Miss Mac

My favorite brand for all purposes is Syntrax because of the variety of flavors, it blends well, and I don't mind the taste.

I have not used it a lot in cooking, but I do make the microwave mug cupcakes with it.

one scoop of Protein powder

one egg

a pinch of baking soda

a tablespoon or two of milk or Water

Pour it into a coffee mug and microwave for 1 to 2 minutes depending on your microwave. I eat my little cupcake with sugar free whip cream.

I have used the chocolate Protein Powder with cream cheese and Peanut Butter to make no-bake Peanut Butter balls.

I have been on a diet since 1978 and gained an extra 50 pounds beyond my pregnancy weight. A stroke is what convinced me to give up and get some surgical help.

Here are some common processes than many of our bariatric programs have in common. It will give you a head start and may be all you need to be successful.

Don't eat anything made in a factory.

Eat lean Protein first, and plenty of it.

Drink Water until your eyeballs float.

Don't become part of the sofa.

Here is a link to my favorite thread in this forum. It will give you 1, 319 reasons why the rest of us got our surgeries.

http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/219831-what-was-your-final-straw-that-broke-the-camels-back/?hl=%20final%20%20straw

Mine sounded like a dinosaur fight for about three months and then it slacked off.

You lucky duck! What a guy - what a great guy!

I just recently had that issue with a neurosurgeon who was supposed to fax exam notes to the pain clinic I go to for treatment. They said twice that they sent it, but the clinic said twice that they did not get it. So the third time I talked to the neurologist's office manager, we compared fax numbers. They were sending it to some anesthesia office.

While you are waiting, give yourself a headstart with these steps that most of us have to do pre-op anyway:

Do not eat anything made in a factory.

Eat lean Protein first and plenty of it.

Drink Water until your eyeballs float.

Don't become part of the sofa.

I lost 22 pounds pre-op and gained back 12 pounds in the hospital, from IV fluids. It took me two weeks to lose that, and then I hit that dreaded third week stall, for two whole weeks. Then my weight started to come off.

Be patient. It's an aggravating process, but a year from now you will be in a much better condition. Just think of this journey as the perfect opportunity to re-invent yourself. You are finding out that weight loss surgery is by no means an easy way out. Each pound loss is a well-earned victory.

Mine was necessary because I had NASD: Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. My liver (which lays in front of the stomach) was enlarged and needed to be shrunk so that the doctor could have easier access to my stomach. I was on liquids for ten days.

Send your surgeon an email, copied to whoever manages the place. If the clinic is part of a hospital network, copy it to the Patient Advocate and Hospital Administrator. You will get your call in no time.

The surgeon is not going to send a kitchen monitor home with you to make sure you stay on plan. He will not be stocking your cupboards with factory edibles (I can't call Twinkies, Kraft Mac and cheese, and hot dogs "food". He will not be taking a chicken breast and breading it and frying it in lard. He will not be taking a pizza and nibbling on it all day until it it all gone.

My sleeve alerts me of when it has had enough, and if I push it beyond that, I am miserable for hours. Nibbling and noshing even healthy recommended foods is a trap. Since you can only eat small amounts at a time, it is so easy to just do that every 45 minutes or so. Then your 1,000 calories has turned into 4,000 calories and the weight comes back.......and you can't blame your sleeve. Un-supportive family and friends is not helpful.

Bariatric surgery is not a "one and done" situation. The reason that most of our pre-op programs last three to six months is so we can accustom ourselves to a new way of eating so that we can thrive rather than just exist.

Most of our programs require psychological evaluation pre-op and offer follow-up assistance post-op. You can always come to the forum for moral support. This is a community of folks who understand what you are going through.

The first time I vomited post-op was when I had the flu about six months out. At two and a half years out, the only time I get any reflux is if I wake up empty hungry during the night. A few sips of Water and a Pepcid AC takes it down and I go right back to sleep.

After my final dietician appointment, the surgeon submitted my compliance packet on the same day - a Thursday. I got my approval on Monday. My surgery was scheduled for the surgeon's next available opening which was two weeks later. This is with BCBS Federal. Your insurance may be one of those that plays games with you and makes you wonder and wait.

Hang in there. For me, the pre-op requirements were worse than the actual surgery and recovery.

Congratulations.

I have BCBS Federal (retired VA), and it's the best insurance I ever had - ever.

My surgeon's office submitted my first weigh-in when my completed packet was submitted.

I think my total bill was $150, for a stray doctor's bill or something.

Three weeks for me.

A pill will dissolve very quickly in your stomach and roll on through with your next drink. Bacon bits will get caught in your staple line and take longer to digest. Remember that you just had 85% of your stomach severed, and it is going to take longer to heal that a papercut would. Be patient, you'll get there.

My first solid food was Wendy's chili with cheese, on the way home from the doctor's office. That small cup of chili lasted me four days!

Ii absolutely agree with the Biggest Losers survey. Let me explain it with Miss Mac's science of yo-yo dieting:

You weigh too much, so you lose some weight - Water, fat, and unfortunately some muscle.

