I found Kirkland (Costco brand) grilled Chicken breast strips. It is already cooked and I would put one bag (1 pound) in the freezer and use the other (1 pound bag later.) It is really handy to have around and a quick meal to fix if the chicken is already cooked. We also ate more fish. I would buy Halibut or Sole—a mild fish. I would marinate it in OJ or crushed strawberries or blueberries all day. I would also marinate it in law calories Italian Salad Dressing all day. I would cook it in a pan with Pam spray and put garlic or rosemary in the pan when I was cooking it. I don’t eat a lot of red meat and I used to be a real red meat lover. For me it took too much chewing and it just didn’t taste as good as it used to. I will now have a small hamburger and only eat 1/3 to ½ because it just is too much food for me. Ham was something that worked well for me too. I found I could get a large think slice of from the grocery story deli and I would have it for a protein—I would slice off about 2 oz. of the ham. I also enjoy a Taco Salad and I make mine with chicken instead of beef. I love Shrimp and lobster too, so those are my treats that I reward myself with.
A typical meal I ate starting the 2nd month after WLS.
Breakfast: Premier Protein Drink with Miralax and 4 ice cubes in the blender.
Lunch: 2 oz. of chicken or ham with a small amount of cheese melted over it. I would have a bean salad—it has 4 different beans in it.
Snack: I would have about 10 dry roasted almonds and maybe 10 dried cherries
Dinner: 2 oz. of Chicken or Fish, steamed veggies of some kind.
Sometimes my husband and I would split a small baked potato
I put a teaspoon of butter and sour cream on it.
Snack: Some type of fresh fruit or a Protein Bar.< /span>
Carbs and what to eat and what NOT to eat
About the 3rd month after WLS I would add a little bread in my diet—I could only eat about ½ a slice of bread or ½ of a hamburger bun and they are the “thin” Buns that they have out now. They also make a thin bagel. You just have to look when you are shopping in your local grocery store for these things. Try to find Whole Grain carb products and if you can’t the do the whole wheat. Try to stay away from WHITE carbs. They are white refined carbs and that is how we got fat eating a lot of them.
Rice should be brown rice and only a small amount—NO white rice. Pasta comes is Spinach or Whole Wheat and you can have only small amounts of it.
banana – Medium size has 27 Grams of carbs—I stay away from the banana, and I love them, but I just don’t want to spend all my carbs for the day on a banana. I use a Mexican soft flour shell made of spinach or sun dried tomatoes for making a small sandwich too—you know they call them wraps.
Beverage: They do not want you to drink something when you eat—you need the room for the food so that you can get your protein in firsts. During the day I would have water or decaf tea for my liquid after I ate or all during the day. As I said the Crystal Light Individual packs and different flavors worked well in a bottle of water. It seems like it took me forever to eat and drink all the things I was supposed to be eating and drinking. I was always sipping on the protein drink and water.
supplements you should take.
It is important that you take a Multi-Vitamin. I had a difficult time trying to swallowing large pills. Look for an Adult chewable multi-vitamin. I also have the Chocolate Chewable Calcium that I buy at Costco. As time goes on it will get easier to swallow larger pills. Do NOT take the multi-vitamin on an empty stomach, it may make you sick.
My Primary Care doctor was very helpful and after I had been home 2 weeks from WLS, she had me come into for an office visit. She ran a full blood panel and made sure all my levels were ok. I knew my potassium was low when I left Dr. Aceves in Mexicali—they ran my blood test before I left and gave me a very detailed report about my surgery to give to my doctor here in the US. Dr. Aceves told me to have it watched when I got home. I now take a potassium tablet prescribed by my doctor and work on eating food high in potassium.
Starting the 3rd month
I started to eat more salads about here. I had a favorite and still eat it. It is Fresh Spinach, with slices of almonds, feta cheese, dried cherries, or fresh strawberries, a tablespoon of bacon and Paul Newman’s Light Raspberry & Walnut dressing on it. I sometimes add some of my Kirkland (Costco)
Grilled Chicken breast strips to it and then it is an entire meal in one bowl.
Chef’s Salad is a great one meal in a bowl thing to have and I just use any kind of dressing I want on it. This salad has lettuce, tomatoes, olives, sliced hard boiled eggs, turkey or chicken, and some ham sliced on it with some cheese. REMEMBER make this in a much smaller bowl than the normal Chef’s salad comes in. Sometimes I will add a small amount of Whole Grain dinner roll or some bread with it.
