CCWriter

After hearing all these comments, y'all have inspired me!! I think I need another book -- the Weight Loss Surgery Cookbook for Dummies. Oh well, as long as I'm still counting on my fingers, I guess I'm OK.

I was (and am) such a foodie, that I bought four books right after weight loss surgery. My favorite is Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery by Patt Levine and Michele Bontempo-Saray. Good advice and recipes and it tells you how to adjust them for wherever you are in your weight loss or whatever surgery you've had. I'm reading three others in bits and pieces: - Before & After: Living and Eating Well After Weight-Loss Surgery by Susan Maria Leach - Eat It Up! The Complete Mid/Body/Spirit Guide to a Full Life After Weight Loss Surgery by Connie Stapleton, PhD - The EVERYTHING Post Weight Loss Surgery Cookbook by Jennifer Whitlock Heisler, RN My other favorite is the Paleo Comfort Foods Cookbook by Julie and Charles Mayfield. I have made so many good things from that cookbook and it's always consistently good. It works well for me because I really love Protein and veggies and that's mostly what the recipes comprise. I love the Ham and Egg Cups which are beautiful enough for a holiday brunch. The Mashed Cauliflower recipe in there is my favorite and I plan to make their Bangers and Mash (with the aforementioned Mashed Cauliflower) for St. Patrick's Day. No green beer for me on that day though. The thought of beer just revolts me. Have a fantastic, skinnier day!! Carol

Thanks SheZug ... it keeps me going on posting, knowing that someone is actually out there reading this stuff. I've had a lot of trouble with getting back to eating vegetables, but the mashed cauliflower has been a mainstay for me. And I used to dislike cauliflower intensely. But it really gives me the mouth feel and taste of potatoes and that kind of satisfaction. Thanks for replying!! Carol

Hi guys: My favorite dietician Steph at WeightWise gave me this low-carb Shepherd's Pie recipe and I amped up the flavors with more herbs and smashed garlic in the mashed cauliflower: Takin' A Load Off/ Shepherd's Pie It's a rainy, chilly day where I live in Oklahoma and I thought it might be nice to share to a bit wider audience. I'd retype from my original blog post, but took me too darn long in the first place with my carpal tunnel. Hope you enjoy!! Carol

I totally forgot that I wouldn't be able to have caffeine after surgery and I'm sure my headaches afterward were because of that. If I'd thought about it, I would have tapered it off instead of going cold turkey. Ouch!! The good thing is, although I have an occasional cup of coffee or latte, I can take it or leave it now and I like that. Caffeine is a powerful drug and I'd prefer not to have it in my body most of the time. Onward, CC

Wow! I'm impressed that you have kept such great records. My weight loss has slowed to a crawl, but it looks like slow and steady wins the race!! Thanks for posting!

That's so great ... you're an inspiration PQ!! CC

I agree on the being careful with the treadmill impact. About two years ago, when my orthopedic surgeon told me I was definitely a candidate for knee replacement, he also recommended putting it off as long as I could with joint Fluid replacement therapy. The actualy product was Supartz. The first week they shot my knees with a cortizone substance, then every week thereafter for 5-6 weeks with Supartz, which is a thick goopy substance. Bottom line is that it worked. Insurance paid for it, and will let you do it every six months from the last injection. (Yes, it hurts, but I'm thinking not as much as knee replacement and no cutting.) Also, a general surgeon told me the technology on knee replacements is improving so fast that I should put it off as long as possible. I'm figuring my weight loss will help a lot, so we'll see about that soon. So .... I wouldn't overdo it on the treadmill. If your knees start rebelling, hit the ellipti-hell or the bike. Or swim. Just saw the new ElliptiGo on GMA and that looks interesting. A bike crossed with an ellipti-hell. Hope that helps. CC

My girlfriends and I call the elliptical the ellipti-hell. I've always hated the darn thing. I know I need to get on it sometimes, but I have better luck motivating myself to do other things. Personally, I have horrible, destined-for-replacement knees, so I hit the stationary bicycle like crazy and am trying to work up on the treadmill. The impact on the treadmill is a big issue for me, but I think it's important to get some at least. I usually do 30 minutes of intervals on the bike and 15 on the treadmill. I'm back to doing an hour of yoga twice a week with a trainer and am just going back to strength training, which I'm planning on doing three times a week. I'm so, so stalled ... have only lost one pound in two weeks and going a little batty from that. Eager to start seeing the scale start moving again. CC

