Soup-a-Woman

I'm 15 months out... if I'm eating Soup (and I most usually am) I can eat close to a cup now, compared to a half-cup for the first 9 to 10 months. On other foods, it's still between 1/2-3/4 cup. Last night I had about 2 square inch piece of salmon and 1/4 cup of couscous w/feta and pine nuts.

Oooh. Love the idea of an edamame guacamole!!! I make Soup out of edamame too... they're very versatile, but I like it with coconut milk and lime juice. Here's a link to my version:
food.html" rel="external nofollow">http://soup-a-woman....ouper-food.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

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 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 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

Love your Soups. Soup-A-Woman. Thank You for caring and sharing with us.

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.

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.

check out: soup-a-woman she's a member here with loads of recipes for Soups. you'll love it

My NUT has me on some restrictions until i get my weight off. Then it's management and enjoy food w/in reason. If you can handle food in moderation, then go ahead and enjoy small things.
I CANNOT. Carbs affect me in more ways than I could have ever imagined. From inflammation to weight gain and everything in between. I "allowed" myself high carb 'healthy' Protein bars 2 weeks ago and wow have i paid for it. I think I finally have my cravings back under control. So for me, for now, I do have dietary restrictions. Again, This new life isn't a one fits all.

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.

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.

I am so happy my surgeon talked me out of the lap band and into the sleeve! I was sleeved 11 months ago (at age 58) and today (exactly one year to the day I signed up for this forum!) I hit goal weight! I've never looked back and have never been happier. If you are on the fence, keep reading this forum, asking questions, reading one or two or three blogs regularly and then at some point, you will know you are ready or if it's right for you. For me, there was no other option and I have just had the most fascinating journey of my life. I wrote about it on my blog today. Yes, only you can decide, but I can tell you, I was ready long before I decided and once I did there was no stopping my enthusiasm for this wonderful choice we now have presented to us. It's a gift for a better, longer life.

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.

bad food ? hmm... nope, everything I eat is really good :-) And, thank you God!, because of my sleeve I can only eat small portions of all this good food !
I should eat more Protein though and less carbs.

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!!!!

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'.

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.

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.

Wow to Soup-a-woman!!!! Thank you for reading my blog, but mostly thank you for YOUR Soup blog!!!! I love soup!!! And here I am in Amsterdam (via Hawaii) where it's cold and now I can have Soup all winter.....I can't wait to try out your recipes, starting with Buffalo chicken Chowder....just hope I can find some of the ingredients here...
Great site.....I will go back often. YUM!!! And congratulations on reaching your goal weight yesterday; 158 lbs, that is just incredible.
Q of C

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.

Oh, and to those considering surgery the longer you wait the better! I swear it's true. I'm two years out and the difference in my skin from one year to two years was amazing. So much bounced back and rearranged even after I was at goal and maintaining. So definitely wait until you're at goal for at least six months because I lost an entire pant size, bra size, and even a shoe size in the months after I was sure I was finally done losing. I had to buy a whole new wardrobe!
Now, I still need plastics but certain areas I was sure I'd want help aren't bad and I feel like more of my natural shape came back at some point once my weight stabilized.
Just my opinion, but something to consider. I would have had other procedures done that I now think aren't necessary if I had done it right away instead of being forced to wait because of my geographical location.
~Cheri