seems this grazing is happening to alot of us...i am going to a support meeting tonight and getting back on track, not that i have gained but i have not lost...been stuck for some time like 4 months...162-166 same pounds back and forth..i am gonna start a journel make myself accountable...I fought to long and to hard to re gain my weight...now granted when i graze it is not anything like i would have before surgery, they are good choices most of the time..but as i said most of the time...i will have a cookie, or fruit...one day i had 3 bananas... we are human, and 16 months is not much time to change 50 years of habits...i do enjoy those little bags of pop corn 100 calories...along with nuts, animal crackers...fruit, cheese...mostly good choices, which is maybe why i have no gained...i do not do coke or any sodas at all...i do next to no bread.... another thing i have slacked up on is exercise...i take my meds very well, 2 times a day i make sure i get those in... so should we step back and see what we ate before surgery vs now... thats sure a good thing... so what am i gonna do? I plan to start writing down what i ate,. and how much i exercise...and i am gonna challenge any of you to join me... we all want to stay loosers...we certainly did not have this surgery to gain it back...and who better than us who are the same out to do this with...i am going to measure everything...going back to how it was to begin with...any ideas

I was reading all about your plastics. I had the same plus some. My surgery date was 9-15-04. I am very tight still and my surgery was in Aug 05 and dec 05. Maybe your surgeon could do some touch ups. Mine did. And I look awesome. So do you by the way. How much have you lost total?

Take what you need from this article: HOW TO ENJOY HI PRO FOODS Hello Everybody! I don't only do the regular turkey and ham, American cheese, cold cuts eating all the time. I eat fancy cheeses, lots of them. Although they can be a little expensive consider that a little goes a long way with us because we don't eat by the pound anymore and we are only eating the cheese and cold cuts by ounces or a few slices of each at a time. This type of cooking and eating helped me drop 420 lbs. and it helped me keep them off. I don't' spend longer than half an hour to 45 minutes on a "fancy" protein dish. Usually I spend 20 minutes tops whipping up a di**** takes me a longer time to eat it than to cook it. STEWS INSTEAD OF SOUP FOR THE SOUL: Meats, poultry, cheese and eggs are quick to cook and easy. All the effort goes in seasoning and you can put anything into them. When you eat protein you feel euphoric and not sluggish like when you eat carbs. Protein does not slow you down because the pancreas is not working over time to metabolize the carbs. It is better to eat a brothy and tasty meat stew full of broccoli, mushrooms, pearl onions, canned crushed tomatoes with no sugar added, tender beef and some wine along with some herbs, salt, pepper and garlic to taste... than eating a full of noodles/ rice and potatoes or bean soup that will make you gassy and will make you gain weight. Put it all in the slow cooker the night before and it will be cooked when you wake up. Take some to work for lunch and or save the rest for dinner. It makes the house smell awesome too. You can also do this with chicken or even turkey breast cubed or turkey thigh meat which you take off the bone. Use the left over Thanksgiving turkey and ham and combine it as well for a left over revamped stew dinner. TALK ABOUT COMFORT FOOD!!! LOL! Made too much? Freeze it for later and it will taste better the day after because all the flavors marry. The drumstick meat is too stringy and it will make you sick. No celery, corn, carrots or peas allowed. Celery is too stringy and carrots, corn and peas are too high in sugar/ carbs. This will fill you up and will not allow you to eat too much like when we eat overcooked pastas and rice, or mashed potatoes and soups. It will work for portion control and it will be more nutritious without going right through us. CHEESES AND COLD CUTS FOR BREAKFAST, LUNCH & SNACKING/ GREAT TO SERVE ON PLATTERS FOR PARTIES: I eat lots of provolone, mozzarella, Muenster, horse radish cheddar, asiago, fontina, manchego from Spain, smoked Gouda which tastes like bacon... YUMMY! Edam etc. You can find all these cheeses at Sam's some at Publix and at specialty stores. They don't spoil on me because I eat lots of them on all of my meals. I make three meals a day and a snack at night out of them. I eat lots of different hams that are smoked, as well as proscioutto de Parma Italian ham which melts in your mouth, Canadian bacon, black forest, honey baked hams. I also eat salami of all types, capicola ham, pastrami, turkey in all flavors like smoked, honey, Cajun, etc. I also eat lots of roast beef and also eat the Cajun flavored type and it is delish. These make great, fast breakfast, lunch and snack meals. Roll up