Wow Debbie ... I think you should post the name of the bariatric physician and hospital. Sounds like you've come out on the other side, but so sorry that happened to you. CC

My doc, Dr. Gregory Walton, said I could take showers immediately after surgery because the Durabond (glue) on my incisions would be OK. He said hold off for six weeks (tomorrow) on immersion like taking a bath, so they'd heal well before I did that. It's a matter of increasing the size of your scars I think. Maybe you could walk in the surf but keep from having incisions underwater for an extended period of time. Sounds like a great time!!! CC

Hey there Khy ... Here's the link. It's an awesome organization. Hope it works for you. http://www.dressforsuccess.org CC

Puja ... You can do this. You made the commitment to yourself to have weight loss surgery. You're going to be all right. As someone who knows lots about depression, you are probably going through a myriad of emotions right now. Your boyfriend left and naturally you're going to feel lonely. Be really careful about transfer additions because you're particularly vulnerable right now. Also realize that when you have alcohol, it lowers your serantonin (sp?) the next day, which can be a problem because you want to feel better and you may drink the next day and then you get caught in the endless loop of drinking, less serantonin, drinking again. And all those calories are empty. You have lots of body adjustments still to make too. Hang in there Puja. xoxoxoxCC

I have been moving out of a rental house my family owns and into my recently renovated airplane bungalow, and moved the rest of my clothes today. So fun to have a "soft" move for the first time in my life. I kept most of my "skinny" clothes and it's amazing to look at them, realizing that some are at least 20 years old, and many of them are classic enough that I'll be able to get back into them one of these days. I guess being the perennial dieter, I always thought I could do it myself. But after dozens of efforts, I finally gave up and was happily sleeved Dec. 27. I put all my clothes that were size 16 and above (up to 2x) in my regular master bedroom closet, and everything size 14 and below that weren't totally out of style in a secondary closet in another room. I think I'll be happy to get rid of everything, even tailored business suits when I'm out of them. My plan is to give the good stuff to Dress for Success, which helps low-income women who are going on job interviews present themselves in a professional manner. I know they get tons of donations in smaller sizes, so I'm thinking they'll be particularly happy to get some donations in larger sizes. I'll be happy to think about giving a less fortunate woman a leg up, so to speak. CC

Sunny: I was sleeved Dec. 27 and had similar sleeping problems even though I sleep with a CPAP for my sleep apnea. I'd wake up sometime during the night and be awake often for hours. It does get better. I'm sleeping great now and hardly ever have to get up. One of the things I did was get my liquids in early. I drink a 32 oz. Powerade Zero before Breakfast every morning and then the other two 16+ oz. drinks in the afternoon. That way, I don't have to worry so much about needing to hit the bathroom overnight, which takes away another thing that can wake you up. I also wonder if sleeplessness has anything to do with the Vitamins you're taking after early on. I know that vitamins can keep you up if you take them very late. Hope that helps. CC

I think the one in our family who probably needs to get some therapy is my husband. He was very upset before surgery, even talked about kidnapping me from the hospital parking lot. After surgery, he did pretty well and most of the time is doing OK. But I know he resents the impact my surgery has had on certain things we used to do, like have (maybe too many) adult beverages on the back porch while the sun went down with some kind of munchies. Now he drinks a martini and I have hot tea. He munches on Fritos and French onion dip and I drink my hot tea. Still fun, but not the same thing. He's a big guy so he can put down a lot of food and etc. I know part of the weight I'm hauling around is from having those adult beverages. And I'm at four-weeks so I'm just now getting back to things like veggies, which are still a challenge. We ate out a lot and that's not the easiest. I had some issues with depression after I was diagnosed with sleep apnea a couple of years ago. My body felt so different -- it was a new normal, and it was bizarre having all this energy, but the good part was not nodding off in inconvenient places in the afternoon. I also missed my naps terribly. I equated it with people who have heart bypass surgery and then have all this energy and get depressed. I always thought that was strange, but now I sort of understand it. Your mind and your body have to find a new normal. I bought several books off Amazon after surgery, and especially like the Eating Well and Before and After. Carol

Sounds really good and I'll definitely have to try it.

