LisaS73

If anyone is located in SETX, i just started a local chapter support group if anyone is interested in coming to a meeting! Look for us in the local charters forum to join. We havent secured a location for meetings yet socould be Beaumont, Mid county or Orange.

I am loving the crockpot and Soups. Guaranteed moist meat and soft vegetables! Chili has become my new go to. Just made a white chicken chili last week that was awesome!! http://www.bushbeans.com/en_US/recipe/classic-white-chicken-chili

Also, with my leftover Mongolian beef, I mixed a couple pieces with some lentil Beans for lunch....and they are amazinggggggg. Gives the lentils some flavor!!!

I think tortilla is either your doctors preference or a personal one.. My doctor allows tortillas starting on my week 3. Hopefully I tolerate it ok...

Thanks everybody for the good suggestions, I appreciate it! I ended up skipping the dips anyway lol. Wanted to save all my room for gumbo, which I could still only eat a tiny bit of. Is gumbo broth a thing? Cuz I could drink that all day!

I like throwing in chicken, lite red wine vinegar dressing, cumin, garlic, diced onions, and a little bit of chicken stock. Makes the most delicious chicken ever, especially when it falls apart and becomes red wine vinegar pulled chicken. Yum!

You can also make a really great chili in the slow cooker. I like cooking black Beans in mine.

I love my pressure cooker/steamer/slow cooker/ browner in one.

I have used mine more in the last eight weeks (surgery), than I ever did before. There are tons of recipes for dishes that are healthy and the meat is moist and easy on the pouch/sleeve.

On my plan we are allowed triscuits and ak-mok crackers at 6 weeks. I try to keep it at a minimum, don't really want to get back on those carbs, but I do occasionally indulge, it's great for something crunchy.

@@Miss Mac, can I just admit how jealous I am. The more you post about what your Mediterranean boyfriend does for you the more I want my own!

My Mediterranean boyfriend grows sunchokes in the garden and makes chips out of those. Also I dice chicken or turkey and put that in dip or salsa with sour cream and eat it like a salad. I have also made avocado dip and made roll-ups with deli ham or turkey. I spread some dip on a flat piece of meat, and strips of cheese, then roll it up and eat it.

Cucumbers and carrots are another option. Seriously some crackers are low in carbs and give you like six with less than 100 calories. I can't eat six crackers plus this is one snack and not an everyday event for this one time I don't see it as a fat meal that will destroy your regular healthy eating.

You can bake pretty much any vegetable sliced thin and use as a vehicle for dip Just be careful the dip isn't too fatty. A bean or cheese dip will give you a small amount of Protein, but the others might just be more fat than you should have. As for salsa, I often use it top salad instead of dressing. It's a nearly fat free alternative.

You can make a zucchini chip. Slice them really thin and bake in the oven. Check Pinterest for recipes.< /p>

Is it egg itself or the texture? Maybe you could make an egg custard? Or mix ricotta and some no sugar pudding powder? Also the Bariatric Eating (bariatriceating.com) website had a slew of great recipes. Also Pinterest.

I do hope everyone loves pancake. I know we can't have Aunt Jemima anymore, But I felt that its as close to the real thing. You will be amazed what the ingredients are.
High-Protein & Low-Carb pancakes for Fat Loss and Muscle Gain-Bodybuilding
Lose Weight and Gain Muscle Eating Protein PANCAKES. Low Fat Protein rich recipes with Victor Costa Muscle Building Low Fat Meals and Recipes Protein Pancakes Lose Weight and Get Cut Eating Pancakes.Muscle Building Nutrition with Victor Costa