and go!!! I make omelets with all of these different types of cold cuts and cheeses as well. Mix them all together and play with them. Get creative! They are quick breakfast, lunch, dinner meals that are yummy as well and are full of protein and calcium. I also eat tons of feta cheese and blue cheese crumbles. I put them on eggs, omelets, or melt them over steaks or boneless dark or white chicken meat. I also think they are great combined in salads. For those who can tolerate roughage or hot green veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, fennel etc melted cheeses over these veggies makes them interesting and fun tasting. I eat Romano cheese, parmegiano regiano, (parmesan) and Monterrey Jack as well over veggies and eggs as well. OMELETES, SCRAMBLES & FRIED EGGS/ THE INCREDIBLE EDIBLE EGG: I make omelets with anything but the kitchen sink!!! I even use Spam cubes or Vienna sausages topped with American or cheddar cheese soft to the stomach and easy in the pocket. They are a good easy to digest breakfast, lunch or even dinner. If you make omelets in the oven and double up on the ingredients you can serve them as party food along with your deviled eggs, egg salads, and cold cuts and cheese platters as well. Season your omelets and scrambles with Mrs. Dash or Cajun seasonings. Eat fried eggs with some Mexican salsa, Monterey Jack cheese and a sprinkle of taco seasoning and cilantro leaves and make great "huevos rancheros". Put a dollop of sour cream and, MMMMM!!! Make it fun. I even make moist and fluffy broccoli or spinach omelets with cheddar cheese or Swiss cheese on top, a sprinkle of garlic salt, cracked pepper and dollop of sour cream on it and it is yummy. Sour cream in your beaten eggs mixture will keep your eggs fluffy, and moist when making omelets or scrambles. Season your ricotta cheese with garlic, parsley, salt, black pepper and thyme to make a filling for stuffed chicken breasts or a silky omelet. I like to eat it better than boring cottage cheese. These are easy to make meals, don't cost tons of money, they are filling and full of protein and calcium. Get creative! Mix and match, season them out and put them in a nice looking plate. I think we also eat with our eyes. Sprinkle sliced scallions, (green onion) on them or a little fresh parsley, cilantro for garni****'s all about presentation! Make it pretty with diced red and yellow peppers which are full of anti oxidants and have no sugar. Red onions and cilantro leaves are nice too. Specially if it's a Mexican scramble, omelet or if you are cooking chicken, beef or shrimp fajitas. I also love to put mushrooms in my omelets because they are meaty and beefy/earthy tasting. I sautéed them with onions and put them on my omelets and scrambles. Crabmeat omelets with Cajun seasoning, scrambled eggs and Nova Scotia salmon thin slices on the side with some red onions are yummy and easy to digest. Eggs benedict rule also, minus the muffin. STEAKS, CHICKEN, TURKEY, PORK, AND SEAFOOD/ IF IT WALKS, SWIMS, CRAWLS OR FLY EAT IT!!! I make great moist burgers and meatballs by putting cheese in the center of them before I cook them, I really like a stuffed burger and meatballs with mozzarella or fontina, Swiss, blue, assiago or provolone cheeses as well as Monterey Jack. They all melt so well and make the burgers and meatballs super moist and tasty. Putting mushroom and onions in them keeps the meat moist and tasty. They taste better than breadcrumbs and also act as a binding agent. It also works great with meat loaf. Avoid the typical tomato and ketchup sauce for your meat loaf. How about some brown or white gravy instead, made with Campbell's cream of mushroom soup for your meat loaf? Season the ground beef with a rub seasoning mixture like Mrs. Dash, or Canadian or Cajun grill rubs or even a packet of dry Lipton French onion soup. You will never eat anything made with ground beef out of the house ever again. Just play with it... LOL!!! For an oriental flair season shrimp, chicken, pork and beef with stir fry seasoning packets and low sodium soy sauce. Let it marinade in a bag or bowl for a couple of hours in the ice box with sliced scallions, minced garlic and stir fry it in a Wok or a blazing hot pan. Use toasted peanut oil for this and it will taste just like out of the Chinese restaurant. Use half an inch pieces of everything that is the meats and veggies in your stir fry. Stir fry broccoli, water chestnuts, mushrooms and or peanuts, red onions, green, yellow and red bell peppers to make it look colorful. Make it appealing to the eyes. You can also add bean sprouts at the very end after it's all almost cooked, toss it all together put it in a platter and garnish with sliced scallions (green onions). You don't need white rice or fried rice to eat this. Avoid teriyaki sauce because it is chuck full of honey. When stir frying keep the heat high so the meat doesn't get brothy and stir the meats and all the ingredients