What is everyone eating?? ...and other stuff...

Hi, I have to confess that I am mostly a lurker, but I read the posts daily and find the info and moral support invaluable! This board is the best !! My 6th month date is 12/21 and I am SO happy that the scale surprised me this morning with a 100 pound weight loss!! I had the LAP RNY with Dr. Aceves in Mexico on 6/21 and on 7/25 I was in intensive care with a hernia, obstructed small bowel, and hemorraging---really scary. They ended op opening me up completely at that time. Altogether I spent 22 days in the hospital this summer, not exactly as I had planned. I am still recovering physically and emotionally---that's probably been the hardest part---I am drained. I have to confess that I haven't exercised (too darn tired), not drinking close to acceptable amounts of water, and my protein is less than 40 grams a day. The following is what I eat (varies daily): Top Ramen Chicken Soup Clam Chowder Soup Corn on the Cob Salad Sun Chips 1 Whey Chocolate Protien Drink (daily) Various Veggies Iced Tea Not a great variety, I know, I have tried countless other foods, many of which I loved pre-op. I try to follow the 5 grams of sugar limit that I have read about...I do not want to dump! I got sick twice just from coated Tylenol tasblets, so I know I have a sugar sensitivity (probably a great bonus). The thing is, foods don't taste right to me at all and I end up throwing it all out...so sad & wasteful I am taking a mega multi vitamin, beta carotein, and B-12 sublinguel daily. I've read here that you can get some sort of liquid protein at health food stores. I might try that, just hope the taste is tolerable. I'd love any suggestions, food or otherwise that anyone may have... Thank you in advance for your help!! Sincerely, Wendy 243/143/120 ?(according to Drs. calculations)

Well i pretty much tolerate all foods. SOMETIMES a left over item may not sit the best with me. I conscously everyday get all my protein in. I do go to the gym (when i can) and i do drink as much as i can fluid wise a day. I use protein shakes, protein bars (ocasionally) and love the stallone protein pudding too which really help keep my protein levels up. MY hair is still thinning but i am looseing well. I have never tried surgar foods so i dont know if i dum*****t wont test those waters and sabotage myself. MY portions are a bit bigger these days... CONGRATULATIONS on you 100 lbs gone! AND glad you came forward and posted lisa 310/194/???

**hi jack** Lisa, did you see my question to you on another post about how many calories are you doing per day? Protein? Exercise? Thanks.

Congrats! I would try an extra protein shake instead of the chips and stuff. If you can tolerate the protein shakes, then you can get your protein up, just by doing 3 a day. A lot of stuff doesn't taste good to me either, so I just don't eat that stuff. Look at it this way, you are only 23 lbs away from goal, so who cares if stuff doesn't taste good. You are doing wonderful and I know it feels good to be wearing smaller sizes! Congrats again. The liquid protein I would get from Vitamin Shoppe cuz if you don't like it they let you exchange it for anything else you want. It made me very sick, cuz it is sooooooo thick. More thick than you can imagine. Good luck.

Wendy, Congratulations on your 100 pounds! I love the Nectar Roadside Lemonade protein mix. I am not that fond of chocolate.....a lot of them tastes chalky to me! If it weren't for the protein mix I wouldn't get my protein in each day. I eat... breakfast...Dannon carb freedom yogurt and 1 tsp. of organic granola 62 calories and 7 grams of protein lunch...a piece of deli turkey 5 grams of protein 1 oz piece of garden yogurt cheese 2 protein supper...sometimes I eat but not always...usually turkey chili which has 4 grams of protein.... so that is about 15 grams of protein in food and 46 in 2 protein drinks....I am not the best one to ask about food though because like you, I find the tast of most foods repulsive! I also dump easily on fats. I have to stay under 5 grams of fat. I can not tolerate beef, pork, chicken, fish, or eggs. That leaves me with turkey and I do get pretty tired of that! I second going to the Vitamin Shoppe! They are the best. They are the only store I know of that carries Nectar protein (made by Syntrax). Also if you don't like it take it back and exchange it! I will on occasion have a protein bar. You can get Detour bars....One Way....Joy Ride...U-Turn...all at WalMart as well as All in One Bars. I like the peanut butter crunch one. My rule is to get as close to 10 grams of protein for each 100 calories. All the bars mentioned meet that and have low sugar and fat! Good luck! We are both about the same away from goal! Would you have ever dreamed that last year?! Sue 320/152/130

