gamergirl

Wow! Amazing! How tall are you?

I had posted on this topic before with several alternative recipes etc. you might try those out? At first I drank my Protein shakes like a good girl. Then I struggled through them. Then they made me sick. By the time I was post op, I was so sick of them, I'd rather have starved. Three things saved me. 1. If you find yourself getting nauseated with them, chances are quite good that you are lactose intolerant, especially after the surgery. I take lactaid pills with my first sip and it really helps with nausea, diarrhea, gas, gurgling, cramping hell. 2. I found two shakes I liked. Yours will be different but for me it was Chike coffee protein, Syntrax mint chocolate chip, and I can also tolerate Syntrax Double Stuffed cookie. It helps to make only 4 oz, with 1 scoop of powder, half a cup of liquid, and the rest ice to make a 6 oz cup to slurp on, so keep the quantities small. 3. HIgh protein Soups. These saved me. You can't do these unless you are on full liquids, but once you're on them, and if you are sick of sweet protein shakes, please do try these. I am posting links to my blog where I have posted them. Full disclosure, I do not make money off this blog, so this is not for self-promotion. I like creating different recipes and sharing so I hope they help someone. Sorry I don't have pictures yet for these, but I will get them up there soon. Once you are through your liquids stage, also search for soft foods, or look up the ground chicken and ground beef recipes, and you may find something you like that is sleeve friendly. Here's the list of soups: 1. Egg drop soup ( I will post a proper recipe but boil chicken broth, stir in two beaten eggs when it boils, stir with a pair of chopsticks. Take it off the flame immediately, cover, and let it sit for 5 minutes to let the egg cook. Add salt, pepper, and my fav, some sesame oil for a fresh flavor). 2. Hot & sour soup 3. Shrimp "bisque" 4. Lobster bisque 5. Tortilla soup 6. Chicken and mushroom soup http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/284035-tired-of-protein-shakes-nauseated-by-them-try-this/#entry3193335

Just barely but I’m there. This is a term I learned from hanging out on various online forums. Onderland. That magic place when your weight starts with the number 1. I have to say, it’s less exciting for me than for some others because I didn’t start that much above it, and only had to lose 30 lbs to get there, but it’s a nice, mini-milestone. But here’s another way to look at it, and this does indeed excite me. Today, I have lost a third of the excess weight I need to lose. A third of the way there! Now that’s something to celebrate. It’s also a good way to know that the surgery is working, or rather than I am working it. Once I came off the stall, I seem to have lost .4 lbs, .2 lbs, .6 lbs, but it’s still a wonderful downward trend, and I think I’ll take it!

The problem with a stall is not just the lack of weight loss at a time you expect the weight to be peeling off–although that would be bad enough. The problem with a stall is that it comes with baggage. All those times when you thought you’d found the “perfect” diet. All those times when there were hundreds of others boasting of their success with something that you were now trying. All those times that you were filled with hope that THIS was the thing that was going to work. All those times that you failed. We’ve been stuck at the same weight for 11 days, and it’s very difficult to focus on the now, instead of trying to think of what this means for the future. If I focus on the now, it tells me that my body is changing, my clothes fit differently, and even at 25 lbs, people see and comment on the difference all the time. If I try to project for the future and imagine that this is the way it will always be, then I focus on the fact that this could be another thing at which others have succeeded, but at which I seem doomed to fail. Which of us has not believed, both before and after the surgery, that we would be the ones who would be the exception to the rule? That we would be that medical marvel that simply could not lose the weight despite doing everything we were told? That we would be that singular failure while others around us kept posting their amazing before and after pictures? And that’s the problem with a stall. Even knowing what we do, that every day is a different adventure when sleeved, that recovery, weight loss, and changes happen seemingly overnight, we still believe that this is the time, and we are the one that will fail. A very egocentric world-view if truth be told, but justifiable given our histories. So if you thought this journey was just about eating your protein and drinking your water and not challenging your sleeve, I’ve got news for you my friend. It’s about battling your inner demons, about having faith in the unknown, and about believing that we are not that special after all. And in that normalcy and mediocrity is perhaps where salvation lies. (Follow my journey and my recipes at www.sleevers.wordpress.com)

I have more recipes on sleevers.wordpress.com that you might like if you want to follow the blog

saving this for later for myself Source: For my fellow vets - has anyone tried to revert back to post-op style eating (600cals,>30g carbs, <60gprotein) with any success?

