Things to Take to the Hospital

From the boards-

Gas X strips

Biotine mouth spray or oasis for dry mouth.

What People on the Boards are Eating in Maintenance

I am somewhat perturbed at myself.  I started copy and pasting things I wanted to remember from forums since the don't have bookmarks.  This is all before I thought about putting it on here.  Duh.  I have a bunch saved and I really wish I had thought to keep the link for the original post which would show who posted what etc.  I am now putting the bookmarks on the blog, but I will have to put the other stuff in a blog post and tag it.

I'm 10 months out, sleeved 11/1/11. I've lost 190 lbs total and heres my typical day right now.
-whey protein shake w 1/2c berries frozen when wake up
-another shake after my daily workout
-2 eggs with a piece sausage
-can of tuna
-chicken or pork w veggies
-2-3oz almonds, 2 oz cheese
-nighttime protein shake
-either a couple hard boiled eggs o or some plain greek yogurt Isweeten myself
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- 3 years out
- 338--->148........190lbs. WL........204 Total WL
- 2 years maintaining 148-152
- WL 600-800cals. 90+Protein Less than 40grams carbs. 64oz. fluids
- Maintenance 1200-1500 cals. 1200w/o Activity 1400-1500 w/activity Less than 80grms Carbs

Consumed today:

- Coffee
- Iced Tea
- 2oz. Grilled Chicken
- Coffee
- 20 Almonds
- Inside of a Carne Asada Street Taco
- Coffee
- Diet Dr. Pepper
- 2oz. Roast Pork 1oz. Veg
- 2oz. Grilled Tri-Tip and Asparagus
- Coffee
- #%0@
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Best Advice

- Under Eat Your Sleeve Capacity
- If your on a 1000-1200 Cal WL plan just be prepared to cut it way back at 6+/-months when WL slows. Might not happen to you, but it happens to many.

Almost 2 years out.  Sleeved 11/22/10. Down 142 firmly.  In maintenance since December 2011 and continued to lose till stabilized 20+ under initial goal.  During WL I did 600-800 Cals per day w/80+ Protien and 40 Carbs or under.

In maintenance I do 1,200 cals per day 80+ protein and 80-100 carbs per day.  Yesterday I ate as follows:

Black Coffee before breakfast
B: RTD protein shake w/Click protein added
S: 2 slices bacon
L: Ham/provolone pocket on thin whole grain pita bread
S: Greek yogurt w/fruit & Granola
D: Elina's green chicken soup
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Best advice:  Weigh/measure EVERTHING and undereat your capacity...satisfied is good, there is no need to be full to miserable.

129 Pounds Lost

Typical daily consumption right now:
Breakfast:  Protein Coffee  (decaf)
Morning Snack:  Protein Coffee  (decaf)
Lunch;  Protein Shake (with almond milk)
Afternoon Snack:  100 calorie Bag of Skinny Pop popcorn
Dinner:  Vegetables - steamed or lightly sauteed

Average daily calories:  650-750 calories
Average daily protein: 80 gm

(It should be noted, that I'm kind on a protein shake kick right now! LOL!)

Exercise:  6 days a week - routine is either an hour on the treadmill, or a 60 minute workout video (Richard Simmons, Walk Away the Pounds, etc.)
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Best advice:  Measure everything you eat and keep a diligent (and above all, honest!) food log.   I know some will disagree, but I think that tracking everything you eat is a very powerful weight loss tool.

I'm 6 months out and down 75lbs. I have 700-800 cal, 40g carbs, and at least 80g of protein. I work out 4-5x a week doing dvd's of either Walk Away the Pounds or a Biggest Loser one. A typical day for me is:

Pre work out shake
Breakfast:egg white omelet or greek yogurt w/ 1/4 blueberries or 3 strawberries
Lunch: 2 oz of chicken or beef (usually leftovers from the night before)
Snack: cheese stick or 1oz Turkey Jerky
Dinner: 2oz of chicken, beef, or fish. 1/4 c of veggies
Snack: veggies and 2 tbs dip, turkey pepperoni, or GY mixed w/ SF pudding that I froze
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Advice: Weigh and measure everything, eat only the portion you weighed out and log your food.

I'm 3.5 months out -- down 49 lbs since surgery, 60 since pre-op.  I walk every day and have been adding yoga, Pilates and strength training to my regimen.

My typical day:
breakfast is oat bran + LF cottage cheese + vanilla protein
                      ginger tea with protein concentrate
snack  1/4 c fruit
lunch is 2 oz chicken or other meat and vegetables
dinner is 2 oz chicken or other meat and vegetables
snack  1/2 c LF Greek yogurt

I aim for 600-800 calories, carbs < 40 and protein 80+
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Best advice -- plan and prepare your meals ahead of time.  I spend one weekend morning cooking my meals for the week.  So I have healthy and tasty lunches and dinners that heat up quickly.  Lessens the chance of me reaching for something impulsive when I am hungry.

