Karen S

I am sure most of you remember the good banana pudding!! with the Nilla wafers and banana slices and sweet banana pudding? I just stumbled on to a tasty yet safe way to simulate it!!

You'll need:

1 box sugar free Jello instant banana creme pudding

2 cups 1% milk (or whatever milk you can use)

Apple Cinnamon Soy chips (I found Revival Soy Oh My Apple Pie in 1 oz bags)

Make your pudding according to instructions on box. Than simply layer it with the Soy chips as you would use Nilla Wafers. Or if you are feeling lazy like I do, DIP THEM lol

It's simple, it's sweet, and it has about 15 carbs 3 sugars and 140 calories. Plus the soy chips have protien 7 grams per bag!!

I hope all enjoy!!

It seems no one has family values anymore. I feel your pain, and am so sorry you are going through it with your family.

My mom and dad passed away in 08, so i just have my mother in law and brothers in law. They live like maybe 5 minutes away, and they couldn't even be bothered to visit me when i was in the hospital. Mom was poopy cuz she had to get my son off the bus one day when my hubby came to take me home. Now it's like if i didn't have internet, i wouldn't see them at all. Even my son who is 11 and shouldn't know these things says i guess we will see family on the next birthday or holiday.

So I hope things smooth over with your mom. It sucks that family has to be that way. I think you have values like me, family is supposed to help out, no questions asked, no problem, no bitching etc...And all that stress can actually make you gain the weight!!! It sin't good for your heart, mind, life!! Try not to stress too much okay?

Stay safe

Karen S.

Hello!! I live at Gloucester Point. Got my sleeve May 19th!! I am looking for hampton roads sleevers too!! If you still are looking anyone, email me!! I need some major support Hope everyone is doing well

Hey, I really hope you feel better. You're still early out yet and emotions will run all over the place with this surgery i found out.

I couldn't drink the shake either with milk, that is what made me hurt so bad. Even the soy milk and lactose free milk hurt my stomach so bad. It sounds gross, but try it in Water. That was the only way i found to get it down without pain. ONce you get the protien in, you will feel so much better!!

I hope this tip worked for you, this is a journey of trial and error, there will be a lot of times you feel helpless, and a lot of times you feel great. But just keep in mind your goal of a better you

My well wishes are with you!!

Ok, this one came as a complete shock to me. I am one and a half months out of surgery, and I must share this with women who are suffering like me.

There are not too many, but I suffer from a bizarre array of Pre-Menstral Symptoms. I don't just get the bloating, and poopy face (mood swings lol) I get nausea, vomiting, extreme fatigue, headaches, and serious cotton mouth. It lasts for a bout 3 days each month for me. It seems worse now witht hte sleeve, I can't just drink a bunch of Water, take my stomach med and go sleep for 3 days.

I was feeling particularly gross yesterday. But I had to get my protien in. Well, after I drank my protien shake (I double up on the scoop) I felt totally fine!! No nausea, no cotton mouth, headache went away poof!! It lasted for 8 hours throught he day, then it started to come back, i drank another shake, and gone again!!

Maybe it's just me, but if you have bad PMS symptoms like I do, try a protien shake. See what happens. It's a god send for me, I hate taking medication, and maybe after 7 years I can finally stop taking them!!

Just thought I would pass that along, hope it helps at least one person.

Cheers to all, and good luck on your journey!!

K

That is where I first had them, as little appetizers at a christmas party a few years ago. My husband handed me a plate, since i couldn't see to get my own without making a mess of the table lol, and siad there is some cheese, and some kind of ham thing and it looks like a pickle on the inside of it. I also tried them with olives, but i liked the pickle better.

Ham & Pickle Roll

Yeah I know this may sound really odd, but it is great!!!! You get your protien and your veggie!!

I am doing this based on my stage in the post op diet, I am just one month out and only on 1 to 2 oz of food per meal.

1 slice of ham (3 g of fat or less per slice of course)

1 tsp of light cream cheese

1 dill pickle

Simply spread the cream cheese over the ham and roll it up with the pickle!!

Remember, CHEW SLOWLY

If you are further along on your diet, you may use more than one slice of ham, just use less cream sheese per slice and cut the pickle in half lengthwise.

Ok, this is my first blog on the site, and it may be a bit negative, but it is a subject taht breaks my heart, and I can't really share it with my family, so here i go....