Stir Fry is a great way to get meat and veggies all in one meal too. I have a pan that works great on the BBQ grill and I do a stir fry on the BBQ in the summer time.
Have a sense of adventure and take some of your old recipes and see if you can convert them into a healthier recipe. Use veggies that you have never tried. Try some “rubs” on you meat located in the spice section or the grocery store and try to marinate some of your meats all day before cooking them—it really changes the taste of them.
Desert
I don’t want you to feel deprived. I learned that sometime just a bite or two of a desert really satisfied my need for it. Instead of the WHOLE piece of cake or pie, just a sliver of it worked for me to satisfy my need for it. When you want a cookie have just one small cookie and not the entire bag OK. Sugar free pudding with a small amount of Fat Free Cool Whip is good too. Use Splendia to make a desert that you like. So everything in moderation works.
Exercise
I was never a fan of exercise until I started to walk and I found out how much I benefited from it. Now I try to exercise 5 days a week. Find some form of exercise that works for you and do it. Start slow and then add more until you are comfortable with it.
I am sure I have missed a few things, and I will write those down as I think of them and make a Vol. 2 if I needed too.
These are just my suggestions, spice them up and make your food interesting and don’t get in a rut. This is not a diet, you will learn to adapt it and find things that work for you and that you like eating. This is a LIFESTYLE change. Make it work for you. You have the tool of restriction now use your new tool to your advantage. The fat doesn’t just melt off of you. It does require work and effort on your part.
Stalls—No weight loss for a period of days.
Be prepared you may have periods where you lose NO weight. We call those “Stalls.” You will panic and think for sure that you are the “one person this is NOT going to work on.” I know I was sure that was me. NOT true at all. Our bodies just do this. Mine lasted for 9 days—no weight loss at all. Just keep doing what you are doing and the weight will start coming off again I promise you. I can tell you not to panic but most of you will anyway—that is pretty normal too.
Hugs,
Suzanne
Sleeved 10/21/2008
Lost 105 pounds.
I have been asked so many times on this board about what Protein Drinks are good and some sample meals that I used during the first month and things I did after the 1st month. These are very valid questions and I know when I first started out I had all the same questions. Again this is long so please print this out if you would like.
Protein Drinks.
My all-time favorite is:
Premier Protein Drink. It comes in 11 oz. drink boxes already mixed. There are 30 grams of protein in each box, 160 calories per box, 1 gram of sugar and 5 grams of carbs. The flavor I buy is Chocolate—that is all I can find at Costco. I get mine at Costco and I understand that you can get them at Sam’s Club too. You can order these on line at Costco and Sam’s club. They are also available at this Web Site. http://www.premiernutrition.com/product.html
I pay about $25.00 for a carton of 18 drink boxes at Costco in the city where I live. I drink one of these every morning for my Breakfast and nothing else and it has been almost 3 years since my “sleeve surgery.”
The next Protein Drink that I have tried is called:
Matrix 2.0 Mint Cookies made by Syntrax. You can check this out on this Web Site.
http://www26.netrition.com/syntrax_matrix_page.html
The cost for 2.16 lbs. is $22.99 plus postage. Item # 39-0963
My next Protein Drink that I have tried and like is:
Nectar, Variety Pack, you get 13 single servings in a variety pack.
The cost is $22.95. This is the Web Site and they are made by Syntrax also.
http://www6.netrition.com/syntrax_nectar_page.html
There is one other Protein Drink that I found on Obesity Help.com that was rated really high by 188 people. I have never had it, but you might want to check it out. The name of the protein drink is: Carb Solution High Protein Power—it comes in more than one flavor. They also have cans of it already mixed. The Protein Powers cost $12.99. It has 110 calories, 1 gram of sugar, 4 carbs, and 20 grams of protein. This is the Web Site for Carb Solution at Wal-Mart.
http://www.buycheapr.com/us/result.jsp?q=Carb+Solution&qs=ti&ga=us7&ts=go
On www.ObesityHelp.com they have a lot of different information about Protein Drinks and they list so many different brands and people have rated the ones they really like check this site out. It has a lot of information about almost all the protein drinks that we find out there.
http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/nutrition/a,prodsearch/searchtype,1/criteria,11/
I hate Isopure. It does NOT taste good to me—I know that some people like it. I call it Isopuke, and it reminds me of pond scum. I have been told if you buy it at a GNC and don’t like it and still have your receipt they will refund your money if it hasn’t been more than 30 days since you purchased it from them. I guess they will do that with protein powers too—ask before you buy what their policy is about returning something if you don’t like it. So if you want to try it remember this. There always seems to be a GNC in most Malls.
