InfiniteButterfly

Good luck to both of you! See you on the other side!

I think it was at six days out that I could comfortably sleep on my side. Until then, I kind of suffered sleeping on my back propped by four or five pillows. I couldn't put the pillows on either side of me without kicking my bf out of bed =P Needless to say, I didn't sleep well until I could resume side-sleeping. What a relief!

Wow...congratulations A good support team definitely helps, IMO. I would be lost without mine.

Looks like MFP has nutrition info available on fast food items. I believe Livestrong has them listed as well (but don't quote me on that...it's been a while since I've used them for looking up food)

I had been having one daily, as a Breakfast replacement. I will likely be swapping to all-food after today, however, since I had a very bad reaction to the shake I was drinking (most of them are too overwhelmingly sweet for me to tolerate) My NUT and doctor both prefer going to mostly foods at this point anyway (I just hit soft food stage).

My Fitness Pal is an online site that offers food and exercise tracking (you can also track body measurements). It is a really easy way to log your food intake daily, and to log your exercise. There are forums there (which I don't really participate in) as well, if you choose to participate. I like it because it's so easy to track food on there...and it has a more comprehensive list than most of the other online tracking sites that I've tried. And no annoying auto-play ads like Sparkpeople (that used to be my tracking site of choice until they got so many auto-play ads that it's not worth going to any more).

Added you I can always use more friends for more accountability I'm toxiclight on there.

That sounds good! I love guacamole!

I second Flintstones. They don't taste too bad, especially compared to the other chewables I've tried. (I'm not allowed gummies at this stage anyway, so I haven't even looked at them.) I can usually find coupons for the Flintstones vitamins, and they frequently go BOGO at our local grocery, so they're a pretty decent bargain as well.

I hit my stall at around Week 2 as well. Sooner than I expected it. The weight has started coming off again, but far more slowly than it did the first two weeks.

For my protein, I eat eggs, refried Beans, cheese sticks (sometimes wrapped in a slice of light deli ham or turkey if it's a meal rather than a snack), salmon or fish in general, a bit of chicken, quinoa (sometimes a tbsp as a side dish if I'm still hungry after my meat portion at dinner). I currently don't eat anything (other than the SF popsicles, which count as a liquid) that doesn't have protein in it, because I just don't have the room. I hit between 45 and 60 grams of protein daily at 5 weeks out, which the doctor said is fine at this point. He is more concerned with me staying hydrated and said the protein will come as I'm able to eat more food (and he said VERY firmly to not rush this point but take it very slow...which is okay with me) My sleeve doesn't tolerate milk products or Greek yogurt, but it's fine with cheese (but not cottage cheese. It just tastes funky post-surgery. I loved it pre-surgery). Protein shakes make me gag because they're so sweet...although I did okay with the Chike coffee protein when I was still full liquids. For more protein/recipe ideas, check out According to Eggface or the Bariatric Foodie. They have a lot of suggestions (that's where I go to look for recipes)

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ Just sign up There are several threads on here of people who use it if you want friends on there as well. It's really great for tracking intake and output, plus there's a mobile app so you can track things on-the-go.

Chicken is on my food list, french fries are not. The chicken was par-boiled and then baked...it was extremely tender. I'm allowed mashed potato, if I'm still hungry after getting my protein in...but I chose refried beans as a side dish instead, because they have more protein and got me closer to my suggested protein amount.

Bravo for hubby

Best of luck to you! Yes, I was completely sleepless the night before my surgery, I was so excited Which is okay, since I did nothing BUT sleep post-surgery

Checking in: cw: 256.2

I track everything via MFP. Exercise, food intake, etc. It really helps a lot. It will also track your measurements...I tend to do a weigh-in and measurements every Friday (keeping with the Fourth of July challenge)...otherwise I get scale obsessed. Make sure you're eating the right foods as well. You mention eating a cup of coleslaw? There's little to no Protein there. You want to get your protein in first. Fresh salmon is good, pizza is not. Definitely not at the early stage you're at: too many carbs and not nearly enough protein. I would really suggest MFP and tracking your protein intake (it does most of the work for you...you just have to plug in the foods and it does the rest)

I just used children's chewables post-surgery (two daily, even though the directions are for one daily. He believes more is better) Flintstones are actually better tasting, but these were on sale =P I hated Centrum chewables (that fake orange flavor...blech) I can't wait until I just swallow a pill...but I'm already swallowing Iron and b-complex, so I don't want to overburden my sleeve with non-chewables. Yet.

I really wanted fries last night (I'm on soft foods, and had made steak fries for the rest of the family). Instead, I ate my little piece of chicken and a tbsp of refried Beans with cheese.

I look at the color of the urine rather than the odor (which I assume is because I'm losing weight rather quickly, plus taking a load of Vitamins I never did before. My urine always smells funny when I take Iron supplements). As long as the color is a pale yellow, you're fine. If it's a dark yellow to orange color, you need to drink more.

I used to write...a long time ago. Then I became a journalist for about 8 years...and never wanted to write again after that. It was good to focus my artistic energy in another direction. Maybe the same will happen for you in visual art. I am never happier than I am when I have a pencil in my hand (or stylus). Now if only I could make a living at it

There's no reason why not (as long as you eat the chicken first). Although be careful of thin Soups...my NUT said it's about the same as drinking with a meal. She suggested thick stews and chili if you want something soup-like. The broth is very good on liquid stage though...I would take a cup of the broth and my daughter ate the rest of the Soup.

Doctor gave me the okay at my 4-week visit.

Hamburger is my bane :/ I had a single bit last night and yeah...never again. Regular, lean beef I seem to be okay with, so long as it's very well cooked and tender. (maybe because the beef was in a sauce and fall-apart-tender and moist? The burger was broken down for taco meat, and wasn't dry, but blech). That and regular skim milk are the only things that have caused major distress so far.

I've always been interested in art, and I've been mildly successful freelancing (designing book covers, tattoos, etc), but I want to go farther. Comics, children's books...and I went back to school a month before my surgery to work toward achieving this goal. I am entirely self-taught, and I know I'm limited because of this, so I'm focused on learning to be more than I am artistically. Plus, with my focus on schooling, I don't even think about food. I was worried that I would have cravings and pillage the kitchen when I'm home alone, but I never bother going in there unless I need more Water =P It's nice to focus on something other than my next meal.