What's on your Saturday menu RNYer?

Hi honest, just wanted to take a moment and mention that for just shy of 3 weeks out you are eating a lot of calories, a lot of carbs and you may want to consider your choice of protein bar. Protein bars are pretty much glorified candy bars, you will most likely crave candy bars and slow your weight loss if you are eating them this far out. I am 3.5 yrs out and I would not eat a protein bar unless a I truly had no other protein options open to me. They are just a slippery slope. And your centre has you eating just over a half cup at 2 weeks out, your 4.5 oz of shrimp surprises me, that what I eat at 3.5 years out. And unless you are blending your shrimp and protein bar in a blender to resemble "soft food" those are not soft foods.

I just really think you are going too fast too soon. Just be careful, your nerves are cut and you can't "feel" anything and advancing food too quickly or larger amounts than you should can spell trouble down the road. I am just looking out for your best interest. Seriously ditch the protein bars, even if your "Centre" says you should eat them, they are wrong. No one until they get to goal should be eating protein bars.

Best of luck, I say all this as a support and someone who has already been where you are 3.5 years ago.

THANK YOU!!!!

I really appreciate your feedback! I kinda hate the protein bars, I was chewing them into a slurry but they gross me out. I am struggling with the sweetness of all the protein supplements because I've never been that much of a sweet tooth.

My Nut didn't want to give me a calorie goal, but suggested I stay over 500 calories and closer to 800 per day. To do this I've had to include the dense calorie items like the protein bars.

If I ate what I wanted, I'd be living off of tuna and cottage cheese :)

I'm going to take your advice and revamp.

I've always been big on 'whole foods' so the shrimp, well chewed, seem like a good protein option. I'm suspecting that part of the reason I can get in 4 oz. is the time I take to eat them, which is about 30 minutes to an hour. None the less I'll drop it back to 3 oz. per serving max.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

That's great! I have found that advice from the successful vets here (like DD2) is much better than most NUTs.

You are very welcome. Thank you for taking my input as it was intended, just to support & help!

Often for a lot of newbie, myself included "sweet" things were excessively sweet in the first months up to a year. It did go away for me but yes I remember even my chewable vitamins seeming to be off the charts sweet.

The NUT at my Centre is horrible. At a month out she wanted me at 900 calories, eating oatmeal, whole grain bread, brown rice and "some" crackers. I fought with her and when I saw that she was not going to budge on her response I just said okay and then went home and threw her handouts and her advice in the garbage.

This is all very individual and you will have to play with what works for you but this is what I am seeing for a lot of RNYers is something like this: month 1-3 was around 400-500 calories and I did use protein shakes to get my protein numbers in. Month 3-6 I was around 500 - 600 calories, months 6-9 I was around 600 - 700 calories, month 9 -12 I was around 700 -800 calories. I am now 3.5 yrs out and I keep my macros at 850-900 calories, 100 + grams of protein, 30 or below carbs. Never worry about fat, that is what helps us go to the bathroom, keeps our skin, hair, nails not so dry. Go ahead and use butter, olive oil, avocado, coconut oil, full fat yogurt, full fat cheese. I eat bacon daily now for the protein and fat.

If you want tuna and cottage cheese, have at it girl! That is exactly what you are supposed to be eating. Eat if for 3 meals a day if that is what you want. Tuna can be hard for some early out, so just take that slow. I eat tuna daily now and a lot of our menu posters eat cottage cheese, I just don't like it but its a great menu food. I also love shrimp. If you are chewing the heck out of it then continue, it is such a great protein source.

You are on the right track, tuna, shrimp, cottage cheese all great protein sources, chewed extremely well as you are so early out and don't have feeling in your nerves down there as they have been cut so just go slow. Thank you for getting rid of the protein bars, just a bad idea this early out. Wait until you are at goal and then reevaluate.

Best of luck, feel free to ask any questions any time. You are doing great! You got this!!!

Daisy

After reading DD2's reply, I would have to agree with her. I didn't have protein bars until about 6 months. And shrimp was probably 3 months post-op. Also, even now I rarely eat more than 3 ounces of dense protein like shrimp. Last night I measured 3.6 oz of pork tenderloin and could only eat just over 3 (the dogs finished the rest).

THANK YOU FOR YOUR INPUT!!!

check my response to DD2's post - I'm revamping.

I truly appreciate your help!

Happy Saturday to all of you weekend menu posters. I am starting the day slow, and lounging in bed watching a movie (Carol). Frankly, I'm just putting off doing my taxes...still. Ugh!

My oldest brother is hosting Easter this year. We always do a big brunch. I am bring the entrees, a 3 cheese strata with ham and artichokes and a Spanish tortilla for the gluten free crowd. I am also doing a grilled asparagus Cobb salad. Today I have to put together the strata and grill the asparagus. I might do the tortilla too so tomorrow will be an easy morning. I have Easter baskets for all of the kids, and that is always fun. It is supposed to be a beautiful day tomorrow, so I suspect an egg hunt will be on the itinerary.

Time Since Surgery: 2 years + 5 months

B: Duck egg cooked in truffle butter. Yum!

S: Zenner's chicken sausage link

L: 4 oz chicken breast

S: Turkey pepperoni stick

D: cassoulet with sausage and duck (leftovers from restaurant)

Totals: Calories 778, Carbs 25, Protein 81

Exercise: this is technically a rest day, but will probably take my bike out for a ride this afternoon. See? Avoiding taxes.

Good morning

Rainy day today, but worm ,busy preparnig all the food that I will be eating for a week :))

QOTD

I'm Polish, I'm catholic so we celebrate Easter,by church Easter is more important then Christmas.

Today Im making Pisanki-paint hard bolied eggs. I used store-brought kits which make the coloring and decorating easier, others continue to make dyes the traditional way - with boiled onion skins (will post some pictures later)

Next is the preparation of Easter basket. The basket contain a sampling of Easter foods: pisanki, a piece of sausage or ham, salt and pepper, bread, a piece of cake and an Easter Lamb made of sugar or dough. I'm going to church to have my basket blessed.

Now I have pork roast in the oven tomorrow I will bake rabbit.

Easter Sunday- most important day I will go to church at 6am for the Resurrection mass - a ceremonial service and procession. After that Easter breakfast- first we share a blessed egg from the basket and exchange wishes - Weso?ego Alleluja (Joyful Hallelujah).

Our Easter is very bariatric friendly lots of meat, eggs horseradish. I will have sasuages, pork roast rabbit, eggs, tuna salad and Zurek- rye flour soup with kielbasa, eggs and horseradish.

There will be same cakes too cheesecake and Babka-cake baked in a Bundt pan(mine will be small, store bought just symbolic for tradition)

Today's menu- probably grazing with all that preparing, but tomorrow will be better :))

Sounds like a wonderful weekend! I love babka!

I love polish food! Do you make Kapusta. My friends uncle used to make it all the time and share it with us.