This 1st month after weight loss surgery is going to be the hardest one to do. You just get tired of what they want you to do. It is for a reason—the doctors know what they are doing. You need to let your new stomach heal from a major surgery, so that is why you have to do these things the 1st month.
You should try to keep your calories at 800 per day and no more than 20 carbs a day if you want to lose weight. The 1st month you really don’t eat a lot. So in the following months keep track of everything you are putting in your mouth.
You can track what you eat on this site. I found it to be very helpful to write down EVERYTHING I was putting into my body. If I didn’t write it down I was going over 800 calories per day and would not know I was. It does take time to keep track of it—you are worth the effort, but once you get the hang of it you will know what 800 calories really are. When you exercise this site helps you figure out the number of calories you have burned and that allows you to eat more than 800 calories. It is an easy site to use and it if FREE. http://www.livestrong.com/
The 1st 10 days for me had to be clear liquids—you had to be able to see through them.
Broth. I used and love “Better Than Bouillon.” It comes in a jar and it is like a paste. I like it because it tastes great and you can make single servings. It is located with bouillon cubes and soups in the grocery store. I had chicken and beef. I also made some home chicken soup and strained everything out of it and just had the chicken broth. I would try to have ¼ of a cup of it for part of my meal, but sometimes it was just too much for me. Remember you have a new smaller stomach and it is swollen and can only hold about as much as the size of your thumb.
Jello-- sugar free. I might have 2 tablespoons of jello. That was something I had fixed and ready when I got home from the hospital.
I tried to drink 64 oz. of water and sometimes I could get it in and sometimes I couldn’t. Do the best you can, and just sip it all day long. I would add Crystal Light to the water—it made water taste a whole lot better.
Apple juice, white grape juice, sugar free sports drinks, decaf hot tea, also decaf ice tea.
Veggie broth or the broth from French Onion soup.
Sugar Free Popsicles if my stomach was upset this really seemed to help.
The 2nd 10 days.
This was much easier to do. If I didn’t mention it, it was difficult for me to swallow my medication so I would crush the medication up and mix it with about 1 tablespoon of applesauce and some Equal and mix my meds in the applesauce and take my medication that way. You will have creamy foods the next 10 days
I loved so many of the creamy soups. I used regular Campbell’s creamy soups that they had. I was only having about ¼ cup or maybe a few tablespoons of soup.
Jello was still good for me.
Sugar Free Pudding, maybe 2 tablespoons full.
Yogurt a few tablespoons of it.
Frozen yogurt.
Applesauce a couple tablespoons.
A little cream cheese.
Sugar Free Fudge Cycles.
Premier Protein Chocolate Drink mixed in blender with about 4 ice cubes and 1 cap full of Miralax. When you have a lot of protein you get constipated and Miralax works for that. It is tasteless and blends really great in the blender with the protein drink. I use the Miralx daily and it is NOT habit forming.
Soft boiled eggs or soft scrambled eggs—eggs didn’t work that well for me.
Low fat Chocolate milk.
Cottage Cheese.
Sugar Free Popsicles
Creamy peanut butter.
The 3rd 10 days and final part of the first month. Yeah the 1st month is almost over.
I could eat mushy food. This was more of a challenge than I thought it would be.
Mashed sweet potato or mashed yams with a small amount of butter on it.
Mashed up chicken noodle soup.
Mashed up homemade veggie soup.
Eggs that were soft boiled or soft scrambled.
Applesauce.
Cottage cheese.
Premier Protein Drink with miralax blended in the blender with 4 ice cubes.
Mashed up steamed carrots
Mashed up and blended a little tuna with a small amount of mayo.
Blended chicken breast with no skin on it.
Ham blended with a small amount of mayo.
Water with Crystal Light
Jello with fat free cool whip.
Yogurt and frozen yogurt.
Sugar free pudding.
Protein bars chewed up really well—I could never eat a whole one—just a few bites.
Mashed potatoes and cream cheese mixed in with them.
