Miss Mac

One thing I am working on is to make sure that meats and fish are moist. Dry food just gets hung up. I had to give up peanut butter for this reason. It gets stuck in my throat and I cannot drink enough fluid to wash it down. So, if my foods have some moisture built in, it is easier to hold off with a beverage.

I was approved in two days...had surgery 3 weeks later.

My grandfather was a farmer. The way he fattened cattle was to pull them off the field where they ate grass and other vegetation and walked around freely. Then he put them in a feed lot to restrict their activity for a while, and fed them corn and grain. So.....I try really hard to stay away from corn and grain products and get my exercise in. If I slack up on carb accountability (as in potatoes) or go three or four days without burning some extra calories, my weight will bounce back up a pound or two. Also, I have learned to keep those protein and fluid levels as high as I can stand.

If you had a baby due, you wouldn't delay the delivery two months. Not selfish.

Protein and fluids and fluids and protein. Oh...and pretend like you have to pay $10 cash per carb.

Fiddleman, I would like to hear about the veteran experience with this as well. I am trying so hard and am working out just short of body building....and still waiting for results. I am even doing the exfoliate and moisturize stuff too. Oh, man...I am hoping for good news here.

I like MelBooks science. In "Miss Mac speak", a slider food is a gateway food to overeating even though I know better. For me it's anything with a potato in it.

My boyfriend made this for me and it is DELICIOUS without doing too much damage. Ricotta cheese Snack 15 oz. container of Rocotta Cheese 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips 1/2 cup Splenda (or equivalent of whatever you sweeten things with at your house) 2 teaspoons of cinnamon 2 teaspoons of vanilla Put all of this in the blender and give it a whirl to break up the chips and blend things up a bit. 1/4 cup has 130 calories, 17 grams of Protein, and 3 carbs. This would also taste good with a little lite whip cream folded in. You get the protein from the ricotta and some filling yummy for your taste buds.

Bariatricchoice.com sells protein chips in several flavors. My favorites are Ranch and Pizza. They also have Wnderslim protein Cheddar Crunchers and Pretzles......not to metion all of the protein bars out there. Other things that work for me are string cheese or boiled eggs or a protein shake.

I had ovarian cysts when I was a teenager. Even morphine shots did not help. Eventually I had to have surgery. Problem solved. For post sleeve ortho and neuropathy issues I use hydrocodone and Lyrica. If it were just a headache I have Tylenol on hand. No more ibuprophen for me. It had made a mess out of my stomach pre-op.

After my knee replacement, my ortho told me to be careful because falling would be bad....very bad. I was worried about my knees and had not even thought about my nose. I hope you get well soon.

Looking back, my pre-op diet that I thought was going to be aggravating actually turned out to be a big help. By the time I had my surgery three months later, I was off caffiene, soda, pastry & Pasta & bread kind of stuff, and had disciplined myself to sneak in a sip of Water at every opportunity instead of big gulps. I was trained to not drink two or three glasses of beverage with a meal, and to chew slowly. Usually, my head hunger presents itself on schedule because I am used to eating certain foods and certain times of day along with a midnight snack. It tells me I want a snack when really I just need a few sips hot tea (or something not damaging). It will say something like "That egg and piece of bacon look fine for Breakfast, but wouldn't you want a couple of chocolate eclairs and a giant orange juice to go with that?" When it tells me I really really really need a fried peanut nutter, banana, and marshmallow fluff sandwich on soft white bread, I go for a cup of sugar free hot chocolate with lite whip cream. If my Protein is low I will add some

I wish I had gotten my sleeve before I had a stroke in 2010. My weight was 185 at the time and I had gained up to 235 by August 2013. My blood pressure was crazy. My primary set me up with the bariatric program at Loyola University Medical Center for a lapband. During the orientation process, I found out what a sleeve was. The bariatric physician said I was a good candidate for that, so we set the process in motion. I had my seeve on 12/23/2013. I will be honest....it is a lot of work and the committment has to be 100%. I am so happy for my progress so far and am looking forward to meeting the new me.

