Knitchic

I would read people's posts about how hard it was to get their fluids in and think to myself they were crazy. Well here I am 3 weeks out and got a talking to by you doctor for not drinking enough. Lol. I feel like I drink ALL the time. I have timers set in my phone, apps the send me alerts and I always have a drink with me, yet I am still behind every day.

For those in the "soft" food stage and beyond ... this is my all time FAVORITE recipe! I'm almost 6 months post-op and this remains a staple in my diet. I've shared it before but since there are so many new people at any given time, I thought I'd share it again. I take copies of this recipe to my monthly WLS meetings to hand out and haven't found anyone yet that didn't love it. It may take a little time to prep, but it makes 12 servings that take less than 1 1/2 minutes to reheat in the microwave. Trust me, you will be thrilled then. When I came home from a 3 hour shopping trip yesterday I was so happy I'd made one the day before because I had lunch in a snap! I've never been able to stomach scrambled eggs but because this is so moist and delicious it's never given me any problem. It's also very portable. I take it when I go to someone's house in my lil cooler. If they have a Protein I can eat, I'll add a lil with it. Enjoy
Magic Crust Quiche - Ham
Ingredients

2 cups 1% Lowfat Milk
1/2 cup All-purpose flour
5 large Eggs
1/2 cup 2% Reduced Fat Pepper Jack cheese shredded
1/2 cup 2% Reduced Fat Swiss Cheese shredded
1/2 cup 2% Reduced Fat Sharp Cheddar Cheese shredded
7 oz Ham diced small
1/4 cup Cooked red bell pepper diced small
1/4 cup Cooked Vidalia or sweet onion diced small
Preheat oven to 350˚. In a blender or NutriBullet, mix eggs, milk and flour until blended, season with salt, pepper, garlic powder or whatever you’d like. In a bowl combine all cheeses, cooked meat and cooked veggies. Now add blended mixture and stir to combine. Pour into an 8”x8” or 9”x9” square glass dish. Bake for 50-55 minutes. Let stand 5-10 before serving. You can add whatever cheeses, veggies or meats suit your taste. I steer clear of chicken as it seems to dry to me. The small amount of flour firms up the sides and bottom making the “magic crust” while saving tons of calories. The Nutrition Facts are based on recipe above. FYI - the heavier meats, like ground beef, tend to fall to the bottom. Serving size is approximately 2”x2 1/2”
Nutrition Facts
Servings 12
Per serving:
Calories 120
Protein 12g
Fat 5g
Cholesterol 94 mg
Sodium 253 mg
Potassium 59 mg
Total Carbohydrate 7 g
Sugars 2

If you are 1 week out you are likely very weak but I would check it out anyway.
As your fluids and Protein goals are achieved this will definately improve. It took a few weeks for me but I was on Clear liquids week 1 and was not allowed to start Protein until week 2. Even when I could drink protein it took about a month before I even could get half my daily requirement in.