KELLI im not sure but ill touch on that topic here for you: I do not count calories!!!! I do count my protein grams and i make sure that im getting 70 to 80 grams in a day. I do use alot of my ATKINS rules since surgery....CARBS way down...less then 30 a day, FAT up some to boost calories and not be in starvation mode...and lots of protein. I do use protein shakes, PROTEIN stallone pudding, berries and soy nuts in my diet very often. ASIDE from this past weekend cause i am suffering a STOMACH virus i ALWAYS get all my protein in. IM bad on my drinks but i do the best i can and sip to the besti can. DO i get 64 ounces in daily? NO i dont. I do go to LADIES express gym (like curves) 3 times a week and try to fupplement with my home GAZELLE when not at the gym BUT i dont do as much as i should. I have never eaten cake, sugar, chocoaltes, candy cookies but i do eat baked chips, soy chips and pretzels. I dont know if i dump and refuse to find out if i do. I have 3 small kids and pick french fries alot from them when they eat fast food. I always was good at looseing weight i just never kept it off in my life. SO this I am hopeing is my last time trying! I do eat alot and some days i am shocked at what I eat. I eat about 6 mini meals a day. I heard this keeps that matabolism high! My blood work is perfect so i wont change a thing. I feel great. HOPE THIS HELPS! LISA

KELLI im not sure but ill touch on that topic here for you: I do not count calories!!!! I do count my protein grams and i make sure that im getting 70 to 80 grams in a day. I do use alot of my ATKINS rules since surgery....CARBS way down...less then 30 a day, FAT up some to boost calories and not be in starvation mode...and lots of protein. I do use protein shakes, PROTEIN stallone pudding, berries and soy nuts in my diet very often. ASIDE from this past weekend cause i am suffering a STOMACH virus i ALWAYS get all my protein in. IM bad on my drinks but i do the best i can and sip to the besti can. DO i get 64 ounces in daily? NO i dont. I do go to LADIES express gym (like curves) 3 times a week and try to fupplement with my home GAZELLE when not at the gym BUT i dont do as much as i should. I have never eaten cake, sugar, chocoaltes, candy cookies but i do eat baked chips, soy chips and pretzels. I dont know if i dump and refuse to find out if i do. I have 3 small kids and pick french fries alot from them when they eat fast food. I always was good at looseing weight i just never kept it off in my life. SO this I am hopeing is my last time trying! I do eat alot and some days i am shocked at what I eat. I eat about 6 mini meals a day. I heard this keeps that matabolism high! My blood work is perfect so i wont change a thing. I feel great. HOPE THIS HELPS! LISA

Hi Wendy! I am eating a fair variety of foods now, which is great. I have 2-3 boiled eggs for breakfast every day (which not everyone can do!), for lunch or dinner I may have: deli meat mac & cheese (pasta MUST be moist!) chili casseroles (again - moist!) imitation crab meat broasted chicken (no skin) steamed veggies (cooked well) baked fish Personally, I have not been able to do raw veggies yet, including salad. Makes me sad, but I know it is not necessarily forever. In addition to a "normal" 3 meals, I also snack on various protein sources - meats, nuts, jerky, and have a 20g Atkins protein drink daily. I do count my calories, but mostly to make sure I am eating enough! I average between 1000-1200 calories a day, which my surgeon and dietician are both happy with. I know that I do not tolerate bread well, and if I do have pasta or rice, it cannot be dry and I have to go slow. Otherwise, I have not found myself to be very limited. I even eat out a few times a week with my family! I would say that you need to keep trying new foods until you find more that work, and remember that what doesn't work today might work tomorrow. Do you have a bariatric dietician you are working with? If not, you may want to find one. Good luck and congrats on hitting the century mark!!!! Nicole Lap RNY - 6/7/05 312/195.5/150

Wendy, You might want to go to FitDay.com and track your protein, and carbs. My guess is that you are probably a little carb heavy with the corn, chips, Ramen's... I do FitDay.Com every day, it helps me to track calories, protein, carbs. I try for less than 30 grams of fat and under 60 grams of carbs with an ideal of less than 30. Protein should be 60 grams or more, this is the bare minimum a body needs so as not to lose muscle. I often get to 90-100 grams with Protein Shakes. I love the Nectar Protein (you can get it on many sites, I like bariatriceating.com My favorite is the Fuzzy Navel (peach flavor). Some days I don't do the protein shakes and I can get as low as 40 grams of protein if I eat soup and don't drink shakes. That I consider a bad day. We really need the protein! Many MD's recommend getting it from food and not substituting a meal but I frequently sub a protein shake for breakfast because I don't like to eat early in the morning. I am also religious about getting the liquids in, I think the vitamins and liquid are essential for us, and we should be doing it for the rest of our lives. There are many people who have WLS complications down the road and much of it is related to getting tired of the vits and liquids. Don't do it!!! The better you are about getting these things in, the more successful you'll be. Good luck! Jo