southernsoul

BAHAHAHAHA!!!! Wow, I needed a good belly laugh...thanks, jensjoy28! Vsginkc, I felt just like you do. My surgery date was June 19th. I stopped smoking back in March, then cut out sodas & a significant amount of carbs in April, & then even more carbs & caffeine & most alcohol in May. I knew if I waited until right before surgery, I would HATE having to give up everything all at the same time...and I knew that I would probably fail. There was no way I was going to jump through all these damn hoops & not give myself the best chance I could to be successful. Today, at a little over 6 weeks out, I feel great. I've lost 44 lbs so far, I'm exercising, not smoking, eating real food that is well prepared, and although I've had a very small amount of wine twice, I'm certainly not having a cocktail every day. Even if you have waited til the end to start giving the other stuff up, it CAN be done, and it will help you to feel so much better postop, which makes it harder to go back to our old ways later. Good luck to you!

I had problems with the chewable bariatric vitamins if I took them on an empty stomach. The first time it happened, I had chewed it up as I was leaving the house. Got 5 miles down the road & had to perform the stunt driving pull over to the emergency lane to throw up out the car door maneuver. It happened one more time after that & then I couldn't chew them without wanting to gag. I haven't taken any in 2 weeks, but I know I need to get back on it. I think I'm going to try a gummy type & hope they work.

I like Fage & Chobani plain. I add about 1/2 cup to protein shakes with skim milk. I like the Chobani flavors...they have really good ones, like Pear & Blood Orange. I also like Liberte flavors. I don't usually cook with it, but I have added the plain to soups. Also, if you drain plain yogurt overnight it gets much thicker & creamy, almost like soft cream cheese. You can add flavorings, either sweet or savory, and it's great that way, too.

I had trouble bending over, too. If I wore shoes that needed to be fastened my hubs had to do it. Since my knees are so bad, squatting down wasn't an option for me. It also took me about 2 weeks to bend over like normal, although I could bend a little bit before 2 weeks.

I have seen the Flat Out foldover wraps & heard that half of one is usually a good size for us. They are low carb & have some protein. I haven't tried them yet, since I'm just 6 weeks out, but plan to try at some point.

Roo, I was in the same place just weeks ago. I had not been able to got to the grocery store for more than a few items in over a year. The pain had been bad enough, but then the swelling started earlier this year. I was already going through my preop steps by then, so I just hoped it would reverse quickly once I started to lose. I am now 6 weeks post-op & I'm happy to say the swelling has gone & my knees feel so much better. My ortho doc told me that every 10lbs I can lose, I'll take 40lbs of pressure off my knees. With 42 lbs gone, I've taken over 160 lbs of pressure off. I'm walking a little every day. I can only go for about 15-20 min at a time, but I do what I can. My high weight was 320 & I am now 278. You can read more about my story in my profile & in my blog posts on here. My surgery date was June 19th. I'll never run a race or anything, and my knees are by no means strong, but I'm not in constant pain anymore. I still have a long way to go, but I'm on my way & that feels great. Good luck to you & please reach out if you need motivation or just to vent.

I don't know much about Medicaid, but would they have a list or something online of which surgeons accept Medicaid? Maybe a way to search within X miles of your ZIP code? My insurance company has that, so I'm assuming Medicaid might be similar. Maybe Google "bariatric surgeon medicaid atlanta"?

Found it on Amazon. They have a bunch of paleo cookbooks.

