maalleh

I was sleeved on 12/17 at the ripe age of 67. I feel great now and am looking forward to living life with a lot less weight. Even though I have lost 44 pounds since I started my pre-op diet I can already tell as I can walk the bigbox stores without getting short of breath. And I have already gone down a size. I wish I had done this sooner but I guess now is better than never.
Hang in there Betty, Katie and Oliver's Mom. Together we can do it. Is there a group for the 50+ sleevers?

I could not be without my steamer. I often have food leftover or will cook enough for another day and the steamer keeps my food, especially meats, from being dried out when I reheat it. I would recommend one to anyone. I use it whenever I warm something in the microwave. This one is small/mini but it's just big enough for me. I have a larger one as well but I always reach for this one because of the size.
http://www.amazon.com/Progressive-International-Microwavable-Mini-Steamer/dp/B0000CFPT2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1361823262&sr=8-2&keywords=mini+steamer

I love my Vitamix. I add unflavored Protein Powder to all the Soups and smoothies that I make. I've had one for several years, just never used it much. Now it sits on my counter and I use it several times a week. Tonight is Vitamix tortilla Soup night. Yummm.

I was sleeved on 12/17 at the ripe age of 67. I feel great now and am looking forward to living life with a lot less weight. Even though I have lost 44 pounds since I started my pre-op diet I can already tell as I can walk the bigbox stores without getting short of breath. And I have already gone down a size. I wish I had done this sooner but I guess now is better than never.
Hang in there Betty, Katie and Oliver's Mom. Together we can do it. Is there a group for the 50+ sleevers?

The 6-800 calories is a common level amongst those plans that provide specific numbers, and it's a good place to start. If you run on the high side (and 1000 is on the high side,) the risk is that you move into maintenance mode before you reach your goal. Your calorie burn will be declining some as you lose weight and don't have as much to carry around, so if your normal calorie burn that provided a stable weight before surgery was around 1500 calories (not an unusual number for women of lighter "should be" weight or build,) then you don't have much of a caloric deficit to drive your weight loss, and little room for the common calorie creep as you progress. I ran at about 1100 during my loss phase, but I have a guy's metabolism with fairly high lean mass and was stable at 26-2700 calories, and am now a fairly lean 185-190, so had a lot of room to play with. If your "should be" weight is in the 100-120 lb range, then you probably don't have a very high calorie burn and will need to stay on the low side of the calorie range to get all of the weight off; if you are a taller, larger build woman with a healthy weight of 150-160, then you have a bit more to play with (and be honest on your build assessment - we all are "big boned" to start with!)

Has anyone tried the skinny dip noodles?
www.skinnydipnoodles.com
I ordered some so will have to wait until I get the shipment to try them.
Their website has lots of recipes, many adaptable to the WLS diet.
I tried the miracle noodles a couple years ago but did not care for them.
I do like some of Hungry Girl's Shirataki noodle recipes. You can buy then in some supermarkets by the tofu.

I had the steak and egg breakfast bowl for dinner yesterday. It was fantastic. When I placed my order the gentleman taking the order was almost giddy with excitement and said I was the first order from the new Hidden Menu that he had taken. All in all I was with a large group of people and 4 or five of them also ordered from the Hidden Menu. I will definitely be back.

I mentioned I was thinking of having WLS to my best friend and she was in that same boat as your grandmother. "Don't do it. It's too risky. Just go on a diet." Well if it was that easy of all the diets I have been on one surely would have worked. Diets worked for a while but never long term. I finely made the decision to not tell her anything more about it until it was over and done. And that was hard because it too 8 long months to get thru the approval process. Now she has lots of questions as she is also overweight but probably not enough to qualify for surgery. She is happy that I went ahead with it and came out with no complications. Keep you chin up. Your grandmother will thank you in the end.

OMG! I found Kevin.. he was so easy to find!
It was great meeting those of you that I met last night! U agree that it was not the type of meeting that I was expecting, but it was also nice to be able to socialize in small groups and meet one another.
For those that didn't meet me, I'm Kevin. I was sleeved by Dr. Nick 13 days ago on 12/28 at Dallas Presby. I was there a little longer than most due to a blood clot I had in late July and needing to be on heparin two days prior and was there three nights post op. The morning I first went to my pre-op consult, I weighed in at 406.2. Today I am 350.8, down 55.6 lbs! I go to see Dr. Nick for my 2-week post op visit tomorrow. I lost a bunch of weight pre-op as I got to do it a bit longer, due to a medical complication that had me hospitalized 4 days prior to my original scheduled date.
I've met a lot of amazing people on this site and hope to continue to do so as I lean on others and then again, play it forward to those getting started on their journey. Around Thanksgiving, I decided to start a private group page on Facebook as a personal blog about my journey. The link is http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/394325147309225/ if anyone cares to enjoy the journey. I'm not sure if you need to friend me first, if so, please do!
As I was talking to a friend of mine that I made on this site last night, we were thinking of meeting up in the future, for a dinner (or lunch) at a place called Seasons 52 in Plano. It's not the cheapest of places, but all of the food is fresh and amazing and everything on the menu is under 475 calories. It would be cool to meet up once a month there or other places. Another thing I thought would be cool is that veterans could chip in together and treat the new sleevers each time to one of their first meals out!

Scotty I record my tv shows and go right past all commercials, so i don't have to watch all the tempting food commercials - no peanut butter/chocolate chip Cookies for me
its never too early/or late to start tracking your liquids/foods, keeping records of Protein, carbs etc. many people here use MFP (my fitness pal)
great that you are drinking slowly, sipping - try and keep track of how much Water you are drinking
you need to drink as much as possible always (64 oz) at least, but for now you should keep track of your H20 intake, so you know how much/little you've drank. you don't want to get dehydrated,
if you are aware that your #s are too low, than slowly try and push yourself harder. Warning Warning - you must drink like a fish - they have plenty of protein :lol:
having fantasies about food is ok, but......its kind of like torturing yourself, TRY not to think about food, especially at this early stage. eventually you will be able to eat anything in very small portions, but not for a while
you can have that occasional couple of bites of a chocolate chip cookie, but for right now, try and get your mind out of the gutter/ bakery / bread section., all the same thing
i'm sure you can proceed well with this journey - BUT....all NEWBIES et al should be aware that this is an eternal journey that is/can be difficult. harder at the beginning while your adjusting slowly to your new way of life
The journey w/the sleeve is rewarding, healthier, happier, better life - well worth sacrifices you must make, and rules you need to follow
good luck

I LOVE to cook and am just wrapping up the pureed stage off my diet. Here are some of my favorite concoctions - enjoy!
Egg salad - couple eggs, 1 tsp of mayo, 1/2 tsp of spicy brown mustard, salt & pepper - puree until smooth
Buffalo chicken - can of chicken, 1 tbsp blue cheese crumbles, 2 tbsp ranch dressing, 1 tsp. of buffalo sauce, salt & pepper - puree until smooth - MY PERSONAL FAVORITE!
Squash casserole - 1 can of squash with vidalia onion, 2 tbsp of cream cheese, 1/2 tsp of garlic powder, salt & pepper, 1 tsp margarine/butter, 1 tbsp shredded cheddar cheese - puree until smooth, pour into dish and microwave for 90 seconds or until heated through and bubbly
Pintos and cheese - 1 can of Pintos with onion - puree until smooth, pour into dish and cover with 2 tbsp. of shredded cheddar cheese - microwave for 90 seconds or until heated through and bubbly - stir well to combine the cheese - optional: add a bit of enchilada sauce if you are looking for more flavor.
Lemon Ricotta Creme
Take one 15 oz. container of part skim ricotta cheese, add the zest of one lemon, juice of half the lemon, 1.5 teaspoons of vanilla extract and 4 packets of splenda - puree until smooth - AWESOME!!!!
You can do variations on this should you choose - substitue orange zest and 1 tbsp. of orange juice with orange extract or keep vanilla extract for a dreamsicle taste. chocolate ricotta creme is easy too by substituting 2 tbsp. cocoa powder instead of zest and juice, same vanilla extract and splenda to sweeten.
Perfect sweet tooth item instead of the same old pudding and/or jell-o and it has a high concentration of Protein due to the ricotta cheese. Enjoy!
Parmesan Garlic Cauliflower (tastes a lot like mashed potatoes, but very low carb!)
1 bag of frozen cauliflower florets
1 tsp butter/margarine
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup of parmesan cheese
1/4 cup of milk
Blend until smooth, pour into a casserole dish and top with another 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese and microwave for 90 seconds - enjoy!

If you would rather purchase the Vitamix on payments you can check qvc.com. Often they offer the VM for 4 to 5 monthly payments, You only need a credit card to purchase and they bill you for those months. That way you can purchase it interest free if you don't have the cash.