Soup-a-Woman

And as you'll see from the post, I had this ridiculously huge ham leftover from Christmas. If you have ham, I have a Winter's 15-Bean Soup with Ham for you. Due to the unusual cooking method (oven) the Beans stay intact and the soup remains brothy the way our sleeves like it... the smaller beans don't desintigrate into a mushy mess. http://soup-a-woman.blogspot.com/2012/12/hamzilla-winters-15-bean-soup-with-ham.html

I turned ours into a Spicy Asian and Soba Noodle Soup. Feel free to omit or cut back on the soba noodles if you are avoiding starches. http://soup-a-woman.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-change-of-flavor-spicy-asian-turkey.html

Farro and Dried Cranberry Soup with Kale - a nice creamy and tangy soup for fall with a grain Protein. Lots of vegetarian options here! http://soup-a-woman.blogspot.com/2012/11/procrastination-soup-farro-and-dried.html

I made this Soup yesterday and it's super easy and tasty. It freezes great too, goes right into my freezer in 1/2 cup to 1 cup portions! Slow Cooker Ham and Great Northern Bean Soup http://soup-a-woman.blogspot.com/2012/10/deliberate-leftovers-slow-cooker-ham.html

http://soup-a-woman.blogspot.com/2012/10/confessions-of-soup-hoarder-slow-cooker.html Loving this one. It tastes delicious and is beyond easy! I've been having a little affair with my slow cooker lately. Don't tell Mr. Soup.

Happy to help with soup addiction recipes for anyone who is interested. Right this very minute I'm making a Turkey, Wild Rice, and Cranberry Soup in my head.

I posted about this on an earlier thread, so I'm just going to copy and paste my thoughts from that here... "Here's the info I was given when trying to decide between the two. 1/3 of the time the lap-band works exactly the way the recipient wants it to. 1/3 of the time the lap-band causes you to lose some weight and then no more. 1/3 of the time the lap-band does not work at all. Those are shitty odds for this much money. I have a friend who has the band and is bitter she didn't get sleeved. She's lost 30 pounds out of the 100 she needed to. It's been several years now and it's the way it is. PLUS, I was not interested in the on-going maintenance (fills) the band needed. That's what made me choose sleeve. I'm super glad I did and would do it again in a heartbeat. I just had reconstructive surgery to remove all the excess skin after all the weight loss. That's a nice problem to have."

I have to say that I don't really worry about on program or off program. I eat what I want, good or bad... I just find that a few bites satisfy me now, so there isn't any binging like I used to. But pancakes. My sleeve does NOT like pancakes. I've tried them twice since I was sleeved and both times I threw them up. Pancakes are now evil.

Would I do it again? In. A. Heartbeat. That's not to say that the first couple of months after surgery weren't rough. They were defo rough. But I'm two years out now and I've lost a whole me. (plus 13 pounds) Best decision I ever made. Ever.

I did have regrets the first couple of months as I had some post-op problems caused by dehydration. I'm a HUGE advocate now of "don't worry about the food so much, worry about drinking your water!" after surgery. In my experience, the food will eventually come, but once you're dehydrated it's a long haul back. However I'm now 2 years post op. I've lost nearly 160 pounds... more than I currently weigh! I look great, I feel great, and I'm happier and healthier than I've ever been. No regrets here at all. New sleevers - stay hydrated!!!!

You boys suck at following directions... jussayin'.

You might have a hard time (if not impossible time) finding Frank's Hot Sauce in Amsterdam. If you use another hot sauce be careful of the amount. Frank's is hot, but is also very vinegary and you can use more than you can with other hot sauces. If you have anyone who ships you food from the US, ask them to throw in a bottle of Frank's next time. Enjoy souping... my daughter was just asking for this chowder the other day, and I haven't made it because I've been doing new Soups for the blog. Hard line to balance!

I went from a DD to a small C, leaving the girls looking like sad deflated hanging straight down balloons. I just had them lifted (not enhanced) and if I do say so myself, they look spectacular. I am very very very happy I had it done.

