DudeCar59

More flavored Water ideas: http://www.theyummylife.com/Flavored_Water

Water never looked so good ... http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/fruit-recipes/quick-easy-flavoured-water

Bwahahaha! I know! American bariatrics hot chocolate, cinnamon vanilla tea with unsweetened soymilk and sugar free vanilla Torani syrup, and chilling my water in a LARGE water bottle and then checking off the glasses on my fitness pal to pat myself on the back when I drink them have all helped me get my water in. I also tried keeping a jug of water in my fridge with fruit slices in it (and trying to come up with interesting combos like raspberry lime). That strategy was only partially successful because the blueberry orange was not as tasty as a thought and little pieces of orange were floating around in the water.

My surgeon reccomends Trader Joe's High Potency chewable multi.

My surgery was April 19. I am 7 weeks out and 35 pounds down. My excema is cleared up, my blood pressure is back to normal, my depression has lifted, and I can walk up and down hills for an hour (prior to surgery I could not walk more than a block without pain due to a slipped disc in my back). I am getting used to the effort it takes to plan, weigh/measure, and track my food, exercise, drink enough water, remember to take my vitamins, and build coping skills/find ways to spend my time since I'm no longer hanging out with food all the time. Anyone who says surgery is the easy way out doesn't understand how much work you have to put into this. I'm also learning how to handle social situations without food or booze and am finding it's not as hard as I thought it would be.

Whole Foods is great to shop at. -Spinach (I put a cup of fresh baby spinach blended into my smoothie each morning) -Protein powder packet samples - Rotisserie chicken -Steamed veggies from the food bar (lately they've also featured veggie dishes like stewed okra, sauteed mixed veggies, and grilled eggplant) -Lemon caper shrimp from the deli counter -Adora calcium/vitamin D chocolates -Hint brand watermelon water -Turkey meatballs, marinara -Cauliflower (to make mashed cauliflower like mashed potatotes; I also found a recipe for "breadsticks" made from them) -Smoked turkey slices and low fat cheese (to make roll ups which I grill) -Greek yogurt (I mix Torani syrup into this) -Fat free ricotta (mix inTorani sugar free vanilla, cinnamon, and lemon juice and microwave) -Portabella mushrooms to marinate and stuff (I like goat cheese and roasted red peppers in them)

There seem to be so many models out there. Does anyone have a recommendation for me?

Thanks for the tips ladies! You know I'm going to be the crazy bariatric lady who whips out her digital scale at the tapas restaurant! I can hear the wait staff talking smack about me now :tongue2:

I am six weeks post op and have been living on this stuff. Sugar free, 15 grams of protein, and you mix it with water so you get your water in. Tastes exactly like real hot chocolate and comes in a bunch of different flavors like marshmellow, chocolate raspberry, and cinnamon which are my favs.

I order it online here: http://store.americanbariatrics.org/Hot_Chocolate_s/3.htm

I blend 1 cup of fresh baby spinach into my smoothie every morning. I've been doing this since week 4 without any problems.

I blend 1 cup of fresh baby spinach leaves to my smoothie every morning. I've been doing this since week 4 with no problem.

I ate sugar free frozen yogurt from some yogurt shops in that stage too, no problems for me.

Congratulations, you are so inspiring! It's amazing how much this surgery can help give us the lives we've always wanted to live. So awesome!

Before my surgery, I would say to people "don't worry, I'll be laughing in skinny jeans soon." Well, you did it, congrats!

I tried the vanilla chai in a sample. I like the stats but for flavor I give it a B- and I wouldn't buy a tub. Try buying a sample from Whole Foods to see if you like it.

Woo hoo Auntmissa, way to go!

Congrats to you Taylocat! Doesn't it feel great to have increased confidence in social situations?!

Hi everyone. I was sleeved on 4/19- down 28 pounds but more importantly my excema is gone, my face is no longer bloated, my blood pressure is back to normal, and my depression has lifted. My current hurdle is handling social situations without alcohol- geez, without food or booze, I have no idea how to do that yet! I'm learning that behavior change is a major part of this surgery, and changing behavior is hard! I also have a slipped disc in my back so I can no longer enjoy the types of exercise that I used to, so I have to accept that bike riding (which I can do) is going to be my main form of exercise. Overall I'm just plain excited to get my life back...on a separate note I want to offer a word of caution. I want to reach out to you all who had surgery on the same day as me, but I know there is going to be an element of comparison which we cannot help. Everyone's journey is going to be different but we are all losing weight and getting our lives back!!!

How are all the April sleevers doing? I had my surgery on April 19th and am down 28 pounds at 6 weeks out, woo hoo!!! More importantly, my face is not bloated,my excema cleared, my blood pressure is back to normal, AND my depression has lifted. A miracle I tell you, I feel so fortunate!

Sometimes you have to try and learn the hard way like I did. I had 3 1/2 glasses of wine last night and I'm only 6 weeks out. I have the worst hangover because I couldn't slam water before bed or take ibuprofen. Today I feel totally ashamed. The wine added about 350 calories to my day. On one hand I want to have fun and live my life but on the other, I have to learn new behavior and that is a very challenging but completely possible part of life after surgery.