TexasFire

That's right! Welcome! Keep posting...keep asking questions...know that you are not alone!

I'm sucking at this challenge so far but I got to shovel snow today so I guess that burned a few calories. ;p

And built muscles!!!

That's right! I'd rather do sucky lunges than shovel snow!!! LOL Don't discount that effort!

Thank you for the explanation. I wouldn't qualify according to these standards, but I'm glad to have learned about it!

Here's a recipe that has a bit of kick to it:

Buffalo chicken salad

Ingredients:
1 large can chicken breast meat
1 tbsp light mayo
2 tbsp 0% unflavored Greek yogurt
1 tbsp light bleu cheese dressing
2 tbsp Frank’s Red Hot buffalo wing sauce
Diced onions
A dash of onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper

Optional: very finely diced celery if you are a year out or more. Celery is very stringy and can bother newer pouches! Some plans even prohibit it for life so check yours before using it.

Instructions:

In a bowl, fork shred your chicken chunks (they come out of the can HUGE) and mix them with the onions and celery, if you are using it. In another bowl, mix together all wet ingredients. Taste test and adjust as necessary. Mix your dressing into the chicken and coat it well. Chill for a bit before serving to let the flavors “get acquainted.”

Can be served on a lightly salted rice cake, a multi-grain wrap or simply by itself for a nummy treat!

If you don’t like cold chicken salads, you can also do this as a hot one by nuking it for a few seconds after you’ve mixed everything together.

Exceeded my 3 mile goal today. I ran 3 1/2 miles which brings my total up to 11 1/2 this month.

Woo-Hoo! I hope to be doing the same thing sometime soon! Good job!

My husband made up a wonderful lunch for us today. Pictures and nutritional info, at http://sleevers.wordpress.com/2013/12/08/shrimp-with-cotijo-and-tomatillos/

Oh my goodness, that sounds amazing! TY!

That's alot of working out. Nice goals.

I just learned of this thread, so I need to catch up! Here are my goals:

30 minutes a day on the stairmaster six days a week and resistance workout an hour a day six days a week.

I had a nice 7.5 mile run today putting me up to 30.8 MTD. And I added a pawltry 20 lunges to my total..bringing that to 140.

I'm barely on pace to reach my running goal. Way ahead of pace to reach my swimming goal...I may shoot for 10,000 meters....but I'm way behind on my lunges goal. I'm telling you, those lunges suck. They are cruel and unusual punishment.

I'm almost on pace to reach my running

Shoot! That's nothing compared to you, my friend! I ultimately want to complete a triathlon. Been a long-time goal, but I've never been able to get into running. I just suck at it! I've done centuries on my bike, done the MS150 several times, and my daily bike route is close to forty miles. But running? I just suck. Maybe you can give me some pointers? My BIL is a marathon runner...Disney, NY, and others I can't recall. But he's an elitist that can't relate to my not being able to get into running. Ugh!

Yes, lunges suck big-time!!! I really should do those more....would really help me on biking hills.

I just learned of this thread, so I need to catch up! Here are my goals:

30 minutes a day on the stairmaster six days a week and resistance workout an hour a day six days a week.

TexasFire , I thought I'd replied to your post (thanks for responding, btw!). There is a weird dish that I found I liked right after surgery... 2oz of plain no- fat Greek yogurt with a scoop of EAS vanilla shake powder - probably not to the taste of many, but to me it tastes like a sort of cake batter my grandma used to make and it goes down easily;)! I also really like EAS carb- control ready-to-drink shakes (17g Protein, 100 cals & 3carbs each &) & I've even been known to add an extra scoop of unflavored Protein powder to those. I know I'm not losing at any miraculous rate, but I'm plugging along & feel really well . Thx again!

Oh, that's just fine. I had responded to someone elsewhere about the same thing (yogurt)...maybe we were both on another thread? I've been so busy here and at home that I don't recall! LOL I do the same thing with regular vanilla yogurt...greek yogurt makes me gag. Sounds like you are doing just fine, though. I still say stick with the plan...nag, nag, nag, huh? LOL I'll be glad to hear how you're doing in the new year after we navigate the holidays!

You could try these, possibly? I've been trekking out to costco for them, but someone said they got them at Sam's and lo and behold, I just discovered that my Sam's now carries them! YAY! They do have a bit of an artificial sweetener aftertaste to them, but they are the easiest ones for me to get down. If you need to cut the sweet, they can be watered down a bit with Water or almond milk. That DOES increase the volume, though...and these are pretty little...you could get through them fairly quickly. And then there is Monster Milk...50 grams of Protein per serving, which is HUGE. You can get that online or at The Vitamin Shoppe. It's a powder, though...I have to put it in green smoothies...I can't stomach powdered Protein by itself.

No, I tried to make the best of the time I had, but I didn't go all liquid except for maybe the last 24-30 hours prior to surgery, and that's just to be sure my system was clear. I doubt that had much beneficial effect on my liver.

Another Protein product I just learned about is Monster Milk. I've always known of Muscle Milk, but this was a new one on me. It has a whopping 50 grams of Protein, 290 calories and comes in 6 flavors. (I actually like the Banana Creme) So if you are having a hard time getting the protein down, drinking just two of these a day would be fantastic!

Where do I find monster milk?

I've found it at The Vitamine Shoppe and online at www.BodyBuilding.com.

DS is, by far, the most effective surgery!

I know NOTHING of the DS, and your post intrigues me. I am looking into revising to the sleeve, and now want to know why you say this quote above? I will go educate myself as best I can, but would be appreciative of any information or links that you might be able to provide!

