TERI SURGERY UPDATE

Do you have a recliner at home that you can sleep in for a couple days? My first two days home I slept in a regular bed near the bathroom. Last night I went to our upstairs family room (off my bedroom) and slept in the recliner. I felt so much better this morning. Not as much pulling on my abdoment and such. Also, I still wear my binder all day and retighten it at night. I just don't feel right without it yet. Melissa

Hay Mrs. Messanger lol, Let Teri know I send big hugs and well wishes!!!! I'm so excited for her!!!! Well as of tomorrow, two down and a few more to go!!!!! What a hot bunch we're gonna be come This summer!!! And I'm not talking about weather or hot flashes... lol WooooHooooo Go Go Go Rhode Island Losers!!!! We Rock!!!!! ~~~~NaDene~~~~

NaDene: I thought about asking you to come with me........but I'm not sure about your work schedule and then there are the kids and hubby just had surgery. I didn't want to bog down your schedule. I thought it would be fun to get together and then go see Teri, even if it is only for just a brief visit. If you get this, and can go, let me know. I'll pick you up. I thought I would go on Friday, that way I can see both Teri and Kristen at the same time. Let me know. Gotta run...at work and I "think" I have a meeting. Shel

Hi Sxy Syl My doctor only recommends 70-100gr. On May 6th I will be 3 months out and I have maybe hot my goal 4-5 times. I dont have any recipes but I just eat all day pretty much! this is my routine Breakfast: plain yogurt fat free 8gr snack: cheese stick 9gr w/ triscuits 3gr lunch: sometimes a chilli w/cheese from wendys 21gr or a lean cuisine or smart one weigh****cher meal snack: protein cereal bar 10gr or cottage cheese 11gr dinner: 3oz chicken w/ veggies my problem is getting the water in!! Good luck Stephanie

I am 8 weeks out and lately I have been able to hit my 70-90 goal a few times. I always drink my coffee with vanilla protein (20 g) for breakfast every morning. I get sick in the morning if I actually eat something for breakfast. I also drink Isopure passion Fruit. It is the only one I can stand the taste of. It has 40 grams of protein. It takes me a couple of hours to finish the 20 oz. For a snack or dessert, I eat protein pudding. I have been buying Stallone pudding, but I think I am going to startmaking my own. It has 20 grams of protein. All that together is 80 grams. I get in more with my food, but not that much more. Jenni

I have been doing really well getting in around 100g of protein daily. I'll share how I do it, I hope this helps a little - Protein shakes are DISGUSTING to me too and on top of hating that protein smell - I am NOT a sweet eater, I don't like chocolate or sweet, or artificial sweet or coffee flavor, UGH (wishing they made Big Mac flavor or protein french fries). How I cope is to buy the one that has the most protein per scoop [found one at GNC that has 23 g per scoop] - in the mornings I mix 2 scoops with 10-12 ounces of water [I seem to have no problem pushing the fluids when I need to, so I drink it down as fast as I can]. That's 46 - half way there. Also, if I mix it the night before and just have it in the fridge ready to go, it's just the right temperature and not too foamy. Shortly after that I have about 16 ounces of diet tea that I gradually sip to get the skanky taste out of my mouth. About half the time I can get in the rest of the protein via food, I like seafood a lot, I've had lobster and sea scallops, I've had flounder and shrimp, and sushi, no rice was good for a while, now I'm getting sick of it - but fish is my best bet for feeling OK after eating. But I can pick at regular food and get a few ounces in here and there if I am careful with small bites and chewing and going mainly for the pure protein foods that I can tolerate [fish, cheese, dark meat chicken]. The other days when I just can't get enough real food in between trying to hit 60 -70 ounces of fluids and the protein target, I have a stallone pudding with a dollop of lite cool whip on it to help mask that protein stank. I'm almost always at 100g or above. My problem is often my fluid target, cause though I have had no real issues drinking, I AM sleeping or out of commission a lot, I am not always able to be drinking nor am I really drinking anything that appeals to me. I used to LOVE water, I still do, but straigh****er hurts my pouch, it has to be flavored [diet iced tea or green tea mix is OK, even sliced lemons in the water is OK. I like my [Lite] Orange Juice 8oz, mixed with 4 oz of grapefruit juice and mixed all together with 12 ounces of water and a bunch of ice. It's my evening ****tail and probably my one source of fruit. My nutritionist gave me a sample of new grapefruit flavor protein powder, so I'm hoping to encorporate that into my ****tail. That 24 oz, plus the 12 ounces from breakfast shake, plus 16+ from my iced tea brings me in around 52 ounces of fluids, if my math is right - so my issue is getting up long enough to get another 16 or so ounces in. I guess what I'm saying is that find out what will work for you. I track on Fit Day and at 9 PM I know where I stand, if I have to push fluids for the next few hours, or try to get more protein in, if I have to have a pudding or even on occasion, another evil shake - I do it because I don't want to lose muscle and right now I can't exercise. I look at the protein supplement shakes as medicine, I take the highest protein value in the smallest amount of fluids and get it in there. Once I can switch to the bars, I think I will enjoy that Much more - but i will still always have to make the extra effort to get the fluids in. Now I've been having a little bit of 'mouth' or mental hunger, I just want to chew something. I make sure that the only way I let real food pass my lips is if I've gotten that big morning shake in. And I always know I have the stallone pudding for back up [and it's not quite as bad as the shakes]. HTH a little. You will eventually find something that clicks for you. If you are exercising, the protein and fluids are so important, and for me they are important because I'm trying to get the open wound on my belly healed in time to enjoy summer. We can do it, WE CAN! xosm

I am 9 weeks out tomorrow. I hated most protein shakes too, until I found a really good one......its almost like having a ice cream shake. It is designer whey from GNC. The chocolate and strawberry are my favorite....and yummy! (I mix it w/ 10 oz. of skim milk and add 2 scoops, 18g a scoop). I also found a cereal....special k w/ added protein. I get it from the wal-mart superstore.....there is 10 g in 3/4 c. then you put in the milk and get more! I also like the blue bunny carb freedom blackberry creme yogurt smoothie (13g). Hope this gives you a couple of ideas. Good luck! Kristin 245/201

i think i'm lucky, my surgeon requires 60 grams/day. fortunately i have no problems with meat(3 oz 20 grams), so i'm able to easily get it all in plus a little extra. I usually get about 70 a day. My very favorite snack is dry roasted edamame from trader joe's. 1 ounce has 14 grams of protein. Low enough in fat and no sodium. Try them, they are delicious. I gave up the protein shakes the first day of soft foods, so no recommendations there. Melissa

Hi Sylvia! I'm 9 weeks post-op and have ALWAYS gotten at least 60 grams of protein. In part it's because I want to try and avoid hair loss - I don't have thick or plentiful hair!! Anyway, I don't like much in the way of protein drinks and I hated Carnation Instant Breakfast! So, I found an organic, natural, probiotic drink called Thunder - it's only in chocolate, has 14.5 grams of protein, and tastes like chocolate milk. (If you mix it with milk or soy milk - I use vanilla Silk - you get 20+ grams of protein). This drink is sold by distributor, but since I use it exclusively I'm thinking of signing on as distributor. If I do, I might create a web page that could be accessed by other WLS folks. It's such a good tasting option and can be mixed with water and still tastes good. It doesn't have that 'protein' taste. I wonder about loading on protein, though, since my research on protein tells me that we can only absorb about 30 grams in a meal. So - if you take in 48 grams, certainly you're not really getting 48 grams, right? Maybe, though, since we have some malabsorption, it's better to do more than less?? There are SO many opinions out there! At any rate - I have no problem eating meat; chicken, pork, roast beef, hamburger, so I get all the protein I need. I make my own chili - which I like better than Wendy's, but Wendy's is good when you need to get something out. I hope you are able to find ways to get your protein up. Good luck! Audrey

Teri, that is ABSOLUTELY AWESOME! If it does happen again get a picture! I've never seen one in real life like that, that is too cool! Have a great day and thanks for pepping me up! Life is too short and too good! Hugs Peggy