You are going to love these pancakes. Now, they might not taste like Aunt Jemima's pancakes, but nevertheless, you are going to love them. These are nutritious and require no oil. This entire Breakfast as prepared is only 380 calories, 20 .25 grams of protein and costs $1.37. And, It's going to be the best thing you ate all week. This recipe makes 2 pancakes.
You will need:
Pam cooking spray
1 cup of quaker oats
1/2 cup of skim milk
1/4 cup of Egg Beaters
Simply mix all the ingredients in a blender for about 20 to 30 seconds. Then, spray your skillet with Pam cooking spray. Keep the flame on medium. When skillet is warm, add your healthy pancake batter onto the skillet. The batter won't really spread out so you can design the size of your pancake just by pouring. As soon as you see bubbles at the top of the pancake, it is ready to flip. Then, flip. The bottom will cook a bit slower so, keep peeking under to make sure it is cooking through, but not burning.
The second always comes out better than the first. Never spray the cooking spray onto the skillet while flame is on( really dangerous). Make sure you prepare skillet by spraying cooking spray before flame is on. Wow, Safety and Muscle Tips.
Then, add a slice of banana to the top with some Polaner All fruit Preserve. Yum.
Again, cost $1.37 for recipe as shown. 20.25 grams of protein and 380 calories.

This is a recipe I have created, modified from several recipes finding what works best. You have to use real crab, you cannot use fake. It will not be as low carb if you use fake, plus well its fake. I buy my crab at Sam's Club. They sell a 1lb pasteurized lump crab, for $19.99. If you live some place you can get fresh crab, even better. I was making these by the pound but I found the 1/2 pound at a time batches much easier to manage. This recipe makes nice moist crab cakes. I use Flavor God seasonings because they are high quality and low in sodium with no sugar.
8 oz of Real Pasturized Lump Blue Crab 1 egg 1 TBSP Coconut Flour 2 TBSP Almond Flour/meal 2 TBSP Lemon Garlic Flavor God If you don't have Flavor God, then use 1 TBSP Old Bay TBSP REAL mayo (Hellman's or other high quality) 1 tsp Dijon Mustard Ghee or Coconut Oil Spray for pan Wisk the egg, mayo, and mustard together, add the spices. Add the crab, mix it carefully with a spoon so you don't break the crab up too much. Or you can choose to break the crab up if you want it to be easier to chew to a paste. I choose to keep the crab lump intact for a more authentic feel. Sprinkle the coconut flour over this, then sprinkle the almond meal. Mix lightly.
Use a cookie sheet or something else flat, a large plate can work, and place wax paper on it.
Using a 1/ cup measuring spoon, place the measuring cup on a digital scale, taking into account the weight of the measuring cup, set scale to zero. Aim for about 3oz per crab cake. You should get 3 at almost exactly 3oz, and one at about 2.8. After weighing, using the measuring cup to keep the round shape, place on the wax paper. If you are going to bake in oven, keep them stacked high, if you want to pan fry them, flatten a little.
Chill in fridge 1 hour before pan frying, or place in freezer for 10-15 minutes. This helps it firm up so it doesn't break apart in the pan. Or you can just bake in the oven.
Modifications
You can skip the coconut flour and the almond meal if you want basically no carbs. You will have to bake these in the oven.
You can bake in oven on parchment paper at 375 for 10-15 minutes.
These work out to about 15g Protein and about 1.5 Net Carbs each.

when my period hits I want chocolate and cakey. I will eat one Hersey kiss that usually help the chocolate craving.

Eating chocolate won't really help your period, so it's not worth going off plan. Try to substitute another indulgence for the chocolate. A massage from your significant other? A beautiful manicure? A luxurious bath with scented candles? All of those are soothing without being dangerous to your diet, I can relate to feeling yucky and wanting comfort. We just have to find comfort that will be a net positive.

When I reached maintenance, my honeymoon was definitely over. For me, losing weight was easy. I had a plan, and I stuck to it. As I started to allow foods and portions back in, I realized that I would never be able to eat mindlessly for the rest of my life. For the rest of my life, I will have to think about everything I put in my mouth. I exercise a lot. I'm running half marathons and doing mini triathlons. But you can't out exercise a bad diet.
I am still trying to find balance. It is difficult. But every time I get dressed and look in the mirror, I realize that it's worth it. I never want to go back. Every time I reach a new exercise goal, that is my reward. I try to accept that to live the life I want to live, I will have to evaluate my relationship with food on a daily basis.