Mashed black beans they have a lot of protein in them. I would have about 1/4 the a cup and that is about 9 grams of protein
Sugar Free Popsicles
Hard Boiled eggs made into egg salad.
If I went out to eat I found that a cup of soup was about the best thing I found that I could eat. I also felt like I was on display sometimes because family and friends would watch me eat. It used to bother me, but not anymore. I watched them eat and I thought to myself. “Oh my gosh they inhale their food and they hardly chew it.” I was always the last one to finish eating. That is OK too. At first I actually mourned the loss of food. Later on I was thrilled that I had the restriction of a sleeve because I was losing weight.
I found that chicken and fish were easier to chew and I liked them a lot more than red meat.
I said that chicken was one of the main sources of protein for me. I found Kirkland (Costco brand) grilled Chicken breast strips. It is already cooked and I would put one bag (1 pound) in the freezer and use the other (1 pound bag later.) It is really handy to have around and a quick meal to fix if the chicken is already cooked. We also ate more fish. I would buy Halibut or Sole—a mild fish. I would marinate it in OJ or crushed strawberries or blueberries all day. I would also marinate it in law calories Italian Salad Dressing all day. I would cook it in a pan with Pam spray and put garlic or rosemary in the pan when I was cooking it. I don’t eat a lot of red meat and I used to be a real red meat lover. For me it took too much chewing and it just didn’t taste as good as it used to. I will now have a small hamburger and only eat 1/3 to ½ because it just is too much food for me. Ham was something that worked well for me too. I found I could get a large think slice of from the grocery story deli and I would have it for a protein—I would slice off about 2 oz. of the ham. I also enjoy a Taco Salad and I make mine with chicken instead of beef. I love Shrimp and lobster too, so those are my treats that I reward myself with.
A typical meal I ate starting the 2nd month after WLS.
Breakfast: Premier Protein Drink with Miralax and 4 ice cubes in the blender.
Lunch: 2 oz. of chicken or ham with a small amount of cheese melted over it. I would have a bean salad—it has 4 different beans in it.
Snack: I would have about 10 dry roasted almonds and maybe 10 dried cherries
Dinner: 2 oz. of Chicken or Fish, steamed veggies of some kind.
Sometimes my husband and I would split a small baked potato
I put a teaspoon of butter and sour cream on it.
Snack: Some type of fresh fruit or a protein bar.
Carbs and what to eat and what NOT to eat
About the 3rd month after WLS I would add a little bread in my diet—I could only eat about ½ a slice of bread or ½ of a hamburger bun and they are the “thin” buns that they have out now. They also make a thin bagel. You just have to look when you are shopping in your local grocery store for these things. Try to find Whole Grain carb products and if you can’t the do the whole wheat. Try to stay away from WHITE carbs. They are white refined carbs and that is how we got fat eating a lot of them.
Rice should be brown rice and only a small amount—NO white rice. Pasta comes is Spinach or Whole Wheat and you can have only small amounts of it.
Banana – Medium size has 27 Grams of carbs—I stay away from the banana, and I love them, but I just don’t want to spend all my carbs for the day on a banana. I use a Mexican soft flour shell made of spinach or sun dried tomatoes for making a small sandwich too—you know they call them wraps.
Beverage: They do not want you to drink something when you eat—you need the room for the food so that you can get your protein in firsts. During the day I would have water or decaf tea for my liquid after I ate or all during the day. As I said the Crystal Light Individual packs and different flavors worked well in a bottle of water. It seems like it took me forever to eat and drink all the things I was supposed to be eating and drinking. I was always sipping on the protein drink and water.
Supplements you should take.
It is important that you take a multi-vitamin. I had a difficult time trying to swallowing large pills. Look for an Adult Chewable multi-vitamin. I also have the Chocolate Chewable Calcium that I buy at Costco. As time goes on it will get easier to swallow larger pills. Do NOT take the multi-vitamin on an empty stomach, it may make you sick.
My Primary Care doctor was very helpful and after I had been home 2 weeks from WLS, she had me come into for an office visit. She ran a full blood panel and made sure all my levels were ok. I knew my potassium was low when I left Dr. Aceves in Mexicali—they ran my blood test before I left and gave me a very detailed report about my surgery to give to my doctor here in the US. Dr. Aceves told me to have it watched when I got home. I now take a potassium tablet prescribed by my doctor and work on eating food high in potassium.
