Phoenix79

Turkey sausage sounds good too, Kindle! I'll have to do the one pancake with sausage next time- costco has a yummy chicken maple sausage that I love and is packed with Protein. Can you see costco gets a lot of my money?

Hooray! I found this awesome brand at costco, and I've heard that Target is carrying it in most stores too. Kodiak Protein pancake and waffle mix- for those near or at maintaining their goal weight, or for when the craving for pancakes is there. . Very tasty, tender, soft pancakes with no, I repeat, no Protein Powder taste or "off" tastes. Just like normal pancakes, but with 14 G protein per 2 pancakes (1/2 cup prepared mix) and 5 g Fiber. It can go up to 21g protein per serving if you prepare with nonfat milk and an egg. I did that and added vanilla extract and 2 stevia packets since I like my pancake batter on the sweeter side. So yummy! I can see me slathering one pancake up with Peanut Butter before my morning crew practice or run. I'm 1 year 3 months out within 10 lbs of goal and can eat 2 pancakes with sugar free Syrup just fine. great for change from the protein usual every so often, kids and SO's will like them too!!  

I enrolled in a refresher learn to row class with the the Everett crew house! I rowed in early high school but haven't rowed since- my hips and weight got way to big for the shell. This was a goal of mine when I set my mind too having the sleeve and over a year later and 160lbs lost, I've actually achieved it! I looked at a picture of myself from 9th grade in a regatta and I'm thinner now than I was then. I can't wait for my first class on Monday and getting out on the Water again! My hubby is doing it with me too. . Yes! Hooray for an active date day! Sweeps in a 8 then maybe skulling.

My husband (fiddleman) and I are also interested in a WA meet up- we both had the sleeve and my younger sister will be sleeved before the year is up. We all live north of Seattle in the Everett area- however, like CowgirlJane, we can travel to the locations she mentioned. Hope there is a concrete get together soon....would love to meet some of you!

got this size 12 Jessica Simpson dress from Thredup.com. I don't normally do boat neck style and the dress seems a bit shorter than I normally wear. It was $20...what do you all think! Keep or send back?

My sister is interested in getting the sleeve and went to a seminar with me while pregnant with her first child. She asked the surgeon how soon after having a baby could you have the surgery? The surgeon said very soon after...it just depends if you are breast feeding or not. If you are, plan on weaning the baby first since the surgery and your lack of calorie intake will mess with your milk supply. Also think about making sure you have enough help after surgery- with more kids and a new baby, I'm sure you do a lot of lifting during the day. My surgeon's requirement was no lifting anything over 10 lbs for 6 weeks....so that can put a wrinkle in child care. Good luck to you! I had the surgery (sleeve) to get pregnant...no kids for us yet and now we have the green light to start trying! Lucky you to already have your kids!

This is a dip inspired by my favorite pizza at Pagliacci pizza in the Seattle area- I recently went back for a slice and realised what I really loved were the flavors of the toppings together, and I could make it at home as a dip! So here's my creation...you can use it as a veggie dip, a topping or filling for chicken or serve with plain pita chips if you are allowing more carbs/further along or have guests/party.

3 heads roasted garlic (yep- heads, not cloves) . Roast yourself with extras for other recipes or buy pre roasted in the supermarket deli section- usually by bulk olives/antipasti. 25-30 cloves should do it if you go that route.

10 ounce log goat cheese (costco great)

1 1/2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil

3/4 cup quartered or roughly chopped pitted kalamata olives

1 1/2 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix goat cheese, olives, olive oil & roasted garlic (squeeze out garlic from cloves if you roasted them yourself) together in a medium bowl. Place in oven safe dish with lid or top with foil. Bake for 30 minutes and top with fresh chopped tomatoes. Enjoy the flavor explosion in your mouth!

You can also serve this cold without baking, and it's almost as yummy. You can also tweak this by adding sautéed mushrooms, artichoke hearts, capers, leaks, etc- anything Mediterranean! I prefer the original combo- tangy, garlicky, cold, hot, crunch..all together. Yummy. Enjoy and let me know how it turns out for you! My Fitness pal is great for calorie breakdowns- depends on how many servings you want out of it.

One year out and doing great! I had surgery July 2nd 2013 at Swedish Hospital Seattle WA and my high weight before surgery was 330 lbs, size 26-28, 4x. I am now 173lbs, wear a size 12 in most stuff, large shirt, and have even lost a shoe size. I would like to lose 20 more lbs but I'm fine where I am if I don't lose another pound as well. I have no more sleep apnea, more high blood pressure and I can walk/run/row...do anything I want now! I have noticed folks do treat you differently when you're thinner...more friendly, chatty and more smiles. It's strange going into store with normal size clothing and browsing, all the while thinking they are going to find me out any minute and tell me the big girls store is down the block. Sometimes I feel I've always been this new size and shocked when I see the old me in pictures, and sometimes I feel large still, look in the mirror and I'm shocked. It's been a great journey and I'm so glad I did it!

