Dondie Olivia

During the liquid part, the Jello and frozen stuff had sugar in it. I absolutely refuse to put splenda (aka phenalalanine and sucralose) and aspartame (which the fda has now renamed aminosweet). Too many problems associated with both sweeteners. Splenda is basically DDT. You eat it, you are ingesting chlorine. I figured that since I'm doing everything new and starting out like a baby would, why introduce toxins into my new body? I've always drunk 1%. Skim is too much like milk flavored Water. I do have some regular fat. And I agree with others, the low fat stuff has sugar. Now that I've have time to find some items that taste like sugar but do not effect the blood sugar I'm satisfied. I do buy fat free and low fat greek yogurt. It has more Protein. Then I will add a sugar free jam made with xylitol or some other sweetener. I did look at the fat free mayos and found some had sucralose in it. I just won't go there. My long term health is more important. I got sleeved because I didn't want to be a fat, unhealthy old woman. What good would it do me to be a skinny unhealthy woman? Plus there is now new research about animal fat and vegetable fats. After over 50 years of pushing us to use vegetable fats, science has determined that humans ingest and process animal fats better than vegetable fats without bad side effects. So, lard and bacon fat are suggested. Go figure. As with everything, moderation. Besides, my personal opinion is having some fat in the diet could keep me from having gall bladder problems so many have after this surgery. If anybody wants a list of sweeteners that do not effect your blood sugar and some products that use them, let me know and I'll send you a list.

Yuck and double yuck yuck! I don't care for McDonalds. Well, I am really tempted with the lunchmeat. I haven't opened it yet. As for the egg, I want that yolk too. LOL Yes, I'm on soft food. Next Weds. is my 3 week follow up. Which should start the pureed stage. My doc hasn't listed lunchmeat as part of this phase. I will say I am one of the few with no bad side effects except being really tired. No throwing up, nausea, no pain. The odd thing is, I am craving Protein. Almost like I did when the Graves/Hashimoto's disease was at it's worst. That's why the protein powders don't seem to satisfy. I've been craving meat big time.

I admit it. I cheated. I needed something more than just refried Beans, pudding, yogurt and eggbeaters. 16 days post op and I'm still tired most of the time. Soooo, I skipped ahead and bought some lunchmeat and hummus. I ate some of the hummus and felt better. I might try a piece of lunchmeat later. I just feel I'm not getting the right kind of Protein from the powders. Anybody else with me on this?

The best tasting protein powder I've found is Jay Robb. It uses stevia instead of splenda. It really does taste good. You can buy a single package to taste it. Plus, 25g of protein per serving.

which protein drink did you have? Was it one the hospital offered? Was it the taste? I'm using Jay Robb protein powder. It uses stevia instead of splenda. Splenda leaves a nasty taste and icky feeling in my mouth. Not counting the other issues I have with it. I mix 50/50 of water and juice allowed with the protein powder. The apple/vanilla tastes yummy. You could mix a 25/75 of water and jello with vanilla for a different flavor. I posted before that I mix plain protein powder with chicken broth. YECK. There are many different options available.

You could attempt it ZEN style. Be one with the scale. Or Western Therapy..........The scale is your friend. British style...........for Queen and country. American style............throw a flag over it and go for glory. Rodeo style...........stay on it for 8 seconds. American football style.......when you see you've lost weight, spike the scale. Or my favorite.....yell at it "You're not the boss of me and stand on it until it submits.

Day 5 post op. Major difference for me. So far, I haven't had any sickness, throwing up, nausea, swelling. Nor did I have the drainage tubes. Finally after 4 days the body kicked in had my first bm. It made a difference in the fact that I felt better and the stomach gurggling started again. LOL I woke with minimal pain, without the meds. Coughing doesn't cause too much discomfort. I will say the incisions are sometimes itchy, I see that as normal. Plus, according to my scale, down 11lbs. Add to that I already see a difference in the fit of my bra. All that has seriously improved my mood. It tells me that time is what is needed here. To heal, adjust and accept what changes we are going through. Yes, I miss real food. I remind myself, this is temporary. Three more days until my follow up. Can't wait to see what changes unfold in the mean time. If things don't seem to improve, make it through the day and see the difference tomorrow.

It's day 4 after surgery and I am craving and hungry. I don't want pizza, burgers or any junk food. I want a hunk of steak or meatloaf I make. I'm already tired of the sweet flavor with the Protein shakes. Yes, they are tasty,however, I crave something more. Plus, something I have been noticing, the smell of things has changed. I had some organic chicken broth and it smelled off. Like the meat was rotting when they cooked it. Gave it to the dogs. I've had chicken broth but that isn't very satisfying. I'm already counting the days until my first follow up so I can alter my food intake. This makes me wonder, are these hungers I feel real or in my head? Cravings can be real, but is this hunger real? Any advice on dealing with this?