 I'm 6 months out and I have lost 117lbs.  My typical day includes the following:

2 Cold glasses of something right when I get up...I try and do plain water but most days end up with unsweetened tea...for some reason this seems to "jump-start" my metabolism for the day!
B - hard boiled egg and a piece of turkey sausage
L - some type of sliced deli meat with mustard and some cut up cukes
Snack - handful of planter's mixed nuts...I think they are the heart health ones...green label
D - 3 oz of some baked or broiled protein, small salad and some grilled veggies
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I try and stay around 700 calories and 30-40g of carbs a day but I find that some days that leaves me feeling drained and I will bump it up for a couple of days (I do this by adding maybe 20-30g of HEALTHY carbs) until I start feeling like myself again!

I also make sure and get in at least 60g of protein but a typical day is usually closer to 70-75.
Water is KEY!!!!  Make sure you get your liquids in! I went thru a period where the thought of drinking that much made me gag, but it also showed in my loss for that couple of week period.  If you can't tolerate plain water, find something you like.  Just be careful because even the low cal, low sugar, blah, blah, blah is sometimes packed with carbs.  I love the diet tea by Gold Peak!

I exercise but I am no fanatic by any means!  I do the things that I enjoy mostly...kayak, swim, play with my kids, bike....and then I also supplement that with my treadmill and elliptical when I feel that I didn't have a very active day.  I'm sure the farther along I get, the more I will have to work on this though!

As far as weaknesses, I think the only thing that really gets me are potatoes!  Damn those delicious things!  I can say no to chocolate, cakes, pies, pizza, etc....but put any type of potato in front of me and I fall apart!  Thank God I do the cooking in this house and on those other rare circumstances that I cannot escape them, one or two bites seems to satisfy me.

My biggest advice (other than the book I have already written) is to not get discouraged!!!  Stalls are going to happen, you are going to feel like a failure and that you are doing it all wrong, you are going to compare your losses to others even when you know you shouldn't.....and guess what....2 months later...or 3 months...or 6 months or whenever it is you are hardly going to remember that you were struggling at one point.  Follow your program and it will work!!!

I will be one year out on 9-13-12.  I have lost 132 lbs and 84".  I just measured my waist and it is 30".  I wear size 6 pants ( a little loose).  I reached goal in 9.5 months and am now 14 lbs under goal.  Still trying to lose that last 3.8 lbs...it's a bitch!  I no longer have sleep apnea, cholesterol dropped 100 pts, was able to have a total knee replacement in March,and labs are perfect.

My day yesterday:

Breakfast:  2 cups of hot tea
                    2 Jimmy Dean turkey sausages

midmorning: 28 oz. of iced tea sweetened with splenda and 1 scoop of Unjury unflavored protein powder

Lunch:  3 oz. chicken salad made with Chobani 0% nonfat plain Greek yogurt and celery

midafternoon:  28 0z. iced tea sweetened with splenda and i scoop of Unjury protein powder

Dinner:  one Jennie-O turkey burger with 2 pickles, slice of onion and tomato, 1 tbsp. Chobani yogurt, 1 oz. italian blended shredded cheese, no roll ,and a cup of hot tea

Evening:  depending on what my cal/carb/protein counts look like, I could have 1 Frigo light cheesehead cheesestick,  Quest protein bar,  Chocolate peanut butter protein fudgsicle, or another 28 oz iced tea with scoop of Unjury protein powder.  Yesterday I had the chocolate peanut butter protein fudgsicle---yummy!!!
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I still count calories (600-800, usually around 700), carbs (try to stay at 20 or under, but usually about 30) and protein (80-100 gm, usually hit 90-95).  I have never paid attention to fat content or counted it.

I try to take in as much protein as possible thru my food.
I shoot for 100 oz of fluids.
I log EVERYTHING I put in my mouth--EVERYTHING.  I also weigh myself every day and record in a copybook.  I find these help me to keep myself accountable.
I eat nothing white: flour, bread, pasta, rice, etc.
I am a carbaholic--eating carbs trigger me to go off plan.
I found that if my protein intake was high and carb intake was low, it sped up the weight loss.
You CAN continue to lose after the first 6 months.  From months 7-12, I have lost 48.2 lbs--but I followed my plan pretty diligently.

I'll be a year out next week, and I've been a very slow loser, dropping 79 lbs. I lost 60 lbs. the first six months and only 20 lbs. the last six months, even though I've really upped the exercise.

My typical day is this:

B: 2 Jimmy Dean turkey sausage patties
MS: Premier RTD chocolate protein shake after exercise
L: 3 oz. beef tenderloin (my husband grills up a bunch on the weekend and I eat them during the week)
AFS 2 oz. beef jerky
AFS: 4 pepperjack cheese cubes
D: Whatever meat we have for dinner and then a few green beans, cherry tomatoes, etc.

My protein intake is fairly high and I eat a lot more beef than many on the boards do. I struggle with iron deficiency, so I eat a lot of red meat and supplement a lot as well. I'm hopeful that next week's doctor's appt. will qualify me for IV iron drugs. My carb intake is low to very low. I really hate protein shakes but I have to have them to get my intake where it needs to be, so I find I can chug them down when I'm still hot and sweaty from my workout.