The honeymoon period. The time period after the surgery, when the weight is coming off without much effort, and you feel like it was the best decision you ever made. The compliments are coming from everyone, you're fine with taking the supplements, the Protein Shakes, heck, you're even okay with losing some hair – it'll grow back, right?
But what about when you've reached “that” point? The point where the weight loss has slowed. The “head hunger” has started and, well, the “fun” has worn off. Reality sinks in that this “real life.” This is something that you need to keep up with. This is now your...gulp...”everyday” life.


The honeymoon period. The time period after the surgery, when the weight is coming off without much effort, and you feel like it was the best decision you ever made. The compliments are coming from everyone, you're fine with taking the supplements, the Protein shakes, heck, you're even okay with losing some hair – it'll grow back, right?
But what about when you've reached “that” point? The point where the weight loss has slowed. The “head hunger” has started and, well, the “fun” has worn off. Reality sinks in that this “real life.” This is something that you need to keep up with. This is now your...gulp...”everyday” life.
Did you expect to have depression creep in? Or maybe creep back in? Most of us thought this surgery would correct our mood issues, thinking that losing the weight would help get rid of that which was bothering us. So what happened? Why are we sad, frustrated, mad? Why aren't we...well...happy?
A lot of this can be attributed to losing our primary coping tool to deal with depression and stress: mindless consumption of food. We may not have realized it at the time, but food was our comfort, our companion, sometimes the only thing that was there for us when nothing/nobody else was. Now, that support is no longer something we can reach for in hard times to get us through. We are physically and emotionally missing/grieving our former “companion.”
Our coping tool.
Sometimes, our best friend.
So what do we do?
First, we have to look at the physical way food was affecting us. Not just related to weight, but in our brain. Food was giving us satisfaction in a way that was “rewarding” receptors in our brain that control the chemical dopamine. Dopamine is a chemical that makes us feel good. This is the same chemical that is triggered when someone uses drugs or alcohol. Yep, scary thought, huh?
That's why we often hear about “food addiction.” We are literally “feeding” that addiction when we overeat. That's hard to accept, I know.
Second, we have to look at WHY we may be overeating. What thoughts do we have that lead us to seek food as comfort? Are they thoughts about ourselves? Are we thinking that “I'm so fat” or “I shouldn't even try” or maybe even “Why do I even bother?” Sometimes the addiction is so deep, it's hard to identify the thoughts that made the behavior start.
Then it may be more helpful to think about the feelings. What feelings direct us to start overeating? Is it anger? Boredom? Defeat? Do the words or actions of another make us feel “less than” and lead to lowered self worth, thus leading to the desire to overeat?
The concept of looking at Thoughts-Feelings-Behaviors is at the core of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, a standard therapeutic method of behavioral therapists. Finding a therapist that can help us figure out the source of how these 3 things work together to lead us on the path to overeating can go a long way toward correcting the behavior. The key to CBT is retraining those thoughts to become more positive, leading to more positive feelings and behaviors.
Often, we get stuck with “ants” - Automatic Negative Thoughts – and they are hard to undo. With the assistance of a therapist that is trained in CBT, particularly one that is familiar with bariatric surgery, we can retrain our brains to think more positively about ourselves, thus leading to be less dependent on food to nurture feelings of happiness.
What kind of “ANTs” do you want to get rid of? Can you think of a chain of Thoughts-Feelings-Behaviors that you would like to change? What would you rather that chain look like instead?

I almost always have boiled eggs, low fat string cheese, cherry tomatoes, cut up veggies and grapes in the fridge. In a hurry I can put handfuls of stuff in Ziploc bags and be on my way. I'm usually home at lunch time. Being a grazer, I have a place in the fridge of the stuff I can graze on whenever I want through the day - the desire to do this has decreased dramatically over time. I re-stock it before I go to bed every night for the next day with cut up veggies, fruit and sugar free Gelatin.

I bring veggies & Protein. If I buy something, it is a flatbread type of sandwich w/lean protein & veggies. Occasionally Soup.< /p>

Deli meat and sliced cheese in a roll up... refried Beans, taco sauce and cheese... pepperoni 'chips'... almonds... cottage cheese... Greek yogurt