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Gamergirl's Blog

A blog by gamergirl in General

  • Entries

    26

  • Comments

    91

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    11,589

About this blog

Gamergirl's Blog, a weight loss surgery blog by gamergirl on BariatricPal. 26 entries on surgery, recovery and progress.

Entries in this blog

Today I hit Onderland

Just barely but I’m there. This is a term I learned from hanging out on various online forums. Onderland. That magic place when your weight starts with the number 1. I have to say, it’s less exciting for me than for some others because I didn’t start that much above it, and only had to lose 30 lbs to get there, but it’s a nice, mini-milestone. But here’s another way to look at it, and this does indeed excite me. Today, I have lost a third of the excess weight I need to lose. A third of the wa

The Problem with a Weight Loss Stall

The problem with a stall is not just the lack of weight loss at a time you expect the weight to be peeling off–although that would be bad enough. The problem with a stall is that it comes with baggage. All those times when you thought you’d found the “perfect” diet. All those times when there were hundreds of others boasting of their success with something that you were now trying. All those times that you were filled with hope that THIS was the thing that was going to work.   All those times

From: For my fellow vets - has anyone tried to revert back to post-op style eating (600cals,>30g carbs, <60gprotein) with any success?

saving this for later for myself       Source: For my fellow vets - has anyone tried to revert back to post-op style eating (600cals,>30g carbs, <60gprotein) with any success?

What Role does the scale play in your life?

My son called for his daily chat, a time I really look forward to. He says, "How was your day?"   Well I've had a lovely day. I got to go into the office, work with a team of 6 very smart people, we all got some great thinking and work done. I was able to join them in the lunch I ordered for us, and I've extremely been productive all day. What were the first words out of my mouth in response to my son's question?   "Well, I'm still stalled."   WTH?? That's all I can think of to tell him ab

It's been a month since the surgery

It's been a month to the day that we were sleeved. During that time, I have lost 25 lbs, been stalled for over 10 days, learned how to chew again, realized that if I didn't set timers I'd never eat again, and today, I was sitting in a chair and suddenly picked up one leg and folded it up on top the chair leg. I did it unthinkingly, and not until it was done that I realized that before the surgery, I was in too much pain to be able to do that. Yay me!   I don't understand how this whole weight/

Yummy Thai Chicken Sausage 16 gms protein

My husband made these wonderfully spiced sausages. If you're sick of bland food, this adds some nice flavor without being too hot.   Ingredients 1 lb ground chicken 1/4 c cilantro 1 tsp chopped mint 1 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice 1 tbsp Thai Red curry paste 1 tbsp Asian fish sauce 2 garlic cloves finely diced 2 tsp minced ginger 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes 1/8 tsp black pepper   Method 1. Mix all ingredients together. It will be a bit sticky. Let the mixture sit for

Could everyone stop annoying me? And get rid of all this food!

So before I get too far, let's just acknowledge that the problem is me. For whatever reason, I find myself really irritable, even with people I ordinarily love and adore. NOTHING is wrong in reality but man! I'm cranky! Working hard at controlling it. This is not the usual me. It's not hunger, it could be hormones from the weight loss? I don't know.   But on the positive side, hey hey! First work-related trip yesterday! I just did fine and today, put in a whole days's worth of work with no tro

Home-made Garam Masala Recipe

Recipe adapted from my favorite Indian cookbook, Raghavan Iyer's 660 Curries. If you love to cook and are willing to spend a little extra time to make sure everything is made fresh and authentically, this is the one to choose.   Best places to get all the spices are either whole foods, central market, or other stores that have spice bins, or an indian grocery store.   Ingredientss 2 tbsp Coriander seeds 1 tsp cumin seeds 1/2 tsp whole black cloves 1/2 tsp cardomom seeds from green/white

Soft Foods Halibut & Vegetables in Parchment 19 gms protein

Ingredients 8 oz halibut steak 1 carrot, peeled & julienned 1/2 Leek (I know, what will you do with the rest?? I will come up with a diff recipe for it) peeled & julienned 1/2 Red pepper, peeled & julienned 2 sprigs fresh tarragon or 1 tsp dried tarragon 1.5 tsp butter 1 tbsp vermouth (option) Salt Pepper   Method 1. Saute vegetables in 1 tsp of butter. Don't brown them, just soften 2. Place halibut on parchment paper 3. Place sauteed vegetables on top. 4. Cut up the r