Starting the 3rd month
I started to eat more salads about here. I had a favorite and still eat it. It is Fresh Spinach, with slices of almonds, feta cheese, dried cherries, or fresh strawberries, a tablespoon of bacon and Paul Newman’s Light Raspberry & Walnut dressing on it. I sometimes add some of my Kirkland (Costco)
Grilled Chicken breast strips to it and then it is an entire meal in one bowl.
Chef’s Salad is a great one meal in a bowl thing to have and I just use any kind of dressing I want on it. This salad has lettuce, tomatoes, olives, sliced hard boiled eggs, turkey or chicken, and some ham sliced on it with some cheese. REMEMBER make this in a much smaller bowl than the normal Chef’s salad comes in. Sometimes I will add a small amount of Whole Grain dinner roll or some bread with it.
Stir Fry is a great way to get meat and veggies all in one meal too. I have a pan that works great on the BBQ grill and I do a stir fry on the BBQ in the summer time.
Have a sense of adventure and take some of your old recipes and see if you can convert them into a healthier recipe. Use veggies that you have never tried. Try some “rubs” on you meat located in the spice section or the grocery store and try to marinate some of your meats all day before cooking them—it really changes the taste of them.
Desert
I don’t want you to feel deprived. I learned that sometime just a bite or two of a desert really satisfied my need for it. Instead of the WHOLE piece of cake or pie, just a sliver of it worked for me to satisfy my need for it. When you want a cookie have just one small cookie and not the entire bag OK. Sugar free pudding with a small amount of Fat Free Cool Whip is good too. Use Splendia to make a desert that you like. So everything in moderation works.
Exercise
I was never a fan of exercise until I started to walk and I found out how much I benefited from it. Now I try to exercise 5 days a week. Find some form of exercise that works for you and do it. Start slow and then add more until you are comfortable with it.
I am sure I have missed a few things, and I will write those down as I think of them and make a Vol. 2 if I needed too.
These are just my suggestions, spice them up and make your food interesting and don’t get in a rut. This is not a diet, you will learn to adapt it and find things that work for you and that you like eating. This is a LIFESTYLE change. Make it work for you. You have the tool of restriction now use your new tool to your advantage. The fat doesn’t just melt off of you. It does require work and effort on your part.
Stalls—No weight loss for a period of days.
Be prepared you may have periods where you lose NO weight. We call those “Stalls.” You will panic and think for sure that you are the “one person this is NOT going to work on.” I know I was sure that was me. NOT true at all. Our bodies just do this. Mine lasted for 9 days—no weight loss at all. Just keep doing what you are doing and the weight will start coming off again I promise you. I can tell you not to panic but most of you will anyway—that is pretty normal too.
Hugs,
Suzanne
Sleeved 10/21/2008
Lost 105 pounds.
First of all 30 lbs in 7 weeks is great !! you are doing awesome !!! but below are the basics for you from my Doc, every Doc is different so others chime please
so here are the basic guide lines from my Doc
1. at least 64 oz of Water daily
2. Vitamins Daily
3. no Water 30 min before or after eating
4. eat Protein first at all meals .... I can usually eat about 2 oz at a meal , meals should take about 1/2 hour to 1 hour to finish so eat slowly and
5. chew each bite 20 times . bites should be the size from a baby spoon I actually eat with a baby spoon....
6. at least 60 grams of Protein daily
7. after each bite wait a few minutes to see if you can recognize feeling full
once protein is consumed then you can try to eat maybe a small slice of fruit or veggies.
8. you should not be able to eat more than 1/2 cup at any one sitting until after 6 or 8 months. unless eating a slider food ( i know some of mine ) yogurt is one of them
9. I try to stay away from carbs but if I must satisfy my craving for crunch / carb I take 1/4 cup of Kashi go lean crunch ( its very very good ) and add it to my greek yogurt !! super yummy !! or 1/2 slice of toasted wheat bread
10. do not graze have scheduled eating times
example of mine
7am Breakfast , 11 am lunch, 3 snack, 6 dinner , 9 snack if needed for maxing my protein for the day or some prunes for other reasons
11. join a support group it really really helps
12. exercise daily
hopefully this helps alittle.