@@Alicia Richards You will be just fine. I had surgery at 8 am and the next morning at 8 am they weighed me. When I saw that I'd gained 9 lbs. I was furious. I had just spent 2 weeks losing 15 lbs. on a liquid diet and now had to lose this same 9 lbs. all over again ... what?! I heard, "Oh it's just the fluids we've been filling you with post surgery. You'll lose it." Well of course I will as I have no choice, but I still had to lose it! I find it funny (not laughing funny) they neglect to tell you this when going through all those months pre-surgery. Anyways at almost 6 months post-op and 81 lbs. down, I can laugh at it now. The surgery will do its job so long as you follow your plan. Here's some very sound advice to take to heart:
Follow Your Plan
Too many people treat bariatric surgery as if it is simply a diet and turn their head to the intensity of the operation. A smart friend quipped that if we woke up with a giant bolt going through our leg we would get it, but since there are Band-Aids on our belly, we think it’s nothing. Your internal surgical wounds must heal – this is no time to go to the mall, out to dinner, visiting friends and on vacation.
Sew what?
In terms of food, you must stick to your surgeons program for post op food stages. You need time to allow the tiny pouch cut and sewn from the fabric of your giant floppy stomach to heal itself closed. We have all glued something only to have the seams pop open. The liquid and soft food stages are to avoid stressing pouch seams and give your stomach a break from the process of digestion.
Is ice cream a puree?
Sirloin steak is not a soft food. Ice cream is NOT a puree. You can’t eat popcorn, raw carrots or celery ten days after surgery. People ask if we think they could have a pork chop, we say ‘no’, they eat it anyhow, then tell us ‘they didn’t have a problem’. No alcohol for a year… non negotiable… but people push back saying their surgeon said five weeks was okay. Folks… we know better and we are trying to help you.
General Tso? NOT your friend
The post op dietary stages are not a suggestion, they are a requirement for you own safety. You cannot eat Chinese food the week after surgery because you ‘chew it well’. A ‘craving’ for Orange chicken landed one support group member in the hospital! It’s a very bad idea to push. Being ‘released’ to ‘regular food’ does not mean what you think it does, but you already know that. How long until you can have pizza again? “Pizza is not a food for someone having obesity surgery.” (that’s a quote from Dr. N on My 600 lb Life) Every single week in our support group, these actions land new post ops in the hospital.
Sip sip sip sip sip…
If you had a back injury, you would not tile your kitchen floor the same week. Yet, people think nothing of making a trip to a theme park when they should be at home resting and taking in fluids. People ask us ‘Do you think I would be able to go on a cruise two weeks after my sleeve?’ (Nooooo!) As high as 30% of post ops are dehydrated enough to land back in the hospital with a Fluid IV. Not drinking enough Water after surgery can cause heart damage. Dehydration is the most common bariatric complication, yet it’s largely avoidable. Stay home and heal… drink hot Water, cold water, broth, Diet Snapple, herbal tea, eat sf ice pops and Jello. (We have a free bariatric water app called HY, click for GetHyApp.com)
What’s eating you?
If eating is a compulsion that you cannot control, ask your surgeon to suggest someone for you to talk to. A therapist can help you come to conclusions about your life – you talk, they listen and even after one chat you’ll often have a clearer truth of why you use eating as comfort. Knowing what drives you can help you deal with your eating issues to better work with your surgery.
Vitamins are critical
It is impossible for you to have your stomach surgically removed or reconfigured and take in the nutrients needed to run your body. While your surgeons group has mentioned Flintstones, that is so you will possibly take something instead of being one of the 67% of post ops who take nothing. They are not optimal and won’t prevent long term problems like broken bones from simple falls and losing teeth, but may keep you from dying in the short term. The idea behind supplements is to prevent issues from grabbing you in twenty years when it’s too late to change the path. Take them!
Protein from food? What a novel idea!
Yes, yes, yes, we’d all like to get our Protein from food and that’s what you want to hear. However, if you are unable to take in 70 grams of protein per day, you can either weaken and lose your hair or you can figure out another way until you are able to learn and eat the right foods. Protein drinks make up the difference between what you can eat and what you need. They are not simply a tasty beverage for your enjoyment for you to be all picky and ridiculous over. They are the antidote for your disease of morbid obesity. Morbid means death and obesity surgery only slows and reverses the disease IF you follow your plan.

I lost very slowly my first several weeks too. Now I'm 8 weeks out and suddenly 40 pounds are gone. I understand that feeling of wanting it to just melt off instantly, especially after seeing the insanely fast loss some people experience. But trust me, even though it doesn't really seem like it, in 6 months you will be AMAZED at how much is gone. Keep your chin up.

i had my surgery 6/9/15. today i met a big goal of mine: 215, aka my smallest adult weight. i looked at my day of surgery pic, and i am amazed at the change that's happened in such a short time. so here's my dos pic and one from today. and also some face pics...for most of my life, i was overweight but i never had a full face until the last 4 years. so very glad it's slimmed back down!

Well the 21st will be a month out . Everything has been going great until the last 3-4 days . I was loosing loosing loosing and then bam I stopped and actually gained 2 lbs back. It cant be a stall that soon into this I wouldnt think. It all started when I started my soft foods . So Ill give it another 3 days if no change guess I will call the Dr .

I would read people's posts about how hard it was to get their fluids in and think to myself they were crazy. Well here I am 3 weeks out and got a talking to by you doctor for not drinking enough. Lol. I feel like I drink ALL the time. I have timers set in my phone, apps the send me alerts and I always have a drink with me, yet I am still behind every day.

Good morning Dub. Congrats on surgery! Believe it or not I came home weighing 8 pounds more. I was so sad. It took about a week for me to level out from all the IV Fluid. I am a slow loser with a daily average somewhere around 1/2 pound a day. It's slow but I will take every half pound I can get.
Hang in there. The first week is pretty crazy.

