MeAndTinyTina

Nice to meet all of you. IcanMakeit -- great news about the A1C level. Talk about a non-scale victory!! Not great news about the earthquake

Hi - I have been lurking on this forum since May - figured now that I'm sleeved, I might as well jump in! My name is Ellen. I'm 56 and live In beautiful Connecticut. I have named my sleeve Tiny Tina (although I might change it to "she who must be obeyed" .) When I was in my early 20s, I was dragged to a gay bar by my sexually ambivalent boyfriend to see a female impersonator named Tiny Tina. She was probably 400 lbs, but boy could she move! She showed me that you could be fat and fabulous. Well, now some 30 years later, I want to be slender and fabulous!
Tiny Tina was born 10 days ago. The surgery was a breeze. Had it at Yale New Haven Hospital. The nursing staff was really nice. I almost didn't want to leave. I went home to my parent's house for a few days and believe me, the hospital was less stressful! I love my parents and appreciate them so much, but oy vay, are they loud! They're in their early 80s and Dad is so hard of hearing. At least they didn't hear my trudging back and forth to the bathroom all night long! Every time I got up, my 2 miniature poodles would get up with me. Towards morning, my boy dog was starting to give me dirty looks! I actually gained about 8 lbs from the surgery, but I've lost that and the scale is now going down, but of course not as fast as I would like.
For those of you who are waiting for surgery and have read so many posts about gas pain, nausea, trouble drinking, etc., please be comforted to know that not everyone goes through that. I actually called my program because once I was home I was worried that I could drink and get my Protein Shakes in no problem and had to ask them if I could exceed 64 oz of water! I have been lucky, lucky, lucky. Supportive friends and family, understanding boss, no issues with the insurance company. I took the week of the surgery off, and my boss is letting me work from home until Sept 8. It is nice to not have the long commute and the peace and quite (now that I'm back in my own place .) I'm still on full liquids until Wed, then on to purees. The best thing I have learned on this board is about PB2. Have you all heard of it? It's dehydrated Peanut Butter powder with most of the fat removed. 45 calories for 2 tablespoons and 6 grams of Protein. I add it to the unjury brand classic chocolate Protein Powder and mix with light soymilk and boy is it good! I don't see myself giving up that drink even when I'm back on solid food. I think that will be lunch at work.
Although I am somewhat tired, I have to say that I am getting more and more excited as the days go on. When I set up my ticker earlier today, I knew in my guts (or in Tiny Tina I should say), that I will be successful and I hope that I can make some new friends here who will be equally enthusiastic! Sorry about the looooong post - hope to meet more of you soon.
Ellen

The “no white foods” diet is still around. We encourage our bariatrics patients to give up white bread, white rice, white Pasta or white potatoes. These foods typically raise blood sugars. However, cauliflower is not one of those white foods.


The “no white foods” diet is still around. We encourage our bariatrics patients to give up white bread, white rice, white pasta or white potatoes. These foods typically raise blood sugars. However, cauliflower is not one of those white foods. One cup of raw cauliflower has 27 calories, 77 percent daily value for Vitamin C, 5 grams carbohydrate, 2.5 grams Fiber, 2 grams Protein and is a good source of potassium, folate, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory phytonutrients.
Cauliflower is a low glycemic food, which means is has very little carbohydrate to raise your blood sugars. Cauliflower is a member of the cruciferous vegetable group which also includes broccoli, cabbage, bok choy and Brussels sprouts. Cruciferous vegetables provide sulforaphane, a phytochemical linked to a decreased risk for cancer.
Instead of rice and potatoes as a side dish, think cauliflower. Whipped cauliflower as a side dish instead of potatoes has been around since the low-carb craze from a couple of decades ago. Here’s a quick recipe to try. You can make this recipe four weeks after surgery, when cooked vegetables are reintroduced to your diet.
Cauliflower “rice” is chopping this vegetable in a food processor or grating by hand to look like rice and then steaming it. Here is a recipe, which can be prepared in Phase 4 after surgery when fresh produce comes back in - four months after surgery.