This week I had my 6 week postop appointment. I am down about 43 lbs total, including my 2 week preop diet. After hitting 40 lbs down at 4 weeks, I went up & down the same pound for about a week. After 3 or 4 days, I stopped weighing myself every day & just waited about 5 days or so before weighing again. When I did, I was down 2 pounds & another one came off before my follow up appointment. I think my body was adjusting to having more solid food. At week 5, I was finally able to start cooking again & enjoying the kinds of food I love. I'm still focusing on softer foods, but being able to cook good food & start sharing dinner with my husband again has really boosted my outlook. In addition, I can tell my clothes are getting too big & I'm starting to pull out clothes I haven't worn in years. I found a really cute knit pencil skirt online at Target & I bought both a 3X and a 2X (Target stuff runs small on me). The 3X fits great now & the 2X will fit before too long. It's perfect for somebody with a bountiful booty & the hubs loves it. A new cookbook I am exploring right now is called Well Fed by Melissa Joulwan. It's a paleo cookbook, and Melissa also has a great blog called The Clothes Make The Girl. The paleo style of eating seems to fit in really well with our postop guidelines, so I decided to check it out. So far, I have really enjoyed everything I have tried from the book. She includes a sections on staples of a paleo pantry & ways to cook ahead the simple parts of a meal (meat, veggies, etc) that you then can use over a whole week with many variations. I found Well Fed on Amazon, along with several other paleo cookbooks I'm thinking of trying now. Over the last couple of weeks, I have had several social things to go to, plus a couple of times where I have had to be away from home for a whole day or overnight without much access to decent food. I've had to plan ahead for eating properly, and I've also had to get over my nervousness about social or party eating. I've been surprised at the things I've been tempted by & the things I have NOT been tempted by. One party was hosted by a friend who is a very good baker, and his parties always include some yummy cakes. I expected to be pretty tempted to have a bite of cake, but I wasn't. It was so weird, but I was happy with cheese & some olives & hardly looked twice at the cakes. However, last night we were at another friend's house they put out some Triscuits. OMG, I absolutely HAD to have a damn Triscuit. I was actually distracted from the conversation because I kept glancing at the Triscuits. Seriously, I'm obsessing over a Triscuit?? WTH??? I ended up eating 4 over the whole evening & they were yummy. I also had a little wine, but I didn't even finish one glass. I have noticed that I am starting to feel hunger again. A couple of times, I have been very hungry & my first 2 or 3 bites have been either too big and/or taken in too fast. Each time, I have thrown up right away. I need to do better about keeping it slow & small no matter how hungry I am. I am also struggling to take in 64 oz of water a day. I carry my bottle around, but forget to drink from it. The most I usually drink is 36 to 48 oz, and I know I need to do better than that. The other thing I'm noticing is that I'm "hungry" to get out and do more stuff now. My knees are feeling much better, and I am so much more enthusiastic about going shopping or to the grocery store or to a party without worrying about pain from standing or feeling like I am stuck in a chair while everyone else is mingling. Call it hunger for life, but that's the other hunger that's coming back & I am so grateful to feel it. Life is for living, and although I was never a person who withdrew from life, I certainly felt restricted in what I was physically able to do. My next NSV outing will be to go to our big farmer's market on a Saturday morning. Maybe next week? We'll see!

I haven't tried paleo bread yet, but I bought a paleo cookbook called Well Fed. It seems to me that the paleo way of eating fits in pretty well with our post-op guidelines. We've made a few things so far & all were good. Last week, my hubs actually made the olive oil mayo from the book & it is amazing. I've used in several different things this week already.

I am 6 weeks post op & starting to go out socially again. I was nervous about eating out or going to a cocktail party & how I would do when I wasn't preparing my own food. It's been just fine, though, and that has helped to increase my confidence in my ability to succeed.

I wouldn't say I was ever thin, but I was not seriously overweight until I was an adult. I was an early bloomer...I had boobs & hips by 6th grade, so very hourglass curvy, not skinny. By the time I was 12 I looked like I was 18 or 19. I was athletic during my teens, but blew out my left knee when I was 17. Re-injured it 5 months later, which meant it would never fully recover. I gained maybe 20lbs after I married the first time at 21, but at 25 I started taking a medicine that had a side effect of increased appetite. My first hubs was an almost chef quality cook, so every night we ate seriously great food. The combo of those 3 things, plus my own lack of self-discipline, started me up the weight ladder in a major way. I have never been naturally thin, nor will I ever be. But I sure did used to be healthier, and I was able to move my body and walk and dance and enjoy pain-free days. That's what I want to achieve again, regardless of the number on the scale.

I'm puresouthernsoul

Mine said the same thing, and that was for the whole first two weeks.

I was also told I could have grits on my full liquid stage, as long as they were on the thinner side. I added some unflavored Protein powder & sharp cheddar cheese. It felt really good to have something that felt like normal food to me. Now that I'm moving on to regular food, I probably won't eat grits much because they are not nutritionally rich...but I would lose my southern card if I didn't have an occasional bite now & then. And...a random thought I had when making my grits...why hasn't anybody come out with butter-flavored Protein Powder?

I made these this weekend. I did 6 with chopped ham, Swiss cheese & chives, and 6 with fresh mozz, chopped tomatoes, & basil. I used 1 egg per muffin (12 muffins=12 eggs), beat with some skim milk, put the fillings in the cups first & then poured the egg in until muffin cup was almost full. 350 for 30 min was perfect. Delish!!

I just bought a sample pack from the Syntrax website. It's 12 individual packets for $12, plus $1.99 shipping. I tried to call, but kept getting voicemail, so I sent an email saying what I wanted to order & asked that somebody call me back. A woman called the next day, took my order over the phone & the box came on Friday. There are a lot of the fruit-flavor samples, as well as the chocolate & vanilla that I already have in the big tubs. http://www.si03.com/medical/med_index.htm

Try some other blogs, like Bariatric Foodie, Dashing Dish, and The World According to Eggface. My surgery was on June 19, so I'm right where you are. This week I'm planning to try some short ribs in the slow cooker & some roasted cauliflower "mashed potatoes", because I'm craving comfort food. We also have some salmon fillets that I think I can handle. I saw a crustless spinach quiche the other day that looked really good, and I can make individual ones in a muffin tin. I know that's eggs, but maybe it's still different enough from what you've been doing?

