ulta

It's good to plan. I find that pureed smoked salmon, canned tuna or canned chicken was good while on puree. Greek yogurt is also high in protein. Cottage cheese works too. I continued with one high carb slim fast per day to ensure 20 grams of protein without a problem. That liquid goes towards your 64 oz a day too. Once you can eat real food, I still eat a lot of fish, I have also boiled shrimp and kept it in my fridge for a day or two so I can take one shrimp if I'm famished while cooking dinner. I've also taken a liking to Laughing Cow cheese (35 calories each) or the small individually wrapped Babybel cheeses (about 60 calories) which are good on the go. String cheese works for me as well. Hope that helps.

A bit belated since the "introduce yourselves" invitation was posted almost a month ago, but I've been a lurker - just reading the posts and taking it all in, and finally decided I should join the mix. The posts I've read have been really helpful so my hope is to help others. I had my surgery in Chicago - July 25. Weighed in at 205 day of surgery. Before that, I lost just shy of 10 lbs lost on a 2 week pre-op liquid diet. I am now down a total of 21.2 lbs at the 5 week mark. I'm down a definitive dress size as well, which is even better. I'm on regular foods now and feel like things are finally where they should be. My weight loss has been very slow (yes, i know the mantra so it's okay). One frustrating week, only .5 lost, but then 3 lbs the following week. I'm happy with anything going in the down direction. Because I'm exercising regularly, I aim for 800 calories a day. Sometimes I don't make that, but I feel much better when I do. The biggest problem is I get full on practically nothing, so an hour or two later, I'm famished. Then I eat too fast, and get full very quickly again. I've taken to eating small "meals" several times a day. One of my biggest staples -- smoked salmon (Trader joe's) - 2 oz of that will keep me satisfied for a while. I'm vigilant about the protein as well. During the week, at work, I mix a Vanilla Slim Fast (20 gram version) with iced coffee for breakfast and that feels like a nice treat. Lasts a long time too. Waiting the 30 minutes after a meal to drink is almost impossible for me but I'm trying. I am also really trying to listen to my body. Something I've not done since probably childhood. Again, thanks to all of you posting regularly out there. It really does help. For those of you "lurking," I would say that this "tool" is something that is very helpful, but it's not easy and it's not fast. I could see how you could go back to your old habits easily, so it's a lot of mental work as well, but i am very happy i did it and hope to make continuous progress as the weeks go on.

Congrats on your progress. Our timing (and starting weight) is almost identical. 205 at surgery. Down 21.2 total (including 10 for 2 week pre-op) so I'm a bit slower. Curious - when you say trying to get your calories up? what is your understanding of the ideal amount per day? I've been aiming for 800. Sometimes I don't get there. I have been exercising a lot, but haven't been great on the 64 ounces of water, nor on the waiting 30 minutes to drink after meals. Wonder if that would help speed things up?