Post-Op Soft foods Homemade Chicken Bratwurst

OMG my husband just made the best chicken bratwurst from scratch! If you can't tolerate pork or can't eat it for religious reasons, here's one to try. Made from The Mixer Bible, mine is a simplified version with no casing, no second grinding etc.   Ingredient 2.5 lbs of boneless chicken thighs ground fine at home, or make it easy on yourself and ask the butcher to grind it very fine for you 1/2 c half n half or milk (see note)sp 2.5 tsp Salt 1 tsp ground caraway seeds 1/2 tsp ground pepp

Today I am....Depressed

Bad news. I've been depressed, lethargic and feeling blah, meh, blue, and blobby for the last three days. Good news: There is absolutely NOTHING wrong IRL, so I know this is just recovery/hormones.   I don't know what the heck is wrong with my body but really, everything is going well surgery-wise. No problem with intake, protein, fluids, etc. Blood tests came back looking great.   I'm just down.   I knew this would happen, but I didn't think it would last thing long. This whole week, I've

Post-Op Soft foods Best Crockpot Chicken Curry 21 gms protein

My dad arrives from India today so I have to make something his 90-year body (and teeth) can enjoy, AND tomorrow is soft foods day for us! yay! We were told to eat meats that were out of a crockpot or pressure cooker so they were soft. So here goes.   This is massively modified from Anupy Singla's Indian Crockpot book to a) not make enough to feed the entire state of Texas and not to blow the roof off your head with her version of spice.   I'm Indian. Believe me when I tell you, this is th

Post-Op Full Liquids Hot and Sour Soup with Egg

Modified from Bee Yinn Low's Easy Chinese Recipes.   Ingredients 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth 1 Tbsp soy sauce 1 Tbsp Chinese black vinegar 1.5 Tbsp Chinese Rice Vinegar 1/4 tsp salt 2 Tbsp corn starch 3 Tbsp Water 1/2 Tbs Chili Oil 4 Large eggs, beaten lightly   Method 1. Mix and heat broth, sauces and vinegars. 2. In a small bowl, mix the corn starch and vinegars 3. When broth is boiling, slowly incorporate the cornstarch mix. Keep stirring and let it boil for a while to thi

Stalls: Just because I get it doesn't mean I have to like it

Just because I understand why we plateau from time to time doesn't mean I have to like it. Which is just as well, because I do not like it.   I thought I would be really blase and nonchalant during this time of stalling because intellectually, I was prepared for it. What I'm realizing is that intellectual is the least of my problems. Isn't it always emotions that give you the highs and lows in life? How do you prepare for that?   How do you prepare for the fact that your heart and your head

Try not to throw out the Old just because we're New now...

I feel like a different part of my brain has been activated over the last few weeks. Look at how much we all have to learn to prepare for this surgery. When was the last time you used the words "pyloric valve" in polite conversation, on a regular basis?   Eight weeks ago, I didn't realize I would be a "sleever", a "post-op" a "full liquids" stage. I was just me, loving life, my job, my husband, my kids, and reading Sci-Fi if I wanted to learn new words (China Mieville, anyone?)   Unfortunat

Post-Op Full Liquids Yummy Lobster Bisque 14 gms protein

Omg I just made the best lobster "bisque". I made it up as I went, hence the note below.   Half an onion sliced thin 3 cloves garlic smashed 1in ginger sliced thin and julienned 5 Campari tomatoes 1/2 head cauliflower 3 c chicken stock 2 tablespoons pesto 1 lb frozen langoustine or lobster (see note below) Salt Pepper   Sauté onions, garlic and ginger until browned (I used ghee, you can use fat of choice or spray w Pam). Pour in chicken broth and dump everything except frozen lang

Post-Op Full liquids Creamy Shrimp Bisque

I got this from the "Eating well after weight loss surgery" book. I've modified for my usual shortcuts   http://www.amazon.co...t loss surgery   Ingredients 1 cup cauliflower steamed in microwave for 5 minutes until very soft Cooking Spray 1/4 c onion chopped 1 tsp chopped garlic 1 oz low fat ham (I used a little bacon) 1/4 tsp lemon pepper 1 bottle clam juice 1 c evaporated fat free milk 1/2 Lb shrimp shelled, cleaned deveined salt Pepper ( I added paprika)   Directions 1. S

