roundisashape

I missed the last one - last minute work travel - but I'm still up for a meeting!

I had been all along - had to use colace every other day for a couple of weeks to get through the worst of it. I've found adding 2 fish oil tablets every morning helps considerably. Good luck, that feels miserable!

Thanks! That's a good point - I'd wind up crisping my lunchmeat, lol.

It goes away! My neighbor was cooking right after I got home, and I had to go sit in my car to get away from the smell.

Last summer I bought the sturdiest ladder I could afford. I couldn't carry it up and down the steps (it was too heavy) and I still felt enough movement in the rungs to be nervous changing light bulbs. Tonight, I carried it to the basement with no problem and felt totally stable halfway up. So cool!

The roast beef idea sounds good - I've been doing that with no salt added turkey, but it never occurred to be to try with beef. And the oil marinade sounds good, too! Thanks for all the help. Even my dog had a hard time finishing off my leftovers tonight, lol

Thanks! I see it now

Some great ideas here! Except for @@LipstickLady, who wants my beef to fight back when I try to stab it with the fork. Let's talk again when I'm 100 pounds down and stand a chance of catching it if it gets away, eh?

Thanks! I have an "everything on 350" habit - it never occurred to me to turn the oven down, lol. The marinade sounds delicious.

What's that? I feel like I've missed something exciting

I love steak, but - don't beat me up - I can't get past the appearance of it when it isn't well done. For the most part, I consider myself a pretty good cook, but I've never mastered the art of making a good well done steak at home. It always turns out like Jerky. I know it can be done, I've eaten it at restaurants and it's been chewable, lol. This morning, I basically had a beef chip with my egg. I've eaten pretzels that had less crunch. Anyone have suggestions for cuts, cooking methods, seasoning, or anything else? The only thing I can't do is broil, of course - the broiler on my stove is absolutely terrifying. Unless there's a way to do that in the non-broiler part of the oven?

I had one bit of bread at about a month out and it felt like it got stuck. I'll be 11 weeks on Tuesday and ate 1/4 of a roll at dinner on vacation last week and it was fine. I was told it could be a little harder to digest and toasting it changes something in the composition of the bread that makes it easier - I don't know how accurate that is. Haven't tried it myself, since I don't own a toaster, lol.

@@esskay77, When I read your post, in my head I heard the Homer Simpson voice saying, "mmm...delicious chemicals...aaaaacccchhh" (or however you'd spell that drooling noise he makes), lol!

@@amyecpa, That's exactly why I followed this, too - I'm going for a friend's graduation, and we're going to be out at the places she wants to go. I like the comfort of knowing that a couple of days of not doing such a great job doesn't mean the whole thing is shot! food is part of life. It doesn't have to be my focus like it used to be, but I don't want to be afraid of it either!

Peanut butter! Yeah, yeah, I know - there's the stuff you grind yourself, there's PB2, there's Peanut Butter flavored Protein - I've tried those and even use them sometimes. But they're just not Jif. That's what my mother fed me, and I will always, always love it!

I'm just following this thread since I'm about to spend a long weekend in Orlando, lol. Glad you had a good time!

I felt the same way, having this elective thing done at 36 - then I think about being 46 and trying to do this when my weight has me disabled already...or 56, if my blood pressure doesn't cause me to stroke out first. A lot of people can do it without surgery. Unfortunately, I wasn't one of them, and it sounds like you think you probably aren't either. For what it's worth, I was a big portion eater too. I could eat once or twice a day and be content, but it would be gigantic, lumberjack sized portions and I couldn't sleep if I was even THINKING about maybe being hungry. This surgery has been the best thing I've ever done for myself. I wish you all kinds of luck and insight with your decision!

Thanks!

Does the texture change at all throughout the day? I've refrigerated some shakes and they get weird after a while.

I didn't have any red meat restrictions, but ground beef pureed up better than roast. I DID puree roast, though - it was a little too rough for my stomach and my blender just couldn't do a good enough job with it so it stayed kinda grainy. Whatever your take on potatoes, they do make whatever meat you blend a little smoother. I'm not sure I'd be brave enough to puree lettuce

I just got my fitbit zip yesterday! Not paying attention to the calories (besides, I'm nowhere near the point where I could hold more food so "earning" more calories isn't an issue). It's been fun to watch the tracker go up when I walk, though, and I'm finding myself getting up more often at work just to bring the number up. I only got it to remain motivated to move and hopefully it'll work!

Thanks! It's worth a shot, I've got plenty of it.

Thanks! I've never paid attention to ROC, but I'll check it out!

Thanks! I might have to take that leap - I was trying to avoid it, but it's definitely an option

So I can remember just a few short years ago (I was around 30), going to the ophthalmologist and being asked if my mom was with me to pay the bill...that is to say, I've always looked younger than I am. Mostly because I always had fry-an-egg-on-it oily skin. Since surgery, my face has dried right up. Oh, I still get acne - I didn't even know those two conditions could coexist! Anyway, I've noticed lately that my face is starting to look...shriveled? I don't know a better way to describe it. Part of it might simply be that I need to focus on drinking more because I rarely make it the whole way to 64oz, and I'm working really hard on that. Right now, I'm taking 5000 mcg of Biotin, using a gentle soap, using Pacifica Sea Change serum in the morning, and Neutrogena oil free moisturizer twice a day. I just bought some fish oil this morning too, but I'm really not sure if the recommended dose on the bottle is the amount I should be taking. Anyone using any other products or supplements that you think might help with this? I can't go with anything too heavy or oily because it exacerbates the acne. Thanks!