Wow. Do people still recognize you?

I was looking at this thread and as your picture came up, my husband walked in, saw it, and said, "who's that guy holding this d&&k?" Dude, a little cropping....

I was looking at this thread and as your picture came up, my husband walked in, saw it, and said, "who's that guy holding his d&&k?" Dude, a little cropping....

My son called for his daily chat, a time I really look forward to. He says, "How was your day?" Well I've had a lovely day. I got to go into the office, work with a team of 6 very smart people, we all got some great thinking and work done. I was able to join them in the lunch I ordered for us, and I've extremely been productive all day. What were the first words out of my mouth in response to my son's question? "Well, I'm still stalled." WTH?? That's all I can think of to tell him about my day?? So he's a very insightful smarty-pants and he says to me, "Mom it was one thing to rely on the scale when you could say 'oh maybe I should cut down a bit tomorrow' and use the scale to monitor and adjust your eating habits. But really, what role does the scale play in your life now??" For a change, I was speechless. Well he wasn't about to stop there. He carries on saying, "Maybe you should ask yourself if it's healthy to let what you see on a scale determine your feelings of success for the day? After all you're doing what you need to, and you told me you were going to focus on process vs. the outcome. Would anything change in your process if you just threw away the scale for 3 months?" No of course it wouldn't but can i throw away the scale for 3 months? I cannot. Why? Because maybe I'm sick in the head and I associate my self-worth with success or failure at pounds lost. Not what I do to succeed, but whether the scale says I've lost weight today. Unlike a lot of people here, over the last few years i could NOT lose weight. I could control my calories, my cardio-vascular health, what I put in my mouth, but I couldn't control my weight. Yet I continued to judge myself by my ability to lose weight. Not by my ability to do what was healthy, but whether or not I could lose weight. I may have been sleeved, but apparently that way of judging myself still persists. So really, if we are eating our protein, drinking our water, and exercising to the degree that we can, what role does or should the scale play in our lives when we're trying to lose weight? Should we not focus on the process, monitor the crap out of the protein and water and calories, and let the scale go off on a long hike to TImbuktoo? And can we do that? Why not?

It's been a month to the day that we were sleeved. During that time, I have lost 25 lbs, been stalled for over 10 days, learned how to chew again, realized that if I didn't set timers I'd never eat again, and today, I was sitting in a chair and suddenly picked up one leg and folded it up on top the chair leg. I did it unthinkingly, and not until it was done that I realized that before the surgery, I was in too much pain to be able to do that. Yay me! I don't understand how this whole weight/inches/clothes things works. My bust, waist and hips are the same during the stall, I'm not losing inches. But I'm fitting into clothes that I last wore when I weighed about 20 lbs less than I do now. What sense does that make? Not a lot, I can tell you that! I don't get it, but I guess I don't have to. I just have to keep on keeping on. Meanwhile, the pile of clothes that don't fit me is growing slowly but surely. One thing that I'm really grateful for is no RA Pain. I started my meds again but really it is under duress as a result of pressure from the doctor. I see no symptomatic reason for taking them. Had it not been for the slightly elevated levels on the blood tests, I would have refused all together. I cannot believe that I am in less pain now, at 5 week with no meds, than I was when I was taking my meds and shots! Really makes you wonder how much of RA is food/inflammation/weight related in my case. I know that's not always true, but was there a relationship for me? Having trouble getting in all my proteins from food, and find that some days I eat close to 700-800 calories, and other days I eat 500 calories, and it all feels good. Work is in full-swing and while I miss being able to spend hours on the forum, I also know this is the new normal. I still come here a lot to read, but other things are priorities now, as they should be. I find myself wondering when the stall will break, and what I will be saying at 3 months when asked how much I've lost? I don't have a number in mind, I just want it to be more than 25 lbs So, made it through the first month! I'm happy.