I had surgery July 2, 2013 at Swedish Hospital in Seattle. I started this process at a high weight of 330lbs size 26-28, 4x women's. I am now 173 lbs and still losing, although more slowly for sure. I can now wear a size 12 and a size large shirt and dresses and I have such a fun time trying on and buying clothes now! Ann Taylor, banana Republic, The Limited etc- I now fit size 12 petite! I think I've developed a clothing addiction- good thing I swear by thrift stores! I'm running now, joining a rowing team and gardening up a storm. I get 1000-1200 calories per day and get 80 grams of Protein with that. My side by side before pic is from Feb. 2013 and the after pic is July 2, 2014- my 1st surgery anniversary. I'm still trying to lose about 20 more lbs, but even if I don't lose any more weight, I'm totally fine with that. .

I had surgery July 2, 2013, hw 330, as of today, 173! Staying active and enjoying life with my husband fiddleman- sleeved July 2, 2012. This pic is a side by side of me before and on my 1 year anniversary. Calories between 1000-1200 per day, Protein 80 grams or more. Exercise has most recently been lots of gardening, but I'm joining a rowing team soon!

Oh dear God... I have a very vivid imagination and now I need brain bleach... Someone once told me to soak cotton balls in orange juice and swallow them. That the cotton balls would taste yummy going down, sit in my stomach like fluffy food and keep me full forever and I would never be hungry and I would lose tons of weight, super fast! Yeah... Riiight!

Some fashion models actually do this- have heard of it before. I never did the extreme stuff and fad diets when I was obese. I was obese but knew better than to try that kind of stuff..could end you up in the ER or dead, even before being obese caught up with you health wise. Sleeve surgery is the 2nd best thing I ever did for myself- first was marrying my wonderful husband!

My husband has your mentality- he is very all or nothing, and follows a very steady routine. He is a frequent user here- his user name is fiddleman. He had surgery on July 2, 2012 and since then, has lost 180lbs, maintaining his current weight of 181 since Feb. 2013. Good luck!

I'm a gardener, too -- can't wait for spring but I'm going to have to as we have so much snow out there and spring is months away. This is when we can start planning, though, and I get a lot of mental exercise from that. But the physical exercise is what I need! Have fun -- put in some extra time for me! For berries we removed six 4 x 4 boxes of red and golden raspberries last year, relocating some to a wild path -- just couldn't deal with them all and the Japanese Beetles were driving me crazy. We have a small orchard of apple trees with some pears, peaches, cherry, and mulberry trees mixed in, and an allée of 12 Asian pear trees in front of the house. I can't wait to see those in bloom again this spring. And blueberries -- we just put those in last year and that's what threw me over the edge for the raspberry dilemma. And yes, a few blackberries. Crazy! My goal this winter is to make a couple of garden maps with the names of everything, when planted, etc. I wish I had better technical drawing skills!

That's awesome- you must have a lot of space to have an allee of 12 Asian pears! Think of all that fruit in the fall! I'm adding a double rose arbor with seating and a dry creek bed this year (lots of exercise digging, toting river rock and gravel). I love gardening where I live in the Pacific Northwest because we can garden outside year round. The drawback is we don't get very hot, so I dream of growing sweet potato, melons, proper tomatoes, but it's not gonna happen around here. But then folks elsewhere want what we have- the grass is always greener on the other side.

It's such a great workout! I did 2-3 hours of work out in the garden (I lose track of time) pulling blackberries, digging new beds and transplanting trees. I'm sore in all the areas I want to work- my legs, core (obliques especially), and arms- triceps on fire! Another bonus- gardening helps you live a long life- did you know that an amazing percentage of those to live to over 100 have one thing in common? That's right- gardening! And some are still going at it. . This is my public service announcement for the benefits of gardening....that is all.

Hi IzzyBelle! Welcome to the club! I'm 34, married (to Fiddleman- also on bariatric pal) and no kids either. I had the sleeve 07/02/13, high weight 330, surgery weight 289, current weight 202- goal weight 150-160 at 5'6". Ask any questions you want and I'd be happy to be your bariatric pal buddy!

Premier Protein shakes, mini light baby bell cheese, Outshine sugar free Popsicles (so much better tasting than the others), salt and vinegar blue diamond almonds, berries, tzatziki sauce, fage 2% Greek yogurt, chicken tortilla Soup (homemade), costco rotisserie chicken, Protein hot chocolate with sugar free mint Syrup added. Tazo wild orange herbal tea.