@@Dub - great report a couple of notes...
1) They pump you with so much IV Fluid that you do gain that much weight. This too shall pass as the body heals
2) The general ache is the same thing you feel after being stabbed 9 times and having some of your guts cut (not that I'm bitter about that (one of Noriaga's thugs got a blade under my protective vest during the invasion of Panama, but he's met his maker and I have not, so I'm not bitter).
3) When you start losing weight, start taking as cool a shower as you can, stay out of the hot tub and tanning beds, and moisturize (thank you metrosexuals for getting those products on the Walgreens shelves). You want the shrinking skin as happy as possible.
4) Good doggie.
Enjoy the ride. Let me know when you start wanting to watch chick flicks...the hormone dump can be really wild.

@sarahbethemails Go to www.drinkprotein2o.com and under store locator you can put in your zip code to see who sells it in your area. You can also order it on Amazon - it comes in packs of 12 for $23.99. You can even order a variety pack. They sell locally for $1.99, so it's on point. Luckily my Gate gas station currently has them 2 for $3 so I stocked up today. Check out the pic of the refrigerator door in my garage - LOL!

@@sarahbethemails You might want to try this - Protein2o Water, (like H2o). You can go to their website drinkprotein2o and put in your zip code to find which stores carry it in your area. For 70 calories it packs 15g of Protein in just one 16 oz. bottle! Comes in 4 delicious flavors. It helps me continue to get in my 100+ grams per day at almost 6 months post-op

Water off a duck's back.....
Onward & Downward !!!!
You will feel great about earning the milestone gifts very soon.

Just have to say.... SOOOOO GOOOD!!!
And the Protein Powder recommended up thread? AMAZING

This will get you started...she has many more! I'm sure if you do a search for "pumpkin" on her website, you'll get a plethora of ideas.
http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2015/09/flavors-of-fall-pumpkin-spice-protein.html?m=1

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say YES, it's normal! That's why in my 2 week pre-op liquid diet I'd add my shakes to hot coffee to make lattes with the vanilla and hot chocolate with the chocolate. I'm 6 months post-op and still freezing to death. Maybe there is some truth to why they call warm ooey gooey foods "comfort" foods - LOL!

I'm 3 1/2 weeks out and I do pretty good until around 4:00 then I seem to crash. I think I could honestly go to bed at 6:30 some nights. The Protein really does help but I agree I am looking forward to the months ahead.

I would read people's posts about how hard it was to get their fluids in and think to myself they were crazy. Well here I am 3 weeks out and got a talking to by you doctor for not drinking enough. Lol. I feel like I drink ALL the time. I have timers set in my phone, apps the send me alerts and I always have a drink with me, yet I am still behind every day.

I would read people's posts about how hard it was to get their fluids in and think to myself they were crazy. Well here I am 3 weeks out and got a talking to by you doctor for not drinking enough. Lol. I feel like I drink ALL the time. I have timers set in my phone, apps the send me alerts and I always have a drink with me, yet I am still behind every day.

Would the Quest chips work with your salsa ?

I'm in my first week out, but these are the things so far that have surprised me:
1. The trapped gas pain. I woke up with that already in my shoulders and neck right out of surgery. I never had it with other surgeries so no experience with it. It took an overnight for it to relent a little. Three days to feel fairly good. If it hadn't been for that, I would've said I had little pain. Also a surprise. Even so, I didn't use pain meds much at all after the first day.
2. My taste buds haven't changed at all. Everything tastes just like it did before.
3. How it's like I have a 2nd job - drink, eat, drink, eat and repeat. I'm doing ok with it, but it's completely all consuming. I knew the plan, but totally different living it.

I had something similar happen to me. Not burning, but more like a pressure pain in my upper stomach area. It is when I eat too fast. I am really bad about that. I am finding that since I don't get as hungry as often, if I have waited too long to eat, I end up eating too fast.

@@glitter eyes
Haha. I'm picturing you sitting around the house during the first few weeks with no pants on....
Hell, I'm 14 months out and I STILL don't wear pants sometimes!

Good morning Dub. Congrats on surgery! Believe it or not I came home weighing 8 pounds more. I was so sad. It took about a week for me to level out from all the IV Fluid. I am a slow loser with a daily average somewhere around 1/2 pound a day. It's slow but I will take every half pound I can get.
Hang in there. The first week is pretty crazy.

@@pr_pitbullgrl
Here is a virtual weight loss simulator. Let me know what you think.
http://www.modelmydiet.com/