My husband made these wonderfully spiced sausages. If you're sick of bland food, this adds some nice flavor without being too hot. Ingredients 1 lb ground chicken 1/4 c cilantro 1 tsp chopped mint 1 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice 1 tbsp Thai Red curry paste 1 tbsp Asian fish sauce 2 garlic cloves finely diced 2 tsp minced ginger 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes 1/8 tsp black pepper Method 1. Mix all ingredients together. It will be a bit sticky. Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes for all flavors to meld. 2. Heat a saucepan until hot, pour in a tablespoon of oil and spread it around. 3. Using a cookie scoop or a tablespoon, put 1 oz sized dollops of the mixture about 2-3 inches apart. Smash them down into circles 4. In 2-3 minutes when the bottoms are brown, carefully turn over and cook for another 2-3 minutes. 5. You can either cook them all and freeze them in a ziplock baggie, or cook just what you need for meals. 6. These are very soft and they were easy for us to eat. 2 patties contain 16 gms of protein.

Lemme know if you like it ok?

I felt like an alcoholic in a bar

Miss Mac, you are so right about real food. I agree with you totally. We cook everything from scratch at home. We don't use packaged food, convenience foods, fast food etc at home. It's very easy there. The problem on the road is very different. I was at the Boston airport at dark thirty this morning. After much deliberation, went to Starbucks, asked for a chocolate vivano (protein shake). They very nicely agreed to use no banana, my protein powder and soy milk. I was feeling very good about myself! Until I took the first sip and realized that they make it chocolately by putting in Hershey's chocolate syrup. There went that shake into the trash. It's a good lesson that we have to be hyper vigilant about how outside food is prepared.

Hi there! I have posted a lot in the blogs as well as on the boards about our journey (another way of saying I talk a lot) it's working very well for us. I too am 47, my husband is 60 and we're so happy we got this done. If there are specific questions you have, please do PM me and I'm happy to help in any way I can.

So before I get too far, let's just acknowledge that the problem is me. For whatever reason, I find myself really irritable, even with people I ordinarily love and adore. NOTHING is wrong in reality but man! I'm cranky! Working hard at controlling it. This is not the usual me. It's not hunger, it could be hormones from the weight loss? I don't know. But on the positive side, hey hey! First work-related trip yesterday! I just did fine and today, put in a whole days's worth of work with no trouble. Dinner with client still to be done, but feeling good. It feels really good to be back to normal. And very scary. While I was at home, I could control the food we had around us, meal times, shakes, etc. Now, outside in the real world, it has become abundantly clear to me how people eat around their sleeve and gain weight. I still have to make smart choices. Cake still sounds better to me than grilled chicken breast. The bread that arrived with my dinner looked like it would taste just fine rolled around in the oil and butter that accompanied it. Everywhere I go, there is food I have decided not to eat. I mean, EVERYWHERE. I read all the vets saying how this was just a tool, and that I still had to make the right choices, and each time, I nodded my head and I thought I knew what it meant. Honestly now? I don't think I understood it until I got on this trip. There is "bad" food everywhere. I always have a choice. And I will almost always have to fight temptation to not eat the bad food. Now that I am on real food, it's a much bigger challenge. I am measuring my food out, because if I didn't, I'm quite sure I could comfortably eat more than 1/4 of a cup of food. I understand that down the road, maybe that's okay. But this early into soft foods, I shouldn't take a chance. So I still have to make smart choices. And I still have the limit quantities. The sleeve won't do that for me. I will have to do that for the sleeve. It's a rude awakening and a much-needed reality check. So although I'm irritable today, I'm also grateful that I learned this lesson, and that I did that without breaking the rules. I think this is my next big challenge now that I have healed from the surgery. So bring it!

I totally do not see where you look older. To my eyes, you look younger. You do not look sickly. I think that when we first lose weight, our face changes suddenly, our skin hasn't contracted yet, and our loved ones might see those as scary changes. Everyone says your skin rebounds some and tightens, faces fill out again, etc. So maybe just give it time and let them catch up to the new you. It's hard for us to accept those comments as concern, a lot easier to think it's criticism, but I think with most of our families, they speak out of love and concern--and probably end up doing it badly! You do not look old. You do not look "too" skinny. You look great.