I went on a Water slide at the new aquatic center in my town (Snohomish, Wa)! I was nervous about going down- thinking I was going to get stuck, not enough water on the slide to get me down (still in my 330lb brain there). My sisters told me if I got stuck, they would get stuck- since they are both bigger than me now (also a first for me)- and they went first and did fine. My first ride on a water slide since I was about 13 and I hollered for joy all the way down- so fun and so fast! If anyone lives locally, come check it out! They have a lazy river, play area for toddlers, water slide, flow rider (indoor surfing), hot tub, plus a full competition pool for lap swims. It's awesome- I'll have to try Aqua Zumba soon too!

Huh! I'll have to check it out! I saw it advertised on Sci-fi channel and thought it looked interesting- glad to hear it's good. I love Lost Girl and Being Human on that channel as well!

All of these sound great, but each of those cream of...soups are chock full of sodium, and pile multiple cans in one recipe, you're going to be exceeding your daily sodium allotment by A LOT! I don't know how many of you cook, but try doing "creamy" Soups homemade, using low sodium chicken or beef stock and various vegetables, meats and fruits. You can even make your own stock using a rotisserie chicken from Costco- save the meat for something else and use the carcass to make the stock. Cream can be added using Fage 2% greek yogurt (doesn't break when heated like the nonfat does), half and half, or heavy cream if you are extreme low carb. A 1/2 cup of heavy cream over a whole recipe goes a long, delicious way. Roast veggies in the oven- you could do a cream of cauliflower, butternut squash with roasted pear, parsnip, etc. Put the roasted veggies with chicken, veggie or beef stock, and purée with an immersion blender or in a blender (carefully). For those just out of surgery, I'm sure you need to take it easy, so if that's the case, or you just don't want to cook, just buy low sodium and try to limit your consumption per day. Enjoy your soups!!

A snack I love is salami chips with grainy mustard dip. You get a crunch like chips, but no carbs and a tad bit of Protein. Great for game day! Just take thin sliced salami, bake in the oven until crisp and cool! U can find various recipes on Pinterest. We're also having pulled pork with chipotle aioli and pickled red cabbage cilantro slaw. Go Hawks!

Pulled pork with chipotle aioli and pickled red cabbage cilantro slaw! A recipe from a localrestaurant cookbook I just picked up.

It's been a few months since I posted a pic, so why not! I'm sooo close to Onederland, I can't wait to get there! But NSV'S by the boatload on the journey to getting there, so I can't complain about that a bit! My current in progress pic is from today- date night with my husband "fiddleman".

It looks like from what you are allowed to eat, that the surgeon has you on a pretty low carb diet until surgery. The purpose for that is to shrink your liver so it doesn't sustain any tears or damage during surgery since they have to lift the liver out of the way to get to your stomach. My surgeon had me on 20 carbs or less per day leading for 2 weeks prior to surgery and like you, I loved fruit and needed something fresh! My NUT said as long as I don't go over 20 carbs, I can use some of them for fruit if I really want to. Every morning, I'd eat two strawberries, sliced very thinly and savored every piece. I'd have less carbs to use for the day, but doing that kept me sane. Berries are much better than apples to eat if allowed, since they are much lower in carbs per serving than an apple- pineapple, grapes, papaya etc are even higher! If you really want to eat fruit, check with you NUT and/or surgeon and ask if is allowable as long as you measure and track your carbs...you never know until you ask, but ask before doing it. If your liver does not shrink enough, they can not finish the surgery (in rare cases)- so it is definitely worth following your surgeon's advice!

The Boys in the Boat, by Daniel James Brown. A very good read about the UW men's crew team and their journey to the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. I live in Seattle- grew up here and went to the UW, as did my father and my grandfather. My grandfather was on the crew team in the late 1930's and I have pictures of him with his team and in his varsity Purple W sweater. I rowed crew when I was younger, so this book has been a real treat all around seeing familiar places in the pictures and know exactly what the author is talking about when you get "the swing" while rowing. A great read for those interested in Ww2 era, sports history, the Olympics and underdogs- reads like a novel but it's non fiction.

Indian style ground beef (kheema mutter) with zucchini noodles tonight. We also had cabbage stir fried with fennel and sesame seeds.

Maybe you can answer a question for me about beef and Indian food gamergirl! I would expect that if I went to India, (which I very much hope to do), that I would not see beef anywhere on the menu. That's pretty typical with most Indian restaurants I go to here in the Seattle area as well, but our favorite place serves beef too and that always puzzled me. Is beef just an adaptation some Indians living here have made to their diet if it is not a religious restriction for them, or do you think I would see beef curry etc in certain areas of India as well?