constantly to avoid them to burn. Don't over cook them. The meat and or shrimp will get tough and the veggies will get mushy. The beauty of stir fry is to make it crunchy but not tough. Start stir frying the seasoned meats first and take them out of the Wok or pan. When they are ready let them rest so they won't loose the juices. Overcrowding the pan with the meat and veggies will make everything sweat too much because of excess vapor and the meat will get tough if it remains in the heat waiting for the veggies to cook. It will end up looking like a stew. Season the veggies and stir fry them the same way the meat was cooked. You decide how crispy you want the veggies. It's all about the tolerance and your digestion. Once everything is cooked combine everything for a quick reheat and add the scallions at the end for garnish. Super quick and easy and the toasted peanut oil is what enhances the taste and the smell. Add minced ginger as well to the marinade if you like the taste. If using pork for stir fry use boneless country style rib diced chunks. The cut is moister, less stringy and more digestible. If you want to give to it a Szechwan or Thai flair add a little bit of dry hot pepper flakes and toss. It will make it spicy and give a bite to it. For a Thai flair just add chopped cilantro leaves to it. MMMMMM!!! Another choice for protein is sausages. I love Italian and bratwursts. I eat them with sautéed mushrooms, onions and peppers, without the bun and with cheese chunks on the side or shredded cheese over them. I make my steaks, pork, veal, lamb and chicken meats sautéed with, peppers, onions and mushrooms as well. While I sautéed these veggies I put cracked pepper, some salt in them, minced or crushed garlic and use olive oil instead of butter. Sometimes I mix the two if I want it to be creamy. I put a good splash of wine to deglaze the pan and let the alcohol cook away for a couple of minutes to make a great smelling/ tasting sauce. You can also add a little beef or chicken broth out of the can. Dissolve a teaspoon of corn starch powder in a quarter cup of tap water, throw in the juice and as soon as it comes to a boil watch it thicken up. You put this over your meats right on top of the cheese to melt and it is just so tasty, great smelling and luscious. WOW!!! It is quick to prepare and easy to digest. You can also prepare your meats the same way using the Stroganoff sauce method as well. For that I use London broil or Flank Steak cuts with no noodles. I just use the sauce and mushrooms. Make sure the steak is cooked medium at the most and while you are cooking your mushroom/ onion sauce your breasts are resting on a plate so you don't waste the juices. For me rare rules, however not everybody likes to see blood on their plate. Cook steak longer than medium temperature and it will be too dry. It will make you sick when you eat it. Pick the fattiest cuts like rib eye, prime rib, or porterhouse. T-Bone and fillet Mignon are great cuts as well. Although they are expensive cuts, you will be eating out of these cuts at least 3 times depending on the size or thickness. So you will even out the cost. Skirt and flank steak take only 2 to 3 minutes cooking time at high heat or on the grill on each side because they are thinner cuts of beef. The same goes for veal and seafood cooking when it comes to timing it. Always cut or slice against the grain to make is more tender and easy to chew and swallow. You can cut onions and peppers thick and grill them after you season them with the same rub you use to season your meats. The veggies will taste great! Blanch broccoli, season it well and throw it on the grill along with your grilled meats. Use cauliflower and ma**** with all the ingredients you use to make creamy mashed garlic potatoes and it will act even better than mashed potatoes. It comes out creamy and tasty. Season chicken the same way you would season it for southern fried chicken. Fry it the same way but just don't bread it. Delicious! Collard greens with ham hocks are great too. Just avoid the black eyed peas and the macaroni and cheese. Eat ox tail stew as well, shrimp and any meat Etoufee or gumbo minus the rice. Change the starch selections at restaurants for hot green veggie selections and box them with your meat left overs when you take them home. If it is breakfast time, Perkins and Denny's have extra meat selections to swap the pancakes, toast and potatoes for protein. Use seasoned oils to drizzle over your meats, poultry and fish to wake them up and make them interesting after cooked and rested. I make my own cilantro oil, chili oil, basil oil, garlic oil and even red pepper flake oil. Truffle oils are also used to accent a dish's fragrance after it's served on the plate. A drizzle of any of those over your meats will change the whole way you feel about the taste and smell of your protein. Cilantro oil is good for beef, or chicken fajitas as well as fish like salmon fillet, Aji