Oops, you gain it back, but this time it's fat coming back. Your body now has a higher percentage of fat than what you started with even though you weigh the same.

So, darnit, you have to lose weight again, Water, fat, and muscle.

But, you are a yo-yo dieter and gain all of that back, but once again it's fat coming back, and now your body has an even higher percent of fat even though it weighs the same.

Back and forth, you lose and regain in disproportionate amounts of fat to muscle and end up with a BMI and metabolism that are all whacked out.

We all know that the more muscle you have, the better your metabolism is, but each time we lose and regain, it gets harder and harder to find a balance that works for us.

My biggest battles are physical disabilities and salt. Anytime I gain a couple of pounds overnight, it takes me a month to lose them. It is not fair, but I will never give up trying.

I DARE him to complete any yoga session demonstrated by Diamond Dallas Page, a retired pro-wrestle who says he never lifted a weight in his life. He calls it "not yo mama's yoga" You can find some of them on You Tube. The one's that I have from his website are 20-30 minutes.

I am attaching a list of my exercise video collection. DDP's Yoga, and Pilates for Wimps are the hardest of all of them - and they kick my a**.

In the summer I maintain a fitness trail in my back yard. Each landmark in the yard requires a different exercise, like push-ups off the oak tree, lifting five-pound weights at the picnic table, lunges from the back door to the rose bushes, squats at the garden shed, all with a couple of laps in-between. A half-hour in the back yard is a full work-out with some Vitamin D sunshine. Who needs a gym?

MISS MAC'S Exercise Video Collection.docx

That used to be called a "revenge diet." Now it's "revenge health."

My sleeve put an end to years and years of post-menopausal hot flashes. I'll take it.

Occassionaly, I remind newcomers that opinions and tact will vary, but we mean well. I have used the IGNORE feature once, because that certain person was inflammatory and used foul language.

When someone posts with a situation and asks for an opinion or for what our experience has been in that regard, they are going to get all kinds of responses. It may not even have paragraphs and punctuation or proper English Grammar.

We just need to be civilized enough to recognize that for as much as we have in common, we also have those differences in upbringing and environment that affect our perspective.

I don't like drama and conflict either, but I have been on the forum for 2 1/2 years and have learned to blow past posts that raise my blood pressure.

That's why you have US.

The first day of your surgery you will be sleeping off the anesthesia. The second day you will be pretty spaced out from pain medications. You won't be so alone. My experience in hospitals is that some staffer is in and out every few minutes - especially when you are trying to sleep.

When you get down in the dumps, come here for a hand to get out.

I do agree with volunteering. It gets you out of the house and helps you to focus on someone besides yourself. A nursing home is a great place to volunteer. There are a lot of lonesome people in there who get no interaction with family and would be glad to see you once in a while. Contact an activities director and find out how you can help.

Beans are what I would recommend, too.

My sleeve actually cured chronic diverticulitis for me.

Family is messy.

I am guessing that your niece did not get bent out of shape at the last minute. Therefore, it's on her that she did not express to you that she was uncomfortable with another guest or conversation. She could have excused herself and offered to help in the kitchen or just move on to talk to someone else.

I have an ex-daughter in law who tried to control every family event. She was so demanding that my ex and I got to where we quit hosting or going to family events that included her. She made no effort to be gracious or sociable. She just wanted all the attention on herself.

It sounds to me like a fun party, and if Washington was not so far from Chicago, I would have come. I have not been on a horse since 1988.

It feels like I swallowed a goat, and Miss Tummy makes sure that I am miserable for hours.

One excuse is as good as another when you don't want to do something. The fact that you two had been praying about this, tells me that she checked out a while ago. Don't blame your efforts to get healthy for what she has done.

How you get over it is to get involved in something else so as to occupy your mind and increase your circle of friends. Volunteer somewhere. They will appreciate your help and you will benefit in the process.

When my mother passed away at the age of 67, the widows in the church were pouncing on my dad before her grave was cold. There are other people out there who are looking for companionship, or you may find that it is pleasantly refreshing to be by yourself. This will give you time to re-examine what you need in a mate.

Also, with your weight loss, you will get to re-invent yourself. As you lose weight, you will gain confidence and a new perspective on what your priorities need to be.

Although it may not look like it, a banana is about 75% Water.< /p>

I had not heard about this concept for appetite control, but in a couple of weeks I will be having surgery to have a spinal cord stimulator implanted to help control severe leg pain coming from vertebrae L1-L2.

The method is the same as you described. The device emits a signal of its own to interfere with the pain signals the affected nerve is sending to the brain.

It is interesting that this process is being explored for appetite control.

It would still be surgery. I will have two 4" incisions: one over my spine at L1-L2 and one over my right hip to implant the device in a pocket made under the skin.

I am glad that the research is out there for finding options to removing a majority of one's stomach. I am glad to have my sleeve, but this would have been an interesting option, too.