H-E-L-P

I had my surgery on 9/27/04 and I have lost 32 pounds but I am stuck at that number and can't figure out why. I am also haveing trouble finding carb-free or low carb foods does anyone have any food suggestions to help me out? Peggy

Peggy, I don't really try to focus on carb free or low carb foods. I think one of the best approaches is to focus on eating a good solid protein source first. If you will make the major portion of your meal a high protein food source then the room left over in your pouch won't hold much and the amount of carb you can get in doesn't really amount to much. Some good things to look for are tuna baked or grilled fish chicken turkey egg soy products (garden burger....etc.) After you have had your protein try to find a low carb veggie and then if you still have any room a very very small amount of bread or grain. Another good thing to do is just look for items at the store that list themselves as being carb friendly or atkins friendly.

You are doing great, hang in there! There are a lot of low carb items out there. I don't know what type of texture you are eating right now. BUT, there are foods that I eat without any problems. I am on 'soft' foods for another 2 1/2 weeks. Lean Cuisine has specially marked entrees LOW CARB and they are really good. Chef's Choice, in a blue box has LOW CARB entrees and they are so yummy. Both of these I have found have very tender meat and easy for me to chew, enjoy and swallow. Good, soft veggies too. They are more and more LOW CARB things out now a days. I was surprised to see that I tolerated cheese spreads on whole wheat ritz crackers tonight. Good protein and low fat and carbs. I like the reduced fat cheeses, fat free cottage cheese, etc. I also bought some great soup, just look at the back of the can and you will be surprised that there are more things out there that you can enjoy. I love Wendy's chili, Taco Bell's Pinto Beans and Cheese, etc. The other post has a lot of great ideas, so I won't repeat those. Seriously though, just look in the grocer's freezer next time you are in there. Don't be fooled though....lean cuisine and weigh****chers can be higher in carbs---look for the one marked with the carb grams on the front and of course, look at the label. Also, for a snack, besides low carb. yogurt, etc. I have found "THE EDGE" snacks such as Cheetos, Tostitos, I haven't tried the Doritos yet, but anyway, the carbs are very low and you can get 8-10 grams of protein in in a serving. It is a nice treat once in awhile and I enjoy it plus getting in grams of protein. I also have found low carb, high protein beef 'jerky' little snacks I think made by Oberto? GOOD LUCK! ENJOY! Michelle

Hi Peggy! Congrats on the 32 pounds!! I had my surgery on 9/20. I lost 50lbs my first 4 weeks. Then nothing in my 5th week. To break the plateau, I drank all my fluids and upped my protein and calories a bit (figuring my body was in starvation mode). It seems to have worked, this is now my 6 week anniversarry and I dropped another 3 pounds this week. (NOTE: This is what worked for me, talk to your doctor if you have questions). Good luck, Will

i think you are doing great work on your protein and you will be all set!!!

I'm in the same boat. I eat 4 - 5 oz of food a day. Hubby and I both have the same tolerances for intake: 1oz breakfast, 1.5oz lunch, 2oz dinner. The scale just keeps moving from 243 to 245 and back for the last 2 weeks. Since there doesn't seems to be a chance we'll eat more.. and our sugar tolerance is the pits.. there's only 2 things we can do: up the fluids and up the exercise. First I held onto 250 for a week, now 243 for going on 2 weeks... As for carbs... I can't even begin to count. We pick products with less than 15g of carbs per serving (most of the time less than 10g), then only eat maybe 1/4 to 1/3 of a serving at any meal time. Since food is such a "maybe" (maybe you'll get sick, maybe you'll be fine), you really have to eat what your stomach will let you. oh.. there was someone who mentioned tuna.. if you have a hard time with tuna, try the seasoned pouches. We had the Sweet and Spicy Tuna the other night and it was tasty without being upsetting. We put just a tad of mayo in it and melted some cheese on top. I'd preferred a white toast melt, but still - it was something different. Here are some of the items we keep at the house: now we're in the same boat, but still I think we are being pretty smart about our choices.. Fixin's: Mayo (the nutritionist said, "you use so little of it, it doesn't really matter" when we asked about the fat) Dill relish (not sweet) Campbell's cream soups for sauces: chicken, rancho verde, and southwestern tomato Turkey gravy (jar) Mustard - purchased Boar's Head deli mustard just read the labels. Sometimes you think the carbs or fat are really high, but then again if you only have 2 tablespoons, it's not that bad. proteins: Refried beans El Paso shredded chicken in taco seasoning (new favorite) chicken (pouch) Tuna (pouch) Boar's Head - shredded - chicken, turkey, and ham Cheese - cheddar, jack, mozz, colby (so long as they aren't processed cheese food) Shrimp (just me - Eric gets sick) Ground Turkey Chicken sausage - don't eat the casing eggs Carnation no sugar added breakfast (12g protein with 1 cup of milk) So, I hope this give you some ideas. It's a tough road, but there's no turning back now.