Now that all here have committed to a new path, what are your new goals? For me, spend more time in the mountains. Do some panning for gold and look for gem stones. I know, odd. I always thought panning looked like fun. No. I do not want to be the crazy old codger talking to nobody and living off the land. <shiver> It is something I always wanted to attempt. Short term, plant a nice garden and experiment with growing potatoes in bags. Then can my veggies. Still by far, my favorite hobby.

That explains a lot. She wanted you to feel bad because you didn't do things the way she wanted. I say, grab a cup of decaf teas (yuck), put your feet up and contemplate the fact that you will be a deciding factor which nursing home she moves into. Hahaha If only I had the guts. She is the most controlling person I have ever met.

As for my last post, I thought I hit the correct quote for crazyjaney and got that. Crazyjaney wanted some ideas.

I'm not a chef, but I have been hired many times to cook for people plus I do lots of once a month cooking and canning. I experiment in the kitchen all the time. I saw a recipe today for lasagna cupcakes. You cook it in a muffin tin. Serving size already. http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/lasagna-cupcakes/973c5603-c1e4-4790-9e6a-aef378332ef2 If you don't want to use the wonton sheets, may I suggest eggplant, spinach or nori. All would make a great replacement. Here is a crock pot recipe, 6 skinless chicken breasts, 8 cloves of garlic, 1 can condensed orange juice. Throw it in the crockpot and leave it on low 6-8 hours. The garlic is optional. Makes it tasty and low sugar. Then there is beef stew. You can put in the blender. Then the broth you can drink as part of your Water. ) I always keep meatballs in the freezer. easy to make with sauce or Swedish meatballs. They can be made without bread or starch. Then there is the old stand by of shepard's pie. It's got meat, veggies, some potatoes (which you control) and you can add cheese on top. Just some different ideas for you. I agree!

My surgery was Tues, March 25th. I have definitely felt better, I now have two belly buttons and the bruises are coming out. Then there are the random pains. What always runs in my mind? Where did that come from? I wasn't aware of how much pain there would be. I guess in all my research, I blocked that. As for food, I am missing it. Though I am making due with the clear liquid at this time. I remind myself.... I wanted this and this is part of it. As for the Protein, I found some good ones without splenda or aspartame. I determined that since I was set on this course, I would go organic if possible. So I found 2 really good protein powders, both have stevia. whey factors not bad tasting, has 15 grams protein. Jay Robb's with 25 grams of protein. Jay Robbs wins hands down. I mixed it with a 50/50 of organic apple juice and Water. vanilla apple was fantastic. The chocolate is good too. I did experiment with chicken broth and plain powder. That is a "don't bother". I threw it out. That's my 2 cents.

I'm in Aurora. Just got sleeved this week. Are there any support group meetings?

I'm now 3 days post op and the doc wants me to be on a clear liquid diet for a week. Then will probably move to full liquid. I did have some confusion from a pre discharge talk with a nurse, I recall her mentioning milk with the Protein powders, as long as fat free or 1%. I was so doped up, I was falling asleep and I am uncertain as to her context. On day 2 post op I was using milk with the protein powders. Than I recalled the clear liquid part, so I am now mixing my protein powders with a watered down apple juice (which is what the doc says to do). My point to all this is......How much of what I am taking in on a clear liquid diet counts to my Water intake. Is Jello considered part of my water intake? What about the Protein powder drinks I make. Plus I am unsure how much to ingest at a time so I am sticking to the schedule they had in the hospital. An ounce every 15 minutes. is there a better or easier way to do this? I would appreciate any pointers.

Count me in on this. I sleep 3-4 hours, then wake up. Not a gradual awakening but BOOM! My eyes are open and I'm awake. It is so unlike my usual behavior. Before it would take a while for me to wake up. Not now.

I get one or two hiccups even if I haven't been eating. For example, I got up at 230 am. the last time I ate was 830p. Yet, after 1 sip of Water, I got a hiccup. Research states hiccups are a lack of oxygen. So I don't know.

Before surgery, I followed a once a month cooking schedule. I will go back to that. Then Sunday evening, I pull out what I am to eat that week. Saves time and money. Plus I have all kinds of protein canned. Roast, turkey, chicken and soups. I intend to drain the liquid then eat the good stuff. I will save the broth for part of my water intake.

I had mine on the same day Kim. No regrets..so far. I just saw about the hiccups because I will hiccup once or twice. Someone forgot to mention the burping too. I did alright in the hospital. I was still thirsty the day after surgery. Now that I am home, I'm walking up and down stairs, albeit slowly, but I am doing it. I'm experiencing some twinges of pain, and all of my abdomen is really sore. Like a too rough workout. For the 2nd day, I'd say Not bad. Is anybody else experiencing stomach rumbling?