I do heavy cardio/strength workouts twice a week, a separate weight workout once a week, and walk 3-4 miles at 3/5 mph 5xs a week. As I've mentioned, my loss is slow so I'm concentrating more on inches lost and how my clothes fit rather than the scale (at least I'm TRYING not to concentrate on the scale, but it's difficult).

My best suggestion is to have a body composition test to see what your fat/lean body mass percentage is and work from that. Your daily calorie burn will increase with greater lean mass. You can be thin and still be unhealthy and you will lose lean mass as you lose weight.
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I'm 8 months out today - 114 pounds down (including 20 lbs pre-op).

I track my food on MyFitnessPal and with the iPad app it will show my weekly totals. I have not gone over an average of 800 per day (yet) in any week. If I eat more than 800 calories for a day or two, I'll cut back before the week is up to average under 800.

Carbs under 40 g. Protein between 80 - 100 g.

Water 80 oz a day +

I eat 6 planned meals each day -- pre-planned so I always know what I'm eating and less tempted to go stand in front of the fridge

Typical day:
Meal #1
1 cup caffeinated coffee with half-and-half (the full fat version....my one indulgence)
1 cup coffee with Syntrax Chocolate Truffle protein powder

Meal #2
Egg w/2 T. low fat mexican blend cheese & salsa

Meal #3
Honey Baked Ham smoked turkey (2.5 oz) w/2 T. melted mozzarella
1/2 c. veggies -- usually steamed zucchini, carrots, broccoli or small salad with 2 T. dressing (1c. Fage 0% Greek yogurt + 1c. salsa)

Meal #4
2 turkey sauasge links w/ spicy brown mustard or reduced sugar ketchup

Meal # 5
1/2 c. Fage 0% greek yogurt w/Torani sugar free syrup, various flavors (my kitchen counter looks like a coffee shop with at least 10 different bottles)

Meal #6
Turkey pepperoni w/sugar free pickles

I find that pre-planning and tracking my food keeps me on track.

Produce Review: Isopure Dutch Chocolate Protein Powder

I bought this the other day from GNC and wanted to give it a try before my time ran out in case I needed to return it.  I decided to try it first with milk.  I bought some almond milk the other day, so I tried it with that.  I tried to mix it with a spoon, but it was clumpy.  It definitely needed a blender or a shaker bottle.  I went with the blender since the shaker bottle has not come in yet.  It is not bad.  Definitely tolerable.  Tastes like chocolate.  It is kinda thicker than chocolate milk and a bit frothy.  This might change if it is blended and let sit for a while.  I had read that some people do that in order to get rid of the frothiness.  I drank this around 10 am.  I will try it again this afternoon with water (the directions say to use water) to make as directed.  Since it is the first protein I have tried, I will give it a B so far.

I tried it again around 4 this time mixed with water.  I blended it up around 3 and let it set for an hour in the frig.  It had this funky filmlike stuff on the top that was a bit off putting.  It definitely is better with the almond milk, but drinkable.  It does have a bit of an aftertaste that I find when burping.  Nice.  With water, I'd give it a C.

Conclusion- This is not a bad option for a protein powder.  Let's see what else is out there.

More Proteins to Come

I found a website, GastricBypassSupplements.com, that carried some sample sized of the protein by About Time.  They were doing a super low shipping deal so I ordered some of those along with a shaker bottle and some PB2 w/chocolate.  I also contacted Syntrax and ordered their sampler.  I hope some of these work out.  So many cannot find a protein they like.  Dr. Richardson's team likes their patients to continue to drink the protein drinks forever.  They feel it keeps the stomach full and small, and therefore less likely to have weight gain.  That makes sense.  Other doctors only want patients on protein until the can get it all from food.  I can see both sides.

Protein Search

I have been looking online at protein powder reviews.  Most of the people tend to use powders.  One premix that seems to be liked by most people is Premier Protein.  You can get it at Sams.  I plan to pick that up and give it a go.  For a powder, I hope to get some samples ordered.   I went to GNC today and bought some of their powder, Isopure Chocolate.  It has gotten mixed reviews.  GNC allows you to return items you don't like so gives me a good way to try a product and not get stuck with a lot of yuck.  The salesguy also gave me two samples of another whey isolate they carry, so I have that one to try as well.   I bought a new blender yesterday, so I hope to try these as soon as the parts are out of the dishwasher.

The Dietitian Visit

I saw the dietitian today and got the info on how they work the eating plan.  She wants me to lose at least 17 pounds prior to surgery.  I also will do a liquid diet 2 weeks prior to surgery.  She went over the progression of foods on the plan and they sound mostly like that I have read on the internet.  I plan to go ahead and start trying out the proteins and see what is palatable and what is not.  I am ready to get this party started in some form.

Blogs I Like

I love blogs and found some I like.

300 Pounds Down
The World According to Eggface.
Bariatric Foodie
Melting Mama

Most bloggers have had the bypass.  The sleeve is new so I have not found many sleeve blogs yet.