tuna, or other fish like snapper. All the others are good for shrimp and lobster. When cooking seafood don't over cook it because it gets gummy and it will make you sick. As soon as shrimp turns pink on both sides it is done, juicy, tender and sweet. Lobster is ready as soon as it turns red. How about your own home made shrimp or lobster scampi? Just take some onions and garlic sautéed in butter (garlic is to be cooked after the onion at reduced heat so it won't burn). Add some olive oil and then the seasoned shrimp or lobster. Use Creole or a rub seasoning. After they are cooked, which will be 4 to 6 minutes, depending on size of the portion, remove the seafood from the heat, add a big splash of white wine to the pan to deglaze it. Let the alcohol burn off for a couple of minutes, a little more butter to thicken the sauce and toss in the seafood again. This dish goes great with sautéed spinach, steamed broccoli or a Caesar salad minus the croutons. When eating salad dressings don't use light or reduced cal dressings. These versions of ANY dressing are full of corn starch and sugar to make them thick. Use the regular kind or make your own vinaigrettes or aioli. You are watching carb contents not fat grams. You can also make your own ceviche which is very tasty and can be made with fresh sour orange juice or lemon juice. The seafood is seasoned and then is cooked by the acidity of the fresh citrus juice and not over flames for a couple of hours in a Ziploc bag or covered bowl in the fridge. You will see it come out cooked. It comes out moist and tender. Use shrimp, fish chunks like Aji tuna, snapper, monk or orange roughy, squid, lobster, octopus or lump crab meat etc. Combine a good amount of chopped red onion diced tomato, cilantro leaves, minced fresh garlic, salt and pepper to taste, some good extra virgin olive oil and avocado chunks right at the end. Mix and coat the seafood with the mixture. Pour into martini glasses and chill. Fancy looking, refreshing and it tastes great. You don't even have to turn on the stove for this one. Eat chicken, tuna, turkey, salmon (out of the can), egg or crab meat salads but instead of using regular mayo use French's, Hidden Valley Ranch or Hellmann's chipotle, wassabi, garlic ranch, mayo. Make it interesting!!! This goes greats with green veggie salads and cooked green veggies if you can tolerate fiber. I don't do a lot of measured recipes because I season to taste. Taste while you cook!!!! Play with the ingredients and you'll see that protein is not boring and you can pack tons of flavors into many of these easy to make dishes. Balsamic vinegar drops go great on top cold cuts, cheeses and when you cook seafood dishes as well. It can also be used for dipping sauces as well. Use lemon and flavored vinegars to marinate your meats and fish, combine herbs and seasonings (there are so many varieties now on the market) to wake things up. Revamp your mayo by adding chopped garlic, herbs and spices to it. Make chili mayo by adding some drops of chipotle Tabasco Sauce to it. Make your food smell, look and taste great. There are so many blends of seasoning mixtures already prepared that you can add to cooked veggies, meats, omelets, oils, mayo and seafood to wake them up. Get into the kitchen and get the family involved. The time will basically be spent in seasoning and sautéed cooked dishes which are virtually cooked in no time. I am no chef but I love cooking and entertaining because this is an easy way to do it and you won't slave in the kitchen. You will have time to spend with the family and friends talking, listening to music, watching movies and just plain talking. Invite them over to the kitchen to cook with you. Just have fun, relax and loose weight in the process. I hope this is helpful to you and as usual post your questions on the board. This female version of Emeril is ready to answer questions so Bon Appetite and Bam!

Dollie-Girl Over this past holiday season I had a big wow moment. i have always said this is a life style change and I have to exercise and eat right forever. However, over the holidays I never gained much I think it was easier to maintain because the holiday eating was still about my normal amount of food. Now though it is different and I gained 6 lbs so I didn't just say this is forever It really sunk in that I am more "normal" now and I will have to eat less at holidays or work harder after them to keep those pounds off. So this am at 4 I got up and started my exercise routine again. I am also 16 months out and I have lost 93 lbs. That wasn't enough to begin with and now I have the extra 6 lbs to lose again!!!! I get frustrated sometimes because some of my friends dropped 150lbs bam and I'm still creeping along. I am starting to realize slow and steady wins the race. We are going to be succesfull at this if we just stay aware. You can do it we can to it together! Tina S.

oh yeah i had ps i have pics on my web page....