I made the taco casserole from the Bariatric Foodie blog in the link below. It was DELICIOUS!. I made myself a small bowl, and I broke up three tortillas chips to spread on the top to give it some crunch. My family enjoyed eating it with chips like nachos. I parceled out the left overs into small tupperware bowls and ate it the next two days. It keeps really well.
meat (whatever you use)
1 small zucchini, diced (I leave the skin on for extra fiber)
1 small yellow squash, diced (same deal)
1 small onion, diced
1 clove of garlic minced
1 envelope of taco seasoning mix
1 can black Beans (I used the spicy kind), drained and rinsed
1 can fat-free refried beans
1 can tomatoes and chiles (or canned diced tomatoes if you don't like the heat)
2 c. shredded Mexican blend cheese (you can do reduced fat or regular but NOT fat free!)
Optional toppings:
Unflavored Greek yogurt
Salsa
Directions:
In a sprayed pan, sautee veggies with garlic until they are softened. Drain any excess liquid and transfer to a bowl.
Brown ground meat, drain and then transfer to the same bowl and mix with canned beans and tomatoes and chiles.
Mix in taco seasoning thoroughly and then transfer mixture to a 13x9 casserole dish.
Evenly spread out fat free refried beans on top (this may be easier if you heat them in a microwave safe bowl for a minute or so.
Top with cheese and then bake in a 350 oven for about 30 minutes or until the cheese is oozy, melty and slightly browned.
For All you single ladies who are in such a hurry to get married, here's a quick piece of Biblical advice: Ruth patiently waited for her mate Boaz.
While waiting on YOUR Boaz,don't settle for ANY of his relatives: Brokeaz, Poaz, Lyinaz, Cheatinaz, Dumbaz, Cheapaz, Lockedupaz Goodfornothinaz, Lazyaz or Marriedaz and especially his third cousin Beatinyoaz. Please, wait on your Boaz & make sure he respects Yoaz !!
I am so friggen excited! Today I went into my surgeons office for a refill of my acid reducer. I happened to see him in the hall and he was super happy with my progress. So happy in fact, he asked if he could get my weight. I weighed in at 147. I am 4 1/2 months post-op and have lost 85% of my excess body weight. He gave me a high five, took a picture and pretty much skipped away. He told me that his original goal for me was 65% EWL because of my PCOS, HBP and other health issues (all of which are gone)
I am still 12 pounds from my personal goal, which will put me at a BMI of 23, which would be most ideal for my body type. If I lose much more than that, I am afraid my skin will not bounce back as I would like. Maybe 130 so i have a little bounce room. I want to be healthy looking, not too skinny.
Other than probably loosing 2 lbs of my weight in hair, everything else is going great. I have finally got my acid reflux under control with Lansoprazole 30mg twice a day, which is only 5.00 a month for a copayment. This is now the only prescribed medicine I take. Blood pressure, high blood sugar and metformin for PCOS all discontinued. My size 8s are getting roomy (I was a right 16 and a XL or 1x) and honestly I don't look too bad naked, considering 3 kids, c section and surgery scars. Best of all though, truly..I am healthy and feel fanfrickentastic. It's amazing. Lose the weight of a 9 year old boy and everything stops hurting
I see often on the boards people say that they get pissed when they see someone around 'only' 200 LBS have surgery. I was at my highest 218, and at surgery 209. I was slowly but surely KILLING myself. I feel like a new woman, I look like a new woman and am here to tell all of you 'low BMI'rs' that if you have tried, unsuccessfully to lose that extra weight and only see yourself moving up...research, research research and then GET YOUR LIFE BACK! Don't wait till you are 250...300...400 pounds. Seriously! By no means was this easy, but besides having my children and marrying my hubby, it was the best thing I ever did for myself, and for them.
So I'm about 3 months post-op On Thursday, I had my 3 month appointment and my doctor was excited about my progress! I've truthfully been so lucky with this surgery and have not had any complications. I have no regrets and really feel like this surgery has changed my life! Time to conquer the holidays!
Surgery date: 8/22/12
Starting weight: 231
Current weight: 165
Height: 5'3
Age: 22
The first two pictures are before pictures and the other four are from these past 2 weeks.
Jordyn, you have truly inspired me. I am 21 and a college student who is about the same height and weight. Everything you've said sounds oh so familiar. Looking forward to being sleeved on the 10th so I will no longer be afraid of the gym.
So I am almost 4 months out and I am feeling good! Just wanted to share a quick before and after with my 70 lb loss. Still have a long ways to go, but you have to Celebrate the small victories. For all of those considering the surgery, good luck. I am super happy thus far!
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