I consult on a Facebook group made up of people who experience very large weight losses through Bariatric surgeries and today I am struck by how they view their slimmer bodies and the BMI chart. What strikes me is that when they get down to within 30-40 pounds of what the BMI chart says is goal for them I notice many deciding they know better than the chart. The phrase, "I feel good at _____ weight" keeps coming up, as though that "feeling" makes irrelevant the BMI chart and scientific data about the dangers of carrying an extra 30-40 pounds on our bodies. Heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure, as well as other illnesses linked to overweight, don't care when we set an arbitrary number that we "feel good" about.


Today I'm wondering if it has more to do with the emotional work left undone when the excitement of the huge weight drop is focused on. It's great to focus on the big drop and enjoy it but it is also important to do the emotional and psychological work to embrace a body without a protective layer that keeps the world at a distance. I wonder if not doing this work accounts for people deciding to hang on to the last 30-40 pounds and deciding the BMI chart doesn't apply to them. Again and again, I see the term, "Everyone is different." While that is true, I see it as an excuse to not face fears about a life without fat and finish the job of making the body as healthy as it can be.

I know this pitfall well, which is why I care so much about it and am writing about it now. When I was 333 pounds and got down to 210 in my 30s and 220 in my 40s I said the same thing! "Good enough! I'm big-boned! The BMI-chart doesn't apply to me because I am 6'3" tall. I naturally have a linebacker's body. My body isn't meant to be slim." The thoughts that limited my possibilities seemed to go on and on and they did stop my progress at the exact weights at which I accepted those thoughts as fact.

The last and final time I lost weight I decided to allow my team of professionals, my coach and doctor, to decide when the goal had been reached for my body. I decided it was possible that my thinking about my body was limiting my results.
Imagine my surprise when a slim, sexy, very un-linebacker's body was waiting for me at 175 pounds and a BMI of 21. Imagine! The BMI chart applied to me too!! I try to gently point this out on the message boards I consult on, but people carefully choose their language with the term "I feel." We are taught to respect "I feel" and hold whatever follows in reverence. The problem is that many couch a thought with "I feel" terminology. They are actually expressing what they THINK and the thought, unexamined, limits their potential.

I love to work with people willing to differentiate between what they think and what they feel. These people are willing to examine their thoughts for patterns that limit their possibilities and may even cause a backwards slide into obesity. Really, losing the weight is just the beginning. Working with our thoughts about our weight and almost every aspect of our lives is central to long-term success and health.

I expressed thoughts like this on the message boards and within minutes there were multiple comments from people reverting saying "The BMI chart doesn't apply to me because I feel [this and that]." Losing a lot of weight isn't the end of the journey. It is just the beginning. So I believe examining the thought patterns that led to obesity is key in order to not return to obesity.

The BMI is not a perfect tool. No tool is perfect and there are some concerns as to its' value in all cases and for all bodies. But why not test it ALL THE WAY in your weight loss journey rather than holding-up short of optimal results? What do you think?

I was sleeved at age 59--three years ago. I was obese my whole life (by at least 100 pounds most of my life). I suffered from , unspeakable ridicule from the time I was 10 years old. I was bullied for my fatness from grade 7 through high school. Obesity affected my ability to advance in my career, to find a husband, to have children, to feel like I was worthy to have a place in this world. Yes, to some that probably sounds extreme. It is what obesity did to me. So for me, the chance to be freed from the bonds of a lifetime of shame, how could there possibly be any regret to having VSG?
My life has changed in ways I never knew a person could feel about themselves. I have a lot of "catching up" to do in life--and I am well on my way to doing so.
Good luck with your decision. You will make the right one--you are already asking your first GREAT question!!!

One thing I have found about myself and other people who are obese, is we tend to share too much too soon. If you have just started talking with him I would say there is no need to tell him at this point. If after your surgery, and it looks like your talks may be moving in the direction of "relationship" then you can tell him. Test the waters first. A sign of intimacy is to share things close to your heart with someone and not be rejected, judged, etc. If you have just started talking I would say you aren't ready or at the point of that kind of intimacy. good luck with your surgery...you will do great.

Good afternoon.... My sleeve surgery is on August 27 and I am quite nervous and excited. Here is my question ... My surgery will be on a Wednesday . I am a teacher ... Was wondering what I will feel like in a week and do you think I can go back to work. I know everyone is different but I just wanted an idea when some of you went back to work. Thanks for any input I can get. Alyce

He is the only dr I could get to do xrays so he might get me to step 2 of the insurance auterization package. So I'm ignoring his rudeness for now.