Responding to the Cheryl Crow plastics comment: Due to the concerns for ingesting BHPs, I recently switched 90% of my kitchen plastics for glass. The other 10% is stored out of sight / out of mind in basement storage. My go-to favorites when I need to be out and about: power bars, Protein Cookies, or protein chips (quite a variety at Bariatric Choice) Boiled eggs, string or cubed cheese, little 4 oz. cans of tuna or chicken salad (they are pop top and come with a tiny spoon and 6 crackers from Aldi), Dole single serving sugar free Jello Wendy's chili

A similar experience happened to me at the Pain Clinic a couple of weeks ago. I had not been in since September and was down 55 pounds. The doctor had to double check the paperwork because he thought I was the wrong patient being prepped for the procedure! Congratulations. I hope we get many more of these.

I am always glad when it's a simple fix and not something rediculously expensive.

I have lost 55 pounds, but mostly face, boobs, and arms. My belly is down some but the shape-shifting makes it hard to decide what size I am. My feet are way thinner, so I guess I am holding the other 50 pounds in my now drooping belly and thighs.

I had mine done at Loyola University Medical Center 12/23/2013.. Dr. Chand developed the Bariatric program for the Cleveland Clinic, and then came to Loyola a couple of years ago. He developed the Bariatric program here and teaches Bariatric, Laparoscopic, and Robotic Surgery for Loyola University. I knew when I learned all of that, that I would be in good hands. I have done well with no complications and the hospital staff was outstanding. I am a retired hospital housekeeping supervisor and I can tell you that my room was SPOTLESS! Also, it was a private room. I loved that detail.

cabbage soup diet Dolly Parton Diet Weight Watchers Richard Simmons Atkins 3 times Fasting for days on end South Beach etc etc etc

Years ago, I had the Billy Blanks kickboxing video. I really enjoyed it and used it frquently, but due to increasing arthritis (I was in my early 50's - I am 62 now) my doctor said to knock it off. Now that I am on this Sleeve journey, I work with a chair boxing video more appropriate to my physical challenges. I agree that boxing even without the kicking can give you quite a hearty workout. And yes, it is fun.

Oh, I forgot The biscotti: tried it in three flavors. I did not like them crunchy, but they were quite allright dunked in tea. Pretzles: Meh!

It's great to be off to a running start. Congratulations!

My go-to for experimental shakes is Vanilla Cake Batter by Celebrate Bariatric Products. I bought it online. I also throw in a little extra vanilla and sweetener to suit my taste. Yesterday I used it for a Protein shake with mixed berries. I think you have inspired me to try one with banana and some dark chocolate. Hmmmmm.

My first wedding (I was 19 he was 20) was a moderate whoop-de-do in a Methodist Church with a wedding singer, flowers everywhere, and a reception in a hugh room with a grand fireplace and a receiving line and all of that jolly rot. I wish I could have done the hippies in the park thing, but parents..right? My second wedding (age 44) was with a JP in a lovely wedding park behind the court house. We had the reception back at home. On a rainy day they would perform weddings in the Archive/Library...a lovely room. My youngest daughter had a small wedding with just a handful of people) under the Tiffany dome of the Cultural Center in downtown Chicago. The cost was minimal. I say, do what you want, dear. It's all about you two and the surroundings do not matter. Get married in the supermarket if that's where you met!

Their customer service and delivery were outstanding. I have tried several of the Protein bars. There were none that I didn't like, but my favorites were Rocky Road, the chocolate Graham, and the Lemon Bar. The Soups were just OK, but I used them up. I would take the broccoli Soup and put some steamed broccoli in it. I have some of the Vegetarian Joe and the chicken Noodle Mixes which I have not tried yet. My boyfriend will be on a business trip for three days, so I will try those later this week. My favorite beverage mix was the Cranberry Grape which I put in sugar free cranberry juice instead of Water. I have found that Protein Drink mixes dissolve better in lukewarm liquid. and then I strain that and either warm it up hotter or put ice in it. The Ranch chips, pizza Chips, and cheese Nips were good enough to pass for a snack. I bought a bunch to have on hand for trips out and about. I also tried a dark chocolate cinnamon crunchy snack that I thought was good. I overbought on protein drink mixes from