Feeling much better now and am very pleased with the resuls. I even dropped another 10 pounds and am below my goal weight!! I'm super happy I took this final step to finish this 2 year journey. But boy, this surgery takes it out of you. I'm a month out, and am still tired all the time. Not an easy recovery. Worth it though when I look at my perky girls. Ha!

I had my reconstructive surgery at the same place I was sleeved: Puget Sound Surgical Center. I could go on and on and ON about how wonderful that place is, from the surgeons to the nurses, all the way down to the receptionists. On the day after my reconstructive surgery Dr. Harris stopped by MY HOUSE with his nurse to check on me. Unheard of. I could not stand to NOT do my thighs the way they were. I figured what was the point of having a flat stomach if I wouldn't get in a bathing suit (not a bikini, thankyouverymuch) because of my thighs. I miss swimming. The waterfall of skin running down my thighs had to go. I don't think it added too much to recovery. As far as pain went, stomach hurt the worse BY FAR. A distant 2nd was my thighs and my breasts didn't hurt at all. Dr. Harris said that last one was unusual.

I hadn't seen your blog before, thank you so much for sharing! I particularly agree with #7, that's my experience exactly. I never worry about any of that grams of Protein stuff either. I wish I was better about #8. Ha! Enjoy that happier and healthier life!

MEN - CLOSE YOUR EYES... SCROLL PAST. Having just had my tummy tuck to remove the big overhang of fatty grossness and excess skin... my husband pointed out that when I am standing up and naked, he can now actually see my hoohaw. o-O

Updating my blog could get spotty again for awhile as I just got called in for a teaching leave replacement starting tomorrow. Technically it hasn't been 6 weeks since my reconstructive surgery, but I couldn't say no to this job. Hoping to tough it out for awhile. Anyway, if you're in the mood for waking up your taste buds, this one will do it. Mr. Soup was patting the top of his the way he does when he's feeling the heat. http://soup-a-woman.blogspot.com/2012/10/whats-in-freezer-sopa-de-carnitas-with.html

Here's the info I was given when trying to decide between the two. 1/3 of the time the lap-band works exactly the way the recipient wants it to. 1/3 of the time the lap-band causes you to lose some weight and then no more. 1/3 of the time the lap-band does not work at all. Those are shitty odds for this much money. I have a friend who has the band and is bitter she didn't get sleeved. She's lost 30 pounds out of the 100 she needed to. It's been several years now and it's the way it is. PLUS, I was not interested in the on-going maintenance (fills) the band needed. That's what made me choose sleeve. I'm super glad I did and would do it again in a heartbeat. I just had reconstructive surgery to remove all the excess skin after all the weight loss. That's a nice problem to have.

I love to see this... especially given the title of this thread you started so long ago. Still regret surgery?

I was outpatient - had no problems whatsoever surgically. I went back to work (teaching - on feet whole time) in a week. I made it, but wish I had the opportunity to take 2. ADVICE ADVICE ADVICE: Drink your Water... stay hydrated no matter what. It's easy to focus on "not getting enough food in" but the food will come. Trust me, in the meantime you WILL get dehydrated and it is extremely detrimental to feeling well after surgery. I know whereof I speak. And you didn't ask, but here it is... How long did it.... "take to lose the weight?" 10 months - 150 pounds. (I'm 2 years out right now)

My insurance didn't cover either surgery. Sure would have been nice if it did. The total cost of the reconstructive surgery was just under $20,000.

Congratulations to you! Thank you for sharing your inspirational story for others to read. Go live that happier and healthier life to its fullest!!!!!!!!!!

Is not being able to eat beans common for sleevers? I really never thought about that being an issue... I toss beans into almost every soup since I'm always striving to get 2 sources of protein into each (one meat source, one plant-based source). I don't have any problems with beans at all. Pancakes, now, pancakes are another story. **shudder**

To be honest, it was way more painful. I was back on my feet and back at work in a week from the sleeve. But it's been 4 weeks and I'm still recliner-ing it most of the time. Plan on at least 6 weeks recovery. They told me 6 week and I thought they were stupid (I was way all kinds of in shape before the surgery) but it's true. Your whole body is dedicating its energy to healing these large incisions and just has no time for frivolous stuff like, you know, walking around. Still worth it. I swear.