I finally got moved off liquids and on to purees and soft foods after week 4. I have continued to have my espresso protein shake almost every morning, because it satisfies my coffee craving. I use 1 cup of skim milk, 1/2 cup of plain Greek yogurt, 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder (I use Syntrax Nectar), and about 1 tbsp of Cafe Bustelo instant espresso crystals dissolved in a little warm water. Stick everything in the blender bottle, shake & go. 250 cals, 45g protein, 18g carbs. I have moved very gently into more solid foods like fine chicken salad and scrambled eggs. So many folks seem to have trouble with eggs at first, and I am so thankful that I haven't had any issues. I can definitely feel the restriction more with solid foods than with liquids. Everybody told me to expect that, but I was still worried that somehow I would be 'different' and be able to take in more than I was comfortable with. On my 4th week anniversary on the 19th, I was down 40 lbs, including the 18 lost on the pre-op diet. That was 5 days ago & the scale hasn't really moved since then. It's been going up & down the same half pound or so, but I'm trying not to let that bother me. All my clothes are stretchy, so I was afraid I wouldn't be able to tell anything by the way my clothes fit, but again that proved to be wrong. I can wear dresses & tops that have been too snug for several years. I can pull off my denim capris without unzipping or unbuttoning them first. (I'm not sure when that might come in handy, but I can do it.) I have a party to go to next week & I pulled out a cute dress I haven't worn in 5 years. Not only does it fit perfectly, but it looks REALLY great. Another bonus...maybe because I'm not very far out, my "girls" are still holding their own. My waist & belly look and feel smaller, but up top is still an attractive feature. Best of all, though, I'm walking and moving much easier. I have been trying to walk at the mall every couple of days & I'm doing some light weights at home. About every 3rd time I exercise, I notice that I can either do just a little more, or the same amount is easier. I have started parking farther away from entrances & I think I may even stick my handicapped hang tag in the glove box. I'm still on soft foods for another week or so, but I'm plenty satisfied with what I'm able to eat now. I haven't tried fish yet (other than canned tuna or sardines), but I plan to try some salmon this week. My next big milestone is to eat out in a restaurant, and I think fish will be a good thing to start with. Mostly I'm just happy to be feeling good & strong & on my way to a better me!

Please try not to worry. I am training to be a mental health counselor right now & I can promise you she would have been far more concerned if you had showed no emotion. Breaking down & crying over intense emotional stuff is normal and healthy. Getting stuff out may not always be 'pretty', but it's much better for our emotional well-being than bottling stuff up or denying it has had a big impact. My guess is she will be concerned about whether or not you have some decent support around you & that you have thought through the challenges of surgery. Oh, and BTW...a true mental health professional would never write "cray cray" in a client's file...we much prefer the clinically correct term LOONEY. Good luck to you!

One different thing I bought for the clear stage was a jar of lobster bouillon concentrate by Better Than Bouillon. I drank a lot of chicken & beef broth, so the lobster was a nice change of pace. Once I got to full liquids, I could make it into lobster bisque with the quick directions on the jar. I also added it to canned clam chowder that I would run through the food processor to get smooth.

I drank a lot of Unjury chicken soup while on clears for 2 weeks postop. I would heat up some chicken broth my friend made for me with big clumps of fresh herbs like basil or rosemary. Once it was heated up, I'd throw out the herbs & stick the food thermometer in to let it cool to below 140 (the soup protein gets clumpy above 140). Once it was down around 136 or 137, I would stir in the soup mix. The broth & herbs just add a nice flavor boost.

I don't see how blending it would hurt the protein value, but I don't think quinoa will become smooth when blended. I think it would stay in particles, which might not be so great in a drink. Also, even though it's got a good amount of protein for a grain, I wouldn't say it would make a good primary source of protein. It's got about 8g of protein in a cup (cooked). Just my opinion, though...nothing wrong with trying it & see what you think.

I baked some sweet potatoes, scooped out the inside & ran it through the food processor with some unflavored protein powder & a little maple syrup. Also, cottage cheese run through the food processor with some fruit and maybe a little agave nectar is good.

Veruca, in my opinion & what I learned from my psych, they are more concerned with how we've learned to cope with issues rather than if we have ever had any issues. Does that make sense? If the thoughts were ongoing, or if they had never been addressed in the first place, then that might make a difference. But if 'your friend' has learned some coping skills and found a better balance in life, then that can only be a benefit to handling the postop changes, right?