Lol u made me

Smile I think I'll be grand, I just hope I'm not underestimating it, I haven't been great on my pre op diet

Yes, think positive! Everyone is different, but I got approved on a Monday afternoon and had surgery early Thursday, less than 72 hours later with zero pre-op diet and my liver was "gorgeous", my doc said! So I will hope that you have the same success in that your liver is in great shape and your surgery goes incredibly well!

I'm always one to think "it happens to other people, not me." Sooner or later it will be in one context or another. I thought that when I bought a motorcycle in August. I thought, "I'm smarter than those people who wreck their bikes." I guess my number finally came up when I got cut off by some out-of-stater on my commute home who wasn't looking where he was going. I went down and fortunately only suffered a broken shoulder and elbow.

On the up side, my number isn't likely to come up again soon so surgery here I come!

Sab - If you feel you're the one, maybe play the lotto?

I always think it'll happen to someone else, too. I'm invinceable, aren't I? LOL Yeah, not so much. I've ridden motorcycles my whole life. Always said there are two types of riders, those that have dropped and/or wrecked their bikes and those that will! After 40 years of riding, my number was up! I was hit twice from behind on my bike in 2012, six months apart.

Same thing with this surgery. When I turned 40, I knew it was time. I had never been a dieter or even more than a little concerned about my weight. At 40, I just knew it was time to correct things and I'm so very glad that I did! It has been an amazing journey! Not a perfect journey, but I wouldn't change a thing!

I'm happy you are okay after your accident and I applaud your attitude and that you are moving in a positive direction with your health! Good luck on your surgery and let us know how things go!

I've tended to stick with protiens such as canned chicken and tuna with pickles and eggs and a little light mayonaise, and fill up with veggies and a minimal amount of fruits. When I have eaten whole grains, it's usually brown rice, Kashi hot Cereal is DELICIOUS but hard to find. oatmeal is a good one if you like it. Here is a link with more information than you ever wanted to know about whole grains...examples, serving sizes, etcetera. I'd be interested to know what you find that you like!

http://wholegrainscouncil.org/whole-grains-101/what-counts-as-a-serving

Congrats on your new journey and experimenting with new foods and proteins! Keep posting...we love to hear how everyone is doing!

Hey there, Jayson! What's the name of the app? Do you if it is available on iPhone and Android? Walking is a fantastic way to start into an active lifestyle! Congrats!

Well there you go! Great tips! I despise salmon cakes, crab cakes and the like so I didn't think of that. Canned chicken breast was and is still a go-to for me, as well. For me, it would just require too much mayonaise for it to be able to pass through at such an early stage. If I'm not careful, at times chicken, salmon and tuna can be some of the more difficult things to eat even today at almost six years later. But everyone is different. If it works for you, that's awesome and I'm jealous! Let us know how you proceed and how things go!

Oh definitely! Mushing up fish would be DISGUSTING!!! LOL As much as I tremendously love fish, I don't think I could eat it that way at all.

So I have had people ask me "how did you do it?" - I mean beyond the WLS, Savvy people know that even post surgery many people don't lose more then 50-75% of their excess weight. For me, just eating normal with the help of the sleeve I could get down to say under 200# but getting to the size I am now took being a little radical - low carbs, exercise, great reduction in consumption. Not saying it is what everyone should do or needs to do - but when high BMI people "hope" to have success similiar to mine I tell what it took for me. That is interpeted as being radical or hardcore -no, it's the truth.

I have chosen to re-arrange aspects of my life to be less food centered. Easter we didnt do our usual food orgy Breakfast, we hiked to the top of a ridge with a beautiful view. I simply don't hang out with food oriented people anymore because I cannot spend so much time planning food, cooking food, and I expecially don't want to hang with the food pushers.... it all triggers my desire to overeat. I have alot of "willpower" - I always have - the difference is I am smarter now. I make the decision ONCE (ie don't buy the box of Cookies, tub of ice cream or spend the day with a foodie person) instead of a thousand times - like everytime walking by that open box of cookies would force me to do.

Anyway, this weight loss journey is a challenge. None of us vets got to the current "headspace" overnight and along the way, we saw alot of people NOT reach a healthy weight and feel disappointment over that. It is easy to come across very strident about these things we feel passion over and just cringe at all the happy backslapping over all the great stuf that a sleever "can eat". In the end, each person has to make the choice themselves (do I eat it because I CAN or becuase it's what my body needs) and I sometimes wonder if trying to share insights from the school of hard knocks actually helps anybody at all.

I agree with just about every word! If you look at my history, I was an AVID pusher of massive amounts of exercise and massive amounts of Protein. Can't tell you how many discussions I got into over carbs to protein ratios. But I did what worked for me.

It is VERY scary when I read folks talking about eating so far out of the plan! For the first month, I was terrified to put ANYTHING solid in my mouth!

The enablers...the happy back slappers...the pushers...the confessors today who will do it again tomorrow...I must say I have a hard time understanding.

But I will always encourage in the right direction and hope that today is the day that they "get it" and learn to live happily with their wonderful tool.

Maybe tomorrow it will be me who needs encouragement!

Another Protein product I just learned about is Monster Milk. I've always known of Muscle Milk, but this was a new one on me. It has a whopping 50 grams of Protein, 290 calories and comes in 6 flavors. (I actually like the banana Creme) So if you are having a hard time getting the protein down, drinking just two of these a day would be fantastic!

I would say no. This usually means tilapia, orange roughy, cod and the like. Salmon and tuna are my faves, too...but they are not anywhere near the soft and moist category, I'm afraid.

I was going to suggest PB2, also. It tastes good in shakes! Also, Naturally More is a super yummy Peanut Butter. I get it at Walmart.< /p>

I was reading your post and sympathizing with you until I read that you ate crackers and it struck fear in my heart! I like the idea of ice chips as a good idea to let you chew something. You could freeze flavored Water, too! Be strong....you'll get through these phases before you know it!