TES

yes, I bought all of my liquid vitamins at Vitamin Shoppe and really liked them.

If it's any consolation, at nearly 6 months out eating slowly is my "new normal." It feels like I eat at an average speed and everyone else eats super duper fast--when in reality, the fast eating is probably more average than how I eat.

Wishing you all the best!

Love my VitaMix! I've had mine about 15 years and have gotten so much use out of it. It purees ice like it's nothing, too--super smooth smoothies.

Wishing you all the best!

I would opt for something like sparkling water instead if you can.

LOL it's not a group, it's a thread.... not a big deal.

There have been days when I am intentionally closer to 600-700 calories due to my RD recommending mixing up higher and lower calorie and carb days (the Mosley principle but on a less formal basis), but I would say that the 800-950 calorie range is more typical at just short of 6 months out, especially when I have an intensive exercise day. The way you wrote your post, I thought you said someone at 6 months out would typically be eating 600 to 800 calories a day on a regular basis, and while there may be some that are, I believe that range is more typical for someone a couple of months post op. It sounds like you agree. BTW I don't think of the thread I started as "my" group or even my thread (the "group" is everyone who posts on VST)--it's something that's open to anyone who would like to participate. I just happened to start it bc there seemed to be a need for it.

Actually at 6 months out, my RD says that most people are eating between 800 and 1000 calories, sometimes more. Aren't you just a couple of months farther out than that, Laura? Were you at 600 calories six months out... that seems pretty low to me at this point?

There's a lot of info on the non-VST 5:2 boards about reducing your calories on the feast days if you aren't losing at a higher caloric intake on those days. Mathematically of course you are building a caloric deficit on the fast days but I'm not sure of the logic stating that if you eat lower than 1200 to 1300 calories on a feast day that 5:2 won't work for you. Eating to someone's BMR or TDEE works for some people, but others simply can't lose weight doing that and need to restrict calories to a greater degree. Like anything, the 5:2 plan is something that one needs to tweak to suit your individual metabolic makeup and lifestyle. Doing so is still within the parameters of the 5:2 plan.

Not sure if you can get to group (that you can't post on unless you're a member but you can view it) from your iPad using this link, but you might want to give it a try:http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/forum/411-eating-the-52-way/

Pureed chili would be good for the pureed stage (which generally comes before mushies). I definitely would not do it for the full liquid phase. If you did, you would need to puree it and THEN put it thru a fine sieve, which would maybe leave some of the tomato/meat "broth" if it's a more liquidy chili.

LOL Nate, newly butchered!

My strands seem thicker in a weird way. Like sort of dry and dull. I've always been so happy with my shiny hair. I'm sure that it is temporary though.

Thanks for the warning. Hope you are feeling better. Sounds scary but glad you went to the ED and they figured out what it was and treated you appropriately.

How far post op are you? when I was still having gas issues I didn't use straws, but I started using them about 6 weeks post op and have been fine.

This thread makes me sad on so many levels.

Today was a fast day and my goal was 500 calories, 60 g of Protein and 30 or fewer carbs. I ended up at 501 calories, 58 g of protein and 34 carbs. Pretty good. I feel really great. I am just finishing my snack (Protein shake with leftover coffee and Torani syrup) so no more food until at least 7 tomorrow morning (12-hour fast). Stay tuned, and feel free to share what you are doing here! Curious to know what protein range others are at on fast days. I find that it's easier to get plenty of Water in on a fast day.

I'm so sorry about your loss of your mother. I'm sure that it is heartbreaking to have this delay on top of everything else. My surgeon's office told us over and over again about not missing 1 month or having to start over (obviously it was out of your control in this case). One thing they recommended was to make each appointment early in the month, so if you needed to reschedule, you could still do so within the same calendar month. That might be something to try just to make sure you get the 6 months in.

I would try to start the following Monday if you can. That soon post-op you can get unexpected diarrhea, you're tired, and you need to be focusing on you and staying hydrated and having protein shakes, etc. I did start doing some work a few days after surgery but I work from my home office. I really wished I had been able to take at least 2 weeks off, and I have a desk job.

So true...I ended up having to get an IV in my wrist for my surgery and it was sooo uncomfortable after the surgery. It actually hurt more than my incisions (at least while I was still on the morphone pump). Once I was hydrated they were nice enough to move it to another spot.

There are some great recipes here: http://www.52fastdiet.co.uk/5-2-diet-recipes-f5/

The last link in particular is very helpful--it's a forum of people doing the fast. Dr. Mosley, the author of the book, is from the UK, so lots of the sites have that orientation.