lglenn3000

Have you been charting your intake? It's surprisingly easy to eat 1000 - 1200 calories per day, which is about where you should be -- and the weight loss of about 1 lb per week is exactly where you should be -- join a support group in your area, if you can, I think it might help --

Check out these sites, they may give you some ideas: Vegan Low Carb Diet - Menus, Menu Analysis, and Recipes and this page has some great recipes, I think: 44 Finger Lickin’ Recipes for Vegans and Carnivores Alike | Mark's Daily Apple.

it's different for everybody -- it was able to eat 1/2 cups to 1 cup of food about 3 weeks after the surgery --- it takes a few fills for many to hit the 'right spot'.

If you have time to make your own soup and freeze suitable portions ahead, a hearty Italian Wedding Soup, made with lean meatballs, escarole and a high fiber pasta with a sprinkling of parmesan is one of my favorites. Or a can of Campbell's Select Italian Wedding Soup does well in a pinch.

Hang in there! I found the first weeks hard, too, but I found that if you add enough liquid and blend the foods into liquid, you can have your lasagna -- add tomato juice or chicken broth to thin it out to a consistency that you can drink -- and you will find that you will get full quickly --one of my favorite drinks was cottage cheese with tomato paste & tomato juice and herbs -- I even threw in a few pasta noodles later. Or blended Campbell's Select wedding soup w/parmesan cheese. Be creative and have fun!

My personal favorite is Ray & Terry's Protein shakes -- they will send you a free sample: Supreme vanilla | Ray and Terry's Longevity Products They also have Fiber, which makes it better than the other protein powders, I think.:tongue2:

hummus or bean dip with lite tortilla chips & veggies is one of my favorites. Or, if you have a thermos, a cup of hearty lowfat black bean & beef chili is very satisfying. Depending on what you can eat, one of my favorite gourmet sandwiches is very thinly sliced roast beef with arugula or watercress, 1 tsp grated parmesan cheese, 1 tsp balsamic vinegar & olive oil on on pita.

I've started carrying Weight Watchers light Mozzarella sticks -- 5 grams of protein, 50 calories and very satisfying. But when I'm traveling (which seems to be often these days), I carry Ray and Terry's Protein Shake Powder (| Ray and Terry's Longevity Products) to mix into milk to make sure I can get a quick dose of 20 grams of protein (that's with the milk) in the morning -- I like it because it tastes natural (sweetened with stevia) and has fiber.

Sounds yummy, thanks for the recipe!

Re: Weight Loss to Date NAME.........................surgery date.....todays date....Lbs lost 1. SpecialK .................3/17/08........9/7/08............53.9 lbs 2. scrappy_friend .........3/17/08........9/4/08............54.0 lbs 3. aJoneen.................. 3/04/08........9/4/08............31.0 lbs 4. WestCoastMom....... 3/27/08........9/4/08............60.0 lbs 5. julietj1970................ 3/03/08........9/4/08............40 lbs 6. SugarBean.............. 3/24/08........9/4/08............88 lbs (30 before surgery) 7. Tess415...................3/10/08........9/4/08............60 lbs (23 before surgery) 8. jegtlf.........................3/24/08........9/5/08............56lbs 9. emmersglue .............3/18/08........9/5/08............48lbs 10. lglenn3000.................3/17/08........9/5/08............28 lbs update 10/4/08...-32 lbs 11. Busy.........................3/17/08........9/6/08............41 lbs. 12. tp78..........................3/13/08........9/8/08............36 lbs. update 9/25/08....-44lbs 13.potatie........................3/27/08........9/11/08...........56lbs 14. TKT2FLY.....................3/17/08........9/14/08...........63lbs 15. MSBoss08....................3/06/08........9/17/08..........64lbs 16. Hazel-Eyes...................3/14/08........9/17/08...........31 lbs 17. hungry4help..............3/3/08...........9/18/08........65lbs (10 before surgery) 18. sisterc.....................3/17/08..........9/18/08........28 lbs 19. Anniedub..................3/6/08............9/26/08........55 lbs 20. wishin4.....................3/26/08..........9/26/08........48 lbs 21. AuntLucy...................3/10/08.........9/26/08........64 lbs 22. nycm00.....................3/24/08.........9/25/08........60lbs. 23. Desdemona................3/19/08........10/03/08........58lbs. :crying:

You can also dissolve a full packet of Knox Gelatin into your broth or clear liquids to get about 10 grams of protein easily into a clear liquid.

That sounds very reasonable to me! It shouldn't be more than a pound or two a week -- I was banded March 17, have lost 34 pounds and I was told that was right on target -- of course everyone is different. As for stretching the pouch, that is something you worry about only if you are vomiting --- otherwise, great job!

Or another dessert idea: Greek style nonfat or lowfat yogurt (20 grams of protein in a cup), sweetened with fruit & splenda -- one of my favorite desserts, especially at night and when I need protein.

kcmagu posted this under another thread it sounded yummy: Garbanzo Bean chocolate Cake (12 servings) INGREDIENTS: 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips 1 (19 ounce) can garbanzo Beans, rinsed and drained 1 cup eggbeaters 3/4 cup Splenda 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1 tsp. vanilla 1 tsp. espresso powder (opt.) pinch of salt 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar for dusting Sliced strawberries for topping DIRECTIONS: 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9 inch round cake pan. 2. Place the chocolate chips into a microwave-safe bowl. Cook in the microwave for about 2 minutes, stirring every 20 seconds after the first minute, until chocolate is melted and smooth. If you have a powerful microwave, reduce the power to 50 percent. 3. Combine the beans and eggbeaters in the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Add the Splenda, salt, espresso powder, vanilla and baking powder, pulse to blend. Pour in the melted chocolate and blend until smooth, scraping down the corners to make sure chocolate is completely mixed. Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan. 4. Bake for 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. Dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving and top with sliced or diced strawberries. In addition to topping with strawberries - I like to serve it a-la-healthy-mode: instead of ice cream, top with a dollop of splenda sweetened greek style fat free plain yogurt Also good made as cupcakes (easier to keep to the 12 servings) - for a more decadent serving - warm slightly, poke a little hole in the top and place a small scoop of vanilla or coffee frozen yogurt - to help myself out I use a small scooper - golf ball sized scoops

Also, my husband, who doesn't like fish, loves my tuna-potato-pea casserole: Take one box of scalloped potato mix, but instead of following the directions, take two cans of tuna (the good kind -- solid, packed in Water or in olive oil, but drained) , add 1/2 cup light or olive oil mayo, 1/2 cup, chopped red onion (or more to taste) mix with hand blender till it's nicely mushed, THEN add to the potato slices and cheese powder with one and one quarter cup boiling water. Mix and add 1 cup of peas. Bake at 400 for about 45 minutes. I divide this in four quarters -- my husband eats one quarter for a meal (sometimes more, if he's really hungry) and I eat 1/2 of one quarter or 1/8th of the entire dish. Really tasty and I'll bet you'll be surprised -- it doesn't taste fishy! :wink_smile: :thumbup: