I wanted to pop in on the Virginia board and say hello. I had RNY 4 1/2 years ago at Portsmouth Naval with Dr. Mann.   To date I have lost 133 lbs and have been bless with very little problems. I am anemic so I take prenatal vitamins 2x a day and iron drops in oj 3 x a week. It sure beats iron infusions.

Hubby is active duty Navy and we transferred to Hawaii in Aug 2010.

Jen

Ken-  I did not particularly like them either... at the beginning.  But the sugar free syrup and fruit and Kashi cereal (which is really delicious) and the Creole seasoning and such give them both a lot of flavor.  A lot of people put honey on the Greek yogurt but I do not mind the 'fake' sugars in the sugar free syrups and such.  I know that keeping off the weight is more important to me than the momentary pleasure from some foods. 

I also make the banana nut muffins you see in a lot of recipe books but use a small container of sugar free applesauce (the kind they put in kid's lunch boxes) in place of the oil and I add mashed, ripe bananas and it is also delicious.  I find cooking helps me a lot because I know what is in my food.  Not usually something I know at restaurants. 

Keep in touch.  Janice

Hi - I am 3 years out, as of September, and have lost 180 pounds since my surgery date.  Almost 200 from my highest.  I still write down what I eat on FatSecret.com and try to stay around 1200 calories per day.  My doctors say I should be maintaining and not to try to lose any more but I fear that I cannot stay at my present weight (around 160 pounds) and scared of switching to maintenance.

My usual breakfast is 1/2 cup 2% cottage cheese with some Parmesan cheese (the old green Kraft kind) and a dash of Zateran's Creole seasoning and an ounce (I weigh it) of ham that I have chopped into tiny bits.  I also have a piece of fruit (apple or orange or cantalope, in season) or something similar.  Lately, I have been eating the cinnamon mini bagels with spray on butter and some canned apples.  I buy them (the apples) at Food Lion and heat them and add Splenda with some cinnamon and chop them up so they are similar to the apples at Cracker Barrel.  I also add some vanilla and Splenda brown sugar sometimes - just depends on my mood.

I also enjoy the new Food Lion Greek plain yogurt (80 calories and around 89 cents) with added Splenda to sweeten it and then some unsweetened crushed pineapple and topped with 1/4 cup of Kashi GoLean Crunch cereal with almond slivers.  That is great and both have a lot of protein (I still try to get mostly protein with my foods).  I also sweeten my Greek yogurt with some of the sugar free maple syrup you can buy at Cracker Barrel.  Then, add the Kashi and some cinnamon and it is wonderful.  I love the Kashi on it because it gives the yogurst a crunch and is  more substantial-feeling than just the yogurt.

I buy the Kentucky Legend ham (available at both Wal-Mart and Food Lion) and keep that on hand at all times.  I prefer the maple to the black forrest but that is just a personal choice.  I buy the presliced kind (with the Smithfield sliced hams in the regular grocery- not the deli section) and freeze about a weeks worth in Zip Lock bags and take it out as needed.  I also use the Arnold whole wheat sandwich thins (100 calories for each but I use just half of one ) and make sandwiches with this and the ham and lettuce and honey mustard.  Wonderful.

At Sam's, I found some of the mini whole wheat sandwich thins (50 calories each) and will be using them for my sandwich now.  Have not had one yet but I think they will be great, especially toasted.  Love the aroma.

Hope this helps.  I, like many of us, read so much about people regaining after the struggle to lose and really think about everything I eat.  I do not always make the best decisions but I do write what I eat down so I am aware and I stay away from buffets and homecomings and places where there are too many choices.  I do better with limited food choices.

Write back if you get a chance.  Janice in Roanoke Rapids, NC

Well, if it had not been for an email from OH, I would not have realized that yesterday was my 3 year anniversary.

I have not been back here in probably over a year and a half.

I need to stop by each day, I really need to get back on track to healthy eating. I can eat anything I want now and I really hate that. It was so much easier when food made me sick and I stayed away.

I still eat about 1/2 the portions I used to but can eat anything. I still stay away from fried foods (have not had fried chicken in three years) but I sneak sweats all the time.

No sugar, only Splinda.

I weighed in this past week at 247 with is up from my low of 215, but I took a new job and they said everyone here gains 25 pounds, they eat all the time.

I still have always wanted to see more menus of what people are eating on here. Especially breakfast

I'm an idiot, lol! I didn't pay attention to the date. But sounds like you are doing great! It looks like I'll be going with the RNY, altho if I don't get my iron up, I might not have anything. Seems like I read somewhere, tho, that the VSG doesn't have quite the vitamin and mineral malabsorption issues that the RNY has. Maybe that's what the surgeon meant when he said we'd have to look at "other options" if my iron stays low. Right now, I'm just trying to diet and lose some weight before surgery. I have to do a 3 month diet for insurance purposes. It's hard, but I feel good knowing that I'm working toward a goal.

It's good to "meet" you!