Here there Paola: You are going to be fine and so much healthier. As a food writer and restaurant reviewer, I LOVE food. Not the overeating part, but the fun of exploring new cuisines, the finesse of good ingredients prepared well. I love the cooking shows as well, and get the biggest kick out of "Chopped." You must use anchovies, lemon Jello, cheese Whiz and blackberry yogurt. The clock starts NOW. But I will absolutely make my goal. I have NO doubt of this. And after the initial liquid diet and mushies diet, I am going to make the most of the least. I plan to take my love of cooking good food to make the best, healthiest, most nutritious, tastiest food to fuel my body -- food that anyone would love -- just LESS of it. Just because we have less stomach doesn't mean we can't put good stuff in it and it doesn't have to be fatty to be good. I'm only three weeks out so I have some time to go before my culinary adventures begin, but it's my belief that keeping things from getting boring and tasteless will help me get there. It's all in quality, not quantity. I think ultimately my goal of making food taste good will make me successful! I get the kernels of some of my best dishes from watching cooking shows, so what's wrong with watching and learning techniques? Hmmmm? We're going to rock this deal, girlfriend. Onward! Carol

The first time I ate out after surgery, I ordered a grilled salmon fillet with no mashed potatoes or sides and nothing to drink. My 6'2" husband ordered a salad, huge blue-cheese covered hamburger with a mountain of fries. Nearly drove me crazy. I could only eat about a third of the salmon, but that wasn't a big deal. The thing that drove me crazy is that the wait staff kept asking me and asking me if I at least wanted Water. In retrospect, I should have ordered water and sipped on it until the meal came, which is what I've done since. That accomplishes getting a bit more of my liquids and gives me something to do with my hands while everyone else is noshing on appetizers or their dinner salads. I ate out tonight and ironically, it was at a restaurant I'd reviewed last summer for an area newspaper. The wait staff was hovering, wanting to know if I was happy and here I am eating my little bit of (once again) salmon. I did make sure to get a Carol box of leftovers. It's doable, but I'm still finding it challenging and I don't want to change anyone else's behavior. But it's doable. CC

I had mine Dec. 27, and I don't feel like I'm any different except that I'm rarely hungry, can't eat much and I'm already visibly thinner. The first two weeks of liquid diet goes about as fast as being pregnant, if you've experienced that. And that would be the last month! I'm in my second week of soft food and a deviled egg is just sublime. I have no complaints! CC

Some great advice from Lissa. I was diagnosed with REM-related sleep apnea a couple of years ago. Before that, I'd have lots of microsleeps on the interstate when I was driving to our weekend place. I could hardly stay awake at work in the afternoon. I found out my "mild sleep apnea" was causing my oxygen levels to go down to about 80 percent and I was waking up about 13 times an hour in REM. In other words, I was not getting any REM and no deep sleep. And -- I'm just thinkin' -- having your O2 drop that much every night while you're sleeping can't be good for any part of your body. Ironically, the first time I used my CPAP, I knew it would help me. I HATED IT -- but I KNEW it would help me. My husband who works overseas, whose first response to seeing a picture of me in it, wanted to know if I might not have to wear it when he was in country. But after the first night I wore it when he was here, he changed his tune. He says I used to sleep like an egg beater, now says when I put it on, I go right to sleep and don't move. And I don't snore anymore. Apparently, I sawed some good ones before the CPAP. Now, I wake up rested and revived and rarely have microsleeps. The only thing I wasn't prepared for how differently my body felt -- because I had a "new normal." You know how you hear that people who have heart bypass surgery sometimes get depressed. I understand that now, because I had a lot of trouble getting used to my new energy. I figure that eventually, I would have a significant microsleep on the interstate and I would have killed myself or someone else. Thankfully, that didn't happen and hopefully never will because I am much more careful to use the CPAP before I know I have to get on the road. It will get better -- promise -- and you will make friends with the darn machine. Hope that helps, CC

Your experience sounds like ditto to mine Dec. 27. Congrats on your sleeve Noob, and we'll be looking forward to hearing about your progress! I'm on mushies now, and scrambled eggs never tasted so good. Only difference is I didn't have the drain or the pain pump. They shot Dilaudid into my IV and at home I had liquid hydrocodone for pain. Worked fine and got off it after about four days. CC

Talked to my physician and he thinks I might be constipated. Says take some Miralax and if ache is not better by Monday, to come in to the office. Says if it was kidney stones, I'd have a different kind of pain and it would be more intense.

Thanks folks. I'm out of town unfortunately and hoping it will go away by itself. If it gets worse, I'll go to the ER.

I'm having a lot of pain in my back in the area of my kidneys. It's not a stabbing pain, more like I'm just really achy. I just want to go curl up in bed, but that doesn't seem to help either. I know I'm staying hydrated, so it's not that, but would love to have some input on whether this is common at this point (close to three weeks out), and what I might do to relieve it. CC