I have had a best friend since 1991 almost 20 years now. We were like sisters, and pretty much the typical joined at teh hip and shared a brain kind of thing. Every now and then, we butted heads, but she had such a strong personality,and i just caved a lot. We lost touch after my son was born in 2000 for very dramatic and personal reasons. I thought we would never speak again, but in 2007 we picked back up where we left off like nothing ever happened.

Now, since 2007, she has ditched me for one dumb reason or another 6 times, each time like for at least a month or three. But whenever something devistating in her life came about, she'd call me, and like the succer i am, i'd fall back into the same routine, we'd be cool for six months, she'd get mad or jealous, and bail on me again.

This January was the last time i had visited (we are both legally blind so our "visits" have to be two or 3 day trips) and all was cool. I had told her I was thinking about the sleeve surgery and she pretty much was poopy face the whole weekend with me. So I came home,a nd went to the free seminar. A few days later I told her I was approved for the surgery and was going ahead with it. She got livid, via text, she called me things and accused me of things i never thought she'd ever say to her best friend. She said I wasn't "allowed" to have that surgery because we were going to try and lose weight together. I explained about my knee problems and the doc threatening replacement on both knees if I didn't lose weight fast. She accused me of lying, although she was there (well not in flesh but you know) through all 6 knee surgeries. Then she hit me with, "I'll just say we grew apart bye". I was so pissed off, sad, devistated, angry, every negative emotion you can think of, I was.

My husband, mom in law, everyone said i was better off because they saw it all before every time she ditched me, but pretty much forbid me to get in any contact with her for this one. I agreed.

Then not even days after that, she started posting negative smart butt comments of Facebook, like I don't see why people have to get their gurs cut open for someting they can do themselves. And she got a treadmill and a bike and was doing the diet and doing it the her way....the right way. And lots of other nasty snide comments pretty much telling me i was taking the easy way out. I ignored it, had my surgery and the day i came home, it was food comments..oh i saw a piece of pizza in the fridge and I ate it, or im in the kitchen making fudge.

Now, six months since she bailed on me yet again, it still hurts, but she really doesn't seem to give a damn. The sad thing is, even her boyfriend warned me that she'd treat me terrible too, I didn't believe it, but hey, boy was I wrong.

The one person I was counting on to be my biggest support system is nothing but a jealous vindictive hateful person who boasts that she always gets her way. Well if her way is to have me out of her life as much as it kills me, she succeeded.

I still hope she is doing ok, and her kids are ok. But now I hear she has no one. I hope she enjoys her life alone. And maybe one day, I will be able to trust people enough to make real friends again. But for now, I can't open up that much.

My doc said it wasokay to chew the sugarfree gum, but he didn't say anything about candy. I guess as long as you dont chew it or crunch it, it should be fine.

Hello all, I'm Karen. And I am new to all of this, so I hope i do it right.

I am a 33 year old wife and mom living in gloucester point VA. Kind of secluded spot, but I have lived in Gloucester most of my life. I have a husband (14 years and counting) and an 11 year old son.

I have always been well not skinny. In high school i was a size 16 which to the kids then was practically the size of a house!!!! I am also legally blind, which does tie into my story because I have been that way since 1990.

After being married, I had to have knee surgery on both knees from an acident. That is when the real weight gain began. Having no weight bearing for 6 months, no matter how good your diet is, really does bad tricks to your body. I gained most of my weight then. Since then, I have been in and out of the orthopedic ofice.

Being almost blind, i can't get out and excercise as much as i would like. I do things close to home, but i can drive, and everyone works so it is difficult to get a ride to the gym. I tried to keep my diet good, but i gave in sometimes.

I think thte real deal breaker for me was when last year, I had lost 30 poundsand i was so excited!!! I was getting ready to head out the door and i tweaked my knee, well poop!!! I was in a knee immobilizer for a month,a nd all the weight i lost came rushing back. Even though I kept to my diet, the inactivity killed me. I was SO mad!! Then the orthopedic said the next fix for my knees would be replacement. Um....NO

I got in touch with the weight loss surgery center here in Newport News and went to the first seminar in January. I was scared, but I pushed through with it, and had my Sleeve Gastrectomy on May 19th. My doctor is Dr. Terracina at Mary Immaculate Hospital.

I have had no ill effects from the surgery thus far. Everything seems to be going well. I can say i don't care for the liquid diet lol, and am not looking forward the the puree either, but if it leads to a healthier me, I'm all for it.

So, my weight loss so far is 23 pounds. I was scared really bad as I thought fast loss was bad, but after talking to my doctors I am assured it is normal for rapid loss in the beginning.

Well, that is my story up til now. I am getting ready to go and work the treadmill for a while.

Karen S.