I'm cross posting th...

I'm cross posting this over from one I made over at the RNY message board. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I've been fortunate that I rarely get sick. Early on I discovered what many people do, and it has worked so well for me that I thought I would share a few of my thoughts and welcome any additional ones that people may be able to offer. Some of these thoughts, while very practical, may be TMI for some...so be forwarned. This is not a pretty topic, but a necessary part of the WLS process. I view our new pouch somewhat like a miniature sausage stuffing machine. We put the food in and we feel full. If we eat more than we need, it is jammed into the intestine and then we have consumed several (hundred?) more calories than what are actually necessary. I track my calories using the purchased version of fitday.com ($20 well spent in my book) that helps me go to bed at night knowing that I stayed within my personal targets for the day. I choose to stay in the 800-1000 calorie range (for right now anyway) so that I can get this weight off as fast as is reasonably possible. I have a friend here at OH (listed as John Hoffman on my profile friends list - great story BTW) that I met before I had surgery that had lost around 200 pounds in 9 months. Since I was doing the research, I asked him what his biggest secret was. He said that he only ate 6-8 oz maximum at any one meal. I have also adopted that philosophy and it has so far worked very well for me. I always plan what I eat and eat what I plan. If I have trouble getting down what I had planned, I slow down and listen. You post-opers know that little gurgle sound when the pouch is saying "I'm full, but if you give me a minute or two, I'll send some of this extra food on into the intestine"? You hear the gurgle at the same time when the pouch gives you that wonderful feeling of instant relief from that tight chest sensation??? You know what I mean...right? One of the best ways to avoid getting sick is to always lubricate coarser foods with the right foods. My personal favorites are cottage cheese or vegetables. When I was newly post op I thought using bananas was a good lubricant. It was great on the front end, but was a real problem on the other end. There is a fine line between using the right amount of lubricant and being on either end of this pendulum. If you use too much, then the food just flows into the intestine with no fight and you can easily consume too many calories and not feel full as long. If you use too little, then you will likely be sick. Of course, you want to feel full and comfortable for that hour or two after eating. This is accomplished by getting just the right texture and consistancy of your food. I also notice that I also got sick from getting upset just before eating and then eating too fast. The kids actually know if I'm upset and actually warn me...and they have saved me on an occasion or two. I also chew my food until it flows down along the teeth (sorry if TMI). I also have been eating foods like roast beef since about 2 months out with no problem. The thing that I do is chew, chew, chew and then get rid of that last bit of gristle that would serve as a plug for my pouch. I make my personal favorite food...."Pullman Poppers" with Deli Roast Beef, FF Cream Cheese, Jalapeno Peppers, and/or Pickles all rolled up....mmmm....yummy. These are a few of my thoughts on the topic of avoiding the dreaded foamies and becomng sick. John

Fabulous post John! I've been thinking about doing the $20 at fitday.com as well. Can you PM me what the major differences are? I, too, have been eating roast and things since about 2 months out. I've never had a problem but that could be because my crock pot does a fabulous job. At just over 15 weeks I really feel that I'm getting a good handle on my post-op life. I've had a heck of a time with protein shakes until my great discovery Sunday. I love Tropicana Sugar Free Orangeade. Well, that big old tub of Fuzzy Navel has just been sitting there. I did 12 oz of orangeade and one 23 gram scoop of Fuzzy Navel and put it in the Magic Bullet. I admit it. I HATE Crystal Light. But, this really, truly, tasted like a Fuzzy Navel!!! I have no problem drinking three of these babies every day. I had the foamies once and I'll do everything in my power to NEVER have that happen again. I say it all the time. I LOVE MY RNY!!! * Cyndi *

Cyndi, I'll just post your answer here so others may hopefully benefit from it. The main thing that I noticed is that it has hot buttons that are super fast. Type in a letter and many choices come up. I also can load any of my favorite foods and those are all listed in my favorites folder. I also can make faviorite folders of my most common proteins, fruits, vegetables...etc. The main thing that I like about it is that I spend no more than 5 minutes a day entering my foods. You also get 30 days to ask for your money back, which I high doubt you would decide to do. There are other features that I don't use too. You may find all of those useful. I do use the reports from time to time. They do not do a very good job of selling their product and getting people to jump from the free version to the purchased one. I hope that gives you enough of a flavor of it that it will make it sound interesting enough to try it for 30 days. Besides my pouch, my fitday program and my digital scale are my two best allies. John