Post-Op Soft Pureed Foods: Palak Paneer. Spinach with 10 gms Protein

I massively modified this recipe from http://www.amazon.co...ian slow cooker.   The original recipe calls for 2 lbs of spinach and makes so much a sleever would be eating it until they died. It's also waaaay too spicy in the original and hers is made in the crockpot. MUCH faster in pressure cooker.   Ingredients   1 lb fresh baby spinach Peel where necessary and roughly chop: -1 large yellow onion -2 medium tomatoes -5 cloves of garlic -1 2 inch piece of ginger -1 serrano or jala

Post-Op Full Liquids: Chicken & Mushroom Soup, 11 gms protein

Made up this recipe tonight by simplifying a cookbook one. Very rich mushroom flavor. Enjoy!   1 onion sliced thin 3 gloves garlic crushed 4 c mixed fresh mushrooms 1 sweet potato peeled and diced 1lb boneless skinless chicken breast 3 c Chicken Stock Salt pepper Dried Oregano & thyme or Poultry Seasoning 2 c water or broth for pureeing   Simple Recipe: put all ingredients In a pot and boil until chicken is tender (medium low). Purée adding 2 additional c of broth or more.  

Day Eight of Post-Op: Trying to do too much

We make soup today! Shrimp Bisque and Chicken & Mushroom, both pureed. I don't know how to shop or cook for small meals. I barely have pots in the house small enough for our new meals. I take out the cauliflower I bought. I picked the smallest one at the market. The WLS Surgery recipe calls for 1 cup for four people. That's about a fourth of the entire dang cauliflower. What am I supposed to do with the rest? The chicken soup recipe calls for 1/2 lb of chicken. I have no idea what size pot

Day Seven of Post-Op (Friday)

R is now walking 2 miles! He says he's been doing that since day 3 and I didn't even know. We're both pretty much back to normal except for the fact that we tire very easily.   We will laze about today but the food images will not leave me alone. I want to BITE into something. Anything! I spend significant portions of time thinking about food, recipes, pinning, thinking of what I will cook when I can. And I realize it's really, really, good to have this time when I cannot, in fact, eat anythi

Day Six Of Post-Op: Brain Fuzz

Day Six (Thursday) Since I was feeling so much better, I thought I'd be able to work today. I'm realizing that physical recover and mental alertness are NOT the same thing. I'm in a complete daze and am having so much trouble focusing. I wasted the entire morning in front of the computer doing....I have no idea what. Nothing to show for it.   Three meetings in a row took it out of me. Then I had to go to Dallas for a meeting and R offered to drive me. Well, his brain isn't working any better

What A Difference 6 Days Can Make

When pre-sleeved, I wondered what it was going to feel like right after the surgery. i read everything I could, but I still wanted more, more, more. I'm writing about my experiences to give back to the community that helped me prepare for this surgery. It's a very long post but hopefully it answers some questions about what we might go through, physically, mentally and emotionally.   I'm 5'6, HW 230, SW 222, CW 215.4 and I'm 47 years old.   Day of Surgery (Friday) I find myself calm, not ne

Day 7 of liquid pre-op and I haven't killed anyone yet

It's almost getting to be a routine. Veg soup and Protein at every meal. An SF popsicle to wash down dinner. Yesterday was the first time I didn't need a nap and was alert, and productive throughout the day. The previous few days, I'd really started to worry about how I was going to work because I couldn't string two thoughts together and all I wanted was a nap.   It's funny, I'm not really hungry, but today, I want to BITE into something--or someone, when I'm feeling cranky I haven't been a

Down 7 lbs on liquid diet

So I'm past the day 4 hurdle everyone talks about. I had to take a two hour nap yesterday before I could function! My brain was fuzzy and I really couldn't string two thoughts together properly.   Then I started thinking about all the changes i was making all at once.   1. No caffeine. Aaargh! 2. Carbs below 50 gms a day 3. Less than 1000 calories a day 4. Much more protein than I usually intake 5. Liquids only plus veg soup. Not easy. 6. No straws 7. No fat to speak of 8. No sugar 9

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