Recipe adapted from my favorite Indian cookbook, Raghavan Iyer's 660 Curries. If you love to cook and are willing to spend a little extra time to make sure everything is made fresh and authentically, this is the one to choose. Best places to get all the spices are either whole foods, central market, or other stores that have spice bins, or an indian grocery store. Ingredientss 2 tbsp Coriander seeds 1 tsp cumin seeds 1/2 tsp whole black cloves 1/2 tsp cardomom seeds from green/white pods 2 dried bay leaves 3 dried red chiles or 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper or red chile flakes (the kind you put on pizza) 1 2-3 inch piece cinnamon Method 1.Put all ingredients into a clean coffee grinder and grind until it's a coarse-fine powder. I use a this type of coffee grinder. Shake it about as it's being ground so all the seeds and bits get under the blades. 2. When you're finished, unplug the grinder, and turn it upside down. You want all the spice to collect into the lid so you can easily scoop it out without cutting yourself playing about around the blades. 3. Finished! Use in the palak paneer recipe I have posted as well as the chicken curry recipe.

I just posted a pic for you to see the final product.

Ingredients 8 oz halibut steak 1 carrot, peeled & julienned 1/2 Leek (I know, what will you do with the rest?? I will come up with a diff recipe for it) peeled & julienned 1/2 Red pepper, peeled & julienned 2 sprigs fresh tarragon or 1 tsp dried tarragon 1.5 tsp butter 1 tbsp vermouth (option) Salt Pepper Method 1. Saute vegetables in 1 tsp of butter. Don't brown them, just soften 2. Place halibut on parchment paper 3. Place sauteed vegetables on top. 4. Cut up the remaining half tbsp of butter into little pats and place them over the fish and vegetables. 5. Sprinkle with vermouth if using, salt and pepper. 6. Seal parchment paper into a bundle as shown in the picture and curl up the edges 7. Put on a cookie sheet and bake in 400 degree for 15 minutes. 8. Let the fish rest for 5 minutes. Make a big deal of opening the packet on the table and inhale in the wonderful aromas. In my house, this feed two new sleevers and a 90-year old---with leftovers! Probably feeds 2 adult sleevers and a child is my guess.

Surprisingly it doesn't. It doesn't even separate. It all stays part of an ooey gooey mix that's delicious.

I have Well Fed too! I just made the olive oil mayo---and everyone hates it

Today is going to be a fantastic family day grandmacathy! My 90-year old father is coming from India for a two-week visit, my older son will be home soon to see him, and my younger one is so excited about seeing his grandpa, that it's going to be wonderful in about 2 hours now

OMG my husband just made the best chicken bratwurst from scratch! If you can't tolerate pork or can't eat it for religious reasons, here's one to try. Made from The Mixer Bible, mine is a simplified version with no casing, no second grinding etc. Ingredient 2.5 lbs of boneless chicken thighs ground fine at home, or make it easy on yourself and ask the butcher to grind it very fine for you 1/2 c half n half or milk (see note)sp 2.5 tsp Salt 1 tsp ground caraway seeds 1/2 tsp ground pepper 1/2 tsp ground allspice Pinch ground nutmeg Method 1. Grind chicken fine. Messy! get the butcher to do this for you or just buy ground chicken. If done at home, freeze the chicken so it grinds easily 2. Add everything else and let it sit in the fridge for half an hour to meld 3. Oil your hands well, and make 3 oz patties 4. Can freeze individually at this point, or cook in a nonstick pan with a little oil about 2 mins on each side. cut into the middle to see if cooked through 5. Refrigerate extra for up to 2 days in the fridge or 2 weeks in the freezer. We're going to cook them all, and then nuke slowly when we want one. Note: the recipe called for 1/2 c of milk but we were out and I'm lactose intolerant and really, half n half makes it softer and smoother. Sorry for the cheesy paper plate but no one wants to do dishes right now! Makes 12 servings of 3 oz each, about 21 gms of protein each.